Palo Vol. XLI, Number 1 Q October 11, 2019 Alto In Palo Alto Hills, few lose power Page 5

www.PaloAltoOnline.comwww.PaloAltoOnline.coomm

Palo Altans talk about the The price of blessings and burdens of living in the heart of ‘ ’ the Silicon Valley paradise Page 9

Moonlight Run & Walk TonightTo at the Baylands 40 years of news 12 City’s oldest businesses 21 Eating Out 45 Puzzles 63 QArts UN Film Festival tackles themes of justice Page 44 QHome How to avoid heartbreak in your remodeling project Page 48 QSports Full slate of prep football is on tap Page 62 Editor’s note elcome to the 40th an- niversary edition of W the Palo Alto Weekly, whose inaugural issue was pub- lished on Oct. 11, 1979. For this issue, the news staff wanted to examine what the city is like today in light of what has happened over the past four de- cades. We started by reaching out to residents on four blocks in Palo Alto, from north to south: Poe Street, Churchill Avenue, Greer Road and El Cerrito Road. We asked them to tell us what living in the city is like for them and what fills their day-to-day lives. We also asked them to share their observations about the changes happening in their neighbor- hoods and the city. We’re grateful to them for sharing their stories, which you can read in their neigh- borhood profiles, starting on page

File photo/Veronica Weber 29. If this project sounds familiar, it is: In what has become a tradi- tion, we followed in the footsteps of previous Weekly reporters and editors, who for the newspaper’s 10th and 25th anniversaries also A couple walks underneath vibrant gingko trees on Greenwood Avenue in Palo Alto in 2016, one of many streets in the city where researched and produced similar mature trees form a canopy over the road. overviews of Palo Alto. One thing struck us as we re- viewed their work: The most pressing problems of the region The price of ‘paradise’ in 2019 may be more exaggerated today, but they took root decades ago. For the 10th anniversary edi- Palo Altans love their hometown, but the stress of living in the heart of Silicon Valley is growing tion in 1989, journalist Melinda Sacks wrote: “As housing prices by Jocelyn Dong climb astronomically” — refer- ring to the average home price of ast Coast native George Richardson relatively safe neighborhoods. say they won’t hit the road without check- $400,000 in 1988 — “the original arrived 50 years ago to attend Stan- Lately, though, as Silicon Valley has con- ing Google Maps or Waze first; they get residents are finding themselves E ford Law School. Like so many before tinued moving at full throttle, local residents DoorDash to deliver dinner to them at home living side by side with a new kind him, he never left. have also been wondering aloud about some- because they don’t have time to cook; they of neighbors. If not extremely “I always wanted to come to California to thing their predecessors rarely did: the price install Nest to protect (and remotely keep wealthy, they are at least highly see what it was about. My expectation was, of living in “paradise.” tabs on) their most significant financial in- paid, often two-income, career- you know, go to law school, go to New York Four decades into the digital revolution, vestment, their home. oriented professionals who don’t and join a big firm and make lots of money,” Palo Alto residents are feeling a growing The impacts haven’t been limited to time have nearly as much time for said Richardson, who still practices law in sense of dissonance. Like the tectonic plates and money; there are more intangible costs community activities as did the Palo Alto. Upon arriving here, “I did a lot that created the San Andreas Fault, tech has to living in the always-on culture of Silicon families who settled here earlier.” of driving around, and I remember falling in seismically shifted how people live day to day. Valley. Some residents complain of their One local real estate agent at love with ... the rolls of the golden hills and On the one hand, the technology industry frustration with navigating a more complex, the time noted that children who the stark green oaks among them. And I just has pushed the Silicon Valley economy to tech-connected world. Others speak of a grew up in Palo Alto were unable said, ‘Why would anybody leave?’” produce the second highest per capita gross nagging sense of losing control over their to buy homes in the city, even then Richardson’s love of Palo Alto has led him domestic product (GDP) in the country, un- information and their privacy, with every- — a familiar refrain of today’s to volunteer for the school district and get leashing unprecedented prosperity and the one’s data being gathered digitally by face- parents as well. involved in other civic affairs. belief that anything is possible. less corporations. In addition to the profiles of He’s not alone in his passion for the But tech’s rise into the Valley’s dominant Even tech workers warn of the isolation four neighborhood blocks, our community. economic and cultural force has also re- that the digitally connected world, ironically, anniversary coverage includes When talking about their hometown with shaped people’s lives in ways that residents fosters. And longtimers wonder what kind Palo Alto Weekly journalists for this news- are finding stressful, from the long hours of community will be here in 10 years and an editorial by Palo Alto Weekly paper’s 40th anniversary edition, longtime they devote to work, to the times of day they whether it will still be a place for service founder Bill Johnson on the media residents and newcomers alike speak fondly drive (or don’t, to avoid traffic), to skyrocket- workers, artists and others who contribute to business and its future. We also of the attributes that drew them here and ing housing prices. the vibrant fabric of the community. provide a retrospective of the top convinced them to stay: the beautiful homes Whether consciously or not, accommoda- news from every year since 1979. along canopied streets, the strong public edu- tions to this new reality have to be made: And we put the spotlight on local cation system, the vibrant civic culture and Because of traffic congestion, residents now The increase in ... everything small businesses and what they’ve ne need look no further than lo- done to survive over the decades. George and cal statistics to get a sense of how We hope you find our reporting Dianna O much has changed for Palo Altans relatable and valuable. Richardson, since 1979, when the Palo Alto Weekly was —Jocelyn Dong residents of founded. The San Jose Metropolitan area, the Royal once a place of orchards and canneries, now Table of contents Manor has the nation’s second highest per capita neighborhood GDP: $128,300, according to the U.S. Bu- Publisher’s Message ...... 11 in Palo Alto reau of Economic Analysis. The 2018 40 Years of News ...... 12 since 1989, American Community Survey of the U.S. Profile: Automotive ...... 21 take a walk Census Bureau pegs the median household Profile: Books ...... 22 outside their income in Palo Alto at $162,319. Profile: Cemetery ...... 23 home on That wealth has pushed up the cost of Profile: Grocery ...... 24 Oct. 1. housing, among other things. In 1980, the Profile: Hospitality ...... 25 median price of a home was $148,000; this City’s Oldest Businesses ...... 26 year, it’s $2.9 million, according to Zil- Profile: Churchill Avenue ...... 29 Sammy Dallal low Research. (The median home value in Profile: El Cerrito Road ...... 35 Profile: Greer Road ...... 37 Profile: Poe Street ...... 40 (continued on page 10) www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 9 40th Anniversary Price of ‘paradise’ (continued from page 9) Monthly rent’s steep climb in Palo Alto The high cost of Palo Alto housing $2,423 Median home value to median household income $2,500 Median rent per month 19.6 to 1 California is $548,700.) Median household Median home $3,182,000 annual income value Renters, who today make up $2,000 $3M 43% of Palo Alto households, $1,723 pay a median gross monthly rent of $2,423. In 1980, it was $363 a $1,500 $1,349 $2.5M month. Over four decades, the ratio of $1,000 $825 $2M median house value to median an- 12 to 1 nual household income has more $500 $363 than tripled: from 6 to 1 in 1980 $1.5M $1,438,900 to 19.6 to 1 in 2018. As one new Palo Alto resident 0 9 to 1 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 opined, “The only way to afford it $1M $811,800 Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey here is if one person (in the family) 8 to 1 byGraphs Rosanna Kuruppu 6 to 1 is working in the tech industry.” $500K $457,800 Paying off the mortgage has be- American Community Survey. today it stands at $148,000 $120,670 $162,319 come a top priority for many who While lower than the county’s 66,655. And all of $24,743 $55,333 $90,377 are staring at years of financial 25.5% rate, it’s higher than cities those people need 0 burden, leading a south Palo Alto with a similar population around to get around, clog- 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 resident to tell the Weekly that the country: 12.7% in Portland, ging roads that Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey, Zillow Research he wishes he could work more Maine, 14.9% in Oshkosh, Wis- previously never hours, just to earn the money to do consin, and 15.5% in Iowa City. had stop-and-go that. Of the Palo Alto homeown- As an abundance of tech jobs traffic. Dianna Richardson, who go somewhere. If I want to go to One couple bemoaned the ongo- ers with a mortgage, 22% spend have been created, more people with husband George has lived Home Depot (in East Palo Alto), ing loss of stores, whether Fry’s more than 35% of their budget on have moved in. The population in south Palo Alto since 1989, I’m, like, ‘I can’t do that now be- or Orchard Supply Hardware, or housing, according to the 2018 of Palo Alto in 1980 was 55,225; said she thinks twice about going cause then I’ll get stuck on that other local places where owners downtown or to Stanford Shop- road,’” she said. or employees have expertise to of- ping Center. The proliferation of tech de- fer along with merchandise. Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce presents the “There’s just too much conges- vices and appliances over the de- More than one person comment- tion,” she said. “There’s got to be cades needs no statistics. But ask ed on the simultaneously good rd a cause or something to take me residents how they feel about the and bad aspects of social media: 33 Annual ATHENA® there.” mass adoption of tech and the an- Neighbors talk with one another Now she shakes her head in dis- swer is, “It’s complicated.” on Nextdoor.com but don’t reach Leadership Awards Luncheon belief when she sees the local TV Online shopping is convenient, out to say hello in person as often. news traffic helicopter covering but every purchase is one that po- Browsing, “liking” and watch- honoring the stretch of U.S. Highway 101 tentially takes away from a local ing videos on Facebook sucks up ATHENA ATHENA Award for Emerging behind her house. small business — and affects its hours of people’s days, leading Leadership Award Professional Leadership “I really have to think about continued existence in the com- it before I can just jaunt off and munity, residents told the Weekly. (continued on page 28)

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Page 10 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

