Recent News
Monday, September 21, 2020
East Palo Alto's COVID-19 positivity rate triples the county's, raising concerns among city officials
East Palo Alto city officials are concerned about the city's COVID-19 positivity rate of 15.4%, more than three times higher than the San Mateo County average of 4.1%.
Monday, 4:22 PM | No comments yetWith new deal, communities seek to cement partnership on land use concerns
After banding over shared concerns about Stanford University's growth plan, city and county officials in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties are preparing to sign a "Land Use Compact" that would sustain the newly forged partnership.
Monday, 1:35 PM | No comments yetAs U.S. threatens WeChat ban, local Chinese Americans face loss of tool that's become integral to their lives
The Chinese-owned mobile app WeChat, which has been the main communications lifeblood for local Chinese Americans, could see a mass exodus of its users after the U.S. Department of Commerce threatened to ban it from mobile app stores.
Monday, 10:30 AM | No comments yetSunday, September 20, 2020
Guest opinion: A helping hand for residents in need during COVID-19
In an op-ed in the Sept. 18 issue, Trinity Church volunteer Laurie Hunter recognizes the volunteer work of Lucile Spurlock, an 88-year-old who is a regular driver for "Trinity Tuesdays, Season of Gleaning."
Sunday, 8:30 AM | No comments yetSaturday, September 19, 2020
High schools will stay online for second quarter of the fall
Students in the Sequoia Union High School district will continue learning at home for the rest of the fall semester due to COVID-19, the district announced in a statement Friday.
Saturday, 4:19 PM | No comments yetFormer longtime Ladera resident celebrates centennial birthday
Last week, a small number of friends and relatives made their way to Aptos to celebrate the 100th birthday of Jean Rusmore, a former longtime Ladera resident and author of popular local hiking guides.
Saturday, 10:17 AM | 1 commentFriday, September 18, 2020
High school superintendent Mary Streshly announces resignation amid calls for district to fire her
More than a month after Sequoia Union High School District's teachers union and 22 principals and top administrators called for her firing, Superintendent Mary Streshly is resigning, district officials announced Friday.
Friday, 6:39 PM | 8 commentsSpare the Air alert issued for Saturday
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued a Spare the Air alert for Saturday, with smoke expected to drift into the North Bay and the inland East Bay.
Friday, 12:59 PM | No comments yetObituaries: David Lee Kreutner
This week in obituaries, read about the life of David Lee Kreutner, 79.
Friday, 11:52 AM | No comments yetCal Fire opens more CZU wildfire areas to repopulation
Most fire evacuation zones in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties can be repopulated, as Cal Fire removed additional evacuation warnings on Wednesday.
Friday, 11:36 AM |
No comments yet
Most fire evacuation zones in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties can be repopulated, as Cal Fire removed additional evacuation warnings on Wednesday.
Friday, 11:36 AM |
No comments yet
Menlo Park to launch study of municipal water rates
Menlo Park is due to start a new a five-year rate study for its water system, which could increase water rates in the future for households that receive water from the Menlo Park Municipal Water District.
Friday, 11:25 AM | No comments yetInspired by family tragedy, Atherton siblings create book to teach kids about COVID-19
Siblings Sophia and Sean Nesamoney have written a children's book which explains the coronavirus pandemic to young children.
Friday, 10:01 AM | No comments yetModified downtown street closures to last through February
A pilot program to close some areas of Santa Cruz Avenue and allow restaurants and retailers to spread onto the sidewalks and parking areas has been extended through the end of February, per a Sept. 8 City Council decision.
Friday, 9:21 AM | 4 commentsThursday, September 17, 2020
Woodside: Council passes commercial leaf blower ordinance
At its Sept. 8 meeting, the Woodside Town Council voted 6-1 to adopt an ordinance limiting the hours that commercial leaf blowers can be used to the town's construction hours.
Thursday, 11:32 AM | 3 commentsWednesday, September 16, 2020
High school district board candidate drops out of race, citing need for more elected 'voices of color'
Jacqui Cebrian, a candidate for the Sequoia Union High School District school board Trustee Area E, has announced that she is dropping out in order to support candidate Shawneece Stevenson instead.
Wednesday, 6:28 PM | 3 commentsLocal astronomers weigh in on new research that hints at possible life on Venus
A landmark study published this week found a chemical suspended in the clouds of Venus that could be early proof of life on a planet previously thought to be uninhabitable.
Wednesday, 12:29 PM | 3 commentsCounty supervisors approve grant program for small landlords
A program to assist small landlords financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic was approved Tuesday by San Mateo County supervisors. Grants would cover 80% of landlords' rent losses from April to August.
Wednesday, 11:50 AM |
1 comment
A program to assist small landlords financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic was approved Tuesday by San Mateo County supervisors. Grants would cover 80% of landlords' rent losses from April to August.
Wednesday, 11:50 AM |
1 comment
Project for new Belle Haven community center moves forward
The Facebook-funded proposal to build a new community center in Belle Haven moved forward Tuesday night, when the Menlo Park City Council approved a term sheet, concept design and timeline to review the project.
Wednesday, 10:47 AM | 2 commentsVirtual meeting on Portola Valley fire station renovation plans
The Woodside Fire Protection District is holding a virtual neighborhood meeting starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, to present plans to renovate fire Station 8, located at 135 Portola Road in Portola Valley.
Wednesday, 10:13 AM | No comments yetTuesday, September 15, 2020
Palo Alto faces lawsuit over 'residents-only' policy at Foothills Park
A group of civil rights organizations and residents filed a lawsuit against Palo Alto on Tuesday in a bid to repeal a contentious law that bans non-Palo Altans from visiting Foothills Park unless accompanied by a city resident.
