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Cañada College to launch shuttle program serving East Palo Alto

in Education/Featured/Headline by
Cañada College to launch pilot shuttle program serving East Palo Alto

Starting Aug. 15, Cañada College will launch a pilot shuttle program providing residents free, direct service between East Palo Alto and the campus, the school announced Thursday.

The shuttle program, launched in collaboration with Mosaic Global Transportation and Oxford Day Academy, will run every hour from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, through Dec. 31. Pick-up will begin in East Palo Alto at 994 Beech St. and drop off will happen in front of the college’s Main Theatre at Building 3.

Residents and employees who live in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Belle Haven communities will benefit from the new pilot program

“The shuttle will be open to students, faculty and staff as well as community members who utilize the services available on campus such as SparkPoint, the Library and the DREAM Center,” the school said. “In addition, those who come to campus to attend athletic, performing arts or other college events can also take advantage of the convenient service.”

If the shuttle service proves to be popular, the school will explore the possibility of expanding locations to accommodate other service areas. For more information, visit www.canadacollege.edu/shuttle.

Redwood City nonprofit fundraising to purchase 48-unit apartment complex

in Community/Featured/Headline by
Redwood City nonprofit fundraising to purchase 48-unit apartment complex

A Redwood City nonprofit that helps low income families has launched an online fundraiser to purchase a 48-unit property in Redwood City and transition it into affordable housing.

The St. Francis Center at 151 Buckingham Ave. is seeking to purchase an apartment complex located just down the block at 180 Buckingham Ave., a building that once served low-income workers before, according to this 2016 Guardian article, it was purchased for remodeling and rebranding.

“Very simply put, we need more low income and affordable housing,” said Sister Christina Heltsley in a blog post about the fundraiser to purchase the property.

The fundraiser is going well: It is seeking to raise $8 million for the downpayment on the property, which is listed for $21.8 million. In just 13 days, the fundraiser has raised over $4 million, with most of that amount attributed to three large donations. The St. Francis Center aims to raise the remaining $4 million in 60 days.

Sister Heltsley said she wants to create housing that will keep crucial service workers in the community, from Target cashiers to childcare providers, and also to keep local housing affordable for future generations of families in Redwood City.

“The St. Francis Center has an excellent opportunity to make a dent in the otherwise overwhelming housing crisis,” she said. “Doing nothing is not our style.”

After raising $8 million, the St. Francis Center said it will move forward with the purchase and borrow the remaining $14 million.

To view the fundraiser and for more information, go here.

Redwood City firefighters’ breakfast the perfect fuel for a busy Independence Day

in Community/Featured/Headline by

As we’ve reported in length here, a whole lot is happening in Redwood City for Independence Day, so you want to be prepared.

Stake out a good spot along Broadway for the parade?  Check.  Head out in the evening for fireworks?  Check.  Maybe even a stop in between for that open house at the San Mateo County History Museum.  Check.

But – that’s a long day.  So, a good breakfast to get you started?  Check – as long as you join Redwood City Firefighters Association for their annual Fourth of July Pancake Breakfast.

They do the cooking, the serving, the cleaning.  All you have to do is sit down and eat.

You can get off to an early start, because the firefighters start dishing up pancakes at 7:30 am, or you can sleep in a bit (last call is at 10:30 am).  And, breakfast is served at the main fire house (so if you’re wondering how to interest the kids in breakfast – here’s your answer:  eat out at a fire station).  You’ll find the fire station at 755 Marshall Street.  And, for a very reasonable $7 bucks a person, breakfast is served.

Families Belong Together rally planned for Courthouse Square on Saturday

in Community/Featured/Headline by
Courthouse Square to host Juneteenth celebration on Friday

New details have been released about the Families Belong Together rally set for Courthouse Square in Redwood City this Saturday, including that Charlotte Willner — who along with her husband, Dave, launched a viral fundraiser that has raised over $20 million to support separated migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border — will be speaking at the event.

Also, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is set to attend the Redwood City rally to share her experience from touring detention facilities in Texas, along with actions being taken by Congress.

