Painting the Old West - | Palo Alto Online |

■ Upfront Hidden Villa to suspend 12-day summer camps Page 3■ Sports Amber Liu is all about her tennis family Page 31■ Home & Real Estate A showcase for ideas Inside

Vol. XXVII, Number 66 • Friday, May 19, 2006 ■ 50¢

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Painting the Old

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• Friday, May 19, 2006 • Palo Alto Weekly

Living most of her life with a rare kidney cancer, Madison hasvery real opinions about her health care. And good for her. At Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, our commitment tofamily-centered care creates an environment where patients,families and hospital staff work in partnership to makedecisions that reflect the unique needs of every child.Listening to kids is what we do.

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She May Be Small But She Plays a Big Role in Her Health Care.

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Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, May 19, 2006 • Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, May 19, 2006 • Page 3

UpfrontLocal news, information and analysis

E ast Palo Alto residents and officials received a blow this week when a property target-

ed for a long-awaited grocery store was sold to a rival development company.

Barry Swenson Builder, a Bay Area development firm, closed a

deal Tuesday to purchase the 6-acre site at University Avenue and Bay Road that had been slated for a 50,000-square-foot Rancho San Miguel supermarket. The property is across from City Hall.

“We were close to raising the money to acquire the site, but Bar-

ry Swenson was faster,” the city’s Economic Redevelopment Director Carlos Martinez said.

In recent months, the city and a different property developer, Blake Hunt Ventures, were trying to raise $8 million to buy the property. Un-der consideration were various sce-narios that involved the city kick-ing in up to $5 million toward the purchase.

Two months ago, Blake Hunt

Ventures — which had been hand-picked by the city to work on the project — unveiled plans at a com-munity meeting to construct 23,500 square feet of retail shops and 120 housing units along with the grocery store, which would have been one of the largest in the area.

The proposal answered the prayers of residents who have trav-eled to Palo Alto, Mountain View and Menlo Park to do their grocery

shopping ever since Safeway closed its East Palo Alto store in 1974.

The proposal also represented three years of work by city staff and Blake Hunt Ventures to design a project that would suit the City Council and the community.

Blake Hunt had lined up the gro-cery store, an architect and a hous-ing developer, but there was one problem: The company didn’t own

Norbert von der G

roeben

(continued on page 8)

City, developer lose bid to purchase propertyby Lauren McSherry

A group of disgruntled parents has launched a petition asking the Palo Alto school district

to solve next fall’s kindergarten enrollment problem at Duveneck Elementary School.

The petition is being circulated by the Residents of North Palo Alto in support of families whose children

might not attend their neighbor-hood school this fall because of an unexpected influx of kindergartners in that part of town. The group is planning to submit the petition to the school district Monday.

About 25 children who live within the Duveneck attendance boundar-ies are slated to attend a school out-

side of their neighborhood this fall. Parents and community members are asking district officials to add a fifth kindergarten class to the Al-ester Avenue campus for the 2006-’07 school year or provide a bus for the children overflowed to another school.

“People are disappointed that the neighborhood schools might not be supporting the neighborhood kids,” said Michelle Baldonado, whose kindergartner might be overflowed. “We live literally a stone’s throw from the school. We feel really pas-sionate about our neighborhood school.”

The Palo Alto district has been overflowing children out of their neighborhoods for years. This time,

however, parents are saying 20 more children should call for an-other classroom under the district’s small-class size program. They also tout safety, a sense of community and the environment.

Many of the parents on the current overflow list say they moved near Duveneck to send their children to school there. They have been walk-ing their toddlers to the playground for a number of years and establish-ing relationships with the other chil-dren and their parents.

One resident, who signed the peti-tion and is in her 70’s, attended Du-veneck and sent three children there. She said some of her best friends are women she played bridge with from

Duveneck parents step up fight for enrollment space

District says there’s little chance of a fifth, ‘bubble’ classby Alexandria Rocha

(continued on page 8) (continued on page 8)

Drive my carMatthew Coulson, 3, of Dixon, Calif., pulls Paris Chang, 2, of Hawaii during a reunion of heart-transplant patients at Stanford Hospital Wednesday afternoon. Chang received a new heart in January of 2005.

COMMUNITY

SCHOOLS

Future of East Palo Alto supermarket uncertain

Layoffs at Hidden Villa, programs in

fluxExecutive director cites

fundraising woesby Bill D’Agostino

H idden Villa, a bucolic 1,600-acre farm and wilderness preserve in Los Altos Hills,

will temporarily cancel its popular 12-day summer camps in 2007 and eliminate eight related positions.

The nonprofit’s leaders say the changes will help it regain its finan-cial footing and focus on new pro-grams. With the camps suspended, the farm will be able to reopen to the public next summer, after more than a decade of being closed dur-ing the warmer months due to safety concerns stemming from the 12-day camps.

Executive Director Beth Ross said Hidden Villa, which teaches young and old about environment stewardship, has been receiving fewer donations.

“Like many nonprofits we have been impacted by a general decline in fundraising experienced after Katrina, Rita and the tsunami di-sasters,” Ross wrote in an e-mail to the Weekly.

“In response to a leveling off of fundraising, Hidden Villa is making changes in our organization while continuing to maintain the integrity of our programs.”

According to publicly available tax forms, fundraising had already begun to decline at Hidden Villa be-fore last year’s natural disasters.

In 2003-’04, the nonprofit ran a $440,000 budget surplus under Ex-ecutive Director Judith Steiner. Sur-pluses were also created in previous years.

After contributions peaked in 2003-’04 at $2.1 million, they dropped to $1.6 million in 2004-’05 under Ross’ leadership. That year,

ReaderWireReader comments via e-mail, voice mail and U.S. mail

Time to communicateMany of us have talked about the

impact of high-performance network-ing on our environment, but I now have some first-hand experience.

For a few years we have had Fiber to the Home (FTTH) in the Palo Alto experimental program. During that time I hosted Web seminars and meetings in which I shared my com-puter desktop with designers, patent attorneys and students, literally all over the world.

Now, without FTTH, I have received reports of a noticeable reduction in the quality of my transmissions and I am dismayed that the city has cho-sen to close down our program while others have recognized the value of such telecommuting.

My friends and business associ-ates outside this area cannot imagine how Palo Alto could have chosen to go backward in technology.

It is inconsistent with our environ-mental policies to shut down the FTTH program and not to create a better program.

In addition, the cost of fuel will con-tinue to rise, making telecommuting more and more important.

I believe that decentralization will be possible as companies embrace enhanced communications. Maybe we can follow Utah and Japan in rec-ognizing the value of very high-speed communications and return to a path of leadership.

Allen PodellHarker Avenue, Palo Alto

Home-field advantage?The Paly-Gunn varsity baseball

game on May 1 showcased a clas-sic kind of psychological warfare as old as baseball itself: the home-field advantage.

The Gunn Titans were not ready for the pressure cooker they walked into. The hot sun was radiating off of the artificial infield, loud music was blaring from well-positioned speakers making communication difficult for players in the away dugout.

After the home team took its customary pre-game infield/outfield practice listening to the inspiring sound of rock-and-roll music, the Gunn squad was hard pressed to find any pre-game rhythm listening to (mocked by) Disney’s Aladdin soundtrack.

The Gunn players were fuming and overly aggressive during their at-bats, playing into the hands of the home team, whose pitcher had

little velocity and consistently threw curveballs for strikes, spinning the Gunn hitters deeper into their funk. The Paly players heckled energeti-cally from the dugout and their spirits were renewed as Paly scored early and often.

As one observer said: “It was a good ol’ country whoopin’.”

Although some people might not respect such a strategy, it was effec-tive and completely within the rules. However, the Palo Alto police, osten-sibly in attendance to keep the peace between rival students, alumni and parents, crossed the line. Late in the game, while Paly had a commanding lead and Gunn was doing its best to control its teenage tempers, some-one using the police car’s bull horn began announcing the Paly hitters.

Besides taking the home-field ad-vantage too far, this egregious show of partiality and non-peace-keeping sentiment by the Palo Alto police un-dermined the mission of its institution.

Tyler SullivanMaureen Avenue, Palo Alto

On hypocrisyJagjit Singh writes about Hamas

and hypocrisy (Weekly, May 17) to-tally forgetting that terrorizing, killing and vowing to destroy another coun-try, a neighbor, by the same Hamas are examples of not only hypocrisy, but also dishonesty and duplicity.

Israel, the victim of Jihadi Islam and continued attacks on its citizens, is under no obligation to support, help and sustain the Hamas-led Pal-estinian Authority.

That Hamas won a “democratic” election cannot fool anyone. Democ-racy means certain principles of respecting others, co-existence, fol-lowing of laws and adopting the norm of live and let live. If you don’t do it, you suffer the consequences.

Israel and the United States are doing nothing they shouldn’t be do-ing. There cannot be appeasement of killer groups. That would be suicidal.

The Ros-Lehtinen/Lantos Bill HR 4681 just makes sure that Hamas behaves. The bill is the only deterrent that this terrorist group — certified as such by not only the United States but the European Union as well — does not keep killing.

American tax dollars cannot, and should not, be given to those who are ruthless outlaws committed to violence.

Yatindra BhatnagarHandel Common, Fremont

ReaderWire Question: How have you changed your behavior due to the recent crime wave?

The Palo Alto Weekly encourages comments on our coverage or on issues of local interest. No anonymous letters or “open letters” to other organizations or individuals will be printed. Please provide your name, street address and daytime telephone number. Please keep length to 250 words or less.

YOUR TURN

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Palo Alto Weekly • Friday, May 19, 2006 •

Upfront

P alo Alto may only be 26 square miles, but for some in the local political scene Or-

egon Expressway/Page Mill Road is the city’s Mason-Dixon Line.

That point became clear again on Monday night as the City Coun-cil weighed the future of the city’s library system. Four of the city’s branches are in “North Palo Alto,” north of Oregon/Page Mill, while only one — Mitchell Park Library — is south.

Some residents worried about a potential geographical divide after the Library Advisory Commission recommended turning Mitchell Park Library into the city’s “full-service library,” while focusing the other four branches on specific roles.

Critics alleged the plan downgrad-ed the northern Palo Alto libraries.

“Do we need World War III in Palo Alto?” resident Mary Carl-stead asked the council in an e-mail. “Do you want that? Given the size of the city, we need two ‘main libraries.’”

Mitchell Park Library is the city’s busiest, but also the most packed. The commission’s plan attempted to lessen that overcrowding.

Former commissioner Tom Wyman warned the council that a perception of a snub could hurt the city’s chances for any library fund-ing measures put before voters.

“We need to develop some kind of project that will appeal to both north and south within Palo Alto,” Wyman said.

Hearing those and other concerns, the council unanimously voted to conceptually back a modified plan that would expand the Mitchell Park Library without calling it a “full-service library” and without dimin-ishing services at Main Library, the north’s largest branch.

“The last thing we need is a north/south dispute,” Councilman Larry Klein said Tuesday. “That’s a sure recipe for failure.”

The library commission was asked to return with details by September, which could also include expanding the other branches.

When Palo Alto Library Director Paula Simpson worked in Oregon for a county library system, there was a geographical split between rural and non-rural users that librar-ians had to consider.

“This is a different phenomenon,” she said about Palo Alto, “because the city isn’t that large geographi-cally, especially if you remove all the open space. Yet nevertheless, it’s real.”

The divide stems from the 1950s, when the land south of Oregon/Page Mill was annexed into Palo Alto. Jo-seph Eichler and other developers built new homes in the area, but a doubling in the number of residents was not met with a boost in city fa-cilities.

The new residents “began to feel that they were bearing the burden of all development proposals,” former Mayor Gary Fazzino said. “There was a feeling that the establishment folks that lived in the older parts of town, Crescent Park (neighborhood) in particular, did not give them much attention and tended to favor the northern part of town.”

The divide came to a head in 1962, when the community voted on — and narrowly approved — a proposal to expand Oregon Avenue into Oregon Expressway.

“Folks in the south felt the Or-egon Expressway would really di-vide the community, creating two separate communities, and make it more difficult to have any access to City Hall,” Fazzino said.

Monday night was one of the few incidents Fazzino could recall when residents in the north felt a city proposal would slight them.

Some think the geographical dispute is not at the heart of the library issue.

Friends of the Palo Alto Library board member Ellen Wyman, Tom Wyman’s wife, believes the real debate is between those who want a strong central library versus those who want beefed-up branch-es. She’s in the latter category.

Spreading services across the branches “would serve everybody bet-ter,” she argued. “Everybody would feel they got a piece of the pie.”

But commissioner John Stucky, a librarian at the Asian Art Mu-seum in San Francisco, argued the health of the branches requires a strong “trunk” library.

“The fear is if we do too little now, the branches will suffer,” he said. ■ Staff Writer Bill D’Agostino can be reached at [email protected].

North/South split colors library debate

Plan to beef up Mitchell Park a rare reversal in Palo Alto’s long-standing divide

by Bill D’Agostino

LIBRARIES

William F. Woo, a professor of journalism at Stanford University, died April 12. A memorial service will be held Friday, May 19, at 11 a.m. at Stanford Memorial Church, Palm Drive, Stanford. A reception will follow at the Stanford Faculty Club. The family prefers memorial donations be made to the George Fisher GI Research Fund, Stanford Cancer Center, 875 Blake Wilbur Drive, Stanford, CA 94305; or to the William F. Woo Internship Grant, Asian American Journalists Associa-tion, 1182 Market St., Suite 320, San Francisco, CA 94102.

MEMORIAL SERVICES

E l y s i u m P r o d u c t i o n spresents a dramatic staged reading

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TICKETS: $25 general • $15 StudentMountain View Center for the Performing Arts

500 Castro Street • (650) 903-6000


Upfront

Attempted abduction at Addison SchoolA second-grade girl at Addison Elementary School was approached at

12:45 p.m. Wednesday by a man who tried to lure her toward the main entrance of the school, Addison Principal John Lents has told parents.

Within the past two months, there have been five cases reported where a man tried to lure Addison children over to his car, described as a green Mustang or similar sedan. In one case a man parked near the school and watched girls play, then moved his car twice when they moved further from him. Detectives reportedly have identified another man who offered children CDs, who said he was trying to promote a rap album he had just produced.

In the Wednesday incident, Lents said the girl was approached just out-side the girl’s bathroom in the school courtyard, but she turned and ran to some friends on the nearby field and they informed a teacher.

Lents called 911 and Palo Alto police officers “responded in force,” but could not locate the man. The man was described as in his 30s, African-American, with short hair, at least 6 feet tall with a solid build.

“The police are taking this very seriously,” Lents wrote. They have spent the afternoon at Addison interviewing students who might have additional information.” He said officers “will be increasing their surveil-lance, and will have a very visible presence on campus every day.”

Lents called a meeting of all Addison faculty to discuss further ac-tion the school can take and how to talk about the matter with children. The PTA, police department and school administration are scheduling a neighborhood/school meeting to discuss the threat.

“I am well aware that this is very unsettling. Please be assured that we are all working together to respond in ways that are effective, yet not reactionary,” Lents said.

Bomb scare evacuates Palo Alto City Hall

A suspicious package in the mail room of Palo Alto City Hall caused the evacuation of the building for about an hour Wednesday, beginning around noon. The underground parking garage and Bryant Street adjacent to the building were also closed off.

Mail-room employees on Level A of City Hall became concerned when they discovered the package, apparently without a return address, and called police. Officers took a photo of the package and sent it to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad who replied, “We’ll be right down,” said Palo Alto Agent Tami Gage.

The package was first X-rayed and then “rendered safe.” Nothing harm-ful or suspicious was found inside, Capt. Dennis Burns said.

Two PA day-burglary suspects arrested

Two suspects in a string of Palo Alto daytime home burglaries — a 20-year-old man and a juvenile — have been arrested in San Mateo County on unrelated charges and are in now custody in Santa Clara County, Palo Alto police announced Tuesday night.

But so far they are specifically linked to just one burglary — of which the homeowner wasn’t aware until contacted by police.

Sgt. Sandra Brown said the two were “in possession of several items of jewelry” when arrested Monday by San Mateo County sheriff’s deputies. Deputies notified Palo Alto police of the arrests and possible link to Palo Alto’s rash of burglaries at 10:47 p.m. Monday.

Brown said the suspects admitted to committing a residential burglary in Palo Alto earlier Monday, and indicated to Palo Alto officers where it occurred.

Brown said a woman who lived there was not aware her home had been burglarized until she was contacted by officers about 11 p.m., then discov-ered several pieces of jewelry were missing from her bedroom closet.

The 20-year-old was identified as Devin Vernon Lanoza, who was booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail in San Jose. The unidentified juvenile was booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Detention Hall, Brown reported.

Wet fall means lower electricity rates

The unusually rainy fall may have caused construction delays and gloomy moods, but residents can now thank it for at least one positive thing — it increased the amount of hydroelectricity available, thus lower-ing Palo Altans’ projected electricity rates for the coming year.

Earlier this spring, city staff was recommending an 11.7 percent elec-tricity-rate increase. But after studying the amount of hydroelectricity available, staff and the Utilities Advisory Commission decided to recom-mend no increase.

The council is set to approve utility rates at its June 12 meeting, when it approves the city’s 2006-’07 budget.

Rates for other utilities, including gas and water, are still scheduled to increase starting July 1. The average monthly residential bill would rise from $244.13 to $272.48. The gas rate alone would rise 30 percent for the average residential customer.

—Bill D’Agostino

News Digest

ON THE WEB: The latest local news headlines at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

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Ethics, Politics & HousingPlease join us as we discuss ethical issues surroundinghousing in the local community, including:

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> exclusionary zoning> the challenges of building affordable housing> the problems of homelessness

May 24, 2006Lucie Stern Community Center

7:30-9:30 p.m.Palo Alto

Prof. Don Barr, The Opportunity Center, StanfordPeter Drekmeier, PLAN (People for Land and Nature)

Kathy Espinoza-Howard, Palo Alto Human Relations CommissionModerator: Debra Satz, Stanford’s Ethics in Society Program

For more information: [email protected]; 723-0997


Upfront

I n two weeks, Palo Altans will weigh in on whether the Foothill-De Anza Community College

District should levy a $490.8 mil-lion bond measure to fund massive renovations, technology upgrades and new facilities.

Measure C — which officials said would cost property owners $24 per year per $100,000 of assessed value — is coming nearly seven years after voters approved a $248 million ini-tiative for renovations and new class-rooms at the district’s two campuses. That measure, said the district’s Board of Trustees Vice President Hal Plotkin, “dealt with the buildings that were literally falling down.”

The new proposal would fund im-provements and maintenance of the district’s facilities over the next 30 years and its technology over the next 20 years. The 1999 measure did not pay for new technology equipment.

“We’ve got aging buildings. They’re designed for 8,000 students. We’ve got 44,000 students,” said board President Betsy Bechtel.

“Why this amount?” she asked rhetorically of the $490.8 million price tag. “We looked carefully at what the needs were. ... We didn’t want to go back to the voters again in five or six years. We wanted this to be over a long period of time.”

Supporters say another bond mea-sure is the best option to refurbish technical equipment and renovate and build facilities. Opponents, who include the Silicon Valley Property Taxpayer’s Association and Saratoga resident Aaron Katz, criticize the dis-trict for not appropriately budgeting for repairs over the last 50 years.

“As a result of Measure C it has now become painfully apparent that for several decades the district has acted irresponsibly insofar as main-taining these assets,” wrote Katz in a letter to district Chancellor Martha J. Kanter in April.

According to Kanter, less than 1 percent of the district’s $200 million budget, which comes almost exclu-sively from the state, can be used toward equipment and capital main-tenance and improvement. About 84 percent of the state funding goes toward staffing every year, and the funds that do come from the federal government are earmarked for spe-cific programs and cannot be spent on facilities.

“Unless and until the legislature decides to increase our funding, a suf-ficient amount to pay for desperately needed equipment and capital main-tenance, renovation and replacement, the district’s only practical option for funding these needs will be through a local bond measure,” wrote Kanter in a letter to Katz May 1.

The projects Measure C would fund does stretch across a slew of areas and includes $196 million for building renovation, $147 million for new structures, $98 million for technology, and $49 million for a new facility.

The magnitude of Measure C has been a point of contention all along. During the district’s 2005 board race, some candidates were even hesitant to support the proposal, including trustee Bruce Swenson, who was elected to one of the two seats. However, about $60 million in projects was scaled back, and the new board voted unanimously to go ahead with the nearly half-billion-dollar initiative.

“Our polls show very considerable support for the measure,” Swenson said, adding that about 73 percent of voters polled recently said they were either “very likely” to, or “probably would,” vote for the measure.

“I am cautiously optimistic. You never want to be too optimistic about a bond,” he said.

Measure C will need a 55 percent approval rate to pass.

According to California’s Leg-islative Analysts Office, the state’s voters have approved $5.1 billion in general obligation bonds for capital improvements at public higher edu-cation campuses in the past decade.

The massive Measure C “fix it” list reads like a tenant’s nightmare and a contractor’s sweet dream.

Under the terms of the plan, both the De Anza and Foothill campuses are slated for repairs to “leaky roofs, decaying walls, old ceiling tiles and flooring, plumbing, sewer and drainage systems, inefficient elec-trical systems and wiring, deterio-rated restrooms, heating ventilation and cooling systems, foundations, telecommunications systems, class-rooms, lecture halls, language labs, fields, courts and grounds” among other projects.

It would allocate $98 million for technology upgrades at both cam-puses, including thousands of new computers and printers, a telephone system, network and security equip-ment, multimedia classrooms, and the payroll for professional consul-tants to design and configure that new equipment and temporary staff to install it.

“The majority of our classrooms, particularly at De Anza, only have one electrical plug. So you can’t have a modern, competitive college instructional atmosphere in a class-room where there is no ability for people to plug their laptops into,” Plotkin said.

Trustees have also been discuss-ing a possible new site to serve ad-ditional students, and nearly $50 million of Measure C funds would be reserved for the acquisition.

“The region we talk about most frequently is what we call the (High-way) 101 corridor, the Mountain View and Sunnyvale area,” Swen-son said. “But we’re not limiting ourselves to that region. Those are the areas farthest from either of the (existing) campuses.” Staff Writer Alexandria Ro-cha can be e-mailed at [email protected].

Measure C aims to boost Foothill-De Anza schools

Half-billion-dollar bond to fund building improvementsby Alexandria Rocha

ELECTION '06

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Upfront

the land.The property owner, Washingto-

nia Development, wanted to close escrow in 60 days; Blake Hunt was willing to pay the sum over two years, Martinez said.

“The owner stuck to wanting the money right away,” Mayor Ruben Abrica said. “We were trying any-thing we could to secure the place.”

Eric Willis, who represented Washingtonia in the sale, said it was time to move on. He said Washing-tonia had entered into two agree-ments with the city to develop the property beginning in 1994, but those never led anywhere.

The first time, they set out to build a retail center with a bank and a gro-cery store as an anchor tenant, he said. However, the city’s reputation as the “per capita murder capital of America” scuttled efforts to recruit a full-service store, he said.

Then came the second agreement to create a civic center by building four four-story buildings on the site.

“Once again nothing happened,”

Willis said. “The baton had to pass to someone who was willing to go in and do it.”

Willis said he could not confirm what Barry Swenson Builder is planning for the site, and the de-velopment company did not return calls for this article.

Willis did add: “I would think the city would be jumping for joy because Barry Swenson is involved now.”

Abrica said the city is instead wondering what will happen next.

“Right now, we’re left to wait and see what the Swenson group is thinking,” Abrica said.

The city, however, may have some leveraging power.

The council voted last January in favor of a plan to build a mixed-use project, incorporating housing, shops and a grocery store on the site.

“We’re on record saying we defi-nitely want a supermarket there, re-gardless of who owns the property and regardless of who the developer is,” Abrica said.

And ultimately, the council must vote to approve the project, Abrica said.

The city also recently purchased a corner portion of the site — en-compassing about a quarter of an acre — from San Mateo County and could be willing to integrate the corner parcel with the overall development, he said.

Martinez said Barry Swenson Builder has verbally indicated an interest in a mixed-use project and a grocery store, and staff is aware that the company has publicly ex-pressed interest in building “a high-density project with a multi-story building.” The company has built several high-rise residential build-ings in San Jose.

Martinez also said Rancho San Miguel is still interested in locating at the site.

But whether Barry Swenson Builder will consider retaining the Northern California supermarket chain is another matter.

“It’s clear the council and the community are on the same page,” Abrica said. “Now, it is the property owner and developer that need to step up to the plate.” Staff Writer Lauren McSherry can be e-mailed at [email protected].

Grocery store(continued from page 3)

the agency ran a $340,000 deficit. Ross did not — despite repeated

questioning via e-mail — lay out the specifics of this year’s $2.6 million budget or next year’s $2.3 budget, which the Board of Directors has yet to officially approve.

The board directed Ross to have a balanced budget for 2006-’07, which begins in September, ac-cording to board Chair Tom Liver-more.

“We’re not in financially bad shape at all,” Livermore said. “We’re just trying to be fiscally re-sponsible and keep ourselves from getting into bad shape.”

This summer’s camps are unaf-fected by the change, and Hidden Villa is currently accepting enroll-ments. Ross did not say when the 12-day sleep-away camps, which 280 junior high school and high school students attend, might re-turn. The camps include traditional

summer activities like swimming and archery as well as more envi-ronmentally focused pursuits like organic gardening and caring for farm animals.

The Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund recently granted Hidden Villa a $5,000 grant to support its animal program.

Hidden Villa’s day camps and five-day junior residential camps will continue uninterrupted, de-spite the cancellation of the 12-day programs.

Five of the eight employees in the eliminated positions are being offered new jobs at Hidden Villa, Ross wrote. Two of the positions were eliminated earlier this month; the rest will be eliminated at the end of August.

Meanwhile, the nonprofit is start-ing a new program, “Healthy Food, Healthy Families,” that will share 40 percent of its agriculture with fami-lies that Mountain View’s Commu-nity Services Agency serves. The 35,000 pounds of organic fruits and

vegetables are anticipated to feed 4,000 people this summer.

