Vol. XXVIII, Number 72 • Friday, June 15, 2007 ■ 50¢ LT O W A E E No O K L L A Y P band BEST OF 2 0 0 7 is an 2007 island YOU ONLY VOTE ONCE WeeklyWeekend Edition Page 12 PAGE 20 www.PaloAltoOnline.com Scads of grads Page 3 Norbert von der Groeben Worth A Look 13 Movie Times 15 Eating Out 17 Goings On 23 ■ Arts & Entertainment Learning jazz from the greats Page 9 ■ Sports A look back at the high school sports season Page 27 ■ Home & Real Estate Eichlers can go green, too Section 2 LIAM BORN 12 WEEKS EARLY WITH LIFE- THREATENING COMPLICATIONS CURRENTLY: HANGING OUT JUST ANOTHER REMARKABLE DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. Liam Sikes has something to smile about. But as a 1 lb, 8 oz, premature baby, Liam’s survival was uncertain. Just hours after his birth, Liam was rushed from the hospital where he was born to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. With constant support, Liam overcame a raging infection, kidney failure, a collapsed lung, and endured emergency surgery for a double hernia and appendicitis. Bringing Liam back to health took concerted effort from a range of specialists who © 2007 Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital partnered with his parents every step of the way. Liam received world-class care when he needed it most. Expertise with the youngest and most fragile patients is just one of the things that sets Packard Children’s apart. Lucile Packard Today, Liam’s got a bright future. It’s no wonder his parents call him “Mr. Smiles.” Children’s Hospital Visit www.lpch.org for more information. AT STANFORD Page 2 • Friday, June 15, 2007 • Palo Alto Weekly On The Web The following special graduation features are available at the Weekly’s Web site, www.PaloAltoOnline.com: ■ A multimedia slideshow of the Graduation ’07 ceremonies at Castilleja School, East- side Prep, and Gunn and Palo Alto high schools. ■ Lists of graduates from: Castilleja, East Palo Alto Academy, Eastside Prep, Gunn, Palo Alto, Menlo School, Menlo-Atherton, Mid-Peninsula, Palo Alto Preparatory, Sacred Heart and Woodside Priory. CLASS PROFILES Norbert von der Groeben Marjan Sadoughi Tori Anthony Vaulting to success in athletics Humble, hardworking and high- Newly minted Gunn High School grads toss their mortar boards skyward Wednesday evening on campus as the ceremony wrapped up. achieving describe Olympic-hopeful Tori Anthony. With more than 40 medals under her belt — all gold medals and two silvers won in the last two years At Paly graduation, — Anthony has broken three of four national records for girls in pole vaulting. prankster gets a ‘standing O’ She thinks of her accomplish- ments as a byproduct of what she loves to do. Local high schools graduate nearly 1,800 students this spring “I started just for fun,” she said about her first experiences in pole by Susan Hong vaulting the summer after her fresh- heering on Palo Alto High School’s gradu- Coast, six to Harvard University, two to Yale about $3,000. man year at Castilleja School. ating class of 436 students, parents and University, three to Princeton University, one He has instead been charged with one count As a gymnast, she had become C family members from across the coun- to Columbia University and seven to New York of misdemeanor vandalism, known as mali- a state champion in balance beam try weathered the sweltering heat Wednesday University. cious mischief, Jay Boyarsky, supervising dis- by freshman year, but she felt too evening on the school lawn. Students wore leis, Closer to home, 11 Paly grads will attend Stan- trict attorney for North Santa Clara County, said sheltered and wanted to move on. flowers and wreaths woven with dollar bills and ford University; 23 students will go to University Wednesday. She approached Castilleja’s athletic candy bars. of California (UC), Berkeley; 17 to UC Santa Boyarsky said the actual damage to the deck, director about doing pole vaulting The ceremony was bittersweet for many of the Cruz; eight to UCLA; and 36 to Foothill Col- large planter and landscaping turned out to be after hearing another gymnast at graduates, who said they will miss their class- lege. $530. the school had also tried the sport. mates. From Gunn, 147 students will go to University The maximum penalty for the charge March- “I’ve been doing it ever since,” “I’ll never forget the friends I have made, of California schools. Mostly notably 33 to UC ant is facing is up to one year in county jail, up she said. “I have so much fun every (and) teachers who guided me through,” senior Berkeley; 18 to UC Santa Cruz; 18 to UC Davis; to $1,000 in fines and suspension of his driving time I come to practice.” Greer Stone said in his commencement address. 