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Home My WebLink About2022-05-02 City Council EmailsFrom:Allan Seid To:CHOpinion CHOpinion Subject:Fwd: [chbb850] STREAMING ASIAN AMERICAN & PACFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH ON PBS Date:Monday, May 2, 2022 10:56:07 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. From: Allan Seid, Joan Norton Date: Mon, May 2, 2022 at 10:27 AM Subject: [chbb850] STREAMING ASIAN AMERICAN & PACFIC ISLANDER HERITAGE MONTH ON PBS To: CHOpinion, Streaming Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month this May and every day with a special PBS collection of stories that explores the history, traditions and culture of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Watch Now Begin forwarded message: From: Lynne Faust <lfsf38@gmail.com> Subject: [chbb850] Art Appreciation A must read for educators, historians, journalists, health, social, and human service providers, social justice advocates and leaders of community organizations. The book provides a comprehensive account covering a half century of local and California political leaders and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocates establishing needed political representation and health, social, education, housing, legal and employment services for AAPI citizens, immigrants, and refugees in Silicon Valley and other regions of the state. The rise of the organization Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) from a volunteer group to the largest human service agency for AAPI and other immigrant and refugee groups to a current service revenue of $25 million annually in Santa Clara County is described. A second organization, Asian Pacific American Advocates of California (APAAC), a California pan-AAPI coalition supported by 450 independent Asian heritage groups in the state, and a partner of AACI, addressed legislations at all levels of government, and anti- Asian bigotry and violence. The coalition illustrates the power and effectiveness of a collective of community organizations united to address common causes. Yes, I want to purchase __________ copies of Asian Americans Building a Better Nation Name (please print)____________________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________________________ City _______________________________________________________ State_________ Zip ________________________ Order Now! Special Introductory Offer for Asian American Heritage Month Only $40* plus $10 shipping and handling *Cost after May 2022: $45 plus shipping and handling It’s here! Just in time to celebrate Asian American Heritage Month! Return this order form to: Allan Seid 850 Webster Street, #734 Palo Alto, CA 94301 Make checks payable to Allan Seid and return with this order form OR pay via Zelle at (650) 464-9895 ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO NONPROFITS and SCHOLARSHIPS ASIAN AMERICANS BUILDING A BETTER NATION WITH COURAGE AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT ! Date: May 1, 2022 at 6:46:42 PM PDT To: undisclosed-recipients:; Mondays topic: Asian American Art 3:00 Meeting ID: 927 5021 8783 Passcode: 163763 https://fhda-edu.zoom.us/j/92750218783?pwd=Mk1DSjBVWFZVVG5TejVzNUZCZ3NZQT09 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CHBB" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chbb850+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/chbb850/CAP6TYrxzipCVBxf6c1A2- N9bswv22yc%3DmM6LvNDPQOKEJAU9%2BA%40mail.gmail.com. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CHBB" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to chbb850+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/chbb850/2F83F520-C9B8-4B49-8D2E- 8A05653790C0%40gmail.com. From:Aram James To:Jethroe Moore; Jeff Rosen; Sajid Khan; Enberg, Nicholas; Jay Boyarsky; Tannock, Julie; robert.parham@cityofpaloalto.org; Figueroa, Eric; Council, City Subject:T.J. Siderio killing: Ex-Philadelphia officer Edsaul Mendoza charged with murder - The Washington Post Date:Monday, May 2, 2022 12:25:39 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ________________________________ https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/05/02/philadelphia-officer-murder-charge-siderio/ Sent from my iPhone From:slevy@ccsce.com To:Council, City; Planning Commission Cc:Lait, Jonathan; Wong, Tim Subject:Fwd: Price op-Ed Date:Monday, May 2, 2022 10:34:29 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. -------- Original Message -------- Subject:Price op-Ed Date:2022-05-02 09:51 From:steve levy <mongooseslevy@gmail.com> To:slevy@ccsce.com From:Allan Seid To:Allan Seid Subject:Fwd: Draft #5 flyer Date:Monday, May 2, 2022 12:35:57 PM Attachments:draft #5 FLYER Seid book announcement.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. From: Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Date: Mon, May 2, 2022 at 12:28 PM Subject: :NEW BOOK RELEASE: Information Flyer: Asian Americans Building a Better Nation with Courage and Community Involvement Dear Friends, Pardon me for the missing information on the original flyers sent to you previously. 1) The special price of $40 plus shipping ends MAY 31st. On June 1, the price will be $45 plus shipping. 2) All proceeds will be donated to non-profit groups and for youth scholarships. 3) Do use and fill out the "request for purchase form" at the bottom of the flyer and return it to me. * Thanks, Please join the many education opportunities this month to learn more about AAPI people. Happy Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Allan 1 Dutt, Sangita From:Elizabeth Wong <elizabethwong2009@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, May 1, 2022 9:47 AM To:Eggleston, Brad Cc:Hoyt, George; Shikada, Ed; Chun, Pamela; Stump, Molly; Andrew Wong; Jaime Wong; Council, City Subject:Re: Council item on permanent parklet program Attachments:20220501_094148.PDF CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Mr. Eggleson, Thank you very much for your email yesterday, Saturday April 30, 3022 alerting me of the City Council Hearing discussion of the Parklet program on May 9, 2022. I am impressed with your taking the time on a Saturday to email me. Thank you. This email will also serve as my formal notification to Public Works and the City of Palo Alto that I firmly object to Coupa Cafe's parklet taking up 70% of the frontage of my property at 532‐536 Ramona Street. The parklet hides the frontage of the property and has made it impossible to attract prospective tenants for premises which have been vacant since the pandemic. In accordance with page 6 of the staff report, "In response to Council direction on September 13, 2021 ....(to) Modify the parket rules to accommodate parklets adjacent to restaurants where they are not interfering with neighboring consumer businesses that oppose..... staff updated the existing parklet standards on March 28, 2022, to no longer allow existing parklets in front of a neighboring ground floor tenant or building owner if either objects." Attached is page 6 of the staff report for May 8, 2022. 2 Accordingly, please remove the parklet in front of 534 and 536 Ramona Street at the earliest. Please keep me informed on this issue. Thanks again. Elizabeth Wong On Sat, Apr 30, 2022 at 12:59 PM Eggleston, Brad <Brad.Eggleston@cityofpaloalto.org> wrote: Hi Elizabeth, I wanted to let you know that City Council is scheduled to discuss the City’s permanent parklet program on May 9. The agenda item is #10 (see link below). Page 6 of the staff report briefly discusses the issue of property owner and consumer business approval for parklets. https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas‐minutes‐reports/agendas‐minutes/city‐council‐agendas‐ minutes/2022/20220509/20220509pccsmlinked.pdf Best regards, Brad 3 BRAD EGGLESTON Director of Public Works Public Works Department (650) 329‐2636 | brad.eggleston@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org 5144 Kt/ ti47.2. agettra- • Heaters — Staff recommend prohibiting the use of propane heaters at all parklets. Staff, particularly Fire Department personnel, have observed numerous pilot parklet permit holders' persistent and pervasive failure to safely store propane and safely operate propane heaters in accordance with fire safety standards. in addition, as the City seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, requiring electrification of permanent parklets maximizes safety and reduces ghg production. This change, however, will require a significant adjustment for permit holders and require purchase and installation of electric outdoor heaters. Of course, heaters are optional and not required. • Neighboring Business and Building Owner Support — If the proposed parklet extends beyond an applicant's storefront, staff recommend the applicant obtain letters of support from the neighboring ground -floor tenant(s) and building owner(s). This procedure aims to increase communication among neighbors, reduce conflict, and minimize negative impacts of the parklet's design and construction on neighboring businesses. This policy could have the impact of decreasing the size of some parkiets or altering their design. in response to Council direction on September 13, 20 15 nd property owner concerns about parklets constructed under the pilot program, staff updated the existing parklet standards on March 28, 2022, to no longer allow existin parklets in front of a ne ghboring ground -floor tenant or building owner if either object. • Limit sidewalk dining in conjunction with parklets — Parklets can activate the public realm, bringing an enlivened and festive atmosphere. When paired with sidewalk dining, however, parklets can too greatly erode the public realm, decreasing the area for pedestrians to pass safely and comfortably. Staff recommend requiring 8 feet of clear, unobstructed path of travel in order for a restaurant to be eligible for a sidewalk dining permit in conjunction with a parklet. II Motion: "MOTION AS AMENDED: Vice Mayor Burt moved, seconded by Mayor DuBois to: A. Dire t the City Manager to reopen University Avenue on October 15 • B Adopt a Resolution to continue with a partial closures a on amona, extending throng June 2022. e parklet rules to accommodate arklets adjacent to restaurants where they are not interfering with nej orin consumer busines s that o pose, and extend the Parklet Program until June 2022; and D. Direct Staff to proceed with a Streetscape RFP including stakeholder input and sales tax ata analysis (to the extent that it can be utilized) that the consultant's recommendations would build off the learning experiences in the re -opening of the coming months. MOTION: Vice Mayor Burt moved, seconded by Council Member Cormack to: A. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the closure of California Avenue through June 2022; and B. Direct Staff to return to the City Council for further discussion regarding additional elements on the California Ave street closure; and C. Direct Staff to return to the City Council for discussion on a permanent street closure for California Ave." Minutes: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/city- cou ncil-agendas-min utes/2021/09-september/20210913/20210913arnccs.pd City of Palo Alto Page 6 4 Dutt, Sangita From:Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, April 29, 2022 4:49 PM To:Channing House Bulletin Board Subject:Fwd: Draft #3 Attachments:draft #3 FLYER Seid book announcement.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. From: Allan Seid Date: Fri, Apr 29, 2022 at 4:37 PM Subject: Information on New Book release ASIAN AMERICANS BUILDING A BETTER NATION WITH COURAGE AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT A must read for educators, historians, journalists, health, social, and human service providers, social justice advocates and leaders of community organizations. The book provides a comprehensive account covering a half century of local and California political leaders and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) advocates establishing needed political representation and health, social, education, housing, legal and employment services for AAPI citizens, immigrants, and refugees in Silicon Valley and other regions of the state. The rise of the organization Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) from a volunteer group to the largest human service agency for AAPI and other immigrant and refugee groups to a current service revenue of $25 million annually in Santa Clara County is described. A second organization, Asian Pacific American Advocates of California (APAAC), a California pan-AAPI coalition supported by 450 independent Asian heritage groups in the state, and a partner of AACI, addressed legislations at all levels of government, state-wide AAPI concerns, and anti- Asian bigotry and violence. The coalition is highlighted to illustrate the power and effectiveness of a collective of community groups united to address common causes such as legislations at all levels of government and anti-Asian bigotry and violence. Yes, I want to purchase __________ copies of Asian Americans Building a Better Nation Name (please print)____________________________________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________________________________ City _______________________________________________________ State_________ Zip ________________________ Order Now! Special Introductory Offer for Asian American Heritage Month Only $40* plus $10 shipping and handling *Cost after June 2022: $45 plus shipping and handling It’s here! Just in time to celebrate Asian American Heritage Month! Return this order form to: Allan Seid 850 Webster Street, #734 Palo Alto, CA 94301 Make checks payable to Allan Seid and return with this order form OR pay via Zelle at (650) 464-9895 5 Dutt, Sangita From:DOUG BLOYD <dbloyd@comcast.net> Sent:Friday, April 29, 2022 10:44 AM To:Council, City Cc:DOUG BLOYD Subject:Public Comment Submission For the May 2nd Council Meeting Attachments:May 2nd Letter.odt; Daren Anderson Letter.pdf; #1 South End of PG&E Boardwalk by Sail Station dock.jpg; #2 Intersection of PG&E Boardwalk and Lucy Evans Boardwalk South Side.jpg; #3 Intersection of PG&E Boardwalk and Lucy Evans Boardwalk North Side.jpg; #4 North End of PG&E Boardwalk by San Francisquito Creek.jpg; Palo Alto Baylands preserve borders and no hunt zone.