dday ay f r o mhe l€¦ · william s. johnson (223-6505) editorial editor jocelyn dong (223-6514)...

Upfront DuBois, Burt to lead Palo Alto council Page 5

Upfront State plans for next round of vaccinations Page 7

Eating Out Nonprofit connects farmers to residents Page 22

w w w.Pa l oA l t oOn l i n e .c om

Palo Alto New policy blocks

public from tuning in to police scanners

Page 5

Pulse 17 Spectrum 18 Arts 19 Living Well 24Donate to the HOLIDAY FUND page 14

Vol. XLII, Number 13 January 8, 2021

lawmakers rebukelawmakers rebukeAfter riots, After riots,

presidentpresidentPage 5Page 5

‘A DAYDAYFROM

HELL’

• January 8, 2021 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com

U.S. News & World Report recognizes Stanford Health Care among the top

hospitals in the nation. Ranking based on quality and patient safety.

Stanford Health Care is here for you. Even during shelter-in-place,

we remain open and are taking every precaution to keep you safe.

To protect your health, we are:

• Screening both staff and patients for COVID-19

• Requiring and providing masking for all

• Offering “touchless” check-in/check-out with your MyHealth account

• Limiting the number of patients inside to allow for physical distancing

• Ensuring separate screening areas for symptomatic patients

Don’t delay your care. Appointments are available at our locations

across the Bay Area and remotely by video visit.

To learn more, visit: stanfordhealthcare.org/resumingcare

dependablehealth care in uncertain times

COVID19_RC-DependableCare_PAW_MPA_LATC_10x13_AD_v6.indd 1 12/17/2020 8:11:15 AM

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • January 8, 2021 •

Juliana LeeMBA/LL.B Certified Residential Specialist

李文房地產做的最好

[email protected] | julianalee.comJLEE REALTY

Call Juliana Lee and receive more

$5,250,000 - PRESTIGIOUS CRESCENT PARK HOME

SOLD WITH 0% LISTING COMMISSIONJulianaLee.com/receive-more

Saturday 1/9/21 from 1:00-1:30PM (ENGLISH)�|�Sunday 1/10/21 from 1:00-1:30PM (CHINESE)

To attend the webinar, please RSVP at JulianaLee.com/paw

JULIANA LEE FOUNDATION

4260 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

好re

Giving Back to the CommunityGiving Back to the Community

REAL ESTATE WEBINAR: 2021 MARKET FORECAST

DRE# 00851314, DRE# 02103053

• January 8, 2021 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com Each office is independently owned and operated.

Noelle Queen650.427.9211

[email protected]

Lic. #01917593

Michael Dreyfus650.485.3476

[email protected]

Lic. #01121795

Diamond B Ranch, Lake County±1,183.7 acres · Offered at $23,000,000

Ranch with 18 acres of planted biodynamic vineyard, traditional three-story log home, newly built

hospitality center, four ranch homes, an equestrian center with indoor and outdoor riding arenas, and

several barns and outbuildings. A rare opportunity to live safely and independently away from it all.

Easily operate the ranch, vineyard and equestrian facilities commercially.

RanchDiamondB.com

1928 Cowper Street, Palo AltoHome ±1,913 sf · Lot ±10,332 sf · Offered at $5,495,000

4-bedroom, 2-bathroom California Colonial Revival style cottage in a premier location.

1928Cowper.Dreyfus.Group


T om DuBois, a steadfast member of the Palo Alto City Council’s “residen-

tialist” majority, and Pat Burt, a political veteran coming off an emphatic election win, will lead the council this year as mayor and vice mayor, respectively.

In a ceremonial meeting that reflected the council’s shifting

power dynamics in the aftermath of the November election, the council unanimously selected Du-Bois to be its mayor for the com-ing year. The result was largely preordained, given the council’s long-established practice of ele-vating the prior year’s vice mayor to the mayoral chair.

Burt’s election, by contrast,

followed one of the most com-petitive races for the vice mayor position in recent years. A politi-cal centrist who received the most votes in the November election, the former two-time mayor edged out council members Alison Cor-mack and Lydia Kou after two rounds of voting.

Ultimately, Burt’s nomination

advanced by a 4-3 vote, with Burt joining DuBois and council mem-bers Eric Filseth and Greer Stone. The swing vote was Filseth, who had nominated Cormack for vice mayor and who supported her candidacy in the first round of the vote. After none of the three can-didates received the needed four votes, Filseth threw his vote to Burt, giving him the victory.

Council members Greg Tanaka and Lydia Kou voted for Kou in both rounds, while Filseth and Cormack had each supported Cormack’s nomination in the first round of the vote.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Police radio no longer

publicCity: Encrypted radio

complies with new state order

by Gennady Sheyner

I n a sudden move that will severely limit the abil-ity of journalists and citizen

watchdogs to know about crimes as they are happening in local neighborhoods, the Palo Alto Po-lice Department began encrypt-ing all of its police radio com-munications Tuesday afternoon.

The policy change, which was adopted with no forewarning and without any direction from the City Council, is intended to bring the city into compliance with a requirement that the California Department of Justice enacted last October, according to the city.

Under this requirement, police agencies must protect personally identifiable information from state and federal databases from being broadcast on an open radio frequency. This includes such information as an individual’s name, driver’s license number, Social Security number and passport number. They are also required to restrict the release of “criminal justice information,” including an individual’s criminal history, through an open channel.

The state order allows cities to meet the requirement in one of two ways. An agency can estab-lish policies that restrict the dis-semination of personally identifi-able while still transmitting other information through an open fre-quency. Or it can take a more re-strictive approach and encrypt all

(continued on page 13)

After rioters overrun Capitol, lawmakers rebuke president

L ocked in a windowless room in an undisclosed place, U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo Wednes-

day evening called the five-plus hours she spent hiding from mobs of President Donald Trump sup-porters who stormed the nation’s Capitol building the worst day of

her life in politics.“I think it’s been a day from hell

for everyone who’s here and across the country,” she said on a phone call from Washington, D.C., where she was still in lockdown.

“This is the tabernacle of our democracy. To see a mob break

through, break windows. ... It real-ly leaves one so shaken,” she said.

The country has never experi-enced such an extraordinary event as the takeover of its congressional halls by a citizen mob seeking to overturn the election of a presi-dent. The last time the government was attacked in such a manner was in the 1800s when a foreign pow-er attacked the White House, she said. (During the War of 1812, the British Army raided and set fire to

the White House, the Capitol and other structures in D.C.)

Eshoo said she was walking from her office through a tunnel to the House chamber when a mob breached the building. She was headed to the gallery to observe the proceedings, as only those who were speakers were allowed on the floor due to COVID-19 protocols.

Capitol police came running to-ward her.

“They said, ‘Turn around! Turn

around! Go back! Go back!’” she said.

She had not been allowed to re-turn to her office in the Cannon Building, one of two buildings that had been evacuated, as of Wednes-day evening, she said, but she was with other people.

When she came to work, she thought the security seemed “to-tally inadequate.” There didn’t


Eshoo: Mob violated ‘the tabernacle of our democracy’

by Sue Dremann

CITY HALL

DuBois and Burt tapped to lead Palo AltoCouncil’s picks for mayor, vice mayor reflect

new political dynamics after Election Dayby Gennady Sheyner


A feast fit for a kingA great egret wades in the tide looking for water crustaceans to snack on at the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve during a king tide on Jan. 12, 2020. King tides, which are the highest and lowest tides that occur a few times each year, will be visible at the Palo Alto Baylands on Jan. 11 and 12. Environmental Volunteers is hosting an online program to explore king tides on Jan. 9 at 11 a.m. For more information, go to evols.org.

Ma

ga

li Ga

uth

ier

UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis


450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306

(650) 326-8210

The Palo Alto Weekly (ISSN 0199-1159) is published every Friday by Embarcadero Media, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306, (650) 326-8210. Periodicals postage paid at Palo Alto, CA and additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for Santa Clara County. The Palo Alto Weekly is delivered to homes in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley, East Palo Alto, to faculty and staff households on the Stanford campus and to portions of Los Altos Hills. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Palo Alto Weekly, 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306. ©2021 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited. The Palo Alto Weekly is available on the Internet via Palo Alto Online at: www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Our email addresses are: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

Missed delivery or start/stop your paper? Email [email protected]. You may also subscribe online at PaloAltoOnline.com. Subscriptions are $120/yr.

Become a Paid Subscriber for as low

as $5 per monthSign up online at

www.PaloAltoOnline.com/join

PUBLISHER

William S. Johnson (223-6505)

EDITORIAL

Editor Jocelyn Dong (223-6514)

Associate Editor Linda Taaffe (223-6511)

Sports Editor Rick Eymer (223-6516)

Arts & Entertainment Editor Karla Kane (223-6517)

Home & Real Estate Editor

Heather Zimmerman (223-6515)

Express & Digital Editor Jamey Padojino

(223-6524)

Staff Writers Sue Dremann (223-6518), Elena

Kadvany (223-6519), Gennady Sheyner (223-6513)

Chief Visual Journalist Magali Gauthier (223-6530)

Visual Journalist Intern Olivia Treynor

Editorial Assistant/Intern Coordinator

Lloyd Lee (223-6526)

Contributors Chrissi Angeles, Mike Berry,

Carol Blitzer, Peter Canavese, Edward Gerard Fike,

Yoshi Kato, Chris Kenrick, Jack McKinnon,

Sheryl Nonnenberg, John Orr, Monica Schreiber,

Jay Thorwaldson

ADVERTISING

Vice President Sales & Marketing

Tom Zahiralis (223-6570)

Multimedia Advertising Sales

Elaine Clark (223-6572), Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571)

Real Estate Advertising Sales

Neal Fine (223-6583), Rosemary Lewkowitz

(223-6585)

Legal Advertising Alicia Santillan (223-6578)

ADVERTISING SERVICES

Advertising Services Manager

Kevin Legarda (223-6597)

Sales & Production Coordinator

Diane Martin (223-6584)

DESIGN

Design & Production Manager

Kristin Brown (223-6562)

Senior Designers Linda Atilano, Paul Llewellyn

Designers Kevin Legnon, Amy Levine,

Douglas Young

BUSINESS

Assistant Business Manager

Gwen Fischer (223-6575)

Business Associates

Nico Navarrete (223-6582), Suzanne Ogawa

(223-6543)

ADMINISTRATION

Courier Ruben Espinoza

EMBARCADERO MEDIA

President William S. Johnson (223-6505)

Vice President Michael I. Naar (223-6540)

Vice President & CFO Peter Beller (223-6545)

Vice President Sales & Marketing

Tom Zahiralis (223-6570)

Director, Information Technology & Webmaster

Frank A. Bravo (223-6551)

Director of Marketing and Audience

Development Emily Freeman (223-6560)

Major Accounts Sales Manager

Connie Jo Cotton (223-6571)

Circulation Assistant Alicia Santillan

Computer System Associates Chris Planessi,

Mike Schmidt

Upfront

OUR SPONSORS

Erin BrockovichFebruary 23

Michael MannMarch 9

José AndrésApril 6

LEARN MORE AND BUY YOUR TICKET FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES AT: OPENSPACETRUST.ORG/LECTURES

THE PATH FORWARDJoin us for a virtual speaker series addressing the social

and environmental issues we’re confronting today.

Dolores Huerta & Luis ValdezJanuary 26

FREE

NEW YEAR’S BABY ... Stanford Children’s Health welcomed seven babies on Jan. 1 — the first being Jalen Ramos, who entered the world at 1:53 a.m. Born at 5 pounds and 2 ounces, the newborn arrived earlier than Leigh Santiago and Andrew Ramos expected. The first-time parents checked in for an induction on Dec. 31 and Santiago was given medication that afternoon. Her contractions built up during the day and, after a brief nap, she woke up to her water breaking at 11 p.m. She was provided an epidural and moved to the delivery room where Jalen was born in less than five minutes. The family of three is doing well back at home in San Bruno. “We didn’t expect the birth to go that fast. We expected him to come in the middle of the day on New Year’s Day,” Santiago said. “He has an excuse every year now to stay up until midnight with us.”

IN TRIBUTE ... Palo Alto firefighter John Preston continued his mission to raise suicide prevention awareness among first responders and veterans this week. Preston, who supported the cause with a 625-mile walk last year from Palo Alto to San Diego, embarked on a 50-kilometer walk (roughly 31 miles) in the east bay this week. The 24-hour journey that began on Jan. 3 at 8:30 a.m. honored two emergency responders who died by suicide: Ed Smith III, a retired Alameda firefighter of over 30 years, and Eric Mikel, an Alameda County firefighter. Smith’s son, Barney Smith, who had joined Preston for last year’s trek, wanted to honor his late father on the anniversary of his death with a hike that spanned his regular work commute from Livermore to Alameda. When Barney Smith suffered a back injury and nearly canceled the hike, Preston and the

younger Smith’s friend decided to move forward with the journey that crossed through downtowns and well-traveled streets while carrying Smith’s and Mikel’s fire helmets. They covered 22 miles in about 11 hours on the first day, meeting firefighters and Smith’s and Mikel’s loved ones along the way. Crews also followed the route on their fire rigs. They spent the night in Castro Valley and continued their walk at 4 a.m. the next day. Despite some rain, the group made it to Alameda by 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, ending the hike at Fire Station 4, where the elder Smith previously worked. “This gives people an opportunity to heal and heal in a way that they’re getting the message out to help others. It was such a blessed day,” said Preston, a Marine Corps veteran. The public can honor Smith and Mikel by doing their own 50K and logging their journey on sweattracker.com/Registration/Race/FirstResponderMemRun.

GIVING SHELTER ... The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System ended 2020 on a high note. On top of administering the first COVID-19 vaccine doses in the region (thanks to specialized freezers it had to keep them at a stable temperature), it was one of 12 groups that will have a new Fisher House, a temporary housing site for families and caregivers of veterans and active duty members under the VA’s care. “This is another great example of our commitment to the needs of our veterans and their families. We could not be prouder to be selected,” VA Palo Alto Director Thomas Fitzgerald said in a Dec. 14 statement. The VA system currently has two Fisher Houses — one with 21 rooms and another with 20 rooms. The facility includes a common kitchen area, laundry machines and a living room that features a library and toys, according to a press release. The house also is handicapped-accessible and equipped with elevators. The homes built through the Fisher House Foundation were donated to the VA, which handles operation, maintenance, upkeep and staffing of the facilities. There’s currently no timeline for when the VA Palo Alto’s new Fisher House will be completed.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Around Town

I think it’s been a day from hell for everyone who’s here and across the country.

—Anna Eshoo, a member of the U.S. Congress, on rioters storming the Capitol building. See story on page 5.

Co

urte

sy Sta

nfo

rd C

hild

ren

’s He

alth

VERY REALLOCAL NEWS #PressOn

Print or online subscription starts at only $5 /month

Visit: PaloAltoOnline.com/join


Upfront

T he next tier of COVID-19 vaccines, Phase 1B Tier 1, could come “very soon, as

supply increases over the next few weeks,” Dr. Robert Schechter, co-chair of California’s Drafting Guidelines Workgroup, said on Wednesday, Jan. 6.

Schechter made the statement, somewhat reluctantly, during a meeting of the Community Vac-cine Advisory Committee after being pressed to provide a more definitive estimate for when the next phase of vaccines might roll out. But before that happens, front-line health care workers and residents at long-term care facilities who are in the Phase 1A groups will need to have com-pleted their vaccinations, which require two injections about three weeks apart. The state has admin-istered only about one third of the 1.3 million vaccines it has as of Jan. 3, Gov. Gavin Newson said.

Looking forward, the Drafting Guidelines Workgroup and the Community Vaccine Advisory

Committee are preparing for who will receive the shots and how to make sure they are administered equitably. They face a dizzying array of research, decisions and logistics that must be adjusted to each new group as the vaccines roll out.

The next phase, 1B, would be split into two tiers. Tier 1 would focus on people ages 75 and older, and workers in education, child-care, emergency services, food and agriculture. Phase 1B Tier 2 would include older adults ages 65-plus; workers in transporta-tion and logistics; industrial, resi-dential and commercial shelter-ing facilities and services; critical manufacturing; incarcerated indi-viduals and homeless people.

A third group, Phase 1C, would include people ages 50 and older, 16- to 49-year-olds with under-lying medical conditions and/or a disability; workers in water and waste management; defense; energy; communication and IT; financial services; chemicals

and hazardous materials; govern-ment operations and community service.

Who is eligible for the vaccines within each sector is long and complicated. Among essential workers, personal care assistants and attendants are in the health care sector and qualify for vac-cines under Phase 1A, the same phase as physicians. Farmwork-ers qualify under Phase 1B, Tier 1, under the food and agriculture sector, an essential need. Food and agriculture sector includes production, processing, and de-livery systems that feed people and animals in the United States and overseas and also those who import many ingredients and fin-ished products, a complex web of growers, processors, suppliers, transporters, distributors, and consumers.