The rally, scheduled from 10 a.m. to noon at the square at 2200 Broadway St., is being held in solidarity with the national Families Belong Together Day of Action, where rallies and marches across the nation will call for an end to the separation and detention of immigrant families.

The local rally is a grassroots effort that began in an online messenger thread between Whitney Black and Giselle Hale, who both serve on the Redwood City Education Foundation board. They registered the event with the national movement organized by MoveOn and then quickly began building a team that represents a broad base of support for the immigrant community across San Mateo County. The local rally features a long list of “co-hosts” from city councils and other public agencies throughout the county.

Hale, an active member of numerous local organizations, a Redwood City planning commissioner and also a candidate for City Council, said the effort to oppose and change President Donald Trump’s immigration policies is fundamentally about “love of country and family.”

“At the core of who we are as Americans is our love of country and family,” Hale said. “From the border to our neighborhoods, we must not only ask ‘where are the children’ but how we as residents locally stand up against a federal government forcibly breaking up families.”

The national immigration debate heated up after the Trump administration imposed a “zero tolerance” initiative against illegal entry in the U.S., which led to passionate opposition across the nation against the separations of children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Last week, a pressured President Trump signed an executive order to end the process of separating children from families, but the president said he would maintain a “zero tolerance” policy of criminally prosecuting all adults caught crossing the border illegally, in order to bolster national security.

This weekend’s Courthouse Square rally aims to proclaim that detaining families is “not a solution, it is a jail sentence,” adding those fleeing violence and poverty “must be protected and safe.”

“Our demand is clear and not negotiable: Trump’s policies of separating and detaining families must be stopped indefinitely and families must be reunified,” according to the Facebook e-vite.

Prosecutors: Fake cop claimed to be real hero

in Crime/Featured/Headline by

“Officer Lofu” is no doubt a corrupt cop — it’s good thing he doesn’t exist.

But the 20-year-old San Mateo man accused of posing as a police officer at a home in Redwood City has claimed the real him is — in reality — a hero.

Danny Pita has pleaded not guilty to charges of residential burglary and possession of a firearm as a felon in connection with the May 13 incident. The incident unfolded, according to prosecutors, when Pita knocked on the door of a home where he knew a drug dealer lived and identified himself as Officer Manu Lofu. There is no one named Manu Lofu on the Redwood City police force.

Pita told the person who answered the door, a 20-year-old man, that the police were onto him, and knew he was a marijuana dealer, prosecutors said. He allegedly warned of a police raid later that day, but said he was was giving him this heads-up because he’d heard from his cousin he was a good guy.

Pita went above and beyond the call of duty:  he told the man to give him whatever was in the house that might get the resident in trouble – and walked away with a half-pound of marijuana, a 9mm Beretta pistol and $1500 in cash, according to prosecutors.

The raid, of course, never happened.

On May 17, the resident went to the police, the real police, with video footage from his home surveillance system that featured “Officer Lofu.”  And later that same day, the police found and stopped Pita driving in Redwood City with the gun, and diminished quantities of cash and marijuana.

Pita explained to the police he had just been trying to stop a neighborhood dope dealer.

Pita, who is on felony probation for a 2016 robbery of a Kentucky Fried Chicken, pleaded not guilty to the charges related to the case on May 21. His case was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Redwood City Felony Court on Wednesday, but the case was continued to allow the defense to review police reports.

Pita remains in custody on $50,000 bail.

Homes of San Mateo County jurors visited by defendant during trial, prosecutors say

in Community/Featured/Headline by

The homes of two San Mateo County residents who served as jurors in an armed robbery trial last week were allegedly visited by the defendant, leading to a mistrial in the case and additional charges, according to prosecutors.

On Tuesday last week, Rommel Mobo Narvaez, a 24-year-old San Francisco resident, allegedly visited the homes of jurors in Redwood City and Burlingame during his trial, which was related to charges from back in 2013, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe and the Bay City News service.