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Please include my attached letter to the City Council, and it's supporting documents (Palo Alto staff email, 4 photos, and a map), as a submission to the "Public Comment" agenda segment of the Palo Alto City Council's April 2nd meeting. Doug Bloyd 408-396-1963 Some people who received this message don't often get email from dbloyd@comcast.net. Learn why this is important 5-2-2022 Council Members, My name is Doug Bloyd. I am a waterfowl hunter, and a resident of Santa Clara County. Attached you will see an email I received from Daren Anderson, the Assistant Director of Open Space and Parks at the City of Palo Alto. Mr. Anderson's email was a response, on the City Council's behalf, to my April 4th letter to the Palo Alto City Council, where I made the following request: “Waterfowl hunters are now facing hefty fines and likely jail time if they unwittingly wander into the City of Palo Alto's newly established "No Hunting Zone". I am here today to request that the City Council fully fund and prioritize the posting of new "No Hunting" signs (that also reference the penal codes the city will be enforcing) along the entire Bay side perimeter of the CIty's new "No Hunting Zone" at the Baylands Nature Preserve.” In his email, Mr. Anderson stated, “There are currently four “No Hunting” signs posted in the preserve, but staff will add several additional “No Hunting” signs to help make it clear.” I have attached pictures of the four “No Hunting” signs Mr. Anderson references. These signs are confusingly posted on the end caps of two PG&E boardwalks, that are not anywhere close to the Bay side perimeter that is illustrated on the CIty's Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve "No Hunting Zone" map (see attached map). Three of the signs are posted over land and are close to a quarter mile away from the illustrated Bay side perimeter. Does the City Council think that Mr. Anderson can clearly identify for the public a Bay side perimeter that stretches well over two miles, with “several additional” signs? If you don't, I am asking the City Council to step in and hold Mr. Anderson and his staff to a higher due diligence standard. Thank you for your time, and I hope you will give my thoughts consideration. Doug Bloyd 408-396-1963 4/20/22, 8:17 AM Xfinity Connect FW_ Public Letter from Doug Bloyd Printout https://connect.xfinity.com/appsuite/v=7.10.5-18.20211206.050949/print.html?print_1650467800287 1/2 Daren Anderson <daren.anderson@cityofpaloalto.org>4/11/2022 11:25 AM FW: Public Letter from Doug Bloyd To dbloyd@comcast.net <dbloyd@comcast.net> Copy City Mgr <citymgr@cityofpaloalto.org> Dear Mr. Bloyd, The City Manager asked me to respond to your letter to City Council requesting that the City prioritize putting up “No Hunting Zone” signs at the Baylands Nature Preserve. There are currently four “No Hunting” signs posted in the preserve, but staff will add several additional “No Hunting” signs to help make it clear. The new signs should be installed by approximately mid-May. Thank you, Daren Anderson DAREN ANDERSON Assistant Director Open Space, Parks, Golf, and Animal Services Community Services Department (650) 496-6950 | Daren.Anderson@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org From: Kang, Danielle Sent: Monday, April 4, 2022 10:26 AM To: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Public Leer from Doug Bloyd Good morning City Council, We have received a public leer from Doug Bloyd today, as aached, for tonight’s general public comment item. He is hoping to speak in-person, but in case he is unable, he is providing his statement now. On his behalf, I am relaying his appreciaon for your care and reﬂecon on his leer. Please let me know if you have any quesons and I will be happy to answer. All the best, Dani Danielle Kang Administrave Associate III | Oﬃce of the City Clerk 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 P: 650.329.2159 | E: Danielle.Kang@CityofPaloAlto.org image001.png (34 KB) image002.png (1 KB) image003.jpg (1 KB) image004.png (3 KB) image005.png (1 KB) image006.png (2 KB) image007.png (7 KB) image008.png (15 KB) 9 Dutt, Sangita From:slevy@ccsce.com Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 1:01 PM To:Council, City Cc:Lait, Jonathan; Wong, Tim Subject:tonight Ad Hoc meeting Attachments:Strenthening the Programs and Policies for HE Update.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. I am attaching a memo I sent to staff the WG co-chairs. Virtually all cities failed to meet their 5th cycle RHNA goals and now the 6th cycle goals are much larger. There is no fault intended here, just a large challenge. The council has adopted several housing incentive programs in recent years, yet except for two county projects and an SB 35 project, there are very few active large proposals, even for market rate housing. That suggests to me that VERY LARGE AND DRAMATIC NEW PROGRAMS ARE NEEDED. I look forward to staff's proposals. In reading the staff memo for tonight, I find the proposals to address constraints far short of what is needed and again urge council to convene professionals as was done in 2018 I believe. In any event, the report from 2018 should be reviewed to see what has not been done. Finally, my reading of the RHNA goals is that the majority of new housing is proposed for moderate- income residents and those just above that threshold who cannot afford most of todays' market-rate housing. These people in the missing middle are not eligible for subsidies given the focus on the below 80% of AMI groups. These are not numbers but real people like most of us but who are now struggling with housing unaffordability. They and housing affordable to them deserve our attention as critical to the kind of city we want PA to be as well as meeting the RHNA goals to increase housing for ALL. Stephen Levy 1 CENTER FOR CONTINUING STUDY OF THE CALIFORNIA ECONOMY 385 HOMER AVENUE • PALO ALTO • CALIFORNIA • 94301 TELEPHONE: (650) 814-8553 FAX: (650) 321-5451 www.ccsce.com DATE: April 21, 2022 TO: Jonathan Lait, Tim Wong, Sheryl Klein and Ed Lauing FROM: Stephen Levy SUBJECT: Strengthening the Programs and Policies in the HE Update Here is what I know as I think about this challenge. --PA like most cities failed to meet its 5th cycle RHNA goals for most income groups. --Now the goals are three times higher --PA adopted several incentive programs including new zones for AH, for moderate income housing, for portions of San Antonio, a PHZ and other measures. --Yet very few if any new proposals of any size besides the ones by the county, the SB35 AH proposal and one on Middlefield and University have come forth. --I believe all or nearly all recent proposals and approvals for large numbers of new units have been at densities in the 80 to 100+ range --Staff understands that new housing faces substantial challenges and that feasibility and fiscal analyses are important as shown by language in the staff memo for the DTN housing grant on pages 5 and 6. https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes- reports/agendas-minutes/city-council-agendas- minutes/2022/20220418/20220418pccsmamended-linked.pdf --Yet, I do not see an analysis of constraints or feasibility analysis in any of the Housing Element updates that provide a foundation for developing programs and policies that will bring forth proposals on most, if not all, of the identified sites in the HE update site inventory. 2 Conclusion Major, specific and credible new and additional programs are needed now to both achieve our RHNA goals and submit a well thought out and credible draft HE update. Concerns and Possible Responses 1) Staff’s reliance on the “useful economic life formula” to designate non- vacant sites as viable will not be adequate for HCD. I find this unconvincing and did not hear this mentioned in the HCD discussion of non-vacant sites. I do not know of any outreach to owners to verify any interest in converting. The local papers are full of stories about the high hurdles to create incentives for conversion. And in one case on Fabian Way when an owner wanted to convert a job site to housing, the council did not give a strong go-ahead. And there may be environmental constraints as well on at least some of these sites. I would a) ask HCD about what they need to see that these sites are viable, b) invite owners to discuss needed incentives and c) develop strong program incentives for these sites. 2) I understand that most, if not all, large housing projects that have been approved recently have large increases in density compared to what is in the site inventory as well as other variances including parking and retail requirements. Programs should be developed for these sites that have minimum densities of 75 units/acre, with some kind of expedited or by-right approval and other incentives on top of what the city has done that has so far failed to bring forth substantial new proposals besides county and SB 35 proposals. 3) I expected to see an analysis of constraints and project feasibility but have not seen them to date. This is a HE update requirement. I would conduct 2 or more independent feasibility analyses (I thought Stanford has agreed to fund ULI for one). I would invite more developers to come to public working group and PTC meetings and inform both bodies about the findings from outreach to developers conducted in the last RHNA cycle. My perspective is that this is the only way to develop credible programs and policies that respond to actual constraints and what is needed to make projects feasible. 3 4) The height limit is a constraint that can be carefully addressed. Raising the height limit in specific locations and for specific purposes (e/g, extra BMR units) had support at the Comp Plan committee and with some in the HE update working group. I would develop a targeted and limited program to raise height limits per the above criteria. Ending Comments 1) Palo Alto is not alone in facing these challenges. There is no need to make the city a villain but there is a clear need to greatly improve the existing incentives. The city has made some good attempts but the evidence is clear that more is needed now. 2) I would not use the schedule as a reason to submit what is now a woefully inadequate response to the law and the real need in our community. You have already found that extra time was needed to develop and review another round of programs. Another month or two still gets the draft to HCD well before the end of the year and probably avoids a needlessly negative, but likely today in its current form, response from HCD. 10 Dutt, Sangita From:Barbara Kelsey <barbara.kelsey@sierraclub.org> Sent:Tuesday, April 26, 2022 6:46 PM To:Council, City Cc:Gladwyn d'Souza; James Eggers; Sue Subject:Sierra Club Loma Prieta Chapter letter re: SB 1173 (Gonzalez) Fossil Fuel Divestment Attachments:SB 1173 Divestment letter Palo Alto 4.26.22.pdf; SB 1173 (Gonzalez) fossil fuel divestment - Sierra Club CA Support Letter 3.22.2022.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. April 26, 2022 Palo Alto City Council 250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Via email to: City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org Dear Mayor Burt and Council Members, Thank you for your climate actions on moving away from fossil fuels! You may be aware that SB 1173 (Gonzalez) Fossil Fuel Divestment has been introduced. Please see our letter attached requesting that you send a supportive letter to Senator Gonzalez soon. We have also included Sierra Club California's support letter of 3/22/22 for your information. Regards, Gladwyn d’Souza Conservation Committee Chair Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club Cc: James Eggers Executive Director Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club Sue Chow Environmental Legislative Action Committee Executive Committee Member Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club sent by: Barbara Kelsey Some people who received this message don't often get email from barbara.kelsey@sierraclub.org. Learn why this is important 11 she/her/hers Chapter Coordinator Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter 3921 E. Bayshore Rd, Suite 204 Palo Alto, CA 94303 barbara.kelsey@sierraclub.org Please note that we are not working in the office yet, so email is the best way to contact us. sierraclub.org/loma-prieta ~ 3921 East Bayshore Road, Suite 204, Palo Alto, CA 94303 SAN MATEO, SANTA CLARA & SAN BENITO COUNTIES April 26, 2022 Palo Alto City Council 250 Hamilton Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301 Via email to: City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org Dear Mayor Burt and Council Members, Thank you for your climate actions on moving away from fossil fuels! You may be aware that SB 1173 (Gonzalez) Fossil Fuel Divestment has been introduced: “This bill would prohibit the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) from investing in fossil fuel companies and require that they divest any current investments by 2030.” The bill has gained over 200 supporters, including the State Treasurer, City of Long Beach, City of Los Angeles and Sierra Club. We hope you’ll also send a supportive letter to Senator Gonzalez soon. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Regards, Gladwyn d’Souza Conservation Committee Chair Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club Cc: James Eggers Executive Director Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club Sue Chow Environmental Legislative Action Committee Executive Committee Member Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club 12 Dutt, Sangita From:Boatwright, Tabatha Sent:Tuesday, April 26, 2022 5:03 PM To:Council, City; Johnston, AC - UACMailbox Forwarding; Batchelor, Dean; Cormack, Alison; Greg Scharff (greg.scharff@paloalto-uac.org); John Bowie; laurengagesegal@paloalto-uac.org; Forssell, Lisa; Loren Smith (loren.smith@paloalto-uac.org); Phil Metz Cc:Shikada, Ed; Stump, Molly; Bartell, Amy; Bilir, Aylin Subject:May 4, 2022 - UAC e-Packet Attachments:05-04-2022 - Agenda and Packet.pdf; 05-04-2022 ID 14214 - Officers Item 1.pdf; 05-04-2022 ID 14196 - Budget Item 2.pdf; 05-04-2022 ID 14197 - Fiber Item 3.pdf; 05-04-2022 ID 14269 - CV19 Item 4.pdf; 05-04-2022 ID 14268 - Preliminary Budget Item 5.pdf; Forecast 12 Month Rolling Calendar May 2022.pdf; 04-06-2022 UAC draft minutes.pdf Honorable Council and Commissioners, The UAC e‐Packet has been attached for your review and linked below. Item 5 is inclusive of the Preliminary Proposed Utilities budget. For those of you who receive a paper packet, they will be delivered to your designated addresses tomorrow morning. May 04, 2022 Agenda and Packet TABATHA BOATWRIGHT Utilities Administrative Assistant City of Palo Alto Utilities Department 250 Hamilton Ave | Palo Alto, CA 94301 O: 650.329.2326 M: 408.966.0838 E‐mail: Tabatha.Boatwright@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org 13 Dutt, Sangita From:Tran, Joanna Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 4:26 PM To:Council, City Cc:Executive Leadership Team; ORG - Clerk's Office; O'Rourke, Kyle Subject:Council Consent Agenda Questions for 5/2/22: Item 9 Dear Mayor and Councilmembers: On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please view the following links for the amended agenda and staff responses to questions from Councilmember Tanaka regarding Monday night’s Council Meeting:  May 2, 2022 Amended Agenda  Staff response to Consent Item 9 Thank you, Joanna Joanna Tran Executive Assistant to the City Manager Office of the City Manager (650) 329‐2105 | joanna.tran@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org 14 Dutt, Sangita From:Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 8:04 PM To:Channing House Bulletin Board Subject:Fwd: [EXTERNAL]Re: DA and Sheriff's forums CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. From: Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2022 5:28 PM Subject: Re: DA and Sheriff's forums Source: Asian Law Alliance, San Jose 15 16 18 Dutt, Sangita From:Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Sent:Monday, May 2, 2022 8:34 AM To:Loran Harding; alumnipresident@stanford.edu; antonia.tinoco@hsr.ca.gov; David Balakian; bearwithme1016@att.net; beachrides; fred beyerlein; bballpod; boardmembers; Cathy Lewis; Chris Field; Council, City; Doug Vagim; dennisbalakian; Dan Richard; esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov; eappel@stanford.edu; Scott Wilkinson; Gabriel.Ramirez@fresno.gov; George.Rutherford@ucsf.edu; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; Irv Weissman; jerry ruopoli; Joel Stiner; kfsndesk; karkazianjewelers@gmail.com; lalws4@gmail.com; Leodies Buchanan; leager; Mark Standriff; Mayor; mthibodeaux@electriclaboratories.com; margaret-sasaki@live.com; merazroofinginc@att.net; news@fresnobee.com; nick yovino; david pomaville; russ@topperjewelers.com; Sally Thiessen; Steve Wayte; tsheehan; terry; VT3126782@gmail.com; vallesR1969@att.net; Daniel Zack Subject:Fwd: Sunday, May 1, 2022 Dr. Campbell on Bill Gates new book re pandemics CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Mon, May 2, 2022 at 1:43 AM Subject: Fwd: Sunday, May 1, 2022 Dr. Campbell on Bill Gates new book re pandemics To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Sun, May 1, 2022 at 9:31 PM Subject: Sunday, May 1, 2022 Dr. Campbell on Bill Gates new book re pandemics To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Monday, May 2, 2022 To all‐ Here is 14 minutes of Dr. John Campbell discussing what the press is saying about Bill Gates new book "How to Prevent the Next Pandemic". He has not received a free copy yet. It costs $25. He hopes that it is pdf'd for free soon. Gates says that there is a 5% chance that the next pandemic will be worse than the current one, and Dr. Campbell thinks the chance of the next pandemic being worse than the current one is quite a bit lower than 5%. He also does NOT agree with Mr. Gates that a huge new effort should be organized by the WHO, who Dr. Campbell feels are a bunch of bunglers. When they could have halted flights from China, they did not, making them champion bunglers right at the outset of the pandemic. Bill Gates, pandemic book ‐ YouTube 19 Worth 14 minutes of your time. Here is Dr. Campbell on Monday, May 2, 2022. He makes a few more comments re Bill Gates' ideas expressed in Mr. Gates new book. In particular, Gates suggests that we could eradicate viruses that cause respiratory infections and Dr. Campbell suggests back that that might not be a good idea. These infections perk up and arm our immune systems. He admits that he was wrong about the BA.2 wave in the US. It has been much less serious than he feared it would be. The current yelling by the network news outlets in the US that we have a new Covid disaster on our hands is a fraud designed to keep people turned in, apparently. Literally anything to get ad revenue. Here you can get the truth re the impact of BA2 and its subvariants in the US and Canada instead of a load of hysteria: Northern hemisphere good news ‐ YouTube LH‐ But, all of the good news about the pandemic in the US and Canada, must be received with continued caution. Even with widespread natural immunity and immunity from vaccinations, the newest Covid subvariants can break through, causing illness. Just not severe illness in most cases. But what of the elderly, especially those with compromised immune systems due to things like diabetes? What of those on immunosuppresive drugs or on certain cancer drugs? People are still getting sick from Covid and some are dying from it. It is not the flu, one expert said recently. L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. Dr. Campbell says that he has let up a bit on issuing vids re Covid, and I have noticed that. See the latest one I forwarded about 10 days ago to see his latest thinking. Vast natural immunity in the US now due to huge natural infection rates and all of the vaccinations. The newest subvariants can break through all of the immunity we have now. You can contract Covid 2 or 3 times! Less severe symptoms each time, on average. He showed with charts in his most recent long video that the hospitalization rate and the ICU and death rates in the US remain low. 50% of new infections in the US now are apparently the BA2.12.1 subvariant. As contagious as measles, Dr. Campbell says here, but not very pathogenic. The case rates and hospitalization rates in the US are up due to the new variants, but up from a very low base. The US network TV news are trying to scare people by yelling that "the rates are up!". Yes, but they had fallen hugely from the Delta and the first Omicron waves. The other night KCBS‐SF was talking to Dr. George Rutherford MD, epidemiologist at UCSF, and he said that while these latest variants are less pathogenic than, say, the Delta variant, they can still produce long Covid. He said re long Covid, we really don't understand it very well or how to treat it. I send these mails to Dr. Rutherford. 20 Dutt, Sangita From:Cressida Hanson <cthanson@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, May 2, 2022 6:59 AM To:Council, City Subject:San Antonio speeding CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council, San Antonio is a heavily‐used road by speeding drivers heading to 101 and construction trucks. However it is also a 25 mile per hour street. A school enters and exits on San Antonio. Could there be a campaign to remind drivers to slow down along the strip between Central/Alma and Middlefield? Perhaps a blinking radar sign could be placed there to help remind drivers of their speed. Also, the 25 mile per hour sign is currently covered by trees (on the side of the car dealership, before the school); the trees need to be trimmed for better visibility. Thank you, A member of the school on San Antonio Some people who received this message don't often get email from cthanson@gmail.com. Learn why this is important 21 Dutt, Sangita From:Lorraine Brown <lobrown170@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, May 1, 2022 3:40 PM To:Council, City Subject:Supporting Castilleja - PLEASE READ CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council, I am so thankful that at long last, you will be voting on Castilleja’s proposal. I appreciate all the time that you, the ARB, PTC, HRB, Arts Commission, and City Staff have dedicated to studying their plans. As a former employee of Castilleja, graduate of Jordan and Paly, and resident of Palo Alto since 1974, I have been deeply invested in the process and now would like to share some final thoughts with you before your deliberations. Thank you in advance. Enrollment I strongly ask you to approve the 540 enrollment. Please remember the mission of the school: to educate girls to be confident thinkers and compassionate leaders. The school wants to offer more opportunity to the girls and families who know that a single-sex education is the way they can best gain confidence and learn to lead. Importantly, those families include many who can not afford the full cost of tuition, and the school generously supports them financially. The EIR showed clearly that the school can increase their enrollment to 540 with rigid, enforceable TDM measures. The PTC chose an absolutely arbitrary number, 450, not based on any facts in the EIR, and in doing so they deny girls access to an education in the face of volumes of facts (and built in controls) proving that this can be done without adversely impacting the neighborhood. It is imperative to make this decision based on the facts in the record, and the record clearly shows that the school will not be allowed to increase their enrollment beyond 450 (or any other number) if their traffic counts exceed stated, stringent limits. 540 is the number to approve. Further, to suggest that the school should just return in a few years to apply for higher enrollment is absurd, given the lengthy, many yearslong, and divisive process that the neighborhood, Staff, and the school have endured. You can approve 540, knowing that the number will only be allowed if the school’s TDM plans deliver. Please make this opportunity for single sex education available to more girls; you can change the trajectory of so many girls’ lives, without negatively impacting the neighborhood. Events I was appalled when the PTC voted to reduce the school’s events to 50. I’m sure you know — there are many important reasons for parents to come to campus at any middle or high school: parent meetings, parent education, performances, competitions, speakers. If you vote to limit events to 50, you are severely handicapping the school. You would limit their ability to serve their community, and ultimately you will be impacting the viability of the school. Instead, please vote to approve 70 events. This number itself is already a major cut in events from historical practice, and therefore a huge compromise. The school has the parking capacity in the underground garage, immediate side of the street, and surface lots to park these events without any noise impact. And I have to state what doesn’t seem to be said often enough: the neighbors who want to quash the school’s plans all bought a house adjacent to a school! They knew they were adjacent to a school, which long ago preceded them, and now they want to limit how the school operates and educates their students. No other school in the area, and possibly in the entire state, has such draconian limits on their events Some people who received this message don't often get email from lobrown170@gmail.com. Learn why this is important 22 or operations. I repeat, no other school or institution in Palo Alto faces the limitations that have been suggested for Castilleja. Please, please do what’s right by the students and their parents, and do not make decisions for the sake of political compromise that are not based in fact, that would destroy how the school operates. Trust For years now, the school has worked and worked to re-earn the trust of neighbors and the broad Palo Alto community. They have put systems into place that will never again allow an enrollment overage, paid large fines, and redoubled their efforts to be the best neighbors possible, deploying staff at every drop-off, pick-up, and event to make sure parents and guests are respectful to neighbors. The school continues to enforce parking on the school side only, a practice not bound by code, but enforced out of respect to neighbors. Recognizing that Palo Alto was finally ready to move past this 10-year old violation, a neighbor and former Castilleja parent brought the issue up again to the PTC: she told a story about how Castilleja’s over-enrollment was “commonly discussed among parents and staff” prior to Nanci Kauffman’s disclosure to the City. I strongly disagree with her statement. I was a staff member working in Admissions at the time and worked closely with more than a hundred parent volunteers at the school. I avow to you now, no one I knew talked about or knew of the overage – not staff, not parents. No one asked me once about it or ever spoke about it to me. Nanci Kauffman was absolutely telling the truth – it is she who discovered the overage and reported it to the City. For Ed Lauing, as chair of the PTC, to repeat this story at a public hearing showed his bias and how facts have been distorted in this process. Garage When you vote on the underground garage, please vote for Option D, the design with 69 parking spots. I recognize that Council voted in March 2021 on a garage size not to exceed 50% of the required parking. I appreciate the intent to manage the garage size, but if you vote for Option D instead of E, you’ll bring 17 more cars off the streets without impacting any trees or traffic. Please don’t adhere strictly to the 50%, when 66% can be achieved while still absolutely protecting the surroundings and creating no negative impact. Moving cars below grade is clearly stated as a goal in the City’s Comp Plan, and is a priority for many surrounding neighbors. Thank you again, and I look forward to the proceedings on May 23. In sum, please:    Approve enrollment of 540 along with conditions of approval associated with traffic     Approve 70 events     Approve Garage Option D with 69 underground spots  Sincerely, Lorraine Brown Walter Hays Drive 23 Dutt, Sangita From:mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Sent:Saturday, April 30, 2022 7:37 PM To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed Cc:Joe Simitian Subject:First Amendment and Palo Alto City Hall, spring, 2021 incident CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. The Supreme Court this week heard arguments in a case about freedom from religion, or “No Establishment” that reminds me that I had sent messages to staff and leadership about what I consider an illegal Evangelical Prayer Service at City Hall in 2021 spring. I referenced my concerns in my recent application to be on the Parks and Recs Commission, that is a public record. I listened to more than an hour of the discussion, as was provided by Americans United, here: https://www.au.org/how-we-protect-religious-freedom/legal-cases/cases/kennedy-v-bremerton-school-district/ In our case, I attended the event, and taped the event. In my opinion it was an effort by the church or group of churches to spread their views and recruit for their church, more than it was also or incidentally about racial diversity or Blacks Lives Matter or in a reaction to the killing of George Floyd. In terms of my review of more than 20 documents that staff sent after my freedom of information request, it looks like more than 10 staff members worked on this case and no one, on record, questioned the propriety of the event as a “No Establishment” case. It was staff, however, who told the church group to change and apply for a permit “at King Plaza” and not “City Hall”, although, from the photographs and from the perspective of the attendees, the event was at City Hall, clearly. Staff seemingly created a red herring, or, beyond having a blind spot, told the applicant where to stand, in