Editorial: The egg and us -- a Palo Alto drama Editorial: The egg and us -- a Palo Alto drama (June 16, 2004)

Oddball controversy over apparently conflicting visions for downtown Palo Alto's Lytton Plaza reflects a broken system -- can anyone put the pieces together?
Of all possible issues for Palo Altans to get tangled up over, we would never have guessed that a debate on an egg-shaped sculpture vs. a modern fountain at a small downtown plaza would embroil city officials.

Perhaps things weren't entertaining enough at the Monday night City Council meetings.

The city now faces a dilemma of whether to opt for a 7-foot-tall egg-shaped sculpture, called "Digital DNA," that commemorates Palo Alto's role as the "birthplace of Silicon Valley" high-tech industry, despite its cracks in recent years.

The sculpture by internationally known artist Adriana Varella of San Francisco (formerly of Palo Alto) was commissioned by the Palo Alto Public Art Commission for a fee just shy of $10,000. It now rests in a studio in San Francisco, pending a city decision on its future. It was first proposed in 2001, approved unanimously in 2002 and formally commissioned in 2003.

But Palo Alto developer Roxy Rapp, businessman Chuck Hammers (owner of the Pizza My Heart food chain, with a branch at the plaza), and former Mayor Leland Levy would like some type of sunken fountain, perhaps akin to the fountain at Cesar Chavez Plaza in downtown San Jose. An over-sized chessboard, with pieces up to 2 feet tall, might also fit.

Rapp insists there would be room for the Digital DNA piece as part of an overall redesign of the 1960s-era plaza -- once a primary site of demonstrations against the Vietnam war, a curfew ordinance, a sound ordinance and an anti-commune ordinance and other issues of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Given the plaza's history of confrontation and the city's long-time inclination to split into two warring camps about most issues that come along, we think the chessboard is a great idea -- the pieces could be given faces of real people in town.

Then on tough issues we could stage public chess matches, with the winner awarded the policy decision at hand -- much cheaper than an election.

In this case, given the age of the plaza and its clear need for sprucing up, it's clear that something creative could be done there. Taking an overall look at the plaza might be a good idea, providing public funds and staff time are minimal.

Art commissioners taking umbrage at the city not following the commission's recommendation is completely understandable -- especially if city staff took it upon itself to delay the installation because of behind-the-scenes pressure. City policies and decisions about its public places should not bend to the whims of developers and landowners beyond giving them a fair -- and open -- hearing.

That said, the idea of a redesigned plaza in the heart of downtown Palo Alto, at a time when the downtown is struggling to revive itself as a commercial and community destination, might be worth checking out -- if everyone can set aside pride and preconceived notions and sit down, talk and get creative.

Editorial: The great Art Walk raid should embarrass the state Editorial: The great Art Walk raid should embarrass the state (June 16, 2004)
The June 4 raid of Palo Alto's traditional Art Walk event by state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents should go down as a point of embarrassment and shame for the agency.
It is embarrassing not because the agents weren't doing their job but because of the intimidating and insulting manner in which two agents conducted themselves.
Guided by apparently erroneous advice from a police official, Art Walk participants failed to get a permit to serve free wine during the sedate event. And when an unidentified person complained about the practice, no one took notice -- until apparently the same person took it to the state level.
What made the raid especially objectionable was that a supervising agent was present when the two agents were verbalizing their aggressions on shocked gallery operators.
The unavoidable question is if the agents deal with non-threatening, upscale Palo Altans with such hostility, how must they relate to the many others in the state who don't fit the upper-middle-class mold? An investigation of the kind of training and cultural attitude of the state ABC -- and other normally low-profile enforcement agencies -- should be at least as high a priority as conducting the Great Art Walk Raid of 2004.
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