Sec 1 - Almanac News

Living with coyotes 

in Almanac country page 3 

THE HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER FOR MENLO PARK, ATHERTON, PORTOLA VALLEY AND WOODSIDE 

APRIL 13, 2011 | VOL. 46 NO. 33 

WWW.THEALMANACONLINE.COM 

A Los Trancos Woods inventor has not put away 

his childhood imagination Section 2

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2 � The Almanac � April 13, 2011 

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UPFRONT 

Living with coyotes on Midpeninsula 

By Kate Daly 

Special to the Almanac 

Missing cat posters are a 

common sight in some 

parts of Woodside where 

cats disappear on a regular basis. 

“We’ve lost cats to coyotes and 

cars over the years,” John Demma 

said matter-of-factly, acknowledging 

that he lives along “a natural 

corridor” where Beach Gulch Creek 

meanders through acres of watershed 

area next to Woodside Road. 

“We get mountain lions, foxes 

and bobcats, too,” he said, but 

what’s unnerving is seeing “two or 

three coyotes on the creek within 

100 feet of the house.” 

Just down the road, his neighbor, 

Gina Baldwin, had a cat show up 

one morning “with his leg dangling.” 

She never heard a noise, but 

suspects coyotes might have mauled 

him. She said she has seen them “at 

my fence taunting the dogs” when 

her dog was in heat. 

Coyotes have been known to breed 

with dogs and wolves, but as they 

reach the end of mating season this 

month, coyotes are mostly seeking 

out other coyotes in the area. 

They are on the prowl, calling to 

each other more than usual. Coyotes 

usually hunt between dusk and 

dawn, but can be spotted moving 

around during the day. 

Biking through Portola Valley, 

Dave Boyce has seen individual 

By Sandy Brundage 

Almanac Staff Writer 

was something,” 

said Joni Woodside as 

‘That 

she described watching 

a pack of at least three coyotes 

chase a deer through her Atherton 

neighborhood last week. “I’ve 

been on this street for 40-something 

years and I have never seen 

coyotes. It was quite frightening.” 

After the incident, she said 

she walked along Walsh Road 

to warn neighbors that their 

pets might start disappearing 

in an area that’s home to chickens, 

rabbits, cats, and other 

small animals. 

The coyotes haven’t reappeared, 

but Ms. Woodside said she heard 

Photo by Justin Miel 

Once kept as an illegal pet, this 

coyote now lives at CuriOdyssey, 

formerly called Coyote Point 

Museum in San Mateo. 

coyotes on Portola Road dart by 

him in daylight. It’s when he hears 

a pack of them howling at night that 

spooks him and gets him thinking, 

“I wonder if they go after people?” 

In rare instances, there have 

been attacks on humans, but “coyotes 

by nature are very fearful,” 

according to Nikii Finch-Morales, 

director of wildlife at CuriOdyssey, 

formerly called Coyote Point 

Museum in San Mateo. 

The museum has a coyote on 

exhibit, a female named Sierra who 

was confiscated by the California 

Department of Fish and Game 

Coyotes race through Atherton 

them howling Tuesday night. 

Lt. Joe Wade of the Atherton 

police department said there 

have been no other reports of 

coyotes running amok to date. 

Keep pets safe by bringing 

them inside at sunset, and don’t 

let cats and dogs roam freely, 

said Mary Paglieri, a wildlife 

consultant and president of 

the Little Blue Society. She 

also suggested keeping chickens 

and other outdoor animals in 

sturdy cages or coops. 

“Coyotes prefer their natural 

prey and do not actively seek 

out domestic animals. It is our 

responsibility to keep our pets 

out of harm’s way,” Ms. Paglieri 

said. A 

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when she was just a pup. Ms. Finch- 

Morales said the coyote was tied 

up in someone’s backyard being 

kept as an illegal pet. Sierra is “very 

unsocialized,” afraid of dogs, and 

unfit to be released into the wild. 

Coyotes “are wild animals, and 

the more wild spaces we take up, the 

more we have to share the environment 

with them, “ she said. 

She believes the best way to coexist 

safely with coyotes is to avoid 

attracting them into the neighborhood. 

She suggested “not leaving 

out food or water” and securely 

closing garbage cans because “coyotes 

will dumpster dive as much as 

raccoon or skunks.” 

Coyotes “prefer meat (rodents 

and rabbits), but they’re omnivores 

and will eat fruit and nuts to fill 

them up. They’re opportunists and 

they’re not that picky,” she said. 

They will eat other mammals 

and don’t care if it’s a fresh kill or 

road kill. 

“If you have small animals such 

as a cat or a small dog, a Chihuahua 

or Yorkie, don’t leave them outside 

unsupervised,” she advised. 

Ms. Finch-Morales said keeping 

property “uncluttered, closed and 

clear” is also important because 

coyotes are known to make dens in 

open storage and gardening sheds, 

and/or in heavily planted and protected 

areas. 

Visit keepmewild.org for tips 

from the California Department 

of Fish and Game on how to 

make yards less welcoming: put 

away bird feeders at night, cover 

compost piles, pick up ripe fruit 

off the ground, and install motionsensitive 

lighting. 

“If followed by a coyote, make 

loud noises,” the website advises. 

“If this fails, throw rocks in the 

animal’s direction.” 

Coyotes are territorial but can 

cover a couple of miles while 

hunting, and run at up to 40 mph. 

Adult coyotes have brownish gray 

fur, large ears, and bushy tails. 

They can weigh between 20 to 45 

pounds and have a keen sense of 

hearing, smell and sight. They also 

dig and jump well. 

The Wildlife Center of Silicon 

Valley recommends fencing 

should be 6 feet tall and 6 inches 

below the ground to keep coyotes 

out. To safeguard poultry and 

rabbits, the best option is a fully 

enclosed structure. A 

THE ALMANAC (ISSN 1097-3095 and USPS 459370) 

is published every Wednesday by Embarcadero Media, 

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M E N L O P A R K | A T H E R T O N | W O O D S I D E | P O R T O L A V A L L E Y 

Budget crisis top issue in supervisor’s race 

By Dave Boyce 


There were light moments 

at a March 30 forum in 

Redwood City for the six 

candidates running for a seat on 

the Board of Supervisors for San 

Mateo County. 

“Have a bagel and vote for 

Nagel,” said candidate Terry 

Nagel, who brought raisin bagels, 

in response, she said, to a request 

to all the candidates to bring food. 

Ms. Nagel borrowed her slogan 

from her son’s third-grade campaign 

for student government, she 

told the Almanac. 

Some minutes later, candidate 

Dave Pine floated the possibility 

of Doughnuts with Dave. “I 

grew up in New England. There’s 

doughnuts everywhere,” he said. 

Much later, responding to a question 

on preserving trees, he noted: 

“My name is Pine. I’m for trees.” 

The mail-in-ballot election, 

now ongoing, extends through 

April and ends May 3. 

Sharing the dais at the Veterans 

Memorial Senior Center with Mr. 

Pine and Ms. Nagel were candi- 

Stanford hospital expansion: 

Menlo Park not happy with 

traffic mitigation measures 



Many people think that 

an expanded Stanford 

hospital will be a boon 

to the community. Nevertheless, 

the project’s final environmental 

impact report continues to 

come under fire by Menlo Park 

officials. 

One Stanford physician in chief 

told the council at its April 

5 meeting that the expansion 

was critical. “Ninety-five percent 

of children seen in emergency 

rooms are from San Mateo and 

Santa Clara counties. So it’s really 

critical for us to move ahead with 

this. We’ve run out of room,” Dr. 

Hugh O’Brodovich said. 

The $3.5 billion project would 

bring about 1.3 million square 

feet of new development and 

more than 2,200 new employees 

to Palo Alto by 2025. 

But it could also add an estimated 

10,000 new daily car trips 

to the area, with 51 percent of the 

By Dave Boyce 


Battalion Chief Dan Ghiorso will take 

over as fire chief of the Woodside Fire 

Protection District on May 1, according 

to current chief Armando Muela, who 

retires this month. An induction ceremony 

for Mr. Ghiorso is set for April 25. 

Mr. Ghiorso, 51, is one of five battalion 

chiefs in the district, four of whom were 

eligible for the job, said Peter Berger, a 

ELECT ON 

2011 � 

� 

� 

traffic passing through Menlo 

Park. According to the EIR, that 

traffic won’t have a significant 

impact, an assertion that troubled 

the City Council. 

“How do we reconcile what we 

see in our town, as patterns when 

we drive, with the report we get 

that says there is no impact at 280 

and Sand Hill? Or there is a low 

impact at Alpine, and Santa Cruz 

and Sand Hill?” asked Mayor 

Rich Cline at the April 5 meeting. 

He added that he lives near 

the latter intersection. “There’s 

no way there’s not going to be a 

significant impact.” 

Prior to the council meeting, 

Stanford representatives provided 

additional information to address 

some of the EIR’s perceived shortcomings 

— namely, the methodology 

used for traffic analysis. 

Menlo Park staff estimates traffic 

could actually be 45 percent higher 

than calculated by the project’s 

See TRAFFIC, page 8 

member of the district’s three-person 

board of directors. Only Mr. Ghiorso 

applied for the chief’s job and he was 

hired on a unanimous vote on March 28, 

Candidates in the District 1 county supervisor race are, from left, Richard Holober, Terry Nagel, Demetrios 

Nikas, Gina Papan, Dave Pine and Michael Stogner. 

dates Richard Holober, Demetrios 

Nikas, Gina Papan and Michael 

Stogner. All six took questions on 

local issues, first from a moderator 

and then from some of the 40 

to 50 voters who attended. 

Among the big issues in the 

election are the county’s budget 

crisis with an anticipated deficit 

exceeding $80 million in the next 

fiscal year; under-funded public 

employee pensions; the plight of 

the county’s less fortunate; and 

the need to create jobs. 

Mr. Berger said. 

“I assume (the other battalion chiefs) 

wanted him to be chief,” Mr. Berger said. 

“That’s a fairly good assumption,” Battalion 

Chief Don Romero said in a phone 

interview. Mr. Romero has tentative plans 

to retire within a year and would have had 

to move from Sacramento to take the job. 

“I think Dan will make a fine chief,” he 

added. “He’s very interested in the job.” 

The board limited the candidate pool 

to battalion chiefs inside the district, a 

The open seat represents District 

1, which includes South San Francisco, 

San Bruno and Hillsborough. 