the blind spot. I think the event would be appropriate at any other park in Palo Alto but City Hall/King Plaza to the extent that it looks like government is endorsing the evangelical Christian world view, and I believe the churches deliberately acted to create this misperception. That they want a Christian Nation and Christian Palo Alto and not merely a free country or freedom of religion or freedom from religion, which myself and many Americans might not want, and historically the Supreme Court and Constitution protects us from. If we allow similar uses of King Plaza perhaps we should try to move them a distance from City Hall to avoid the endorsement of a particular religion. Mark Weiss in Palo Alto cc: Joe Simitian, County Supervisor Americans United for Separation of Church and State today argued before the U.S Supreme Court in defense of students’ religious freedom and our country’s foundational principle of church-state separation. In the case Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, AU Vice President and Legal Director Richard B. Katskee argued on behalf of the public school district in Washington State that correctly stopped assistant football coach Joseph Kennedy from holding coercive public prayers with students on the 50-yard line after high school football games. “The Bremerton School District did the right thing to protect students’ religious freedom,” Katskee said. “I hope the Court sees through the false narrative that the coach’s attorneys have presented and recognizes the truth that the lower courts did: Bremerton students felt coerced by their football coach’s orchestrated public prayers on the 50-yard line immediately after football games. No student should feel pressured to pray to play. The law is clear that teachers and coaches cannot lead public-school students in prayer.” “If the Supreme Court gets this case wrong, we could witness the greatest loss of religious freedom in generations,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “We’re on very dangerous ground if the Court is considering overturning decades of established law that prevents government employees from pressuring students to pray in public schools. The facts of the case, the laws of our country, and religious and nonreligious Americans alike are on the side of protecting students’ religious freedom.” Katskee was accompanied in the courtroom by AU Litigation Counsel Bradley Girard. The school district’s legal team also includes Steven Gey Constitutional Litigation Fellow Alex Bodaken and Madison Legal Fellow Gabriela Hybel, and Michael B. Tierney from the law firm Tierney, Correa & Zeinemann, P.C. Outside the Supreme Court, Laser hosted a press conference with U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who led an amicus brief by Members of Congress in support of Bremerton; and a broad coalition of faith leaders, including clergy from Bremerton, Wash., all of whom support church-state separation. From Plastic Alto (Mark Weiss blog): Church service at City Hall on May 22, 2021 in possible violation of the First Amendment ‘No Establishment’ clause aka ‘separation of church and state’ Posted on May 24, 2021 by markweiss86 I only have about 10 minutes this week to articulate what was bothering me so on Saturday (May 22, 2021) about a church service being held at City Hall. 24 Here is the sign that was posted. Is this a permit? Did City Of Palo Alto give a permit to hold a church service at City Hall? Is directly in front of City Hall — in other photos the words CITY HALL make this obvious — the same as in City Hall? Would the same event be more appropriate at a park, like at Lytton Plaza, two blocks away? (Or the Farmers’ Market grounds, adjacent?) Did City Attorney Molly Stump rule or not on whether this violates the separation of church and state? Did City Manager Ed Shikada rule or not on whether this violates the separation of church and state? I saw the Chief of Police Robert Jonsen at the event — he did not speak; did he issue the permit? If the same 300 or so Christians and 10 or so speakers appeared at 250 Hamilton and made the same speeches or prayers, sang the same songs and hymns but did not seek a permit per se, is that less a challenge to the First Amendment (First Amendment reads “Congress shall make no law regarding the establishment of a religion” — it is freedom of religion and here freedom from religion)? Would the same event with one Jewish speaker be more in compliance with the First Amendment? If Reverend Bruce Reyes Chow, or Reverend Kaloma Smith had included the two words “Shabbat Shalom” — “good sabbath” — in their respective presentations, as I suggested they do, would that be more in compliance with the First Amendment? Should we agree that we will not rent City Hall for future church services, prayer vigils or prayer services? Was Kaloma Smith the only member of leadership involved in the event? What was his role (besides being a speaker)? What is the significance of the fact that the plaza and building were built in 1970 and then in 2008 we put up a plaque dedicating the Plaza per se to “King Plaza” in honor of Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King? Does making the same space next week available for a Jewish vigil make the whole thing ok, equal time, equal access? Why doesn’t government — leadership — conduct government at City Hall? (Covid is ending, when will government reconvene? Similar: is a government by mediation and electronic media the same as government in person? Can Tom Dubois and Ed Shikada hold meetings of council outside, in front of City Hall, as the Vineyard just did)? Could the Vineyard et al hold the same event and the same production value and same permits but sing not “Everlasting Love of Jesus” but “We Shall Overcome”? Could they produce the same event without advertising it? I.e, especially in Covid time, with state and county health protocols, could they produce an event, sing, make prayers but not advertise and have no attendees, and then film it and show it later, for example on the internet? Does referencing George Floyd and Black Lives Matter make it okay to defy the First Amendment regarding Church and state? Is there an expediency to the George Floyd case or anniversary that makes us ignore the First Amendment issue? Stay tuned. Peace. —Mark Weiss Earthwise Productions Plastic Alto blog Lions with Wings label former City Council candidate — 8,000 votes former candidate for arts, library, human relations, architectural review board and planning commissions 25 student of Vincent Starzinger at Dartmouth College, 1984 (“History of the US Constitution and The Supreme Court” — although I got a C) And1: NBA star and former Paly player Jeremy Lin and Reverend Bruce Reyes Chow spoke at the rally/concert/vigil/service. Jeremy Lin said that God let him down regarding Jeremy’s attempt to play in the NBA this season. Then he read a prayer about the “peace keepers”. God bless. Adam Liptak in the New York Times: Coach’s Prayers Prompt Supreme Court Test of Religious Freedom To help prprivacy, Mprevented download from the In Coach’s Prayers Prompt Supreme Court Test of Religious Freedom Joseph Kennedy, a football coach at a public high school in Washington State, lost his job after praying on the ... 26 Dutt, Sangita From:herb <herb_borock@hotmail.com> Sent:Saturday, April 30, 2022 5:51 PM To:Council, City; Clerk, City Subject:May 2, 2022 Council Meeting, Item #1: Conference with City Attorney CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Herb Borock P. O. Box 632 Palo Alto, CA 94302 April 30, 2022 Palo Alto City Council 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 MAY 2, 2022 CITY COUNCIL MEETING, AGENDA ITEM #1 CONFERENCE WITH CITY ATTORNEY RE SOBRATO ORGANIZATION Dear City Council: I had previously advised you to not have a Council committee negotiating with Sobrato. The Council assignments show there is now such a committee. I believe that compromises any Closed Session with the attendance of prior or current Council Members who are or have been liaisons to the Sobrato Organization. Sun 10/24/2021 12:53 AM To:  city.council@cityofpaloalto.org;  city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org Bcc:  You Herb Borock P. O. Box 632 27 Palo Alto, CA 94302 October 23, 2021 Palo Alto City Council 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 OCTOBER 25, 2021 CITY COUNCIL MEETING, AGENDA ITEM #6 340 PORTAGE AVENUE AND 3200 PARK BOULEVARD Dear City Council: I urge you to reject staff's suggestion that you for either a staff committee or a Council committee to negotiate with the developer. A staff committee would become part of the development team. A Council committee would be prohibited from participating in quasi-judicial decisions. Herb Borock 28 Dutt, Sangita From:Maxime Carignan-Martel <maxime.carignan.martel@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, April 30, 2022 12:04 PM To:Council, City Subject:Make Downtown Palo Alto street closed to car traffic CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Stop your little corruption and make universities and Ramona street closed to car traffic like any other developed country/city is doing for their downtown. Some people who received this message don't often get email from maxime.carignan.martel@gmail.com. Learn why this is important 29 Dutt, Sangita From:Amani Hariri <amaniah@stanford.edu> Sent:Saturday, April 30, 2022 12:02 PM To:Council, City Subject:Make ramona street permanently closed [Some people who received this message don't often get email from amaniah@stanford.edu. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification.] CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ________________________________ Please I vote to make Ramona street permanently closed for outsdoor dining, And university avenue!! Much more safe and fun for families and people of palo alto!! Thanks, Amani 30 Dutt, Sangita From:Yahoo Mail.® <honkystar@yahoo.com> Sent:Saturday, April 30, 2022 8:21 AM To:Honky Subject:Your sneak peek VIDEO CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. You can learn how to cleanse and heal your gut in this bonus video I made for you. Which also gives you an explanation of what I'm doing and how this is connected to your mental health and overall wellbeing. It also gives you a sneak peak inside Luke Uncensored and a sample of the content you can consume on a daily basis. If you're not already a member and you'd like to get more videos like this with uncensored news, analysis and personal insights into what I'm doing to survive and thrive, it's all available to you here. Plus, you now get full access to 3 masterclasses, exclusive events and soon a forum for like minded people to connect with each other. Thx so much for watching and for becoming a part of our community of aware and prepared beautiful and amazing human beings. - Luke 31 Copyright © 2022 WeAreChange, All rights reserved. you signed up or participated in a WeAreChange event or action Our mailing address is: WeAreChange P.O. Box 140492 brooklyn, ny 11214 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp 32 Dutt, Sangita From:Kerry Yarkin <kya.ohlone@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, April 29, 2022 4:42 PM To:Council, City Subject:Rail CommitteeI CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Staff: I would like to be notified of ongoing Rail Committee Meetings. Thank you for your hard work in this area. Kerry Yarkin 33 Dutt, Sangita From:Igor Khmel <ikhmel@alumni.gsb.stanford.edu> Sent:Friday, April 29, 2022 4:13 PM To:Council, City Subject:I'm Voting to Keep Parklets & Ramona St Closed [Some people who received this message don't often get email from ikhmel@alumni.gsb.stanford.edu. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification.] CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ________________________________ Dear City Council of Palo Alto, In anticipation of your meeting on February 28th 2022, we implore you to keep Ramona Street Closed and continue to allow parklets. I like dining outdoors and the feeling on Ramona Street with the half closure, so please count my vote for keeping parklets & Ramona Street CLOSED for safe outdoor dining. 34 Dutt, Sangita From:Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 10:32 PM To:Stump, Molly; councilmember.tanaka.office@gregtanaka.org; Tanaka, Greg; Lumi Gardner; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; city.council@menlopark.org; Cecilia Taylor; Betsy Nash; Tony Dixon; GRP-City Council; Joe Simitian; chuck jagoda; Council, City; Planning Commission; ParkRec Commission; michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com Subject:san-francisco-los-angeles-da-recalls/629701/ CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/04/san‐francisco‐los‐angeles‐da‐recalls/629701/ Shared via the Google app Sent from my iPhone 35 Dutt, Sangita From:Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 10:30 PM To:Raj; Sean Allen; Sajid Khan; Jethroe Moore; Jeff Moore; Council, City; Human Relations Commission; supervisor.ellenberg@bos.sccgov.org; Winter Dellenbach; Cindy Chavez; Vara Ramakrishnan; Greer Stone; Jay Boyarsky; Joe Simitian; melissa caswell; chuck jagoda; Roberta Ahlquist; Binder, Andrew; Enberg, Nicholas; Tannock, Julie; Rebecca Eisenberg; Shikada, Ed Subject:San francisco-los-angeles-da-recalls/629701/ CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/04/san‐francisco‐los‐angeles‐da‐recalls/629701/ Shared via the Google app Sent from my iPhone 36 Dutt, Sangita From:Aileen Lee <aileen@cowboy.vc> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 10:08 PM To:Council, City; Architectural Review Board; Planning Commission Subject:Letter in support of Castilleja's application CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. To City Council Members, ARB & Our Planning Commission - I'm a Palo Alto resident who has lived on Churchill Avenue, across from Palo Alto High School, since 2003. I'm also a Casti parent and Trustee. Thank you so much for your service and for leading our city through challenging times. I am writing to ask your support for Castilleja’s enrollment increase and CUP application. As a woman who has worked in the tech ecosystem for the past 20 years, I am acutely aware of the bias against, and the many challenges for women in tech, and far beyond, in our society. Castilleja plays a critical role in educating young women, and elevating more women to positions of influence for our future generations, so we can help reduce or hopefully eliminate the bias too many women have to endure in society. I first heard of Castilleja when growing up in New Jersey, and then living in Boston/Cambridge as a student and grad student. As I crossed paths with Casti graduates over the decades, I learned of Palo Alto and its reputation as a place of