the almanac 03.02.2011 - section 1

T H E H O M E T O W N N E W S P A P E R F O R M E N L O P A R K , A T H E R T O N , P O R T O L A V A L L E Y A N D W O O D S I D E

Snow at Alice's Restaurant | Page 8

WWW.THEALMANACONLINE .COMM A R C H 2 , 2 0 1 1 | VOL . 46 NO. 27

ON A MISSION TO HEAL MEDICINEDr. Walter Bortz examines the state

of medicine in his new bookSection 2

2 The Almanac March 2, 2011

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©2009 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker® is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity . Each Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Offi ce Is Owned And Operated by NRT LLC. All rights reserved. This information was supplied by Seller and/or other sources. Broker believes this information to be correct but has not verifi ed this information and assumes no legal responsibility for its accuracy. Buyers should investigate these issues to their own satisfaction.

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SAFETY GLASSESIf you are a do-it-yourselfer who thinks that

your regular glasses will protect your eyes from sharp objects and flying debris, you should know that they may do more harm than good. While the plastic lenses used in regular glasses tend to break into sharp pieces, untempered glass lenses usually break like a car windshield. Some regular glasses may have impact-resistant poly-carbonate lenses, but that does not necessarily mean they are suitable for construction and hobby work. On the other hand, safety glasses

approved by the American National Standards Institute combine impact-resistant lenses and frames that are designed to keep lenses firmly in place during impact. Be sure to get the right glasses for the job.

One pair of glasses will not suit all of you needs. If you spend time doing yard work, car-pentry, or painting, wearing safety glasses can protect your delicate eyes from flying particles and irritating chemicals. At MENLO OPTICAL, we carry a wide selection of frames, including occupational, athletic, and computer eyewear. Please bring your eyewear prescription to us at 1166 University Drive, on the corner of Oak Grove Avenue and University Drive. Call us at 322-3900 if you have any questions about eyewear

P.S. Polycarbonate and Trivex lenses in safety glasses come with scratch-resistant coatings included.

Mark Schmidt is an American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners Certified Optician licensed by the Medical Board of California. He can be easily reached at Menlo Optical, 1166 University Drive, Menlo Park. 650-322-3900.

By Kate Daly Special to the Almanac

Once considered an older person’s game, bridge appears to be gaining popularity in the area among some younger players who are drawn to it for both social and competitive reasons, and then become hooked. Kathy Harper of Woodside says she has had to turn down custom-ers because she is so busy between teaching her larger classes at several local clubs and smaller group les-sons at private homes. “Every day I get another e-mail from someone interested in taking lessons,” she says. The problem is few vacancies. “I don’t lose many people because there’s so much to learn; it’s infinite.” Ms. Harper has been teaching bridge for 11 years. She’s an Ameri-can Bridge Teacher Association Master Teacher and Gold Life Master with almost 300 students, the bulk of whom attend her beginners’ classes at the Palo Alto Bridge Center (which is actually in Mountain View). She says in recent months the membership has grown there by almost 8 percent to 900. The center has 35 tables set up for foursomes, and offers classes, lectures and/or tournament play every day. “I’ve noticed people in their 60s and 70s, but I’m getting a lot more students in their 50s and 40s, and even getting a few young men around 26 and 27,” Ms. Harper says. Why the increase in interest? “It’s like a perfect storm of baby boomers with disposable income, and all these studies about the benefits of mental stimulation from card games and crossword puzzles,” she explains. It’s also the fun factor. “Four beginners can sit down at a table and have as much fun as four world champions,” she says. And there’s the built-in challenge. “The game has so many levels ... even world champions make about three mistakes out of every 26 hands.” One of her students for the past five years is Dana Bisconti of Ather-ton. With three kids in eighth grade and under, Ms. Bisconti says she has “a very supportive husband” who

plays bridge with her occasionally. Every other week she also takes lessons with another instructor, Cameron Cotton, who teaches at several local clubs. On the off weeks, she practices with both of her bridge groups. Ms. Bisconti estimates that, including the time she plays online with her friends on Bridge-Base.com, she plays about six hours a week. “I have an app on my iPhone I play when I’m sitting in a carpool line (to pick up kids at school). It’s very addictive,” she says. Twice a year she goes away with a group of 11 friends to a cabin or a resort to play bridge for a few days. “We value our girl time. ... We’re all in our 40s with school-age kids and it’s a way for us to spend time with friends. I enjoy the social aspect. We’re all concerned about our brains, and it’s a good thing as we head into menopause,” she says. She is helping run the Menlo Bridge Tournament — not to be confused with Menlo Country Club’s bridge tournament, an ongoing match between mem-bers that organizers say has just tripled in popularity. The Menlo Bridge Tournament serves as a fundraiser for Menlo School, bringing in about $5,500 annually. Currently, 74 partici-pants are paying $75 each to play four rubber bridge matches among themselves. In May they will come together to play in a one large tournament. “We’ve got more people this year, about 10 percent more with some new additions,” Ms. Biscon-ti says. “They are younger because I’m on the younger side and we

recruited a number of friends we wanted to play.” Menlo parent Vinita Gupta plays bridge on a regular basis but pre-fers to go to the Palo Alto Bridge Center for her practice. “It’s not a social game. You’re really honing your skills to play in tournaments and get masterpoints. It gets your competitive juices flowing.” Ms. Gupta retired five years ago, and has been playing “seri-ous bridge” for two years now. She competes at least once a week, often playing with pros as partners. Once a week she takes a lesson with her partner, Ed Barlow, a Grand Life Master in his 70s with a national championship title on his resume. “It’s a lot of fun for me because I feel like I’m making improve-ments,” Ms. Gupta says. Before she arrives at the center, she spends at least an hour studying cards “to get into the mindset.” Then they will play 26 or 27 hands in three and a half hours, and afterward have a debriefing session. Christy Kamra of Woodside also plays with her teachers regularly, but online. An empty nester for the past year and a half, she started playing bridge some four years ago. Now she figures she plays bridge about two hours every day, mostly online on Okbridge.com or BridgeBase.com. She particularly likes to play $1 games of 12 hands in 60-minute tournaments called Speedball. “I have made a lot of new friends around the world,” she says. “When I check in on Bridge Base my friends know I’m on and ask, ‘Do you want to play?’” She can play with them, practice with a robot, or opt to play with her own partners. She has two teachers online. One is a woman in her 80s who charges by the hour to play, then afterward calls with a critique. The other teacher prefers to write up his notes in e-mails. Ms. Kamra says she likes to play in tournaments online because as she racks up masterpoints, “it’s a way to keep track of how you’re progressing. You’re rated compared to others and it’s competitive. I just enjoy it.” A

March 2, 2011 The Almanac 3

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THE ALMANAC (ISSN 1097-3095 and USPS 459370) is published every Wednesday by Embarcadero Media, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6558. Periodicals Postage Paid at Menlo Park, CA and at additional mailing offices. Adjudicated a newspaper of general circulation for San Mateo County, The Almanac is delivered free to homes in Menlo Park, Atherton, Portola Valley and Woodside. Subscriptions for $60 per year or $100 per 2 years are welcome. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Almanac, 3525 Alameda de las Pulgas, Menlo Park, CA 94025-6558. Copyright ©2010 by Embarcadero Media, All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

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C A L L I N G O N T H E A L M A N AC

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PLUS: SF Opera Adler Fellows (MAR 13) AND MANY MORE!

Bridge (the card game) is back, big-time

Photo by Kate Daly

Kathy Harper of Woodside teaches bridge to hundreds of students, but still finds time to play for fun.

Go to paloaltobridge.com for more information. The Palo Alto Bridge Center is actually located in Mountain View, at 2639A Ter-minal Blvd.

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Community gets ready for ‘charrette’ session■ City reaches out to Spanish-language residents to attend all-day community design forum on Facebook campus.

