As Palo Alto leaders forge a new strategy for increasing housing in the downtown neighborhood, one edge of the 90-acre planning area is emerging as a promising site for a future residential boom. Downtown has seen virtually no residential growth over the past decade, even as other areas have experienced an influx of proposals. The...
Palo Alto approves 368-apartment complex on El Camino Real
One of Palo Alto’s largest and most ambitious housing projects, a 368-apartment complex proposed for the former site of The Fish Market on El Camino Real, has received the green light from the city, clearing the way for construction to begin. The proposal from Acclaim Companies for 3150 El Camino Real exemplifies more than any...
Liccardo bill would create pathway to financing ADUs
Rep. Sam Liccardo introduced a bill last week that would create a new federal financing pathway for accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, to address the nation’s housing shortage. The bill, H.R. 4479, also known as the SUPPLY Act, has 16 co-sponsors and was introduced on the House floor on July 18. ADUs — sometimes referred...
Stanford children’s hospital in Palo Alto opens new treatment spaces
Stanford Medicine has opened a new outpatient clinic and infusion center at the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, adding six new exam rooms and 15 private infusion bays for patients and families. The Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases outpatient clinic and Infusion Center’s new space allows privacy for all patients during treatment, according...
Mountain View’s senior nutrition program sees increase in meals served
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...