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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-01-13 City Council Emailsregarding how to submit oral public comment at the hearings. If you challenge the above land use decisions in court, you may be limited to raising only those issues that you or someone else raised during consideration of the item at the above public meetings, or in written correspondence delivered to the County of Santa Clara Planning Commission by emailing planning2@pln.sccgov or planning.commission@pln.sccgov.org, or by delivering correspondence to the addresses above, prior to or at the public meetings. Board of Supervisors: Prior to the hearing, written communications should be filed with the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors prior to the hearing date by emailing to Boardoperations@cob.sccgov.org or delivering to 70 W. Hedding Street, 10th Floor, East Wing, San Jose, CA 95110. If you challenge this decision, you may be limited to raising only those issues that you or someone else raised at the public hearing described in this notice or in written correspondence delivered to the Office of the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors prior to, or at, the public hearing. SPOKEN PUBLIC COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS Members of the public may provide spoken public comments at these meetings as follows: Spoken public comments will be accepted through the teleconference meeting. To address the Planning Commission or the Board, click on the associated Zoom link for the relevant on the web address above to access the Zoom-based meeting. Please read the following instructions carefully. 1. You may download the Zoom client or connect to the meeting in-browser. If using your browser, make sure you are using a current, up-to-date browser such as Chrome 30+, Firefox 27+, Microsoft Edge 12+, or Safari 7+. Certain functionality may be disabled in older browsers, including Internet Explorer. 2. You will be asked to enter an email address and name. The Clerk requests that you identify yourself by name as this will be visible online and will be used to notify you that it is your turn to speak. 3. When the Commission Chairperson calls for the item on which you wish to speak, click on “raise hand.” The Clerk will activate and unmute speakers in turn. Speakers will be notified shortly before they are called to speak. (Call in attendees press *9 to request to speak, and *6 to unmute when prompted.) 4. When called to speak, please limit your remarks to the time limit allotted. 3055 Olin Ave. Suite 2200, San Jose, CA 95128 M 408.727.9600 F 408.988.6340 www.nmrk.com Mayor Ed Lauing City of Palo Alto Palo Alto City Council Via Email Re: Retail Committee Recommendation Meeting January 13, 2025 Dear Mayor Lauing and City Council members, We fully support the Retail Committee recommendation that you confirm the three directions to staff at today’s meeting. The Econic Company was born of a singular goal: to bring a specialized and bespoke retail real estate experience to both landlords and tenants against an ever-changing retail and economic landscape. We have decades of market specific experience representing tenants in and around Palo Alto, and currently represent over two hundred tenants, from local and regional businesses to national chain retailers. We have had the pleasure of participating in the Ad Hoc Retail Committee meetings over the last few months and feel strongly that the proposed directives will support all retailers and aid in the much-needed retail recovery of the University Avenue market. Cleanliness and safety are critical fundamentals to a vibrant retail district, for both retailers and their customers. Palo Alto has made some steps to improve both downtown areas, but more must be done and the retailers need to know this will be sustained. The proposed revisions to the Ongoing Parklet Program are vitally important. The well-intended policy to allow parklets in front of neighboring storefronts has resulted in an even more difficult retail market. One example of unintended consequences of this program is that New Balance (a first class shoe retailer) was exploring a new store on the Avenue. Once they learned of this policy they announced they would not locate there. Equally impactful are the significant concerns raised by smaller retailers who are not willing to risk their capital to open a store where their frontage could be compromised by another’s parklet. We also know that there are current retailers whose businesses are negatively impacted when a parklet is installed in front of their store. The visual impact, loss of parking, and the realities that the next mornings can be dirty and disorganized after a night of dining in front of their store all compound the problem. Parklet dining areas allow for vibrancy in the downtown district and allow restaurants to increase their sales with additional seats, but this should not come at the expense of retailers, who need unobstructed storefronts to operate effectively. Expanding the ground floor uses as the Ad Hoc Committee has discussed will help fill vacancies and support the downtown district. Vacancies give pause to retailers interested in opening in new markets and trade areas, and temporary activation brings customer traffic and vibrancy that helps landlords and existing neighboring retail tenants. Your support of these recommended changes will provide immediate strength to the market’s leasing efforts as we can message that the City is heading in an improved direction and retailers should come look again at the University Avenue district. We look forward to continuing our support of the Ad Hoc committee and to seeing retail regain its strength and standing in the broader market. Sincerely, James Chung Founder & Principal Lic #01408190 jchung@theeconiccompany.com D 408.400.7017 Matt Sweeney Executive Director Lic #01746896 msweeney@theeconiccompany.com D 408.863.1444 Josh Shumsky Executive Director Lic #01883266 jshumsky@theeconiccompany.com D 408.863.144 From:Eric Krock To:Council, City Subject:Urban Fire Suppression Reserve to complement the professional firefighters with defense in depth against lofted embers Date:Sunday, January 12, 2025 11:36:42 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Members of the Palo Alto City Council - I think that each Peninsula city should consider creating an Urban Fire Suppression Reserve, which would be a group of volunteers who pay for their own background checks, fire uniforms, respirators, hoses, and public safety-compatible radios at their own expense and have one purpose only: to stay behind during an evacuation order and suppress spot fires and put water on burning structures so long as they deem it safe to do so or until ordered to withdraw. What would it be worth to each city’s professional firefighters in the event of a Santa Cruz Mountains wildfire that crossed highway 280 if we had 1-2 such volunteers per city street to supplement the professional firefighters with a defense in depth to prevent lofted embers from igniting homes and businesses 2-3 miles behind the fire lines? Residents would be told to leave their backyard gates unlocked and garden hoses connected so that the volunteers could easily patrol each house on the street, front and back, looking for spot fires to put out. Volunteers might use drones to more efficiently monitor the houses along their street. These volunteers would go door-do-door periodically on their street to educate residents about wildfire preparedness and what to do in the event of an evacuation warning and evacuation order, also serving a useful public education function. The tragedies of the Pacific Palisades and Altadena have made it clear that perimeter defense firefighting was defeated by lofted embers that went over the front lines and ignited structures in the urban areas. Here is how such a force would be different from existing forces: 1) They would not be fully trained professional firefighters. They would not be trained or expected to run into burning buildings and perform rescues or serve on the front lines fighting an advancing wildfire. 