Publication Date: Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Letters
Letters
(June 30, 2004)
Egg symbology
Editor,
In regard to Palo Alto's latest flap over the giant egg for the downtown plaza: It might be better resolved through attention to the powerful underlying symbology.
In diverse cultures and eras, the egg has been worshipped as a symbol of creation and the potential for new life.
Palo Altans are rightly proud of the extraordinary creative accomplishments that have hatched in our midst. Therefore having an egg is most fitting as a central sacred object in Palo Alto.
But the water might be better suited for soothing frenzied spirits.
So why not have a smaller version of the egg at the center of the plaza placed there for conscious worship along with the fountains? The scientific over control of the planet and value placed upon rational thought has urged the world into the current sorry state of affairs.
Attention to the soul level of experience might help.
Bette Kiernan
Williams Street
Palo Alto
Essential consultant?
Editor,
I thought that nothing about Palo Alto politics could surprise me, but hiring a consultant to write performance reviews is a new low. Only four city employees report to the council and one of them, the city attorney, is a new hire, so presumably will not be reviewed until next year.
Councilman Morton admits that money shouldn't be wasted "for something we should get our act together and do,'' but then votes to hire the consultant. Mayor Beecham says the evaluation process has been "woefully inadequate,'' but instead of rallying the council to do its job, he too votes for the consultant.
Councilwoman Cordell says council members don't have time to do the evaluations without assistance. Why run for office if you don't have time to do the job?
Only councilwoman Freeman has the guts to vote against a consultant.
If council members don't have enough personal knowledge of each employee's performance, strengths and weaknesses to write a review, they have already failed as managers.
Who writes performance reviews for council members?
Pat Marriott
Dennis Drive
Palo Alto
Saturday hours
Editor,
I am making a plea for Saturday hours for the Downtown Library. Shouldn't we be thinking about the reasons that people live in the downtown neighborhood?
What comes to mind is that living spaces are smaller and less expensive downtown. But there are other reasons for living in downtown. One of those reasons is the mobility of downtown residents.
There are a substantial number of library patrons who have such a lack of mobility that living in more suburban areas is not at all manageable. Are we aware of the substantial number of wheelchairs in the downtown area?
Many of the operators of these wheelchairs are library patrons. Take away their library on Saturdays and they have lost library access altogether for the weekend.
Some of these people can visit a library only on weekends. There are many other Downtown Library patrons who, although they are not wheelchair-bound, struggle with travel to locations outside the downtown neighborhood. I don't believe that this situation exists at other branches.
Others live in the downtown neighborhood simply in order to be free of the burden of operating an automobile. These are people whom we admire on paper, but the decision on the Downtown Library hours made by our City Council is going to have a significant effect on their lives.
Please keep the Downtown Library open on Saturdays, and let's staff it as well.
Barry Z. Rose
Forest Avenue
Palo Alto
Kudos to council
Editor,
Kudos to the Palo Alto City Council having the vision and good sense to hire a consultant to do year-end performance evaluations for the city's top four employees, including the city manager.
But how will the evaluating consultant be selected? I suggest the council hire two additional consultants ("selecting consultants"), who try to come up with a name. If the selecting consultants cannot agree, they in turn select a third consultant ("tie-breaker consultant"), whose decision on the choice of evaluating consultant will be final and binding.
But how will the selecting consultants be selected? The Human Relations Commission should be called up to appoint an 11-person Blue Ribbon Committee from the community to make those selections. If the commission cannot agree on 11 names, the council should designate a mediator to facilitate the selection process.
Only by following this procedure can we be assured that the four annual performance evaluations will be fair, that the consulting industry will continue to thrive, that we remain true to the Palo Alto way and that the evaluations will be completed by the year 2011 -- about the time the Mayfield soccer fields are built.
Chris Martin,
Waverly Street
Palo Alto
Successful 'Sounds'
Editor,
Congratulations on outstanding success! Many thanks to all of you who volunteered your time and enthusiastic energy in making Spring Sounds 2004 a fantastic and successful event. Here are the rewards for your wonderful efforts:
Spring Sounds Tickets -- 240 were sold for a total of $36,590.
Donations -- generous donations for Caravan House construction and general contributions, totaling $17,035.
Raffle tickets -- more than 1,500 tickets were sold, raising more than $6,300.
Event sponsors -- contributed more than $16,000.
Silent and live auction items -- our auction raised more than $26,000.
We raised $102,404 the night of the event, our expenses were $19,684 and our net was $82,720. We had an attendance of 240 supporters at Spring Sounds this year, our biggest event ever.
A special thanks goes to Nancy and Mark Shepherd for co-chairing the event and to all of the committee members for your hard work. Thanks to the Wild Cats and California Cafe for wonderful music and great atmosphere. And thanks to Assemblyman Joe Simitian for being the Master of Ceremony and a great auctioneer.
As always, these events would not be possible without the collaborative effort of many. We appreciate all the hours you've spent preparing and working during and after the event. Thank you for your generosity. We hope to see you next year.
Sue Barkhurst
Executive Director, Adolescent Counseling Services
Middlefield Road
Palo Alto
Mow invasive plants
Editor,
Why doesn't Palo Alto mow the invasive plants (weeds) that thickly line Arastradero Road?
With the Arastradero Preserve volunteers working hard to remove invasive plants from the preserve, it would seem only logical that the city of Palo Alto could cooperate by mowing down the weeds in the road easement.
Mowing, to be effective, must be done before the thistles, Harding grass and Yellow Star Thistle have gone to seed; late mowing merely assists in spreading the seeds.
Since passing automobile tires pick up and carry the seeds on to Portola Valley where mowing is done before seeds set, we too would be grateful.
Marilyn J. Walter
Coyote Hill Road
Portola Valley
Commending senators
Editor,
I commend both of our California Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, for recently voting in favor of the war profiteering prevention amendment proposed by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), which was defeated along party lines.
If passed, this measure would have subjected contractors working abroad to stiff penalties if they overcharged or cheated the U.S. government. In a time when America is spending billions of dollars and untold human suffering in Iraq, this amendment would have put in place much needed taxpayer protections in this already controversial and explosive situation.
In light of recent news that companies such as Halliburton have continuously overcharged the government, contractors could have been held to new criminal penalties under the proposed amendment. This amendment should not have been about party politics, but about holding accountable the contractors who are spending Americans' tax dollars.
While I am disappointed the Senate did not pass the amendment and hope it will be reconsidered, I thank our senators for their vote and hope that they both continue to raise their voices against war profiteering.
Joe Pearlman
Jefferson Drive
Mountain View
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