TownSquare on AlmanacNews.com

Community Engagement Manager

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:21:39 PDT

It seems like the best kept secret in town is the newly hired Community Engatement Manager. Has anyone seen her?

For a position that should be highly visible, she instead seems to be conspicuous by her absence. What should be the level of involvement for someone earning a $100,000 plus salary?

Does she go to City Council meetings, Commission meetings, Homeowner Association meetings, Service Club meetings, Chamber of Commerce meetings, Church functions etc in order to mingle and get the pulse of the town?

Maybe she'll surface eventually, but thus far the "civic engagement" seems to be off.

Happy Independence Day to all

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:55:12 PDT

I'm relatively new to this forum, but appreciate the opportunity it provides. To all of you fellow forum contributors, Happy 4th of July, we're all extremely fortunate to be able to freely express our views in venues like this. Tomorrow is a VERY special day! Celebrate, be happy and be safe.

Commission on board with renaming Bayfront Park after Mike Bedwell

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:17:13 PDT

If Menlo Park's parks and recreation commissioners get their way, Bayfront Park will have a new name as of Jan. 1: Bedwell Bayfront Park.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6465 posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 12:00 AM

Waving flags on whose dime?

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:21:37 PDT

So what's with the new red-white-and-blue flags hanging along downtown Santa Cruz Avenue? Whose idea were they, and who paid for them?

First-time novelist tells tale of Silicon Valley wealth, angst

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 22:01:42 PDT

Janelle Brown knew she would live the writing life from the time she was in second grade, she says.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6468 posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 12:00 AM

Letter: Safety measures needed on Portola Road

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:46:49 PDT

The perfect storm occurred in front of our house at 11:26 p.m. June 12, when a car driven by Keith Benford Knudsen, 19, of Portola Valley crashed and killed his passenger, Robert Lewis Wetzel, 19, of Redwood City.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6478 posted Wednesday, July 2, 2008, 12:00 AM

Menlo Park resident, veteran, volunteer Mike Salome dies

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:04:19 PDT

Menlo Park resident Mike Salome is no longer feeling cramps in his toes, a reminder of a bout with frostbite in 1944. The Nazis had given him and his fellow prisoners of war only thin socks and wooden shoes to wear during the winter at a camp in Germany.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6369 posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 12:00 AM

Kepler's Weekly Best Sellers 6/29/08

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:39:18 PDT

Hardcover Fiction

1. Goodnight Bush - Eric Origen

2. Art Of Racing In The Rain - Garth Stein

3. Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton

4. Story Of Edgar Sawtelle - David Wroblewski

5. Enchantress Of Florence - Salman Rushdie

6. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri

7. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Janelle Brown

8. Nothing To Lose - Lee Child

9. America America - Ethan Canin

10. No One You Know - Michelle Richmond

Hardcover Non-Fiction

1. When You Are Engulfed In Flames - David Sedaris

2. My Stroke Of Insight - Jill Taylor

3. Art Of Simple Food - Alice Waters

4. Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

5. Mind Of Your Story - Lisa Lenard-Cook

6. In Defense Of Food - Michael Pollan

7. What Happened - Scott Mcclellan

8. Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria

9. Laughing Without An Accent - Firoozeh Dumas

10. 1 Minute To Midnight - Michael Dobbs

Paperback Fiction

1. Divisadero - Michael Ondaatje

2. Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar

3. On Chesil Beach - Ian Mcewan

4. Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen

5. Year Of Fog - Michelle Richmond

6. Yiddish Policemens Union - Michael Chabon

7. Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson

8. Gathering - Anne Enright

9. Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs

10. Last Chinese Chef - Nicole Mones

Paperback Non-Fiction

1. 3 Cups Of Tea - Greg Mortenson

2. New Earth - Eckhart Tolle

3. Plato & A Platypus Walk Into A Bar - Thomas Cathcart

4. Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver

5. Audacity Of Hope - Barack Obama

6. Little Heathens - Mildred Kalish

7. Bay Area Mama Handbook Silicon Valley - Loretta Briggs

8. Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan

9. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsiali

10. Dreams From My Father - Barack Obama

Jumping at a chance to make the Olympic team again

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 20:54:36 PDT

Grace Upshaw, a former resident of Menlo Park, stood at the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and wondered where her career in track and field was headed. Only a few days earlier she had finished 10th in the women's long jump finals, leaping just 21-9 1/2 after finishing second at the U.S. Trials at 22-5.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=2202 posted Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 10:40 PM

Butler Construction receives Family Friendly Award

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:10:13 PDT

W.L. Butler Construction of Redwood City, founded by Bill Butler of Woodside, received the Family Friend Employer Award at the annual sixth annual Dads Count Fatherhood Breakfast held last month at the Westin San Francisco Airport Hotel.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6360 posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008, 12:00 AM

How High Speed Rail will affect out local communities

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:36:21 PDT

In an article in the new local paper the DAILY POST, Diana Diamond interviews Rod Diridon and writes the following:

On how local communities will be affected�

Locals would be overridden

I asked Diridon whether one or two local cities, like Atherton and Menlo Park, could stop a 400-plus mile high-speed train system in this state.

