providing news that is relevant, informative and critical

March - April 17, 2010 Vol. 5 No.21

Providing news that is relevant, informative and critical www.epatoday.org.

InsideEditorial

News Briefs

Opinions

TV Listings

Youth News

continued on page 8

The value

of knowing

who you

are

Page 2

East Palo Alto and Belle Haven

Scenes from March events in East Palo Alto? page 4Creating a community vision page 10 Health & Safety Fair page 3

Inside News

Getting anH1N1 Flushot

Page 3

Fallingin lovewith themedia

By Henrietta J. Burroughs

East Palo Alto Today

While San Mateo County's mail-back-response rates for the 2010 Census areslightly above the national average, theresults show that East Palo Alto residentsare returning their responses at a low ratethan other cities.

In San Mateo County, as of April 1, Mill-brae leads the county with a 62% returnrate, while East Palo Alto ranks at the

very bottom with a 40% return rate.The national participation census form

return rate is 60%. In comparison, theState of California has a 58% return rate.Iowa leads the nation with a 70% returnrate.

Why is the rate of return and responsesto the census so important? For everyperson missed in the 2010 Census count,state officials say the state could loseclose to $3,000. Officials calculate thatthe money lost equals $30,000 per per-

son over the next ten years.The number of people counted in each state

also affects the number of representativesthat a state has in the U.S. House of Repre-sentatives. Ironically, for the first time, theState of California might be in danger of losinga representative in Congress.Also important is the fact that a commu-

nities’ population figures determine theamount of money local communities re-ceive in federal and state funding. Suchfunding goes to support public works proj-

ects like bridges and high-ways, community centers, jobtraining programs, activitiesand centers for seniors, hospi-tals, and emergency servicesamong other programs andservices.

The federal census is takenevery ten years and it is re-quired that every person, citi-zen as well as non-citizen, iscounted.

So, unless residents in thecity return their census formsEast Palo Alto stands to losemillions if not billions in county,state and federal funds.

East Palo Alto’s low censusmail back rate is not indicativeof the efforts of various groupswithin the city to encourageresidents to return their cen-sus forms.

On Saturday, March 20, OneEast Palo Alto and NuestraCasa, two city nonprofits, helda rally on University Avenue atBell Street to encourage cityresidents to mail back theircensus forms.

The event was called a Cen-sus Awareness Raising Rallyfor the whole family and it in-cluded a variety of entertain-

Assisting youth with a curfewBy Richard Hackmann


In late February the East PaloAlto Police Department conducteda special curfew operation aimedat reducing the number of youthon the streets in the late hours ofthe night.

In a joint effort between theEast Palo Alto Police Departmentand the East Palo Alto Youth

Court, officers conducted a specialcurfew operation on the night ofThursday, February 25 with a con-tinuing point of emphasis on cur-few violations for the nights ofFriday, February 26 and Saturday,February 27.

In total, the operation resultedin seven detainments, four ofwhich were for curfew violations.Once detained officers trans-ported the violators to a secure lo-

cation where the detainee’s par-ent(s) and/or gaurdian(s) wereable to both pick up their depend-ent and meet with police officialsand representatives from the EastPalo Alto Youth Court (EPAYC).

According to police records,youth detained for curfew viola-tions were able to participate in theEPAYC and receive counselingservices rather than a citation andentry into the juvenile criminal jus-

tice system. Since its inception inearly 2009, the EPAYC, under theleadership of Executive DirectorLeeor Neta, has sought to providejuvenile offenders a community-based diversion program by work-ing with police and local schools.

“The East Palo Alto YouthCourt is closely partnered with theEast Palo Alto Police Department

Photo courtesy of Yana RudakovCensus 2010 volunteers stand at the corner of Bell and University Streets to distribute informa-tion to passersby to encourage them to participate in the 2010 Census.

Falling in love with the mediaBy Rebecca Fisher


Girls TV is the first of many tel-evision programs to come out ofthe 8-80 Multimedia Zone at theSan Francisco 49ers Academy inEast Palo Alto.

Now in its second year, theshow comes from an all-fe-

male after school program atthe school and features manysegments created by the sixth,seventh and eighth grade girlsin the program.

In my role as Youth Serv-ices Coordinator at the Mid-peninsula Community MediaCenter, I created this programin an attempt to give female

students a chance to fall inlove with media.

After noticing there were alarger number of male stu-dents interested in video pro-duction, I recognized the needfor a safe space where thegirls could step out of theircomfort zone, experiment withnew things and receive support

from their peers.

The curriculum for Girls TVwas designed with a focus on girls'empowerment, self-esteem, teambonding, and celebrating womenin fields that are typicallymale-dominated. During the first term of the

continued on page 10

Celebrat-ing localawardhonorees

Page 6 continued on page 2

EPA lags in census returns

East Palo Alto Today March 2010 - April 17, 2010

Creating a community visionBy Sean Charpentier

EPA Today

The latest East Palo Alto-sponsored Community Work-shop occurred on March 31.Fifty community members at-tended the previous workshopon February 18, 2010 to ex-press their vision for the futureof the RBD/4 Corners area.