Hidden Villa is also working to have stronger connections to lo-cal schools. It currently has staff in schools in Mountain View and Redwood City to promote its cur-riculum.

Leaders with the organization are also considering new yearlong pro-grams for the older age groups the 12-day camps serve.

“Our environmental education and even our camps to some degree have been great single-time experi-ences,” Livermore said. “We’re try-ing to have a bigger impact on kids’ lives by having multiple impacts.”

Hidden Villa is also making its hostel and other facilities more available for rental by removing of-fice space.

“We’re all really, really excited about our future and our direction,” Livermore said.

Staff Writer Bill D’Agostino can be reached at [email protected].

Hidden Villa(continued from page 3)

the Duveneck Parent-Teacher As-sociation.

“I look back on the importance of the children going to school in their neighborhood,” she said, add-ing that she didn’t want her name used. “I support these young parents because I remember how important it was for children to make neigh-borhood friendships.”

The parents also said another problem arises when a child attends a distant elementary school and then returns to his or her neighborhood’s feeder middle school. The child won’t know anyone, she said.

Baldonaldo also said safety and the environment are big concerns, as well. If there is an earthquake, for example, parents will have a hard time getting to their children. Many families in Palo Alto also do not be-lieve in driving a car when you can ride a bike or walk.

Marilyn Cook, the district’s asso-ciate superintendent of educational services, said there is a meeting in the works for early June between Superintendent Mary Frances Cal-lan, the Board of Education, and the families slated to be overflowed.

However, officials will only be discussing how to make the over-flow situation easier for those fami-lies — not necessarily the option of adding a kindergarten class at Du-veneck, said board President Mandy Lowell.

“It’s a trade off of small classes. Small classes are terrific but they result in overflows, which is not ideal for those people. I know it’s pouring salt on their wounds to say this, but many people have been given the opportunity to return to their neighborhood school,” Lowell said. “Would it be helpful for (the parents) to talk to some people who have been in the same position who will say that it’s not the worst thing that’s happened to them in life?”

While the group’s petition calls for either another kindergarten class or transportation, Cook said it is not likely the district will imple-ment either option.

All the district’s elementary sites currently have four kindergarten classes. Adding a fifth class at Du-veneck, which would be called a “bubble” class, would create a ma-jor staffing problem, Lowell said.

Once those children move on to first-grade, the school would not need the fifth kindergarten teacher anymore, but would need an ad-ditional first-grade teacher. That same shuffle would occur until the students left for middle school.

Although not ruling out any ideas, Cook said the district does offer a limited amount of busing on a fee basis, but overall, busing is not one of the district’s major of-ferings.

Staff Writer Alexandria Ro-cha can be e-mailed at [email protected].

Duveneck(continued from page 3)

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Arts & EntertainmentA weekly guide to music, theater, art, movies and more, edited by Rebecca Wallace

B efore working in her studio, painter Klari Reis opens all five windows. Then she suits up.

She dons a jumpsuit and a fume mask. Latex gloves. Goggles. Boots. Then she puts barrier cream on any skin that might still be exposed.

“I look like a madwoman,” she says matter-of-factly. “But it secludes me from the world, which is good. It allows me to work.”

And then it’s just the artist and the epoxy poly-mer.

Reis’ precautions are sensible, as the synthetic plastic she paints with is toxic before it dries.

But the clinical feel is also perfect for an artist with the curiosity of a scientist. Her inspiration flows through a microscope, and she creates bold paintings of molecular structures: prescription drugs, food additives, caffeine.

A look into a microscope often yields only blacks and grays. But Reis saturates her works with color. A viewer with a Rorschach eye might

(continued on next page)

Painter Klari Reis finds personal inspiration through a microscope

healingThe

art

Norbert von der G

roeben

by Rebecca Wallace

Klari Reis began her work by painting the structures of medications she was prescribed for an autoimmune disorder: “I wanted to un-derstand all this stuff I was putting in my body.” Now, she also analyzes a world of other drugs she does not take, such as the anti-anxiety pill “Xanax” (above) and “Orap” (left), an anti-psychotic.

see a gumdrop or a fried egg.One of her favorites depicts the

building blocks of Benazepril, a high-blood-pressure medication. Reis smiles at the painting hang-ing in the Chelsea Art Gallery in downtown Palo Alto. It’s an ocean of ovals inside ovals inside rect-angles, filled with cool blues and greens, gleaming with the sheen of the plastic.

Reis particularly likes this piece’s depth, that you can make out the wood behind the eight to 10 layers of epoxy polymer.

“You can see the texture in the pigments, the wood grain in the background,” she says.

Nearby is “Ramipril,” named for a drug used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure. It glitters almost angrily, resembling gold rivers with white and red islands. Meanwhile, “Xanax” is placid, with softly melting orbs of blue, white and green. Unsurprising for an anti-anxiety pill.

These are all part of an exhibit called “Double Take,” which runs through June 4 and also includes the photography-painting hybrids of

Palo Alto artist Kathryn Dunlevie (see separate story).

Reis, 28, grew up in Menlo Park and worked as a presentation artist for architecture firms after gradu-ating from college. Tiring of the rat race, she then went to the City and Guilds of London Art School, where she earned a master’s degree in fine arts and then had an associ-ate research fellowship.

She recently returned to the States to live in San Francisco, drawn by the proximity of family and the growing biotech presence in the city’s Mission Bay area.

The young artist has wide eyes and an openness that’s endearing. She urges you to touch her paint-ings, and admits she misses one that recently sold.

She’s also humble in the face of praise from gallery owners and visi-tors, said Chelsea Gallery director Tenley Bick.

“People ask what it’s made of,” Bick said of Reis’ art. “They think it’s so different and unique. It’s not oil on canvas. ... People become ex-cited about it in a different way.”

Bick said it’s also interesting that Reis seems primarily interested in showing the beauty and intricacy of the tiny forms, rather than criticiz-ing modern medicine.

“This is motivated by science,” she said. “Klari sets herself apart from artists making statements.”

But there’s also a more personal motivation, one that makes Reis’ positive attitude all the more re-markable. She’s been diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that has required her to take a mélange of medications, including steroids, autoimmune suppressors and anti-biotics.

During a frightening time of hos-pitals and treatments in Britain, Reis befriended a hospital worker who let her spend time in the labo-ratory. Although she had no science background, she became fascinated by seeing her medications through a microscope.

“I wanted to understand all this stuff I was putting in my body,” she said. “I was trying to see the posi-tive in pharmaceuticals.”

The first 100 paintings she made

Arts & Entertainment


Klari Reis(continued from previous page)

Reis says she doesn’t mind all the protective gear she has to wear while painting with plastic. “It secludes me from the world, which is good,” she says. “It allows me to work.”

“Benazepril,” one of Reis’ favorite paintings, depicts the building blocks of a medication for high blood pressure.

How do you clean your brush-es when you paint with plastic? What room temperature is best for painting? For more about Klari Reis’ work, go to arts edi-tor Rebecca Wallace’s blog. Go to www.PaloAltoOnline.com and click on Ad Libs.

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Think Globally, Post Locally.

I f Cubist painters had owned digital cameras, they might have created something like

Kathryn Dunlevie’s artwork.Bristling with impossible angles,

the Palo Alto artist’s creations of-fer unexpected perspectives on everything from car washes to the Eiffel Tower.

First Dunlevie photographs a scene from many sides. Then she pieces the photos together on wood in a crazy quilt of views and view-points.

“The images are just banged up against each other in a jerky rhythm,” she says in her garage studio, which is painted white to the rafters.

To mellow that rhythm, she brings in acrylic paint, softening the edges of the photos and add-ing detail.

The results beg for a second look. For example, “Platform 6,” composed of images from a train station in England, feels like an Escher drawing, all soaring arcs of metal. A trompe l’oeil column

has been painted in.“Storm Warning” is an under-

water swimming pool jumble, with lanes flying out in all directions, a watery slide, and the reflections of children standing on the side of the pool.

The latter work is part of Dun-levie’s current exhibit at the Chel-sea Gallery in Palo Alto.

With these creations, it can seem as though you’re looking at the scene from everywhere at once. There’s definitely a whiff of the modern Cubist about many of Dunlevie’s works, she agrees.

“By showing you this view of a face and this view of a face and the back of the head, they (the Cubists) were in a sense showing you the fourth dimension, time,” Dunlevie said.

Time has often been an element of Dunlevie’s work, which has its roots in her long-ago mixed-media collages. They blended her pho-tos and old family snapshots and dealt with “time, dreams, mixing together the present and the past,”

she said.A writer with Artweek maga-

zine noted that Dunlevie’s painted photo montages are also rich with time elements, saying she can “col-lapse different time periods into a single image or thought.”

“A Honda motorcycle might sit parked next to the graceful, indus-trial arches of a nineteenth century train station,” the writer, Berin Golonu, wrote in 2000. “The past and the present are thus blended into an overlapping narrative in the same way that our day to day experience might be peppered by memories of the past or altered by our dreams for the future.”

Dunlevie’s works are often large (“Storm Warning,” for example, is 60 by 60 inches), adding a drama that she likes.

She also likes that technology has cut the cost of making sweep-ing works. When she used color slide film, she paid as much as $200 per large print. Digital cam-eras have brought that cost down to $40 to $50.

But despite the siren call of tech-nology, Dunlevie enjoys the end of the artistic process, the work she does on her simple studio table.

“I still end up out here at the end of the day, cutting and pasting and painting,” she said. ■



Nicholas W

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were of the medications she was on. Now she’s expanded into other realms, painting pharmaceuticals she doesn’t take, such as antide-pressants. She’s planning a series on HIV drugs as well.

As Reis talks in the Chelsea gal-lery, there’s pleasure in her voice as she says that although she’s still on medication she hasn’t been ill for over two years. She does look uncomfortable adding, “I just got a

prescription for 16 pills a day.”But the smile is back when she

speaks about how valuable her art has been in giving her a healthy per-spective.

“I’m making these paintings to make me feel better,” she said. “They’re alternative medicine for the wall.”

That resilience is reflected in her medium. Reis first encountered the plastic while working in architec-

ture. Her firm was using it in terraz-zo flooring in the new international terminal at San Francisco Airport.

She said she likes the clinical feel of the material, which matches the topic of biotechnology. And a dura-ble collection is practical for some-one who moves around so much, ex-hibiting in London and New York, Spain and Scotland.

Reis beams. “I liked the fact that I couldn’t injure it.” ■

Kathryn Dunlevie’s “Platform 6” combines soaring views of a British train station from many angles. She loves to create unusual combinations of perspectives with photos and acrylic paint.

Modern CubistPalo Alto artist creates a world of perspectives

with digital camera and paintby Rebecca Wallace

What: ”Double Take,” an exhibit of artwork by Klari Reis and Kath-ryn Dunlevie

Where: Chelsea Art Gallery, 440 Kipling St., Palo AltoWhen: Through June 4. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Wednesday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sundays, and by appointment.

Cost: FreeInfo: Call (650) 324-4450 or go to www.chelseaartgallery.com.

About the cover:Klari Reis suits up in her San Francisco studio to protect her from the fumes of the plastic she paints with. Photograph by Norbert von der Groben.

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people who are classified as having low vision include spectacle magnification, telescopes, increased light, enhanced contrast, and magnifiers. Those with low vision are encouraged to maximize their remaining sight with these aids, which can be very effective.

If you have a visual impairment that is not cor-rected with regular eyeglasses or surgery, you should investigate the benfits of low vision aids such as magnifying devices. Bright illumination for reading and other close work can also be helpful. Low vision aids assist many patients with macular degeneration in leading normal lives with few interruptions of regular activities. If your low vision solution involves filling a new prescription, visit MENLO OPTICAL at 1166 University Drive, on the corner of Oak Grove Avenue and University Drive. You will find a helpful, courteous staff that can help you enjoy the best vision possible. Call us at 322-3900.

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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

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Posting to the trot on a pony in her native England was Christina Holmes’ passion in

the England of her childhood.Now, in her 40s, she’s Western-

style all the way, from riding to choice of vacation spot to subjects for her watercolor paintings.

Jeans-clad ranch hands sitting on fences capture her imagination as subjects for her paintings, along with boots, hats, chaps, saddles and belt buckles. There are also skill-fully rendered horses in action, and the landscape of the Ameri-can West. The observer can almost smell the dust.

“Everything about the Western style feels natural to me,” Holmes said. “Maybe I was a cowgirl in a previous life.”

With her husband, Chris, and sons Matthew, 11; Jamie, 6, and Nicholas, 4, she makes her home in Menlo Park. For ongoing inspi-ration and exposure to ranch-style living, she takes a yearly trip to the Kay El Bar dude ranch in Arizona, which has been a guest ranch since it began in 1926.

“It’s a wonderful place,” Hol-mes said. “The same people come year after year, so there is lots of camaraderie. I take loads of pho-tos, sometimes from the back of a horse.”

After her ninth trip there, from which she returned home April 30, she said, “I got enough subject mat-ter to last me the rest of my life.” It wasn’t all serious stuff, though. An impromptu duel with water pistols ended with the ranch wranglers good-naturedly dumping her in the horses’ water trough.

Holmes got the inspiration for her first cowboy painting in the

fall of 1998, when she took a sev-en-day horseback trip through Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon and the Arizona Badlands. With that painting, she placed third in a show at the Pa-cific Art League in Palo Alto.

Holmes doesn’t paint while at the ranch, but works from her photos back at home. In most of her cow-boy paintings, faces are obscured by hats or the position of the sub-ject: a cowboy is painted from the back, or has his head down as he gets ready to ride a bucking horse in a rodeo. Holmes simply prefers to focus on atmosphere, shapes and color instead of faces, she said.

An exception is a portrait of a very young girl whom Hholmes spotted at the Cow Palace in San Francisco and asked parental per-mission to paint. “I call that paint-ing ‘The Cutest Thing I Ever Saw,’ because she was,” Holmes said. The winsome little girl wears a large cowboy hat and scarf.

Holmes and her husband came to California from England in 1992 when he began a startup software company. Christina had training in commercial art with 12 years of ex-perience in that field, and worked for her husband’s company, too.

An unexpected glitch in her life came when the company was sold. Her California network dissolved. “Everyone I knew worked for the company,” she said.

Absorbing that shock became even more challenging when she suffered postpartum depression after the birth of her first son.

One day, she walked into down-town Palo Alto, feeling at a low ebb, and by chance ran into art therapist Carla Brooke near the

studios of the Pacific Art League. The two had been in touch about Holmes’ depression and when Hol-mes confided that she was not do-ing well, Brooke recommended an art class.

“I signed up for classes with Robin Scholl, beginning with

landscape, and then took water-color from Steve Curl,” Holmes said. She’s been studying to build her style and technique for eight years now, and continues to study with Curl.

“This has been a winning combi-nation for me as I love being mom

to our three sons while still nur-turing my creative spirit,” Holmes said. “We have a wonderful group that meets Thursday mornings at the Art League: friends, music and camaraderie. I’ve gone through two of my pregnancies in that group. It’s more than a watercolor group. Steve encourages us to paint what we are passionate about.”

Holmes stresses that while art played a big part in her recovery from depression, feeling better also required medication and counsel-ing.

Curl notes that depression is often part of the artistic tempera-ment. Of Holmes, he said: “Quite frankly, painting is one of the things that helps her keep her bal-ance. As to her technique, over the years in class she has improved tremendously. Her color sense and design sense show dramatic im-provement.”

When Holmes sells her paint-ings, it’s usually to buyers in the Bay Area or to people she meets at the Arizona dude ranch. She has also placed in several compe-titions, and one of Holmes’ paint-ings was recently selected in a ju-ried art competition for display at this year’s Grand National Rodeo, Horse, and Stock Show at the Cow Palace.

In addition, she will show her work at an annual open house celebration at Sunset magazine in Menlo Park this weekend.

“In September of this year my youngest son will start kindergar-ten. Then my advertising and mar-keting background will become re-ally useful, as I begin to focus on marketing my work more seriously. Meanwhile, I am just happy to be doing something that I really love,” Holmes said. ■



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What: Ninth annual Celebra-tion Weekend at Sunset maga-zine’s headquarters, including kitchen and garden tours and arts and crafts. Christina Hol-mes will show her work at the event.

Where: 80 Willow Road, Menlo Park

When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sat-urday and Sunday

Cost: $10 general, $8 for se-niors, free for children ages 12 and under

Info: For a schedule of events, go to www.sunset.com.

British cowgirlPainter from England has fallen for the Western lifestyle,

and captures it on canvasby Marge Speidel

“Maybe I was a cowgirl in a previous life,” says Menlo Park painter Christina Holmes, who hails from England and takes yearly vacations at a dude ranch in Arizona.

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L ynn Ngai is a high-school se-nior with a three-page resume. It’s filled with first-place

awards for her violin performanc-es, a list of orchestras and quartets she’s played with, and an impres-sive musical repertoire.

But the mastery of music as a skill is no longer Ngai’s primary goal. Now she sees music as a pas-sion that she loves to share.

Ngai, a Palo Alto resident who has been playing the violin since age 10, has taken her talents beyond con-ventional concerts. When she was a freshman at Gunn High School, she founded the Music Mentorship Outreach Program, which provides disadvantaged kids with free music lessons and opportunities to attend performances.

Most of the program’s mentor-teachers are in high school, and its students in elementary or middle school, although all ages are wel-come to teach and learn, Ngai said. Currently, she has six teachers and 10 students.

Ngai said her program has given hundreds of lessons, teaching kids who otherwise wouldn’t have an education in music.

“I’ve learned through the pro-gram that it is possible to help shape people’s futures as well as the fu-ture of the community,” she said.

Giving music lessons is only one of Ngai’s many outreach endeavors. She has won several community ser-vice awards for her performances, including one from the Rossmoor Walnut Creek senior community after she played for large groups of seniors. She also was honored four years in a row by the Chinese Or-chestra of North America.

Next to the violin, Ngai’s sec-ond instrument is the erhu, a two-stringed traditional Chinese instru-ment known as the Chinese violin. Ngai’s gift for playing the erhu was recently affirmed when she was named 2005’s most talented cover girl at the Miss Sing Tao pageant held by the Sing Tao Daily, a Chi-nese newspaper.

Ngai says that playing the erhu has brought her closer to Chinese culture. “Having two instruments is

a big advantage; through my erhu I’ve been able to reach out to my Chinese community,” she said.

She recalls one experience after playing with the Melody of China Youth Ensemble for hundreds of elders at a grand opening event, where the audience was apprecia-tive of the cultural display. “Many elderly grandmothers and grand-fathers graciously shook my hand, as if to give me their stamp of ap-proval,” Ngai said.

Ngai’s growth as a musician has been enhanced by her study. Ngai has played with the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra since she was 13, and is now the associ-

ate concertmaster. She says playing with the orches-

tra has been an unforgettable ex-perience. With the group, she has toured Europe and worked with

leading musicians such as Yo-Yo Ma. In fact, the orchestra is a large reason why she’s chosen to pursue music when she goes to Stanford University this fall, she said.

Orchestra conductor Benjamin Shwartz said Ngai shines in the group. She is, he said, a “complete-ly natural musician...the violin fits under her chin like it’s a part of her body and there is no strain when she plays whatsoever.”

As for her erhu, Ngai is taught by Jie Bing Chen, who Ngai says is “a world-renowned erhu virtuo-so.” Under such guidance Ngai has distinguished herself, earning the 10th-level Superior Certification in erhu from the Shanghai Conserva-tory of Music in China, where she gave a solo recital in 2004. She was the first American to earn the cer-tification, she said.

She has also been invited back to play solos with the Shanghai Con-servatory Orchestra in June, she said.

Playing music, Ngai says, helps her succeed in other areas of life. “The precision, concentration, and passion necessary in music spill over,” she said.

As a student, Ngai is a National Merit finalist as well as a Coca-Cola Scholars semifinalist. Her athletic pursuits include badmin-ton and tennis, both of which she has played on Gunn’s varsity teams throughout high school. This year, Ngai was the captain as well as the MVP of the tennis team.

At Stanford, Ngai plans to study medicine and continue playing music. Eventually, she hopes to be-come a pediatrician with a side job in music. ■

Info: For more information about the Music Mentorship Out-reach Program, email

[email protected].



More than her resumePalo Alto student’s credentials are impressive, but she

also focuses on bringing her love of music to othersby Ben Lincoln

Nicholas W

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Besides playing the violin (pictured), Lynn Ngai also feels closer to Chi-nese culture through her work with the erhu, a two-stringed traditional Chinese instrument known as the Chinese violin.

Nicholas W

right

Lynn runs a program she started that gives free music lessons to disadvantaged kids.

Smuin Ballet presentsMichael Smuin’s (WORLD PREMIERE!)The return ofand...

(WORLD PREMIERE!)

For tickets call the West Bay Opera Box Office

221 Lambert Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94306 • 650-424-9999Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

Tickets may also be purchased online at www.wbopera.org

May 27, June 2, 38:00 pm

May 28, June 42:00 pm

BY IGOR STRAVINSKY(IN ENGLISH WITH

ENGLISH TITLES)

CONDUCTOR

Mary ChunSTAGE DIRECTOR

Jonathon Field

Lucie Stern TheatrePalo Alto

Middlefield at Melville

Tickets $50Youth & Students $25

2005-06FIFTIETH SEASON

WEST BAYOpera

"The violin fits under her chin like it’s a part of her body."

—Conductor Benjamin Shwartz on Lynn Ngai


Bahá’í Faith“Let your vision be world-embracing.” – Bahá’u’llah

Please join us for an evening of music and devotions

Saturday, June 3, 2006 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Roadwww.paloaltobahai.org (650) 321-0939

GraceLutheranChurch-ELCA-

3149 Waverley St., Palo Alto 650-494-1212

8:00 AM - Worship Service10:30 AM - Worship Service

Child Care Available

Pastor John Kerr

Los AltosLutheranChurchELCA

Pastor David K. BondeOutreach Pastor Gary Berkland9:00 am Worship

10:30 am EducationNursery Care Provided

Alpha Courses

650-948-3012460 S. El Monte Ave., Los Altos

www.losaltoslutheran.org

A Guide to the Spiritual Community

The Thomas Merton Centerof Palo Alto

Encouraging spiritual development through education,spiritual practice and social action.

Celebrate Catholic liturgy with a progressive, lay-led community every Sunday at 8:45 a.m.

St. Thomas Aquinas Roman Catholic Church,751 Waverley Street (at Homer), Palo Alto

http://www.thomasmerton.org

Wesley United Methodist Church470 Cambridge Avenue, Palo Alto (Just two blocks South of Escondido Village)

11:00 Sunday AM WorshipInternational/Intergenerational • Activities for all ages

650-327-2092 • www.wesleychurchpa.org

To include your Church in

InspirationsPlease call

Blanca Yoc at 650-326-8210

ext. 239 or e-mail

[email protected]

AnandaA Place of Awakening

Sunday Celebration9-9:45 am Meditation10-11:30 Worship and Satsang

2171 El Camino Real, Palo Altofor a free brochure, call (650) 323-3363 or visit

www.anandapaloalto.orgParamhansa YoganandaAuthor of Autobiography of a Yogi

SundayMornings for

Spiritual HealthMeditation 9:15-9:45am

Service 10-11amNon-denominational

and Inclusive Spirituality.Thursdays 7-8pm

Meditation &Self-Development

Pathways to Self Healing4153A El Camino Way

Palo Alto (650) 424-1118www.psh.org

Are you seeking a spiritual home, a place of welcome and acceptance? Are you wanting theological study where you are free to ask honest questions? Are you looking for a community of faith where you can be empowered to work for justice, peace and the common good of all?Come check us out! Maybe you will find the connections and commitments you believe Christ’s church should embrace and embody.

1140 Cowper Street 650-325-5659 www.fprespa.org

8:30 A.M. - Contemplative Service 9:30 A.M. - Adult Education11:00 A.M. - Worship Service11:15 A.M. - Children’s Educational Program

Childcare provided at all services

First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto(PCUSA)

First Baptist Church

Of Menlo Park

“A small Church with a big HEART”

Worship celebration 11:00 Sunday

Sunday School and Bible Study 9:30

Sound Biblical Teaching, Drama, Music, Retreats

Children’s Ministry, Home of New Beginnings Preschool

(650) 323 8544

1100 Middle Ave@Arbor (near Safeway)

www.firstbaptist.com

- Realize the abundant potential of your life. - Recognize the divinity in yourself and others. - Welcome to Life, Love and God. Welcome to Unity.

Services Sunday at 8:45 and 11 am.Childcare and youth programs available.

3391 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto; 650-494-7222www.UnityPaloAlto.org

Celebrate Spiritual Rebirth at

UNITy PALO ALTO

•P

A

L O A LTO

•

AD

VE

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TI S T C

HU

RC

H

600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto(650) 326-3800

www.saint-marks.com

Sunday: 8:00am.... Holy Eucharist 10:00am.... Holy Eucharist &

Children's Program(w/childcare & nursery)

5:00pm.... Song of Soul Service 6:00pm.... Teen Programs

A Community of Faith for All Ages

ST. MARK’SEPISCOPAL CHURCH

http://religiouslife.stanford.edu

Graduating seniors offer reflections on their time at Stanford

Music featuring University Organist Robert Huw Morganand the Stanford Memorial Church Choir, under the

direction of Gregory Wait.

Compline--An Evening Service of SongSunday evening, May 21, 9:00 p.m., in the candle-lit ambiance of Stanford

Memorial Church

Christian Ecumenical Service with EucharistSunday, May 21, 10:00 a.m.

Stanford Memorial ChurchUniversity Public Worship

All are welcome.

Information:650-723-1762

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH UCC

1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto • (650) 856-6662 www.fccpa.org

Our faith is over 2000 years old.Our thinking is not.

Sunday Worship and Sunday School at 10:00am

God Is Still Speaking!’


ArtMFA show

Art student Ala Ebtekar has found an intriguing way to mix his Bay Area upbringing with his interest in Iranian history: he’s designed cards that are similar to baseball cards, only they bear the faces of Iranian mythological heroes. And you can get them out of his white-painted vending machine.

