Vol. XXVIII, Number 84 • Friday, July 27, 2007 ■ 50¢ LT O W A E E ‘North’ O K L L A Y P expands BEST OF 2 0 0 7 heart and 2007 minds PUBLISHES WeeklyWeekend Edition Page 9 AUGUST 29 www.PaloAltoOnline.com A place forblues the Louisiana bluesman hosts local TV show Page 7 Kelley Cox Worth A Look 13 Goings On 15 Movies 20 ■ Upfront Enforcement postponed for sit/lie sidewalk ban Page 3 ■ Sports Olympic dreams continue for Stanford diver Page 23 ■ Home & Real Estate Green Acres is the place ... for kids Section 2 ALBERTO ONCE HELD BACK BY WEIGHT CURRENTLY: DIVES RIGHT IN JUST ANOTHER REMARKABLE DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. At 13 years old, Alberto was one of more than 2 million overweight kids in this country. The good news is, he chose to do something about it. Since he enrolled in the Packard Pediatric Weight Control Program last year, Alberto has lost over 30 pounds and is now an active and healthy kid. Rather than focus solely on © 2007 Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital calorie intake and weight loss, our program helps families maintain lifelong healthy eating and exercise habits. In fact, Alberto’s mom was so inspired, she lost 12 pounds herself. Alberto is still headed toward his weight goals. The way we see it, his loss is truly Lucile Packard his gain. To find out more about the Packard Pediatric Weight Control Children’s Hospital Program call 650 -725 - 4424 or visit pediatricweightcontrol.lpch.org. AT STANFORD Page 2 • Friday, July 27, 2007 • Palo Alto Weekly UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis Parking woes prompt permit push Some College Terrace residents want permit system while “It’s gotten nothing but worse,” Stanford is required by its most campus, according to Brodie Ham- others object to paying for neighborhood parking said Yale Street resident Pria Graves, recent General Use Permit (GUP) ilton, Stanford director of parking who is pushing for residential park- with Santa Clara County — ap- and transportation services, who by Molly Tanenbaum ing permits in her neighborhood, proved in 2000 — to keep its car spoke to the Palo Alto City Council bounded by Stanford and California trips to and from campus under in April. he cost to park at Stanford That discrepancy is resulting in Avenues, west of El Camino Real. 3,600 each morning and evening. To discourage commuters from University for a year: between blocks full of parked cars — and “It feels unfair that Stanford is To do so, the university spends simply parking off campus and T $216 and $552. The cost to frustrated College Terrace residents charging for parking on campus $100,000 to encourage its 34,000- earning the same benefits as car- park across Stanford Avenue in who are looking toward a permit so we can’t go park there, and yet person daytime population to use poolers and bus and train riders, Palo Alto’s College Terrace neigh- program of their own to provide they’re parking over here,” she carpooling, public transportation Stanford also contributed $100,000 borhood: free. them some relief. added. and other ways of traveling to the (continued on page 5) COURTS John Dalton’s mourners asked to ‘pray for Jimmy’ James ‘Jimmy’ Dalton appears in court, enters no plea by Becky Trout and Don Kazak ven as James Dalton, the Palo Alto man accused of killing E his brother July 16, was pre- paring for his arraignment in Santa Clara County Superior Court Tues- day, his oldest sister, Kathy, was asking funeral attendees to “find it in your hearts to pray for Jimmy.” James Dalton did not enter a plea to the charge of murdering his brother, John. Instead, his attorneys asked for Norbert von der Groeben a continuance, and the prosecution agreed. He is being held without bail and will next appear in court Aug. 21. He may enter a plea at that time. The nearly empty courtroom stood in contrast to John Dalton’s funeral service at St. Albert the Great Catho- lic Church in Palo Alto, where more City Council candidate and panhandler Victor Frost says he's waiting to be arrested so he can sue the city over its expanded sit-lie ordinance. than 100 people came Tuesday morn- ing to remember his life. City Attorney Gary Baum is erything proper, and they should John Dalton was one of five chil- PALO ALTO staying mum. He said he’s looking enforce it.” dren, all raised in Palo Alto. Their fa- into the ban, a process that could The City Council extended the ther, John “Jack” Dalton taught for 27 take weeks or months. coverage of the University Avenue years in Palo Alto schools, including Sit-lie ban stuck Neither Mayor Yoriko Kishi- “sit-lie” ban on June 3 with a 6- many years at Wilbur Middle School. moto nor Vice Mayor Larry Klein 3 vote. The new ban includes the He died in 1984 from cancer. were willing to comment this area roughly between Lytton and Patricia Dalton raised the children in legal Limbo week on the postponed enforce- Channing avenues and east from and also taught at Foothill College. ment of the council directive. Alma