Three major trends have de- until the newspaper is no longer EDITORIAL stroyed the advertising business performing the essential public model that enabled local news to service role of holding public of- prosper until the early 2000s: ficials accountable or covering The internet and the loss of the important news of the day. Why our next 40 years depends on you retail. The internet, and Google, Journalism is essential to democracy but its future is in jeopardy Facebook and Amazon in particu- lar, have made it almost impossible Reshaping the by Bill Johnson for local, independent retailers to economics survive, especially in our region, Fortunately, the Weekly has a can’t imagine projections for getting efforts to resolve the debate over where the cost of doing business jump on many of our peer news a more ideal to profitability in three Castilleja School’s future. I rec- is so high. Historically, retail has organizations. In 1994, we were I community in years. ognize that there are others in the been the lifeblood of local news- the first newspaper, daily or which to operate a During the six community for whom we are just papers, so retail consolidation weekly, to publish our content on serious-minded news months following the one editorial position away from has severely cut into the revenue the web, thanks to the help of a organization. formation of the Pen- such labels, or from losing them needed to support robust editorial software engineer who was an Our readers care insula Times Tribune, as a supporter. departments. avid Weekly reader. Since then, deeply about the I pitched local resi- But I learned early on that to- The generational change in we have invested heavily in cre- quality of their local dents whom I either day’s upset reader is often tomor- business ownership. The remain- ating a website that now attracts government and the knew from family ties, row’s enthusiastic supporter, and ing locally owned businesses are an astounding 285,000 unique schools. They include through my work for that it is neither possible nor desir- increasingly being operated by a visitors each month, more than experts on virtually McCloskey or by their able to avoid controversy in search new generation of owners — either four times the population of the any topic we cover. They are en- reputations for civic engagement. of unattainable universal praise. the adult children of parents who city. We publish news online 24/7 gaged in local issues and don’t By Aug. 11, the day before my have turned the business over to and distribute several emailed hesitate to advocate strongly for wedding, the last of the 14 inves- their kids, or young entrepreneurs newsletters, including Express, a their points of view. To publish a tors I was seeking called to say Journalism is with a new business idea. This daily local news digest sent ev- newspaper and website in this en- they were in. disappearing new generation of business owner ery weekday morning at 10 a.m.; vironment is a unique journalistic These 14 local families, who And this leads me to the crisis didn’t grow up reading newspapers Weekend Express, a Thursday undertaking and a huge profes- each invested between $15,000 facing local journalism today. and is entirely oriented toward us- summary of upcoming weekend sional challenge for reporters and and $25,000, shared my vision for There has never been a time when ing inexpensive advertising on events and the Peninsula Foodist, editors every day. a new, locally owned and indepen- the future of local journalism has Google or Facebook or free social covering the local dining scene, Back in 1979, it was this chal- dent paper for Palo Alto but were been so much in doubt, and I’m media to promote their products every other Wednesday. lenge and opportunity that inspired less certain about my ability to pull worried that people in our Palo and services. Moving to these But as we create new ways to me to start the Palo Alto Weekly. it off. In the end, as I came to real- Alto bubble don’t get it. other platforms has diverted more keep you informed and enter- The daily newspaper that I grew ize, the opportunity to be an owner I am surprised at the number than half of all advertising money tained, our future as a local news up with, the Palo Alto Times, had of their hometown newspaper was of highly informed people I meet previously spent in publications. organization will literally be up been sold the year before to the exciting and unique enough to set who don’t appreciate that local The reader shift to digital. to you. An evaporating pool of Chicago Tribune Company, and in aside whatever doubts they may journalism is disappearing all over Younger consumers of news, like advertising must be replaced by April 1979 it was radically trans- have had about me. the country, leaving thousands of the new generation of business direct membership support from formed into the Peninsula Times communities without sources of owners, did not grow up with or readers, whether you get your Tribune. The folks from Chicago news other than social media or establish print newspaper read- news from Palo Alto Online or decided that what residents of information put out by their lo- ing habits. They are mostly rely- the Palo Alto Weekly. Our hope is Palo Alto and other Peninsula cit- Recent studies cal governments. Recent studies ing on digital news sources and to create the model for the future ies really wanted was a regional have shown that have shown that cities that lose a have been accustomed to getting success of similar local news or- newspaper. strong, local source of professional that news without paying for it. In ganizations, because they all face As soon as I got wind of their cities that lose a reporting suffer a decrease in vot- Palo Alto, many older readers have this existential threat. plan, my strong instinct was that strong, local source ing, competition in local elections also shifted to Palo Alto Online As it has in so many other it was a strategy doomed to fail and citizen participation in civic for their daily dose of local news, fields, the Palo Alto community (which it did 14 years later in 1993 of professional affairs. often in addition to reading the and Silicon Valley can be leaders when the paper closed.) I went to reporting suffer a It is important to realize that we printed Palo Alto Weekly. in reshaping the economic model work preparing a business plan are not immune from these forces These conditions have thrust lo- for local journalism so that, in for a new weekly newspaper that decrease in voting, in Silicon Valley even though we cal news organizations, especially 40 more years, those of you still would focus exclusively on Palo competition in local may be the most highly educated those owned by large companies, around can look back and say you Alto and Stanford, essentially and affluent region in the entire into a downward spiral. To main- were a part of saving it. stepping into the role that the Palo elections and citizen world. Almost every community tain profitability as advertising You can do your part by be- Alto Times played in the com- participation in civic on the Peninsula and the Bay Area declines, journalists are laid off, coming a subscribing member at munity but with an orientation had a local newspaper when we leading local news coverage to PaloAltoOnline.com/join. Q toward more in-depth reporting affairs. began publishing. Today, most of shrink, prompting more readers Bill Johnson is the president and a more progressive editorial those newsrooms are gone. to cancel their subscriptions. This and CEO of Embarcadero viewpoint that aligned more with Some of these original share- If we are to prevent this from then leads to further reductions in Media. He can be reached at the community. holders have since passed away eventually happening here and in advertising. The cycle continues [email protected]. As a prospective entrepreneur, and their shares inherited by other communities that still have I didn’t bring much to the table. I their kids, or in a couple of cases, decent professional news organi- was born and raised in Menlo Park grandkids. That there has been zations, readers need to acknowl- and Portola Valley and went to little additional turnover is a tes- edge the danger to democracy that Stanford University, where I spent tament to the commitment of the comes from the loss of local jour- Public Agenda way too many hours as a college 14: to sustaining a responsible nalism and do their fair share to A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week journalist reporting for KZSU, the and ethical organization provid- support it. campus radio station, covering a ing good journalism to local resi- Local newspapers across the CITY COUNCIL ... The council is not meeting this week. lot of anti-war protests and related dents. And over the last 40 years, country are asking readers and campus controversies. not one shareholder has attempted major institutions in their com- BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The school board will take action on a Upon graduating, I spent three to influence our editorial content, munities to help them shift from proposed board bond advisory committee; and discuss staff housing, years in Washington D.C. as press the Weekly’s position on local is- a business model that depends on several board policies and the replacement of high school synthetic secretary to then-Congressman sues or its political endorsements advertising revenue to one that turf fields, among other items. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Pete McCloskey, then returned — a fact of which I am especially relies on subscriptions, member- Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the district office, 25 Churchill Ave. to Palo Alto and worked a year proud. ships, partnerships and other cre- COUNCIL FINANCE COMMITTEE ... The committee is tentatively handling press relations and com- Like every media organiza- ative forms of support. You’ve scheduled to discuss the city’s pension policy and the city’s services munity outreach for the California tion, we have plenty of critics seen our regular appeals for this inventory and evaluation strategy. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Coastal Commission in San Fran- who would disagree that we are support both in print and on Palo on Tuesday, Oct. 15, in the Community Meeting Room at City Hall, 250 cisco. Knowing this wasn’t a back- responsible, ethical or provide Alto Online, and we are gratified Hamilton Ave. ground that would easily attract in- good journalism. Ironically, as by the large number of readers ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ... The board plans to review a vestors for launching a newspaper, I was finishing this column I re- who have responded. But we need proposal to demolish two residential units at 2342 Yale St. and to I tried to compensate by doing an ceived an email from one reader thousands more to successfully construct a new two-story duplex; and consider a proposed three-story immense amount of research on describing the Weekly as “just evolve our business model in the mixed-use building at 3585 El Camino Real. The meeting will begin at the publishing business. In my another mouthpiece of the landed years ahead. 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17, in the Council Chambers at City Hall, business plan, I laid out my vision What has brought local journal- gentry” because of an editorial we 250 Hamilton Ave. Q in great detail and made financial published urging more thoughtful ism to this point of vulnerability?

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 11 40th Anniversary

The events and issues that defined Palo Alto over a generation

by Jocelyn Dong disasters: the arson-set Arastrade- thing to build, and if so, should it ro Road wildfire that destroyed really be placed in the Baylands? ooking back at history 15 homes, the Loma Prieta Reactions to problems — or through the lens of news earthquake in 1989 that rattled situations being viewed as prob- coverage reveals the residents’ sense of safety, the San lems — have made up a large part L contours of a commu- Francisquito Creek floods of 1998 of what has happened in town. Old nity: historic events that defined that later spawned the Joint Pow- historic homes were threatened an era, ideas that rose and then ers Authority, the Cessna plane with demolition, new homes were fell away, movements that seized crash into East Palo Alto and at- being built “too big,” retail wasn’t people’s collective imagination tendant power failure in Palo Alto thriving, neighborhood streets and created change, annual tradi- in 2010. were becoming raceways. tions that marked the passage of The city’s seen its share of trag- Politics, that staple of national time. edies, including the deaths of too news, has likewise been the sub- The Palo Alto Weekly, like all many young people. Murders have ject of ongoing reporting here. locally rooted news organizations, periodically disturbed Palo Alto’s There have been more than a few has borne witness to all of these serenity. Some of those were, as tussles over city governance: who things. Over the past 40 years, is often the case, committed by should lead; how the Palo Alto our reporters, photographers and persons closest to the victim: the Process could be fixed; whether editors have chronicled moments husband, the boyfriend. reports from consultants should in time both small — the arrival There have also been deaths be trusted. of a new Barron Park donkey — at the hands of strangers, includ- Palo Altans haven’t been shy and large, such as local residents’ ing a fatal gang-driven beating in about mounting referendums reactions to the Sept. 11 terrorist downtown in 1997 and the fatal when they think their leaders are

Weekly file photo attacks. shooting in 2008 outside of City on the wrong track. They’ve asked We’ve compiled the timeline Hall in a robbery gone wrong. their fellow voters to override below to represent those distinct Often, news was created by approvals of everything from a strands of community life. It was a people debating differing vi- downtown condominium project, difficult task to decide what to in- sions of the future. Should Palo to the expansion of the Palo Alto clude and what to leave out. When Alto stay small and suburban or At top, a plane crashed short of the Palo Alto Airport in Medical Foundation, to a housing possible, we looked for news that respond to the regional demand 2018, killing the pilot. Photo by Veronica Weber. Above: project on Maybell Avenue. had consequences beyond the ini- for housing? Would a facility that The Palo Alto Weekly’s first edition published on Oct. 11, It should come as no surprise tial event. converts waste into energy be the 1979. that education has been a hot but- Of course, there were the most environmentally responsible ton issue, with expectations for

Page 12 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary results set high. Philosophies have Johnson Park opens in Downtown clashed over school closures, new 1983 Park North neighborhood. Palo textbooks and academic stress. East Palo Alto incorporates as a Alto begins to clamp down on The district’s failure to commu- city after a close election. Winter gas-powered leaf blowers because nicate with the public transpar- storms cause flooding in Barron of complaints they violate noise ently at times has compounded Park and other creekside areas. limits. Palo Alto district proposes problems over the years, from the Stanford puts Stanford West on to merge its two high schools at handling of sexual-assault claims hold after Palo Alto council im- Palo Alto High and convert Gunn to changes made to policy. poses conditions on the project. to the city’s only middle school. Palo Alto’s moments of cel- ebration created opportunities to focus on the city’s lighter side: 1984 1987 the Palo Alto Centennial in 1994; the opening of new parks and the Reagan administration OKs Reagan Presidential Foundation creation of the Stanford/Palo Alto Stanford’s terms to build Ronald decides not to build its library at Community Playing Fields; the Reagan presidential library on Stanford. Joaquin de Monet pro-

Olympics at Stanford University campus. Olympic soccer games poses high-rise office, hotel and Weekly file photo in 1984 and the Super Bowl at are held at Stanford Stadium. shopping complex for Whiskey Stanford in 1985. Palo Alto council OKs extension Gulch neighborhood of East Palo As a community well-connect- of Sand Hill Road to El Camino Alto. Plan is later abandoned after ed to the larger world, actions that Real; Menlo Park council files Palo Alto, Menlo Park and neigh- residents have taken, for good or suit to block the project. Jordan borhood groups sue to block it. ill, often have bubbled up into the Middle School closes, leaving Voters reject ballot measure call- national consciousness: Witness Wilbur as the only middle school. ing for city to become nuclear- Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony free zone. The Loma Prieta quake toppled shelves at Know Knew Books. about then-nominee for Supreme Court Brett Kavanaugh, the 2013 arrest in North Korea of an renovation, Stanford Theatre re- closes its doors. East Palo Alto ap- 85-year-old Palo Alto man whose opens as a temple to classic mov- proves Gateway 101, its first major six-week detention became the ies of yesteryear. redevelopment. For first time in subject of intense diplomacy, and school history, Paly boys basket- a liberal’s tirade against a Jewish ball team captures state champi- man wearing a Make America onship. Palo Alto Animal Services Great Again hat in Starbucks that Department receives anonymous went viral this spring. 1990 call that a black mamba snake is All of this news, and much missing, but the deadly reptile is more, has gone into creating the Soviet President Mikhail Gor- never found, and some officials story of Palo Alto. We hope you bachev visits Stanford. After four wonder if it was all a hoax. enjoy taking the time to reflect on years of drought, Palo Alto man- where we’ve been as a city — and dates 25 percent cutback in water- where we might be going. use levels and hires bicycle-mount- ed “gush busters” to warn and cite water wasters. Federal officials tighten flood-protection rules af- 1979 fecting some 4,000 residents. Cubberley High School closes. Palo Alto Weekly begins publi- 1991 cation. Palo Alto City Council rejects proposed rent control or- A year of controversy over dinance prohibiting annual in- improper research billings by creases of more than 7%. Stanford of the federal govern- ment culminates with Donald

