3+ day, 13+ hour ago   (346+ words) Palo Alto will pay $8 million to settle a long and bitter dispute with the contractor who constructed the city’s new public safety building, a $120-million project that officially opened near California Avenue in the fall of 2025. City leaders blamed Swinerton…...

4+ day, 1+ hour ago   (931+ words) “Bugs,” the colloquial term San Mateo entomologist Stephanie Dole uses to refer to insects, are all around us. The term encompasses six-legged wonders such as flies, beetles, grasshoppers and so many more, including “true bugs” belonging to the order Hemiptera;…...

4+ day, 23+ hour ago   (696+ words) The fruits of East Palo Alto’s decades-long effort to grow its urban forest are beginning to show. Each tree at these locations represents years of advocacy, volunteer labor and a web of community partnerships. For years, East Palo Altans and…...

5+ day, 9+ hour ago   (609+ words) After more than a decade of designing, debating and dreaming of grade separation at three local rail crossings, Palo Alto’s elected leaders are preparing to narrow their scope and focus their energy on one location: Charleston Road. But as members…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago   (463+ words) Seeking to improve fire safety and support Palo Alto firefighters, local philanthropists launched this week the Palo Alto Fire Foundation, a new community group that is seeded with a $50,000 grant from Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan. “But also, one of…...

1+ week, 4+ day ago   (1069+ words) Palo Alto’s new plan to construct a tunnel for cyclists and pedestrians at El Dorado Avenue is causing a stir in the Midtown neighborhood, where a growing coalition of residents is calling for the city to ditch the proposal. Petitioners…...

1+ week, 5+ day ago   (486+ words) California lawmakers stared down Gov. Gavin Newsom and emerged with hundreds of millions of dollars in climate money for projects he didn’t necessarily want to fund. As a result, the state will funnel $450 million to transit, clean air and drinking…...

2+ week, 5+ hour ago   (853+ words) Lawmakers this week made good on a year-old promise, passing a bill to narrow a controversial exemption from California’s environmental review law. The proposal passed both houses of the Legislature and now goes to the governor’s desk. Senate Bill 954 follows…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (830+ words) After more than a decade of debating and designing, Palo Alto is approaching a critical juncture in its plan to redesign the rail corridor, a critical and complex project with a price tag that now hovers above $1.5 billion, according to…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago   (901+ words) A thriving terrarium or aquarium can add a touch of natural beauty to a home or workplace. But the aquariums and terrariums Evan Johnson and his nonprofit team help build and teach about aren’t just decorative – they’re self-contained ecosystems that,…...