Around Town Around Town (May 07, 2003)

LOW RENT IN P.A. . . . Up is down and down is up and it now costs more to rent a two-bedroom, two bath apartment in East Palo Alto than in Palo Alto or Menlo Park. East Palo Alto rents have held recently at $2,262 while similar units in Palo Alto have dropped 5 percent to $2,083 and by more than 10 percent in Menlo Park, to $2,071. Since January 2003, average East Palo Alto rents rose 16.8 percent, while Palo Alto rents rose 3.8 percent. However, rents fell 10 percent in Menlo Park. The statistics were compiled by RealFacts, a Novato-based company that tracks apartments in large complexes.

BOOKWORMS OF THE CITY UNITE ...A "save our library leader" movement seems to have emerged last week. More than 100 postcard-sized letters were sent to the City Council asking them to hire a new library director. "Surely, the city would not operate without a Fire Chief or Planning Director," the letters pronounced. An unsigned copy of the postcard was enclosed in all recent editions of the Friends of the Palo Alto Library 's newsletter, Foreword. The library director position has been frozen since August when former Library Director Mary Jo Levy retired. Although the search for a new director had begun, City Manager Frank Benest froze the position late last year, and funding does not appear in the coming year's squeezed budget, prompting the outcry. One activist wrote that she was "horrified" to learn the position was not in the budget. "No organization can run efficiently without a director," another wrote. "It would be like a car without a driver." Also, five e-mails were sent to the council last week asking them not to trim the summer concert series, another proposal in the city manager's budget. "Getting together with family and friends outdoors in a park to listen to wonderful live music is one of the all time highlights of our summer," another Palo Altan wrote. The city is facing a $10 million shortfall for next year, and is looking to cut its budget 5 percent over the next two years.

THE BIG ISSUES ... Kids today, apathetic? Not when it comes to such serious issues as race and police prejudice. For a class project, four Gunn High School students decided to analyze a recent police report that showed Palo Alto police officers searched Blacks and Hispanics two to three times more often than Whites or Asians in the last six months of 2002. Prompted by a Palo Alto Weekly news story on the report, the students -- Ryan Hopkins, Amos Irwin, Mitchell Hoffman and Danny Mitchell -- studied the stats and concluded that "there is a significantly significant association between ethnicity and police searches" during that time. "The question of why is still largely unanswered," the group noted in their report, pointing out that "other factors such as population frequencies on parole, on probation, or without a driver's license could prompt officers to search certain populations more frequently than others." The report finishes by stating that "our group hopes that though the current study does not establish the existence of prejudice in our police force's decision of whom to search, the possibility of such prejudice is something that Palo Alto residents and residents of other similar communities should become aware of and even pay attention to if future studies warrant similar and/or causation illuminating results." No word yet on the grade the group got for the project. Meanwhile, the Police Department is doing their own analysis of the numbers to answer the lingering "why" and expects to report back to the City Council in June.

RAISE THE FUNDS. . . . The All Schools Fund (ASF), the latest local fund-raising coalition, was officially unveiled at Saturday's May Fete parade. Comprised of committed parents, the ASF will raise money to complement, supplement and support the district and its excellence in education, said parent volunteer Jeff Kerr. Funds will be distributed among school principals to be used as they see fit. School fund raising has been a touchy subject in the past, according to Kerr. "A year ago this community was at each others throats over this thing. And now you have schools, teachers and parents together on board in this short period of time," he said.

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION . . . Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) doesn't have to ruin a child's life, says Dr. Edward Hallowell, author of "Driven To Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood." Hallowell, who has ADD, believes there are positive aspects to the condition that can lead to success and personal satisfaction. In his upcoming Tools for Parents lecture on Tuesday, May 13, Hallowell will speak on ADHD: Meeting the Challenges, Embracing the Opportunities. The lecture, from 7 to 9 p.m., will be held in the Camino Ballroom of Rickey's Hyatt Hotel, 4219 El Camino Real, Palo Alto. Tickets are $15 in advance or $18 at the door. For more information contact Mira M. Beiler at (415) 885-0574.

SKIN SCREENING . . . A barefoot sun worshipper in your younger years? Then take advantage of a free skin cancer screening by Stanford Medical Center's dermatology department and find out if your suspicious skin irritations or markings need medical attention. Melanoma, the most deadly skin cancer, often starts as an irregularly shaped blemish the size of a pencil eraser. It can be a variety of colors and may bleed or itch, said dermatologist Susan Swetter of Stanford's Melanoma Clinic. People with ample sun exposure, moles on their skin, and/or relatives who have been diagnosed with melanoma have a higher risk of contracting the disease. The free screening will be held on Saturday, May 10 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Stanford Health Library in the Stanford Shopping Center. For more information call the Stanford Health Library at 725-8400.