Lawyer: Steve Jobs too weak to attend long town meeting
The Woodside, Calif., town council met Tuesday night to hear Steve Jobs explain why he should be permitted to demolish a 30-room mansion he bought in 1984 — but Apple's (AAPL) CEO didn't show up.
"I don't think he would be strong enough if we were here until 1 a.m., and I think there's a strong possibility of that," the lawyer representing Jobs told the council, according to the Palo Alto Daily News.
Jobs, who has been struggling with health issues following surgery for pancreatic cancer, is two-thirds of the way through a six-month medical leave and is said to be working on company business from home. Although Apple's official line — repeated at last week's quarterly earnings call — is that it looks forward to his return at the end of June, Jobs seems to be husbanding his strength.
Photo: Jonathan Haeber
As it turns out, his lawyer — Howard Ellman — was right that the meeting might run late. The session that started at 7:30 p.m. was still going strong three hours later, when the Daily News reporter filed his story.
Local residents were defending Jobs' right to tear down a building he doesn't like and replace it with a new house more to his taste.
Preservationists who had traveled from as far away as Florida and Virginia argued that Jobs hadn't tried hard enough find someone willing to restore or relocate the 84-year-old Santa Barbara-style Spanish colonial that they describe as an architectural treasure.
The meeting finally broke up shortly before midnight, according to Susan George, the Woodside town manager. The council will reconvene in two weeks — on May 12 — at which time it hopes to issue a tentative decision on whether to approve demolition.
"To me it didn't sound good," says Thalia Lubin, a local architect who hoped to see the building preserved.
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Architectural photo posted courtesy of Jonathan Haeber
This house is a 84-year-old Santa Barbara-style Spanish colonial that they describe as an architectural treasure! That is called Silicon Valley stupidity and narcist. I hope he doesn't get a permit.
If the preservationists are so concerned about the house wouldn't it be their responsibility to find a way to preserve it. Why don't they spend their time having a fundraiser or find someone interested in buying the house and moving it instead of flying in from all over the country.
Why do these people think they get to tell anyone what they can do with their own property when it isn't affecting them in any way?
I'm all for preservation of historical buildings but you can't put the burden on the owner. Put the burden on those interested in preserving it.
Hasn't Steve Jobs done enough to make the world a better and more interesting place in which to live through his own work and dedication. Maybe these moochers could learn something from him and work as hard as he does to make their dream of preserving this house come true. They've had many years to try and solve this problem and are trying to use this last ditch effort as a publicity stunt to show how much better they think they are than a guy that just wants to build a new house on his own property.
Another "reading between the lines":
If Steve was gravely ill and possibly soon to shake of his earthly coil, I don't suppose that tearing down his house and building a "new and improved one" would be very high on his "To Do" list.
I think PED may have been reaching just a little bit to find something newsworthy (and preferably a little on the sensational side) to write about. To be fair, though, he didn't slant it with his opinion, so I wouldn't go so far as to call it FUD.
Reading between the lines:
We want him to look his best, so here's an excuse that will keep him from having to show up in public and thus buy him some more time.
Please take all the time you need to get well, Steve! You are a force for good, and this world needs you to stick around as long as possible.
If it was 184 years old, I could see people getting in an uproar over allowing him to tear it down. But it's a post WW1, pre-WW2 house. Hardly historic, it seems to me. Yes, any BIG house is going to be a rare example of its period, but really… get over it. It's a house. Take pictures, model the thing in 3D, build a copy in your basement, whatever, but don't make the poor ugly house live forever.
wait, I thought Steve moved to Memphis?or was that just another unsubstantiated rumor by elmer fud?
ex ped: Clever play on my name, Slickerville Ed. That Memphis rumor came from Valleywag, I believe. It's never been substantiated, and unlike you, I've never repeated it.
Patience my young padawans… ignore all rumors. Relevant or not.
Steve Jobs heatlh conditions will be revealed in 60 days. Patience.
Great way to sway your neighbors……
**
I'm "too weak" to attend the meeting so please allow me to tear down my house so i can get on with my new building plans!
There are significant historical homes worth saving such as the Biltmore Estate, homes by Frank Lloyd Wright,the Victorian era houses on Summit Drive in St. Paul, etc. However, we cannot save every house just because it is almost 100 years old. Historic homes are very expensive to maintain and even more expensive to fix if their in disrepair. Besides, Steve Jobs probably doesn't care if someone wants to buy the house for preservation. He is in California and is probably sitting on a prime piece of property that he couldn't go buy even if he wanted to. I just hope he tries to recycle as much of the house as possible, and I do believe he will put forth the effort to build a smaller, greener home.