2) They would not be fully trained Reserve Public Safety Officers who have to be trained to perform law enforcement as well as firefighting. They would be called out only in the event of a wildfire threatening our urban area. 3) They would not be ordinary Community Emergency Response Team members, since they would have paid to provide their own equipment and would be authorized by the city’s public safety force to remain behind during an evacuation order until ordered to withdraw or they deemed it unsafe to remain. The main expense to each city's Public Safety of having such a volunteer force would be holding occasional one- afternoon basic training sessions that would teach the volunteers how to hook up a fire hose to a hydrant, how and when to communicate (and not communicate) over an assigned radio channel, how to patrol a street looking for spot fires, how to safely put out spot fires using garden hoses or buckets of water, and how to safely put water on a burning structure from a distance offset to the side. Volunteers could be tracked through the existing CERT system. These volunteers would be responsible for self-evacuating when ordered to over the radios using their own cars, so they could be easily ordered to withdraw when conditions became too dangerous without burdening public safety resources. I understand the reluctance associated with having any civilians remain behind at all during an evacuation order, but I think that such a trained volunteer force could usefully augment the professional firefighters with a defense in depth in the event that a wildfire in the Santa Cruz Mountains jumped highway 280 and began threatening our urban area with lofted embers igniting spot fires. Sincerely, Eric Krock From:Loren Martha Thatcher To:Council, City Subject:Written public comment 1/13 Date:Sunday, January 12, 2025 10:30:42 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Public Comment: ——— I would like to call for the firing of City Manager Ed Shikada by the Palo Alto City Council. Ed Shikada has repeatedly ignored my requests to meet so that we can discuss my father’s death investigation. He has been extremely immature and outright disrespectful when dealing with my grieving family. As of right now he is allowing Palo Alto Police Chief Andrew Binder to investigate complaints about his own misconduct. Ed Shikada is encouraging this illegal behavior by being passive and pretending he has not been made aware of the issue multiple times. When I asked to meet with the police chief I was told that I wasn’t allowed to talk to him. Ed Shikada said nothing about this conduct. He did nothing to help arrange a meeting, he didn’t reach out to my family, and he ignored me when I went there in person. The only person who helped me was city council member Greg Tanaka. When he tried asking why Ed Shikada wouldn’t talk to my family - he was also ignored. Perhaps Ed is ignoring the issue due to his conflict with Stanford Medical Center (which is where my father died). If he can’t separate his job with his personal financial interests then he shouldn’t have this job. Palo Alto deserves a City Manager who won’t allow corruption within its city and its police department. My family deserves more than the silent treatment from public officials. I hope that the city council will not sit here and continue to watch this happen. Vote to fire Ed Shikada. —— surprised if anyone will insure it. Check that out before you rebuild the same house withthe same materials in the same location. Check with your insurance agent, if his company hasn't left California. Gov. Newsom says L.A. wildfires could be worst natural disaster in U.S. history: Fullinterview BTW, in the above interview, the Governor said the reservoirs were full before this fire. I'll just note here that climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh at Stanford has said that by 2070, all ofthe precipitation in the Sierra will be rain instead of snow. I think we'd better build a lot more reservoirs below the Sierras. 2070 is as far away as 1980 was, 45 years. Warmer air cancarry more moisture. NBC News, 11 min: How the wildfires engulfed the Los Angeles area: Fire & Ash - Part 1 "Design for Disaster". William Conrad narrates. Story of the Bel Air Conflagration.Nov. 6, 1961. 26:42 Don't miss this. Do not miss this. I have lousy audio on my new Samsung big screen, so I watch it on my computer with headphones. This was made by theLos Angeles Fire Department, no less. Then they allowed thousands of homes to be build where they are with shake roofs, etc. and now you see the result. 26:42 Design for disaster Since this happened in November, 1961, don't you think they might have learned from it?OH God NO! Nada learned. "Surely those Santa Ana winds will never happen to LA again", was the thinking. Or maybe it's just that money talks. Notice the women here whose homeswere threatened. Beautifully dressed and in high heels. That's how women were in 1961. "Bill O'Reilly: LA Fires show progressive governance doesn't" Bill O’Reilly: LA fires show 'progressive governance doesn’t work’ | CUOMO L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. The proposed changes have not taken into account the wants, desires, and needs of other businesses and community members who also have a right tohave a voice in the process. The proposed changes come with a negative financial impact on businesses,many of whom are facing extreme post-pandemic challenges with inflation and ongoing labor pressure with yearly minimum-wage increases. These changesare not free to us. To be clear, Oren's Hummus stands in strong opposition to these proposed changes. We also urge the following: Conduct a public study to determine what the community as a whole wants.This study should include all stakeholders. Implement an appeal process to the program. Currently, a business can objectto a parklet encroaching their frontage without validating the impact ontheir business in any way, shape or form. In our case, we had to rebuild ourparklet with a partial roof. The frontage of our neighbor was less than 10 feet ofspace which they could not use anyway. One business should not be able toarbitrarily decide the impact on another without validating the impact or goingthrough a process. We went through a process to access this space, why didthey not have to go through a process to deny our access? Implement a minimum 5-year moratorium on significant changes to current structuresthat met the requirements of the 2024 Permanent Parklet Program. Requiringstructural changes places a huge financial burden on all of us. What is stopping the Cityfrom requiring more investment in 2026 that we would need to have in place byNovember 2025? Implement a minimum time-frame for notification to any structural changes, orsignificant changes to the program, in the future. I think 3-years is realisticconsidering the investment planning for these situations. As we stand in opposition to changes coming so quickly after meeting therequirements of the last update to the program, we strongly urge you to vote against any change to the Permanent Parklet Program at this time. Sincerely,Marcus BelardesVice President of OperationsOren's Hummus Rip, Scoop, Eat! Palo Alto - Mountain View - Cupertino - San Francisco - Los GatosC 408.355.5492E marcus@orenshummus.comwww.orenshummus.com Note: I am sending this email now because it suits me, please know that I don't expect you to read or respond outside of your normal hours. parts of which now might be at risk of removal. Why?? To make the handful of landlords a bit happier? This happiness shall last a very short time. 4. Vacancies-restaurants are the lifeline for the City of Palo Alto and there is absolutely NO truth to the assertion that Parklets harm Retail. Vacancies are not the results of parklets in the downtown area, but rather the Landlords who charge high rents and use vacancies as tax write-offs. So, here you are again trying to balance the needs of the public with those of a handful of landowners. Here you are again, needing to remember the benefits the public spaces proffer our community. Please vote against this change to the Permanent Parklet Program that would give a right to a landlord to dictate how a public space is used. Thank you, Anu Bhambri ROOH he led a prayer for the departed, for his loved ones. After the prayer, the mother of the youngman who passed clutched Reverend Moore. Standing in the rain, he consoled her, giving her soft words of comfort and peace. In the less seen places and moments, the intimate spaces thathis walk of justice often him brought him to, his grace expressed itself differently, but just as powerfully as his public oratories. I’ve seen Reverend Moore lead prayer in court hallways, atrallies, at school parking lots. His faith would embolden and transform, and he shared that with us. His walk often mapped the personal to the larger terrain of the fight for justice. Ithink it’s because Reverend Moore really was a San Jose guy. He knew people. Went back with people. He knew folks’ Uncles and Aunties, knew people’s kids. There was a young man,15 years old at the time, who had a juvenile