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AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Make Palo Alto prettier than just its parklets, please

Cheers to the PA City Council for acknowledging that its two downtowns (University and California Avenues) need some sprucing up – at least their new “parklets”...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Sep. 14, 2023
Last comment by marc665, on Sep 18, 2023 at 4:32 pm | 7 comments | 2133 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Surprising facts and factoids about trees in our fair city

Palo Alto loves trees -- it has about 66,000 of them, about one per resident. Our city is responsible for the upkeep of about 46,000 trees in parks and public areas;...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Sep. 3, 2023
Last comment by Lenora Jackson, on Sep 14, 2023 at 7:59 am | 6 comments | 3023 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Palo Alto: Urgency is out, delays are in

Something seems a bit askew at Palo Alto City Hall. What I sense is an escalating laissez-faire attitude, like “We’ll do it when we get...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Aug. 21, 2023
Last comment by d. erp., on Aug 30, 2023 at 12:32 pm | 13 comments | 5595 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Midtown shopping area is still a mess

A number of years ago, I wrote a column for the Weekly on the deteriorating state of the Midtown Shopping Center along Middlefield Road in Palo...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Aug. 9, 2023
Last comment by Ron Peyton, on Aug 18, 2023 at 3:20 pm | 60 comments | 8842 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

What to do about Cal Ave.?

Once again, I hear that old refrain that California Avenue needs our attention. This time the Palo Alto City Council will consider in August what...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jul. 18, 2023
Last comment by History Buff, on Aug 10, 2023 at 9:25 pm | 38 comments | 7752 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

I want an accurate housing audit. Why?

Several years ago, I asked then-Palo Alto Planning Director Hillary Gitelman whether there was any data on the percentage of residents living in...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jul. 25, 2023
Last comment by Bill Beck, on Aug 3, 2023 at 12:26 pm | 43 comments | 4815 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Why I changed my mind about abortion

One year ago today, June 24, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision and left it up the states to individually decide on abortion. In its Dobbs...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jun. 24, 2023
Last comment by Rhoshan Modi, on Jul 4, 2023 at 9:11 am | 56 comments | 6667 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Do People Care?

I recently watched a documentary film on Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers, in which Ellsberg, who copied and released the secret Pentagon Papers to the press,...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Jun. 14, 2023
Last comment by Jacob Bromley, on Jun 24, 2023 at 12:01 pm | 42 comments | 4811 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Bike lanes don’t belong on El Camino!

City officials from Redwood City, Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View have for years been considering bike lanes on a north-south bicycle route...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on May. 23, 2023
Last comment by kbehroozi, on Jun 2, 2023 at 2:21 pm | 38 comments | 11100 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Is it important to have an auditor in Palo Alto?

Why does Palo Alto, a city that seems so honest, even need an auditor? Why should we hire one when we could spend three-quarters of a million dollars yearly instead...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 27, 2023
Last comment by J Randall, on May 3, 2023 at 8:45 pm | 10 comments | 4696 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

A new way to choose a U.S. vice presidential candidate

Mention the 2024 presidential election and many Democrats already are saying “Gee, I like Biden, but there’s this age problem. He’s getting older,...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 17, 2023
Last comment by J Randall, on May 1, 2023 at 8:43 am | 26 comments | 4944 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Will auto license plate readers really curtail crime? Or will our privacy be endangered?

NOTE: I originally reported the council voted 5-2 to approve the use of ALPR techhnology implementation. The actual vote was 7-0. I apologize for the error.) Palo...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Apr. 6, 2023
Last comment by Loretta Taylor, on Apr 17, 2023 at 4:02 pm | 44 comments | 4544 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Robots, I am tired of talking to you!

Yes, I am talking to you robots, whose companies hire you, to supposedly guide me through a telephone tree to get to a live person to make an appointment or get...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Mar. 29, 2023
Last comment by Fritzie Blue, on Apr 14, 2023 at 3:11 am | 20 comments | 5292 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

How well is City Manager Ed Shikada performing his job?

Is Ed Shikada doing a good job as city manager of Palo Alto? In a closed session Monday night, March 20, council members gathered behind closed doors to assess the...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Mar. 20, 2023
Last comment by Two Sides, on Apr 6, 2023 at 10:38 pm | 20 comments | 5683 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Can the Memphis police behavior ever happen here?

What happened in Memphis where seven officers worked almost as a team to beat and kick 29-year-old Tyre NICHOLS is not a singular event in one city. Police beatings...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Feb. 1, 2023
Last comment by ?????, on Apr 3, 2023 at 6:32 pm | 47 comments | 5979 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Ban the noise in Palo Alto?

Last week, an array of residents deplored the noise emitted from gas leaf blowers, claiming they are destroying “the quality of life” in our fair city. One...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Feb. 11, 2023
Last comment by Raja Lodhi, on Mar 24, 2023 at 10:56 pm | 34 comments | 6540 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

America‘s crises are escalating. What can we do?

Passivity prevails. During the past several years, two new crises – increased violence and an acceptance of political (and personal) lying in our country are...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Feb. 20, 2023
Last comment by Raja Lodhi, on Mar 24, 2023 at 10:54 pm | 33 comments | 5744 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

All you don’t want to know about our escalating utilities rates

Our utilities bills here in Palo Alto and elsewhere are soaring – with no relief in sight. Can we – or ‘they” (those responsible for the...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Mar. 7, 2023
Last comment by Lenora Peters, on Mar 17, 2023 at 11:41 am | 42 comments | 6990 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Reminiscences of the presidents I met in real time

As 98-year-old former President Jimmy Carter lies on his bed, hospice by his side, I thought back and recalled the first and only time I met him years ago. And that...

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Feb. 27, 2023
Last comment by Bert Jacobs, on Mar 3, 2023 at 8:10 am | 10 comments | 4245 Views

AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

Go away, language police!

The Information Technology (IT) Department at Stanford caused quite a tizzy when it published a guide on harmful language that should not be used at the university....

Original post made by Diana Diamond on Dec. 31, 2022
Last comment by Bystander, on Feb 26, 2023 at 12:51 pm | 48 comments | 9455 Views
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