By Sandy BrundageAlmanac Staff Writer

Anyone living within a half mile of Menlo Park probably knows the city

will host a design “charrette” on Saturday, March 5, to cre-ate a fresh vision for the areas surrounding the new Facebook campus, and the city is taking steps to make sure everyone, including Spanish-only speak-ers, gets the invite. Business development man-ager Dave Johnson shared f liers inviting residents to the charrette in Spanish, and said he’s also trying to get United Nations style translator headsets for the actual event, depending on cost. The event, a time-con-strained community plan-ning process co-sponsored by the city and Facebook with the theme “creating a sense of place,” will be staffed by volunteer design professionals drawn together by the Ameri-can Institute of Architects (AIA). Four teams of design professionals, led by licensed architects, will focus on specif-ic areas of Belle Haven and the nearby business area, accord-ing to Noemi Avram, an architect representing the San Mateo County chapter of the

AIA. Explaining that charrettes are the AIA’s way to serve the community, Ms. Avram also offered her services as a Spanish translator for the charrette. The planning begins when shuttles carry the teams on a tour of the four areas. After they return to the Face-book campus at 8:30 a.m., the community can join in. “Stakeholders will offer ideas during the morning, mostly, as during the afternoon the design work is being done,” Ms. Avram explained. “They’re welcome to walk around and give their ideas and comments to each team. The architects will be doing the drawing, but all ideas are welcome.” However, the designers won’t tackle the Facebook cam-pus. “That’s off limits,” Ms. Avram said, laughing. But they will examine the wetlands at the perimeter of the campus and frontage along the Bay-front Expressway, with an eye toward creating a linked series of trails for pedestrians and bicyclists. After rendering their plans on 8-by-4-foot posters, the teams will start presenting the designs at 6:30 p.m. Given Menlo Park’s history of requesting studies and then

repeating those studies years later, residents have wondered whether ideas emerging from the charrette will ever become reality. According to Ms. Avram, who also participated in a charrette held in 2005 for downtown Menlo Park, ideas from that event influenced the proposed downtown specific plan. Highlighting other Pen-insula projects that have ben-efited from charrettes, such as San Mateo’s main library,

which took shape 10 years after the community planning, Ms. Avram said, “My point is that we’re not just dreamers; we are dreamers, that’s what archi-tects do, but there’s a reality to it.” “This is about connection,” she added. “This is not about Facebook building some cen-tral courtyard on campus. This is about how to better integrate all the surrounding properties in such a way that there is better use.” A

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The four areas to be examined by architectural design teams are designated by colors. They include the Belle Haven residential neighborhood and nearby business and industrial properties.

“Creating a Sense of Place,” the design charrette for the Belle Haven neighborhood and nearby business area, runs from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 5, at the former Sun Microsystems cam-pus (10 Network Circle) in Menlo Park. The entrance is located at the intersection of Willow Road and Bayfront Expressway. For more information, contact Dave Johnson, the city of Menlo Park’s business development manager, at [email protected] or 330-6600 for more information.

I N F O R M AT I O N

Menlo update: downtown plan delays; Facebook upgrades

Party this fall, but no blues or barbecue


Menlo Park residents will wait another four weeks before seeing the envi-

ronmental impact report for the downtown specific plan. In the meantime, the city is focusing on Facebook’s desire to add ameni-ties to its new home on the for-mer Sun campus, according to presentations at the Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting on Thursday, Feb. 24. Mayor Rich Cline told a crowd that included fellow council mem-

ber Peter Ohtaki, City Manager Glen Rojas, and developer David Bohannon, who serves on the chamber board, that the environ-mental impact report (EIR) for the downtown specific plan could be released by the end of March. First expected last fall, the release of the EIR was delayed as the city refines each element of the report in anticipation of heated public debate. The council will take no action on the report during the summer to give staff time to analyze public

See CHAMBER, page 8

By Dave BoyceAlmanac Staff Writer

A wind hinting of change is blowing through Portola Valley.

For the second consecutive year, September will come and go without Blues & Barbecue, the annual festival the town has put on since 1997 to raise money for the purchase and main-tenance of open space within town boundaries. As was the case in 2010, the Community Events Committee is lacking sufficient volunteers to pull off this major logistical undertaking, Councilwoman

Maryann Derwin told the Town Council at its Feb. 23 meeting. Other factors Ms. Derwin mentioned include fatigue on the part of local merchants, who are asked every year to con-tribute items for auction, and a timing conflict with another big festival: the Portola Valley School District is celebrating its 150th anniversary on Oct. 1. The council agreed with an idea suggested by Ms. Derwin and seconded by Town Histo-rian Nancy Lund and former mayor Sue Crane that the school anniversary celebration stand in

for Blues & Barbecue this year. “As you present it, it seems to me very sensible to delay Blues & Barbecue,” Councilman Steve Toben said after Ms. Derwin had finished. “It will draw us all (together) around an important historical event.” “We’ll certainly come back to open space,” Mr. Toben said, “but I think this works as a won-derful fall gathering.” Between 2002 and 2009, the blues festival contributed an average of $58,000 annually to the open space acquisition fund, with proceeds reaching $79,000

PORTOLA VALLEY

See FESTIVAL, page 8

The water damage to the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park should be repaired by March 10, with the theater scheduled to reopen on Friday, March 11, according to Michael Fant, vice president for real estate development for Landmark Theatres, in a phone interview from Oakland Airport. Mr. Fant was flying back to Los Angeles after meeting with a con-tractor at the theater. During a storm in mid-Feb-ruary, rain penetrated the roof above the upstairs mechanical room, leaked on to the heating and air conditioning system, and continued down into the lobby, where it damaged the ceiling, walls, floor and an electrical panel, Mr. Fant said. Landmark has leased the Guild for at least 10 years, he added. Landmark is the largest exhibitor of art and independent films in the world, Mr. Fant said.

Mountain lion spotted A mountain lion was spot-ted near the 500 block of Westridge Drive in Portola Val-ley at around 7:15 p.m. Wednes-day, Feb. 23,, county emergency officials report. Officials offer these tips: ■ Avoid hiking or jogging when mountain lions are most active — dawn, dusk, and at night. ■ If you see a mountain lion, do not approach it, especially one that is feeding or with off-spring, . Most mountain lions will try to avoid confrontation. ■ If you encounter a moun-tain lion, do not run; instead, face the animal, make noise and try to look bigger by waving your arms; throw rocks or other objects. Pick up small children. Visit keepmewild.org for more information.

Celebration of life of Barbara Dulik A celebration of the life of Bar-bara Dulik will he held at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 5, at the Phillips Brooks School, 2245 Avy Ave. in Menlo Park. She died of a heart attack on Dec. 25 in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, where she made her home. Ms. Dulik was a longtime resident of Menlo Park and Ather-ton before moving to St. Miguel Allende with her husband, Robert Dulik, in 2002. Ms. Dulik developed the pre-school program at Trinity Parish School in Menlo Park in 1976. She taught preschool at Phillips Brooks School in Menlo Park from its founding in 1978. She was head of its Early Leaning Center and in 1986 became director of admissions for the school. She retired in 2002.

Leslie Lambert on the mend Leslie Lambert, the planning manager for the town of Portola Valley, remains on extended medi-cal leave to recover from a serious concussion, but she is recovering, Town Manager Angie Howard told The Almanac. “She is out of the hospital, she is at home, she is recuperating and we’re all hoping that she’ll come back real soon,” Ms. Howard said recently. Ms. Lambert is “much, much, much better,” Assistant Town Manager Janet McDougall said in a separate interview. Ms. Lambert’s injuries came as a result of a fall at or near her home in Mountain View on Jan. 21.

Guild Theatre set to reopen


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PUBLIC NOTICE

TOWN OF PORTOLA VALLEY

The Town of Portola Valley is accepting bids for the 2010/2011 Resurfacing Project.

