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Citing a critical need for improved connection and collaboration as Palo Alto recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Mayor Tom DuBois used his “State of the City” address on Thursday night to advocate for expanding the city’s fiber network, improving public discourse and launching a new “sister city” program that would bridge the gap between blue and red sections of America.
In a virtual event that featured musical performances by Palo Alto students, the mayor recapped for the viewers some highlights from one of the most bizarre and disruptive years in Palo Alto’s history and presented his plans for the rest of 2021, as the city continues to cope with the pandemic’s devastating impacts.
He focused particularly on four areas in which he said he wants to make progress in the coming months: transparent and productive discourse, responsive government, speedy recovery and real progress on climate change. He also decried growing extremism in political discourse and made a plea for moderation and compromise.
Civility at public meetings has plunged over the course of the pandemic, he said, as COVID-19 has “made people cranky.”
“We need everybody on the same team and can’t afford to create sides by attacking each other, particularly in this year of recovery,” DuBois said.
Economic recovery, he said, is and will remain the council’s top priority and the topic that will take up the majority of staff and council time. Last spring, as the city’s hotel- and sales-tax revenues began to plummet, the city reduced its budget by $40 million. Many of those cuts, DuBois said, “won’t be felt by residents until we end the shelter-in-place.”
“It’s going to take a long time to recover and restore many of the services our residents expect and appreciate,” DuBois said.
Even so, DuBois highlighted several ambitious new initiatives this year and urged residents to embrace the changes that the pandemic has shown are possible. Citing the spike in telecommuting over the past year, DuBois voiced support for Fiber to the Premises, a proposal to expand the municipal fiber ring to all residences and businesses in the city. While the city has been considering expanding the fiber network for more than 20 years, DuBois argued that now is the ideal time to finally advance the project and, in doing so, reduce driving in the city.
“Everyone knows the person with the bad uplink on Zoom,” DuBois said. “We have the opportunity to create a new city utility and deliver superior service to our residents.”
In discussing the city’s plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, DuBois also advocated for the launch of a pilot program this year that would provide incentives for residents to switch from gas water heaters to electric alternatives. The program is among those that the council has been considering as part of its broad plan to reduce emissions by 80% from the 1990 level by 2030.
“Cities and states have led on staying in the Paris Accord, and Palo Alto has the opportunity to lead on the Green New Deal to provide an example of how to leave less of a footprint in the sand,” DuBois said.
DuBois cited in his speech the four priorities that the council adopted in January, which in addition to economic recovery and climate change include housing and social justice. On the housing front, he cited the council’s recent efforts to change zoning to encourage more residential construction and pointed to the housing developments that are now in the works, including the Wilton Court development for low-income families and adults with disabilities and the “workforce housing” development at 2755 El Camino Real.
‘The divide within our own country seems larger than without. A U.S. sister city program can enable us to … understand each other better.’
Tom DuBois, Palo Alto mayor
At the same time, he said he was concerned about regional housing mandates, including the Regional Housing Needs Allocation process that has assigned Palo Alto to accommodate more than 6,000 housing units by 2031.
“It’s an unprecedented pace of development and an unfunded mandate by the state,” DuBois said. “We do need to produce more houses, but we also need to preserve and protect the ones that are here to ensure affordability.”
As part of his effort to promote unity as mayor, DuBois said he is hoping to launch a “sister city” program that would forge relationships between Palo Alto and cities in other parts of the U.S. The city already has “sister city” programs with eight cities throughout the world, including, most recently, Tsuchiura, Japan; Heidelberg, Germany; and Shanghai’s Yangpu District. DuBois said he has been having conversations with like-minded people to jump-start such a program between American cities.
“The divide within our own country seems larger than without,” DuBois said. “A U.S. sister city program can enable us to forge connections, encourage business collaboration, share ideas and understand each other better.”
He also made a pitch for restoring local connections after a year of social isolation by bringing back popular community events, including a socially distant May Fête celebration, art events on Friday nights and neighborhood town halls. He also said he wants to hold an “End of the Pandemic” celebration, hopefully in September, to commemorate the “unsung heroes,” including those who helped their neighbors in need and the researchers who developed the coronavirus vaccine in record time.
In recapping Palo Alto’s past year, DuBois noted that the city has done relatively well at managing the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the rest of Santa Clara County.