In one case, a juror’s teenage daughter found Narvaez peeking in the window of the home after she got out of the shower, prosecutors said. In another case, he left a written note at the home “seeking to meet and talk about what she thought of the case,” Wagstaffe told a writer for Bay City News.

“After four days of jury trial, the defendant violated court order by contacting two jurors (an alternate juror and a juror who had been excused,” Wagstaffe said, later telling a BCN writer that jury tampering cases are rare in the county.

A mistrial was declared in the robbery case and new charges were filed of jury tampering, violating a court order and prowling. On Wednesday, he is set to enter a plea on the new charges. The following day, he has a court date to set a new trial date in the robbery case. He remains in custody on no-bail status.

Narvaez gained media attention at the time of his 2013 arrest, when he was shot by police in San Francisco’s Marina district after allegedly pointing a firearm at them. The officer-involved shooting followed an altercation between Narvaez and a man he allegedly tried to rob in the area. Narvaez allegedly met the man through a Craigslist ad to buy an iPhone, then pistol-whipped him and fired his gun — which happened to be loaded with blanks — during the attempted robbery. He is also accused of similar incidents in Daly City in which he lured victims through Craigslist.

Political Climate with Mark Simon: Remembering our fallen and the complexity of war

in Featured/Headline/PoliticalClimate by
Union Cemetery to hold Memorial Day event

Union Cemetery in Redwood City is an urban oasis of contemplation and consideration for those from our community who died in service go our country, dating back to the Civil War.

Each Memorial Day, the Historic Union Cemetery Association conducts a ceremony to honor those who have fallen on our behalf.

This year, was no exception and so, on Monday, about 200 people gathered at Union Cemetery to hear patriotic songs, a poem and to stand together to in remembrance. What made the event of particular gravity for me was that I was asked to deliver the keynote address. It was a chance to dig into some of the issues that have dominated my life and, I believe, the life of a generation. The speech seemed to be well received, so I provide it to you here.

MEMORIAL DAY REMARKS: Thank you for the distinct honor of speaking to you today and to be part of this day in which we memorialize those who gave, as Lincoln said, the “last full measure of devotion” in service to our nation.

I have significant doubts about my qualifications to speak to you today, having never served.

Who am I to be speaking on behalf of those who died for my right to speak – to hold our nation together, to end slavery, to save the world from enslavement?

Indeed, not only did I not serve, but I actively sought to be excluded from military service.

We are all a product of our times and my time was dominated by the Vietnam War.

My brother Rick served there, stationed at Da Nang air base where, apparently, he flew radio spy missions over China. His best friend, Mark Sprague, rather than serve in Vietnam, left the country for Canada, and never came back.

There were demonstrations and marches.  My Skyline Community College newspaper shared a print shop with the Black Panthers.

These were the times.

By the time I came of draft age in 1969, I had to face some difficult, sobering questions.

Should I serve? Should I fight? Should I find a way out?

What would it say about me as a principled human being if I avoided service, while others, often those without means, were doing the dirty work of fighting and dying?

In reality, I didn’t want to kill anyone. And I certainly didn’t want anyone to be shooting at me.

It was an uncomfortable time.

The war was wrong – misguided, dishonest, misled and unfair – and I developed an abiding sense that all war is wrong. I became, and remain to this day, a pacifist.

I decided I would refuse to serve.

I let my student deferment lapse. In a moment of significant anguish for my parents, I was prepared to go to prison rather than be drafted.

Then came the draft lottery.

I vividly recall sitting in my backyard with my best friend, Ed Sessler, listening on the radio while in Washington they pulled ping pong balls out of a basket.

My number came up – 278. At the time, they were drafting no higher than up to 60.

In an instant, the entire moral and practical dilemma passed.

I stayed in school. I studied journalism. I spent countless hours covering antiwar protests and marches – never as a participant, always as an observer.

But over the years, I pondered: What do I say to those who did serve? Did I stand aside and let them do the dirty work for me? Am I no different than those who paid their way out of the Civil War?

Well, I found some answers to these difficult questions.

I am a storyteller by nature and profession, so let me tell a few stories.

