Around Town Around Town (January 14, 2004)

TAKE A TICKET ... The Friends of the Palo Alto Library recently began giving some of its more ardent customers a chance to relax. Those that arrive for the group's monthly book sale early -- and some turn up as many as three hours in advance of the popular sale -- will now receive a numbered ticket, and return when the sale opens, their place in line assured. The sales are held the second Saturday of every month, at the Cubberley Community Center, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are available starting at 8 a.m. No word on whether there will now be a three-hour wait to get the ticket that will reserve a place in line.

COUNIL TIDBITS ... The council's first meeting of the year last week provided more that its fair share of colorful events. Few will forget the site of council members line-dancing in the lobby of City Hall after the meeting. Also boogying was Elizabeth Wong, whose application to expand her home was the center of a year-long controversy in 2003. During the meeting newly-minted Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell (who initiated the line-dancing, by the way, saying it was an early campaign promise) gave an impassioned speech decrying a piece of threatening hate mail Wong and her husband received. During the meeting, Cordell was sworn in, and three other council members who won re-election in November were re-sworn in. Judge Joe Huber, a former mayor, had the honor of swearing in most of the officials, except for Councilwoman Judy Kleinberg, whose husband, Jim, a superior court judge, did the deed. The meeting also saw the return of Bunny Good's dancing hamster. This time dressed in camouflage military garb, the toy hamster sung "Caissons Go Rolling Along" after Good criticized the council for the ongoing "war right here in this chamber."

INTERN AWARD ... The City of Palo Alto's Positive Alternatives for Youth program recently won an award of excellence from the California Parks and Recreation Society for its Community Intern Program. Through the program, more than a dozen middle school students volunteer one day a week during the school year at a variety of nonprofits. The students generally have leadership abilities that are stifled by poor grades or behavioral problems, said Bobbi Ross-Neier, the program's administrator. "Winning this award is just a really nice pat on the back," she said.

JOE SIGHTING . . . If you're interested in hearing about how Governor Schwarzenegger's draft budget proposal affects your children's education, stop by Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road in Atherton, on Thursday, Jan. 29. Local Assemblyman Joe Simitian is expected to talk from 7 to 8:30 p.m. on the new budget, basic-aid districts and results of the new gubernatorial administration. A question and answer session should be included. Simitian's clearly credentialed to talk on these topics - he chairs the state's Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. The event is free and will be held in the school's library.

GOT NUTS? . . . A band of squirrels apparently found their way into Palo alto Unified School District's District Office during winter break. "There was some squirrel intrusion in the district office," district Deputy Superintendent Bob Golton confirmed Monday. They appear to be gone now, however. "I mean, I don't see any evidence of it," Golton said. His office was not disturbed by the rodents, Golton said.

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