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Woman crashes car into Midtown building

An 87-year-old woman attempting to park in the Midtown Shopping Center apparently hit the gas pedal by mistake late last Thursday afternoon, according to Palo Alto Police Sgt. Gary Brooks.

She shattered the front window of My Gym, a play/exercise business for children at 2655 Middlefield Road, next to the Palo Alto Coffee Cafe.

Witnesses said the car narrowly missed a crowd of youngsters just coming out of the nearby Baskin-Robbins ice cream store.

Four police cars, one fire engine and a paramedic van responded. The woman reportedly was treated for a cut on the head and one other person suffered a minor injury.

Volkswagen to fund Stanford research lab

Volkswagen of America announced last week that it is giving $5.75 million to Stanford University to build and fund a new laboratory for automobile teaching and research.

The auto maker will donate $2 million to construct the building for the laboratory and $750,000 a year for five years to fund research and teaching activities, according to a statement by Volkswagen.

Volkswagen has collaborated with Stanford in building two automated vehicles — Stanley and Junior — that have competed in the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) races the last two years.

"The success of Junior and Stanley in the DARPA Grand Challenge events shows that when Stanford collaborates with great partners in industry, such as Volkswagen, we can create significant new technologies," Jim Plummer, dean of Stanford Engineering, stated. The initial research focus will be vehicle safety, mobility and environmental performance, he added.

The Volkswagen-sponsored laboratory will be in an 8,000-square-foot building to be constructed at Stock Farm Road and Campus Drive West.

Separated twin girl has successful heart surgery

One of the 2-year-old conjoined twins who underwent successful separation surgery at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital in Palo Alto early last week has undergone cardiac surgery to repair a heart defect.

The surgery on Yurelia Rocha-Arias, who needed corrective cardiac surgery to improve the flow of blood in her body, was successful, hospital officials said.

"It went really well," cardiothoracic surgeon Frank Hanley said of last Wednesday's heart surgery, which took six hours to perform. "Yurelia's heart condition should now be completely fixed."

In another positive development, her twin, Fiorella, is breathing on her own, according to officials.

The Costa Rican girls were born joined at the abdomen and chest and the right atriums of their hearts were connected. The improving condition of the two girls has cheered their physicians.

"We are very happy with the outcome so far," Gary Hartman, the lead surgeon, said. "These are two very strong little girls."

Man wounded in car-to-car EPA shooting

A 29-year-old man was shot and wounded Sunday morning in East Palo Alto in a car-to-car shooting, Sgt. Shante Williams reported.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where his wounds were described as non-life-threatening, Williams said.

The shooting occurred around 10 a.m. at the intersection of Green Street and Cooley Avenue.

The victim told police the shots came from the passenger in a black Dodge Charger. The man was described as a dark black male in his 20s with short hair and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Williams at 650-853-3144, Sgt. Renaldo Rhodes at 650-853-7160 or the anonymous tip line at 650-853-8477.

East Palo Alto Y gets $10,000 'Fit Kids' grant

East Palo Alto-area kids will be given an "Opportunity to Play" under a $10,000 grant awarded to the East Palo Alto YMCA.

The funds will support the Y's Fit Kids program, which offers afterschool fitness activities for 320 youngsters from kindergarten through fifth grade in the Ravenswood City School District.

The Y was one of 24 YMCA locations nationally to receive the Opportunity to Play grants, which come from Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship Fund, the charitable arm of Kellogg Company.

The funds will also involve families in the fitness and health of their kids by hosting quarterly Family Fun Nights, according to Kathy Riggins, the president and CEO of the YMCA of the Mid-Peninsula.

—Bay City News Service