“We had lower rates of infection and more people getting tested, and I’m proud to say we now have over 80% of our people 65 and older vaccinated, which is top in the county,” he said.
At the same time, the event also served as a reminder that the battle against COVID-19 is far from over. Normally a community celebration with food, live music, socializing and mingling, this year’s “State of the City” event was conducted like all other public meetings: over Zoom. Unlike other government meetings, it featured several musical performances, including a song performed by 400 students from choirs at Fletcher, Greene and JLS middle schools and Palo Alto and Gunn high schools.
Vice Mayor Pat Burt alluded to the unusual circumstances early in the ceremony, when he thanked the viewers for attending “what we hope will be the first — and only — virtual ‘State of the City’ address ever.”
“This is one of the few days when a number of us get to find out whether we still fit into our business suits. With this informality, it looks like we won’t get to know that this year, but we’ll find out soon enough, when we hopefully start to normalize,” Burt said.
Watch a recording of the “State of the City” address below.
Palo Alto Mayor Tom DuBois gives the 2021 “State of the City” address on March 4.
Love the US sister city idea. Putting a plug in for Huntsville, AL (60% red). The new space and tech investment in their area has it booming.
Really like the Mayor’s idea to pair up with a US ‘red’ sister city to make an effort to narrow the gaps that are dividing us, and “forge connections, encourage business collaboration, share ideas and understand each other better”.
“Really like the Mayor’s idea to pair up with a US ‘red’ sister city to make an effort to narrow the gaps that are dividing us,”
Since Huntsville is ranked the 24th most racist city in Alabama, perhaps the mayor can make some headway by showing them how things are done in Palo Alto.
✓Huntsville is ranked the 24th most racist city in Alabama,
Lest we forget, the Rosa Parks bus incident occured in Huntsville, AL and there is an ongoing debate and two opposing petitions to rename Robert E. Lee High School in this particular town.
Huntsville was forced to desegregate and the influx of the NASA moon exploration team back in the 1960s helped to ease matters as many white space engineers from other parts of the country wondered what kind of hell-hole they were entering.
Today Huntsville is similar to Palo Alto where the racism is more subtle.
~ Today Huntsville is similar to Palo Alto where the racism is more subtle.
~ perhaps the mayor can make some headway by showing them how things are done in Palo Alto.
And vice versa.
Rosa Parks incident – Montgomery, Alabama
@Darvin
chris/University South is correct.
Maybe you were mistaking the Rosa Parks Day commemorative in Huntsville, AL that took place two years ago.
As I recall, the mayor offered free bus rides to everyone that day and there was a statue dedicated in her honor.
An additional sister city in China would be beneficial to Palo Alto in light of it’s increasing Chinese population.
Establishing more cultural and student exchange programs is a step in the right direction.
And to pacify BLM advocacy, having a sister inner-city would also dispel the general perception of Palo Alto.
Why have a sister city from the Confederacy? That sends out the wrong message.
“Why have a sister city from the Confederacy? That sends out the wrong message.”
Many cities in the South and Texas are 10x more diverse than the Bay Area (and especially mid-peninsula). Houston achieved majority-minority status two decades ago.
Can’t say the same thing about Palo Alto.
Maybe need to stop holding on to outdated stereotypes.
The most segregated and NIMBY city in America talking about forging ties to bridge the racial gap is the most hilarious thing I have read in a while.
Try just a little bit harder Palo Alto.
Oh and you want a fiber network? What about 5G? Oh I know what the problem wold be then. Those horrible cancer causing towers plus the neighborhood character plus NIMBYism.
this is becoming a very touchy subject. How about Florida? Florida has a growing tech Base a lot of people are moving there. And the population is very diverse. If many tech companies are moving some of their activity there then that would be a good choice
“Many cities in the South and Texas are 10x more diverse than the Bay Area (and especially mid-peninsula).”
“Can’t say the same thing about Palo Alto.”
“Maybe need to stop holding on to outdated stereotypes.”
When former Confederate cities are more progressive and less ‘ethnocentric’ than Palo Alto…then, Houston, we have a problem.
Racism can be blatant and it can be subtle.
In much of the south, it is blatant.
In Palo Alto it is subtle.
Both are the same the last time I checked in with reality.