While Atherton, Woodside, 

Menlo Park and Portola Valley 

Photo by Michelle Le/The Almanac 

Made by hand, from the heart 

Menlo School junior Shuhei Nakata, left, teaches Galen Dahl, 8, how to make a paper crane at the Atherton 

Library on April 5. Seven Menlo School students were on hand that afternoon to help children create the cranes, 

using a craft form known as origami. The Atherton Library has joined other San Mateo County branches in the 

origami project, which is raising disaster-relief funds for Japan’s earthquake and tsunami victims. 

Dan Ghiorso named new chief of the Woodside fire district 

Dan Ghiorso, a battalion 

chief in the Woodside Fire 

Protection District, will be 

the new fire chief as of 

May 1. A ceremony is set 

for April 25. 

See ELECTION, page 8 

practice that’s been going on for at least 50 

years, said Mr. Berger, who’s been on the 

board for 25 years. 

“We have within the organization great 

resources who know the organization and 

know the people,” he said. “There’s no 

need to bring a stranger in.” 

The board also does not want the Woodside 

district to serve as a stepping stone for 

chiefs interested in big-city positions in 

See GHIORSO, page 8 


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SAVE YOUR SKIN… 

AND YOUR EYES 

Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun can harm 

your eyes in the same way that they injure 

your skin. This insidious damage can result in 

sunburned corneas, cancer of the eyelid, and 

increased risk of eye diseases such as cataracts 

and macular degeneration. However, people may 

be lulled into a false sense of security because 

these diseases do not develop until long after 

sun-related damage occurs. In fact, they may not 

even be aware they have suffered any damage. 

N E W S 

Earth Day in Portola Valley: 

Worm composting workshop 

By Dave Boyce 


That there are earthworms in 

Portola Valley is not news. 

But earthworms crawling 

around in the lobby of Town Hall 

and eating the staff’s lunch leftovers? 

That is news and the worms 

will be available for inspection 

and interviews during a one-day 

composting workshop that begins 

at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 16, at the 

Earth Day fair. 

Town Hall’s worm farm is an 

initiative by Brandi deGarmeaux, 

Portola Valley’s environmental programs 

coordinator. Its purpose: 

to demonstrate an alternative to 

throwing away food scraps and 

other things that earthworms like, 

such as cardboard and paper bags. 

Worms have eclectic tastes and 

eat half their weight in food every 

day, according to a reference 

provided by Ms. deGarmeaux. 

While a single worm doesn’t 

weigh much, a few thousand can 

do some respectable composting. 

Among their preferences: fruits 

and vegetables, including hardto-compost 

corncobs. They also 

welcome pancakes without syrup, 

eggshells, used coffee filters, dead 

flowers and newspapers, including 

the Almanac. 

They will nibble at bread, 

onions, garlic, coffee grounds and 

banana peels (after the farm is 

well along), but absolutely no oils, 

meats, fish or dairy, and no citrus 

or candy, including chocolate. 

“Worm composting is a great 

way to transform food scraps and 

organic waste into a nutrient rich 

fertilizer and concentrated soil 

conditioner,” Ms. deGarmeaux 

says. “Your plants, lawns, gardens, 

environment and of course, the 

worms, will all benefit from vermicompost!” 

To pre-register for the workshop, 

call Ms. deGarmeaux at 851-1700, 

ext. 222, or write to her at bdegarmeaux@portolavalley.net. 

Catherine Mullings wins computer award 

Catherine Mullings, 17, a 

junior at Sacred Heart Preparatory 

in Atherton, has been 

presented the 2011 Award for 

Aspirations in Computing by 

the National Center for Women 

and Information Technology, 

Bay Area Affiliate. 

She was one of 25 female high 

school recipients chosen from 

among competitors in 11 counties 

in Northern California. 

Winners were chosen for their 

aptitude and interest in information 

technology and computing, 

leadership ability, academic his- 

Catherine 

Mullins 

tory, and plans 

for post-secondary 

education, 

said Millie Lee, 

a spokesperson 

for Sacred Heart 

Schools. 

Catherine 

advanced to 

the national 

competition and was honored 

as a National Award finalist, 

competing against 2,800 high 

school students representing 

the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and 

overseas military bases. 

Online. 

Anyplace. 

Anytime. 

www.AlmanacNews.com 

Eye damage related to ultraviolet (UV) rays may 

not be evident until a person is much older. As 

a preventative measure, therefore, it is suggested 

that everyone wear sunglasses that block UV 

light. Look for those labeled “100 percent UV 

protection.” 

With the summer season approaching, you’ll 

probably be spending more time outdoors. Your 

eyes, like your skin, need protection from harmful 

UV rays that can cause vision problems that are 

not immediately obvious. Please visit MENLO 

OPTICAL at 1166 University Drive, on the corner 

of Oak Grove and University Drive, to browse 

through our display of sunglasses with UV-ray 

protection. We offer both prescription and nonprescription 

sunglasses. Call us at 322-3900 if you 

have questions about eyewear. 

P.S Glasses with photochromic lenses automatically 

darken as exposure to UV light increases. 

Mark Schmidt is an American Board of Opticianry 

and National Contact Lens Examiners Certified 

Optician licensed by the Medical Board of California. He 

can be easily reached at Menlo Optical, 1166 University 

Drive, Menlo Park. 650-322-3900.



When the county first said 

that Flood Park might 

have to close permanently, 

residents worried about their 

safety as well as the loss of a popular 

community resource. Twenty-one 

acres of empty space in the middle 

of a neighborhood seems like a 

prime target for crime. 

However, data provided by the 

Menlo Park Police Department 

suggests that the park, which sits 

between Bay Road and the Bayshore 

Freeway, has not turned into a 

magnet for crime since it was closed 

in September to let the San Francisco 

Public Utilities Commission 

install a water pipeline. 

The Almanac looked at the number 

and type of crimes reported 

from September through March for 

the past four years. Crime peaked 

during the months immediately 

before the closure, with double the 

number of incidents compared to 

Noel Bakhtian and Cecilia Larrosa 

were honored with Zonta 

International Amelia Earhart Fellowships 

at a luncheon held Jan. 15 

at Left Bank restaurant in Menlo 

Park. The two $10,000 fellowships 

N E W S 

Compassion Weekend 

Patrick Duffek, right, hands out balloon animals to children attending the Showers of Support birthday 

party in Menlo Park for the families and women of First Resort’s Godparent Program, a counseling center 

for women. The birthday party and baby shower was hosted by Menlo Park Presbyterian Church as part 

of it annual Compassion Weekend, held April 2-3. 

Flood Park closure hasn’t led to crime spike 

the average 12 reported during the 

same time period in 2007, 2008, 

and 2009. 

Out of the 26 reported crimes 

from September 2009 through 

March 2010, there were nine 

vandalisms and seven unlicensed 

drivers. 

School holidays might be a better 

predictor of crime than park 

closures. “For the vandalisms, they 

were victims reporting slashed 

tires,” said police spokesperson 

Nicole Acker. “There was no suspect 

information provided, so it 

would be a guess as to what happened. 

Most of them happened 

the week of Christmas, so it could 

have been juveniles on break.” 

San Mateo County may shut 

down Flood Park if Menlo Park 

doesn’t agree to take over management. 

Running the park costs the 

county $205,000 per year, money 

that the county can no longer 

afford in light of the need to cut 10 

percent from its general fund operating 

budget. A 

Two win Amelia Earhart Fellowships 

� CORRECTION 

In a story on the Portola Valley 

Town Council’s decision to 

adjourn to an urgent closed session, 

the Almanac incorrectly 

reported that former councilman 

Richard Merk ascribed the 

were awarded by local Zonta Clubs 

belonging to District 9, Area One, 

of Zonta International. 

By awarding the fellowships, 

Zonta encourages women to enter 

aerospace-related fields. Both Ms. 

council’s skittishness regarding 

below-market-rate housing to 

learning, 18 months ago, that 

Windmill School was interested 

in purchasing the property at 

900 Portola Road, formerly Al’s 

Nursery. 

In a subsequent interview, Mr. 

30 

25 

20 

15 

10 

5 

0 

Photo by Carolyn Bennett 

Crime in and 

around Flood Park 

12 

Sept. 

2007- 

March 

2008 

10 

Sept. 

2008- 

March 

2009 

26 

Sept. 

2009- 

March 

2010 

13 

Sept. 

2010- 

March 

2011 

(Closed) 

Total crime incidents 

reported to the Menlo Park 

Police Department for periods 

shown. Data: Menlo Park 

Police Department. The 

park has been closed since 

September due to work on a 

water pipeline. 

Bakhtian and Ms. Larrosa are 

doctoral students in the field of 

aeronautics and astronautics at 

Stanford University. 

Zonta International is a global 

organization of executives and 

professionals working to advance 

the status of women. 

Merk did not back away from 

his opinion about the council’s 

skittishness, but said that to his 

recollection, the council did 

not specifically discuss BMR 

housing in connection with 

Windmill School’s interest in 

the nursery. 

REAL ESTATE Q&A 

by Monica Corman 

Negotiating Repairs 

While In Contract 

Dear Monica: I have accepted 

an offer to buy my house and the 

buyers have done their inspections. 

Now they have presented me 

with quite a list of repairs, some 

of which seem questionable, and 

are asking for a price reduction 

to offset them. I thought I was 

finished with negotiating when 

I accepted their last counteroffer. 

Do I have to say acquiesce to 

their demands? 

Frank K 

Dear Frank: Many more buyers 

are asking for repairs and offsets 

than have for a long time. This 

is because they can ask for these 

things since the market is still in 

their favor, although low inventory 

is giving sellers some bit of leverage. 

Buyers also don’t want to use 

their own money, if they have any 

extra, to make repairs they feel the 

sellers should have made. 

You can completely reject 

their requests or compromise 

and accept some of them. If 

the requests are reasonable you 

should accept them if you can 

because it means you will be 

able to move on. This is the most 

painful part of the process and it 

is best not to drag it out. You will 

likely reach an acceptable agreement 

and if not, you can put your 

house back on the market. 

For answers to any questions you may have on real estate, you may 

e-mail me at mcorman@apr.com or call 462-1111, Alain Pinel Realtors. 

I also offer a free market analysis of your property. www.MonicaCorman.com 

SPARKLES & RAVIOLI THE CLOWNS 

Marsh Manor! 

Wednesday, April 20 

from 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. 

Restaurant Discounts! 