The workshops are part ofthe Land Use Alternativesphase of the RBD/4 CornersTransit Oriented DevelopmentSpecific Plan (Specific Plan).

The Specific Plan will cre-ate a new land use vision forthe RBD/4 Corners and deter-mine if East Palo Alto can po-tentially connect to the futureDumbarton Rail Project. TheSpecific Plan is funded by theMetropolitan TransportationCommission (MTC) and theCity of East Palo Alto.

The City hired Design,Community & Environment(DC&E) as the planning con-sultant to facilitate the SpecificPlan process. There havebeen 5 well-attended publicmeetings to date. Attendancehas averaged approximately40 community members permeeting. The workshop wasthe culmination of severalmonths of steady progress on

the Specific Plan. The workshop began with

an introduction from MayorDavid Woods. Mayor Woodswelcomed the 50 communitymembers in attendance andhighlighted how the City struc-tured the Specific Planningprocess to maximize commu-nity involvement.

Then, DC&E provided criti-cal context for the upcomingland use exercise by present-ing information on the ExistingConditions Report, principlesof successful Transit OrientedDevelopment, and the types ofdevelopment and their relativetradeoffs.

The different types of de-velopment were residential, in-dustrial/R&D, office, retail,mixed use, parks, and com-munity services. DC&E thendiscussed the relative trade-

offs associated with each de-velopment type, including mar-ket demand, quality of lifeimprovements, job creation,potential land use conflicts,revenue potential, and contri-bution to transit ridership andplacemaking.

Next, the 50 communitymembers divided into 6groups. The community mem-bers created maps based ontheir future vision for theRBD/4 Corners. The mapswere created using a blankmap and stickers for each landuse (also blank stickers for ad-ditional land uses).

At the end of the group ex-ercise, a spokesperson fromeach group reported on thekey themes of their vision andmap.

Several central themesemerged. The 4 Corners area

was envisioned as a walkabledistrict with new retail, commu-nity services, and residentialuses. Bay Road was identi-fied as a major connective el-ement that needed a strongdesign presence. Also, mixeduses (residential and commer-cial over retail) could extendalong Bay Road from 4 Cor-ners into the RBD.

Many participants felt thatthe existing industrial areasnorth of Bay Road should re-main oriented towards indus-trial/R&D and office uses andthat the area south of BayRoad could include commu-nity services and office uses.

In addition, there wasstrong support for new openspace including communitygardens and pocket parksalong the PUC Right of Way inthe University Village neigh-borhood.

Other items that were men-tioned were affordable hous-ing, job training for East PaloAlto residents, and affordablecommercial workspace. Thepresentation and meetingsummary are available at:h t tp : / /www.c i .eas t -pa lo -alto.ca.us/economicdev/dum-barton.html.

There are still many oppor-tunities to provide input.

There are at least 4 more pub-lic meetings during the LandUse Alternatives Phase of theSpecific Plan. These meet-ings include:

Field Trip of TOD Sites(Please RSVP) - Saturday,April 17th

2nd Community Workshopto refine the Land Use Alterna-tives -TBD

4th CAC Meeting to recom-mend a Preferred Land UseAlternative - TBD

Planning Commissionmeeting to consider approvalof a Preferred Land Use Alter-native- TBD

All the meetings are opento the public. If you want to

attend the April 17th Field

Trip, you must RSVP with

Sean Charpentier ((650) 853-

5906) no later than Wednes-

day, April 7th.

In addition, there will beanother 12 public meetingsafter the completion of theLand Use Alternatives Phase.

Now is your chance to helpthe city create a vision for theRBD/4 Corners.

For more information,please contact Sean Charpen-tier, RDA Project CoordinatorII, at (650)853-5906 or [email protected].

East Palo Alto community members are shown at a commu-nity workshop as they work with maps to create their vision forthe city.

with the goal being to reduceyouth crime,” said Neta.

“The great benefit of the cur-few violation operation is that sincea curfew violation is a municipal vi-olation we as a community candecide to enforce that law in anyway we choose unlike some oth-ercrimes,” he said.

Unlike traditional methods oflaw enforcement, the EPAYC fo-cuses on peer and community ori-ented rehabilitation of offendersand unlike standard judicial prac-tice the EPAYC uses a combina-tion of peer support and adultguidance. Thus, one of the mostdistinctive characteristics of theprogram is that a majority of theroles within the Youth Courts arestaffed not by professionals but byyouth.

As East Palo Alto Police Cap-tain Carl Estelle, one of the officers

in charge of this operation, noted,“No one was arrested. Offenderswere instead introduced to theYouth Court and its coordinator.By taking these young peoplethrough the Youth Court we offermany more options for their devel-opment.”

Estelle went on to say, “Thegoal of this operation was to getthe message across to be homeafter 11:00pm because if kids areout until 11:00, 12:00, 1:00 in themorning the probability of them notmaking it to school the next day ishigh. The operation was for theirsafety. It teaches them personalresponsibility.”

