News
School board defies gloomy projections, adopts $369 M budget
1+ hour, 43+ min ago (998+ words) The Palo Alto Board of Education unanimously adopted on Tuesday a $369-million budget for the 2026-27 school year " but not without a few hiccups as board members briefly reconsidered salary increase proposals for staff amid growing financial uncertainty." "The reality is…...
As ballot deadline nears, will California's billionaire tax actually go to voters?
6+ hour, 3+ min ago (463+ words) Early 20th century political reformers such as Hiram Johnson saw the initiative process " placing measures on the ballot for voters to decide " as an antidote to a Legislature controlled by moneyed interests. However, 125 years after voters adopted the process, it's come…...
Palo Alto utility customers to see rate hikes next month
15+ hour, 7+ min ago (666+ words) Palo Alto households will see their monthly utility bills grow by about $35 next month after the City Council approved on Monday an assortment of rate increases, including a 16% rate hike for the city's wastewater operation. "Reserve balances were brought down…...
Palo Alto Museum gets a lifeline in city's approved budget
17+ hour, 28+ min ago (655+ words) An unlikely capital improvement project claimed the spotlight at the Palo Alto City Council's final budget talks on Monday night: funding repairs at the Palo Alto Museum. "(We were moving forward) to be a community hub, a place that holds…...
Summer tree pruning: What to cut and what to leave alone on the Peninsula
1+ day, 7+ min ago (281+ words) Early summer often sparks the annual debate over when to prune. While tree trimming is commonly associated with winter dormancy, this season can also be an important window for thinning and shaping certain trees, depending on the species, their health…...
Capitol's perpetual rivalry on display as Newsom and legislators clash over budget
1+ day, 6+ hour ago (573+ words) A few months after his inauguration as governor in 1999, Gray Davis uttered a few words that rattled the Capitol. While being interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board, the Democrat expressed frustration about his differences with legislative leaders, and…...
Palo Alto nixes 'urgency' measure to limit impact of housing law
1+ day, 9+ hour ago (810+ words) Senate Bill 79, a contentious state bill that allows greater height and density for housing near public transit stations, will operate in full force for two weeks in Palo Alto before the city's exemptions kick in. "I believe that our legal…...
Palo Alto shifts gears on Cal Ave. biking as it approves master plan
1+ day, 10+ hour ago (611+ words) Separated bikeways, enhanced school routes and pedestrian amenities at dozens of intersections are among the projects that Palo Alto plans to roll out over the next decade as part of an ambitious new master plan that the City Council approved…...
Santa Clara County jail worker who exploited women gets light sentence
1+ day, 12+ hour ago (492+ words) A Santa Clara County jail worker who sexually exploited incarcerated women by smuggling in drugs faces just one year behind bars. Marcos Pina Mejia, 56, pleaded guilty June 8to two felony counts of bringing methamphetamine into Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas and…...
Newsom says he's on Trump's "hit list' as Justice Department interviews governor's friends
1+ day, 22+ hour ago (348+ words) Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday accused President Donald Trump of placing him on a political "hit list" and directing federal investigators to go on a "fishing expedition" for a crime it could use to indict him. The Democratic governor declared…...