Free Animal Balloons 

and 

Free Face Painting 

3700 Florence Street 

Redwood City 

Corner of Marsh Road and Florence Street 

www.marshmanor.com 



N E W S 

Budget crisis top issue in county supervisor’s election 

ELECTION 

continued from page 5 

are in District 3, the election still 

matters to local voters because 

supervisors run county-wide. 

Leadership by example 

The candidates introduced 

themselves and moderator Chris 

Balme of the Redwood City 

Woodside Democratic Club 

opened the Q-and-A by requesting 

evidence of leadership qualities 

the candidates would bring 

with them. 

Mr. Pine, an attorney, former 

corporate executive and current 

president of the San Mateo 

Union School District board of 

directors, pointed to his financial 

credentials. He and one 

other new member arrived on 

the school board in 2007 when 

reserves were barely at the 3 percent 

mandate, he said. They are 

now over 10 percent, he told The 

Almanac. To trim county health 

care costs, Mr. Pine suggested 

consulting with the federal government 

and perhaps focusing 

on the sickest patients. 

Ms. Papan, a deputy attorney 

general, said voters would see 

more partnerships. As Millbrae’s 

mayor in 2008, she witnessed the 

opening of a power plant that runs 

on restaurant-provided kitchen 

grease. She would consider consolidating 

fire departments and 

moving county departments now 

leasing office space into unoccupied 

county-owned buildings. 

She also began an initiative to 

ban plastic bags from stores and 

is working on getting having the 

county recycle them, her website 

says. 

GHIORSO 


San Francisco or San Jose, Mr. 

Berger said. 

The Woodside district is a 

career-oriented organization 

with a deep bench, Mr. Berger 

said, adding that he knows of at 

least one regular firefighter in 

the district who is chief material. 

“Frankly,” he said, “if something 

were to happen to Dan, I have 

no doubt (the district) would 

have several very, very qualified 

candidates.” 

Former mechanic 

Mr. Ghiorso is a native of San 

Francisco and began his working 

career as an auto mechanic 

in Colma, he said in a phone 

interview. The idea of firefighting 

came to him after watching 

a calamity unfold at work in the 

shop one day. 

“We had a man die on us and 

we didn’t have any training,” he 

Ms. Nagel, mayor of Burlingame, 

noted that the county 

avoided a deficit this year 

by drawing $70 million from 

reserves and that the board 

narrowly defeated a sales tax 

increase, an idea she said she 

opposed. She would “dig deeply,” 

she said, into budget issues 

to create a balanced budget. 

With one manager for every 5.5 

employees, county government 

is “really top-heavy” compared 

to Santa Clara County the ratio 

is 1:9, she said. 

A new jail 

With the county facing a major 

deficit and possibly a 15 percent 

cut in services, why build a new 

jail, a woman asked. 

A “realignment” proposed by 

Gov. Jerry Brown would gradually 

transfer oversight from the state to 

the counties of offenders convicted 

of “non-violent, non-serious and 

non-sex-related” crimes. 

The effect in San Mateo County: 

about 400 more inmates per year, 

but without enough supplemental 

funding to pay the higher costs, 

and alternatives for normally jailed 

low-level offenders. 

“The women’s jail is deplorable 

and the men’s jail can become a 

safety hazard,” Mr. Pine said. The 

county needs a new jail, he said, 

but not a “gigantic” one. 

“We are in dire need of a new 

jail, (but) we need to ensure that 

funding comes with the new 

inmates from the governor’s 

proposal,” Ms. Papan said. 

“We definitely need a new 

jail (and) new ideas, too, like 

electronic monitoring,” Ms. 

Nagel said. She supports slowing 

recidivism rates by bolstering 

said, adding that the man was 

in his late 60s and was probably 

having a heart attack. “We basically 

watched while we waited for 

an ambulance. I never wanted to 

watch that again.” 

He took a first-aid class and 

someone recommended firefighting, 

so he enrolled at the College 

of San Mateo. Though in his early 

30s, he was told his age was not a 

drawback to starting a new and 

demanding career, he said. 

He came to the Woodside 

district as a cadet in 1991, began 

working fulltime as a firefighter 

in 1993, and advanced to paramedic, 

then captain for seven 

years, and battalion chief for four 

years, he said. 

Mr. Ghiorso is married and has 

five children and lives in Foster 

City. He’s been coaching youth 

baseball since 1974, he said. 

His compensation will be identical 

to that of outgoing Chief 

Armando Muela: $189,500 plus 

health care, Mr. Ghiorso said. A 

rehabilitation programs. 

Give ex-cons “opportunity after 

opportunity to get back on track,” 

Mr. Holober said. 

Mr. Stogner said he was in favor 

of a new jail, but the county’s fiscal 

crisis has changed his mind. 

Wetlands or community? 

The Minneapolis-based Cargill 

Salt Corp. is proposing to 

convert 1,400 acres of Redwood 

City salt flats into 800 acres of 

wetlands and outdoor recreation, 

up to 12,000 homes and 1 million 

square feet of commercial space. 

The project has sparked spirited 

opposition from nearby 

communities, including Woodside, 

Portola Valley, Atherton 

and Menlo Park. 

Where do the candidates stand? 

Not infrequently, on the fence. 

“I would be really upset if 

another city council person or 

county supervisor told me what 

to do with our town before I had 

a chance,” Ms. Nagel said. “I think 

you should trust in the local officials 

to do their jobs.” 

“A project will emerge and 

Redwood City voters will vote 

on it,” Mr. Pine said. 

Everyone interested should 

allow the city’s environmental 

review to proceed and the 

project receive a “proper evaluation,” 

Ms. Papan said. 

“I do have a lot of concerns 

about it,” Mr. Holober said. He 

said he would like to see the salt 

flats restored to wetlands and 

that he expected the project’s 

final dimensions to be “much 

smaller.” 

“I don’t think we can go 

another inch” into the Bay, Mr. 

Nikas said. 

TRAFFIC 


consultants, Fehr & Peers. 

In a memo to the council, 

Fehr & Peers defended their 

analysis, saying that by industry 

standards, using one-day traffic 

data was appropriate, given the 

nature of traffic to the current 

hospital. 

The current negotiations 

between Stanford and Menlo 

Park remain focused on the 

amount of money available for 

traffic mitigations. The university 

initially offered $312,000 as 

a one-time payment to Menlo 

Park as a “fair share contribution” 

toward traffic mitigation 

while holding out $8.3 million 

to Palo Alto. Menlo Park 

would like to see its payment 

fall closer to $2.1 million, with 

an additional $70,970 per year to 

expand Menlo Park’s shuttle bus 

program and one-third of any 

penalties Stanford pays for fail- 

Election information 

On Dec. 14, the San Mateo 

County Board of Supervisors 

called a special all-mail election 

to fill the District 1 board seat 

vacated when Supervisor Mark 

Church was elected to the county 

position of chief elections officer, 

assessor and clerk-recorder. He 

took that position Jan. 3. 

Candidates must live in District 

1, which includes South 

San Francisco, San Bruno and 

Hillsborough, but the election is 

held county-wide. 

While it’s a mail-only election, 

voters can vote in person 

at a county elections office: 40 

Tower Road in San Mateo, or 

“No, no, no, no, no,” said Mr. 

Stogner, adding that he could easily 

go on like that for the entire 45 

seconds allotted to him. 

Saving the middle class 

“We’re a middle class audience,” 

one man said during 

the last half hour of the forum. 

“We’re not plutocrats. We live 

in a world now that favors plutocrats. 

How do you intend to 

fight this?” 

“I am in favor of taxing the 

people who make the most 

money,” Mr. Stogner said. 

Mr. Pine noted that General 

Electric Corp. paid nothing in 

corporate taxes this time around. 

“As a supervisor, I can’t fix that 

directly,” he said, but said he 

would weigh in “very, very, very 

strongly” if the state proceeds 

with a proposed $4.5 billon cut 

from public school funding. 

ing to meet its traffic-reduction 

targets. 

Stanford director of community 

relations Jean McCown told 

the Almanac that Menlo Park 

would benefit either directly or 

indirectly from Palo Alto’s funding. 

“The additional amounts 

which may be provided to Palo 

Alto in the future if the hospitals 

don’t achieve the mode share 

targets are to be used for alternative 

transportation, including 

regional transportation systems 

and solutions,” she said. 

Ms. McCown also pointed 

out that one goal of the expansion 

is to “right size” the hospital; 

in other words, provide 

enough space for existing services, 

which therefore wouldn’t 

generate additional traffic. 

Hospital representatives told 

the council they are prepared to 

pay the full cost of adding two 

traffic adaptive signals at 10 

intersections, and also willing to 

discuss the timing and inflation 

555 County Government Center 

in Redwood City. Mail-in ballots 

may be dropped off at any city 

hall in the county during regular 

business hours. 

Ballots must be received by 

the county by 8 p.m. Tuesday, 

May 3. 

The candidate who receives 

the most votes will be elected 

to fill the remainder of Mr. 

Church’s term, which ends in 

January 2013. 

For more information, go to: 

■ SmartVoter.org (the 

League of Women Voters site). 

■ shapethefuture.org (the 

county elections office site). 

“We can’t keep turning to the 

taxpayer for every little thing,” 

Ms. Papen said. The questioner’s 

complaint was a matter for state 

and federal lawmakers, she said. 

“If you don’t have any voice, 

you’re not going to be heard,” Mr. 

Nikas said. “Fifteen percent of 

the U.S. (population) is starving. 

They have no voice.” 

“I’d start with perks for managers 

in county government,” Ms. 

Nagel said. “We really have to get 

involved with long-term living 

within our means. I also believe 

in the power of people working 

together to create change.” 

“The middle class is on the 

endangered species list,” Mr. 

Holober said, then recommended 

an oil extraction fee on big oil 

companies and a temporary 1 

percent hike in state income tax 

on people earning more than 

$500,000. A 

adjustments for other mitigations, 

including a shuttle. 

Vice Mayor Kirsten Keith said 

there’s much goodwill between 

Menlo Park and Stanford, and 

that the community stands to 

benefit from the expansion. “I 

support the incredible work they 

do at the hospital every day and 

want them to be able to proceed. 

However, Menlo Park simply 

must have the traffic mitigation 

measures necessary for our 

community. I am hopeful that 

we will be able to work out the 

mitigation issues in an acceptable 

way to all parties. We are 

close,” she wrote in an email to 

the Almanac. 