court case for some nonsense at school (the school called police instead of just resolving the minor incident on campus.) We were going to attendcourt with him to call for a dismissal of the charge, and were going to reach out to Rev to join us. If you were a person of traditional political power - a school administrator, a judge, a citycouncil person - if Rev Moore came to the meeting, you knew the community was not playing. But when we were talking to the young man’s grandma to see if it was cool to invite Rev, shesaid of course he should be there - like that was always the plan. Turned out Rev. Moore would counsel him after school regularly. Would show up at his house to check up on him,and the young man would seek him out all for guidance all the time. That would happen all the time. Whenever we would reach out to Rev to support someone’s fight for justice, he wouldoften already have had some connection to them. When we called on him to join our call for the release of a man who was wrongly imprisoned for 18 years, Rev said he had alreadyspoken to the mother of the man. She cut his hair in high school, and so of course Rev had already been advocating to the DA to recall his sentence. That man is home now and Rev’sadvocacy was part of his freedom. He was released just a month before Reverend Moore’s transition home. The grandma of the young man who Rev Moore would counsel and mentorwhen he was younger texted the night we learned of Rev’s passing. The child has sadly passed in an accident a couple years after that court case we came together for. She texted how theycould look out for each other in Heaven now. As rooted in San Jose Reverend Moore was, he also connected to the larger world, demanded that of us as well. The largest protest I have seenin person was when he called us to rally in front of City Hall after the death of Breonna Taylor who was killed by police in Louisville, Kentucky. The entire plaza area bleeding onto SantaClara street filled with San Jose families protesting the killing of Black woman by police with a community two thousand miles away - all from a call for solidarity by the one voice whocould bring us all out - Reverend Moore. And during the past year and a half of the genocide of Palestinian people, Reverend Moore has enlisted all of us in San Jose who believe injustice, in life, to call for ceasefire and an end to the occupation and colonialization by Israel. For Reverend Moore, San Jose could not disengage from the struggles of those beyond citylimits or national boundaries. We are heading into Martin Luther King Day, and I can’t help but see Reverend Moore when I think of King. I don’t know if those who had the fortune to bearound King during his time understood his greatness, how his enduring truth would live beyond his physical time here. But I always felt the transcendence of Reverend Moore with ushere in San Jose, in so many different ways, and see it everywhere in this city, still. I can’t imagine a San Jose without Reverend Moore, and I don’t have to. His legacy, his life, hispursuit for justice for all of us, is in San Jose, and always will be. asgonzalez@scusd.net <asgonzalez@scusd.net>; jburrell@scusd.net <jburrell@scusd.net>; lgillmor@santaclaraca.gov <lgillmor@santaclaraca.gov>; agonzalez1@santaclaraca.gov <agonzalez1@santaclaraca.gov>; khardy@santaclaraca.gov <khardy@santaclaraca.gov>; sjain@santaclaraca.gov <sjain@santaclaraca.gov>; rchahal@santaclaraca.gov <rchahal@santaclaraca.gov>; rchahal@santaclaraca.gov <rchahal@santaclaraca.gov>; kpark@santaclaraca.gov <kpark@santaclaraca.gov>; kcox@santaclaraca.gov <kcox@santaclaraca.gov> Subject: Silicon Valley NAACP stance on “Santa Clara school district slapped with discrimination complaint” Subject: Santa Clara school district slapped with discrimination complaint - responsefrom or branch (https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-school-district-slapped- with-discrimination-complaint/) Sean Allen Vice President/President Elect/Legal Redress Chair San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP 205 E. Alma Ave. Suite D-10. San Jose, CA 95112 January 10,2025 Dear Members of the Santa Clara Unified School District andCommunity, I am writing to express my strong condemnation of the recentactions taken by the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD)as outlined in the Title VI complaint filed with the U.S. Departmentof Education. These allegations indicate a concerning pattern ofdiscrimination against Palestinian students, parents, and educators,which creates an untenable and hostile educational environment. Racist behavior should not be promoted by the public schoolsystem. The city of Santa Clara has a troubling history, having beenhome to several skinhead and hate groups over the past fewdecades. Despite this dark past, the city now enjoys the prestige ofhosting one of the most successful football franchises in the historyof the United States, a team that is predominantly composed of menof color. It is profoundly disheartening that educational institutionswithin this city are sources of racist conduct while the communityitself benefits from its rich diversity. It is deeply troubling to learn that students advocating for their rights and perspectives are facing repression and intimidation. Theexperiences of students, like those from the Muslim Student Association at Wilcox High School, illustrate a systemic issuewhere their voices are not only marginalized but actively suppressed. The reported incidents surrounding guest speakerinvitations and public expressions of identity portray a school climate that fails to uphold the values of equity, respect, andinclusion. As the Vice President and Legal Redress Chair of the Silicon Valley NAACP, I stand in solidarity with the Council onAmerican-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other civil rights organizations in their efforts to address this injustice. The silencingof Palestinian voices and the lack of equitable treatment in school policies is a violation of fundamental civil rights that must becorrected. It is imperative that SCUSD takes immediate and meaningful steps to ensure that all students, regardless of theirethnic or cultural background, have the freedom to express their identities and advocate for their rights without fear of retaliation orexclusion. The situation described in the complaint reveals a critical need for an equitable vetting process for speakers and educational materials,as well as the establishment of a task force dedicated to addressing anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia within the district. Thecommitment to creating a safe and inclusive educational environment must extend to all students, especially those whosevoices have historically been marginalized. I urge the Santa Clara Unified School District to engage with community leaders, advocates, and the students themselves tofoster a culture of understanding and respect. It is essential that the district not only acknowledges these issues but actively works torectify them, ensuring that the educational environment is one where every student feels welcome and valued. In closing, I reaffirm the Silicon Valley NAACP's commitment tofighting against discrimination in all its forms and supporting our community in advocating for justice and equality. Sincerely, Sean Allen Vice President/President Elect/Legal Redress Chair San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP Sent from my iPhone decisions to track over time. Thank you for your leadership, I wish everyone a Happy New Year! and congratulations to thenew Council members! Best, Jennifer ‘It can happen here’: Local fire agencies grapple with new era of‘megafires’ Preventing disasters in open space preservesFOOTHILLS FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN At Stanford University, a complex wildlands-fire scenario from the Hetch Hetchy water system that also have limited flow rate, right? What is the maximum rate at which Sunnyvale has ever drained water from our water system? What is the maximum supply rate that our wells and Hetch Hetchy supplier can provide torefill those tanks? Would it be only the tank(s) in northwestern Sunnyvale (e.g. the one on Bernardo) that are relevant in maintaining water pressure when fighting a fire encroaching on northwestSunnyvale? If so, what is the maximum rate at which that tank can be replenished? What is the maximum rate that water from the Sunnyvale water system might be drained if all Sunnyvale DPS units plus mutual aid units from surrounding districts were fighting anencroaching wildfire? Do we need to invest in infrastructure improvements (e.g. an additional