Weekly file photo Kennedy’s decision to resign as university president. Palo Alto council approves 45,000-square- photo file Weekly 1980 foot expansion of Palo Alto Medi- The Peninsula Times Tribune cal Foundation, but a referendum ended publication in 1993. Palo Alto council decides to The 49ers won the Super Bowl at Stanford Stadium in 1985. is quickly qualified for the ballot. close city Yacht Harbor. “Col- Citizens group forms to protest lege Terrace rapist” apprehended. nighttime noise in Palo Alto com- 1994 To eradicate Mediterranean fruit ing from Mountain View’s Shore- flies, Palo Alto rejects intensive 1988 line Amphitheatre. Palo Alto celebrates its centen- spraying of malathion in favor of 1985 nial at 275 events that attract an stripping fruit from trees. After contentious 1987 elec- estimated 350,000 people. World San Francisco 49ers win Super tion, Palo Alto school board re- 1992 Cup soccer comes to Stanford. Bowl at Stanford Stadium. Cable verses decision to merge the high Brazilian fans charm locals with 1981 Communications Cooperative se- schools. Two-year drought forces Drug-related crime and street their drums and dancing, and the lected to operate Midpeninsula’s Palo Alto to activate its antiquated violence in East Palo Alto peak U.S. team loses to Brazil, 1-0, in After stripping of fruit trees cable television franchise. Palo wells for backup water. with the shooting of 11 people, a July 4 match. Varsity Theatre fails to eradicate Medfly, aerial Alto council OKs regulations one fatally, in a 15-hour period. shows its final film, “Cinema Par- spraying from helicopters begins. to prevent construction of huge Medical foundation’s expansion adiso,” and a developer announces City agrees to buy closed Terman homes. Festival Theater, the Ham- 1989 proposal is approved in referen- plans to convert the Spanish-style Middle School site for $9 million. ilton Avenue movie house where dum, but foundation begins con- landmark to a bookstore and cafe. Palo Alto voters reject gay rights customers sit on beanbag chairs, Loma Prieta earthquake causes sidering move to Urban Lane. Weekly becomes the first newspa- ordinance. closes. an estimated $150 million in Stanford announces new plan per to publish its entire editorial damage at Stanford and addi- to extend Sand Hill Road to El content on the World Wide Web. tional damage at the Veterans Camino, along with major expan- 1982 1986 Affairs hospital in Palo Alto and sion of the shopping center and topples brick chimneys through- construction of 1,200-unit hous- 1995 Three Palo Alto elementary Palo Alto council imposes out the area. Palo Alto, Menlo ing project. schools close. Palo Alto council growth restrictions to control Park and Atherton each come up Palo Alto voters reject Measure invites private groups to submit commercial development down- with new rules to ensure houses R, which would have frozen the bids to operate cable TV system. town. Tinsley school-desegre- aren’t too big for their lots. Palo 1993 city’s building limit for 20 years Stanford University proposes gation lawsuit settled; Palo Alto Alto school district adopts plan to and prevented the rezoning of res- 1,200-unit Stanford West housing and other Midpeninsula districts reopen Jordan as a middle school Two months after celebrating idential property to commercial. project and extension of Sand Hill agree to accept Ravenswood dis- and include sixth-graders at both 100 years of publishing in Palo Road to El Camino Real. trict students. Dr. Edith Eugenie middle schools. After $6 million Alto, the Peninsula Times Tribune (continued on page 14)

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 13 40th Anniversary 40 years of news 1997 (continued from page 13) Palo Alto council and city vot- ers approve Stanford’s Sand Hill Palo Alto voters approve Measure Road development projects, but B, a $143 million bond to finance Menlo Park files a lawsuit to the repair and renovation of dis- block them. Early morning arson trict schools. Serial rapist sexually fire rips through an East Palo Alto assaults five women and attempts home, killing nine people, includ- to attack two others in less than ing five children, and injuring three weeks in Menlo Park, Palo eight others, including four fire- Alto and Sunnyvale. He is finally fighters. NASA scientist Herbert

arrested in January 1996. “Bert” Kay is kicked and beaten to Weekly file photo death as he takes an evening stroll 1996 through downtown Palo Alto. Six

gang members are arrested. Palo Weekly file photo Palo Alto council places strict Alto approves ordinance making limits on demolitions of old it an offense to sit or lie on down- At left, a resident cleans up after the 1998 flood. Above: homes, while work begins on a town streets. Palo Alto council ap- Kenneth Fitzhugh was tried and convicted in 2001 of new historic preservation law. Da- proves Medical Foundation’s plan his wife’s murder. vid Packard, the father of Silicon to move to new, $100 million cam- Valley, dies at age 83. Blooming- pus on El Camino Real, trigger- Midpeninsula homes and, in Palo 1999 for $70 million in cash and $20 dale’s opens its first store west of ing South of Forest Area planning. Alto, sparks criticism over city’s million in other considerations. the Rockies at Stanford Shopping The new center opens in 1999. preparedness. East Palo Alto After three years of conten- Merged operations of UCSF and Center. Stanford trustees and council approves University Circle tious debate, the Palo Alto coun- Stanford hospitals lose $66 mil- University of California regents office, hotel and retail project for cil passes a new historic preser- lion in current year, prompting approve a merger of two Stan- 1998 Whiskey Gulch. First store opens vation ordinance; a referendum is calls to end the merger. ford and two UC San Francisco at East Palo Alto’s Gateway rede- quickly qualified for the March hospitals. El Niño storms cause flood- velopment project, renamed the 2000 ballot. Cable Co-op board ing that damages hundreds of Ravenswood 101 Retail Center. approves sale of system to AT&T 2000 After music teacher Kristine Fitzhugh is found dead in her home, her husband is arrested and later convicted for her mur- der. County approves Stanford University’s general use permit, with a restriction against building in the foothills for 25 years. City leaders plan to build affordable housing in the South of Forest CELEBRATING Avenue Area. 40 YEARS OF BEAUTY 2001 Palo Alto launches long-await- ed high-speed fiber-optic trial From our family to yours with about two dozen households. City Council OKs ordinance to protect residents of Buena Vista For 40 years, LaBelle Day Spas & Salons have been Mobile Home Park from evic- tion because of rent increases. the result of the passion, beauty, and dedication Council and school board unani- mously agree to a land-swap deal of founder Bella Schneider. Combining tried-and- involving Cubberley and Terman community centers, paving the true relaxation services with expert clinical way for opening Terman Middle beauty, we have made Bay Area women and School. men’s wellbeing our main priority. Featuring 2002 advanced technologies and refined cosmetics, Community is rocked when a Palo Alto High School freshman LaBelle’s true success lies in the meaningful and football player dies by sui- cide on the train tracks. Elks Club and loyal relationships we have built within considers selling its 8-acres on El our own LaBelle family of staff and with our Camino Real, a plan that divides the club. In a first for Palo Alto, devoted clients. Thank you for being part of this council OKs charging impact fee for new residential developments amazing journey. We look forward to another 40 to help pay for community cen- ters, libraries and parks. years with you! 2003 www.labelledayspas.com While biking to school, six- year-old Amy Malzbender is struck and killed by a car driven Stanford Palo Alto by a Palo Alto High School senior, 36 Stanford Shopping Center 95 Town & Country Village who later serves nine months in Stanford , CA 94304 Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-327-6964 jail. The opening of an Ikea store 650-326-8522 in East Palo Alto stokes fears of

(continued on page 16)

Page 14 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 15 40th Anniversary

40 years of news the council votes to take all but (continued from page 14) one of them out. traffic gridlock. Stanford agrees 2005 to build athletic fields for the city on six acres at El Camino Real Palo Alto voters approve a and Page Mill Road in exchange storm-drain fee to pay for upkeep for the right to develop several of the system. Founded by a col- hundred housing units elsewhere lege dropout, a startup called The- on Stanford land. facebook.com opens corporate offices in downtown Palo Alto. The council passes a ban on gas- 2004 powered leaf-blowers at residen- tial properties. Palo Alto council OKs adoption of single-stream recycling, start- ing in 2005. Criticism and costs of 2006 the Homer Tunnel project mount, as delays beset its construction. It The reconstruction of Stanford finally opens in 2005. After nine- Stadium is completed in just 42 and-a-half months of bitter con- weeks. Bill Giordano, a longtime Veronica Weber troversy over a traffic-calming tri- Jordan Middle School coach and al involving road blockades in the teacher, is sentenced for molest- Downtown North neighborhood, ing a 14-year-old student a decade prior. The Opportunity Center opens on Encina Avenue, using Gunn High School students mourn in 2009 after the first youth suicide that year. a relatively new “housing first” model to get homeless people off 2013. Todd Burpee kidnaps and steps down following a firestorm cover the crime by burning their the streets. assaults a Gunn High School se- of criticism for race-related com- rented cottage. A jury convicts nior; he is sentenced in 2009 to ments. Voters finally hand victo- him of first-degree murder in 43 years to life. ry to library supporters, passing 2011. A shocked Palo Alto com- 2007 Measure N, a 30-year, $76 million munity scrambles to support teen- bond to improve Main, Mitchell agers as the first of two suicide Proposal to add Mandarin- 2008 Park and Downtown libraries. clusters starts with four deaths language immersion program to in six months. Electric vehicle Weekly file photo Palo Alto school district is met Children’s Theatre employees maker Tesla Motors announces it with hot debate. Arson destroys are suspected of embezzlement, 2009 is moving to Palo Alto. The $270 roof, second-floor of Walgreens a scandal that ends the career million, 8.5-acre Taube-Koret building downtown, and Donald of director Pat Briggs; criminal Real estate agent Jennifer Campus for Jewish Life opens Ray Williams is sentenced for charges are later dropped. Palo Schipsi is murdered by boyfriend Mark Zuckerberg in 2005 the crime to 20 years in prison in Alto Police Chief Lynne Johnson Bulos “Paul” Zumot, who tries to (continued on page 18) 53rd ERSARY Old Becomes New NIV AN

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40th Anniversary

Stanford Hospital and expand Lu- bullying. Measure D, a grassroots by FAA’s new NextGen flight cile Packard Children’s Hospital. campaign to overturn a housing plan. High school students re- Steve Jobs, Apple’s creative ge- development on Maybell Av- spond with messages of hope nius, dies at 56 of pancreatic can- enue, passes, launching a “slow and understanding when an- cer; fans leave tributes outside his growth” political movement that other Gunn High student dies by Palo Alto home. Voters pass Mea- helps council members get elected suicide on the train tracks. Palo sure E, the undedication of a 10- in 2014. The world is gripped by Alto voters agree to reduce size acre parcel in Byxbee Park, and the arrest of 85-year-old Palo Alto of council from nine to seven Measure D, which scraps the re- resident Merrill Newman in North members, starting in 2018. quirement that the city enter into Korea, who is held for six weeks. binding arbitration over disputes with its fire and police unions. 2015 Veronica Weber 2014 Former Stanford University 2012 The new 56,332-square-foot swimmer Brock Turner is ar- Mitchell Park Library and Com- rested and ordered to stand trial A plan for office towers and a munity Center debuts. Residents for sexual assault in January. City East Palo Alto residents watch first responders to a plane crash in theater at 27 University Ave. is and city leaders gear up to fight their neighborhood in 2010. met with opposition after it be- increased airplane noise caused (continued on page 20) comes apparent that city staff held private negotiations with approve $9.95 billion bond for billionaire developer John Ar- 40 years of news a high-speed rail system, Palo rillaga. The plan is later shelved. (continued from page 16) Alto council takes a vote of “no The owners of Buena Vista Mo- confidence” in the project and bile Home Park agree to sell the and includes the Oshman Family joins other cities in suing the property to developer Prometheus Jewish Community Center and California High-Speed Rail Au- and inform 400 residents they Moldaw Family Residences. thority. Measure R, a proposal will be evicted. Palo Alto leaders by Palo Alto’s firefighters union double down on “transit-oriented to freeze staffing levels in the development” concept, approving Fire Department, goes up in Lytton Gateway building with 2010 flames, with 74% of local voters limited onsite parking. opposing it. After taking off in fog from Palo Alto Airport, a plane crash- 2013 es into an East Palo Alto neigh- 2011 Michelle Le borhood, killing all three on A federal agency finds the Palo board but no one on the ground; Palo Alto council finally OKs Alto Unified School District vio- electricity is cut to all of Palo Stanford University Medical Cen- lated a disabled student’s civil Alto. Two years after voters ter’s $5 billion plan to build a new rights by mishandling ongoing A new Mitchell Park Library opens in 2014.

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Page 18 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 19 40th Anniversary

40 years of news key deadline in negotiation with (continued from page 18) 2016 unions, resulting in $6 million in A Palo Alto businesswoman unbudgeted raises and bonuses to is found stabbed to death in her teachers and classified employees, institutes resi- Greenmeadow neighborhood home; and a federal agency orders the dential park- her sister-in-law is arrested for her district to take steps to fix its im- ing permit SCCCourtesy Office Sheriff’s murder. A planning commissioner proper handling of sexual-harass- program for pens letter that goes viral, berating ment complaints and incidents. downtown’s city leaders for ignoring residents’ $40.4 million deal saves Buena residential demands for more housing. Resi- Vista Mobile Park from closure. neighbor- dents in certain Eichler neighbor- hoods, which hoods argue over banning two-story have been de homes, prompting the city’s devel- 2018 facto com- Brock Turner opment of Eichler guidelines. muter parking A push to rename schools to lots. Palo Alto’s first officer-in- rid them of connections to eu- volved shooting since 2002 oc- 2017 genicists sparks protest and divi- curs Christmas night, when Wil- sion. Voters recall Aaron Persky, liam David Raff runs at police School district superintendent the judge who issued the contro- and is shot and killed. Max McGee is paid $150K to versial sentence of Brock Turner. resign after the district misses Sale of historic President Hotel and evictions of its residents stirs more angst about a lack of affordable housing in Palo Alto. Using new DNA databases, county sheriffs identify suspects in two cold-case Stanford mur- ders from the 1970s. Palo Alto The resident Christine Blasey Ford President publicly accuses Supreme Court Hotel is nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sex- sold in ually assaulting her while they photo file Weekly 2018. were teenagers. leaders scrap over university’s WATCH MORE ONLINE application to grow. Castilleja PaloAltoOnline.com 2019 School’s long-planned and con- Veronica Weber troversial expansion application A “40 years of news” slideshow, with United States Attorney’s Of- starts public review process. Q additional photos of events from fice charges 50 people in college- Weekly Editor Jocelyn Dong the past four decades, is posted at admissions scam, including local can be emailed at jdong@ PaloAltoOnline.Atavist.com. parents. New Stanford Hospital is paweekly.com. Kali Shiloh Buena Vista Mobile Home Park residents rally to save their homes. completed. County and Stanford contributed to this report.