The council voted 4-0, with 

Kelly Fergusson recused due 

to personal ties to Stanford, to 

send at least one letter to the 

Palo Alto council outlining their 

concerns. 

Visit tinyurl.com/3w18kqk to 

read the staff report related to 

the letter. A

Authorities are looking for 

a suspect in the robbery of 

Chase Bank in Ladera on 

Monday morning, April 4. 

About $5,000 was taken in 

the robbery, which occurred at 

about 9:15 a.m. in the County 

Shopper mall at 3130 Alpine 

Road, authorities said. 

The bank’s surveillance 

camera shows a man with 

brown hair and a mustache 

and wearing a yellow bicycle 

jacket and a white baseball 

cap. 

The man told the bank 

teller “give me all your 

cash,” gave her 60 seconds 

to do that, and added that 

he was armed, Lt. Ray Lunny 

of the San Mateo County 

Sheriff’s Office said. 

The teller emptied the cash 

N E W S 

Camera captures bank-robbery suspect 

drawer, handed it over, and the 

suspect put the money into a blue 

bag he was carrying, and fled, 

deputies said. 

The suspect is described as a 

white man, 40 to 45 years old, and 

of middle height and weight. 

Sheriff’s deputies are coordinating 

with the FBI in the 

search. 

Anyone with relevant information 

is asked to call 415- 

553-7400 to make confidential 

contact with the FBI, or the 

Sheriff’s Office at 363-4051. 

The anonymous tip line is 800- 

547-2700. 

Distracted driving crackdown nets 55 

Fifty-five drivers passing through 

Menlo Park on April 4 and 5 have 

been officially encouraged to think 

twice about using a handheld cell 

phone while driving, according to 

a report from the California Highway 

Patrol. 

Officers from the Menlo Park 

Police Department issued 48 

citations for talking on a handheld 

phone while driving and 

seven for texting while driving, 

Tutor pleads not guilty to child molestation charges 



A 

former Menlo Park City 

School District employee 

pleaded not guilty to 12 

counts of child molestation and 

other charges in San Mateo County 

Superior Court on April 7. 

Yung Chi Chu, 46, was arrested 

by the sheriff’s deputies on 

March 30 at his San Carlos 

home for allegedly molesting 

the 10-year-old daughter of a 

friend. 

The district attorney’s office 

said the girl’s father found 

hundreds of late-night text messages 

allegedly sent to her by Mr. 

Bressler reappointed to Menlo Park Planning Commission 

Praising her former colleague’s 

dedication, Vice Mayor Kirsten 

Keith voted unanimously with 

the rest of the council to reappoint 

Vince Bressler to Menlo Park’s 

Planning Commission on April 5. 

The commission is next scheduled 

to meet on Monday, April 18, 

at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center at 701 

Laurel St, when it will consider 

how the state density bonus law 

should apply to housing projects 

in Menlo Park. The law lets devel- 

the CHP said. 

Statistics for Atherton were not 

available. The San Mateo County 

Sheriff’s Office issued 22 citations 

for cell phone use but the number is 

not broken down by community. 

Traffic patrols throughout California 

are calling April a “zero 

tolerance” month for distracted 

driving. The two remaining official 

crackdown days are April 14 

and 28, the CHP said. 

Chu, who was 

her tutor. He’s 

also charged 

with sending 

the child photos 

of naked 

men and asking 

for nude 

photos of her, Yung Chi Chu 

which the victim didn’t provide, 

according to the district attorney’s 

report. 

The school district sent an 

advisory to parents on April 

1 stating Mr. Chu resigned 

his position last month during 

a disciplinary investigation 

into unrelated misconduct after 

opers build more housing units 

than would otherwise be allowed 

on a given parcel depending on 

how much below-market-rate 

housing they include. 

Dogs in clothes to 

help pets in need 

Dogs will walk the runway on 

Saturday, April 30, as part of PET- 

CO’s first annual Spring Fashion 

Social and Pet Clothing Drive. 

The bank’s surveillance 

camera shows a man with brown 

hair and a mustache and wearing 

a yellow bicycle jacket and a 

baseball cap. 

Citations will cost drivers a 

minimum of $159 for the first time 

and $279 for subsequent violations, 

police said. 

Driving while using a handheld 

device quadruples the risk 

of an accident serious enough 

to injure someone, police said, 

adding that studies have shown 

that this behavior has as severe 

an effect on reaction time as 

drunken driving. 

working as a computer technician 

for three-and-a-half years. 

The 10-year-old victim was not 

a student within the school district, 

according to the advisory. 

Mr. Chu was released on 

$250,000 bail and has retained 

attorney Frank Bell, who was 

not immediately available for 

comment. The court scheduled a 

preliminary hearing for May 27. 

The Sheriff’s Office asks that 

anyone with information regarding 

this investigation to contact 

Det. Sgt. Bryan Raffaelli at 363- 

4058 or the Sheriff’s Office 

anonymous tip line at (800) 547- 

2700. A 

The store will collect “gently 

used” pet supplies such as toys, 

leashes, and beds to donate to 

local animal shelters, while visitors 

get a chance to see the latest 

pet fashions modeled on four 

legs. Adoptable pets will also be 

on hand. 

The Menlo Park Unleashed 

by PETCO store is at 515 El 

Camino Real, in the same plaza 

as Safeway. The show runs from 

2 to 4 p.m. 

At Allied Arts Guild 

◆ Antique Restoration ◆ Furniture Refi nishing 

◆ Chair Caning, Rush Seats ◆ Complete Furniture Repairs 

650-322-2295 

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29 TH ANNUAL SIDEWALK 

FINE ARTS FESTIVAL 

SANTA CRUZ AVENUE 

DOWNTOWN MENLO PARK 

Judie Mountain & Wayne Robbins 

Volunteer Drivers Needed! 

It takes a lot for seniors to ask for help. 

When they do ask for a ride, 

help us get them where they need to go! 

Become a volunteer driver for Avenidas. 

Call (650) 289-5412 or 

visit www.avenidas.org. 

APRIL 

15 � 16 � 17 

Friday & Saturday 

10 am - 6 pm 

Sunday 

10 am- 5 pm 

90 PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS 

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Where age is just a number 


Camp Connection 


GUIDE TO 2011 SUMMER CAMPS FOR KIDS 

For more info see our online camp directory at 

PaloAltoOnline.com/biz/summercamps 

Athletics 

Athletic Fitness – “Train with the Best” Menlo Park 

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-fi lled learning. Ages 9-18. Strength & conditioning, speed & agility, 

sport specifi c training, skills development, professional coaches, pre & post evals, leading edge methods, latest equipment. 

Sessions run from June through August. 

www.riekes.org 650-364-2509 

Bay Area Equestrian Center Woodside 

At Wunderlich County Park Stables. Kids 8-15 have outdoor fun joining BAEC for horse camps. Camps focus on caring for and 

riding horses so come ready to ride and have fun learning good horse care. 

www.bayareaequestrian.net 650-446-1414 

Camp Jones Gulch La Honda 

Join the fun this summer! Camp Jones Gulch off ers friendship and growth to kids ages 6-16. Enjoy our Traditional Camp or Mini, 

Horse, Surfi ng, Leadership and Travel Camps. One- and two-week sessions. Limited fi nancial assistance available. 

www.campjonesgulch.org 415-848-1200 

Champion Tennis Camps Atherton 

CTC provides an enjoyable way for your Junior to begin learning the game of tennis or to continue developing existing skills. 

The 4-6 year olds have fun learning eye-hand coordination and building self-esteem! 

www.alanmargot-tennis.net 650-400-0464 

Don Shaw’s Volleyball Training Academy Sunnyvale 

Join former Stanford University Men’s and Women’s head coach, Hall of Famer and 4-time NCAA Champion Don Shaw this 

summer at our camp for HS GIRL’s July 13th, 14th & 15th and for HS BOY’s July 18th, 19th & 20th. This camp gives players, who 

have the desire, the chance to improve their skills and learn proven techniques that will help them become more consistent 

and enhance their chances to play at a higher level. 

www.mvvclub.com 408-329-0488 

Earl Hansen Football Camp Palo Alto 

Learn the fundamentals of football with Earl Hansen, Palo Alto High School and State Champion coach. This is a non-contact 

camp where kids develop fundamental skills with proven drills and techniques. Full practices in the mornings with 7 on 7 

games in the afternoon. July 11 to 15 @ Palo Alto High School. Ages 10 to14. Lunch provided daily. 

www.earlhansenfootballcamp.com 650-269-7793 

Jefunira Camp Palo Alto 

Celebrating our 20th year of Jefunira Camp summer fun in 2011! Come join us for some good old fashion summer fun! Our 

combination of an exceptional college aged staff and innovative, inclusive programming will create a memorable summer 

experience for your child. Programming for children ages 4-13. Pre and post camp care off ered. 

www.jefuniracamp.com 650-291-2888 

Kim Grant Tennis Academy Summer Camps Palo Alto/Menlo Park/ Redwood City 

Fun and Specialized junior camps for Mini (3-5), Beginner, Intermediate 1 & 2, Advanced and Elite Players. Weekly programs 

designed by Kim Grant to improve players technique, fi tness, agility, mental toughness and all around tennis game. Camps in 

Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Redwood City. Come make new friends and have tons of FUN!! 

www.KimGrantTennis.com 650-752-8061 

Matt Lottich Life Skills Basketball Camp Woodside/ Redwood City 

MLLS off ers high-level, high-energy basketball instruction for ages 6-16. This summer we celebrate the 8th year!! With two to 

three “leagues” in each session, young beginners to advanced elite players get to learn fundamental skills, advanced footwork 

and valuable life lessons from an unparalleled staff of Pro and Collegiate level players. Camps at Woodside Elementary and 

Sequoia High School. Early bird, multi-session, and group discounts available. 

www.mllscamp.com 1-888-537-3223 

Nike Tennis Camps at Stanford University Stanford 

Come join the fun this summer and get better! Dick Gould’s 42nd Annual Stanford Tennis School off ers day camps for both junior 

and adults, June 11-16. Weekly junior overnight and extended day camps off ered June 19-Aug 12 for boys & girls ages 9-18 and 

run by Head Men’s Coach John Whitlinger and Head Women’s Coach Lele Forood. There is a camp option for everyone! 

www.USSportsCamps.com/tennis 1-800-NIKE CAMP (645-3226) 

Spring Down Camp Equestrian Center Portola Valley 

Spring Down camp teaches basic to advanced horsemanship skills. All ages welcome! Daily informative lecture, riding lesson, 

supervised hands-on skill practice, safety around horses, tacking/untacking of own camp horse, and arts/crafts. 

www.springdown.com 650-851-1114 

Stanford Water Polo Camps Stanford 

Ages 7 and up. New to the sport or have experience, we have a camp for you. Half day or full day option for boys and girls. All 

the camps off er fundamental skill work, position work, scrimmages and games. 

https://stanfordwaterpolocamps.com 650-725-9016 

Summer at Saint Francis Mountain View 

Sports & Activity Camp (ages 6-12): This all sports camp provides group instruction in a variety of fi eld, water and court games. 