Bids are due to the Public Works Department at Town Hall on Tuesday, March 22, 2011 by 11:00 a.m. at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Bids shall be submitted in sealed envelopes marked on the outside “2010/2011 Resurfacing Project #2010-PW02”. Faxed bids or bids received after the designated time will not be accepted. Copies of construction documents are available at the Public Works Department:

Town Hall765 Portola Road

Portola Valley, CA 94028650-851-1700 ext. 200

BRIEFS

By Dave BoyceAlmanac Staff Writer

Bikes heading westbound on Sand Hill Road as they approach Interstate 280

have the option of merging with traffic into a bike lane that, as it crosses the freeway, centers the cyclists in between two lanes of traffic, one headed for the freeway and the other up Sand Hill and on into Woodside. A similar design is under con-sideration for Alpine Road as it approaches I-280, the intersection where, on Nov. 4, Los Altos Hills cyclist Lauren Ward died after a collision with a tractor trailer. The hundreds of westbound bicycles that traverse the Alpine Road intersection every day have been making do without a bike lane. That would change with the implementation of any of four proposed designs now being looked at by the San Mateo Coun-ty Public Works Department and the California Transportation Department. Go to is.gd/362PhK to view the four designs. Each inserts a bike lane between the lane for I-280-bound traffic and the lane into Ladera as Alpine Road passes under the freeway. The differ-ences lie in where bikes weave into traffic and the markings indicat-ing the bike lane. The Almanac spoke with Assis-tant Civil Engineer Robin duSaint of the county public works depart-ment about the four options.■ Option D-1 has bikes merge

with vehicle traffic after the stop sign. The bike lane boundaries are marked by dotted lines at first and then solid lines further west.■ Option D-2 has bikes split

the traffic lanes and weave into traffic well before the stop sign. The boundary lines are solid for the bike lane.■ Option D-3 is like D-1 as to

where it would merge bikes and traffic, and like D-2 in that it

uses solid lines to mark the bike lane. But D-3 adds pavement cross-hatching and two road signs: one ordering vehicles to yield to bikes, and another for-bidding vehicles already com-mitted to the southbound free-way to cross the bike lane and head into Ladera. ■ Option D-4 resembles D-3, including the signs, but with a substantially longer and con-tinuous bike lane with a painted pavement. “We prefer D-3,” Ms. duSaint said. Why? Because D-3 would merge bikes after the stop sign, the merging traffic is moving more slowly. D-2 has the merge happening before the stop sign; traffic headed to I-280 north from Alpine Road has a straight shot to the onramp, Ms. duSaint noted. Corinne Winter, executive director of the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, said she agrees that the speed of motor vehicles when merging with bikes is a

major concern. Moving from light to dark is another potential problem. With the current D-3, cyclists move west from the stop sign in full daylight, but merge with motor traffic in the relative darkness under the freeway overpass. The bicycle coalition prefers a combination of D-3 and D-4’s painted bike lane, Ms. Winter said. Records of the California Traf-fic Control Devices Committee show ongoing experiments with colored bike lanes, including in San Francisco. To apply color at Alpine Road, San Mateo County would have to ask the committee, Ms. Win-ter said, adding that while she would like the county to apply, it should not delay a fix to the intersection. The bottom line, she said, is safety. The intersection “should be safe enough for 8-year-olds to ride their bikes across,” she said. A


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To I-280 northbound

Current bike route

To I-280 northboundtraffic on-ramp

I-280 northboundtraffic off-ramp

I-280

PROPOSED BIKE LANETo Ladera and Portola Valley

Stop sign

Bike lane all but certain at intersection of Alpine and I-280, where cyclist died

The Almanac

Bike lane option D-2 is one of four designs under consideration by officials trying improve the safety of westbound Alpine Road as it crosses under Interstate 280. Hundreds of cyclists traverse this intersection every day, and Los Altos Hills cyclist Lauren Ward died there in a collision with a tractor trailer on Nov. 4, 2010.

Masquerading ‘utility workers’ are suspects in burglary Deputies from the San Mateo County Sheriff ’s Office are on the lookout for a couple of people posing as utility work-ers making the rounds to assess damage from recent storms. At a home in the Woodside

area, deputies reported that one of a pair of “workers” distracted the homeowner while the sec-ond entered the home and “removed valuables,” according to a Feb. 25 statement from the Sheriff ’s Office.

Deputies are asking residents to report suspicious activity by calling 363-4911, and are reminding residents to ask for identification from anyone claiming to be representing an official agency.

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For answers to any questions you may have on real estate, you may e-mail me at [email protected] or call 462-1111, Alain Pinel Realtors. I also offer a free market analysis of your property. www.MonicaCorman.com

Trending Towards Simple and Comfortable Living Spaces

REAL ESTATE Q&Aby Monica Corman

Q: Dear Monica: I live in a ranch-style house in a great neighborhood. I want to remodel my house completely but I don’t intend to enlarge it by very much because I like its present size. Do you think it is wise to spend a goodly amount and not add to the square footage? William D.

A: Dear William: Before you begin a large remodeling project it is good to evaluate the value of your home now and to project what its future value will be after remodeling. The fact that you live in a great location should ensure that your home will maintain a strong value if the overall market

is stable. There is an emerging but sizable number of homeowners who want to build homes rich in their simplicity, and not over-large or overdone. Even if the finished house is modest in size, if it is tastefully done it can be highly desirable. It is true that smaller homes will not suit everyone but it is also true that tastes and needs among growing numbers of buy-ers are changing. If you do a good job on your home remodel, you should not worry too much about its modest size. If you do things well, you should end up with a jewel of a home.


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comments, Mr. Cline said, but hopes to vote in the fall as long as the plan escapes the “political paralysis” that plagued similar Menlo Park projects in the past. Stanford University, which owns vacant lots along El Cami-no Real, is actively participating in the planning process, accord-ing to the mayor. The university particularly wants to see senior housing that would include retail and hotels along that corridor.

Meanwhile, the city remains busy helping Facebook settle in at 10 Network Circle. The social networking giant’s dreams for its new campus include open-ing a bike shop, small bookstore (perhaps Kepler’s), and a three-days-a-week farmers’ market, according to Dave Johnson, the city’s business development manager. The company also wants to add a “European feel” to the central corridor of the former Sun campus that would spill out into the nearby business

area, Mr. Johnson said. The first employees should move in dur-ing July, after Facebook finishes knocking down interior walls and other renovations to build-ings 10 and 11 on campus. A “charrette” at the campus on Saturday, March 5, will feature 77 design professionals and 25 student architects working with Belle Haven residents and other stakeholders to suggest plans for four regions around Facebook’s new home. This community planning process is scheduled to run from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

CHAMBER continued from page 5

twice in recent years, according to town records. The balance in this restricted fund gets a sig-nificant boost every year of about $250,000 from a 2 percent utility users tax. Councilwoman Ann Wengert, as she did in 2010, wondered aloud about the possible significance of

volunteers not actually signing up to put on Blues & Barbecue. Is the town’s spirit of volunteer-ism as alive and well as it had been? “Just being interested in attending doesn’t mean we’re going to be able to pull it off,” Ms. Wengert said. “Hopefully, Blues & Barbecue will be ready to go next year with a bigger staff of volunteers,” Ms. Lund said.

In another discussion on the question of adequate volunteers, the council noted that the Traffic Committee is down to two mem-bers. The committee is lacking a major issue to address, Mayor Ted Driscoll said. It could have one soon. Mr. Driscoll said he plans to agendize a significant discussion on bicycle safety, in April if the schedule permits.

FESTIVALcontinued from page 5

Get anything you want, including snow Record low temperatures combined with rain overnight to create snow throughout the Bay Area on Saturday, Feb. 26, at elevations as low as a few hundred feet, National Weather Service Chris Stumpf said. Sam Ostrander, an employee at Alice’s Restaurant on Skyline Boulevard in Woodside, said it looked “really snowy still” Saturday afternoon, with snow still covering the ground and

treetops and roofs of nearby homes and businesses. She said she saw many people building snowmen on the sides of the road Saturday morning. “They were everywhere,” she said. At the Thomas Fogarty Win-ery and Vineyards further south on Skyline, employees tried to hit passersby with snowballs, tasting room manager Rick Davis said.

“There was enough to make a few snowballs,” he said, add-ing that the snow was good for throwing since “it seemed fairly dry, not wet and slushy.” Besides being used as a pro-jectile, the snow served another purpose for the winery. “We had enough to put bottles of wine in to chill them down,” he said.

— Bay City News Service

This photo of snow at Alice’s Restaurant in Woodside was sent to the Almanac by iPod by Andrea Gemmet of Menlo Park on Saturday morning, Feb. 26. Go to AlmanacNews.com to see more snow photos.

