Mayor encourages entrepreneurialism, civic ... - Palo Alto Online [PDF]

Vol. XXXVI, Number 20 Q February 20, 2015

Mayor encourages entrepreneurialism, civic involvement Page 5

New digital tools aim to bridge the divide between City Hall and residents PAGE 20

Pulse 14

Transitions 15

Spectrum 16

Eating Out 30

Movies 32

Puzzles 63

QArts JCC performing-art classes unleash creativity

Page 25

QHome Real estate: the eve of disruption?

Page 37

QSports Paly boys soccer goes from worst to first

Page 65

Get Heart Happy with Us Having a healthy heart is important, but so is being heart happy. In recognition of American Heart Month, Stanford Health Care wants to remind you to stop and cherish the special moments and important people in your life. Share this card with the people in your life who give you heart happiness, and join us on Facebook and Twitter to share your heart happy moments.

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Give a heart happy card to someone in your life that you care about:

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Give your heart happy person the card, so they too, can pass the heart happiness on.

Take a selfie with the person who makes you heart happy and the card. If you and the person you are honoring both want to share your selfie with Stanford Health Care, upload to your preferred social network with the hashtag #HeartHappySHC

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Page 2 • February 20, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Menlo Park Historical Property Values - Year 2014 ALPINE ROAD AREA Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 5 3 5 5 2 4 3

Median $ 2,245,000 2,150,000 1,585,000 980,000 808,000 1,367,000 1,249,000

Min $ 1,555,000 1,425,000 980,000 670,000 675,000 1,259,000 1,175,000

Max $ 3,875,000 2,695,000 2,405,000 1,380,000 941,000 3,350,000 1,330,000

Avg $ / SF 1,027 865 646 732 576 540 638

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 22 22 22 24 16 13 14

Median $ 2,776,000 2,446,500 1,881,500 1,740,000 1,702,500 1,787,000 1,803,500

Min $ 1,305,000 1,310,000 1,105,000 880,000 1,185,000 1,130,000 1,425,000

Max $ 4,575,000 4,050,000 4,300,000 4,100,000 3,710,000 2,821,000 4,900,000

Avg $ / SF 925 863 767 661 727 662 709

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 61 55 62 48 40 49 38

Median $ 2,260,000 1,825,000 1,633,000 1,408,000 1,362,500 1,400,000 2,139,813

Min $ 1,350,000 1,061,000 735,000 715,000 719,000 760,000 1,050,000

Max $ 4,500,000 4,075,000 4,800,000 2,925,000 2,349,000 2,480,000 3,242,000

Avg $ / SF 1,122 945 810 745 786 754 807

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 46 43 52 53 63 45 41

Median $ 2,802,000 2,695,000 1,987,500 1,850,000 2,040,000 1,945,000 2,326,000

Min $ 1,735,000 1,550,000 1,080,000 800,000 975,000 868,000 1,145,000

Max $ 5,750,000 4,500,000 7,625,000 4,482,000 5,300,000 4,250,000 4,310,000

Avg $ / SF 1,136 1,010 930 817 794 791 905

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 25 29 37 30 36 23 25

Median $ 2,125,000 1,695,000 1,335,000 1,477,000 1,315,000 1,355,000 1,400,000

Min $ 1,100,000 1,300,000 631,000 725,000 790,000 825,000 940,000

Max $ 5,300,000 3,547,500 3,995,000 4,000,000 3,070,000 3,200,000 2,995,000

Avg $ / SF 1,150 1,002 950 806 766 779 948

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 25 18 18 28 20 20 21

Median $ 1,785,000 1,527,500 1,356,500 1,140,000 1,277,500 1,182,000 1,375,000

Min $ 1,180,000 827,000 810,000 547,000 895,000 313,000 272,000

Max $ 2,850,000 2,160,000 2,330,000 2,200,000 1,700,000 1,900,000 2,050,000

Avg $ / SF 888 831 706 622 704 687 790

FELTON GABLES Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 2 8 3 4 3 3 4

Median $ 2,917,000 2,137,500 1,800,000 2,300,000 1,685,000 1,850,000 2,037,500

Min $ 2,275,000 1,385,000 1,400,000 1,825,000 1,525,000 1,625,000 1,720,000

Max $ 3,560,000 3,200,000 1,900,000 3,125,000 1,738,000 2,650,000 2,865,000

Avg $ / SF 1,025 857 977 882 790 926 1,051

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 22 14 28 22 22 13 27

Median $ 3,125,000 1,702,500 1,952,500 2,168,000 1,842,500 2,200,000 2,620,625

Min $ 1,200,000 1,012,000 939,000 800,000 711,000 855,000 685,000

Max $ 4,873,000 2,650,000 3,900,000 4,700,000 3,725,000 3,054,000 4,995,000

Avg $ / SF 1,078 978 870 757 766 733 868

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 46 32 50 41 38 37 38

Median $ 1,681,000 1,361,000 1,017,500 1,065,000 1,012,500 930,000 1,212,250

Min $ 1,041,000 820,000 562,600 420,000 525,000 445,000 541,000

Max $ 2,800,000 2,350,000 2,300,000 1,775,000 2,100,000 1,733,000 1,850,000

Avg $ / SF 1,119 948 786 682 704 664 770

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold Median $ 22 1,304,000 31 1,177,000 32 1,016,500 27 835,000 29 790,000 21 825,000 27 945,000

Min $ 1,000,000 850,000 325,000 600,000 290,000 500,000 277,000

Max $ 1,925,000 1,740,000 1,630,000 1,525,000 1,322,500 1,165,000 1,900,000

Avg $ / SF 965 773 646 612 607 538 606

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold Median $ 38 1,204,000 51 890,000 43 677,000 37 650,000 26 605,000 32 589,000 32 752,500

Min $ 475,000 305,000 330,000 286,000 380,000 220,000 390,000

Max $ 3,000,000 2,498,000 2,225,000 2,289,000 1,735,000 940,000 2,800,000

Avg $ / SF 702 721 567 454 488 477 599

Year 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

# Sold 38 34 40 53 63 50 31

Min $ 255,000 295,000 200,000 213,000 174,000 210,000 255,000

Max $ 1,005,000 850,000 600,000 500,000 530,000 439,000 494,900

Avg $ / SF 511 465 276 291 289 291 341

SHARON HEIGHTS/STANFORD HILLS

MENLO OAKS

COUNTY/ALAMEDA AREA

WILLOWS/O'CONNOR

CENTRAL MENLO

ALLIED ARTS/DOWNTOWN

MIDDLEFIELD TO EL CAMINO

FLOOD PARK

COUNTY AREA/FAIR OAKS AVE

EAST OF 101

Median $ 636,000 503,500 386,000 330,000 320,000 300,000 380,000

Call Jackie and Richard to Sell Your Home Sold Over $220,000,000 of Homes

Jackie

Richard

650-855-9700

650-566-8033

[email protected]

[email protected]

BRE # 01092400

MLS data based on single family home values

BRE # 01413607

www.schoelerman.com

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • February 20, 2015 • Page 3

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Upfront

Local news, information and analysis

State of the City: Mayor invokes past to address challenges of the future Holman calls on city’s legacy of stewardship, entrepreneurialism in tackling ongoing problems by Gennady Sheyner

P

Jobs in making her case for Palo Alto to be a bastion of both stewardship and innovation. The city, she said, has “an inheritance and an endowment,” and it is “incumbent on us to care for it and manage it.” “Whether it’s C.D. Marx or Steve Jobs, whether the visionary or the pragmatist, the scientist or the artist, they are at home here,” Holman said. Both attributes — stewardship and entrepreneurialism — will be needed to address the challenges that will dominate the city’s attention in the coming year, she said. These include the rapid pace of commercial development and the replacement of beloved retail establishments with offices. As examples, she pointed to recently departed businesses such as Jungle Copy, Zibbibo, Bargain Box and Avenue Florist. Since 2008, she said, the city has lost 70,514 square feet of retail space. The city has also added 537,144 square feet of office and research-and-development space since that year, she said. The city has seen retail space converted to offices and “local businesses leave Palo Alto for Los Altos, Redwood City and Menlo Park,” Holman said. “This is for reasons anticipated and never contemplated,” she said. “It’s the market forces, and markets work much faster than

Veronica Weber

alo Alto should harness its rich legacy as a steward and entrepreneur to strengthen its neighborhoods, support local youth, address the challenges posed by new development and make civic participation more enticing to residents, Mayor Karen Holman proclaimed in her State of the City speech Wednesday night. Addressing a standing-roomonly crowd in the new Mitchell Park Community Center, Holman touched on the many themes of last November’s election, in which City Council candidates favoring slow-growth policies won three of the five open council seats. Holman, who won the most votes before ascending to the mayor’s chair in January, used her new visibility to encourage more transparency, promote citizen involvement and foster greater diversity. In an address peppered with statistics, philosophical aphorisms and references to Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, William Shakespeare and the Velveteen Rabbit, Holman laid out the council’s plan for addressing some of the city’s pressing problems: retail preservation, traffic reduction and more support for the city’s disadvantaged population. She cited the examples of C.D. Marx, a former mayor who led the city’s push to establish its own utilities system, and Apple’s

Mayor Karen Holman gives the State of the City address on Wednesday, Feb. 18, to a standing-roomonly crowd at Mitchell Park Community Center. does government, so it’s our job to address this as soon as possible.” She also spoke about the city’s ongoing efforts to address parking shortages and traffic congestion. The solutions will come in many forms, including incentives to use public transit and encouraging bicycling to local schools. “Whether it’s Caltrain, transportation-demand-management programs, Transportation Management Association, expanding of shuttles, bicycle facilities — it’s going to take everything we have and everything we can conceive of to address these problems. They are the price of success,” Holman said. She also returned to her theme of improving the city’s architec-

EDUCATION

Committee: District needs better system Achievement-gap committee finds data collection, analysis lacking

