And where are the surveillance cameras? Certainly, given the kinds of people who congregate at this location, a digital record would be helpful at times like this.

This is unacceptable.

Not only this, but every night right across the street there is the bar and big crowds of idiots walking into the middle of the street. They do not seem to know how to cross a road. There are always police cars there. Why do we need the cost of this so that a few bar owners can make a little extra money?

It's time for security cameras at the least, and how about a curfew or close these places down or forbid them to sell alcohol after midnight on weeknights. Why do we want or need a bunch of lowlife bums making problems every night. Who is getting paid off to allow this to happen.

In the old day Stanford had a ban on alcohol within a mile of campus apart from supervised Stanford events.

Good idea--bring the policy back

If people want to get drunk they should do so at home--and stay there

We do not need bars in Palo Alto--they just attract drunks and crime

If people want wine in a restaurant-fine--but if the drinker gets drunk then the seller should be held liable--they have the receipts and know the consumption.

Every weekend University Ave is full of drunks--we had an incident with a local political aid a few weeks ago who destroyed property--is he in jail? what happened in that case?

This is the land of the free, and alcohol is not an illegal substance. You don't want it, just like some people probably don't want people like yourself in palo alto. See it goes both ways.

Reality nailed it: drinking is not illegle and people partaking in legal activities have the right to be safe. The man who was attacked was the victim, not the criminal.

Wine and cheese only? Please. What's next? You don't want to pay for a police presence at any sporting venue except the polo field?

If you're out at 1am, you pretty much have to be ready for wild n crazy schtuff to happen.

Well Chris, obviously you don't have a daughter. It is not ok for anyone to beat someone up, The man in question was walking (not driving) down University Avenue in one of the "nicest" cities in the country. It is not his fault he was attacked from behind by a gangster or thief. He was doing nothing wrong!!! You don't deserve to be beaten up for being out at 12:30 am. (not 1 am.. PA WEEKLY, CHECK YOUR FACTS!)

The girl with a short skirt on doesn't deserve to be raped. The young boy doesn't deserve to have his bike stolen from his yard because he didn't lock it.

And for the record, this "man" is a friend of mine, who did not return to go drink at the bars (again, PA WEEKLY CHECK YOUR FACTS)...he took a cab to Urgent Care at Palo Alto Medical, and the cab drove off before he could get back in since the clinic was closed. He then called a friend to take him to the ER. He was not wasted, or a drunk. He is a professional who is a very upstanding PA citizen. Shame on the Weekly for making it look like he is just some drunk out. He had to have his head sewn up.

Lytton Plaza has become a home for some crazy stuff. Cameras would be a great start. More frequent foot patrols during likely crime times by PAPD would also help.

Something has to be done. This great area has become unusable.

Can Palo Alto levy a tax of 2+ dollars on every alcoholic drink severed in a PA bar?

It is a good idea and would discourage drunks from coming here.

Wine with meals would be exempt.

It must cost a fortune for the PAPD to deal with drunks

If people want to get drunk then they should do it at home and not drive

Tax the drunks out of town

--start with a $2 tax then a $5 tax and up until the drunks go elsewhere

Sharon, I think we should tax people with silly ideas. With the new internet censorship bill, we should throw in a $100 dollar tax for intolerance. What is your issue with alcohol? How is drinking wine with a meal any different then when I have a beer with my burger? That is elitism and segregation. Alcohol is alcohol and is legal. PA brings in tons of revenue due to the downtown. When I lived in PA many friends and colleagues from San Jose and surrounding areas would spend weekends in PA, "drinking" and staying at the Sheraton (ironically close to your name) Take away the bars, and you don't have $1000 dollar weekends in PA. While that might be "extreme" plenty of bar goers eat, stop at convenient stores, fill up gas, and pay their fair share to the city.

This is America, they have every right to be there, just like you have every right to argue on the computer a non issue.

How come it says 153 am on 15th but it's not 153 am yet. Stanford did not report at 153 on 15th because it isn't 153am yet

You're looking at the weather report, generally up to the minute even while the bars are closing.

This assault with a deadly weapon story says Uploaded: Wednesday, December 14, 2011, 5:03 PM

Bad governments start when people start signing away their rights in return for a little security. Are you sure you want to start having the PA government start covering the area with security camraas? I like the idea of the cameras owned by private citizens and businesses and made available to the police when needed, but I abhor the idea of any government watching its citizens to that degree. I would rather exchance a little personal money for security than my rights to privacy, I do NOT want "Big Brother" here, even at the city level.