Harriet Zelencik, patron of children’s hospital, dies at 75 in Woodside Harriet Zelencik, a 35-year Wood-side resident and an ardent advocate for and patron of the Lucile Packard Chil-dren’s Hospital, died in her home Mon-day evening, Feb. 14, with her husband of 53 years, Stephen Zelencik, holding her hand. She was 75. The cause of death was a rare and aggressive cancer, according to doc-tors at the Stanford Cancer Center. She “was gracious, generous, unassuming and selfless,” noted her niece, Pam Giannotti. “Harriet’s love, devotion to and support of the children and families we care for at Lucile Packard Chil-dren’s Hospital has been critical for our being able to offer the best care today, and to ensure even better children’s health in the future,” said Dr. Harvey Cohen, the hospital’s former chief of staff. In Woodside, Ms. Zelencik joined what is now named the Allied Arts Guild Auxiliary as well as the Woodside Hills Garden Club. The guild provides support for the children’s hospital through the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Several times, with great suc-cess, she chaired the guild’s prin-cipal fundraising event, Tally Ho. “She was perpetually, in her gentle and selfless way, a wonderful support to all of the auxiliary’s activities,” noted Barbra Wood, a former president of the organiza-tion. And, Ms. Zelencik got her hus-band involved with the guild. In 1993 the Zelenciks developed a special project fundraising ini-tiative designed to increase sup-port of the hospital from local companies. Victoria Applegate, of the foundation, said the fund to finance specific items of need at the hospital, introduced by the Zelenciks, “has been exquisitely successful over the years.” Those who knew Harriet Zelencik saw a woman of power, family members said. She was slightly taller than 5 feet and never weighed more than 105 pounds. Yet, as one friend of more than 40 years noted, “she had more power, determination and stamina than most twice her size.” “She never smoked, and always drank the best wine we could afford,” noted her husband. She loved dogs, especially big ones like the Pyrenees mountain dogs, Spook and Sparky, who graced their yard over the years. “She always wanted

dogs bigger than she was.” She was born in October 1935 in East Chicago, Indiana, the youngest of the 11 chil-dren of Jacob and Mary Sarnecki. She met her future husband when they both were working at

the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., she as

an accountant, and he in the mail room, a summer job while going to school. They were married in 1958 while he was still at Purdue University, from which he gradu-ated in 1960 with a degree in elec-trical engineering. In 1964 they moved to Granada Hills, where she and their daugh-ter, Mary, who was born while they were at Purdue, developed a love of horses and riding. When they moved to Woodside, easy access to horses was essential, Steve Zelencik said, although Harriet refused to house horses at her home. “I don’t mind going to the barn,” she once told her husband, “but we’re not going to have the barn on our property.” Their daughter, a real estate agent, died unexpectedly in 1994. Mr. Zelencik was a longtime executive in the semiconductor industry. Following five years at Fairchild Semiconductor, Mr. Zelencik in 1970 joined the fledg-ing Advanced Micro Devices company, where he stayed for 30-plus years, retiring as the senior vice president of sales and marketing. W.J. Sanders III, founding chief executive officer of AMD and a friend of the Zelenciks for more than 40 years, said: “People like Harriet allow people like Steve to go out into the world and do great things. She provided the rock-solid base camp so Steve could go out and climb mountains.” In addition to her husband, Ms. Zelencik is survived by her broth-ers, Walter and Louis Sarnecki of northern Indiana; her mother-in-law, Catherine Zelencik, who is 102; and sister-in-law, Mary Schmidt, both of Santa Barbara, and multiple nieces and nephews and other relatives. Gifts in her memory can be made to the Harriet and Mary Zelencik Fund for Pediatric Research at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and sent to Tara Quinn, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 400 Hamilton Ave, Ste 340, Palo Alto, CA 94301 or online at LPFCH.org. Services will be private.

Harriet Zelencik


Years of tension boiled over during the past few months as Menlo Park began negoti-

ating a fresh five-year contract with Team Sheeper to run the city’s $6.8 million, publicly funded Burgess aquatics center along with Belle Haven’s pool. While the council could approve the contract on Tuesday night, March 1, the dis-sension over pool access between SOLO, a nonprofit competitive youth swimming club, and Team Sheeper, a for-profit business, has yet to simmer down. As of Feb. 24, the proposed contract requires Team Sheeper to pay $3,000 a month to lease the Burgess pools; be responsible for all operating costs; and operate the Belle Haven pools for at least three months a year. City staff esti-mated that would save Menlo Park $540,000 to $640,000 a year, not counting the additional $36,000 in revenue from the rent payment. The latest terms raise SOLO’s total lane hours from 45 to 80 per week from September to May dur-ing the late afternoon by starting its practice a half-hour earlier — and maintain some practice space at Burgess instead of shipping SOLO off to Belle Haven during the summer. However, adding the time as half-hour blocks won’t help the club, according to SOLO board president Steve Zanolli, who said the SOLO swimmers practice in hour-and-a-half to two-hour blocks. “It’s like giving us brand-new tires on a car that doesn’t run,” he said. “While we are happy with the additional two lanes, the rest is just misdirection.” He also challenged the notion of labeling SOLO as a subsidized program, saying other programs at the pool, such as Aqua-Fit, also don’t pay the $16-per-lane-hour breakeven cost. Under the new contract, SOLO would pay $8 per lane hour for the first 45 hours, then $16 for all remaining hours. If Team Sheeper’s contract is renewed after five years, SOLO would pay at least $16 per lane hour for all its time in the pools.

No victory laps Of course, giving more time to one group means giving less to another. Lap swimmers will lose 35 lane hours during the late afternoon weekdays under the proposed contract, along with 14 hours on weekends. How many people that impacts, however, is hard to say. When asked for the average number of lap swimmers from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

during the week, Tim Sheeper, owner of Team Sheeper, declined to answer, saying, “Whatever number I say is wrong.” The Almanac conducted an informal survey of several lap swimmers, and found percep-tions split between “rarely need to share a lane during the late afternoon” to “four or more swimmers sharing a lane” during warm weather months. “It’s more challenging when it’s not just your programming, and your philosophy and vision,” Mr. Sheeper said. “We have a lot more people to listen to, like moms, adults, seniors, the city, and so on. We have never been able to satisfy SOLO within the limits of our vision.”

Pay to go away The acrimony between the clubs started almost as soon as Mr. Sheeper took over operat-ing the Burgess pools. Five years ago he announced that Burgess didn’t have enough room to give SOLO the number of lane hours promised under the terms of Team Sheeper’s lease with the city, an obligation inherited from the days the city of Menlo Park ran the pool. In a letter to former SOLO president Chris Hinshaw, Mr. Sheeper wrote: “Due to pool conflicts, the remaining hours due in the obliga-

tion will not be available for use.” Team Sheeper said it would instead pay SOLO for those hours — a total of 1,647, about 75 percent of the pool time promised to SOLO — at a rate of $2.74 per hour. It was a matter of economics, Mr. Sheeper said. Another com-munity group, PASA, was will-ing to pay more than SOLO for pool time. “It made much more sense,” he explained, but said at that point he became aware of the charged politics surrounding the situation and the city’s lack of support for the buy-out, and withdrew the offer.

$20,000 versus $3,000 rent Money continued to be an issue during current negotia-tions as well. When SOLO bid against Team Sheeper for the

new pool contract, the group offered to pay $20,000 rent to the city each month. The city’s decision to instead accept $3,000 from Team Sheeper raised ques-tions about how thoroughly the finances were analyzed, although rent was only one of 13 criteria used to evaluate each proposal. The city concluded that SOLO couldn’t afford the month-ly payments. But Mr. Zanolli of SOLO said the city never asked whether SOLO members could personally guarantee the $20,000 per month it offered to operate the pool. According to Community Services Director Cherise Bran-dell, the city did ask, and SOLO never provided the guarantees in writing. As with much of the contro-

versy, who’s right depends on where they’re standing: City staff did ask for guarantees — but in February, two months after announcing that Team Sheeper should be awarded the contract. “We said, ‘that ship has sailed,” Mr. Zanolli said. The club saw no point to identifying its back-ers when the contract had been awarded; had the city asked before making that decision, SOLO would’ve provided those guarantees in writing, according to Mr. Zanolli.

