Around Town Around Town (October 20, 2004)

CORDELL AND PROP. 66 ... During this busy campaign season, Palo Alto City Councilwoman LaDoris Cordell is actively lobbying to get California voters to approve Proposition 66, on next month's ballot. The initiative would rewrite the "Three Strikes law," passed by voters a decade ago, to make the third strike a violent or serious offense. "The current Three Strikes law is unfair," said Cordell, a former judge, in a press release. "The law forces judges to hand non-violent offenders life sentences that are woefully disproportionate to the crimes they have committed. A vote for Proposition 66 is a vote for fairness and justice."

THE MEDIA AND THE CAMPAIGN ... Do you know more about President Bush's bulge, Mary Cheney's sexuality, Sen. John Edwards' hair and Sen. John Kerry's flip-flopping than you do the candidates' stance on any major issues? Then chances are you are following the presidential campaign on TV and not in print. A panel of experts will analyze how the media covers -- or fails to cover -- politics on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m. in the Palo Alto City Council Chambers. A second forum, scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m. at Cubberley Auditorium at Stanford's School of Education, will discuss how well the media covered this campaign. The event is co-sponsored by the city's Human Relations Commission and Stanford University's Program in Ethics in Society & Center on Ethics.

QUICK QUIZ ... If you regularly observe the drunken behavior at late-night bars in downtown Palo Alto, you may be surprised to know Palo Alto was a dry town for more than 80 years. Do you know the name of the first Palo Alto restaurant to receive a liquor license? Answers to this, and other city-history questions will be revealed at the Palo Alto Trivia Quiz and Trunk Show on Saturday, Oct. 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Roth Building (300 Homer Avenue). The Palo Alto History Museum is hoping to turn the city-owned building into the first city history museum. Also on Saturday, there will also be an exhibition of recently-acquired artifact, an update on the museum, prizes and ice cream.

OPHIDIOPHOBIA ... Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison might have set a new speed record at the City Council meeting last week. During a commemoration of the Junior Museum & Zoo 's 70th anniversary, a zoo staff member brought Devon, a bull python , to the dias to meet councilmembers. Harrison, who was sitting between the approaching python and the dias, immediately jumped up and sought refuge next to Councilmember Dena Mossar. No luck, there, though, as Devon's handler headed straight for her. A seat in the back of council chambers became Harrison's next hiding spot, where she waited until Devon finished his meet-and-greet with the council. As Devon left the dias, Harrison then gave him the eye, and then calmly returned to her seat. No word from Devon if he felt slighted.

SIGN OF THINGS TO COME? ... Ah, what happened to upholding the Palo Alto aesthetic? That's what one Downtown North resident asked, after signs detailing the neighborhood's street-sweeping schedule popped up in her neighborhood -- attached to the trees. She's got no objection to clean streets, apparently, but why does the city have to make the trees look tacky at the same time?

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