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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-03-03 City Council EmailsDOCUMENTS IN THIS PACKET INCLUDE: LETTERS FROM CITIZENS TO THE MAYOR OR CITY COUNCIL RESPONSES FROM STAFF TO LETTERS FROM CITIZENS ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS ITEMS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES ITEMS FROM CITY, COUNTY, STATE, AND REGIONAL AGENCIES Prepared for: 3/3/2025 Document dates: 2/24/2025 - 3/3/2025 Note: Documents for every category may not have been received for packet reproduction in a given week. 701-32 From:clehrberg@yahoo.com To:Council, City Subject:Silence is Complicity Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 9:00:03 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Councilmembers, I strongly support the resolution brought forward by Councilmembers Vencker and Lauing. The current unworthy President needs to be repudiated at all levels. Isupport joining the lawsuit too. A statement of our values is very wimpy, as Diana Diamond says. If you haven’t read her column, I recommend it. Repudiating trump is why I have a Trump is a Criminal sign in front of my house. Factual and succinct. Please find you way to making a much stronger statement and don’t be afraid of poking the bear. What a sad attitude. Cathie Lehrberg 1085 University Ave. Palo Alto Get Outlook for iOS From:Rice, Danille To:Council, City; Shikada, Ed Cc:Executive Leadership Team; Clerk, City; City Mgr Subject:City Council Bundle - March 3 Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 8:41:58 AM Attachments:image001.pngimage002.pngFw Save Fire Engine 64.msgRE PAR Zoning Text Amendment request - follow-up.msgRE_ Lack of bike racks on ECR.msgRE city council last meeting.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 March 3, 2025. Thank you, Danille Danille RiceAdministrative AssistantCity Manager’s Office|Human Resources|Transportation(650) 329-2229 | danille.rice@cityofpaloalto.orgwww.cityofpaloalto.org From:Clerk, City To:Council, City Cc:Clerk, City Subject:FW: Invitation to the State Of The County 2025 Address Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 8:02:38 AM Attachments:image002.png Good morning City Council, Forwarding the below invitation which was received to our office. Best, City Clerk’s office From: Office of Supervisor Otto Lee <supervisor.lee@bos.sccgov.org> Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 5:32 PM To: Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Invitation to the State Of The County 2025 Address CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. STATE OF THE COUNTY 2025 ADDRESS INVITATION Friends & Neighbors - County of Santa Clara Board President Otto Lee will deliver the State Of The County 2025 Address on Friday, March 14 at Board Chambers, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110. Event registration will open at 5:30 PM, with the program to start shortly thereafter. We hope you can join us for this special event. The address will be livestreamed online, and childcare will be available. Please RSVP online - Click HERE for more information. [LINK] Thank you! Invitación especial de Otto Lee, Presidente de la Junta de Supervisores del Condado de Santa Clara, para asistir al informe anual sobre el Estado del Condado. Otto Lee, Presidente de la Junta de Supervisores, presentará el informe anual sobre el Estado del Condado de Santa Clara el viernes 14 de marzo de 2025. El discurso comenzará a las 5:30 pm en la cámara de supervisores ubicada en el 70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110. Por favor, acompáñenos a este evento especial. El discurso también será transmitido en directo en línea. Para más información presione este [ENLACE] ¡Gracias! Thiệp Mời đặc biệt để tham dự Buổi Phát Biểu của Quận Hạt 2025 do Chủ Tịch Hội Đồng Quản Trị Otto Lee Chủ Tịch Hội Đồng Quản Trị Quận Hạt Otto Lee Phát Biểu năm 2025. Thứ Sáu, Ngày 14 tháng 3 năm 2025, Bắt đầu lúc 5:30pm chiều. Tại Phòng Hội Đồng Quản Trị, Trung Tâm Chính Quyền Quận Hạt, 70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110. Hãy cùng chúng tôi tham gia chương trình đặc biệt này. Sẽ có địa chỉ trang mạng để xem trực tiếp. Xin bấm vào [LINK] này để biết thêm thông tin. Xin cám ơn. 2025 年縣情咨文特別邀請 聖塔克拉拉縣縣政委員會主席李洲曉將於2025 年 3 月 14 日 (星期五) 發表 2025 年縣情咨文。 活動 時間於下午5:30 開始。活動地點位於縣政府大樓一樓的縣政委員會會議廳，70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110. 誠摯邀請您參加此特別活動。 活動當天提供線上直播。 點擊鏈結了解更多信息，謝謝。[LINK] Language Assistance and Disability Assistance available. There will be a reception outside of Board Chambers at the conclusion of the address. It's an honor to serve our community, please contact us anytime at Supervisor.Lee@bos.sccgov.org. Thank you. Warm regards, Supervisor Otto Lee Santa Clara County, District 3 SupervisorLee.org Supervisor.Lee@bos.sccgov.org P.S. - Upcoming Events Unhoused Women & Girls and County Support Services Forum - March 10 [LINK] Commission On The Status of Women is hosting a conversation on the challenges unhoused women and girls face in our community and explore solutions Monday, March 10, 2025 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM - INS Auditorium & Zoom Link -Online & In-person at: 70 West Hedding Street, San José, CA 95110 D3 Community Roundtable - Thur. March 20, 7:00 PM - Online [LINK] Join us for our monthly District 3 community advisory group to share updates from the County and more. Click HERE to learn more about the D3CRT, including video of previous meetings. SAVE THE DATE(s) County Acquisition of Regional Medical Center Community Listening Sessions Friday, March 21, 2025 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM - Educational Park Branch Library -1772 Educational Park Dr, San José, CA 95133 Wednesday, March 26, 2025 from 6:00 - 7:30 PM - Community Room, Milpitas Library -160 North Main Street Milpitas, CA 95035 We'll share more details as they become available - Follow us on social media for updates Video 70 West Hedding 10th Floor San José, CA 95110 (408) 299-5030 Email Supervisor Lee District 3 Website Unsubscribe from future messages. From:Clerk, City To:Council, City; City Mgr Cc:Clerk, City Subject:FW: SYNOPSYS CHAMPIONSHIP SCIENCE FAIR Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 7:44:10 AM Good morning, Please see the below invitation, which has been extended to the Council and City Manager’s Office. Thank you, City Clerk’s Office From: Forrest Williams <fwms@comcast.net> Sent: Friday, February 28, 2025 8:20 PM To: city.clerk@mountainview.gov Subject: SYNOPSYS CHAMPIONSHIP SCIENCE FAIR CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Please deliver to the Mayor, Council Members and City Manager. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THE SANTA CLARA VALLEY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR ASSOCIATION (SCVSEFA) EXTENDS AN INVIATION TO YOU TO ATTEND THIS FAIR AND EXPERIENCE THE GENIUS OF OUR NOW/FUTURE GENERATION. THE FAIR WILL BE HELD AT THE SAN JOSE McENERY CONVENTION CENTER, 150 WEST SAN CARLOS STREET, SAN JOSE, CA 95113 (IN THE BLUE TENT ON S. MARKET STREET, SAN JOSE, CA. ARRIVE ON MARCH 13, 2025 AT 1:OO PM, CHECK IN AND BE ESCORTED THROUGH THE FAIR. PLEASE CALL ME AT (408)210-9556 OR SEND ME AN EMAIL AT fwms@comcast.net. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!!! Forrest Williams Board Member SCVSEFA From:Clerk, City To:Council, City Cc:Clerk, City Subject:FW: Protect South Palo Alto Date:Monday, March 3, 2025 7:40:10 AM Good morning City Council, Please see the below public commentary that was sent in to the Clerk’s office. Thank you, City Clerk’s Office From: Judy Hulse <hjudy64@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, March 2, 2025 11:43 AM To: Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Protect South Palo Alto CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Ed Lauing - Demand they Hire 10 FIREFIGHTERS FOR 24/7 coverage at FS4. Dispense with Mandatory Overtime. HONOR those brave firefighters who risk theirhealth and lives for us! Let's make this a focus for our city members that live in PALO ALTO, CA. We have lived here over 45 years, City Resident, Judy Hulse & family From:Aram James To:Council, City; GRP-City Council; Ed Lauing; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California DemocraticDelegate, Assembly District 23; Reckdahl, Keith; Lu, George; city.council@menlopark.gov; Nash, Betsy; CeciliaTaylor Subject:FStop the Ethnic Cleansing": Watch and Read the Most Powerful Oscars Speech for Years Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 10:00:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more 'Stop the Ethnic Cleansing': Watchand Read the Most Powerful OscarsSpeech for Years Remarkable and historic speeches from both Palestinian co-directorBasel Adra and Israeli co-director Yuval Abraham, after their film 'NoOther Land' won the Oscar for Best Documentary. MEHDI HASAN MAR 3 READ IN APP Hollywood has been cracking down on pro-Palestine voices since Oct. 7th, 2023, from the firing of Melissa Barrera from ‘Scream 7’, to the demotion of CAA power agent Maha Dakhil, to Susan Sarandon saying her “projects were pulled.” It was, therefore, a rather pleasant surprise to see the most elite Hollywood audience of all - the crowd at the 97th Academy Awards ceremony at the Dolby Theater on Sunday evening - loudly applauding and cheering a Palestinian onstage, in primetime, as he decried the “ethnic cleansing” of his people and the “atrocious destruction of Gaza.” Upgrade to paid Basel Adra is the Palestinian co-director of ‘No Other Land,’ which won the Oscar for Best Documentary on Sunday. The film was made by a Palestinian-Israeli collective of four activists - Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor - and tells the story of the destruction of Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank, by the Israeli military. The title, ‘No Other Land,’ comes from a woman in the film who asks where else the Palestinians of the West Bank are supposed to go. Abraham, in his acceptance speech, not only highlighted the “ethnic supremacy” instituted by his country in the Occupied Palestinian Territories but also challenged the destructive role of the United States: “I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path [to peace].” Got that? Not only did a film about occupied and persecuted Palestinians win an Oscar, but the great and the good of Hollywood put their hands together for two speeches slamming “ethnic cleansing” and “ethnic supremacy” in Palestine. To quote the title of a previous Oscar winner’s best song: Times Have Changed. Upgrade to paid Nevertheless, they haven’t changed enough. As the New York Times noted on Sunday night, the film’s Oscar win represents “a landmark and a rebuke. Despite a string of honors and rave reviews, no distributor would pick up this film in the United States, making it nearly impossible for American filmgoers to see it in theaters or to stream it.” As I have said many times before, the biggest victims of so-called ‘cancel culture’ in the US remain the Palestinian people and their supporters. The shameful treatment of ‘No Other Land’ by the big distributors in our movie industry is just the latest and best example of that. So let us do our best to make sure Adra and Abraham’s powerful and historic speeches go far and wide. You can watch and read them in full below. Share BASEL ADRA “Thank you to the Academy for the award. It’s such a big honor for the four of us and everybody who supported us for this documentary. About two months ago, I became a father, and my hope to my daughter is that she will not have to live the same life I am living now, always fearing violence, home demolitions, forced displacement that my community, Masafer Yatta, is facing every day. ‘No Other Land’ reflects the harsh reality we have been enduring for decades and still resist as we call on the world to take serious actions to stop the injustice and to stop the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people.” YUVAL ABRAHAM “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger. We see each other. The atrocious destruction of Gaza and its people, which must end; the Israeli hostages brutally taken in the crime of Oct. 7, which must be freed. When I look at Basel, I see my brother. But we are unequal. We live in a regime where I am free under civilian law and Basel is under military laws, that destroy lives, that he cannot control. There is a different path, a political solution without ethnic supremacy, with national rights for both of our people. And I have to say, as I am here, the foreign policy in this country is helping to block this path. Why? Can’t you see that we are intertwined? That my people can be truly safe if Basel’s people are truly free and safe? There is another way. It’s not too late for life, for the living.” Share Check out more of Zeteo’s coverage of Palestine: A Video Shows an Israeli Settler Shooting aPalestinian Point-Blank. 10 Months Later, No OneHas Been Arrested JASPER NATHANIEL ·AUGUST 20, 2024 Read full story The Gazafication of the West Bank: ‘Is This ReallyHappening Again?' DIANA BUTTU ·MAR 2 Read full story 'I Pray My Home Is Safe': A Palestinian FamilyReturns to Northern Gaza TEAM ZETEO ·FEB 6 Read full story You’re currently a free subscriber to Zeteo. If you believe our work is important, please consider supporting Zeteo by upgrading your subscription. If you have any issues with your subscription, please email us at info@zeteonews.com. Upgrade to paid LIKE COMMENT RESTACK © 2025 Zeteo1640 Boro Place 4th floor, McLean, VA 22102 Unsubscribe From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com Cc:Martin Wasserman; Mickie Winkler; Jeff Rosen; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; jessica@speiser.net; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; Dave Price; jason.green@bayareanewsgroup.com; Reckdahl, Keith; John Burt; Miguel Rodriguez; Cait James; Tim James; Marina Lopez; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; boardfeedback@smcgov.org; Today EPA; Ed Lauing; Templeton, Cari; Anna Griffin; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway; Emily Mibach; Reifschneider, James; Barberini, Christopher; chuck jagoda; Veenker, Vicki; Lotus Fong; Roberta Ahlquist; Rob Baker; Bill Newell; Roberta Roth; Robert.Jonson@shf.sccgov.org; Diana Diamond; Sarah Wright; Dave Price; Braden Cartwright; Daniel Kottke; Dana St. George; Gerry Gras; Foley, Michael; Doug Minkler; Friends of Cubberley; Jensen, Eric; Figueroa, Eric; Alex Etzkowitz; Afanasiev, Alex; Patrice Ventresca; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Vara Ramakrishnan; Human Relations Commission; Freddie.Quintana@sen.ca.gov; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Pat M; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Sean Allen; sharon jackson; Gennady Sheyner; Salem Ajluni; josh@joshsalcman.com; Jennifer Morrow San José Spotlight; Jose Valle; Raj Jayadev; editor@paweekly.com; Enberg, Nicholas; Michelle; Robert. Jonsen; Palo Alto Free Press; Kaloma Smith; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Gardener, Liz; dennis burns; Dennis Upton; Tom DuBois; DuJuan Green; Holman, Karen (external); Steve Wagstaffe; Stump, Molly; Shikada, Ed; Ellen Fox; Council, City; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Hayden; Nicole Chiu-Wang; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; GRP-City Council; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; city.council@menlopark.gov; Nash, Betsy; Doria Summa; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg Subject:Re: It’s our Jewish responsibility to see the full picture when it comes to Israel. We’re failing. Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 8:40:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hi Henry, Here is an interesting article touching directly on Buber’s very different vision of Zionism andhis apparent total rejection of a Jewish state. It is a fairly long piece but certainly worth reading. Contrast, if you will, the idea of Cultural Zionism with Politcal Zionism. Aram Martin Buber’s Zionism May 6, 2024Rabbi Bill Plevan PhD The Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, the subsequent Israel- Hamas war and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza have intensified Jewish communal debates about Zionism and a growing interest in various forms of non- Zionism or anti-Zionism. Within these discussions, it isgenerally assumed that “Zionism” denotes a commitment to the existence of a Jewish nation-state, and that non- Zionism or anti-Zionism denotes a rejection of such a state in favor of a binational state (the “one-statesolution”) or confederation. At a juncture such as this, it is worth recalling that there was a vocal and well-respected group of Zionist activists — many of them important intellectuals within the movement — who themselvesadvocated for bi-nationalism as a form of Zionism through the work of such groups as Brit Shalom and the Ichud Party. One such scholar and activist was Martin Buber (1878- 1965). Perhaps best known for his translation of Hasidic tales and his philosophy of dialogue, Buber was an influential Zionist thinker who inspired many young Jewsin Europe with his passionate speeches about the need to revive Jewish life through idealistic settlement in the ancient homeland of the Jewish people. At the same time, Buber argued that Zionism should not aspire tocreate a Jewish nation-state, as such an arrangement would deny full equality to Palestinians and likely provoke war. Buber recognized that this approach to Zionism was losing ground as the movement coalesced around thenation-state model. In late May of 1948, as the first Israel-Arab war raged just two weeks after Israel’s Declaration of Independence, Buber, then living in Jerusalem, published an article in a Hebrew periodicaltitled “Zionism and ‘Zionism.’” With this title, Buber labels his own commitments as the true Zionism and the nation- state model as a distorted, false ideology: “Zionism” in scare quotes. Today, we might have to reverse the scarequotes to acknowledge that the equation of Zionism and the nation-state model predominates in our discourse. Buber argued that Zionism should not aspire to create a Jewish nation- state, as such an arrangement would deny full equality to Palestinians and likely provoke war. Even if Buber lost the battle over the meaning of Zionism in his own day, his teachings remain vital for those concerned with the ethical and spiritual consequences of Jewish statehood. There are two particular reasons why this might be so. First, because Buber was part of the Zionist movement, his vision for Zionism might help us articulate a compelling vision for why Jews could and should live in their historic land under different political conditions. Second, as a scholar of Judaism, Buber’s Zionism is deeply rooted in the spiritual and ethical teachings of the Jewish tradition. My goal here is not to explore political proposals for a binational state orconfederation, the two most common alternatives to a Jewish state (alongside a Palestinian one or otherwise). Instead, I will briefly explain Buber’s Zionist thought and contrast his approach to the predominant form of Zionism(I’ll call it “Political Zionism,” as I explain below) on three key points: 1) the political goals of Zionism; 2) the meaning of exile and messianism; and 3) the centrality of moral values in politics. Buber’s approach to Zionismmay yet be able to guide us in thinking through the challenges of the present moment and inspire hope for the future. For Buber, the central purpose of Zionism is the spiritualand cultural renewal of the Jewish people. In this respect, he became and remained a disciple of the great Zionist theoretician and Hebrew essayist Ahad Ha’am (Asher Zvi Ginsburg). In their vision, known as Cultural Zionism, thegoal was to gradually and organically cultivate a new Jewish society with a thoroughly modern Jewish culture shaped by the texts, ideas and values of the Jewish tradition. This approach put them at odds with the visionof Theodor Herzl, what I am calling Political Zionism. Herzl prioritized the creation of a Jewish state above all other goals and sought to bring millions of Jews to settle in Palestine in a short period of time. For Cultural Zionistslike Ha’am and Buber, Herzl’s plan was not only unrealistic but failed to prioritize the gradual process of spiritual renewal. They did not oppose politics or political aims for Zionism, per se, but they insisted that culturalrenewal should be the principal goal. Buber himself worked closely with Herzl for several years on cultural efforts within the movement, among other things editing a prominent literary journal. However, he eventually brokewith Herzl because he felt that Herzl did not sufficiently appreciate the role of culture and spiritual renewal in the Zionist project. Buber became a more politically radical and theologicallyrobust voice within the tradition of Cultural Zionism. He completely opposed the creation of a Jewish state and defended this view drawing on classical Jewish texts. In his view, a Zionism that centered cultural renewal must maintain Judaism’s distinctive moral and spiritual character. As he Buber went so far as to associate this aspiration with “idol-worship in our homeland if only theidols bear Jewish names.”[1] The accusation of idolatry may sound like exaggerated religious rhetoric, but Buber was serious about a God-centered vision for radical politics rooted in biblical texts. The model of nation-statesovereignty presumes that a particular nation owns or controls the land collectively, allowing them to use it in whatever way they see fit. Buber argues that the Bible presents a radical alternative, namely that God aloneowns the land (Leviticus 25:23) and the role of Israel is to work and maintain the land according to God’s instruction, which in the biblical context meant the laws of the sabbatical and jubilee. Buber viewed theseinjunctions as models, rather than strict law, for social justice in a new Jewish society in the land. Buber called this vision of politics the creation of “true community” in contrast to the creation of a state. Buber viewed theestablishment of idealistic agricultural settlements as the first step in creating a society that could embody this vision: “The establishment of a true community cannot come about unless the agrarian life, a life that draws itsstrength from the soil, is elevated to a service of God and spreads to the other social classes, binding them, as it were, to God and to soil.”[2] For Buber, living in the land was essential as a vehicle for Divine service, meaning alife on the land that serves social justice rather than the human desire for safety and power. Buber’s vision for Zionism differed in a similar way from that of Political Zionism on the question of exile andmessianism. Among Herzl’s successors, many Zionist thinkers came to endorse a view known as the “negation of the diaspora,” which asserted that Jewish life in the diaspora for 1,900 years had been debased anddemeaning, and that only a renewal of Jewish sovereignty in the people’s historic land could restore them to full dignity. In this way of thinking, the aspiration for a Jewish state replaces messianic hope. The state,rather than the Messiah, would end the oppression of the Jewish people. In contrast to this claim, Buber articulated a positive role for the notion of exile in his Jewish theology. For Buber,exile was a spiritually necessary process in the Jewish people’s confrontation with its ethical and spiritual limitations, even though the suffering of exilic life could not be said to be a punishment from God. Summarizing the view of Rabbi Judah Loew, the great Maharal of Prague, Buber writes that “because Israel is the holypeople it cannot come to its own might except by coming into the might of God; and because the land of Israel is the Holy Land, Israel can only come into its own land by coming to God. The purificatory effect of the Exile … ispurification for the service of God.”[3] Being in exile from God, either on a personal or communal level, is an integral part of a spiritual life that human beings must confront even as they strive to overcome such exile.Where Political Zionists viewed the founding of a Jewish state as a quasi-messianic ending of the exile, Buber viewed Zionism as the striving to overcome exile but not the completion of that task. By claiming to overcomeexile, Buber believed, Political Zionism impoverishes Judaism of a crucial spiritual concept for addressing material suffering and spiritual failure.[4] Moreover, he believed that this move functioned as a kind of falsemessianism, asserting the arrival of redemption when redemption had yet to arrive. If we could claim to overcome exile, then we could claim to have overcome the need for moral criticism and spiritual development.On the individual level such spiritual evasion is obtuse, but on a social and political level, it is dangerous. Where Political Zionists viewed the founding of a Jewish state as a quasi-messianic ending of the exile, Buber viewed Zionism as the striving to overcome exile but not the completion of that task. Likewise, it was crucial for Buber that Zionism place Jewish ethical values at the center of its vision. This meant that political leaders in the new Jewish community must view themselves as accountable to these values even when it stood at odds with either their perceived political interests or those of the nation. Buber addressed this theme increasingly after his arrival from NaziGermany in 1938 to Palestine, where the Zionist leadership already had the look of a state-in-waiting under David Ben-Gurion. The rise of the Nazis understandably made the cause of a Jewish nation-stateseem that much more urgent. At the same time, violent conflict with Palestinian Arabs seemed inevitable after the great Arab revolt of 1936-39. Increasingly, Zionist leaders spoke openly of needing to abandon moralvalues in the realm of politics for the sake of the security of the nation.[5] Buber strenuously objected to this compromise of morality for the sake of political security and power.Again, drawing on biblical sources for inspiration, Buber found within the prophetic tradition a model of leadership as contingent upon and accountable to the moral demands of God. As he wrote in his essay, “HebrewHumanism,” the Bible tells us “what no other voice in the world can teach us with such simple power … that there is truth and there are lies, and that human life cannot persist or have meaning save in the decision in behalf oftruth and against lies; that there is right and wrong, and that the salvation of man depends on choosing what is right and rejecting what is wrong … .”[6] Morality is not a private matter for an individual to choose or reject forthemselves. The fate of a human community depends on it, and thus it behooves all national leaders to see themselves as accountable to standards of truth and right conduct in the realm of public affairs. In a lecture he first delivered in 1939, Buber also spoke of the value of peace as the defining purpose of Zionism: “Our purpose is the great upbuilding of peace. And when the nations are all bound together in one association, toborrow a phrase from our sages, they atone for one another. In other words, the world of humanity is meant to become a single body; but it is as yet nothing more than a heap of limbs each of which is of the opinion that it constitutes an entire body.”[7] The greatest obstacle to peace, in Buber’s view, is national chauvinism, whereeach nation views itself as the center or apex of humanity, i.e. “as an entire body.” The Jewish people, he believes, are specially charged with maintaining the vision of all humanity united in peace, not by giving uptheir national distinctiveness, but by working in cooperation with each other. On Sun, Mar 2, 2025 at 8:11 PM Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote:Hi Henry, Thank you for this historical reference. I will research Martin Buber’s proposal further. I appreciate your guidance. Regards, Aram On Sun, Mar 2, 2025 at 7:21 PM Henry Etzkowitz <h.etzko@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Aram and all One state was Martin Buber’s proposal, taken seriously intellectually if not politically butit’s time may come! Sent from my iPhone On Mar 2, 2025, at 5:18 PM, Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com>wrote: Anyone who speaks of a Jewish "occupation" of Palestinian land, such as theauthor of this Forward article, is denying a central tenet of Judaism, and hasno authority to speak on behalf of Jews or Judaism. A more correct term forJudea and Samaria would be the “not-yet-annexed territories.” Martin Wasserman On Mar 2, 2025, at 11:03 AM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: It’s our Jewish responsibility to see the full picture when it comes to Israel. We’re failing. Hi Henry, As you might guess I am still for the total elimination of the stateof Israel but this is certainly a thought provoking piece. Thanksfor sending it my way. Best regards, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James P.S. A one state one vote true democracy is the only viablesolution I see. To clarify: I am for the elimination of the rogueterrorist genocidal state of Israel but oppose theextermination/death of even one more human being. https://forward.com/opinion/697642/zionist-jewish-diaspora-understanding/ From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com Cc:Martin Wasserman; Mickie Winkler; Jeff Rosen; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; jessica@speiser.net; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; Dave Price; jason.green@bayareanewsgroup.com; Reckdahl, Keith; John Burt; Miguel Rodriguez; Cait James; Tim James; Marina Lopez; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; boardfeedback@smcgov.org; Today EPA; Ed Lauing; Templeton, Cari; Anna Griffin; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway; Emily Mibach; Reifschneider, James; Barberini, Christopher; chuck jagoda; Veenker, Vicki; Lotus Fong; Roberta Ahlquist; Rob Baker; Bill Newell; Roberta Roth; Robert.Jonson@shf.sccgov.org; Diana Diamond; Sarah Wright; Dave Price; Braden Cartwright; Daniel Kottke; Dana St. George; Gerry Gras; Foley, Michael; Doug Minkler; Friends of Cubberley; Jensen, Eric; Figueroa, Eric; Alex Etzkowitz; Afanasiev, Alex; Patrice Ventresca; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Vara Ramakrishnan; Human Relations Commission; Freddie.Quintana@sen.ca.gov; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Pat M; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Sean Allen; sharon jackson; Gennady Sheyner; Salem Ajluni; josh@joshsalcman.com; Jennifer Morrow San José Spotlight; Jose Valle; Raj Jayadev; editor@paweekly.com; Enberg, Nicholas; Michelle; Robert. Jonsen; Palo Alto Free Press; Kaloma Smith; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Gardener, Liz; dennis burns; Dennis Upton; Tom DuBois; DuJuan Green; Holman, Karen (external); Steve Wagstaffe; Stump, Molly; Shikada, Ed; Ellen Fox; Council, City; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Hayden; Nicole Chiu-Wang; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; GRP-City Council; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; city.council@menlopark.gov; Nash, Betsy; Doria Summa; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg Subject:Re: It’s our Jewish responsibility to see the full picture when it comes to Israel. We’re failing. Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 8:11:26 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hi Henry, Thank you for this historical reference. I will research Martin Buber’s proposal further. I appreciate your guidance. Regards, Aram On Sun, Mar 2, 2025 at 7:21 PM Henry Etzkowitz <h.etzko@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Aram and all One state was Martin Buber’s proposal, taken seriously intellectually if not politically butit’s time may come! Sent from my iPhone On Mar 2, 2025, at 5:18 PM, Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote: Anyone who speaks of a Jewish "occupation" of Palestinian land, such as theauthor of this Forward article, is denying a central tenet of Judaism, and has noauthority to speak on behalf of Jews or Judaism. A more correct term for Judeaand Samaria would be the “not-yet-annexed territories.” Martin Wasserman On Mar 2, 2025, at 11:03 AM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com>wrote: It’s our Jewish responsibility to see the full picture when it comes to Israel. We’re failing. Hi Henry, As you might guess I am still for the total elimination of the state of Israel but this is certainly a thought provoking piece. Thanksfor sending it my way. Best regards, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James P.S. A one state one vote true democracy is the only viable solution I see. To clarify: I am for the elimination of the rogue terroristgenocidal state of Israel but oppose the extermination/death of even one more human being. https://forward.com/opinion/697642/zionist-jewish-diaspora-understanding/ From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com; Josh Becker; district1@bos.sccgov.org; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for CaliforniaDemocratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Salem Ajluni; SteveWagstaffe; Kaloma Smith; Zahra Billoo; Michelle; Rodriguez, Miguel; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway;board@pausd.org; board@valleywater.org; Jay Boyarsky; BoardOperations; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; Council,City; GRP-City Council; Bill Newell; Doug Minkler; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; EPA Today;cromero@cityofepa.org; rabrica@cityofepa.org; boardfeedback@smcgov.org Subject:Josh Becker -don’t tell the truth about the Terrorist State of Israel bill Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 6:21:06 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. California’s Jewish lawmakers seek to rein in content on Israel in high school ethnic studies Josh Becker Censorship Bill! No Criticism of White Wing Zionist Supremacy Will GoUnpunished!! https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/03/02/california-lawmakers-seek-to-rein-in-ethnic- studies/ From:Palo Alto Forward To:Council, City Cc:PAHousingElement Subject:HIP/AHIP - Make it a Force for Housing! Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 6:11:39 PM Attachments:HIP & AHIP Better Zoning (03.02.25).pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Honorable Mayor Lauing and City Council, We support you in making HIP/AHIP strong and successful (Agenda Item #9 on March 3rd).Please see the attached petition with over 140 signatures in support of better zoning formore housing! You have the opportunity to make HIP/AHIP robust to more equitably distribute housing in our city, lessen climate emissions, increase customers within walking distance to localbusinesses, and provide more students at schools with declining enrollment. Ensure HIP/AHIP is strong and incentivises financially feasible projects - and Palo AltoForward members will be right behind you supporting the housing we so desperatelyneed. Thank you, as always, for everything you do for this city. -- Amie AshtonExecutive Director Palo Alto Forward650-793-1585 1 Dave Ashton Rev. Amy Zucker Morgenstern Amie Ashton Owen Byrd Michael Szeto Christopher Baum Michael Regula Courtney Chang Liz Gardner Claire Bailey Betty Howell Gina Dalma Janet Fenwick Joanne Ha Steve Pierce Tin Nguyen Rika Yamamoto anita Lusebrink Bryan Baker Jennifer DiBrienza Jason Holleb Joyce Beattie Rachel Miller Ryan Van Soelen Yuri Chang Michael Quinn Hayden Kantor Justin Yamamoto Avroh Shah Patty W Irish Joseph Luk Selin Jessa Jackie Wheeler Lori Linberg Brody Huval Johnson Solomon Barak Berkowitz Caleb Jones Zachary Anglemyer Chris Colohan Nanda Garber David Sloan Ron Hall Maria Rimmel Robert Neff Edward Hillard Mason Hayes Sandy Songy Mac Malone Baq Haidri Benjamin Moran Tom Harris Ken Hayes Cara Silver Lois Fowkes Tim Clark Annette Isaacson Samara Meir-Levi Terry Murphey Dennis Smith Ginny Madsen Francis Viggiano Sally Ahnger Kenneth Novak Momo Yanagihara Cindy Carroll Patricia Kinney Judith Wasserman 2 Adam Schwartz Rob Nielsen Alison Cingolani Steven Lee Hitoshi Yamamoto Paul Otto Joslyn Leve Rebecca Eisenberg Kenneth Ligda Nicholas Zamboldi Zachary Anglemyer Joseph Chuang MohammadAbu Talha Meredith Slaughter Linda Henigin Joby Bernstein Leslie Fong Divya Dhar Eileen Menteer Jacob Schwartz Kelsey Rogowski Kristi Iverson Sheila Fehring Stephen Levy Barb Voss Alice Schaffer Smith Rodney Leggett Bonnie Packer bill fitch Elaine Uang David Golden Jean Pressey Kate Conley Darel Chapman Auros Harman Tim Persyn Katherine Dumont Lizzie DeKraai Maggie Trinh Phyllis Brown Ellen Smith Gail Price Heather Williams Margit David Karen Morrison Elizabeth Weal Alex Strange Natalia Koulinka John Havlik Susan Chamberlain Courtney Hodrick Joy Sleizer Hershel Macaulay Jeffrey Salzman Shosh Vasserman Mary Nemerov Marcia Pugsley Sarah Bell Sheryl Klein Mimi Wolf Wilma Vaughn Alexia Olaizola Sunita Sastry Mary Beth Train Matthew Pauly Hillary Thagard Sophia Abramson Alex Konings Rachel Golden Linnea Wickstrom 3 From:Tim Taylor To:Binder, Andrew; Council, City Cc:Lim-Tsao, Lily; Shikada, Ed; City MgrSubject:Re: City of Palo Alto can fix this problem and Staff need to get together for a solutionDate:Sunday, March 2, 2025 2:30:29 PMAttachments:image001.pngimage002.pngimage004.pngimage005.pngimage006.pngimage007.pngimage008.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Chief Binder, Thank you for your response. If you or others in the City had to respond to each of the literally hundreds of people who each lost about 30 minutes to an hour oftheir time while traffic was backed up for over three miles on Page Mill from Greer to Foothill Expressway due to the malfunctioning stoplight at El Camino andP:age Mill roads with no one directing traffic, I would hope that your response would have been different. That is a huge amount of time, gas, and pollution thatcould have been avoided. Perhaps there were no reported collisions as traffic was at a standstill or barely moving at all. These are the people that you work for. Icannot accept your flat assertion that it would have taken at least 6 officerts to direct traffic and that once there, they all would have to stay until the light was fixedand normal traffic resumed. Surely, a better response could have been made under the circumstances. Speaking of responses, the entire City Council, manager's office, and a good many other City officials were made aware of this situation and not a single one ofthem responded to my email concerning the situation, other than canned replies saying we will get back to you. I would have hoped the situation would have beentaken more seriously and some efforts made to prevent its re-occurrence. Thank you for your consideration,Kent TaylorFor information about volunteer opportunities in the San Francisco bay area,please visit the Bay Area Volunteer Information Center atwww.volunteerinfo.org On Tue, Feb 18, 2025 at 3:02 PM Binder, Andrew <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org> wrote: Mr. Taylor – I’m sorry for the frustration and wait time you and others experienced last Thursday at Page Mill and El Camino and I’m glad you had a chance tospeak with our Communications Manager Lindsay Moore and Patrol Captain Zach Perron about your concerns. After receiving your email last week, I looped inthe City’s Acting-Director of the Office of Transportation, Lily Lim-Tsao (CC’d) and spoke with Captain Perron about your conversation, the intersection inquestion, and reviewed his email response below. Based on my own understanding of the circumstances, I support and agree with Captain Perron’s assessmentthat Page Mill and El Camino is an extremely complex intersection requiring six officers to safely direct traffic. I also agree with our supervisor’s decision not tomanually take over traffic control of the intersection. As Captain Perron shared below, the California Vehicle Code addresses driver conduct at intersectionswhere the signal lights are not functioning properly and governs this situation. We also reviewed the call data from when the signal lights were out, and I canshare that there were no collisions reported to the police department at this intersection during the outage. As a follow up to your email, Lily has reached out to Caltrans Office Chief to inquire about the malfunction and fix, as well as contact info for reporting the issuefor a prompt response. It is my hope that Lily’s outreach will improve any issues and the response times in fixing them. Andrew Binder Police Chief Palo Alto Police Department (650) 329-2449 | andrew.binder@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org | www.papd.org From: Tim Taylor <kentbtaylor@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, February 14, 2025 1:43 PMTo: Binder, Andrew <Andrew.Binder@CityofPaloAlto.org>Subject: Fwd: City of Palo Alto can fix this problem and Staff need to get together for a solution CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Sorry, I used the incorrect email address the first time. Would appreciate your feedback on this matter. Thanks, Kent Taylor For information about volunteer opportunities in the San Francisco bay area, please visit the Bay Area Volunteer Information Center at www.volunteerinfo.org ---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Tim Taylor <kentbtaylor@gmail.com> Date: Fri, Feb 14, 2025 at 1:30 PMSubject: City of Palo Alto can fix this problem and Staff need to get together for a solutionTo: Kent T <kentbtaylor@gmail.com>, City Mgr <citymgr@cityofpaloalto.org>, <pd@cityofpaloalto.org>, <binder.andrew@cityofpaloalto.org>,<city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>, Zachary.Perron@CityofPaloAlto.org <Zachary.Perron@cityofpaloalto.org>, <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>,<ed.lausing@cityofpalpalto.org>, <vicki.Veenker@cityofpaloalto.org> On Thursday 2/13/25 morning at the intersection of Page Mill Road and El Camino Roads the traffic light was flashing red and traffic was backed up towardsFoothill Expressway to the west and and over 2 miles to Greer Road easterly, a total distance of over 3 miles. I, and the several hundreds of cars (I counted them), were forced to wait in our cars for over 45 minutes as cars crawled, one at a time about every 15 seconds (waiting their turn) to proceed on Page Mill Road. Surprisingly, there was no one directing traffic at this busy and dangerous intersection. The situation was even worse when I returned about an hour later, andthere were several near miss accidents I saw when I finally got to the intersection. This untenable situation resulted in hundreds of person hours of wasted and lost time and money, increased pollution, and a huge amount of frustration - all ofwhich were avoidable. It seemed incredulous to me that the City was doing nothing and was unaware of the situation. So I called the Police Department and was told that the stoplightwas owned by the County so that there was nothing that could be done. I then called 911 and they said they had received scores of calls all morning (the lightwent out the night before) and had notified all authorities, including the police department who said the persons on duty refused to do anything about it. I calledthe dispatchers and was told the same thing. I tried to call Chief Binder and was told that he did not communicate with the citizens he was supposed to protectbut that I could be called back some time. As I contacted many more officials (most all of whom agreed that something should have been done) and after Zack Perron (Patrol captain who reports directly toChief Binder) called me in the evening from his home and was patient enough to permit a good conversation wherein both parties heard each side of the situation, it seems that the solution was to get officials to engage in a two pronged attack to fix the problem: The first problem is that the County has historically been exceedingly slow in responding to requests for help and repair, especially at the traditionally useddispatch level. The City is given no response commitment by the County. The City Council and or City Manager's office need to step in and take responsibility for establishing procedures to protect their citizens from having to gothrough situations like this again. The second problem is the no hands position taken by the Police Department. An accurate description of their position can be seen in the email sent to me by Zack Perron which is included at the bottom of this email and which I will refer to. In response to Officer Perron's email: 1. The reasons given for it supposedly needing 6 officers to control traffic are exactly the reasons why the department should not leave it solely to individualcitizens to safely manage the intersection when the light is out. This is a very unsafe situation that needs to be addressed. 2. It seems like the figure of at least 6 officers together at one intersection is a gross overstatement of the manpower needed. I have witnessed situations whereone properly trained officer was able to control the situation, though an additional officer would be helpful. For example, the officer would stop traffic both wayson El Camino, permit right turns and through traffic both ways on Page Mill to continue through the intersection, halt that traffic and signal to left turning autoson Page Mill to proceed, halt that traffic and then proceed to do the same with El Camino traffic. Having any officer present and in charge would be far safer andspeedier than letting each individual decide on his or her own when and in which order to proceed. This is common sense. 3. The point about not knowing when the County will respond is well taken and addressed elsewhere in this email and up to the City Council and City manager'soffice. However, after directing traffic and getting the situation under control, there is no reason why the officers are obligated to stay there under any circumstancesuntil the County repairs the lights. Officer Perron told me it was an additional liability for them to stay, but there is a liability for any actions taken by theDepartment and he City is prepared for that. It would seem far more reasonable and safer for the public to have at least one or two officers on scene who could bereassigned if they were needed elsewhere in an emergency. Perron, Zachary <Zachary.Perron@cityofpaloalto.org>Thu, Feb 13, 9:12 PM (15 hours ago) to me Mr. Taylor, That intersection is an extremely complex one for officersto manually direct traffic. In order to safely direct traffic manually,we would need at least six officers there. Our staffing level on dayshift, when this outage occurred, is six officers. This is the primaryreason we do not manually direct traffic at that intersection: we simplydon’t have enough resources to do it safely (safely for either the officers,or for the motoring public / pedestrians / cyclists) and still be able toprovide an adequate police response elsewhere in the City. When signal lights at an intersection are not functioningproperly, we have no way of knowing how long it will take for theappropriate agency to get them working again. Once we take ownershipof an intersection by directing traffic manually, we are committed tostaying until the signal lights are repaired or another solution can beimplemented. Instead, we allow the California Vehicle Code to governdriver behavior, as we did today. That can cause delays, depending onthe amount of traffic. But in our opinion, that is a safer solution forall involved than attempting to manually direct traffic with insufficientresources. Zach Perron Captain, Field Services Division Palo Alto Police Department (650) 329-2115 | zachary.perron@cityofpaloalto.org www.cityofpaloalto.org | www.papd.org The solution lies in finding a middle ground that best preserves the safety of Palo Altans and others and I call on the administration of the City of Palo Alto totake the initiative to fix the problem. I would appreciate receiving a response from any party that would like to submit a suggestion, comment on the above, offer to help, or seek more information. Kent Taylor email: kttoss@att.net Email from Officer Perron: Page Mill Road / El Camino Real Inbox Search for all messages with label Inbox Remove label Inbox from this conversation For information about volunteer opportunities in the San Francisco bay area, please visit the Bay Area Volunteer Information Center at www.volunteerinfo.org From:CeCi Kettendorf To:Council, City Subject:Funding Fire Protection Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 10:07:31 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council Members; I listened with interest at the CC meeting last Monday to Mr. Burt's discussion of Palo Alto's finances and PAFD staffing. I have researched the same, which I would like to sharewith you. In reviewing the 2025 budget, I see that we are anticipating over a billion dollars inincome. Allowing for an abundant 18.5% to be placed in reserve, we are left with $831,300,000. to run this city of 65K. We are blessed. Surely the City Manager can find the millions of dollars to buy a new fire Engine for FS4! Considering a two year wait for delivery , it should have been ordered and financed fiveyears ago. Mr. Burt referenced the SLAC fire station as indicating skewed staffing numbers onmy part, when we speak to staffing in 2008. Mr. Burt is correct: we staffed eight fire stations in 2008, not just seven. Today, we staff only five of the seven in our jurisdiction. We closedFire Station 4 and 8. (Fire Station 7 is now under another fire department's umbrella. When FS 7 left us, it was a happy year for firefighters who enjoyed some contractual vacation timeoff with their families.) We have now closed Fire Station 4 and 8 for lack of staffing. It is of note that theCounty has cited us for having closed those stations. The County expects, and we have agreed, that all our fire Stations will be open for a global response. I refer you to the LAFCOreport. How far we have fallen! Mr. Burt also contends that FS 4 did not have full staffing prior to the closing of our FireStation in 2020. Thank you, Mr. Burt, for