Ebtekar’s work is in a wide range of company in the current “2006 MFA Thesis Exhibition” at the Thomas Welton Stanford Art Gallery on campus. His fellow stu-dents include Kristin Lucas, who is showing a video installation called “Magic Ice Cream Head-ache Sandwich”; Diane Landry, whose mechanical artwork in-corporates a salad spinner; and Elaine Buckholtz, whose installa-tion work reflects her background in theatrical lighting.

Organized by Stanford’s depart-ment of art and art history, the exhibit runs through June 18 at 435 Lasuen Mall, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on May 25. Gal-lery hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Call (650) 723-3404 or go to www.art.stanford.edu.

‘4 Artists’A show called ‘4 Artists” is

bringing paint, pastel and mixed media to the corridors of the Cen-ter for Integrated Systems in the latest Stanford Art Spaces exhibit.

Painter Daniel Gautier calls his latest series “Ideograms.” His works span a broad spectrum of philosophical, psychological and metaphysical concepts in show-ers of color. Midori McCabe’s mixed-media works are heavily influenced by music; “She works

very intuitively, combining the color, texture and form into a fluid whole until she can hear the melody,” an Art Spaces press re-lease reads.

Meanwhile, painter Olga Tsar-eva is mingling the real world with people and emotions (and a touch of mythology), and Kelvin Curry seeks to “represent profound ten-derness” in his pastels of people.

The exhibit runs through July 13, with a reception scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. on June 16. The center is at 420 Via Palou on campus; it’s open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Call (650) 725-3622 or go to cis.stanford.edu/~marigros.

FamilyMuseum talk

How do you get from there to here? Aerospace engineer and instrument collector Jack Rodden has a few ideas.

He’ll be giving a talk called “Navigation: Astrolabe to GPS” at the Museum of American Heri-tage, which currently has a navi-gation-based exhibit on. Rodden will demonstrate the astrolabe, sextant and other instruments.

The talk is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday at the mu-seum at 351 Homer Ave. in Palo Alto. Admission is free to museum members and $5 for nonmem-bers. Go to www.moah.org.

Theater‘Lyndon’

A new theater company is tak-

ing on a character who was quite a character indeed: former presi-dent Lyndon Johnson.

The members of Elysium Pro-ductions, a company of profes-sional and amateur actors who will present new plays through dramatic staged readings, are offering up “Lyndon,” written and produced by Ladera resident Ry-land Kelley.

The title role will be played by Stanford University drama and classics professor Rush Rehm, and Courtney Phleger will play Helen Gahagan Douglas, a char-acter who has a turbulent affair with Johnson. Overall, the play covers “the life and excesses” of then-senator Johnson as he pur-sues the presidency.

Show times are 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday and Thursday at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts at 500 Castro St. Tickets are $25 general and $15 for students. Call (650) 903-6000.

OperaPreview lecture

A more in-depth understanding of the Puccini opera “Madama Butterfly” — its historical back-ground, plot and musical analysis, ways to interpret it — will be of-fered next Tuesday in a lecture previewing the upcoming San Francisco Opera production.

Simon Williams, chair of dra-matic arts at the University of California at Santa Barbara, will speak at 7:30 p.m. at Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. The talk is organized by the South Peninsula Chapter of the San Francisco Opera Guild; tickets are $8 for guild members and $10 for nonmembers.

Call (650) 329-1374 or go to www.sfopera.com.

INAUGURAL MIRAGE... A new art gallery special-izing in contemporary paint-ing, sculpture, photo-based works and works on paper is opening its doors at 435 Uni-versity Ave. in Palo Alto.

Art Mirage Gallery kicks off its first exhibition on June 6 with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. for the group show fea-turing Julia Parker and Thea Schrack. Both artists make archival pigment prints. The show will run through Aug. 26.

Gallery hours will be Tues-day through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call (650) 326-6818 or go to www.art-mirage.com.

A & E digest


Worth a LookLooking for girls born after July 31, 1994 who are enthusiastic and well-rounded soccer players looking for a team that focuses both on individual skills and team cooperation. Lightning is coached by Ed Cervantes, a fully licensed Olympic Development Coach (& former Gunn High women’s soccer coach). Class 3.

Tryouts in Palo Alto in May• 5-6:30 pm Mondays

(JLS#3-480 E. Meadow)• 4:30-6pm Thursdays (Greer #4 - Simkins Ct)

For information, contact Joe 322-2023/[email protected] or Ed [email protected] www.stanfordsoccerclub.org

Stanford Lightning CYSA Girls’ Soccer TeamSpring U11/Fall U12

STERNMORTGAGECOMPANY

Residential Loans

638 Middlefield Rd.

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650-322-7277Broker #012098680

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SAN ANTONIO ROAD MEDIAN &ROAD IMPROVEMENTS

PUBLIC MEETINGS

May 23, 24, 25, 2006 at 7:00 pm

Peninsula Day Care Center auditorium525 San Antonio Avenue, Palo Alto

For more information, call (650) 617-3127City of Palo Alto Public Works Department

Stanford art student Ala Ebtekar has designed cards similar to baseball cards with figures drawn from Iranian mythological figures. His work is on display with that of other students at the Thomas Wel-ton Stanford Art Gallery.

Kelvin Curry’s pastel “First Kiss” can be viewed at the Center for Integrated Systems Art Spaces at Stanford University through July 13.

Real Estate MattersHOW DOES YOUR GARDEN

GROWWe all know that a first

impression counts, and at no timedoes that hold more true than whena potential buyer approaches yourhome. Regardless of how muchyou’ve cleaned and improved theinterior, the buyers’ decision isoften made in just seconds, beforethey’ve even entered the home.

By spending just one to twopercent of your home’s value onimproving its “curb appeal,” youcould boost your sale price by fivepercent. Interior upgrades some-times only recoup eighty to ninetypercent of the investment, socarefully consider how you’llbudget your home preparation costs.

Improving the landscaping willallow sellers to add as much asthree times the upgrade cost to theirselling price. Of course, minimallandscaping is better than badlandscaping, so it’s important tokeep function first when designing aplan. If you don’t have an eye forlandscaping, consider hiring aprofessional, and be up front about

your budget for the project.Don’t throw caution to the

wind, because landscaping costs canescalate and take months to imple-ment. Chances are, however, thatyou can boost your curb appeal andyour sale price for a reasonableinvestment. A home that displayspride of ownership attracts seriousbuyers and full price offers.

Jackie Schoelerman is a Realtorwith Alain Pinel Realtors. She hasdegrees in both Architecture andBusiness Finance, with extensiveexperience in Real Estate, Architec-ture, and Construction. Call Jackiefor real estate advice.

Jackie Schoelermanwww.schoelerman.com

650-855-9700


AMERICAN

Armadillo Willy’s 941-29221031 N. San Antonio Rd., Los Altos

Range: $5.00-13.00

Henry’s Prime Steakhouse 323-7600888 El Camino Real, Menlo Park

Great Steaks New MenuPrime and Niman Ranch Steaks

Hobee’s 856-61244224 El Camino Real, Palo AltoAlso at Town & Country Village,

Palo Alto 327-4111

BURMESE/CHINESE

Rangoon 325-8146 phone, 325-1017 fax

565 Bryant Street, Palo AltoWonderfully exotic & inexpensive

11:30-2 Mon-Sat,5-9:30 Mon-Thurs, 5-10 Fri & Sat

CAFES

Crepes Cafe 473-05061195 Merril St., Menlo Park

Corner Oak Grove Ave.Mon-Sat 8am-9pm Sunday 8am-4pm

www.crepescafe.com

CHINESE

Chef Chu’s (650) 948-26961067 N. San Antonio Road

on the corner of El Camino, Los Altos2002 Zagat: “Gold Standard in

Fresh Chinese Cuisine.”

Jing Jing 328-6885443 Emerson St., Palo AltoAuthentic Szechwan, Hunan

Food To Go, Deliverywww.jingjinggourmet.com

CHINESE (continued)

Hunan Garden 565-88683345 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

Incredible Seafood, Vegetables • 7 days

Ming’s 856-77001700 Embarcadero East, Palo Alto

www.mings.com

New Tung Kee Noodle House 520 Showers Dr., MV in San Antonio Ctr.Voted MV Voice Best ‘01, ‘02, ‘03 & ‘04

Prices start at $3.75 See Coupon947-8888

Peking Duck 856-33382310 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

We also deliver.

Su Hong—Menlo ParkDining Phone: 323–6852

To Go: 322–4631Winner, Palo Alto Weekly “Best Of”

8 years in a row!

Windy’s (Chinese) 325-3188168 University Ave., Palo Alto

Award-winning food. Catering/To Go

FRENCH

Chez TJ 964-7466938 Villa St., Mountain View

Tues-Sat Dinners only 5:30-9:00pm“Outrageously good” New French-American

fare —Zagat 2003

INDIAN

Cafe Bombay 948-94634546 El Camino, Los Altos

at San AntonioLunch, Dinner, Buffets every day

Darbar Indian Cuisine 321-6688129 Lytton, Downtown Palo Alto Lunch Buffet M-F; Open 7 days

Janta Indian Restaurant 462-5903369 Lytton Ave., Downtown Palo Alto Lunch Buffet M-F; Organic Veggies

Tiffin Dinner 494-1230Authentic Indian Dinner, Home Made. You will

get variety of dishes, fresh made the same day. A balanced tasty meal, Call or visit the website for a meal of the day or catering your party !

www.tiffindinner.com

ITALIAN

Oregano’s 941-36004546 El Camino, Los Altos

Gourmet Pasta, Pizza. Banquet Rooms

Spalti Ristorante 327-9390417 California Ave, Palo Alto

Exquisite Food • Outdoor Dining

Trattoria Buon Gusto 328-2778651 Maloney Lane, Menlo ParkSicilian Menu • Family owned

JAPANESE & SUSHIFuki Sushi 494-9383

4119 El Camino Real, Palo AltoOpen 7 days a Week

MEXICAN

Fiesta Del Mar 965-93541006 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View

Mexican Cuisine & Cantina

Fiesta Del Mar Too 967-3525735 Villa Street, Mountain View Open Week-

nites to 11pm, Weekends to 12pm

Palo Alto Sol 328-8840408 California Ave, Palo Alto

Huge menu • Homestyle Recipes

PIZZA

Fandango Pizza 494-29283407 Alma, Palo AltoLive Bluegrass Music

www.fandangopizza.com

Pizza My Heart 327-9400220 University Ave., Palo Alto

Range: $1.50-16.50

Pizza Chicago 424-94004115 El Camino Real, Palo AltoThis IS the best pizza in town

Ramona’s Pizza 322-21812313 Birch St., Palo Alto

Free Delivery • N.Y. Hand-Spun Pizza

POLYNESIAN

Trader Vic's 849-98004269 El Camino Real, Palo Alto

Try our Sunday á la Carte Brunch!Lunch Tue-Fri 11:30am - 2pmBrunch Sun 10:30am - 2pm

Dinner Mon-Thurs 5-10pm; Fri-Sat 5-11pm; Sun 4:30 - 9:30pmLounge open nightly

SEAFOOD

Cook’s Seafood 325-0604751 El Camino Real, Menlo Park

Seafood Dinners from $5.95 to $9.95

VEGETARIANS

Joy Meadow 780-9978701 El Camino, Redwood City

Enjoy our relaxing garden settingwww.joymeadow.com

THAI

Krung Siam 322-5900423 University Ave., Palo AltoKing of Krung Siam 960-7077

194 Castro St., Mtn. View

Search a complete

listing of local

restaurant

reviews by location

or type of food on

PaloAltoOnline.com

Restaurantof the week

Lebanese-MediterraneanFusion

A new Staple Restaurant in the busy South California Business District offers an upscale casual environment with the hallmark

service of Mediterranean culture. Chef Paul Sarkis only sources out the best ingredients to create the

freshest menu on the avenue! From halal meat offerings, fresh fish delights to the vegetarian's

fancy there is authentic fare for every palate, appetite and

occasion.

Illusions Fayrouz offers business dinners, meetings,

corporate and private functions, rehearsal dinners, graduations,

birthday parties and more!

Illusions Fayrouz Dining & Entertainment

260 S. California Ave.Palo Alto

(650) 321-6464


NOW SERVINGFollowing are condensed versions, in alpha-betical order, of longer restaurant reviews published in the Weekly over the past several years. This week’s reviews begin where the list ended one week ago.

Price Guide: (Beverages not included in average meal prices) $ - Average meal per person less than $10 $$ - Average meal $10-$15 $$$ - $15-$20 $$$$ - Above $20

Zucca, 186 Castro St., Mountain View

(650) 864-9940 “Zucca,” meaning squash in Italian, serves up the flavors of the sunny Mediterranean, focusing on Italy, Turkey, Greece and southern France. Casually elegant, the dining room and bar are comfortable and

perfect for enjoying convivial meals with friends and family. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Thurs. 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4:30 to 11:30 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed March 31, 2006)4290 Bistro & Bar, Crowne Plaza Ca-

bana, 4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 857-0787 It’s no wonder that the Beatles purport-edly stayed at this hotel once upon a day: The design of the new Crowne Plaza is a

Eating Out

Ihave cruised by Café Pro Bono for years while shopping and stopping at other eateries along

the California Avenue corridor. Perhaps it was the nondescript store front that did not tempt me in; perhaps there were other unidenti-fied intangibles. Alas, it has been a recurring mistake.

About two-and-a-half years ago, Kurt Uger sold his Café Pro Bono to Akif Aydin and Sinasi Uger in order to concentrate on his newer and larger Trellis restaurant in Menlo Park. There have not been any earthshaking changes made by the new ownership team, and no need for them. The food is very good, the service is attentive, and pricing is agreeable.

The interior has remained intact as well. Pro Bono is a décor kissing cousin to Trellis: some of it looks dated; some of it looks homemade; most of it provides a pleasant set-ting for lunch or dinner. The walls are papered, one with a mural of either Paris or the Vieux Car-

rie, and framed posters and mir-rors dot the perimeter. There are several booths, linen-lined tables scattered about and a small bar in the back.

The menus at Pro Bono and Trel-lis are also similar in both presen-tation and content. Ignacio Cortez ably manages the kitchen at Pro Bono. The food is fresh and crisply prepared with vibrant colors with few interesting twists. Akif Aydin told me that if any ingredients are not up to their standards of fresh-ness, they simply are not served that day.

I started one dinner with the wild boar sausages with flageolets ($8.95). It was a hearty beginning. The chewy and flavorsome sau-sage, not house-made, had been grilled and served with a swarm of the small kidney-shaped beans nestled in fragrant red pepper to-mato sauce.

The carpaccio ($9.95) was ra-zor-thin slices of raw beef tender-loin garnished with sliced onion,

capers, Parmesan cheese and a squiggle of Dijon mustard. The meat was melt-in-the-mouth qual-ity.

Smoked sliced duck breast with herbed fettuccine and truffle oil (9.95) had some pizzazz. The meat was plump and lean and the pasta simmered in chicken stock and herbs was pleasing. The truffle oil imbued an earthiness that united the dish.

Cold gazpacho ($4 for a cup) was the soup du jour one noontime. It was the perfect antidote to the brilliant warm weather that day. This rendition was no revelation, but the crisp chopped tomatoes, English cucumbers, sweet pep-pers, onions, hint of cilantro, olive oil and vinegar were a refreshing welcome.

Pro Bono presents essentially the same menu at lunch and din-ner with a few additional salads offered midday. One main dish I particularly liked for lunch that was absent from the dinner menu was the pork involtino ($11.95) — pork tenderloin pounded flat, then rolled around prosciutto, fon-tina and mozzarella cheeses, pan-fried then baked and topped with red wine and balsamic reduction

sauce.The roast double breast of

chicken ($16.95), stuffed with four cheeses and served with tomato basil sauce, was a dinner favor-ite. Goat, provolone, feta, grana (a sharp granular grating cheese) and a hint of gorgonzola cheeses filled the tender breast. Okay, it should be called five cheeses, then. The chicken was rolled in eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, basil and other fresh herbs before being pan fried.

A hunk of fleshy pink King salmon ($16.95) was encrusted with fresh horseradish and herbs. The fish was grilled the way I like it, a little crispy on the outside and slightly undercooked on the in-side. The fresh horseradish added a smack to the dish that was unex-pected and welcome.

The sea bass special ($19.95) one evening was a large grilled filet drizzled with light and fra-grant chardonnay sauce. The meat was flaky yet firm, delicate and tasty. The bass was accompanied with orzo (rice-shaped pasta) and French green beans.

The staff was always enthusias-tic and eager to please. The service was almost too good at times. One dinner I was asked on three sepa-rate occasions if everything was all right. There is a fine line between trying to be helpful and being in-trusive.

I like our American penchant for asking if everything is as it should be (they don’t do that in Europe), but the question should occur two or three minutes into the main course. That way, there is time to adjust and correct anything that is missing and then let the diner en-joy the meal in peace.

The desserts were generally above average. Tiramisu ($6), the classic rendition of ladyfingers soaked in espresso and rum and layered with mascarpone, had a drizzle of raspberry sauce on the side. For added zing, the cake had a splash of Frangelico, a hazelnut-flavored liqueur, and Kahlua, a coffee flavored liqueur.

The house-made cheesecake ($7) with a dash of amaretto was crumbly and velvety (the way it should be). The graham cracker-crusted cake was topped with sun-dried cranberries that had been reconstituted in raspberry and red

wine vinegars, a savory twist atop a well made cheesecake.

Crème brûlée ($7) was a creamy, lush yellowy custard with subtle hints of orange and basil. Not overly sweet, the herb invested the subtlest savory hint. My only res-ervation is my personal preference for chilled crème brûlée. The burnt sugar topping on this offering was still warm at serving.

Copa alla pro bono ($15 for two) was a large goblet filled with warm zabaglione, vanilla gelato and way too few berries. The dish would have been markedly improved with a half dozen more strawberries or a handful of raspberries, both in season. The cost of this dessert warranted something more. As it was, the goblet was not visu-ally interesting and there weren’t enough berries to offset the mass of creamy liquid. The zabaglione itself was tasty with the healthy splash of Marsala evident.

Pro Bono sports a broad but shal-low wine list. There is a little bit of everything available from France, Italy, California and Australia. It is a list designed to satisfy every-one, at least on a basic level. Prices are reasonable and there are nearly two dozen choices offered by the glass at levelheaded prices. Cork-age fee is $12.

Café Pro Bono has much going for it with well-priced, above-av-erage food, friendly service and agreeable décor. There is an en-thusiasm amongst the staff that is engaging. It is a restaurant I have long overlooked but will no longer. I hope you haven’t been making the same mistake. ■

RESTAURANT REVIEW

Nicholas W

right

The desserts at Café Pro Bono are often standouts. Pictured is a crespelle (thin Italian pancake) stuffed with Granny Smith apples and orange molasses liqueur, and then topped with fresh raspberry sauce, va-nilla gelato and 20-year-old cherry balsamic vinegar.

Birch Street charmerCafé Pro Bono delivers first-rate food,

enthusiastic service by Dale F. Bentson

ON THE WEB: Hundreds of restaurant reviews at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Café Pro Bono 2437 Birch St. Palo Alto (650) 326-7514Hours: Lunch: Mon.-Fri.,

11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.Dinner: Daily, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.www.cafeprobonorestaurant.com

Reservations

Credit cards

Lot Parking

Full Bar

Takeout

Highchairs

Wheelchair access

Banquet

Catering

Outdoor seating

Noise level:Moderate

Bathroom Cleanliness:Excellent

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gorgeous study in hip good taste and the brunch buffet is a steal at $17.95. Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; dinner Mon.-Sat. 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Sun. brunch 7 a.m.-2 p.m.; Sun. dinner 5:30-9 p.m. $$-$$$Abundant Air Cafe, 1901 Embarcadero Road, Suite 104, Palo Alto (650) 858-1003 A breezy counter-service cafe, it has a proximity to the Palo Alto Airport that informs the riveted sheet-metal decor. “Stackers” and other sandwiches clearly have a devoted lunch following. Mon.-Fri. 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. $Akane, 250 Third St., Los Altos (650) 941-8150 This full service restaurant and sushi bar in Los Altos will go a long way to fulfilling any cravings for Japanese food you may have. Daily 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. $$-$$$ (Reviewed January 17, 2003)

Aldo Los Altos, 388 Main St, Los Altos (650) 949-2300 Aldo Los Altos serves light and tasty Ital-ian fare with reasonable prices in a casual atmosphere. Particularly good are the tutti frutti (crispy calamari, portabella and artichoke), lush tomato soup, and pasta dishes. Desserts are worth the calories. Reasonably priced wines with emphasis on northern Italian wine districts. Lunch: Mon.-Fri 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Wed. 5-9 p.m. Dinner: Thurs.-Sat. 5-9:30 p.m. (Reviewed November 30, 2005)Alice’s Restaurant, 17288 Skyline Blvd., Woodside (650) 851-0303 Alice’s serves a basic breakfast and lunch menu. Evening fare includes a surprising menu of dishes, such as risotto, prawns, pork chops. Weekdays 8:30 a.m.-9 p.m., weekends 8 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed Au-gust 22, 2003)Allied Arts Guild Restaurant, 75 Arbor Road, Menlo Park (650) 324-2588

This restaurant offers three-course lunches in a Spanish garden setting. Credit cards accepted. Reservations recommended. Proceeds benefit the Lucile Salter Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday $$ (Re-viewed July 15, 2005)Amarin, 156 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 988-9323 Fresh and contemporary with traditional Thai touches. Wide range of vegetarian op-tions, aromatic curries, lunchtime compli-mentary soup of the day. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner 5-10 p.m. Sat.-Sun. noon-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed March 15, 1996)Amber India Restaurant, 2290 El Camino Real, Mountain View (650) 968-7511 Inventive menu with many an equal number of mild and spicy dishes. Impressive ser-vice and picturesque atmosphere. Daily 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m. $$-$$$ (Reviewed July 30, 2004)Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria, 790 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 961-6666 This incarnation of an East Coast pizza joint may ring true with some or as an imposter with others. Signature-style brick oven charred crust is paper thin, crisp and somewhat dry. Good place for groups. Mon-Thu 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fri 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sat 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed March 23, 2001)Andale Mexican Restaurant, 209 Univer-sity Ave., Palo Alto (650) 323-2939 This Cal-Mex eatery offers burritos, taqui-tos, flautas, tamales, quesadillas, tortas, crisp tacos and daily specials. The as-sortment will satisfy most cravings for Mexican food, without all of the lard and saturated fat. Highlights include the rotis-serie chicken marinated in achiote, chile relleno and Baja-style fish. Aqua frescas are made fresh daily, along with sangrias and margaritas. Casual, family-friendly atmosphere. Mon.-Thu., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed January 16, 2004)Andronico’s Market, 500 Stanford Shop-ping Center, Palo Alto (650) 327-5505Andronics’s Market Deli has a wide selec-tion of gourmet sandwiches, as well as salads, drinks and desserts. Most take their meals to go, however, outdoor seating is available. Daily 7 a.m.-10 p.m. $$Angelo Mio, 820 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 323-3665 Angelo Mio serves a variety of reasonably priced, Italian-based appetizers, a broad array of pastas and other entrees. The po-lenta is excellent. Veal and chicken dishes are good. Chocolate tart is an excellent dessert. Good service, festive decor. Full bar with an affordable, thoughtful wine list. Lunch Monday-Saturday 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Lunch Sunday 12-2:30 p.m.; Dinner Monday-Sunday 4:30-9 p.m. $$-$$$ (Re-viewed February 11, 2005)Ann’s Coffee Shop, 772 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 322-0043 Homemade pies, pot roast, soups and sandwiches in old-fashioned diner. Break-fast served all day. No reservations. No credit cards. Mon.-Sat.: 6:30 a.m.-4 p.m. $$-$$ (Reviewed August 15, 2003)Applewood Inn, 1001 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 324-3486 Creative gourmet pizzas (toppings include sun-dried tomatoes, caviar, exotic chees-es), salads, soups, sandwiches and pastas available at lunch. Take-out available. Mon-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mon.-Sat. 5-10 p.m.; Sun. 5-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed September 1, 2000)Applewood Pizza 2 Go, 989 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 328-1556 Applewood Inn’s creative gourmet pizzas (toppings include sun-dried tomatoes, caviar, exotic cheeses) to go. Daily 5-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed October 1, 2002)Arikato, 1040 A-1 Rengstorff Ave, Moun-tain View (650) 988-8686 This gem offers more than 30 original sushi rolls , each one including a dizzying list of ingredients. The restaurant also offers a wealth of choices for the sushi-shy, from bountiful bento boxes to generous soups and noodle plates. Combined with friendly, quick service and fair prices, Arikato begs to be more than just a quick after-shop-ping stop; it’s a must-try for sushi fans. Open seven days a week. Lunch: Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Din-ner: Monday through Sunday, 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Reviewed November 5, 2004)Armadillo Willy’s, 1031 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos (650) 941-2922 This Texas-style restaurant serves up big plates of barbecue, ribs and steaks. Try

Eating Out


(continued from previous page)