In 1982 – an incredible 36 years ago – I was in Washington, D.C., on Veteran’s Day – the day they had chosen to dedicate the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As part of the day, there was a long parade and prominently featured in it was a group of Vietnam Vets from the Menlo Park Veterans Hospital suffering from PTSD before we even knew what it was. They were in-patients at the hospital and as part of their therapy, they had formed a chorus. They were on a truck bed in the parade, singing at the top of their lungs.

I met up with them, interviewed them and got to know some of them, including an Army captain who had commanded an armored unit.

The day after the parade, the Menlo Park vets gathered together and went as brothers in arms to the memorial.

I walked toward the memorial with the captain. He began to tell me his story.

His unit had been overrun, they had abandoned their vehicles and they were running for cover.

There were five of them. First one was hit, and the four of them were carrying their wounded buddy to safety. Then another was hit and three of them were carrying the two wounded. Then another was hit and then another.

In the end, all five were hit. Wounded himself, the captain dragged each of his comrades to safety. He won the purple heart and the silver star. The others died.

At the memorial, the names are grouped chronologically in the order of the reports of their deaths.

As the captain arrived at the memorial, he saw the names of the other four, in order, one after the other. He grabbed me, buried his face on my shoulder and sobbed.

Later that day, as a group, they stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and sang America the Beautiful.

Five years later, I had befriended B.T. Collins, the former Green Beret who became the first head of the California Conservation Corps, was Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief of staff, served in the state Assembly and lost a leg and an arm in Vietnam when he fumbled a live grenade.

He was a larger than life character with a hook on his right arm he liked to extend to you when you first met him. He used to describe himself as six feet two on the left and three feet four on the right.

His Assembly office door featured a poster from the move Hook.

He also was a prime mover in the funding, design and creation of the California Vietnam Veterans memorial, dedicated to the more than 5,800 Californians who died in Vietnam. It’s a wonderful memorial and if you haven’t seen it, I urge you to do so.

There, the names are organized by hometown and I decided to write a series of stories about the young men from the Peninsula who are listed there.

So, there I was in the living room of an East Palo Alto mother, talking to her about the loss of her son, a twin.

She said the loss never goes away. Sometimes, she said, when the front door opens, “I look up and expect to see him walk in.”

Just then, the front door opened, and her other son, the lone remaining twin, walked in. Both of us began to cry.

My generation still talks about the lessons of Vietnam, a loaded phrase that can mean widely varying things to different people.

Here’s the lesson I learned from Vietnam, from these forever-young Peninsula men, from their grieving families and their stories.

They went to war for different reasons.

Some of them had no other prospects – they couldn’t stay in school or didn’t want to.

Some thought it would be a way to change their lives. Some went out of duty and some just let themselves get drafted.

But they all served. They all went.

And they went, often, for the finest of reasons – out of duty, out of love of country, out of a desire to be of service to our nation and its ideals. And they fought and died, as soldiers always do, for their brothers in arms, for those at their side.

And this is what, ultimately, I learned and what gives me some solace as I try to reconcile their experiences with my own.

I can oppose war and still honor those who are willing to put their lives at risk to fight.

I honor their desire and their willingness to serve.

I honor their love of country and their willingness, no matter how reluctant, to do their duty.

And I believe the best way for us to honor them is to value their willingness to serve, to not squander this dedication and devotion.

That if we send our young people to fight and die for us, that we do so with honesty, with clarity of moral purpose and in the name of the finest of our values – freedom.

It has been my distinct honor to be with you here, on this day. Thank you.

Contact Mark Simon at mark@climaterwc.com.

*The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Climate Online.

Home Depot theft suspect drops passport, birth certificate and cellphone while fleeing

in Crime/Featured/Headline by
Shoplifter pleads no contest after threatening security at San Carlos Home Depot

A Redwood City man accused of shoplifting $672 worth of tools from the San Carlos Home Depot and for threatening employees with a knife when confronted dropped his U.S. passport, his Oregon birth certificate and his cellphone during his getaway, according to prosecutors.