Blacks can be racist, too.
So can Chinese. We learned it from the white people who also disciminate against us.
Racism is a HUMAN problem. People of all ethnicities are capable of it. It can be subtle or overt. Generally, people who are in the majority in any society practice it more because they hold power. This has played out in many cultures throughout history and the world. Chinese did not “learn racism from white people.” Read their history. Japanese, Indians, Chinese and many other Asians and blacks have practiced overt, large-scale racism without any access to the US experience–and they practiced it before the United States of America ever existed. Read world history.
Racist/tribalist practices of blacks on the African continent caused some of tribal groups to capture slaves to keep and sell. This practice later was extended to white slave traders who bought captured slaves to sell in this country.
We are all capable of making negative broad generalizations about people of other ethnicities and cultural affiliation. This is wrong and we have to constantly guard against letting the darker side of our nature drive our choices and actions. In the US, this has mostly hurt people of color, but my white Jewish husband’s family suffered terribly from racism. None of us is immune.
Can we please recognize that people are people? We are capable of wonderful and terrible things–every one of us. Not one single person on the planet is immune to racism. This is what it is to be human. I try to do my best to explore my motivations and understand my own assumptions and prejudices.
General assumptions based on race (including the assumptions that all people of certain color or ethnicity are racist, is, by definition, racist. Let’s try to let go of assumptions and meet individual people with openness to understanding who they are as individuals. It is a gift we can each give ourselves. I will do my best to be open to all others, and I hope others will extend that to me.
“In the US, this has mostly hurt people of color, but my white Jewish husband’s family suffered terribly from racism. None of us is immune.”
In Germany, reparations in the billions of dollars have been paid to Jewish families whose relatives perished at the hands of racism and countless memorials have been erected to so that this dark period of history will never be forgotten.
Plus, the Germans have shown true remorse and shame for what their ancestors did to the Jewish people.
So until the United States government demonstrates the same kind of monetary reparations to millions of African Americans along with issuing a formal apology with genuine contriteness, things will remain unchanged.
And tearing down all monuments of Confederate leaders and those of Lincoln and Washington is the first step.
The SF School District has officially removed the names of Lincoln and Washington from its public schools and all school districts throughout the nation should do the same.
And after the American government completes these tasks, it can then go to work apologizing and issuing monetary reparations to Hispanic Americans in the American southwest and California plus the Chinese Americans whose ancestors were brought to the United States by Leland Stanford to work on his transcontinental railroad.
The Golden Spike at the Stanford Museum should also be melted down as a symbol of past racism as well.
The United States government is deeply in debt to the Chinese government who invest heavily in American debt both domestic and overseas including military expenditures.
The U.S. debt sits at just over $22 trillion in February 2020, and the largest investors in U.S. Treasuries are other governments and central banks.
China, who owns an estimated $1.1 trillion in U.S. Treasuries, is the number-two investor among foreign governments, according to the January 2020 figures released by the U.S. Treasury. This amounts to over 21% of the U.S. debt held overseas and about 7.2% of the United States’ total debt load.
https://www.thebalance.com/how-much-u-s-debt-does-china-own-417016
What this means is, if the PRC were to demand that the United States pay it’s debt to China immediately, the American economy would collapse.
But China prefers to sit back and collect interest, like on a credit card. It is good business and highly profitable.
So rather than be abusive to Asians and using the coronavirus as an excuse, most Americans should hold their heads down to the Chinese government (and its people) who helped finance the Iraq War during the Bush administration and who provide reasonably priced goods for American consumers to buy and enjoy.
This is why so many recently arrived residents from China can afford to pay CASH for expensive SF Bay Area residencies.
Though I questioned American military involvement in Iraq during the George W. Bush and Dick Cheney administration, it would not have been possible if not for the generous lending practices of our friends in China.
It is disturbing to hear of the presumed bigotry in Palo Alto towards its newer residents from China and hopefully matters will be resolved as Palo Alto (like our nation as a whole) must strive to evolve as a multi-ethnic community.
Resentments must be set aside and a bigger picture visualized as it is my understanding that the Asian population in Palo Alto has grown to a significant percentage.
They now have a voice in municipal politics and the old school of residents still clinging to the past need to look beyond their mentalities.
Only then will various inherent prejudices begin to subside.