outstanding intellectual talent. Casti is one of the most well‐respected private schools in the country, even the globe. My husband and I were thrilled to move to Palo Alto and to have access to so many fantastic educational choices for our children. Our family moved across from Palo Alto High School, so we have become quite familiar with construction projects and traffic jams. In the ~20 years we've lived here, PALY's construction, traffic and noise have increased significantly. We neighbors have never been given a forum to weigh in on construction, enrollment changes, school schedules, events, night football games, weekend band practices or the status of certain trees. It's not convenient at times, but it's what we signed up for when we moved across the street. PALY has been here longer than all of us, and is a gem that is vital to our community, like Casti. Our great schools, and giving our kids a chance to thrive and to positively impact the future, are part of the value of living in Palo Alto. We've all watched for years the back and forth on this project, and witnessed Casti's team jump through hoop after hoop to try to satisfy the shifting demands of an extremely small minority of neighbors. I've come to believe that handful of residents just don't want the inconvenience of a project near their homes. This vocal minority has kept coming up with objectives to try to 'run the clock' as well as cost the city lots of time and money. I'm hopeful you see the deep consideration and thoughtfulness of Casti's plan, and will approve the project to move forward expeditiously. By supporting greater enrollment (with associated mitigation programs to manage neighborhood traffic), and enabling Casti to upgrade its outdated campus, you can make a difference in the lives of young women, in the pipeline of future leaders our world so badly needs, and continue to burnish Palo Alto's reputation as having the best schools in the country. Some people who received this message don't often get email from aileen@cowboy.vc. Learn why this is important 37 Thank you very much for your consideration. Aileen Lee Resident, 50 Churchill Avenue Palo Alto. 38 Dutt, Sangita From:Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 8:22 PM To:Channing House Bulletin Board Subject:Fwd: Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper. L.A. RACE RELATIONS since 1992 -Rodney King brutality CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 8:10 PM Subject: Los Angeles Times ‐ eNewspaper. L.A. RACE RELATIONS since Rodney King Beating by Police in 1992 Source: L.A. Times 4/28/22 https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?token=42e23962a5d74614be16bae3d6 2d13e7&utm_id=54030&sfmc_id=4646133&edid=5a6c6a2c‐b4a7‐4370‐872a‐2fd6c4239780 Los Angeles Times Kenyana Booker was born the year before the 1992 uprising that followed the acquittal of police officers caught on video beating Rodney King. She grew up in a home where she absorbed the history and the images. Today, she considers those six riotous days a starting point for Black voices to be heard — though the violence also “put Black people in a bad light,” she said. After the police killing of George Floyd two years ago, she was encouraged by what she saw as the largely peaceful protests. But ask her about the prospect of another riot in Los Angeles, and her optimism fades. “Is it possible? Hell, yeah,” said Booker, 30, a college student and elementary school teacher who lives in South L.A. She noted that too many police interactions turn violent, and too few consequences are enforced. 39 For all the strides that have been made since 1992, many Angelenos believe their city may still be a powder keg, according to a survey by the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. The share of Los Angeles residents who expect that another wave of “riots and disturbances” will occur has hit the highest peak since the survey, conducted every five years, launched in 1997. Five years after the riots, with the city still in recovery mode, 65% of residents thought it was likely that another outbreak would occur before too long. Over decades, the percentage steadily dropped. But this year, 68% said it was either very or somewhat likely that “other riots and disturbances will occur … in the next five years.” That finding is not a surprise to UCLA history professor Brenda Stevenson, an expert in African American history. The last several years have been a tumultuous time in Los Angeles and beyond. “People feel unease about race across the nation,” she said. “They realize that the country is in an awkward situation in regards to race.” Stevenson ticked off some of the forces that shape perceptions of racial and ethnic enmity: voting rights challenges, biased policing, the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, neighborhood gentrification, the George Floyd protests, the national debate over how race should be taught, and political rhetoric that seems to embrace white supremacist themes. The survey reflected angst over those forces too. Nearly 40% of residents believe race relations in Los Angeles have worsened over the last four years. The percentage who say that racial and ethnic groups in Los Angeles are getting along badly has increased by 12 points since 2019. White residents were the most likely to say the city’s ethnic groups get along well. Asian Americans were most likely to say they do not. People generally had a rosier outlook about race relations in their neighborhoods than in the city as a whole — perhaps a sign that personal relationships matter. Thirty years ago, Rosie Guzman was working as a seamstress, for a Korean boss, and had to rush home from work when the looting and fires started. 40 “I remember, we couldn’t leave our homes,” said Guzman, who came to the U.S. from El Salvador in the mid-1980s. “Those were some bad days.” In hindsight, she understands the riots better now and sympathizes with the hardships and prejudice faced by Black people. She believes those same things could push people to riot again. “But I still feel things are better, the relationship between the races,” she said. When she first moved to Koreatown more than 20 years ago, there was a sense of distrust, and Koreans and Latinos kept to themselves, she said. After the riots, more Latinos moved into the neighborhood and opened businesses. The cultural blending grew to include Blacks and whites who lived in the area. Guzman now owns a restaurant and three clothing stores in a Koreatown shopping plaza. “Now, I see Korean and Mexican couples coming into my stores,” she said. “I feel hopeful.” After the death of Floyd and the protests that followed, Latia Sneed has felt more supported by her Latino, Asian American and white neighbors and friends. They are now more conscious of the perils faced by Black men, she said. “People are galvanizing amongst each other,” said Sneed, 36, who is Black and grew up in L.A. “It’s not just about a bunch of Black folks protesting. It’s a bunch of nationalities going against [white supremacist] groups.” The survey suggests that millennials in Los Angeles may be leading the way. They polled more optimistic on virtually every question — from how racial and ethnic groups get along to whether their neighborhood and the city are moving in the right direction. That, said Stevenson, the UCLA professor, is a sign of better times ahead. When Stevenson moved to Los Angeles 30 years ago, just before the uprising, the city’s ethnic diversity was pioneering, she said. “It was the new city, the place where we were really going to see where the nation was going,” she said. 41 She and other residents soon learned a hard lesson, that Los Angeles “is really not that different from other cities, in the way that race plays out.” Still, Stevenson doesn’t share the pessimism reflected in the poll findings. If the riots 30 years ago were a discouraging inflection point, the 2020 protests in the wake of Floyd’s death might be a sign that ethnic divisions are blurring. “This brought together all kinds of people — young, old, from different classes, races and ethnic groups — who want to move forward, to stand together,” she said. “The whole world is trying to come together, not to lose ground.” 42 Dutt, Sangita From:Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 4:32 PM To:Loran Harding; alumnipresident@stanford.edu; antonia.tinoco@hsr.ca.gov; David Balakian; bearwithme1016@att.net; beachrides; fred beyerlein; bballpod; boardmembers; Cathy Lewis; Chris Field; Council, City; Doug Vagim; dennisbalakian; Dan Richard; esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov; eappel@stanford.edu; Scott Wilkinson; Gabriel.Ramirez@fresno.gov; George.Rutherford@ucsf.edu; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; Irv Weissman; jerry ruopoli; Joel Stiner; kfsndesk; karkazianjewelers@gmail.com; lalws4@gmail.com; Mark Standriff; Mayor; mthibodeaux@electriclaboratories.com; newsdesk; news@fresnobee.com; nick yovino; david pomaville; russ@topperjewelers.com; Sally Thiessen; Steve Wayte; tsheehan; terry; VT3126782 @gmail.com; vallesR1969@att.net; Daniel Zack Subject:Fwd: Today, HSR Board completes enviro clearance San Jose to Merced CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 4:01 PM Subject: Today, HSR Board completes enviro clearance San Jose to Merced To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Thursday, April 28, 2022 To all‐ Important‐ Enviro clearance given today by CHSRA Board for route San Jose Diridon to Merced. The plan adopted requires only 15 miles of tunneling from just east of Casa de Fruta to just north of the San Louis Reservoir. NEWS RELEASE: HSR Board Completes Environmental Clearance to Connect Silicon Valley and Central Valley ‐ loran.harding@alumni.stanford.edu ‐ Stanford Alumni Mail (google.com) This announcement says Fresno to Diridon in San Jose will be one hour by HSR v. 3 hours now by car. That last part doesn't sound right, at least at mid‐day by car. I get from my home in NW Fresno clear to San Mateo in 3 hours: 99 in Fresno to 152 and then 152 into Los Banos, in one hour total. Then, after a pit stop in Los Banos for gas, 45 more min. to Gilroy. Then maybe 40 more minutes into San Jose on 101. Then some additional time by car would be required to negotiate from 85 into Diridon, so it could be done in less than three hours by car, at least at mid‐day. Leaving Fresno by car at 5 AM on a week‐day, yes, 3 hours for sure, especially in the fog, if one is not killed in the fog. HSR will have plenty of radar to see through the fog. The one hour est. Fresno to San Jose on HSR allows for stops in Merced and Gilroy. But even if it does take one hour, home prices in Fresno will vault upward as soon as funding is in hand for Merced to Diridon. I'll feel guilty at getting such easy money. Maybe I could buy a small apartment in a suburb of Munchen with it. Far less shooting there. Also, they say 90 miles San Jose to Merced. I think it is a little farther. It is 35 miles from where 152 leaves 99, heading for Los Banos. Then 48 miles Los Banos to Gilroy. Then at least 30 miles up to San Jose. So that is 113 miles. Hard to see how they get 90 miles. True, the Merced station will be a little north of where I leave 99 and join 152 west 43 bound, and instead of winding around on 152 Merced to Gilroy, HSR will follow a straighter route. HSR will surely not go the 113 miles that it is by road San Jose to Merced but it looks like a little more than 90 miles. This is a big announcement by HSR. They will now proceed with designing the stations in Merced, Fresno, Hanford (?) and Bakersfield. With rising mortgage rates, the torid home price appreciation in Fresno will slow until the day CHSRA has the money to build Merced to Diridon. Then home prices in Fresno will jump again. Should it be Munchen or Barcelona? I speak some Deutsch and some Espanol. Espanol es mas facil que Aleman. Aleman ist schwerer zu lernen. L.William Harding Fresno, Ca. 44 Dutt, Sangita From:Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D. <blichman@buchalter.com> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 9:20 AM To:Council, City Subject:Recent Developments in Aviation/Airport Law and Regulations - April 28, 2022 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. If you're having trouble viewing this email, you may see it online. Share this: To help prprivacy, Mprevented download from the In To help prprivacy, Mprevented download from the In To help prprivacy, Mprevented download from the In To help prprivacy, Mprevented download from the In To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Aviation & Airport | Development Law News To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.website To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.blog LATEST NEWS AND ANALYSIS - AIR AND SURFACE TRANSPORTATION, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT FAA Defies History by Approving the Closure of East Hampton Airport By Barbara Lichman on April 28, 2022 In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”), on April 15, 2022, approved the closure of East Hampton Airport, owned and operated by the Town of East Hampton, Long Island, New York. The airport is scheduled for closing on May 17, 2022. 