SHORT TAKES SHORT TAKES (August 03, 2005)

Auspicious for the suspicious

Suspicious persons -- people seen doing the unexplained or unexplainable -- crowded the Menlo Park police log Wednesday, July 27. Most of them got away.

About 7 p.m., a Ringwood Avenue resident reported a prowler who was gone by the time police arrived.

On Willow Road at about 8:15 p.m., police were unsuccessful in finding a person who reportedly walked in circles for half an hour.

On Millie Avenue and Corine Lane between 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., curbside recyclables were rifled, but no one could be found.

Around 11:30 p.m., police found and interviewed a couple of "subjects" hiding in the bushes in the 1300 block of Willow Road.

Finally, around midnight, a resident near Laurel Street and Ravenswood Avenue complained of someone standing on her car. The car was undamaged.
Internet time-wasting is good for you

In a study by researchers at Stanford's School of Medicine and Johns Hopkins University, third-graders with televisions in their bedrooms performed significantly worse on standardized tests than their peers without TVs. Those with access to a home computer earned higher test scores.

Apparently, the study didn't touch on the question of whether good performance on standardized tests shows that kids are smart enough to find TVs located in other parts of the house.
A sweet cause

Atherton residents Carlos Lopez and Kathy Oyster have decided to turn the grand opening of their old-fashioned soda fountain, Young's Ice Cream & Candy Bar in Redwood City, into a fundraiser. All proceeds from ice cream and candy sales on August 6 will go to the Ronald McDonald House at Stanford, an organization that provides support to families with children who have life-threatening illnesses. For a change, eating candy may actually be good for some kid's health.

Located in a historic building at 2020 Broadway, Young's will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

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