It is time for Palo Alto to wake up.
Cecelia Vega, The SF School District has postponed its decision on renaming its schools. So Lincoln and Washington remain, for better or worse.
Washington = white slave owner.
Father of our country and a racist.
Lincoln = white president more concerned with preserving the Union for white political interests than concerns regarding the plight of African American slaves.
Another white racist.
Washington and Lincoln like Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, should be permanently removed from the American landscape.
Now I understand why Huntsville, AL is a sister city of Palo Alto.
Common bonds.
At brunch this morning in Saratoga and while entertaining ourselves via all of the various online commenters in denial of their ostensible racism, we coined a new monicker for a sizable number of close-minded Palo Alto residents…The Flat Earth Society!
Love the idea of US sister cities, and why should a city from the confederacy be any less desirable? a red city is a red city I should think oh and as comments here demonstrate, people seem very willing and able to come up with reasons to discredit almost any place.
Can’t blame Washington or Lincoln on the deaths of half a million Tutsi in the Rwandan genocide. Or are you going to blame them for what’s happening with the Uyghurs in Xinjiang? Or maybe the Armenian genocide by the Turks? Or what’s happening to Yadzi minority in Iraq?
“At brunch this morning in Saratoga”
That’s about as white as you can get. Self-loathing is so sad.
Washington or Lincoln cannot be blamed for what historically occured in other countries but they can be held accountable for racial atrocities that occured in America.
To compare apples and oranges is a Flat Earth Society mentality.
BTW…a great nickname.
~~”At brunch this morning in Saratoga”
“That’s about as white as you can get. Self-loathing is so sad.”
• @Me 2
I am Hispanic and my parents reside in Saratoga. We have Sunday brunch too (not always but occasionally).
It is not a ‘white thing’… just orange juice, some eggs, bacon (or chorizo) and toast or tortillas + some fresh fruit.
If having brunch in Saratoga is truly a white culinary adventure (as apparently perceived by some Palo Alto residents), then Palo Alto really is The Flat Earth Society.
Someone should silkscreen some green T-shirts with Palo Alto and a tree on the front and with this newly designated monicker on the back.
People would buy them as a novelty item…especially those who do not live in Palo Alto.
~~News Flash: You didn’t coin the phrase Flat Earth Society. Science-denying fools who revel in their ignorance did.
• And now it also applies to various Racism-denying fools who seem to revel in their own ignorance.
The Palo Alto ‘brunch club’ is apparently alive and well.
@ Me 2 said:
“At brunch this morning in Saratoga”
“That’s about as white as you can get. Self-loathing is so sad.”
FYI. African Americans who do not reside in Saratoga also enjoy brunch.
Brunch is not limited to white folks eating Eggs Benedict.
Are you another member of The Flat Earth Society or simply unfamiliar with brunch?
“I am Hispanic and my parents reside in Saratoga. We have Sunday brunch too (not always but occasionally).
It is not a ‘white thing’… just orange juice, some eggs, bacon (or chorizo) and toast or tortillas + some fresh fruit.
Many Hispanics consider themselves white. That’s why all these racial checkboxes include “White (Hispanic)” and “White (non-Hispanic)” as choices.
“Brunch is not limited to white folks eating Eggs Benedict.”
By the Critical Race Theory definition, doing so you are capitulating to white supremacy by doing what white people do. Brunch in Saratoga certainly counts.
Anyway, Flat Earth Society – that’s so hilarious in how lame it is. Maybe we should call Saratoga and EPA folks The Lame People That Brunch and Find a Need to Justify Why They Don’t Live in Palo Alto.
Is Palo Alto the only city on ‘flat earth’ that debates eggs benedict, who eats brunch and park entrances?
If so, finding a sister city to compare notes with will become increasingly difficult.
@Me2
FYI. The Chinese are also known to partake in brunch time activities.
We call it Zìzhù shì zǎocān which means breakfast buffet.
And contrary to your perspectives, we are not capitulating to white supremacy whether the eggs are poached, scrambled, boiled or served on top of an English Muffin with Hollandaise Sauce.
That would be like saying a white person who enjoys egg fu yung is capitulating to Asian supremacy or something along those lines.