“This sector is critical to main-taining and securing our food supply,” the state explained on its webpage of essential critical in-frastructure workforce, covid19.

ca.gov/essential-workforce. The California Department of Public Health also has posted sub-pri-orities within each tier at tinyurl.com/y4s953e5.

But there are also consider-ations for equity. Throughout the vaccine advisory committee’s meeting, participants emphasized the importance of ensuring the vaccines are distributed to vul-nerable communities of color. The committee is considering ways to measure the vaccination rates by potentially comparing the percent of the eligible popu-lation vaccinated in vulnerable communities to the percent vac-cinated in less vulnerable com-munities within counties, using the California Healthy Places Index, an online resource that displays community conditions

that predict life expectancy and influence health.

Launched by the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, the index also has an interactive COVID-19 resource map. The map compares characteristics of vulnerable populations by race, ethnicity and health factors in-cluding environmental exposure to COVID-19 impacts within counties. It can be used to iden-tify which populations might need more targeted vaccinations or be prioritized.

As of Jan. 6, Santa Clara County had disproportionately high death rates among Black, Latino and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Island-ers per 100,000 population, the map shows. In San Mateo County,

Next COVID-19 vaccine phase rollout could come in weeks

Phase 1B would cover seniors age 75 and older and many other essential workers

by Sue Dremann

PUBLIC HEALTH

The next phase of COVID-19 vaccinations could roll out soon, according to Dr. Robert Schechter, co-chair of California’s Drafting Guidelines Workgroup.

Co

urte

sy © B

ioN

Tech

SE

20

20

, all rig

hts re

serv

ed

F or years, Palo Alto’s elected officials have complained about the lack of represen-

tation that they and their counter-parts across the county’s northern section have on the board of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, an agency whose bus-es serve Palo Alto but which has been long dominated by San Jose.

Now, with the city set to gain a seat on the VTA board of direc-tors, City Council members find themselves at odds over a different matter: Whom to appoint?

The question appeared to have been answered on Oct. 26, when the council unanimously voted to nominate Alison Cormack to rep-resent on the VTA board the group of north county cities that includes Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos Hills and Los Altos. Known as Group 2, the loose coalition is one of six in the transit agency’s governance structure. Under the VTA’s bylaws, the northern group is entitled to one board member and one alternate. By contrast, Group 1, which includes San Jose, has five board members and one alternate.

Within Group 2, nominations

have traditionally been low-key affairs. Cities have long operated on a rotational basis, with each city taking its turn in filling the positions of board member and alternate on the VTA board. Over the past year, the group was rep-resented by Mountain View City Council member John McAlister, with then-City Council member Liz Kniss of Palo Alto serving as an alternate.

But while Palo Alto remains in the driver’s seat when it comes to getting one of its council members elected to the VTA board, Cor-mack’s candidacy is no longer as assured as it was in October. The two council members who cham-pioned her nomination, Kniss and Adrian Fine, concluded their re-spective council terms last week. Unlike in October, the council’s residentialist faction now wields political control. And political vet-eran Pat Burt is now back on the council and is apparently poised to challenge Cormack for the nomi-nation on the transportation board.

The political shift in Palo Alto has already complicated what is typically a predictable — if opaque — process for choosing a

VTA representative from Group 2. Last week, then-Vice Mayor Tom DuBois surprised the elected officials in the northern group when he asked them to delay its appointment of Cormack to the VTA and to give Palo Alto more time to come up with an additional nominee.

At the same time, Los Altos Hills used the Dec. 29 meeting of Group 2 members to request some time to present its own nominee for the VTA board, McAlister told the Weekly after the meeting. Howev-er, Los Altos Hills has not formally participated in the VTA group for the past two years and does not ap-pear to have any council members who could be qualified nominees, said McAlister, who chairs the cit-ies group and who represents it on the VTA board.

A secretive processThe debate reopens an issue

that the Palo Alto council had seemingly settled on Oct. 26.

“As the council well knows, VTA issues are very important to Palo Alto and require diligent engagement and coordination

with our neighboring cities,” Fine wrote in a memo. “We look for-ward to our colleagues’ support and thank Council member Cor-mack for her willingness to shoul-der this responsibility.”

The council approved Cor-mack’s nomination on its “consent calendar,” with no discussion or objections, making her an appar-ent shoo-in for the VTA board until DuBois, who now serves as mayor, started to have second thoughts about the process. He briefly appeared at the beginning of the Dec. 29 meeting of elected officials from VTA Group 2 to re-quest an opportunity to nominate a second candidate.

Because Fine, Kniss and Cor-mack were already present at the virtual meeting, DuBois was asked to leave to avoid violating the Brown Act, which prohibits more than three council members

representing the same city from attending nonpublicized meetings at which policy is being consid-ered. DuBois also submitted a letter to the group, arguing that it should postpone to January its decision on whom to select as a VTA nominee and give the Palo Alto council a chance to consider an additional candidate.

DuBois argued that the council was not aware in October that it had the prerogative to nominate newly elected council members or two candidates. DuBois also not-ed that with Kniss and Fine leav-ing the council on Dec. 31, “They are not representing the interests of the council in 2021 and 2022.”

In his prepared comments for the Dec. 29 meeting, DuBois also questioned whether it’s ap-propriate, or even legal, for the

Politics cast a cloud over Palo Alto’s representation on the VTA

Nomination of council member Alison Cormack delayed as cities request additional candidates

by Gennady Sheyner

TRANSPORTATION

Two Palo Alto council members are vying for a seat on the VTA board of directors. The agency provides bus services throughout Santa Clara County.

File

Ph

oto

/Mich

elle

Le




Upfront

F resh off his reelection to the Palo Alto City Coun-cil, Greg Tanaka is eyeing

a new venture: a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The College Terrace resident, who finished third in the 10-candidate race for the council on Nov. 3, last month filed a statement of candidacy form with the Federal Elec-tion Commission, signaling that he is looking to run for the 18th District seat long occupied by Rep. Anna Eshoo. With the Dec. 18 filing, Tanaka indicated that he plans to form the campaign com-mittee “Greg Tanaka for Con-gress” for the 2022 election.

Along with a new campaign, Tanaka is also crafting a new image. On the same day that he filed his candidacy statement, Tanaka published a story in the

Los Angeles-based Japanese pa-per, Rafu Shinbun, celebrating his reelection to the Palo Alto council and portraying himself as a grass-roots candidate who persevered in the crowded race despite being heavily outspent by his opponents. In fact, he raised about $90,000 for his campaign, far more than any of his nine opponents, with the vast majority of the cash com-ing from developers and builders.

Tanaka also wrote in the self-published story that as a can-didate, he was vying with two competing slates, “the newcomer slate” and the “residentialist” slate, which collectively raised a reported $330,000. While the race included two loose groupings — with the political group Palo Al-tans for Sensible Zoning group endorsing three slow-growth candidates and the California Democratic Party involving three progressive candidates — there were no formal slates. Much like Tanaka, the top vote-getter, Pat Burt, didn’t get an endorsement from either group. The other two

candidates to win election, Lydia Kou and Greer Stone, were also heavily outspent by Tanaka.

In commenting on the 2020 election, Tanaka wrote that Palo Alto sets “the high bar for a small city with its cutthroat election tac-tics and fundraising.”

“The long-standing struggle be-tween ‘pro-housing’ and ‘residen-tialists’ has increased fundrais-ing competition during the past several elections,” wrote Tanaka, who has consistently voted the “pro-housing” faction on land-use issues.

Tanaka, a registered Democrat, did not respond to repeated re-quests for an interview over the past several weeks. But his cam-paign manager, southern Cali-fornia-based entrepreneur Bobby Borisov, said that while Tanaka’s decision has not been finalized, it is “gaining traction.”

“It’s almost final. We’re going at it 100% and we’re already spend-ing time and effort,” Borisov told

Here for you. Or over there for you.In-person or virtual visits at

Peninsula Pediatric Medical Groupgenpeds.stanfordchildrens.org

Fresh off council reelection, Tanaka looks to challenge for Congress seat

Palo Alto fiscal hawk prepares a bid for the Silicon Valley seat long held by Anna Eshoo

by Gennady Sheyner

POLITICS

Greg Tanaka


C ollege Terrace Centre, home to a new grocery store that opened last

week, Real Produce Interna-tional Market, was sold to an unnamed “global investment company,” according to a press release from property owners Blox Ventures LLC and Angelo Gordon.

While the price tag of the sale was not disclosed, a report by the Silicon Valley Business Journal estimated that the prop-erty was purchased at more than $100 million.

Investment firms Blox Ven-tures and Angelo Gordon pur-chased the property for $78.5 million in June 2018, a year after construction was completed. Its previous owner was Greystone Property Development.

At the time of the purchase, Jason Oberman, CEO of Blox Ventures, said in an email that their goals for the center were to bring in a solid anchor tenant and a grocer and to make cos-metic improvements.

With a new grocer now at the center, Oberman said his firm “felt it was time to dispose of the property in order to focus on our next project.”

Anchored by the First Repub-lic Bank’s regional office, the mixed-use property on 2100 El Camino is situated next to Stanford University and about a half-mile away from the Cali-fornia Avenue Caltrain station.

Despite its prime location,

the 57,900-square-foot develop-ment has drawn scrutiny from local residents and city leaders for its inability to retain a viable grocery store — a requirement the City Council made in 2009 in exchange for favorable zon-ing changes.

When Blox Ventures bought the property, it faced a dilem-ma: fill the vacancy with a new grocery store or be hit with a $2,240 daily fine. Despite the challenges, Oberman said his firm was confident in the in-vestment, given the tech indus-try and Stanford University’s presence in the area.

“We never expect a project to be seamless, so we stayed fo-cused on the positive outcome,” Oberman said.

The first two grocers, Khoury’s Market and College Terrace Market, opened and closed within two years, mak-ing Real Produce International Market the center’s third. Own-ers of the previous markets cited lack of visibility for their stores, among other reasons, for leav-ing the property.

The center also includes eight below-market-rate housing units and a mix of businesses.

Blox Ventures lists 530 Lytton Ave. in Palo Alto and 2100 Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park as its “current projects” on its website.

Editorial Assistant Lloyd Lee can be emailed at [email protected].

College Terrace Centre sold to new investor

Development has seen high turnover in grocery stores since 2017 opening

by Lloyd Lee

BUSINESS

College Terrace Centre, located at 2100 El Camino Real, has been sold to an unnamed investment company. The announcement comes a week after the center saw the long-awaited opening of a new grocery store.

File

Ph

oto

/ Ve

ron

ica W

eb

er

VERY REALLOCAL NEWS #PressOn

Print or online subscription starts at only $5 /month

Visit: PaloAltoOnline.com/join


Upfront

A coalition of employees working for Google parent company Alphabet and its

subsidiaries announced Monday that they have launched a union to push back against “unethical” decisions made by the company that run contrary to the views of its workers.

The Alphabet Workers Union (AWU) is the first labor group to be open to all Alphabet employ-ees — with software engineers making up a large part of its founding membership — and is the culmination of long-standing grievances between Google and its staff that have boiled over in recent years. Union members say that Google has strayed from its original “don’t be evil” mantra, and that the company must be held to account.

“The Alphabet Workers Union will be the structure that ensures workers can actively push for real changes at the company, from the kinds of contracts the company accepts to employee classification

to wage and compensation issues,” the group said in a statement.

In an op-ed in the New York Times, AWU founders Chewy Shaw and Parul Koul wrote that Google and other Alphabet sub-sidiaries have repeatedly ignored growing concerns among rank-and-file employees. They point to Project Maven, in which Google worked with the U.S. Depart-ment of Defense on artificial in-telligence that could be used in drone strikes, as well as efforts to develop a censored search engine in China — both of which were actively opposed by Google’s own tech workers.

Adding fuel to the fire, it was revealed in 2018 that the company had quietly paid out $90 million to former Google executive Andy Ru-bin amid allegations of sexual mis-conduct, prompting emotionally charged protests demanding a bet-ter response to sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. Hun-dreds of employees at the “walk out” in Mountain View called for

more transparency, a better report-ing process and an end to forced arbitration that compels employees to waive their right to sue.

More recently, Google research-er Timnit Gebru was reportedly

WINTER SALE

JANUARY 3RD THROUGH JANUARY 30TH

• 650.326.8583 •

• •

DISCOVER THE SCANDIA DOWN DIFFERENCE

Upset with Google’s leadership, tech workers launch union

Alphabet Workers Union membership includes staff at Waymo, Verily, Fitbitby Kevin Forestieri

BUSINESS

City Council (Jan. 4)Mayor: The council elected Tom DuBois as the city mayor for 2021. Yes: UnanimousVice Mayor: The council elected Pat Burt as its vice mayor after two rounds of voting. For Burt: Burt, DuBois, Filseth, Stone For Kou: Kou, Tanaka For Cormack: CormackResolutions: The council approved resolutions of appreciation for former council members Adrian Fine and Liz Kniss. Yes: Unanimous Utilities Advisory Commission (Jan. 6)Electrification: The commission discussed the impacts of electrification on gas rates. Action: NoneEmissions: The commission discussed the lifecycle emissions of electricity, gas and natural gas consumed in Palo Alto. Action: None

CityViewA round-up of Palo Alto government action this week

LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com/square

Google employees in 2018 walked out over the company’s handling of sexual misconduct. Employees of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced this week that they have formed a union.

Na

talia

Na

zaro

va

forced to quit after she co-pub-lished a paper criticizing racial bias baked into the development of artificial intelligence systems, which she was asked to retract by company officials. Google CEO Sundar Pichai has since apolo-gized for the way Gebru’s depar-ture was handled.

The latest dust-up revived dec-adelong concerns that Google has failed to hire enough women and underrepresented minorities into its workforce, which could be a contributing factor in racial bias.

The AWU encompasses not only tech workers and full-time employees but the entire 120,000-person workplace of contractors, vendors and tempo-rary staff working in all capacities for Alphabet, including Waymo, Verily and Fitbit.

Google employee JP Sugar-broad, who works for Android security in Seattle, said unioniz-ing efforts have been underway for quite some time, but only re-cently reached the point where it felt safe to go public. Though the AWU started with about 200 members, the organization has swiftly grown since the Monday morning announcement, he said.

For Sugarbroad, his concerns with the company leadership date back to 2011, when Google an-nounced a controversial policy that required all Google Plus us-ers to sign up for the service using their real names, banning the use of nicknames and pseudonyms.

Employees knew it would be a harmful policy, he said, yet they were ignored.

“I wasn’t sure if we were still the company that does the right thing,” Sugarbroad said. “Are we still the company that tries not to be evil?”

Since then, the stakes have been raised. Engineers working on ma-chine learning could very well see their work used to assist repressive governments or be repurposed by the U.S. government to patrol the southern border, Sugarbroad said, and yet the employees have no say in these decisions.

“We are here to make the world a better place,” he said. “We might sell our work because everyone has to make a living, but we are not going to sell our souls.”

When asked for comment, Google’s Director of People Op-erations Kara Silverstein said in a statement that the company will respect the rights of employees to organize.

“We’ve always worked hard to create a supportive and rewarding workplace for our workforce. Of course our employees have pro-tected labor rights that we sup-port. But as we’ve always done, we’ll continue engaging directly with all our employees,” she said.

But the company’s track record with union organizing has been spotty. In 2019, Google hired an outside firm — IRI Consultants



Keep up the great work, Palo Alto Online staff!

We’re terribly belated in subscribing, having lived

here 15 years, but while I’ve always appreciated

your newspaper, we became truly dependent

upon it earlier this year, only then realizing what

a precious local resource it is. I commend you.

- Alan Z.

Will you join the thousands of others supporting local journalism?

Now’s your moment to step up when we need you the most.

Subscribe now at PaloAltoOnline.com/join

You can also subscribe for one year by mailing a check for $120 ($60 for seniors and students) to us at 450 Cambridge Ave., Palo Alto 94306.

WHY SUPPORT

LOCAL LOCAL JOURNALISM? JOURNALISM?

Our subscribing members say it best...

“

”


Upfront

Man exposes himself to girl on bike rideA girl riding her bicycle found herself faced with a man who

exposed himself from a car on Sunday afternoon in Palo Alto’s Palo Verde neighborhood, police said.

The indecent exposure incident in the 800 block of Driftwood Drive was reported to police dispatch shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 3, police said in a press release on Monday.

Police learned that a 12-year-old girl was on her bicycle some-time between 3 and 4 p.m. when she stopped as soon as a driver pulled up next to her and asked for directions. The girl looked inside the car where she discovered the man had his genitals ex-posed and was touching himself, according to police. Once the man opened the door and appeared to exit the vehicle, she rode away.

He briefly followed her from behind the wheel, then left the area when a family walked by, police said.

