Short Takes Short Takes (May 12, 2004)

No small change

Phillips Brooks School students in Menlo Park emptied their piggy banks last week and managed to raise more than $1,700 for the family of Rodolfo Gonzalez, the father of seven who was shot to death during a home-invasion robbery last month.

One of the school's students knows the family of Mr. Gonzalez, and an idea was hatched to ask the children to bring in spare change to donate for the monthly "Family Friday" project, said Phillips Brooks spokeswoman Joyce Massaro. About 200 children participated, bringing in money and helping to count and sort the coins, she said.

No small change, part two

California's amnesty program, which allows the users of dodgy tax shelters to come clean and pay up without facing penalties, has netted the state more than $1 billion. A very repentant Atherton resident reportedly wrote a check for $8.7 million in order to get back into the franchise tax board's good graces.

Can't even give 'em away

Midway through the May 6 Atherton Civic Interest League meeting, the crowd had thinned so much that when 15 free Caltrain tickets were raffled off, it seemed that every other person in the audience received one.

Councilman Jim Janz had the task of pulling tickets out of a basket and calling the numbers. Among the winners were Councilman Bill Conwell, Mr. Janz's own wife and City Manager Jim Robinson, who said he couldn't accept the freebie, and gallantly attempted to give it away to a member of the press.

The Almanac reporter in question, however, also had to refuse, as newsroom employees are strictly forbidden from accepting gifts, even those intended to goose participation in public transit.

Correction

The correct e-mail address for former Woodside town clerk Ruth Swanson, who is doing a fundraising, 50-mile MS Walk next month, is cswanson123@aol.com.

Edited by Andrea Gemmet. Send ideas for items to agemmet@almanacnews.com.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.