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any of the barbecue sandwiches or plat-ters with a side of fries or the spicy peanut slaw. You wont go home hungry. Sun.-Thu., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed March 12, 2004)Asia Fusion Cafe, 873 Castro St., Moun-tain View (650) 210-9393 The menu combines a variety of Asian recipes with “home cooking dishes” from the Philippines. Appetizers include lumpia and spring rolls; entrees include vegetable coconut curry, eggplant fritters and creamy seafood pot pie. Mon. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Fri. karaoke 8:30-11:30 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; 5:30-8:30 p.m.Athena Cafe, 1505 Adams Drive, Menlo Park (650) 328-1201 This simple and small cafe specializes in cold foods: salads, sandwiches, soups. Daily 7 a.m.-4 p.m. $Avanti Pizza & Pasta, 3536 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Menlo Park (650) 854-1222 Pizza, pasta, salads, sandwiches and en-trees such as veal parmigiana and chicken fingers. Creative pizza toppings. $$Babbo’s, 717 Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto (650) 321-1488 Serving pizzas and Mediterranean special-ties, such as paella. The outdoor patio is one of the best things about Babbo’s; homemade desserts are the other. Mon.-Sun. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; 5-10 p.m. $$$ (Re-viewed November 2, 2001)Bagel Street Cafe, 746 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 328-8809Breakfast and lunch options at this small chain eatery include salads, sandwiches, soups, quiches and pastries — and at least 30 types of bagels. Bagels with egg and meats or vegetables are available for breakfast, and there’s a full espresso bar. 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.Baja Fresh, 3990 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 424-8599 This is more than a hip, cool burrito and taco joint. You’ll get some of the freshest fast food you’ve ever had here. Cal-Mex dishes, such as Baja fish tacos and over-stuffed burritos are favorites. Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed February 9, 2001)Bajis’ Down the Street , 2423 Old Middlefield Way, Mountain View (650) 967-7477 Bajis has been serving up huge omelets, hot sandwiches, hamburgers and salads in a down-home atmosphere since 1979; out-door seating available. Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat. 7 a.m.-2 p.m. $$-$$Bangkok Cuisine, 407 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto (650) 322-6533 An unassuming retreat into a world of wonderful Thai food, where flavors are perfectly balanced in nearly every dish in the restaurant’s creative — and lengthy — menu. A complete vegetarian and vegan menu echoes the style and flavors of many regular menu offerings. Monday-Saturday lunch 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.; Monday-Saturday dinner 5 - 10 p.m.; Sunday, 5 - 10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed April 22, 2005)Bangkok Spoon, 702 Villa St., Mountain View (650) 968-2038 Affordable Thai food in a comfortable setting with excellent, friendly service. Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 5-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed May 26, 2000)Baskin Robbins, 264 State St., Los Altos (650) 941-5412 Chain restaurant. From its original 31 fla-vors, Baskin Robbins now rotates through over 1,000 different concoctions, with specialties constantly changing. Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $ (Reviewed , )Bay Leaf Cafe, The, 520 Ramona St., Palo Alto (650) 321-7466 One of the few, if not the only, local vegan restaurants. Menu consists of soups, salads and sandwiches, and much of the food is also organic. Variety of cakes and non-dairy ice cream treats. Computers and wireless web connection too. Mon.-Sat.: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (closed 2:30 p.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Wed.); Sun.: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. $$ (Reviewed February 28, 2003)Bean Scene Cafe, 500 Castro St., Moun-tain View (650) 903-4871 Located next to Theatreworks, this attrac-tive cafe offers breakfast options, salads, sandwiches and great desserts, including ice cream. But the coffee drinks were on the weak side. Mon.-Thu. 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Sun. 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. on show days. $$ (Reviewed June 20, 2003)

Beausejour, 170 State St., Los Altos (650) 948-1382 French duck, pheasant, rabbit, pasta, creative Asian side dishes. Country-French atmosphere with separate small rooms. Live background piano music on some weekends. Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mon.-Sun. 5:30-9 p.m. $$-$$$Bella Luna, 233 University Ave., Palo Alto (650) 322-1846 Bella Luna is ideally situated in a cozy cen-tury -old brick building in downtown Palo Alto. The Italian-themed restaurant features attractive decor, excellent service and a reasonably priced wine list. The antipasti for two and bruschetta are good for start-ers. The house-made pastas are tasty as well as chicken and pork dishes. Desserts are adequate. Lunch: Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Dinner: Mon.-Thurs. 5-10 p.m.; Friday 5-11 p.m.; Sat. noon-11 p.m.; Sun. noon-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed April 21, 2006)Bento Teriyaki, 225 E. Middlefield Road, Mountain View (650) 903-9403This Japanese fast food restaurant serves up home-made Japanese dishes, such as chicken teriyaki and sushi. Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ Best Bite, 1414 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View (650) 988-8895Light, healthy home-cooked Persian foods in a simple setting. Menu offers a variety of vegetarian and meat dishes. Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. $$ (Reviewed September 3, 2004)Better Bagel, 1040 Grant Road, Moun-tain View (650) 988-0279 This classic bagel shop offers a variety of bagels and sandwiches, as well as differ-ent crream cheese spreads, smoothies and coffee drinks. Also serves breakfast bagels. Mon.-Fri. 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-5 p.m. $Bistro Elan, 448 California Ave., Palo Alto (650) 327-0284 Bistro Elan offers elegant dining in a bistro setting. Chef/owner Ambjorn Lindskog’s ever-changing menu melds a French sen-sibility with a California emphasis on light foods. Main courses consist of duck, lamb, beef and seafood. Desserts are interesting and uniformly good. Handsome yet relaxed decor. Reservations advised. Lunch Tue.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dinner Tue.-Sat. 5:30-10:30 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed February 20, 2004)Bistro Vida, 641 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 462-1686 Traditional dishes with mixed results at this Parisian-style cafe. Professional, knowl-edgeable service and a cozy ambience, but many dishes need attention. Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m.; 5-10 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m. $$$ (Re-viewed May 6, 2005)Blue Chalk Cafe, 630 Ramona St., Palo Alto (650) 326-1020 As much a bar and pool hall as a restau-rant. “Nouveau” Southern cuisine with a California twist. Homemade biscuits, soups, salads, sandwiches and seafood. Banquet facilities. Mon-Wed day menu 11 a.m.-10 p.m., late-night menu 10-11 p.m. Thurs-Fri day menu 11 a.m.-11 p.m., late-night menu 11 p.m.-midnight. Sat day menu 5-11 p.m., late-night menu 11 p.m.-midnight. Closed Sun. $$$ (Reviewed August 9, 2001)Boardwalk, The, 4940 El Camino Real, Los Altos (650) 964-7500 The Boardwalk is a no-frills burger and pizza joint brought to you by the folks that blessed Menlo Park with the like-minded Oasis. The decadent double cheeseburg-er makes the calories count. Mon.-Thu. 8 a.m.-1 a.m.; Fri. 8 a.m.-2 a.m.; Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-1 a.m. $$ (Reviewed June 12, 1998)Boston Market, 3375 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 843-0288. Also in Moun-tain View. While it certainly can qualify as a fast-food, take-out place, it’s in a different league. Chicken and turkey are the restaurant’s specialty, but it also serves ham and meat loaf—good comfort food. Daily 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed September 19, 1997)Bravo Fono, 99 Stanford Shopping Cen-ter, Palo Alto (650) 322-4664European cuisine with a Palo Alto price tag. Mostly Mediterranean fare with a hint of Hungary (excellent, hearty gulyas soup) and an afternoon tea menu. Other high-lights are the creamy polenta con verdure and the flavorful pear almond tart. Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m; Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed October 28, 2005)British Bankers Club, 1090 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 327-8769

British Bankers Club serves reasonably priced, well prepared California bistro style food. Sweet corn and clam chowder is an excellent start, while baby back ribs, hangar steak and the tri-tip salad are good bets for entrees. Desserts are heavy and sweet. Huge bar, but diminutive wine list. Lunch Sunday-Saturday 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; Dinner Sunday-Thursday 4-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday 4-10 p.m. (Reviewed January 28, 2005)Brix B.B.Q. and Grill, 1246 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 321-3300 This is a burger joint with a quirky person-ality. You’ll do just fine as long as you stick to the basics here — plain old hamburg-ers and cheeseburgers, virgin fries and shakes. Screened-in patio seating. Sun.-Wed. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Thu.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$-$$ (Reviewed June 1, 2001)Buca di Beppo, 643 Emerson St., Palo Alto (650) 329-0665 Noisy, entertaining, family-oriented. A bar-rage of photographs and visual flotsam celebrating Italy and all things Italian. Huge family-style portions. Mon.-Thu. 5-10 p.m.; Fri. 5-11 p.m.; Sat. noon-11 p.m.; Sun. noon-10 p.m. $$-$$$ (Reviewed Septem-ber 13, 1996)Buck’s of Woodside, 3062 Woodside Road, Woodside (650) 851-8010 Far-ranging menu includes omelets, chick-en piccata and burgers. Funky Western atmosphere, with cowboy-hat lampshades and eclectic wall decorations. Mon.-Thu. 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fri. 7 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 8 a.m.-10 p.m. and Sun. 8 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed May 22, 1998)buenobueno, 2500 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View (650) 941-0220Casual, self-service. Burritos, tacos, ques-adillas, salads and frozen yogurt. Take-out available. Mon.-Fri. 9:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $ Burrito Real Restaurant, 580 N. Reng-storff Ave., Mountain View (650) 988-6705 Mammoth-sized burritos. Patio seating. Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.Cafe 220, 220 B University Ave, Palo Alto (650) 853-8182 Reasonably priced Mediterranean fare, including kebabs, gyros, salads, moussaka and crepes. The Turkish coffee is properly strong, and the pistachio baklava properly tempting. Monday-Thursday 10:30 a.m.-midnight. Friday-Saturday 10:30 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Sunday 11 a.m.-midnight. $ (Re-viewed March 17, 2006)Cafe Bombay, 4546 A-5 El Camino Real, Los Altos (650) 948-9463 Buffet-style meals for both lunch and din-ner provide a tasty smorgasbord. There’s also a good-sized menu, with many op-tions for breads, rices, vegetarian fare, Tandoori dishes and others. Bollywood music and a rickshaw parked overhead add to the ambience. Lunch Mon-Sun 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Dinner Sun-Thu 5-9:30 p.m., Fri-Sat 5-10 p.m., Sun 4-9:30 p.m. $$ Cafe Borrone, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 327-0830 Bustling European-style Cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. Salads, quiches, sandwiches, soups, desserts and coffee. Mon.-Thu. 7 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri. 7 a.m.-mid-night; Sat 8 a.m- midnight, Sun. 8 a.m.-11 p.m. $$ (Reviewed January 19, 2001)Cafe Brioche, 445 California Ave., Palo Alto (650) 326-8640 Provencal cuisine in small charming, South-of-France atmosphere. Casual enough for a bite with friends, but romantic enough for a date. Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. brunch 9 a.m.-3 p.m.; Din-ner daily 5:30-9:30 p.m. $$-$$$ (Reviewed January 19, 2001)Cafe Fino, 544 Emerson St., Palo Alto (650) 326-6082 Maddalena’s & Cafe Fino (adjacent restau-rants with the same owner) offer old-styled supper club fare complete with live cabaret music nightly except Sunday. One side of the restaurant is upholstered, softly lit and romantic, while the other boasts an art deco decor and is fashioned for enter-tainment. Seafood and veal Maddalena are very good. Full bar, shallow wine list. Lunch: Tue.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Din-ner: Daily 5:30-11:30 p.m. $$ (Reviewed February 24, 2006)Cafe Libro, 301 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 691-9715 Located on the second floor of Books Inc, this small Cafe provides a convenient and relaxing way to savor a book. Aside from the standard breads and desserts, Cafe Li-bro serves sandwiches and salads. Mon.-Thu. 8 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri. 8 a.m.-midnight;

Sat. 9 a.m.-midnight; Sun. 9 a.m.-11 p.m. $$ (Reviewed June 20, 2003)Cafe Pro Bono, 2437 Birch St., Palo Alto (650) 326-1626 Inventive Northern Italian cuisine, soft lighting, perfect for a date or a business dinner. Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 5-10 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 5-10 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed May 19, 2006)Cafe Renaissance, 321 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto (650) 321-6222 Cafe Renaissance specializes in tasty Persian platters. Don’t miss the khoresh-e fesenjan (only available at dinner) , in which pomegranate paste is cooked with ground walnuts and tender pieces of butternut squash, creating a rustic stew that is then simmered with chicken. The cafe’s kabobs are also tender and savory. Mon 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tue-Fri 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.; Sat 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. $$-$$ (Reviewed

Eating Out


JOHN BENTLEY’S2991 Woodside Road,Woodside

RESERVATIONS: 650-851-4988LUNCH:TUES-FRI 11:30-2:00DINNER:TUES-SAT 5:00-9:00

2915 EL CAMINO REAL, REDWOOD CITY650-365-7777

www.johnbentleys.com

We still are the upbeat, intimate diningexperience with an outstanding contemporaryAmerican menu that isn’t afraid to have funwith flavors.For lunch we have an equally interesting menufull of sandwiches, entrees, salads and starters.

Also visit John Bentley’s in Redwood City

ome experience the newly

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C

Eve

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othi

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as ch

ange

d.

Specialize in hot and spicy dishes (mild also available)Banquet and catering are available Call for special banquet and catering menu

2 0 0 6

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January 7, 2005)Cafe Silan, 867 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park (650) 326-5404 A tiny yet charming cafe serving authentic Kurdish food. That means lamb kabobs and stews, flat breads topped with veal and lamb, and bulgur dishes, made from a cracked wheat grain. Daily 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed December 15, 2000)Cafe Yulong, 743 West Dana St., Moun-tain View (650) 960-1677 The food at Cafe Yulong has many of the hallmarks of Chinese culinary classicism. It reflects the sophisticated lightness of Mandarin cuisine, with hints of Szechuan, Hunan and even Korean influences. Lunch and dinner daily 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; until 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat. $$ (Reviewed No-vember 15, 2002)Cafe del Doge, 419 University Ave., Palo Alto (650) 323-3600 This Venice-based chain (with other loca-tions in Tokyo and Budapest) has brought its Venetian-style espresso to Palo Alto. Teas and treats, too.Cafe Riace, 200 Sheridan Ave., Palo Alto (650) 328-0407 Large portions of Italian food and a formi-dable pasta selection, but dishes are often bland. Desserts can be hit-or-miss, but the coffee gelato is deliciously reminiscent of the gelatos of Florence. Daily 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed November 25, 2005)California Cafe, 700 Welch Road, Palo Alto (650) 325-2233 Large dining room with earth-tone scheme is comfortably appointed. The menu, which runs the gamut from finger food to salads to seafood and pasta, focuses on Califor-nia cuisine with Asian accents. Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Sun. brunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m., dinner 4-9 p.m. $$$-$$$$ (Reviewed August 2, 2002)California Pizza Kitchen, 531 Cowper St., Palo Alto (650) 323-7332 Southern California-based chain serving a variety of pizzas, including vegetarian, Pe-king duck, Thai chicken, etc. Sandwiches, pasta and soup are also on the menu. This is a family restaurant — it’s reliable, con-sistent, efficient and clean. The ingredients are fresh, if not sophisticated and offers something for everyone. Mon-Thu 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sun 11 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed March 18, 2005)California Roadhouse, 401 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 254-8981 The top treasures at Roadhouse are the burgers and steaks, but the Southern pe-can-crusted rainbow trout also satisfies. Friendly, fast service. Open seven days a week, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Reviewed December 7, 2005)Cantankerous Fish, 420 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 966-8124 With its stylish interior, fresh cuisine and excellent service, this new spin-off from Scott’s Seafood is a classy choice for a casual seafood meal. Mon.11 a.m.-9:30 p.m.; Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun. 4:30-9:30 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed December 12, 2003)Carpaccio, 1120 Crane St., Menlo Park (650) 322-1211 Veal, pasta, pizzas, chicken and fresh fish served in a warm, hospitable trattoria. Full bar. Reservations suggested. Lunch Mon.-

Eating Out


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[email protected]

RICK BELL408.982.8428

[email protected]

Conveniently located at 425-495 Whisman Rd., Mountain VIew(near Ellis Street offramp from Hwy 101)

Visit Online at www.thevineyardmv.com



Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Late lunch 2-5 p.m.; Dinner Mon.-Thu. 5-10 p.m.; Fri. and Sat. 5-10 p.m.; Sun. 5-8:30 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed May 23, 2003)Casa Isabel, 2434 Park Blvd., Palo Alto (650) 328-3102 Casa Isabel remains family- owned and operated, lending a warm ambience that’s evident the moment you walk through the door. The cuisine is best described as Mexican comfort food. Beer, sangria and margaritas are available. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; Dinner Mon.-Sat. 5:30-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed December 20, 2002)Casa Lupe, 459 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 965-2944 This family owned and operated restaurant has been serving great Northern Mexican cuisine since 1974. Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 5-10 p.m., Sun. 4-9 p.m. $$Cascal, 400 Castro St., Mountain View (650) 940-9500 Cascal’s “pan Latin cuisine features Span-ish and South American dishes. Excellent tapas — small dishes meant to be shared — include lamb meatballs, veal tagine and calamari in red wine sauce The interior, somewhat reminiscent of a Disneyland ver-sion of Morocco, exudes casual warmth, with warm colors, deeply hued fabrics, beautiful wood floors, and faux-Moorish archways and pillars. The restaurant ex-cels with service, ambience and pizzazz. Lunch Mon.-Sun. 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; Dinner Sun.-Thu. 5-10 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m. (Reviewed February 6, 2004)Celia’s, 3740 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (650) 843-0643 Traditional Mexican food with a full page of house specialties. Longtime family-owned establishment. Portions are generous and everything is made from scratch. Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$ (Reviewed August 1, 2003)Celia’s, 1850 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (650) 321-8227 Traditional Mexican food with a full page of house specialties. Longtime family-owned establishment. Portions are generous and everything is made from scratch. Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-10 p.m. $$Cetrella, 845 Main St., Half Moon Bay (650) 726-4090 Cetrella features a decent dinner menu honoring Italy, France and Spain, but the real draw is the bar food. Immerse yourself in the tapas menu and don’t miss the wine list — over 200 bottles and 25 wines by the glass. Sun.-Thu. 5:30-9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 5:30-10 p.m; Sun. brunch 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. $$$-$$$$ (Reviewed April 5, 2002)Chaat Paradise-Mountain View, 165 E. El Camino Real, Mountain View (650) 965-1111 This restaurants specializes in 100% vegetarian meals. A variety of vegetarian snacks available as well. Daily 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. $$-$$ Chantilly, 3001 El Camino Real, Redwood City (650) 321-4080 This elegant, upscale restaurant leans heavily toward Italian, with lots of veal scaloppini, risotto, gnocchi and calamari. Private rooms available. Mon.-Fri. 11:00 a.m.-2 p.m.; Mon.-Sat. 5:30-10 p.m. $$$ (Reviewed January 14, 2000)Chapala, 570 N. Shoreline Blvd., Moun-tain View (650) 965-8019 This is your basic Mexican restaurant serv-ing traditional Mexican dishes. Also fea-tures a selection of beers and wines and has a private room great for small parties. Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. $$ (Reviewed , )Cheesecake Factory, 375 University Ave., Palo Alto (650) 473-9622 The Cheesecake Factory offers over 200 items that incorporate a variety of ethnic cuisines. Portions are uniformly bland and gigantic. Seafood and appetizers are the best dishes. Desserts are huge and innoc-uous as well, with many of the 50 cheese-cakes having exaggerated flavors. Be pre-pared to wait, as the restaurant does not accept reservations. Mon.-Thu. 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-11 p.m. (Reviewed March 5, 2004)Chef Chu’s, 1067 N. San Antonio Road , Los Altos (650) 948-2696 The mammoth two-story restaurant has a menu ranging from the warhorses of chicken chow mein and fried prawns to more up-to-date choices. Silver anchovies and almonds make for a surprisingly tasty appetizer, and Lovers’ Prawns are the perfect couple. Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. ; Continuous service: Mon.-Fri., 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. ; Sat.-Sun., noon-10 p.m. $$-$$$ (Reviewed January 20, 2006)

Fine Spanish Bronze Mounted Humidor

Selection of Hand Tied CarpetsNeedlepoint Armchair

Fine Jewelry, incl. Retro Diamond Covered Watch

Stratford SchoolPreschool and Elementary School

in Palo Alto!To learn more about Stratford or to schedule a tour,

please call (650) 493-1151 or email [email protected].

www.stratfordschools.com

Eating Out FEEL YOUR ROOTS GROWConnect to yourself, the Earth and others.

Are you...

Yearning to connect to the natural world?Wanting to experience your local watershed?Eager to encounter the changing seasons?

Join us in a year-long in-depth exploration of our local region. One Monday evening and one Saturdayper month from May 2006 - April 2007.

Exploring a Sense of PlaceThe Journey begins

Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m.with a free Overview and Introduction at

222 High Street, Palo AltoFor more details, visit us online at www.exploringsenseofplace.org

call 650.328.7756 or e-mail [email protected]


MoviesMovie reviews by Jeanne Aufmuth, Tyler Hanley and Susan Tavernetti

Over the Hedge ✭✭✭1/2(Century 16, Century 12) In a year of

animated films that’s already seen one “Wild” reject and a lukewarm “Ice Age,” Dreamworks dips into backyard suburbia for this crowd-pleasing picture about fam-ily, friendship and the ugliness of gluttony. Unparalleled vocal talent, phenomenal animation, and a crew of endearing critters push “Hedge” past its CGI competitors into must-see territory.

Conniving raccoon RJ (voice of Bruce Willis) bites off more than he can chew when he tries to steal a wagon full of food from a hibernating bear (Nick Nolte as Vincent), but loses the grub instead. And Vincent of-fers RJ an ominous ultimatum: Replace the items by week’s end or it’s raccoon burgers for breakfast.

Segue to a woodsy nook where one di-verse animal “family” is waking for spring — only to find a massive hedge has severed its tranquil refuge. The crew includes a prag-matic turtle (Garry Shandling as Verne); a porcupine couple (Eugene Levy and Cath-erine O’Hara) and their restless triplets; a no-nonsense skunk (Wanda Sykes as Stella); a dramatic possum (William Shatner) and his daughter (singer Avril Lavigne); and a manic squirrel (Steve Carell as Hammy).

While Verne and company ponder what’s “Over the Hedge,” RJ schemes his way into their good graces for some involuntary help to repay Vincent. Soon the whole bunch is having misadventures in the human world, where binge eating and SUVs are com-monplace. Hated by the president of the homeowners’ association and hunted by an egomaniacal exterminator, the animals must cooperate if they hope to save RJ and sur-vive suburbia.

“Hedge” is like the small-mammal equiv-alent of “Finding Nemo.” The unique char-acters are thoroughly engaging — especially Hammy, whose hilarious antics encourage ear-to-ear grinning. Whether he’s hanker-ing for a chocolate chip cookie, chasing a laser dot or masquerading as a rabid beast, Hammy is a pint-sized pleasure.

Shandling is a bit miscast as Verne, in-stilling the well-drawn reptile with a nasally,

whiney voice. And Stella is an unfortunate stereotype who is all attitude and zero imag-ination. The filmmakers even borrow a page from the Looney Tunes handbook that would encourage Pepe Le Pew to file a lawsuit.

But minor drawbacks are bypassed thanks to good messages about over-indulgence and appreciating nature, and the film even offers a slew of inside jokes for mom and dad (such as when RJ holds a John Tesh CD that’s been marked down to 10 cents).

Families should flock over to theaters for “Hedge” — a colorful charmer that proves Disney/Pixar is not the only animation pow-erhouse.

Rated: PG for some rude humor and mild comic action. 1 hour, 27 minutes.

— Tyler Hanley

The Da Vinci Code ✭✭✭(Century 16, Century 12) “The Da Vinci

Code” has already been cracked. Even if you haven’t bought or borrowed one of the 50 million sold copies of Dan Brown’s theologi-cal thriller, chances are you know all about this controversial take on the legend of the Holy Grail.

Only one question really remains: Will the filmed version of “The Da Vinci Code”

crackle? Or has Tom Hanks participated in another book burning? (Think “The Bonfire of the Vanities.”)

Rest assured. Director Ron Howard and scribe Akiva Goldsman, who collaborated on “Cinderella Man” and “A Beautiful Mind,” have brought a relatively faithful ad-aptation to the big screen.

Certainly themes, characters and sub-plots have been sacrificed in the name of Screenwriting Basics, the need to collapse a 454-page novel into a script of about a third of that size. But the film opens on the run with a Louvre curator (Jean-Pierre Mari-elle) gunned down in the Grand Gallery by a murderous monk (Paul Bettany), and the action never stops. It’s a chase from start to finish.

A French police captain (Jean Reno) es-corts renowned Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) from his book sign-ing to the museum crime scene, asking for help interpreting the dead man’s bloody trail of mysterious symbols and clues. When po-lice cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tau-tou) arrives and secretly informs Langdon that he is the prime suspect and the deceased was her grandfather, the pair go on the lam.

Everyone from the law to devotees of the theologically conservative movement Opus Dei (Bettany and Alfred Molina) relentlessly track the couple as they rush to unlock the riddles of “the greatest cover-up in human history.” Their quest leads them to Grail expert Sir Leigh Teabing (the devilishly de-lightful Ian McKellen), taking them from France to England and Scotland. Blood and bloodlines flow as the plot thickens.

Brown describes Langdon as “Harrison Ford in Harris tweed” — not Tom Hanks in funny hair. But the role doesn’t require Hanks to snap a bullwhip or charm with a lopsided smile. In fact, the novel’s Robert-Sophie love interest never surfaces.

Plenty of implausible moments do. Again and again, the film asks for a suspension of disbelief as an academic repeatedly breaks complex codes, in seconds and under life-threatening situations. Langdon’s sharp

mind and reflexes would put most fictional secret agents to shame.

Perhaps the most unforgivable aspect of the film is giving lip service to the sacred feminine while relegating Sophie to sidekick status. If she’s the seasoned code breaker, why does the male protagonist unscramble every anagram, puzzle and secret message? And in her shining moment, Sophie defers to Robert for advice and validation. String these letters together: S-E-X-I-S-T.

So Dan Brown isn’t Umberto Eco, and “The Da Vinci Code” can’t hold a rosebud to “Citizen Kane.” Howard still plays by the book closely enough to entertain fans and the uninitiated alike.

Rated: PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references and sexual content. In English and in snippets of French, Italian and Latin with English subtitles. 2 hours, 33 minutes.

— Susan Tavernetti

Down in the Valley ✭✭(Cinearts) Edward Norton reappears after

a lengthy screen absence (but for a masked turn in “Kingdom of Heaven”) in this pains-taking indie that’s too self-conscious for its own good.

The valley of the title is California’s own San Fernando, home to endless vistas of ce-ment and strip malls. Worlds collide when stressed-out teen Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) meets contemporary cowboy and South Da-kota transplant Harlan Carruthers (Norton) pumping gas at a random filling station. In a fit of flirt she invites Harlan to the beach and we’re off to the races.

