Vol. XXVII, Number 12 • Friday, November 11, 2005 ■ 50¢ A new ‘Pride’ Page 17 Check out the Weekly’s new online classifieds at fogster.com WeWeekend eEdition k l y www.PaloAltoOnline.com Rebecca Campbell Worth A Look 15 Movie Times 18 Eating Out 21 Goings On 27 Crossword Puzzle Section 2 ■ Upfront Lingering hostilities spark library meeting Page 5 ■ Sports Tougher tests ahead in CCS playoffs Page 31 ■ Home & Real Estate Different strokes for different folks Section 2 We Think William Deserves a Medal Before the Race Begins. A brain tumor hasn’t slowed down 10-year-old William. Because of the world class care he received at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, William is now up on his feet every morning, training with his mom for a half marathon and setting an aggressive pace to help others in need. Ranked as one of the top ten pediatric hospitals in the nation by U.S.News & World Report, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford is a world class hospital devoted entirely to the care of children and expectant mothers – right in your backyard. Read more about William and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at www.lpch.org. L U C I L E PA C K A R D C H I L D R E N’S H O S P I T A L Page 2 • Friday, November 11, 2005 • Palo Alto Weekly UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis “I would agree that one strong allowing City Manager Frank Benest terim reports, so the council could ELECTION ’05 message that comes out of the elec- to make policy. better oversee city administration. tion is yes, they want a strong coun- Rectifying that will be done “on an Drekmeier was the only winner in cil,” said Kishimoto, one of the issue-by-issue basis,” Klein said. the race who had not been a candi- A shift in the balance? race’s two incumbents. She received However, council members not date in a previous local election. nearly 10,000 votes. facing re-election this year feel they Also getting elected in the race for Voters reward candidates critical of Klein, who was leading early in haven’t ceded control to Benest, like- five seats were incumbent Jack Mor- council/manager relationship with top posts the evening but eventually dropped ly setting up a conflict. ton and school-board member John to the second spot, is also a familiar “It’s something the council will Barton, who received approximately in Palo Alto City Council election face in City Hall, having served on have to work out amongst our- 8,000 votes each, 1,500 fewer than by Bill D’Agostino the council from 1981 to 1989. He selves,” Kishimoto said. Drekmeier. received approximately 9,500 votes. The third top voter-getter, envi- During the campaign, Drekmeier y choosing Yoriko Kishimoto guably awarded a mandate to those During the campaign, those two ronmental activist Peter Drekmeier, pushed for redeveloping existing and Larry Klein as the top critical of the current balance of candidates argued the current coun- received nearly 9,500 votes. He had plots of land in Palo Alto to con- B vote-getters in Tuesday’s City power between the council and the cil was failing to exert leadership on not been as strong a critic of the cur- struct more housing, saying it was Council election, residents ar- city manager. critical issues, therefore incorrectly rent balance, but argued for more in- (continued on page 7) ELECTION ’05 Mitchell, Tom ready for challenges ahead School-board candidates benefit from support of Measure A by Alexandria Rocha he hefty campaign efforts of Barbara Mitchell and Dana T Tom on behalf of Measure A earlier this year paid off Tuesday night, as both easily won election to the Palo Alto school board. “They have so much involvement, experience and knowledge. I had such good feelings from them during Measure A,” said community mem- ber Doris Dahlgren, referring to the school district’s annual $493 parcel Norbert von der Groeben tax that voters passed in June. Tom and Mitchell led the race throughout the night against two oth- er competitors, Claude Ezran and Steve Mullen. While Ezran also cam- paigned for the parcel tax, Mullen opposed Measure A, which did not sit well with district supporters. “Three (candidates) said, ‘Let’s Flag flap make this an outstanding district, Scouts Paul Summers and Anand Gupta unfold a new American flag during a Veteran’s Day ceremony Wednesday at Terman Middle School. spend the money wisely, but the The flag, donated by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, was supposed to accompany a new California flag, for which students approached both state schools don’t have enough money,’” Sen. Joe Simitian and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein with no luck, according to Ross Helsaple, the school’s eighth-grade history teacher. In the end, said Dave Charleson, the Hoover El- students raised their