News digest News digest (April 04, 2003)

Memorial Church turns 100

Stanford's Memorial Church celebrate its centennial at a 10 a.m. multifaith service on Sunday, as part of the university's Community Day activities.

The church, originally designed as a centerpiece of the campus, was partially destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and damaged again in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

The church's opening service was held on Jan. 25, 1903, presided over by 13 Christian ministers of various faiths and one Jewish rabbi.

In addition to worship services and memorial services, the church is host to 150 weddings and more than three dozen concerts a year. "It's no longer exclusively Christian," said Betsy Koester, wedding administrator. "We do Hindu weddings, Jewish weddings, Muslim weddings. It has changed over time as the community has changed."

Robert Gregg, professor of religious studies and dean of religious life from 1987 to 1999, said the church's reach has extended far more widely than even Leland and Jane Stanford originally intended.

"The focus extended beyond 'the church' to all religions represented within the university community, and also to those who don't self-identify as religious but wish to engage in discussions about matters intellectual, spiritual and ethical," Gregg said.

-- Don Kazak
VTA asking for comments on fare hike

As part of an effort to fight a massive budget crisis, the Valley Transportation Authority is proposing to raise fares for all county buses starting in August.

On Thursday, April 10, the VTA is holding a public hearing in Palo Alto to receive comments on the proposed increase. The meeting will be held 7 p.m. at Mitchell Park Community Room, 3800 Middlefield Road.

Fares are proposed to be raised from $1.40 to $1.50 for adults, 85 cent to $1 for children, and 45 cents to 75 cents for seniors. Day passes, monthly passes and Eco passes would also increase.

Currently, the VTA only takes in about 63 cents per rider, thanks to numerous available discounts. If the increase would go into effect, VTA estimates they would get 77 cents a rider, making an additional $4 million next year.

To learn more about the proposal, visit: www.vta.org/news/fare_changes/2003_fare_changes.html.

-- Bill D'Agostino
'Dish' hours extended

Beginning Sunday, the Dish area in the Stanford hills will be open to hikers and joggers from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., through August, while hours from November through January will be 6:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Hours for September, October, February and March will be adjusted on a monthly basis.

The new hours reflect the current longer daylight hours.

The new hours were recommended by the Provost's Advisory Committee on Recreation Use of the Dish, which was formed in 2001.

"Dish hikers and joggers have asked us if we could extend the hours and we wanted to be responsive," said Gordon Earle, Stanford's vice president for public affairs. "The new times will allow local residents to enjoy the Dish for longer periods of time, especially during the summer months when the area is most heavily used."

The Dish area has more than 300,000 visitors annually.

--Don Kazak
Mandatory dispute program working, report says

A heavily debated law that requires Palo Alto landlords to enter mediation with their tenants is a quiet success, according to a city report released this week.

Over 60 percent of the landlords and renters who went into mediation following the law (passed in October of 2001) were able to find common ground. The parties reached agreement or appeasement in 15 of 24 cases.

The law was seen as a breakthrough for tenants' rights. When it was initially proposed, there was some concern that agreement wouldn't be reached in many situations since the mediation was mandatory. Landlords also complained that their property rights were being trampled on.

None of the 28 total cases (three cases are still pending and one was dismissed for not being appropriate) from the first year of the law were due to rent increases. Disagreements about repairs or maintenance issues prompted 15 cases while disagreements about the deposit prompted 9 cases.

The report was written by Project Sentinel, which runs the city's mediation program.

--Bill D'Agostino