T

he Palo Alto school district’s “antiquated and disjointed” data system is hindering the work of the superintendent’s minority achievement and talent development committee, members said this week. The district’s data system presents a particular challenge for a data subcommittee, which is tasked with examining how subsets of students are performing, analyzing their trajectories over time and looking for patterns that might point to root causes of the achievement gap — and corresponding solutions the district

by Elena Kadvany can act on. The data subcommittee’s work is also critical as the entire group continues to analyze and unpack five overarching problems it has identified as the main drivers of the disparity in achievement between certain minority groups and other students. These five problems are bias against minority students that informs decision-making at all levels of the district; quality and nature of parent-student-school-community connections; instructional standards and accountability; identification and intervention structures,

procedures and policies; and inequitable access and mismatched needs of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds and underrepresented minorities. “The challenge has been with the data system that we currently have at the district,” said district parent and Palo Alto University psychology professor Teceta Tormala, one of four committee members who make up the data subgroup. “It’s not up to the task of doing what we’re trying to do.” The district currently uses Cruncher Solutions, a studentdata software system. Tormala

tural-review process. Residents, she said, don’t think about technical things like density or floorarea-ratio when they look at new buildings. The city’s buildings, she said, are “the most pronounced, the most long-lasting outward expression of who we are.” Therefore, the city should evaluate the review process with a goal of providing architecture that enriches our daily experience, Holman said. “It is a more emotional reaction to how they relate to the building and cityscape ... and a reaction to impacts such as traffic and parking,” she said. Holman also used the halfhour speech to strike a personal and often idealistic tone as she said the system displays a student’s current coursework, but it’s harder to get at their history in the district and more nuanced details about achievement. “You can look at a student, click on a button and see a student’s current status, but to get the full picture of them over time, that’s clicking through multiple screens,” Tormala explained. “There isn’t a way to do what I think we need to do as a committee to really understand what’s happening with the system we have in place.” Subcommittee member Ze’ev Wurman said during a presentation at the committee’s latest meeting Tuesday that within the current system, student data — from the California Standards Test (CST) results to demographic data — are spread out in different places and not all formatted the same way.

recalled the people who inspired her and urged people to become more involved in their government and volunteer to improve the community. Referencing civil-rights leader King, Holman told the crowd that “ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things.” “Find your place,” Holman said. “And you do have a place. We all do. We all can make this a better world. Whether it is standing up to someone bullying another or leading marches, it all matters. “Act as if the world is watching. Because it is,” she said. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com. Superintendent Max McGee told the Weekly he encountered similar problems this year when trying to prepare data reports on first-grade reading benchmarks and Advanced Placement (AP) and SAT scores. “We can get everything; we can get what we need; it’s just in different areas,” McGee said. “I would characterize it as inadequate for our needs,” rather than ineffective, he added. The subgroup members Tuesday presented some preliminary findings they have drawn from data on a random sample of 33 Palo Alto students of color in the class of 2015. The group looked at whether or not the students had met the University of California and California State University’s A-G subject requirements; their CST results for English Lan(continued on page 11)


Upfront 450 Cambridge Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 326-8210

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We cannot wait until high school. ³=H·HY:XUPDQ, member of the school district’s achievement-gap committee, on the need to identify struggling students early on. See story on page 5.

Around Town

A PRESIDENTIAL SURPRISE ... A group of 10 Stanford University students interested in cybersecurity entered a back room in Memorial Auditorium last Friday, expecting to meet with a group of bigwig White House officials, like Homeland Security Advisor Lisa Monaco, as part of the cybersecurity summit held that day. “We walked into the room and pretty quickly noticed there was a nametag in front of every seat except one,” senior Rio LaVigne told student newspaper the Stanford Daily. “The table’s a horseshoe shape, and the one seat that was missing was the one in the very back in the center. It was like, ‘Hmm, OK. That’s interesting. I wonder who’s going to sit there. Someone who doesn’t need a nametag?’” You guessed it: the president himself. President Barack Obama surprised the students when he walked in several minutes later. They spent about an hour discussing not only cybersecurity and national security, but also the hot-button topic of campus sexual assault, Syria and even some of the students’ honors theses, the Daily reported. Obama was on campus that day — the first sitting president to speak at the Farm in 40 years — for the White House’s Summit on Cybersecurity and Consumer Protection.

CROWD PLEASER ... And speaking of the president, the Commander-in-Chief knew exactly how to play to the Stanford University crowd last Friday at the Cybersecurity Summit convened by the White House. “I’ve gotta admit; I kinda want to go here,” he said, extolling the beauty of the campus and the friendliness of the people. “This is the place that made nerd cool. I was thinking of wearing some black rimmed glasses, some tape in the middle; I guess that’s not what you do anymore.” But it was when Obama commented on the university’s legacy of success that the president displayed his sense of comic delivery: “According to one study, if all the companies traced back to Stanford grads formed their own nation, you’d be one of the largest economies in the world — and have a pretty good football team as well,” he said, to laughter, applause and whistles. WHAT IS ... US? ... Palo Alto’s gotten more than its share of acclaim, from being hailed for tech innovations to environmental achievements and livability. The city’s even got an eponymous movie, made

by native son James Franco. This week, Hollywood came knocking at the door again in the form of the enduring and popular game show, “Jeopardy!” In the Final Jeopardy! round on Feb. 17, the category was “California Cities” and the clue was: “A park, elementary school & medical pavilion named for Herbert Hoover are found in this 2-word California city.” All three contestants — one of whom was from Berkeley — answered incorrectly, losing a total of $11,601. The answer? Why, Palo Alto, of course! NEW PARTNERSHIP ... Friends of the Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo announced Wednesday that it is partnering with the City of Palo Alto and the David & Lucile Packard Foundation to better provide science and nature education to children with disabilities. The Packard Foundation is giving a $25,000 grant to the Friends of Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo, a nonprofit organization that supports the Junior Museum & Zoo (JMZ), to help improve visitor experience and hands-on science education for children with physical or developmental disabilities. Although ADA requirements and best practices set standards for accessibility, most museums and zoos minimally accommodate for children with developmental disabilities such as autism, sensory integration and dyslexia. Activities funded by the grant include staff training; a focus group; an accessibility review; support for universal access to museum consultants to review concept designs; and eight Super Family Sundays, which will be free events when the JMZ opens exclusively to families with children with disabilities, a press release notes. The next Super Family Sunday event will take place on March 22; those interested can RSVP by emailing [email protected]. BE IN THE KNOW ... According to this week’s cover story on technology and the City of Palo Alto, some 8,700 residents already use the private neighborhood social network known as Nextdoor. Now, Santa Clara County has announced that it is partnering with Nextdoor to share information about safety, disasters, health, the environment and community meetings. “Through Nextdoor ... there will be opportunities for neighbors to give their direct feedback on specific issues the County is considering,” County Executive Jeff Smith said in a press release. Q

Upfront DEVELOPMENT

Four-story building approved for Shady Lane site Plan for 429 University Ave. draws criticism for height, mass

I

n the latest sign of downtown Palo Alto’s sizzling office boom, the city approved on Thursday a proposal to build a four-story building at a prominent University Avenue location currently occupied by the popular boutique shop Shady Lane and other stores. The city’s Architectural Review Board voted 4-0, with Catherine Ballantyne absent, to approve a mixed-use development proposed by Hayes Group Architects for 429 University Ave., at the corner of Kipling Street. The plan calls for a demolition of two existing one-story buildings (425 and 429 University) and replacing them with a single building that would have roughly three times the density of the existing ones. The 31,407-square-foot development would include retail on the ground floor, office space on the second floor, and three residential units on the third. There would be an additional residential unit on the fourth floor, along with commercial space and a rooftop terrace. The development does not seek a zone change and will not be re-

viewed by the City Council unless someone files an appeal. The board’s vote came despite a mixed reception from the public, with many downtown residents arguing that the new building is too massive, doesn’t provide enough parking and would clash with architecture on Kipling Street, where there are numerous Victorian buildings. Marion Odell, who lives at Cowper Street and Everett Avenue, argued in a letter to the city that the project is “too massive” for Kipling, which is narrow, and that the additional traffic will cause congestion. Andres Mediavilla, a resident of Palo Alto Avenue, wrote that the tall building would create a canyon on Kipling, “making this beautiful street look like an unwelcoming city alley.” Not everyone felt this way. Several residents and downtown employees, including numerous real-estate agents, argued that the building designed by Ken Hayes Architects is exactly what’s needed to add vitality downtown. Beverly Fields, a commercial property manager, praised Hayes for

bringing diversity to downtown with buildings that are “modern, sleek, simple and beautiful.” The Thursday hearing was the third time since November that the architectural panel has taken up the project. The design for the development has gradually changed based on board comments, with the recent modifications including clear glass for the ground-floor storefront; second- and third-floor balconies set further back from the street; and transparent railings along the alley on Kipling. And while the board had some concerns about the project’s density and proposed landscaping, members agreed that the application warrants approval. Board member Kyu Kim said the review process has improved the design, such that it is now “a great building.” While Mayor Karen Holman has talked extensively about the need to improve the city’s architectural-review process, Board Chair Randy Popp argued on Thursday morning that the evolution of the building’s design is proof the reviews are working.

Courtesy City of Palo Alto

by Gennady Sheyner

A development approved by the Palo Alto Architectural Review Board Thursday will replace two one-story buildings at the corner of University Avenue and Kipling Street with one four-story building. This is the view from Kipling. “I think it’s important for people to understand how this process has worked, in particular on this building, which does seem to be particularly polarizing,” Popp said. Popp and board member Alexander Lew both acknowledged the public’s concerns about the project’s density and its potential impact on traffic and parking. The applicant, Elizabeth Wong, has relied on a program known as “transferable development rights” to increase the building’s commercial component by 9,207 square feet. The program allows density bonuses and parking exemptions to be purchased from developers who are rehabilitating historic buildings elsewhere. In this case, the project is also rely-

ing on the TDR program to get a reduction of 20 parking spots. This exemption, as well as the developer’s payment of “in-lieu fees” for parking, change the requirement from 92 parking spaces to 35. The applicant has agreed to provide 40 parking spots in the building’s underground garage. Lew said that because the board doesn’t get to see which historical projects are being restored and selling these bonuses, it’s hard to judge whether the trade-off is fair. “I think the (time) seems ripe for a community discussion about a larger picture of how that ordinance has been working,” Lew said. Q Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at gsheyner@ paweekly.com.