87 Fed.Reg. 22617. FAA’s acquiescence appears surprising because of its long and strong resistance to the closure of airports in general. See, e.g., City of Santa Monica v. Federal Aviation Administration, 631 F.3d 550 (D.C. Cir. 2011). The Town plans to convert the currently public use airport into a new, publicly owned, private use facility. A November 2020 letter from the FAA to the Town detailed four options to obtain local control of the airport: continued operation as a public use airport, negotiations of an agreement for mandatory restrictions on aircraft operators, permanent closure of the airport, or closure and subsequent reopening of a new, private use airport. A fifth option emerged in subsequent discussions between the Town and the FAA to transition the airport from public to private use without closure. Reopening the airport under what the FAA calls a “prior permission required” model, the Town will be able to impose and enforce restrictions limiting air traffic and noise. Under this model, the Town could prohibit certain aircraft, or certain commercial or private users, impose noise limits; and restrict takeoffs and landings at certain times of the day. In determining which aircraft could use the airport, the Town could also take into account certain environmental factors. Electric aircraft might be favored, for example, over those that use leaded aviation fuel. As the prior permission classification applies, those who wish to use the airport will first need clearance from the Town, and that permission could be granted, revised, or withdrawn. Should the restrictions allowed under this model not meet community needs, the Town could still opt to close the airport entirely. Both the process and the result sound interesting and hopeful to noise impacted communities. But don’t jump to any conclusions. Continue reading... Some people who received this message don't often get email from blichman@buchalter.com. Learn why this is important 45 Is H.R. 6050 The Best That Congress Can Do? By Barbara Lichman on April 7, 2022 It is likely that the public may be somewhat disappointed with Congress’ latest effort to ameliorate the impacts of airport noise on underlying populations. On November 18, 2021, Adam Smith, Member of the House of Representatives from Washington State, introduced the Aviation Noise and Emissions Act, H.R. 6050, a Bill intended to “develop pilot grant programs through the Environmental Protection Agency to research and collect data on aircraft and airport noise and emissions and to use such information and data to develop a mitigation strategy, and for other purposes.” H.R. 6050, p. 1. At its foundation, the Bill calls for a “3-year pilot grant program with eligible entities to measure noise and emissions, including greenhouse gases, particulate matter, ultrafine particles, and other toxic pollutants, in communities near airports or air flight pathways using sophisticated methods and technology that allow tracing of noise and emissions to specific sources . . .,” H.R. 6050, paragraph 2.a., including identifying the primary recipients of such noise such as specific neighborhoods, structures, or impacted areas. Continue reading... To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D. 18400 Von Karman Avenue, Suite 800 Irvine, CA 92614-0514 (949)224-6292 www.aviationairportdevelopmentlaw.com © Barbara E. Lichman, Ph.D., J.D. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent to city.council@cityofpaloalto.org. 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To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.powered by emma 46 Dutt, Sangita From:Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Sent:Thursday, April 28, 2022 4:56 AM To:Loran Harding; alumnipresident@stanford.edu; antonia.tinoco@hsr.ca.gov; David Balakian; bearwithme1016@att.net; beachrides; fred beyerlein; bballpod; boardmembers; Cathy Lewis; Chris Field; Council, City; Doug Vagim; dennisbalakian; Dan Richard; esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov; eappel@stanford.edu; Scott Wilkinson; Gabriel.Ramirez@fresno.gov; George.Rutherford@ucsf.edu; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; Irv Weissman; jerry ruopoli; Joel Stiner; kfsndesk; karkazianjewelers@gmail.com; lalws4@gmail.com; Mark Standriff; Mayor; mthibodeaux@electriclaboratories.com; newsdesk; news@fresnobee.com; nick yovino; david pomaville; russ@topperjewelers.com; Sally Thiessen; Steve Wayte; sanchezphilip21@gmail.com; tsheehan; terry; VT3126782@gmail.com; vallesR1969@att.net; Daniel Zack; dallen1212@gmail.com Subject:Fwd: No BA.2 US bounce. Dr. John Campbell, Wed. April 27, 2022 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 4:40 AM Subject: Fwd: No BA.2 US bounce. Dr. John Campbell, Wed. April 27, 2022 To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 3:58 AM Subject: Fwd: No BA.2 US bounce. Dr. John Campbell, Wed. April 27, 2022 To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 3:45 AM Subject: No BA.2 US bounce. Dr. John Campbell, Wed. April 27, 2022 To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Late on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 To all‐ Dr. John Campbell for today, April 27, 2022. So, pretty current. 47 Hospitalizations, ICU use way down in US. See his charts. We are not seeing the big Omicron BA.2 bounce that was expected in the US, so says Dr. John Campbell today from Carlisle. England. He has the numbers. What he says is always evidence based. It is not wild raving by some US TV network news. We have enough bad news already without that. Those hysterics help keep the stock market falling. I guess that, then, is news to report as well. Anything. There is huge immunity in the US now provoked by infection with BA.1 . They are having a rougher time of it in the UK. No BA.2 US bounce ‐ YouTube I did hear a big‐gun expert on KCBS‐AM SF say in past 24 hours that Covid is not gone. It is still putting people into the hospital and some deaths are still being caused by Covid. It is NOT the flu. Despite being fully vaccinated and boosted, and despite having been infected a couple of times, all of which should produce great immunity, one can STILL get infected again. But, each time one is infected, the symptoms should be milder, on average. Here is that expert on KCBS "Ask an expert" in the past couple of days. No date in the text. Thanks, KCBS. Past 24 hours, as I recall, having heard part of it on KCBS: Worth 15 min. of your time. From Tues. April 26, 2022, I think. Not realistic to eradicate COVID‐19 from globe, expert says (audacy.com) The female reporter leads off here with "I hear a lot of people say blah blah". Know what? When somebody says something, it matters what their educational level is, what their qualifications are, who they are. She doesn't know that. We are not schmoos wiith identical IQs and backgrounds. Educated people don't make comments like that. HEY KCBS, hire people with some education to talk to the experts. Knowledge and truth are not determined by consensus. L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. 48 Dutt, Sangita From:Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 7:57 PM To:Channing House Bulletin Board Subject:Fwd: Los Angeles Times -BLACK -KOREAN RIOT 1992 ( TIME of POLICE BRUTALITY VS RODNEY KING) CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. From: Allan Seid <allanseid734@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 7:51 PM Subject: Los Angeles Times ‐BLACK ‐KOREAN RIOT 1992 ( TIME of POLICE BRUTALITY VS RODNEY KING) SOURCE: L.A. Times 4/27/ 22 https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?token=42e23962a5d74614be16bae3d6 2d13e7&utm_id=53921&sfmc_id=4646133&edid=892eed6a‐e8e7‐48c6‐8747‐e72d1345dd90 Los Angeles Times “What are you doing down here?” The year was 2017, and I was at the intersection of Manchester and South Normandie avenues, where the Los Angeles riots had raged a quarter-century before. I was explaining to a local pastor that I was a reporter at the Los Angeles Times doing a story on a restaurant chain. I’m a journalist, I responded, here to write a story for the newspaper. “Yeah, I heard you. But what are you doing down here?” he repeated, a little more loudly this time. “Aren’t you scared? You people don’t usually come down here.” His tone was brusque but not hostile. We kept talking, and it became clear he wasn’t referring just to the L.A. Times but to the fact that I am Asian American. He relaxed visibly when I explained that I am not Korean. I did not experience the Los Angeles riots, but I have covered race and ethnicity for this paper for a decade. With a face that many mistake for Korean, I have come to know the aftermath. 49 The Black-Korean conflict was an enduring storyline during the violence that erupted in 1992 after four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King. It was a palatable narrative of racial conflict in which white racism was not directly implicated. It was a politically convenient story for the Los Angeles Police Department, which was glad to see headlines dominated by stories of racial conflict in which the police were not at fault. And the narrative’s consequences live on — not just in neighborhoods like South L.A. but in the ways that Black and Asian American people think of themselves. In parts of Koreatown and South L.A., each block tells different stories about the riots. Each old building is a testament to survival and community; every empty lot, a eulogy. To me, the story of the L.A. riots is the tale of two videotapes: one a blurry camcorder recording of King’s beating; the other, closed-circuit footage of Latasha Harlins’ murder in crisp black and white. Historians might argue about whether the LAPD and its chief at the time, Daryl Gates, were racist. But they have little ambiguity when it comes to liquor-store owner Soon Ja Du, who accused Latasha, 15, of shoplifting and shot her in the back of the head. Latasha had put a bottle of juice in her backpack and had $2 in her hand. Because Korean Americans lacked representation in the mainstream media, Korean American shopkeepers became the victims and villains of the riots, racism’s symbols and scapegoats. About 45% of all properties damaged were Korean-owned, according to the Korean American Grassroots Conference. Scores of Korean American shopkeepers were murdered, robbed and beaten in the years before and after the riots,including 25 who were shot and killed between January 1990 and May 1992, according to the Koreatown Emergency Relief Committee. A rash of depression and suicides left mental scars on the wider Korean American community that would last generations. The Black-Korean conflict described a very real nationwide dynamic between Korean shopkeepers and their largely Black customer base that was marked by violence, boycotts and protest. Korean shopkeepers, terrified by violence and crime, did not treat their Black customers with the respect they deserved. Black communities — frustrated not just 50 by their treatment but by economic racism and disinvestment — organized boycotts of Korean-owned stores that would not hire Black people. But “Black-Korean conflict” was also a term that confined the discussion of the riots’ racial conflicts to those two communities — “players in a zero-sum game,” as John H. Lee, then a reporter for the L.A. Times, described it. “How that term that was being applied to those specific shooting incidents and how it extended to Koreans and blacks as people, as a population — it did not make sense to me,” Lee said. This past week, I had lunch with two reporters from the Korea Times, and we discussed the Black-Korean conflict. Peter Park was 32 when the King verdict came down. He was an on-camera reporter who went live from the First African Methodist Episcopal church the day the violence broke out. He still feels persecuted by the narratives perpetuated around the Black-Korean conflict. “Why does mainstream media make a frame like that? What is the agenda?” Park asked me. It was a genuine question, and one that I had trouble answering. Were the news media dominated by white perspectives and readers eager for stories about racial conflict in which white racism was not the villain? Were Korean Americans used as a convenient political tool for those who wanted to reject Black demands for racial justice? Whatever the motivation, the timing of Latasha’s killing was highly beneficial for the embattled LAPD. Judge Joyce Karlin’s decision not to sentence Du to prison time was upheld just one week before the King verdict. History always reflects the worldview and aspirations of those who are writing it. Over the years, I have collected the stories of the buildings that remained standing after the riots ended because Asians, Blacks and Latinos were able to find common cause: a Chinese eatery on Virgil, a Cambodian jewelry shop in Long Beach, a Thai restaurant in Koreatown. In the story I wrote about the Cambodian-owned fried chicken chain in South L.A., I focused on the smiles I saw, not the bulletproof glass. 51 Did I treasure these stories because Asian Americans were not the villains? Our remembrances of the riots are shaped by these desires. Every anniversary, the same photos, videoclips and storylines are revisited in an attempt to make sense of what happened. Newer generations of Angelenos like myself learn about the riots through these remembrances, but the story we learn is no more conclusive than it was in 1992. And I’ve noticed that conversations about the L.A. riots often end up as arguments about the American dream. Korean immigrants left their homeland trying to achieve it, and many lost their belief in it after the riots. But was the American dream ever real if Black people never had equal access to it? We Asian Americans are always used as evidence that it is reachable for all. Because some of us can achieve educational and financial success, racism is disproved. Our success is used to confirm the belief that this country is a meritocracy. But I think the truth is more complicated than that — a three-dimensional object that will always look different based on where you stand. We see more of the truth when we can shift our perspective. Two voices can speak equally loudly and eloquently at the same time, but if they don’t talk to each other, all we hear is chaos. Each anniversary, I’m struck by the fact that there is no public memorial or space dedicated to the memory of the riots, though last year, artist Victoria Cassinova painted a mural of Latasha at a South-Central recreational facility. Perhaps that absence reflects the fact that we don’t all agree on how to remember it. Today, Korean Americans still own swap meets and beauty supply stores that primarily serve impoverished Black and Latino communities. At liquor stores, a new generation of economically disenfranchised Southeast Asian and South Asian immigrants is behind the counter. Black communities still suffer from police brutality and economic racism. And just last month, I wrote about Yongja Lee, a Korean liquor-store owner who was stabbed by a Black man. But 30 years have passed since the riots, said Ellyn Lee, Yongja’s daughter. Customers organized a GoFundMe campaign for the liquor store and raised nearly 52 $10,000. They recalled how Yongja made kimchi jjigae for dinner and shared it with them. “The community was for us,” Ellyn told me. “Not against us.” The problem, though, is that stories of harmony receive far less coverage than tales of conflict — today and in 1992. John H. Lee’s most memorable interview from the riots’ aftermath was with a Korean shopkeeper who decided to stop keeping guns at his shop and cease selling hard liquor in an attempt to bond with his Black customer base. Lee had left the L.A. Times and was freelancing for the New York Times. The anecdote ended up somewhere in the back end of the story. Edward Taehan Chang, a UC Riverside professor and member of the Black Korean Alliance that began in 1986, said he remembers getting media coverage twice: when the group began and when it broke up the year after the riots. “The media tend to focus on racists rather than peaceful resolution,” Chang said. “They weren’t interested in covering our efforts, except when we were dissolving.” Lee quit the L.A. Times in 1993 and went back to Asian American media, working as an editor for the KoreAm Journal and later the Rafu Shimpo after a brief stint writing for the New York Times. He felt a clearer sense of mission working for ethnic media, he said. “My goal has been to somehow dispel that notion that there is an intrinsic conflict between Black and Korean people.” 