Street to Webster Street. “Life was good,” Kathy said of Victor Frost plans to fight for justice But Victor Frost, ensconced Enforcement runs from 11 a.m. to those years, as she addressed mourn- in his campaign/panhandling 11 p.m. ers who came to grieve for John. — and a goat ranch post on the sidewalk across from The city cannot ban panhan- “John and Jimmy were not only by Becky Trout Whole Foods Market, has plenty dling itself, which is constitution- brothers, they were friends,” she to say, as does Juliene Williams, ally protected. The restriction is said. “Jimmy worshiped John.” lthough the law banning sit- area business managers and who works nearby. She said she based on the “safety and conve- And John was patient, allowing his ting or lying on some down- sparked rumors — namely, that phones the police every morning nience” of the general public, little brother to tag along, she said. A town Palo Alto sidewalks the City Council candidacy of at 11:01 a.m., one minute after Baum has said. “They loved each other,” she said, went into effect last week, it will Homer Avenue panhandler Victor the ban has gone into effect. But according to Frost, the sit- her voice catching with emotion. not be enforced for at least anoth- Frost and the associated potential “They are not enforcing the lie ban violates the U.S. Consti- But something went wrong the er month, according to Police Sgt. allegation of campaign interfer- law,” Williams said. “I supported tution, and he’s planning to chal- evening of July 16, when James, 52, Sandra Brown. ence has caused the city to recon- the extension of the ordinance lenge it. The only way he’ll leave allegedly stabbed John, 53, with a The delay has frustrated some sider the ban. for 10 years. ... We’ve done ev- (continued on page 5) kitchen knife in the Palo Alto house (continued on page 5) Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, July 27, 2007 • Page 3 You Can Come In and Use Our... Upfront MILLING MACHINES METAL LATHES 703 HIGH STREET, PALO ALTO, CA 94302 THIS WEEK ON LASER CUTTERS (650) 326-8210 METAL WELDING PUBLISHER William S. Johnson TownSquare TechShop is a membership-based workshop that lets you drop in and PLASMA CUTTER use our facilities, tools and equipment to work on your metal, plastic, EDITORIAL Comments from the community forum on the Weekly’s Web site wood and electronics projects at your own pace in a supportive and 3D PRINTERS Jay Thorwaldson, Editor creative environment! Membership is only $100 a month. SEWING MACHINES Jocelyn Dong, Managing Editor Posted July 24 at 2:45 p.m. by Harumph!, Allen Clapp, Carol Blitzer, Assistant Editors a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood: Classes at TechShop are typically $30 and about an hour long, and VINYL CUTTER Keith Peters, Sports Editor cover lots of great topics including machining, welding, fabricating, Tyler Hanley, Online Editor “I nominate whoever was responsible for planting magnolias CNC, laser cutting, 3D CAD design, and lots more! Classes fill up PLASTIC CASTING Rebecca Wallace, Arts & Entertainment Editor and liquidambar trees as ‘most useless arborist team, ever.’ Plant- very quickly...visit our web site for our class list and to sign up. CNC MACHINES Rick Eymer, Assistant Sports Editor Don Kazak, Senior Staff Writer ing those trees had to be a joke played on Palo Alto citizens by TechShop is open 7 days a week from 9 AM until midnight. SHEET METAL FAB Molly Tanenbaum, Becky Trout, Susan Hong, disgruntled employees. Staff Writers They are filthy trees, pouring down large hazardous cones and Sue Dremann, Staff Writer, Special Sections Editor 84 spikey balls on thoroughfares and sidewalks. In the last year alone, N Visit TechShop Today! Karla Kane, Editorial Assistant CONSTITUTION DR 120 Independence Dr Norbert von der Groeben, Chief Photographer I have replaced my bike tires more than a dozen times. Even with Marjan Sadoughi, Staff Photographer special tube liners, the spiked liquidambar balls pierce bike tires. 101 INDEPENDENCE DR Menlo Park, CA 94025 Kelley Cox, Photo Intern MARSH RD Jeanne Aufmuth, Dale Bentson, I know a woman who tripped on a magnolia cone and broke her www.techshop.ws Lynn Comeskey, Kit Davey, Tim Goode, Jack elbow. Can the city be subject to claims for losses like this? McKinnon, Susan Tavernetti, Robert Taylor, 1 (800) 640-1975 Contributors I absolutely LOVE trees, but how could anyone calling himself Rotem Ben-Shachar, Editorial Intern an urban arborist ever have come up with planting those two spe- Elizabeth Obreza, Arts & Entertainment Intern cies in an urban space? We all want to talk about our walkable DESIGN environment, but try walking without tripping on the droppings (of) Carol Hubenthal, Design Director trees, and sidewalks that are unended every two years by magno- Diane Haas, Sue Peck, Senior Designers; Smog Check Dana James, Paul Llewellyn, Charmaine lia roots.” Mirsky, Scott Peterson, Designers * Caitlin Fitzpatrick, Design Intern Posted July 24 at 12:16 p.m.