Short Takes Short Takes (November 23, 2005)

Found money on the Internet

Atherton resident Steve Westly, California controller and candidate for governor, wants you to get what's coming to you.

He recently urged the public to check a state Web site (searchthevault.com) to find unclaimed property -- abandoned bank accounts, lost or uncashed checks, etc., that wind up with the state when the owner can't be found.

Helping connect people with such unclaimed property is a project that Menlo Park's John Inglis worked on for years. A retired stockbroker and former board member of the Menlo Park Chamber of Commerce and West Bay Sanitary District, Mr. Inglis made a hobby of helping people find unclaimed property. He even found that an Almanac reporter was due $39 from a long-lost check from the Kaiser health plan. "It's addictive," he said.

According to Mr. Westly, the state's Bureau of Unclaimed Property is sitting on $4.8 billion that belongs to 7.6 million Californians, and is ready to be collected.

Among the amounts owed, according to a recent search, was $120 for the "Menlo Park Postmaster" and $414.37 for the Portola Valley Pony Club.

Also, Steve Jobs still hasn't collected the $37.91 owed him by Apple Computer Inc.
Walnut once and again

Judy Rocchio, a resident of Walnut Street in Menlo Park, unraveled the mystery of the street formerly known as West O'Connor for puzzled Almanac reporters who couldn't figure out why different names appeared on various maps.

"Walnut was the original street name circa 1907," said Ms. Rocchio. "City sources theorized the name was changed in 1951 when North Palo Alto was annexed into Menlo Park."

A successful drive by residents got the name changed back in 2002, she said.

"All of a sudden we felt as if the neighborhood did step back to a slower-paced, more peaceful and quiet time when there were more trees than people," she said.

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