TECHNOLOGY

Obama urges private-public collaboration around cybersecurity From power grids to consumer data, the nation is at risk, president says by Sue Dremann and Bay City News Service resident Barack Obama gies that empower us can also be ing and analysis organizations or “hubs” based on regions, affinities signed an executive order at used to undermine us,” he said. The cyberattacks “pose one of or in response to a particular threat. a Feb. 13 Stanford University summit encouraging the private the most serious economic chal- Companies would share information about potential cyberthreats sector to share cybersecurity-threat lenges that we face,” he added. The nation’s power grids and with each other and with the federal information with other companies critical financial and health systems National Cybersecurity and Comand the U.S. government. “Just as we are all connected run on systems connected to the In- munications Integration Center. The order encourages compalike never before, we have to work ternet and thus are vulnerable like nies to use the National Institute together like never before, both to never before, Obama said. “Foreign governments are of Standards and Technology cyseize opportunities and to meet the challenges of this information probing these systems every bersecurity framework, which was approved by Obama through an age,” Obama said at the Summit day,” he said. U.S. military and defense con- executive order in February 2013. on Cybersecurity and Consumer tractors are targeted by hackers The framework helps businesses Protection. identify their security needs, manThe 21st century will be from China and Russia. American companies doing age risks and create solutions. marked by cybersecurity issues, Under the order, the information and how the country addresses trillions of dollars of business are those problems could make or targeted by hackers for their trade sharing would be voluntary, and the break the fabric of our society, secrets and intellectual property, government would disclose classiObama and panelists from U.S. he said, citing as an example the fied threat information so that pricompanies who took part in the theft of data from Sony Pictures vate network operators could more by the North Korean government. easily protect their systems. summit said. The order also calls on the DeBanking and other online sysSince the first computer virus in the 1980s, the world has been in a tems used by consumers are at partment of Homeland Security to fund the creation of a nonprofit to cyber arms race, Obama said. The risk, he said. “This problem of how we se- develop voluntary standards for the need to keep up with — and surpass — the threats posed by attackers is cure this digital world is only go- information-sharing organizations. Privacy and civil-liberties proing to increase,” Obama said. constantly evolving, he added. The executive order advises com- tections in the order are based “It is one of the great paradoxes of our time that the very technolo- panies to create information-sharon standards outlined in the Fair

Veronica Weber

P

President Barack Obama urges private-public collaboration around cybersecurity during his address in Memorial Auditorium at Stanford University on Friday, Feb. 13. Information Practice Principles. Agencies are required to annually review their practices and file reports on the assessments with the Department of Homeland Security Chief Privacy Officer and the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Other speakers included National Security Council members Lisa Monaco and Jeff Zients, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Stanford President John Hennessy. Monaco said that since 2009 the number of data breaches in the U.S. has increased five-fold. The scale and sophistication and severity of the breaches is unprecedented and

transformational, she said. “I worry that attacks like the one at Sony could be the norm,” she said. Cook noted that in 2013, more than 13 million Americans were victims of identity theft. “The personal impact of these security breaches can be devastating, and it costs our economy billions of dollars every year,” he said. PG&E Chairman and CEO Anthony Earley Jr., who spoke on a panel with executives from American Express, Kaiser Permanente and Palo Alto Networks about (continued on page 11)


RAIN OR SHINE. KEEP SAVING WATER. Despite the recent rainfall, we need many more storms to help with the drought. The e recent rains are only a drop in the bucket.

Make water conservation a daily way of life. For water-saving tips, visit save20gallons.org

SUMMER 2015

Attention Peninsula Parents

n n o e C c p t ion m a C Magazine is Coming Soon! G U I D E T O 2 015 S U M M E R C A M P S F O R K I D S

Start planning your kids’ summer activities now

A special publication produced by the Palo Alto Weekly, he Almanac and Mountain View Voice The

Coming Soon inside your Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice and The Almanac Camp Connection features: • Day camps • Resident camps • Tech camps

• Sports camps • Music camps • Specialty camps and more


Summer 2015

Upfront

News Digest East Palo Alto OKs senior housing In broad support of its commitment to keep its low-income population within the city, the East Palo Alto City Council on Tuesday, Feb. 17, unanimously approved going forward with a 41-unit seniorhousing development. The council also approved $700,000 in funding toward the estimated $21.5 million project. Councilwoman Donna Rutherford recused herself because her daughter works for MidPen Housing, which is one of the applicants to build the project. The vote marks a significant commitment to the city’s seniors, who represent just 6 percent of the city’s population, Interim City Manager Carlos Martinez said. The $700,000 represents one-third of the city’s $2.1 million budget for affordable-housing projects, he said. Still, with an estimated 72 percent rise in San Mateo County’s senior population by 2030, affordable senior housing will be important in the future. With the city’s commitment, the University Avenue Senior Apartments project has a better chance of qualifying for up to $15 million in California Tax Credit Allocation Committee’s (CTCAC) Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, representatives from MidPen Housing said. The project has already received a $5.4 million commitment from San Mateo County. It can borrow $2.5 million from San Mateo County Section 8 programs, and receive $600,000 from Community Development Block Grant programs and $400,000 from the federal home-loan program. The council previously committed $300,000 for the project in March 2014. MidPen Housing and local nonprofit EPA CAN DO requested the additional $400,000 in part to help their chances of getting the highly competitive CTCAC grant. The project would relocate 30 residents and demolish four singlefamily homes and two duplexes on six parcels at 2358-2580 University Ave. to make way for 36 one-bedroom and five two-bedroom apartments for low-income seniors. About half of the units would be handicapped accessible and half would be handicapped-adaptable, architect Steven Rajninger said. The development is situated within walking distance of the East Palo Alto Senior Center, the city library, a pharmacy, a market, the fire station and a bus stop. The development would offer a large community-center space, a health-and-wellness center, community gardens, outdoor garden seating and grounds and barbecue. Q — Sue Dremann

Man pleads not guilty by insanity An East Palo Alto man accused of stealing a friend’s car and driving it recklessly in a September incident has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe. Prosecutors said Luis Alonso Cuellar, 31, met with his friend, a woman, at about 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 12, outside her friend’s Menalto Avenue home in East Palo Alto. When the woman went inside the house to use the bathroom, Cueller allegedly took her car keys, which she had left on the hood of the car, and drove off. Cuellar struck a parked Cadillac on Alberni Street and fled speeding through East Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Police officers saw him allegedly driving recklessly and attempted to pull him over. Cuellar ditched the vehicle and ran, according to prosecutors. The officers chased after him and apprehended him in the backyard of a Carlton Avenue residence, prosecutors said. Cuellar is charged with felony car theft, misdemeanor hit-andrun, misdemeanor reckless driving and a misdemeanor for resisting arrest, as well as misdemeanor counts for driving with a suspended license because of a DUI-related offense, refusing to submit to DUIrelated tests and excessive moving violations. Superior Court Judge Leland Davis ordered a psychiatric analysis of Cuellar, who is in custody on $10,000 bail. The report is to be provided at a March 27 hearing, at which time a jury trial date may be set. Q — Palo Alto Weekly staff

County OKs summer jobs for youth Up to 500 paid internships and jobs will be available this summer to at-risk and low-income youth in Santa Clara County, county officials said. The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to establish the pilot project Tuesday, Feb. 17. The county and the nonprofit Work2Future will coordinate with employers in the public, private and nonprofit sectors to provide the jobs for residents 16 to 21 years old. Officials are directing the assistance at foster youth, CalWorks families and low-income and disconnected youth. The program aims to reduce crime among young people and improve their career prospects. Officials said that summer youth jobs programs have been reducing crime among target populations in cities such as Philadelphia, Chicago and San Francisco since earlier this decade. Q — Bay City News Service

Upfront MEDIA

With potential sale looming, The Daily News to become a weekly newspaper Friday edition will be delivered to homes starting March 20 development, increasingly our focus will be in local where we are the news and information leader in our markets,” Patton wrote on his blog in September. Digital First Media was formed in December 2013 with the merger of MediaNews Group and the former Journal Register Co. It ranks as the nation’s second-largest newspaper company operating in 15 states, with more than 70 daily newspapers and 160 weeklies. The company is controlled by the New Yorkbased hedge fund Alden Global Capital. Q — Palo Alto Weekly staff

Our CFO of 20 years is retiring and he will be really hard to replace. Help us find a person with solid financial skills, a passion for local journalism, prior experience with digital media and a personality that fits well with our amazingly talented and diverse staff. For a complete job description, go to embarcaderomediagroup.com

Elena Kadvany

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he local Daily News is ceasing daily publication to become a weekly newspaper, publisher David Rounds announced in a staff meeting Wednesday, according to a Daily News article. On Friday, March 20, The Daily News will morph from its current form into a weekly tabloid-size publication that will be delivered for free every Friday to most homes and targeted businesses in Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Atherton, according to the newspaper. The publication will also be available inside the San Jose Mercury News (which owns The Daily News) and San Mateo County Times editions that go to subscribers, as well as to Los Altos, Mountain View, Portola Valley, Redwood City and San Carlos. The newspaper will continue to be available in newspaper racks, and readers will still be able to visit the Palo Alto Daily News website for news coverage. Currently the Daily News publishes print editions on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. “I am very excited about this next stage in the evolution of The Daily News,” Rounds said. “We will be tripling our reach and will focus on home delivery. The redesigned tabloid-size newspaper will provide the same quality writing and editing our readers have come to expect, and we will be tightly focused on the local news and sports that is so important to Peninsula residents.” The newspaper will also keep its name, Rounds said. “The Daily News is a wellknown and trusted brand and we will continue to call the paper The Daily News in print on Friday and everyday online,” he said. Rounds said no layoffs are tied to the changes coming to the newspaper, and the new Friday circulation of the newspaper will be 46,000 copies. Digital First Media, the parent company of The Daily News as well as the San Jose Mercury News, announced in September that it is evaluating and considering strategic alternatives that could lead to the sale of some or all of the company. Potential buyers are still in the bidding process for more than 100 properties. The “digital first” initiative was the brainchild of Digital First Media CEO John Patton, who has advocated for newspapers to transition from print to digital quickly. “While our company will continue to invest heavily in digital

We’re looking for a great CFO

The local Daily News publication is turning into a weekly print edition but will continue to operate a news website.

Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week

CITY COUNCIL ... The City Council will meet in a closed session to discuss potential litigation involving Turner Construction, which provided construction-management services for the new Mitchell Park Library and Community Center. The council will then consider an appeal of a proposed two-story home at 3864 Corina Way; consider an amendment to the city’s policies for unsolicited offers for public land; and review the draft Legislative Program Manual. The closed session will begin at 6 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 23. Regular meeting will follow in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The school board will discuss the second interim financial report and its social media policy and vote on a new Mandarin-immersion program for Jordan Middle School. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the board room at Palo Alto Unified School District headquarters, 25 Churchill Ave. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to consider conceptual plans for the rebuilding of the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo; get an update on the Parks, Trails, Open Space and Recreation Facilities Master Plan; consider temporary batting cages at the former PASCO site near the Baylands; hear a report on the Organics Facilities Plan; and consider next steps for the 7.7-acre site next to Foothills Park. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. CITY COUNCIL ... The council will hold a closed session to conduct mid-year reviews for the city manager and the city attorney. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in the Community Meeting Room at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to review the City Council’s priorities and the Planning and Community Environment Department’s work plan. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. SCHOOL/CITY LIAISON COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to discuss its purpose and hear updates about the council’s 2015 priorities and the school district’s proposed parcel tax. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Palo Alto Unified School District headquarters, Conference Room A, 25 Churchill Ave. LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION ... The committee plans to discuss its purpose and hear updates about the council’s 2015 priorities and the school district’s proposed parcel tax. The meeting is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 26, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave.

4 5 0 C A M B R I D G E AV E N U E | PA L O A LT O

Multimedia Advertising Sales Representative Embarcadero Media is a locally-owned and independent multimedia company based in Palo Alto. We have published in Palo Alto for the last 35 years, with award winning publications such as the Palo Alto Weekly, Mountain View Voice and Menlo Park Almanac on the Peninsula, and the Pleasanton Weekly in the East Bay. In each of these communities our papers are the dominate, best-read and most respected among its various competitors. We also operate extremely popular interactive community news and information websites in all of our cities, plus unique onlineonly operations in Danville and San Ramon. We’re looking for talented and articulate Outside Sales Representatives for our Retail Sales Team. Experience in online, social and print media sales is a plus, but not a requirement. Familiarity with the advertising industry and selling solutions to small and medium size businesses is a big plus. Four year college degree is preferred. As a Multimedia Account Executive, you will contact and work with local businesses to expand their brand identity and support their future success using marketing and advertising opportunities available through our 4 marketing platforms: print campaigns, website and mobile advertising, and email marketing. The ideal candidate is an organized and assertive selfstarter who loves working as a team to achieve sales goals, possesses strong verbal, written, persuasive and listening interpersonal skills, can provide exceptional customer service and is not afraid of hard work to succeed. If you have the passion to achieve great success in your DBSFFS BOE DBO DPOUSJCVUF TJHOJmDBOUMZ UP PVS MFBEFSTIJQ position in the market, please email your resume and a cover letter describing why you believe you are the right candidate for this fantastic opportunity. (NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE) Submit your resume and cover letter to: Tom Zahiralis, Vice President Sales and Marketing [email protected]

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Robert Rauschenberg at Kennedy Space Center with Apollo 11 launch vehicle assembly in background, July 15, 1969. Photograph by James Dean. Courtesy James Dean and NASA Art Collection, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Upfront

Online This Week

These and other news stories were posted on Palo Alto Online throughout the week. For longer versions, go to www.PaloAlto Online.com/news.

Robert Rauschenberg’s “Stoned Moon” Projects, 1969–70 December 20–March 16 Discover an iconic artist’s depiction of the Apollo 11 Mission, the launch that put the first man on the moon. Rarely seen art is accompanied by photographic documentation and artist’s notes never before on view.

CANTOR ARTS CENTER AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY

328 LOMITA DRIVE STANFORD, CA 94305 0 8 6 ( 8 0 6 7 $ 1 ) 2 5 ' ( ' 8 This exhibition is organized by the Cantor Arts Center in close collaboration with the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Works in this exhibition are on loan from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation, New York, Special Collections at the Getty Research Institute, and a private collection. We gratefully acknowledge support for the exhibition from the Cantor Arts Center’s Halperin Exhibitions Fund and the Contemporary Collectors Circle.

WINTER 2015

Stanford Saturday University Join us for an education-packed day and attend lectures taught by some of Stanford's most engaging professors.

Filoli volunteers may quit if forced to sign There’s trouble in paradise. At Woodside’s historic Filoli estate, many of the 1,300 volunteers, who do everything from selling tickets to building the trails used for nature hikes, have expressed anger and dismay over an agreement that Filoli says they must sign by March 1 or lose their volunteer jobs. (Posted Feb. 18, 12:26 p.m.)

Shady Lane moves to Menlo Park After 40 years on University Avenue in Palo Alto, the eclectic Shady Lane gift shop and boutique is moving to a new home in Menlo Park. (Posted Feb. 18, 8:09 a.m.)

Legal interpretation trips up parcel tax In response to a reversal by Santa Clara County Counsel on its interpretation of a legal statute regarding parcel-tax exemptions and having missed the deadline to make any formal amendments itself, the Palo Alto school board Tuesday decided to reaffirm its superintendent’s authority to make changes to the language of a new tax coming to voters in May. (Posted Feb. 17, 4:25 p.m.)

Silicon Valley ‘hot and getting hotter’ Silicon Valley — that ill-defined region that leads the world in technology in virtually all sectors of its economy — is doing better than ever economically, with the exception of the infamous “dotcom bubble” of 2000, which became a bursting embarrassment. (Posted Feb. 16, 9:33 a.m.)

Police release sketches of groper, peeper Palo Alto police released Saturday a sketch of a man who allegedly groped another man near a urinal inside a Macy’s restroom on Feb. 11 and of another man who photographed a woman using a public restroom two days before. (Posted Feb. 14, 12:04 p.m.)

Shady Lane is Moving to Menlo Park February 21 is our last day open in Palo Alto

TOPICS INCLUDE:

Universe or Multiverse? Getting Along Without a Manager: How Ant Colonies Work How Old Are We? Reflections on the Phenomenon of Age Strategizing Belief: The Origins of Authority in Ancient Peru Seeing Absence, Listening to Silence: The Challenge of Reconstructing Chinese Railroad Workers’ Lives

Saturday, March 7 8:45 am - 5:10 pm

Celebrate with us 40 Years on University Avenue, Palo Alto Stop by and receive a free gift as our way of thanking

our customers for their years of support and check out our Moving Sale.

Our current location: 441 University Ave. Our location starting March 15: Sharon Heights Shopping Center

(Lunch included, registration & tuition required)

To view the course schedule and to register, please visit: continuingstudies.stanford.edu/SSU2015 Page 10 • February 20, 2015 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Shady Lane

650-321-1099 | www.shadylanegallery.com Gifts from the Heart

Upfront

Data (continued from page 5)

guage Arts (ELA) and math; results from the ACT’s EXPLORE test, administered in ninth grade; and each student’s cumulative unweighted GPA senior year. About 30 percent of the sample student group had a GPA above a 3.0 and about 30 percent have met the A-G requirements, but only about half (15 percent) of both these groups overlap. Most, but not all, of the students who failed to meet the A-G requirements were “not proficient” — based on their English and math scores on the CST — and had a low-performing record early on. More than 60 percent showed a lack of proficiency in second and third grade, and many did not improve as they went through the system, Wurman said. This underscores one of the overarching problems the committee has prioritized as a persistent driver of the achievement gap: a lack of effective early identification and intervention for struggling students. “We cannot wait until high school,” Wurman said. “The problem is manifested in high school. You have transcripts, colleges are looming ... but the problems, in most cases, started much earlier. Teachers and principals should be able to look at this data and say, ‘Whoops, we should do something.’” However, about half of students in the sample set who were chronically low-achieving in elementary and middle school still did well in high school and met the A-G requirements. Also, the committee found that the major stumbling block to meeting A-G requirements is not math, but rather English. One hundred percent of those who did not pass the A-G coursework had low English test scores compared to only 60 percent with low math scores. Wurman stressed that any findings at this point are tentative, as they could be unique to this group of students and have yet to be compared to Asian and white students or any previous similar cohorts (that data is not yet available). The report was also “manually generated, tedious and prone to error,” he said in the presentation. Data subcommittee member and parent April House warned of the dangers of misinterpreting piecemeal data. “One of the outcomes may be literally coming to the wrong conclusion,” she said, pointing to the fact that they had access to students’ test scores and GPAs but not individual grades. “Without data, it’s going to be very hard to say what we think is anchored in reality,” said Wurman, who since the committee’s first meetings in December has stressed the urgent need for more concrete, complete data. Another subcommittee is organizing focus groups with students, parents, teachers and staff to gather qualitative data. The group will also be sending out a survey in March to collect perception

data on expectations for minority students, the district’s intervention programs, parent engagement and access, among other topics. With only four meetings left before the committee is expected to issue a set of recommendations to the board this spring, several members and McGee have expressed a commitment to continuing their work over the summer and into next fall. The data subcommittee is also recommending that the district “quickly and thoughtfully upgrade its data system.” “It is our fervent hope and recommendation that we actually do switch to a new system so that we can keep tracking these things over time,” Tormala said, though the committee has not yet discussed specific systems that are being used by other districts or organizations that Palo Alto could implement. McGee said newly hired Director of Research and Assessment Chris Kolar, who began work this week, will be tasked with looking at short- and long-term relief for challenges presented by the current data system. “This has to be at our fingertips,” McGee said. Q Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be emailed at ekadvany@ paweekly.com. The minority achievement and talent development committee’s next meeting is Tuesday, March 3, at 6:30 p.m. at district headquarters, 25 Churchill Ave.