pump to the tank on Bernardo) to improve the ability to re-fill tanks and maintain water pressure during a majorfire emergency? Thanks for your and the Public Safety Department’s prompt consideration to these questions. Sincerely, Eric Krock 755 Ramona Ave.Mobile 408-836-5230 Articles for your reference: ‘It can happen here’: Local fire agencies grapple with new era of ‘megafires’ Preventing disasters in open space preservesFOOTHILLS FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN At Stanford University, a complex wildlands-fire scenario From:City Mgr To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed Cc:Executive Leadership Team; Clerk, City Subject:City Council Bundle - January 10 Date:Friday, January 10, 2025 3:43:36 PM Attachments:RE Kittens.msgRE Concern about Mini Cat Town.msgRE Puzzling Transportation Home Page.msgRE Council priorities.msgRe High Level of BPA in Palo Alto Drinking Water.msgimage001.pngimage002.pngRE Keep Mini Cat Town.msgRE Urgent Request for Action Regarding Tent Encampment in Ramos Park.msgFW Quick Question.msg Dear Mayor and Council Members, On behalf of City Manager Ed Shikada, please see the attached staff responses to emails received in the City.Council inbox through January 10, 2025. Thank you, Danille Danille RiceAdministrative AssistantCity Manager’s Office|Human Resources|Transportation(650) 329-2229 | danille.rice@cityofpaloalto.orgwww.cityofpaloalto.org As the Vice President and Legal Redress Chair of the SiliconValley NAACP, I stand in solidarity with the Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other civil rights organizations intheir efforts to address this injustice. The silencing of Palestinian voices and the lack of equitable treatment in school policies is aviolation of fundamental civil rights that must be corrected. It is imperative that SCUSD takes immediate and meaningful steps toensure that all students, regardless of their ethnic or cultural background, have the freedom to express their identities andadvocate for their rights without fear of retaliation or exclusion. The situation described in the complaint reveals a critical need for an equitable vetting process for speakers and educational materials,as well as the establishment of a task force dedicated to addressing anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia within the district. Thecommitment to creating a safe and inclusive educational environment must extend to all students, especially those whosevoices have historically been marginalized. I urge the Santa Clara Unified School District to engage with community leaders, advocates, and the students themselves to fostera culture of understanding and respect. It is essential that the district not only acknowledges these issues but actively works to rectifythem, ensuring that the educational environment is one where every student feels welcome and valued. In closing, I reaffirm the Silicon Valley NAACP's commitment tofighting against discrimination in all its forms and supporting our community in advocating for justice and equality. Sincerely, Sean Allen Vice President/President Elect/Legal Redress Chair San Jose/Silicon Valley NAACP convert public spaces for public use, instead of making it more difficult. 3. It is unfair. This move would be very unfair to restaurants who have fully relied on the notion that the Permanent Parklet Program would in fact have some permanence. Many of us have spent significant time, money, and energy architecting and re-building the parklets; parts of which now might be at risk of removal. Why?? To make the handful of landlords a bit happier? This happiness shall last a very short time. So, here you are again trying to balance the needs of the public with those of a handful of landowners. Here you are again, needing to remember the benefits the public spaces proffer our community. Please vote against this change to the Permanent Parklet Program that would give a right to a landlord to dictate how a public space is used. Sincerely, Claudia/Cafe Venetia -- CAFE VENETIA417 University Ave419 University AvePalo Alto, California 94301Preserving tradition…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=keU1b3HJk3E From:Star Teachout To:Council, City Subject:A neutral council, encouraging debate Date:Friday, January 10, 2025 10:32:32 AM Dear City Council, This Wall Street Journal article The Chicago Canon on Free Inquiry and Expression’ Review: Learning and Liberty on institutional neutrality [“to encourage debate, not settle it”] may beof interest to you in your future service as you face citizen criticism for not taking a stand on national-level issues which are outside your core mission. It is not a very long article. …Before last spring’s campus unrest, only a few universities had adopted the principle of institutional neutrality. Vanderbilt, the university I lead, was one of them, thanks in large partto its fifth chancellor, G. Alexander Heard, who served during the tumult of the 1960s and ’70s. “The social values of open forum and free inquiry,” Heard said, “cannot be realizedwithout the political neutrality of the university as an institution, except where the university itself is the issue.” He, like the authors of the Kalven Report, knew that the purpose of auniversity is to encourage debate, not settle it. It is worth emphasizing here that the principle of institutional neutrality does not precludepositions taken by students and faculty. Indeed, the primary purpose of neutrality is to create a more open environment for students and faculty to question, debate and voice their opinions. Best Regards, Star TeachoutPalo Alto, CA From:Transportation To:Council, City Cc:Bhatia, Ripon; Transportation Subject:FW: Our concerns about Grade Separation on Charleston/Meadow Date:Friday, January 10, 2025 10:22:40 AM Attachments:image001.pngimage002.png Dear Mayor and Council Members— Please find the below correspondence from constituent, Linda Xu, sent to the @Transportation inbox. Respectfully, Danille Danille RiceAdministrative AssistantCity Manager’s Office|Human Resources|Transportation(650) 329-2229 | danille.rice@cityofpaloalto.orgwww.cityofpaloalto.org -----Original Message----- From: Linda Xu <kklinda8@yahoo.com> Sent: Thursday, January 9, 2025 2:47 PM To: Transportation <Transportation@CityofPaloAlto.org> Subject: Our concerns about Grade Separation on Charleston/Meadow CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Sir/Madam: Thank you for your update letter regarding Grade Separation on Charleston/Meadow. We urge that the council not move forward with the Underpass option because it requires acquiring family houses fully or partially. We are the owners of one of these homes, and it will greatly impact u s. We are first generation immigrants and have worked very hard to live in Palo Alto for over 29 year s and in this house for over 21 years. This house is full of our family memories. My husband and I came to the U.S. in 1990’s to create a better future for our daughters. We have w orked very hard so that we could live in Palo Alto and our children could get an education through th e Palo Alto Unified School District. Now, both my husband (currently is 67 years old) and I (currently 61 years old) have retired. If the city acquires our house, as a retired senior couple, we don't have th e savings to buy a comparable house in Palo Alto. We also can't get a loan for a new house or pay th e higher property tax which means that we will most likely be displaced from Palo Alto. While it's eas y to assume every family in Palo Alto can financially handle this burden, this is not the case and it will be devastating for us. Because of the uncertainty of the option for the Grade Separation project, we and all the involved fa milies are living with anxiety. We really hope the city considers the above and move forward with the Hybrid option instead of the Underpass alternative. Thank you. Sincerely, Linda and Eric From:Annette Ross To:Council, City Cc:City Mgr Subject:Staffing fire Date:Friday, January 10, 2025 9:37:26 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Unless I am misinformed, Palo Alto is presently the only city in the county that has a closed/unstaffed fire station. Sadly, the L. A. County fires are a scalding reminder of the importance of fully staffing each of our fire stations. Ithink if you polled residents you would learn that this is a top priority for most if not all Palo Altans. We pay plentyin taxes and you transfer considerable sums from the utility coffers to the general fund. There's really nojustification for leaving any area of this city inadequately protected or subject to delayed response times. Pleasemake