Recent News
Monday, March 25, 2019
Ousted superintendent violated harassment policy in comments about employees with children
An external investigation found that Gloria Hernandez-Goff, the ousted superintendent of the Ravenswood City School District, violated the district's harassment policy in making repeated comments about employees' family status and their leave history, according to documents released under the Public Records Act.
Monday, 9:37 AM | 7 commentsStanford junior dies in fall while hiking in Spain
Mischa Nee, a 20-year-old Stanford University junior has died in Spain, apparently falling while on a hike with other Stanford undergraduates studying in Europe, a university vice provost said in a message issued Saturday.
Monday, 9:10 AM | No comments yetSunday, March 24, 2019
SafeSpace offers mental health support line app
Youth seeking mental health support can now download a free app provided by a Menlo Park-based nonprofit.
Sunday, 8:54 AM | No comments yetSaturday, March 23, 2019
County to consider contacting ICE about violent inmates prior to release
Santa Clara County officials are shifting their position on contacting federal authorities about inmates convicted of violent crimes, a new proposal coming before the Board of Supervisors this Tuesday.
Saturday, 7:50 AM | 13 commentsFriday, March 22, 2019
Webcast: The charter school challenge
Weekly journalists discuss what the rapid rise of charter schools means for traditional school districts, including the K-8 Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto.
Friday, 3:46 PM | No comments yetJudge urges school district, parents to resolve sexual-harassment case
A judge said Friday that she needed more time to consider a female Gunn High School student's petition to ban from the school's robotics team a male student found to have sexually harassed her, even as all parties also agreed to mediation.
Friday, 12:54 PM | 14 commentsBay Area's largest real-estate firm? It's a New York startup
Compass, the venture-funded real-estate startup that launched its first office in the local market just over two years ago, became the Bay Area's largest residential brokerage firm this month after acquiring Peninsula powerhouse Alain Pinel Realtors for an undisclosed amount on March 9.
Friday, 9:27 AM | 10 commentsPUBLIC AGENDA: Magical Bridge funding; auto dealership project
A preview of Palo Alto government meetings for the week of March 25.
Friday, 8:26 AM | No comments yetIn East Palo Alto, a microcosm of the state's heated charter school debate
As California's charter school movement booms and polarizes public education, educators, elected officials and researchers on both sides of the debate, including in the Ravenswood City School District in East Palo Alto, are grappling with how the two systems can co-exist.
Friday, 6:58 AM | 23 comments$75K for a fake ACT score? Students say cheating happens without the big bucks
Some high school students who agonize over preparing for standardized exams say the allegations in the college admissions case are a reminder that the testing system is unfair.
Friday, 6:58 AM | 22 commentsEditorial: The audacity of privilege
Sadly, the most frequently heard reaction among local residents last week to the news that 33 parents across the nation, including six who call the Palo Alto area home, had bribed their children's way into college, was not shock or surprise.
Friday, 6:57 AM | 24 commentsThursday, March 21, 2019
In response to college-admissions scandal, Stanford to probe policies, current athletic recruits
In the wake of a nationwide college-admissions bribery scheme that implicated its head sailing coach and a current student, Stanford University is adding new levels of scrutiny to its admissions, gifts and athletic-recruitment processes.
Thursday, 10:53 PM | 8 commentsPalo Alto takes bike-share program on another spin
After failing to advance its bike-share and electric scooters program last year, Palo Alto is now preparing to try again through a yearlong extension of its nascent bike-share and electric scooters program.
Thursday, 9:50 AM | 11 commentsWednesday, March 20, 2019
Report: Police shooting that killed Palo Alto teacher placed officers in 'remarkably dangerous' situation
A San Mateo County District Attorney's investigation has cleared Redwood City police officers who fatally shot a Palo Alto teacher in the yard of his home in December.
Wednesday, 6:50 PM | 10 commentsBedside intruder interrupts woman's study session
A man trespassed into an apartment in south Palo Alto early Sunday morning when he startled a woman by entering her bedroom, turning off the lights and sitting next to her, according to police.
Wednesday, 5:40 PM | 4 commentsEmbattled Ravenswood superintendent forced to resign
The Ravenwood Board of Education has accepted Gloria Hernandez-Goff's resignation as superintendent of the K-8 East Palo Alto school district.