Cyber (continued from page 7)

GraphicDesigner Embarcadero Media, producers of the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly, PaloAltoOnline.

public and private collaboration on cybersecurity, emphasized the importance of collaborations between competing companies and between the private sector and government. “It can’t be adversarial. This has to be like a new Manhattan Project where government and the private sector work together on this real and pernicious threat,” he said. But Nuala O’Connor, president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology and Apple’s Cook stressed the importance of privacy and civil-liberties protections in this Brave New World of cybersecurity. “The wholesale collection of data into the hands of the government is not a great solution,” O’Connor said. Cook also urged thoughtfulness in the cybersecurity program. “We still live in a society that is not equal,” he said of religious, political, gender, sexual and other differences. “A world of information can mean the difference between life and death. If we fail to protect privacy, we risk more than losing money. We risk losing our way of life. Technology gives us the tools to avoid this risk.” Q Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at sdremann@ paweekly.com.

com and several other community websites, is looking for a graphic designer to join its award-winning design team. Design opportunities include online and print ad design and editorial page layout. Applicant must be fluent in InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator. Flash knowledge is a plus. Newspaper or previous publication experience is preferred, but we will consider qualified — including entry level — candidates. Most importantly, designer must be a team player and demonstrate speed, accuracy and thrive under deadline pressure. The position will be approximately 32 - 40 hours per week. To apply, please send a resume along with samples of your work as a PDF (or URL) to Lili Cao, Design & Production Manager, at [email protected]

4 5 0 C A M B R I D G E AV E N U E | PA L O A LT O

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board (ARB) 8:30 A.M., Thursday, March 5, 2015, Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Plans may be reviewed at the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue or online at: http://www.cityofpaloalto. org/planningprojects; contact Diana Tamale for additional information during business hours at 650.329.2144. 451 University Avenue [13PLN-00450]: Request by BCV Architects for Architectural Review of facade renovations and construction of rooftop lounge for dining for conversion of a retail building to restaurant use; the project includes a Conditional Use Permit for alcohol service associated with the restaurant. Zone District: Downtown Commercial CD-C(GF)(P). Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Section 15301.

to

252 Ramona Street [13PLN-00431]: Request by Tony Carrasco for MaArchitectural Review of a proposal to demolish an existing single story residence and construct a new two story building with two residential units and a a request for Design Enhancement Exception for the location of the proposed driveway closer to the property line than allowable. Zone District: Residential MultiFamily Neighborhood Preservation (RMD-NP) zoning district. Environmental Assessment: Exempt from the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) per CEQA Section 15303(b). 380-410 Cambridge Avenue [14PLN-00485]: Request by Steve Pierce on behalf of Cambridge Investments, LLC for Preliminary Architectural Review of a lot merger, partial demolition and reconstruction for the existing buildings at 380, 400 and 410 Cambridge Avenue. The project includes the merger of parcels, the demolition and reconstruction of the building at 380 Cambridge Avenue, and a renovation of buildings at 400 and 410 Cambridge Avenue. The new merged building will have 35,000 square feet (2,917 net new sf). Zoning District: Community Commercial (2) Sub-district CC (2). Preliminary Reviews are not subject to CEQA. Amy French *OPLM7SHUUPUN6ɉJPHS The City of Palo Alto does not discriminate against individuals with disabilities. To request an accommodation for this meeting or an alternative format for any related printed materials, please contact the City’s ADA Coordinator at 650.329.2550 (voice) or by e-mailing [email protected]. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • February 20, 2015 • Page 11

Upfront CRIME

Keeble & Shuchat struck by car-crash burglars Two men reverse van into California Avenue photography store

T

Elena Kadvany

Keeble & Shuchat Photography is boarded up Thursday following a morning smash-and-grab burglary in which the thieves reportedly rammed the store with a minivan and stole merchandise.

wo men who broke into Keeble & Shuchat Photography on California Avenue early Thursday morning by ramming a van into the front of the store made off with thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and are still at large. At about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, the police department received a call reporting a burglary in process at the company’s 261 California Ave. store, which was closed at the time. Officers responded immediately, but the burglars fled before they got there, the police said in a press release. Officers found the front of the business, which has plate glass windows and glass front doors, shattered, and a metal roll-down security gate on the inside was bent. Glass display cases inside were also shattered and merchandise appeared to be missing, police said. The ensuing investigation, which included interviews with multiple witnesses who were in the area at the time, revealed that the two men likely reversed their vehicle into the front of the store, smashing through the front glass wall, doors and interior security gate. While no witnesses saw the actual collision, one reported hearing a loud screech followed by a loud crash, police said. When witnesses noticed what had happened, they saw two men getting into their vehicle and driving away at a “high rate of speed” on California Avenue toward El Camino Real, police said. Witnesses described the driver as a Hispanic male in his earlyto mid-20s with a thin mustache, wearing a black-and-white beanie with long pull cords on each side and a black sweatshirt. Witnesses described the other suspect as a tall, thin man of unknown race

wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and dark shoes. Witnesses described the vehicle as an older red minivan with dark tinted windows. The rear license plate of the van was covered with black plastic. Police said no video surveillance footage will be released, and no sketches of the suspects will be produced. Keeble & Shuchat employees Thursday afternoon were compiling a list of stolen merchandise, and owner Terry Shuchat said he’s not sure yet what the total loss will be, though police said an initial estimate was in the tens of thousands of dollars. Employees cleaning up the store Thursday said repairing the building will cost far more than replacing the stolen merchandise. “We’re still tallying things up,” Shuchat said. “A lot of stuff was destroyed. They drove a car into a store.” Detectives are looking into the possibility that this crime may have been committed by the same men who burglarized a closed Mountain View business, Audio High, at 165 Moffett Blvd. in the early-morning hours of Feb. 9. The vehicle in that case was similar. For more information on that case and to view surveillance video footage of the suspects and vehicle, go to the Mountain View Police Department channel on YouTube.com. Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Q —Palo Alto Weekly staff

CityView A round-up

of Palo Alto government action this week

City Council (Feb. 17)

Time management: The council discussed its procedures and protocols and referred to its Policy and Services Committee proposals to make meetings more efficient. Action: None

Board of Education (Feb. 17)

Parcel tax: The board approved a resolution reaffirming the superintendent’s authority to make changes to an upcoming parcel tax measure. Yes: Unanimous

Historic Resources Board (Feb. 18)

939 University Ave.: The board requested that the property owner at 939 University Ave. make the proposed additions on the second floor symmetrical to the first floor. Yes: Bernstein, Bower, Di Cicco, Kohler, Wimmer No: Bunnenberg Absent: Makinen

State of the City (Feb. 18)

Mayor Karen Holman delivered the State of the City speech.

Architectural Review Board (Feb. 19)

429 University Ave.: The board approved a proposal by Ken Hayes Architects to demolish two existing one-story retail buildings at 429 University Ave. and replace them with a 31,407-square-foot, four-story building with two levels of underground parking. Yes: Gooyer, Kim, Lew, Popp Absent: Ballantyne



Pulse POLICE CALLS Palo Alto Feb. 11-17

Violence related Assault with a deadly weapon . . . . . . . 1 Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Sexual assault attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle related Auto burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Auto burglary attempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Auto theft attempt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Driver’s license suspended. . . . . . . . . . 1 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 6 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Parking/driving violation . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . 8 Vehicle accident/property damage. . . . 5 Vehicle impound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vehicle tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Alcohol or drug related Driving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Open container. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Possession of inhalants . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Smoking in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Miscellaneous False info to police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found animals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Indecent exposure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Outside investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Public nuisance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Resisting arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Sex crime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vandalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Violation of court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Warrant/other agency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Menlo Park Feb. 11-17

Violence related Domestic violence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft related Burglary undefined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

VIOLENT CRIMES Palo Alto

El Camino Real, 2/11, 4 p.m.; domestic violence/battery. 100 block Homer Ave., 2/12, 3:56 p.m.; assault with a deadly weapon. 300 block W. Charleston Road, 2/12, 8:42 p.m.; battery/simple. 873 Blake Wilbur Drive, 2/16, 11:42 a.m.; battery/simple. Embarcadero Road, 2/17, 5:22 p.m.; family violence/misc. Faber Place, 2/17, 8 p.m.; sexual assault attempt/rape.

Menlo Park

200 block Terminal Ave., 2/14, 7:05 a.m.; domestic violence.

