Palo Vol. XXXIX, Number 18 Q February 2, 2018 Alto Dog flu strikes Palo Alto area Page 5 www.PaloAltoOnline.comw w w. P a l o A l t o O n l i n e. c o m In a fix Rising construction costs create high anxiety for city of Palo Alto Page 24 INSIDE THIS ISSUE Pulse 11 Spectrum 12 Transitions 14 Movies 30 Home 35 Puzzles 43 QArts Songwriter, playwright Stew takes on messy heroes Page 29 QSeniors VA studies connect exercise and the brain Page 31 QSports M-A favored in CCS girls wrestling tournament Page 45 TOO MAJOR TOO MINOR JUST RIGHT FOR HOME FOR HOSPITAL FOR STANFORD EXPRESS CARE When an injury or illness needs quick attention but not Express Care is available at two convenient locations: in the Emergency Department, call Stanford Express Care. Staffed by doctors, nurses, and physician assistants, Stanford Express Care Palo Alto Hoover Pavilion Express Care treats children (6+ months) and adults for: 211 Quarry Road, Suite 102 Palo Alto, CA 94304 • Respiratory illnesses • UTIs (urinary tract tel: 650.736.5211 • Cold and flu infections) Stanford Express Care San Jose • Stomach pain • Pregnancy tests River View Apartment Homes • Fever and headache • Flu shots 52 Skytop Street, Suite 10 San Jose, CA 95134 • Back pain • Throat cultures tel: 669.294.8888 • Cuts and sprains Open Everyday by Appointment Only Express Care accepts most insurance and is billed as 9:00am–9:00pm a primary care, not emergency care, appointment. Providing same-day fixes every day, 9:00am to 9:00pm. Page 2 • February 2, 2018 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com Work with the #1 team in California!* List your home with DeLeon Realty DeLeon Realty will cover all of the following at no additional charge: Staging** | Property Inspection | Pest Inspection Our clients love the personal attention they receive from the DeLeon Team, from beginning to end. 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[email protected] www.julietsailaw.com www.julietsailaw.com Page 4 • February 2, 2018 • Palo Alto Weekly • www.PaloAltoOnline.com UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis To spur housing, city looks to ‘go big’ on zone changes Palo Alto’s new Housing Work Plan The plan aims to address one of One proposal would add new the city’s Housing Element; and the council’s top priorities — the incentives for developers of high- a requirement that developers proposes host of new programs city’s severe housing shortage density housing in areas served with residential projects offer by Gennady Sheyner — and help the council reach by public transit, including a “minimum density” of eight the housing goals of its recently limited exceptions to the citywide units per acre in districts zoned eeking to significantly The proposed zoning revision updated Comprehensive Plan. 50-foot height limit. Other RM-15 (multi-family residential). ramp up housing is a central component of the As the work plan makes changes on the table for near- Today, these districts only have S production, city of Palo city’s new Housing Work Plan, clear, meeting these goals and term implementation include: a maximum density of 15 units Alto planners are preparing to which the city’s Department addressing the housing crisis density bonuses for developments per acre. advance a package of zoning of Planning and Community will require dramatic action — that offer 100 percent affordable City planners are also exploring changes in the coming months Environment released this including a roughly three-fold housing; new incentives for zoning changes to promote with the goal of adopting them week and the City Council is increase in housing production, residential development on by the end of this year. scheduled to discuss on Feb. 5. when compared to recent years’. properties that are identified in (continued on page 10) EDUCATION School board weighs in on teacher housing Proposed project would build 60 to 120 units in Palo Alto by Elena Kadvany alo Alto school board significant contributions.” members directed staff Simitian has estimated that Pon Tuesday to begin talks construction of a multifamily with Santa Clara County about complex could cost $500,000 to a collaborative proposal to build $600,000 per unit. affordable housing for teachers Board members agreed to send in Palo Alto, with some cau- a letter of support, as other school tion about the project’s financial districts have done, but opted not Veronica Weber feasibility. to include wording about shar- Santa Clara County Supervisor ing costs. Joe Simitian proposed last week, Leadership from other districts with the unanimous support of and teachers’ unions, including his colleagues, that a piece of Palo Alto, have already penned Vet Tech Anna Yanushkevich, right, and Tonia Duran, a vet tech in training, pet Coco, a golden- county-owned land at 231 Grant letters of support that describe the doodle, after Coco received the dog-flu vaccine at Mid-Peninsula Animal Hospital on Jan. 30. Ave. be developed into 60 to 120 economic hardships teachers face units of affordable housing for lo- as part of the “missing middle” cal teachers. He has stressed that — making too much to qualify HEALTH the project would require “in- for low-income housing but not novative” funding partnerships, enough to afford to rent or pur- and is looking to the Palo Alto chase homes in the city they work school district as well as Moun- in. In Palo Alto, the median rent Dog owners rush to get pets vaccinated tain View Whisman, Mountain for a two-bedroom apartment was Veterinary hospitals, dog-care facilities hit by spread of virus View Los Altos, Los Altos and $3,080 at the end of 2017, accord- the Foothill-De Anza Commu- ing to ApartmentList.com. by Sue Dremann nity College districts and local Simitian argues that the pro- wo forms of canine influ- 90 percent of cases the symp- Disease Control and Prevention. cities as potential partners. posed housing will help districts enza have rapidly spread up toms are mild, but 10 percent of In 2004, it mutated and jumped While most Palo Alto board that are struggling to retain and Tthe San Francisco peninsula cases can be severe or progress to dogs, initially infecting grey- members signaled their support attract teachers. in the last few weeks, prompting to pneumonia or death. hounds. Scientists believe it for the idea of adding more hous- The “vast majority” of Palo dog owners to pack veterinary The disease has spread with spread among dogs in kennels ing for teachers in an increasingly Alto Unified teachers cannot live offices for vaccinations against surprising swiftness. and shelters. expensive market, some ques- in the city, Palo Alto Educators the highly contagious virus and “It was in south San Jose one The canine H3N2 virus, which tioned how school districts would Association Teri Baldwin wrote cancel dog-care and play-dates. week and the next week it was is currently the most prevalent in actually help pay for a develop- in a letter to the Board of Super- Cases of canine H3N2 (which on our doorstep,” said Dr. Ja- the Bay Area, initially infected ment. The Palo Alto district was visors, and their often long com- is NOT the same as the human net Lowery, co-owner of Mid- birds and was first detected in advised by attorneys not to issue mute “takes a toll on our teach- strain) and H3N8 viruses began Peninsula Animal Hospital in dogs in South Korea, China and a bond for teacher housing, which ers’ quality of life and decreases appearing in San Jose in early Menlo Park. Her hospital has Thailand in 2007, according to might technically not be consid- the value of their salaries.” January and spread to Palo had four to five confirmed cases the CDC. An outbreak in Chica- ered school facilities, staff said. At a town hall meeting at Gunn Alto and southern San Mateo through DNA testing, she said. go in April 2015 sickened more “The happy case is that con- High School last week, teachers County about three weeks ago, The disease is concerning than 1,000 dogs and killed five.