Wednesday, 1:13 PM | No comments yetEmbattled Ravenswood superintendent forced to resign
The Ravenswood City School District Board of Education quietly accepted Superintendent Gloria Hernandez-Goff's resignation in a special closed-session meeting on Tuesday night.
Wednesday, 1:08 PM | 25 commentsCounty earmarks $900K to help feed seniors
A Palo Alto nutrition program is among 40 across Santa Clara County that will benefit from nearly $900,000 designated to provide more hot meals for seniors, Board of Supervisors President Joe Simitian announced Tuesday.
Wednesday, 9:54 AM | 4 commentsPalo Alto punts decisions on rail redesign, adds $500K to budget
Palo Alto's tortuous effort to choose new designs for its four rail crossings shifted yet again this week when City Council members agreed to push the timeline for a decision until October and to set up a new working group to consider the big question of funding.
Wednesday, 9:40 AM | 43 commentsFormer U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to return to Stanford fellowship
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis will return to a fellowship at Stanford University's Hoover Institution think tank in May after resigning from his White House post in December.
Wednesday, 8:18 AM | 17 commentsTuesday, March 19, 2019
Milk Pail Market, a Mountain View institution for 45 years, to close
After 45 years in Mountain View, the popular Milk Pail Market will be closing its doors permanently.
Tuesday, 2:00 PM | 38 commentsTwo students continue lawsuit over college admissions scandal
Two students have dropped out of a federal lawsuit filed over the college admissions cheating scandal but two others are continuing their claims in a new lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in San Jose on Friday.
Tuesday, 9:13 AM | 9 commentsPalo Alto prepares for sea level rise
With rising tides threatening to submerge the Palo Alto Baylands by mid-century, city officials agreed on Monday that they need to explore new barriers -- both physical and legislative -- to protect coastal areas from sea level rise.
Tuesday, 12:26 AM | 70 commentsMonday, March 18, 2019
New Stanford artificial intelligence institute focuses on humanitarianism
Stanford University plans to tackle some of the world's most critical problems through its new Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, which was formally ushered in through a daylong symposium on Monday.
Monday, 8:40 PM | 16 commentsGuest Opinion: Lessons parents should learn from the college-admissions scandal
Last week's college-admissions scandal can teach parents one of two lessons: create your own broad definition of success and parent your kids out of hope and conviction, or default to our culture's narrow definition of success and act out of fear and anxiety.
Monday, 6:05 PM | 7 commentsSaturday, March 16, 2019
Around Town: Much ADU about housing; finding the right angles
In the latest Around Town column, granny units are on the rise in south Palo Alto, C-SPAN recognizes young video documentarians from Paly and Cantor Arts Center adds 1,000 photographs to its permanent collection.
Saturday, 9:06 AM | 8 commentsFriday, March 15, 2019
Webcast: Unpacking the college admissions bribery scandal
Palo Alto college adviser John Raftrey discusses with Weekly journalists the implications of a multimillion-dollar nationwide admissions bribery scandal.
Friday, 4:00 PM | 6 commentsGuest Opinion: Making the college-admissions system more equitable
The recent college-admissions bribery scandal has generated outrage at the obvious unfairness that underlies Rick Singer's brazen scheme, and rightly so. But I think people's reactions to this scheme somewhat miss the mark.
Friday, 3:25 PM | 24 commentsPUBLIC AGENDA: Grade separations contract; utilities rate changes
A preview of Palo Alto government meetings for the week of March 18.
Friday, 12:27 PM | No comments yetParents, students rally to demand support from Stanford
With Stanford University and Palo Alto Unified School District preparing to launch negotiations, dozens of parents, teachers and school district volunteers gathered in front of City Hall on Thursday afternoon to demand that the university fully address the impacts of its expansion on local schools.
Friday, 11:50 AM | 9 commentsRavenswood, KIPP consider keeping charter at current site
The Ravenswood City School District and KIPP Valiant Community Prep have agreed to examine a new proposal for how to accommodate the growing charter school next year: providing additional space at its current site rather than splitting it across two campuses.