Back in the water The noise from the pool fight obscures the underlying percep-tion that most pool users are content with the way Mr. Sheep-er runs the Burgess facility. “What gets missed is what’s going well,” he said. A


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Thieves hid behind a fake chimney to cut a hole in the roof of a Brooklyn bank, then made off with the contents of 60 safe-deposit boxes. Heavy duty blowtorches were used to cut the hole in the roof. A neighboring business owner, whose surveillance camera was stolen a week earlier, commented, “I warned them (the bank), but they just didn’t take me seriously.”

–New York Post/Feb.24, 2009

Private swim teams fight over use of public pools

MENLO PARK

■ History of conflict affects current negotiations as City Council gets contract.

SOLO Aquatics members slip

on their fins for practice at

Burgess pools.Photo by Michelle Le

/The Almanac

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■ School board decides on less-restrictive rules.

By Miranda SimonSpecial to the Almanac

The head lice policy affecting children in the Menlo Park City School District will be

less restrictive, allowing most kids to stay in school if the insect or its eggs are found in their hair, after the school board endorsed updat-ing the policy on Feb. 10. The board instructed district staff to revise a 2003 policy that required students to be sent home immediately if lice or their eggs — known as nits — are found. Under that policy, the student was allowed to return to school only after a parent certi-fied that he or she had begun anti-lice treatment. The rules are being updated to allow most children to stay in school until the school day is over when lice are detected. Chil-dren who have nits in their hair

will not have to be excluded at all. According to a draft of the new policy presented by Superinten-dent Ken Ranella at the meeting, “(medical) data does not support school exclusion for nits.” Changes in the rules were spurred by parents’ complaints that keeping kids who have lice or nits home caused them to miss instruction unnecessarily. Parents pointed out that the district’s guidelines were incon-sistent with current national and state guidelines, said board member Mark Box. Mr. Box said several par-ents had complained about the policy. “It’s hard to know how many parents had concerns. I got e-mails from several. It’s an issue that a fair number of par-ents are interested in,” he said. “It’s an emotion-laden issue for some parents. With lice, there’s a connotation (that it means) lack

of cleanliness.” After reviewing guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the California Department of Health Services and California School Nurses Association, the district found that “head lice infestations do not pose a health hazard. ... The management of (head lice) should not disrupt the educa-tional process,” according to the draft policy. Despite agreement across the

board that the old policy should be revised, trustees discussed the minutiae involved in imple-menting the new one. Among the main issues dis-cussed was whether children with active head lice should be sent home as soon as lice are detected, or after the school day ends, as the California Depart-ment of Human Health advises. Some staff members voiced concern that if children with head lice aren’t excluded right away, the lice would propagate throughout the school. Others were concerned that one child’s

excessive head scratching may distract other children in the classroom. District nurse Pat Chris-tie suggested each student be assessed individually to deter-mine whether they should leave school immediately when head lice are detected. The board decided that the school should notify parents as soon as lice are detected, but that the child should be able to stay in school until the end of the day, unless Ms. Christie con-siders it necessary to send the child home immediately. A


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Counterfeit bills in Menlo Park There were two attempts to pass counterfeit $100 bills in Menlo Park last week: on Thurs-day, Feb 24, at the Safeway supermarket in Sharon Heights Shopping Center and the next day, Feb. 25, at Peet’s Coffee & Tea at 515 El Camino Real, near the Safeway market there. Police have descriptions of the suspects that match in some respects, according to informa-tion provided by Nicole Acker, spokeswoman for the Menlo

Park Police Department. Both suspects were white men wearing brown jackets and dark hats. One of the descriptions puts the man between 25 and 33 years old and the other describes him as tall, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans, and with an unknown logo on the side of his baseball cap. At least one of the $100 bills, and probably both, is in police custody as evidence, Ms. Acker said.

SCHOOLS

ATHERTON

Fraud reports:

■ Identity theft, first block of Winsh-ester Drive, Feb. 19.■ Unauthorized use of victim’s identity to open bank account, first block of Oakwood Boulevard, Feb. 23.Residential burglary report: Window smashed on locked vehicle, Selby Lane, Feb. 21.Grand theft report: Theft of school sign, 100 block of Valparaiso Ave., Feb. 24.

MENLO PARK

Fraud reports:

■ Loss of $2,067 in identity theft, 300 block of Durham St., Feb. 22.■ Loss of $995 in unauthorized use of credit card, 300 block of Marmona Drive, Feb. 19.■ Loss of $339 in unauthorized use of credit card, 1000 block of Windermere Ave., Feb. 23.

■ Loss of $70 in unauthorized use of credit card, 500 block of Willow Road, Feb. 22.

Stolen vehicle report: Silver 2007 Audi A4, 300 block of Burton Way, Feb. 20.

Child Protective Services report: 100 block of Willow Road, Feb. 24.

Spousal abuse report: 1000 block of El Camino Real, Feb. 21.

PORTOLA VALLEY

Theft report: Loss of smart phone and $500 in cash from pants pocket in theft associated with unlocked locker at fit-ness club, 4000 block of Alpine Road, Feb. 22.

WEST MENLO PARK

Theft report: Loss of $423 in unau-thorized use of victim’s name and Social Security number to open new satellite TV account, 1000 block of Cloud Ave., Feb. 22.

POLICE CALLS

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Sign on the dotted line You know you’re famous when an autograph collector in Poland wants your signature. Andrzej Migdalek wrote the Menlo Park City Council e-mail list to ask for the honor of adding Mayor Rich Cline’s autograph to a collection of more than 7,000 signatures. Council watchers drew tongue-in-cheek parallels between Mr. Cline’s popularity in Poland and David Hasselhoff’s in Germany. No word yet on whether the mayor will record an album of Polish pop hits.

Best newspaper name ever? The Paper has joined the ranks of Peninsula newspa-pers, following the Weekly WAMP’s demise. While not as catchy as its predecessor, “The Paper” does have the built-in marketing appeal of randomly occurring in conversation: “Where did you hear that?” “Oh, it was in the paper.” A note in the inaugural Feb. 18 issue from publisher Rob Ashe promised the weekly pub-lication would be “a different newspaper. In a positive way. Not a fluffy positive way, but a meaningful, real way.” Mr. Ashe further assured read-ers that the paper won’t report yesterday’s news, but rather, only timeless and relevant stories.

Oil of the peanut Three five-gallon translucent

plastic bottles of used peanut oil found on Friday, Feb. 18, near the corner of Bolivar Lane and Westridge Drive in Portola Valley caused a stir after a resi-dent called 911. It was unclear as to what the brown liquid was, so firefight-ers from the Woodside Fire Protection District, who were first on the scene, alerted the county’s hazardous materials team of 20 to 25 people, Bat-talion Chief Jerry Nave told the Almanac. The team chemist identified the substance, and the town offered to dispose of the oil, Mr. Nave said. As for calling in HazMat: “You have to act like it’s the worst thing you’ve seen in your whole life because you don’t know what it is,” he said. Nothing spilled, Mr. Nave added.

Teens mistaken for burglars It’s hard to be a pack of teen-agers these days. A neighbor watched six teens jump a fence into the backyard of a house on Carlton Avenue, and called police. Officers in the area rounded up five of the kids, who reportedly said they were trying to visit fam-ily, but they weren’t home. According to the police, the house was locked up tight, and indeed, no one was home.

Pools, labor, droughton council agenda Back from a two-week hiatus, the Menlo Park City Coun-cil resumes pondering existen-tial matters such as swimming pools, how public labor negotia-tions should be conducted, and drought planning, at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 1. If the council members stick to the agenda, the end of the meeting will see a new con-tract awarded to Team Sheeper to operate the Burgess and Belle Haven pools, after months of acrimonious negotiations between the city, Team Sheeper, and SOLO, a nonprofit competi-tive youth swim team over pool access. For once, bargaining with unions may seem like a refreshing change of pace. The council meeting starts at 7 p.m. at the Civic Center at 701 Laurel St.

