ReaderWire ReaderWire (August 12, 2005)

Sentry squirrels?

Reader Craig Chan (Spectrum, Aug. 10) wrote that he had frequently seen ground squirrels sitting in various locations on the fence between Interstate 280 and Stanford lands, and asked whether anyone had an explanation.

I too had noticed this, a number of years ago, on the fence between Juniperro Serra and the same Stanford lands when I was running the Dish trail. After some weeks of observation it became evident that these were sentries, posted there to look out for red-tailed hawks or other predators. When one such predator appeared the sentry would emit a warning cry and all the ground squirrels in the area would run for their burrows.

Accepting this raises a more difficult question: Since this is an unrewarding and perhaps dangerous assignment, how are the sentries assigned to duty? The regularity of their posting argues against chance or randomness. This implies that ground-squirrel communities must have some form of social organization that assigns individuals to this duty and disciplines them if they don't show up.

Anybody looked into this?
John Harris
Louis Road, Palo Alto

Headquarters idea

Why does a new police station have to be downtown? Here's an idea that solves a couple of problems.

Take the parking lots near California Avenue bounded by Jacaranda Lane, Sherman Avenue, Park Boulevard and Ash Street. Go down three stories and go up two stories. Build a new police station and a new public library with a pedestrian plaza on Birch Street connecting the two.

This would introduce a library and police station convenient to all of Palo Alto.
Marc Fleischmann
Wellsbury Way, Palo Alto

Save Hangar One

The destruction of Hangar One would be on a par with Taliban destruction of the Buddha statues in Afghanistan, and for approximately the same reason.

The risk to public health and safety that the present construction poses is miniscule. You are far more at risk from disease from the pigeon droppings or from a dead pigeon falling on you from the hanger rafters.
Walter E. Wallis
Waverley Street, Palo Alto

News and the draft?

Trevor Felch, in his Guest Opinion (Aug. 3), certainly made a very good case for raising the voting age.

Or perhaps reinstating the draft with the attendant risks of being killed or maimed in Iraq might instill in him and his classmates some interest in what's going on in the world.
Richard Gehrs
Lemon Street, Menlo Park

Weekend voting?

The vote is our most important expression of democratic power, available equally to all eligible voters.

Thousands of our men and women are being killed and wounded for their efforts to bring democracy to the people of Iraq. We can improve our democratic practices here without any danger to our fellow citizens. Ours is the only country that votes during the week instead of on the weekend.

Why limit the vote to a workday, imposing an obstacle of time to employed voters? The right to vote loses its significance when it is so difficult to exercise the right.

If we have the political will we can change the day of voting easily and quickly. Our democracy depends on fair and honest elections by all eligible voters willing to vote.

Let's change our official national voting from "the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November" to the first weekend in November. Let's encourage voter turnout.
Celia and Edward Freiberg
Charleston Road, Palo Alto

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