confirming the downward spiral of service to us by PAFD and the jeopardy in which we were unknowingly placed. Thank you for validating ourshaken faith in the City! It is very sad, but not surprising to have heard. We are fully. aware that Mr.Keane, in 2011, began the system-wide deconstruction of the PAFD, a sheeringcontinued by Mr. Shikada. However! The old timer firefighters will assure you that we had strong, full coverage at FS4 for 58 years, since inception in 1954. Those were the good olddays when the citizens had confidence that the powers that be were protecting us. Oh what a happy time it was! How far we have fallen. What a shame that our heretofore healthy PAFD has been reduced to: routine mandatory overtime staffing by a skeleton crew of brave firefighters, two closed fire stations in the twomost fire prone areas of the city, 17 year old fire engines, and a lack thereof. How far we have fallen! The premier community of Palo Alto, known for excellence and innovation, should be a proud model for fire protection, so other cities can point to us as the gold standard and striveto emulate us. How far we have fallen! The city manager must hire 45 additional fire fighters to return to the days when thePAFD was strong, with abundant reserve staff and apparatus, with happy firefighters who could go home to their children. You must purchase new engines, as our present aging fleet of17 year old engines is due for an upgrade. Perhaps the hundreds of millions of dollars in the reserve fund should be tapped to fund all the latter. Surely this is an emergency. Surely we are due for an inferno. Surely fire protection is your priority. Surely this is existential. South Palo Alto demands a new engine, 24/7 full staffing with 4 fire fighters, at all times, day or night, at Fire Station 4. Our children deserve no less. Please, protect us. CeCi Kettendorf 45 year resident of south Palo Alto3719 Grove Avenue Palo Alto, Ca. 94303650-493-0804 From:Palo Alto Forward To:Council, City Cc:PAHousingElement Subject:Agenda Item #9 - HIP/AHIP Changes Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 9:00:40 AM Attachments:HIP Support Ltr (03.02.25).pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Honorable Mayor Lauing and City Council, Please see our attached letter in support of HIP/AHIP zoning changes. To make the program even more effective, we urge you to incorporate the following into the program: Expand HIP/AHIP citywide, not just to Housing Element inventory sites. More broadly upzoning, something originally proposed by staff, would facilitate additional units. Use higher FAR limits and heights for all commercial zones (i.e. at least 3.5 FAR and 60 feet for CN, CD, and all CS zones) or match the innovatve El Camino Real Focus Area development standards for these areas - we know this Council-driven formula works for housing. HIP must be better than State Density Bonus Law on parking or it isn’t an incentive and we won’t get the projects we envision. A parking minimum of 0.5 space per unit is an incentive, or eliminate parking mandates for housing as Mountain View has done. Exempt parking from FAR. We are “cannibalizing” housing units for parking spaces when FAR and height are already so limited under HIP. Meet with home builders between first and second reading and get their feedback. We know direct engagement works. Consistent with Program 3.4 of the Housing Element, require an annual report on HIP proposals and use data to inform modifications if we are not on track. We look forward to supporting future applications and projects across our city. Thank you! -- Amie Ashton Executive Director Palo Alto Forward 650-793-1585 March 2, 2025 SUBJECT: Agenda Item #9 - Zoning Code Amendments for Housing Honorable Mayor Ed Lauing and City Council, We appreciate Council’s consideration of changes to the Housing Incentive Program (HIP) and Affordable Housing Incentive Program (AHIP). These changes are timely given that we are over 1,000 units behind where we should be in terms of housing approvals. Per our Housing Element, HIP/AHIP will produce 550 housing units across our city. To do this, it must be robust enough to be an “incentive” to facilitate financially feasible projects in an environment of rising costs. Thus, w e are focusing comments on two aspects of HIP/AHIP: height/Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and parking requirements. Current requirements have an outsized impact on financial feasibility, and thus stymie project applications. The following items could be incorporated into HIP/AHIP to make it more successful: ● Expand HIP/AHIP citywide, not just to Housing Element inventory sites. More broadly upzoning, something originally proposed by staff, would facilitate additional units. ● Use higher FAR limits and heights for all commercial zones (i.e. at least 3.5 FAR and 60 feet for CN, CD, and all CS zones) or match the El Camino Real Focus Area development standards for these areas. 1 ● HIP must be better than State Density Bonus Law on parking or it isn’t an incentive and we won’t get the projects we envision. A parking minimum of 0.5 space per unit is an incentive, or eliminate parking mandates for housing as Mountain View has done. ● Exempt parking from FAR. We are “cannibalizing” housing units for parking spaces when FAR and height are already so limited under HIP. ● Meet with home builders between first and second reading and get their feedback. We know direct engagement works. ● Consistent with Program 3.4 of the Housing Element, require an annual report on HIP proposals and use data to inform modifications if we are not on track. 1 The El Camino Real Focus Area allows 4.0 FAR, an 85-foot height limit, with one parking space per unit. We know this Council-driven formula works for housing production . Changing FAR and height limits is the easiest way to make housing economically feasible so land, infrastructure, and development costs can be spread across units to drive down the cost per unit. 1 We hope that HIP/AHIP will be a great success in bringing units to locations across the city. We look forward to supporting housing projects that are submitted under this program. Thank you for your service to our community. Amie Ashton Executive Director And on behalf of the Board and Membership of Palo Alto Forward 2 From:Aram James To:Veenker, Vicki Cc:h.etzko@gmail.com; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Sean Allen; Pat M; Gerry Gras; Dana St. George; district1@bos.sccgov.org; board@pausd.org; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; Council, City; Anna Griffin; GRP-City Council; Steve Wagstaffe; Sarah Wright; Stump, Molly; Bill Newell; Jeff Conrad; Binder, Andrew; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Friends of Cubberley; Palo Alto Free Press Subject:NYTimes: The MAGA War on Speech Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 8:39:06 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Becautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. The MAGA War on Speech NYTimes: The MAGA War on Speech https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/28/opinion/free-speech-trump-maga.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare From:Aram James To:Perron, Zachary; Reifschneider, James; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Foley, Michael; h.etzko@gmail.com;Human Relations Commission; Binder, Andrew; Sean Allen; Pat M; Kaloma Smith; Burt, Patrick; Lythcott-Haims,Julie; Vicki Veenker; Reckdahl, Keith; Lu, George; Dana St. George; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway;Bill Newell; Rose Lynn; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Hayden; Jay Boyarsky; Jose Valle; board@pausd.org;board@valleywater.org; BoardOperations; boardfeedback@smcgov.org; Steve Wagstaffe; Dave Price; EmilyMibach; Cecilia Taylor; Sheriff Transparency; Gennady Sheyner; EPA Today; cromero@cityofepa.org;planning.commission@cityofpaloalto.0rg; ParkRec Commission; sharon jackson; Jessica Speiser, EducationalLeader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; editor@paweekly.com; Ed Lauing;editor@almanacnews.com; Dennis Upton; Rodriguez, Miguel; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Damon Silver;jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; Rowena Chiu; Baker, Rob; Roberta Ahlquist; Roberta Ahlquist; Vara Ramakrishnan;Doug Minkler; Holman, Karen (external); Tom DuBois; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Wagner,April; Barberini, Christopher; chuck jagoda; Cait James; Tim James; GRP-City Council; Council, City;Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Mickie Winkler; Sarah Wright; Diana Diamond Subject:Watch "Black Man Brutalized For 30 MINUTES By Man With ‘Hate’ Tattoo, No One Intervenes" on YouTube Date:Sunday, March 2, 2025 7:52:25 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. https://youtu.be/BPaImVi43ZA?si=FjsoJBSZ217gWs1h From:Tessa Buchin To:Council, City Subject:Fwd: PAPD complaint, IPA report, transparency and accountability Date:Saturday, March 1, 2025 3:45:41 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Palo Alto City Council Members, I am following up on my email from February 9, 2025, regarding the matter outlined below. Ihave not yet received a response and wanted to check on its status and whether any action or discussion has taken place. I’d appreciate any updates or an estimated timeframe for aresponse. Please let me know if you need any additional information from me. Looking forward to your reply and thank you for your time. Regards, Tessa Buchin 650-776-2969 ---------- Forwarded message ---------From: Tessa Buchin <tessa.e.buchin@gmail.com>Date: Sun, Feb 9, 2025 at 4:05 PMSubject: PAPD complaint, IPA report, transparency and accountabilityTo: <City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org> Dear Mayor Lauing and City Council Members, I am requesting further transparency regarding the review of my complaint against OfficerParham (PAPD) in 2024, who was recently exonerated despite concerns about potentialviolations of department policies: Policy 340.5.2 (Ethics) – possible misuse of authorityPolicy 385.4.2 (Incidents of Personal Interest) – conflict of interest due to undisclosedpersonal connectionsPolicy 418.3 (Mental Health Commitments) This complaint was initiated in 2024 by my late sister, Margo Callard. While on duty, OfficerParham used his personal phone to contact my sister—who had stage 4 terminal cancer, washospitalized days later, and passed away a month after the incident—at the request of her ex-husband, without disclosing their friendship. The 30-minute recording of their conversation is troubling, as the officer repeatedly dismissedher safety concerns (for her, her family, and her son) and contradicted advice given by theRedwood City Police Department just hours earlier regarding her ex-husband’s mental health crisis. PAPD's policies appear to typically restrict officers from using their position forpersonal matters or those involving friends and family. This raises serious concerns aboutconflicts of interest and procedural failures. I understand the forthcoming IPA report, which includes this case, will be presented to theCity Council. I would like to know how I can participate in this discussion—whether bymaking a statement, speaking with someone beforehand, or engaging in another way. My family has lived in Palo Alto for over five decades, trusting the City Council to prioritizetransparency, accountability, and the well-being of its residents. I urge you to uphold thosevalues in this case. I appreciate your guidance on how I can participate and look forward toyour response. Sincerely, Tessa Buchin650-776-2969 From:Loran Harding To:Loran Harding; antonia.tinoco@hsr.ca.gov; alumnipresident@stanford.edu; David Balakian; beachrides;bearwithme1016@att.net; Leodies Buchanan; boardmembers; bballpod; fred beyerlein;carloslawnservice14@gmail.com; Cathy Lewis; Council, City; dennisbalakian; Doug Vagim;dallen1212@gmail.com; kdeem.electriclab@gmail.com; eappel@stanford.edu; George.Rutherford@ucsf.edu;Gabriel.Ramirez@fresno.gov; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; Irv Weissman; jerry ruopoli; Sally Thiessen; JoelStiner; karkazianjewelers@gmail.com; kfsndesk; Mayor; MY77FJ@gmail.com; Mark Standriff; margaret-sasaki@live.com; maverickbruno@sbcglobal.net; merazroofinginc@att.net; newsdesk; nick yovino;news@fresnobee.com; russ@topperjewelers.com; Steve Wayte; tsheehan; terry; vallesR1969@att.net Subject:Fwd: Fwd: Delta"s Endeavor Air and NO WHITE MEN Date:Saturday, March 1, 2025 2:39:33 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org>Date: Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM Subject: Re: Fwd: Delta's Endeavor Air and NO WHITE MENTo: Scott Wilkinson <grinellelake@yahoo.com>, Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Scott- Thanks for the tip! I'll remember and implement that if I'm ever in power. You do recall how he ended up, I assume. Loran On Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 4:59 AM Scott Wilkinson <grinellelake@yahoo.com> wrote:All down on DEI you are. World leaders have embraced this philosophy.Now, take Muammar Gaddfi for example. Man ahead of times.He had all female body guards or Amozonian body guards. Seem to work, as he did rule for 42 years. Yahoo Mail - Email Simplified On Mon, Feb 24, 2025 at 12:19 AM, Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> wrote: ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org>Date: Sun, Feb 23, 2025 at 3:03 PM Subject: Fwd: Delta's Endeavor Air and NO WHITE MENTo: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Saturday, March 1, 2025 To all- Watch this. Endeavor Air, owned by Delta, advertises NO WHITE MALE PILOTS!! You decide whether to fly Delta or its Endeavor Air any more. I know I'vedecided. I hope Trump sees this. And the flying public does as well. Delta BUSTED pushing CRINGE all female DEI flights! Blames Trump for Toronto plane crash! Here's more about the Nazi program to ruin the lives of white men at Delta's EndeavorAir: They're just going to ignore this,.. L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. From:Annette Isaacson To:Council, City; Palo Alto Online Subject:Backyard Brew Date:Saturday, March 1, 2025 10:39:17 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council Members, I patronize Backyard Brew every Monday during my walk with my friend, Leilani. We like the coffee. We like the vibe. We love that someone created an inviting place to gather from an narrow alley way between two buildings. We've been watching the space evolve for the last few years. It was a do-it-yourself project that inspired a feeling of community. I hope you will cut the owner some slack. His wife is battling cancer in Syria, and his mother is battling cancer in North Carolina. Backyard Brew customers don't want to lose their little oasis on California Avenue. Sincerely, Annette Isaacson 2550 Webster St. Palo Alto, CA From:Aram James To:Veenker, Vicki; Council, City; h.etzko@gmail.com; George for Palo Alto; Dave Price; Shikada, Ed; Stump, Molly;Sean Allen; Pat M Date:Saturday, March 1, 2025 10:08:53 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. From:Aram James To:Binder, Andrew; Reifschneider, James; Perron, Zachary; Ed Lauing; Shikada, Ed; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver;Cecilia Taylor; Sean Allen; Pat M; Robert.Jonson@shf.sccgov.org; Barberini, Christopher; board@valleywater.org; board@pausd.org; BoardOperations;dennis burns; DuJuan Green; Sarah Wright; Stump, Molly; Bill Newell; Jensen, Eric; Figueroa, Eric; cromero@cityofepa.org; rabrica@cityofepa.org; JoseValle; Council, City; Gerry Gras; Dana St. George; h.etzko@gmail.com; Dave Price; Braden Cartwright; Emily Mibach; EPA Today; Diana Diamond;jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Human Relations Commission; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; ParkRec Commission; Cribbs, Anne; Anna Griffin;Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Sheriff Transparency; Gennady Sheyner; sharon jackson; Lee, Craig; Zelkha,Mila; Mickie Winkler; Kaloma Smith; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Josh Becker;jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23;assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Enberg, Nicholas; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Friends of Cubberley; Roberta Ahlquist; Foley, Michael; George for PaloAlto; Vara Ramakrishnan; Veenker, Vicki; Burt, Patrick; Patrice Ventresca; Donna Wallach; Palo Alto Free Press; Freddie.Quintana@sen.ca.gov;frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Doria Summa; Supervisor Susan Ellenberg; Supervisor Otto Lee; Wagner, April; SteveWagstaffe; Gennady Sheyner; GRP-City Council; Stone, Greer; Greg Tanaka; Lydia Kou; ladoris cordell; Holman, Karen (external); Tom DuBois; JackAjluni; Salem Ajluni; San José Spotlight; Jennifer Morrow San José Spotlight; Jay Boyarsky; Daniel Kottke; Reckdahl, Keith; Roberta Ahlquist; Cait James;Tim James; editor@paweekly.com; Marina Lopez Subject:Chaos in policing only grows under Trump admin Date:Saturday, March 1, 2025 10:01:07 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachmentsand clicking on links. Closing Argument This week's art is by BingGuan. Full work below.BY JAMILES LARTEY A community in Alabama may soon be forced to close its local police department. Last week, a grand jury recommended disbanding the Hanceville Police Department, concluding that it “recently operated as more of a criminal enterprise than a law enforcement agency.” City officials have said they are considering the recommendation, but for now, the department is, in effect, shuttered. Five officers have been arrested, and the entire force has been placed on leave. One state away, a former Rankin County sheriff’s deputy came clean to Mississippi Today this week about his role in a two-decade reign of terror by the department’s “Goon Squad.” The former deputy, Christian Dedmon, said that he and his colleagues regularly brutalized and humiliated suspects, lied in official reports, and frequently seized and destroyed evidence without a warrant during drug raids. Dedmon, like several former deputies from Rankin County, is serving prison time after being convicted last year in the brutal assault and torture of two Black men. Neither case will be shocking to regular readers of this newsletter. Previous editions have highlighted similarly extreme — even cartoonish — instances of police misconduct, corruption and brutality. We have also covered how some of those cases have triggered efforts at reform and accountability. But as the federal government, and to a lesser extent, public opinion, increasingly turns away from concerns over policing — more than four years since protests over police violence overtook the national discourse — the future of police accountability looks uncertain. DONATE Deadly police violence has increased slightly since 2020. Statistics on police killings per capita show a slight but durable increase since the pandemic and George Floyd protests, according to a Marshall Project analysis of the Mapping Police Database. Numbers released this week suggest this trend continued through 2024, even as violent crime rates have largely returned to pre-pandemic levels. Under the Trump administration, the Department of Justice has insinuated that it will no longer pursue the kinds of federal investigations that regularly followed high profile acts of police violence during the Obama and Biden era. President Trump also rescinded an executive order signed by former President Biden in 2022 that established use-of-force restrictions for federal law enforcement and created a national database for tracking misconduct, which all federal law enforcement agencies were required to submit to. Earlier this month, the Trump administration took that database offline, The Washington Post reported. Because of its short lifespan, it’s difficult to assess how effective the database was, or could have been, at its stated goal: preventing officers with a history of serious misconduct from finding new jobs in law enforcement. The single report released about the database in December of last year found that despite nearly 10,000 queries run by officials in the first eight months of 2024, only 25 searches were made by agencies seeking information on an officer from outside their own department. The vast majority of misconduct incidents captured in the database were generated by border enforcement agents and corrections officers in federal prisons, The Appeal reported on Thursday. The executive branch isn’t the only part of the federal government to sidestep a role in police a role in police accountability. This week, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that could have increased the legal responsibility police have to ensure they have the correct address when conducting raids on the homes of crime suspects. These “wrong home” raids can create lasting trauma for the people they ensnare. A lawsuit filed on Tuesday in Denver, for example, alleged that police looking for a man in apartment 307, instead raided apartment 306, and wound up locking a mother and her 5- and 6-year-old daughters in a police car for an hour. In Chicago this month, Anjanette Young is marking the six-year anniversary of a wrong-home raid that made national news. Young was handcuffed and left naked despite explaining to officers that they were in the wrong place. She has since become an advocate for changing the way police approach these kinds of arrests. “Six years since I stood before officers — crying, pleading, afraid — only to be ignored,” Young said at a news conference outside City Hall last week, WBEZ Chicago reported. “And yet I stand here again, afraid and demanding for justice, accountability, still demanding that those in power would keep their promise.” Beyond changes in how law enforcement is (and isn’t) subject to oversight and accountability, developments in recent weeks have also raised some questions about who enters the profession and how they are trained. In New York City, the NYPD announced that it’s lowering its educational hiring standards in response to what officials describe as a recruitment crisis. With new applications down by more than half since 2017, the department is reducing its college credit requirements from 60 to 24 credits — while also reinstating a timed 1.5-mile run requirement that the department dropped in 2023, partly based on the belief it would help more women meet the qualifications. The return of that requirement comes just days after The Associated Press published an investigation which found that at least 29 police recruits have died in training over the past decade, often from heatstroke, excessive physical stress, or underlying medical conditions that were exacerbated by training activities. A disproportionate number of the deaths occurred in Black trainees with the sickle cell trait, a genetic condition which can cause fatal complications under high physical stress in otherwise healthy people. Want more people to know about this? Tell your network. SHARE ON FACEBOOK SHARE ON TWITTER FORWARD TO A FRIEND THE BEST OF THE MARSHALL PROJECT “Tell us something.” Texas plans to execute David Wood on March 13, despite his longstanding innocence claims and new evidence that key witnesses in his trial may have lied under police pressure. One man, who police tried to convince to testify, described that pressure to my colleague Maurice Chammah like this: “David Wood is our suspect,” he recalls the detectives saying. “It’d be best if you tell us something, because we can’t let this guy walk.” Update. On Monday, a U.S. District Judge ordered the Bureau of Prisons not to transfer nine transgender women to men’s prisons. Previously, several transgender women in federal prisons — including a few who have already had gender confirmation surgery — had received word that they would be moved to men’s facilities. My colleague Beth Schwartzapfel has the story. “In your mind, you have to find your freedom.” Jon-Adrian “JJ” Velazquez spent nearly 24 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. But he found a lifeline through acting after joining a theater program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, the basis of the Oscar-nominated film, “Sing Sing.” Now an activist on the outside, also starring in the film, Velazquez tells my colleague Aala Abdullahi how the power of storytelling helped him survive — and why he’s using his platform to help others do the same. Corrections Officer Paul Hoover, left,and Robert “Double-R” Rother, playchess at Boonville CorrectionalCenter in Boonville, Missouri, in2019. Each week, Closing Argumenthighlights the work of an artist withan interest in the criminal justicesystem. This piece is by Bing Guan. Jamiles Lartey is a New Orleans-based staff writer for The Marshall Project. Previously, he worked as a reporter forthe Guardian covering issues of criminal justice, race and policing. Jamiles was a member of the team behind theaward-winning online database “The Counted,” tracking police violence in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, he was named“Michael J. Feeney Emerging Journalist of the Year” by the National Association of Black Journalists. Want fewer emails, or to change which newsletters you're subscribed to? Adjust the email you receive from us byupdating your preferences. If you want to stop getting any email from The Marshall Project at all, unsubscribe at any time. Have Feedback? Reply to this email with your thoughts. This email was sent to abjpd1@gmail.com why did I get this? unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences The Marshall Project · 156 West 56th Street · Studio, 3rd Floor · New York, NY 10019 · USA From:Joyce To:Council, City; letters@padailypost.com Subject:Fire Station 4 Date:Friday, February 28, 2025 10:30:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Honorable City Council Members: This letter is to thank Council Member Greer Stone for his recent words, quoted in the Palo Alto Weekly, 2-28-25: "It seems like we're really prioritizing our budget constrains over community safety. While I complete;y understand the budget constrains are a real problem and I'm well aware of forecasted budget deficits in the future, at the end of the day I think the most basic responsibility of any government is to be able to keep its people safe." In the same article, Fire Captain Sunny Johnson-Gutter said: "The cross staffing method does not work" . And Fire Captain Adam King said: "The problem with cross-staffing is that it looks like the problem is fixed and the problem will not be fixed." The article states that the department tried cross staffing during the Pandemic and "abandoned after deeming it ineffective". It further says that Greer Stone said that the model falls short when it comes to providing South Palo Alto residents with the same kind of protection that other parts of the city enjoy. As a South Palo Alto resident, I am deeply grateful to Mr. Stone for insisting that we be protected as the rest of the City is protected. I do not understand how anyone on the Council can disagree with him. In my view as in his, there is no priority as high as public safety-- that every other item in the city budget comes second to that. There isno excuse for any Palo Alto neighborhood to have only part-time ambulance and fire protection. Thank you, Greer Stone. And thank you to every Palo Alto voter who elected thiscaring, sensible man to the City Council. Sincerely, Joyce Schmid3428 Janice Way Palo Alto, CA 94303 From:Aram James To:Dave Price Cc:Ed Lauing; h.etzko@gmail.com; Veenker, Vicki; Council, City Subject:Watch "ICE Prosecutor EXPOSED As Bigot Behind Racist Social Media Account" on YouTube Date:Friday, February 28, 2025 7:09:04 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. https://youtu.be/86T2MByeMiQ?si=I6YkmpMdkuGiC8TI From:Martin WassermanTo:Aram JamesCc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler;Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell;Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson;Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; SteveWagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev,Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley,Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org;josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen FoxSubject:Re: Questions for Martin & Vicki et al Date:Friday, February 28, 2025 9:23:43 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Are they restricting people from speaking, or from violently disrupting the lives of other students? On Feb 27, 2025, at 10:49 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: Above poster hot off the press. Produced by Internationally acclaimed political poster maker Doug Minkler ( co-produced by Gail Wiley). DougMinkler Gunn HS Grad-class of 1967 On Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote:Aram, The key insight of Judaism is that the world is governed by God, not man. Regarding the land of Israel, it belongs to the Almighty, and He gives itto whomever He pleases. At this time in history, He is taking it away from the Arabs and returning it to the Jews in fulfillment of the promise Hemade to them many centuries ago. Regarding “Palestine,” the idea of Palestinian Arabs as a distinct national group with a legitimate claim to theland of Israel is a bogus myth fabricated in the 1960s for the sole purpose of undermining the legitimate Jewish claim. Having summed up myposition, I'll now attempt to address your questions. 1. If Jews have influence in the media, they've earned it by ability and hard work. Such success should be a source of pride, not embarrassment. 2. The issues of US aid to Israel and supporting underserved communities at home are totally separate and should not be conflated. 3. Honest criticism of Israel is legitimate, slanderous falsehoods of the type you engage in are not. 4. People who have dual citizenship with Israel should come under no more suspicion than people who have dual citizenship with any othercountry. 5. I would characterize Hamas as a murder-suicide cult that cares nothing for human lives, including their own. They believe that killing Jews willguarantee them entrance into heaven. The Almighty will be the final judge of that, but they're certainly not fighting for anybody's freedom andthey've certainly shown no interest in improving the lives of the people they rule. 6. Flying the Palestinian flag is equivalent to calling for the destruction of Israel, since the entire basis of Palestinian nationalism is opposition toIsrael’s existence. 7. International organizations that judge Israel by very harsh standards and judge Israel’s enemies by very lenient standards definitely lackcredibility. 8. First, Palestine isn't a nation. Second, Israel is an ally of the US, while the Palestinians are declared enemies of the US. The US should supportits friends and oppose its enemies. 9. Israel stole nothing from the Palestinians because the Palestinians never owned it. There was never any Palestinian political entity that governedthe land. It was always a backwater province of larger empires until the Jews finally returned and reestablished their ancient nation there. Also,you seem to be advocating ethnic cleansing of Jews, which you would surely denounce as a war crime if it were carried out against Palestinians. 10. Israel owes nothing to the Palestinians, who have continued to insist on war, even though Israel has offered very generous terms for peace.Also, your reference to "vile settlers" is what a psychologist would call “projection,” transferring your own vileness to the ones you hate. 11. Israel is not a member of the ICC and has no reason to accept its judgments, especially since many of its members have clear ideologicalbiases. 12. See answer to #11. Sincerely,Martin Wasserman On Feb 27, 2025, at 3:35 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: Martin & Vicki, Please consider trying your hand at answering a few of the questions I drafted today. Anyone else who feels so moved feel free to dothe same. Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James 2/27/2025 1. Is U.S. mainstream media under the influence of Israeliinterests? Is it influenced by the Jewish lobby? Yes or No?Please provide your reasoning. 2. Should the billions in U.S. military aid sent to Israel eachyear instead be used to support our underservedcommunities? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 3. Is criticism of the state of Israel, which some label as aterrorist state, a form of antisemitism? Yes or No? Pleaseprovide your reasoning. 4. Should political leaders, including city council members,who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel bequestioned about whether their primary loyalty lies withIsrael or the U.S.? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 5. Would it be fair to characterize Hamas as freedomfighters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 6. Is proudly flying the Palestinian flag an act ofantisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 7. Do all international human rights organizations and nationsthat condemn Israel as war criminals lack credibility? Arethey all antisemitic or Israel haters? Yes or No? Pleaseprovide your reasoning. 8. Given that U.S. Billions have Allowed Israel to have nuclear weapons, a robust army, navy and Airforce would it make sensefor the U.S. To Now Pour Billions into the nation of Palestine to fund Palestine with an army, Navy, airforce and nuclearweapons? Wouldn’t arming the Palestinians in this fashion act to deter Israel from its Terrorist ways? Yes, No.Your reasoning. 