The man is described as a Hispanic man in his 30s and bald or with “extremely close-cropped hair,” police said. He wore a light-colored denim jacket, dark denim pants and large silver sunglasses.

The vehicle was a newer silver Toyota sedan, potentially a Cam-ry. The girl told police that the car’s license plate included the letter “H,” according to police.

Anyone with information about Sunday’s indecent exposure is asked to call the department’s 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

—Palo Alto Weekly staffCounty cracks down on unemployment fraud

The loss of millions of dollars in unemployment benefits that allegedly went to jail inmates across the state, including in Santa Clara County, has prompted the District Attorney’s Office to initi-ate a crackdown, the office announced Tuesday.

The significant rise in unemployment benefits fraud throughout the state became apparent because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state has been bombarded by unemployment claims as people have sought relief after being unable to work, Supervising Deputy District Attorney Charlotte Chang said by phone on Jan. 5.

One case in the county involves defrauding the state Employ-ment Development Department (EDD) out of approximately $12 million. The District Attorney’s Office is still investigating whether there is a link to inmates in jail, Chang said.

“Anyone who is incarcerated is not entitled to receive EDD payments,” Chang said.

Investigators allege that individuals inside the jails provided identification to accomplices on the outside. The accomplices then submitted an EDD application on the inmate’s behalf. To avoid alerting the state agency that the applicant is in jail or pris-on, the accomplice receives and transfers benefit payments back to the inmate through inmate jail accounts.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said he has created a team to clamp down on the problem. The county has joined other elected district attorneys in a statewide EDD Fraud Task Force to work with law enforcement partners to combat the massive fraud.

— Sue DremannCounty launches loan program for small businesses

Santa Clara County small businesses have a new lifeline to ring in 2021 — a low-interest loan program of up to $100,000 now avail-able for qualifying establishments.

The loan program, proposed by county Supervisors Joe Simitian and Susan Ellenberg, provides three- or five-year term options with 4.25% interest rates for small businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees.

Qualifying businesses also require revenues of under $2.5 mil-lion in 2019 and at least a 25% reduction in revenues compared to a prior one-year period, among other guidelines.

The program is possible through a partnership with state entity California Rebuilding Fund, which drives capital from private, phil-anthropic and public sector resources to Community Development Financial Institutions to facilitate loans to local small businesses.

In December, the county invested $6 million in the fund’s initial $25 million package to provide for the county’s small businesses affected by the pandemic.

Simitian, who said he will push for an additional investment at the Jan. 12 Board of Supervisors meeting, noted that he was drawn to this particular partnership because repayment is “largely guaranteed.”

At least 95% of loans will be returned, regardless of loan perfor-mance, according to Simitian’s office.

To learn more or apply for the Santa Clara County small business loan program, go to connect2capital.com/p/californiarebuilding-fund/caloanfund.org.

—Bay City News

News Digestseem to be many more officers in place than on any other day and she didn’t understand why the pe-rimeter of the Capitol plaza wasn’t closed off, she said.

She said she thought perhaps they would add more security pro-tections later in the morning.

“When I looked at the plaza, I didn’t have a good feeling,” she said. “‘Why isn’t there a full force out there?’” she said she thought.

“I think there was totally inad-equate preparation for this. ... This was a determined, vicious crowd driven by and embracing the lies of the president,” she said.

Eshoo said she hoped Congress would return to their certification proceedings of the presidential election later in the evening. (Con-gress did reconvene on Wednes-day night and certified Biden’s election in the wee hours of Thurs-day morning.)

“I think it’s so important to have the people in our country see that despite the horror of the attack on our democracy. ... We will send a strong message across the coun-try,” she said.

Beyond personal losses such as the deaths of family members, Es-hoo said Wednesday was the sad-dest day of her life.

She had strong words for the president.

“Demonstrators have a Consti-tutional right to protest,” she said. But “(the president) urged them to do more than that. He did damage to not just a building and its room. This is where the representatives of the people speak on their be-half. This is where they govern. ... This is not a window broken in the basement of public works.”

This undertaking started with the president “inciting people. He incited them,” she said.

Calls for impeachmentAsked what actions she thinks

should be taken against Trump, she said, “I would impeach him. I would impeach him in the next 24 hours. He should not be presi-dent. He’s brought our country, he’s brought our democracy to its knees. ... I think he’s a sick, broken individual.”

Eshoo was among hundreds of legislators who fled the House floor as thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol building Wednesday morning as both hous-es of Congress met to certify the Electoral College votes.

Trump had spoken to his follow-ers earlier in the day at a rally and told them to march to the Capitol to protest the election result, which he has claimed against all evidence was fraudulent.

One woman who was shot by Capitol police as she broke into the building has died, according to The Washington Post, which also learned three others died from medical emergencies during the riot.

The National Guard was or-dered to assemble and help restore

order, according to news reports, which said the request was made by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco.

Pelosi tweeted at about 1 p.m. Wednesday that she and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schum-er are jointly calling on Trump “to demand that all protestors leave the U.S. Capitol and Capitol grounds immediately.”

In a televised address, Biden also told Trump to step up and call off the violence.

“Let me be clear: the scenes of chaos at the Capitol do not repre-sent who we are. What we are see-ing is a small number of extremists dedicated to lawlessness. This is not dissent, it’s disorder. It borders on sedition, and it must end. Now,” he said.

He also took his demand to Twit-ter. “I call on President Trump to go on national television now to fulfill his oath and defend the Constitu-tion by demanding an end to this siege,” he wrote.

At about 1:30 p.m. Trump went on television and told people to go home. He insisted repeatedly, how-ever, that the election was stolen.

Rep. Jackie Speier tweeted up-dates to her followers Wednesday afternoon, offering the news that Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had been es-corted out.

“The Capitol has been breached. We are in lockdown. Thank you, POTUS!” she wrote, followed a couple of hours later by, “We are in a safe place. I will have lots more to say about this. We are not a 3rd world country but you couldn’t tell that today.”

She also called for removing Trump from office.

“Trump has given us no choice. The 25th Amendment must be in-voked now. We need to immediate-ly wrest control of the country from him. He is not the commander in chief of the U.S. He is commander of chief of the Trump mob & proud boys. Pence must step up and de-fend our democracy,” she wrote.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said what was being witnessed in the Capi-tol was reprehensible and “an outright assault to our democratic institutions.”

“The people of California have spoken, and our congressional del-egation should never have to fear for their lives to represent Califor-nians,” he said in a statement.

Assemblyman Marc Berman of Menlo Park said in a tweet, “We are watching in real time an at-tempted coup of the American government, and it’s being led by the President of the United States. Shame on all who have embold-ened, coddled, and made excuses for him and his seditious actions. All of them.”

Facebook, Twitter react

On Wednesday afternoon, Face-book announced on Twitter a 24-hour block on Trump’s account to effectively prevent any posts from going up on the president’s official Facebook page, which has 32.5 million followers.

“We’ve assessed two policy vio-lations against President Trump’s Page which will result in a 24-hour feature block, meaning he will lose the ability to post on the platform during that time,” a Twitter post from Facebook Newsroom said.

By Thursday morning, Face-book CEO Mark Zuckerberg ex-tended the block indefinitely.

“The shocking events of the last 24 hours clearly demonstrate that President Donald Trump intends to use his remaining time in office to undermine the peaceful and lawful transition of power to his elected successor, Joe Biden,” Zuckerberg wrote on his Facebook page.

Over the last few years, Face-book has allowed Trump to use the platform consistent with its rules, at times removing content or labeling his posts when they violated the policies. Zuckerberg said they did so because they believe the public has a right to broad access to political, if con-troversial, speech.

“But the current context is now fundamentally different, involving use of our platform to incite vio-lent insurrection against a demo-cratically elected government.

“We believe the risks of allow-ing the President to continue to use our service during this period are simply too great. Therefore, we are extending the block we have placed on his Facebook and Instagram ac-counts indefinitely and for at least the next two weeks until the peace-ful transition of power is complete.”

The action follows a wave of condemnation from Silicon Valley leaders and other moves from tech companies to stop the spread of false information about the elec-tion results and encouragement of violent protests.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Twitter first announced a 12-hour block on @realDonaldTrump, an account with 88.7 million followers that is separate from Trump’s of-ficial government Twitter account, after the social media company re-moved three tweets from the presi-dent, including a video where he told supporters to “go home,” but not before he said he “loved” his supporters and continued to double down on his false claims that the election was stolen from him. (The video has since been removed from YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.)

Citing the company’s “civic integrity policy,” Twitter name-dropped Trump and said in a post that “future violations of the Twit-ter Rules, including our Civic In-tegrity or Violent Threats policies, will result in permanent suspen-sion of the @realDonaldTrump account.”

Staff Writer Lloyd Lee contributed to this story. Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at [email protected].

Capitol(continued from page 5)

About the cover: Supporters of President Donald Trump showed up to a rally he hosted in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6. Many attendees participated in a riot that followed at the Capitol. Courtesy J.M. Giordano.


Upfront

deaths among Native American/Alaskan Native populations sky-rocketed above all other groups per 100,000 of population with Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders and Blacks following, according to the index map.

Determining when to move to another vaccination tier is a

complex web of evaluating prog-ress and the success rate of receiv-ing, planning and coordinating doses, their distribution and ad-ministration, Dr. Eric Sergienko, health officer for the Mariposa County Health and Human Ser-vices Agency, said during the meeting. When to move to anoth-er tier will be determined through feedback from vaccinators. Health officials will ask whether more vaccines are needed for the

current tiers and if there is new de-mand from previous tiers, he said.

“If not, it’s time to think about moving into the next tier,” he said.

Health officials must also co-ordinate with state and adjacent local health jurisdictions, look at obtaining additional doses and coordinate with vaccinators to or-der the new doses, he said.

Health officials also must clear several hurdles with the public to ensure that as many people will be vaccinated as possible. Jake Snow, technology and civil liberties at-torney at the American Civil Lib-erties Union of Northern Califor-nia, noted during the vaccination advisory committee meeting that there were some reports of people being asked to provide their So-cial Security numbers on vaccine paperwork.

“Some people might be hesitant to get the vaccine if they are re-quired to give a Social Security number,” he said.

Health leaders must also work to dispel myths about the vaccines. One participant said she was told that the vaccine would sterilize people (it doesn’t). People also need to understand they will still need to wear masks even after they receive the vaccine as they could carry the virus to others even if they are immune, they said.

Staff Writer Sue Dremann can be emailed at [email protected].

Vaccine(continued from page 7)

VTA group to pick the next board member in a private meeting. Even though the working group is comprised entirely of elected of-ficials discussing public policy, it is not a standing committee but an ad hoc one; the distinction means that it is not bound by California Brown Act rules that require most meetings to be open to the public.

“So then I’d ask myself, what is good governance in this situa-tion?” DuBois’ asked in his pre-pared comments, which he pro-vided to the Weekly.

Members of the cities group agreed that when it comes to nominating a VTA board member, good governance requires secrecy. Fine repeatedly reminded his col-leagues that the working group meeting is not a public meet-ing and insisted that the Weekly reporter who was attending the meeting be disconnected from the meeting. When the reporter de-clined to leave and suggested that an appointment of a VTA board member is a matter of public inter-est, Fine falsely said that the mem-ber has “already been appointed.”

“Can somebody drop him off please?” Fine then asked, at which point McAlister disconnected the reporter from the meeting, which also included Mayor Kavita Tankha of Los Altos Hills; coun-cil members Lynette Lee Eng and

Jonathan Weinberg of Los Altos; and Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga of Mountain View.

But even as the VTA group, at Fine’s request, rejected DuBois’ call for transparency and kept him from making his prepared remarks, it granted him the delay that he was seeking. McAlister told the Weekly that after a dis-cussion of the group’s bylaws, the members voted to delay its nomi-nation of a new VTA board rep-resentative until later this month.

DuBois said that one reason he wanted to delay the nomination was the lack of clarity over the working group’s bylaws, which it had approved in 2015 and then updated in 2018. The 2015 bylaws state that a nominee must meet at least one of three qualifications: at least one year of service on the VTA board, at least one year’s ser-vice on one of the advisory com-mittees that reports to the VTA board or “any other transportation policy credential deemed relevant by the majority of the Group 2 Cities as meeting the intent of the experience requirement.”

The group’s revised bylaws add a fourth qualification: demonstra-tion of “working knowledge of VTA.” The revised bylaws also require a nominee to meet at least two of the four qualifications.

Those newer bylaws, however, were not provided to the council on Oct. 26, when members quick-ly and unanimously nominated Cormack. Instead, the older 2015

bylaws were attached to the memo from Fine and Kniss.

DuBois noted in his letter to the VTA group that the staff report the council had received prior to making its decision also did not mention that the council could nominate two candidates.

McAlister told the Weekly that the Dec. 29 meeting to select a nominee was both “the most in-triguing” and “the most political” that he had experienced during his time on the VTA. He also em-phasized that Palo Alto had taken all the appropriate steps in nomi-nating Cormack, who he said is a qualified candidate.

“They did everything they were supposed to do,” McAlister said of Palo Alto.

He underscored, however, that it is important for the VTA to care-fully evaluate its nominees and make sure that the person they choose is truly engaged in repre-senting the north county cities on the board of directors.

“We shouldn’t look at the VTA seat as a regular rotation,” McAli-ster said. “We really need to get people in there that would stand up for north county and represent us and be engaged on the board.”

The VTA’s governance structure has been under increasing scru-tiny in recent years, with a Santa Clara County grand jury releas-ing a scathing report in June 2019 that criticized the agency’s board for being too political, inexperi-enced and dominated by San Jose. The report also cited “frequent tensions” between directors’ du-ties to the VTA and the political demands of their local elected

positions.McAlister said that during his

time on the VTA board, he has seen people win appointments as political payback or because they wanted to build a resume.

“I’d been an advocate for getting the best persons possible,” McAli-ster said.

Getting a fair shareRepresentation on the VTA has

long been a thorny issue for north county cities, which for decades have watched the agency use the lion’s share of the revenues from its countywide tax measures to fund San Jose projects, most notably the expansion of BART. In 2016, as the VTA was moving ahead with Measure B, city and county lead-ers tried to ensure that they would get their fair share of the funding by requiring some of the proceeds to be used for other priorities, in-cluding road repairs, highway im-provements and grade separation along the Caltrain corridor in north county. The measure specifically allocated $700 million for grade separations, which would be split between Palo Alto, Mountain View and Sunnyvale.

Late last year, however, the VTA presented a scenario in which near-ly all the funding from Measure B over the next 10 years would be dedicated for the BART extension in San Jose. The scenario trig-gered an outpouring of anger from elected officials from throughout the county, many of whom char-acterized it as the VTA’s betrayal of its promises to the taxpayers. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe

Simitian also spearheaded an of-ficial resolution last month oppos-ing the VTA’s new scenario. The county Board of Supervisors unan-imously supported the resolution.

“VTA’s approach is inconsistent with the promises made to voters in 2016; it effectively means no meaningful progress will be made for the next 10 years in six program areas,” Simitian said in a statement after the resolution passed. “The solution here is a 10-year outlook that actually serves the needs of the entire county, as the 2016 bal-lot measure promised.”

Both Cormack and Burt de-clined to discuss what occurred at the Dec. 29 meeting and referred inquiries to the elected officials who had participated in that meet-ing. DuBois highlighted the ongo-ing debate over Measure B funding as a reason for the north county cit-ies to seriously consider its nomi-nee to the VTA board.

While DuBois said he has no intention of reconsidering Cor-mack’s nomination, he wanted to present Burt as an additional nominee. He cited Burt’s many years of experience as a city plan-ning and transportation commis-sioner, as well as his leadership on the issues of railroad grade sepa-rations and his past membership on Caltrain’s Local Policy Maker Group.

“This is billions of dollars for BART and Caltrain,” DuBois said. “We need people who will argue for us and defend that mon-ey.”

Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner can be emailed at [email protected].

Answers to this week’s puzzles, which can be found on page 26.

CITY COUNCIL ... The council is scheduled to approve the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for fiscal year 2020 and budget amendments; discuss Plan Bay Area 2050 and the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process; and consider approving the nomination of Pat Burt and Alison Cormack for a seat on the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority board of directors. The virtual meeting will begin at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11. Those wishing to participate by Zoom can do so by dialing 669-900-6833 and using Meeting ID: 362 027 238.

PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission is scheduled to elect its chair and vice chair and discuss alternatives for the North Ventura Coordinated Area Plan. The virtual meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13. Those wishing to participate by Zoom can do so by dialing 669-900-6833 and using Meeting ID: 931 5047 1146.

HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission is scheduled to elect its chair and vice chair and approve a letter responding to recent incidents of hate in Palo Alto. The virtual meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 14. Those wishing to participate by Zoom can do so by dialing 669-900-6833 and using Meeting ID: 919 9454 8701.

Public AgendaA preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week

VTA(continued from page 7)


Upfront

of its communications, effectively ending a decadeslong journalistic practice of responding to breaking news based on information picked up from a police scanner.