Commissioner alsoworking as publicist As reported in local newspa-

pers, Menlo Park transportation commissioner Katherine Strehl signed on to handle publicity for the California High-Speed Rail Authority earlier this year. The new job means she’ll have to recuse herself from any discussions and votes on high-speed rail that come before the Transportation Commission, which Ms. Strehl has served on since April 2010. “Frankly I don’t think many high-speed rail issues will come to the commission,” she said. “The council has a subcommit-tee that deals with high-speed rail. I don’t speak for the rail authority and it’s not my job to try to influence the council.” Previously handling external affairs for BART, Ms. Strehl described her new role as coor-dinating statewide education and outreach by the rail author-ity to communities along the proposed rail route. Meanwhile, in September Menlo Park joined with Palo Alto and Atherton in filing a lawsuit to challenge certification of the environmental impact report for HSR. Attorney Stuart Flashman, who represents the cities, said this lawsuit examines different aspects of the project from a lawsuit filed in 2008, such as widening its right-of-way and eliminating tunnels as an option for the Peninsula segment. The case is currently meandering its way through the courts.

Helen Evans DallmarSupporter of St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room A memorial service will be held Friday, March 4, for Helen Evans Dallmar of Menlo Park, who died Feb. 23. The celebration of her life will start at 2 p.m. at the Vi in Palo Alto (formerly Hyatt Classic Residences). She was the wife of Howard Dallmar, former Stanford Uni-versity basketball coach. Born in 1927 in Norristown, Pennsylvania, she spent most of her early years growing up in Trooper, Pennsylvania. She

graduated from Syracuse Uni-versity with a degree in business administration. She married Howard Dallmar in 1950, and after a short stay at the University of Pennsylva-nia, they moved to Menlo Park in 1954 to begin what was to become a lifelong involvement in the local community. She spent her time raising her family, volunteering for causes important to her, traveling, and enjoying her many close friends, say family members. She dedicated herself to sup-porting the St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room near Menlo Park and its mission to feed and help those in need, they said. She is survived by three chil-dren, Elsa Dallmar Arata of Atherton, Suzanne Dallmar Lindsey of San Carlos, and How-ard Evans Dallmar of Menlo Park; seven grandchildren; and her sister, Maryanne McGovern of Key Largo, Florida. She asked that any donations be shared with St. Anthony’s Padua Dining Room and/or Pathways Hospice of Sunnyvale.

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F O R T H E R E C O R D

P A I D O B I T U A R Y

Gordon Thomas Martin Case, Jr. (Butch to his family and friends) 48 years young, passed quietly into the kingdom of God on February 16, 2011 after a long illness. He leaves behind his wife Claudia, of twenty two years, son Daniel Bevan, a freshman at the University of Idaho, daughter Nicole Sofia, a senior at Mercy High School, Burlingame, his brother David and his family of Urayasu-shi, Japan, Claudia’s family in El Salvador and his parents, Gordon and Jeanne Case of Los Gatos.

Gordon was born in New Rochelle, New York and lived with his family in Illinois, Kentucky and Ohio before moving to Saratoga, California in 1977. He was a graduate of Lynbrook high school and the college of Notre Dame, Belmont, CA where he received his B.S. degree in Biotechnology.

Gordon had a successful career in the insurance and financial planning business having held management positions with Manufacturer’s Life, John Hancock and most recently Lincoln Financial Services.

A funeral mass will be held at the Church of the Nativity, 216 Oak Grove Avenue, Menlo Park, on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 11:00 am. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Flowers may be sent to Spangler Mortuaries, 799 Castro Street, Mountain View, CA 94041 or donations can be made in his name to EMQ/FamiliesFirst, 251 Llewellyn Ave., Campbell, CA, 95008 or Charwick Study Center, 448 El Camino Real, Atherton, CA 94027.

Gordon Thomas Martin Case, Jr.November 5, 1962 – February 16, 2011

Standing up against bullyingWalter P. CianfichiOwned Ace Hardware in West Menlo Park Walter “Walt” P. Cianfichi, 79, who lived in Portola Valley for 34 years, died Feb. 15 following two strokes. He was 79. Bortn in Mohrland, Utah, he spent his childhood in Utah, Danville, and Walnut Creek, California. After graduating from the Col-lege of Pharmacy at the University of California at San Francisco, he served two years as an officer in the U.S. Army. While owning and managing Medical Clinic Pharmacy in the Palo Alto Medical Clinic, he served as president of the Santa Clara County Pharmaceutical Association. Later he owned and managed Ace Hardware on the Alameda de las Pulgas in West Menlo Park. In addition, he was a real estate agent and business broker. His hobbies included golf, ski-ing, boating, fishing, hunting, and wine-making. He and his wife Donna lived for eight years in Palo Alto, then 34 ears in Portola Valley. In 1999 they moved to Denver, Colorado, to be near one of their sons and his family. In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons Michael of New-bury Park, California, and Brian of Lakewood, Colorado; and two grandsons. Another son, Ken, died in 1982. The family prefers donations to St. Jude Research Hospital Tribute Program, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, TN 38148. The website for the hospital is stjude.org.

Lamar ‘Hedy’ LayFlight engineer with Pan American Airways A memorial service was held at Woodside Village Church on Feb. 25 for Lamar “Hedy” Lay, a longtime resident of Palo Alto and Woodside, who died Feb. 11 in Portola Valley. He was 92. Born and raised in St. Louis, he observed Charles Lindbergh making flights in “The Spirit of St. Louis,” family members said. He graduated from Purdue University and came to Cali-fornia in 1940. While working for Pan American Airways as a flight engineer, he met his future wife Ruth, a stewardess. His career with Pan Am started with the days of the China Clipper taking off from San Francisco Bay. He flew numerous aircraft, spanning the development of propeller planes through the jet age and on to the 747, until he retired in 1982. Despite a demanding travel schedule, he was a loving and devoted family man, his family says. His interests included vin-tage cars, airplanes, and jazz. Survivors include daughter Linda Long of Truckee, son Brent Lay of San Jose, and three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

OBITUARIES BIRTHS

Two Nova Scotia boys got their whole school wearing pink to defend a freshman boy bullied for wearing a pink shirt in 2007 and sparked a move-ment across North America. Encinal Elementary School in Atherton has decided not to let it die out. On Feb. 16, Encinal students donned rose as part of the school’s first “pink day” to support the prevention of bul-lying.

Encinal’s second- to fifth-grade students were inspired to organize a “pink day” when guest speaker Spencer West, an expert on bullying, told them the story of the Nova Scotia boys. Now the students hope to spread the message throughout the school. Encinal is part of the Menlo Park City School District and is located on 195 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.

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Harriet Zelencik, a 35-year Woodside resident and an ardent advocate for and patron of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, died in her home Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) with her husband of 53 years holding her hand. She was 75.

The cause of death was a rare and aggressive cancer, according to doctors at the Stanford Cancer Center.

Mrs. Zelencik was the wife of Stephen Zelencik, a longtime executive in the semicon-ductor industry. Following five years at Fairch-ild Semiconductor, Zelencik in 1970 joined the fledging Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where he stayed for 30-plus years, retiring as the senior vice president of sales and marketing.

W.J. Sanders III, founding chief executive of-ficer of AMD and a friend of the Zelenciks for more than 40 years, said “People like Harriet al-low people like Steve to go out into the world and do great things. She provided the rock-sol-id base camp so Steve could go out and climb mountains. She was a great lady.”

Aunt Harriet “was gracious, generous, unas-suming and selfless,” noted Ms. Pam Giannotti. “I don’t want to die, but more than anything I don’t want to leave Stephen,” Mrs. Zelencik told her niece shortly before her death.

“Harriet’s love, devotion to and support of the children and families we care for at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital,” said Dr. Harvey Cohen, the hospital’s former chief of staff, “has been critical for our being able to offer the best care today, and to ensure even better children’s health in the future.”

Those who knew Harriet Zelencik saw a woman of power. She was slightly taller than 5 feet and never weighed more than 105 pounds. Yet, as one friend of more than 40 years noted, “she had more power, determination and stam-ina than most twice her size.”