Tuesday, 4:51 PM | 2 commentsAppeals court reverses injunction blocking removal of protected immigrant groups
A federal appeals court in San Francisco on Monday reversed a 2018 preliminary injunction that blocked the Department of Homeland Security from terminating "temporary protected status" designations.
Tuesday, 11:44 AM | No comments yetHow to help the homeless and housing-insecure amidst a pandemic? Local leaders compare tactics
A panel of local leaders convened Saturday to share their advice on how to help the homeless and housing insecure through the pandemic as the end of the statewide eviction moratorium draws closer.
Tuesday, 11:04 AM | No comments yetMonday, September 14, 2020
By Wednesday, Bay Area will be under Spare the Air alerts for 30 consecutive days
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued Spare the Air alerts through Wednesday because of wildfire smoke, making it 30 straight days of the alerts that ban wood burning.
Monday, 3:27 PM | 1 commentSan Mateo County Civil Grand Jury raises red flags with private defender program
San Mateo County's private defender program, which has less than half the budget of the District Attorney's office, needs greater oversight, according to a recent civil grand jury report that outlined a number of potential problems.
Monday, 11:51 AM | 2 commentsMinimal flames and mop up: CZU Lightning fire is 89% contained
The CZU Lightning Complex wildfires, which have burned 86,509 acres across San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties since Aug. 16, were 89% contained as of 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, Cal Fire said.
Monday, 9:38 AM |
No comments yet
The CZU Lightning Complex wildfires, which have burned 86,509 acres across San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties since Aug. 16, were 89% contained as of 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, Cal Fire said.
Monday, 9:38 AM |
No comments yet
Amid pandemic, California secretary of state details access to voting by mail or in person this November
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla on Wednesday described plans for voting access and safety this year during the pandemic before the Nov. 3 election, which is less than eight weeks away.
Monday, 9:22 AM | No comments yetSaturday, September 12, 2020
Rangers fighting CZU fires see a silver lining for county parks
Two San Mateo County Parks Department employees describe how they've responded to the CZU Lightning Complex fires, which will alter the landscape of some of the Peninsula and South Bay's most iconic forests for the foreseeable future.
Saturday, 8:55 AM | 1 commentFriday, September 11, 2020
Menlo Park district will apply for waiver to reopen public schools
The Menlo Park City School District will apply to California's waiver program in order to reopen elementary schools to kindergarteners and first graders.
Friday, 5:56 PM | 10 commentsWant to get to know your local candidates? Here's a list of election debates, forums
We've compiled a list of local election debates and forums taking place virtually for Midpeninsula voters ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Friday, 4:54 PM | 1 commentSeries of Spare the Air alerts carries through Monday
As smoke from wildfires continues to cover the Bay Area, officials with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District on Friday extended a Spare the Air alert through Monday, Sept. 14.
Friday, 1:59 PM | No comments yetOld Port Lobster Shack owner sentenced for failing to pay nearly $1M in taxes
A 60-year-old Portola Valley man who failed to pay nearly $1 million in state taxes has been sentenced to six months in county jail with five years of supervised probation, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
Friday, 11:43 AM | 2 commentsCrime brief: Redwood City man arrested in weapon brandishing
A little over a week after a driver on Aug. 28 reported that another driver had brandished a firearm in a threatening manner, the Menlo Park Police Department on Sept. 8 reported it had arrested a suspect in the brandishing case.
Friday, 9:26 AM | No comments yetThree lightning complex fires in Northern California nearly contained
In Northern California, wildfires caused by lightning have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres since Aug. 16 when the lightning first struck, and three of those wildfires are near complete containment.
Friday, 9:18 AM | No comments yetThursday, September 10, 2020
College coronavirus testing varies by system, campus
With sometimes competing public health guidelines coming from the CDC and state and local sources, colleges and universities have made different decisions about how much coronavirus testing should be done, and when.
Thursday, 1:27 PM | No comments yetOne woman's homemade meals feed a community in need
A new friendship between two Palo Alto neighbors that began with a delivery of nightly meals has led to a self-published cookbook that has raised more than $10,000 for the Ecumenical Hunger Program in East Palo Alto.
Thursday, 11:37 AM | 2 comments'The greatest need is food': Since start of pandemic, demand has doubled at local nonprofits
East Palo Alto's Ecumenical Hunger Program has temporarily closed all services except for essential food programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thursday, 11:35 AM | No comments yetWednesday, September 9, 2020
Spare the Air alerts in effect through at least Friday in Bay Area
Spare the Air alerts banning wood burning will be in effect through at least Friday in the Bay Area as thick smoke from wildfires has enveloped the region, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management.
Wednesday, 5:14 PM | No comments yetWildfire smoke darkens sky while layer of fog protects Bay Area air quality
Smoke from the August Complex fires in Mendocino County settled on top of a marine layer in the Bay Area Wednesday, turning the sky various shades of red and orange.
Wednesday, 11:37 AM | 1 commentObituaries: Marilyn Donaldson Kelly
This week in obituaries, read about the life of Marilyn Donaldson Kelly, 86.
Wednesday, 11:23 AM | No comments yetMan shoots, kills woman outside her birthday party
A man who allegedly shot and killed his ex-girlfriend during her birthday party and a memorial event for her brother in East Palo Alto on Monday night was arrested Tuesday in Stockton, police said.
Wednesday, 11:16 AM | No comments yet
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Benefiting local non-profits
The 36th annual Moonlight Run and Walk is Friday evening, October 2, wherever you are! Proceeds go to the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, benefiting local non-profits that serve families and children in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Join us under the light of the full Harvest Moon on a 5K walk, 5K run, 10K run or half marathon.