Friday, 8:46 AM | 1 commentGuest Opinion: SB 50 undermines single-family neighborhoods and diversity
Rather than reap the benefits of locally driven solutions, SB 50 pulls the rug from under them with radical, one-size-fits-all state mandates.
Friday, 6:55 AM | 134 commentsCounty calls on Stanford to ramp up staff housing
Santa Clara County may require Stanford University to nearly quadruple the number of housing units it has to produce for faculty and staff to secure permission for its ambitious campus-expansion plan.
Friday, 12:23 AM | 29 commentsThursday, March 14, 2019
Ex-global equity firm exec, a grad of Gunn High, implicated in admissions scam
A former Palo Alto resident and Gunn High School graduate is among the 50 people indicted in a fraud scheme that involved cheating on college entrance exams and bribes to officials at some of the nation's top universities.
Thursday, 8:09 PM | 12 commentsFPPC continues probe of Kniss' campaign
When the state Fair Political Practice Commission opened its probe into Palo Alto Councilwoman's Liz Kniss alleged campaign violations in March 2017, there was little indication that two years later, the agency's Enforcement Division would still be working on the case.
Thursday, 11:25 AM | 41 commentsStanford students file class-action lawsuit in admissions scandal
A group of students, including from Stanford University, have filed a class-action lawsuit in response to a nationwide college admissions scandal that laid bare an application process they allege was "corrupted by rampant fraud and back-door bribery."
Thursday, 9:47 AM | 45 commentsPressure over college admissions 'out of control'
A multimillion-dollar college admissions bribery scandal that involved both Palo Alto area parents and hundreds of thousands of dollars was shocking -- but not wholly unexpected, said local parents, high school students and college counselors.
Thursday, 9:42 AM | 38 commentsPalo Alto approaches key decision on grade separation
Faced with a series of expensive, complex and, in some cases, deeply unpopular options for redesigning four local rail crossings, Palo Alto officials are preparing to invest more money and time into their lagging effort to choose a preferred alternative for the ambitious project.
Thursday, 9:23 AM | 32 commentsCounty halts online traffic ticket payments
Santa Clara County Superior Court on Wednesday temporarily halted online payments for traffic infractions and misdemeanors because of a glitch in its fee system.
Thursday, 8:40 AM |
3 comments
Santa Clara County Superior Court on Wednesday temporarily halted online payments for traffic infractions and misdemeanors because of a glitch in its fee system.
Thursday, 8:40 AM |
3 comments
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
William 'Rick' Singer, head of college-admissions scam, had many Palo Alto connections
William Singer, the Newport Beach, California man at the head of an elaborate fraud to get students of wealthy families into top-rated colleges by cheating on college admissions exams and bribing coaches and admissions officers, had a long history of dealing with Silicon Valley clients.
Wednesday, 9:54 AM | 54 commentsShop Talk: Oren's Hummus expands, Midtown Starbucks closes
In the latest Shop Talk column, read about Palo Alto-born Oren's Hummus' expansion plans and the closure of a longtime local Starbucks.
Wednesday, 9:47 AM | No comments yetTuesday, March 12, 2019
School district, Stanford restart talks on GUP
After months of stalled talks and disagreement over how Stanford University's planned expansion will impact the Palo Alto school district, the two entities have returned to the table.
Tuesday, 8:50 PM | 9 commentsFeds: Parents paid tens of thousands to game the admissions system
The 204-page federal complaint filed by the United States Attorney's Office on March 12 in the case of a nationwide college-admissions scam details the lengths to which wealthy parents of high school students were willing to go to get their children into elite universities.
Tuesday, 7:41 PM | 73 commentsLocal parents, Stanford coach indicted in college-admissions scandal
Numerous local parents and a Stanford University coach are among the dozens indicted in a nationwide college-admissions investigation that involved alleged bribes totaling $25 million.
Tuesday, 9:57 AM | 99 comments
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Big Island Food Party!
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Short story writers wanted!
The 33rd Annual Palo Alto Weekly Short Story Contest is now accepting entries for Adult, Young Adult (15-17) and Teen (12-14) categories. Send us your short story (2,500 words or less) and entry form by March 29. First, Second and Third Place prizes awarded in each category.
