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Vol. XXVI, Number 92 • Wednesday, August 17, 2005 ■ 50¢ Teen drinking could reflect parents’ habits Page 19 www.PaloAltoOnline.com Was it easier to be a When I was teenager in the your age ‘old days’? Page 20 Nicholas Wright Can you find the phony ad? Look inside for details. ■ Upfront Should the city subsidize council candidates? Page 3 ■ Sports Stanford student vaults to national spotlight Page 25 ■ Upfront It’s official: Eichlers are historic Page 3 apr.com REDEFINING QUALITY SINCE 1990 Reading between the emotional line makes the difference between finding a house and a home. LOS ALTOS HILLS Spectacular large lot with incredible landscaping. Dramatic architectural design. Six suites and guest house with two suites. Park-like setting with mature redwood trees. $6,995,000 ATHERTON Best of the Atherton lifestyle – dramatic architecture, private park-like grounds, and top-rated Las Lomitas schools. Move in and entertain or expand and remodel using town-approved plans. $3,295,000 PALO ALTO Elegant rose-covered Tudor surrounded by romantic formal gardens. Originally built in the 1930’s and completely updated in 1996. Two master suites, formal library, dining room and gourmet kitchen. Absolutely exquisite. $3,250,000 apr.com | PALO ALTO OFFICE 578 University Avenue 650.323.1111 APR COUNTIES | Santa Clara | San Mateo | San Francisco | Alameda | Contra Costa | Monterey | Santa Cruz Page 2 • Wednesday, August 17, 2005 • Palo Alto Weekly UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis Should the city subsidize council candidates? Palo Alto pays $2,000 per languages: English, Tagalog, Chi- Candidate Harold “Skip” Justman, profit, said the $2,000 cost would nese, Vietnamese and Spanish. a real estate lawyer, said he thought have been tough for him personally. applicant for ballot-related fees This year’s council candidates it might be worth reconsidering the Similarly, Councilman Jack Mor- by Bill D’Agostino have until the end of the day long-standing policy if the public ton, who’s running for re-election, Wednesday to file their paperwork, were interested. said keeping the price low encour- t’s an ironic fact of Palo Alto pol- the area that pays the full cost of including statements, for a council “It’s just another financial burden ages participatory democracy. itics. Most candidates for City printing the candidates’ ballot state- run. On Monday, there were a dozen on the city,” he said. “If you can’t “You want (running for council) ICouncil criticize the city for un- ments in the county’s official voters’ candidates for the Palo Alto City raise $2,000 to run for City Council, to be accessible for people with as necessarily spending money, yet guide. The price has gone up con- Council’s five open seats, meaning how serious a candidate are you?” wide a range as (formerly homeless their very candidacies cost the city siderably in recent years, especially the cost to the city for the printing of Many fellow candidates thought man) Victor Frost to (former mayor) about $2,000 each. since the 200-word statement is now the ballot statements would be different. Environmental activist Pe- Larry Klein,” Morton said. Palo Alto is one of the few cities in required to be translated into five around $24,000. ter Drekmeier, who works for a non- (continued on page 10) GREENMEADOW AND GREEN GABLES MOVE OVER VICTORIANS, NEIGHBORHOODS WIN NATIONAL EICHLERS RECOGNITION ARE HISTORIC TOO by Jocelyn Dong neighborhoods. “The two Palo Alto subdivisions are among the youngest of his- “It was a transition to the less- hen people think of historic things that have been recognized.” formal living than we used to have. toric architecture, finely Known for their clean lines, open floor plans, and glass walls that allow resi- This was called the idiom of the W carved Victorians and dents to look out onto garden areas, Eichler homes were considered forward ’50s,” Rankin said, seated at his stately Colonial homes tend to thinking in their design. They came to symbolize the promise of a better tomor- breakfast table near a 1950s-era come to mind. But low-slung row to the burgeoning middle class. Lightolier lamp. Eichlers? Eichlers have attracted a near cult following among those who adore the retro- As Palo Alto a half-century later Now, thanks to the efforts of a hip architecture. Today, Greenmeadow homes that originally cost up to $17,000 grapples with redevelopment issues group of Eichler aficionados, what for a three bedroom are going for $1.1 million. and tries to strike a balance between used to be viewed merely as post- Palo Alto is Eichler central, boasting the largest collection of the homes in the housing and retail, some fans of war suburban tract homes have Bay Area — 2,700 out of 11,000 that were built. Eichler say the honor lauds the de- been vaulted to historic heights. By being accepted onto the national registry, the two Eichler neighborhoods have veloper’s foresight in planning for Last month, the National Park become the first