9. While Israel takes responsibility by way of reparations to rebuild Gaza would it only be appropriate for Israelis to live in Gazaand in exchange, until Gaza is rebuilt, require Israelis to abandon the entirety of the land that Israel stole from the Palestinians in1948? In other words, deport all Israelis to Gaza until it is rebuilt to the liking of Palestinian people. The Palestinians would, at leastuntil rebuilding is complete, if not permanently, occupy TelAviv and the remainder of the land now called Israel ? Yes, No. Your reasoning. 10. Agree that in a showing of good faith Israel must immediately leave, permanently, the West Bank, abandon all settlements, andreplace all Palestinian housing destroyed by the vile settlers and IOF, the Israeli Occupying Forces? Yes, No. Your reasoning 11. Turn over all accused IOF ( Israel Occupying Forces) war criminals, to the ICC ( International Criminal Court) for war crimes trials. Yes, No. Yourreasoning. 12. Turn over all accused Israeli war criminals, politicans and military leaders to the ICC for trial. Yes, No. Reasoning. Sincerely, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote:Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusations in every public forum you can find. If you're so deadset against genocide, why do you never criticize Hamas, which has an explicit policy of genocide against Jews? The fact thatyou’ve consistently evaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know your positions are indefensible, and that yourvendetta against Israel has more to do with personal reasons than with any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want todiscuss with me or debate with me which side in this conflict favors life and which side favors death, I'll be happy to oblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with right now. I get that. That is your choice, nor will I arguewith you. You well know my position on your obligation as a political leader, attorney and as a human being to speakout against the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trump administration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gazato develop a Mediterranean Rivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtube video that I first sent around last night.Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February 24, 2025) at our city council meeting regarding item #8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:Nick BrosnahanTo:Zafarali AhmedCc:Council, City; Transportation Subject:Re: Lack of bike racks on ECR Date:Friday, February 28, 2025 7:46:15 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. It might be worth asking the restaurants themselves to add bike parking. At least it might get them to put pressure on the city as well.Also, if you show up on a bike and there's no parking, it's maybe possible to just bring your bike inside. Enough of those, and the restaurant will definitelywant to do something about it. On Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 9:57 AM Zafarali Ahmed <zafarali.ahmed@gmail.com> wrote:Dear city council, Congrats on your forward thinking to approve the upcoming bike lanes on El Camino. I have already been using the stretch between Stanford Ave and Real Produce Intlgrocery store more frequently than ever before! I was wondering if the city is putting any new bike parking on the rest of the street? There are several blocks that have no bike parking which makes going to restaurantsthere impossible. For example, between Fernando Ave and Portage Ave there are two restaurants I want to visit (Indo and Red Hot Wok) and there doesn't seem to be anybike parking nearby. Thank you,Zafarali -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SVBC El Camino Real" group.To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to elcaminoreal+unsubscribe@bikesiliconvalley.org.To view this discussion visithttps://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/elcaminoreal/CAHMCQtKVienCP82f3ZAAONgRg9_R5VY%2BEN9v2K1sxVC1YNZG_g%40mail.gmail.com.For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/optout. From:Aram James To:Martin Wasserman Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen Fox Subject:Re: Questions for Martin & Vicki et al Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:50:18 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Above poster hot off the press. Produced by Internationally acclaimed political poster makerDoug Minkler ( co-produced by Gail Wiley). Doug Minkler Gunn HS Grad-class of 1967 On Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 8:26 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote:Aram, The key insight of Judaism is that the world is governed by God, not man. Regarding theland of Israel, it belongs to the Almighty, and He gives it to whomever He pleases. At thistime in history, He is taking it away from the Arabs and returning it to the Jews infulfillment of the promise He made to them many centuries ago. Regarding “Palestine,” theidea of Palestinian Arabs as a distinct national group with a legitimate claim to the land ofIsrael is a bogus myth fabricated in the 1960s for the sole purpose of undermining thelegitimate Jewish claim. Having summed up my position, I'll now attempt to address yourquestions. 1. If Jews have influence in the media, they've earned it by ability and hard work. Suchsuccess should be a source of pride, not embarrassment. 2. The issues of US aid to Israel and supporting underserved communities at home aretotally separate and should not be conflated. 3. Honest criticism of Israel is legitimate, slanderous falsehoods of the type you engage inare not. 4. People who have dual citizenship with Israel should come under no more suspicion thanpeople who have dual citizenship with any other country. 5. I would characterize Hamas as a murder-suicide cult that cares nothing for human lives,including their own. They believe that killing Jews will guarantee them entrance intoheaven. The Almighty will be the final judge of that, but they're certainly not fighting foranybody's freedom and they've certainly shown no interest in improving the lives of thepeople they rule. 6. Flying the Palestinian flag is equivalent to calling for the destruction of Israel, since theentire basis of Palestinian nationalism is opposition to Israel’s existence. 7. International organizations that judge Israel by very harsh standards and judge Israel’senemies by very lenient standards definitely lack credibility. 8. First, Palestine isn't a nation. Second, Israel is an ally of the US, while the Palestinians are declared enemies of the US. The US should support its friends and oppose its enemies. 9. Israel stole nothing from the Palestinians because the Palestinians never owned it. Therewas never any Palestinian political entity that governed the land. It was always a backwater province of larger empires until the Jews finally returned and reestablished their ancientnation there. Also, you seem to be advocating ethnic cleansing of Jews, which you would surely denounce as a war crime if it were carried out against Palestinians. 10. Israel owes nothing to the Palestinians, who have continued to insist on war, eventhough Israel has offered very generous terms for peace. Also, your reference to "vile settlers" is what a psychologist would call “projection,” transferring your own vileness to theones you hate. 11. Israel is not a member of the ICC and has no reason to accept its judgments, especially since many of its members have clear ideological biases. 12. See answer to #11. Sincerely,Martin Wasserman On Feb 27, 2025, at 3:35 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: Martin & Vicki, Please consider trying your hand at answering a few of the questions I drafted today. Anyone else who feels so moved feel free to do the same. Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James 2/27/2025 1. Is U.S. mainstream media under the influence of Israeli interests? Is it influenced by the Jewish lobby? Yes or No?Please provide your reasoning. 2. Should the billions in U.S. military aid sent to Israel each year instead be used to support our underservedcommunities? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 3. Is criticism of the state of Israel, which some label as a terrorist state, a form of antisemitism? Yes or No? Pleaseprovide your reasoning. 4. Should political leaders, including city council members, who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel be questioned about whether their primary loyalty lies withIsrael or the U.S.? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 5. Would it be fair to characterize Hamas as freedom fighters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 6. Is proudly flying the Palestinian flag an act ofantisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 7. Do all international human rights organizations and nations that condemn Israel as war criminals lack credibility? Arethey all antisemitic or Israel haters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 8. Given that U.S. Billions have Allowed Israel to have nuclear weapons, arobust army, navy and Airforce would it make sense for the U.S. To Now Pour Billions into the nation of Palestine to fund Palestine with an army, Navy,airforce and nuclear weapons? Wouldn’t arming the Palestinians in this fashion act to deter Israel from its Terrorist ways? Yes, No.Your reasoning. 9. While Israel takes responsibility by way of reparations to rebuild Gaza would it only be appropriate for Israelis to live in Gaza and in exchange, untilGaza is rebuilt, require Israelis to abandon the entirety of the land that Israel stole from the Palestinians in 1948? In other words, deport all Israelis to Gazauntil it is rebuilt to the liking of Palestinian people. The Palestinians would, at least until rebuilding is complete, if not permanently, occupy TelAviv and the remainder of the land now called Israel ? Yes, No. Your reasoning. 10. Agree that in a showing of good faith Israel must immediately leave,permanently, the West Bank, abandon all settlements, and replace all Palestinian housing destroyed by the vile settlers and IOF, the Israeli OccupyingForces? Yes, No. Your reasoning 11. Turn over all accused IOF ( Israel Occupying Forces) war criminals, to the ICC ( International Criminal Court) for war crimes trials. Yes, No. Your reasoning. 12. Turn over all accused Israeli war criminals, politicans and military leadersto the ICC for trial. Yes, No. Reasoning. Sincerely, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com>wrote: Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusationsin every public forum you can find. If you're so dead set against genocide, why do you never criticize Hamas, which has an explicit policy of genocideagainst Jews? The fact that you’ve consistently evaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know your positions are indefensible, and thatyour vendetta against Israel has more to do with personal reasons than with any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want to discuss with me ordebate with me which side in this conflict favors life and which side favors death, I'll be happy to oblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with rightnow. I get that. That is your choice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position on your obligation as a politicalleader, attorney and as a human being to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trumpadministration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gaza to develop a Mediterranean Rivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtubevideo that I first sent around last night. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February24, 2025) at our city council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:Aram James To:Stump, Molly; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; h.etzko@gmail.com; Marty Wasserman; Templeton, Cari; The Office ofMayor Matt Mahan; Council, City; GRP-City Council; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; city.council@menlopark.gov;Doug Minkler; Zahra Billoo; Bill Newell; Jennifer Morrow San José Spotlight; Holman, Karen (external);Drekmeier, Peter; Tom DuBois; EPA Today; cromero@cityofepa.org; Cribbs, Anne; Braden Cartwright;jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; ladoris cordell Cc:Figueroa, Eric; Jensen, Eric; Roberta Ahlquist; Lee, Craig; Shikada, Ed; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; Pat M; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Roberta Roth; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Emily Mibach Subject:The FBI, ICE, and the IDF collaborate to conduct suveillance of pro-Palestinian activists. Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:05:16 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Campus Police Are Using Israeli SpyTech to Crack Down on Student Protes https://truthout.org/articles/campus-police-are-using-israeli-spy-tech-to-crack-down-on-student-protest/ From:Arlene & Peter Rosenblum To:Council, City Cc:Arlene Rosenblum Subject:February 27th message relating to bikers Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:49:12 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Council members, I have questions and concerns which are linked to safety issues. I understand the need for bikers (and scooters) toride on the sidewalks on Middlefield Rd.. and throughout much of the town. The students at Greene Middle Schoolride fast and often two abreast leaving no room for pedestrians. Most fail to indicate that they are behind walkers orintending to pass but instead swerve around them. I am also in a quandary as to why bikers at night(riding on the sidewalk and in the street) are not required to haveheadlights and tail lights, since they are vehicles and are difficult to see as a pedestrian (as well as in a vehicle,unless headlights shine on them). I hope the town, schools and police department will look into this very dangerous situation. with appreciation,Arlene Rosenblum2551 Middlefield Rd. Palo Alto94301 From:Martin Wasserman To:Aram James Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen Fox Subject:Re: Questions for Martin & Vicki et al Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 8:26:57 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Aram, The key insight of Judaism is that the world is governed by God, not man. Regarding the landof Israel, it belongs to the Almighty, and He gives it to whomever He pleases. At this time in history, He is taking it away from the Arabs and returning it to the Jews in fulfillment of thepromise He made to them many centuries ago. Regarding “Palestine,” the idea of Palestinian Arabs as a distinct national group with a legitimate claim to the land of Israel is a bogus mythfabricated in the 1960s for the sole purpose of undermining the legitimate Jewish claim. Having summed up my position, I'll now attempt to address your questions. 1. If Jews have influence in the media, they've earned it by ability and hard work. Suchsuccess should be a source of pride, not embarrassment. 2. The issues of US aid to Israel and supporting underserved communities at home are totally separate and should not be conflated. 3. Honest criticism of Israel is legitimate, slanderous falsehoods of the type you engage in arenot. 4. People who have dual citizenship with Israel should come under no more suspicion than people who have dual citizenship with any other country. 5. I would characterize Hamas as a murder-suicide cult that cares nothing for human lives,including their own. They believe that killing Jews will guarantee them entrance into heaven. The Almighty will be the final judge of that, but they're certainly not fighting for anybody'sfreedom and they've certainly shown no interest in improving the lives of the people they rule. 6. Flying the Palestinian flag is equivalent to calling for the destruction of Israel, since the entire basis of Palestinian nationalism is opposition to Israel’s existence. 7. International organizations that judge Israel by very harsh standards and judge Israel’senemies by very lenient standards definitely lack credibility. 8. First, Palestine isn't a nation. Second, Israel is an ally of the US, while the Palestinians aredeclared enemies of the US. The US should support its friends and oppose its enemies. 9. Israel stole nothing from the Palestinians because the Palestinians never owned it. There was never any Palestinian political entity that governed the land. It was always a backwaterprovince of larger empires until the Jews finally returned and reestablished their ancient nation there. Also, you seem to be advocating ethnic cleansing of Jews, which you would surelydenounce as a war crime if it were carried out against Palestinians. 