Around Town Around Town (December 17, 2003)

RESTAURANT OR TAJ MAHAL? . . . The enormous wooden box-like structure is off the new Cheesecake Factory at 375 University Ave. in downtown Palo Alto, and the result is, in a word, overwhelming. With a 30-foot high exterior that trumps its neighbors, a vaulted mosaic entryway, Art Deco-inspired fixtures, metal grillwork and brown marble along its base, the popular chain restaurant has announced its presence with a capital "P." But the question now is: Besides dominating the block, will the restaurant dominate the food scene -- giving a much-needed jolt to the downtown? Interest is high for its official opening today at 5 p.m. Last week, one passerby enthused to her companion: "Now we don't have to go to Beverly Hills for our cheesecake!" Had they known there was one in San Francisco, they might have saved some money on airfare.

LYTLE'S BIG REGRET ... Controversial Palo Alto Councilwoman Nancy Lytle revealed the vote she most regretted in her four years on the council last week. Lytle was recently defeated in a bid to get re-elected. Immediately before the start of the council's Policy and Services Committee, Lytle told her colleagues that she wished she had not voted for the fake tree that is going to be placed on top of Fire Station #2. The tree will "hide" three Cingular Wireless cellular towers. "How tacky that tree is going to be!" Lytle said.

CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN ... Palo Alto kids Ian and Lucy Humphreys and Rebecca Strickfaden are getting in on the climbing action to help pay medical costs for former climbing coach Stacey Li Collver who is suffering from Lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or LAM, a rare, terminal lung illness. On Saturday, Dec. 13, 29 members of Mountain View's Twisters Youth Climbing Team and some members of the P> Youth Climbing League climbed more than 29,000 feet - the height of Mount Everest - at Twisters Gym in exchange for donations that will defray Collver's medical bills. She's currently trying to get on a waiting list for a lung transplant that could extend her life.

EATING DISORDER HELP ... Research volunteers are needed for a Stanford study on binge eating. Dr. Debra Safer is conducting the study and needs men and women aged 18 or older who have binged at least twice a week for half a year or more. Participants will be split into two therapy groups - one of which will concentrate on the parts self-esteem and self-awareness play in binging, and the other of which will focus negative emotions and binging. A pre-therapy orientation and post-therapy assessments are included. The study cannot accept patients with histories of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Those in weight-loss or eating disorder programs or on weight-altering medications are also ineligible. For more information call (650) 498-5089 or e-mail sclancy@stanford.edu.

LAWN VANDAL . . . When will it stop? In the wee hours last Thursday, an unknown vandal cruised along Downtown North streets, under the cover of darkness, ripping out and trashing lawn signs that favored the current traffic-calming project. Several residents called the police Thursday morning to report the vandalism of the signs, which had been put up the previous weekend.

According to Hawthorne Avenue resident Janine Bisharat, a neighbor's surveillance camera captured the vandal on tape, and the perpetrator appeared to be six feet tall. Police were unavailable Monday to confirm whether they had received the videotape.

Bisharat said the crime is irritating, both because each resident paid at least $10 to cover the costs of the sign and because she felt residents' rights to voice their opinion were violated.

In past months, residents on the opposite side of the issue, who oppose the traffic measures, have also said that signs they've posted have been ripped down.

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