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AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Banning the public from PA City Hall
Palo Alto City Hall is now closed to the public -- the ground floor is open, but residents, the press and the general public cannot go to any other...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Nov. 26, 2023Last comment by Rebecca Eisenberg, on Dec 3, 2023 at 10:19 pm | 26 comments | 4373 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Cal Ave’s permanent ‘pedestrian mall’ creates problemsWell, it’s done. The debate is over. California Avenue, Palo Alto’s “second downtown” will now become a permanent pedestrian mall. No cars allowed. Permanent...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Nov. 10, 2023Last comment by Bystander, on Nov 22, 2023 at 3:03 am | 16 comments | 6559 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Procrastination isn’t progress—even in Palo Alto
I am tired of complaining that it takes too long to get things started – and completed – by Palo Alto’s city staff. And, it turns...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Oct. 30, 2023Last comment by scott, on Nov 8, 2023 at 11:45 pm | 19 comments | 6838 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
“Zoom bombing” has hit our towns – what should we do?Yes, we’ve been “zoom bombed” right here in Palo Alto. The city council has become the latest target of people who call in via Zoom with lewd, racist, ugly...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Oct. 18, 2023Last comment by Lenora Jackson, on Oct 29, 2023 at 5:11 pm | 27 comments | 7583 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Utilities undergrounding grounded -- as in almost goneWhoosh! Palo Alto’s years-long plan to underground utilities in neighborhoods has somewhat suddenly and silently disappeared, to the surprise of many Palo...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Oct. 5, 2023Last comment by Peter Carpenter, on Oct 12, 2023 at 7:52 am | 6 comments | 7708 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Analysis/paralysis: The infamous ‘Palo Alto Process’ must goI’m Palo Alto Processed out. That long-standing famous, and for some, infamous process, must come to a close. Projects coming before the Palo Alto City Council...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Sep. 24, 2023Last comment by Jacob Steinman , on Oct 4, 2023 at 12:41 pm | 29 comments | 9512 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Make Palo Alto prettier than just its parklets, pleaseCheers to the PA City Council for acknowledging that its two downtowns (University and California Avenues) need some sprucing up – at least their new “parklets”...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Sep. 14, 2023Last comment by marc665, on Sep 18, 2023 at 4:32 pm | 7 comments | 6783 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Surprising facts and factoids about trees in our fair cityPalo Alto loves trees -- it has about 66,000 of them, about one per resident. Our city is responsible for the upkeep of about 46,000 trees in parks and public areas;...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Sep. 3, 2023Last comment by Lenora Jackson, on Sep 14, 2023 at 7:59 am | 6 comments | 6972 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Palo Alto: Urgency is out, delays are in
Something seems a bit askew at Palo Alto City Hall. What I sense is an escalating laissez-faire attitude, like “We’ll do it when we get...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Aug. 21, 2023Last comment by d. erp., on Aug 30, 2023 at 12:32 pm | 13 comments | 7093 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Midtown shopping area is still a mess
A number of years ago, I wrote a column for the Weekly on the deteriorating state of the Midtown Shopping Center along Middlefield Road in Palo...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Aug. 9, 2023Last comment by Ron Peyton, on Aug 18, 2023 at 3:20 pm | 60 comments | 10453 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
What to do about Cal Ave.?
Once again, I hear that old refrain that California Avenue needs our attention. This time the Palo Alto City Council will consider in August what...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jul. 18, 2023Last comment by History Buff, on Aug 10, 2023 at 9:25 pm | 38 comments | 9821 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
I want an accurate housing audit. Why?
Several years ago, I asked then-Palo Alto Planning Director Hillary Gitelman whether there was any data on the percentage of residents living in...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jul. 25, 2023Last comment by Bill Beck, on Aug 3, 2023 at 12:26 pm | 43 comments | 6081 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Why I changed my mind about abortionOne year ago today, June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision and left it up the states to individually decide on abortion. In its Dobbs...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jun. 24, 2023Last comment by Rhoshan Modi, on Jul 4, 2023 at 9:11 am | 56 comments | 7817 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Do People Care?I recently watched a documentary film on Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, in which Ellsberg, who copied and released the secret Pentagon Papers to the press,...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jun. 14, 2023Last comment by Jacob Bromley, on Jun 24, 2023 at 12:01 pm | 42 comments | 5843 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Bike lanes don’t belong on El Camino!
City officials from Redwood City, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View have for years been considering bike lanes on a north-south bicycle route...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on May. 23, 2023Last comment by kbehroozi, on Jun 2, 2023 at 2:21 pm | 38 comments | 12323 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Is it important to have an auditor in Palo Alto?Why does Palo Alto, a city that seems so honest, even need an auditor? Why should we hire one when we could spend three-quarters of a million dollars yearly instead...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 27, 2023Last comment by J Randall, on May 3, 2023 at 8:45 pm | 10 comments | 5576 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
A new way to choose a U.S. vice presidential candidateMention the 2024 presidential election and many Democrats already are saying “Gee, I like Biden, but there’s this age problem. He’s getting older,...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 17, 2023Last comment by J Randall, on May 1, 2023 at 8:43 am | 26 comments | 5850 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Will auto license plate readers really curtail crime? Or will our privacy be endangered?NOTE: I originally reported the council voted 5-2 to approve the use of ALPR techhnology implementation. The actual vote was 7-0. I apologize for the error.) Palo...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 6, 2023Last comment by Loretta Taylor, on Apr 17, 2023 at 4:02 pm | 44 comments | 5370 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
Robots, I am tired of talking to you!Yes, I am talking to you robots, whose companies hire you, to supposedly guide me through a telephone tree to get to a live person to make an appointment or get...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Mar. 29, 2023Last comment by Fritzie Blue, on Apr 14, 2023 at 3:11 am | 20 comments | 6148 Views
AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW
How well is City Manager Ed Shikada performing his job?Is Ed Shikada doing a good job as city manager of Palo Alto? In a closed session Monday night, March 20, council members gathered behind closed doors to assess the...
Original post made by Diana Diamond on Mar. 20, 2023Last comment by Two Sides, on Apr 6, 2023 at 10:38 pm | 20 comments | 6585 Views
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