Neta elaborated on Estelle’scomments saying, “I can’t tell youwhat a direct link there is betweena curfew violation and an absencefrom school the following day sothis operation is especially relevant

Sunday through Thursday.”East Palo Alto resident Lupita

Segura said, “I definitely believethat a minor should not be out pasta certain time because if they areout past a certain time they aredoing things that are not positive.

“Since the East Palo Alto Po-lice Department is approaching itin a way where violator’s peerscan help them solve their probleminstead of just adults, I think it’sgreat.”

Presently, under the East PaloAlto Municipal Code, youth de-tained for a curfew violation,whoare not involved in the EPAYCprogram face a maximum fine of$250 for a first offense.

Richard Hackmann is the co-founder and executive director ofthe Center for Community Actionand the current chair of the PaloAlto Young Professionals.

The value of knowing who you areBy Anita Cuellar


Who are you? What do youdo?

Not being from the commu-nity, these are the first ques-tions that I am asked when Imeet with individuals and or-ganizations,

I can’t help but chuckle,(not because they are per-fectly valid questions) but be-cause I have had tosummarize what I do in threesentences or less. So after 6

months of practice this is whatI have been able to come upwith:

“I am the Executive Man-

ager, of the WiFi 101 Project.This project maintains a wire-less network, provides refur-bished computers & techsupport at a reduced rate,sponsors an internship pro-gram, and hosts digital literacyclasses for the communities ofEast Palo Alto & Menlo Park.”

Then I patiently wait to an-swer more specific questionsrelated to the project.

There are 6 organizationsthat are involved in the project:the Ravenswood City SchoolDistrict; One East Palo Alto; El

Concilio of San Mateo; JobTrain (formerly OICW); Com-munity Wireless and Comput-ers For Everyone.

I oversee the entire project;but since July 8, 2009 I am di-rectly responsible for Commu-nity Wireless and ComputersFor Everyone.

Both entities provide twodifferent types of services.Community Wireless objectiveis to connect individuals andorganizations to each otherthrough a dynamic, usable &sustainable information net-

work that will ensure that com-munity members have the op-portunities to fully benefit fromthe technological revolution.

They have done this bybuilding a free outside wire-less network in East Palo Alto.Which means that if you are ina building, and depending onhow much interference thereis in your area, will determinethe signal strength.(Improvingthe signal strength, is on my

Assisting youth continued from page 1

continued on page 8

Anita Cuellar


City, County & State Government Meetings & Contacts

East Palo Alto City Council

The City of Council meetsthe first and third Tuesdayof each month at 7:30 pmin the Council Chambers,East Palo Alto City Hall,2415 University Avenue;(650) 853-3100 or Fax:(650) 853-3115. Website:www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us

East Palo AltoCity Council Members

David E. WoodsMayor(650) 853-1907

Carlos RomeroVice Mayor(650)328-4363

A. Peter Evans (650) 321-1009

Ruben Abrica-(650) 321-4001

Laura Martinez(650)714-5337

East Palo AltoAgencies.Boards, Com-missions, Committees

Planning CommissionSecond and Fourth Monday

Rent Stabilization BoardSecond and FourthWednesday

Public Works & Transporta-tion CommissionFirst and Third Wednesday

Youth Advisory CommitteeFirst Thursday of eachmonth

Senior Advisory CommitteeMeets first Monday of eachmonth 6:30p.m. - City Hall.

East Palo Alto SanitaryDistrict

Open Monday through Fri-day from 8:00 a.m. to 12noon and re-opens from1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

901 Weeks StreetEast Palo Alto, CA 94303-1310 (650) 325-9021

Menlo Park City CouncilThe Menlo Park City Councilholds meetings every Tues-day at 7:00 p.m. at the CityCouncil Chambers locatedat 801 Laurel Street. Youcan subscribe to receive theagendas and minutes by e-mail when they are pub-lished. An agenda is postedin advance of the weeklymeeting, and past agendasand minutes are filed by thedate they were held. Call theCity Clerk at 650.330.6620.

Menlo Park City Council Members

Richard ClineMayor(650) 228-5166

John C. BoyleVice Mayor(650)906-7163

Kelly J. Fergusson (650) 327-4533

Heyward Robinson (650) 208-1512

Andrew M. Cohen(650)327-5332

Menlo ParkBoards, Commissions,

Committees

Arts CommissionBicycle CommissionEnvironmental Quality Com-missionHousing CommissionLas Pulgas CommitteeLibrary CommissionParks and Recreation Com-missionPlanning CommissionTransportation Commission

San Mateo CountyBd. of Supervisors

Supervisor Rose JacobsGibson, Fourth District

The San Mateo CountyBoard of Supervisors meetson March 3, 17, 31, & April14,28 2009 in the County ofSan Mateo Hall of Justice &Records 400 County Center,Redwood City, CA 94063.Roll call at 8 a.m. 9 a.m.

Regular & Consent AgendaItems.

