Our Town: Around Town

HEAVY METAL MELEE . . . The atmosphere was tense Wednesday night at The Edge in Palo Alto when the band UFO walked off the stage after playing only 40 minutes. Why did the aging rockers refuse to continue, leaving an angry, sold-out crowd of roughly 1,000 heavy metal fans growling with dissatisfaction? Rumors centered around guitar virtuoso Michael Schenker, who was reportedly unhappy with the sound. The official word from The Edge was that the guitarist hurt his hand. After keeping the crowd in the dark (literally) for 30 minutes while management tried to cajole the band back on stage, the house lights came on, and it was announced that the show would be rescheduled. At least one person stormed the stage as bottles flew from the crowd, but The Edge staff was able to avert any further problems. The night ended in disarray, with some fans demanding their money back, saying they believed the Schenker on stage was, in fact, an impostor. The band was supposed to play Thursday night and tonight, April 17, then head to Europe and Japan. Many fans drove hours to attend Wednesday's show.

RUNNING AGAIN? . . . Menlo Park Council member Bernie Nevin, who has recently reverted to her maiden name of Bernie Valencia after a divorce, had a surprise up her sleeve after Tuesday night's contentious council meeting when three of her colleagues voted against her to ban leaf blowers. When the Weekly asked Valencia what she planned to do in the wake of the leaf blower ban, she replied, "I'll do whatever I can to support due process," which might even include running for re-election when her term expires in November, she said. Valencia, who was elected in 1994, had said previously that she planned to step down in November to spend more time with her family.

CHAMBERS BEAUTIFIED . . . Those bright splashes of pink in the usually institutional-looking planters in the Palo Alto City Council chambers caught the eye of Council member Liz Kniss at the council's meeting Monday night. "They're a nice accent in these unremodeled chambers," Kniss told City Manager June Fleming. Fleming, thanking Kniss for the compliment, said the colorful posies are an experiment by the Parks and Recreation staff. At the April 6 council meeting, approval was granted for a contract with an outside firm, CSS Associates Architects, for a $90,000 remodel job on the chambers. No word on when the (less colorful) improvements will begin.

BAD FRIDAY . . . Good Friday got off to a bad start for 13 residents of 765 and 777 San Antonio Road. They woke up to find that their cars had been broken into and a strange assortment of their personal items stolen. Nabbed from the vehicles were items ranging from a wetsuit to 15 valium tablets to a Jerry Springer video, according to police reports.

NAMES AND NOTES . . . The Stanford University Board of Trustees has elected Susan Packard Orr, daughter of Hewlett-Packard Co. co-founder David Packard, to become a new trustee for a five-year term . . . Palo Alto resident Bill Reller has been named president of the Peninsula Open Space Trust's Board of Directors . . . The Palo Alto Public Art Commission has elected Kathryn Carleton as chair and David Levin as vice chair.

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