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Kepler’s book drive for county Juvenile Hall and Family Court
Kepler’s Books in Menlo Park is running a donation drive for gently used children’s and young adult books to be delivered to Santa Clara County Superior Court family division for children in Juvenile Hall and Family Court. The store also invites potential donors to purchase new books or a gift card to donate.
So far, an estimated 450 books have been donated. The drive started in July and will run through the end of August. Kepler’s is located at 1010 El Camino Real in Menlo Park.
More information on the store can be found at keplers.com.
Ravenswood Classroom Partners needs volunteers for new school year
The volunteer-run non-profit Ravenswood Classroom Partners is accepting new volunteers for the fall. Volunteers will spend 90 minutes a week offering academic support to elementary students in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park’s Belle Haven neighborhood.
The organization was created to support underprivileged students, as over 88% of students in that area are below grade level in reading and math, according to a press release.
More information can be found on the group’s website at ravenswoodclassroompartners.org.
Two Menlo Park residents become Eagle Scouts
Menlo Park’s troop 206 welcomed two new Eagle Scouts, Samuel Virsik, a senior at Menlo School and Portola Valley resident, and Isaiah Rassbach, a junior studying abroad in Germany, from Atherton.
Virsik constructed new bookshelves for the Orthodox Church of the Holy Cross choir as his project while Rassbach constructed new benches for Grace Presbyterian Church Silicon Valley, according to information provided by Carrie Rassbach.
Kings Mountain to hold 60th annual art fair on Labor Day weekend
This Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-4, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Kings Mountain community will hold its 60th annual art fair at the Kings Mountain Community Center at 13889 Skyline Blvd. The unincorporated community is located just above Woodside.
The fair will feature original art from over 120 artists, crafts and games for kids, as well as a variety of breakfast and lunch foods.
The fair is 100% volunteer run and all proceeds will benefit the all-volunteer Kings Mountain Fire Department and the Kings Mountain Elementary School.
More information can be found on the Kings Mountain Art Fair website at kingsmountainartfair.org.
Equestrian competitions at The Horse Park at Woodside
Rider Lauren Billys Shady and horse Can Be Sweet won the Intermediate level at the Woodside Summer Horse Trials, which ran from Aug. 11-13. Previously the pair won the first-ever international gold medal in eventing for Puerto Rico at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador.
Rider Nadia Vogt, who is 17 years old, and horse Castle Larchfield Purdy won the first-ever Modified level held at The Horse Park at Woodside. Nineteen-year-old rider Gabrilla Ringer and horse Get Wild placed first at the Preliminary level.
The August horse trials are the second of three USEA-recognized events hosted at The Horse Park at Woodside this year, following the Woodside Spring Horse Trials in May and the Woodside Fall International set for October.
More information and scores for all competitors are available at horsepark.org.
-Michaela Seah
Tree blamed for Menlo Park power outage
A power outage in Menlo Park left 1,565 customers in the dark on Wednesday night, Aug. 9.
At 6:11 p.m., PG&E turned the power off to areas of North Fair Oaks, Atherton and Menlo Park, including the neighborhoods of Lindenwood, Vintage Oaks, Linfield Oaks and Menlo Oaks, in order to clear vegetation from power lines. PG&E reported that 800 customers had their power restored around 9 p.m. and all power was restored to the area by 2:12 a.m. Thursday morning.
Menlo Park Mayor Jen Wolosin said in an email that a downed tree affected power lines near Middlefield Road and Oak Grove Avenue, knocking out the power to homes and traffic lights.
Wolosin said that the situation was different from the winter power outages Menlo Park experienced because PG&E crews working to restore power were not also battling extreme weather or multiple other outage events at the same time.
Menlo Park Public Works staff posted stop signs at non-functional traffic lights, she said.
-Cameron Rebosio
County hosts listening sessions on community needs
San Mateo County will begin a countywide series of listening sessions to gather input on community needs in four priority areas.
Residents are encouraged to share their opinions concerning children and families, housing and homelessness, emergency preparedness and mental health.
The series will be held in communities across the Peninsula. Live interpretation and small group discussions will occur in English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Mandarin at each session and in Tagalog in Daly City and San Mateo.
The listening sessions and online survey results will directly inform county leaders as they prioritize funding from the Measure K sales tax, which provides local funds for local needs.
The next session is set for Tuesday, Aug. 22, in North Fair Oaks. No advance registration is required for attendance. A list of all upcoming sessions is available online at smcgov.org.
-Embarcadero Media staff