In an email to local media, the Palo Alto Police Department said that it is taking the latter approach. The department’s de-cision to encrypt the channel, rather than come up with other protocols for protecting person-ally identifiable information, was driven by the fact that this option was much easier and quicker to implement, Police Chief Robert Jonsen told this news organiza-tion. He also said that because this is an operational issue, the City Council had no role in de-veloping the new policy.

“It’s just made the most sense to do that,” Jonsen said.

One option for shielding only personally identifiable and crimi-nal justice information would be to require police officers to use other devices, such as cell phones, when transmitting personally identifiable information, he said. That, however, may complicate an officer’s ability to quickly transmit information to all rel-evant parties.

“It becomes an officer-safety issue if we have them transition-ing over and hopping from one channel to another,” Jonsen said.

“Even though there are other options, developing protocols and practices would be time consum-ing and would have likely had significant costs associated with it.”

He noted that the department’s Technical Services Division is now prioritizing the implemen-tation of a record management system for collecting data on all police stops, a requirement of the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA). He said that the depart-ment is open to reconsidering its decision on encryption at a later date.

“We’re open to options. We’re not going to close the door if we find viable options and solu-tions,” Jonsen said.

With the policy change, Palo Alto is joining a growing list of cities inside and outside the state to switch to encrypted radio com-munications for reasons having to do with privacy, tactics or both. According to the Reporters Com-mittee for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit that provides legal resources for journalists, the list of cities and counties that have recently made such a switch to encrypted communication in-cludes Denver, Colorado; Racine, Wisconsin; Sioux City, Iowa;

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania; and Baltimore, Maryland.

The Simi Valley Police Depart-ment became the first agency in Ventura County to fully encrypt all of its radio communications last November, according to a re-port in the Ventura County Star. Police Chief David Livingstone told the Star that the department chose to switch to full encryp-tion because it was quicker and easier to do that than to create a system in which only sensitive information is transmitted to an encrypted channel. He also cited incidents in which criminals used open police feeds to plan criminal activity, according to the paper.

However, the Star also re-ported that Livingstone hoped the switch would be temporary and that an arrangement provid-ing more public access could be found.

Legislators have made efforts to give the news media access to police broadcasts through de-cryption licenses, but those at-tempts have not been successful. In Colorado and California, bills were proposed, including Califor-nia’s AB1555. Introduced by As-semblymember Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, in 2019, it would have allowed members of the media to listen upon request.

Jocelyn Dong, editor of Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto On-line, criticized the Palo Alto poli-cy for curbing the public’s access to police information.

“The inability for the public, including the news media, to ac-cess real-time information about police activities in the city’s neighborhoods is a major step backward in both police trans-parency and public safety,” Dong said. “Access to police dispatches is essential given the lack of any reliable method of obtaining in-formation quickly from the police. It’s our hope that the city will choose methods of communica-tion that balance public disclosure with the need to transmit certain information privately.”

In a blog post, Jonsen stated that the decision to encrypt all radio transmissions “does not change the Police Department’s commit-ment to transparency and sharing of public information.” He also stated that all law enforcement agencies in Santa Clara County will adopt full encryption by the end of 2021.

The directive from the De-partment of Justice did not set a deadline for police departments to enact a new encryption policy. It did, however, require them to submit an implementation plan by Dec. 31, 2020.


When the dust settled, the coun-cil’s leadership roughly reflected the election results. The council’s residentialist camp, which scored a big victory in November with the election of Stone and the re-election of Lydia Kou, will see one of its members return to the central chair (or, as the case may be, the central Zoom screen). Burt, the top vote-getter in No-vember, now holds the council’s second leadership position and has a clear path to a third mayoral term in 2022.

DuBois was first elected to the council in 2014 and reelected in 2018. A for-mer neighbor-hood activist, he became steeped in City Hall politics in 2013, when he was part of a group of resi-dents who worked to overturn the council’s approval of a housing development on Maybell Avenue, which included 60 units for low-income seniors and 12 single-family homes. After a successful referendum that year, he joined the council the following year as part of a wave of slow-growth candidates.

Over his six years on the coun-cil, DuBois has supported adopt-ing stronger renter-protection laws, charging developers higher fees to support affordable hous-ing, starting a business tax and creating a “safe parking” program for individuals who live in vehi-cles. He has chaired the council’s Finance Committee, the Policy and Services Committee and Rail Committee and has been involved in a regional effort to expand the use of recycled water.

In nominating DuBois, Filseth lauded his track record of advo-cating for local control and trans-parency, as well as his spirit of collaboration.

“Tom is no stranger to advo-cacy, but one of the differences

between being a council member and being a mayor is that as mayor you have a much greater responsi-bility on how to get the most out of the council as a group,” Filseth said. “It’s a bit of shift because it becomes less about your own passions and more about how to support and facilitate everybody else’s passions, including those who you might not completely agree with.”

DuBois will take leadership of the council just as his politi-cal camp is picking up a clear council majority. The election of Stone, who has campaigned with the residentialists, and Burt, tradi-tionally a political centrist, means that his side will have at least four — and often five — votes on politically thorny issues such as retail-protection laws, develop-ment-impact fees and commission appointments.

After getting the nomination, DuBois said he was “committed this year to getting us working well together and functioning as a high-performing council.” He also acknowledged the political shift and called the current coun-cil “the biggest pro-resident ma-jority on the council in the history of Palo Alto.”

“What I mean by that is that we’re not dominated by influ-ence of big business and devel-opment interests,” DuBois said. “Given the amount of money that it took to win in our last election, I think that was really an amazing accomplishment.”

He highlighted three priori-ties for the coming year: moving ahead with a business tax, plan-ning for the redesign of the city’s rail crossings, and finding ways to encourage the development of more affordable housing.

“I expect we’ll need to consider changing some of our current zoning to enable more housing production,” DuBois.

As usual, the contest for the vice mayor supplied all the drama on what was otherwise a ceremo-nial meeting filled with oaths, plaudits and resolutions. DuBois started the process by nominating Burt. Tanaka, who generally votes with the council’s pro-growth

camp, reached across the politi-cal aisle and nominated Kou, a staunch residentialist who shares his propensity for challenging staff recommendations and cast-ing dissenting votes.

Filseth also looked past the council’s usual political align-ment and supported Cormack, the top vote-getter in the 2018 election. He reminded the council of the 2020 vice mayoral contest, where Cormack and DuBois were deadlocked with three votes each. Cormack broke the stalemate by giving DuBois her vote, making him the vice mayor (and, as of this week, mayor).

“The willingness to put the good of the community first, no matter what our own personal goals and ob-jectives are, is just so funda-mental to this service,” Fils-eth said.

But DuBois and Stone both advocated for Burt and pointed to his record of service as a council member between 2008 and 2016 and as a member of the Planning and Transportation Commission be-fore that. Each argued that the city would benefit from Burt’s experience in the coming year, as it continues to respond to the devastating health and eco-nomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Burt said he looks forward to working with the rest of the coun-cil to find a balanced approach to addressing this fallout from the pandemic.

“I feel capable to be able to help Mayor DuBois and city staff work through these challenges, to adjust our city budget, to really respond to the needs of the community that we have — that are really more people-oriented than ever before — and certain exceptional needs that have emerged from this crisis that didn’t even exist before-hand,” Burt said.


Mayor(continued from page 5)

Tom DuBois Pat Burt

Scanners(continued from page 5)

Sign up today at PaloAltoOnline.com/express


Support our Kidswith a gift to the Holiday Fund

Each year the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund raises money to support programs serving families and children in the Palo Alto area. Since the Weekly

and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation cover all the administrative costs, every dollar raised goes directly to support community programs through grants to non-profit organizations.

And with the generous support of matching grants from local foundations, including the Packard, Hewlett, Peery and Arrillaga foundations, your tax-deductible gift will be doubled in size. A donation of $100 turns into $200 with the foundation matching gifts.

Whether as an individual, a business or in honor of someone else, help us reach our goal of $350,000 by making a generous contribution to the Holiday Fund.

With your generosity, we can give a major boost to the programs in our community helping kids and families.

As of January 5, 422 donors have contributed $606,696 to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund.

Thank you, donors

39 Anonymous ..................... $270,045

New Donors

Joan Norton ....................................... *

Kay Sabin ........................................... *

Priscilla & Tony Marzoni ...................... *

Shari & Don Ornstein ..................... 250

Gordon Hughes .......................... 2,500

Richard & Penelope Ellson .............. 100

Michael & Pamela Fong .................. 200

Kaye Crawford ............................... 100

Jean Doble ..................................... 100

Peter Giles ..................................... 300

Laurie Hunter .............................. 1,000

Vitaliy Tsaran .................................... 20

Andrew Protter .............................. 100

Bhave Family .................................. 100

Patrick Burt .................................... 250

Georgie Gleim ............................... 500

Charles Katz .................................. 250

Joan Willingham ............................ 100

Elgin Lee ........................................ 500

Stephen Fisk .................................. 100

Linda Selden .................................. 500

Monica Williams ............................ 250

Sandy Jain ...................................... 100

Reed Content ................................ 250

Albert J Rooney .............................. 250

David Thom ................................... 400

Please consider donating online, which enables your gift to be processed immediately. The secure website is:

siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund

Enclosed is a check for $_______________

Name __________________________________________________________

Business Name __________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip ___________________________________________________

Email __________________________________________________________

Phone _________________________________________________________

I wish to designate my contribution as follows: (select one)

In my name as shown above

In the name of business above

OR: In honor of: In memory of: As a gift for:

_______________________________________________________________(Name of person)

All donors and their gift amounts will be published in the Palo Alto Weekly unless the boxes below are checked.

I wish to contribute anonymously.

Please withhold the amount of my contribution.

Please make checks payable to: Silicon Valley Community Foundation

Send coupon and check to:

01 – Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund c/o Silicon Valley Community Foundation P.O. Box 45389 San Francisco, CA 94145

The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund is a donor advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) charitable organization. A contribution to this fund allows your donation to be tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.

Non-profits: Grant application & guidelines at PaloAltoOnline.com/holiday_fund

Application deadline: January 11, 2021

Last Year’s Grant Recipients49ers Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000Able Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Acknowledge Alliance (Cleo Eulau) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Ada’s Café . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Adolescent Counseling Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500All Students Matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000Art in Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Art of Yoga. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Bayshore Christian Ministries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Big Brothers Big Sisters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Buena Vista Homework Club (Caritas). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000CASA of San Mateo County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000CASSY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000DreamCatchers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000East Palo Alto Academy Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500East Palo Alto Kids Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000East Palo Alto Library (formerly Quest) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000East Palo Alto Tennis & Tutoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000Ecumenical Hunger Progam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000Environmental Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Family Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Fit Kids Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Foundation for a College Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500Friends of Junior Musuem & Zoo. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Health Connected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Heart and Home Collaborative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000Hidden Villa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Jasper Ridge Farm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Kara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500Live in Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Marine Science Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Music in the Schools Foundation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Musikiwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000New Voices for Youth (Social Good Fund) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,000Nuestra Casa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500Palo Alto Art Center Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Palo Alto Housing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Palo Alto Music Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Peninsula Bridge Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Peninsula College Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Peninsula Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Ravenswood Education Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$7,500Rich May Foundation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Rise Together Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000Robotics for All. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$3,600Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Silicon Valley Urban Debate League . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000St. Francis of Assisi Youth Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000TheatreWorks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Vista Center for Blind & Visually Impaired . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000WeHOPE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$15,000YMCA - EPA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000YMCA - PA Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Youth Community Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$20,000Youth Speaks Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000

Child Care Facility Improvement GrantsGatepath (Abilities United) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000All Five. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000Grace Lutheran Preschool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000The Learning Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000Palo Alto Community Child Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$10,000Palo Alto Friends Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$6,000Parents Nursery School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$5,000

High school scholarships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$8,000

