Palo Alto Weakly News - Best of Issues Number 1 and 2


Best of issues 1 & 2	Originally published in 1997-1998

Hewlett Packard Company Operated Escort Service

Female employees "entertained" company clients in exchange for promotions

By Nathan Foster
Palo Alto Weakly Staff Writer

If your grandmother, mother or wife worked for HP in the 1950's or 60's there is a good chance that she was approached to work as a sort of corporate prostitute.

Many young attractive female employees were coaxed into entertaining company clients, escorting them to dinner, dancing and later to local motels.

"It was made clear that we would receive benefits and advancement within the company if we showed them a good time," says a former female employee of 40 years, who wishes to remain anonymous, "it was something all companies used to do."

As far as this reporter knows, no sexual harassment lawsuits have ever been filed against the HP in this regard. Of course, in the 1950's and 60's, women weren't aware that this was a form of sexual harassment.

"Some of the girls thought it was a chance to have some fun," says our anonymous source, "they would come in late to work after a night of drinking and who knows what else, looking terrible. The supervisors wouldn't say a thing."

Many women in the American workforce have been forced into having sex with their bosses to keep their jobs or for promotions. But what makes this story unique is that the Hewlett-Packard company seems to have had a policy of offering sex to potential clients and business representatives in order to further the company's interests.

Cable Co-op Public Access a Sham:

Local Producer Says His Show Was Censored.

By Christopher Allen
Palo Alto Weakly Staff Writer

Veteran show producer J. F. Kinyon contends that a sketch comedy show he wrote and directed was reluctantly played by Palo Alto Cable Channel 6 (a Public Access station) last year and now it seems that his shows are not welcome at all.

"One of the skits made fun of Public Access programs and I think it just hit a nerve," he said, "they even went as far as placing a disclaimer at the beginning of my show. Other shows featuring nudity and profanity air regularly on the channel with no such scrutiny."

With two more 30 minute shows readied for broadcast Mr. Kinyon arrived to submit them to the Program Director of the station. When he mentioned that he was going to bring in a total of 6 shows, she responded, "We'll wait and see how these are received before we accept any more." Kinyon was dumbfounded.

Public Access Channel 6 was created as a condition of Cable Co-op's contract with the City of Palo Alto. Public Access stations are required by law to air any program produced by a local citizen. They don't have the right to censor content or decide who gets on the air.

6 months have gone by since the shows were submitted and they still haven't aired. Having been told that the shows would air within 2 weeks, Kinyon feels he is being censored. "I've noticed that they've been rerunning some of their favorite programs to fill empty time slots on the station," Kinyon continues, "...my show isn't advocating anything illegal or obscene. Even if my show was something as repugnant as a KKK telethon they'd have to air it according to their own policies and State and local laws."

Other Public Access stations in Mountain View and Cupertino have aired the said programs with no such problems.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

Palo Alto Goodwill Store
Investigative Report by P. A. Weakly
Follow-up: Suicide of Goodwill Executive!

The Demise of University Avenue
Rodeo Drive North

Stanford PHD Uses Sex to Sell Religion
Tits and Ass for Jesus

Palo Alto Police Gazette
Child Abuse Ignored by Police Dept.
Hit & Run Victim Ticketed by Cop.
Prostitution Sting or Police Entrapment?

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?

The Palo Alto Weakly Newspaper was published and distributed to local coffee shops, donut shops, train stations and libraries in and around the city of Palo Alto during the spring and summer of 1997 and again in early 1998.

The publishers moved on to bigger and better things (outside of Palo Alto of course).

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