This Forum has so many postings about the Allied Arts complex. Common themes are that Allied Arts is in trouble, the owners are not doing a good job of management, they’ve alienated their Palo Alto sister auxiliary, their own members are angry with their leadership, the neighbors and community are concerned that the property will go to rack and ruin or be sold for low-cost housing or worse, and no one seems to be able to get a straight answer out of the Allied Arts Auxiliary. In fact, they’re saying nothing.

It seems to me that a little investigative reporting is in order. Why doesn’t the Almanac do a series on what happened at Allied Arts? Let’s find out why both the Palo Alto and (old) Woodside-Atherton members are angry at Allied Art’s Auxiliary’s current president, what grand plan exists for the property, and what their plans mean to the neighbors and the community. Is the group financially viable? How long before they run out of cash and let the property go to seed?

For background, you should talk to the Palo Alto and Woodside-Atherton auxiliary’s long-time workers, not their presidents, who seem to masters of the meaningless, offend no-one, statement. For the Allied Arts’ plans to support the Children’s Hospital, you should speak with Victoria Applegate, Vice President and Director of Auxiliary Relations, Packard Children’s Hospital. She appears to have been involved in the ouster of the Palo Alto group, and perhaps can shed some light on why it was handled the way it was, and how the Hospital plans to replace the donations for child care that have been lost as a result of the Allied Arts’ Auxiliary’s actions.

The Allied Arts Guild, a valued community asset, is at risk. Let’s find out why, and what can be done to preserve this wonderful site for ourselves and our children. Dig deep, Almanac, and let us know what’s going on.