In Memory OfTinney Family ..................................... 250

Priscilla Bates ......................................... *

Businesses & OrganizationsPeery Foundation .......................... 10,000

Arrillaga Foundation .................... 10,000

Hewlett Foundation ...................... 25,000

Packard Foundation ...................... 25,000

Previously Published

Janis Ulevich ...................................... 125

Tess & Eric Byler ................................... 75

Robyn H. Crumly .................................... *

Stephanie Klein & Larry Baer .................. *

Sue Kemp .......................................... 250

Judy Kramer ....................................... 150

Barbara Klein ......................................... *

Tobye Kaye ............................................ *

Michael Kieschnick ............................. 500

Bruce Campbell ................................. 250

Cathy Kroymann ................................ 250

Werner Graf .......................................... *

Dorothy Deringer ............................... 250

Amy Crowe ....................................... 500

Gary & Karen Fry ................................ 250

Bill Reller ................................................ *

Jody Maxmin ......................................... *

Martha Shirk ................................... 1,000

Jim & Karen Lewis .................................. *

Judith Appleby ................................... 250

Vic Befera .......................................... 100

Ted & Ginny Chu .................................... *

Penny & Greg Gallo ........................... 500

Brigid Barton ................................... 5,000

Brigid & Rob Robinson ....................... 200

Kaaren & John Antoun .................... 2,000

Harry Hartzell ..................................... 250

Susan & Doug Woodman ....................... *

Peggy & Boyce Nute ............................... *

Roy & Carol Blitzer ................................. *

Gerald & Donna Silverberg ................. 100

Jan & Freddy Gabus ........................... 250

Hal & Iris Korol ....................................... *

Sally Hewlett ................................... 3,000

Arthur Keller ...................................... 500

Bruce & Jane Gee ............................... 250

Denise Savoie and Darrell Duffie ............ *

Loreto Ponce de Leon ........................ 100

Thomas Ehrlich .................................. 500

Ron Wolf ........................................... 250

Andrea Smith ..................................... 100

Bonnie Packer .................................... 100

Michael & Gwen Havern ................. 5,000

Jan and Scott Kilner ........................... 500

Daniel Cox ......................................... 200

Patrick Burt ........................................ 500

Jocelyn Dong ..................................... 100

Carolyn Brennan .................................... *

Tom & Patricia Sanders ........................... *

Page & Ferrell Sanders ........................ 100

Debby Roth ........................................ 200

Diana Diamond .................................. 300

Dorothy Saxe ..................................... 100

Jeanne & Leonard Ware ..................... 500

Richard A. Baumgartner & Elizabeth M. Salzer ............................. *

Jerry & Bobbie Wagger........................... *

Linda & Steve Boxer ............................... *

Nancy & Joe Huber ................................ *

Steven Feinberg .............................. 5,000

Jean Wu ......................................... 1,000

Marc Igler & Jennifer Cray .................. 200

Ann & Don Rothblatt ......................... 500

Marcia & Michael Katz ....................... 200

Diane Moore .......................................... *

Amado & Deborah Padilla .................. 250

Pat & Penny Barrett ............................ 100

Robert & Barbara Simpson ..................... *

John Galen ............................................ *

Julie & Jon Jerome ................................. *

Leif & Sharon Erickson ....................... 500

Edward Kanazawa ............................. 200

Scott Carlson & Katharine Miller ... 10,000

Stephen & Nancy Levy ........................ 500

Mike & Jean Couch ............................ 250

Karen & Steve Ross ................................ *

Katherine & Dorsey Bass .................... 500

Lani Freeman & Stephen Monismith ....... *

Harriet & Gerry Berner ....................... 350

Judy Palmer ........................................ 25

Teresa Roberts .................................... 500

Carol Uyeno ......................................... 50

Mark Cairns & Amanda Martin .......... 100

Sally & Craig Nordlund ....................... 500

Christine Min Wotipka & Anthony Lising Antonio .................. 100

Kathleen Foley-Hughes & Tony Hughes ................................ 1,000

Thayer Gershon ................................... 50

Xiaofan Lin .......................................... 50

John Pavkovich .................................. 400

Cynthia Costell .................................. 100

Richard Zuanich ................................. 150

Neha Choksi ........................................ 40

Braff Family ........................................ 500

Jennie Savage ................................. 1,000

Bill Johnson & Terri Lobdell .............. 1,000

Dawes Family ..................................... 250

Mary Lemmon .............................. 20,000

Shirley Ely ....................................... 1,000

Jennifer DiBrienza & Jesse Doroguske .......................... 1,000

Mike & Cathie Foster ...................... 1,000

Lawrence Yang & Jennifer Kuan .... 10,000

Richard Johnsson ............................ 5,000

Chris & Anna Saccheri ............................ *

Judith & Hans Steiner ......................... 100

Carolyn Caddes ................................. 200

Merrill & Lee Newman ....................... 250

Anne Williams ................................... 200

Jim & Valerie Stinger .......................... 100

Art & Peggy Stauffer .......................... 500

Stuart & Carol Hansen ........................... *

Nancy & Jim Baer ................................... *

Marilyn, Dale, Rick & Mei Simbeck ......... *

Betty W. Gerard ................................... 50

Tom & Nancy Fiene ............................ 150

Diane Finkelstein ................................ 200

Beth & Peter Rosenthal ...................... 500

Susan Benton ......................................... *

Carol & Hal Louchheim .......................... *

Christina Kenrick ............................. 3,500

Fruchterman Family ............................ 250

Harriet Roeder ................................ 1,000

Carol Hubenthal ................................ 300

Dr. Fatima Malik, MBA ........................... *

Roger Warnke .................................... 300

Dena Hill ............................................ 500

Keith Clarke ........................................... *

Jeanette Kennedy ........................... 1,000

Susie Richardson & Hal Luft .................... *

Peter Danner ...................................... 200

Chantal Akerib ................................... 500

Alice Fischgrund ................................. 100

Carli Scott .......................................... 100

Thomas Rindfleisch ................................ *

Jeff Dean ........................................... 345

Sallie & Jay Whaley ................................ *

Hoda Epstein ..................................... 250

Gerald & Joyce Barker ........................ 200

Cherie & Robert Donald ..................... 250

Linda & Jerry Elkind ............................ 250

Gwen Luce & Family .............................. *

Liz Lillard-Bernal ................................... 50

Kay & Don Remsen ................................ *

Barbara Allen ..................................... 100

Eugene & Mabel Dong ....................... 200

Micki & Bob Cardelli .............................. *

Wendy Sinton ........................................ *

Diane Doolittle ....................................... *

Charles & Barbara Stevens ..................... *

Philip Hanawalt & Graciela Spivak ... 2,000

Virginia Laibl ...................................... 200

Glenn & Lorna Affleck............................ *

Phil Fernandez & Daniel Sternbergh ....... *

Cindy Dillon ........................................... *

Helene Pier ............................................ *

Fran Codispoti ................................... 250

Deborah Williams & Jean Luc Laminette ...................... 1,000

Nina & Norman Kulgein ..................... 250

Chris Logan ......................................... 50

Roy Levin & Jan Thomson ................... 250

Donald Barr ....................................... 100

Ellen Lillington ................................... 400

Peter S. Stern ......................................... *

Jean & Chuck Thompson ................... 100

Liz Kok ................................................... *

Roger V. Smith ................................... 300

Scott Pearson ..................................... 500

Ellmann Family ................................... 100

Dr. Labaree and Ms. Churchill ............ 100

Rick & Eileen Brooks ........................... 500

Gwendolyn Barry ............................... 100

Elizabeth Bechtel ................................ 100

Alan Bennett ...................................... 200

Tom McCalmont ............................. 1,000

Diane Posnak ..................................... 200

Mary Ann Sing ................................... 100

Annette Isaacson ............................... 200

Carol O’Neill ........................................ 50

Gail Woolley ...................................... 200

Charlene Kon ..................................... 250

Peter Rudd ........................................... 50

Amy Crowe ....................................... 200

Diane Sikic ......................................... 400

Graceann Johnson ............................. 100

Roy Levin & Jan Thomson ................... 250

Patti Yanklowitz & Mark Krasnow ...... 100

Deborah Mytels ................................. 100

Katherine Bryant .................................... *

Sallie Tasto ......................................... 144

Steve & Gayle Brugler ..................... 1,000

Nancy Tuck ..................................... 1,000

John & Mary Schaefer ........................ 100

James & Kathryn Lodato .................... 500

Daniel & Janis Tuerk ............................... *

Rosalie Shepherd ............................... 100

David & Betsy Fryberger ..................... 100

Tom Hanks ......................................... 200

Margo Sensenbrenner ............................ *

J. Gonzales ........................................ 100

Don & Bonnie Miller ........................... 100

Constance Crawford .............................. *

Vic & Norma Hesterman ..................... 250

Joanne Koltnow ................................. 300

Susan Osofsky .................................... 200

Neilson Buchanan ........................... 1,250

Judy Koch ....................................... 1,000

Mary G Dimit ..................................... 250

Eileen Brennan ................................... 200

Diane Ciesinski ................................... 250

Thomas Shannon ............................... 100

Jim Sharp ........................................... 100

Susan Elgee ....................................... 500

Susan Ashworth ................................. 100

Robert Bell ......................................... 100

Chisoon Lee ....................................... 200

Leo & Marlys Keoshian ....................... 250

Nancy Stern & David Ross .................. 100

Bjorn Liencres ................................. 1,000

Preston Gardner ................................... 50

James Lobdell .................................... 250

Don Amsbaugh .................................. 200

Eric Kastner ..................................... 1,000

Verner Hansen ................................... 100

Jane Millman ..................................... 100

Roxy & Michelle Rapp & Family ....... 2,000

Deborah Newhouse ............................. 50

Phyllis Munsey ................................... 300

Terry Hunter ........................................... *

Nina Blackwell ................................... 500

John E Vorce ...................................... 250

Steve Beitler ....................................... 125

Kim Harvey ..................................... 2,000

Harry & Susan Hartzell ....................... 200

Susan Yee .............................................. *

Rita Vrhel ........................................... 350

Veronica Tincher .................................... *

Kenneth Bencala & Sally O’Neil .......... 100

Jeremy Platt & Sondra Murphy ............... *

Kingsley Jack ...................................... 250

Leannah Hunt .................................... 250

Ed & Linda DeMeo ............................. 150

Ellen McGinty King ............................ 500

Roderick C. McCalley ........................... 50

John Tang .............................................. *

Duane Bay & Barbara Noparstak ........ 100

Elizabeth Shepard .................................. *

Bruce & April Robinson .......................... *

Thomas & Elinor Osborne................... 100

Merele McClure ................................. 300

Don Price ............................................... *

Gavin & Tricia Christensen ...................... *

Elaine & Eric Hahn ........................... 1,000

Robert & Nancy Smith ........................ 200

Shirley & Marc Feldman ..................... 250

David & Diane Feldman ...................... 500

Douglas & Leslie Murphy-Chutorian ...2,500

Nancy Wong & Robert Lipshutz .......... 200

Barry L. Goldblatt ............................... 200

Chittra Chaivorapol ............................ 500

Carolyn Williams .................................... *

Elinor Osborne ................................... 150

Virginia Pollard ................................... 150

Carl Hagenmaier ................................ 700

Linda Groffie-Balint ............................ 100

Carol Kersten ..................................... 200

Ellen Semaya & Ron Krasnow ............. 500

Eugene Lewit ....................................... 31

Becky & Ted Baer ............................... 200

Alan Cope Johnston ........................... 500

Weil Family ..................................... 1,000

In Memory OfRay Bacchetti ..................................... 200

Norman L. Frazee ................................... *

Sandy Sloan ....................................... 100

Lee Domenik .......................................... *

Millie Fuchs ............................................ *

David W. Mitchell ................................... *

Rudy Schubert ..................................... 50

Marie & Don Snow ............................ 200

The Zschokke Family .......................... 100

Alissa Riper Picker .............................. 250

Bertha Kalson ........................................ *

Er-Ying and Yen-Chen Yen ................. 250

Mrs. Elsie Yang .................................. 200

Ernest J. Moore ...................................... *

Tracy & Alan .......................................... *

Pam Grady ......................................... 500

Lily & Philip Gottheiner ........................... *

Bob Kirkwood ................................. 2,500

Our Loving Parents Albert & Beverly Pellizzari .................................. *

Boyd Paulson Jr ............................... 3,000

Edward & Elizabeth Buurma ................... *

Leslie Smith ............................................ *

August L. King ....................................... *

Duncan L. Matteson ........................ 1,000

Thomas W. & Louise L. Phinney .............. *

Leo & Sylvia Breidenbach ....................... *

Emmett Lorey ........................................ *

Chet Brown ........................................... *

Beverly Aarts ...................................... 250

Zoe & Ken Allen ................................. 100

Nate Rosenberg ................................. 250

E Yanosh Alt ........................................ 20

Robert Spinrad ....................................... *

Jennie Winsor Payne .............................. *

Leonard Ely ........................................ 500

Ian Halliday ............................................ *

Kathleen Morris ..................................... *

Samuel Benjamin Kurland .................. 300

Manuel & Maria Januario ..................... 50

Kaye Kelley & Richard Van Dusen ....... 250

Florence Kan Ho .................................... *

Jim & Dottie Mellberg ............................ *

Jerry Smallwood .............................. 1,000

Mark Georgia ........................................ *

Don Kenyon ......................................... 50

Carol Berkowitz ..................................... *

Mason & Ryan ....................................... *

Robert O. Jack ................................... 150

Bob Markevitch ...................................... *

Dr. David Zlotnick ................................... *

Wen Liu ............................................. 500

Dr. Elliot W. Eisner .............................. 200

Ruth Consul ....................................... 200

Jack Sutorius ...................................... 500

Our dad, Robert O. Jack ..................... 500

Paul Seaver ............................................ *

In Honor OfFairmeadow Principal Iris Wong ............. *

Joe Simitian ....................................... 220

Deborah Sutorius Hilleary ................... 100

Marie Wolbach .................................... 25

Connor & Grace Missett ......................... *

Dr. David Lipson and Ray ........................ *

Charlie Hughes & the Ada’s Team ........... *

Rich Hlava’s 87th Birthday ...................... *

Myles, Amara, Leo & Vivi ....................... *

Lewis J Silvers, Jr .................................... *

Julie & Iris Harper .................................. *

Denise Schectman, from ORM Staff ... 190

Anne Steinberg ...................................... *

Sara Cody ....................................... 1,000

Marilyn Sutorius ................................. 500

As a Gift ForLogan Marsh & Gabby Perez .............. 500

Businesses & OrganizationsAlta Mesa Cemetery &

Funeral Home .............................. 2,000

Delores Eberhart, DDS ............................ *

Hayes Group Architects ................... 5,000

Palo Alto Business Park .......................... *

deLemos Properties ............................ 200

Ann Sonnenberg Interior Design ........ 200

Palo Alto Weekly Moonlight Run ... 39,800

Sponsors of Moonlight Run:

Stanford Health Care ................. 10,000

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation ...................... 5,000

Sutter Health/Palo Alto Medical Foundation ................................ 5,000

Palantir ........................................ 5,000

Facebook ..................................... 5,000

Wealth Architects ........................ 5,000

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative ........... 5,000

Bank of the West ......................... 1,500

A Runner’s Mind .......................... 1,000

Donate to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund online at siliconvalleycf.org/paw-holiday-fund

* Donor did not want to publish the amount of the gift.


the Weekly.Borisov said that the campaign’s

biggest focus is on supporting small businesses and improving the economy. Borisov, who met Tanaka through their shared in-volvement in e-commerce, said he and Tanaka hold similar concerns about the direction of the Ameri-can economy and a feeling that the American Dream is in peril.

Borisov also lauded Tanaka for his record of regularly reach-ing out to residents and seeking their input. As a council member,

Tanaka has long been known for hosting weekly office hours and posting videos from these meet-ings on Facebook. Borisov said Tanaka would bring the same ap-proach to his national campaign. One approach that he and Tanaka are moving ahead with is creat-ing a media network in which they will interview guests.

Borisov emphasized that Tana-ka’s campaign has no objections to Eshoo, who was first elected in 1992 and who cruised in her bid to a fresh term on Nov. 3, winning 63% of the vote in her race against Democrat Rishi Kumar. Tanaka is not so much running for “Anna’s seat,” Borisov said, as trying to

improve representation for district residents.

“He is representing the people, and the people want him to run for Congress because they see him as a great leader who listens to peo-ple and who will make changes,” Borisov said.

Tanaka is hoping to have better luck than Kumar in his new quest to represent the 18th District, which includes sections of Santa Clara, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, including the cities of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, Atherton, Woodside and Portola Valley.

Though Tanaka has only served on one elected body — the Palo Alto City Council — Borisov not-ed that his campaign received sup-port and endorsements from many leaders and residents, both from Palo Alto and from elsewhere.

A fiscal hawk known for criti-cizing staff proposals, voting against city budgets and support-ing pro-business policies, Tanaka touted in the Rafu Shinbun story the roughly 400 endorsements that he said he had received for his campaign.

“I understand the dissatisfaction citizens may have with our gov-ernment,” Tanaka said. “Whether you supported my campaign or not, I am a council member for everyone and will work to bridge any division that exists between our residents and our elected of-ficials.”


Upfront

Russell B. Bryan, age 98, died of Covid-19 in Belmont, California, on December 23, 2020.

Born in Santa Monica CA in 1922, he earned degrees in physics from Stanford University (A.B. 1943) and Harvard University (M.A. 1948, Ph.D. 1951). He also served in the United States Navy during World War II, honorably discharged as a lieutenant. After working as a physicist at Dartmouth College, the University of Cambridge (England), and U.C. Berkeley, he changed course. He ran twice for Congress in California’s 10th District, then launched into a life of extensive travel from his home base in Palo Alto and Menlo Park.

An avid hiker and reader, his endeavors also included painting and photography. He loved good food and cooked with imagination and flair. He was an enthusiastic member of the Stanford University community, enjoying music, film, and especially the libraries. He retained a life-long love of physics, taking every Quantum Mechanics class offered to the community, several times over. But his primary passion was for classical music, especially piano and opera, which enlivened all his years.

His friends knew him as a raconteur, kind and modest, with an incisive mind, a quick wit, and a delightful laugh. He loved his daughters and their families dearly, and treasured family gatherings both large and small.

He is survived by his brother Greyson Bryan of Capistrano Beach CA; his daughters Nicole Byrd of Atlanta GA, Katherine (Bruce) Larson of Marquette MI, and Jacqueline (Paul) Wender of Menlo Park CA; grandchildren Karen (Neil), Sarah (Nicholas), Laura (Rashaad), and Nathaniel; great-grandchildren Ava, Alyssa, and Anthony; and numerous nieces and nephews.

A virtual memorial service will be offered over Zoom on Sunday, January 17, at 1:00 Pacific Time; those who wish to attend can click on https://forms.gle/RTeJ4EGF9aNuBVJY6 to obtain the link. An in-person celebration of his life will be held when we may safely gather. Donations in his memory may be made to the Sempervirens Fund, 419 South San Antonio Rd., Suite 211, Los Altos, CA 94022; or to the Russell B. Bryan Memorial Fund at Stanford University, care of Gift Processing, Office of Development, 326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA 94305.

P A I D O B I T U A R Y

Russell B BryanSeptember 1, 1922 – December 23, 2020


Babbette LathamJuly 26, 1930 – December 14, 2020

On December 14th, 2020, Babbette Latham age 90, wonderful mother, grandmother and great grandmother passed away peacefully at her home in Palo Alto after a long battle with dementia.

Babbette was born in Snohomish, Washington to Kate and Bill Snitjer. They moved to Palo Alto California when Babbette was a baby. She attended Stanford Elementary School, Jordan Junior High school and Palo Alto Senior High school graduating in 1948. After High School she attended the University of Oregon. She married Mark Latham in 1952.

Babbette was a stay-at-home mom and raised 5 children. She leaves behind: Kate Latham, Peter Latham (Fancy), Amy Hartinger (Jake), Marta Apple (Dan), and Nancy Latham; along with 8 grandchildren: Alexandra (John), Ryan, Sam, Colman, Dylan, Bryn, Rafe and Asha and one great grandchild (Emerson).

Babbette was passionate about the great outdoors and she supported the Sierra Club for many years. She was dedicated to social justice more broadly. During the 1990s, she stood with Women in Black, who met each week for vigils in Palo Alto to bear silent witness to the ravages of war in the Middle East. She loved being a Girl Scout and became a scout leader for her children’s troops. She was an avid reader, and passed that love on to her children. She could often be seen biking around Palo Alto, doing sun salutations at Gamble Gardens, and teaching various classes in body movement around the Bay Area.

EmploymentThe Palo Alto Weekly offers

advertising for Employment, as well as Home and Business Services.

If you wish to learn more about these advertising options,

please call 650.223.6582 or email [email protected].

995 Fictitious Name StatementTRADEMARKIA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION TRADEMARKIA PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION TRADEMARKIA FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT File No.: FBN670931 The following person (persons) is (are) doing business as: 1.) Trademarkia Professional Corporation, 2.) Trademarkia Professional Law Corporation, 3.) Trademarkia, located at 1580 West El Camino Real, Suite 10, Mountain View, CA 94040, Santa Clara County. This business is owned by: A Corporation. The name and residence address of the registrant(s) is(are): LegalForce RAPC Worldwide, Professional Corporation 1580 West El Camino Real, Suite 10 Mountain View, CA 94040 Registrant began transacting business under the fictitious business name(s) listed above on 1/10/2020. This statement was filed with the County Clerk-Recorder of Santa Clara County on December 15, 2020. (PAW Dec. 25, 2020; Jan. 1, 8, 15, 2021)

997 All Other LegalsNOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF: DAVID LAWRENCE WATSON Case No.: 20PR189100 To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of DAVID LAWRENCE WATSON. A Petition for Probate has been filed by: TYLER GARRETT WATSON in the Superior Court of California, County of SANTA CLARA. The Petition for Probate requests that: TYLER GARRETT WATSON be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent.