State Officials

Governor ArnoldSchwarzeneggerState Capitol BuildingSacramento, CA 95814Phone: 916-445-2841Fax: 916-445-4633Email:[email protected]

Assembly Member IraRuskinDistrict Address5050 El Camino RealSte.117Los Altos, CA 94022650 691-2121

Senator Joseph S. SimitianDistrict Address160 Town & Country VillagePalo Alto, CA 94301(650) 688-6384

East Palo Alto Health &

Safety Fair

It was a beautiful, sunnyday and the beauty of the daywas especially welcomed bythe 24 community groups thatcollaborated to hold East PaloAlto’s Health & Safety Fair onMarch 27. There was a steadyflow of visitors to the fair with127 people registering to com-pete for raffle prizes.

The fair featured games,healthy snacks, danceclasses, a tree planting ses-sion, community informationbooths, and a variety of activi-ties designed to stress the im-portance of maintaining ahealthy mind and body.

Many raffle prizes weregiven out and the top prize, achild’s bicycle, was given toDeiana Gomez, a five year old

at the EPA Charter School.One of the key features of

the fair was the free H1N1 FluClinic, which was sponsoredby the San Mateo CountyHealth Department.

The clinic marked the lastfree H1N1 flu clinic the SanMateo County Health Depart-ment would hold in the countythis year.

One county representativeestimated that 75-100 peoplefiled through the clinic to get

the flu vaccine. Ravenswood City School

District Trustee Larry Moodybrought 10 members of hisfamily and Mitchell Dempseywho said that he was 93 yearsold was one of the oldest resi-dents to get the vaccine duringthe free clinic.

Those interested in get-ting the flu vaccine can checkthe county’s website for addi-tional local suppliers:www.smhealth.org/flu

In getting community mem-bers outdoors and in the park,

council member Ruben Abricasaid the fair had accomplishedits purpose.

New leadership at Collective

Roots

Dave Kane is now the in-terim executive director at Col-lective Roots. He acquired theposition upon the departure ofWolfram Alderson, who servedin the position for three years.

Alderson’s departure is theresult of a mutual agreementbetween Alderson and thegroup’s board of directors.

Kane is on the verge onlaunching four new programsand initiatives, that will consistof a brand new website, cook-ing classes and more.

CA State Assembly Candi-

date visits East Palo Alto

Democrat Josh Becker isrunning for the California StateAssembly to replace IraRuskin who will be running forthe State Senate in the nextelection.

Last month, Becker hostedcommunity seniors at the EastPalo Alto Senior Center. OnFebruary 26, Becker was him-self hosted at Brock Plaza,which is located at UniversityAvenue and Donohue Street.

Officials report on plane crash in EPABy Richard Hackmann


Two months ago, East PaloAlto Today reported that theEast Palo Alto City Councilwas nearing completion of anEmergency PreparednessPlan that “shows no signs ofletting the community down inthe event of a catastrophicevent.”

Just before 8:00 a.m. onFeb. 17, that plan was put tothe test when a twin-engineCessna carrying three Teslaemployees crashed intoBeech St. in East Palo Altoshortly after takeoff from the

Palo Alto Airport, killing allthree people onboard.

The crash, which occurredduring severe fog, is still underinvestigation by both the FAAand NTSB; yet, that has notstopped the City of East PaloAlto from conducting its owninvestigation to determinewhat occurred during the re-sponse to the disaster and todetermine what lessons it canlearn to improve its emergencyresponse in the future.

On March 2, less than twoweeks after the incidentrocked the community, EastPalo Alto Police Chief RonaldDavis and Menlo Park Fire

District Chief Harold Schapel-houman made their first formalcomments to the East PaloAlto City Council about whatthey, and so many others, wit-nessed on that tragic morning.

While a formal investigativereport is still under way, Davisand Schapelhouman reportedthat the plane disaster re-flected the need for a compre-hensive emergencypreparedness plan. Theystated that while many thingsoccurred properly during thecity’s response, there is stillroom for improvement.

In explaining the need for acomplete assessment of the

incident, Davis said, “Part ofour debriefing is to identifywhat went right, so we can doit again; to identify what did notgo right, so it doesn’t repeat it-self, and to assess ways tobetter serve our community insuch a disaster, if it were tohappen again. Although thesmoke has cleared and thewreckage is removed thereare still a lot of long lasting af-fects that our community willdeal with.”

Following Davis’s initialcomments to the City Council,Schapelhouman noted that itwas ironic that the last time heand Davis were before the City

Council it was to discuss plan-ning for just this sort of an oc-currence. After giving a briefdescription of the tactical unitsthat were deployed followingthe crash and some of theevents that occurred thatmorning, Schapelhouman de-scribed what the analysis ofthe disaster would contain.

“What we will do is a postincident evaluation which iswritten. Our next step is todeal with our crews and do thedebriefings with them neces-sary to get the full picture ofwhat happened. We’re col-

continued on page 8

Mitchell Dempsey

Deiana Gomez

California State Assemblycandidate Josh Becker at theEast Palo Alto Senior Center.