Stanford University Development Project and the General Use Permit Application County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors Hearing Tuesday, October 22, 2019 / 6:00 pm City of Palo Alto Council Chambers / 250 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301 At this hearing, the Board of Supervisors will receive testimony from members of the public on the General Use Permit application. This is the only hearing before the Board on the application in Palo Alto. Other hearings will be in San José.

WHAT ABOUT HOUSING?

Stanford University is proposing to add more than 3.5 million square feet of new development. The project is the largest ever to be reviewed by the County of Santa Clara in its 169-year history.

If approved, the project could increase Stanford University’s campus by 20% and add 9,610 new people to the campus upon completion of the development.

Of the 9,610 additional people resulting from the build-out of the academic space, 4,010 would be net new staff, faculty and other workers who would create a demand for housing. For this reason, the Administration is proposing that 2,172 new housing units be provided, including 964 affordable housing units to avoid worsening the existing housing crisis.

Last Hearing in Palo Alto to Share Your Views with the Board of Supervisors

For the latest updates, please visit: CountyStanford.Info

Page 20 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

BUSINESS Survival of the nimblest For locally owned businesses, the biggest challenge is finding the right employees by Carol Blitzer

hat makes a business last online commerce that devastated on vacation, she’s always happy to nearly half a century or so many local brick-and-mortar come back. W more? stores. “But it’s harder to retain newer Often it’s being in the right place And with the rising dominance people,” who can’t afford to live on at the right time — or buying of tech companies in the Valley, the their own nearby, she said. the property before values shoot biggest challenge to the longtime While Piazza’s Fine Foods in the through the roof. businesses queried for this article Charleston Shopping Center like- That’s true for Say Ray, the Palo is hiring new staff. wise boasts a number of longtime Alto auto repair shop started in The majority of the 28 employ- employees — not least the three 1959 by Ray Longanecker, and cer- ees at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in brothers, sons of the founder, who tainly for Bell’s Books, started in south Palo Alto command union run it — “we struggle with getting 1935 by Herbert Bell, who had the wages, but even that doesn’t help employees,” said co-owner Rick foresight to purchase the building them pay the high rents and real Piazza. Gone are the days when on Emerson Street in downtown estate prices within a reasonable high school kids would bag grocer- Palo Alto 15 years later. commute distance. Locating sea- ies after school. Whether going through eco- sonal employees to keep up the “It’s tough to make ends meet nomic booms or busts, or facing grounds in spring through early versus high tech,” he said. Plus, it’s changing city and state regula- fall is a special challenge, noted not easy work. tions, local businesses have had to Marilyn Talbot, general manager. “It’s a lot of physical labor. That stay nimble to survive. To under- “We can’t compete with Face- can’t just be anybody. You need the stand the secrets to longevity, the book or Google ... even though we right personality” to interact with Weekly asked the owners or man- offer a very good package of ben- customers, he said. agers of five businesses in different efits and pensions,” she said. And sometimes the next genera- industries to talk about some of the The Cardinal Hotel’s secret tion just isn’t interested in taking hurdles they’ve had to overcome to success has been its longtime over. and how they stayed afloat when workers. Although Peter Longanecker other companies met their demise. General Manager Stephanie took over in 1995 from his dad, The oldest of the five businesss was Wansek has been there 22 years; Ray, Peter’s two sons are pursuing founded in 1904 and the youngest her head housekeeper tops that by different paths. For Bell’s Books, in 1987. 12 years. Others have been there the best hope to carry on for the In the past 40 years alone, nearly longer than 20 years. coming 40 years just may be the all enterprises have had to figure “We have a lot of longevity in our next-next generation — the grand- out how to adapt to a new digital staff,” Wansek said. children. Q reality, whether by shifting gears “A lot of us that work here fall Freelance writer Carol Blitzer Weber photo/Veronica File as cars incorporated software in love. It’s a great building,” she can be emailed at carolgblitzer@ Pedestrians stroll along Palo Alto’s University Avenue, past new and computers or competing with said, adding that when she goes gmail.com. and old restaurants and shops that line the street.

AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES Say Ray Like the vehicles themselves, the car-repair business has evolved

orking on cars is in the Middle and Gunn High schools, blood for Peter Lon- has seen firsthand the changing W ganecker, who was tin- demographics of Palo Alto, which kering with engines at 14, before now has a greater population of he could legally drive. higher-end cars. He’s also seen the He learned a lot from his dad, growing integration of computers Meryl (Ray) Longanecker, who into cars. opened Say Ray Foreign Auto Ser- Besides learning at his father’s vice in 1959 in Palo Alto’s Ven- side, Peter Longanecker learned tura neighborhood. At first Ray the trade by taking a two-year auto specialized in Volkswagens and course at De Anza College, and as Porsches, the younger Longaneck- cars changed, he picked up classes er said, but then went “full spec- at some parts companies, and he trum. He worked on everything.” did a lot of reading. Dallal Sammy By the late ‘70s he narrowed his “It was really applying what Peter Longanecker, owner of Say Ray, an automotive repair shop in Palo Alto’s Ventura neighborhood, car-repair service to Volvos. I already knew,” he said, noting services a Volvo with the aid of a laptop. Peter’s father, Ray, opened the repair shop in 1959. By the time Peter Longanecker that working on cars means un- took over in 1995, however, Volvo derstanding how to get fuel and “The products are getting bet- he’s not so sure that the property the last six or seven years. He can quality had plummeted, and peo- air into an engine. ter: performance, reliability, gas owners are willing to give up the now book an appointment within ple were not buying as many. “Back in the ‘70s there were no mileage,” he said, but “it comes at business income they get from the a week. “Now we do Japanese cars” in- onboard diagnostics, but by the a cost. Everything is more com- retail space, he said. “It used to be three weeks. cluding Lexus and Toyotas, as well late ‘80s (that) became more main- plicated, more expensive (to fix).” But he knows the wheels of Palo Times change,” he said. as the newer, luxury Volvos. stream. You pull up a code and it As a business owner on Ash Alto development move slowly, so And although he personally “Volvo was more of a family car points you in a general direction, Street, he’s also been a front-seat he’s not spending a lot of time drives a GMC pickup with the (in the ‘70s-’80s),” he said. “Now then you use your knowledge and witness to changes in his edge-of- worrying about who his new newer bells and whistles, he said it’s targeting the luxury market so skills to draw a conclusion on Ventura neighborhood. His prop- neighbors could be. he turns off the “stay-in-lane” and they are really expensive.” what will do the job,” he said. erty, which his dad purchased in At 60, he has no plans to retire cruise-control features. Q Peter Longanecker, who grew “Today’s cars are rolling com- the 1960s, backs onto the Fry’s soon, “but I don’t see doing this — Carol Blitzer up in Palo Alto and attended Loma puters. ... You can fix things by Electronics parking lot. While the when I’m 80,” he said. Say Ray, 3251 Ash St., Verde (now Juana Briones) El- changing out the software,” he city and local residents may want He does acknowledge that busi- Palo Alto, 650-493-8480, ementary, Terman (now Fletcher) added. more housing on the property, ness has been slowing down in sayrayautorepair.com

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 21 40th Anniversary

younger customers delighting in BOOKS the store. Our aging clientele kept us going; now we have families in on Saturday or couples on Friday date night who realize how un- Bell’s Books usual this is,” she said. Bucking the trend of closing bookstores She even has out-of-the-area customers who’ll “take a vacation ny book you haven’t read niche specialties (occult, women’s, day once a month and treat them- is a new book,” reads the Jewish). Now there are about five, selves to something unusual,” she ‘A sign in the window of she said. said. Bell’s Books, a Palo Alto institution “The rise of Silicon Valley is a A major draw is interacting with that’s grown from young Herbert big shift. There’s an expectation longtime staff. Bell selling textbooks to Stanford that things will be crisp and bright “You should never underes- University students in 1935 to a and fresh, even for used books. ... Bell’s Books timate the importance of loyal, well-established antiquarian and They have access to whatever they was founded hardworking, long-term staff. rare book shop run by his daugh- want online. by Herbert They shape the business as much ter, Faith Bell. “Sales dropped significantly Bell in 1935 in as the owners,” she said. Nearly 350,000 mostly second- when people started buying books downtown Palo Besides Faith, whose interests hand volumes are shelved from the online,” she said. “There were Alto and initially lie in books on books (binding, floor to the lofty ceiling, organized years of struggle.” sold textbooks publishing), 17th- to 19th-century by 500 subject areas. Glass-fronted Even so, Bell has resisted inven- to Stanford literary figures and social reform- cases are scattered throughout, of- torying her books on a computer, University ers, including Utopian communi- ten containing the rarest of leather- and she also keeps no written re- Books Bell’s Courtesy ties, there are five other employees students. bound books, perhaps a miniature cords of who bought what — a di- with a broad range of interests. Shakespeare collection. rect result of a Homeland Security same as today, she said. now designated Category 2 on the Their expertise includes medi- Bell’s stocks brand-new Calde- demand to turn over those records Like other purveyors of books, city’s Historic Register, in 1950. eval world history, modern poetry, cott-winning children’s books and a few years back. she tried hosting some events in the Ultimately the personal service Classical thought and true crime paperback fiction, along with vol- With no list of her books on a past to draw in customers, but the Bell’s offered overcame the pull of fiction. And Bell’s husband, Chris- umes gleaned from estate sales, computer, there are no online sales, store’s physical setup makes them the Internet, and customers — at topher Storer, is a retired philoso- private collections and people no Bell’s Books eBay store. very difficult. least her store’s clientele — value phy professor. downsizing, Faith Bell said. That’s fine with Faith, who has “The front display table weighs the experience of picking up the At 64, she has been able to pare In other words, one can purchase worked at the store since 1983, first over 300 pounds — it’s 18th-cen- book, feeling it, smelling it. down her 14-hour days, enabling a new paperback copy of Maurice with her father until he died, and tury oak,” she said, adding, “I’m Today Bell’s Books has settled her to meet other personal and Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things then alongside her mother, Valeria not really interested in providing into its niche, focusing “much more professional obligations. Are” for $8.95, a hardback ver- Bell, until her retirement in 2014. that kind of entertainment; what in the antiquarian or rare realm. We “I know of booksellers who’ve sion for $18.95 or a first edition for Every bookstore has to change we provide is fascinating enough could sell hundreds of paperback dropped in their tracks, and that’ll $4,500. over time, she said. in itself.” fiction for one rare book,” she said. probably be me,” she said. Q At one time there were 27 book- “The community has different Fortunately, steeply rising rents Her customer base, too, has — Carol Blitzer stores between Mountain View’s demands and interests,” and what have never been a major challenge evolved over time. Bell’s Books, 536 Emerson San Antonio Road and Santa Cruz appealed to the Palo Alto commu- for the store, since Herbert Bell was “We have constantly changing St., Palo Alto, 650-323-7822, Avenue in Menlo Park, many with nity in the ‘40s or ‘70s is not the smart enough to buy the building, clientele. We are delighted to see bellsbooks.com

