Around Town: A new sibling in town

In this week’s Around Town column, Palo Alto celebrates its newest sibling, new council rules go into effect and next weekend brings garage sale galore.

MUNICIPAL MATCHMAKING … Palo Alto and Bloomington, Indiana, are preparing to celebrate an unusual milestone on June 1, when they mark a two-year anniversary of becoming sibling cities. Unlike “sister city” relationships, which generally transcend national borders, sibling cities are both within the United States. The purpose is to build bridges between cities in different regions through community-building, commerce and civil discourse, according to Sibling Cities USA, a Palo Alto-based nonprofit that was founded by Vicki Veenker, an Indiana native who now serves on the Palo Alto City Council. Since the two cities forged their partnership, they have collaborated on a series of Town Hall meetings, an author event (in Bloomington) and a sustainability summit (in Palo Alto). They have collaborated on a teen essay contest and have hosted delegations from their sibling municipality. Now, Veenker’s group is hoping that these experiences will inspire others. In an announcement, Veenker said that the June 1 event will both celebrate the program’s accomplishments and give other cities a chance to find their future siblings. “The occasion is also forward-looking as we anticipate other cities joining in our mission to re-discover the large swaths of common ground we Americans share, even as we are bombarded with reports of our polarization,” Veenker said in a statement. Alain Barker, Bloomington program director, said the goal is to “knit our country back together.” “Sibling Cities are about getting beyond the stereotyping and exaggerations,” said Barker, a senior lecturer at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. “We are proud to lead the way for other municipalities and communities to create connections that will strengthen our country.” The June 1 event will be free, open to the public and held simultaneously in Palo Alto and in Bloomington. In Palo Alto, the program will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Lucie Stern Community Center, with a reception to follow. Visitors can RSVP at https://biturl.top/YfMVjm.

NOM NOM NORMS … Things got unusually testy and awkwardly personal this week when the Palo Alto City Council considered changes to its rules and procedures. What is typically a dry discussion livened up after council member Pat Burt proposed including in the city’s policies a statement that members are “expected to be at the dais at all times except for necessary short breaks.” The impetus for this was his colleague Greg Tanaka, whom Burt accused of routinely leaving the dais to eat his dinner during meetings while the city manager is talking. “And I think it’s very inappropriate, it’s deliberately disrespectful and it’s inconsistent with our inability to be at the dais,” Burt said during the May 20 discussion. Tanaka called Burt’s proposal “totally inappropriate,” “incredibly arbitrary,” and tantamount to council members being forced to require “hall passes” to take breaks during meetings. “Some of us have to earn a living,” Tanaka responded. “Some of us have to work. We don’t have time to grab dinner ahead of time.” Burt ultimately prevailed, with the council voting 4-3, with Tanaka, Julie Lythcott-Haims and Vicki Veenker dissenting, to approve the new policy.

YARD SALE GALORE … Palo Alto’s citywide yard sale will return on Saturday, June 1. Residents can make money by selling or walk and shop to find second-hand treasures from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Palo Alto Weekly and Zero Waste Palo Alto – a city initiative to reduce hazardous waste – will help organize the event. Zero Waste’s goal is to eliminate trash from being burned or buried and to safely dispose of remaining waste through recycling. Reselling goods is just one step toward its mission. On May 31, a map listing all the sale locations will be printed in the Weekly.