Community News Briefs


Letters in East Palo Alto Today


Publisher:East Palo Alto Center for Community Media Editor: Henrietta J. Burroughs

East Palo Alto Today is published bimonthly;Address all letters to: East Palo Alto Today321 Bell Street,East Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650)327-5846, ext 311 (phone) (Fax) (650)[email protected]; epamedia.org and epatoday.org

In order to better serve the

communities of East Palo Alto

and Belle Haven, East Palo

Alto Today has made the com-

mitment to operate with high

professional standards and to

adhere to a strict code of ethi-

cal conduct.

The principles and policies

stated herein serve as an

agreement with our readers,

advertisers and all others

within our service area.

East Palo Alto Today is ded-

icated to conscientious jour-

nalism. We maintain this

commitment by seeking and

reporting the truth, acting with

integrity, and serving the pub-

lic interest. We will report the

news thoroughly and accu-

rately and include multiple per-

spectives without favoring one

over the other.

We will hold ourselves ac-

countable to common stan-

dards of decency, treating our

colleagues, news sources,

and the public with respect.

We are committed to main-

taining our independence by

avoiding partnerships, invest-

ments or business relation-

ships that would compromise

the integrity of our news re-

ports.

EPA Today’s Pol ic ies & Principles

focus on performance. Good de-cisions, excellent skills and abili-ties and the willingness and desireto do a job well are not functionsof residency.

The question should alwaysbe who is the best qualified per-son for the job and who will per-

form the job tothe highestlevel to which itneeds to beperformed.

These aresome of the theconsiderationsand the requi-sites needed toimprove thequality of life in

any city.Third, the act of using resi-

dency as a way of gaining powerand clout in the past to silencepeople is quickly becoming out-moded as a tool for keeping non-residents subordinate when itcomes to sharing useful ideas ei-ther around the table or in variouspublic forums.

Finally, East Palo Alto needsevery positive resource that it canget to deal with the challenges itfaces and, like any city, it needs toattract the best pool of talent thatit can get. To demand that all ofthe needed talent pool comesfrom East Palo Alto is impratical.

We should all be focusing onthe challenges and how to dealwith them effectively rather thangetting side tracked by issues thatleech valuable time and energyand needlessly pit people againsteach other.

The key question should notbe, "Do you live in East PaloAlto?" The important, key ques-tions should be: "What do youhave to offer? What can you giveand what can you do to providethe type of solutions needed tomove East Palo Alto in the direc-tion its residents would like for it togo?"

Wouldn't it make sense forEPA to be a welcoming city --open to new ideas and differentapproaches -- as it keeps what isconsidered good about itself andimproves what needs to be bet-ter?

Perhaps, as more residentsfeel more secure and more em-powered themselves, then theycan be more welcoming to otherswho live in the city as well as tothose who live outside of the city,but work in it.

If the fear is that outsiders willcome in and take over, then moreresidents need to step up to theplate and acquire the skills andthe resources that are needed inthe areas that they consider im-portant.

The time for divisiveness haspassed, if that time ever existed.There is no going back to somegolden time in the city’s history.Life moves on and East Palo Altomost move on with life, if it is tosurvive and thrive as a healthy,productive, peaceful city that im-proves its standing among othercities.

We are all a part of the EPAcommunity, whether we live in the

From the Editor’s DeskShould it matter where you live?

It needs to be noted that we’vereached a low point in East PaloAlto when the city’s Chief of PoliceRon Davis has to defend himselfat an East Palo Alto City Councilmeeting by stating that he is not aresident of the city, but that hecomes to the city each day pre-pared to die, if need be,to defend the city and itsresidents.

It seems that no oneis immune from thehandful of East PaloAlto residents who con-tinually confront otherswith the charge thatthey are not city resi-dents and, they, there-fore, lack thenecessary legitimacy and knowl-edge to be effective in working inEast Palo Alto.

Well, it is time these naysay-ers cease and desist with theircharges.

First of all, the U.S. Constitu-tion and the Bill of Rights give U.S.citizens the right to live and workin America wherever they choose.City residency is not required un-less one is seeking to serve as anelected city official or on a city’sboards or commissions.

So, given a few exceptions,being a city resident is not a re-quirement for working in any U.S.city. The lack of city residencydoes not make any nonresidentwho works in a city less qualifiedthan the city’s residents when itcomes to dealing with city issues.An exception is made when itcomes to the ballot. Residentscan vote in a city and nonresi-dents can’t.

Second, the idea of puttingdown or demeaning those whovounteer or work in East Palo Altobecause they are nonresidents isnot only wrong and crude, but it isalso extremely shortsided.

The idea that only East PaloAlto residents will always do whatis in the best interest of their city isfallacious. Residency does notconvey the superiority that somepeople in the city would have youbelieve.

Having someone in a positionwho is not qualified to do the job,simply because that person is acity resident is much worst thanhaving a nonresident in a positionwho is qualified to do the job andis giving a top performance.

Those city residents who wantto promote East Palo Altans firstand foremost need to recognizethat it is possible to have nonres-idents working within the city whocan make wise decisions thatbenefit the residents of the city.