Saint Francis faculty and students staff the camp, and the focus is always on fun. The program is dedicated to teaching teamwork, 

sportsmanship and positive self-esteem. 

www.sfhs.com/summer 650-968-1213 ext. 446 


Advanced Sports Camps (5th-9th grades): We off er a wide selection of advanced sports camps designed to provide players 

with the opportunity to improve both their skill and knowledge of a specifi c sport. Each camp is run by a Head Varsity Coach 

at Saint Francis, and is staff ed by members of the coaching staff . 


Team Esface Elite Basketball Skills Clinics Woodside/ Redwood City 

Spring Training (April-May). High-energy, high-level basketball training for ages 6-16. Use your off season as a time to develop 

your basketball skills and IQ with the unparalleled coaching staff of Team Esface. Learn the fundamentals of the game, off ensive 

attack moves and advanced footwork through dynamic drills and competitions led by young, positive coaches including 

former Division 1 athletes. April and May. Two days per week. Sibling and group discounts available. More information and 

sign up at: www.teamesface.com 1-888-537-3223 

YMCA of Silicon Valley Peninsula 

Say hello to summer fun at the YMCA! Choose from enriching day or overnight camps in 35 locations: arts, sports, science, 

travel, and more. For youth K-10th grade. Includes weekly fi eldtrips, swimming and outdoor adventures. Accredited by the 

American Camp Association. Financial assistance available. 

www.ymcasv.org/summercamp 408-351-6400 

(continued on next page) 

Please call us at 650.326.8210 for other camp advertising opportunities 

N E W S 

Kids get more expensive 

as city raises service fees 



Raising kids in Menlo Park 

just got more expensive. 

With little discussion, the 

Menlo Park City Council unanimously 

approved service fee 

increases on April 5 that will 

deliver an estimated $214,330 to 

the city’s general fund. 

Are you a zoning violator? 

Not cooperating with staff to fix 

the problem could now cost you 

$1,000. 

Childcare at the Menlo Children’s 

Center and Belle Haven 

School Age program increased 

4 percent. A family that paid 

$1,651 for their child to attend 

five days a week, for example, 

will now pay $1,717 per month. 

The city gains $170,925 annually, 

thanks to the increase. 

Renting recreational facilities 

also got more expensive, 

with fee hikes ranging from 8.9 

percent to 100 percent with the 

addition of new fees for areas 

such as the Maple, Oak, Juniper, 

and Willow rooms. Estimated 

gain for Menlo Park: $21,600. 

Community sports leagues 

will also feel the financial 

squeeze, as their rates for field 

rentals and membership rise 

about 25 percent for all fields 

and youth teams. Adult fees 

increased about 2 percent, while 

gymnastics practice went up 

an average 5 percent per hour. 

Court time at the new Arrillaga 

Family Gymnasium now costs 

$70 per hour, an increase of 11.1 

percent. 

The city expects the recreation 

fee changes to add approximately 

$97,275 to its coffers. 

And to make a sore point even 

worse, Menlo Park will ring in 

the New Year by charging $592 

for a downtown parking permit, 

up $23, starting Jan. 1, 2012. If 

you drive off in anger and manage 

to strike a traffic signal pole, 

that also gets 10 percent more 

expensive, at $1,165 per hit. 

The changes come as Menlo 

Park also figures out how to cut 

$1.3 million from its general 

fund budget, which will largely 

come from reducing personnel 

costs, according to a staff report 

presented at the March 15 council 

meeting. 

Roni Strauss opens Menlo Park office 

Massage therapist Roni Strauss 

recently opened her office, Hip 

Knee Bodywork Center, in the 

Purity Spa at 1166 El Camino 

Real in Menlo Park. 

She said she is part of a 

national network of body workers 

doing PUSH Therapy. Her 

goal, she said, is to teach clients 

“how pain and tension in soft 

tissue has developed, eliminate 

the source of the problem, teach 

new and efficient ways to use 

the body, and work at eliminating 

pain and chronic tension 

permanently.” 

Visit hipknee.massagetherapy. 

com to see her website. 

2011 

1ST QUARTER 

HOUSING MARKET REPORTS 

HAVE BEEN RELEASED 

Available at 

www.PeninsulaSpecialist.com 

1st Quarter Housing Reports 

for Atherton, Portola Valley 

and Woodside 

Or call 

650.743.7702 and 

have the report 

mailed to you. 

Steven Gray 

REALTOR, SFR 

DRE# 01498634 

650-743-7702 

sgray@cashin.com 

Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.

N E W S 

Portola Valley weighs cut 

in benefit for town staff 

Employees of the town of Portola 

Valley would start paying 

out of pocket for part of their 

dependents’ health insurance if 

the Town Council acts on a recommendation 

from the town’s 

Finance Committee. 

The council meets to discuss 

this and other matters at 7:30 

p.m. Wednesday, April 13, in 

the Historic Schoolhouse at 765 

Portola Road. 

The Finance Committee is 

staffed by volunteers from the 

community. Town Manager 

Angie Howard, in a staff report, 

said she opposes the committee’s 

recommendation for now, citing 

competitive pressure from other 

� POLICE CALLS 

This information is from the Atherton and 

Menlo Park police departments and the San 

Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Under the law, 

people charged with offenses are considered 

innocent until convicted. 

WOODSIDE 

Residential burglary report: Loss estimated 

at minimum of $67,000 in break-in and theft of 

several pieces of antique furniture and horse 

saddle from garage, 1000 block of Portola 

Road, April 2. 

Theft report: Air compressor stolen from gas 

station, 17000 block of Skyline Blvd., April 6. 

MENLO PARK 

Residential burglary reports: 

■ Loss estimated at $50,625 in break-in and 

theft of jewelry box, engagement ring, pearl 

necklace, video recorder and camera, 1300 

block of Elder Ave., April 1. 

■ Loss estimated at $1,840 in break-in and 

theft of laptop computer, video game player, 

games and backpack, 1100 block of Berkeley 

Ave., April 5. 

Fraud report: Loss of $9,143 in unauthorized 

use of debit card, 1000 block of Marcussen 

Drive, April 1. 

� BIRTHS 

Menlo Park 

■ Maria Daltayanni and Panagiotis 

Padadimitriou, a son, March 12, 

Sequoia Hospital. 

Emerald Hills 

■ Sarah and Christopher Orton, a 

daughter, March 11, Sequoia Hospital. 

towns that offer better benefits 

to their employees. 

“If the town were to further 

reduce its overall compensation 

and benefit package, this would 

continue to erode the town’s 

competitiveness in attracting 

and retaining employees,” she 

said in a staff report. 

Also on the agenda: a recommendation 

from the Ad-Hoc 

Spring Down Master Plan Committee 

to retain the six-acre 

meadow as open space, and bids 

for renewing the mile-long section 

of trail that begins at the 

town’s border with Ladera on 

Alpine Road. 

Grand theft report: Loss estimated at 

$3,980 in theft of $600 in cash and jewelry 

box containing bracelets, clock on chain, 

rings and necklace, 300 block of Sharon Park 

Drive, April 6. 

Auto burglary report: Window smashed and 

loss estimated at $200 in theft of cell phone, 

first block of Iris Lane, April 2. 

Spousal abuse report: Main police station at 

701 Laurel St., April 1. 

ATHERTON 

Auto burglary reports: 

■ Window smashed and briefcase and 

phone stolen, first block of Fairfax Ave., April 

5. 

■ Window smashed and property taken, first 

block of Belleau Ave., April 5. 

Fraud reports: 

■ Unauthorized use of Social Security numbers, 

first blocks of Lane Place and Melanie 

Lane, April 1 and 5. 

■ Granny scam in which caller seeks electronic 

transfer of funds by purporting to be 

grandchild or representative of grandchild, 

100 block of James Ave. and Fairview Ave., 

April 5 and 7. 

■ Fraudulent request for funds transfer to 

Canada, Walsh Road, April 6. 

■ Identity theft, Bassett Lane, April 5. 

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For more info see our online camp directory at 

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Academics 

Delphi Academy Santa Clara 

Have your best summer ever at Delphi Academy’s summer camp! Ages 5-13. Full Day Camp. Morning academics with experienced 

teachers, afternoon activities, day trips, camping trips, swimming, sports, crafts, activities, and a lot of fun! 

www.bestsummerever.org 408-260-2300 

Harker Summer Programs San Jose 

K-12 off erings taught by exceptional, experienced faculty and staff . K-6 morning academics - focusing on math, language arts 

and science - and full spectrum of afternoon recreation. Grades 6-12 for-credit courses and non-credit enrichment opportunities. 

Swim, Tennis and Soccer also off ered. 

www.summer.harker.org 408-553-0537 

iD Tech Camps - Summer Tech Fun! Stanford 

Ages 7-17 create video games, iPhone apps, C++/Java programs, websites and more. Weeklong, day and overnight programs 

held at Stanford, UC Berkeley, Santa Clara, UCLA and others. Also special Teen programs held at Stanford in gaming, programming 

and visual arts. Free year-round learning! Save with code CAU22L. 

www.internalDrive.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324) 

iD Teen Academies Stanford 

Teens spend two weeks immersed in the dynamic world of video game creation at iD Gaming Academy, computer science/ 

application development at iD Programming Academy or photography/fi lmmaking at iD Visual Arts Academy. Overnight programs 

held at Stanford, Harvard, MIT and others. Week-long programs for ages 7-17 also available. Free year-round learning! 

Save w/code CAU22T. 

www.iDTeenAcademies.com 1-888-709-TECH (8324) 

ISTP Language Immersion Palo Alto 

International School of the Peninsula camps off ered in French, Chinese, Spanish or ESL for students in Nursery through Middle School. 

