Recent News
Thursday, April 9, 2020
'Grief is difficult on a good day.' How the coronavirus pandemic is reshaping the ways we mourn
These days, death and the rites that come with it are quieter, more cautious affairs than before the coronavirus pandemic struck. Here's how local death industry leaders are adapting to the shifting needs of mourners.
Thursday, 1:20 PM | No comments yetParents adjust to a 'new normal' of kids at home
San Mateo County parents are nearing the start of their second month with children confined to their homes because of school closures prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Thursday, 10:05 AM | No comments yetWednesday, April 8, 2020
In the time of the coronavirus, Zoom and Skype are the new therapist's office
With local youth sheltering at home, counseling sessions and support groups that used to take place face-to-face in school wellness centers, clinics and private offices across Santa Clara and San Mateo counties have gone virtual.
Wednesday, 5:16 PM | 1 commentCoronavirus expected to cost Menlo Park $8.8 million in lost revenues
The coronavirus pandemic and the community shutdown that it has caused are expected to cost the city of Menlo Park an estimated $8.8 million in revenue, according to Assistant City Manager Nick Pegueros.
Wednesday, 11:58 AM | 7 commentsSan Mateo County schools to remain closed through end of school year
Public schools in six Bay Area counties, including in San Mateo, will remain closed through the end of the school year, county health officers and superintendents of schools have decided.
Wednesday, 10:35 AM | No comments yetProperty tax deadline extended in San Mateo County
The deadline for San Mateo County property owners to pay their second annual installment of property taxes has been extended to May 4, from the previous deadline of April 10.
Wednesday, 10:04 AM | 2 commentsAccustomed to danger, emergency responders now protect themselves from new threat — a virus
Local firefighters, paramedics and police officers have had to rapidly gear up for a new normal, one in which every call they respond to could bring the risk of catching the coronavirus.
Wednesday, 9:43 AM | No comments yetTuesday, April 7, 2020
Almanac honored in California Journalism Awards contest
The Almanac took home nine awards among all California weekly newspapers in its circulation category in the California News Publishers Association's (CNPA) 2019 California Journalism Awards, according to results announced last week.
Tuesday, 3:03 PM |
No comments yet
The Almanac took home nine awards among all California weekly newspapers in its circulation category in the California News Publishers Association's (CNPA) 2019 California Journalism Awards, according to results announced last week.
Tuesday, 3:03 PM |
No comments yet
Facebook announces $15 million to support Bay Area small businesses
Weeks after Facebook announced it would put $100 million into a program to offer grants to small businesses around the world, the Menlo Park-based company has announced that $15 million of that is set aside for Bay Area businesses.
Tuesday, 12:39 PM | No comments yetInterim superintendent Gina Sudaria to lead Ravenswood school district on a permanent basis
After serving just over a year as the Ravenswood City School District's interim superintendent, Gina Sudaria has been selected as the K-8 district's permanent superintendent.
Tuesday, 11:40 AM | No comments yetMonday, April 6, 2020
San Mateo County announces mandatory quarantines, isolation for coronavirus patients and their contacts
Residents of San Mateo County who have tested positive for COVID-19 have been ordered not to leave their homes except to get necessary medical care or in an emergency that requires evacuation, according to an April 6 mandate.
Monday, 6:09 PM | 11 commentsEmergency child care now open to essential workers in county at Atherton campus
San Mateo County's essential workers who need child care can now send their kids to Laurel School Lower Campus in Atherton on weekdays.
Monday, 3:54 PM | No comments yetMenlo College to offer transfer slots to students of 'challenged' Notre Dame de Namur University
Menlo College in Atherton has offered to take in students who attend Notre Dame de Namur University, which may close because of enrollment and financial issues.
Monday, 3:30 PM | 1 commentVolunteers help Stanford search for COVID-19 clues in blood samples
Hundreds of volunteers from throughout Santa Clara county on Friday and Saturday participated in a Stanford survey that could help us understand how many people actually have COVID-19 virus, even if they aren't showing symptoms.
Monday, 12:09 PM | No comments yetMenlo Park resident's 'Porchraits' offer snapshots of everyday life during shelter-at-home order
A Menlo Park resident spent her spring break taking photos â€" from at least 10 feet away â€" of her neighbors to raise money for a local charity.