There’s something wholly unseemly about a thirty-something drifter hooking up with an underage girl. The script plays it for hearts and flowers but Harlan’s aw-shucks

OPENINGS


Garry Shandling voices Verne the turtle, and he’s in good company in the engaging “Over the Hedge”: other actors include Bruce Willis, Nick Nolte and William Shatner.

The codes are cracked and the film crackles: Audrey Tautou and Tom Hanks in “The Da Vinci Code.”

Stressed-out teen (Evan Rachel Wood) meets contemporary cowboy (Edward Norton) in the slightly sleazy “Down in the Valley.”


Akeelah and the Bee (PG) ✭✭ Century 16: 11:45 a.m.; 2:30 & 4:55 p.m. Century 12: 11:35 a.m.; 2:15 & 4:55 p.m.

Art School Confidential Aquarius: 4:45, 7:30 & 10 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at (R) ✭✭1/2 11:45 a.m. & 2:15 p.m. The Da Vinci Code Century 16: 11 & 11:40 a.m.; 12:30, 1:05, 1:40, 2:15, (PG-13) ✭✭✭ 3, 3:50, 4:25, 5, 5:30, 6:20, 7:10, 7:45, 8:20, 8:50

& 10:30 p.m. Century 12: 10:25 & 11:10 a.m.; noon, 12:50, 1:40, 2:30, 3:20, 4:10, 5, 5:50, 6:40, 7:30, 8:20, 9:10 & 9:55 p.m.

Down in the Valley (R) ✭✭ CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 2:15, 4:55, 7:45 & 10:15 p.m.; Sat. & Sun. also at 11:30 a.m.

Goal! The Dream Begins Century 16: 11:35 a.m.; 5:05, 7:40 & 10:20 p.m.(PG) (Not Reviewed)Hoot (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:05 a.m. & 1:10 p.m. Inside Man (R) ✭✭✭ Century 16: 7:20 & 9:55 p.m. Just My Luck (PG-13) ✭1/2 Century 16: 11:20 a.m.; 1:50, 4:15, 7 & 9:20 p.m.

Century 12: 12:05, 2:35, 5:05, 7:35 & 10:10 p.m. Kinky Boots (PG-13) ✭✭✭ Century 16: 3:15, 5:35, 7:55 & 10:15 p.m. The Lost City (R) ✭✭1/2 Guild: 5 & 8 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Mission: Impossible III Century 16: 12:15, 1:45, 3:05, 4:30, 6:15, 7:15, 9 & (PG-13) ✭✭✭ 10 p.m. Century 12: 12:20, 3:15, 6:20, 7:45, 9:15 &

10:30 p.m. Over the Hedge (PG) ✭✭✭1/2 Century 16: 10:50 & 11:50 a.m.; 1, 2, 3:10, 4:10,

5:20, 6:25, 7:30, 8:25, 9:40 & 10:25 p.m. Century 12: 10:20, 11 & 11:30 a.m.; 12:30, 1:10, 1:45, 2:40, 3:20, 4, 4:50, 5:30, 6:15, 7, 7:40, 8:20, 9:10 & 10:25 p.m.

Poseidon (PG-13) ✭✭1/2 Century 16: 12:25, 2:50, 5:25, 7:50 & 10:10 p.m. Century 12: 12:35, 3, 5:40, 8, 9:50 & 10:25 p.m.

RV (PG) (Not Reviewed) Century 16: 11:30 a.m.; 1:55, 4:35, 7:05 & 9:25 p.m. Century 12: 11:55 a.m.; 2:20, 4:40, 7:10 & 9:35 p.m.

See No Evil (R) Century 16: 11:25 a.m.; 1:35, 3:45, 5:55, 8 & 10:05 (Not Reviewed) p.m. Stick It (PG-13) ✭✭1/2 Century 16: 2:20 p.m. Thank You for Smoking CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 2:45, 5:10, 7:30 & 9:50 (R) ✭✭✭1/2 p.m.; Sun. also at 12:30 p.m. United 93 (R) ✭✭✭✭ Century 16: 9:35 p.m. Water (Not Rated) ✭✭✭1/2 Aquarius: 4:15, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Fri.-Sun. also at

11:15 a.m. & 1:45 p.m.

MOVIE TIMES

Note: Screenings are for Friday through Tuesday only.

ON THE WEB: The most up-to-date movie listings at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

Aquarius: 430 Emerson St., Palo Alto (266-9260)

Century Cinema 16: 1500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View (960-0970)

Century Park 12: 557 E. Bayshore Blvd., Redwood City (365-9000)

Guild: 949 El Camino Real, Menlo Park (266-9260)

CinéArts at Palo Alto Square: 3000 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (493-3456)

Stanford: 221 University Ave., Palo Alto (324-3700)

Internet address: For show times, plot synopses, trailers and more information about films playing, visit Palo Alto Online at http://www.PaloAltoOnline.com/

★ Skip it ★★ Some redeeming qualities ★★★ A good bet ★★★★ Outstanding

The Stanford Theatre is at 221 University Ave. in Palo Alto. Screen-ings are for Friday through Tuesday. Call (650) 324-3700 or go to www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/.

Beau Geste (silent, 1926)Three brothers serve in the Foreign Legion under a sadistic commander. Starring Ronald Colman. Sat. at 7:30 p.m.; Sun. at 2 p.m.

Clive of India (1935) Ronald Colman stars as Robert Clive, Britain’s man of destiny who united India under British rule. Also starring Loretta Young. Fri. at 5:50 & 9:20 p.m.

The Light That Failed (1939)This tragic story of an artist’s blindness is based on Rudyard Kipling’s first novel. Starring Ronald Colman. Fri. at 7:30 p.m.; Sat. at 9:55 p.m.

Lust for Life (1956) Based on the life of Vincent Van Gogh, the film was shot on the actual locations Van Gogh lived and painted. Starring Kirk Douglas and directed by Vincente Min-nelli. Sun.-Tue. at 7:30 p.m.

Tea and Sympathy (1956) A prep-school boy who doubts his manhood is initiated by the wife of the headmaster. Starring Deborah Kerr and directed by Vincente Minnelli. Sun.-Tue. at 5:15 & 9:45 p.m.

STANFORD THEATRE

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DIRECTORY FOR SHOWTIMES

NOW PLAYINGAkeelah and the Bee ✭✭

(Century 16, Century 12) Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is your standard bright un-der-achiever, a precocious African Ameri-can 11-year-old from south L.A. with an ex-ceptional gift for words. Despite Akeelah’s determination to blend in with the average kids, her aptitude draws the interest of school principal Welch (Curtis Armstrong) and aesthete scholar Dr. Joshua Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), who agrees to tutor her. Akeelah wins a series of local spelling bees and lands herself smack in the middle of the holy grail of spelling, The Scripps National Bee. But not before tussling with the rigorous Larabee over the methods to her madness. In a “surprise” move, Larabee decides he has done enough for Akeelah and cuts her loose before the big show. The climax just barely pulls “Akeelah” through, crossing the finish line with buckets of tears and maximum manipulation. S-c-h-m-a-l-t-z. Rated: PG for some language. 1 hour, 52 minutes.— J.A. (Reviewed April 28, 2006)

Art School Confidential ✭✭1/2(Aquarius) Director Terry Zwigoff and comic book artist-turned-screenwriter Daniel Clowes follow up their “Ghost World” suc-cess with a less satisfying collaboration. Max Minghella (“Syriana”) infuses Jerome, a gifted and committed young artist, with dreams and sweetness and naivete. An outsider at his suburban high school, he expects to find a community of like-minded Picassos at the art institute. But, as Je-rome’s new buddy (Joel Moore of “Dodge-ball: A True Underdog Story”) points out, his fellow students are walking cliches: the vegan holy man, the boring blowhard, the angry lesbian, the beatnik chick, the drop-out. With the exception of Jerome and the model (Sophia Myles of “Tristan & Isolde”) whom he adores, all the characters are stick figures with none of the lovable ec-centricities that added dimension to those living in “Ghost World.” If you’re an aspiring artist, prepare to sell out or slit your wrists now. Rated: Rated R for language including sexual references, nudity and a scene of violence. 1 hour, 42 minutes. — S.T. (Re-viewed May 12, 2006)

Inside Man ✭✭✭

(Century 16) On an ordinary New York City afternoon a group of jumpsuit-clad “paint-ers” enters the Manhattan Trust Bank and declares robbery. But this is more than your cookie-cutter theft. Mastermind Dalton Russell (the smooth-as-silk Clive Owen) has a Plan, and nothing is going to deter him from getting exactly what he came for. Meanwhile, tenacious hostage negotiator Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) bides his time, navigating the jurisdictional one-up-manship typical of Manhattan emergencies while fending off unwelcome questions re-garding a little Internal Affairs issue involving a missing $140,000. Director Spike Lee’s trademark ethnic indignation is accounted for but not overpowering. Washington and Owen chew up the scenery, clearly relishing the opportunity to deliver quality perfor-mances in a quality project. Rated: R for violence, language and mature themes. 2 hours, 8 minutes. — J.A. (Reviewed March 24, 2006)

Just My Luck ✭1/2(Century 16, Century 12) Lady Luck is on the side of big-wig executive Ashley Al-bright (Lindsay Lohan). She has no need for umbrellas because the sun always shines in her presence, and she picks up extra bucks by easily winning scratcher lottery tickets. The opposite can be said for sin-cere but clumsy Jake Hardin (Chris Pine). Rain clouds trail him and female joggers mistake his good intentions for attempted assault. Serendipity intervenes when Ash-ley organizes a high-profile masquerade

ball for music mogul Damon Phillips (Faizon Love). Turns out Jake has been aching to meet Phillips in an effort to introduce New York to the edgy British band that performs at the bowling alley where Jake works. One mystical moment on the dance floor has Ashley and Jake locking lips — and trading luck. Lohan’s latest teen-queen concoction is a ridiculous twist on the 1983 Eddie Mur-phy comedy “Trading Places,” but Lohan’s pop-star diva status has grossly diluted her comedic potential. Rated: PG-13 for some brief sexual references. 1 hour, 43 minutes. — T.H. (Reviewed May 12, 2006)

Kinky Boots ✭✭✭

(Century 16) Based on a true story, “Kinky” centers on the humble son (Joel Edgerton as Charlie Price) of a popular Northampton shoemaker. Charlie is forced to manage the family business following his father’s death, and quickly realizes profits are plummeting thanks to cheap labor and cheaper knock-offs. It’s time for a change. Enter Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a transvestite/cabaret singer whom Charlie meets while drown-ing his financial sorrows in alcohol. Lola is friendly but frustrated — her high-heeled boots continually break under the weight of her manly frame. Charlie’s brain sparks an unconventional idea: Design shoes that are made for a woman but built for a man. Charlie enlists Lola’s expertise despite ar-guments from his conservative work force and soon Lola is spreading her infectious good vibes throughout the factory. Ejiofor



Movies

is stellar, bringing true depth and soul to his multi-faceted portrayal, but “Kinky” itself isn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy and often feels too familiar. Rated: PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality, and for language. 1 hour, 47 minutes. — T.H. (Reviewed May 5, 2006)

The Lost City ✭✭1/2(Guild) Pre-Communist Cuba circa 1958 positively swoons with romance and color, a hedonistic playground of la dolce vita. For Fico Fellove (Andy Garcia) life is all about family and the posh Havana nightclub he operates for well-heeled Cubans. As history dictates, Fulgencio Batista’s fascist dicta-torship segues into Fidel Castro’s ruthless social justice and the good life goes to pot, caught in a vise of anger, discontent and revolution. Fico’s handsome younger broth-ers Luis and Ricardo (Nestor Carbonell and Enrique Murciano) embrace the political upheaval and can’t or won’t acknowledge that Cuba is destined for ruin. Rather pre-dictably, Fico finds himself mired in tragedy, suffering Ricardo’s betrayal (as a puppet for Che Guevara’s guerilla left) and the death of Luis in an urban rebel coup.Ultimately he falls for Luis’ sultry widow, Aurora (InÈs Sastre), who herself becomes a pawn in Castro’s evil game by accepting the titular position of Widow of the Revolu-tion. Handsomely executed but hopelessly flawed, “City” is an historical epic sans the epic. Rated: R for violence, language and mature themes. 2 hours, 33 minutes. — J.A. (Reviewed May 12, 2006)

Mission: Impossible III ✭✭✭

(Century 16, Century 12) Tom Cruise returns to form with this pulse-pounding actioner — the best of the “Mission: Impos-sible” film franchise. The riveting intro sees IMF agent Ethan Hunt (Cruise) bound and bloody while a sadistic criminal (Philip Sey-mour Hoffman as Owen Davian) points a gun at Hunt’s gagged wife, Julia, demand-ing to know the location of the “rabbit’s foot.” Hunt pleads, threatens and despairs while Davian methodically counts to 10 — 10 seconds before Julia will be killed. Flash back several days. Hunt has settled down with Julia (Michelle Monaghan of “North Country”), a beautiful doctor who believes her husband works in transportation. But when Hunt discovers his protegee (Keri Russell) has been captured, he leaps out of retirement and reunites with Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) to rescue her. Director J.J. Abrams (of “Lost” and “Alias” fame) makes his big-screen debut with aplomb, utilizing fantastic sets, capturing tension and pulling tremendous performances from his A-list cast. Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of frenetic violence and menace, disturbing images and some sensuality. 2 hours, 6 minutes. — T.H. (Reviewed May 5, 2006)

Poseidon ✭✭1/2(Century 16, Century 12) With nary a warn-ing of errant tides or gravitational attraction, a 100-foot rogue wave takes down the luxury liner Poseidon, a swanky floating hotel. Caught up in the soggy maelstrom is a handful of lucky passengers who miraculously escape the initial round of drownings, flash fires and toppling pil-lars of steel. Leading our small band of merry men (and women) to safety is hero Dylan Johns (Josh Lucas), a professional gambler with an intrinsic streak of valor and baby blues to match. Dylan matches wits and skill with ex-New York City mayor and former firefighter Robert Ramsey (Kurt Russell), whose headstrong daughter Jennifer (Emmy Rossum) is also on board with her fiance. Bent on maneuvering their way through the ubiquitous blocked pas-sageways and bolted steel doors (as the ship slowly shifts its way south), our feisty clan overcomes one impossible hurdle after another while showing off ridiculously courageous derring-do. Bottom line: it’s easier to forgive the sodden cliches and jump on board the nautical roller coaster ride that is “Poseidon.” Rated: PG-13 but could be R for gruesome images of death and violence. 1 hour, 37 minutes. — J.A. (Reviewed May 12, 2006)

Stick It ✭✭1/2(Century 16) Canadian newcomer Missy Peregrym scores a “10” in this formulaic teen charmer about the pressure and pitfalls of women’s gymnastics. Peregrym is Haley Graham, a former gymnastics breakthrough who gave up the sport fol-lowing her parents’ divorce, opting instead

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Say what you will about Tom Cruise — he knows how to be an action hero, returning to form in the pulse-pounding “Mission: Impossible III.”


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for BMX trick-riding and run-ins with the law. But Haley’s wild ways quickly land her in front of a judge, who punishes the rebel-lious teen by shipping her off to the Vicker-man Gymnastics Academy (VGA) rather than Juvenile Hall, much to Haley’s chagrin. Burt Vickerman (Jeff Bridges) is a soulful and serious coach. His battered body and hardnosed approach reflect a man who hopes those in his academy will reach the athletic pinnacles that he never could. Soon Burt is prepping Haley for gymnastics gold and peeling away the layers of her angst-ridden psyche. The real slip-ups in “Stick It” surround first-time auteur Bendinger’s di-rection, from the flashy opening credits to a

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attitude and slimy obsequious-ness has to be covering for the fact that he’s either an escaped mental patient or a serial killer.

Harlan maintains his creepy cowboy innocence as far as the script will allow. To this point the narrative is slow but rather sweet, mired in the fervent glow of first love and a sultry L.A. haze.

Eventually Tobe’s law en-forcement dad Wade (David Morse) blows a gasket over the idea of his daughter as jailbait and Harlan, who’s tipping over the edge à la Travis Bickle, can’t take the heat. Suffice it to say that he may be a couple sand-wiches shy of a prairie picnic.

Norton is such a blazing tal-ent that I expected a lot of him in this intriguing but convolut-ed romantic tragedy. He has a knack for rising above the ma-terial, but “Valley” weighs him down with tricky tangents and overblown dramatics.

Rory Culkin plays true to type as the damaged younger brother, Wood reprises her sullen turn from “Thirteen,” and the gener-ally solid Morse is cornered as the overworked jerk who tough loves his kids with large dollops of muscle and regret.

“Valley” could have been a contender, toeing a fine line be-tween the Old West and the id-iosyncrasies of its contemporary counterpart. Instead it misfires like a seized-up six-shooter.

Rated: R for language, nudity and violence. 2 hours, 5 min-utes.

— Jeanne Aufmuth

(continued from page 22)

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nonsensical soundtrack and film-school techniques. Fortunately, Peregrym lands on her feet, even if the movie doesn’t. Rated: PG-13 for some crude remarks. 1 hour, 45 minutes.— T.H. (Reviewed April 28, 2006)

Thank You for Smoking ✭✭✭1/2(CineArts) Jason Reitman’s wickedly droll and irreverent comedy is a politically incor-rect breath of fresh air. Aaron Eckhart is protagonist Nick Naylor, the resourceful chief spokesman for the Academy of To-bacco Studies who pushes cigarettes to a puritanically anti-smoking society. Nick is the Colonel Sanders of nicotine: a jolly soul who defends the rights of tobacco manu-facturers and smokers by twisting logic with assertive glee while cancer-ridden addicts sue the industry in droves. Undeterred, Nick takes his spin-meistering to Holly-wood, pitching a schmoozy showbiz bigwig

(Rob Lowe) on a product placement block-buster sure to sway even the most rabid non-smoker. Smoking is no laughing matter but Reitman’s screenplay (based on Chris-topher Buckley’s acclaimed 1994 novel) spoofs its dubious subject matter with no guilty conscience in sight, relishing the op-portunity to mock the absurd with tongue-in-cheek gravity. Rated: R for language and sexual content. 1 hour, 32 minutes. — J.A. (Reviewed March 24, 2006)

United 93 ✭✭✭✭

(Century 16) Paul Greengrass has touched a dramatic nerve in his quest to re-examine the nightmarish fate of United Airlines’ Flight 93, which departed Newark on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, en route to a fatal date with destiny. Heavy traffic on the tarmac led to a ground delay for United 93, and its passengers learned of the World Trade Center disasters from urgent phone calls home. Meanwhile, terrorists struggled to maneuver the plane towards a Washing-ton landmark and control the increasingly belligerent crowd. With nothing to lose, the passengers of UA 93 turned reluctant heroes. On every level “United 93” achieves its objective, re-telling a crucial piece of our history on a well-measured crescendo of tension and a palpable sense of dread and destruction. It’s a difficult, defiant and ultimately frenzied experience but its social value is timely and without measure. We mustn’t let ourselves forget. Rated: R for language, violence and difficult subject matter. 1 hour, 51 minutes.— J.A. (Re-viewed April 28, 2006)

Water ✭✭✭1/2(Aquarius) “Do you remember getting married? Your husband is dead. You’re a widow now.” Chuyia never understood the concept of marriage. She’s only 8 years old. With great sensitivity and lyricism, Ca-nadian writer-director Deepa Mehta depicts the plight of widows, from the young to the elderly, in 1938 India. The final installment of her trilogy (“Fire” and “Earth” were the first two films), “Water” takes a wide-eyed child’s point of view as she experiences life condemned to the penniless, ostracized existence of females with dead husbands. Surrender to the slow rhythms (and melo-dramatic contrivances) of Mehta’s “Water.” She deals directly and lucidly with the op-pression of women within this particular period of India’s history — the remnants of which provoked protests by Hindu funda-mentalists and forced the filmmaker to fin-ish shooting this feminist work in Sri Lanka. Not rated. In Hindi with English subtitles. 1 hour, 54 minutes. — S.T. (Reviewed May 5, 2006)

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Special Events15th Annual Authors Salon LuncheonHonoring Ann Griffiths May 21, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sponsored by Peninsula Volunteers. Tickets $75. Crowne Plaza Hotel, Foster City, 1221 Chess Dr., Foster City. Call 326-0665. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.17th Annual Lifetimes of Achievement Event Recognizes distinguished seniors for their lifetimes of exemplary service and involvement in their community. Sun., May 21, 2-4 p.m. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Call 289-5400. www.avenidas.org.1st Annual Big Bear Run In support of Menlo Atherton High School sports teams. A flat 5K race/walk through the surrounding neighborhood. Adults $25/students $15; race-day registration 8 a.m.; race begins at 9 a.m. Menlo Ather-ton High School, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton. active.com/indivdualsport.1st Annual Children’s Author Tea Spon-sored by Peninsula Volunteers. Sat., May 27, noon-4 p.m. $35 tickets. Trin-ity School, 2650 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park. Call 326-0665.International Food Fair Presented by Beechwood School. Food from around the world will be served Sat., May 20, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Live entertainment provided throughout the day Free admission. All proceeds benefit Beechwood students. Beechwood School, 50 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park. Call (415) 640-1157. www.beechwoodschool.org.Japanese Cultural Day May 21, 1-4 p.m. Experience the Japanese culture with tea, paper crafts and calligraphy. Bechtel International Center, 422 Lagunita, Stan-ford. Call 799-1192. icenter.stanford.edu/festival/.Lytton Gardens Senior Communities Open House Sat., May 20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Open house and health fair with blood sugar testing, blood pressure readings, tours and refreshments. Dr. Peter Pom-pei will give presentation on “Demystify-ing Senior Care.” Lytton Gardens Senior Communities, 437 Webster St., Palo Alto. Call 617-7333. www.LyttonGardens.org.Palo Alto Republicans Happy Hour Wed., May 24, 5:30-7 p.m. Compadres, 3877 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Call 387-7798.

Russian-American Fair Food, music, dance, arts, gifts and children games. Sun., May 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. $5 adults/ $3 for seniors and kids under 13/ free for kids under 6. Terman Middle School, 655 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. Call 852-3509. www.paloaltojcc.org.Safe Medicine Disposal Days May 19-20, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Drop off expired medicine. Walgreens Palo Alto, 300 University Ave., Palo Alto. Call 494-7629. www.cleanbay.org.Sally Ride Science Festival For girls grades 5-8, parents and teachers. Street fair, food, music and fun; chance to meet and listen to astronaut Janice Voss; and workshops given by women ranging from veterinarians to aerospace engineers. May 21, 11 a.m.-4:15 p.m. $18 includes lunch, activities and materials. Registration re-quired. NASA Ames Research Center, Bldg. 943, Moffett Field, Mountain View. Call (800) 561-5161. www.sallyridefestivals.com/06nasaames0521/index.shtml.“The History of the Future of the City”Joel Birnbaum and Steve Dietz discuss pervasive computing and the cusp of change. Wed., May 24, member recep-tion 6 p.m.; presentation begins at 7 p.m. “Odysseys in Technology Speaker Series” sponsored by Sun Microsystems Labora-tories and Co-Hosted by ZeroOne. Com-puter History Museum, 1401 N. Shore-line Blvd., Mountain View. Call 810-1005. www.computerhistory.org.Tour to the Coast Mercedes SL car tour Sat., May 20, 9 a.m. Owners and their cars will depart from Stanford Shopping Center. Organized by Mercedes SL expert Roy Spencer. Stanford Shopping Center, El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Call 343-7980. www.oursl.com/news/2006-05-20/.

Benefits2006 Embracing Families BreakfastHosted by The Support Network for Bat-tered Women. Thu., May 25, 7:30-8:30 a.m. Free, donations accepted. Michael’s Restaurant, 2960 N. Shoreline Blvd., Mountain View. Call (408) 541-6100 ext. 101. www.snbw.org.Annual Spring Bazzar Sat., May 20, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sale of collectables, crafts, Japanese food-including: sushi, bento boxes, teriyaki chicken, desserts; also an array of plants. Free. Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 4243 Manuela Ave.,

Palo Alto. Call 948-6806. www.aumcpa.org.Geibel’s Gutter Ball Fest Sat., May 20, 5-8 p.m. A fundraiser benefiting Family Service Agency of San Mateo County. Sponsored by Santa Clara University students from Pi Kappa Alpha frater-nity. Entrance is free with opportunities for donating available at the event. Palo Alto Bowl, 4329 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Call 576-4236. www.familyserviceagency.com.Great Strides Walk To raise funds for re-search and clinical trials. Sponsored by Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Sat., May 20. Call for details. Dean’s Lawn- Clark Cen-ter, W. Campus Dr., Palo Alto. Call (408) 723-3525. www..cff.org/great_strides.His Holiness Karmapa CalligraphiesExhibit and benefit sale. A collection of 19 calligraphies to benefit his monastery in N. America. May 20, 1-5 p.m. Private Residence, 433 Kingsley Ave., Palo Alto. Call (831) 462 3955 or 323-9016.Kara’s Annual Gala Celebrating 30th years of offering peer support and edu-cation to individuals, families and orga-nizations coping with death and dying. Live/silent auctions, dinner, dancing. $175/person or $1,750 for table/10. Crowne Plaza Cabana, 4290 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Call 321-5272, ext. 17. www.kara-grief.org.