life safety a priority. Annette RossResident Sent from my iPhone (650) 213-8755 www.fopal.org Maps and Directions More information on the sales Donate your used books, DVDs, &c ALL NET PROCEEDS GO TO HELP PALO ALTO LIBRARIES Main Room In our Main Room, prices are way belowwhat used book stores charge.Hardcover books start at $3 andsoftcover books start at only $2. No numbered tickets this month! Please note that due to crowding during the first two hours of the Book Sale, no strollers, rolling carts, etc. can be brought into the Main Room. This is for the safety of shoppers and volunteers alike. By 12:30 or so, the crowd thins out and shoppers are welcome to bring these items into the sale. Children's Book Sale The Children's Room is located in the portable next to the soccer field near Greendell School. It is entirely filled with children's books and toys. You'll find picture books, school age fiction and non-fiction, fiction for teens, award winners, non-English titles, CDs and DVDs, and books for parents and teachers, many for 50 cents or $1. Strollers are welcome in the Children's Room at any time. Bargain Books in H-2 The Bargain Room is located in RoomsH-2 and H-3 of the Cubberley maincampus, between our Main Room andMiddlefield Road. On Saturday,paperbacks are $1, hardcovers are $2,and children's books are 50 cents each.The room also contains many records,CDs, and DVDs at $1 each. On Sunday,the room opens at 11 am and all pricesare half off. Or, save even more onSunday by buying green FOPAL reusablebags from us for $4/ea (or bring yourown grocery-size reusable bag) and stuffing them with any items in the room for $5/bag. Fill four bags at $5/bag and fill a fifth bag FREE! (We no longer receive sufficient used paper grocery bags along with donations for this purpose.) Library News All branches closed on January 20 in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Plan accordingly. -Frank McConnell What's New in January Start your journey into your family history this year with our special selection of Genealogy (a subsection of the Reference Section) books. You'll find these gems in the bookcases to your right as you enter. Don't miss out on our Art section, featuring a vast selection of how-to books in the studio art subsection. No matter your skill level or preferred medium, there's something here for you. This month, our Medicine section has been refreshed with a wide variety of new offerings. A big shoutout to our new Medicine section manager, Amy S., for her incredible work! Thanks to generous donations, our Children's Room is fully stocked with an array of books, games, and puzzles. And don't forget to explore the Children's Bargain Room/H2 for even more treasures. We've also received a large collection of Sailing books, now available in the Transportation section with a large portion in the Bargain Room too. These books are priced to move, so sail on over and check them out! Finally weather permitting, our freshly curated Music Pop-Up Sale will be up and running outside this weekend. Don't miss out! -Janette Herceg Poetry I'm January bringing you A year of days - all brand, brand new. And in these days so cold and drear Let's make some toasts to the New Year. First, let's all throw back a brew For that poetic form Haiku. Next, join me in a strong Gin Rickey In honor of our friend James Dickey. And finally, an iPA For Edna St. Vincent Millay. https://fopalbooks.com/poetry.html -Mandy MacCalla Sociology/Anthropology Out of 492 books that the Sociology/Anthropology section features in January, I want to draw your attention to two books -- W.E.B. Du Bois's essay, "The Souls of Black Folk" from the 1903 collection of essays and sketches of the same title, and W.E.B. Du Bois's Data Portraits: Visualizing Black America. When the latter was published in 2018, one author wrote: "W.E.B. Du Bois is best known for his sharp, sociological imagination and groundbreaking book of racial philosophy, The Souls of Black Folk. But the writer, historian, and Pan-African civil rights activist also had a remarkable visual mind. Among his many talents, Du Bois was a designer and curator of Black culture, the most explicit example being his data portraits, which vibrantly visualized the complexities of racial segregation, which Du Bois iconically dubbed 'the color line.'" -Natalia Koulinka Children's Room Happy new year! Again this month, the Children's Room looks like a "real" bookstore full of good reads, toys, games, and puzzles. We have books for Martin Luther King Day, Groundhog Day, and Valentine's Day--check them out. In observance of Martin Luther King Day on January 20, at the entrance to the School-age Fiction section we are featuring books by Black children's authors who have won numerous awards (Newbery, National Book, and Coretta Scott King awards): Jacqueline Woodson, Rita Williams-Garcia, Kwame Alexander, and Sharon M. Draper. To add historical and literary perspective, we also include a comprehensive collection of the Uncle Remus tales. James, by Black author Percival Everett, won the 2024 National Book Award. It is aretelling of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, from the viewpoint of Huck'scompanion on the river, Jim. Our Classics section has several copies of Huckleberry Finn.Read it to see firsthand how Everett altered the original story. Our Activity section isbursting with toys, and several big-name brands are well-represented. We have a bigselection of NERF blasters and a Power Ranger extravaganza! There are vehicles for allenvironments--terrestrial, aerial, and extra-terrestrial. We have sports equipment such ashockey gear and NERF golf clubs. Music is well-represented too, including a Casio keyboardand a nicely packaged set of instruments (from F.A.O. Schwarz) for a toddler musician. Forquieter pursuits, you'll find several puzzles ranging from the floor variety toRavensburgers. And, as usual, we have many math books, as well as shelves bursting withgraphic novels. The Non-fiction section, according to its manager, has "nothing exceptional, just our usual excellent collection of non-fiction books." There are books on space, biography, art, history, true adventure, dinosaurs, Native Americans, Lego, Star Wars films, science, and many other subjects. If you've never shopped this section before, give it a look--you're sure to find something to pique your child's interest. Beginning Readers features many inexpensive sets of books for early readers, lots of Mo Willems' Elephant and Piggie books, and even a fun matching/dominoes game with the Mo Willems critters. -Carolyn Davidson Children's Vintage We have a wide range of choice in Children's Vintage this month! Not only are the shelves fuller than usual, but Collectibles, World Languages (French, Russian, German), and Golden Oldies (for younger ages) are especially packed with lovely options. Series books feature many Trixies (both picture cover and oval) and many Tom Swift Jrs. Several Thornton Burgess books in dust jackets with mylar protection, a 1st edition Roald Dahl Danny Champion of the World, and an unusual copy of The Wonderful World of Oz anchor the big kids' fiction section. There are several "All About" science books, many in dust jackets, and a matched set of A Child's History of the World and Geography of the World by Hillyer (1950s reprint) rounding out the offerings. And finally, we have an entire collection of vintage puzzles, both block puzzles and jigsaw, for those long January evenings. Shelf pictures are available at fopalbooks.com. -Lisa Heitman January Book Reviews Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty Rosie is a young girl, seemingly the most quiet child in her rambunctious class of elementary schoolers, sees things other people don't. In her mind, one person's trash is another man's treasure. Once all the kids leave the classroom, Rosie goes on an adventure searching for objects that could be of use in her nightly explorations. As soon as the lights in her house turn off, Rosie brings out her creative and wonderful builds from underneath her bed, terrified of showing them to another soul. But when Rosie's great aunt shows up, her desire to help others with her designs resurfaces. Caught between her hesitation and her willingness to help, Rosie will learn to make decisions that greatly affect her life as a future engineer. Rosie Revere, Engineer isn't just about a girl achieving her dreams, it's about being able torecover from making mistakes, and realizing that sometimes you fail, but accepting that itwas only the first attempt in learning. As the world progresses further into STEM, it'simportant to cultivate that love for it early on in a child's life. Especially that of a girl's.With Rosie being a girl, it was inspiring for many little girls who read it, and it encouragedthem to stay with STEM, and not to give up under pressure. Rosie Revere, Engineer is aninspiring force for many girls out there, with powerful messages about life to boot. Thispicture book is recommended for 3 to 6 year olds. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen When a troublesome orphan was suddenly picked up by a richly dressed nobleman, and told to be a prince, what could go wrong? Sage, one of the many thousand orphans in the country of Carthya, just had the rotten luck to look just like the missing 2nd prince. Conner, a scheming nobleman seeking for a puppet prince to take power, found Sage on the streets and took him back to his duchy alongside two other boys; telling them to be the perfect prince. Since the whole royal family was murdered and the 2nd prince is missing, the country is falling apart. But if Conner finds the perfect impersonator for the missing prince, he can puppet the boy to rule however he would like. So, he devises a game for the boys; whoever does the best will end up being taken to the castle, and put on the throne. The other two boys will be put to death. As Sage learns more about the world around him, he starts to make different decisions that may or may not change the course of fate in this shattered country. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen is a story about deception. As readers are reading this book, they are constantly kept on the edge of their seats, by the twists and turns of this wild ride. Even though the book may seem boring and political in the beginning, there will be many unexpected things that come into play after an amazing build-up. The theme of deception is found in many levels of the story. Kids will learn that deceiving people and lying will most likely end up in consequences, as well as how lying is sometimes acceptable; everything depends on the situation. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen is recommended for ages 10 - 14. -Emma Chen Judaica Browse the Judaica section for books on the Jewish religion and culture including editions of the Torah and other basic texts, Kabbalah, Jewish history, the Holocaust, memoirs,Israel, Jewish Women, the Jewish American Experience and other related subjects. Special interest this month: Indelible Shadows: Film and the Holocaust The Hundred Years War on Palestine The Redhead of Auschwitz Mossad Exodd 100 Jewish Brides - Stories from around the world (2024) The Bible As It Was Most fiction with Jewish themes will be found in Modern Literature/Classics or CurrentFiction. Books entirely in Hebrew are shelved in the European Languages section. Shelf photos at https://fopalbooks.com/judaica.html -Charlotte Epstein, Judaica Section Manager Music CDs Once again, at the January sale, the CD section will be offering NEW (still sealed in MFG's shrink wrap) CDs for sale. There will be over 100 CDs, including Rock, Jazz, Classical/Opera and Soundtracks. These will be offered at a fraction (1/3 to 1/2) of the price of the same items sold on Amazon. Come find that CD that you might be looking for, that's never been used! In addition, the CD section will be offering over a dozen CD Box sets for sale. These will include Rock, Classical and Jazz, Check it out! -John Scheibe Self Help/Personal Growth Some featured books this month are: How to Know a Person; 12 Rules for Life (includes a freebie summary pamphlet); 12 MORE Rules for Life; Anxiously Attached; Ego is the Enemy; Burnout- the Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. There are four shelves of 'Popular on Amazon' books and 4 shelves of 'New Arrivals'. The 'Journals' and 'Workbooks' section might be helpful if you want to make 2025 the Best Year of your Life possible! A SPECIAL OFFER still stands! There are over 50 copies of the popular book Mindset, byCarol Dweck, Stanford psychologist. It features transformative insights into redefiningsuccess, building lifelong resilience and supercharging self-improvement. There's enough toteach a class, run a workshop, have a study group or give to friends. Buy 10 or more andpay only $1 per book (tear off a tag from the posted notice to show to the cashier). -Marnie Music Pop Up Music Sale will return to its usual location under the tents next to the Main Room ramp. There are many new titles including very clean boxed sets that are user-friendly priced. Music Books Section includes a Red Cart full of great Beatles books. -George Chaltas Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Comics We've got nearly a full shelf of "Dune" books, The original series, sequels, prequels, and whatever you call a later book that goes between the original volumes 2 and 3. We continue to have a lot of less-frequently-seen older paperbacks, including almost every title published by Airmont Books; a set of the original "Star Trek" script adaptations by James Blish; and a little collection of Lancer and Ace Howard and Burroughs titles with the classic Frank Frazetta covers. Fantasy hardbacks galore, with lots of recent books by Leigh Bardugo, Gail Carriger, Sarah Maas, Brandon Sanderson, Martha Wells, and more. In Comics, check out the magazines on the bottom shelf for a bunch of Marvel Conantitles, both normal-size full-color and jumbo black-and-white. -Rich McAllister Donations We accept donations on Monday through Saturday from 3-5 pm in the Main Room. But we close to donations in the week before the sale so that we can prepare the Main Room for the sale, which means that we are closed for donations from Sunday January 5 through Sunday January 12. Please hold your donations until Monday January 13. We will also be closed Monday January 20 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Please read our donation guidelines before you bring materials to us. Suggestions? We're always eager to hear your suggestions for ways to improve our book sale. Please email us at suggestions@friendspaloaltolib.org. This notice comes to you from the non-profit organization Friends of the Palo Alto Library. No trees werefelled in the making of this e-mail. Visit our web site. Become a member by joining online. Be sure to receive your own free copy of this e-mail notice so that you'll know about all special upcomingbooks sales. To sign up, just e-mail us. We carefully protect the privacy of your e-mail address. We will notshare your e-mail address with any other organization and we will not use it for any purpose other than tosend you these notices. If you do not wish to receive these e-mail notices in the future, please reply withthe words "Remove Me" in the first line of the text. F om nda XuToCouncil CitySubjectOu conce ns about G ade Sepa ation on Cha leston/MeadowDateThu sday Janua y 9 2025 2 39 35 M CAUTION Th s email orig nated from outs de of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear the City Council members Thank you for your update letter regard ng Grade Separation on Charleston/Meadow.We urge that the council not mo e forward with the Underpass op ion because it requ res acquiring family houses fully or partially. We are the owners of one of these homes and it w ll grea ly impact us. We are first generation immigrants and ha e worked ery hard to li e in Palo Alto for o er 29 years and in this house for o er 21 years. This house is fu l of our fam ly memories. My husband and I came to the U.S. in 1990’s to create a bet er future for our daugh ers. We ha e worked ery hard so that we could li e in Palo Alto and our children could get an education through the Palo Alto Unified School District. Now both my husband (currently is 67 years old) and I (currently 61 years old) ha e retired. If the city acqu res our house as a retired senior couple we don't ha e the sa ings to buy a comparable house in Palo Alto. We also can't get a loan for a new house or pay the higher property tax which means that we will most likely be displaced from Palo Alto. While it's easy to assume e ery family in Palo Alto can financially handle this burden his is not the case and it will be de astating for us. Because of the uncertainty of the option for the Grade Separation project we and all the in ol ed families are li ing wi h anxiety. We really hope the city considers the abo e and mo e forward with the Hybr d option ins ead of the Underpass alternati e. Thank you. Sincerely Linda and Eric Upgrade to paid After his victory in the 2024 election, Donald Trump made clear that he wants a deal to release Israeli and international captives held in Gaza prior to his inauguration on January 20. Trump’s public