modern subdivisions of single-family homes to earn the honor in the needs of a community as much Service gave two Palo Alto neigh- California. One mid-century townhouse development and one apartment complex as his choice in architecture. borhoods — Greenmeadow and have also gained the distinction, according to Cynthia Howse of the state’s Office “It’s an enormous honor for the Green Gables — a rare honor by of Historic Preservation. neighborhood, and Joseph Eichler,” naming them to the National Reg- Palo Alto has its share of nationally recognized places — namely 14 buildings said Jinny Henke, owner of a three- ister of Historic Places. and the two districts of Professorville and a stretch of Ramona Street — but all bedroom Eichler in Green Gables. “This is precedent setting,” said are older. “No one had planned suburbia be- Carroll Rankin, a Greenmeadow The late Joseph Eichler was a mid-century developer who desired to bring good fore then.” resident and member of the Eich- architecture to the masses. His homes were designed by the internationally- Recognizing the importance for ler Historic Quest Committee, a renown firms of Anshen and Allen, Jones and Emmons, and Claude Oakland and community space as well as hous- California-based group of volun- Associates. ing, Eichler’s vision for the 243- teers who spent four years seek- Rankin said the Eichler developments marked a new era in the suburban home Greenmeadow neighborhood ing national recognition for the lifestyle. (continued on page 9) Palo Alto Weekly • Wednesday, August 17, 2005 • Page 3 703 HIGH STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94302 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER William S. Johnson EDITORIAL Jay Thorwaldson, Editor Our Marc Burkhardt, Managing Editor Jennifer Aquino, Associate Editor Allen Clapp, Carol Blitzer, Assistant Editors Keith Peters, Sports Editor Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor Town by Don Kazak Don Kazak, Jocelyn Dong, Senior Staff Writers Bill D’Agostino, Alexandria Rocha, Staff Writers Norbert von der Groeben, Chief Photographer Nicholas Wright, Staff Photographer The man with a rake Tomomi Tsuda, Photo Intern Tyler Hanley, Assistant to the Editor young gardener uses a push started working at age 15 in or- & Online Editor chards near a town in Chihuahua, ,/3!,4/36!5,43!&% Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections broom to clean leaves and de- Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Benson, Lynn Abris from the front porch of a Mexico, where he grew up. Working Comeskey, Tim Goode, Jim Shelby, house on Castilleja Avenue in Palo peach, pear and apple orchards was $%0/3)4#/ Jill Slater, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors Alto. He sweeps them down the hard, he said. !PRIVATEDEPOSITORY Aurora Masum-Javed, Patricia Bass, walkway to the curb, where he picks That’s where he learned to work 7 Ê, Ê£t Chuan-Mei Lee, Loren Temple, Editorial Interns up a rake to guide them into a con- naturally, without machines. 3AFEDEPOSITBOXESOFALLSIZES DESIGN tainer. Now, it’s a fad that may catch on. / iÀiÊÃÊ ÊÓ Carol Hubenthal, Design Director 3TRICTANDTOTALCONlDENTIALITY 6 Ê/t Judith Alderman, Assistant Design Director No leaf blower for him, thank Garcia started working for local Diane Haas, Lynda Lumish, Sue Peck, Senior you. landscape gardener Julia Powers in 3ECUREDANDAMPLEPARKING Designers; But this gardener isn’t using a the mid-1990s and branched off on Dana James,Sarah Mac, Scott Peterson, &ORYOUROWNSAKEWESHOULDHAVEYOURBUSINESS Designers broom and rake because of Palo his own about eight years ago. Pow- 6ISITOURFACILITIESANDJUDGEFORYOURSELF PRODUCTION Alto’s new ban on gasoline-powers and Garcia still collaborate. She Jennifer Lindberg, Production Manager ered leaf blowers. will often design a garden and he $ATABANKFORIMPORTANTANDCONlDENTIALRECORDS Dorothy Hassett, Joan Sloss, Sales & Production Coordinators He works for Pedro Garcia Gar- will do the installation. ADVERTISING dening — and Pedro Garcia has “He has a good work ethic,” Pow- &IRST3TREET ,OS!LTOS #! Michael Howard, Advertising Manager been ahead of the times in leaf- ers said. “He just does not stop un- Cathy Norfleet, Display Advertising Sales Assistant blower-sensitive Palo Alto. til everything is done. He helped 4EL WWWLOSALTOSVAULTCOM Jasbir Gill, Colette Jensen, Display Advertising Sales He never liked blowers in the first teach me that.” Allison Hilborn, Display Advertising Intern place. Calling Garcia a gardener doesn’t Kathryn Brottem, Real Estate Advertising Sales “I only use a blower on sidewalks cover everything he does, though. Joan Merritt, Real Estate Advertising Asst. and driveways,” Garcia said. Now He’s also a good carpenter and in- Linda Franks, Classified Advertising Manager Justin Davisson, Ana Gonzalez, he doesn’t even use them for that in stalls irrigation systems, Powers Evie Marquez, Irene Schwartz, Classified Palo Alto. He doesn’t own an elec- said.

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