53 Dutt, Sangita From:Adelle Button-Bell <adellevets@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 1:59 PM To:Council, City Subject:2022 Memorial Day Ceremony CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello Mayor Patrick Burt Vice Mayor Lydia Kou Council Member Allison Cormack Council Member Greer Stone Council Member Tom Dubois Council Member Eric Filseth Council Member Greg Tanaka Dignity Memorial at Oak Hill and the United Veterans Council of Santa Clara County, want to invite you to our 100th Memorial Day Ceremony. The invitation is included here. Warm regards, Adelle Button-Bell Memorial Day Committee The United Veterans Council of Santa Clara County And Dignity Memorial Cordially invites you Memorial Day Ceremony at Oak Hill Memorial Park, Veterans’ Section Secretary Leon Panetta Keynote Speaker On Monday, May 30, 2022 The address is 300 Curtner Avenue San Jose, CA 95125 The ceremony will begin at 11:00 am Please arrive on the stage by 10:40 am Some people who received this message don't often get email from adellevets@gmail.com. Learn why this is important 54 Followed by The Ceremony at the GAR area at 12:30 pm The Ceremony on the Field of Honor for Our Vietnam Veterans at 1:30 pm Shuttles will be available to drive you throughout the park from shuttle stops RSVP: Call or email Adelle Button-Bell at 408-505-3617 or adellevets@gmail.com 55 Dutt, Sangita From:nacer abrouk <nacer.abrouk@icloud.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 1:18 PM To:Council, City Subject:Public spaces should be a public matter! [Some people who received this message don't often get email from nacer.abrouk@icloud.com. Learn why this is important at https://aka.ms/LearnAboutSenderIdentification.] CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ________________________________ Dear City Council of the City of Palo Alto, In anticipation of your meeting on February 28th, we implore you to put the matter of streets and parklet usage to a wider public vote. The decision of how City property should be used — and how it can benefit the broadest possible group of residents — should be decided by members of our community. It should not be subject to a subset of influential few. After two years of increased public engagement on the social and health benefits of our streets, we urge you to consider this as a unique opportunity to further a sense of collective agency over our public spaces. A concerned citizen of our community, [ your name] 56 Dutt, Sangita From:Whitni Devereaux <wdh15@icloud.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 11:24 AM To:Council, City Subject:Public spaces should be a public matter! CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council of the City of Palo Alto, In anticipation of your meeting on February 28th, we implore you to put the matter of streets and parklet usage to a wider public vote. The decision of how City property should be used — and how it can benefit the broadest possible group of residents — should be decided by members of our community. It should not be subject to a subset of influential few. After two years of increased public engagement on the social and health benefits of our streets, we urge you to consider this as a unique opportunity to further a sense of collective agency over our public spaces. A concerned citizen of our community, [Devereaux Hemingway] Wdh Sent from my iPhone Some people who received this message don't often get email from wdh15@icloud.com. Learn why this is important 57 Dutt, Sangita From:mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 10:21 AM To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed; Pat Burt Subject:Re: tax capital not pillows CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Note: Williams-Sonoma owns West Elm and is $9.5B market cap. Maybe tax them $100,000 based on that and not $40,000 based on square footage. I stand by the rest of the argument. Mark Weiss On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, 10:12:23 AM PDT, mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> wrote: The local rag reports today that Palo Alto is deliberating a tax effort that would raise $40,000 from West Elm, a high end retailer with a nice showroom on University Avenue, at Emerson, what used to be Ross Stores and for a while was also the basement offices for Bay Area Action who spearheaded Earth Day. But I would much rather see a tax that, for example, raises $10,000,000 (ten million) from Ribbit Capital, you’ve never heard of, with offices above the CVS, on University, near Waverley. Trade press reports that they have a $1.15 billion fund, as of January, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/03/fintech-focused-ribbit-capital-raises-1-15b-in-seventh-fund- according-to-sec-filing/ Why are we taxing retailers by the foot and not Venture Capital funds by the billions of dollars in transactions? I propose our ordinance raise $10M for every billion in VC funding, that’s a tenth of a percent by my math. That would be easily $20m here each year. Similarly, Tom Dubois is reported recently in that same rag that our tax would target 800 to 1,200 businesses and West Elm. I say let's tax only the billionaires and trillionaires. Let’s end Palo Alto’s tax holiday for billionaires and trillionaires. And how much are we paying this bozo to tell us how to foul this up? I think I read he is related to Jarvis or Gann the people who created the tax holiday on real estate. Also, I wonder if Tom Dubois, Alison Cormack and maybe Eric Filseth should recuse from this debate if they either work for the trillionaire and billionaire tax scofflaws or live off their investments in such. 58 In places like East Palo Alto and Mountain View the taxes were targeted to the fat cats and not Mom and Pop and the businesses actually showed very little resistance. These firms brag about how much money they have, how much money they make, how much they spend. They're happy to help! Generally: how have We The People or the average Palo Altan benefitted from Dow going from 8,000 to 33,000 or so? The answer is not much, unless as an individual you are an investor. In fact, the wealth created makes waves and divides us. If Palo Alto did what all the other communities here do, we’d gain $100m per year to keep our libraries and community centers open. Let’s tax VCs, Unicorns and companies with billions in market cap. Leave Mom and Pop alone. Mark Weiss 169 Bryant not a billionaire but a Citizen and Palo Altan We need to regulate Capital, read Robert Reich my fellow Dartmouthian: https://www.amazon.com/Saving-Capitalism-Many-Not-Few/dp/0345806220 tax Amazon!!! 59 Dutt, Sangita From:mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday, April 27, 2022 10:12 AM To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed; Pat Burt Subject:tax capital not pillows CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. The local rag reports today that Palo Alto is deliberating a tax effort that would raise $40,000 from West Elm, a high end retailer with a nice showroom on University Avenue, at Emerson, what used to be Ross Stores and for a while was also the basement offices for Bay Area Action who spearheaded Earth Day. But I would much rather see a tax that, for example, raises $10,000,000 (ten million) from Ribbit Capital, you’ve never heard of, with offices above the CVS, on University, near Waverley. Trade press reports that they have a $1.15 billon dollar fund, as of January, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/03/fintech-focused-ribbit-capital-raises-1-15b-in-seventh-fund- according-to-sec-filing/ Why are we taxing retailers by the foot and not Venture Capital funds by the billions of dollars in transactions? I propose our ordinance raise $10M for every billon in VC funding, that’s a tenth of a percent by my math. That would be easily $20m here each year. Similarly, Tom Dubois is reported recently in that same rag that our tax would target 800 to 1,200 businesses like West Elm. I say lets tax only the billionaires and trillionaires. Let’s end Palo Alto’s tax holiday for billionaires and trillionaires. And how much are we paying this bozo to tell us how to foul this up? I think I read he is related to Jarvis or Gann the people who created the tax holiday on real estate. Also, I wonder if Tom Dubois, Alison Cormack and maybe Eric Filseth should recuse from this debate if they either work for the trillionaire and billionaire tax scofflaws or live off their investments in such. In places like East Palo Alto and Mountain View the taxes were targeted to the fat cats and not Mom and Pop and the business actually showed very little resistance. These firms brag about how much money they have, how much money they make, how much they spend. Their happy to help! Generally: how have We The People or the average Palo Altan benefitted from Dow going from 8,000 to 33,000 or so? The answer is not much, unless as an individual you are an investor. In fact, the wealth created makes waves and divides us. 60 If Palo Alto did what all the other communities here do, we’d gain $100m per year to keep our libraries and community centers open. Let’s tax VCs, Unicorns and companies with billons in market cap. Leave Mom and Pop (and West Elm) alone. Mark Weiss 169 Bryant not a billionaire but a Citizen and Palo Altan We need to regulate Capital, read Robert Reich my fellow Dartmouthian 61 Dutt, Sangita From:UNAFF <info+unaff.org@ccsend.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 26, 2022 8:16 AM To:Council, City Subject:Special CAW/UNAFF screenings and panel discussions on climate justice and mental health CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. Moving Forward Series (in person) YOUTH V GOV (4/28) AULCIE (5/5) Dear CAW/UNAFF friends, We invite you to two very special screenings and panel discussions with filmmakers, subjects of the films, and Stanford experts. In-person events. YOUTH V GOV https://events.stanford.edu/event/camera_as_witness_presents_documentary_youth_v_gov Thursday, April 28, 2022 8 pm to 10 pm PT Stanford Medical School Li Ka Shing Center Building, Room LK130 291 Campus Drive (110 min) US Director: Christi Cooper Producer: Olivia Ahnemann It is a story of America’s youth taking on the world’s most powerful government. In 2015, twenty-one young plaintiffs, ages 8 to 19, filed the lawsuit Juliana vs. United States, asserting a willful violation of their constitutional rights in creating our climate crisis. As leaders in the youth climate movement, they represent 10 states: Florida, Alaska, Hawaii, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Louisiana, and New York. These film characters encompass cultural, economic, and geographic diversity, and many come from marginalized communities, serving as beacons of hope for those who do not have a platform to share their own stories. They are African American, Indigenous, white, biracial, and LGBTQ, and their diversity speaks not only to the impacts of climate change, but to the inclusion required if we are to build a better and more just future together. Please join us for a panel discussion with Mayor of Palo Alto Pat Burt, filmmakers Christi Cooper and Olivia Ahnemann, and subjects of the film Miko Vergun and Philip Gregory. To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 62 AULCIE https://events.stanford.edu/event/camera_as_witness_presents_documentary_aulcie_9358 Thursday, May 5, 2022 8 pm to 10 pm PT Stanford Medical School Li Ka Shing Center Building, Room LK130 291 Campus Drive (72 min) Israel/US Director/Producer: Dani Menkin Executive Producer: Nancy Spielberg The story of a remarkable athlete who captured the spirit of a nation, and how he ultimately triumphed despite the odds. In the summer of 1976, Aulcie Perry was spotted by a scout for Maccabi Tel Aviv while playing basketball in Harlem, and was signed immediately. Just a year later, Perry, who took the Israeli basketball team to their first European championship, started dating supermodel Tami Ben Ami, converted to Judaism, and became one of Israel's biggest athletes. But not all was well behind the scenes, as he descended to drugs and jail time, before finally finding redemption - all this while searching for his biological daughter. Please join us for a panel discussion with filmmaker Dani Menkin. Moderated by Jasmina Bojic, Stanford Arts Camera as Witness Program Director and Founder of the international documentary film festival UNAFF. — Please share your support of CAW/UNAFF with your friends and family members: Camera As Witness program. Thank you. To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Facebook To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Twitter To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.YouTube UNAFF | PO Box 19369, Stanford, CA 94309 Unsubscribe city.council@cityofpaloalto.org Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by info@unaff.org powered by To help protect your priv acy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet.Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today. Try email marketing for free today! 