The petition requests the decedent's will and codicils, if any, be admitted to probate. The will and any codicils are available for examination in the file kept by the court. A HEARING on the petition will be held on February 3, 2021 at 9:01 a.m. in Dept.: 13 of the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, located at 191 N. First St., San Jose, CA, 95113. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or a contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the later of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined in section 58 (b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for Petitioner: Raymond Sheffield Sheffield Law Office 100 Century Center Court, Suite 302, San Jose, CA 95112 (408) 920-2500 (PAW Jan. 8, 15, 22, 2021)

Call Alicia Santillan at 650-223-6578 or email [email protected] for assistance with your legal advertising needs.

Tanaka(continued from page 8)

— which has a reputation for anti-union practices. The worry at the time was that Google was seek-ing to pre-empt efforts to unionize workers.

That same month, Google fired four employees who were active in labor organizing for violations of “data security policies.” The National Labor Relations Board later filed a complaint that Google violated labor laws in firing two of those employees, noting that the company had illegally spied on them following their work-place activism.

Sugarbroad said he recognizes that he and others are sticking their necks out and taking a risk by joining a union, but that the newly formed organization could start a trend in the world of tech. Companies ranging from small startups to Microsoft could fol-low suit, heading down a path in which employees feel empowered to influence ethical decisions with far-reaching consequences.

“Making a tech union happen at Google, if nothing else, is a signal to everyone else out there that it can happen for you, too,” he said.

Kevin Forestieri is a staff writer for the Mountain View Voice, a sister publication of the Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].

Google(continued from page 8)


Richard K. Freeman passed away peacefully at home on December 18, 2020, at the age of 94, following a long illness. He was surrounded by his loving family and beloved wife of 72 years, Corkie.

Dick was born in La Jolla, California, to Waldo and Evelyn Freeman. His family moved to Palo Alto in 1932. He attended grammar school at Stanford, where he felt the entire campus was his personal playground. He was a member of Jordan Junior High’s first class and he graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1943. Upon graduation he joined the U.S Navy. During World War II he was a radio gunner flying Air/Sea Rescue in PBMs in the Caribbean and then in the Pacific theater, based in Hawaii. After also serving as an airplane tower operator on Johnston Island, Dick was honorably discharged.

On his return to California, he attended San Jose State, where in a Spanish class he met the love of his life, Maybelle Maria Corkum, known as “Corkie” from Tucson, Arizona. Dick and Corkie were married on December 19, 1948 and he passed away just one day shy of their anniversary day.

In 1949 Dick graduated with a degree in Business Administration and a Minor in Military Science. Through the college ROTC program, he became an officer in the U.S Air Force and served a tour of duty.

Dick’s professional career was spent in Life Insurance and Financial Planning. He became a CLU, CFP and earned several other certifications along the way. In his personal life and later in retirement, Dick devoted much of his time to community service. He was a proud and active member of Palo Alto Rotary for more than 35 Years. He also volunteered with many local organizations, including Urban Ministry, American Cancer Society, The Palo Alto Food Closet and as a Chaplain’s Assistant at Stanford Hospital. In addition, he was a founding member of The Thomas Merton Center, a spiritual and educational community at St. Thomas Aquinas Church, where he contributed in many ways.

Dick’s favorite things included traveling, reading, spending time with family and friends, bonding with his grandchildren, good wine, crossword puzzles and the 49ers (on a good day) along with volunteering and giving back. Corkie and Dick shared a love for travel and cruises and spent many years exploring the world. Often these trips were part of educational programs where they would continue to learn.

Dick was kind and gentle, utterly unselfish and most of all, he had a positive outlook on life and was fun to be around. He was able to see the best in each person and he lived by principle and example. Dick will be remembered for his sense of humor, quick wit, laughter and his fondness for puns and corny jokes. Dick radiated optimism and was driven by a desire to make the world a better place, both physically and spiritually. At his 90th birthday, one of his kids said, “Dad, you are an example of how a life should be led and an inspiration to all of us.” There is no higher praise than that.

Dick is survived by his wife Corkie and his five children; Mark of San Jose, Blake of Mountain View, Tim of Chino, Sue of Palo Alto, and Connie (Lou) Viveros of Los Altos, his 5 grandchildren; Jared, Megan, Montana, Riley, Elleanna and his great-grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers please make a donation to your favorite charity. P A I D O B I T U A R Y

Richard K. FreemanAugust 21, 1926 — December 18, 2020

It is with profound sadness that we announce on Monday, December 21, 2020, Jerome K. Berg, businessman and long-time resident of Palo Alto peacefully passed away after long-term health issues and ultimately from the COVID-19 virus among the 65,000 in December.

Jerome was born on March 2nd, 1936 to LeRoy and Viola Berg and came to California from Minot, ND with his parents, uncles and older siblings. The family eventually settled in a home in Palo Alto on East Meadow which became the Berg family “home-base.”

Jerome was an alum of Palo Alto High School class of 1954. It was there he met his high school sweetheart, future wife and mother of his three children, Carol Ann (Wheeler) Berg. In school he enjoyed playing football. After graduating, he and Carol eloped in March, 1956 and were married in Carson City, Nevada. They were married nearly 50 years before Carol passed away in January 2005.

Jerome worked as a mechanic for another business in Palo Alto and eventually opened his own store, The Lawnmower Shop in San Carlos, CA. He subsequently opened a wholesale business for gardening equipment with his brother, Michael. Jerome loved getting to know his many professional gardener customers. He was a hands-on guy and built go karts, mini-bikes and a quarter-midget racer for his kids. He retired in 1988.

Jerome and Carol lived in Barron Park (Palo Alto) for 55 years. Jerome had a passion for creating beautiful landscaping and built two koi ponds and a tea house on their property on Paradise Way. Jerome loved a good laugh and was known to tell some real groaners. He loved entertaining and dancing with his wife. They were both involved in Palo Alto High School’s class reunions and he loved telling stories of growing up and catching the “Suntan Special” train to Santa Cruz, horseback riding at the Stanford stables, among other stories of “old” Palo Alto and his youth. Jerome also enjoyed watching movies and football on TV, swimming, golfing, vacationing and driving to the coast.

Jerome is preceded in death by his parents LeRoy and Viola Berg, brother Dean Berg, sister Margo Hoffman and wife Carol Berg. Jerome is survived by his siblings, Betty Murphy, Michael Berg, William Berg, Len Berg and his three children, Catherine Falkenhagen, Wendy Garbarino and Andrew Berg as well as many nieces, nephews and cousins across the country. He also leaves behind five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Jerome will be interred at Alta Mesa Cemetery joining his wife Carol. Due to the virus, there will not be a formal service at this time.

Donations in his honor can be made at the American Stroke Association.


Jerome K. BergMarch 2, 1936 – December 21, 2020

MarketplaceThe Palo Alto Weekly offers advertising

for Home Services, Business Services and Employment.

If you wish to learn more about these advertising options,

please call 650.223.6582 or email [email protected].

POLICE CALLSPalo AltoDec. 30-Jan. 6Violence related Sutherland Drive, 11/3, 7:11 p.m.; child abuse/phsysical.University Avenue, 12/27, 4:18 p.m.; simple battery.California Avenue, 12/28, 8:55 p.m.; adult suicide attempt.Bryant Street, 12/29, 5:28 p.m.; arson.3200 block El Camino Real, 12/30, 1:35 a.m.; arson.Middlefield Road, 12/30, 7:45 p.m.; domestic violence/battery.Encina Avenue, 12/31, 3 p.m.; elder abuse/physical.Seminole Way, 12/31, 11:10 p.m.; domestic violence/battery.Amarillo Avenue, 12/31, 11:10 p.m.; domestic violence/battery.Park Boulevard, 1/2, 10:15 a.m.; simple battery.Byron Street, 1/5, 6:48 a.m.; adult suicide.Theft relatedCommercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Fraud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Grand theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Identity theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Petty theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Residential burglary attempt . . . . . . . . . . 2Shoplifting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Vehicle relatedAuto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Auto theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Driving w/ suspended license . . . . . . . . . 5Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Stolen catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11Theft from auto attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Vehicle accident/minor injury . . . . . . . . . . 2Vehicle accident/prop damage . . . . . . . . 3Vehicle tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Vehicle tow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Alcohol or drug relatedDriving under influence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Drunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Possession of paraphernalia . . . . . . . . . . 2Under influence of drugs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Menlo ParkDec. 30-Jan. 5Violence related300 block Sharon Park Drive, 12/30, 4:52 p.m.; spousal abuse.00 block Sunrise Court, 1/1, 11:24 a.m. p.m.; rape.Alma Street/Burgess Drive, 1/5, 3:03 p.m.; battery.Theft relatedBurglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Commercial burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Petty theft. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Residential burglaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Vehicle relatedAuto recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Bicycle theft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Driving w/ suspended license . . . . . . . . . 3Hit and run . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Stolen catalytic converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Theft from auto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Alcohol or drug relatedDrunk in public . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Possession of drugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Pulse

A list of local residents who died recently:

Barbara Reck Hastorf, 98, a Palo Alto resident and member of the Stanford University Committee for Art, died on Aug. 5. Babbette Latham, 90, a longtime Palo Alto resident, died on Dec. 14. Russell B. Bryan, 98, a former Palo Alto resident and two-time candidate for California’s 10th Congressional District, died on Dec. 23.

To read full obituaries, leave remembrances and post photos, go to Lasting Memo-ries at PaloAltoOnline.com/obituaries.

OBITUARIES


Vaccine rolloutEditor,

In the midst of bad news about the slow roll out of the COVID vaccine, I want to call your attention to a senior resi-dence that knows how to get things done: Channing House in Palo Alto. With skilled ad-ministrative leadership and disciplined staff, on Dec. 28-29, more than 300 residents and staff were vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at a clinic provided by CVS. It was not easy for our administrators to arrange, but they did it, and we are safer now than before. There will be a follow-up clinic on January 18-19, and we’ll be safer still!

Barbara BowdenWebster Street

No room for racismEditor,

My wife and I were both dis-tressed to see an insert included

with our recent City of Palo Alto Utilities bill. The one-page, two-sided insert advertis-ing the Residential Rate Assis-tance Program featured Black families on both sides. Why must we assume that African Americans are the ones who need this kind of assistance, when no other racial groups were represented? It reminded

me of an article in the Weekly years ago that headlined “crime in Palo Alto” and featured an African American on the cover. It is time that we examine and come to terms with our values, our patterns and our prejudices. There is no room for racism in our community.

Michael KassCowper Street

SpectrumEditorials, letters and opinions

The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Submit letters to the editor of up to 300 words to [email protected]. Submit guest opinions of 950 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 Editorial Assistant Lloyd Lee at [email protected] or 650-223-6526 or Editor Jocelyn Dong at [email protected].

What do you think about the police encrypting all of its radio communications?

Poor decision to encrypt police radio should

be reconsideredF or a city famous for its long, drawn-out deliberations in-

volving plenty of public input, this week’s sudden an-nouncement that the Palo Alto Police Department’s radio

transmissions would immediately be encrypted and no longer accessible to the public and media came as a shockingly secre-tive decision.

On Tuesday, the police department released to the media a four-paragraph notice stating: “Due to a requirement placed on all law enforcement agencies by the State of California Depart-ment of Justice to protect personal identifying information from being broadcasted on an open radio frequency, the city will be moving its law enforcement radio communications to encrypted frequencies to comply with these state standards.

“Here in Palo Alto, this change will go into effect this after-noon,” the message stated.

The aim of the Department of Justice order, which itself seeks to comply with FBI security policy, is to ensure that informa-tion from state and federal databases, such as driver’s license numbers and criminal histories, is not made public.

However, Palo Alto, like all other law enforcement agencies, faced two options for compliance: Either encrypt all transmis-sions or “establish policy to restrict dissemination of specific information that would provide for the protection of restricted CJI (Criminal Justice Information) database information and combinations of name and other data elements that meet the definition of PII (personally identifiable information). This will provide for the protection of CJI and Pll while allowing for radio traffic with the information necessary to provide public safety.”

There was deafening silence surrounding the city’s decision. At a minimum, the pros and cons of blanket encryption versus encryption only of private data should have gotten an airing in public. But the City Council never knew about, nor discussed this, in open session nor was it announced in city manager comments.

The inability for the public, and especially the news media, to access real-time information about police activities in the city’s neighborhoods is a significant blow to both police transparency and public safety. Media reports on active police actions are an important source of information for the public and have long been seen as an essential part of responsible news gathering. Without it, the public will only receive information on police activity when and if the police themselves have the time and desire to release it.

And what will happen in mass emergency situations? The news media will be unable to get and disseminate vital informa-tion, leading to higher anxiety and even panic among the public. When a lockdown of Palo Alto High School occurred in 2018 after a false report that an armed person was on campus, record numbers of parents and students turned to Palo Alto Online seeking information.

Access to police dispatches is particularly essential given the lack of any reliable method of obtaining information quickly from the police these days. The department has no dedicated public information officer, and responses to requests for infor-mation take more than a day to receive at the earliest. Press releases announcing robberies and other crimes similarly take days to reach the public.

Following a year of unrest and protests urging police ac-countability, blanket encryption is the wrong move to make. It is incumbent upon the council to agendize a discussion of this decision to surface other options for protecting privacy while also preserving disclosure to the public, whom the police serve.

More effort should be made to identify technologies and pro-cesses to do so. Technological solutions for encrypting only certain parts of transactions should be doable in the innovative center of Silicon Valley. Even old school methods, including communication by phone between officers in the field and dis-patchers with access to the private data, could be used.

Although continued and full public access to radio transmis-sionst is optimal, legislation has been proposed in California and Colorado recommending that, at the very least, media be given access with the assurance that they will not reveal private information. Though that legislation has failed to pass, we think that this is worth renewed attention.

This sudden decision without community input and its simul-taneous implementation is well below the standards of good governance, and the city should immediately reverse the deci-sion pending a full and public discussion.

Editorial

Letters

This week on Town SquareTown Square is an online discussion forum at PaloAltoOnline.com/square

In response to ‘No longer exclusive, Foothills Park welcomes residents from outside Palo Alto for the first time’

Posted Dec. 18 at 10:22 a.m. by Geoff Paulsen, a resident of another community:

“I was one of the plaintiffs in the above-mentioned lawsuit; here’s why: I spoke yes-terday with my 95-year-old aunt, Betty Lee, and she affirmed what I already knew — that when my grandparents offered most of their ranch to the city as open space, it was never their intention that the land would be off lim-its to anyone.

That being said, we do have a problem: a growing population and a growing interest in outdoor recreation, with open space parking lots that are often full. In addition to depriv-ing thousands of an open space experience, this frustrates would-be users who will then be less likely to support taxes for open space. …

City of San Francisco, who keeps your Crystal Springs reservoir fenced off, are you listening? Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, with your hidden preserves with tiny parking lots, are you listening? Portola Val-ley and Los Altos Hills, with your network of trails, are you listening? I hope we can all listen — and work together to better meet a growing need for a variety of local recreation experiences.”

In response to ‘Palo Alto looks to raise impact fees for parks, libraries and community centers’

Posted Dec. 31 at 1:40 a.m. by Jeremy Erman, a resident of Midtown:

“If the council is just going to do what they want anyway, why has the city hired an out-side “consulting firm” to do this study, espe-cially in the middle of the pandemic when so many services have been cut? Why can’t one of the many people at City Hall just sit down and spend a few hours looking at the numbers to come up with suggestions for increasing the fees?

The city drew up a $60,000 contract for this in April when we were in the heart of the first lockdown.”

In response to ‘PG&E likely to file eminent domain against Palo Alto Unified for easement at Cubberley’

Posted Dec. 29 at 12:10 a.m. by Julian Gomez, a resident of Midtown:

“Why, after so many decades, does PG&E suddenly need to rip up Cubberly? Noth-ing really has changed in the area. Most likely they’re looking for a spot that’s easy to take from our weak-willed pushover city administration.”


The number of art galleries in downtown Palo Alto contin-ues to grow, in spite of the

pandemic, with the recent open-ing of Qualia, a commercial ven-ue located at 328 University Ave. Its owner, Dacia Xu, brings to this endeavor a passion for art as well as a familiarity with the workings of the high-tech world.

Xu was born and raised in an isolated, mountainous area of Chi-na. She described her early life as “harsh,” thanks to the political cli-mate at the time. In the early ‘80s, she said, China restored the high-er education system, with a strong commitment to science and tech-nology. She was more or less as-signed a career path, even though “my innate nature was to love art and literature more,” she said. She eventually obtained her doctorate in materials science and worked for seven years in the high- tech industry. Doing so meant that she had to live in a variety of places in the United States, from Texas to Pennsylvania, and often apart from her husband, Xiaoze Xie, and two sons. When Xie was of-fered a position as professor of art at Stanford University, it was the opportune time for her to leave full-time work and devote herself to family life. At one point, she homeschooled her son so that he could pursue a career as a pianist.