It is also possible to have EastPalo Alto residents working withinthe city who make lousy decisionsthat, accordingly, adversely affectthe residents of the city.

It is also possible to have qual-ified residents working in EastPalo Alto who can make good de-cisions for the city.

Obviously, residency, in and ofitself, does not make one superiorin terms of anything - even whenit comes to having a commitmentto the city. People should stoplooking at residency status and

Henrietta J. Burroughs

city or work in it, as nonresidents.East Palo Alto is a better commu-nity because of the positive workwe are all doing in it together toconfront the challenges it faces.The more we face those chal-lenges together, the greater thecity will be.

As one humanity, our future islinked and we must develop a big-ger vision about ourselves andothers -- a vision that is, of neces-sity, inclusive not exclusive.

From bottom left going clockwise: Two Red Cross speakers discuss emergency preparednessat the March Fellowship of Faith Lunch. Next, Meda Okelo raffles off prizes at EPA’s Health &Safety Fair on March 27. Third photo, the Kinney family brings their son to get the H1N1 vac-cine at the free flu clinic. Three photos courtesy of Henrietta J. Burroughs. In fourth photo,vol-unteers stand on University Ave. for Census 2010 rally.Fourth photo courtesy of Yana Rudakov.

In the name of justice

Dear Editor,It is poetic justice that Page

Mill Properties got sued by 19of their investors. This lawsuitis much deserved because ofall the suffering that they puttenants through since 2007.

While Page Mill has left theEast Palo Alto scene, tenantscontinue to pay for the conse-quences that Page Mill put usthrough in the name of greed.In the further interest of justice,we hope that the rents getrolled back for all tenants topre-Page Mill 2007 and to endthe painful odyssey at PageMill that East Palo Alto hassuffered.

Jessica Kirton andAnthony ClarkYUCAMarch 30, 2010

2010 Census

Dear Editor,

The 2010 Census has ar-rived! Households across theUnited States and East PaloAlto have now received the of-ficial 10-question documentthat is only sent out every tenyears.

However, as of Friday,March 26, 2010, only 19% ofhouseholds in East Palo Altohave participated in the 2010Census.

The participation rate ofEast Palo Alto is quite disturb-ing because of the severe im-pacts an undercount will haveon our community for the nextten years. Census data isused to distribute over $400billion dollars of federal dollarsannually that will be used forour roads, schools, language

services, hospitals, emer-gency centers, and other vitalcommunity services.

If history repeats itself, wecan turn to the 2000 Censusdata to extrapolate what thisearly response rate of 19 %will indicate for the overall par-ticipation results.

In the 2000 Census, EastPalo Alto ended with only a 60% mail-back response rate. Incomparison, San MateoCounty achieved an astound-ing 75 % mail-back response.

In the wake of strenuous fi-nancial times, the lack of par-ticipation in East Palo Altomust change now. In 2010,we must make sure everyoneis counted to ensure our com-munity receives the funds, re-sources, and political voice

continued on page 7

Scenes from March 2010 events in East Palo Alto


Solar cash cow or $15 million castle

OpinionThe ideas expressed on this page are solely the views of the individual authors who do not represent East Palo Alto Today’s Board or staff.

Why an education is so important

Steve Kennedy

EPA Today Contributor

Without much serious debate,the East Palo Alto Planning Com-mission has given the Menlo ParkFire District a green light to designalmost any kind of structure itwants for the corner of UniversityAvenue and Runnymede. Ap-proval has been given for thedemolition of two suburbanhouses behind the station (whichhave already been purchased bythe district and boarded up) andfor the merger of the three parcelsinto one buildable lot.

Upon completion and receiptof the architect's blueprints, theEast Palo Alto City Planning De-partment will review the plans toensure they meet all local, stateand federal building, electrical, dis-abled access and fire codes. Thiscould take a month or it could takea year. In any case, soon it will betoo late to influence the design of

the station because upon approvalof the plans, companies will bebidding for the work and labor con-tracts will be signed.

After completion of this stateof the art fire station, the people ofEast Palo Alto may find them-selves lucky to enter the buildingto vote on election day. For anyother community use the stationcaptain will respond, "We're sorry,the building wasn't designed forthat" and his answer will be writtenin stone.

With construction estimatesbetween $10 and $20 million, thepeople of East Palo Alto really de-serve better than that.

And we sure don't deserve ahulking building that sends thewrong architectural message tothe people of our beautiful city.

At the top of Fire Chief HaroldSchapelhouman's architecturalwish list are bullet proof windowsand walls. Justification for thismulti-million dollar line item comes

from a 25 year old "bullet hole" inone of the roll up doors of the sta-tion and the 9/11 attack in NewYork.

While the bullet hole may bethe product of a drive by shooting(or a ricocheting bullet fired by adrunken homeowner in easternAtherton) this Fire District

Board member was told by firefighters during a visit in 2001 that"the hole in the

wall was patched up," while noone on the crew could even

roughly point to where the slughad lodged. As to the needdemonstrated by the 9/11 at-tacks....didn't this Board memberpredict the attack on America tothe crew at

Station Two and again later inan audio taped Board meeting afull three weeks before 9/11? (Thetranscripts from the board meetingare on the author's web site athttp://www.canonbal.org in the linkentitled, Steve's 9/11 Prediction).