63 Dutt, Sangita From:chuck jagoda <chuckjagoda1@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, April 26, 2022 1:06 AM To:letters@padailypost.com; Council, City Cc:Cherrill Spencer; Angie Evans; Aram James; Emily; Emily Mibach; Courtney Cooperman; Human Relations Commission; Khalia Parish; Tianay Pulphus; Rebecca Eisenberg; Roberta Ahlquist; Joe Simitian; Joe Levis; Kelley, Patricia A.; Lenny Siegel; Edie Keating; Gloria Burd; wendy Subject:"Hostile Work Environment" and Assata Shakur CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Editor, I write in response to the April 18 letter from Donna Devincenzi about the "hostile work environment" complaint of some Palo Alto police. The issue is the face and name of Assata Shakur in the mural of George Floyd that the City of Palo Alto allowed to be painted in front of City Hall. Ms. Devincenzi focuses on the fact that Ms. Shakur is a "convicted cop killer." May I suggest there is even more to focus on? How many people know Ms. Shakur is a published poet? That when the car she was riding in was pulled over by the New Jersey State Patrol, she was an activist leader of Black politicians targeted by the FBI's COINTELPRO campaign? That she was convicted after medical testimony that she couldn't have shot the New Jersey State Patrol officer who died when the roadside stop turned into a hail of bullets because she'd already been shot in her shoulder and was unable to lift, let alone fire a weapon? If Ms. Devincenzi or other readers want to find out more about this case, this link will take you to Ms. Shakur's lawyer and professor Angela Davis who will provide more relevant information. https://www.democracynow.org/2013/5/3/angela_davis_and_ass ata_shakurs_lawyer Chuck Jagoda Women's International League for Peace and Freedom 64 Homeless/Housing Issues Committee 65 Dutt, Sangita From:Jo Ann Mandinach <joann@needtoknow.com> Sent:Monday, April 25, 2022 6:01 PM To:Council, City Subject:How do I get an exemption from the Gas Transfer Tax? CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello. You've rushed to exempt all sorts of businesses from paying business taxes even though businesses and their employees outnumber residents and taxpayers more than 3:1 and cost us more than that as costs are shifted from businesses to residents like me. For years you've overcharged me and other residents $20,000,000 each and every year. A judge has ordered CPAU to pay $12,500,000, a mere pittance for a short period of time and only for one utility. We're stuck paying for the appeal while waiting for our payments. We're the only city WITHOUT a business tax yet you've managed to turn call for one into yet another tax on residents. Congratulations. George Orwell would be proud. I'm appalled that we're also stuck paying for those useless surveys. I'm STILL waiting for help resetting my password and have been disenfranchised for years in taking the surveys, How wonderful that you've also hired a full-time SENIOR staffer to lobby us that the Gas Transfer Tax is preferable to a real business tax and structured the ballot language so that restoring the services you took away from us is to legitimize this continued overcharging ./ transfer /theft. 66 Too bad it's never occurred to you to cut business / special-interest serving nonsense like those silly hearings on converting Town & Country to medical/retail without defining that just before the pandemic ended. (T&C's revenues are up 36%!!!) and the amusing Casti hearings. Most sincerely Residential Cash Cow Jo Ann Mandinach Palo Alto, CA 94301 67 Dutt, Sangita From:Rebecca Eisenberg <rebecca@winwithrebecca.com> Sent:Monday, April 25, 2022 5:05 PM To:Council, City Subject:Fwd: Cupertino Business Tax CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Rebecca Eisenberg <rebecca@winwithrebecca.com> Date: Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 5:47 PM Subject: Re: Palo Alto's Regressive and Unconstitutional "Business" Tax Proposal Reference to the EPA tax was omitted below. I inserted it and post it here as well, along with MV's and SJ's tax propositions: East Palo Alto: https://ballotpedia.org/East_Palo_Alto,_California,_Measure_HH,_Commercial_Office_Space_Parcel_Tax_(November_2 018) Mountain View: https://ballotpedia.org/Mountain_View,_California,_Measure_P,_Per‐Employee_Business_Tax_(November_2018) San Jose: https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your‐government/departments/finance/business‐tax‐registration/business‐tax‐rates On Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 5:37 PM Rebecca Eisenberg <rebecca@winwithrebecca.com> wrote: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/agendas-minutes-reports/agendas-minutes/finance- committee/2022/20220328/20220328pfcs-report-added.pdf https://cityofpaloalto.zoom.us/j/99227307235#success *THIS MEETING HAS STARTED BUT THIS ISSUE IS NOT UP YET - WILL SOON BE* Tonight, Palo Alto City Council will discuss a proposed business tax that is so regressive and so nonsensical, that no other City in California ever proposed it before. Palo Alto seeks to tax businesses according to how big their offices are, regardless of how many employees they have, how much revenue and profit is generated in Palo Alto, or how much valuable property they rent out to others. This is a tax of first impression because it is so profoundly ludicrous. In proposing this square footage tax, Palo Alto City leadership attempts to compare this proposed tax with the highly successful tax measure passed in East Palo Alto in 2018. But East Palo Alto’s tax did not tax the *tenant*. Rather, the EPA business tax was a parcel tax levied against the *owner* of the building and the landlord of the office space. This is an entirely different matter than taxing the tenant. In East Palo Alto, like in other cities with a similar business-based parcel tax, a tenant only pays the parcel tax when it owns the office building, as is the case of Amazon.com . In this way, all other cities with square footage taxes focus on the landlord, not the 68 tenant. https://ballotpedia.org/East_Palo_Alto,_California,_Measure_HH,_Commercial_Office_Space_ Parcel_Tax_(November_2018) This proposed PA tax turns this matter on its head. Instead of taxing the landlord, which is the entity that owns the income-generating asset, the tax goes against the TENANT, for whom the leases it pays are an EXPENSE not income! This would be as if the IRS taxed a family based on the amount of money they spent on groceries and rent, rather on the income the family generated. It is UNHEARD of. Only billionaire landlords like John Schenk would back a tax like this, where taxes are based on costs rather than income. Relying on public opinion for such a tax is nonsensical. You already know what happens when taxes against owners of commercial property are proposed — those taxes win big at the polls, such as the EPA ballot measure - the commercial developer parcel tax, which won by a whopping 80%. That margin is so wide that it is a waste of money to do more research. Similarly, the Mountain View business tax - https://ballotpedia.org/Mountain_View,_California,_Measure_P,_Per- Employee_Business_Tax_(November_2018) - which taxes based on headcount, targeting businesses with more than 5000 employees in order to tax Google but not tax small businesses, restaurants, or retail - passed by more than 70%. In both cases, no party even formally opposed the tax legislation. San Jose combines both a landlord tax, with the tax rate increasing as the number of units rented increases, along with an employee headcount tax, where also the tax rate rises along with the size of the business. In both cases, larger and more profitable businesses pay higher tax rates. https://www.sanjoseca.gov/your- government/departments/finance/business-tax-registration/business-tax-rates . There is literally ZERO precedent for a city that taxes businesses based on the size of the often they rent. Every other city taxes businesses on receipts (revenues), profits, payroll, headcount, assets (for example, real estate owned and rented to businesses or residents), differences between highest paid and median employees, or a combination of the above. No city taxes based on the size of office it occupies, regardless of ownership of that office. From coast to coast, size of office is used a a deduction, but never as something taxed. Office size for businesses that rent their offices cannot possibly be taxed because they are expenses, not assets or income. Accounting 101. If Palo Alto followed the existing playbook, it would have FANTASTIC success with a business tax. Our City could propose a parcel tax against landlords who rent out more than 50,000 square feet of commercial property (in order to target the big landlords like John Schenk, while sparing the mom and pop landlords), accompanied by a per-employee tax levied against any employer with more than 5000 employees. In the best case scenario, they also should propose a tax that targets companies that have more than, say, $100 million in revenue, along with a baseline of profitability, as well as an “Overpaid executive” tax similar to the tax passed by a landslide in San Francisco, to capture the externalities created by businesses that pay their top executives more than 100 times what they pay their median worker, with higher tax rates depending on how many multiples more they pay their CEOs than the median employee. Imagine that tax levied on Tesla — it could pay for all of our affordable housing needs, plus more. Palo Alto could propose all of these taxes, and if it did, it almost certainly would succeed at the polls. The city’s own paid consultants themselves have confirmed that voters are as likely, if not more, to pass a tax proposal with multiple elements as they are a tax package with just one element, as the PACC propose now. ONLY in Palo Alto does the leadership conclude that it knows more than any and every other city. This current proposal — despite what Molly Stump may claim - as she knows herself that there has been no similar tax ever reviewed by a California court — is unconstitutional, nonsensical, regressive, and preposterous. Could it be that City leadership really does not intend to tax businesses, perhaps wanting to protect and reward some of their largest campaign contributors, many of whom work for Palo Alto’s largest and most profitable employers and commercial landowners? If that is not their intention, it certainly is the consequence of their proposed ballot measures. Rebecca L. Eisenberg Esq. 69 www.linkedin.com/in/eisenberg www.winwithrebecca.com rebecca@winwithrebecca.com 415-235-8078 On Sun, Mar 27, 2022 at 8:44 AM chuck jagoda <chuckjagoda1@gmail.com> wrote: To Rebecca et. al: The negligent tradition of Palo Alto city government to tolerate, cover up, and encourage the "service" of violent cops is not new, not right, not legal, and VERY expensive. I've recommended self indemnification in the past. If each new hire had to present evidence of insuring against lawsuits for misbehavior, the City and taxpayers wouldn't have to pay for their violence, anger, and injury of citizens; the Police Department wouldn't have to spend so much time covering up for violent, miscreant behavior; and citizens could feel safer on the street. I'm distressed to see no proposed solutions for reform or fixing the long standing current problem. AND doing nothing-- as is the firmly entrenched and long standing tradtion of Palo Alto-- there will be more expenses, more embarrassment, and more beaten, bitten, and beleaguered citizens. Chuck Jagoda, Member Housing/Homelessness Committee Women's International League for Peace and Freedom On Sun, Mar 27, 2022 at 3:48 AM Rebecca Eisenberg <rebecca@winwithrebecca.com> wrote: Individuals who behave with such profound indifference to the sanctity of human life cannot be trained. How do you teach an adult to have compassion, empathy, common sense, and a desire to protect rather than to injure? Criminal defendants accused of these types of actions are locked up for lifetimes, and in some cases, killed. Rehabilitation is not an offer on the table. Given this context, it is literally the smallest expectation that these officers be fired. In the private sphere ‐ where I have worked as an employment lawyer for almost 30 years ‐ it is no question that jobs would be lost. Only the police enjoy the privilege of virtually unrestrained violence and unquestioned bias, all without transparency and accountability. Palo Alto City Council has 100% authority to direct the police force to hand over employment records and demand the terminations of officers who harmed community members. Its inaction ‐ supported by the recommendations of its self‐serving City manager & staff ‐ constitutes collaboration and complicity. When true justice ultimately arrives in Palo Alto, it will take down not just the violently unhinged armed officers and the white supremacist systems that enabled them, but also the city leaders that empowered and encouraged them. It may be too late for these officers to be redeemed, but I can't believe it is too late for our local leaders to change course and take the brave, high integrity actions needed to protect our communities. Best, Rebecca 70 On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 2:55 PM Roberta Ahlquist <roberta.ahlquist@sjsu.edu> wrote: Why can't these offices calm the person down, and not shoot to kill!??? One mentally ill man, and 3+ cops w/ guns! They all need better training, including the value of lives, mentaly ill or not. roberta ahlquist On Sat, Mar 26, 2022 at 2:20 PM Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: FYI: Rosen complicit???? And of course Perron still with the PAPD and the IPA report on alleged use of the N word has yet to be released. Is Ed Shikada and Molly Stump complicit in the on going perron scandel https://www.santacruzsentinel.com/2016/01/26/palo‐alto‐officer‐who‐used‐taser‐during‐christmas‐day‐shooting‐ is‐identified‐2/ Shared via the Google app Sent from my iPhone ‐‐ Chuck 71 Dutt, Sangita From:Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, April 25, 2022 4:24 PM To:Council, City; Clerk, City; Shikada, Ed; Portillo, Rumi; Binder, Andrew; Jonsen, Robert Subject:City of Palo Alto Public Records Request :: W003577-042522 CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. FYI: To help protect your privacy, Microsoft Office prevented automatic download of this picture from the Internet. 04/2 Dear Aram: The City of Palo Alto is dedicated and responsive to our community. Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was given the reference number W003577‐042522 for tracking purposes. Records Requested: 1. When will applications for Palo Alto’s next police chief first be accepted ? 2. When will applications for Palo Alto’s next Police Chief close? 3. The search firm the city of Palo Alto is currently using to recruit possible candidates for their next police chief? 4. The search firm the city of Palo Alto Intends to use to recruit possible candidates if recruiting for police chief has not already started? 5. Monies budgeted for the recruitment of the next Palo Alto Police Chief? Sincerely, Aram James Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question. You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and youʹll receive an email when your request has been completed. 72 Thank you for using the Public Records Center. City of Palo Alto Track the issue status and respond at: https://paloaltoca.mycusthelp.com/webapp//_rs/RequestEdit.aspx?rid=3577 73 Dutt, Sangita From:William Butler <butlerwd@yahoo.com> Sent:Monday, April 25, 2022 3:03 PM To:Council, City Subject:The Business Tax is a BAD IDEA CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Mayor Burt and Members of the Council, I am writing today to urge you to reconsider the proposed business tax. Now is the wrong time to raise taxes on local businesses after two years of a crippling pandemic and record-high inflation. Until the City performs an economic impact analysis, removes the automatic cost increase, adds a sunset to the measure and can guarantee how the money will be spent, I will continue to oppose this plan. Small businesses are hurting. Now is not the time. Some people who received this message don't often get email from butlerwd@yahoo.com. 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