Monday, 11:29 AM | 3 commentsSunday, April 5, 2020
Menlo Park moves to online permit center amid coronavirus pandemic
Menlo Park has moved to an online permit center to handle existing permit applications and ongoing projects while public facilities are closed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Sunday, 7:58 AM | 1 commentTroop 206 sends two more scouts soaring with the Eagles
Two local scouts -- Kevin Box and Hazen Stribling -- received their Eagle award from Troop 206 at a Court of Honor held in January at Trinity Church in Menlo Park.
Sunday, 7:58 AM | No comments yetSaturday, April 4, 2020
Collision brings wires down, shuts down portion of Woodside Road
Woodside Road remains closed from Fox Hill Road to Skyline Boulevard, according to an alert sent out by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office Sunday morning.
Saturday, 7:18 PM | No comments yetVolunteers help Stanford search for COVID-19 clues in blood samples
Hundreds of volunteers from throughout Santa Clara County on Friday and Saturday participated in a Stanford survey that could help us understand how many people actually have COVID-19 virus, even if they aren't showing symptoms.
Saturday, 3:50 PM | No comments yetCoronavirus weekend update: More parks close, Santa Clara County cases reach 1,148
A roundup of coronavirus news in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The latest available data shows Santa Clara County has 1,148 cases and 39 deaths; San Mateo County has 538 cases and 13 deaths.
Saturday, 10:11 AM | 12 commentsNonprofit starts virtual discussion group for early learning programs
A Menlo Park-based nonprofit is launching a virtual discussion group for early childhood education program administrators as many cope with the challenges of continuing to provide services during the statewide shelter-in-place order.
Saturday, 9:30 AM | No comments yetFriday, April 3, 2020
Local small businesses are taking bold new steps to keep their doors open. Help may be on the way.
As small businesses along the Peninsula shutter in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the owner of Old World Designs in Menlo Park, Linda Mendenhall, is doing everything she can to adapt to the new world of digital business.
Friday, 5:56 PM | 7 commentsNew Atherton city attorney takes the reins
Mona Ebrahimi has stepped into the role of Atherton's city attorney. Her biggest project? Helping the town wrap up its new $31.6 million civic center.
Friday, 2:02 PM | No comments yetAtherton: Civic center construction still on hold
Atherton officials are considering resuming construction of a new police station during the shelter-in-place order, but safety concerns around risks of spreading the virus remain.
Friday, 1:39 PM | 2 commentsPeninsula Clean Energy to offer $100 bill credits to low-income households countywide
To help low-income households pay their energy bills in the next few months, Peninsula Clean Energy will be providing a free $100 credit to about 30,000 customer households on their monthly PG&E bill in April.
Friday, 11:37 AM | No comments yetSchool closures heighten low-income families' fears that their students will be left behind
For local low-income families, the coronavirus is exacerbating the economic, educational and technological inequities that already loom large without the threat of a public health crisis.
Friday, 11:26 AM | No comments yetCounties change tune on face protection, but not on N95 or surgical masks
Bay Area public health leaders are now asking residents to cover their faces with a cloth before leaving their homes, heeding advice released by the state on Wednesday.
Friday, 9:14 AM | 13 commentsThursday, April 2, 2020
A month after Super Tuesday, some votes are still being counted
Remember the primary elections last month? Since then, a global pandemic has struck, leading to lagging local vote counts. San Mateo County certified its results Wednesday, while Santa Clara County lags behind.
Thursday, 11:47 AM | No comments yetWednesday, April 1, 2020
Safety net for low-income Menlo Park residents spreading wider
As the coronavirus whips across the Bay Area, many low-income residents living on the edge are being put at risk. What's the solution? In Menlo Park, one answer comes in the form of a $112,000 fund to support residents in need.
Wednesday, 6:38 PM | 1 commentCounty rolls out overflow COVID-19 treatment center at San Mateo Event Center
In a cavernous room at the San Mateo County Event Center, 250 hospital beds lie waiting for an emergency that county officials hope will never come.
Wednesday, 2:44 PM | 1 commentTop state officials: Schools likely won't reopen this academic year
In a letter issued Tuesday, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond signaled that public school students won't return to their campuses before the end of the school year.
Wednesday, 9:29 AM | No comments yetTuesday, March 31, 2020
Judge sends Atherton mom to prison for college admissions scandal
An Atherton woman who paid more than $500,000 to help her children get into college through a nationwide admissions scandal was sentenced on Tuesday to seven months in prison, according to prosecutors.
