Editor's note Editor's note (October 20, 2004)

Millions of people will head to the polls Nov. 2 to elect a president in what is expected to be one of the closest elections in our history. At the same time, citizens will make decisions about 20 state and local initiatives and measures that will affect their businesses, pocket books and schools. To cover issues and candidates that directly affect the Midpeninsula, we've broken our election coverage into a two-part series. In this edition of the paper, you will find stories on measures and initiatives that have direct impacts on Palo Alto: Measure I, the Palo Alto Unified School District's parcel tax; Prop. 71, a bond measure to fund stem cell research that could benefit Stanford; and Prop. 1A, an initiative to protect local coffers from state raids. In the Oct. 27 edition, you will find stories on the candidates for the 21st Assembly district, the 11th Senate district, the 14th Congressional district, the East Palo Alto City Council, Menlo Park City Council and the Ravenswood School District. We hope these two issues help you decide how to vote Nov. 2. For more information on the candidates and issues and to view past Weekly articles on the election, log onto our Web site at http://www.paloaltoonline.com/election/election2004/.

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