Page 22 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

CEMETERIES Alta Mesa Memorial Park A business that never rests any things have changed “We do a fair amount with the “The most popular (locations) at Alta Mesa Memorial VA (Veterans Affairs) and local are those that can be ‘viewed’ by M Park since it was estab- hospitals,” she said. the deceased,” she said. lished in 1904, but the serenity These days, unlike in years “More thought is given to how and beauty of the 72-acre private past, about 65 to 70% of services the person lived: Would they want cemetery along Palo Alto’s south- offered are cremations rather than to be under a tree, or if they were ern border stay the same. burials, she said, depending a lot always cold, would they want to Just a dozen years ago, a new on the ethnic background of the be in the sun?” she added. chapel was added to accommo- family. Wildlife thrives on the cam- date 168 people; today plans have “People want to follow their pus, with three bucks munching already been approved by the city traditions,” she said, pointing to on the flowers left by visitors. of Palo Alto to build a new recep- the Chinese, Jewish, Latino, Mus- It’s not uncommon to spot jack- tion center that can seat 300 for lim and Sikh people who are bur- rabbits, hawks the size of eagles, memorial services, noted Marilyn ied at Alta Mesa. deer, coyotes and a bevy of “very Talbot, general manager and cor- While in 1904 a gravesite with destructive” squirrels, she said. porate secretary. perpetual care would cost $25, to- With 28 employees, Talbot’s Construction, which will in- day’s rates are closer to $12,000 biggest challenge is keeping full clude two outdoor courtyards, for a burial and $3,000 for cre- employment. could start in the spring and take mation. Prices for funerals or cre- “I have had a hard time (filling) about a year to complete. mations include contributions to jobs in the last year or so. Most In the 39 years that Talbot the endowment fund (now at $38 applicants live far away,” she has worked at Alta Mesa, first million, up from $15 million in said, noting that more than half as a counselor, she has seen the 2007), which pays for perpetual the employees live in the East Bay premises expand to include a full upkeep. and a few live in Boulder Creek, mortuary, crematory, mausoleum Although Alta Mesa has been Felton or Gilroy. photo file Weekly (cremains and coffins) and co- located in the same spot for 115 The privately owned memorial Headstones are laid out in neat rows in section C along Main Drive lumbarium (for cremains only). years, almost across the street park has 38 stockholders. at Alta Mesa Memorial Park, which was founded in 1904. About 800 funerals take place from Gunn High School, it is “We’ve never gone corporate,” on weekdays (mostly Mondays constantly evolving. Recently a she said. Alta Mesa, 21 acres, many plant- Alta Mesa Memorial Park, and Fridays) each year, and an- scattering garden has been added, Following the closure of Roller ed in apricot trees, are still un- 695 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto, other 400 services are offered, where people may leave a loved & Hapgood & Tinney in 2013, developed. Talbot doesn’t think it 650-493-1041, altamesacemetery. such as cremations, in which the one’s remains. Alta Mesa now runs the only will be full for 200 years — “way com ashes are taken away by loved A new columbarium offers mortuary in the city. past my lifetime,” she said. Q ones. creek vistas and a skylight. Even with 80,000 interred at — Carol Blitzer

www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 23 40th Anniversary

GROCERY Piazza’s Fine Foods Family-owned market for three generations

lot has changed since John shopping option with home deliv- Piazza Sr. opened what was ery in 2017, responding to com- A then called Park Merced petition from bigger chain stores. Supermarket with his three sons Business has increased “even more — John Jr., Gary and Rick — in the last six months,” Piazza said. 1987 in the Charleston Shopping Customers pay the same prices Center. as in the store with no delivery First was the name, according to charge. Rick Piazza. “We are constantly re-invent-

“Our customers didn’t relate, so ing ourselves,” he said. “If you’re Gauthier Magali we changed it to the family name,” not growing, you’re dying in this A Piazza’s Fine Foods customer examines the meat selection at the south Palo Alto market in this 2013 photo. he said. business.” Piazza’s dad came from Sicily “We have to keep up with trends runs the food service, cheese, deli Piazza sees the store’s biggest market since they were teenagers, at age 12 in 1933, opened a small in the marketplace, and possibly and the off-site kitchen; Rick man- challenge as finding good people and Rick’s children could be seen store in San Francisco by 1946 carry more ethnic foods, or more ages the store directors and does “a who are good with customers. there as young as 12, helping to and then worked for years for the vegetarian options,” he said, not- little bit of everything.” Although they do not own the carry turkeys or push carts to cus- Brentwood markets. Ultimately, ing, “Meatless and plant-based “We are very lucky we all get property, the Piazzas were able to tomers’ cars. His oldest son, James, he opened a market in 1979 with burger items are now a big catego- along well. It’s family and friends enlarge the store by taking over who’s worked in the store since age Rick’s older brothers in the Park ry, and organic is always growing.” first, business second,” said Piaz- the space next door in 2013. This 10, is now part of the management Merced neighborhood of San Today’s market offers more pre- za, whose family opened a second enabled them to keep up with lo- team. Francisco, hence the Park Merced made foods, such as marinated store in San Mateo in 1997. cal competition by expanding the With crews on site from 2 a.m. name that they brought to their meats that can be picked up and The brothers grew up in the meat, wine, beer, liquor and dairy until 10:30 at night receiving mer- Palo Alto store. tossed on the barbecue. And the grocery business, as have many of areas, as well as vegan and veg- chandise, stocking the shelves and But much more than the name store is developing relationships their employees. Some are retired etarian items. serving customers, Piazza said, has evolved over the decades. with smaller wineries and local now; others continue to work part- “It would have been difficult “It’s not easy. This business nev- Today’s customers are mostly breweries, Piazza said. Recently, time as they age. to compete since Whole Foods, er sleeps. We’re open 364 days a millennials with more spending a new executive chef and kitchen “We struggle with getting em- Sprouts and Safeway opened in the year.” Q power, Piazza said — that means manager were hired, with plans to ployees. It’s tough to get local kids last few years. We really needed — Carol Blitzer a greater emphasis on “organic, expand food service options. to work. Grocery stores are all the space,” Piazza said. Piazza’s Fine Foods, non-GMO (genetically modified Each of the three brothers has fighting for employees,” Piazza Piazza, who graduated from Charleston Shopping Center, organism), dairy-free, wheat-free, his areas of responsibility: John said, noting that with so many high- Gunn High School, still sees old 3922 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, no preservatives.” Jr. oversees meat, floral, Starbucks tech jobs locally — and high-tech classmates come into the store. All 650-494-1629, piazzaslovesfood. Piazza’s added an online and any remodeling projects; Gary salaries — it’s hard to compete. three brothers have worked at the com/

Page 24 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

HOSPITALITY Cardinal Hotel Vintage, boutique hotel serves Stanford and more tep into the lobby of the night. Today there are 29 rooms Cardinal Hotel in down- with shared bathrooms down S town Palo Alto and you’ll the hall, as well as 35 rooms feel like you’ve entered a time with en suite bathrooms. The warp. shared rooms go for $159/night The high-ceilinged lobby is rife on weekdays; a queen room with with original touches (designed a private bath costs up to $399. by Birge Clark and William H. (This includes breakfast at Bistro Weeks): an immense skylight, gilt Maxine, just around the corner.) columns, a patterned ceramic-tile Rooms are close to half price on floor, Oriental rugs, Batchelder weekends. tile surrounding the fireplace, The lobby may be vintage, but wrought-iron torchieres — even to keep up with the competition, the original switchboard where the 64 rooms underwent a major Bjarne Dahl used to tend the renovation in 2006 and 2007,

telephones. with new plumbing and electri- Gauthier Magali Built in 1924 and owned by the cal, and another renovation in Stephanie Wansek, the general manager of the Cardinal Hotel in downtown Palo Alto, walks around the Dahl family since the 1940s, the 2013 and 2014 when all rooms century-old lobby on Oct. 3. Cardinal has gone through sever- got a new look, she said. al phases over 95 years, including Today’s rooms sport high-speed 2008-2009 downturn, Wansek hike from 14% to 15.5%. The weddings, since younger folks a somewhat seedy era when it was Wi-Fi, large-screen TVs and fresh did very proactive outreach, group argued that the rate, the don’t mind staying in shared-bath- partly a residential hotel. coffee. There’s no parking on site, Googling Stanford events, con- highest in the state, would harm room accommodations, she said. Today about 60% of the Cardi- which at one time was a problem necting to conference organizers Palo Alto hotels, which had al- “(People) can plan less for nal’s guests are related to Stan- for the hotel. and offering competitive rates. ready seen a tax-rate increase in guests because of the location,” ford University, whether they’re “Uber has been a dream,” On the up side, “there were 2014 and with it, they said, a rise Wansek said, pointing to all of coming for admit weekend, Wansek said. Between the near- three or four years when we could in vacancies. (In the end, voters the nearby restaurants and bars graduation, a reunion or a small by Caltrain station, ride services have charged anything. We did approved Measure E.) and the Stanford campus. conference, according to General and proximity to Stanford, guests not. ... We are mindful of want- Future challenges are less from Planned changes include re- Manager Stephanie Wansek. often don’t feel the need to have a ing to retain business,” she said. other hotels and more from a freshing the façade and adding For some of those occasions, car, she said. Another struggle has involved growing Airbnb presence in Palo air conditioning in 2020. Q rooms book up nearly a year in In her 22 years managing the tax increases: Wansek and other Alto. The Cardinal no longer con- — Carol Blitzer advance. Cardinal, Wansek has seen how local hoteliers banded together sistently sells out for graduation, Cardinal Hotel, 235 Hamilton Back in the day, a room could the hotel has weathered eco- last year to try to defeat Measure though it does for homecoming. Ave., Palo Alto, 650-776-7101, be reserved for as little as $4 a nomic ups and downs. With the E, which proposed a hotel-tax A growing market is for Cardinalhotel.com

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www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 25 40th Anniversary

BUSINESS 1800s Books Inc. 1851 Alpine Inn 1852 40 years and counting Shreve & Co. 1852 1900s

A salute to Palo Alto’s oldest businesses Gauthier Magali Mills Florist 1903 by Emily Pollard and Palo Alto Weekly staff Alta Mesa Cemetery 1904 Mac’s Smoke Shop, founded in

1940 Dallal Sammy o often when people the list below, the Palo Alto Calfornia Paint Company 1946 Old Pro, founded in 1964 reminisce about Palo Weekly, which launched in University Art 1947 S Alto, they recall the local 1979, salutes fellow enterprises Hengehold Motor Co. 1948 Coins 1968 small businesses that they used that are as old or older in the Kirk’s Steakburgers 1948 Aquarius Theater 1969 to frequent. Palo Alto area. Some started Crippen & Flynn Woodside Gryphon Stringed As much as neighborhoods, in the city but moved out, like Chapel 1949 Instruments 1969 schools, city services and non- Stanford Electric Works and profit organizations do, retailers Shady Lane, while others moved Dallal Sammy 1950s 1970s make up the fabric of a commu- within the city. While every at- Stanford Electric Works, Edwards Luggage 1952 Maximart Pharmacy 1970 nity. Mention an old business, tempt was made to find small founded in 1914 Ludwig & Fawcett, Inc. 1952 Akins Body Shop 1971 and it evokes a certain era: businesses that fit into this cat- 1910s Ernie’s Wines and Liquors Franz Termite Control 1971 Liddicoat’s, Palo Alto Co-op, egory, the list is evolving. We 1953 Country Sun Natural Rapp’s Shoes, the Good Earth, welcome you to add your busi- Stanford Electric Works 1914 Town & Country Village 1953 Foods 1973 Bergmann’s Department Store, ness to our roster by emailing us Travelodge Palo Alto 1954 Great American Framing Duca and Hanley, Uncle Otto’s, at [email protected]. 1920s Alhouse King Realty, Inc. 1955 Company 1974 Del Alpes Restaurant, Palo Alto Also, for a list of the nonprofit Peninsula Creamery 1923 Campus Barber Shop 1955 Hobee’s Restaurants 1974 Bowl. organizations and governmen- Cardinal Hotel 1924 Peninsula Optical 1955 Special Handling Pottery 1974 Those businesses are all gone, tal agencies that are 40 years Cardinal Barbershop 1925 Wilbur Properties 1955 Sundance the Steakhouse 1974 but many others have not only or older, go to PaloAltoOnline. Stanford Theatre 1925 Country Inn Motel 1956 Wellings & Co. 1974 survived but thrive today. With Atavist.com. West Coast Glass 1928 Antonio’s Nut House 1975 The Barn Wood Shop 1929 Shady Lane 1975 The Fish Market 1976 1930s LaBelle Day Spas & Earthwise welcomes Cardinal Bicycle Shop 1930 Salons 1976 Menlo Park Funerals 1930 Dave Tanner Inc. 1977 Palo Alto Bicycles 1930 Arnoldi Jewelers 1978 Palo Alto Medical Fuki Sushi Restaurant 1978 AMENDOLA/ Foundation 1930 One-to-One Tutoring Bill Young’s Automotive 1932 Service 1979 Economy Cleaners 1932 Courtesy Gallery House Language Pacifica 1979 DUNN/ Vance Brown 1932 Gallery House, founded in 1957 Kurz Roofing/J.Kurz Palo Alto Dental Group 1934 Construction 1979 Dinah’s Garden Hotel 1956 GREENLIEF Stanford Shopping Center 1956 Winter Lodge 1956 Gallery House 1957 Round Table Pizza 1959 St. Michael’s Alley 1959 Say Ray Foreign Auto Service 1959 Village Cheese House 1959 1960s Courtesy Great American Framing American Courtesy Great

Magali Gauthier Magali Crowne Plaza Great American Framing Vance Brown, founded in 1932 Cabana Hotel 1962 Menlo Park Inn 1962 Company, founded in 1974 East West Bookshop 1963 Bell’s Books 1935 Mid-Peninsula Animal President Barber Shop 1936 Hospital 1963 VIEW MORE ONLINE PaloAltoOnline.com 1940s Glass Slipper Inn 1964 Old Pro 1964 Historic and current photos of some European Cobblery 1940 Danish Concepts 1968 of the Palo Alto businesses that are Mac’s Smoke Shop 1940 Menlo Atherton Auto 40 years or older can be seen in a slideshow at PaloAltoOnline.Atavist. See’s Candies 1940 Repair 1968 com. Michaela’s Flower Shop 1945 Treasure Island Stamps & Jazz Improv Trio PUBLIC MEETING TONIGHT! FORMER NAVAL AIR STATION MOFFETT FIELD MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA Friday, October 11, 2019 RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARD 8 pm Mountain View, California Thursday, October 17, 2019 • 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mountain View Community Center, Redwood Room TWO-FOR-ONE 201 S. Rengstorff Ave • Mountain View, California 94041 The Department of Navy (DON) invites interested members of the public to attend updates and presentations with members of the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) made up of representatives from the local community, Navy, Federal and State regulatory $20 agencies. The DON encourages the public to keep informed about the Navy environmental cleanup at the Former Naval Air Station Moffett Field (NAS Moffett) in Mountain View, California. The RAB meeting agenda is available on the Navy Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office website at: Mitchell Park Community Center http://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/brac_bases/california/former_nas_moffett_field.html. Palo Alto Ask Questions and Voice Your Concerns. You Can Make a Difference! FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: For more information: (650) 305-0701 Mr. Christopher Yantos, BRAC Environmental Coordinator at (619) 524-6023 or [email protected]

Page 26 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com HERE’S LOOKING TO THE FUTURE....