Three 2-week sessions, each with diff erent theme. Students are grouped according to both grade level and language profi ciency. 

www.istp.org 650-251-8519 

Mid-Peninsula High School Summer Program Menlo Park 

Mid-Peninsula High School off ers a series of classes and electives designed to keep students engaged in learning. Classes Monday- 

Thursday and limited to 15 students. Every Thursday there’s a BBQ lunch. The Science and Art classes will have weekly fi eld trips. 

www.mid-pen.com 650-321-1991 ext. 110 


Summer at Saint Francis provides a broad range of academic and athletic programs for elementary through high school students. 

It is the goal of every program to make summer vacation enriching and enjoyable! 


SuperCamp Stanford/San Jose/Berkeley 

SuperCamp is the summer enrichment program that parents and kids love! Now in our 30th year and with over 56,000 graduates 

worldwide, we’ll give your son or daughter the skills, added confi dence, motivation and character direction to fl ourish. 

Junior Forum, incoming 6th-8th graders; Senior Forum, incoming 9th-12th graders. Located at Stanford, San Jose State, UC 

Berkeley and 6 other prestigious schools nationwide. 

www.supercamp.com 800-285-3276 

Synapse School & Wizbots Menlo Park 

Cutting-edge, imaginative, accelerated, integrated, and hands-on academic summer enrichment courses with independent 

in-depth and project-based morning and afternoon weeklong programs for children ages 4-12: Young Explorers, Thinking 

Math, Leonardo da Vinci’s Inventions, Nature Connections, Girls’ & Soccer Robotics, and more! 

www.summerinnovation.com 650-866-5824 

TechKnowHow Computer & LEGO Camps Palo Alto/Menlo Park/Sunnyvale 

Fun and enriching technology classes for students, ages 5-14! Courses include LEGO and K’NEX Projects with Motors, NXT 

Robotics, 3D Modeling, and Game Design. Many locations, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Sunnyvale. Half and all day 

options. Early-bird and multi-session discounts available. 

www.techknowhowkids.com 650-474-0400 

Woodland School Summer Adventures Portola Valley 

For kindergarten through 8th grade. Off ers academics, sports, fi eld trips and onsite activities. June 27 - July 29 

www.woodland-school.org 650-854-9065 

Write Now! Summer Writing Camps Palo Alto/Pleasanton 

Emerson School of Palo Alto and Hacienda School of Pleasanton open their doors and off er their innovative programs: Expository 

Writing, Creative Writing, Presentation Techniques, and (new!) Media Production. Call or visit our website for details. 

www.headsup.org 650-424-1267, 925-485-5750 

Arts, Culture, Nature and Other Camps 

Camp Jano India Mountain View/Santa Clara 

Celebrate Indian culture, languages, arts, festivals, literature, cuisine, and leaders. Weekly themes are brought to life through 

related arts, dance, games, projects, stories and theatre in a very unique, exciting, creative, interactive, and structured style. 

June 13-August 5. Age 5 to 14. 

www.janoindia.com 650-493-1566 

Camp F.U.N. (Friends with Unique Needs) Palo Alto 

A nurturing environment for kids with challenges to experience the fun of summer camp. Led by therapists at Children’s Health 

Council. Ages 5-12, full days, Mon-Fri, three sessions. Small groups. Financial aid available. 

www.chconline.org 650-688-3625 

Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) Mountain View 

50+ creative camps for Gr. K-8! Drawing, Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture, Musical Theater, American Idol Workshop, more! Twoweek 

sessions; full and half-day enrollment. Extended care available. Financial aid off ered. 

www.arts4all.org 650-917-6800 ext. 0 

Creative Arts – “Express Yourself” Menlo Park 

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-fi lled learning. Ages 9-18. Rock camps, Hip Hop, recording, fi lmmaking, 

animation, B&W and digital Photography, graphic arts, comic book creation, Photoshop, magazine publishing. Sessions 

run from June through August. 


Nature Awareness – “Explore Our Natural World” Menlo Park 

Riekes Summer Camps — A world of opportunity and fun-fi lled learning. Ages 6-18 and families. Learn awareness & survival 

skills, explore Monterey Bay, deep redwoods & coastal marsh. Surf camp. Family Festival. AFCANA Combo Camps combining 

fi tness, arts & nature. Sessions run from June through August. 


Please call us at 650.326.8210 for other camp advertising opportunities 


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� OBITUARIES 

Good for Business. 

Good for You. 

Good for the Community. 

F O R T H E R E C O R D 

Bruce D. Campbell 

Resident of Portola Valley 

Bruce D. Campbell, a resident 

of Portola Valley for more than 

35 years, died peacefully in his 

sleep Feb. 21 after a 

struggle for several 

years with COPD 

(chronic obstructive 

pulmonary disease). 

He was 72. 

Born in Hackensack, 

New Jersey, he 

Bruce Campbell 

attended Lehigh University, earning 

a degree in engineering. 

He was considered a technological 

innovator, founding Raynet 

Corp., a subsidiary of Raychem 

inMenlo Park, CA., along with other 

companies, having a far-reaching 

impact in the telecommunications 

industry and fiber optic infrastructure, 

the family said. 

He is survived by his wife, Cynthia 

Campbell of Portola Valley; 

son Scott Kerr of Fullerton; brother 

Geoff Campbell of Inyokern, California; 

and sister Lynn Coates of 

Agoura Hills, California. 

A “Celebration of Life” gathering 

is planned this spring. Contact 

Cynthia Campbell for details. 

Laurel Crittenden 

Portola Valley gardener 

Laurel E. Crittenden grew up 

in Portola Valley, taught in Portola 

Valley schools as a substitute 

teacher, and helped design gardens 

there from her outpost at the 

Ladera Garden Center, where she 

worked for about 10 years. 

Ms. Crittenden died March 

18 at her home in Washington 

state, relatives said. She was 58. 

A memorial service is set for 3:30 

p.m. Sunday, April 17, at the Valley 

Presbyterian Church at 945 

Portola Road in Portola Valley. 

Washington, D.C., was Ms. Crittenden’s 

birthplace and the University 

of California at Santa Barbara 

her alma mater. She graduated from 

college in 1973 and lived in Portola 

Valley from 1985 to 2005, her daughter 

Roxanne told the Almanac. 

Ms. Crittenden was a popular 

substitute teacher. “She filled up 

her calendar completely because 

she was so much in demand,” 

her daughter said. 

Ms. Crittenden spent a lot of 

time outside, whether hiking, 

long-distance swimming or working 

in gardens. She swam at the 

Alpine Hills Swim & Tennis Club 

for about 15 years, her daughter 

said. She also did open-water 

swimming in San Francisco Bay 

and occasionally competed in the 

swimming leg of triathlons. 

She was “an especially devoted 

mother” who knitted sweaters 

for her young relatives and 

made stuffed animals for sale, 

her daughter said. She loved the 

companionship of dogs, particularly 

Labrador retrievers. 

Ms. Crittenden is survived by 

her daughter Roxanne of Berkeley; 

and sisters Beth Schwarzman 

of Cape Cod, Joan Crittenden of 

Jackson Hole, and Susan Zoller 

of Portland, Oregon. 

The family is asking that donations 

in Ms. Crittenden’s memory 

be made to the Sempervirens Fund 

at 419 South San Antonio Road, 

Los Altos CA 94022, or to the 

Puget Sound Labrador Retriever 

Association at www.pslra.org. 

Artemis Curusis 

Resident of Atherton 

Atherton resident Artemis (Artie) 

Curusis died April 4 with her family 

at her side. 

Born in 1924 in 

New Jersey, she 

moved to California 

after her marriage 

in 1945, and 

has lived in Atherton 

since 1972. 

She spent many years as an 

employee of the Jefferson Elementary 

School District in Daly 

City, and was active in the Peninsula 

Volunteers, the Peninsula 

Children’s Center, her bridge 

groups, and her china painting 

class, family members said. 

She is survived by Harry, her 

husband of 65 years; her brother, 

George Eurotas; her daughters, 

Patricia Herriott and Donna 

Bailey; two grandchildren; and 

two great-grandchildren. 

A memorial service was held at 

Sneider Mortuary in San Mateo 

and a funeral service at the Church 

of the Holy Cross in Belmont. 

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Jack Ruetz 

(1926-2011) 

Artemis (Artie) Curusis 

1924-April 4, 2011 

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Jack Ruetz died at his home in Woodside April 1, 2011 from 

prostate cancer. He was born on a farm in Remus, Michigan 

in 1926 where he learned how to fix the unfixable which later 

never ceased to amaze his own children 

After graduating from Remus High School in1943 he 

entered the Navy where he worked as a radar specialist in 

Post-War Japan. He attended the University of Michigan 

after his discharge where he earned both bachelor and master 

degrees in electrical engineering. 

For several years he worked at R.C.A. in Princeton, New 

Jersey before he attended Stanford University where he met 

his future wife, Dolores, and received a Doctorate in E.E. in 

1957. He worked at Varian Associates in Palo Alto for the 

remainder of his career where he developed microwave 

amplifiers for radar systems, electronic countermeasure and 

communication applications. He authored many papers and 

held multiple technical patents. 

After his retirement in 1995 he spent leisure time at his 

house on the lake at Tahoe with family and friends skiing 

and kayaking and enjoying his love of music. He will be 

missed by all of us who knew and loved him. 

He is survived by his wife, Dolores, three sons Eric, Peter 

and Matthew Ruetz and a daughter, Renee Stockwell and 

four grandchildren. 

PAID OBITUARY 

On April 4th Artemis (Artie) 

Curusis died peacefully with her 

family at her bedside. Artie was 

born in 1924 in Newark, New Jersey, 

but moved to CA after her marriage 

in 1945. She was the daughter 

of Mary and Nick Eurotas. She 

spent many years as an employee 

of the Jefferson Elementary School 

District in Daly City. She was 

active in the Peninsula Volunteers, 

The Peninsula Childrens Center, 

her bridge groups and her china painting class. She has 

lived in Atherton since 1972. She is survived by Harry, 

her husband of 65 years, and by her children Patricia and 

Don Herriott, Donna and Mike Bailey, her grandchildren, 

Lisa Humphreys, Dana and Mike Moffitt, and her great 

grandchildren, Evan and Jenna Moffitt, and her brother, 

George Eurotas. She will be sincerely missed by all who 

remember her as one who loved life to the fullest, stayed 

active to the end, and had a courageous spirit. The 

family has asked that donations be made to the Peninsula 

Volunteers in Menlo Park, CA 

PAID OBITUARY 

Herb Rauch, 75, died on March 29 of 

metastatic melanoma, shortly before his 50th 

wedding anniversary. He passed away peacefully 

at his home in Los Altos, surrounded by loving 

family. 