ConcertsA Musical Diaspora: Music by Jewish Composers Sun., May 21, 2 p.m. lec-ture; 3 p.m. program. Stephanie Rhoads and Sylvie Braitman, sopranos, Michelle Davis, flute, Kay Greenwald, cantor/Ber-nstein, Sondheim, Weill, Copland, Goli-jov/$20, $15. Temple Beth Jacob, 1550 Alameda de las Pulgas, Redwood City. Call 366-6872. www.redwoodsymphony.org.California Youth Symphony in ConcertRyan Svendsen and Julie Chen Sun., May 21, 2:30 p.m. The program includes works of Haydn, Dvorak, Prokofiev, Vaughan Williams, and Eylar. Tickets are $12 general admission/$6 students and seniors. San Mateo Performing Arts Cen-ter, 650 N. Delaware St., San Mateo. Call 325-6666. www.cys.org.Carmencita Aspiras Concert Filipina concert pianist Carmencita Aspiras will play works by Schumann, Chopin and Mozart. Sat., May 20, 7-9 p.m. Benefit for the Children’s Library in Palo Alto’s Sister City of Palo, Leyte, the Philippines. Spon-sored by Neighbors Abroad. $15 dona-tion requested. Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd., Palo Alto. Call 326-8885.Classical Guitar Concert Carnegie Hall-bound classical guitarist Peter Fletcher will perform Sun., May 21, 5 p.m.; 4:30 p.m. reception. Performing works by Erik Satie, Francisco Tarrega, Maurice Ravel, J.S. Bach, and others. Free. Atherton Li-brary, 2 Dinkelspiel Station Lane, Ather-ton. Call 348-2422. www.smcl.org/libraries/ath/events/adult.html.Homage to a Master Organist James Welch performs a recital to mark the 10th anniversary of the passing of Stanford University Organist Herbert Nanney. Mu-sic by Bach, Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Franck, Widor, Vierne, and a composition by Herbert Nanney. Fri., May 19, 8 p.m. $10 donation at the door. St. Mark’s Epis-copal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto. Call 326-3800 or 856-9700. www.welchorganist.com.Kulintang, Music and Dance, Children’s and Family Concerts Free. Sun., May 21, 2 p.m. for pre-school/young children; 4 p.m. for school-age and adult. Celebrate artistry of S. Philippines’ art form created by bronze gongs. Tickets available one hour prior to performance. Community School of Music and Arts at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Call 917-6800 ext. 335. www.arts4all.org.Mamei Sun and Ada Yee, clarinet Sun., May 21, 2:30 p.m. A Senior Recital of Brahms’ Clarinet Sonata, Messiaën’s

Abîme des oiseaux, and Poulenc’s Clarinet Duet and Clarinet Sonata. Free. Campbell Recital Hall, 541 Lasuen Mall, Stanford. Call 723-2720. music.stanford.edu/events/calendar.html.Our Voices Rise In Song Together The San Francisco Chamber Orchestra and Volti, two of the Bay Area’s finest chamber ensembles, will present performances of Britten’s moving “Cantata Misericordium” and “On the Beach at Night” by Andrew Imbrie. In addition, Volti will present the world premiere of “Open the Book of What Happened” by Volti resident com-poser Mark Winges. St. Mark’s Episco-pal Church, 600 Colorado Ave., Palo Alto. Call (415) 771-3352. www.voltisf.org.Palo Alto Philharmonic Youth-Fam-ily Concert Featuring selections from Beethoven Piano Concerto #5, Bruch Violin Concerto, Liszt Piano Concerto #1, Ravel Piano Concerto, and Tschaikovsky Rococo Variations for Cello. Sun., May 21, 3 p.m. $5. Co-sponsored by Applied Materials, Arts Council Silicon Valley and City of Palo Alto. Cubberley Theatre, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call (408) 395-2911. www.paphil.org.Palo Alto Youth Concerto Competition Concert The Palo Alto Philharmonic Youth/Family Concert. With Lee Actor, conducting. Sun., May 21, 3 p.m. Fea-turing the winners of the youth Concerto Movement Competition. Three pianists, a cellist and a violinist will perform music by Bruch, Ravel, Liszt, Beethoven, and Tchaikovsky. Tickets $5. Cubberley The-atre, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call (408) 395-2911. www.paphil.org.Peninsula Symphonic Band Spring Con-cert Music by John P. Sousa, Artie Shaw, Lionel Hampton, Barry Manilow and more. Free. May 21, 3 p.m. Spangenberg The-ater, Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. Call 873-0671. www.geocities.com/amiyada/psb.Peninsula Women’s Chorus Spring Con-cert: “Discantoribus” Featuring a com-bined mass of Britten’s Missa Brevis and Jan Ake Hillerud’s Missa Discantoribus. Sat., May 20, 8 p.m. $20 general/$15 se-niors. Saint Patrick’s Seminary, 320 Mid-dlefield Road, Menlo Park. Call 327-3095. www.pwchorus.org/concerts.html.Russian Men’s Ensemble A concert by the St. Petersburg Men’s Ensemble, Sat., May 20, 7:30 p.m. The group of four sing-ers and accordionist will perform Russian folk songs and sacred songs. All Saints’ Church, 555 Waverley St., Palo Alto.

Sinfonietta Spring Dance Concert The ECYS Sinfonietta Orchestra performs Beethoven’s Symphony No. I, Vitali’s Chaconne, Kabalevsky’s Violin Concerto, Mvt. III, Bach’s Flute Concerto in D minor, Mvt. I, and Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Wind-sor Overture. May 20, 8 p.m. The concert features soloists Jessica Ryou, Susan Nitta, and Rachel Lee. $10/5. Cubber-ley Theater, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Call 327-2611. www.ecys.org.Stanford Symphonic Chorus Stephen M. Sano, director. Fri., May 19, 8 p.m. $10/$5. Memorial Church, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford. Call 723-2720. music.stanford.edu/events/calendar.html.Stanford Symphony Orchestra Jindong Cai, conductor. Sat., May 20, 8 p.m. Featuring pianist Will Cheng, in Rach-maninoff’s Piano Concerto #3, and the orchestra performs Shostakovich’s Sym-phony No. 5. $10/$5. Dinkelspiel Audi-torium, 471 Lagunita Ave., Stanford. Call 723-2720. music.stanford.edu/events/calendar.html.

Live MusicCalifornia Cowboys Performing Wednes-days through May, 9:30 p.m. The Pioneer Saloon, 2925 Woodside Rd., Woodside. Call 851-8487. www.pioneer-saloon.com.DJ Spinning Hip-Hop Thursdays, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. through May. The Pioneer Saloon, 2925 Woodside Rd., Woodside. Call 851-8487. www.pioneer-saloon.com.Organ Recital Mark Williams will per-form on the St. Bede’s von Beckerath, neo-Classical tracker organ, Sun., May 21, 4 p.m. Program includes works by Sweelinck, Bruhns, Purcell, Bach, Elgar, Vierne and Langlais. Tickets $10 at door. Reception follows. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park. Call 854-6555. www.stbedesmenlopark.org.Oxford Street Brass Concert Music by Dahl, Calvert, Rossini, Bernstein and oth-ers, played by members Rob Lenicheck and Ken Walter, trumpets, Paul Hawkins, French horn, Greg Bergantz, trombone and Bob Lipton, tuba. May 21. St. Mat-thias Church, 1685 Cordilleras Road, Redwood City. Call 326-3023.Sam Marshall’s Acoustic Night Tues-days, 8:30-11 p.m. through May. The Pioneer Saloon, 2925 Woodside Rd.,


Goings OnThe best of what’s happening on the Midpeninsula

A party of printsMenlo Park artist Cherise Thompson, pictured at work in the print studio at the Pacific Art League in Palo Alto, works as a traditional intaglio printmaker. Her spirited series “Party Dogs,” which depicts canines and felines living it up in party hats, will be on exhibit May 29 through June 24 at Gallery 9 in Los Altos. The gallery is at 143 Main St. and open 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Satur-day. Call (650) 941-7969 or go to www.gallery9losaltos.com.

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QUESTIONS? If you have questions, call the reception desk at the Palo Alto Weekly between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays, (650) 326-8210. After hours, you may press zero and leave a message in the general mailbox.


Woodside. Call 851-8487. www.pioneer-saloon.com.The Ladies of Our Lives Sun., May 21, 3 p.m. A musical tribute to the women have been inspiring. Featuring the Peninsulai-res Barbershop Chorus and Quartets, and OC Times, International Medalist Quartet. Adults $23/seniors $20/children and stu-dents $15. Eagle Theater, Los Altos High School, 201 Almond Ave., Los Altos. Call 249-4352. www.barbershop-harmony.org.

On Stage“Deianeira” Based on Sophocles’ Wom-en of Trachis, Deianeira distils the dra-matic power of Sophocles’ original into a beautiful and intense 40-minute piece that combines dance, music, song, and speech to bring stories of archetypal power to the stage. May 19-20 and 24-27, 8 p.m. $15 general/$10 students. Memo-rial Auditorium, 551 Serra Mall, Stanford. Call 725-5838. drama.stanford.edu.Disney’s “Aristocats” Kids Palo Alto Children’s Theatre Outreach at Escondi-do. May 23, 7:30 p.m.; May 24, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.; May 25, 2:30 p.m. A family of high society cats must find their way back home after being catnapped by an evil butler. Tickets: PACT Box Office, Tue.-Sat., 1:30-6 p.m. $4 children/$8 adults. Escondido Elementary School, 809 Stan-ford Ave., Stanford. Call 463-4970.“John and Jen” By Andrew Lippa and Tom Greenwald. An original musical that looks at family relationships set against a backdrop of changing America from 1950 to 1990. Music by Andrew Lippa, lyrics by Tom Greenwald. Thursdays-Saturdays, through June 10, 8 p.m.; Wed., May 31, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., May 28, 7 p.m.; Sun., June 4, 3 p.m. $20-$32. Presented by Bus Barn Theatre, 97 Hillview Ave., Los Altos. Call 941-0551. www.busbarn.org.“Julian” A play based on the life of Julian of Norwich. Sat., May 20, 7:30 p.m. $10 at door. Play by J. Janda, performed by Em-ily Wilmer. St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 2650 Sand Hill Rd., Menlo Park. Call 854-6555. www.stbedesmenlopark.org.“Misalliance” By George Bernard Shaw. Mismatched lovers pursue one another madly. Parents and children bellow at one another across the generation gap. Thursdays-Saturdays, through May 21, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. The Pear Avenue Theatre, 1220 Pear Ave., Mountain View. Call 254-1148. www.thepear.org.Palo Alto Senior High School Student Directed One-Acts May 19, 8 p.m. $5 students/$7 adults. Haymarket Theater, 50 Embarcadero Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-3857.“Where’s Charlie?” Jordan Outreach performed at the Children’s Theatre. May 19, 4:30 and 7:30 p.m.; May 20, 2:30 p.m. Oxford students invite young ladies to lunch, and one disguises himself as his aunt and acts as the chaperone. Tickets: PACT Box Office, Tue.-Sat., 1:30-6 p.m. $4 children/$8 adults. Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call 463-4970.

AuditionsAuditions for Summer Conservatory May 25, 3:45 p.m.; June 3, 10:30 a.m.; June 7, 3:45 p.m.; June 16, 3:45 p.m. Open to ages 10 through High School. Program runs Tuesdays-Fridays, June 20-July 28. Participants learn about acting, music, dance, costume and set design, and act in a play. Call for more audition dates. Palo Alto Children’s Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call 463-4930.“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” PYT invites youths ages 12-20 and alumni to audition for the musical May 27, 2 p.m.; May 28, 2 and 6 p.m. Prepare 1-minute song and 1-minute monologue. Bring: sheet music, instrumental tape or CD. Participation fee $160. Performs: July 29-Aug. 6. Pen-insula Youth Theatre, 2500 Old Middle-field Wy., Mountain View. Call 988-8798. www.pytnet.org.

Exhibits2006 MFA Thesis Exhibition Five grad-uating MFA Studio students to present current work. Artists include Elaine Buck-holtz, Ala Ebtekar, Diane Landry, Brendan Lott and Kristin Lucas. Artwork includes drawing, installation, video, painting, and sculpture. Through June 18; reception May 25, 6-9 p.m. Thomas Welton Stan-ford Art Gallery, 419 Lasuen Mall, Stan-ford. Call 725-3404. art.stanford.edu.

Allen-Stokes-Cadigan Open StudiosSculptor Francie Allen, photographer Cin-dy Stokes and printmaker John Cadigan will open their art studios to the public May 20-21, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Allen/Cadigan Studios, 123A Donohoe St., Menlo Park. Call 400-2809. www.cindystokes.com.Art Exhibition Through May 26. Mixed media paintings, ceramic sculptures by Don Fritz. Supported by Heritage Bank of Commerce. Community School of Music and Arts at Finn Center, 230 San Antonio Circle, Mountain View. Call 917-6800 ext. 306. www.arts4all.org.Artist’s Open Studio Local artists, Bev Balanis, Marcia Enns and Alice Weil, will be featuring original plein air and still life paintings in oil and watercolor. May 20-21, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Artist’s Studio, 856 Partridge Ave., Menlo Park. Call 906-2045. www.AliceWeil.com.Desire, Anxiety and Loss: The Prints of Edvard Munch Featuring over 30 prints by Edvard Munch. Expressions of the in-tense transforming emotions and private pain that Munch experienced in his life. Through June 25. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive, Stanford. Call 723-4177. www.stanford.edu/dept/ccva.“Double Take” Work by Bay Area artists Kathryn Dunlevie and Klari Reis. Both artists explore innovative processes and new perspectives. Through June 4. Chelsea Art Gallery, 440 Kipling St., Palo Alto. Call 324-4450. www.chelseaartgal-lery.com.Fantasy Animals for Children Original prints by Bay Area artist, Marianne Sch-lumberger. Exhibit runs through May 31. Hours Tue.-Wed., 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 6-9 p.m.; Thu.-Sun., 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Bay Leaf Cafe, 520 Ramona St., Palo Alto. Call 321-7466.Flowers: The Art of Interpretation The meaning and evolution of various artis-tic styles by exhibiting paintings. Free. Through June 25. Filoli, 86 Canada Rd., Woodside. www.filoli.org.“Four Artists” Pastel drawings by Kelvin Curry; paintings by Daniel Gautier; mixed media by Midori McCabe; paintings and drawings by Olga Tsareva. Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. May 19-July 13; recep-tion June 16, 5-7 p.m. Paul Allen Center for Integrated Systems, 420 Via Palou, Stanford. Call 725-3622. cis.stanford.edu/~marigros.Indonesia Discovered Through June 2. Free and open to the public. McNeil Family Clubhouse, 401 Pierce Rd., Menlo Park. Call 322-8065. www.bcgp.org.Marc Silber Open Studios As part of the 20th Anniversary Silicon Valley Open Studios. Local photographer Marc Silber opens his studio and presents his work, spanning 40 years. May 20-21, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Silber Studios, 56 Edge Road, Atherton. Call 248-7532. www.silberstudios.com.“Mary Magdalene” Art Exhibit Sara Taft artist and healer, will exhibit her paintings entitled, “Mary Magdalene: The Feminine Messiah” Reception and talk with re-freshments Fri., May 19, 7 p.m. Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 1069 E. Meadow Circle, Palo Alto. Call 493-4430 ext. 254. www.itp.edu.Menlo Art League Exhibit Artists dis-playing are Bev Balanis, Diana Beuttler, Myrtle Carey, Berni Jahnke, Dorothy Ja-roch and Leonard Leving. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Allied Arts Guild, 75 Arbor Rd., Menlo Park.Oksana V. Johnson: Florals and Land-scapes in Oils Art Exhibit by Russian-American Impressionist Oksana Val-entinova Johnson. Through Aug. 31; reception with the artist May 24, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Atherton Library, 2 Dinkelspiel Station Lane, Atherton. Call 592-7267. www.oksanajohnson.com.Photo Exhibit “Floral Fantasy” by local photographers Bob and Joy Rewick. An array of over 70 close-up floral im-ages transformed into designs. May 23-Aug. 27, Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m. Coyote Point Museum, 1651 Coyote Point Drive, San Mateo. Call 254-0110. www.coyoteptmuseum.org.The Art and Evolution of Navigation See how navigational tools evolved from land-marks to GPS, computers, and satellites. Hands-on exhibits to allow guests to try out instruments. Fri.-Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m. through May 28. Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. Call 321-1004. www.moah.org.The Perfume of Sadness: Symbolist Art from the Kirk Long Collection The 30 works offer a succinct introduction to

Goings On


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Symbolism, a short-lived but immensely influential literary and pictorial movement. Through July 23. Wed.-Sun. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thu. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.; closed Mon-days and Tuesdays. Cantor Arts Center, 328 Lomita Drive, Stanford. museum.stanford.edu.Youth Art 2006 and the 3rd Annual Cul-tural Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope high-lights the artistic output of students in grades K-12 that participate in visual arts education program within the Palo Alto Unified School District. Through June 4. Free admission. Tue.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Tue.-Thu., 7- 10 p.m.; Sun., 1-5 p.m. Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2366. www.cityofpaloalto.org/artcenter.

Talks/Authors“Dealing with Darwin” By Geoffrey Moore. He shows how established com-panies can prevent their own extinction by moving forward with precision, courage, and smart timing. Thu., May 25, 7:30 p.m. Kepler’s Books and Magazines, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 321-2084. www.keplers.com.International SIG: China: Opportuni-ties and Challenges A panel discussion of 3 experts who will share views of the software development opportunities and challenges facing China. Thu., May 25, 6:30-9 p.m. Free for SDForum members, $15 for non-members. Bingham Mc-Cutchen, 1900 University Ave., East Palo Alto. Call (408) 414-5950. www.sdforum.org/SDForum/Templates/CalendarEvent.aspx?CID=1909.“Life Out There: What Happens If We Find It?” NASA Research Park Explora-tion Lecture Series will present a lecture May 24, 7 p.m. by Dr. Seth Shostak, Sr. Astronomer at SETI Institute, followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Cynthia Phil-lips, Dr. Douglas Vakoch, and Dr. Seth Shostak to discuss global ramifications if life is found elsewhere in the universe. NASA Ames Research Center, Bldg. 943, Moffett Field, Mountain View. Call 604-1286. researchpark.arc.nasa.gov.M. Butterfly Opera Lecture Dr. Simon Williams, speaks about Puccini’s opera

“Madama Butterfly” May 23, 7:30 p.m. The lecture is organized by the South Peninsula Chapter of the San Francisco Opera Guild. $8 for Guild members/$10 for nonmembers. Tickets are available at the door. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 329-1374. www.sfopera.com.Mobile Services: “Is content king?”Panel discussion with Yahoo, T-Mobile and Disney Mobile will discuss current trends of content driven mobile services for corporate and personal users. Wed., May 24, 6-9 p.m. $30. SAP Labs, 3410 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto. Call 386-5015. www.gaba-network.orgNavigation: Astrolabe to GPS Aerospace engineer and instrument collector Jack Rodden presents “Navigation: Astrolabe to GPS”, with demonstrations of the as-trolabe, sextant and other instruments, including items from his collection. May 24, doors open at 7 p.m.; 7:30 p.m. pro-gram. MOAH members free/ non-mem-bers $5. Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Ave., Palo Alto. Call 321-1004. www.moah.org.Preservation Month May 19, 7-9 p.m. “Eichlers: A Look Back and Forward”; Ned Eichler, son of developer Joseph Eichler for an illustrated lecture and book signing. Light refreshments. Free. Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middle-field Rd., Palo Alto. Call 328-0760. www.pastheritage.org.Preservation Month May 23, noon. “Eichler Living”; meet Palo Alto Stanford Heritage Board Member Marilyn Baurie-

del for a walk and discussion of a typical Eichler neighborhood. Residence, 3673 Southcourt St., Palo Alto. Call 328-0760. www.pastheritage.org.SAM SIG: Rich Internet Application Architectures A talk focusing on the ex-periences made when switching to the ULC-based UI framework, during devel-opment, deployment, and customer run-time Wed., May 24, 6:30-9 p.m. Free for SDForum members/$15 for non-mem-bers. Cubberly Community Center, 4000 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call (408) 414-5950. www.sdforum.org.Stanford’s “Everyday Ethics” Series Ad-dresses Local Housing Issues To dis-cuss ethical issues surrounding housing in the local community, including afford-able housing, open space, zoning and homelessness. Panelists: Kathy Espino-za-Howard, Don Barr, Peter Drekmeier. Wed., May 24, 7:30-9:30 p.m. Lucie Stern Community Center, 1305 Middlefield Rd.,

Palo Alto. Call 723-0997. ethicsinsociety.stanford.edu.“Stem Cell Now: From the Experiment that Shook the World to the New Poli-tics of Life” By Christopher Thomas Scott. Scott heads Stanford’s Program on Stem Cells and Society. Tue., May 23, 7:30 p.m. Kepler’s Books and Magazines, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 321-2084. www.keplers.com.“The Road to Clean Elections” Bill Moyers’ 13 minute video documents the success of Clean Money in Arizona and Maine in leveling the playing field. Sun., May 21, 12:30 p.m. Free. Unitarian Universalist Church, 505 E. Charleston Road, Palo Alto. Call 858-2436.“True Faith and Allegiance” By Noah Pickus. Sat., May 20, 7:30 p.m. Kepler’s Books and Magazines, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 321-2084. www.keplers.com.

Tuesday Teas 2 p.m. May 23: “Peninsula Volunteers, Inc 58th Anniversary Tea”; May 30: “Dancing with the Stars.” Re-freshments served. Free. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 326-2025. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.

Family and KidsAfterschool Special Youth Community Service Read-a-Thon. Drop in May 24, 3:30-5 p.m. to hear middle and high school students read “Stories to Inspire.” Main Library, 1213 Newell Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2436. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.“Annie and The Prince and the Penguin"Mon., May 22, 7 p.m. Performed by the Woodside Elementary after school drama program. $3 per person; $10/family. Free for families who cannot afford a ticket.

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Woodside Elementary School, 3195 Woodside Road, Woodside. Call 529-1333.Baby Storytime For babies 6-18 months and their caregivers. Tuesdays, through May 23, 11 a.m. Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2436. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Ohlone Spring Fling Sat., May 20, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Frisbee golf and other games and activities, food, and free African drumming lessons with the superb Oriki Theatre. Ohlone Elementary School, 950 Amarillo Ave., Palo Alto. Call 473-1811.Parenting in a Liberal Religion Parents explore the questions children ask and provide support to each other in the spiri-tual and everyday challenges of parent-ing. Sundays, through June 11, call for times. Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Rd., Palo Alto. Call 494-0541. www.uucpa.org.Preschool Storytime For children ages 3-5. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Main Library, 1213 Newell Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2436. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Preschool Storytime For children ages 3-5. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. College Ter-race Library, 2300 Wellesley St., Palo Alto. Call 329-2134. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Preschool Storytime Storytime for chil-dren ages 3-5. Fridays, 11 a.m. Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2134. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Spring Farm Tours Visit animals in pens, learn about a century-old homestead farm. Tours available May 20 and June 17, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Fund-raiser for scholar-ships. $5 for adults/$2 for children 2-18, children under 2 free. Last tour starts at 12:30 p.m. Hosted by Friends of Deer Hollow Farm. Deer Hollow Farm, Call 965-3276. www.fodhf.org.Star Parties at Foothills Park With the Peninsula Astronomical Society. Satur-days, May 20 and June 3, begins at sun-set. Telescopes provided. Free for Palo Alto residents and their guests, sign up at www.paenjoy.org. Foothills Park, 3300 Page Mill Rd., Los Altos Hills. Call 617-3100 ext. 1697. www.cityofpaloalto.org.Toddler Storytime For children ages 18 months-3 years. Fridays, 10 a.m. Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2436. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Toddler Storytime For children ages 18 months-3 years. Mondays, 10 and 11 a.m. Main Library, 1213 Newell Rd., Palo Alto. Call 329-2436. www.cityofpaloalto.org/library/kids-teens.Vintage Dance Party May 21, 4-6:30 p.m. The Varsity Dance Club presents its monthly dance, with vintage music by Paul Price’s Society Orchestra. Refresh-ments and dance lesson included. Ad-mission $15. Palo Alto Masonic Hall, 461 Florence, Palo Alto. Call 279-3598. www.paulpriceorchestra.com.

SeniorsAcupuncture Appointments Mondays, through May 22, 9 a.m.-noon. Call 289-5400. $20. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. www.avenidas.org.Blood Pressure Screening Free blood pressure screening by volunteer regis-tered nurses. Thursdays, through May 25, 9:30-11:30 a.m. Drop-in basis. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Call 289-5423. www.avenidas.org.La Comida Lunch For those 60 and over and their spouses and guests. La Comida provides lunchtime meals, in a dining room setting with opportunities for conversation and friendship. Mondays-Fridays, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Reserva-tions are not required. Suggested $2 donation. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Call 322-3742. avenidas.org/site.php?page=lacomida.Living Longer, Living Well Part Three: “Hospitalization the emergency room and longer hospital stays” Speakers: Robert Norris, Associate Professor of Surgery, and Benny Gavi, MD, Dir. Hos-pitalist Program. May 25, 7 p.m. Clark Center Auditorium, 318 Campus Dr., Stanford. Call 498-7826. geriatric.stanfordhospital.com.Massage and Reflexology A 30 minute massage or reflexology treatment for adults 50 and older. Tuesdays, through May 30, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; Thursdays, through May 25, 9 a.m.- 4p.m.; Fridays,

through May 26, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m. $20 for Avenidas members/$25 for non-mem-bers. Appointment required, call 289-5400. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. www.avenidas.org.Podiatry Foot care and information adults 50 and older. Fri., May 19, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. $32/$37. Call for an appointment. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Call 289-5400. www.avenidas.org.Reiki Eastern healing therapy adults 50 and older. $15. Wednesdays, through May 31, 9 a.m.-noon. Appointments re-quired, call 289-5400. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. www.avenidas.org.

Classes/WorkshopsBird Walks May 20, 9 a.m.-noon. $10 for members/$15 for non-members. Limited to adults and children 14 years and older. Filoli, 86 Canada Rd., Woodside. www.filoli.org.Bobcats and Mountain Lions on the Prowl Kids will learn how to distinguish the differences and similarities between these two felines. $15 members/$20 non-members. May 27, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Filoli, 86 Canada Rd., Woodside. www.filoli.org.Computer Classes: Beginning Email and Web Surfing Wednesdays, May 24-June 7, 6:30-9 p.m. Call to register. Palo Alto Adult School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto. Call 329-3752. www.paadultschool.org.Eating Disorders Adolescent Counseling Services is offering an education class to help parents of teens learn about eating disorders. Thu., May 25, 7-8:30 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Mitchell Park Com-munity Center, 3800 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Call 329-3815. www.acs-teens.org.Explorers Program for Kids Ages 8-11Tracks, Scat and Skulls. Learn how to preserve and collect animal tracks and make your own. $15 members/$20 non-members. May 20, 9:30 a.m.-noon. Filoli, 86 Canada Rd., Woodside. www.filoli.org.Feldenkrais: Private Lessons Class de-signed to teach good posture, flexibility and balance. Mondays, through May 22, 1:30-3:15 p.m. $15 per 30-minute ses-sion. Appointment required. Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. Call 327-9419.Line Dancing With Diana Ward Fridays, noon-1:30 p.m. $25 members/$30 non-members. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 326-2025. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.May Forums Wednesdays, 11 a.m. May 24: “Dividend-Paying Stocks for Income”; May 31 “How to Organize Your Life.” Free. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 326-2025. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.Soil Fertility and Fall Planning With Mar-garet Lloyd. Sat., May 20, 9:30-11:30 a.m. $23. Examine Biointensive techniques of using soil fertility to achieve sustainability in the home garden. Common Ground, 559 College Ave., Palo Alto. Call 493-6072. www.commongroundinpaloalto.org.

