Short Takes Short Takes (February 18, 2004)

Reputations may roll

A specter from revolutionary France hovered briefly over a Portola Valley Town Council meeting during a discussion of the design-by-committee process -- called a charrette -- envisioned for the new town office complex. Resident Pierre Fisher reminded everyone that the two-wheeled cart known as a charrette was the vehicle of choice for carrying people to the guillotine. "I just hope that people who participate in this should be mindful of the historical context," Mr. Fisher said, to much hilarity.
Some tasty history

The turn-of-the-century Folger stables in Woodside are a step closer to making it onto the National Register of Historic Places. The application sailed through its initial review before the state Historic Resources Commission in Sacramento on February 6, and heads to the National Park Service for final approval, says Woodside resident Susan Lang.

The opulent stables date from the estate of James Folger II, son of the coffee magnate, and are now part of Wunderlich Park.

The extensively researched application written by architectural historian Michael Corbett was praised for its detail and organization, Ms. Lang says.

According to commission chair Anthea Hartig, it was "good to the last drop," Ms. Lang reports.
A zip code to call their own

Woodside resident L. Jay Tenenbaum's efforts to win the town its own zip code haven't had much success. Although Rep. Anna Eshoo made some inquiries at his behest, "she couldn't get anybody even remotely interested," said Town Manager Susan George.

Ms. George suggested another tactic -- since postal machines are programmed to call the 94062 area Redwood City, maybe they could be changed to say Woodside instead.

"I'm sure people in Redwood City would not mind," she said dryly.

Short Takes is edited by Andrea Gemmet. Send items to agemmet@almanacnews.com.

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