BRACCI )OHJHOV Interior Design & Distinctive Furnishings

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More homes are vacant or rented in Palo Alto now Percentage owner Percentage renter Percentage occupied occupied vacant 2.9% 1.9% 3.2% 6.1% 8.8% 100%

80% 42.2% 43.4% 41.4% 41.6% 43.0% 60%

40% Graphs byGraphs Rosanna Kuruppu 55.9% 53.7% 55.4% 52.3% 48.2% 20% 27% 31.5% 0 Courtesy Dianna Richardson Courtesy 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey

Left: Kenneth Drive has seen a resurgence of neighborliness — and children — as seen at the annual Fourth of July Parade organized by resident Dianna Richardson and funded in part by the city of Palo Alto. About the cover: Photographs of Tom McCalmont, the Richardsons, Angela Fan and her son, Andrew, Cynthia Typaldos and Helen Tombropoulos by Sammy Dallal.

Price of ‘paradise’ influenced something much more Chinese, East Indian, British, His- no longer feel connected to those city’s ever-escalating affluence. (continued from page 10) fundamental: the types of people panic, Japanese, Norwegian and who live on their block, the Rich- “I worry about it losing its char- moving in, drawn by work in the Vietnamese. ardsons’ Kenneth Drive has seen acter as a place that welcomes and Valley or graduate study at Stan- “It’s actually been delightful, I a resurgence in neighborliness — honors folks from all stripes,” resident David Liu to observe rue- ford University. think, to see the change and the and youthfulness. When they first George said, recalling the rich fully about social media, “Hon- Longtime neighbors on the 300 diversity,” George said, recalling moved in and had children, they friendships his kids made at estly, it doesn’t make my life any block of Poe Street, which has a Diwali celebration hosted by an were among the neighborhood’s school with students from differ- better.” seen a turnover of half of the resi- Indian family on the block. few families. ent socioeconomic backgrounds. David Shen, who lives on dences since 2010, say that more Not only have the Richardsons “We’ve never had a lot of kids “People of lower economic Churchill Avenue, has made a de- of the newcomers are in tech than shared in others’ cultures, they have on the street,” Dianna said. “But means ... bring their own richness cision not to post on Facebook, say- the people they replaced. been able to tell their neighbors recently ... I’ve seen the complete into the community and their ing that the things people choose “Palo Alto in general used to be about U.S. history. At one of the change in how many more kids own flavor into the community. to post there create false impres- funkier,” said Palmer Pinney, 84, neighborhood’s Fourth of July par- are around. ... We usually get like ... Things like that, I see those in sions — both about their lives and a tech editor who is married to a ties, which Dianna has organized 125 people or so (at the Fourth of transition,” he said. “I get it — I for friends, who then think they ac- poet and dancer. for the past 15 years, some Asian July party) and there are just all know it’s driven economically. tually know what’s going on with Far more people in Palo Alto neighbors asked why she had made these little kids.” But I think it’s a loss.” the person. Both consequences, he now were born outside of the a Conestoga wagon for the parade. “It’s the cycle of the neighbor- If all of these changes have left said, can be harmful. United States — some 35.8%, “I suddenly realized, there’s hood. And it’s cycling back now,” some people feeling like the city Residents speak more favorably compared with 18% in 1990, the a lot of people here who don’t George said, referring to the tran- might be struggling to hold onto of video conferencing, whether first year the question was asked know how the West was settled,” sition of a neighborhood from one its soul, residents interviewed by through Skype, FaceTime or an- on the U.S. Census. Those Palo George said. “That’s a real classic generation of homeowners to the the Weekly say they still hold dear other website or app — though Altans who are foreign-born difference (from prior neighbors). next. “If you walk around now, the same relationships and activi- again, it’s often used as Plan B. generally earn a higher median We have to explain.” you’ll see kids in strollers, and on ties that have been meaningful George Richardson recalled a annual income than their U.S. Two former Palo Alto mayors, bikes and all of that.” throughout the generations: fam- colleague’s recent attendance at born neighbors, according to the Yiaway Yeh and Greg Scharff, One factor that has changed dra- ily and friends, spiritual commu- a meeting via video because he American Community Survey, recognized the growing divide matically in the city since 1980, nities and hobbyist groups, civic couldn’t get to the location due though that statistic may be af- between longtime residents and and even since 2010, is the number and charitable organizations for to traffic. Parents who raised fected by age. With a median age new arrivals, especially the city’s of vacant housing units, which at which they volunteer. children here use video calls to of 45 years, more foreign-born growing Asian population, and 8.8% in 2018 is three times what Just like George Richardson, keep in touch with their kids, who Palo Altans may be in the work- launched in 2013 the Know Your is was in 1980. These so-called who said that within weeks of mov- couldn’t afford to live in the city force than city residents who were Neighbors program, which gives “ghost homes” are purchased as ing to California he “fell in love” even if they wanted to. born outside of California, whose grants of up to $1,000 for neigh- investments — recently largely with Palo Alto, so too has Greer median age is 54, or those born in borhood-building activities. Dian- by overseas buyers. (Their del- Road’s David Liu, who recently the state, whose median age is 20. na has received the grant for the eterious effects on neighborhoods bought his home after renting else- The new Palo Altans Regardless of the earning dif- past five years, which has paid for have been the subject of reporting where in the city for two years. hile the tech industry ferential, the city’s newfound table rentals, tents for shade and by the Weekly in the past.) “Many consider it the best city has gradually been re- cultural diversity has pleased entertainment for the kids. As much as the Richardsons are in the Bay Area!” the Google W engineering the life- the Richardsons, who recall the “It’s a wonderful thing that the happy with the new life in their engineer enthusiastically told styles of Palo Altans, it has also neighbors they’ve had who were city does,” George said. Joseph Eichler-developed neigh- the Weekly. Settling into their While there are neighborhoods borhood, they share the concerns neighborhood, Liu, his wife and After two decades of growth, in the city where residents say they of many Palo Altans over the children spend their time these days playing in the local park and households with kids are on the decline hanging out with neighbors at Palo Alto households Homes with kids under 18 Palo Alto has seen growth in foreign-born population block parties. Do he and his family plan to 30K Total city population Foreign-born residents 26,493 26,518 stay in Palo Alto? 24,700 25,216 80K 31% 35.8% “Yes, forever,” he said. “Love 25K 23,102 18% 26.6% this place.” Q 70K 64,403 66,655 58,598 Weekly Editor Jocelyn Dong 20K 60K 55,900 can be emailed at jdong@ 50K paweekly.com. 15K 40K 8,359 8,200 10K 6,861 30K 23,871 6,291 5,526 19,944 TALK ABOUT IT 20K 15,573 PaloAltoOnline.com 5K 10,118 10K 27% 22% 27% 31.5% 31% What are the upsides and downsides 27% 22% 27% 31.5% 31% of living in Palo Alto? Share your 0 0 1980 1990 2000 2010 2018 1990 2000 2010 2018 views with other residents on Town Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey Square, the community discussion Sources: U.S. Census, 2018 American Community Survey forum at PaloAltoOnline.com/square.

Page 28 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

NEIGHBORHOODS A pleasant throwback The 3000 block of Greer Road by Linda Taaffe

hen Ed and Gretchen have taken part in the street’s first Hillard moved out of block party — ever. Over the W their Eichler home on past year, the gatherings have be- the 3000 block of Greer Road to come a quarterly event that have live on their 5-acre homestead brought homeowners, renters and in Oregon in 2005, they were both young and old together. certain that the Palo Alto neigh- “I think this is a sign that a dif- borhood where they had raised ferent kind of people, people who their three sons was destined to want to be involved with one an- become wealthier, older and less other, are living here. It makes me diverse. feel good,” Gretchen said. We were wrong, the Hillards Ed said he couldn’t be more said last week. pleased. The south Palo Alto neighbor- For years, he had been con- hood is more diverse and has cerned that escalating housing more young families than when costs were eroding the suburban, Dallal Sammy they first settled in the area in family-oriented culture that first Parents David Liu and Angela Fan, with kids Zoe and Andrew, enjoy a walk along Greer Road in Palo 1983, said the retired couple, who attracted him to Palo Alto. Alto, to which they recently moved. moved back into their Eichler “The high cost of housing here on Greer in 2011 to be closer to is making it a narrower, less di- said of the 15-house block. “It’s a thread for a year.” couldn’t afford anything any- their family, which now includes verse community of wealthy, pleasant change socially.” Just down the street, David Liu where else, but after moving in, grandchildren. older people. It’s getting a club- Ed said he still can’t imagine is among the newest generation in we fell in love with the neighbor- “None of what we thought like atmosphere,” Ed said during how young families can come in the neighborhood learning what hood. This is the first time we’ve would happen ... happened,” a 1989 interview for the Weekly’s and afford $2.5 to $3 million for it’s like to “hang on a thread.” thought we would stay anywhere Ed said. The block is still lined 10th anniversary edition. At the a house on a block originally built The 32-year-old Google engi- for life.” with Eichlers on one side of the time, Ed said he was contemplat- for working-class residents. neer purchased a home on Greer It’s close to Seale Park, the street and other post-World War ing whether to move somewhere When Ed and his wife moved with his wife and two young chil- neighbors are friendly and his II homes on the other. And while “where there wasn’t such an em- to Palo Alto more than three de- dren six months ago after living Google office is just a short skate- there have been a few modest phasis on money.” cades ago after he took a job with on a nearby block for the past two board ride away, Liu said. upgrades, there are no “McMan- While housing prices are still Hewlett-Packard Co., they could years. “We’re only five houses away sions,” he added. high today, driven by the prosper- barely afford the $185,000 price from where we used to live, but “It was a nice surprise,” said ity that Silicon Valley has fueled, tag on their Eichler. They had to this end of the street is a world of Gretchen, who didn’t visit their Ed said, ‘We’re pretty upbeat employ “very creative financing” ‘What I like is that it difference. ... It has a totally dif- rented-out Eichler much while about (the neighborhood) now.” to swing it, and Gretchen’s father is so diverse in terms ferent community feel,” he added. they were in Oregon. “There’s always loads of kids had to co-sign the note, he told the From the start, everyone has Since coming back, the Hillards on bikes riding on the street,” he Weekly in 1989. “We hung on a of race, people, been welcoming, he said. The everything. Everyone former owner of their home orga- nized a neighborhood block party is kind and respectful.’ for them when they moved in. “I’ve never had that anywhere —Eyal Firstenberg, else. It really kind of shocked me,” resident, Greer Road Liu said. “I knew almost all of my

UNIVERSITY AVENUE neighbors off the bat. Now, I walk MIDDLEFIELD ROAD Liu said he hasn’t done the ex- by them and know who they are POE STREET act math, but easily half of his and talk to them.” paycheck goes toward the house. Liu said his life revolves around “We drive cheap cars and don’t his children: The family enjoys live extravagantly,” said Liu, who going to Seale Park almost ev- ALMA STREET has rented in various parts of the ery day and spending time in the city over the past eight years. community. They had spent the EMBARCADERO ROAD Schools played a big part in the previous weekend at a commu- couple’s decision to buy a home nity harvest festival and planned EL CAMINO REAL CHURCHILL GREER ROAD on Greer. to crash a block party in anoth- AVENUE “We wanted to be in an area er neighborhood the following where our kids could go to Paly weekend, he said. rather than Gunn when they got “It’s completely different older,” he said. “We ended up in the neighborhood because we (continued on page 31) Palo Alto

CHARLESTON ROAD Sammy Dallal Sammy EL CERRITO Former engineer Cynthia Typaldos sits with her dog, Bunny, outside ROAD ARASTRADERO ROAD their home on the 3000 block of Greer Road, where she knows almost everyone. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 29 Page 30 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com 40th Anniversary