June 17, 1959 – January 31, 2015

June 12, 1919 – January 12, 2015 York, Miami Beach, Washington, D.C., Norfolk, VA, and Quincy, MA. When Lamont was deployed to the South Pacific on sea duty, Nelle returned to Nashville, where their son Monty was born in 1944. After the war, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Lamont began his post-war career. The family moved to Cheviot Hills in West LA in 1953. Nelle joined the Cheviot Hills Garden Club and served in many capacities, including presidency. She made many friends and loved to entertain. She loved dining with Lamont and friends at the California Club in downtown Los Angeles, and attending the symphony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. In 1990, she joined High Hopes Unlimited Investment Club and served as secretary and president. By 2000, she was treasurer. With characteristic skill, Nelle kept track of the money flows to the last penny and when she finally retired no one could take her place, so the club members decided to disband. Physically active, Nelle liked to play tennis, swim and enjoyed vacationing with her family at a cabin owned by Lamont’s parents in Sequoia National Forest. Later, she loved vacation trips to national parks, including Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon, and to the Canadian Rockies. In the 1970s and 80s she and Lamont traveled extensively around the world on photographic tours, venturing to unusual places like Yemen and Ladakh. She also greatly enjoyed road trips with her granddaughters and daughter-in-law, including a high-spirited, girls-only trip to Las Vegas with Judy, Meg and Amy for Amy’s 30th Birthday. In 2008, she and Lamont moved to Palo Alto to be closer to Monty and his family and get dedicated medical care for Lamont. She was extremely attentive and caring for Lamont and enjoyed many, many gatherings with her family. Nelle was a lovely, gracious, sweet and funloving woman who was completely devoted to her husband and family, and who instilled a love of learning in her son and granddaughters; a true treasure as a wife, mother, mother-in-law and grandmother, she was a role model and will be profoundly missed by us all. The family is deeply grateful to all her caregivers at the Vi, and to Kiyoshi Kinoshita. A private memorial celebration will be held. PAID


Possession of switchblade . . . . . . . . . . 1 Probation violation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Property for destruction . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Psychiatric hold . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Suspicious circumstances . . . . . . . . . . 1 Trespassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Violation of court order . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Warrant arrest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Michael Shaw McClaskey

Nelle Atkinson Edwards Frost Nelle passed away peacefully at age 95 in Palo Alto on January 12, joining her beloved husband Lamont, who passed away two years ago. She leaves behind her son, Otis Lamont Frost, III, her daughter-in-law Judy Moeggenberg Frost, her granddaughters Amy Katherine Frost and Megan Frost Belanger, Megan’s husband, Mark Belanger, and her twin great-grandchildren Helen and Misha Belanger. Her sisters, Nancy Ward and Katherine Hammond, predeceased her. Nelle led a strong, inspiring life full of warmth and love. Her beauty and intelligence were extraordinary. She was a true Southern lady of great dignity and great strength of character, who took great pleasure in being there for those she loved, and in filling their needs. Nelle was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee by her parents, Nell and William Culwell Edwards, who were affectionately called “Sugar” and “Hubby”. She was a gifted and accomplished young woman. By the time she was in 8th grade, Nelle had already won two spelling contests, took first place in three Nashville essay contests, won first place in a Tennessee violin contest, and was president of her junior high school class. While at Ward Belmont High School she was a member of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, playing second violin. She graduated high school as president of her class. In 1937, Nelle entered Vanderbilt University and pledged Delta Delta Delta sorority, where she was president of her pledge class. That year she met the love of her life and future husband, Otis Lamont Frost, Jr. at a dance. While at Vandy, she was president of her sorority and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year. She graduated in 1941, magna cum laude, with a BA in Mathematics. After graduation, she took a job with the Burroughs Adding Machine Co., teaching operators how to run the machines. On June 17,1942 in Nashville, she married Lamont who was in the US Navy at the time. They would be married over 70 years. After a brief honeymoon in New Orleans, she returned to her Burroughs job and participated as a volunteer in the USO, while Lamont shipped off to the Caribbean. During the next two years they moved many times following Navy orders, living in New

Theft undefined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle related Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Driving with suspended license . . . . . . 6 Driving without license . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Vehicle accident/injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle accident/no injury. . . . . . . . . . . 2 Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Alcohol or drug related Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . 1 Under influence of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Miscellaneous APS referral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Coroner case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Found property. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Gang info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Gang validations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Info case . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Located missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lost property . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Medical aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Missing person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Outside assistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

OBITUARY

Michael was born and raised in Palo Alto, working his way through Walter Hayes, Jordan and Paly before attending Chico State — and collecting new friends at each stop. He met Gigi Riker through his sister Julia’s sorority at Cal Poly. They fell in love, married, had three children and settled in Danville. As a child in Palo Alto, Michael and his friends joined Little League, played “mud ball” at Rinconada Park in the rain, and took apart and then rebuilt the bicycles that they used to roam WKHFLW\)DPLO\YDFDWLRQVZHUHVSHQWLQ3DFL¿F*URYHDQGDW 3LQHFUHVW/DNHZKHUHKHOHDUQHGWRKXQW¿VKDQGVNLMRLQLQJ the Dodge Ridge race team. Pinecrest became his second home and the place where friends from Palo Alto, Cal Poly, Chico and Danville came together to form one big rollicking JURXS+HDQG*LJLWDXJKWWKHLURZQNLGVWRVNLUDFHDQG¿VK at Pinecrest and initiated the community’s annual 4th of July SDUDGH¿VKLQJFRQWHVWDQGFKLOLFRRNRII 0LFKDHOZDVDJHQHURXVDQGELJKHDUWHGJX\ZLWKDTXLFN sense of humor. He thoroughly enjoyed people and struck up conversation with everyone he met — from the sales person at Home Depot to the parking attendant at Kaiser Hospital. Once he had that conversation with you, you were one of his pals. Michael was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer ¿YH\HDUVDJR'XULQJWKHVH\HDUVWZRIDFHWVRIKLVFKDUDFWHU came to the forefront — strength and stubbornness. He took all that medical science could throw at him without hesitation or complaint. He maintained a positive attitude throughout and stubbornly refused to let the disease stop him from doing the things he loved or being with the people that he held dear. He and the family vacationed in Hawaii and the Caribbean. +H FRQWLQXHG WR ZRUN VZLP KXQW ¿VK DQG VNL DV ORQJ DV physically able. His last hunting trip was undertaken with the help of a walker. He joined his buddies for golf weekends even when limited to driving a golf cart to deliver cold beers to his friends. He went to A’s playoff games, Giants World Series games and a few Cal football games. When he died, he was one week shy of attending his 15th AT&T Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach — an annual event for Michael DQG KLV EXGGLHV +H ZDV D ¿JKWHU DQG IXOO\ GHWHUPLQHG WR enjoy the time that he had. Michael died peacefully at home surrounded by family and close friends — as he had been all of his life. He leaves behind his loving wife of 25 years, Gigi; his beloved children, Riker, Makenna and Lily; his mother, Gerry Shaw; and sisters, Shauny Moore and Julia McClaskey. He is predeceased by his father Lou McClaskey and sister Rory Moore. PAID

OBITUARY

Transitions

Piano soloist

Sandra Wright Shen Carl Nielsen

Helios Overture Jean Sibelius

Births, marriages and deaths

Edith Sommer Edith Sommer, a longtime Palo Alto resident and community member, died on Feb. 4 in Palo Alto. She was 87. She was born Edith Kasper on Dec. 25, 1927, in Chicago. She grew up there and went on to study history at the University of Illinois. In 1948, she married Simon Sommer, and they moved the next year to Palo Alto. Together they raised three sons, Paul, Jon and Jeremy. She loved to appreciate and practice art, and she specialized in working with gold and silver and jewelry design. She was one of the co-founders of Gallery House in Palo Alto in 1958, a still thriving artists’ cooperative. In 2008, she was recognized by the City of Palo Alto and the California State Assembly for this contribution to the San Francisco Bay Area’s arts community. Another passion was connecting with people from around the world, which she did as a host and traveler through U.S. Servas and as a participant in Palo Alto’s Sister City program. More recently through Friendship Force, she hosted international visitors, young and old, with whom she shared her love of the Bay Area. In her own travels, she explored the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, South America, Russia, Australia and New Zealand. She particularly enjoyed visiting Paris, and she studied French into her old age and held French conversation groups in her home. Her other pastimes included attending ballet and theater performances and writing poetry. She was predeceased by her husband, Simon Sommer, in 2006, and son, Jeremy Sommer, in 2013. She is survived by her son, Paul (Laura Selby) Sommer of Mercer Island, Washington, and granddaughters, Lauren and Sasha

Visit

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Sommer; her son, Jon (Amy) Sommer, and grandsons, Keith Morrison and Aaron Sommer; her brother, Robert Kasper, of Illinois, and his family; and many friends. A memorial service was held on Feb. 9. Memorial donations in her honor can be made to The Windhorse Foundation/Laos Orphanage Fund, P.O. Box 26582, San Francisco, CA 94126.

Symphony No.7

Memorial service Esther Pfeiffer, a longtime resident and piano teacher in Palo Alto, died on Dec. 14, 2014. She was 83. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Feb. 28, at 12:30 p.m. at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto. A reception will follow the service.

