December 03, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

News Digest

Deputy Fire Chief Nick Marinaro has been selected by City Manager Frank Benest to be Palo Alto's next fire chief, according to city officials. The appointment will go before the City Council for confirmation on Monday night, Dec. 6.

A native of the Fresno area, Marinaro was a student firefighter as an undergrad at Stanford University, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in human biology.

"I was there during the student riots," he said. "It was a little hairy at times."

In 1973, Marinaro was hired as a full-time firefighter for the university. He joined Palo Alto's fire staff when the two departments merged in 1976. Marinaro has since worked up the ranks in Palo Alto, serving nearly every position.

"I think he's going to do a great job," Interim Fire Chief Judy Jewell said. "He knows the culture of the department; he knows the city."

Marinaro, who lives in Palo Alto's Barron Park Neighborhood, had been competing with Deputy Fire Chief Deby Pryor for the job, but she took the chief's position in Berkeley last month. With Pryor leaving and Jewell retiring, Marinaro will have to fill three deputy chief positions when he starts on Dec. 11.

In August, former Fire Chief Ruben Grijalva was picked by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to be the state fire marshal.

Assuming the council approves his appointment, Marinaro will be sworn in on Dec. 16 at 4 p.m. in the City Council chambers.
-- Bill D'Agostino

Elks retain consultant for land sale

The Palo Alto Elks have hired Nova Partners of Palo Alto to consult on the sale of their property at 4249 El Camino Real.

Nova Partners has done real-estate development and construction project-management work for numerous local organizations, including Stanford University and Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati.

The Elks decided to sell part of the 8-acre property earlier this year, citing an aging, oversized lodge that has become costly to maintain. The lodge was built in 1942 and is 55,000 square feet.

Over the summer, the organization received developers' proposals to buy the front half of their land, which is zoned for multi-family housing.

But as fall approached, the all-volunteer Elks began thinking of hiring a consultant to help them navigate through the city of Palo Alto's development process. A vote by the membership sealed the deal Nov. 18, according to Elks Exalter Ruler Ed Mendell.

In another development, the city recently recommended the Elks locate their lodge in the front of the property rather than the rear -- essentially throwing a wrench into the development plans already in the works, Mendell said.

Te front half of the property is zoned for 30 residences per acre, and the rear is allowed to contain 15 homes per acre. A strip at the far rear, along Wilkie Way, is zone for one house per acre.

Developers will be willing to pay less for the back half than the front, Mendell said, reducing the revenue a sale could bring to the lodge.

"It changes the economics of the whole thing," Mendell said. "It's getting touchy."

The Elks' recourse at this point could include trying to get the city to rezone the rear of the property for a more lucrative sale, he said.

In the meantime, Nova Partners is working with the Elks to develop the concept for a new, 35,000-40,000 square-foot lodge, which Mendell said would focus on being more family-friendly. The plan will likely come before the Elks membership for a vote in the new year.
-- Jocelyn Dong

Earle to set up Stanford 'New York outreach' office

Gordon Earle, hired just over two years ago to be Stanford University's vice president for public affairs, is leaving the Stanford campus to create an "outreach" office for the university in New York City.

He will become "executive director" of a New York-based office of public affairs, and will continue to report director to Stanford President John Hennessy. The office will "concentrate on raising Stanford's image and presence on the East Coast, with a specific focus on the media and organizing public events and other activities" relating to Stanford.

The office will be reaching out to recruit potential students and faculty as well as to alumni, with implications for fund development.

Earle's departure has been anticipated for several months, after his wife, Nancy, took a job helping corporations arrange large public events, and set up a household in New York City with their son, Gordon Jr. -- creating a cross-country commute situation.

Earle was hired in the fall of 2002 after a job search of several years, longer than it took to select a new Stanford president. His major assignment was to improve relations with neighboring communities. He earlier had been a long-time producer for the McNeil-Lehrer NewsHour on PBS, then headed his own communications firm.

Earle will be selling his Menlo Park home and will head east just before Christmas, beginning his new duties for Stanford in early January.

He said he is proudest of launching the "Community Partnership Awards" program last year: "To me it symbolized the best of the Stanford-community relationship," recognizing interactions between the communities and Stanford people and helping people realize the extent and importance of those connections.

He also is pleased with the hiring of former Mayor Jean McCown, who will help handle community relations while Stanford decides on how to replace Earle.

Working on creating play fields at the old Mayfield School site at El Camino Real and Page Mill Road also has been satisfying, as have been the "very strong attachments" to many persons at Stanford in the community, he said.

His biggest frustration has been the inability to successfully resolve the issue of trail connections through Stanford lands to the lower foothills.
-- Jay Thorwaldson

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