“She never smoked, and always drank the best wine we could afford,” remembered her husband. She loved dogs, especially big ones like the Pyrenees mountain dogs, Spook and Sparky, who graced their yard over the years. “She always wanted dogs bigger than she was.”

Mrs. Zelencik was born in October 1935 in East Chicago, Ind., the youngest of the 11 chil-dren of Jacob and Mary Sarnecki. Her father, as did Stephen’s father, worked in a steel foundry in East Chicago. Her mother was a homemaker.

Harriet met Steve while they both were work-ing at the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co., Har-riet as an accountant, Steve in the mail room, a summer job while going to school. They were

married in 1958 while Steve was still at Purdue University, from which he gradu-ated two years later with a de-gree in electrical engineering.

In 1964 they moved to Gran-ada Hills, Ca-lif., where Har-riet and their daughter, Mary, who was born while they were at Purdue, developed a love of horses and rid-ing. When they moved to Woodside easy access to horses was essential, Steve Zelencik said, al-though Harriet refused to house horses at her home. “I don’t mind going to the barn,” she once told her husband, “but we’re not going to have the barn on our property.” Their daughter, a real estate agent, died unexpectedly in 1994.

In Woodside, Harriet joined what is now named the Allied Arts Guild Auxiliary as well as the Woodside Hills Garden Club. The guild pro-vides support for the children’s hospital through the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. Harriet several times, with great success, chaired the guild’s principal fundraising event, Tally Ho. “She was perpetually, in her gentle and selfless way, a wonderful support to all of the auxiliary’s activities,” noted Ms. Barbra Wood, a former president of the organization.

And, Harriet got Steve involved with the guild. In 1993 the Zelenciks developed a special proj-ect fundraising initiative designed to increase support of the hospital from local companies. Ms. Victoria Applegate, of the foundation, said the fund to finance specific items of need at the hospital introduced by the Zelenciks “has been exquisitely successful over the years.”

In addition to Stephen, Harriet is survived by her brothers, Walter and Louis Sarnecki of northern Indiana; her mother-in-law, Catherine Zelencik, who is 102, and sister-in-law, Mary Schmidt, both of Santa Barbara, and multiple nieces and nephews and other relatives.

Gifts in Harriet’s memory can be made to the Harriet and Mary Zelencik Fund for Pediatric Re-search at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and sent to Tara Quinn, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, 400 Hamilton Ave, Ste 340, Palo Alto, CA 94301 or online at LPFCH.org

Services were private.

Harriet Zelencik

Atherton■ Carolyn and Ben Carpenter, a daughter, Nov. 9, Sequoia Hospital.

Emerald Hills■ Sherilyn and Vincent Badillo, a son, Feb. 12, Sequoia Hospital.

Menlo Park■ Amber and Ryan Warner, a son, Nov. 7, Sequoia Hospital.■ Kimberly Todd and Jason Field, a daughter, Nov. 13, Sequoia Hospital.■ Diane and David Appel, a daughter, Nov. 15, Sequoia Hospital.■ Anne Sophie Beraud and Jean Marc Olivot, a daughter, Jan. 27, Sequoia Hospital.


Cargill development will boost, not reduce, trafficEditor: Cargill’s spinmeisters are at it again. Recent advertise-ments claim developing the salt ponds will reduce traffic and air pollution because fewer workers will need to commute into Redwood City. More people residing in Red-wood City does not equate to less traffic. As in any commu-nity, some will work close by, others will not. Some will use public transportation, most will drive. A Redwood City study indi-cated the salt ponds commu-nity could generate as many as 87,000 new daily car trips, up to 8,000 in peak commute hours. (Fehr & Peers, January 2010). The former chair of the San

Mateo County Transportation Authority warns this develop-ment will result in a “traf-fic nightmare” at rush hour

(Almanac, April 2010). We already have traffic over-load on the Peninsula. Adding 30,000 more residents east of

the Bayshore Freeway will only worsen it.

Ramona AmbrozicRedwood City

As much of the country watches the pitched battles over the rights of public employee unions in Wisconsin and other Midwest states, the first round of important meetings about

how Menlo Park conducts negotiations with its two public sector unions will take place at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. The key question is how much of the labor talks — traditionally held mostly behind closed doors — should be out in the open. Sup-porters of Measure L, the initiative passed by voters in November that reduces key pension benefits for incoming, non-police employees, say

all discussions should be made public, while city administration officials are hesitant, saying that doing so would put the city at a disadvantage.

A staff report prepared for the meeting shows that until last year, when the city imposed its final offer on the Service Employees International Union, there had been virtually no public testimony at meetings when final contracts were adopted by the council. Sixteen people testified last May on the SEIU contract. But from 2009 back until 2004, only seven people had anything to say when 12 contracts were approved. Clearly, interest in public employee contracts is a new phe-nomenon, almost certainly brought on by the economic down-turn, which has resulted in much lower revenue for cities and other government agencies. One explanation for what happened in prior years is that perhaps the public was far too trusting of the city staff and City Council. In many cases, pay rates in surrounding cities were used as a basis for ramping up wages and benefits by awarding similar contracts in Menlo Park. The result was a circuit of ever-higher wages as each city attempted to land in the midrange of other cities. For that and other reasons, some of the city’s wages and retirement benefits, particularly in public safety, have inexorably climbed higher and higher, causing outrage among residents who finally are paying attention. Nevertheless, we are not sure that making every communication

between city negotiators and the unions will actually serve the public interest. The staff report mentions what is known by anyone who has bargained for anything — “... initial proposals usually contain items that are largely irrelevant to the final product and may lead to public concern that some will be agreed to that staff has no intention of rec-ommending or that the council would accept.” So, in some cases, city negotiators should be given cover behind closed doors, but the council should pledge to make every movement in the negotiations public, and push union representatives to do the same. And we can’t see any reason why union representatives need to meet behind closed doors with council members before negotiations even begin. The staff recommends that the public get to see the final package for at least 10 days before a council vote. Negotiating teams for all the city’s unions should understand that the council’s focus this year will be to win acceptance of the Measure L provisions to roll back non-police retirement benefits for the SEIU and AFSCME, which repre-sents middle managers. This year’s line-up of negotiations covers virtually all bargain-ing units: ■ May to June: Police Officers Association and Police Ser-geants Association. ■ August to October: SEIU and AFSCME, incorporating Measure L parameters, and negotiations with SEIU temporary employees unit. In the meantime, until contracts are signed with the SEIU, council members Kirsten Keith and Peter Ohtaki want to examine whether the city can outsource current job openings to contract employees, to avoid bringing in more employees at the current benefit level. But City Manager Glen Rojas said hiring contractors may be dif-ficult due to IRS rules governing public employees. The issue came up after the city advertised for a $7,000 a month arborist at the current benefit level. But Mr. Rojas said the city is short one supervisor for tree crews, a situation that is not sustainable. All this points to a demanding year for the city’s labor negotiators, for despite the zeal exhibited by local voters in adopting Measure L, it could be well into next year before its provisions can be implemented.

Ideas, thoughts and opinions about local issues from people in our community. Edited by Tom Gibboney.

EDITORIALThe opinion of The Almanac

LETTERSOur readers write

Portola Valley Archives

Our Regional HeritageFrom 1909 until 1950, these two schoolhouses stood by the side of Portola Road. The one on the left, from 1894, became the “middle school” of the era, serving fourth through eighth graders. The 1909 school was known as the “primary school.” The Portola Valley Archives holds many images of the life and activities that took place on this site in the early years of the 20th century.

Can Menlo Park bargain in public?

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WHAT’S YOUR VIEW?