The sense of entitlement ex-hibited by Chief Schapelhoumanis ridiculous given the thread barefinances of the treasuries at all lev-els of government.

A far better and more fiscallyresponsible design would incorpo-rate solar panels into the roofs ofall the buildings on the building siteincluding the south, southwest andwestern walls and the roofs of thecarports as well.

This would make the buildinga true symbol of yankee ingenuity,

hope and progress to the resi-dents and the thousands of com-muters who will stream past thecomplex every day.

Further environmental touchesincluding appropriate landscapingand insulation could give the build-ing a silver LEEDS rating withoutmuch further expense.

Solar panels could generatehundreds of thousands of dollarsof revenue over and above theneeds of the station during the 50year lifespan of the panels. Forfirefighters and board memberswho can't do mathematics, leaseoptions are available have a zerodown payment and that will still re-sult in a net profit to the fire district.

Many solar companies wouldlike to bid on this solar installationfor the simple right to advertisetheir workmanship with a small,roof top sign lit by LED's.

This entrepreneurial and com-

By Skye Ontiveros

EPA Today Contributor

It’s scary when you thinkabout the future. Not know-ing what’s going to happen.It’s an unstable, uncertain,too confusing and just toohard type of fear.

This comes from the de-cision that “I can just settlewhere I’m at and work la-boring jobs for the rest ofmy life.” You only think asfar as your social future.

How much respect you’llhave, how many friendsyou’ll be surrounded by, orhow fun the simple life willbe. Unaware, in the back ofyour mind, a fear has beengrowing.

That’s the feeling thatkeeps you from thinking“what if.” What if I cantravel the world? What if Icould make a difference?What if there’s somethinggreater than this? What ifthere is something that Icould actually reach?

When’s the last time youasked yourself that?When’s the last time youbelieved, even for a secondthat you could? Have youever? Or is your mind stuckon your social life?

This world would be ab-solutely different. It couldbe even a heaven on earth,if we all just believed itcould be. Can you imaginea world without worryingwhat people think?

It could be a worldwhere you do what makesyou happy, whether it’s

rock climbing, scuba-div-ing, or becoming the nextpresident.

Now, if someone some-where has done all thesethings before, how comeyou can’t? What makesthem deserving and notyou? Is it where you’refrom? Is it because youhave no support or money?

Well, I dare you to defyall odds and pave your ownway. Prove to society youcan, instead of proving thatsociety is right. They say,“you grew up with no shots

in life and that’s how it’sgoing to stay.” Don’t letyour laziness prove themright. Get up and get inschool.

Why? When you’redone, people will actuallypay you to do what youlove. How? There will bemore people able to flipburgers who are lesstrained and ready to dowhatever it is you want todo. But you’ll be trainedand ready. So, you get paidmore. It’s that simple.

If you’re confused onwhere to start, use the sys-tem. You can get money,you can get transportation.Your support will only getstronger as your testimonydoes. Anything you needthere’s a way. College isthe way.

There are so many pro-grams, grants and scholar-ships that will give youMORE than you need to getthrough. And it’s not toohard. As soon as you’re in

the class, you’re so caughtup in the idea that you’reactually in college, that thefeeling alone is persuasiveenough to make you feelanything is possible, eventhe homework that comesalong with it.

Don’t you want to standout? Don’t you want peopleto look at you and beamazed at where you wereand where you are? If so,just take the first step, andthe rest follows. I promiseyou, your story will be oneworth hearing.

But it starts here andnow. It starts with you.

Skye Ontiveros is afreshman at the College ofSan Mateo. She recentlybecame the executive di-rector of the new local non-fit Teens Against Truancy.This February she had aradio debut/interview withDonald Lacy on the KPOO89.5 radio station in SanFrancisco.

Steve Kennedy

Defending the work of the EPA Youth Court By Tasia Lacey


I believe the East Palo AltoCity Council should recognizethe East Palo Alto Youth Courtbecause there is no one betterto help the kids and teens ofour community than the teensthemselves.

Adults are always speak-ing on how upset they areabout the rate of juveniles in

jails and we (the Youth Court)are here to help with this. Wehelp the kids by finding outwhat made them make themistakes they did and helpthem through it and find a bet-ter outlet for how they feelrather than resorting to vio-lence or acting out.

Most of the kids we dealwith are just struggling withsome sort of problem either athome or with friends and just

need some help. As the YouthCourt we help rather than pun-ish the kids of our community.By helping them repay theirdebts to society they learnwhat they did was wrong andthey give back.

To me that's what's impor-tant, making sure they knowwhat they did and teaching notpunishing them. Everyone de-serves a second chance andeveryone makes mistakes and

if everyone didn't get their sec-ond chance then there wouldbe no success in this world.This is just the right thing todo.