FilmMonday Movies 1 p.m.: May 22: “Ca-pote”. $1 members/$2 non-members. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 326-2025. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.Stanford Theatre Guide May 19: “The Light That Failed” 7:30 p.m.; “Clive of In-dia” 5:50 and 9:20 p.m.; May 20: “Beau Geste” 7:30 p.m.; “The Light That Failed” 9:55 p.m.; May 21: “Beau Geste” 2 p.m.; “Lust for Life” 7:30 p.m.; “Tea and Sympa-thy” 5:15 and 9:45 p.m.; May 22-23: “Lust for Life” 7:30 p.m.; “Tea and Sympathy” 5:15 and 9:45 p.m.; May 24-26: “Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back” 7:30 p.m.; “The Late George Apley “5:40 and 9:05 p.m.; May 27: “Lady Windemere’s Fan” 7:30 p.m.; “Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back” 9:05 p.m.; May 28: “Lady Windemere’s Fan” 2 p.m.; “Some Came Running” 7:30 p.m.; “Home from the Hill” 4:50 and 10 p.m.; May 29-30: “Some Came Running” 7:30 p.m.; “Home from the Hill” 4:50 and 10 p.m.; May 31-June 2: “The Talk of the Town” 7:30 p.m.; “Lucky Partners” 5:40 and 9:40 p.m. Stanford Theatre, 221 University Ave., Palo Alto. Call 324-3700. www.stanfordtheatre.org.“The Big Buy: How Tom DeLay Stole Congress” Tue., May 23, 7:30 p.m. The story of one of the most blatant power grabs in American history, and a warn-ing about how easy it is for democracy to be hijacked by relentless ambition and

corporate millions. $7-15 donation. First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, 1140 Cowper St., Palo Alto. Call 326-8837. www.peaceandjustice.org.Wednesday Movies 1 p.m. May 24: “Chi-na”; May 31” “The Umbrellas of Cher-bourgh.” $1 members/$2 non-members. Little House, 800 Middle Ave., Menlo Park. Call 326-2025. www.peninsulavolunteers.org.Winter Documentary Film Series On Economic Justice and Environmental Sustainability. May 26, 7:30 p.m. A dona-tion of $5 to $10 is suggested, but not required. Discussions and socializing will take place after the films. Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, 505 E. Charleston Rd., Palo Alto. Call 283-3797. www.worldcentric.com.

SportsGirls Soccer Team Stanford Lightning CYSA Girls’ Soccer Team for girls born after July 31, 1994. Tryouts through May 31, Mondays, 6:30 p.m.; Thursdays, 4:30-6 p.m. See website for details. Call 322-2023. www.stanfordsoccerclub.org/.

OutdoorsBike and Hike May 21, 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Ride 4 flat miles along traffic-free roads to Bayfront Park. A map will be provided. Free. Sponsored by Friends of Bayfront Park. Meet at Kepler’s Book-store, 1010 El Camino Real, Menlo Park. Call 324-9574, www.friendsofbayfrontpark.com/ride.html.Free docent-led wildflower walks at Edgewood Park Free docent-led wild-flower walks, Saturdays and Sundays, through June 11, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Edge-wood Natural Preserve, 10 Old Stage-coach Rd., Woodside. Call 866-go-Edge-wood. www.friendsofedgewood.org.Open Days Program Garden Tour A self-guided tour of two private gardens Sun., May 21, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. $5 per person/per garden, no reservations required, rain or shine. A portion of the proceeds will be shared with the California Native Garden Foundation. Two private gardens, see website for details, Palo Alto. Call (888) 842-2442. www.opendaysprogram.org.Stevens Creek Clean-up Day Volunteers needed Sat., May 20, 9-noon. Wear sturdy shoes, long sleeves, pants, and a hat for sun protection. Rain or shine. Sponsored by Friends of Stevens Creek Trail; co-sponsored by the City of Moun-tain View. Whisman Park, 400 Easy St., Mountain View. Call 903-6067. www.stevenscreektrail.org.

Environment20th Annual Hike the Open SpacesMon., May 29, 8:45 a.m.-1 p.m. With do-cents Greg Azevedo and Bob Segalla. A 3-mile, leisurely-paced hike that will include the history of the preserve and the Open Space District, and information about area plants, animals, and geology. Reservations are required. Meet at Pic-chetti Ranch Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. Call 691-1200. www.openspace.org.Flowers at the Top Sun., May 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A search for flowers on top of the southern portion of Monte Bello ridge with docents Paul Vadopalas and Susan Peterson. A leisurely-paced, 5-mile hike. Meet at Picchetti Ranch. Reservations are required. Monte Bello Open Space Preserve. Call 691-1200. www.openspace.org.Free Computer Reuse and Recycling Collection Donate computer systems, TVs, VCRs, stereos, cell phones and other e-waste, working or not. May 20, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. No charge and tax deduct-ible. Benefits Goodwill’s job training pro-grams and the environment. San Mateo Event Center, 2495 S. Delaware St., San Mateo. Call (415) 575-2116. www.sfgoodwill.org.Late Spring Wildflowers Sat., May 27, 1-4 p.m. With docents Rich and Toni Gooch. A leisurely-paced, 3.5-mile walk along the Ancient Oaks and Ridge Trails, and the trail up to Borel Hill. ussian Ridge Open Space Preserve. Call 691-1200. www.openspace.org.Lions and Us Sun., May 28, 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. With docents Keith Johnsgard and Doug Schulze. A 3-mile hike to discuss the mountain lion encounters and how to be prepared. Parents may not wish to expose children to the details of lion attacks, use discretion in bringing them on the hike. Bring a lunch. Skyline Ridge Open Space Preserve. Call 691-1200. www.openspace.org.

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SportsShorts

FridayCollege baseball: Stanford at UCLA,

6 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)Prep sports: High School Sports

Focus, 11 p.m., KICU (36), rebroadcast Sunday at 4 p.m.

SaturdayCollege baseball: Stanford at UCLA,

2 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)

SundayCollege baseball: Stanford at UCLA,

1 p.m., KZSU (90.1 FM)Prep sports: Cal-Hi Bay Area, 5:30

p.m., KRON (4) rebroadcast Monday at 7 p.m. on Fox Sports Net

ON THE AIR

HALL OF FAME . . . Former Stanford great Jeff Siemon will be among 13 All-American play-ers and two legendary coaches to be enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Siemon played linebacker for Stanford from 1969-71, earning consensus All-American honors as a senior and first team All-Pac-10 selections in each of his final two campaigns to help lead the Cardinal to Rose Bowl victories over previously unbeaten Ohio State and Michigan. Siemon also won the Silver Anniversary Dick Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker and Pop Warner Award given to the top senior on the West Coast in 1971 when he recorded a team-high 112 tack-les. He also participated in the Hula Bowl following the season. Siemon earned was named first team All-Pac-10 for the first of two times when he made 83 stops as a junior in 1970. He went on to enjoy 11 seasons in the NFL with Minnesota after being drafted 10th overall in the first round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Vikings. Siemon played in three Super Bowls and earned Pro Bowl sta-tus four times.

BENEFIT RUN . . . Menlo-Ather-ton High will host the first Big Bear Run, a 5K run/walk on Sun-day that begins at 9 a.m. from the sports parking lot off Ringwood Road and weaves through Lin-denwood and finishes at Coach Parks Field on campus. Cost is $25 for adults and $15 for stu-dents (18-under). Proceeds from the race will benefit the Menlo-Atherton Sports Boosters. Reg-istration forms are in the school’s front office or are available at www.active.com.

ALUMNI NOTES . . . Palo Alto High grad Elena Rizza was named the Most Improved Player on the University of Vermont soft-ball team for 2006. Rizza saw lim-ited playing time as a freshman, but stepped up this year and appeared in 35 games, making 26 starts. She had the best game of her career on April 2, going 3-for-4 in the Cats’ 5-4 win in eight innings.

For expanded daily coverage of college and prep sports, please see our online edition at www.PaloAltoOnline.com

SPORTS ONLINE

Liu’s‘family’is firstStanford’s No. 1

has demonstrated her love for the team

by Rick Eymer

I t was always about school, friends and family. As often as Stanford senior Amber Liu was

tempted to turn pro the past few years, she was always reminded of what attending Stanford meant to her — people to whom she had grown close, the women’s tennis program she holds dear, and, of course, the quality of education.

Liu became one of a handful of players to win back-to-back NCAA singles titles (2003-04) and easily could have followed in footsteps of former Stanford players like Laura Granville and Marissa Irvin, who left school early for the pro ranks.

Liu already has played Kim Cli-jsters, the world No. 1 player at the time, twice. She’s also played in the U.S. Open, and in several challeng-er events. She knew what she was giving up to keep coming back to Stanford.

“I felt my tennis was ready,” Liu said Wednesday on the eve of the grandest NCAA tournament ever. “It came down to I stayed for school, the opportunity to play for a team, and because of all the friendships I’ve made on and off the court.”

Liu and her Stanford teammates were heavily favored to beat TCU on Thursday night and advance into today’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal match against either No. 8 Duke or No. 9 North Carolina as Taube Tennis Center hosts both the men’s and women’s tournament — a first for the NCAA — over the next two weeks.

The women’s team finale is Mon-day at 6:30 p.m.

Liu also spoke volumes about her character when she put into action the meaning of placing the self aside

NCAA TENNIS

Stanford senior Amber Liu has always made her team and teammates a priority, turning down the chance to turn professional early after winning back-to-back NCAA singles titles in 2003 and ‘2004. (continued on page 34)

Keith

Pet

ers

by Keith Peters

F ormer Stanford men’s tennis coach Dick Gould and three of his former players will be inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate

Tennis Hall of Fame next week during the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Tennis Championships at Stanford.

The nine-member class consists of Gould plus former Cardinal standouts Dan Goldie, Matt Mitchell and Jared Palmer.

Other members of the Class of 2006 are coach Bill Wright (California and Arizona) and players Jeff Borowiak (UCLA), Tom Edlefsen (Southern California), Richey Reneberg (SMU) and Ferdie Taygan (UCLA).

This year’s ceremony will take place next Wednesday evening at Stanford’s Arrillaga Family Sports Center.

The nine inductees are the most in a single class since 1985. Stanford’s four inductees

equals the most to be inducted from the same school since Southern California had four in the inaugural class in 1983.

Gould highlights this year’s ceremonies. He is widely regarded as not only the top collegiate tennis coach of all time, but among the best in any college sport. He guided the Cardinal to a record 17 NCAA team championships while coaching 10 NCAA singles champions and seven doubles champs during his 38 years at the helm. Gould twice was named Wilson/ITA National Coach of the Decade for the 1980s and ‘90s.

Gould retired from coaching in 2004 with a career record of 776-148 and was an amazing 88-11 (.888) in NCAA tournament matches. He is currently Director of Tennis at Stanford and serving as tournament director for this month’s NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Cham-

Gould leads Stanford contingent into college tennis Hall of Fame

TodayThe top-ranked Stanford women (27-0) put their 83-

match win streak on the line against either No. 8 Duke or No. 9 North Carolina, 6 p.m.

The No. 2 Notre Dame women (26-1) risk the program’s highest ranking against either unseeded Fresno State or No. 7 Miami, at 3 p.m.

The No. 3 USC women (20-3) face No. 11 Northwest-ern, which upset No.6 Georgia Tech, 4-0, at 3 p.m.

No. 4 Florida (24-1), the last team to beat Stanford, takes on the Baylor-Vanderbilt winner, 6 p.m.

SaturdayThe host Stanford men (17-3) open play against No. 4

Duke (22-6), 3 p.m.Top-ranked Georgia (27-0) opens against unseeded

Notre Dame (19-8), 6 p.m.(continued on page 34)

Sports


by Keith Peters

Two solid and successful seasons came to an end on Wednesday in the opening

round of Central Coast Section postseason play.

In the CCS Division I baseball playoffs, Menlo-Atherton closed its season with a 14-11 record following a 5-0 loss to host Valley Christian.

In the CCS Division III softball playoffs, Menlo School wrapped up a 16-6 campaign following its 10-0 loss to Carmel at the Salinas Sports Complex.

Both losses brought an end to a number of careers.

For No. 12-seeded Menlo-Ather-ton, the loss marked the conclusion of head coach Joe Fontana’s era. Af-ter six years with the Bears, Fontana is moving his family to Ft. Collins, Colo., where he’s taking a teaching job and will be closer to other family members. Fontana lived in Colorado for 20 years before coming to M-A.

Valley Christian ace right hander Kevin Miller closed Fontana’s ca-reer after allowing just three singles while striking out nine.

Menlo-Atherton had battled its way into the playoffs by winning 10 of its last 16 contests and by captur-ing nine one-run games.

Fifth-seeded Valley Christian, which improved its overall record to 24-8-1, seems to have M-A’s number in the regional playoffs.† In 2003, the last time the Bears qualified for the section tournament, they were defeated 4-3 by Valley Christian.

The Bears could not solve the hard-throwing Miller, who continuously fired first-pitch strikes and kept M-A batters off-balance.†Menlo-Ath-eton could only muster singles by D.J. Johnston (fourth inning), Doug Rose (sixth), and Tyler Finley (sev-enth) against Miller. When Finley stole second after legging out an infield hit, he was the only M-A player to get into scoring position in the game.

Bears’ starter Corey Zirbes did well to hold the heavy-hitting War-riors to only four earned runs. The Bears made four errors, but only one figured in any scoring.

Senior first baseman Skylar Brew-er, in his last at-bat for the Bears in the seventh, smashed a long fly ball to the left-centerfield fence that ap-peared to be a home run, but War-riors’ outfielder Tony Hall reached up over the top of the fence and hauled it in.

Along with Brewer, other M-A seniors playing their final game included Rose, Finley, Zirbes, Jon Abramson and Andrew Preimes-berger.

In the CCS softball playoffs, Men-lo senior pitcher Ali Lycette saw her prep career come to an end in the loss to No. 6 Carmel (20-5).

The Knights fell victim to an at-tack of nerves as they committed eight errors in six innings after av-eraging fewer than two errors per game this season. It also didn’t help that Menlo failed to get a hit.

Menlo coach Ladd Yager, who guided his team into the postseason for the first time following a six-year absence, said his team was just too tight.

Lycette did what she could, striking out six and not allowing a walk.

The postseason gets under way for two more teams today, with Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo taking the field at Washington Park in Santa Clara for Division III baseball ac-tion.

Third-seeded Sacred Heart Prep

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Early exits for M-A baseball, Menlo softball


Sports


BASEBALLNonconference

Santa Clara 310 200 010 -- 7 11 0Stanford 000 080 30x -- 11 14 3

O’Nell, Kuehn (3), Lombard (4), DeMarco (5), Dormer (7), Willinsky (8) and Bacon; Fearnow, Ratliff (1), Davis (4), Stringer (6), Manship (8) and Hester. WP -- Davis (1-1). LP -- DeMarco (5-4).

HR -- Bacon (SCU); Minaker, Castro (S). 2B -- Drever, Watts, Bacon (SCU); Hester, Taylor, Lewis (S). 5 hits -- Taylor (S). 4 hits -- Drever (SCU). 2 hits -- Nava, Watts, Ba-con (SCU); Rapoport (S). 3 RBI -- Minaker, Rapoport (S). 2 RBI -- Watts (SCU); Castro, Hester (S).

Records: Santa Clara 28-26, Stanford 28-21

SOFTBALLAll-Pac-10 Conference

First TeamCaitlin Benyi (UCLA) Sr.; Kaitlin Cochran

(ASU) Fr.; Andrea Duran (UCLA) Sr.; Kristie Fox (Arizone) Jr.; Alicia Holowell (Arizon) Sr.; Lauren Lappin (Stanford) Sr.; Jodie Legaspi (UCLA) Jr.; Caitlin Lowe (Arizona) Jr.; Brianne McGowan (OSU) Jr.; Cambria Miranda (OSU) So.; Catalina Morris (Stanford) Sr.; Anjelica Selden (UCLA) So.; Kristina Thorson (Cal) Sr.; Haley Woods (Cal) Sr.;

Player of the Year: Andrea Duran (UCLA)

Pitcher of the Year: Kristina Thorson (Cal)

Newcomer of the Year: Kaitlin Cochran (ASU)

Defensive Player of the Year: Lauren Lappin (Stanford)

Coach of the Year: Sue Enquist (UCLA)Second Team

Katie Burkhart (ASU) So.; Autumn Cham-pion (Arizona) Sr.; Ashley Charters (Washing-ton) So.; Krista Colburn (UCLA) So.; Maddy Coon (Stanford) Fr.; Mindy Cowles (ASU) So.; Lindsay James (Cal) Sr.; Dominique Lastrapes (Washington) Jr.; Danielle Lawrie (Washington) Fr.; Mia Longfellow (OSU) Jr.; Breanne Sabol (Oregon) Sr.; Alex Sutton (Cal) Jr.; Emily Zaplatosch (UCLA) Sr.

Honorable MentionLisa Allen (OSU) Sr.; Rhiannon Baca

(ASU) So.; Dani Baird (Oregon) Sr.; Callista Balko (Arizona) So.; Suzie Barnes (Oregon) Jr.; Beth Boskovich (Oregon) Sr.; Lisa Dodd (UCLA) Jr.; Alissa Eno (UCLA) Sr.; Emily Friedman (Cal) Sr.; Amy Harris (Oregon) Sr.; Tara Henry (UCLA) Jr.; Sarah Hyatt (Wash-ington) Sr.; Sari Jenkins (Oregon) Fr; Becky McCullough (Stanford) So.; Aimee Minor (Washington) Sr.; Taryne Mowatt (Arizona) So.; Missy Penna (Stanford) Fr.; Jackie Rine-hart (Stanford) Jr.; Desiree Serrano (ASU) Fr.; Morgan Siegel (Cal) Fr.; Michelle Smith (Stanford) So.; Jackie Vasquez (ASU) So.; Ashley Werschky (ASU) Sr.; DeAnn Young (OSU) Fr.

MEN’S TENNISNCAA Tournament

Saturdayat Stanford 4, Quinnipiac 0

Singles -- Corkery (S) vs. Chan, 6-0, 5-1 dnf; Bruch (S) d. Racioppo, 6-0, 6-1; Pade (S) d. Salvatore, 6-1, 6-0; Wan (S) d. Russo, 6-0, 6-1; Muller (S) vs. Sherrill (Q), 6-0, 3-1, dnf; Kao (S) vs. Kreyman, 6-1, 2-0, dnf.

Doubles - - Corkery-Pade (S) d. Chan-Racioppo, 8-0; Muller-Bruch (S) vs. Sher-rill-Salvatore, 4-2, dnf; Wong-Wan (S) d. Russo-Curran, 8-1.

Records: Stanford 16-3; Quinnipiac 14-8Other score: Cal 4, UC Santa Barbara 0.

Sundayat Stanford 4, California 0

Singles -- Corkery (S) vs. Niland, 6-2, 3-4, dnf; Bruch (S) d. Browne, 6-2, 6-0; Pade (S) d. Maack, 6-2, 6-4; Wan (S) vs. Sebescen, 5-5, dnf; Muller (S) vs. Nakahara, 6-4, 5-3, dnf; P. Kao (S) d. Wallace, 6-2, 6-4.

Doubles -- Corkery-Pade (S) vs. Browne-Niland, 4-7, dnf; Muller-Bruch (S) d. Pettit-Sebescen, 8-4; Wong-Wan (S) d. Maack-Wallace, 8-0.

Records: Stanford 17-3; California 16-7

WOMEN’S TENNISNCAA Tournament

Fridayat Stanford 4, Quinnipiac 0

Singles -- Liu (S) led Pasternak, 6-0, 4-1,

DNF; Barnes (S) d. Hoang, 6-1, 6-0; Logar (S) led Herb, 6-1, 5-0, DNF; Yelsey (S) d. Visinski, 6-0, 6-0; Deason (S) led Petruzzi, 6-0, 3-0, DNF; Nguyen (S) d. Rodriguez, 6-0, 6-0.

Doubles - - Barnes-Yelsey (S) led Pas-ternak-Hoang, 7-1, DNF; Durkin-Liu (S) d. Herb-Petruzzi, 8-1; Hodzic-Nguyen (S) d. Rodriguez-Rosenberger, 8-0.

Records: Stanford 25-0; Quinnipiac 11-11

Other score: Arizona 4, BYU 1Saturday

at Stanford 4, Arizona 0Singles -- Liu (S) led Steinberg, 6-3, 0-0

DNF; Barnes (S) d. Balzert, 6-2, 6-0; Logar (S) led Mavroleon, 6-1, 2-2 DNF; Yelsey (S) led Jakowlew, 6-1, 3-1 DNF; Deason (S) d. Todorova, 6-0, 6-1; Nguyen (S) d. Rochefort, 6-1, 6-1.

Doubles -- Barnes-Yelsey (S) d. Balzert-Mavroleon, 8-1; Durkin-Liu (S) led Steinberg-Todorova, 7-4, DNF; Hodzic-Nguyen (S) d. Jakowlew-Rochefort, 8-4.

Records: Stanford 26-0; Arizona 13-12

MEN’S TRACK AND FIELDPac-10 Championships

at Eugene, Ore.Team scores -- 1, USC 140; 2, Oregon

133.5; 3, Arizona 122; 4, Washington 99; 5, UCLA 97.5; 6, Arizona State 76; 7, Stanford 60; 8, California 53; 9, Washington State 37.

100 -- 1, Francis (USC) 10.25; 2, Del Rincon (UO) 10.41; 3, Jones (USC) 10.43.

200 -- 1, Francis (USC) 20.31; 2, Peterson 20.71; 3, Del Rincon (UO) 20.86.

400 -- 1, Scherer (UO) 45.19; 2, Everhart (UCLA) 45.78; 3, Larry (USC) 45.85.

800 - - 1, Solomon (USC) 1:48.03; 2, Asafo-Agyei (USC) 1:49.07; 3, Brown (UW) 1:49.61.

1,500 - - 1, Cheseret (UA) 3:41.88; 2, Brown (S) 3:43.49; 3, Maiyo (UA) 3:43.84.

5,000 -- 1, Cheseret (UA) 13:47.50; 2, Mu-tanya (UA) 13:51.32; 3, Rupp (UO) 14:00.94; 4, Pierce (S) 14:09.92.

10,000 -- 1, Cheseret (UA) 30:32.92; 2, Rupp (UO) 30:42.10; 3, Araia (S) 30:47.85; 4, Gotcher (S) 31:03.91; 5, Mix (S) 31:05.66.

3,000 steeplechase -- 1, Aguayo (ASU) 8:35.04; 2, Warrenburg (ASU) 8:39.01; 3, Pierce (S) 8:40.88.

110 HH -- 1, Mitchum (UO) 13.56; 2, Craddock (UCLA) 13.73; 3, Ikwuakor (UO) 14.00.

400 IH -- 1, Charles (UW) 49.51; 2, Cass-leman (WSU) 49.53; 3, Kelley (USC) 51.07.

400 relay - - 1, Oregon 39.74; 2, USC 39.82; 3, Arizona State 39.98.

1,600 relay -- 1, USC 3:05.74; 2, Oregon 3:06.75; 3, Washington 3:07.08.

High jump -- 1, Williams (USC) 7-4 1/2; 2, Frederick (UW) 7-1; 3, Wright (C) 6-10 3/4.

Long jump -- 1, Frederick (UW) 25-10; 2, Powell (UA) 25-2 3/4; 3, Williams (USC) 24-9 1/4.

Triple jump -- 1, Zimmerman (ASU) 53-3; 2, Easterling (UCLA) 52-1 1/4; 3, Johnson (UCLA) 51-7 3/4.

Discus -- 1, Garza (UCLA) 194-1; 2, Kuehl (UA) 190-3; 3, Lamb (UA) 189-9.

Hammer -- 1, Kocsor (UCLA) 219-1; 2, Mi-dles (USC) 217-3; 3, Bingisser (UW) 209-3.

Javelin -- 1, Romero (W) 233-11; 2, Teinert (C) 221-10; 3, Kuusisto (UA) 220-1.

Pole vault - - 1, Skipper (O) 18-0 ; 2, Landers (UCLA) 17-8 ; 3, Hoste (S) 17-4

.Shot put -- 1, Bryant (USC) 64-6 ; 2,

Shields (UA) 63-11 æ; 3, Denbo (USC) 62-6 3/4.

WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELDPac-10 Championships

at Eugene, Ore.Team scores 1, Arizona State 154; 2,

Stanford 151.5; 3, USC 112; 4, UCLA 103; 5, Oregon 97; 6, California 76.5; 7, Washington 41; 8, Washington State 40; 9, Arizona 37; 10, Oregon State 4.

100 -- 1, Powell (USC) 11.10; 2, Davis (S) 11.29; 3, Rodriguez (USC) 11.40.

200 -- 1, Rodriguez (USC) 22.81; 2, Davis (S) 23.03; 3, Carter (C) 23.39.

400 -- 1, Bayne-Hackett (S) 52.35 (school record); 2, Leach (UCLA) 52.61; 3, Johnson (S) 53.20.

800 -- 1, Noble (O) 2:05.81; 2, Johnson (C) 2:06.85; 3, Schaaf (O) 2:07.88; 4, Free-man (S) 2:08.57.