He left his wife Margie; his children Marta, 

Erik, and Loren, and their families, including 

five grandchildren; his sister Joanne Nelson; 

and his cousin John Forster and family. He was 

predeceased by his son Evan, in whose honor he 

had endowed the U. C. Berkeley “Evan Rauch 

Chair of Neuroscience.” 

Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, 

Herb moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico at 

age 13 with his parents, Herbert and Vera, and 

sister, Joanne. His electrical engineering interest 

was piqued by an early morning noncredit radio 

course taken his senior year in high school. 

He received his BS from the California Institute 

of Technology, and his MS and Ph.D. from 

Stanford University, all in Electrical Engineering. 

At CalTech, he was active in journalism, student 

government, drama, and the Tau Beta Pi honor 

society. He also lettered in Varsity basketball, 

and was elected president of the student electrical 

engineering organization. 

While at Stanford, he met Margie, the love of 

his life. As he always said, “the best thing ever” 

happened when they were married in 1961. 

They made their home in Los Altos, where they 

raised their children, Marta, Erik, Evan, and 

Loren. 

A devoted father, Herb loved to spend time 

with his family. He encouraged his kids in 

school and in sports, and was assistant coach 

for his daughter’s A.Y.S.O soccer team, The 

Valkyries, and his sons’ CYSA soccer teams. To 

help enable good education, he served two terms 

on the Los Altos School District School Board. 

He always remembered his family on holidays 

and birthdays, and they looked forward to his 

thoughtful cards and letters. 

For many years, Herb was employed at the 

Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory (now 

called Lockheed-Martin Advanced Technology 

Center), where his area of expertise was control 

systems. With John V. Breakwell, he wrote 

several papers on interplanetary trajectories, 

including creating a Venus swing-by trajectory 

that was part of an optimal low thrust Earth- 

Mars-Earth round trip. This work led to the 

development of the Rauch-Tung-Striebel (R-T-S) 

algorithm, which is now used for tracking 

interplanetary spacecraft and earth satellites. 

He was recognized at Lockheed with numerous 

service awards, including the Robert E. Gross 

award for Technical Excellence. 

Among his many notable contributions to the 

engineering field were his terms as President 

of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics 

Engineers (IEEE) Control Systems Society, 

and Editor-in-Chief of three publications: 

the Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, 

the IEEE Control Systems Magazine, and the 

IEEE Transactions on Neural Networks, of 

which he was Founding Editor. He was also 

Associate Editor for the American Institute of 

Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Journal, 

Herbert E. Rauch 

Control Systems Pioneer 

and Chairman of the International Federation 

of Automatic Control (IFAC) Working 

Group on Control Applications of Nonlinear 

Programming. In the course of his career, he 

published numerous technical papers and gave 

many lectures on his work. 

In recognition of his pioneering contributions 

and leadership in the field of optimal estimation 

and control, he was elected an IEEE Life Fellow, 

as well as Fellow of the American Institute of 

Aeronautics and Astronautics; Fellow of the 

American Astronautical Society; and Fellow of 

the IEEE Control Systems Society. He received 

the IEEE Control Systems Distinguished 

Member award for his significant technical 

contributions and outstanding long-term 

service to the Control Systems Society. An IEEE 

Distinguished Lecturer, he enjoyed traveling 

with his wife for his many presentations and 

keynote addresses at technical conferences 

around the world. 

After retiring, Herb advised PhD candidates at 

Stanford University, consulted in the aerospace 

industry, and enjoyed traveling to visit his many 

dear friends, participating in college reunions, 

and attending plays locally and at the Oregon 

Shakespeare Festival. In the last several years, 

he developed an interest in creative writing, 

and took writing seminars that spurred him to 

write a series of short stories that delighted his 

family and friends. He also enjoyed time with 

his beloved wife and his children, their families, 

and his five grandchildren. 

Herb’s delightful wit, intellectual passion, 

creativity, kindness, and caring will be greatly 

missed by his family, colleagues, and friends. 

A private family service will be held in Herb’s 

memory, and an online Memorial Website is 

available at http://memorialwebsites.legacy. 

com/HerbertRauch/Homepage.aspx. In 

lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate 

contributions to your local food bank or to the 

American Cancer Society. 

PAID OBITUARY 


Serving Menlo Park, 

Atherton, Portola Valley, 

and Woodside for 44 years. 

Editor & Publisher 

Tom Gibboney 

Editorial 

Managing Editor Richard Hine 

News Editor Renee Batti 

Lifestyles Editor Jane Knoerle 

Senior Correspondents 

Marion Softky, Marjorie Mader 

Staff Writers 

Dave Boyce, Sandy Brundage 

Contributors Barbara Wood, 

Kate Daly, Katie Blankenberg 

Special Sections Editors 

Carol Blitzer, Sue Dremann 

Photographer Michelle Le 

News Intern Miranda Simon 

Design & Production 

Design Director Raul Perez 

Designers Linda Atilano, 

Gary Vennarucci 

Advertising 

Vice President Sales & 

Marketing 

Walter Kupiec 

Display Advertising Sales 

Heather Hanye 

Real Estate Manager Neal Fine 

Real Estate and Advertising 

Coordinator Diane Martin 

Published every Wednesday at 

3525 Alameda De Las Pulgas, 

Menlo Park, Ca 94025 

Newsroom: (650) 223-6525 

Newsroom Fax: (650) 223-7525 

Advertising: (650) 854-2626 

Advertising Fax: (650) 854-3650 

e-mail news and photos with 

captions to: 

Editor@AlmanacNews.com 

e-mail letters to: 

letters@AlmanacNews.com 

The Almanac, established in September, 

1965, is delivered each week to residents 

of Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and 

Woodside and adjacent unincorporated areas 

of southern San Mateo County. The Almanac 

is qualified by decree of the Superior Court of 

San Mateo County to publish public notices of 

a governmental and legal nature, as stated in 

Decree No. 147530, issued November 9, 1969. 

Subscriptions are $60 for one year and 

$100 for two years. 

Students get first hand 

look at DUI tragedy 

Editor: 

Last week Menlo School produced 

“Every 15 Minutes,” a two-day program 

that challenges high school 

� WHAT’S YOUR VIEW? students to think about drinking 

and driving, and the impact their 

All views must include a home address 

and contact phone number. Published 

decisions can have on themselves 

and others. The entire student body 

letters will also appear on the web site, experienced the emotional conse- 

www.TheAlmanacOnline.com, and 

occasionally on the Town Square forum. 

quences of a simulated fatality and 

the injury of classmates as the result 

TOWN SQUARE FORUM 

POST your views on the 

Town Square forum at 

www.TheAlmanacOnline.com 

EMAIL your views to: 

letters@almanacnews.com 

and note this it is a letter to 

the editor in the subject line. 

of a drunken driving crash. 

On the first day, volunteers from 

the CHP, Atherton Police Department, 

Menlo Park Fire Protection 

District, American Medical 

Response, the County Coroner 

and Stanford Hospital worked with 

Menlo students and parents to portray 

a crash scene and the resulting 

MAIL or deliver to: 

response of emergency personnel. 

Editor at the Almanac, A Palo Alto Police Department cell 

3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, and a San Mateo County court- 

Menlo Park, CA 94025. room helped illustrate the legal and 

CALL the Viewpoint desk at 

223-6507. 

judicial ramifications of a DUI. 

The community came together 

on the second day as parents of the 


Ideas, thoughts and opinions about local issues from people in our community. Edited by Tom Gibboney. 

Palo Alto could help Menlo on impact 

There is no question that Stanford’s $3.5 billion project to 

upgrade and enlarge its two hospitals on Sand Hill Road will 

cause a tremendous amount of traffic impact in the surrounding 

neighborhoods in Menlo Park and Palo Alto. 

The recently released final environmental impact report on the 

project says that Menlo Park will bear 51 percent of the new traffic 

generated by the project and lays out various plans to reduce the number 

of Stanford-related trips. 

The primary mitigation plan proposed by the university is to provide 

Caltrain passes for all hospital 

EDITORIAL 

The opinion of The Almanac 

employees in hopes that up to 35 

percent of the workforce will arrive 

and depart by train, rather than a 

single-occupancy vehicle. Other 

proposals suggested by the EIR include upgrading the traffic signals in 

Menlo Park and helping pay for a shuttle bus system in the city. 

The problem, as Menlo Park sees it, is that the Caltrain idea is 

a goal, but hardly a sure thing. Whether workers use the trains 

depends on many variables, like how far they live from the station 

and whether they have errands to run on the way home. Individuals 

will make that decision, not Stanford. 

Comments from the Menlo Park Transportation Commission 

suggest that Stanford conduct periodic tests to see how many 

employees actually use the train passes, and set consequences 

if they fall short. And Commissioner Charlie Bourne said any 

employee who wants one should be issued a new Clipper pass that 

can be used on any Bay Area transit system. 

The commission’s assessment, endorsed by the Menlo Park 

City Council and sent to the Palo Alto City Council, found other 

mitigations woefully lacking. For example, the report’s estimated 

increase of only 68 cars per day heading toward Interstate 280 during 

the peak evening commute “appears optimistic” given that 

more than 2,000 parking spaces and four parking garages will be 

added by the project. 

And making adaptive signal technology its top primary mitiga- 

LETTERS 

Our readers write 

Our Regional 

Heritage 

In 1917, these recruits 

training to serve in World 

War I appear to have it 

pretty cushy during basic 

training at Menlo Park’s 

Camp Fremont. The main 

portion of the base spread 

from El Camino Real to the 

Alameda de las Pulgas and 

from Valparaiso Avenue to 

San Francisquito Creek. 

At one point the garrison 

included 43,000 soldiers, 

whose tents alone 

covered 1,000 acres of 

the 25,000-acre camp. 

“dead” child and the DUI driver, 

along with District Attorney Stephen 

Wagstaffe and others, led 

the speakers in a memorial for the 

victim of the car crash. 

This influential program happened 

with the support and participation 

of extraordinary people 

from our community. While there 

is not space to mention them all, a 

few justify special recognition: the 

CHP, with Art Montiel as liaison, 

tion measure was criticized by the commission, because such a system 

is already in place on Sand Hill Road, so it could not contribute 

to reducing traffic on that important artery. 

