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PALO ALTO 578 University Avenue 650.323.1111 Page 2 • Wednesday, March 12, 2008 • Palo Alto Weekly UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis Foothill may nix Cubberley in favor of alternate site After months of talks with city, college district scheduled for the district’s five- Even NASA-owned Moffett council — a study session requir- examining other properties for new campus member board of trustees on Fri- Field is being considered, accord- ing no vote — several council day but was cancelled due to the ing to district spokesperson Becky members said outright they would by Arden Pennell lack of a quorum. Bartindale. not consider selling the parcel. The alternative sites range from a Cubberley has never been the dis- The district then employed a real possible $35 million deal with After months of reviewing the former Hewlett-Packard Company trict’s only choice, but the search estate broker, Kevin Crawford of the City of Palo Alto to buy or city-owned portion of Cubberley, building found to contain industrial for alternatives intensified after Ritchie Commercial, to look for A lease eight acres of Cubber- the college district is considering solvents in groundwater and soil at Palo Alto City Council members other spots, Bartindale said, noting ley Community Center for a new at least eight other sites for a new 395 Page Mill Road to a parcel of all but recommended the city rent, she has not attended talks between campus for the Foothill-De Anza campus in Palo Alto, Mountain Mountain View’s research park at rather than sell the land, she said. the city and district. Community College District may View and Sunnyvale. 205 Ravendale Drive, among oth- At a January meeting between The district would prefer to buy not happen after all. A tour of the alternate sites was ers. district representatives and the (continued on page 11) CRIME Man stabbed to death in Midtown Girlfriend’s son arrested Friday night by Don Kazak and Becky Trout 73-year-old man, identified so far only as “Bob,” was A stabbed to death Friday night at a Midtown residence, allegedly by his girlfriend’s 46-year-old son, Herman Van Bragt of Auburn. Police received a call from Van Bragt around 9:10 p.m. Friday re- porting a knife fight on the 2500 block of Waverley Street, near Colorado Avenue, according to Sgt. Sandra Brown. Police arrived and found Bob, a Palo Alto resident, dead, and Norbert von der Groeben Van Bragt suffering from knife wounds. Van Bragt’s girlfriend and his mother, Electra Van Bragt, were out to dinner during the inci- dent, according to Brown. “The mother doesn’t know what happened,” she said. On Monday, a coroner’s inquiry Jon Sandelin reads a newspaper at the College Terrace Library, which may be upgraded in historic status from ‘contributing building’ to determined that the older man died ‘major building’ of ‘regional importance.’ of multiple stab wounds, Brown said. She said she could not release HISTORIC PRESERVATION — one of the “good local examples of architectural styles.” the victim’s name. If approved by the City Council, the reclassification would confer “This is a tragic, tragic incident,” certain rights on the building, and those rights — called Transferable she said. City prepares College Development Rights, or TDRs — would help the city raise funds to pay Van Bragt, 46, was later charged for other infrastructure projects. with suspicion of homicide and The renovation is scheduled to begin this fall. suspicion of assault with a deadly Terrace library for upgrades As one of five branch libraries operated by the City of Palo Alto and weapon, Brown said. He spent the the oldest extant branch library in Palo Alto, College Terrace — with night at Stanford Hospital for his Board recommends upgrade of historic its exposed wood beams and intricate detailing — is a “little gem over knife wounds but was released, she status for 1936 building there in South Palo Alto,” said Historic Resources Board member Roger said. by Veronica Sudekum Kohler. Kohler deemed the structure “well worth” the “major building” Brown said Van Bragt and his designation. girlfriend had driven from Auburn o pave the way for rehabilitating the College Terrace Library, the According to member Beth Bunnenberg, Sumner’s architectural con- to visit his mother, known as El- Palo Alto Historic Resources Board last week recommended the tribution to the region was under-recognized when the library earned lie. Tcity upgrade the historical merit of the 1936 structure. Under the its “contributing building” classification, also called a “Category 4,” in Brown said she did not know new classification, the library branch would be considered a “major 1978. if alcohol was involved or if Van building” of “regional importance,” one of the “meritorious works of the Additionally, she said past evaluators did not consider the setting of Bragt suffered from mental-health best architects or an outstanding example of an architectural style or the the building, with its surrounding small parks. problems. stylistic development of architecture in the state or region.” “By some miracle, they didn’t get sold off and have houses put on “I don’t have anything to say The structure at 2300 Wellesley Ave., designed by architect Charles them,” she said. “These things have really taken on extra significance that there is any diagnosis. We just Kaiser Sumner, is currently considered merely a “contributing building” don’t know,” she said. (continued on page 11) Neighbor Sanford Small said (continued on page 7) Palo Alto Weekly • Wednesday, March 12, 2008 • Page 3 Emerson School brings out the extraordinary in every child. 703 HIGH STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94302 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER Our William S. Johnson . Superior Academic Preparation EDITORIAL Jay Thorwaldson, Editor . 2800 W. Bayshore Road Individualized Montessori Curriculum Jocelyn Dong, Managing Editor . Palo Alto, CA 94303 Cultivation of Gifts & Talents www.headsup.org Allen Clapp, Carol Blitzer, Associate Editors Keith Peters, Sports Editor . Tracy Bootz, Administrator Town Emphasis on Thinking Skills & Personal Values Tyler Hanley, Online Editor by Don Kazak [email protected] . Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor International Curriculum (Chinese, Spanish) 650 - 424 - 1267 . Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Year-Round, Full-Day Program Parent Information Dates Don Kazak, Senior Staff Writer Arden Pennell, Becky Trout, Staff Writers A life well lived March 13 5:00 Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor Affiliated Programs: Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant Norbert von der Groeben, Chief Photographer ir Modiano, a Stanford Hos- Hacienda School – Pleasanton Marjan Sadoughi, Veronica Weber, Staff pital physician, treated Al Ja- “At the news of his death, Photographers HeadsUp! cobs in the last days of Jacobs’ Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Bentson, N people were literally Child Development Centers – Lynn Comeskey, Kit Davey, Jack McKinnon, life.