News Digest News Digest (May 28, 2004)

Proposed school break gets little sympathy

After the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education rejected a proposed school calendar with a week-long break in February in the 2005-2006 school year, the district has re-entered negotiations with its teachers union to draft a new plan.

The board voted 3-2 on May 25 to reject the proposed calendar, with board members Mandy Lowell, Gail Price and Camille Townsend citing concerns that the late winter break cramped summer's style by extending the school year.

The naysayers were also not convinced that a break in February would be a sure-fire stress reliever, which was one of the supporters' cases for the change.

"There are other ways around alleviating stress other than saying, 'There's no school,'" said Eric Nguyen, one of two student board members.

The district received hundreds of e-mails from parents about the break, which ultimately led to the proposal's demise. Those against the break said most parents would have difficulty getting the entire week off of work, leading to hefty childcare costs and strain on the family.

As required by state law, the district will now re-enter negotiations with its teachers union to come up with a new plan. .

-- Alexandria Rocha

Fire chief applies for state position

Palo Alto Fire Chief Ruben Grijalva said he has applied for the unoccupied state fire marshal job.

The position, which is appointed by the governor, has been vacant since April 1, when former marshal John Tennant left.

Grijalva was hired by Palo Alto in 1990 to be assistant fire chief, and was promoted to chief in 1994. He said he could not comment on his application for the state position, except to say he hoped to hear within a month.

-- Bill D'Agostino
No more birthday bouncy houses?

Under a new set of proposed rules for city parks, residents will no longer be allowed to use "bouncy houses," large inflatable structures are popular with birthday parties, in Mitchell Park anymore.

"Bouncy houses require generators to keep them inflated and generators aren't allowed in parks," explained Greg Betts, the city's Superintendent of Open Space and Sciences.

Under the new rule, the city will still be allowed to use such inflatable structures, which was first allowed in the park for the city's Chili Cook-off special event.

Other newly proposed rules would: * require hikers to stay on trails and designated paths.

* allow commercial photographers and filmmakers to apply for a permit to shoot in the city's parks. There is absolutely no commercial filming allowed in the parks under existing rules. The permit would still need to be approved by the city's park managers.

* require people to get a permit to use tennis courts for purposes other than tennis.

* prohibit vehicles weighing more than 7,000 pounds in the city's Baylands. The soft clay earth of the Baylands is not able to support the weight of such trucks, according to city staff.

Breaking any of the park rules is punishable by a $50 fine.

"This just helps to dot the "i's" and cross the "t's", so there isn't any misunderstanding," Betts said. "It's all for the intent of keeping parks fun."

The Parks and Recreation Commission reviewed the new rules on Tuesday night. The commission agreed to recommend the rules, even though they told the staff to make sure that only "flagrant" violations were cited.

"They're not going to go out there and try to raise revenue for the city if you step off the trail," commissioner Jennifer Hagan said.

The rules will be unofficially forwarded to the City Council on June 21 for review, but council approval is not required because they are not changes to the city's municipal code.

Official rules for parks were first adopted in 2002. The current rules can be viewed at www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/ross/naturepreserve/pdf/parkregulations1.pdf. --Bill D'Agostino
'Pearson' and 'Heritage' move forward

It's looking likely that Enid Pearson will get an open-space preserve named after her. The Parks and Recreation Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the Arastradero Preserve be renamed for the former city councilwoman, who was instrumental in establishing a 1965 park-dedication ordinance that protects city parks, among other noted accomplishments. According to city staff, 12 parks have been renamed in Palo Alto's history.

The commission also recommended that a new park south of Forest Avenue be called "Heritage Park," or something similar. Three other suggestions by the Palo Alto Historical Association -- Joe Davis, Russell Van A. Lee and Anna Zschokke -- were commended by not recommended to the City Council.

Final decisions on both matters are expected at the June 7 council meeting. --Jocelyn Dong

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