Elizabeth Holmes Allyn

Beethoven Concerto No. 4 for piano Lee Actor

Tickets: $24 (general) $20 (senior) $12 (student) Friday, February 27, 2017 at 8pm at the MVCPA Ticket Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Office, (650) 903-6000 500 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 or mvcpa.com 7:30pm Pre-concert talk & Post-concert (Ticket prices include at www.paphil.org $2 Facility Use Fee)

Divertimento for Small Orchestra

Sandra Wright Shen’s appearance is sponsored in part by a grant from Ross McKee Foundation

Marvin Morton Wax

September 22, 1926-December 4, 2014

1923- January 28, 2015

Elizabeth Holmes Allyn, a longtime resident of Palo Alto, passed away peacefully on Dec. 4, 2014, two months after her husband Nathaniel C. Allyn. Elizabeth is survived by her sons, Jeffery, and his wife Sharon, of Los Altos and Marc of Menlo Park, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Betsy was born in Portland, Oregon, to Edward and Ina Holmes. The Holmes family moved to Palo Alto in the early 1930s. Betsy graduated Palo Alto High School in 1944 then worked at the Stanford Bookstore where she met Nathaniel, a graduate student at Stanford. They married in 1948 and purchased a home on Bowdoin Street in College Terrace where they raised three sons, Jeffery, Marc and Thomas. Betsy was the tireless advocate for all causes related to the betterment of the Palo Alto community and Bay Area open space. She volunteered countless hours supporting initiatives brought forth by the Committee for Green Foothills. She was a strong supporter of her good friend, Enid Pearson, in Enid’s campaign for the city council. Betsy spearheaded successful efforts to have the Arastradero Preserve renamed the Enid Pearson-Arastradero Preserve in honor of her friend Enid who, as a councilwoman, was instrumental in passing a measure that forbid Palo Alto from selling park land without voter approval. As the Silicon Valley housing demands grew in the 1980 and 1990s, Betsy was a strong voice in asking the Palo Alto City Council to re-open Terman Junior High School in 2003. An avid reader, Betsy’s efforts in behalf of the Palo Alto community extended to her work with Friends of Palo Alto Library (FOPAL). In the final paragraph of her “Letter from the President,” Betsy wrote, “People in Palo Alto have time and again supported their neighborhood libraries as much as they have supported their schools. We will be asked to do it again with the Bond issue and the campaign of ‘Better Libraries for Palo Alto.’” When it came to her love for Palo Alto, no cause was too small or too formidable for her support. Betsy was the consummate ailurophile. Through the years, many stray animals found their way into the Allyn backyard and were treated to meals, scratches, bedding and love for life. Betsy and Nat spent many days in their sunny backyard reading the New York Times, discussing world and Palo Alto politics. My mother requested that there be no obituary or service. We could only accommodate half of her wishes. The Allyn family will forever be grateful to Pathways for their sensitivity and kindness to Betsy and Nat, and for guiding our family through these difficult times. PAID

Ludwig van

OBITUARY

Marvin Morton Wax, prolific graphic artist-photographer and resident of Palo Alto, California for over 50 years, died after a battle with prostate cancer at his home with family and close friends on January 28 at the age of 91. Born in 1923, Marvin graduated on full scholarship from The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City. Marvin leaves behind a legacy of photography, love for music, wry humor, extraordinary athletic ability and love of family and close friends. Married to Beatrice for the majority of his adult life, they moved from Miami Beach, Florida to Palo Alto, California in 1962 where they raised three boys, Robert, Daniel and Jonathan who still live in the Bay Area close to their childhood home. Besides his three sons, he leaves behind Daughter in-laws Betty Joy, Susan and their respective families, three grandchildren: Cheree, Jackie and Sarah, and eight great-grandchildren. He is predeceased by his sister, Sylvia. A veteran of both Pacific and European tour of duties in World War II, dad lived a full and wonderful life. With a passion for photography, he attended classes and photography excursions led by renowned photographer, Ansel Adams, who after observing dad’s work, signed a handwritten letter indicating his prowess for having one of the best eyes for color in the business. Dad also produced two books: Eichler Homes: Design for Living, and Mystique of the Missions. Marvin also traveled to Russia, China, Israel, Portugal, Mexico and several other countries in his journeys. An commercial artist and photographer most of his professional career, Marvin also taught photography and graphic design at San Jose State University. Dad belonged to a variety of local and national photography groups and shared his extraordinary talent by mentoring others both locally and world-wide. A recipient of numerous international photography awards, he received extreme satisfaction by spending time with friends sharing photographs and artistic insights. Marvin often spoke of his love for handball, fishing, the San Francisco Giants and also of his fond memories while coaching his three boys in the Palo Alto Little League. He gained tremendous joy when listening to jazz music and often kidded that he dreamed of becoming a drummer in a band. Often while socializing with family or friends over a meal, he was observed using his utensils as drum sticks keeping beat with the music heard nearby. Of Jewish faith, Marvin often visited the Jewish Community Centers in Palo Alto, Los Gatos and Foster City engaging other seniors in Jewish subject matter and with his love of photography. Always determined to share his professional and personal wisdom with others, he will be remembered and loved by family and friends as a wonderful, engaging man with a zest for life. Family and close friends will be celebrating his life at an informal gathering on Saturday, February 21 from 3:00 – 6:00 pm at Café Borrone (http://www.cafeborrone.com/) in Menlo Park. Donations in his memory can be made to The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art at http://cooper.edu/ giving PAID

OBITUARY


Editorial Around teen well-being, the vocabulary changes Finally, an acknowledgment that school climate and student stress contribute to mental health crises

I

n the last three weeks, two significant yet relatively unnoticed mindset shifts have occurred that may have major positive impacts on the social and emotional environment for our kids. First, the two mental health professionals who have been the key communicators with the public and advisers to school officials on teen depression and suicide since the first suicide contagion in 2009 have decidedly changed their message. Stanford adolescent psychiatrist Shashank Joshi and Palo Alto Medical Foundation pediatrician and internist Meg Durbin, co-founders of an organization formed to address local adolescent depression called the HEARD Alliance, have now openly acknowledged that the environmental stresses facing teens in achievement-oriented Palo Alto are among many “co-factors” that can increase the risk of severe depression and suicide. Durbin first publicly used the term “co-factors” Jan. 29 on the KQED Forum radio show less than a week after the most recent suicide of a Gunn senior. Her message was clear: Teen depression, stress and anxiety must be “contextualized” in the environment they live in, and while the schools should not be blamed, some school practices and the community culture are creating unhealthy stressors. When combined with natural adolescent impulsivity, this “can be a fairly concerning brew,” she said. Dr. Joshi, who serves as the school district’s consulting psychiatrist and who has consistently steered away from raising schoolclimate issues when communicating about teen depression and suicides, made an even stronger statement at last week’s schoolboard meeting. “Environmental factors must be examined closely and are often highly influential in any student’s well-being. Peer, social, family, school and other influences — such as living in a high-achieving culture where a teen’s self-worth is perceived to be measured solely in terms of grades, sports, music performance or elite college acceptance — can increase the risk of severe psychological distress on individuals, depending on the situation. These environmental influences can also be quite protective if they are positive or supportive in nature,” Joshi said. These statements are overdue and come in response to increasing parent frustration over the lack of leadership in articulating how chronic stress in a teen’s life can lead to depression and despair. In a powerful opinion piece in today’s Weekly, Palo Alto child psychiatrist Maria Daehler offers additional valuable perspective on the relationship between stress, sleep deprivation and depression. As medical experts are changing their message, Superintendent Max McGee is taking bold action to change practices that are among the “co-factors” to which Durbin refers. McGee and Gunn Principal Denise Herrmann are fast-tracking the implementation of block schedules at Gunn, a widely adopted high school practice that has been in place for several years at Paly, where classes meet for longer periods fewer times a week. Another priority is elimination of weighted grading at Gunn to remove the grade incentive of enrolling in honors classes, where receiving an A counts more than 4.0 in calculating grade-point averages. Requirements of a more careful review of student workloads when taking multiple AP classes, looking at limiting the number of AP classes, are also on McGee’s agenda. And a consultant study now underway will soon provide data on the inconsistencies in teaching methods, expectations and grading practices in classes identical in name, one of the most commonly expressed stress inducements among high school students. Perhaps most significant, however, is McGee’s determination to fully implement the homework policies adopted by the school board after a long, inclusive process in 2012. The policies have been widely ignored by teachers, to the frustration of students and parents, and McGee has issued a detailed four-page memo to all faculty, clearly and firmly directing that they be followed. The actions of Durbin, Joshi and McGee are the kinds of steps that the community has been asking for, and we are grateful that these leaders are listening and acting with urgency. There is much more work to be done, but tangible reforms, accountability for following district policy and a change in our mental health vocabulary are critical steps forward.


Spectrum Editorials, letters and opinions

Stress education Editor, As a community, we must do everything possible to prevent teen suicide. As a local physician with recognized expertise in decreasing teen stress and enhancing teen well-being, I continue to recommend: 1) mindfulness for adults to help us reflect upon and live our deepest values, acknowledge and release our unrealistic expectations, be present for, listen to, love and support our children — the unique human beings living in our homes and sitting in our classrooms. 2) an eight-week mindfulnessbased Stress Ed course for every freshman; mindfulness is scientifically proven to decrease adolescent stress, anxiety and depression, and enhance well-being. Together these cost-effective interventions could go a long way to preventing additional tragedies. A recent randomized controlled trial from Belgium (Raes 2014) showed that after participating in eight weeks of mindfulness training, the number of students with depression decreased from 21 to 15 percent. During that same interval, the percentage of students who did not participate in the training with symptoms of depression increased from 24 to 27 percent. Over the next six months, the differences between the groups increased; the percentage of students with depression who did not receive training rose to 31 percent, while the number of students with depression who received training held steady at 16 percent. Please note I am not suggesting that mindfulness or any other single intervention will prevent all teen suicides in our community. I am suggesting that we can provide cost-effective, scientifically proven preventive measures to every freshman. Many students I have spoken with, and seen as patients, desperately want proven skills that they can apply in their day-to-day lives and are actively seeking a more authentic dialogue than that currently provided in Life Skills. Students who have learned mindfulness report it is extremely helpful in decreasing stress, depression, anxiety and living more enjoyable, fulfilling lives. Amy Saltzman Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Park

Stress not helping Editor, I’m not a parent or Palo Alto resident, but I’ve lived in the Bay Area all my life and have been following with sadness the troubles at Gunn High School. In my non-expert opinion, the proposals of the Save the 2008 group

merit considerable attention. The proposals for a homework monitoring website and an AP coursereview process address creatively the growing consensus that homework and AP course loads need to be reduced. The proposal to crack down on academic fraud recognizes the fact that a culture of cheating actually puts more stress on students. And cutting back grade reports from 12 a year to the original four seems like a simple way to reduce unnecessary work and anxiety. All of these measures would cost little and promise to make life easier and happier for both students and teachers. (The proposal to reduce class sizes, while costly, seems worth it to me, but that’s easy for me to say because I’m not a Palo Alto taxpayer.) Whether they would reduce suicide is impossible to know without trying, but they would be worthwhile efforts even without that justification. None of this would preclude addressing the issue of suicide more directly, and there have been good suggestions from mental health professionals on how to identify clinically depressed students and get them help. But we should also be willing to question whether higher and higher academic-stress levels are truly helping these kids. Paul Siegel Walnut Street, San Carlos