posture has added urgency to what had become a diplomatic process surviving on the weakest of life support systems. The president-elect’s position on the Gaza war is largely in sync with that of Biden’s; Trump’s nominees for key national security positions and U.S. ambassador to Israel are a kettle of pro-Israel hawks, some of whom have openly declared there is no such thing as a Palestinian and no such place as the West Bank. At the same time, Trump clearly wants to proclaim a victory by securing the release of hostages as he resumes office in Washington, D.C. Hamas agreed to a proposal endorsed by President Biden in May, but Netanyahu destroyed it by adding new demands after the framework was finalized. Drop Site News reviewed internal documents from the negotiations showing that on July 2 Hamas formally informed international mediators that it had accepted the framework, which Hamas said it was told had been amended by the U.S. and approved by Israel on June 24. Israel then proceeded to go on an assassination spree in the region, including killing Hamas’s political leader and top negotiator Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, effectively ending the diplomatic process. Since Trump’s election in November, Hamas has directed its public statements not at Biden but at Trump. On Wednesday, a senior Hamas official told me, “We believe we can reach an agreement immediately if Netanyahu and his government stop their stalling and obstructing the deal.” He added, “We look forward to President Trump and his team exerting pressure on Netanyahu and his government to move forward with the deal before his inauguration.” Since Trump’s victory, international mediators from Egypt and Qatar have been meeting with Hamas, U.S., and Israeli officials and mediators have slowly projected a sense of cautious optimism that some form of an agreement was achievable. By all accounts, the deal currently being discussed is almost identical to the framework Hamas agreed to last summer. The plan has three phases, the first of which would include the release of a category of captives held in Gaza designated as “humanitarian”—children, women, the elderly, and the sick—in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails and prisons. The next two phases envision an exchange of more captives, including Israeli soldiers and high-value Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, an official end to the war, and a multiyear plan for reconstruction. While Israeli negotiators have engaged in these discussions and may sign a deal, Netanyahu has made clear he wants to ensure that Israel can resume its full military assault whenever it decides to do so. Prominent Israeli politicians continue to agitate for an indefinite occupation of Gaza as well as the building of settlements, sentiments that will hover over any purported deal. Hamas insists that any deal must include a clear path to an eventual full withdrawal of Israeli forces. Trump has threatened that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if the captives held by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip are not returned before he is sworn in. This morning, I spoke to Muhammad Shehada, a Palestinian writer and journalist from Gaza who has been doing in-depth reporting on the negotiations for a ceasefire and exchange of captives. His most recent piece for the Center for International Policy is titled “The Biden Administration’s False History of Ceasefire Negotiations.” Our investigative journalism has never been more vital. As mainstream media focuses on the political theater of the day, Drop Site is committed to rigorous reporting on the forces shaping U.S. foreign policy. We've broken major stories on the Gaza negotiations—and in 2025, our role becomes even more crucial. We'll continue our deep reporting on the tension between Trump's campaign promises and the militaristic wing of the GOP, providing essential coverage that key anti-war factions within Trump's orbit rely on. Our continued work depends on reader support. Your tax-deductible donation will fuel the hard-hitting investigations you won't find anywhere else. Support Our Investigative Reporting And we’ve investigated the massive amounts of money that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and other pro-Israel lobby groups have spent to silence the few members of Congress who have opposed continued U.S. support for the siege of Gaza. To keep providing this kind of hard-hitting investigative reporting, we arecounting on members like you. That’s why we’re asking you today: Will you make a donation of $10 to The Intercept? STAND WITH THE INTERCEPT → Thank you, The Intercept team The Intercept is a recognized 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Intercept’s mailing address is: P.O. Box 9201 New York, NY 10008 The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept’s readers, but if you’d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Contribute now to support our independent journalism. This type of ill equipped parking causes severe burden on the quality of life for tenants for job stability and getting children to school on time and other like doctors appointment or in a medical emergency. As well El Camino Real no longer allows parking along side it curbs on HWY 82 and in front of the complex. There are at least 35 parking surface parking spaces that can accommodate ADA,families, elderly and other. By law Mayfield cannot “require” a tenant to park anywhere. They may suggest, recommend or assign with additional signed agreements. The notice does not indicate what towing service has been contracted. It is a minimum of 700 dollars to get a car out of impoundment. This could have dire consequences on a tenant’sability to pay for rent or food and puts an additional, unnecessary strain on an already verystretched economy for poor people. In 2022 The management has evicted a grandmother, mother and grandchild after her car wasimpounded. It was either lose her job or pay rent. She chose her job. This is utterly bad policy and goes entirely against what Stanford, Mayfield Place, and the City was supposed to provide hard working low income families and larger issue of the California, Bay Area Palo Alto Housing crisis. Stability, shelter, and the possibilityto get a head financially and also be sustainable environmentally in very veryexpensive place. I know that Palo Alto does not want more unhoused families on our streets. It’s recursive, mean and wrong for Mayfield Place who pay zero taxes to the city to be punishing its residents like this when there are better equitable solutions.. Sincerely, Liz Gardner Sent from my iPhone Palo Alto, California 94303 > Dear Mayor Lauing & and Vice Mayor Veenker:> > It seems like no one expects former Mayor Stone to follow the rules set out by city councilprotocol and likely the Brown Act. > > As a general rule, the mayor begins meetings or gives an admonition prior to oral communication regarding alleged hate speech and its interplay with the First Amendment.What is not allowed is for the mayor or other council members to make comments about a public speaker's statements subsequent to the speaker completing his/her comments. > > In my business, such childish behavior is called Trial by Ambush and is impermissible. > > At a minimum, it would be a good practice to call out a mayor or council member whoviolates the council’s own rules. Failure to do so shows the utmost disrespect to the community and the rule of law. > > If allowed, I would have rebutted Stone’s outrageous claim that tonight or any other night,I have engaged in hate speech or anti-Semitic speech. I would challenge Stone to offer even one example of me engaging in hate speech or anti-Semitic speech. > > I would concede that I am a -strong as I can be- advocate against the ongoing ethniccleansing, genocide, starvation tactics, journalist assassinations, medical provider murders, kidnaps, and other atrocities being carried out by the Israeli government, IDO-IsraeliOccupying Forces, with full U.S. support, daily. Calling out a mayor or other city leaders who are silent and thus complicit in the genocide is not only NOT hate speech or anti-Semitic but is rather and in fact required of any righteous Jew. This Jew, great-grandson of Abraham-Avram Finkelstein and grandson of Antoinette Tonie Olive Birnbaum, refuses tobe silent in the face of the Nazi-like state of Israel. > > > Avram Finkelstein > > P.S. Aram James is really a fake name.