Around Town: a swift rescue, a call for walls and a council crackdown

In this week’s Around Town column, a swift rescue, a call for walls and a crackdown on signs in city council.

GOT WALLS? … If you know of a wall in Palo Alto’s Midtown or Downtown that could use an ounce of oomph, a pop of pizazz or a kaleidoscope of color, the city’s Public Art Program wants to hear from you. The program is looking for high-visibility walls in commercial corridors to host the city’s next great murals. Inspired by the public’s positive reception of three public murals painted in 2023 on California Avenue, the Public Art Program wants to spread the joy across the city — at no cost to the owner of the wall. Nominated walls will be reviewed by the Public Art Commission, and city staff will select artists to bring their visions to the giant blank canvases. The program comes with a couple of stipulations: The imagery for the mural must not be associated with the business inside the building (that’s right — no free advertising); the property owner has the right of refusal of the final artwork design; and the Public Art Program will maintain the murals for five years. Property owners must nominate their walls by March 1. More information is available at cityofpaloalto.org/publicart and 650-329-2227. 

LIFTED UP … A construction worker for the four-story teacher housing complex on Grant Avenue in Palo Alto had to be rescued Feb. 8 after falling onto the open second floor, breaking a leg. Because construction of the building is ongoing, to get the person out, Palo Alto Fire Department crews put the worker in a stokes basket, which was first raised up and then lowered to the ground floor, the department stated in a social media post. The injured worker was taken to Stanford Hospital. “Crews did a great job executing. We wish our community member and patient a speedy recovery!” the department stated. Construction of the 110-apartment development began last August and is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025. A project of Santa Clara County, Abode Communities and Mercy Housing California, the apartments will be reserved for teachers and other school staff from multiple school districts.

SIGN OF THE TIMES … Palo Alto City Council is long accustomed to hearing residents and activists express strong views in the Council Chambers, a trend that has only picked up this year as more public speakers have begun to attend meetings to speak out on the Middle East conflict. This week, however, City Manager Ed Shikada announced a new policy to govern the public debate: a limitation on signs. Under the new policy, which Shikada said he developed in consultation with Mayor Greer Stone and Vice Mayor Ed Lauing, signs and symbolic materials would have to be less than 2 feet by 3 feet in size. Sticks, posts and poles will be “strictly prohibited,” Shikada said. The items must not create a fire or safety hazard or interfere with other attendees. Persons with such items would be required to “remain seated when displaying them and must not raise the items above shoulder level, obstruct the view or passage of other attendees or otherwise disturb the business of the meeting,” Shikada said. The new policy, he noted, will be displayed on the agenda for the next City Council meeting, which will take place on Feb. 26.