Around Town Around Town (November 16, 2005)

PALO ALTO'S NEWEST PUNDIT ... On election night, 10-year-old Alex Klein stole the show. Henrietta Burroughs interviewed Klein, the grandson of former Mayor and Councilman-elect Larry Klein, during the Media Center's election wrap-up cable TV coverage. Asked why he thought most Palo Altans don't vote, Klein responded: "Partly because they can't really make up their minds. Some are homeless. Some really don't have the time." Asked his advice for the newly elected council members, Klein said he had none but offered these wise words for the new school board members instead: "Have more of a solid budget." Program host Mike Cobb, himself a grandfather and former mayor, made this observation: "I think the apple does not fall far from tree."

PROUD PAPA-RAZZI... Palo Alto's main election night party, hosted by numerous City Council and school board candidates at downtown's Garden Court Hotel, was a ritzy affair, with champagne, balloons and a Hewlett Packard laptop computer projecting the slow-to-come results. It also featured the paparazzi-like photography of Raymond Tom, who was seemingly snapping pictures of everyone in attendance. Tom, it turns out, is the father of successful school board candidate Dana Tom. The elder Tom, 82, is retired from a job as a freelance graphic artist. Now he does fashion photography to keep busy, going to runway shows and nightclubs to check out the latest designs. "It keeps him young," Dana Tom said.

FINAL ELECTION NIGHT TIDBIT ... Palo Alto Councilman Jack Morton may have won re-election last Tuesday, but it was a nail-biter. Meanwhile, Dana Tom, a first-time politician who won a spot on the Palo Alto school board, had an easier time and received more votes than any candidate in either race. Perhaps that's why, when Morton spotted Tom on election night, the councilman quipped that he should have stamped "Endorsed by Dana Tom," on his campaign materials.

MURAL MERRIMENT ... It's Greg Brown's town, we just visit it. Brown, whose whimsical murals adorn many downtown buildings, has a new artwork in the Midtown Neighborhood. It will be officially celebrated this Thursday afternoon, Nov. 17, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at the site of the newest mural, which is located at the back of 2741 Middlefield Road. The Palo Alto Public Art Commission and the Midtown Residents Association sponsored the work.

FEELING VILLIANOUS ... OK, it's probably not surprising that Hermione appears to be the most popular pick in a poll on the Palo Alto High School's student-run journalism Web site, the Paly Voice, asking the question: "Which Harry Potter character do you most want to be?" After all, Hermione is the only female on the list and is pretty cool to boot. But what does it say about local youth that the series' bad guy -- "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," or Lord Voldemort -- is running second, even above the sage-like Professor Dumbledore and the boy wizard himself. Yikes!

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