This Washington Post URL probably won’t settle the brunch debate but it covers a lot of bases from both historical and societal reference points.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/10/how-brunch-became-the-most-delicious-and-divisive-meal-in-america/
quote:
“Anyway, Flat Earth Society – that’s so hilarious in how lame it is. Maybe we should call Saratoga and EPA folks The Lame People That Brunch and Find a Need to Justify Why They Don’t Live in Palo Alto.”
@Me 2
The article cites two columnists who share your view that brunch is lame.
On the other hand, outside of housing affordability considerations, brunch advocacy (or lack thereof) is probably not a sound reason for establishing one’s choice of habitat.
There are many Saratoga residents who do not partake in brunch. Some actually disdain it as a frivolous social activity.
Curious and based on the article above, given the sociological ramifications of brunch (e.g. demographics, gentrification, upward mobility aspirations etc.), will the mayor and city council be entertaining their sister city guests with a celebratory brunch?
Even if the guests are brunch-haters or from a red state region that doesn’t practice or embrace the concept?
If such is the case, municipal promotional expenditures could probably be curtailed by simply inviting them to Denny’s for A Grand Slam or maybe a trip to IHop.
If entertaining guests from Alabama, Denny’s is out because they no longer serve hominy grits for breakfast and I’ve never seen it on the menu at the International House of Pancakes.
The City of Palo Alto might need to hire a Breakfast Consultant to explore this matter further.
On the other hand, I imagine that honored sister city guests from Germany, Japan, and China would enjoy a well-prepared brunch.
Any one who goes on vacation anywhere and stays in a hotel the breakfast/brunch is the biggest meal in the hotel because people then venture out to go site seeing in other locations and a lot chose to then eat at other theme restaurants.
Breakfast/brunch is the one meal that everyone usually eats where they are staying. Look at these absurd comments above – you all are just competing as to who can be the most absurd.
In big hotels the breakfast is where they are selling all of the trips and adventure available.
Denney’s have a lot of their locations on the same block as some hotels who do not have a big restaurant in the hotel so that is strategic placement. We need a big Denney’s here in PA.
> “Look at these absurd comments above – you all are just competing as to who can be the most absurd.”
I agree. No wonder Palo Alto residents and their primary focal points have become a butt of jokes.
The coronavirus sequestering must be leaving way too much time for many of them to focus on the absurd…white brunch supremacy, the availability of hominy grits, egg foo yung, Saratoga-brunch bashing and whatnot.
Is there a Palo Alto trophy given out for all of this nonsense or do they simply distribute participation trophies like in youth soccer?
And I concur Resident 1-Adobe Meadows…Palo Alto or Menlo Park could use a large Denny’s restaurant.
The last Denny’s in PA became Su Hong’s (now closed) and Ken’s on ECR in MP is long gone.
We need fewer East Indian restaurants and more chain coffee shops that serve regular American classics.
I should have been more clear. My Jewish husband’s fled eastern Europe where the government was threatening to use Jews, including their five sons as cannon fodder at the front lines. They left farm land that had been in the family for generations, and nearly all of their belongings. No reparations were made for that. They sought refuge in the US where they were received with terrible prejudice. They lived for a time in a cesspool of NYC ghetto tenements. Then moved to Upstate NY to work in a meat packing plant plucking chickens because that was the only work they could find. No bank would give them a loan to start a business, so the entire family worked and saved for many years. Over decades they built a small
retail storefront toy business in a tiny Upstate NY town. They were always very poor, but some of their many grandchildren got educations and built a better life. It took three generations in this country. No reparations…ever. Prejudice is a widespread human problem. Every human on the planet carries prejudices of one kind or another. That doesn’t mean it’s ok or that reparations should not be made. My point was, we all need to guard against it and actively question our own assumptions about others. Reparations mean nothing if we don’t learn to manage the darkness that resides in each of us, regardless of our ethnicity or other differences.
° Prejudice is a widespread human problem. Every human on the planet carries prejudices of one kind or another.
Which is why the societal oppressed must be ready and willing to fight back.
Or they will continue to be tossed around like disposable throw rugs for the bigoted majority.
And any pro-active measures will require far more than arguing over brunch which is apparently where some Palo Altans prefer to channel their mental energies.
With all of the nationwide discontent currently going on, why all the hate towards brunch?