Tasia Lacey is a soph-more at the East Palo AltoPhoenix Academy. The re-marks she written here arevery similar to the remarksthat she made to the EastPalo Alto City Council on Feb-ruary 16, 2010. Tasia Lacey

continued on page 8

From left, Skye Ontiveros, KPOO 89.5 radio host Donald Lacyand Kail Lubarsky, the development and marketing managerfor JobTrain, which is located in Menlo Park.


By Henrietta J. Burroughs


March 2010 was a timefor celebrating localheroes. Here are just

a few local citizens who re-ceived honors for their contri-butions to the community.

Luisa Buada, CEO ofRavenswood Family HealthCenter, was inducted into theSan Mateo County Women'sHall of Fame which was estab-lished by the San Mateo

County Board of Supervisorsand the Commission on theStatus of Women. On March18, Luisa was acknowledgedfor her vision and leadership,which significantly expandedthe safety net of health careservices for residents of SouthSan Mateo County.

Leif Erickson is the Execu-tive Director of Youth Commu-nity Service, an organizationdedicated to building bridgesbetween the diverse commu-nities in Palo Alto and East

Palo Alto through engagingyoung people in service op-portunities. He was one of sixlocal heroes honored by theMedia Center on March 7.

LifecyclesCelebrating local award honorees

Luisa Buada

Robert Hoover

put back on display. A trans-parent wall would protect avisitor from the wind. Informa-tion about what you are seeingto the north can be etched intothe glass.

After the meeting, the Cityhired East Palo Alto resident Will

Molina of EPA.net to create a web-based survey at www.cooleyland-ing.org so residents who could notattend the workshop can see dis-plays and photos of the results ofthe above process. These draftplans already incorporate inputfrom three dozen meetings with

members of the community: Seniors want shade above

seating areas, benches with backsupport, and wheelchair-accessi-ble bathrooms. Seniors also wantparking, seating, shade, waterviews, bathrooms, bus stops, andwheelchair-accessible trails to be

Selecting a design continued from 9

close together, so they are clus-tered to the south of the building.Seniors want wheel-chair acces-sible trails and ramps to link park-ing, bathroom, and seatingfacilities. The draft plan

Other residents wanted a jog-ging/walking trail to be a loop.Teachers want classroom spaceto accommodate a typical classsize. Youth asked us to designspace for them to “hang out” andfor local artists to perform music orspoken word poetry, so the out-door classroom and the buildingwill accommodate these (unampli-fied). Some residents want anoverlook platform on top of the for-mer boat lift.

Some residents want a life-size sculpture of a former “dredge”incorporating actual former parts.This boat, potentially from the1930’s, was used for dredging theSan Francisco Bay, but it unfortu-nately burned down in 2008.

The landscape architect hashonored this historic artifact with anew sculpture that will evoke thescale and structure of the dredge,incorporating seating and historicalinterpretive information.

Residents asked for a natural,“wild” look for the landscaping, sothe draft design uses native plants

and a naturalistic landscapingplan. Residents toured the build-ing in April, 2010 and reported theywant the building to preserve itsrustic historic look.

Many residents asked for pic-nic tables near barbecue pits clus-tered in large groups toaccommodate large family gather-ings.

Commenters want railings onthe overlook to prevent peoplefrom falling in the water. They alsowant security protection and con-trol of homeless camping, so se-curity lights and an electronic gateare added.

Another resident at the tour ofthe Palo Alto sailing station sug-gested windbreaks because it wasso windy there, so we placed awindbreak to the north of thedredge. The plan has mot com-munity gathering places in the lee-ward side of the building for windprotection.

We look forward to seeingyou at the next communityworkshop in April and gettingyour feedback on more parkplans!

Lily Lee is the CooleyLanding Project Manager forthe City of East Palo Alto.

A conceptual drawing of one plan for Cooley Landing. Courtesy of Lily Lee, Cooley Landing Project Manager, E.P.A

Leif Erickson

Curtis Haggins

Curtis Haggins is Dean ofStudents at MidpeninsulaHigh School. He grew up inEast Palo Alto and he con-statnly draws on his growingup experiences to mentor thestudents with whom he comesin contact.

He serves as a basketballcoach at the school and has beena powerful role model for many

students. He, too, received theMedia Center’s Local Heroes Award.

Bob Hoover mentored gen-erations of young people inEast Palo Alto and establishedNairobi College, an African-American centered LiberalArts junior college. In 1991 hestarted the Junior Golf Pro-gram. He now coordinates theParole Re-entry program runby Free at Last in East PaloAlto, linking clients to job train-ing and employment opportu-

nities. He also received theMedia Center’s Local HeroesAward.

Faye McNair-Knox

In selecting Faye McNair-Knox, Ph.D., as the District 21Woman of the Year, CaliforniaState Assemblymember IraRuskin said, “She has a longhistory of making a differencein East Palo Alto and thisstate....She is dedicated to theimprovement of youth, stu-dents, and her community –and an inspiration to me per-sonally.” She accepted thehonor on March 8, 2010.

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