If the bond measure passes, the high-speed train system will override local objections, he said. The streets that cross the tracks will have to be lowered to accommodate the high-speed electric trains (similar to the underpass at the Oregon Expressway at Alma in Palo Alto). And the tracks would have sound walls on both sides.

So local control will be lost. We will have no control. The CHSRA will do them and implement what they want.

Diamond exclaims that there is good news:

The good news is the bond measure will pay for the grade separation work.

Diridon said. And since this will be a general obligation bond, residents� taxes will not be raised,

Diridon continually makes this statement �taxes will not be raised.�. Now the $10 billion bond will cost the general fund of the state $665 million dollars for each year of the 30 life of the bond. That�s a total of almost $20 billion. That�s a total of about $2000 for an average family of four!

How he can continue to repeat this falsehood is amazing. Where does the general fund revenues come from? They come from our taxes.

Free Newspaper Nuisance/Litter

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 08:55:41 PDT

I have been a Menlo Park resident and home owner since 1993. Over the last 15 years, I have endured the recurring problem getting newspaper publishers (like the Independent, and the Examiner) to permanently stop littering my driveway with their "free" newspapers. I have spoken with several of my neighbors, and they are experiencing the same frustrations. To many, these newspapers are...

* A nuisance to residents and essentially litter
* A clear indication to "others" that no one is
home when you are on vacation
* A waste of paper
* Misleading to local businesses because their circulation
numbers do not represent true readership

I know there is a Menlo Park ordinance (8.36.020 Distributing on private premises) that requires these publishers to cease delivery upon receiving written notice. I have sent several letters but to no avail.

The current ordinance puts the burden on Menlo Park residents to "Opt Out". The ordinance should be changed to place the burden on the newspaper publishers; i.e. an "Opt In" system where it's a violation to leave free newspapers on someone's property without first receiving the property owner's written permission.

Cops prepare for new cell-phone driving laws

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:04:24 PDT

Local law enforcement agencies are gearing up to begin enforcing the "hands-free" cell phone laws that go into effect Tuesday, July 1.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6433 posted Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 12:00 AM

Downtown Decorative Flags

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:05:58 PDT

On Santa Cruz Avenue, colorful and decorative flags seemed to have popped-up overnight. Where did they come from? Did the City provide them? I must admit they look very nice and add a certain amount of pizzazz to the area. More questions than answers, such as how long will they stay up? Eventually will they be replaced by other flags? Haven't seen anything in the Almanac about this. Does anybody know?

Kepler's Weekly Best Sellers 6/22/08

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:33:55 PDT

Hardcover Fiction

1. Wednesday Sisters - Meg Waite Clayton
2. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything - Janelle Brown
3. Goodnight Bush - Eric Origen
4. Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
5. Enchantress Of Florence - Salman Rushdie
6. Broken Window - Jeffery Deaver
7. Art Of Racing In The Rain - Garth Stein
8. Exiles - Ron Hansen
9. Unaccustomed Earth Jhumpa Lahiri
10. Not In The Flesh - Ruth Rendell

Hardcover Non-Fiction

1. When You Are Engulfed In Flames - David Sedaris
2. Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
3. In Search Of Remarkable Trees - Thomas Pakenham
4 Earth The Sequel - Fred Krupp
5. What Happened - Scott Mcclellan
6. Dirty Words - Ellen Sussman
7. Art Of Simple Food - Alice Waters
8. Post-American World - Fareed Zakaria
9. Audition - Barbara Walters
10. Billionaire's Vinegar - Benjamin Wallace

Paperback Fiction

1. Hooked - Matt Richtel
2. Out Stealing Horses - Per Petterson
3. Divisadero - Michael Ondaatje
4. Loving Frank - Nancy Horan
5. Septembers Of Shiraz - Dalia Sofer
6. On Chesil Beach - Ian Mcewan
7. Year Of Fog - Michelle Richmond
8. Yiddish Policemen's Union - Michael Chabon
9. Secret Of Lost Things - Sheridan Hay
10. Tug Of War - Barbara Cleverly

Paperback Non-Fiction

1. 3 Cups Of Tea - Greg Mortenson
2. New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
3. Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert
4. Infidel - Ayaan Hirsiali
5. Audacity Of Hope - Barack Obama
6. Omnivore's Dilemma - Michael Pollan
7. Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink
8. Little Heathens - Mildred Kalish
9. Merle's Door - Ted Kerasote
10. Animal Vegetable Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver

John Arrillaga unveiled as Menlo Park gym donor

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:44:42 PDT

Palo Alto billionaire and frequent Stanford University donor John Arrillaga is offering Menlo Park some $8 million or more to build a new Burgess Gym at the city's Civic Center, the city disclosed Monday.
Mr. Arrillaga, a basketball player at Stanford in the 1950s, has been active, as a player and a coach, in the city's Burgess Gym basketball programs for 30 years, and he wants to "give back to the community," City Manager Glen Rojas told The Almanac.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=2191 posted Monday, June 23, 2008, 11:59 AM

Why is Lee Duboc sending unsolicited spam email to people in Menlo Park every week?

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 11:55:33 PDT

Is she planning on running for council again?

Why didn't she have these epiphanies when she was on the council?

She was a spendthrift too.

Ron Newdoll's enterprises go solar

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 07:50:19 PDT

For Ron Newdoll of Woodside, going solar is a no-brainer.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6391 posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 12:00 AM

Ragtime for U.S.O July 4

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 12:45:19 PDT

At 3 p.m. Friday, July 4 at the First Baptist Church of Menlo Park (1100 Middle @ Arbor) Menlo Park's Nan Bostick returns from her whirlwind Mid West tour to perform 2, 4, and 6-handed ragtime piano with Gilroy's Chris and Jack Bradshaw. The threesome will be accompanied by San Francisco's incredible percussionist Pete Devine (of Pete Devine's Jug Band) and on tuba, Woodland's finest, Robyn Drivon (of the Porcupine Ragtime Ensemble). Offerings will be gratefully received to benefit the U.S.O.

At 5:30 following the concert, Pastor Rick and church members host a delicious BBQ. Cost $5. A fun time for the whole family - toe-tapping grandparents and prancing children most happily welcomed. For additional information, contact Carol Maslin at cjmaslin@juno.com or 323-8544. For a map, visit the web site at: www.firstbaptist.com.

The July 4 concert will be Nan Bostick's last local appearance this year. She is currently touring the nation promoting her 3rd CD; her next stop the July 19-20 Ragtime Street Fair at Henry Ford's Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. She and the Bradshaws will also be featured at the 10th Annual Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival held Aug. 8-10 in the Mother Lode (www.suttercreekragtime.com) and the 22nd Annual West Coast Ragtime Festival in Sacramento on Nov. 21-23 (www.westcoastragtime.com).

Nan is the grandniece and biographer of ragtime composer/publisher Neil Moret (best known for such pop tune standards as She's Funny That Way, Chlo-e, You Tell Me Your Dream, and Sweet and Lovely). Her ancestor was instrumental in helping the King of Ragtime, Scott Joplin, promote his first published rag.

Parkinson's: Not a death sentence

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:34:56 PDT

Lynn Fielder remembers the first time she accepted Parkinson's disease as an inseparable part of herself.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=5505 posted Wednesday, January 9, 2008, 12:00 AM

Hands-free cell phone law takes effect July 1

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 13:27:08 PDT

State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, and the California Highway Patrol are reminding drivers that they have to switch from hand-held cell phones to hands-free devices by July 1.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=2171 posted Monday, June 16, 2008, 4:23 PM

What was the Police activity at the new Safeway 2 nights ago?

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:58:57 PDT

I was turning from ElCamino onto Middle and saw multiple police cars had the new parking lot totally blocked off, all the safeway employees seemed to be standing on Middle, etc.... Does anyone know what that was all about? I can find it on the Almanac or Police Activity web sites.

Sharon Heights county club fireworks show sparks dispute

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:59:01 PDT

For five years, Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club in Menlo Park has put on a July Fourth fireworks show for its members, giving residents of the nearby Sharon Heights neighborhood front row seats to the only fireworks show held within city limits.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6393 posted Wednesday, June 18, 2008, 12:00 AM

Adult Summer Reading at Atherton Library

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 10:45:09 PDT

The Atherton Library has an informal Adult Summer Reading Program going on all summer long. The theme is "Transform Your World at the Library." As you complete a book or audio book, just submit the title and a brief comment on the forms available at the library. There are great prizes, with weekly raffle drawings. Prizes include passes to Filoli Garden, gift cards to local businesses, environmentally friendly books and other gift items.

Founder of Al's Nursery in Portola Valley dies at 80

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:33:30 PDT

Alwin Bertschinger, always called Al, who founded a nursery in 1959 on a neglected orchard along Portola Road that became one of the area's finest, died May 31 at his home in Menlo Park. He was 80.

Read the full story here http://www.almanacnews.com/story.php?story_id=6335 posted Wednesday, June 4, 2008, 12:00 AM