Brunch provides a wonderful opportunity for people of all colors to get together and share a multi-cultural buffet of delectable goodies and to talk about their children and various pastimes.
March 14th is National Brunch Day in America and hopefully many of us will get together and let eggs benedict begin the healing process.
https://www.whatnationaldayisit.com/day/Brunch/
And ideally, many white families in Palo Alto will take it upon themselves to invite a nice non-white family to join them for a friendly and cordial buffet.
Just think, if the Native Americans had allowed the Pilgrims to starve there would be no reason to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day and brunch is no different whether one resides in Saratoga or Palo Alto.
We had a Denney’s, and a Lyons.
Maybe the mayors of Palo Alto and Saratoga can both declare a city-recognized brunch day and commemorate it with a joint meeting at MacArthur Park.
° And ideally, many white families in Palo Alto will take it upon themselves to invite a nice non-white family to join them for a friendly and cordial buffet.
A nice thought/gesture but as Al Borland used to tirelessly remark to Tim Allen on Home Improvement, “I don’t think so Tim.”
First of all, most white folks in Palo Alto would never consider extending such an overture and secondly, very few of them would seriously motor into EPA if they were invited.
Some things (including brunch) are better off left alone.
Shoot, even the white folks in Saratoga and Palo Alto can’t agree on brunch.
“We call it Zìzhù shì zǎocān which means breakfast buffet.”
Still not called “brunch.” Your ability to add tones to your Pinyin is quite commendable in the limited capabilities of this forum software.
Too bad it’s the Commie Romanization.
“That would be like saying a white person who enjoys egg fu yung is capitulating to Asian supremacy or something along those lines.”
Actually these days, according to Critical Race Theory, if the white person enjoys it, it’s cultural appropriation.
“We need fewer East Indian restaurants and more chain coffee shops that serve regular American classics.”
Sounds vaguely racist to me. What’s wrong with East Indian restaurants? Boy, you folks in Menlo Park. Be careful, you all might join us in the lamely-named “Flat Earth Society”
“First of all, most white folks in Palo Alto would never consider extending such an overture and secondly, very few of them would seriously motor into EPA if they were invited.”
When are you inviting us over? Even for non-white folks like me?
This forum is almost as much fun as Reddit.
“…ideally, many white families in Palo Alto will take it upon themselves to invite a nice non-white family to join them for a friendly and cordial buffet.”
“…most white folks in Palo Alto would never consider extending such an overture..”
This is because the African American population in Palo Alto is very small (about 1.9%) and most of the white residents are not acquainted with any of them.
The Asian population in Palo Alto is considerably larger (35%+) but there is a potential language barrier (Mandarin) that might impede thoughtful and open conversation in a social gathering.
The outside accusations of racism in Palo Alto are unfounded because it is not about prejudice but rather common practicalities.
“We need fewer East Indian restaurants and more chain coffee shops that serve regular American classics.”
I’ve noticed that there are a lot of East Indian restaurants on the peninsula, more so than say Mexican or Italian.
This speaks volumes for the emerging demographics here on the peninsula and I am assuming that most of the steady clientele are professionals from East India employed as engineers at Google or in the health care fields.
There are a sizable number of sushi bars as well. Sushi and sashimi have sort of become mainstream American dining options and while I don’t see too many African Americans ordering sushi, Hispanics seem to enjoy it perhaps because of the tangy wasabi paste and dipping sauce.
The earlier commentary about more local restaurants serving American Classics does carry a certain validity of sorts as dining on certain ethnic dishes does not conjure up the same timeless and traditional ‘comfort food’ vibe of having meat loaf with mashed potatoes, a good homemade casserole, a slow-cooked pot roast, or even a plate of spaghetti.
Some Chinese food comes close (like a carton of chow mein) and for the most part, the American palate is a simple one.
Unfortunately fewer restaurants in metro blue states offer such conventional menu items anymore and one must generally reside in or travel to the outskirts or a red state region to enjoy them.
And lastly, certain ethnic foods will probably never lend themselves to a conventional American brunch offering, the exception of course being if it is a brunch comprised of a particular ethnic gathering.
“March 14th is National Brunch Day in America and hopefully many of us will get together and let eggs benedict begin the healing process.”
I suspect the ‘healing process’ will require more than eggs benedict…just guessing.