own money and purchased a new state flag for the school. ementary School PTA president who was rumored early as a potential candidate. “But I have serious con- ELECTION ’05 Anza board, garnering 34 percent. Miller and Casas Frier had applied cerns when someone says the Fong was close behind Swenson, for the seat, along with Barry Cheng schools have enough money.” earning 31 percent. Candidates Julia and Fred Fowler. Mullen did not return calls from Fong, Swenson win; Miller and Laura Casas Frier fell fur- “I’m just thrilled to death,” Casas the Weekly. ther back, gathering 20 and 14 per- Frier said. According to the Santa Clara Casas Frier appointed cent of the votes, respectively. Fong, a 12-year incumbent and a County Registrar of Voters Web site, “You can imagine that I’m feeling political science professor at Ever- Tom finished the race in the lead Voters choose the incumbent and retired professor pretty good right now,” Swenson green Valley College, predicted he with 10,399 votes, or 34 percent, for community-college board race said Tuesday evening, still a bit hes- would win, due to the good current followed by Mitchell with 9,927, or itant to admit victory even though state of the district. 33 percent. Mullen came in third by Molly Tanenbaum friends assured him the race was “The district is in fine shape and with 5,464 votes, or 18 percent, and over and he had come out on top. when the district is in fine shape, Ezran came in last with 4,403 votes, ith the community-college math professor Bruce Swenson, A fifth seat, which was left vacant the incumbent is in fine shape,” he or 15 percent. district facing numerous whose combined service in the dis- after the recent death of trustee An- said. “There haven’t been any ca- Besides their prior campaigning, W challenges in the coming trict adds up to about four decades. drea Leiderman, was given to Casas tastrophes; we’ve balanced the Tom, 44, and Mitchell, 53, possess years, voters favored the experience Swenson was the top vote-getter for Frier by a unanimous vote during the budget; we have our reserves; we’re the experience voters said they were of incumbent Paul Fong and retired the two open seats on the Foothill-De Nov. 9 morning board meeting. Both (continued on page 7) (continued on page 9) Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, November 11, 2005 • Page 3 SANTA CLARA November COIN, STSTAMPAMP & COLLECTIBLES EXPO 17th-20th DO NOT MISS THIS EVENT! Kids Treasure Hunt 703 HIGH STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94302 Sat 11-2pm Held at The Santa Clara Convention Center (650) 326-8210 $1 + Million 1803 Proof Silver Dollar OVER 1000 OF THE NATIONS TOP DEALERS IN COINS, STAMPS, PAPER MONEY, POSTCARDS, JEWELRY, EXONUMIA, PUBLISHER William S. Johnson MEDALS, TOKENS, CASINO CHIPS, GOLD NUGGETS, BULLION, COIN & STAMP SUPPLIES, COLLECTIBLES & MORE... ReaderReaderWire comments via e-mail, voice mail and U.S. mail $6 Admission For all 4 Days EDITORIAL For More Info Call (805)962-9939 or Visit us on the Web at www.SantaClaraExpo.com Jay Thorwaldson, Editor Marc Burkhardt, Managing Editor Leave the leaves Non-responsive reaction Jocelyn Dong, Associate Editor Once again our trees become beau- Daniel Rand’s reaction (ReaderWire, $2 Off Admission with this Ad Allen Clapp, Carol Blitzer, Assistant Editors Keith Peters, Sports Editor tiful with the leaves of autumn. And Nov. 4) to my comments on candlelight Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor once again those beautiful leaves be- vigils was non-responsive and flawed. Don Kazak, Senior Staff Writer gin to fall. 1) Ad hominem attacks are meaning- Bill D’Agostino, Alexandria Rocha, Staff Writers Norbert von der Groeben, Chief Photographer And then what do we do with them? less. Nicholas Wright, Staff Photographer Hot Tubs Brian Connelly, Photo Intern Most of us sweep them into the gutter. 2) I did not state that “holding vigils Tyler Hanley, Assistant to the Editor & Let me suggest three reasons for somehow makes the United States Online Editor Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections letting the leaves of autumn lie where more susceptible to terror attacks.” Cammie Farmer, Calendar Editor they fall: Rather, the point of my letter was that Everything else is just a Hot Tub Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Benson, Lynn Everything else is just a Hot Tub Comeskey, Tim Goode, Jill Slater, Susan 1) Autumn color. Fallen leaves are you give them continued hope that we Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, Contributors Suman Mudamula, Saqib Rahim, Ken Selis, like a scattering of golden coins. We will weaken politically and that we will Spectacular FALL SPA VALUES Editorial Interns see the green of our lawn or ground surrender and lose the war by cutting DESIGN cover throughout the year.