Mountain View’s senior nutrition program has grown in recent years, staving off hunger and isolation for the city’s older residents. A recent county report revealed that the congregate meal service is the largest of its kind in the county outside San Jose, with a big bump in demand following the pandemic. Mountain View is typically...
Palo Alto hopes to protect El Camino retail amid housing boom
When city leaders from all over the Peninsula pitched a plan more than a decade ago to transform El Camino Real into a “grand boulevard,” they ran into a gauntlet of skepticism in Palo Alto. The Grand Boulevard Initiative, a collaboration of 19 cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, was largely panned by...
Mountain View braces for extreme heat as climate change progresses
As climate change becomes a sweeping reality, Mountain View is taking steps to prepare for extreme heat events, big storms, wildfire activities and sea level rise. Last year, the city hired Cascadia Consulting Group to assess the impacts of climate change on community groups and services in Mountain View. Now the consulting firm has come out with some...
Mountain View weighs El Monte ‘road diet’ after pedestrian fatalities
Long-awaited road improvements are beginning to take shape on El Monte Avenue, a traffic corridor in Mountain View that has a record of pedestrian fatalities. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee weighed in on an early design for safety improvements along El Monte Avenue, as well as an adjacent portion of El Camino Real, at a...
Rule change to steer golfers away from Palo Alto wetlands
After fielding complaints about golfers damaging sensitive wetland habitat in the Palo Alto Baylands, the city has installed fences, added signage and instituted a new “local rule” in an effort to keep the area pristine. The issue of golfers trampling on Baylands plants surfaced in 2023, when a complaint from a local environmentalist prompted intervention from...
Google failed to give notice of Mountain View layoffs, union alleges
The Alphabet Workers Union representing Google employees has filed a complaint with the state alleging that Google did not provide adequate notice of mass layoffs that occurred in Mountain View in April. The union claims that Google announced the layoff of hundreds of employees on its mobile device teams on April 11, which was reported by news organizations at...
Mountain View ekes out balanced budget amid economic uncertainties
Mountain View is getting ready to greenlight a budget that is narrowly balanced, with little wiggle room to shore up money for new expenses as it grapples with an economic slowdown and the possibility of federal funding cuts. “Our budget is less robust than it has been in prior years,” said City Manager Kimbra McCarthy, who presented...
Palo Alto adopts $1B budget, revamps ambulance service
Facing a turbulent financial outlook, Palo Alto adopted on Monday a $1-billion budget that revamps the Fire Department’s ambulance service, expands funding for nonprofit groups and delays decisions on budget cuts until later this year. The spending plan that the City Council adopted by a 6-0 vote, with Councilmember Greer Stone absent, includes one major...
Mountain View could ban e-cigarettes and flavored tobacco sales
Mountain View is seeking to establish a citywide ban on the sale of all flavored tobacco, electronic cigarettes and vape related products, with a goal of bringing down nicotine use among teens and young adults. In a 6-1 vote, the City Council provided direction Tuesday evening for city staff to pursue a local ordinance in...
Google looks to sell Middlefield Park property in Mountain View
In an abrupt turnabout, Google is looking to pull back on its commitment to build high-density housing in an area of Mountain View slated for major residential growth. The tech behemoth confirmed to the Voice that it is exploring the sale of Middlefield Park, a 40-acre site in the East Whisman area – a part...