And though March 14th is National Brunch Day in America, Covid-19 will probably put a damper on the festivities given that large gatherings are still restricted to a certain extent so hotel brunches, food courts and neighborhood gatherings will remain somewhat limited.
“Look at these absurd comments above – you all are just competing as to who can be the most absurd.”
@ Resident 1-Adobe Meadows
I don’t think it is a competition of sorts as most of the posters seem sincere and devoted to their brunch-related convictions.
Which tells us…if people cannot reach a common ground on something like brunch, how will the deeper and far more pressing social issues ever be resolved?
So let’s all sit down and let a plate of eggs benedict begin the healing process.
The people who are competing for attention with absurd comments do not live in this city and have no relation to the problem at hand. This is about a sister city to PA – not EPA, not Saratoga, not Woodside, not “another community”. Hey – go get your own sister cities.
@Resident 1-Adobe Meadows
some of us in other communities watch what is going on in Palo Alto so that our municipal leaders do not make the same blunders.
the absurdity of comments are more a reflection of the seemingly absurdity of life in Palo Alto.
I would like to see our new mayor mandate a fixed time zone in Palo Alto. In other words, either keep the time permanently set on DST or standard time but not both.
I have several clocks in my house (including some older wrist watches) that require a reset everytime we ‘fall back or spring forward’ and it is a nuisance to have to alter the time frames of my breakfast and dinners as well.
My younger neighbors have suggested I try having brunch in lieu of breakfast during the switchover to standard time but it is too nerve-wracking in trying to decide whether to have a hybrid breakfast or lunch type meal.
Huntsville will be an interesting sister city for Palo Alto. It is the home base for the newly established U.S. Space Force (as selected by President Trump) and it has a long historical association with the various lunar launches and early Redstone rockets, including the post-war Nazi propulsion engineers who helped develop them.
I have been through Huntsville and it is ethnically more diverse than Palo Alto with many Asian residents (mostly Korean and Japanese) who also own very successful businesses there.
Ideally Palo Alto can learn from this positive interaction and over time, become more receptive to its growing Mandarin population from China.
In some ways, Huntsville is more blue than Palo Alto. They do not not restrict their parks to outsiders nor do they denigrate minorities by acting as if they really care.
As a Jewish person, I am very aware of subtle ‘behind the back’ bigotry and in some ways, Palo Alto is no different than parts of Georgia. If you have seen ‘Driving Miss Daisy’, you will get the drift as there are many types of crackers.
I am seeing a lot of prejudice, hostility directed at Palo Altans, especially white Palo Altans, whom the writers cannot possibility personally know on this thread. Here is the definition of racism:
“prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against a person or people on the basis of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.”
If you want to engage people on a subject, insulting them as a group is not helpful. You cannot change how someone thinks by turning them off.
This thread has become toxic and unproductive, and doesn’t acknowledge that Caucasians in south Palo Alto schools are now a minority–which I view as just fine. Most to my kids’ friends and my friends are people of color–and I am glad of that. And, yes, I’m a white Palo Altan.
If we want to change how things work, we get involved as volunteers in our PTAs, community and government. I work with many talented people of color who have chosen to volunteer in positions of leadership. I appreciate and admire the positive changes they are making, and I enjoy working alongside them.
Be a little nicer. Mutual respect usually brings people together, but verbal assaults divide us. We just ended an awful four years of the latter approach. Let’s get to to work, together, to make Palo Alto a great community for all of us. We are in a challenging time.
I know that tempers are short. We are all exhausted by Covid and the awful effects it has had on our lives, economy, schools, etc. We need to start working together to heal on many fronts. So let’s put our energy into working together–one of the best ways I know to get to know and appreciate and love my neighbors.
For the Mountain View commentator- M. Peters that is the way I feel about MV. You have let Google dominate your city functions along with the RV debate. A bunch of special interests groups have been allowed to dominate and take over what your residents vote for. I went to one demonstration in your city way back and all of the people had signs in which the biggest word was HATE. Sorry – nothing to recommend about your city, including the current staff running the place. You all vote for people and actions – don’t do the actions you all voted for, and the people you vote in are signed up to the Weiner camp. But you have a new Google village planned out so you can all celebrate what ever that produces. Pay attention to what is going on in your city – I check it out on the MV Voice – you all do not look like happy campers.