1,500 -- 1, Lambie (S) 4:15.65; 2, Lia (W) 4:18.88; 3, McGown (O) 4:19.00.

5,000 -- 1, Jackson (ASU) 16:09.73; 2, K. Trotter (S) 16:21.50; 3, Hastings (ASU) 16:32.82; 4, A. Trotter (S) 16:38.87.

10,000 -- 1, Hastings (ASU) 34:03.85; 2, Jackson (ASU) 34:07.64; 3, K. Trotter (S) 34:53.10.

3,000 steeplechase -- 1, Bennett (ASU) 10:20.08; 2, Masinelli (ASU) 10:29.54; 3, Al-len (S) 10:33.62.

100 hurdles -- 1, Powell (USC) 12.64; 2, Davis (USC) 13.28; 3, Johnson (ASU) 13.52.

400 hurdles -- 1, Leach (UCLA) 57.27; 2, Wallace (ASU) 58.14; 3, Harwood (UO) 1:00.05.

400 relay -- 1, USC 43.81; 2, Stanford (Davis, Johnson, Bailey, Walker ) 44.39; 3, California 44.90.

1,600 relay -- 1, Stanford (Out, John-son, Davis, Bayne) 3:32.69; 2, Arizona State 3:33.23; 3, USC 3:38.16.

High jump -- 1, Watkins (UCLA) 5-11 1/4; 2, Johnson (S) 5-11 1/4; 3, Correa (UCLA) and Sommers (UCLA) 5-8 æ.

Javelin -- 1, Yurkovich (O) 166-3; 2, Zahn (W) 161-9; 3, Maier (S) 160-4.

Discus -- 1, Varner (UA) 181-3; 2, Hutchin-son (USC) 175-9; 3, Strot (C) 170-2.

Pole vault -- 1, Johnson (UCLA) 15-1; 2, Diles (WSU) 13-7 º; 3, Dockendorf (W) 13-7 º.

Triple jump -- 1, McLain (S) 44-2 1/2; 2, Sanford (USC) 42-8 3/4; 3, Williams (UCLA) 42-2 3/4.

Long jump -- 1, McLain (S) 21-5 1/4; 2, Williams (UCLA) 20-9 1/4; 3, Watkins (UCLA) 20-6 º.

Shot put -- 1, Savage (ASU) 57-2; 2, Fre-berg (USC) 55-6 1/2; 3, Pressley (ASU) 54-5 1/4.

Hammer -- 1, Orban (USC) 221-6; 2, Hop-ping (S) 219-8 (school record); 3, Stevens (ASU) 215-6.

ScheduleFRIDAYBaseball

College -- Stanford at UCLA, 6 p.m.

Golf

College men -- Stanford at NCAA West Regional, Tucson, Ariz.

Softball

College -- NCAA regional at Fresno State: Stanford vs. Tulsa, 7:30 p.m.

Tennis

College women -- NCAA team champi-onships at Stanford: quarterfinals at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m.

SATURDAYBaseball


Golf


Softball

College -- Stanford in NCAA regional at Fresno State

Tennis

College men -- NCAA team champion-ships at Stanford: Round of 16 at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m.

SUNDAYBaseball


Golf


Softball

College -- Stanford in NCAA regional at Fresno State

Tennis

College women -- NCAA team champion-ships at Stanford: semifinals at 9 a.m. and noon

College men -- NCAA team champion-ships at Stanford: quarterfinals at 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m.

SCOREBOARD

by Keith Peters

I t has been a season that started off slow, went downhill quickly and appeared headed for obliv-

ion. The Stanford baseball team, however, never let it get quite away and has turned it around just in time.

Needing to win basically every game just to sneak into the NCAA tournament, Stanford has put to-gether its longest winning streak of the season. Backs against the wall? No problem. The Cardinal has won seven straight heading into its fi-nal Pac-10 series of the season, at UCLA beginning Friday night.

“We can’t really worry about the big picture,” said Stanford head coach Mark Marquess about the team’s postseason possibilities. “We just have to worry about the little picture, but the thing that’s going to help us is the difficulty of our schedule. We have played good teams.”

Stanford (28-21) won its seventh straight with an 11-7 nonconference win over Santa Clara (28-26) on Tuesday night in Sunken Diamond.

“The good thing is that we think we can control our own destiny,” added Chris Minaker. “If we play well and we win, we should get a shot (at the postseason). I feel like we’re getting better at the right time.”

During its current winning streak, the Cardinal has shown the ability to rally from early deficits. That’s something Stanford didn’t do ear-lier in the year. Santa Clara actually grabbed a 6-0 lead after 4 1/2 in-nings before Stanford erupted with an eight-run fifth frame.

Minaker and Jason Castro both homered in the Stanford fifth with Minaker’s three-run homer tying the contest at 6. Castro’s two-run pinch-hit shot three batters later gave the Cardinal the lead for good.

Michael Taylor extended his hit streak to a career-high nine games with the first five-hit contest of his career and the first by a Stanford player this season, while Jim Rapo-port drove in three runs and John Hester brought home a pair.

“It’s a great feeling when every-one is hitting and scoring,” Taylor said. “When one guy hits the ball hard everyone hits the ball hard, and it’s contagious. Obviously, I was re-ally excited about getting five hits tonight, but the main thing is that we won. It’s exciting to still have a chance to go to the playoffs and compete for a national title. To have all of those things together, that’s what it’s all about.”

Mountain View High grad Erik Davis (1-1) was credited with his first victory of the season despite allowing a pair of runs on three hits over two innings of middle relief.

Stanford erased Santa Clara’s ear-ly 6-0 lead quickly in the fifth, tying the game with the first six runs of

the frame before the Broncos even recorded a single out. Three con-secutive singles to open the inning from Randy Molina, Joey August and Rapoport plated Molina with the first Cardinal run. Ryan Seawell was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hester, who ended a short and ineffective outing for Santa Clara reliever Jeff Lombard by dou-bling home August and Rapoport.

Minaker then launched the second pitch he saw from Daniel DeMarco for a three-run homer off the top of the scoreboard in left field to tie the game at 6-6. Taylor restarted the rally with a double before DeMarco finally retired Chris Lewis for the first out of the inning but Castro followed with his two-run pinch-hit blast to right field to put the Cardi-nal in front, 8-6.

“It feels great to come back from behind,” said Minaker. “When you feel that momentum shift your way, it’s very gratifying and a lot of fun. That being said, it’s always better to be ahead.”

Earlier Tuesday, Stanford junior Greg Reynolds was named Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week for the second time in his career.

SoftballStanford (38-15) will face Tulsa

tonight in the first round of NCAA regional action in Fresno. Among the Cardinal leaders is senior Cata-lina Morris, who is the Pac-10 Soft-ball Player of the Week.

Morris batted .375 over the week-end to lead Stanford to three con-secutive Pac-10 victories, including two upsets of No. 1 UCLA. She col-lected three runs, one double, one triple and was 2-2 in stolen bases.

On Wednesday, Morris was named to the All-Pac-10 first team for a third time. Morris was joined on the first team by senior Lauren Lappin, who was named Defen-sive Player of the Year for a second straight season. Lappin is a two-time NFCA All-American and a three-time All-Pac-10 first-team member.

Freshman Maddy Coon was named to the Pac-10 second team while sophomore Becky Mc-Cullough, freshman Missy Penna, junior Jackie Rinehart and sopho-more Michelle Smith were all hon-orable-mention choices.

Track and fieldAmong the many highlights of

Stanford’s second-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships last weekend in Eugene, Ore., was a school record in the women’s hammer by Sarah Hopping.

She crushed her own school mark of 211-4 set at the Big Meet with a huge improvement of 219-8 on Sun-day while finishing second.

Stanford will host the 2007 Pac-10 Championships at Cobb Track & Angell Field.■

STANFORD ROUNDUP

Stanford baseball finally grabs control

Cardinal softball opens NCAA regional action after putting Lappin and Morris on All-Pac-10 first team

pionships.Stanford’s Goldie, Mitchell and

Palmer are the 13th, 14th and 15th Cardinal players to be inducted into the ITA Hall of Fame. Goldie played on two NCAA championship teams in ‘83 and ‘86 and earned ITA All-America honors three times from ‘84-86. He also captured the ‘85 ITA National Indoor and ‘86 NCAA singles crowns.

Mitchell won the ‘77 NCAA sin-gles title and helped the Cardinal to NCAA back-to-back team titles in ‘77-78. He was also a three-time ITA All-American.

Palmer captured the ‘91 NCAA singles title. He went on to win two Grand Slam doubles titles (and two mixed), reach No. 1 in the ATP dou-bles rankings and play for the U.S. Davis Cup team several times over an eight-year span.

Players are eligible for election to the ITA Hall of Fame 15 years after their last collegiate match and coaches are eligible following retire-ment. The main criteria for election are college accomplishments as well as honors earned after college.

The ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 1983 and has inducted more than 160 players, coaches and contributors since then. Members include the late Arthur Ashe (UCLA), Jimmy Connors (UCLA), John McEnroe (Stanford) and Stan Smith (USC).

■

Former Stanford All-America Pat-ty Fendick-McCain has been named Division I Tennis Most Outstanding Student-Athlete for her accomplish-ments in NCAA championships. The honor, which was bestowed as part of the NCAA’s 25th Anniversary of Women’s Championships, takes into account outstanding performances over the past 25 years.

Fendick-McCain competed in tennis at Stanford from 1983-87. She claimed the NCAA Division I singles championship as a junior and senior (1986, ‘87), while lead-ing Stanford to three NCAA team championships (1984, ‘86, ‘87). She also was a 1985 NCAA singles semifinalist and a 1987 NCAA dou-bles finalist. Fendick-McCain set the NCAA record for consecutive victo-ries at the No. 1 singles position (57) during her Stanford career, a record that stood from 1987 until 2001.

Fendick-McCain was the recipi-ent of three prestigious awards as a senior in 1987 — the Honda Brod-erick Cup, as national women’s tennis Player of the Year; Tennis Magazine’s College Player of the Year; and the Arthur Ashe Award for Sportsmanship. She also was singled out as the Most Valuable Player of the NCAA’s “All-Decade Team” for the 1980’s, and also was Stanford’s “Player of the Decade” for the 1980’s. Fendick-McCain was inducted into the Stanford Hall of Fame in 2003.

■

The Stanford men and women will be well-represented next week when the NCAA individual compe-tition gets under way on The Farm.

Six Cardinal women were award-ed spots in the Singles Champion-ship and two pairs were awarded spots in the Doubles Championship,

both of which will begin Tuesday after the conclusion of the team championship Monday night.

Seniors Alice Barnes and Amber Liu will be joined by juniors The-resa Logar and Anne Yelsey along with sophomores Whitney Deason and Celia Durkin.

In doubles, Stanford has the tan-dem of Barnes and Yelsey, the No. 1 doubles team in the nation, plus the team of Durkin and Liu.

The Stanford men will have se-nior KC Corkery and freshman Matt Bruch in singles and the tan-dem of Corkery and James Pade in doubles.

The men’s individual tournament begins Wednesday, following Tues-day night’s team finale.

■

Host Stanford has won the most NCAA men’s team titles with 17. UCLA and USC are next in line with 16 each and Georgia is fourth with four titles. Only three other schools (Trinity, Illinois and Baylor) have managed to win the men’s title over the past 36 years and the Pac-10 has never gone more than three years without having a school win it all. Stanford holds a comfortable lead in the women’s championship race with 14 in 24 tournaments. Florida is next with four, followed by South-ern California, Georgia and Texas with two each.

■

The Georgia men improved to 27-0 last weekend, cruising through the first two rounds. Their 4-0 win over Georgia Tech in Sunday’s sec-ond round was their 14th shutout this season. Leading the way for the Bulldogs are John Isner and Colin Purcell, who carry 24- and 18-match win streaks to Stanford, respective-ly. The Bulldogs also have won titles in 1985, ‘87, ‘99 and 2001. All four previous title runs have come on their home courts in Athens.■

Sports


for the betterment of the team. With an ailing shoulder that she knew would only get worse with use, she chose to withdraw from last year’s singles tournament (and the chance to become the first three-time sin-gles champion ever) to devote her energies first to helping Stanford win its second straight team title, and then to play with teammate Anne Yelsey in the doubles tourna-ment.

Liu and Yelsey reached the dou-bles championship match, knocking off the nation’s second-ranked team in doing so, before losing to the Stanford tandem of Alice Barnes and Erin Burdette.

“It was pretty devastating to have the injury,” Liu said. “I knew the more I played the worse it would get but I couldn’t let down the team. I was dejected I had to pull out of the singles tournament. I was able to play doubles because there wasn’t as much serving.”

Liu still has the opportunity to become the first three-time singles champion next week, and could be-come one of three players to win three individual titles.

She’d prefer to have her picture taken, perhaps along with fellow seniors Joanna Kao and Jessica Leck, holding aloft the NCAA team trophy, should the top-ranked and undefeated Cardinal successfully defend its title.

The 2002 championship picture of then seniors Lauren Kalvaria, Gabriela Lastra and Keiko Tokuda, their faces shiny in exhilaration, holding the trophy has adorned the cover of several publications recent-ly and Liu thought having a similar photograph from this season would be the perfect finish.

“That picture is sooooo cute,” Liu said. “That picture is engraved in history. It would be neat, hopefully, to have a picture like that.”

With her shoulder at 100 percent, the odds are pretty good Liu could find herself framed in history just like her 2002 counterparts.

In a program that exudes success — 14 team titles in the first 24 years of the NCAA-sanctioned event — this senior class takes a back seat to no one. In her four years at Stan-ford, Liu has experienced exactly one team loss and that came in the finals of the 2003 tournament. Since that defeat the Cardinal has run off an NCAA-record 82-match winning streak. Stanford hasn’t loss a home match this century, its 103-match streak dating to February of 1999.

Over the past 30 years, only once has Stanford gone five years with-out a title (1992-96) and only seven times has the Cardinal failed to reach the NCAA finals.

What makes this senior class, with its lengthy win streak and suc-cessive national titles, even more special is how it has maintained such lofty success in an era of par-ity where at least eight teams can stake legitimate claims to the title every year.

Liu is Stanford’s No. 1 player, but she’s not the highest-ranked player at Stanford. That honor belongs to the fifth-ranked Barnes. Liu is eighth. And still there are other top 10 play-ers at Stanford like No. 10 Theresa

Logar and the 11th-ranked Yelsey. No other team can claim more than a single player among the top 12. Florida is close with the ninth- and 14th-ranked players but how do the Gators compete with Stan-ford, when its No. 5 singles player (Celia Durkin) is ranked 34th? At No. 6 singles, Stanford has plenty of choices: 52nd-ranked Whitney Deason perhaps? Or maybe 73rd-ranked Jessica Nguyen? Even Pine-wood School grad Lejla Hodzic has found success playing singles after coming back from an injury.

Liu, however, remains on top of the ladder at Stanford and you’d get no disagreement from her team-mates.

“Having the security of a No. 1 player each year like Amber means there is no uncertainty from year to year. It’s played a major role in our success,” Barnes said. “Amber loses so few matches at No. 1. It’s helped everyone on the team. Having the best player in college tennis at No. 1 . . . If I had to pick a college team, I’d want her at No. 1. She’s so con-sistent.”

Modesty prevented Liu from ac-cepting the high compliment. She returned it neatly, just as she would a backhand down the line for a win-ner.

“There’s not much difference among the top 10 players,” she said. “What is comfortable is having so many girls ranked so high that at practice we are all pushing each other. Alice is more vocal; articu-late. I’m quiet, leading by example. If we needed someone to represent Stanford at a banquet that would be Alice — she’s a great speaker.”

For now Liu and her teammates are busy preparing for a dynamic weekend of tennis that could add to Stanford’s legacy. It seemed like just yesterday Liu was preparing for her first NCAA tournament.

“I have been looking forward to this ever since it was first an-nounced (about 18 months ago),” Liu said. “It’s finally here and it’s

come upon so fast. I can’t believe it’s here already. It seems such a short time ago I came in as a freshman and everything was so new. It can be a little overwhelming at times but I think we have all kept it in perspec-tive.”

Even if this is Liu’s last two weeks at Stanford, she won’t be a stranger to the school. While she hasn’t es-tablished a schedule for touring this summer, one of her first pro-fessional stops will be at the Bank of the West Classic, which is played at Taube Tennis Center. She’s 1-2 in the event as an amateur, owning a victory over Tara Snyder and losses to Clijsters and Amy Frazier.

Yeah, there’s a certain comfort to having a two-time NCAA singles champion and an NCAA doubles finalist playing at the top of the ladder. There’s also comfort for Liu knowing that ladder rests on a sturdy foundation.■

Amber Liu(continued from page 31)

WomenFRIDAY

3 p.m. -- Northwestern-Georgia Tech winner vs. USC-Virginia Commonwealth winner (Taube South); Fresno St.-Miami winner vs. Kentucky-Notre Dame winner (Taube stadium)

6 p.m. - - Stanford-TCU winner vs. Duke-North Carolina winner (Taube stadium); Baylor-Vanderbilt winner vs. UCLA-Florida winner (Taube South)

SUNDAYTeam semifinals, 9 a.m. and noon

(Taube stadium)MONDAY

Women’s team championship, 6:30 p.m. (Taube stadium)

TUESDAYSingles Round of 64, matches begin

at 10 a.m.WEDNESDAY

Singles Round of 32, matches begin at 10 a.m.; Doubles Round of 32

THURSDAYSingles Round of 16, matches begin

at 11 a.m.; Doubles Round of 16

MenSATURDAY

9 a.m. -- No. 11 North Carolina vs. No. 6 Ohio St. (Taube South); No. 14 Missis-sippi vs. No. 3 Texas (Taube stadium)

Noon -- No. 10 UCLA vs. No. 7 Illinois

(Taube South); Florida vs. No. 2 Pepper-dine (Taube stadium)

3 p.m. -- No. 13 Stanford vs. No. 4 Duke (Taube stadium); Washington vs. No. 5 Baylor (Taube South)

6 p.m. -- No. 9 Miami vs. No. 8 Vir-gina (Taube South); Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Georgia (Taube stadium)

SUNDAY10 a.m. - - North Carolina-Ohio St.

winner vs. Mississippi-Texas winner (Taube stadium)

1 p.m. -- UCLA-Illinois winner vs. Flor-ida-Pepperdine winner (Taube South)

3 p.m. -- Stanford-Duke winner vs. Washington-Baylor winner (Taube sta-dium)

6 p.m. - - Miami-Virginia winner vs. Notre Dame-Georgia winner

MONDAYTeam semifinals, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

(Taube South) TUESDAY

Men’s team championship, 6:30 p.m. (Taube stadium)

WEDNESDAYSingles Round of 64, matches begin

at 10 a.m.THURSDAY

Singles Round of 32, matches begin at 11 a.m.; Doubles Round of 32

(Taube South is located across the street from Taube stadium)

2006 NCAA TENNIS SCHEDULE

It’s the ITA Hall of Fame for Stanford’s Dick Gould.

NCAA tennis(continued from page 31)

Amber Liu hopes to have Stanford in the NCAA finals Monday.

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Keith Peters

Sports


ATHLETES OF THE WEEK

Tori AnthonyCastilleja School

The junior won four individual events to help the Gators capture their first-ever WBAL track championship meet title, then cleared a national-leading and CCS record 13-4 in the pole vault two days later.

Austin StahleySacred Heart Prep

The junior became the first SHP swimmer ever to win a CCS title, winning two indi-vidual events and swimming on two winning relays while setting four school records with All-American times at the CCS championships.

Christie CoryPalo Alto softball

Kim O’Donnell*Menlo-Atherton track & field

Alex Chang-Graham*Castilleja softball

Liv JensenPalo Alto swimming

Heidi Kucera*Menlo-Atherton swimming

Kaylyn ReyesGunn gymnastics

Matt Burke*Menlo lacrosse

Sam ChavezWoodside Priory golf

Billy McCallSacred Heart Prep tennis

Sami MorganMenlo baseball

Alex Navarro*Sacred Heart Prep swimming

Matt WheelerMenlo-Atherton track & field

Honorable mention

* previous winner

Hosted by Stanford University

For tickets call 800/STANFORD

www.NCAAsports.com

May 18-29Taube Tennis CenterStanford, California

CHAMPIONSHIPS

On May 18-21, fans can capture the thrills,excitement, challenges and spirit of NCAAchampionships at this free, high-poweredinteractive event located next to TaubeTennis Center!

For more information go to www.gostanford.com

BASEBALLCCS Division I

First roundMenlo-Atherton 000 000 0 -- 0 3 4Valley Christian 101 030 x -- 5 7 0

Zirbes, Abramson (3) and Finley; Miller and Swanson.†WP -- Miller. LP -- Zirbes.

2B -- Hall, Rodriguez (VC). 3 hits -- Swan-son, McPherson (VC). 3 RBI -- Swanson (VC).

Records: Menlo-Atherton finishes its sea-son 14-11

GOLFCCS Championships

At Carmel ValleyRancho Canada West (par 71)

65 - - Andrey Mindirgasov (Pacific Grove)

66 -- Adam Ichikawa (Mtn. View)68 -- Jordan Cox (Serra)69 -- Joseph Bramlett (St. Francis); Brett

McLeod (Carlmont)70 -- Sean McNamara (Los Gatos); Chad

Vivolo (R.L. Stevenson)71 -- Eric Mina (Bellarmine); Chris Jensen

(St. Francis); Alex Duvivier (Serra)72 -- Sam Chavez (Woodside Priory); Pe-

ter Ireland (RLS); Adam Gho (Harbor); Chris Shackleton (San Benito); Tucker Harper (Pa-cific Grove)

Other local resultsElliot Hume (Menlo-Atherton) 77; Nick

Sako (Menlo-Atherton) 77; Ben Jackson (Menlo-Atherton) 81; Martin Trainer (Gunn) 81; Nick Chladek (Menlo-Atherton) 83; Ja-mie Walsh (Menlo-Atherton) 84; Jake Hall Toy (Menlo-Atherton) 87.

SOFTBALLCCS Division III

First roundAt Salinas Sports Complex

Menlo 000 000 -- 0 0 8Carmel 220 006 -- 10 8 0

Lycette and Hawkins; Whede and Borek. WP -- Whede. LP -- Lycette (15-6).

HR -- Gamero (Car). 3B -- Borek (Car). 2 hits -- Guglielmo, Gamero (Car). 2 RBI -- Gamereo (Car).

Records: Menlo finishes its season 16-6

ScheduleFRIDAYBaseball

CCS - - Division III first round: Sacred Heart Prep vs. King City at Washington Park (Santa Clara), 4 p.m.; Menlo vs. R.L. Steven-son at Washington Park, 7 p.m.

Boys tennisNorCal -- First round at Fremont Tennis

Center: Sacred Heart Prep vs. San Joaquin team No. 2

SATURDAYBaseball

CCS -- Division II quarterfinals: Gunn-North Monterey County winner vs. Mills-Ca-puchino winner at Washington Park, 7 p.m.; Palo Alto-Aragon winner vs. Soquel-Pioneer winner at Washington Park, 1 p.m.

SoftballCCS -- Division III quarterfinals: Castilleja-

Half Moon Bay winner vs. Valley Christian at Hawes Park, Redwood City, 5 p.m.

Boys tennisNorCal - - Semifinals at Fremont Tennis

Center: Sacred Heart Prep vs. Redwood, noon; championship match at 3 p.m.

PREP SCOREBOARD

(17-6) will face No. 6 King City (14-12) today at 4 p.m., followed by No. 4 Menlo (14-13) against No. 5 R.L. Stevenson (16-9) at 7 p.m. The win-ners will advance to the semifinals on Tuesday at San Jose Municipal Stadium at 4 and 7 p.m. SHP and Menlo are in opposite brackets and could face each other in the finals on May 27. The teams met on May 11 with Menlo rallying for a 12-11 victory in eight innings. The win gave the Knights an opportunity to be considered for a postseason at-large berth.

In the CCS Division II baseball playoffs, No. 7 Palo Alto and No. 11 Gunn played Thursday and needed to win to reach Saturday’s quarter-finals at Washington Park.

SwimmingOverlooked during the CCS

championships last weekend at Stanford were two Gunn school records. Sophomore Tara Levens broke the school mark in the girls’ 100 backstroke with a 59.69 in the finals. Senior Matt Prior lowered the school record in the boys’ 200 IM to 1:57.47 in the prelims.

Boys tennisSacred Heart Prep (21-2) hopes to

take a big step up this weekend in its second trip to the Northern Califor-nia tournament at the Fremont Ten-nis Center. The Gators reached the semifinals last season before a 4-3 loss to Alameda derailed them.

Sacred Heart, which opens play today against the No. 2 team from the San Joaquin area, is favored to reach Saturday’s semifinals at noon. There, however, the Gators could face North Coast Section champion Redwood, which topped Monte Vis-ta (Danville) in the NCS finals.

Track and fieldNational leader Tori Anthony of

Castilleja will head a group of lo-cal athletes entered in Saturday’s CCS semifinals at San Jose City College. Field events begin at 9:30 a.m., with running events starting at 11 a.m. At stake will be berths in the CCS championships on May 26 at SJCC.

Anthony broke her own CCS re-cord and raised her state- and U.S. outdoor-leading mark in the girls’ pole vault to 13-4 last Saturday at the SCVAL Qualifier at Los Gatos High.

Two days earlier, Anthony won four events to help the Gators cap-ture their first-ever West Bay Ath-letic League title in the sport. Since the pole vault isn’t contested in the WBAL, Anthony had to vault at Los Gatos in order to advance to the CCS semifinals.

She’ll be the overwhelming favor-ite once again Saturday to reach the CCS finals and earn another trip to the CIF State Meet.

For other local athletes, the road to the state meet at Cerritos Col-lege (June 2-3) will be more dif-ficult. Those with the best chance of reaching the final meet include Gunn senior long jumper Chris Yu (22-7 1/2), Palo Alto sophomore 800 runner Mia Lattanzi (2:15.17), and Menlo-Atherton sophomore hurdler Kim O’Donnell (15.40).■

Prep roundup(continued from page 32)


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