She admits that the real impe-tus to try a new path came when a good friend (who is also her silent partner) encouraged her to embrace her love of art and open a gallery.

“My partner and I have the same interests and similar backgrounds. She has loved art her whole life but went to medical school. Like me, she wants to support artists and spread art to enrich other people’s cultural lives.”

The name of the gallery, Qua-lia, is a term in philosophy. Xu ex-plained, “it means the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions, arising from stimula-tion of the senses by phenomena.” She can remember with clarity her own initial up-close-and-personal encounter with Western art, the first Robert Rauschenberg show displayed in China in 1985. “I was shocked and fascinated,” she related.

“We named our gallery Qualia as a way to encourage people to directly experience art,” Xu said.

Her opening exhibition, which was guest-curated by her husband, was a group show of seven artists whose theme was man’s impact on the environment. The current exhibition (on view through Jan. 15), which Xu curated, features two Bay Area artists: Cate White and Sean Howe. Their large-scale paintings explore subjects in-cluding race, anxiety and power structures.

The configuration of the gal-lery, a narrow central space with an adjoining smaller room, will allow for group shows and dis-plays like this one, where each artist has their own area.

Qualia has a roster of artists but will expand that list.

“It always takes time to develop

a long-term good relationship with each individual artist,” Xu said. “We do welcome portfolios from local, national or interna-tional outstanding established and emerging artists.”

The shows are planned to change every four to five weeks.

When asked who her target audience is, Xu acknowledged the preponderance of highly edu-cated, technology-oriented people living on the Peninsula.

“We do anticipate high-tech people to be our audience. And that is one of the purposes that we chose in opening a gallery in Palo Alto. It is much more dif-ficult for people in Silicon Val-ley, who always have a very busy

schedule, to make a trip for art to San Francisco.”

Xu says she hopes to coordinate efforts with other Palo Alto art galleries, perhaps holding open-ings at the same time.

“It will help to create an art scene in Palo Alto and eventually people will form a habit to see art here,” she said. The next sched-uled exhibition will feature the work of Stella Zhang and Yulia Pinkusevich, who will also be part of a group show at the Palo Alto Art Center at the same time. “I hope we can do something such as sponsoring an artist talk together.”

One enormous advantage Qua-lia has is location. Just two doors

away from the Apple Store, it might become a welcome place to pop in and browse while wait-ing in the inevitable line at the technology store. No matter who walks through the door, they will be met with Xu’s enthusiasm and commitment to providing a vital platform for dialogues on contem-porary art.

“My partner and I know it is difficult to make any profit out of a gallery venture, even in non-pandemic times. But I do believe that people need art.”

More information is available at qualiacontemporaryart.com.

Freelance writer Sheryl Nonnenberg can be emailed at [email protected].

A weekly guide to music, theater, art, culture, books and more, edited by Karla KaneArts & EntertainmentNew addition to the downtown cultural scene will focus on contemporary work

by Sheryl Nonnenberg

Qualia Gallery gives Palo Alto a new platform for art

Dacia Xu, the owner of Qualia Contemporary Art, looks at Cate White’s paintings at the Palo Alto gallery on Dec. 9.

Ma

ga

li Ga

uth

ier

Cate White’s “The Key to the City + Addendum” is featured in the gallery’s current exhibition, on view through Jan. 15.

Qualia Contemporary Art opened its doors on University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto in late 2020.

Ma

ga

li Ga

uth

ier

Ma

ga

li Ga

uth

ier


Arts & Entertainment

M ost people have little nice to say about 2020, but for one local wom-

an, “It has been a blast.”Bored during lockdown in

March, Mary Kay Mitchell pulled out a box of Crayola chalk and drew a heart and a rainbow on her driveway, along the words: “When this is all over what will you remember?”

When neighbors walked by and made comments, Mitchell felt compelled to go out and create more chalk art, averaging three to four different pieces a week in front of her home on Anamor Street in Redwood City.

People stop to take pictures and chat, oftentimes dropping off ideas and thank you notes in her mailbox. When an admirer wrote a fan letter to the talented “young artist,” that really made Mitchell laugh because she’s a 68-year-old grandmother.

After a toddler neighbor called her “Chalk Grammy,” Mitchell decided to go by the name Chalk Granny, and has since turned her whimsical pursuit into a side ca-reer “to cheer people up.”

On Christmas a friend emailed Mitchell, saying “You’ve brought so many smiles with your art,” and then requested surprise draw-ings of champagne bottles, “Hap-py New Year!” “We miss you!” “Thank you for your support!” chalked outside three elementary school teachers’ homes on New Year’s Eve.

Thrilled to spring into action, Mitchell says she likes to think of herself as a bit of a Banksy, the mysterious street artist whose pieces pop up in Britain.

Ellen Jacobson lives nearby and asked Mitchell to draw a “rainbow unicorn Pegasus” to celebrate her twins’ birthday. The girls were delighted as were many others,

says Jacobson: “Mary Kay’s art-work brings smiles and happi-ness to anyone who walks by her masterpieces.”

During the week, Mitchell works as a receptionist, scheduler and notary at O’Donnell & Asso-ciates, a law firm in Menlo Park. Off hours when she’s not teaching yoga or drawing, she’s research-ing new ideas, adding them to her binder of images, and posting pic-tures of her projects on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #chalkgranny.

With the help of a hose, her husband, Marcos Domingos, keeps their driveway and sidewalk prepped for new creations. He also suggests content.

Through word of mouth Mitchell has landed assignments as far away as Marin County and the East Bay. A longtime friendship with Willie Brown’s wife, Blanche, led Mitch-ell to drive to Oakland to chalk the characters from the movie “Trolls” for a great grandson.

Mitchell will travel up to 50 miles and charges $50 an hour, usually completing most murals in less than two hours. She donates a portion of her proceeds to Second Harvest Food Bank.

Crouching down with chalk, a whisk broom and sponge in dou-ble-gloved hands, she is dripping in sweat by the time she is fin-ished. Moving quickly, she draws from pictures, and has learned mistakes cannot be corrected so it’s best to work from the top down, from light to dark colors, and to add details last.

When asked to enter Redwood City’s Chalk Full of Fun Festival last Fourth of July, she sought out

high-quality chalk and has been using Eternityarts.com’s vibrant long-lasting collection ever since. A box of 60-plus colors costs about $100, but Mitchell says it’s worth it because now her artwork lasts as long as four weeks — un-less it rains.

Rain has forced her to do some pieces on paper instead, such as a poster for her 100-year old neigh-bor’s birthday on Dec. 26. Upon request, Mitchell will also do a keepsake version of her chalk drawings using other art materials.

“I really like that chalk is tem-porary, just like I hope COVID is temporary,” she says.

Sometimes the pandemic in-spires works such as a lightsaber-wielding Darth Vader warn-ing, “Wear a mask or else,” or a masked Spock from “Star Trek” accompanied by the words “Stay safe & prosper.”

Mitchell received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Nazareth College in Rochester, New York. She earned an art teaching certifi-cation at Arizona State and taught art therapy to special needs kids for several years. She then worked as a waitress and felt that wasn’t a match, but she ended up staying when the restaurant hired her to hand-letter its menus.

She worked for the San Fran-cisco Chronicle before joining the law firm.

Mitchell is grateful for the posi-tive creative outlet her alter ego Chalk Granny has brought into her life, saying, “I have met more people during COVID than I have living in Redwood City for 12 years.”

And she is excited — she al-ready has birthday and graduation artworks booked well into 2021.

Kate Daly is a freelance writer.

Chalk Granny delights neighbors with her COVID creations

by Kate Daly

Ka

te D

aly

Mary Kay Mitchell displays her favorite chalk and collection of pictures.

Co

urte

sy Ma

ry Ka

y Mitch

ell

A young neighbor is delighted with her birthday surprise.

Co

urte

sy Ma

ry Ka

y Mitch

ell

A clean sidewalk serves as a canvas for Chalk Granny’s art work.

DE MARTINIDE MARTINIORCHARDORCHARD

66 N. San Antonio Rd., 66 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos • Los Altos • 650-948-0881 • DeMartiniOrchard.com

Kozy BrothersKozy BrothersYour Everyday

Farmers MarketFarm Fresh and Always the Best

SAME DAY CURBSIDE SAME DAY CURBSIDE IS COMING SOONIS COMING SOON

DETAILS TO FOLLOWDETAILS TO FOLLOW

DE MARTINIDE MARTINIORCHARDORCHARD

66 N. San Antonio Rd., 66 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos • Los Altos • 650-948-0881 • DeMartiniOrchard.com

Kozy BrothersKozy BrothersYYYoYoYouurururr EEEEveeveryyryr dadaadd y y y

FFFaFaarrmrmmmeererrss s MMMaMaaMM rkrkkkr etetteFFFaFaarrrmmm FFFFrrereesshshhh aaanndndd AAAlAllA wwawaaysysys ttthhehehee BBBBeesessttt

Your Everyday Farmers MarketFarm Fresh and Always the Best

OPEN DAILY OPEN DAILY 88AM-AM-77PM PM •• PRICES EFFECTIVE 1/6 thru PRICES EFFECTIVE 1/6 thru 1/121/12

$39999¢ $499 $3002

$269$499

49¢$269$249 $579

ORANGESORANGES

CITRUS SEASONCITRUS SEASONSATSUMA MANDARINSSATSUMA MANDARINS

CLEMENTINESCLEMENTINESKISHU MANDARINSKISHU MANDARINS

TANGELOSTANGELOSMEYER LEMONSMEYER LEMONS

WHITE GRAPEFRUITWHITE GRAPEFRUITPOMELOSPOMELOS

SONG HAY NAVELSONG HAY NAVEL

VERYVERY

SWEETSWEET

ANDAND

JUICYJUICY 22LBSLBSFORFOR

$$330000GRAPEFRUITGRAPEFRUIT

TEXAS SWEETTEXAS SWEET48 SIZE STAR RUBY 48 SIZE STAR RUBY

SWEETSWEET

ANDAND

JUICYJUICYEA9999¢¢

BIRDORBIRDOR

CROISSANTSCROISSANTS$$449999

PKGPKGOFOF44

FROMFROMMAUIMAUIISLANDISLANDSWEETSWEET

PAPAYASPAPAYAS$$339999

LB

HAWAIIANHAWAIIAN

YOUNGYOUNGANDANDTENDERTENDER

ZUCCHIZUCCHININIEXTRA FANCYEXTRA FANCY

9999¢¢LB

BROCCOLIBROCCOLICROWN CUTCROWN CUT

$$114949LB

CHARDS CHARDS && KALES KALESORGANICORGANIC LOCAL LOCAL

$$44000022BUNBUNFORFOR


L ast spring break, Los Altos School District computer science teacher Sheena

Vaidyanathan spent her vacation building a website for a new grass-roots effort she had formed to sup-port local farmers.

Ten months later, that home-grown project has become a vol-unteer-run nonprofit that delivers fresh, organic produce directly from Bay Area farms to more than a dozen cities throughout the Bay Area, as far south as Monterey and as far north as Oakland.

Vaidyanathan, a Los Altos resident, started Tera Farm after realizing how small, indepen-dent farmers were suffering due to the pandemic shutdown, with restaurants closed and the en-tire food supply chain disrupted. She reached out to a local farmer through Kitchen Table Advisors, a nonprofit that provides business advice to farmers, and asked if she could buy a box of kale from him directly. She shared the kale with friends and sent their pooled pay-ment to the farmer. The next week, her friends asked what other pro-duce she could get from the farm-er. The model quickly took off, spreading through word of mouth.

Fostering that direct relationship between consumer and farmer — no wholesaler or grocery store in between — became the driving purpose of Tera Farm.

“The money was going directly to a farmer we knew and we could put a face to. It was actually go-ing to where the food was coming from,” Vaidyanathan said. “This was something positive we were able to do during these months that were otherwise so difficult.”

Tera Farm works primarily with Maria Ana Reyes of Narci Organ-ic Farms and Bertha Magaña of Magaña Farms, both immigrants who graduated from the Agricul-ture and Land-Based Training As-sociation (ALBA) in Salinas, an in-tensive training program that helps farmworkers become farmers.

They let the nonprofit volunteers know what they’re growing each week, and the produce is posted to an online store where customers can shop from Monday through Wednesday. The entire proceeds go directly to the farmers that same week — before the pro-duce is even harvested — and by

Saturday, they drop off packaged orders at designated pickup sites. Tera Farm volunteers manage the pickup locations, including in Los Altos, Menlo Park and Palo Alto. (People who are interested in host-ing a pickup site can email [email protected].)

The vegetables and fruits change every week, depending on what’s available. A recent week included delicata squash, celery, broccoli, Dino kale, shallots, chard and parsley.

Unlike a CSA box or subscrip-tion service, customers can choose which items they want and don’t have to commit to a certain num-ber of weeks or months of order-ing. There’s no delivery fee but customers have to spend at least $25 to make it financially viable for the farmers. People can team up with friends or neighbors on orders if they can’t meet the mini-mum on their own.

Prior to Tera Farm, the farmers only sold their produce wholesale. Through the nonprofit, they can set their own prices for the first time and connect directly with their customers. The farmers have di-versified their crops in response to customer feedback, Vaidyanathan said, which also helps reduce their own financial risk. If the price of celery suddenly drops, for exam-ple, they have other vegetables they can turn to.

“Especially with the pandemic, many of these small farmers don’t make enough money to just live off the farm. Their family mem-bers work other jobs,” she said. “This really helped at that time

when they lost all their off-farm income.”

Tera Farm is not the only lo-cal farm-to-consumer project launched during the pandemic. A Palo Alto resident started Giving Fruits, a weekly pickup of fresh fruits and vegetables, though or-ders are placed in bulk and picked up from a single site in Palo Alto.

As a teacher, Vaidyanathan wants Tera Farm to have an edu-cational impact. Before the most recent shutdown, she organized farm visits so families could meet the farmers and learn more about organic farming. The nonprofit has a food blog to share recipes customers make from the produce they receive. Vaidyanathan sends out a weekly newsletter focused on a relevant topic of interest, such as how last fall’s wildfires impacted local farms.

Tera Farm has also nurtured unexpected connections between local residents and the people who grow their food, Vaidyana-than said. During the wildfires, a customer donated extra N95 masks to the farmers. Another person made face masks for them.

“We feel the connection to lo-cal food is important.” Vaidyana-than said. “Unless we understand how our food grows, we won’t appreciate it.”

For more on Tera Farm, go to terafarm.org.

Staff Writer Elena Kadvany can be reached at [email protected]. Check out her Peninsula Foodist blog at paloaltoonline.com/blogs.

Eating OutKale and communityLocal nonprofit helps small farms bring produce to Peninsula neighborhoods

by Elena KadvanyC

ou

rtesy Ja

cqu

e R

up

p/Te

ra Fa

rm

Three generations of the Magaña family pack boxes at Magaña Farms, whose produce is delivered to the Peninsula through Tera Farm.

Narci Organic Farms in Salinas partners with Tera Farm for its produce pickup program in the Bay Area.

Through Tera Farm, local residents can pick up fresh, organic produce in their neighborhoods.

Co

urte

sy Tera

Farm

Co

urte

sy Tera

Farm

Getty


Sereno Group


Living WellA monthly special section of news & information for seniors

Americans are living longer than ever be-fore — about 30 years longer, on average,

than a century ago — according to leading scholars who partici-pated in the Century Summit, a four-day virtual conference convened in December by The Longevity Project and the Stan-ford Center on Longevity. The conference looked at every-thing from business innovations to caregiving to new ways for Americans to work and thrive throughout the increasingly long lives they’re now living.

“Longevity is ... among the greatest opportunities we have had in human history,” Psycholo-gist Laura Carstensen, founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, said. “Essentially, our ancestors handed us 30 extra years of life with no strings at-tached. It’s up to us to make sure that we use these years to im-prove quality of life, not just in old age but at every stage in life.”

Researcher Susan Golden said adults 50 and older now repre-sent 35% of the nation’s popula-tion and account for more than 50% of consumer spending and 83% of household wealth.

That huge market of older

adults is beginning to attract “A-level entrepreneurs, who could be doing anything,” Robert Chess, a biotech entrepreneur and Stanford business lecturer, said.

“They’re coming in and re-inventing areas that have tra-ditionally been the purview of nonprofits and mom-and-pop businesses,” Chess said, citing a startup called Wider Circle fo-cused on alleviating senior lone-liness and another called Honor that specializes in the field of home healthcare.

Even iconic global brands with youthful images have embraced the aging customer base, making “stealth” changes to retain this group, he said.

