Around Town Around Town (February 02, 2005)

THE POWER OF SUGGESTION . . . The elevators at Palo Alto's city hall are undergoing much-needed upgrades, leaving only two of the three elevators working from now until the summer. Anticipating longer waits for a lift, a clever city employee posted a list of "things to do while you wait for the elevator." One suggestion: Read a chapter of Tolstoy's War and Peace . Another: Talk with the guy next to you about his pets. We're pretty sure the flier was intended to be tongue-in-cheek rather than instructive, but recently a reporter got into an elevator and overheard two employees in the midst of a lively conversation. Their topic: How training one guy's dog to be housebroken was going.

MOVIN' OUT? . . . At the end of Saturday's City Council retreat, frequent commentator Bob Moss told the council to pass a business license tax , noting that Palo Alto is one of the few California cities without a fee on all its businesses. Critics of the fee, including the Palo Alto Daily News , argue it would drive businesses out of town. Moss said if the council approved the tax, he would pay the moving costs for any business that moved to a city without a fee "starting with the Daily News." Many council members and city staff, who view the tabloid as a nuisance, laughed heartily at the thought of it leaving town, while its snappish columnist Diana Diamond sat stone-faced.

HOW DULL! . . . Community activist Tom Ashton wants Palo Alto's government to be less self-centered. He suggests starting with the city's mission statement , which currently reads: "The government of the City of Palo Alto exists to promote and sustain a superior quality of life in Palo Alto. In partnership with the community, our goal is to deliver cost-effective services in a personal, responsive, and innovative manner." Calling the current wording as "a little dull to my liking," Ashton advocated after last Saturday's City Council priority-setting meeting for incorporating the ideas of "public safety" and "respect for individuals" into the mission statement. "I think it could be improved considerably by adding more of a 'people' emphasis," he wrote in a follow-up e-mail to Assistant City Manager Emily Harrison. He recommends the city hold a contest, open to all citizens, to craft a new mission statement for the city, after which it could be displayed on the council dais. Having it in a prominent site, he said, would be "comforting."

MORE ANIMAL TALK. . . This fact just in from the Humane Society Silicon Valley about reproductive prowess of felines: Two cats and all their descendents can theoretically number 420,000 in just seven years. No wonder the nonprofit animal shelter has declared February as Spay/Neuter Month . During this time, a dozen veterinarians in the Bay Area are partnering with the nonprofit to spay and neuter cats, dogs and rabbits at 50 percent off the normal price. The effort is aimed at reducing pet overpopulation and unnecessary pet euthanasia, the group said. Last year in the Bay Area alone, 50,000 animals were put to death. The Humane Society sent the Weekly a press release announcing this month-long offer and even offered a photo of the surgery as well for the newspaper to print. We think we'll pass on that one. For information, visit www.hssv.org or call (408) 727-3383.

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