Greer Road “You kind of have to force it (continued from page 29) if you want it,” said Firstenberg, who recently met some of his neighbors in late August when owning a home than renting,” a Canada goose caused a power Liu said. “Before, we knew we outage, which brought people out wouldn’t be anywhere longterm into the street. so we approached the commu- “Everyone is friendly, but every- nity somewhat differently. ... We one is busy,” including himself, he weren’t as invested.” said. “I have to go to work, then I come home and take care of my kids. I don’t have any free time A yard to bring people A cyclist together between anything. Day after day, rides I do the same thing all the time.” ynthia Typaldos, who along Ed Hillard said that with so has rented a home on the Greer many residents busy working in C other side of the street Road in Sammy Dallal the tech industry, Palo Alto has from the Lius for nearly a decade, south Palo become what he considers “a said the neighborhood wasn’t al- Alto in company town.” ways as closeknit. September. Gretchen quickly reminded him It took a tragedy to bring the that he, too, once worked in the community together, Typaldos education offered for our kids,” everything,” he said. “Everyone Firstenberg, who pays four times tech industry. But Ed said that the said. After an aging neighbor fell he said. is kind and respectful. I like the as much rent for his Palo Alto ethos of HP was different from in her yard on Christmas Day and Firstenberg said he was sur- fact that it’s so international with home than he collects in rent from that of today’s tech firms. died from her injuries, neighbors prised by the number of young all different cultures.” his home in Israel. “I hope (this generation) be- realized that they had never taken families living in the neighbor- But Firstenberg said he’s “I think the only way to afford comes as involved in the commu- the time to get to know each other. hood and the diverse mix of peo- shocked by the high cost of liv- it here is if one person is working nity as HP did,” he said. Q Another resident decided she ple in Palo Alto. ing here. in the tech industry,” he said. Associate Editor Linda Taaffe wanted to change that and orga- “What I like is that it is so di- “I feel like $200,000 is low- Firstenberg said it’s also a bit can be emailed at ltaaffe@ nized a block party. verse in terms of race, people, er class in Palo Alto,” said difficult to meet neighbors here. paweekly.com. That initial outreach has snow- balled: Over the past two years, the block party has evolved into a quarterly potluck at Seale Park. Typaldos said she now knows almost everyone on the block. “Typically when I walk out- Care.Cure.Prevent. side, I end up talking to someone I know. There’s a lot of walkers in this neighborhood,” said Typal- dos, who is often outside enjoying the native garden she has cultivat- ed in the front yard. The yard is one of the main Announcing the fall Brain Health Speaker Series, reasons she settled in the neigh- borhood after moving back to brought to you by Kensington Place at Redwood City the Bay Area from the Midwest, said Typaldos, a former engineer — featuring a special performance by Voices of Kensington, our resident singing group — at Sun Microsystems and now founder of AdoptMeApp. Kensington Place is a memory care residence that exclusively serves individuals with memory loss and their families. She removed all of the yard’s Our team has built strong relationships with progressive industry leaders who are making a difference in the lives of people ivy and transformed the space living with dementia and who are searching for a cure. Please join us as they share their knowledge and messages of hope. into a garden showplace that since 2017 has been included in RSVP to [email protected] or call (650) 363-9200. the annual Going Native Garden Tour organized by the California Native Plant Society Santa Clara Valley Chapter and the UCCE Master Gardener Program of Santa Clara County. David Liu said Typaldos’ yard was something of an icebreaker when he moved in. His 3-year-old son, Andrew, was immediately attracted to the garden and so Thurs,rs Oct 1717, 2019 • 5:30-6:30p5:30-6:30pm Thurs,s Nov 1414, 2019 • 5:30-6:30p5:30-6:30pm the family would visit it at least at Rosener House in Menlo Park Bloomingdales at Stanford Shopping Center once a day. Liu said on one par- ticular day, Andrew became very Dr. Sharon Sha presents on research towards a Dr. Frank Longo presents on how to concerned when one of the bird CURE for Alzheimer’s and other dementias PREVENT dementia figurines in the yard broke. The next time they visited, Typaldos had gotten 11 more figurines and placed them in the yard for An- drew to play with. Eyal Firstenberg, his wife, three children and dog are the newest family on the block. Firstenberg said he chose the neighborhood sight unseen before moving out from Israel to work at a tech com- (650) 363-9200 | 2800 El Camino Real | Redwood City, CA 94061 | www.KensingtonPlaceRedwoodCity.com pany in Santa Clara in August. RCFE License Devoted Exclusively to Residents with Memory Loss 415600964 Firstenberg said his company’s relocation consultants had suggest- ed that his family settle in Sunny- vale where the rents are lower and there are many Israeli transplants. Partnering with Neurology Partnering Total Care Services “Where we are in life, we opt- and supporting: & Neurological Sciences sponsor: ed to go where there was better

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NEIGHBORHOODS A retreat from Silicon Valley The 3900/4000 block of El Cerrito Road by Elena Kadvany

hen Barbara Stark Alto to attend graduate school at moved from Belmont Stanford University. He spent time W to El Cerrito Road in on El Cerrito Road as he became 1957, Palo Alto felt like “country.” close friends with Lois Prior, who Her husband built their house, lived on the street at the time. He which combined with the lot cost described her as the “mayor of the $20,000. Stark’s children would cul-de-sac.” She would organize watch dairy cows give birth to the annual Fourth of July block calves at the nearby Piers Ranch. party and the holiday event. The She knew all her neighbors, many neighborhood was more socio- of whom had children. She said economically diverse at the time, at one point, 45 children under he said, and reminded him and the age of 18 lived on El Cerrito his now-wife, Darlene, of their Road. Kids were constantly out- middle-class upbringings in Ohio. side playing in the neighborhood; After Prior’s husband died, the “only thing that would would she planned to sell her El Cerrito Dallal Sammy send them home,” said Stark, 90, Road home. The McCalmonts de- Barbara Stark, 90, has been a resident for 61 years on El Cerrito Road in Palo Alto, where she raised “would be hunger.” Residents got cided to buy it and moved in from four children. It’s still the quiet cul-de-sac that her kids knew in childhood, she says. together for annual Fourth of July San Jose in 2004. and Christmas parties (which still “I just had such great memories then it was Apple and iPhones and like there’s a lot of people,” she from Amazon. Both their cars are happen today). of Palo Alto and great memories now it’s Facebook and Google.” said. “The crowded conditions on electric; they run an engineering Six decades later, the cul-de- of this house,” said Tom, 65. “It’s But there’s a dark side to that, the highway — I feel like I have company that offers design ser- sac behind Gunn High School is a very nice neighborhood. It’s he said, particularly skyrocketing to be on guard all the time when vices for solar, energy and electric still quiet, secluded and tight-knit, very quiet and peaceful here.” housing prices that are making I’m out there.” vehicle industries. but it hasn’t been isolated from Tom, an electrical engineer, it harder for young people to put But in many ways, El Cerrito They’re also avid readers, sup- the forces that have transformed Road of 2019 has a similar feel to porters of local theater (they Palo Alto. A five-bedroom house when Stark first moved there. have season tickets to Palo Alto down the street from Stark is for ‘When we moved here in 2004 ... we didn’t The McCalmonts’ daughter Players) and like to frequent Palo sale for $5 million. Large two- and two granddaughters live next Alto’s many restaurants. story homes have replaced more really realize what Palo Alto had become, door to them. They take their Stark, by contrast, has a flip modest single-family houses. As and of course, then it accelerated over the grandchildren to nearby parks; phone that she rarely uses. Her firefighters, teachers and police they particularly love visiting the family knows to call her on the officers moved out, tech execu- last 15 years.’ donkeys who live in Bol Park. landline. She recalled using a tives and their families moved in. —Tom McCalmont, resident, El Cerrito Road One of Prior’s sons lives around party line shared by multiple Children play outside less. One the corner; he and Tom often go people when they first moved to neighbor’s basketball hoop, main- on bike rides together, including El Cerrito Road. At the time they tained for the sake of local kids, bore witness to the early days of down roots in Palo Alto. a climate ride down the Califor- also had no microwave oven — an sits unused. Silicon Valley. He worked with a “Now young people very of- nia coast. Residents can hear the appliance that hadn’t yet been in- “We know all our neighbors. microcomputer startup for eight ten think about leaving the area cheers from Gunn football games. vented — only one car and had It’s really nice,” said Tom Mc- years and fell in love with the as opposed to coming to the area Most of the neighbors come to just bought their first television, Calmont, who lives at the turn- ethos of the tech industry. like I did when I came to gradu- the annual holiday celebrations which she called a “big darn around at one end of El Cerrito “I love the openness of it ... the ate school,” he said. “I just miss and talk when they see each other deal.” Now, she has a computer, Road. “But it’s now professionals. way we reinvent ourselves in Sili- the days when there was more on the street. They also commu- which she uses for communica- It’s all Google and Facebook and con Valley,” he said. “Everywhere opportunity.” nicate frequently via an email tion and informational searches Apple (people). When we moved else you live in the country, they For Stark, Palo Alto feels fast- group, letting neighbors know but not personal finances. here in 2004, it had just started protect their industries and they paced, packed with people and when to expect noise or extra cars She finds joy and community in that transformation. We didn’t don’t want to change. In Silicon cars. from a party. HeartFit, a local cardiac therapy really realize what Palo Alto had Valley, we’ve seen generation af- “When I come up Los Robles Residents say it’s an incredibly exercise class; a book club; and become, and of course, then it ac- ter generation (of change) — first (Avenue) and drive into my cul- safe neighborhood. The only re- her church. celerated over the last 15 years.” it was the PCs and semiconductors de-sac, it’s just like it was before. cent crimes have included a theft Despite the changes that have McCalmont first came to Palo and then it was the internet and But as soon as I drive out it seems of items from an unlocked car and come to El Cerrito Road and Palo a nanny who saw someone try un- Alto more broadly, both Stark Tom successfully to break into a home and the McCalmonts plan to stay McCalmont, through a window, Darlene said. in their homes for the long term. a longtime Some El Cerrito Road residents When the McCalmonts remod- resident of did, however, decline interview eled their house in 2008, they pur- El Cerrito requests for this story, citing con- posefully kept it at one story “so Road, says cerns about privacy and safety in as we get older, we can stay here he enjoys their more secluded part of Palo as long as we want,” Tom said. Q knowing Alto. Staff Writer Elena Kadvany all of his “In today’s world, people are can be emailed at ekadvany@ neighbors, just in general worried about pri- paweekly.com. who these vacy,” Tom said, noting that he days are has his own concerns about the more likely proliferation of personal informa- Video: ‘When I think to work in tion online. about Palo Alto...’ the tech The McCalmonts are selec- industry. We asked Palo Alto residents to tive about how much technology reflect on their hometown and they adopt in their day-to-day share their thoughts — in 30 life. They eschew grocery deliv- seconds or less. Their opinions ery apps and Tom refuses to use are compiled in a video that Facebook because of concerns can be viewed at Youtube.com/ Sammy Dallal about how the company might paweekly/videos. We hope use his information. But they use you enjoy hearing what fellow automation to control the lights in residents have to say! their home, and they order items

