THE PALO ALTO 49ERS . . . Palo Alto is about to add a 49er quarterback to its list of city residents, according to Weekly sources. Our contacts have confirmed that 49ers quarterback Steve Young, who was living in Los Altos Hills, has bought a home in Palo Alto. While it would be unsportsmanlike conduct to give No. 8's exact address (the guy gets hassled enough by defensive linemen as it is), his new abode, according to our sources, is in Old Palo Alto, within field-goal range of Palo Alto's other famous Steve, Steve Jobs. Palo Alto is also home to former 49er quarterback Steve Bono and 49er offensive lineman Harris Barton. Maybe the city needs to draft a defensive back this year?
PEDAL-PUSHING MEMORIAL . . . Five Palo Alto police officers hopped on their bikes Thursday afternoon to ride to Fremont as part of a cross-country memorial ride for slain law enforcement officers. The ride has come about 650 miles since leaving Winterhaven, on the Arizona border in the far southeastern corner of the state, on March 31, said organizer Sam Knight, a police officer in Yucca Valley near Palm Springs. Among those who gathered at City Hall Plaza before the ride was Angela Brassinga, the wife of Palo Alto Reserve Officer Ted Brassinga, who was killed on May 15, 1994, during a SWAT team exercise aboard a train in Gilroy in preparation for the World Cup games at Stanford. "I'm really glad Palo Alto is participating in the remembrance of my husband and other officers who were killed in the line of duty," said Brassinga, who hopes to bring her 4-year-old son with her to the ride's culmination in Sacramento on May 9. Riders plan to reach Crescent City on April 28 and then come back down the Central Valley to Sacramento. Coincidentally, May 15, the day Brassinga was killed, is National Peace Officers Memorial Day, said Palo Alto Chief Chris Durkin.
EARTH DAY EVENTS . . . A number of local events are scheduled this weekend for Earth Day, which is officially next Tuesday. On Saturday, Bay Area Action will host Earth Day structure dismantling of the Arastradero Preserve barn. Meet at the parking lot on Arastradero Road at 10 a.m. Call BAA at 321-1994. Also on Saturday, Magic (323-SEED) is organizing oak planting and care in the Stanford hills. On Sunday, Bay Area Action is organizing a cleanup of San Francisquito Creek. Meet at 10 a.m. on Palo Alto Avenue just west of Middlefield Road. Also on Sunday, Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills will provide special family activities, tours of the organic farm, wilderness hikes, and paper making. The event is $5. Call 949-8653.
STUDENTS TO BOYCOTT . . . A couple dozen Stanford students have written the City Council to say they will boycott University Avenue shops because of the recently adopted sit-lie ban, which takes effect next Thursday. "Your decision makes it clear that the business community's desires override those of the rest of the community," wrote Tracey Iglehart. "You want the riffraff off the sidewalks, that's fine, I'll take my business elsewhere as well." However, freshman Steven Lazzara, who received an e-mail asking him to join the boycott, took a different tack: "I would like you to know that some of us students are not all tree-hugging liberals and that we applaud your efforts to increase the appearance and thereby self-esteem of the community," he wrote.
MORE GROWING SPACE . . . The Palo Alto Christian Reformed Church has loaned the Palo Alto Community Farm, better known as the Homeless Garden some land that will allow more room to plant crops. The community farm, a business enterprise sponsored by the nonprofit Urban Ministry of Palo Alto, had outgrown its quarter-acre plot located just across from Palo Alto's downtown bus terminal. Last month the Christian Reformed Church responded to its need, loaning a half-acre of land next to the church on Arastradero Road. "It's our Christian duty to take care of each other," said Pat Brandse, who is a member of both the church and the Urban Ministry advisory board. "It's a good opportunity to reach out and give people a sense of value." Palo Alto Community Farm will soon begin planting crops at the church site, said manager Tom Pirkle.
WOOLLEY TO RETIRE . . . It's been 27 years since Gail Woolley began teaching in Palo Alto schools. She taught Latin, a language no longer taught here, and most recently social studies. During that time, she served on the City Council, and was mayor in 1987. This June, Woolley plans to retire from teaching at Jordan Middle School. "I think it's time," said Woolley, who will turn 60 in June. "I certainly think that's long enough. I'm not interested in seeing how long I can work." Woolley and her husband are both retiring this June, and plan to do a lot of traveling, and spend time with their grandchildren. In 1970, when she started teaching, she was one of the youngest teachers in the district. "I was always the last group that wasn't going to get a pink slip," she said, during the years of enrollment decline. While she'll miss the people, she says she won't miss correcting papers. One more thing. Woolley would like to dispel rumors that she might run for school board. Whatever she does, she says, "I don't want to do anything that has to do with school."
A PEACEFUL NEW HOME . . . Eighteen months after shutting its doors due to financial difficulties, the Peninsula Peace and Justice Center has revitalized and found a new home. The public is invited to a grand reopening party on Saturday, April 26, from 2-5 p.m. The party, which will feature live music, will also mark the center's 15th anniversary. The new home is on the second floor of the turn-of-the-century Westminster House at 457 Kingsley Ave., at the corner of Cowper Street. Westminster House, which is owned by the First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto, is home to three other nonprofit groups--Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing, Palo Alto League of Women Voters and KARA.
Back up to the Table of Contents Page