V I E W P O I N T

Roadside spraying? Consider roadside goats

By Debbie Lehmann

If any of our local public works departments are looking for an environment-friendly, energy-

efficient, and noise-free method of weed control, they should try consulting Google. Not the search engine — the company. Since 2009, Google has been maintaining a field at its headquarters in Mountain View with a herd of about 200 goats. Once a year, a company called California Grazing brings the goats and a border collie to the Google site to mow the lawn, munch on noxious weeds and toxic plants, and fertilize as they graze. According to the Official Google Blog, the goats cost Google about as much as using lawnmowers. Meanwhile, San Mateo County, the city of Menlo Park, and Cal-trans have all been controlling weeds with herbicides. (Although, the city of Menlo Park does use goats in Sharon Hills Park.) A few years ago, I might have brushed aside last week’s guest opinion about weed-control prac-tices in Menlo Park, titled: “No-spray zone sprayed with pesticide.” But after a recent experience with a common herbicide known as Milestone — which is being used in La Honda — I have come to appreciate some of the deeper problems with these chemicals. Last summer, I worked on an organic vegetable farm in south-western Colorado. In June, my fellow farmers and I began to notice curling, cupping leaves on many of our crops. Convinced that these were signs of a virus, we pulled up all of the affected plants. The tomatoes, potatoes, fava beans, peppers and peas — they all went. We lost almost all of our summer crops. As it turned out, the symptoms were not due to a virus, but to herbicide drift. A neighboring

ranch had been using Milestone to control i n v a s i v e broad-leaf weeds like thistle. The ma nagers of the ranch told us they had left a

900-foot buffer zone between the spray area and the farm site. Still, soil tests confirmed that the chemical had reached our plants. As I researched Milestone dur-ing the summer, I was shocked to find out how persistent this chemical is and how many prob-lems it has caused for other farm-ers and gardeners. It turns out that Aminopyralid remains active in the manure of animals that graze sprayed pastures, and farmers and gardeners across the United States have used contaminated manure as fertilizer, leaving their soil unfit for planting for a year or more. I do not mean to single out Milestone as a particularly harm-ful herbicide. But I do ask us all to consider what can happen when we use chemicals — Milestone or any other — that persist far beyond the area where they are applied. All parts of our environ-ment are connected, and what we put in one place does not neces-sarily stay there. In the opinion article, Patty Mayall noted that spraying in La Honda occurs next to open drainage ditches that lead to creeks. This is par-ticularly troubling. In the progressive Bay Area, there is no reason we should be spraying herbicides on our public lands. Especially when a herd of goats could do the task.

Debbie Lehmann lives in Portola Valley.

GUEST OPINION

The City Council of the City of Menlo Park hereby gives public notice of its intent to increase the existing solid waste / recycling base rates for customers within the City of Menlo Park for the collection of solid waste and recyclable materials. Also, the Council will consider new fees for supplemental services not covered in the base rates. The base rate increase and new fees, if approved, may be retroactively effective on January 1, 2011. The City Council plans to consider these rate increases and new fees at a public hearing on March 15, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. in the City of Menlo Park Council Chambers Building at 701 Laurel Street - Civic Center.

What are the proposed new rates: Several rate schedules will be considered at the public hearing. However, the maximum increase in monthly rates the Council will consider for both residential and commercial service is 15%.

Residential - The chart below shows by service location (curbside and backyard) the current monthly per gallon rates and the maximum monthly per gallon rates to be considered for residential customers.

Commercial and Multi-family Residential – Solid waste and recycling services available for commercial and Multi-family Residential customers include: commercial cans and bins, compactors, and the organics program. The base rates for these services are based not only on the type of service but also the frequency the collection service is provided. Consequently, there are over 600 solid waste and recycling services and rates available. A detailed listing of the current monthly rates for these services and the maximum proposed monthly rates can be obtained from the Finance Department located on the second floor at City Hall, 701 Laurel Street, on-line at the City’s website at the following link http://www.menlopark.org/departments/fin/2011MaxRates.pdf, or by calling 650-330-6644.

What are the proposed new services and fees: The City Council will also consider establishing fees for supplemental services provided by Recology San Mateo County for services that are not covered in the base rates. The use of these supplemental services is discretionary and the resulting fee is the responsibility of the service recipient.

Residential - The supplemental services to be offered and the recommended fees are listed below.

Return Trip Cost $15 (per collection event) for collection service provided after the regularly scheduled collection

Additional Targeted Recyclable Materials or Organic Materials Cart Rental or Purchase – Rental $3 per month, Purchase 64 gallon cart $63, Purchase 96 gallon cart $69

Fee to Collect Contaminated Targeted Recyclable Materials or Organic Materials Container – 25% of the base monthly rate for the size of the container collected once per week plus $15

Key Service - $9.50 per month, Lock Purchase $17 (one-time per account)

Overage Fee - 100% of the base monthly rate per collection event and Overage Tag (bag) fee 50% of the base monthly rate or a minimum of $8 (whichever is greater) – per tag (bag)

Container Cleaning - $50 per Cart, $85 per Bin or Drop Box

Dirty Cart Replacement - $65 for 20 gallon or 32 gallon cart, $75 for 64 gallon cart, $85 for 96 gallon cart

On-Call Bulky Item Collection - $81.55 for each collection after the first two per year

Commercial and Multi-family Residential - The services to be offered and the recommended fees are listed below.

Distance Charges for containers located between 51 to 100 feet from access point for contractor’s collection vehicle - 10% of the monthly base rate

Distance Charges for containers located between 101 feet or more from access point for contractor’s collection vehicle - 25% of the monthly base rate

Extra Pick-up fee - 25% of the base rate for the size of container collected once per week – per collection event

Additional Targeted Recyclable Materials or Organic Materials Cart Rental or Purchase – Rental $3 per month, Purchase 64 gallon cart $63, Purchase 96 gallon cart $69

Fee to Collect Contaminated Targeted Recyclable Materials or Organic Materials Container – 25% of the base monthly rate for the size of the container collected once per week plus $15

Key Service - $9.50 per month, Lock Purchase $17 (one-time per account)

Overage Fee - 100% of the base monthly rate per collection event and Overage Tag (bag) fee 50% of the base monthly rate or a minimum of $8 (whichever is greater) – per tag (bag)

Container Cleaning - $50 per Cart, $85 per Bin or Drop Box

Dirty Cart Replacement - $65 for 20 gallon or 32 gallon cart, $75 for 64 gallon cart, $85 for 96 gallon cart

Necessity for new rates and new fees: As a result of a new Franchise Agreement between the City of Menlo Park and Recology San Mateo County (Recology) and the expiring contract with Allied Waste, rates must be set to adequately meet the revenue requirements of Recology to provide the service going forward and also provide funds sufficient to payoff the City’s debt to Allied Waste for the cost of services provided in prior years in excess of the revenue collected. Also, the new Franchise Agreement with Recology which began January 1, 2011 requires fees for supplemental services available (described above) but not included in the base monthly rates.

The base monthly rates do include the following enhancements to solid waste services:

(except black plastic), instead of separating each material into individual crates

If you would like additional information on the proposed rates, please visit the Finance Department located on the second floor at City Hall, 701 Laurel Street or call 650-330-6644.

If you wish to file a written protest, please send a letter addressed to Solid Waste Rates, City Clerk, City of Menlo Park, 701 Laurel Street, Menlo Park, CA 94025. Your letter must identify the real property you own by street address and the assessor’s parcel number. Your letter must be legibly signed by any one of the current property owners. Your name should be set forth as it appears on your tax bill. The City of Menlo Park must receive your letter at City Hall by 5:00 p.m. on March 15, 2011, or it must be presented at the City Council meeting on March 15, 2011, prior to the close of the public hearing on the matter.

Any person interested, including all solid waste / recycling collection customers of the City of Menlo Park, may appear at the public hearing and be heard on any matter related to the proposed increase in rates.

Dated: February 23, 2011 /s/ MARGARET S. ROBERTS, MMC City Clerk

NOTICE OF INTENT TO INCREASE SOLID WASTE / RECYCLING RATES AND ESTABLISH FEES

FOR SUPPLEMENTAL SERVICESIN THE CITY OF MENLO PARK

CURBSIDE SERVICE BACKYARD SERVICE

20 32 64 96 20 32 64 96

MAXIMUM RATE

MA, ALPINE LITTLE LEAGUESREGISTERING 13-14 YEARS-OLD PLAYERS

Sunday, March 6 & 13 Burgess Park,

Menlo Park2 p.m. practice follows until 4

e-mail [email protected] call 851-8017 for details

the almanac 03.02.2011 - section 1

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