Our Town: Around Town

DUMP FOR FREE . . . The city's sanitation company has placed Dumpsters in strategic locations throughout the city so people can dispose of flood-damaged debris. Also, the city has suspended its regular landfill fee for one week so people can also dispose of debris at the Baylands dump. See our tips section in today's flood coverage for more information.

SANDBAG PATROL . . . Palo Alto City Manager June Fleming said police officers were stationed at each sandbag site helping to keep the peace and maintain traffic control for the streams of residents coming to pick up sand. Residents claim there was some wrangling over bags at sandbag sites, which turned into an every-man-for-himself situation at times. On Thursday, the Palo Alto Avenue site had a new sign posted saying the sand was for Palo Alto residents only, and that there was a 20-bag limit per car.

MAYOR'S MEETINGS . . . Palo Alto Mayor Dick Rosenbaum will be on hand at the Red Cross Shelter at the Cubberley Community Center every evening at 8 p.m. until things return to normal to talk to residents affected by the floods.

A FLOOD IN BUSINESS . . . Cleaning and towing businesses were flooded with calls after Monday's deluge as homeowners looked for help salvaging their possessions. Earl Ellison of Ellison's Towing on Forest Avenue said his company towed about 100 cars. "If it got up over the dashboard, then as a general rule, the insurance companies probably will total them out," he said. "We did get some out of the underpass at Oregon, but then also I think where they were getting them is the underground parking lots at these apartment houses." Ellison said it was the worst flooding he'd seen in 52 years in the business, and he has called his employees in from their days off to drive his 18 trucks. Businesses that clean up after water damage were so busy they couldn't answer their telephones.

OFFICIALS FLOODED . . . Palo Alto residents affected by the flooding had among their ranks at least two city officials. Hale Street resident and Vice Mayor Micki Schneider didn't evacuate from her home, but it did sustain some damage as the waters lapped against her front steps. "We had riverfront property the other night," Schneider said as she observed the proceedings at the sandbag station at the end of her street. City Manager June Fleming, who lives on Hamilton Avenue, fared much worse. Her Crescent Park home was filled with a foot of water, damaging most of the first floor of her home. But she spent all of Monday night directing the city's emergency operations. When she had a chance to check her own home's damage Wednesday, she said, "It was horrible. You open a cabinet and water comes out." She and her husband are staying at the Cabana Hotel on El Camino Real.

NO PHONES . . . Menlo Park's Mayor Chuck Kinney was still without phone service Thursday morning after an underground cable was flooded along Cambridge Avenue and El Camino Real in Menlo Park. Former mayor Steve Schmidt, who lives in the Willows neighborhood of Menlo Park, was also without a phone, and his service won't be restored until Saturday, according to Pac Bell estimates.

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