14 to UCLA; and 26 to UC San Diego. license. She loves everything about the “Thank you to all.” Seventeen Gunn students plan to attend Stan- “Obviously, those are the maximums and not sport: the sheer joy of lifting herself “I can’t think of a better place to finish our ford. necessarily what is likely,” Boyarsky said. up high off the ground, releasing high school career,” classmate Will Frazier said Two Gunn graduates plan to go to Harvard, Marchant admitted leaving the car on the deck the pole and falling. “It’s a great in his speech. “It seems like yesterday it was the two to Yale, three to Duke University, and two when police were able to recover the vehicle’s se- feeling.” first day of school.” to Princeton. rial number, which had been partially removed. She’s done so well in pole vault- More than 90 percent of this year’s class will Seven Gunn graduates plan to attend women’s No other students have come forward as partici- ing that she also holds the girls’ go on to attend two- and four-year colleges, ac- colleges. pants. high school record, which she cording to Assistant Principal Katya Villalobos, While each student received cheers when his Marchant was suspended from classes for three broke at 14 feet 1 inch earlier this substituting for Principal Scott Laurence who or her name was called Wednesday, one senior days last week. month. To compete, she had to was across town attending his son’s graduation — Blaine Marchant — received a standing ova- By graduation the deck was fixed. miss her graduation. at Gunn High School. tion from more than half his class. “It felt good,” Marchant said about the support She runs for an hour three times According to informal surveys by student-run Marchant was the student who left his graffiti- his classmates gave him. a week and pole vaults for several newspapers at both Paly and Gunn, graduates covered Volvo station wagon overturned on the Classmates and their parents and grandparents hours twice a week, she said. will go far and wide in the coming year. deck in the school’s Quad last week as a senior mostly supported Marchant. Those who disap- She works hard at staying in top One Paly student will go to Oxford University, prank. Initially Palo Alto police arrested March- proved did not want to be quoted in the news- form, but her secret to success is while 14 will travel. ant on a felony charge for vandalism because it paper. (continued on page 5) Paly graduates will also head for the East was thought the damage to the wooden deck was (continued on page 8) Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, June 15, 2007 • Page 3 Upfront 703 HIGH STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94302 (650) 326-8210 PUBLISHER Upfront William S. Johnson EDITORIAL Jay Thorwaldson, Editor Editor’s note: This edition’s news stories, ReaderWire, and Public Jocelyn Dong, Managing Editor Agenda can be read in their entirety on the Internet. Go to our Web site Allen Clapp, Carol Blitzer, Assistant Editors at www.PaloAltoOnline.com. Keith Peters, Sports Editor Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor Tyler Hanley, Online Editor Delgado convicted of lesser crash charges Don Kazak, Senior Staff Writer Molly Tanenbaum, Becky Trout, Susan Hong, A San Mateo County jury Thursday found 19-year-old Edith Delgado Staff Writers innocent of felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence for causing Norbert von der Groeben, Chief Photographer Marjan Sadoughi, Staff Photographer a July 5, 2006, crash on U.S. Highway 101 in Menlo Park that killed three Kelley Cox, Photo Intern people, including two members of the Tongan royal family. Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant After a nearly three-week trial, Delgado was convicted of the lesser Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Bentson, charge of three counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without Lynn Comeskey, Kit Davey, Tim Goode, Jack gross negligence, prompting her to break down in tears in the courtroom McKinnon, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors as her attorney, Randy Moore, hugged her. Thea Lamkin-Carughi, Editorial Intern Delgado faced a possibility of serving up to eight years in prison but Elizabeth Obreza, Arts & Entertainment Intern will now likely only face one year in county jail at her sentencing Aug. DESIGN 24, according to Moore. Carol Hubenthal, Design Director Diane Haas, Sue Peck, Senior Designers; The nighttime crash occurred when Delgado’s white Mustang changed Nathan Hammer, Dana James, Paul Llewellyn, lanes and sideswiped a Ford Explorer carrying Tonga’s Prince Tu’ipelehake, Charmaine Mirsky, Scott Peterson, Designers 54; Princess Kaimana Tu’ipelehake, 45; and their driver, Vinisia Hefa, 36. Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Design Intern All three were killed when the Explorer flipped over.