Around Town Around Town (September 29, 2004)

CAMP GETS (MOUNTAIN) LIONIZED... This past summer's Fun and Day camps, held by the City of Palo Alto in Foothills Park, had an alteration, courtesy of the pesky mountain lions spotted in the area. The culminating overnight campouts were moved from the park's campgrounds to the indoor Parks Interpretive Center, out of concern that a hungry cougar would spoil the enjoyment. Maybe she did anyway?

LOOK BEFORE YOU SEND ... Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss became the latest victim of Palo Alto's penchant for e-mail blunders. Last Thursday, Kniss hit reply to a group e-mail, thinking she was only sending an electronic missive to Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell, but instead sent it to the whole listserv. Cordell's original message to the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley invited members to her upcoming talk with the former president of Planned Parenthood. The contents of Kniss' reply is somewhat mysterious: "have a question that needs answering -- have you by any chance talked with Carl Guardino since last Monday nite? He made an odd comment today re the CC, that puzzled me." Guardino is the CEO of the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group and CC presumably refers to the Palo Alto City Council. But what was the odd comment? Cordell had no idea. "I don't even know who Carl is," she said. Kniss said she found evidence of an "inappropriate" comment, but was waiting to talk with Guardino before making such news public. "There's no more to reveal but it might be coming," Kniss said. On Friday, she apologized via e-mail to the group, which ironically includes Guardino himself, as well as other powerful Valley politicos. "Miscommunication is easy by e-mail, making phone conversations far more accurate. (E-mail issues seem to haunt us here in Palo Alto)," Kniss wrote. Last year, the City Council was embroiled in one e-mail mess after another. The city was sued by the Weekly and the San Jose Mercury News for keeping public e-mails private; former Councilwoman Nancy Lytle sent a private e-mail to the city attorney announcing her run for City Council while denying publicly she had made a decision; and Lytle made a similar mistake to Kniss when she let a private e-mail run on a neighborhood listserv. "See you there, but don't tell the Daily, Weekly or the Merc," Lytle wrote. "Enough has been made of my e-mails this year."

ARTIST TO BE HONORED . . . Woodside artist Jim Caldwell will be the first recipient of the Jane Gallagher Award from the Committee for Green Foothills. Caldwell, a landscape painter, will receive the award Oct. 30. Caldwell is known for his landscapes of the local coast and of Stanford scenes. The award is being given in memory of Gallagher, a former Committee for Green Foothills board member and painter. More information about the Oct. 30 event, which will include exhibits from 12 artists, is available at www.GreenFoothills.org/Art or by calling (650) 968-7243.

TRAFFIC TALK . . . What topic is nearest to the hearts and minds of Palo Alto residents? Why, traffic, of course. Now, those who want more education on the field can attend free "Sandwich Symposium" lectures, courtesy of the city's transportation division. On Friday, Oct. 1 at noon, Kevin Mathy, transportation programs manager in the Stanford Office of Parking and Transportation, will explain how the Stanford Marguerite bus service uses electronics to provide passengers with real-time information and efficiently manage the fleet. To catch Mathy's presentation, go to the council conference room in City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave. According to the city's press release, "Brown bags lunches are encouraged." Presumably, other colored bags will also be allowed, however.

COUNSEL WITH COUNCIL . . . Palo Alto residents interested in bending the ears of the City Council can meet up with Councilmembers Hillary Freeman and Yoriko Kishimoto at Piazza's Fine Foods Saturday, Oct. 2, from 9 to 11 a.m. Freeman and Kishimoto will be available to talk about issues, listen to residents' views and suggestions, and answer questions. Piazza's is in Charleston Shopping Center in south Palo Alto, at Middlefield Road and Charleston Road.

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