Around Town 02 Around Town 02 (January 02, 2002)

SURPRISE APPOINTMENT . . .Pria Graves is Palo Alto's latest addition to the Santa Clara County Airports Commission . The appointment came as a surprise to Graves, a community activist and artist. "Apparently, (Mayor) Sandy Eakins suggested to (Santa Clara County Supervisor) Liz Kniss that I be appointed. But no one told me," Graves said. But Graves graciously accepted the honor of airport commissioner, which has in its jurisdiction the three general aviation airports in the county, including Palo Alto Municipal Airport . "I tend to work well as a facilitator and a mediator in a group setting. I plan to address the neighborhood concerns along with the pilots' concerns. I think I can bring a good balance," Graves said. She will attend her first meeting as commissioner later this month.

FRANK'S THE MAN . . . Palo Alto City Manager Frank Benest was named president of the League of California Cities . The installation took place two weeks ago at the league's annual meeting in Sacramento. Benest plans to focus on retaining local revenue for California cities by opposing attempts to take away revenue to balance that state budget.
GIRL POWER WITH NEW SUPER . . .Palo Alto Unified School District's new superintendent, Mary Frances Callan is the first female ever to fill the top school spot in Palo Alto. She will step into her post Jan. 15. It's a timely appointment. A recently-released study shows that girls' math achievement tends to be higher in districts where there are female role models in their schools. Texas A&M University found that test scores for girls were higher where there was a large percentage of women teachers. The girls excelled even more in math when the district superintendent was a woman. Callan, by the way, will receive an annual salary of $200,000 plus bennies.

RESOLVE TO FORGIVE . . . If one of your 2002 New Year's resolutions was to forgive, you're in luck. The Stanford Health Library is presenting a 90-minute class entitled, "Forgive for Good: A Proven Prescription for Health and Happiness." Dr. Fred Luskin , director of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project , will speak about clinical evidence showing that the ability to forgive improves emotional and physical health. The talk takes place Tuesday, Jan. 15, at Stanford's Fairchild Auditorium at 7 p.m. To register for the free class, call (650) 498-7825. If you can't attend, you'll be forgiven.

OWNERS MANUAL FOR BABIES . . . Since a newborn baby does not come with written instructions, parents are often overwhelmed with the care of their infant. Help is on the way. In a program that started yesterday, Jan. 1, the parents of all new babies born in San Mateo County, will receive the "Kit for New Parents." Developed by actor/director Rob Reiner, who is head of the California Children and Families Commission, the kit gives information about methods of nurturing and parenting that encourage positive early childhood development. The kits contain six videos and are available in English and Spanish. The videos are narrated by actors and prominent pediatricians, including Dr. T. Berry Brazelton.