Around Town Around Town (December 07, 2005)

PARADE OF BOOKS . . . There's an obvious downside to the upcoming renovation of the historic Palo Alto Children's Library: For two years, beginning Dec. 18, the library will be closed for construction. So, the city's thinking presumably went, what better reason for a parade? On Thursday after, starting at 3:30 p.m., the city's youngsters (along with their adults) will pull red wagons filled with books a few blocks from the Children's Library to the volumes' new temporary home at the Main Library. The move will give the larger library a better collection of children's book than the tiny, sad one it's had in recent years. For more information on the Children's Library renovation project, visit the library's Web site at www.cityofpaloalto.org/library.

YOU'VE BEEN WARNED! . . . When police officers spot negligible legal wrongdoing, which suspects do they cite and which do they warn? That's one question that arises from a reading of the Palo Alto Police Department's latest demographic data, a quarterly report about who the police stop, search, cite and arrest. According to the latest 17-page report, blacks made up 15 percent of the 2,893 suspects contacted by Palo Alto police officers from July to September 2005. But blacks received 21 percent of the warnings. Whites, on the other hand, made up 47 percent of the contacts but received 42 percent of the warnings. Asian Americans, meanwhile, made up 13 percent of the contacts but received 11 percent of the warnings. And Hispanics made up 16 percent of those contacted but received 20 percent of the warnings. What gives? Some possible explanations of why suspects were warned rather than cited could be found in narratives in the report. One case: an officer approached a black man, parked behind a business at 10:30 p.m., and smelled marijuana. After searching the vehicle, the officer found "a very small partially smoked marijuana cigarette." The man was given a warning. A white man and woman were also given warnings after an officer found them drinking alcohol in a park after dark. After searching them, the officer found "no other evidence or contraband." A black driver, meanwhile, received only a warning after an officer found "items in the car that were consistent with drug use" but no actual drugs or other contraband. The driver was stopped for a registration violation. The report -- which can be downloaded at www.cityofpaloalto.org/cityagenda/publish/cmrs/documents/CMR443-05.pdf -- will be discussed Thursday night by the city's Human Relations Commission.

ROVING RETREAT . . . The few community members that showed up last Wednesday night at the Cardinal Hotel for the Palo Alto Planning and Transportation Commission's annual retreat were just beginning to settle into their seats when city officials made an announcement -- the catered meeting was relocating because the room selected at the hotel was not handicap accessible. The retreat's various participants then marched the street to City Hall -- not a problem for most. But the cameraman for the Media Center, which broadcasts city meetings, had more than himself to tote to the new location. He had already set up his video camera by the time city officials had realized their error, so he had to pack it up, walk across the street, unpack it and connect it again in the new room. As a result of the goof, the meeting started 30 minutes late.

FINAL RESULTS . . . It's official, Jack Morton was re-elected to the Palo Alto City Council on Nov. 8. Although the absentee ballots, which have finally been counted, helped Planning and Transportation Commission Vice Chair Karen Holman creep closer to Morton in the race for the fifth spot on the Palo Alto City Council, she never caught up entirely, according to official final results. So the new council members, in order of their vote totals, are: incumbent Yoriko Kishimoto, Peter Drekmeier, Larry Klein, John Barton and Morton. Final tallies can be seen at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Web site: www.sccgov.org/elections/results/rov_nov8_election.html. The three new Palo Alto council members will take their seats at the dais on Jan. 9.

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