Issue date: June 17, 1998

Loose ends Loose ends (June 17, 1998)

Sorry, wrong numbers. Not only do people have to put up with calling an 800 number in Colorado to get information about their local post offices, in many cases the information is wrong.
In updating information for The Almanac's community resource directory, Info Menlo, a staffer was directed to the post office's 800 number (800-275-8777), and was given lots of wrong information on local hours. He learned of the errors by checking directly with local sources: the Portola Valley Pharmacy, which runs a contract station, and Menlo Park Postmaster Bob Reed.
The 800 operator had the wrong closing hour in Portola Valley, and didn't know about the station's Saturday hours. For Menlo Park, the operator didn't know about the special Wednesday hours (9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.) at the main post office, and had the wrong opening time for the West Menlo branch.
Postmaster Reed said he would check into this, and he referred the Almanac to the Redwood City postmaster to confirm information there and in Woodside.

A garden will grow. A five-year battle with neighbors and the June 2 death of the woman who fought that battle will not stop the planting of the organic farm Joan Targ planned to begin this summer on her land in Portola Valley, family members said.

"The farm was as much about building a community as it was about growing vegetables," according to her son, Nicholas Targ.

A June 7 memorial service drew about 100 friends and supporters who gathered to say Kaddish and plant sunflower seeds in the soil Ms. Targ was preparing before her death.

Tips from a Shark. Tony Granato, the San Jose Shark who received the comeback of the year award, talked safety to students at Portola Valley's Ormondale School, and they really listened. He urged them to wear a safety helmet -- and one that fits when playing sports. To prove his point, he showed them the helmet he was wearing -- one that didn't fit properly -- when he fell while playing hockey and suffered brain trauma. Fortunately, he was lucky, recovering from brain surgery and making a comeback on ice.

Moving up. David Giles, attorney representing the group called CLEAP -- Citizens for a Lawful and Effective Attendance Policy -- in its legal battles with the Sequoia Union High School District, is clearing out his office at the East Palo Alto Community Law Project. He will be working as a staff attorney with the Office for Civil Rights, part of the U.S. Department of Education, in San Francisco. Taking over for him this summer in the CLEAP lawsuit will be attorney Bill Koski.