> My dad, an oppositional Jew for sure, was born Daniel Ben Ezra Fink —and changed his name to Steven Daniel James shortly before my birth. He claimed, with his irreverent senseof humor -once he changed his name-to be the President and Founder of Jews for antisemitism. Dad grew up in Minneapolis -a very anti-semitic city in his youth. Used to bechased home being called a Christ Killer. Dad spent two years at Carleton in Minneapolis before enlisting in the army air corp. Post the war he attended the U of Illinois where heobtained a masters degree in in English, later a second masters degree at lowly Stanford. From:Henry Etzkowitz To:Aram James Cc:Lauing, Ed; Keith Reckdahl; Council, City; George for Palo Alto; Templeton, Cari; Cribbs, Anne; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; josh@joshsalcman.com; kamhialison@gmail.com; Rowena Chiu; Today EPA; Dave Price; Braden Cartwright; Emily Mibach; Julie Lythcott-Haims; dennis burns; ladoris cordell; Cecilia Taylor; Cait James; Lewis James; Jack Ajluni; Salem Ajluni; Sean Allen; Raymond Goins; Bill Newell; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; Friends of Cubberley; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; GRP-City Council; Perron, Zachary; chuck jagoda; Barberini, Christopher; Shikada, Ed; Stump, Molly; Michelle; michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com; DuJuan Green; Foley, Michael; Nicole Chiu-Wang; jason.green@bayareanewsgroup.com; Gardener, Liz; Diana Diamond; Jeff Conrad; Palo Alto Free Press; Lotus Fong; Vicki Veenker; Sarah Wright; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg; Supervisor Otto Lee; District1@bos.sccgov.org; Raj Jayadev; Human Relations Commission; Burt, Patrick; Kaloma Smith; Holman, Karen (external); Tom DuBois; Wagner, April; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Binder, Andrew; Reifschneider, James; Lauing, Ed; Today EPA; Shikada, Ed; Stump, Molly; Human Relations Commission; Burt, Patrick; Binder, Andrew; Reifschneider, James Subject:Re: Former mayor Stone “pompous ass” put on a show tonight Date:Tuesday, January 7, 2025 12:12:12 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Kudos Avram: four square in the prophetic tradition. Hopefully Israel will follow South Africa’s example soonerrather than later. It is becoming clearer that the US is not merely supporting Israel. Rather, President Biden isengaging in the “great game” of refashioning a world region. Sykes-Picot the Anglo French lines on a map thatcreated the contemporary Middle East are being superseded with Israel a junior partner with US. Council’s ‘Erev’ around Palo Alto may freeze a “liberal consensus” within our city. However, it will not deterattacks like the one in the legacy icon of the French quarter Our support of a cease fire in Gaza, will be impactful. Palo Alto “punches above its weight” as an international iconof future innovation It also makes us vulnerable, whether or not we speak out. Just as Stanford’s inner campus isbollarded with non -official vehicles disallowed, downtown Palo Alto must be similarly protected. Funds forsidewalk renovation and garage construction should be accordingly redirected. An expanded Marguerite mayprovide transportation to and within downtown. Lethal weapons like automobiles should be kept at bay, Stanford’smodel practice should be adopted by Council, forthwith! Sent from my iPhone > On Jan 6, 2025, at 10:34 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote:>> > 1/6/2025>> Dear Mayor Lauing & and Vice Mayor Veenker:>> It seems like no one expects former Mayor Stone to follow the rules set out by city council protocol and likely theBrown Act.>> As a general rule, the mayor begins meetings or gives an admonition prior to oral communication regardingalleged hate speech and its interplay with the First Amendment. What is not allowed is for the mayor or othercouncil members to make comments about a public speaker's statements subsequent to the speaker completinghis/her comments.>> In my business, such childish behavior is called Trial by Ambush and is impermissible.>> At a minimum, it would be a good practice to call out a mayor or council member who violates the council’s ownrules. Failure to do so shows the utmost disrespect to the community and the rule of law. > > If allowed, I would have rebutted Stone’s outrageous claim that tonight or any other night, I have engaged in hate speech or anti-Semitic speech. I would challenge Stone to offer even one example of me engaging in hate speech oranti-Semitic speech.>> I would concede that I am a -strong as I can be- advocate against the ongoing ethnic cleansing, genocide,starvation tactics, journalist assassinations, medical provider murders, kidnaps, and other atrocities being carried outby the Israeli government, IDO-Israeli Occupying Forces, with full U.S. support, daily. Calling out a mayor or othercity leaders who are silent and thus complicit in the genocide is not only NOT hate speech or anti-Semitic but israther and in fact required of any righteous Jew. This Jew, great-grandson of Abraham-Avram Finkelstein andgrandson of Antoinette Tonie Olive Birnbaum, refuses to be silent in the face of the Nazi-like state of Israel.> >> Avram Finkelstein>> P.S. Aram James is really a fake name.> My dad, an oppositional Jew for sure, was born Daniel Ben Ezra Fink —and changed his name to Steven DanielJames shortly before my birth. He claimed, with his irreverent sense of humor -once he changed his name-to be thePresident and Founder of Jews for antisemitism. Dad grew up in Minneapolis -a very anti-semitic city in his youth.Used to be chased home being called a Christ Killer. Dad spent two years at Carleton in Minneapolis beforeenlisting in the army air corp. Post the war he attended the U of Illinois where he obtained a masters degree in inEnglish, later a second masters degree at lowly Stanford. name to Steven Daniel James shortly before my birth. He claimed, with his irreverent sense ofhumor -once he changed his name-to be the President and Founder of Jews for antisemitism. Dad grew up in Minneapolis -a very anti-semitic city in his youth. Used to be chased homebeing called a Christ Killer. Dad spent two years at Carleton in Minneapolis before enlisting in the army air corp. Post the war he attended the U of Illinois where he obtained a mastersdegree in in English, later a second masters degree at lowly Stanford. From:Ann Balin To:Council, City Subject:Appreciation for former Mayor Lydia Kou Date:Monday, January 6, 2025 4:27:03 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Mayor Stone, Vice Mayor Lauing and Council Members, Former Mayor Lydia Kou’s tenure on the Palo Alto city council is remarkable for several reasons. Her dedication to residents is exemplified with her no vote regarding the Hotel President. She fought for residents when an outside developer from Chicago AJ Capital came to town and worked staff with the blessing of Jim Keene to change the grandfathered-facilities clause and the downtown cap. Palo Alto always states that housing is a priority yet it was Lydia Kou who heard the tenants including former council member Sid Esposito and former Palo Alto Historian Dennis Backlund and many others residing at the historic Birge Clark apartments. A strange web was woven with a former planner, city staff, a council member being in the mix lobbying FOR AJ Capital to turn over truly affordable housing into a pricey hotel. The city caved to pressure from AJ Capital’s attorney. Palo Alto lost decent housing downtown to an expensive hotel called The Graduate. Many in the community salute Kou’s brave vote in doing right by the public. Kou’s sustained support for Fire and Life Safety and Emergency Medical Services is renowned. Safety for residents was paramount and protecting businesses on the El Camino Real Highway 82 informed her decision to vote no on the the fixed CALTRANS proposal to remove parking and include bike lanes. Residents were lead to believe that the city council would decide this issue as CALTRANS at their presentations never stated that it was already a done deal that the city council would have to approve it first. Sadly, council members caved except for Lydia Kou. When the landlord Ellis of Town & Country Village wanted to scrap traditional retail zoning for the ground floor of his destination shopping center it was Lydia and others on the council who rejected this fishing expedition. Residents and council members who opposed this change did not want medical on the ground floor. People were immunized against Covid and the lovely Town & Country Village was poised for a come back. The council with Lydia Kou did right by the residents. Lydia Kou is a gracious and strong woman. We have all been fortunate to have her represent us over these eight years. The best to you Lydia. Ann Lafargue Balin