The identifying items helped authorities track Eric David Mills down on May 17, when a San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy saw Mills in a car on 5th Avenue in Redwood City, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. The car was stopped, the arrest was made, and now Mills is facing a three strikes case in connection with burglaries in 2002 and 2016.

Mills, 36, is set to appear today for a preliminary hearing on a felony and misdemeanor charge related to the Home Depot heist.

Prosecutors say two loss prevention officers chased after him after he left the store without paying.

“The defendant tried to run away but eventually turned, dropped the tools and took a fighting stance,” Mills said. “He then took off running to his car, which was parked in the store lot; at his car defendant pulled out a pocket knife and threatened the LPOs, saying he was going to come back for them since he knew where they worked.”

Mills remains in custody on $500,000 bail.

Political Climate with Mark Simon: Who’s leaving – and coming – amid soaring housing costs

in PoliticalClimate by

As news goes, this barely qualifies: Bay Area housing prices continue to rise.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, an authoritative national assessment, reported Tuesday that housing prices nationally rose 6.4 percent from February 2017 to February 2018.

And that raises an interesting question: Would we be more or less uneasy if housing prices rose 6.4 percent on the Peninsula?

Because the same index, as reported by San Francisco Chronicle’s insightful business columnist Kathleen Pender, showed prices rose 33.6 percent in Santa Clara County and 25.7 percent in San Mateo County.

Yikes.

In the 20 cities used in the index, only three cities rose by double digits: San Francisco (10.1 percent), Las Vegas (11.6 percent) and Seattle (12.7 percent).

There is no small irony in the timing of this information, which arrives about a week after the death of the bill by state Sen. Scott Wiener that would have forced cities to build with higher density and greater height around transit corridors.

Meanwhile, people are fleeing the Bay Area and California in record numbers. Right?

Well, maybe not.

In a widely publicized report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) and based on analysis by the U.S. Census Bureau, about 5 million people moved to California from 2007 to 2016, but about 6 million left the state – a net loss of 1 million or about 2.5 percent of the state’s total population for those of you scoring at home.

But the same report notes: “These population losses are low in historical terms.” From 1990 to 2006, “net out-migration was, on average, more than double what it was in the most recent ten years.”

So, who’s leaving and where are they going?

The LAO report says “families with kids and those with only a high school education predominate among those moving from California,” and they are moving mostly to Texas, Arizona and Nevada (which explains that spike in Las Vegas housing prices).

Remember, while 6 million left, 5 million people moved here, and that group is dominated by 18- to 35-year-olds with college degrees. Where are they coming from? New York, Illinois and New Jersey, according to the report.

That information is borne out by a less-scientific but nonetheless reliable source: the United Van Lines Annual National Movers Study. The top ten states people moved to in 2017 are: Vermont, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, South Dakota (really?), Washington (see Seattle price spike), South Carolina, North Carolina, Colorado and Alabama. The top ten states people moved from in 2017: Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, Kentucky, Utah and Wisconsin.

So, California isn’t top ten in either category, but it remains a meaningful draw to younger, college-education people.

That’s borne out by yet another study by Livability, a website that conducts an annual ranking of the 100 best places to live in America based on nine factors, including amenities, diverse demographics, economy, education, health care and housing.

Even with the cost of housing, California cities make up 20 percent of the list. Palo Alto is ranked 6th, San Mateo 29th, Redwood City 65th and Burlingame 70th.

For those who resent “techies” who keep showing up in our communities with their hoodies, their employee badges and their disposable incomes, all these reports could be fuel for the fire, I suppose.

Or, it could be seen as more of the transition that is taking place in our economy, our communities and our demographics. Change is always hard. Generational change is deeply disruptive.

Consider, though, the presence in Redwood City of Baobab Studios, a company that is leading the way in Virtual Reality animation, essentially melding VR and animated movies as an interactive entertainment venue.

It is mind-boggling, exciting stuff and they’re in Redwood City because it’s an ideal geographic location in the midst of Silicon Valley, which is helpful in attracting and retaining bright, creative employees, said Maureen Fan, co-founder and CEO of Baobab.

