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Lightning strikes Willows redwood
During a lightning storm in the early hours of Aug. 16, a bolt of lightning struck a redwood tree towering around 80 feet high on the property of Noel Young, a Willows neighborhood resident who lives on Concord Drive.
The lightning strike, which hit around 5:15 a.m., was very loud and caused the tree to explode, damaging the roof, patio and patio furniture, Young said.
Flood Park entrance now free
People looking to spend time outdoors at Flood Park will now no longer have to pay a $6 vehicle entrance fee.
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Aug. 4 to eliminate the fee, which, according to San Mateo County Parks Director Nicholas Calderon, was a barrier to some people using the park.
The 21-acre county park located in Menlo Park, which serves mainly residents from Menlo Park, North Fair Oaks, East Palo Alto and Redwood City, has playgrounds, picnic areas, sports fields and grassy areas.
The park served more than 100,000 visitors and generated about $80,000 in entrance fees during the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to the resolution the supervisors approved.
CEO of LifeMoves announces retirement plans
Bruce Ives, CEO of LifeMoves, a Menlo Park-based homeless services nonprofit, has announced he plans to retire by next June, the end of the fiscal year.
LifeMoves, the nonprofit, he said, is at an inflection point. “The pandemic has exposed the fragility of our social safety net and magnified its impact on the most vulnerable in our community,” he said in a press statement.
To help unhoused community members, Ives said, the nonprofit plans to do things like create pop-up shelters in multiple locations, as well as continue its work of helping homeless individuals and families find stable housing.
In the last five years, since Ives became CEO, the nonprofit has expanded its shelter and program capacity by 53%, according to board chair Joe Stockwell.
The nonprofit board has retained m/Oppenheim Executive Search, an executive search firm, to help find its next CEO, Stockwell added. Ives said he plans to help his successor get used to the position and will serve on the board after he’s done as CEO.
Tour de Menlo scholarship fundraiser goes DIY
With the coronavirus pandemic still a threat, Menlo Park’s traditional bike fundraiser to raise college scholarship funds for local high school students won’t have its usual format this year.
Instead, it will offer a “Do it Yourself” format, inviting local cyclists to create their own routes, or follow a suggested one, between the dates of Sept. 4 and 13. There won’t be support stations or lunch, or even arrows to mark the course, as in years past, but organizers will provide maps offering 35, 45 and 65-mile routes, which will be available online at tourdemenlo.com. Event organizers will also share the results of participants who log their ride on the Strava app.
The organizers are asking for $25 to register and $50 to get a T-shirt with registration. Proceeds provide grants to local nonprofits and need-based scholarships administered by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation for local students at Menlo-Atherton, Eastside Preparatory, East Palo Alto High School and Sacred Heart Prep.
The fundraiser is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Menlo Park Foundation and The Almanac, as well as Facebook, Sutter Health Palo Alto Medical Foundation and SBM Fitness.
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Lightning striking that Redwood is pretty scary, there are lots of Redwood trees in the Willows and some much taller than that one. Hope lightning doesn’t strike them.