Hampering business Editor, I go out of my way to support local businesses. However, as it gets increasingly difficult, online shopping becomes more attractive because of the hassle of getting around the Peninsula. I have been a longtime regular on California Avenue for the health food store, stationery store, post office, etc., but even

before the construction, parking had become so difficult I’d been going less often and had to plan my timing around parking. Without a reasonable alternative transportation system, the new design will further discourage drivers and therefore customers. (Bikes are impractical for certain loads — perishables and heavy or bulky items — and not everyone is physically able to bike.) Whom does this serve? Certainly not the customers, merchants or workers, most of whom do not live in Palo Alto and need to drive to work, rather than spend hours commuting. The costly new sidewalks imbedded with broken glass are impractical. No one wants to walk on broken glass! The whole point of paving is to provide a smooth surface for wheels or walking; bumpy surfaces are hard on toddlers, the disabled, strollers, shopping carts and wheelchairs and contribute to accidents. Colored glass would make aesthetic sense in a vertical surface where it can be seen, rather than walked on, worn down and come loose. These sidewalks will be a maintenance and liability headache/ disaster. Instead of spending money on questionable “beautification” projects, why not solve real problems such as the need for additional parking, or re-surfacing existing parking lots, which are almost un-walkable? We do not need more “upscale” (high-rent) shopping districts like Menlo Park’s Santa Cruz Avenue, which shoppers actively avoid due to traffic and parking problems. We do need to be able to take care of our ordinary needs in a friendly manner that doesn’t take all day to accomplish. Molly Rose Avalon Court, Palo Alto

WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.

Do you favor a slower-growth policy for the city? Submit letters to the editor of up to 300 words to [email protected]. Submit guest opinions of 1,000 words to [email protected]. Include your name, address and daytime phone number so we can reach you. We reserve the right to edit contributions for length, objectionable content, libel and factual errors known to us. Anonymous letters will generally not be accepted. Submitting a letter to the editor or guest opinion constitutes a granting of permission to the Palo Alto Weekly and Embarcadero Media to also publish it online, including in our online archives and as a post on Town Square. For more information contact Editor Jocelyn Dong or Editorial Assistant Sam Sciolla at [email protected] or 650-326-8210.

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Guest Opinion Living proof that we are all in this together The following essay is by an anonymous junior at Palo Alto High School, written shortly after a Gunn High School senior died by suicide on Jan. 24.

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ormer National Football League wide receiver Terrell Owens once said: “A lot of emotional stress that people go through, some people figure out a way to handle it. They have a strong enough support system to keep going and keep moving forward. And some people, they feel like they don’t have that outlet.” The following piece is intended to first and foremost convince you and the members of our community that your individual life is precious and that your well-being is, and will always be, the number-one priority for not just yourself but for the people around you as well. Additionally, I hope to shed light on just how incredible and transformative the support system in Palo Alto can be for those going through dark times. I hope my story will inspire and motivate you to never feel like the supportive outlet Owens is referring to doesn’t exist. Because it does. If it didn’t, I would not be alive today. On the morning of Monday, Jan. 5, I came within just minutes of attempting to kill myself. For the previous couple months, I had managed to convince myself

that life was no longer worth experiencing. Life wasn’t shaping out well in a lot of ways. And the issues weren’t just centered around school, as many may assume. This is a critical part of the story. A lot of people seem to point fingers at the school district and the high school system whenever a student suicide occurs. As simple as that sounds, in reality, there are an infinite number of possible factors as well. I felt like I was taking hits left and right, from a number of different bullets that life as a whole was throwing at me. Family life at home had grown complicated beyond my control; the combination of a fluctuating GPA, rigor of academics and the cloud of SATs affected my sleep and attitude; my activity in athletics had fallen off the rails from the start of the year; and my social life progressively deteriorated, as I saw hardships with entire friend groups and individuals emerge out of nowhere. There were no groups or cliques that I was a meaningful part of. I felt as if I was without a home. Alone. When I was suicidal, I couldn’t help but think about everything that was hurting me at that moment. I didn’t see the outlet that is inherent in the community that my friends, family and other support systems have built around me. Certain people who had stuck by me knew that I was dealing with a number of

different problems at the time of the incident. It just so happened that a couple close friends texted me a few messages as everything was unfolding. The time was 10:50 a.m., and I was on my way home from an appointment. What happened next is the jewel of why I am still here today and why I cannot emphasize enough how valued and amazing our community is. As one friend talked with me in a meaningful, deep conversation and begged me to realize just how unfortunate it would be for my life to be taken, another took brave action that I quite simply cannot thank her enough for. The school was notified immediately about what was going on and contacted the police, who sprung into action the second they got the call. One of my friends kept talking to me, exemplifying the true power that we are all in this together. The heights she went to in order to show to me just how great a person I was and could become are still embedded in the back of my mind today. Eventually, police officers and school guidance counselors were by my side. I was in for the most humbling six hours of my life, but at the end of the day, it was all worth it as it turned my life around. I was taken by local police to the Emergency Psychiatric Services (EPS) in San Jose. I don’t want to go too much in depth

about the experience I went through there, but believe me when I say that EPS is not a place where you want to stay for an extended period of time. The freedom is restricted, a lot of waiting occurs and nobody is what I’d call “happy.” But while I was there, I came to the realization of just how lucky I was to have been saved. There is so much more to life than grades, junior year and the unnecessary stress that I had piled up. Seeing the faces of the kids and adults at EPS put my problems into perspective. And although this didn’t eliminate the issues I dealt with, it shed some light on the things that I’m thankful for having and the problems I’m thankful for not having. One of the stories I heard that day was from a 14-year-old girl who had just been beaten up by her stepfather. According to her, a realistic place for her to sleep that night would have been a shopping cart out on the streets — in January. We all have problems. We all struggle at some point with juggling our responsibilities. But there are times when we have to take the opportunity to relax and appreciate life. Health and attitude take priority over school, as crazy as that may sound. I was released from EPS later that evening after undergoing doctor examinations (continued on next page)

Guest Opinion Understanding youth mental health and building a strong community by Maria Daehler

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he o utpouring of d i s c u s sio n around stress, school, mental illness and the welfare of our teens has been tremendous these past few months. These discussions are critical for change and it is clear that change is happening. Comments have spanned the gamut of potential contributors to suicidal ideation, including mental illness, stress, social isolation and pressures, homework and school factors, sleep debt, family issues and societal expectations. The Palo Alto Weekly’s Jan. 30 editorial stated: “Suicidal ideation, they say, is not the product of too much homework, test anxiety, too little sleep or worry about college admissions, in spite of the stress they may cause.” As an adolescent psychiatrist, it was my intention to address this piece since “they” referred to “mental health professionals.” It seems unlikely that most health professionals would agree that stress (internal or from the environment) or sleep abnormalities do not play a role in contributing to mental illness or suicide.

Then, I came across a truly brave and vulnerable account of one student’s experience and that teen said it all! The story is a reminder of the strengths in our midst, some of the contributors to great distress, and subsequent hope and health moving forward. The teenager shared how stress in the family, school and social life eventually led to serious suicidal thoughts. Environmental stressors can absolutely contribute to mental disorder and are one of the first things medical professionals look for when trying to understand how to best help someone struggling with disease. Stress causes the brain to release chemicals that drive a person to fight or flee the perceived problem. This can be life saving in the short term. The hormones can help a person perform well at certain things, such as getting through the SAT on time. These stress hormones make a person hyper-alert, ready for action, feeling less need for sleep or food, and more resistant to infections. But if the stressors are chronic or overemphasized as a danger in one’s mind, the person’s health deteriorates. Chronic stress affects many parts of the body, contributing to diseases, increased infection and mental illness. For the teen in this story, chronic stress kept them focused on fleeing the perceived threat. This fleeing was, for awhile, equated in their mind with dying

to escape. The teen noted that stress affected sleep and attitude. Sleep abnormalities are intricately connected with stress and mood. Stress hormones can make it difficult to fall asleep even when one is quite tired. The combination of high stress hormones and sleep deprivation can impair rational thinking and cause depressed or irritable moods. Our brains can become hyper-focused and narrow-minded in the choices for dealing with stress — or react impulsively without being able to analyze the consequences of the action. Teens are more susceptible to this as their brains are not fully developed in the executive functioning areas, the frontal lobes. This means they are less able to stop and think, prioritize solutions and plan before acting. It also means they can have more intense emotions, react more quickly and jump to conclusions more readily than adults. That can be useful or dangerous. With lowered sleep, the frontal lobe functions even less well, impacting mood. In fact, two recent studies of thousands of teens showed those who slept seven hours or less a night and did not meet criteria for depression still had a two-fold increased risk of suicide compared to teens with normal sleep habits. Another study published this past month is the first of its kind to

show smartphone usage causes increased disruption in teens’ sleep and repeats what others have found: that electronic devices can be connected to sleep difficulties, which in turn were related to depressive symptoms. For people with anxiety, depression and many other psychiatric conditions, sleep abnormalities are a common thread in the cluster of symptoms used to define disease. Like hypertension, which warns of the risk of heart disease and stroke, sleep problems can warn of the risk of mental disorders. Further, if hypertension or sleep problems go untreated, the health of the person is at risk. Part of our teen’s story referenced another student whose family courageously stepped out of their grief to share that their son was living with depression and despite help had been unable to conquer it, taking his own life. Severe cases of clinical depression are rare before puberty, but there is a drastic increase in the disease so that nearly 20 percent of the population has experienced a depressive episode when turning 18 years old. The co-morbidity of depression and sleep disorders in adolescence is very high, with 73 percent of depressed teens suffering from a sleep disorder. In fact, a large meta-analysis in 2014 (continued on next page)


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