Tuesday, 5:14 PM | 10 commentsBay Area extends stay-at-home order to May 3, adds new business restrictions
With the number of coronavirus cases rising and health systems bracing for a surge of patients, Bay Area health officials extended on Tuesday the regional stay-at-home order until May 3 and announced new restrictions on businesses.
Tuesday, 4:15 PM | 4 commentsNeighbors helping neighbors
Even as the dark shadow of COVID-19 sweeps across our communities, lights of local organizations are popping up as neighbors help neighbors in Menlo Park.
Tuesday, 2:30 PM | 1 commentMenlo Park district decides to place parcel tax on March 2021 ballot
Menlo Park City School District officials chose not to place a measure to renew or replace an existing parcel tax on the November ballot during a March 12 meeting.
Tuesday, 11:51 AM | 17 commentsA pandemic on the rise: Charts reveal how virus has spread at different rates in two counties
Through a series of charts, track how the coronavirus has infected and killed people in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, which have a combined total of nearly 2,000 confirmed cases as of Tuesday, April 7.
Tuesday, 8:28 AM | 8 commentsPortola Valley suspends construction due to virus
Construction projects in Portola Valley have been put on hold due to the coronavirus crisis.
Tuesday, 8:24 AM |
No comments yet
Construction projects in Portola Valley have been put on hold due to the coronavirus crisis.
Tuesday, 8:24 AM |
No comments yet
Monday, March 30, 2020
Coronavirus central: 633 cases and 21 deaths in San Mateo County
In San Mateo County's latest numbers released Wednesday, residents between 31 and 41 years old made up 116 of the total 633 cases, the largest age group infected with the virus.
Monday, 10:54 AM | 3 commentsAtherton: TV-watching burglar sentenced to probation
Vallejo resident David Lee Jeffrey Magris, who was arrested for breaking into two garages at an Atherton home in December, has been sentenced to three years of probation. When he was arrested, police say, he was watching TV.
Monday, 9:00 AM | 1 commentSunday, March 29, 2020
Home sales: Woodside has week's top seller with $18.4M estate
A complete list of home sales on the Midpeninsula, where Woodside recorded the highest sale at $18.4 million for a five-bedroom farmhouse-style estate built in 2003. The property last sold in 2011 for $12.5 million.
Sunday, 8:37 AM | No comments yetSaturday, March 28, 2020
Coronavirus weekend update: Number of Santa Clara County cases makes up over a quarter of the region's total
A roundup of news about the coronavirus in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.
Saturday, 9:46 AM | 2 commentsMagda Fischel Levy, artist and Holocaust survivor, dies at 97
Former Menlo Park resident Magda Fischel Levy, who drew on her experience as a Hungarian Holocaust survivor, artist and maxillofacial prosthetician to provide reconstructive facial prosthetics for cancer survivors, died on March 18.
Saturday, 8:39 AM | 1 commentFriday, March 27, 2020
California Grocers Association urges people to stop hoarding goods
The California Grocers Association has a message for people flocking to the grocery stores to stock up on supplies amid the coronavirus crisis: Don't buy so much.
Friday, 1:46 PM | 4 commentsMenlo Park COVID-19 update: City officials announce closure of additional park facilities
Menlo Park city officials on Thursday, March 26, announced the immediate closure of additional recreation facilities in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Friday, 11:12 AM | 8 commentsThe high cost of sheltering in place
Though the shelter-in-place order, first implemented by six Bay Area counties and quickly followed by the statewide mandate, applies to all Californians, it has affected families unequally across the class spectrum.
Friday, 8:51 AM | No comments yet
Get fact-based reporting on the COVID-19 crisis sent to your inbox daily.
Coronavirus Food Safety Update + New! Insider Tips
By Laura Stec | 7 comments | 5,234 views
Singapore's oldest cafe was about to open in Palo Alto. Then, the coronavirus hit.
By Elena Kadvany | 2 comments | 5,043 views
A Pragmatic Approach to A Trillion Trees
By Sherry Listgarten | 4 comments | 4,153 views
Repairing a Disagreement with your Beloved & “Physical” vs. “Social” Distancing
By Chandrama Anderson | 2 comments | 2,831 views
The University of California’s flexible policies during COVID-19
By John Raftrey and Lori McCormick | 6 comments | 2,718 views
DEADLINE EXTENDED
The 34th Annual Palo Alto Weekly Short Story Contest is now accepting entries for Adult, Young Adult and Teen categories. Send us your short story (2,500 words or less) and entry form by April 10, 2020. First, Second and Third Place prizes awarded in each category.