Fan told Political Climate in a recent interview that she is well aware of the cost of housing in the Bay Area and has had friends who have moved away “because it’s too expensive.”

But, she noted, there are still “more job opportunities in the Bay Area. If you have the technical skills, you want to come to the Bay Area.”

Contact Mark Simon at mark@climaterwc.com.

There He Is Mr. Redwood City Contenders a Hit with the Misses – and Audiences Too

in A&E/Community by

Kevin Bondonno’s boyhood dreams never once involved a triumphal parade ride through downtown streets waving to Fourth of July crowds from an open convertible. “Especially not wearing a sash” says the unlikely pageant titleholder. When he found himself vying a year ago for “Mr. Redwood City” the realization that “I don’t have a talent” could easily have been a showstopper.

“I always wanted to play the ukulele,” Bondonno adds, “so I thought, ‘I’ll go ahead and make that my talent.’” He bought one and learned enough to pull off a solo performance of Bob Marley’s reggae ditty, “Three Little Birds.” Though the judges named auctioneer Frank Bizzarro Mr. Redwood City, Bondonno took home the “Mr. People’s Choice” title, which includes votes from the audience. “I joke with people and I say that Frank may have actually gotten the Electoral College,” Bondonno says. “I got the popular vote.”

To anyone who in 2018 says “beauty pageants” are passé, or for that matter that chivalry is dead, the men-only offshoot of the Miss Redwood City-San Mateo County Competition offers a gentlemanly rebuttal. Launched three years ago to raise both awareness and funds for the “Miss” program, the light-hearted Mr. Redwood City event that is coming up April 28 is scoring top marks in both categories.

“Every time we do this, it’s just a hoot,” says Allison Wood, executive director of the Miss Redwood City organization. Not only that, “it’s truly become our major fundraising source.” Every dollar helps because  the reigning queen receives a scholarship of at least $1,000, and the local pageant is unusual in giving each participant a stipend. Sponsorships from the Peninsula Celebration Association, businesses and others also help fund pageant-related expenses.

The 60-year-old Miss Redwood City-San Mateo County competition is a preliminary to Miss California and Miss America. The Mr. Redwood City event mirrors their judging criteria but instead of swimsuits, the men don leisure attire and there are no age limits.  (Miss California sets eligibility at 17 to 24.) There’s an evening wear promenade in tuxes and other uptown attire.  Men who may never have given a thought to how to bring about world peace find themselves having to articulate cogent responses under the hot lights of the Veterans Memorial Senior Center stage.

And then there’s “the talent.”

Ralph Garcia, who owns a vacuum cleaner store on Main Street, has competed two years in a row and did walking stand-up, pushing a vacuum around the stage. He didn’t win – “The comedian never wins,” he reasons – but enjoyed the fun backstage with the pageant brotherhood and will return if organizers run short of men.

“I call myself the two-time loser,” Garcia quips. “. . . A great platform would be a three-time loser.”

“We all come together for a lot of fun and a good cause, and we had a blast,” Bondonno agrees, noting that all the Miss Redwood City contestants get a scholarship. He too would be willing to take another shot at the title if he’s needed, but says “it’s time to pass it on.”

On the distaff side, of course, competing is serious business, and young women who want to wear the crown work hard and may enter multiple times at pageants around the state.  Brooke Muschott racked up eight losses before being crowned Miss Redwood City/San Mateo County 2018 in November. Losing may be discouraging, the Pepperdine College graduate and national roller skating competitor concedes, but each event is a building block.

“I was not ready to win and I was not ready for the job all those times that I lost,” the 22-year-old Menlo Park resident says. “And every single time I competed, I learned something new.  I got better at interview. I got better at hair and make-up, which is not something I do on a regular basis. I became a better skater. I’ve gotten so much better at stage presence, and all of these things are really important qualities in life, I think, too.”