“You think of BMW, the ‘ulti-mate driving machine,’ with 30- and 40-year-old marketing and demographics,” Chess said. But the average age of a new BMW owner is actually 56.

The Bavarian auto giant rede-signed its dashboard and controls

with more color contrast, larger type and bigger knobs, without ever announcing it, Chess said.

“It works really well for old-er people, but they don’t quite know why. It works well for the younger people. But (BMW) is

still marketing the same way they always have. It’s essentially stealth design,” he said.

Similarly, Nike — finding it was losing customers as they got into their 50s, 60s and 70s — in-troduced the CruzrOne athletic shoe.

“The marketing is ‘athlete for-ever,’ so they’re not marketing it toward older people, they’re mar-keting it for cross-generation,” Chess said.

“But it has features such as a flexible back heel so it’s easier to get in and out of the shoe. It has more stability control; it has more padding because as your feet get older the padding gets thinner — all things that are just good for everybody.”

Chess said the CruzrOne was inspired by 82-year-old Nike founder Phil Knight, who walks eight miles a day.

Despite its youthful image, eyewear maker Warby Parker has found that its fastest-growing market segment is people 60 and above, Chess said. “So, they pro-vide all the features needed (by older customers, such as progres-sive lenses) but still keep their young market. What you’re see-ing is companies that have young brands but are going where the growth is.

“They’re doing it by providing

product features that work for everybody but are needed by the older people.”

In seeking to lead longer and healthier lives, Americans should consider emulating the nation’s Latino population, David Hayes-Bautista, a professor of medicine and director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told partici-pants at the conference.

Latinos in the United States enjoy longer life expectancies and lower death rates from heart disease, cancer and other causes than non-Hispanic whites, said Hayes-Bautista, citing data from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Hayes-Bautista, who’s spent 40 years studying the health and culture of Latinos in the United States, said the group can be considered a model for longer, engaged lives. Latinos in the U.S. enjoy nearly 3 1/2 years of longer life expectancy — 81.8 years — than non-Hispanic whites, at 78.5 years, he said.

“That’s surprising because they have less income as a popu-lation, less education, lower ac-cess to care, but they manage to live 3 1/2 years longer,” he said.

Similarly, U.S. Latinos have 30% lower age-adjusted death

rates from several leading causes of death, including heart disease and cancer, he added.

The reasons, in part, have to do with “some behaviors, which are counter-intuitive,” Hayes-Bautista said. Latinos are about 30% less likely to use tobacco and alcohol and 40% less likely to use drugs, he said.

“This surprises a lot of people because the stereotype is the drunken Mexican, etc., etc.,” he said. “And part of this may be due to some dedication to work.”

Latinos consistently have a higher rate of labor force par-ticipation and a higher rate of household formation than non-Latinos, he said, citing data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“We don’t have to re-invent anything,” Hayes-Bautista said. “If we want to increase life ex-pectancy, lower mortality, keep people engaged and have big families, actually Latinos have been doing that ... We just need to understand and appreciate what’s under our nose right here in this country.”

For more information or re-cordings of the Century Sum-mit go to longevity.stanford.edu/century-summit/.

Contributing Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at [email protected].

Stanford’s Century Summit looks at how longevity is impacting business

innovations and everyday lifeby Chris Kenrick

Ge

tty Ima

ge

s

Americans are living 30 years longer, on average, than a century ago, according to scholars who participated in a recent virtual conference hosted by Stanford Center on Longevity and The Longevity Project.

‘They’re coming in

and reinventing areas

that have traditionally

been the purview of

nonprofits and mom-

and-pop businesses.’

—Robert Chess, biotech entrepreneur

Co

urte

sy Na

nc

y Ro

thste

in P

ho

tog

rap

hy


Wish hearing aids sounded better?Community Event

Calendar of EventsLiving Well JANUARY 2021

For complete schedule or info about Avenidas events, call 650-289-5400

Let Avenidas Village Help You Conquer Your New Year’s Resolutions!

Ok, Avenidas Village can’t actually vaccinate you, but we can help you get the

rest of those boxes checked off!

Find out how Avenidas Village can help get you ready for a better year ahead by visiting

www.avenidasvillage.org or emailing [email protected].

With Avenidas Village, you can have a lot more fun in 2021!

Get vaccinated

Get out of the house more often

Meet interesting new people

Address neglected home maintenance tasks

Upgrade my technology environment

Explore new interests and opportunities

Be better prepared for the next “surprise”

Jan 1Happy New Year! Welcome 2021!Jan 4Learn about ClearCaptions phones10:30-11:30am via Zoom, every 1st and 3rd Monday. RSVP for log on info [email protected]. Free

LGBTQ Senior Empowerment & Connections Group2:30 to 4pm via Zoom, every Monday. Email [email protected] with subject “Connections” for log on info. Free.

Jan 5 Bird DayBirds are more beautiful wild.

Jan 6Mindfulness MeditationEvery Wednesday, 2-3pm via Zoom. Visit www.Avenidas.org for log on information. Free.

Jan 7Wonder Women Lesbian Social Group via ZoomEvery 1st & 3rd Thursday, 3-4pm via Zoom. Email [email protected] for info and to register. Free.

Jan 8National Bubble Bath DayDid you know that these bubbles insulate the bathwater? They’ll keep the water warmer for longer.

Jan 11Open House: Avenidas Rose Kleiner Center12:30-1:30pm via Zoom. Email [email protected] for log on info. Free.

Jan 12LGBTQ Ally Appreciation Day2pm via Zoom. Email [email protected] for more info and to register. Free.

Jan 13Class Demo: Breathe, Move Your Body, and Be Happy: Gentle YogaInstructor: Sherry He, RYT, 10:30-11:15am via Zoom. Bilingual in English and Chinese. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free.

John Mandel2:30-4pm, via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free

Jan 14Caregiver Roundtable Discussion Group11am-12:30pm via Zoom. Contact [email protected] for more info and to register. Free.

Friendly Men’s Walking Group/SongAppreciation Group, every 2nd & 4th Thursday, 3-4pm via Zoom. Email [email protected] for more info and to register. Free.

Jan 15National Hat DayHave a virtual hat fashion show with your friends!

Jan 18

Avenidas closed.

Jan 19Techie Tuesdays Explore Tech Lectures2-3:15pm, on Tuesdays. For information or to register email [email protected]. Free.

Jan 20Hosting A Zoom Meeting10-11am via Zoom, on Wednesdays, Senior Planet @Avenidas. RSVP to [email protected] for log on info. Free

Jan 21Thoughtful Thursdays2-3:15pm on Thursdays. For information or to register email [email protected]. Free.

Tinnitus Support Group6:30-8:30pm via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free

Jan 22Webinar: Ask A Dietitian: Diet for Diabetes Prevention with Xuan Qin, MS, RD1:30-2:30pm via Zoom. Presented in Mandarin. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free.

Jan 25Webinar: Understanding Hospice and

American Coalition for Compassionate Care1:30-2:30pm via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected].

Jan 26Apple Tech Tutoring1:15-3:30pm, on Tuesdays. RSVP required. Email [email protected]. Free.

Jan 27Town Hall: What You Need to Know About the Covid -19 Vaccine and

Martin, Stanford Geriatric Medicine11am-12:30pm via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free

Jan 28Caregiver Roundtable Discussion Group11am-12:30pm via Zoom. Contact [email protected] for more info and to register. Free.

Book Club: The Shadow King by Maaga Minagiste2:30-4pm, via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free

Jan 29Webinar: Paying It Forward: Being Tax-Smart about your Charitable Dollars with Barbara Krimsky Binder CFP2-3pm via Zoom. RSVP for log on info to [email protected]. Free


Living Well

A Better Way to CareHire a private nurse for Mom or Dad’s care, and get the peace of mind that accompanies working with a licensed medical professional.

To learn more or schedule a consultation with a Nursing Specialist, visit nurseregistry.com or call (650) 523-9149

SECURING ONLINE ACCOUNTS ... Local startup GoodTrust helps secure people’s online and social media accounts and make important documents, like insurance, wills and house titles, easy to find when the account owner dies. Founder and tech veteran Rikard Steiber, a Menlo Park resident, said he stumbled on the business idea when trying to help a friend’s widow secure her late husband’s social media and other online accounts. “I realized it’s almost impossible to figure this out,” he said. “There’s no one to talk to. If you’re not tech-savvy, you’re essentially contacting an email address.” GoodTrust offers its basic package for free, but charges for add-on services and extra storage. For more information, go to mygoodtrust.com.

SHAKESPEARE, BIOGRAPHY AND MORE ... The pandemic has motivated retiree Phil Lumish to boost his virtual class offerings at Avenidas from three per week to five. Mondays is the Shakespeare Club, with readings and commentary. On Tuesdays, Lumish delves into biography. Wednesdays is a short-story day, which typically “gets some good audience response,” he said. Thursdays Lumish turns to the classics, where there’s discussion of a novel or play or, occasionally, literature from the Bible. Fridays, Lumish reads Moby Dick, and when that’s finished, he’ll pick something else. All sessions are free and last 90 minutes. For more information, contact Lumish directly at [email protected] or the main desk at Avenidas at 650-289-5400.

VACCINE UPDATES ... Stanford geriatrician Marina Martin will discuss what you need

to know about the COVID-19 vaccine and distribution protocols in a free Zoom session Wednesday, Jan. 27, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. To register and get the Zoom link, go to avenidas.org or call 650-289-5400.

TEACHING DUO ... Psychologist Eleanor Willemsen and lawyer Mike Willemson, who co-taught a psychology and law course at Santa Clara University for 27 years, will offer “Hot Topics in Psychology and Law” at Avenidas Tuesdays at 11 a.m. from Jan. 5 to March 2. Topics will include criminal investigations, sexual harassment, mental competency, child abuse, involuntary confinement and more. Cost is $45 for Avenidas members, $55 for nonmembers. To register, go to avenidas.org and click on “classes,” or call 650-289-5400.

ICEMAN’S SECRETS ... Archaeologist Patrick Hunt will lecture on Ötzi the Iceman, who lived 5,300 years ago and whose remains were frozen and discovered nearly perfectly preserved in the Ötztal Alps between Austria and Italy. The remains have been analyzed by forensic scientists to recover details about his life. The presentation on Tuesday, Jan. 12, from 1-2 p.m. is offered as part of the Community Conversations program at the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center. Free. To register, contact Michelle Rosengaus at [email protected].

Items for Senior Focus may be emailed to Palo Alto Weekly Contributing Writer Chris Kenrick at [email protected].

Senior Focus

Across

1 “21 ___” (2003 Sean Penn film)

6 Go on and on

10 1982 movie with a 2010 sequel

14 Quick text that’s usually abbreviated even more

15 Pilot’s prefix

16 Mandlikova of tennis

17 “Raging Bull” boxer Jake La ___

18 Person, place, or thing, in grammar

19 One of many for “Game of Thrones”

20 Band whose album “No Need to Argue” features the track “Twenty One” (followed by their biggest hit, “Zombie”)

23 ___ de los Muertos

24 Largest continent

25 Trivia locale, once (and hopefully in the future)

28 “Frozen” snowman

31 “Great British Bake Off” fixtures

35 Ending for suburban

36 Rattled

38 Actress Falco of “The Sopranos”

39 1950s news involving Charles Van Doren and “Twenty-One”

43 Primal calling

44 Holiday spread

45 Kind of wind or will

46 Opposite combatant

48 “Live!” cohost for 20+ years

49 1994 and 1997 U.S. Open winner Ernie

50 Icicle lights locale

53 “Skyfall” actor Rapace

55 Place to play Twenty-One

62 Penguins’ milieu

63 Former “Whose Line” host Carey

64 “Spunk” author Zora ___ Hurston

66 Present prefix

67 “Rondo ___ Turca” (Mozart piece)

68 Casual goodbyes

69 Calamities

70 Bigfoot’s Tibetan cousin

71 Singer with the Grammy-winning album “21”

Down

1 Workout facility

2 Square or cube follower

3 Short story-writer?

4 Inaudible on Zoom, maybe

5 Full of legroom

6 “Munich” star Eric

7 Florida explorer Ponce de ___

8 Caribbean island near Venezuela

9 Skeletal makeup

10 Poem with the line “Darkness there and nothing more”

11 “Mr. Robot” actor Malek

12 “The joke’s ___!”

13 Some House votes

21 “Lord of the Flies” leader

22 2014 World Cup final city

25 Irritated state

26 Half a 360

27 Neutral, blah color

29 Starting on

30 Less numerous

32 Murphy of 2021’s “Coming 2 America”

33 Former One Direction member Horan

34 Markets successfully

37 Public TV chef Ming ___

40 “Back to the Future” director Robert

41 $100 bill, in old slang

42 Fleet-footed heroine of Greek myth

47 It’s milked in Tibet

51 Truman declaration of 9/2/45

52 Country-blues guitarist Steve

54 Draw ___ on (take aim at)

55 Waxing target

56 Chauffeur-driven vehicle

57 Rice who writes of vampires

58 Ancient British Isles settler

59 “The Bridge on the River ___”

60 Hurrying, maybe

61 Airline to Jerusalem

65 Language suffix

©2021 Jonesin’ Crosswords ([email protected])

Answers on page 12.

“Must Be ‘21 to Enter” — happy new year to you! by Matt Jones

Answers on page 12. www.sudoku.name

This week’s SUDOKU


The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Real estate agents affiliated with Coldwell

Banker Realty and Coldwell Banker Devonshire are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker®

System is comprised of company owned offices which are owned by a subsidiary

of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offices which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

ColdwellBankerHomes.com guiding you home since 1906

MENLO PARK | $2,399,000

Hidden Gem in Coveted Allied Arts! This absolute charming 3br/2.5ba home features warm and bright living and dining rooms with a fireplace and an updated modern kitchen with stainless steel appliances that opens to the

family room leading to the gorgeous private backyard. Enjoy hardwood floors throughout the ground level, spacious bathrooms, upscale casement windows looking out to beautiful greens, skylights.

Ellen Zhu

408.828.7119

[email protected]

CalRE #01945702

LOS ALTOS | $1,188,000

Sparkling 2br/2ba one-story condominium w/spacious paver patio and mature fruit trees. Separate kitchen door opens to patio. Hardwood floors throughout living areas and bedrooms. Enjoy the complex’s swimming pool and

community garden.

Elaine White

640.465.4663

[email protected]

CalRE #01182467

UKIAH | $525,000

A beautifully maintained 3br/2ba turn-key home w/landscaped front & back yards, brick walkways and simulated wood flooring. Only a mile and a half from Lake Mendocino and the Chekaka Recreation Area where you’ll find

picnic areas, swimming spots, trails, and boat facilities. This gorgeous home in a stunning natural area makes a complete package!

Sheila Lawrence

707.478.7240

[email protected]

CalRE #01301026


The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verifi cation. Real estate agents affi liated with Coldwell

Banker Realty and Coldwell Banker Devonshire are independent contractor sales associates, not employees. ©2021 Coldwell Banker. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker and the Coldwell Banker logos are trademarks of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. The Coldwell Banker®

System is comprised of company owned offi ces which are owned by a subsidiary

of Realogy Brokerage Group LLC and franchised offi ces which are independently owned and operated. The Coldwell Banker System fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.

ColdwellBankerHomes.com guiding you home since 1906

PORTOLA VALLEY | $8,000,000

Located in the prime Westridge area of Portola Valley, this 4-bedroom and 4.5-bath property with pool, spa and stand-alone offi ce/studio offers spacious living spaces, striking views and an abundance of

storage space. The home’s single-level fl oor plan provides a variety of areas for both formal and casual entertaining as well as everyday living. Ideal convenient location.

Ginny Kavanaugh 650.400.8076

CalRE #00884747

John Kavanaugh 415.377.2924

CalRE #02058127

MENLO PARK | $2,879,000

Gorgeous, spacious, light-fi lled 4br/3ba home w/tall ceilings, large windows, French doors, skylights & hardwood fl oors throughout. Chef’s kitchen w/Sub-Zero refrigerator & wine cooler, Bosch dishwasher, Thermador

cooktop and double ovens. Other upgrades include designer closet systems, Toto toilets, fabulous cabinetry throughout & so much more. Don’t miss wonderful outdoor space ideal for entertaining!

Tory Fratt

650.619.3621

[email protected]

CalRE #01441654

MOUNTAIN VIEW | $2,499,888

Expansive 4br/2ba home provides ample space & modern fi nishes. Kitchen features newer cabinetry, granite counters, stainless appliances, oversized sink, gas cook top, Bosch double ovens & natural light. Large master

w/sitting area & walk-in closet. Additional features: fresh paint, newly installed fl ooring & HVAC, double pane windows, ground fl oor bedroom w/full bathroom, fresh paint & large paved yard.

Gordon Ferguson

650.704.0905

[email protected]

CalRE #01038260

dday ay f r o mhe l€¦ · william s. johnson (223-6505) editorial editor jocelyn dong (223-6514)...

Documents