Another disappointing strategy found in the EIR concerns altering 

roadways and intersections. Five intersections are cited as needing 

physical repairs to meet the required traffic counts, but Menlo 

Park found the cost for one such project to be $450,000, while Stanford 

would only contribute $14,100. Instead, the city calls on Stanford 

to pay the full cost of intersection upgrades. 

The commissioners said that the biggest shortcoming of all was 

the comparatively small amount of compensation promised to 

Menlo Park for mitigating the problems, compared to the much 

more generous payments proposed for Palo Alto. 

For example, in exchange for approval of the project, Palo Alto 

would receive: 

■ $6 million for parks, community centers and libraries. 

■ $2 million in transportation impact fees. 

■ $616,000 in public school fees. 

■ $12 million for unspecified climate change programs. 

■ $1.1 million to reimburse consultant fees. 

■ $23.2 million for unspecified affordable housing projects in Palo Alto. 

Clearly, as the authorizing agency, Palo Alto will receive the lion’s 

share of impact money from Stanford. 

But there is precedent for Palo Alto helping Menlo Park to recover 

its costs for the impact of a Stanford project. 

When Stanford sought to widen the Menlo Park portion of Sand 

Hill Road in 2004-05, Palo Alto required the university to pay for 

the entire project, which did not cost Menlo Park a dime. 

In this similar situation, we hope that Palo Alto will require 

Stanford to be much more generous in paying for the mitigations 

necessary to accommodate at least a portion of the huge traffic the 

expanded hospital will bring to Menlo Park. A fair amount would 

be miniscule compared to the millions of dollars the university 

already intends to pay Palo Alto to approve the project. 

sponsored Every 15 Minutes at 

Menlo. Lt. Joe Wade (APD) and 

Jon Johnston (MPFPD) provided 

invaluable guidance and a dedicated 

response team. Tully Vogt of the 

coroner’s office sensitively assisted 

in portraying the most painful 

aspect of a crash — the unnecessary 

loss of a young life. Finally, the staff 

at Stanford Hospital’s emergency 

room, let by Dr. Peter D’Souza and 

Ellen Corman, helped provide a 

Menlo Park Historical Association 

realistic and caring hospital trauma 

experience. 

We are grateful to live and send 

our children to school in a community 

where dedicated, hardworking 

emergency responders give so 

generously of their time to make 

preventative education a priority. 

We thank them all. 

Laura Foster and Jan Harris 

Co-chairs, Menlo School 

See LETTERS, next page

LETTERS 

Continued from previous page 

Terry Nagel for 

county supervisor 

Editor: 

In the last two years working 

with pension reform I have learned 

more about budget deficits than 

anyone should want to. But it’s our 

money, and San Mateo County 

has not been careful with it. Who 

would have thought that we are 

now deciding which county parks 

have to be closed. Closing parks? 

Our county is in financial crisis 

— it has obligations that it cannot 

pay. And the largest single portion 

is employee costs, which have risen 

through the roof. We are out of 

cash because the supervisors have 

approved county employee pay 

and benefits that could not in fact 

be paid. 

There is an election being held 

right now for one of the five county 

supervisor seats — mail in only, it 

closes May 3, and none too soon. 

We need a change in the decadesold 

power structure of county politics 

and the big money that funds 

campaigns. 

Of the four major candidates, 

only Terry Nagel is free of union 

ties and union funding. That is a 

critical difference in a time when 

our leaders must disengage from 

the old power structure, to be free 

to make real change. 

Only one candidate has committed 

to real change on pensions 

— and to not increase taxes or 

burn county reserve funds, either 

of which is only a stop gap to the 

mounting debt. Forget the glossy 

mailers from the big money candidates. 

Only Terry Nagel will “speak 

truth to power.” I support Terry for 

supervisor. 

Henry Riggs 

Callie Lane, Menlo Park 

See what you’ll find 

in a search of Cargill 

Editor: 

When someone knocks on your 

door, you have to have an idea of 

who they are before you let them in. 

Redwood City has swept the 

door open to Cargill and their 

partners DMB. They’ve escorted 

them enthusiastically past the community 

threshold amid dazzling 

promises of affordable housing, 

flood control, levees, and reducing 

carbon emissions for the benefit of 

the world. 

Wow! It’s Robin Hood! With 

glistening teeth. But wait ... is that 

you Robin? Or a wolf wrapped in 

your cape? 

Cargill is routinely listed as one of 

the “worst-of-the-worst” unethical 

corporations by respected environmental 

and human rights groups. 

Judge for yourself: Search Google 

for “criticisms of Cargill” and read 

about trafficking children in Africa, 

forced labor in Uzbekistan, mer- 

cury poisoning, beef recall, deforestation, 

and the Gulf of Mexico dead 

zone from toxic chemicals. 

Are these are the guys we trust to 

build levees? 

What leaves me with a particularly 

sick feeling in the pit of my stomach 

is how Cargill’s public relations 

machine savages local nonprofit 

Save the Bay, issuing false press 

releases, and taunting them publicly 

for being “outsiders.” Huh? This 

from Minnesota-based Cargill with 

a history of hit and runs around 

the world? Save the Bay members 

live here and will not leave after the 

checks exchange hands. 

Julie Abraham, Redwood City 

Suspicious of Saltworks’ 

traffic estimates 

Editor: 

The Saltworks public relations 

machine is in overdrive, particularly 

on traffic. 

DMB, the developer, says 40,000 

out-of-town commuters drive to 

work in Redwood City daily. Saltworks 

will provide local housing to 

get them out of their cars. 

Of 40,000 commuters, 84 percent 

travel 30 miles or less from nearby 

communities. These people are 

unlikely to move. In any case, Saltworks 

will only house 30,000. 

DMB doesn’t anticipate Saltworks 

will create a lot of extra traffic. 

A preliminary report says 7,000 

cars could be added to rush-hour 

traffic. Even if Saltworks residents 

commute to Redwood City proper, 

west of U.S. 101, their cars would 

jam Marsh, Woodside and Whip- 

V I E W P O I N T 

Opinions differ on legitimacy of executive session 

Valley attorney disputes 

Brown Act violation charge 

Editor: 

Despite claims in the recent article “Portola 

Valley: Town Council ran afoul of 

open-meeting law, CNPA attorney says,” the 

Town Council did not violate the 

Brown Act by adding an urgent 

closed session item to the council 

agenda. 

California Government Code Section 

54954.2(b)(2) allows the Town Council to 

place an item on the agenda even if the item of 

business did not appear on the posted agenda if 

two-thirds of the Council members determine 

that there is a need to take immediate action 

and that need for action came to the attention 

of the town subsequent to the agenda being 

posted. That is exactly what happened at the 

meeting of March 23. 

After the posting of the agenda, information 

came to the attention of the town related to a 

real property transaction (an item appropriate 

for closed session pursuant to Government 

Code Section 54956.8). 

At the beginning of the meeting, the town 

manager indicated that since the posting of the 

agenda the town had learned information that 

could require immediate action related to a real 

property negotiation. The manager stated the 

address of the property involved, as reported 

GUEST 

OPINION 

in the Almanac. 

The manager requested a vote of the Council 

members regarding the need for immediate 

action to add this closed session item to 

the agenda, and the Council members voted 

unanimously. The process the Town Council 

undertook was legal and in accordance with 

the letter of the law. 

Because the Town Council chose 

not to take any action and there was 

nothing to report out of closed session 

does not mean that the Town Council’s 

action violated the Brown Act. It simply means 

that after learning all the available information 

and considering the matter, the Town Council 

decided it best not to take any action. There was 

no violation of open meeting law. 

Sandy Sloan 

Portola Valley Town Attorney 

The Almanac responds: Town 

explanation inadequate 

In reporting that the Portola Valley Town 

Council’s urgent executive session March 23 

may have violated the Brown Act, the Almanac 

cited the conclusion drawn by Jim Ewert, 

legal counsel of the California Newspaper 

Publishers Association. 

He told the Almanac that the Brown 

Act allows such a closed session if a majority 

approves the idea, there is a need to take 

ple interchanges, already at capacity. 

And no one can predict how many 

Saltworks residents would commute 

to SF, San Jose or elsewhere. 

DMB claims Saltworks is a transit-oriented 

community. The closest 

Caltrain stations are more than 

a mile away — across the freeway. 

DMB is bringing direly needed 

housing to a jobs-rich region. 

Saltworks would include 1 million 

square feet of offices and 140,000 

Green Building Professionals 

Healthy Energy Efficient Homes 

Featuring Our Latest GREEN Innovation 

square feet of commercial/retail 

space. Even more people would 

commute to these new jobs. 

Don’t be fooled by DMB spin 

doctors. Saltworks would create a 

traffic nightmare. 

Pat Marriott, Los Altos 

Correction 

Mayor Jim Dobbie disagrees 

with the characterization in 

“immediate action,” and the need arose after 

the posting of the regular agenda. Another 

requirement is that the council report any 

action taken in the closed session. 

But in defending the closed session afterward, 

Mayor Ted Driscoll said: “I believe I can’t comment 

except to say we took no formal action. It 

was intended to get the whole council up to date 

on an issue.” 

Upon hearing the mayor’s response, Mr. 

Ewert said: Getting the whole council up to 

date on an issue “presumes or implies that no 

action was required but that it was an informational 

session. If you’re going to inform somebody, 

that’s not a need for a closed session.” 

If the entire basis for the urgent executive 

session was, as Mr. Driscoll said, to “get the 

council up to date on an issue,” we agree that 

the council did not have adequate grounds to 

call the session. 

The town attorney’s explanation for the 

meeting, given the circumstances, was inadequate. 

She writes that, after the agenda was 

posted, “information came to the attention of 

the town related to a real property transaction 

(an item appropriate for closed session pursuant 

to Government Code Section 54956.8). But 

according to the nursery owner, the town had 

not been in contact with him for more than a 

year, so it seems highly unlikely that the council 

was prepared to move on “a real property transaction.” 

So what was the urgency? A 

last week’s editorial that he is 

not happy with the Atherton 

Police Officers Association’s taping 

of Atherton town meetings. 

Mr. Dobbie said he felt it was 

inappropriate that the first taping 

occurred when the Finance 

Committee was deciding how 

the parcel tax was to be distributed 

between police and public 

works budgets. The Almanac 

regrets the error. 

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