AROUND THE BLOCK AROUND THE BLOCK (October 27, 2004)

CREEK DAY . . . Tired of seeing San Francisquito Creek as a grainy, black-and-white creek-cam image on the Internet? Local environmental group Acterra wants you to get out of the house and experience the creek first-hand at its Family Creek Day on Sunday, Nov. 14, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at El Palo Alto Park in Palo Alto, at the corner of El Camino Real and Alma Street. The event will start with a creek discovery activity in which participants will be looking for plants, rocks or geologic features, shapes in the creek channel, or maybe wildlife. It will end with a discussion about what people would like to see the San Francisquito Creek Watershed Council, the event sponsor, accomplish over the next several years. For information or to sign up, call Pam Sturner at 962-9876, ext. 304; or e-mail PamS@Acterrra.org.

GHOSTLY VISIT . . . Residents of Lytton Gardens Nursing Home in downtown Palo Alto will be getting a spook tacular surprise from little ghosts and goblins on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 10-10:45 a.m. That's the day members of the Mothers Club of Palo Alto and Menlo Park, along with their costumed tots, will be paying a visit to the elderly as well as entertaining them. For information, please RSVP to Pamela Hornik at communityoutreach@pampmothersclub.org.

MIDTOWN MEETUP . . . The Midtown Residents Association will host a general meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 9 at 7: 15 p.m. at the Ohlone School MP Room, 950 Amarillo between Louis and Greer roads. Featured guests include several department heads for the City of Palo Alto: Police Chief Lynne Johnson; Public Works Director Glenn Roberts; Libraries Director Paula Simpson, and Director of City Utilities John Ulrich. They are expected to discuss what their departments do, their greatest challenges, and the vision for their respective departments. The meeting is free and open to the public.

MOVING ALONG . . . The College Terrace neighborhood traffic-management trial got one step further along the road to implementation this month. The Planning and Transportation Commission voted 7-0 to recommend a trial of speed tables, traffic circles and raised crosswalks move forward in the neighborhood next to Stanford University, west of El Camino Real. The commissioners also stipulated that the city's transportation staff should heed concerns of neighbors and decide whether to add a raised crosswalk or a speed table on Wellesley Street at Stanford Avenue. That decision is expected to be made before the City Council reviews the trial in the coming months. Meanwhile, in another part of town, the already-installed Channing Avenue trial is expected to be reviewed by the Planning and Transportation Commission on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

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