The J. Gilbert Smith apricot orchard surrounding the Los Altos City Hall, on a cloudy April afternoon.
My local city council spent at least $1M in taxpayer dollars--possibly more: the totals aren't in yet--lobbying its own citizens to plough under and pave over one of the most beautiful and historic spots remaining on the San Francisco peninsula. Just so it could build a larger civic center.
After all that lobbying, marketing, and what is known these days as "outreach,"a telephone survey showed that just 22.6% of the voters volunteered they would vote "definitely yes" for such a proposal--no matter how many ways the pollsters asked the question.