To enter the Miss Redwood City/San Mateo County title – classified as a “structured” or “closed” competition under the Miss California rules — young women must live or work in the county or be a full-time Stanford University student. An outstanding teen category is also available in Redwood City to girls from 13 to 17 years of age. Some competitions in the state are “open,” which is why Muschott could also try for Miss LA County/Culver City and Miss Orange County/Orange Coast.

Muschott never remembers a time when the Miss America program wasn’t on her radar screen. Her mother and her aunt were Miss Arizonas (1986 and 1989 respectively.)  During visits to Muschott’s grandparents, “there were pictures of my mom on the wall and a crown. And at age three or four that seems like the coolest thing in the world, especially because I loved Disney and was a princess-obsessed little girl.”

Two years ago she entered her first competition, Miss Beach Cities in El Segundo. “I had no idea what I was getting into at the time,” she says, laughing.  “But it was a good experience and I think everyone who enters their first competition either they get hooked or they decide it’s not for them. And I got hooked.”

Too tall at 5’ 11” for a partner, Muschott honed her skills as a teen-ager in both ice skating and roller skating. She executed a roller routine to the tune “Shake It Off” for her Miss Redwood City win, but is currently practicing a retooled dance for the larger stage at the Miss California pageant in June. The biggest challenge, though, is preparing for off-stage interview sessions with the judges, during which contestants field rapid-fire questions for almost 10 minutes. They need to be up on current events, able to respond to hot topics and also explain their “platform” and why they want to win.

A creative writing major who has collaborated with bestselling author Ridley Pearson on his Kingdom Keepers series, Muschott’s wants to help high school girls “write their own path,” and she’d like to develop a writing mentorship program with the library. Since being crowned, she has made nearly two dozen appearances as Miss Redwood City and gotten to know city officials.

“Redwood City and San Mateo County, they love to see their titleholders go to events,” Wood says. “It’s an awesome opportunity that our girls get to have that is not uniform throughout the state . . . Redwood City makes everything into a party. It’s a fun place.”

Jeri Daines, who came in second runner-up to Miss Teen California All American in 2002 at the age of 16, competed twice for Miss Redwood City but wasn’t chosen. Now 35 and a partner at Sequoia Realty Services, she’s part of a “sisterhood” of former contestants and other supporters who serve on Miss Redwood City’s organizing committee. Daines sees the program as empowering for young women, as well as an opportunity to make lifelong bonds.

“Each pageant I walked away feeling good about myself,” the Redwood City resident says. “Whether or not you win, it gives you confidence. It gives you life skills. Public speaking. Performing talent.”

And the often-derided swimsuit element, supposedly to assess physical fitness? Some hope the recent election of former Miss America Gretchen Carlson to the national board will usher in a change. Daines, on the other hand, says she knew some fellow contestants were uncomfortable with the swimsuit competition, but “that was my favorite part. I’m not a shy person and I had fun with it.”

Muschott, who has ordered one of the four made-for-the-stage swimsuit options for Miss California contestants, has mixed feelings about that required element. The experience walking on stage in a swimsuit can be energizing later for job interviews and other challenging situations, knowing that if she can do that, “I can do anything. And I think there’s a certain value to that that we tend to forget when we get caught up in the objectifying women mindset.”

If the manly competitors choose to model swim trunks, so be it. Bondonno played it safe with khakis and a cardigan. City Librarian Derek Wolfgram’s leisure wear choice was a kilt and a “Trust Me, I’m a Librarian” tee shirt. (He got a once-in-a-150-year honor of being chosen “Mr. Sesquicentennial” for 2017.)

Wood isn’t sure whether the Mr. Redwood City event was a first, but representatives from other cities have inquired about doing their own parody pageant. Though the event gets lots of laughs, no one is made fun of, Wood adds. “The men had a ball, and the audience loved it.”

When Garcia was asked to participate, he could hardly say no: His wife, Theresa, had been active with Miss Redwood City for several years.  He thought it was a great idea and was glad to help raise scholarship funds.  “A lot of people just don’t like pageants at all, but there are some ladies that have gotten some serious money for their education.”

For tickets to Mr. Redwood City and other information, visit missredwoodcity.org.

 

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