University Avenue is popular now. Along with success comes a seedy element and crime often. There are more street performers and distractions.Enforcement on University is needed. Or pretty soon residents nearby won't go there at night and on weekends and the avenue will drastically change in character.

It just goes to prove the old English adage that says "fools and alcohol don't mix." This is especially true of individuals with criminal tendencies.

Bring back Whiskey Gulch!

Given Palo Alto's propensity to make work for the parasitic consultant class, there must be a report somewhere in city hall, that shows the cost-benefit of bar tax revenues as they relate to the public safety expense. Maybe Sharon could contribute some of her energy to requesting the city to make that information public.

The gentleman with the bat should try a legal use for this device - say by joining a softball team or trying out for a minor league baseball team.

From the story: "Kavapalu was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and an allegation of using a knife, a felony, and a misdemeanor battery charge. He pleaded guilty on August 11 and was sentenced on Oct, 27 to three years formal probation and 1 year in county jail with 184 days credit."

Three years probation with 184 days credit?! This is an obscenely light sentence. As a liberal I am bloody outraged by this slap-on-the-wrist sentence. Is that any way to show how seriously we take an attack with a deadly weapon on another person? Would the judge have given the same sentence if the victim had been his wife or child? No way. Whomever handed down that sentence should be ashamed of her/himself and be recalled.

Let's face it: late nights/early mornings, with the folks who hang there, the plaza by Pizza My Heart is a time bomb waiting to explode. An 11 PM curfew for that plaza would be helpful. Some folks there are likely to be high or drunk and be predisposed to either ignite hostilities or respond to someone else's antics in a violent way.

Alas, most likely we will continue to follow the usual pattern in our society: treating a problem with benign neglect until some tragedy occurs that could have been prevented had we been proactive.

There used to be a police presence at that Plaza. Why isn't there any now? Police or thugs? I pick POLICE.

Considering the amount of activity on University Ave and the popularity of some drinking spots, I think a lot of contributors to this discussion are overreacting. If someone is crazy or angry enough to attack someone on the street with a bat, legislation or cameras won't have an effect. This is a regrettable but still mostly isolated incident.

There is someone shot and/or killed every week it seems, just about a mile down the road on University.

The outrage expressed here about assaults in the business district of Palo Alto, seem incongruent with the level of violence.

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Of course, if you are attacked by a person wielding a bat only to go back to drinking in the bars before seeking medical attention, it may just be natural selection doing it's thing.

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Kavapalu is a huge guy who punched a girl in the face and stabbed her (not huge) boyfriend in the chest with a knife, puncturing his lung, which us right next to his heart. How is that not Attempted Murder? 6 months in County Jail? Are you serious? Hitting someone in the head with a baseball bat is also attempted murder. That happened to a guy at my school when I was in college. He didn't die, but he went from someone with a promising future to someone who couldn't brush his own teeth. I saw it again in Minneapolis, a liberal town near much harsher cities like Chicago and Detroit. Thugs from those cities came down to Minneapolis for "easy pickins". The police were reluctant to make arrests even for rioting and selling crack in the business district for fear of criticism. In one year I spent there, I was robbed and beaten unconscious by a gang of eight and watched someone get shot to death outside my window. I lived in the heart of the business district.
Two suggestions:
1. An aggressive, proactive cop on that plaza from 12am-2am, every night. He should call for backup at the first sign of a scuffle and all parties spend the night in jail for D&D.
2. Harsh sentences for these types of violent crime, regardless of who your family is.

The longer we wait to take back our downtown, the harsher we'll have to be to do accomplish it.

If what Lily wrote is true, I hope this publication will revisit the facts & post corrections. I see a victim who takes immediate care of his well-being differently than a victim who cares little for his well-being or the safety of others & doesn't immediately report the crime or get assistance.

As usual, Sharon's waxing ridiculous.

I recall being out & about in that area back in the day & it was safer. I was always cautious, never drove drunk, kept me wits about me & was usually w/friends, but apparently, those good ol' days are gone. Downtown has become a magnet for fun - which is fine - but for parasites of fun, such as violent criminals.

Lily, can you let us know how your friend is doing?