Facing criticism from downtown merchants, Palo Alto is preparing to drop a policy that allows restaurants to extend their dining areas into adjacent properties, even without consent from neighbors. The change, which the City Council will consider at its Jan. 13 meeting, aims to address arguments from retailers that expanded parklets are threatening their businesses,...

Buying a home on the Midpeninsula is more affordable now than at the start of 2024, according to newly released data from the California Association of Realtors. In the second half of the year, 17% of San Mateo households and 19% of Santa Clara county households could afford to purchase a median-priced home. That’s up from 16%...

As Palo Alto’s most critical infrastructure project nears the finish line, the city remains embroiled in a dispute with the main contractor, a conflict that is threatening to further raise the costs of the $120-million public safety building. The project has seen numerous delays since construction kicked off in June 2021. The city’s most recent...

California Avenue will finally get some love next month, when Palo Alto’s contractors start painting two-way bike lanes, implementing colored paving and installing planters at the entrance points of the eclectic retail district that expelled cars and welcomed dining tents during the early days of pandemic. The suite of improvements comprises just the first in...

Palo Alto’s three council appointed officers – City Manager Ed Shikada, City Attorney Molly Stump and City Clerk Mahealani Ah Yun – are all set to receive raises next week, according to a report from the Human Resources Department. The raises, which follow a period of evaluation by a City Council committee and its consultant,...

Palo Alto Police Department’s latest crime-fighting tool is silent, passive and largely invisible unless you know where to look. The city introduced this tool last spring, when it became just the latest municipality to partner with Flock Safety to mount automated license plate readers on lamp posts, street signs and other fixtures in undisclosed locations....

Palo Alto added its voice this week to a growing coalition of cities and environmental groups that are rallying to prevent a proposed quarry from taking over a grassy expanse in the hills south of Gilroy that is sacred to the Amah Mutsun tribe. Known as Juristac or Sargent Ranch, this area has been used...

Citing surging demand in emergency room visits, Stanford Health Care is asking the city of Palo Alto for permission to add 70 beds in its hospital buildings, raising the maximum total to 670, according to an application that the hospital system submitted last month. The proposal, which is now being reviewed by the city’s Department...

Palo Alto’s elected leaders have no shortage of ideas for future housing sites, from parking lots and transit hubs to industrial zones and residential backyards. But there is one site that city officials are explicitly excluding from their housing discussion: Cubberley Community Center. Chastened by the past and antsy about the future, city staff and...

Utility rates in Palo Alto are slated to go up by another 9% next summer, adding $36.40 to the median residential utility bill, according to new projections from the Palo Alto Utilities Department. For local ratepayers, this round of increases is the latest in a pattern of annual rate hikes. Utility rates similarly went up...