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NEIGHBORHOODS At the crossroads ‘It’s funny that it takes a crisis for that to The 100 block of Churchill Avenue happen, but in some by Gennady Sheyner ways we are thankful he 100 block of Churchill four blocks away. to the crisis for that Avenue may not be featured On the south side of Churchill, part of it — that we T on any tourist maps, but few one home displays a “Stop Cas- parts of Palo Alto better encap- tilleja Expansion” lawn sign. Di- do know all our sulate the city’s most pressing rectly across the street, a home- challenges — and opportunities owner shows support for the neighbors.’ for change. school’s growth plan through an- —David Shen, Located just east of Alma Street other sign. resident, Churchill Avenue and the railroad tracks, at the Helen Tombropoulos, a cheer- edge of the Old Palo Alto neigh- ful 89-year-old with a generous borhood, the block is the perfect garden that has seen better days, is Dallal Sammy showcase for every major mode in the latter camp. She moved here David Shen, a resident of Churchill Avenue in Palo Alto, talks about went to graduate school at Stan- of transportation the city has to 40 years ago so that her daughter his neighborhood, where residents have banded together to fight a ford and worked at Apple and offer. could attend Castilleja. More re- possible taking of their properties as part of the construction of a Yahoo, is bullish on technology, Twice a day, hundreds of stu- cently, she worked at Stanford as new railroad crossing. particularly as it pertains to health dents ride their bicycles past the program manager of the univer- and fitness. He is currently tran- the sizable single-family homes sity’s undergraduate program in brought professional and person- down the street and see police sitioning from angel investing to to get to and from Palo Alto High mathematical and computational al joy to Tombropoulos, who has lights flashing down by the train being a health-and-wellness coach School, frustrating residents who science. She retired last year and regularly biked and walked to the tracks because I know something and one of his passions is helping need to leave or enter their drive- now looks forward to tackling one campus over the past 20 years and happened,” Shen said. “And it has people understand their own moti- ways. Some Alma Street drivers of her passions: gardening. who still welcomes students to her happened so many times.” vations, which he says often stand turn on Churchill to reach Embar- “Everyone talked about my gar- home for parties. Recently, someone stopped his in the way of healthy eating and cadero Road, the major artery that den, which has been totally dev- During this time, the city’s car right at the tracks. The train exercising habits. runs parallel to Churchill to the astated by gophers. I had 65 rose- downtown has become more hit the car, though thankfully the But Shen, a former triathloner west of Alma and merges with it bushes that were almost as tall as lively and crowded, she said. But driver got out and no one was who now coaches swimming at several blocks to the east. that tree, but then the gophers at- closer to home, she hasn’t seen hurt. Burgess Pool in Menlo Park, is And every now and then, con- tacked,” Tombropoulus explained much change. Interactions be- But while grade separation hardly a utopian when it comes to versations get interrupted by the during a recent tour. tween neighbors have remained would solve the problem of roads technology. The internet, he said, rumble of a train as it passes by, Over the past three decades, roughly the same, Tombropoulus intersecting with the rail line, it makes people feel more com- sounding its horn and prompting her home has become a salon of said, noting that they are gener- could usher in another challenge. fortable socializing through the the crossing gates to go up and sorts for international students, ally friendly, though not overly Some of the alternatives that the screen. Most people don’t even down. up to three of whom rent rooms social. Most seem busy with jobs city has been considering call for bother to answer their phones In some ways, the block is at any one time. Her tenants have and families. Though the recent raising the tracks on a viaduct, a anymore, thanks to the advent of typical Palo Alto: tree-lined side- included scholars, musicians and debate over the rail redesign and design that could require the city texting. walks, immaculate lawns, eclectic athletes from all over the world, potential loss of homes has forced to seize properties on this block “People don’t know how to architecture styles and residents as evidenced by the collection of people to talk to one another, she of 16 homes through eminent have a conversation anymore. Not who know how much the other pillows on her living room couch, hasn’t visited too many other peo- domain. Since 2017, Shen and even a ‘Hey. How are you doing? homes in the area have sold for. each pillow embroidered with an ple on the block and they haven’t his neighbors have rallied to try What’s going on?’ Nothing. Liter- In other ways it’s unique. The international flag: India, Pakistan, visited her. to prevent the city from pursu- ally, they don’t even want to talk block is ground zero for Palo Korea, Taiwan, China. ing such alternatives. A petition to you. Maybe there’s some retreat Alto’s raging debate over “grade “The Korean students started it launched to that effect received to familiarity: ‘I got my friends. I separations”: the redesign of the and the others followed it,” Tom- A crisis, a silver lining 459 signatures. don’t need anymore.’” railroad crossings that, under bropoulos said. or David Shen, who moved Shen, an affable 53-year-old Shen said he has always tried, some permutations, could threat- She happily recalled the many to the 100 block of Churchill who now serves on the city’s when seeing someone new, to say, en dozens of homes with eminent visitors who have come through Fabout eight years ago, the Expanded Community Advisory “How is it going?” These days, domain. her doors: the guy from Norway rail project — which aims to Panel (which advises city offi- this quality makes him feel like Just a few blocks west, across who gave her a curry plant, the separate the railroad tracks from cials on grade separation), said an outlier. El Camino Real, is Stanford Uni- two students who met at her house local streets at crossings — has the discussion brought the block’s Shen said social media also versity, which is preparing for a and later got married; and Mahan become both a thorny challenge residents together, a key benefit convinces people that they don’t growth spurt that could signifi- Esfahani, a harpsichordist and and a golden opportunity. Shen, a at a time when so many people need to call anyone anymore; ev- cantly affect traffic in the area graduate student at Stanford who Poughkeepsie, New York, native don’t take the time to meet their erything they need to know about and has also generated its share went on to world renown. During with a tech background, said he neighbors. their friends they learn from Face- of controversy. his tenancy, Tombropoulos and likes seeing the waves of children The Churchill block in many book. He also noted that many Residents here also have a front- her friends were “like groupies at biking down his block twice a ways epitomizes the outsized in- people see Facebook as “theater,” row seat for another project that his concerts,” she said. Last year, day. But he has significant con- fluence that both Stanford Uni- where they only post their most has polarized the community: the she took a trip to see him perform cerns about the safety at the rail versity and Silicon Valley’s tech “perfect” images — a tendency proposed expansion of Castilleja at Carnegie Hall. corridor. continue to exert on Palo Alto, that can lead people to feel like School, an all-girls school located Her proximity to Stanford has “It really bugs me when I look for better and worse. Shen, who their lives are inferior. (Shen does not post on Facebook.) Shen lamented the passing of an era where people welcomed new neighbors with cookies or cake. And while Palo Alto’s rail rede- sign effort, often called the “larg- est project in the city’s history,” remains a subject of grave con- cern for residents of this block, it also had one positive effect: forg- ing bonds between neighbors, the old-fashioned way. “It’s funny that it takes a crisis for that to happen, but in some ways we are thankful to the cri- sis for that part of it — that we do know all our neighbors,” Shen said. Q Sammy Dallal Sammy Weber photo/Veronica File Helen Tombropoulos, a longtime resident of the 100 block of Cars wait on Churchill Avenue as a northbound Caltrain passes Staff Writer Gennady Sheyner Churchill Avenue in Palo Alto, reminisces about her years in Palo by in March. The rail crossing is the focus of a redesign effort, to can be emailed at gsheyner@ Alto on Sept. 30. eliminate the intersection of the road and the tracks. paweekly.com. www.PaloAltoOnline.com • Palo Alto Weekly • October 11, 2019 • Page 37 SPECTACULAR MOVING SALE!

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Alto High School and with the NEIGHBORHOODS school’s theater boosters and socializes with people in local politics. She used to attend City Still a nice place to live, Council meetings about traffic and parking, but she felt that the but with fewer parties council wasn’t very responsive, she said. 300 block of Poe Street Living near downtown pro- vides a vibrant backdrop for her by Sue Dremann frequent meetings. Her go-to place is the coffee bar in Il For- n a quiet corner of Downtown April Eiler, 77, a 42-year resi- naio restaurant where the din North, Poe Street is a stone’s dent, and her husband, Palmer isn’t overwhelming, she said. I throw from San Francisquito Pinney, 84, raised their blended Downtown North’s open spac- Creek. Owls roost in the tangle family here. He moved into the es are among her favorite things of nearby trees and nighttime home when they married in 1979, in the neighborhood. marauders — raccoons — paw she said. He is a tech editor and “I like the creek, which is like the banks seeking a late-night wrote high school textbooks; she a little slice of wild through our snack. worked for the Stanford Univer- urban environment, and Johnson Condominiums and older sity Dean of Students in admin- Park which was invaluable when single-family residences mingle istration and is a retired dance my kids were small. It was won- with showier remodels in a mix teacher and an active poet. Steve derful having a park almost on of materials and styles: ginger- Jobs was one of Eiler’s dance stu- the doorstep,” she said. bread, Craftsman and Gothic dents when he was 19 or 20 years An outgoing person with a stone. Neat yards and lush gar- old, she said. hearty laugh, Rudd still knows dens are landscaped with native Four decades of living in the a good number of people in the plants, Japanese-garden-inspired same home have given them a broader neighborhood, but fewer rock gardens and hydrangea-cov- long view of the changes to their than she did 20 years ago due to ered fences. neighborhood and the city as a people moving away. There used The 300 block of Poe Street, whole. People talk less frequently to be a more active neighborhood like the creek, feels well-settled to each other; the most outgoing association, with parties in John- in its place. But the area has residents, the ones who hosted son Park, where a couple hundred seen its share of changes. Many the parties, have become old and people would attend, she said. residents are relative newcomers. moved away. Sammy Dallal The neighborhood was once Nearly half of the homes on the “Palo Alto in general used to home to people of varied profes- block were bought since 2013, be funkier,” Pinney said. “The sions, and Rudd and Nag said according to Santa Clara County people across the street used to they wish there was more career Assessor’s office. As older resi- have chickens.” Sally-Ann Rudd, a resident of Poe Street since 2014, often meets diversity. There are multi-family dents have left, there’s been a loss San Francisquito Creek is friends in downtown Palo Alto, which is nearby. apartments in the neighborhood, of diversity among its denizens, Eiler’s favorite thing in the however, which add to the eco- both in terms of professions and neighborhood. nomic mix, and one-bedroom income levels. A more homog- “There are raccoons, foxes, with an arched entryway. The many people and everything’s ex- condominiums among the four- enous group of tech workers and mallards, wood ducks, herons home is large enough to accom- pensive — they want to remain. to-six-bedroom homes. executives have moved in, resi- and, supposedly on two occa- modate their children and grand- “We have our house, friends Rudd said it’s unfortunate dents told the Weekly. sions, a mountain lion using it children when they come to visit and things we belong to,” Eiler that the high cost of housing has These days, face-to-face con- as a corridor and source of food. and for get-togethers with their said. kept many from moving onto the nections have largely been re- And then there are the creek peo- friends. The Waverley Writers block. placed by chats on social media, ple: teenagers who smoke there, group, which originated in Palo “In the 1990s, teachers could a few of the neighbors observed. alternative adults who sleep there Alto, sometimes gathers at their A quieter afford to live in this neighbor- Residents of Poe, which is within and a few brave souls who try home for a potluck dinner in the neighborhood now hood. There was a homeopathic walking distance of the Universi- rafting when the water is high. summer. ne newer neighbor who physician and the owner of a ty Avenue retail district, seem to There are also free blackberries Both are still physically active. comes closest to being Great Clips franchise,” she said. spend more time actively social- if you don’t mind poison oak,” Pinney bikes regularly, so living O like the old, outgoing “The homeopathic physician sold izing downtown or with friends she said. near downtown is convenient, he residents Eiler and Pinney recall and went to Healdsburg.” outside of the neighborhood. Gazing out the living room said. Eiler, who is “probably the is Sally-Ann Rudd. She, her hus- Those who connect most window into the bright sunshine, oldest hip-hop dancer I know,” band, Ronjon Nag, and their two strongly with neighbors are apt she reflected on how the homes dances in all kinds of genres, in- children, now teens, moved to ‘Palo Alto in general to bond over the traffic and park- have changed. cluding lyrical and tap. She took Poe Street in 2014. Before that, ing problems that have affected “One by one, they have torn up the latter at age 75. On week- they lived on Cowper Street used to be funkier. the neighborhood, and there have down the little houses and built day mornings, she joins a group starting in 1996. The people across the been periodic efforts in Down- big houses,” she said. called The Morning Lineup, The couple, who emigrated town North to protect the neigh- The couple renovated their which rents a room at the Menlo from England, took a little two- street used to have borhood’s sense of calm and own small home in 2001 and Park Academy of Dance. bedroom house that was falling chickens.’ safety. built a two-story stucco house For a while there were neigh- down and built a two-story home. borhood parties, but old-fash- They landscaped their front-yard —Palmer Pinney, ioned neighborhood get-togeth- garden with colorful, flowering resident, Poe Street ers are now few. Busy, working plants. On a recent hot afternoon, newcomers are not around much. the family’s two cats lounged un- Eiler also has less incentive to der the backyard patio table, tak- Nag and Rudd said they plan stroll around her neighborhood. ing refuge from the sun. to stay in Palo Alto, at least un- “The pets have died; the chil- Nag and Rudd are both in their til their children graduate from dren have moved on. We all knew 50s and liberals. Nag, an inven- high school. They are happy the parents of children who knew tor and tech entrepreneur, said with where they live, but their our children,” she said. he identifies with academics and future, as they inch toward be- Technology now has a major people in tech. He’s curious and a coming empty-nesters, could lie role in how they interact with risk taker. Rudd, a former librar- elsewhere. their neighbors and keep up with ian and former Knight Ridder “Palo Alto has changed a lot,” the world. Eiler uses Nextdoor to information associate, has been Rudd said. “We are in San Fran- keep abreast of neighborhood go- politically active and advocated cisco a lot. In San Francisco, we ings on; Pinney uses Google to for slower city growth. A lover go to the theater a lot and to mu-

Sammy Dallal do research. of sewing, she is one class away seums. You can get around in San “It would take 10, 20, 100 from getting a certificate in cus- Francisco on public transporta- times longer if I had to go to the tom dressmaking from Cañada tion. I like the idea of getting library,” he said. College and is thinking about around on a bus.” Q April Eiler and Palmer Pinney, longtime residents of Poe Street in But despite voicing the same starting a small business. Staff Writer Sue Dremann Palo Alto, say that their neighborhood is not as cohesive as it once complaints heard throughout Rudd is also active in the com- can be emailed at sdremann@ was, as new homeowners and renters have moved in. the city — too much traffic, too munity. She volunteers at Palo paweekly.com. Page 40 • October 11, 2019 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com