10. Israel owes nothing to the Palestinians, who have continued to insist on war, even though Israel has offered very generous terms for peace. Also, your reference to "vile settlers" is whata psychologist would call “projection,” transferring your own vileness to the ones you hate. 11. Israel is not a member of the ICC and has no reason to accept its judgments, especially since many of its members have clear ideological biases. 12. See answer to #11. Sincerely,Martin Wasserman On Feb 27, 2025, at 3:35 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: Martin & Vicki, Please consider trying your hand at answering a few of the questions I drafted today. Anyone else who feels so moved feel free to do the same. Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James 2/27/2025 1. Is U.S. mainstream media under the influence of Israeli interests? Is it influenced by the Jewish lobby? Yes or No?Please provide your reasoning. 2. Should the billions in U.S. military aid sent to Israel each year instead be used to support our underservedcommunities? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 3. Is criticism of the state of Israel, which some label as a terrorist state, a form of antisemitism? Yes or No? Pleaseprovide your reasoning. 4. Should political leaders, including city council members, who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel be questioned about whether their primary loyalty lies withIsrael or the U.S.? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 5. Would it be fair to characterize Hamas as freedom fighters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 6. Is proudly flying the Palestinian flag an act ofantisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 7. Do all international human rights organizations and nations that condemn Israel as war criminals lack credibility? Arethey all antisemitic or Israel haters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 8. Given that U.S. Billions have Allowed Israel to have nuclear weapons, arobust army, navy and Airforce would it make sense for the U.S. To Now Pour Billions into the nation of Palestine to fund Palestine with an army, Navy,airforce and nuclear weapons? Wouldn’t arming the Palestinians in this fashion act to deter Israel from its Terrorist ways? Yes, No.Your reasoning. 9. While Israel takes responsibility by way of reparations to rebuild Gaza would it only be appropriate for Israelis to live in Gaza and in exchange, untilGaza is rebuilt, require Israelis to abandon the entirety of the land that Israel stole from the Palestinians in 1948? In other words, deport all Israelis to Gaza until it isrebuilt to the liking of Palestinian people. The Palestinians would, at least until rebuilding is complete, if not permanently, occupy TelAviv and the remainder of the land now called Israel ? Yes, No. Your reasoning. 10. Agree that in a showing of good faith Israel must immediately leave,permanently, the West Bank, abandon all settlements, and replace all Palestinian housing destroyed by the vile settlers and IOF, the Israeli Occupying Forces? Yes,No. Your reasoning 11. Turn over all accused IOF ( Israel Occupying Forces) war criminals, to the ICC ( International Criminal Court) for war crimes trials. Yes, No. Your reasoning. 12. Turn over all accused Israeli war criminals, politicans and military leaders tothe ICC for trial. Yes, No. Reasoning. Sincerely, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com>wrote: Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusations inevery public forum you can find. If you're so dead set against genocide, why do you never criticize Hamas, which has an explicit policy of genocide againstJews? The fact that you’ve consistently evaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know your positions are indefensible, and that your vendettaagainst Israel has more to do with personal reasons than with any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want to discuss with me or debate withme which side in this conflict favors life and which side favors death, I'll be happy to oblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with rightnow. I get that. That is your choice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position on your obligation as a political leader,attorney and as a human being to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trump administration’s proposedethic cleansing of Gaza to develop a Mediterranean Rivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtube video that I first sent around lastnight. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February24, 2025) at our city council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:Aram James To:Martin Wasserman Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen Fox; Donna Wallach; Raymond Goins; rabrica@cityofepa.org; cromero@cityofepa.org; Raj Jayadev; Jennifer Morrow San José Spotlight; Cecilia Taylor; GRP-City Clerk; city.council@menlopark.gov; Braden Cartwright Subject:Re: Questions for Martin & Vicki et al Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 4:49:59 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. On Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: Martin & Vicki, Please consider trying your hand at answering a few of the questions I drafted today.Anyone else who feels so moved feel free to do the same. Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James 2/27/2025 1. Is U.S. mainstream media under the influence of Israeliinterests? Is it influenced by the Jewish lobby? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 2. Should the billions in U.S. military aid sent to Israel eachyear instead be used to support our underserved communities? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 3. Is criticism of the state of Israel, which some label as aterrorist state, a form of antisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 4. Should political leaders, including city council members,who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel be questioned about whether their primary loyalty lies withIsrael or the U.S.? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 5. Would it be fair to characterize Hamas as freedom fighters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 6. Is proudly flying the Palestinian flag an act ofantisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 7. Do all international human rights organizations and nations that condemn Israel as war criminals lack credibility? Arethey all antisemitic or Israel haters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 8. Given that U.S. Billions have Allowed Israel to have nuclear weapons, a robust army,navy and Airforce would it make sense for the U.S. To Now Pour Billions into the nation of Palestine to fund Palestine with an army, Navy, airforce and nuclear weapons?Wouldn’t arming the Palestinians in this fashion act to deter Israel from its Terrorist ways? Yes, No.Your reasoning. 9. While Israel takes responsibility by way of reparations to rebuild Gaza would it only be appropriate for Israelis to live in Gaza and in exchange, until Gaza is rebuilt, requireIsraelis to abandon the entirety of the land that Israel stole from the Palestinians in 1948? In other words, deport all Israelis to Gaza until it is rebuilt to the liking of Palestinian people. The Palestinians would, at least until rebuilding is complete, if not permanently, occupy Tel Aviv and the remainder of the land now called Israel ? Yes, No. Your reasoning. 10. Agree that in a showing of good faith Israel must immediately leave, permanently, theWest Bank, abandon all settlements, and replace all Palestinian housing destroyed by the vile settlers and IOF, the Israeli Occupying Forces? Yes, No. Your reasoning 11. Turn over all accused IOF ( Israel Occupying Forces) war criminals, to the ICC ( International Criminal Court) for war crimes trials. Yes, No. Your reasoning. 12. Turn over all accused Israeli war criminals, politicans and military leaders to the ICC fortrial. Yes, No. Reasoning. Sincerely, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote:Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusations in everypublic forum you can find. If you're so dead set against genocide, why do you nevercriticize Hamas, which has an explicit policy of genocide against Jews? The fact thatyou’ve consistently evaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know yourpositions are indefensible, and that your vendetta against Israel has more to do withpersonal reasons than with any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want to discuss with me or debate with me which side in this conflict favors life and which sidefavors death, I'll be happy to oblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with right now. I getthat. That is your choice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position on your obligation as a political leader, attorney and as a humanbeing to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trump administration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gaza to develop aMediterranean Rivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtube video that I first sent around last night. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoinggenocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February 24, 2025) at our city council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:Aram James To:Martin Wasserman Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen Fox Subject:Questions for Martin & Vicki et al Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 3:36:14 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Martin & Vicki, Please consider trying your hand at answering a few of the questions I drafted today. Anyoneelse who feels so moved feel free to do the same. Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James 2/27/2025 1. Is U.S. mainstream media under the influence of Israeliinterests? Is it influenced by the Jewish lobby? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 2. Should the billions in U.S. military aid sent to Israel eachyear instead be used to support our underserved communities? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 3. Is criticism of the state of Israel, which some label as aterrorist state, a form of antisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 4. Should political leaders, including city council members,who hold dual citizenship in the U.S. and Israel be questioned about whether their primary loyalty lies withIsrael or the U.S.? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 5. Would it be fair to characterize Hamas as freedom fighters? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 6. Is proudly flying the Palestinian flag an act ofantisemitism? Yes or No? Please provide your reasoning. 7. Do all international human rights organizations and nationsthat condemn Israel as war criminals lack credibility? Are they all antisemitic or Israel haters? Yes or No? Pleaseprovide your reasoning. 8. Given that U.S. Billions have Allowed Israel to have nuclear weapons, a robust army, navy and Airforce would it make sense for the U.S. To Now Pour Billions into the nation ofPalestine to fund Palestine with an army, Navy, airforce and nuclear weapons? Wouldn’t arming the Palestinians in this fashion act to deter Israel from its Terrorist ways? Yes, No.Your reasoning. 9. While Israel takes responsibility by way of reparations to rebuild Gaza would it only be appropriate for Israelis to live in Gaza and in exchange, until Gaza is rebuilt, require Israelis toabandon the entirety of the land that Israel stole from the Palestinians in 1948? In other words, deport all Israelis to Gaza until it is rebuilt to the liking of Palestinian people. The Palestinianswould, at least until rebuilding is complete, if not permanently, occupy Tel Aviv and the remainder of the land now called Israel ? Yes, No. Your reasoning. 10. Agree that in a showing of good faith Israel must immediately leave, permanently, theWest Bank, abandon all settlements, and replace all Palestinian housing destroyed by the vile settlers and IOF, the Israeli Occupying Forces? Yes, No. Your reasoning 11. Turn over all accused IOF ( Israel Occupying Forces) war criminals, to the ICC ( International Criminal Court) for war crimes trials. Yes, No. Your reasoning. 12. Turn over all accused Israeli war criminals, politicans and military leaders to the ICC fortrial. Yes, No. Reasoning. Sincerely, Avram Finkelstein aka Aram James On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM Martin Wasserman <deeperlook@aol.com> wrote:Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusations in every publicforum you can find. If you're so dead set against genocide, why do you never criticizeHamas, which has an explicit policy of genocide against Jews? The fact that you’veconsistently evaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know your positionsare indefensible, and that your vendetta against Israel has more to do with personal reasonsthan with any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want to discuss with me ordebate with me which side in this conflict favors life and which side favors death, I'll behappy to oblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with right now. I get that.That is your choice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position onyour obligation as a political leader, attorney and as a human being to speak outagainst the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trumpadministration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gaza to develop a MediterraneanRivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtube video that I first sent around lastnight. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide inPalestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February 24, 2025) atour city council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:Nat Fisher To:David price Cc:Council, City; Shikada, Ed Subject:city council last meeting Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 12:35:48 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Last Monday's City Council meeting was NOT televised. The man in the booth in the chambers told me that it was because Comcast was down. But all the other Comcast channels were normal. Did you know that the meeting was not on TV? I expected a story about this.​Natalie ​​ From:Henry Etzkowitz To:Ellen Fox; Firoozeh Dastmalchi; Mark Granovetter; Ian.irwin@sbcglobal.net; Irina Dezhina; Aviva Lev-Ari; AvrohShah; Lotus Fong; Brian Good; Rebecca Eisenberg; Jeanne Fleming; Marty Wasserman; Gennady Sheyner; PaloPost; Office of the Provost; Braden Cartwright; Sarah Wright; Mary Rorty Cc:Council, City; Shikada, Ed; Office of the Provost; Roberta Ahlquist Subject:Fwd: A Senior example for you to take to heart! Suggest rewatch wizard of Oz; reread JFK Profiles in Courage.Cheers, Henry, Neighbors for environmental and social justice Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 11:54:17 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Re: Council withdrawal from its intention to respond to Trump Administration’sunconstitutional actions (at least to date) re firing government employees, exemplified by actions of Palo Alto firm official, Elon Musk, noted locally for unpermitted pour of toxicchemicals: called before Judge Monahan 20 June Superior Court, San Jose. Believe these matters fall within the Council’s purview, even if it has abjured its responsibilities to interveneon issues beyond municipal boundaries that nevertheless are of great concern to Palo Altans. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: Henry Etzkowitz <H.Etzko@gmail.com>Date: February 27, 2025 at 9:24:30 AM PSTTo: City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>, Cari Templeton for Council<votecariforcouncil@gmail.com>, Jeanne Fleming <jfleming@right-thing.net>, Tatyana Kanzaveli <tkanzaveli@gmail.com>, Rebecca Eisenberg<rebecca@rebecca4water.com>, Lotus Fong <lyfong@pacbell.net>, Jim Hersh <hershjim2@gmail.com>Cc: Office of the Provost <provost@stanford.edu>, Roberta Ahlquist <finnroberta@gmail.com>, Rebecca Eisenberg <rebecca@rebecca4water.com>,Heidi Roizen <heidi@heidiroizen.com>, Avroh Shah <avrohshah@gmail.com>, annecribbs <acribbs@basoc.org>, Brian Good <snug.bug@hotmail.com>,Hannah Lu <hannahlu00@gmail.com>, Carol Kiparsky <ckiparsky@gmail.com>Subject: A Senior example for you to take to heart! Suggest rewatch wizardof Oz; reread JFK Profiles in Courage. Cheers, Henry, Neighbors forenvironmental and social justice Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: HDC Team <info@hollywooddemocrats.com>Date: February 26, 2025 at 12:35:07 PM PSTTo: h.etzko@gmail.comSubject: RE: Woke just means you give a damn.Reply-To: info@hollywooddemocrats.com Hollywood Democrats Charles, the attacks over Jane’s fiery speech at the SAG Awards started the second she stepped off the stage on Sunday night. Fox News, right-wing pundits, and Trump’s goons all want the same thing: for us to sit down and shut up. They want us to stop fighting — for workers, the climate, democracy, and basic human decency. But Jane’s not backing down. She used her moment to call for unity and resistance against Trump’s authoritarian agenda. And she needs to know if you’re with her. If you missed Jane’s powerful message yesterday, read it below — then if you can, chip in to fuel the resistance and elect bold leaders who will defend our communities against Donald Trump. DONATE NOW >> The stakes are too high to sit this out. - HollywoodDemocrats.com Team --- Jane Fonda’s Original Message to You --- HENRY, let’s set the record straight - When I took the stage to accept the SAG Life Achievement Award, I used my moment to speak about something bigger than Hollywood. I talked about workers’ rights. I talked about the strength of unions and community, and why we need more empathy -- not less -- in a world that’s trying to pull us apart. In Donald Trump’s view, empathy is a weakness. Caring about others is something to mock. It’s “woke.” Well, I made sure to remind everyone watching: Woke just means you give a damn about other people. And predictably, the right-wing outrage machine is already losing its mind over it. Good. Let them. Because we’re not backing down. The truth is, if you care about the planet, about democracy, about your neighbors -- you’re “woke” in their eyes. If you refuse to let billionaires like Elon Musk and power-hungry politicians like Donald Trump strip away progress, you’re “woke.” If you’re willing to resist, they see you as “woke.” Trump and Musk are terrified of movements like ours -- of people who won’t back down and refuse to let billionaires and authoritarians decide the future for the rest of us. That’s why they attack. That’s why they lash out. Because deep down, they know the truth: We are powerful. Every time we organize and protest, we prove that this country doesn’t belong to the few at the top. It belongs to all of us. But only if we’re willing to fight for it. I need you with me. If we’re going to keep up this fight — for our rights, our climate, and each other — we need all hands on deck. Can you donate to Jane Fonda Climate PAC and HollywoodDemocrats.com today to fuel the resistance and help elect leaders at every level of government who will fight back against Donald Trump’s chaos in Washington? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately, split evenly between Jane Fonda Climate PAC and HollywoodDemocrats.com: CHIP IN $24 NOW CHIP IN $75 NOW CHIP IN $150 NOW CHIP IN $300 NOW CHIP IN $500 NOW OTHER AMOUNT Onward, xx Jane P.S. If you haven’t seen my full speech yet, you can watch it here. And if you have, share it. Let’s make sure they hear us. I meant every word. And I won’t apologize for it. SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY HOLLYWOODDEMOCRATS.COM, WWW.HOLLYWOODDEMOCRATS.COM, AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name oraddress, or to stop receiving emails from HollywoodDemocrats.com, please click here. From:Amie AshtonTo:Zafarali AhmedCc:Council, City; Transportation Subject:Re: Lack of bike racks on ECR Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 10:54:48 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Ohhhh so well said my friend! Let's put this in our comments on the bike plan too. Amie On Thu, Feb 27, 2025, 10:57 AM Zafarali Ahmed <zafarali.ahmed@gmail.com> wrote:Dear city council, Congrats on your forward thinking to approve the upcoming bike lanes on El Camino. I have already been using the stretch between Stanford Ave and Real Produce Intlgrocery store more frequently than ever before! I was wondering if the city is putting any new bike parking on the rest of the street? There are several blocks that have no bike parking which makes going to restaurantsthere impossible. For example, between Fernando Ave and Portage Ave there are two restaurants I want to visit (Indo and Red Hot Wok) and there doesn't seem to be anybike parking nearby. Thank you,Zafarali -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SVBC El Camino Real" group.To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to elcaminoreal+unsubscribe@bikesiliconvalley.org.To view this discussion visithttps://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/msgid/elcaminoreal/CAHMCQtKVienCP82f3ZAAONgRg9_R5VY%2BEN9v2K1sxVC1YNZG_g%40mail.gmail.com.For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/a/bikesiliconvalley.org/d/optout. From:Zafarali Ahmed To:Council, City; Transportation Subject:Lack of bike racks on ECR Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:57:31 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear city council, Congrats on your forward thinking to approve the upcoming bike lanes on El Camino. I have already been using the stretch between Stanford Ave and Real Produce Intl grocery store morefrequently than ever before! I was wondering if the city is putting any new bike parking on the rest of the street? There are several blocks that have no bike parking which makes going to restaurants there impossible.For example, between Fernando Ave and Portage Ave there are two restaurants I want to visit (Indo and Red Hot Wok) and there doesn't seem to be any bike parking nearby. Thank you,Zafarali From:Christopher Grierson To:Council, City Cc:Mike Jacobs; jlsadmin Subject:JLS Middle School 2024-25 Comprehensive School Safety Plan Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:48:44 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello Mayor Lauing and Vice Mayor Veenker, As part of our annual safety review, I wanted to inform you that JLS has recently approved ournew 2024-25 Safety Plan through our School Site Council, and we wanted to share the final draft of our plan with you. It is linked here. Please let us know if you have any questions. Best regards, Chris Grierson, JLS PrincipalPhone: (650) 856-5188 x5495 From:Henry Etzkowitz To:Council, City; Cari Templeton for Council; Jeanne Fleming; Tatyana Kanzaveli; Rebecca Eisenberg; Lotus Fong;Jim Hersh Cc:Office of the Provost; Roberta Ahlquist; Rebecca Eisenberg; Heidi Roizen; Avroh Shah; Cribbs, Anne; Brian Good; Hannah Lu; Carol Kiparsky Subject:A Senior example for you to take to heart! Suggest rewatch wizard of Oz; reread JFK Profiles in Courage. Cheers,Henry, Neighbors for environmental and social justice Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 9:24:38 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: HDC Team <info@hollywooddemocrats.com>Date: February 26, 2025 at 12:35:07 PM PSTTo: h.etzko@gmail.comSubject: RE: Woke just means you give a damn.Reply-To: info@hollywooddemocrats.com  Hollywood Democrats Charles, the attacks over Jane’s fiery speech at the SAG Awards started the second she stepped off the stage on Sunday night. Fox News, right-wing pundits, and Trump’s goons all want the same thing: for us to sit down and shut up. They want us to stop fighting — for workers, the climate, democracy, and basic human decency. But Jane’s not backing down. She used her moment to call for unity and resistance against Trump’s authoritarian agenda. And she needs to know if you’re with her. If you missed Jane’s powerful message yesterday, read it below — then if you can, chip in to fuel the resistance and elect bold leaders who will defend our communities against Donald Trump. DONATE NOW >> The stakes are too high to sit this out. - HollywoodDemocrats.com Team --- Jane Fonda’s Original Message to You --- HENRY, let’s set the record straight - When I took the stage to accept the SAG Life Achievement Award, I used my moment to speak about something bigger than Hollywood. I talked about workers’ rights. I talked about the strength of unions and community, and why we need more empathy -- not less -- in a world that’s trying to pull us apart. In Donald Trump’s view, empathy is a weakness. Caring about others is something to mock. It’s “woke.” Well, I made sure to remind everyone watching: Woke just means you give a damn about other people. And predictably, the right-wing outrage machine is already losing its mind over it. Good. Let them. Because we’re not backing down. The truth is, if you care about the planet, about democracy, about your neighbors -- you’re “woke” in their eyes. If you refuse to let billionaires like Elon Musk and power-hungry politicians like Donald Trump strip away progress, you’re “woke.” If you’re willing to resist, they see you as “woke.” Trump and Musk are terrified of movements like ours -- of people who won’t back down and refuse to let billionaires and authoritarians decide the future for the rest of us. That’s why they attack. That’s why they lash out. Because deep down, they know the truth: We are powerful. Every time we organize and protest, we prove that this country doesn’t belong to the few at the top. It belongs to all of us. But only if we’re willing to fight for it. I need you with me. If we’re going to keep up this fight — for our rights, our climate, and each other — we need all hands on deck. Can you donate to Jane Fonda Climate PAC and HollywoodDemocrats.com today to fuel the resistance and help elect leaders at every level of government who will fight back against Donald Trump’s chaos in Washington? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately, split evenly between Jane Fonda Climate PAC and HollywoodDemocrats.com: CHIP IN $24 NOW CHIP IN $75 NOW CHIP IN $150 NOW CHIP IN $300 NOW CHIP IN $500 NOW OTHER AMOUNT Onward, xx Jane P.S. If you haven’t seen my full speech yet, you can watch it here. And if you have, share it. Let’s make sure they hear us. I meant every word. And I won’t apologize for it. SUPPORT THIS CAMPAIGN PAID FOR BY HOLLYWOODDEMOCRATS.COM, WWW.HOLLYWOODDEMOCRATS.COM, AND NOT AUTHORIZED BY ANY CANDIDATE OR CANDIDATE’S COMMITTEE. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from HollywoodDemocrats.com, please click here. From:Alon TalTo:Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.orCc:Council, City; Aleeza SchoenbergSubject:Request to Cooperate with Stanford Conference on “Climate Resilience and Local Government Policy: Lessons from Los Angeles and Tel Aviv”Date:Thursday, February 27, 2025 7:54:26 AMAttachments:PastedGraphic-1.pngMayor Ed Lauing, Cooperation with Conference on Climate Resilience, US 2025.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. February 26, 2025 The Honorable Ed Lauing, MayorPalo Alto, California Dear Mayor Lauing: On May 29th and 30th Stanford University will be hosting an academic conference on the topic of “Climate Resilience and Local Government Policy: Lessons from Los Angeles and Tel Aviv.” The conference is organized byStanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability along with the Israel Studies Program at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. I am writing to you to ask the city of Palo Alto to considercooperating with our conference and helping to host a delegation of Israeli municipal officials and experts on May 28th who will be visiting prior to the gathering. After the recent fires in Los Angeles, we felt the issue of climate resilience to be of particular relevance. Despite their differences in size and geography, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv historically have been sister cities. They alsoface similar challenges in addressing the adverse impacts of rapid climate change. We believe that studying these two cities side by side can provide valuable insights into how climate strategies can be adapted across differentscales and contexts. Accordingly, the conference will bring together eminent experts in municipal environmental management from the U.S. and Israel to discuss issues like: • Water management in water-scarce cities • Local approaches to addressing sea level rise • Fire prevention strategies in Mediterranean climates • The role of trees and shading in enhancing the thermal comfort of cities • Identifying and supporting vulnerable populations in urban environments.The Israeli delegation should include roughly 15 experts in this area. The city of Palo Alto has many unique and important initiatives in the sustainability realm – from its recycling program to advanced wastewater purification technologies, to the city’s conscientious cycling promotion to theecological rewilding of the Baylands. We believe that the visiting Israeli delegation would learn a great deal and benefit from exposure to such initiatives. Of course, the cost of bringing the delegation to Palo Alto would becovered by our conference. But we would hope that experts on your staff might be able to dedicate a little time to explanations and discussions with their colleagues. I would be very happy to speak to you or a representative of the City of Palo about this initiative in greater detail. We truly hope that this kind of professional collaboration will be possible. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Dr. Alon TalConference Chair cc. Aleeza Scheonberg, Conference Coordinator (Tel. 505-620-0012) Alon Tal Visiting Professor and Israel Fellow Stanford University +1-505-620-0012 alontal@stanford.edu CENTER ON DEMOCRACY, DEVELOPMENT AND THE RULE OF LAW · ENCINA HALL · 616 JANE STANFORD WAY · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · STANFORD, CA 94305-6055 February 26, 2025 The Honorable Ed Lauing, Mayor Palo Alto, California Dear Mayor Lauing: On May 29th and 30th Stanford University will be hosting an academic conference on the topic of “Climate Resilience and Local Government Policy: Lessons from Los Angeles and Tel Aviv.” The conference is organized by Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability along with the Israel Studies Program at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. I am writing to you to ask the city of Palo Alto to consider cooperating with our conference and helping to host a delegation of Israeli municipal officials and experts on May 28th who will be visiting prior to the conference. After the recent fires in Los Angeles, we felt the issue of climate resilience to be of particular relevance. Despite their differences in size and geography, Los Angeles and Tel Aviv historically have been sister cities. They also face similar challenges in addressing the adverse impacts of rapid climate change. We believe that studying these two cities side by side can provide valuable insights into how climate strategies can be adapted across different scales and contexts. Accordingly, the conference will bring together eminent experts in municipal environmental management from the U.S. and Israel to discuss issues like: • Water management in water-scarce cities • Local approaches to addressing sea level rise • Fire prevention strategies in Mediterranean climates • The role of trees and shading in enhancing the thermal comfort of cities • Identifying and supporting vulnerable populations in urban environments. The Israeli delegation should include roughly 15 experts in this area. The city of Palo Alto has many unique and important initiatives in the sustainability realm – from its recycling program to advanced wastewater purification technologies, to the city’s conscientious cycling promotion to the ecological rewilding of the Baylands. We believe that the visiting Israeli delegation would learn a great deal and benefit from exposure to such initiatives. Of course, the cost of bringing the delegation to Palo Alto would be covered by our conference. But we would hope that experts on your staff might be able to dedicate a little time to explanations and discussions with their colleagues. I would be very happy to speak to you or a representative of the City of Palo about this initiative in greater detail. We truly hope that this kind of professional collaboration will be possible. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Dr. Alon Tal Conference Chair (Tel. 505-620-0012) From:Matt Schlegel To:palo-alto@fridaysforfutureusa.org; fridaysforfuturepaloalto@gmail.com Subject:FFF Follow Up – Feb 21 (Week #163) Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 9:13:28 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. We celebrated Rick’s 80th birthday with some delicious vegan pizza from Pizza My Heart. Happy birthday, Rick! We appreciate all your contributions and activism. Folake brought her friend Toyin who is visiting from the UK. Toyin focuses on investing in clean energy projects, and she is working with UK energy firm that will be doing a project in California. Meanwhile, Folake continues her focus on social and environmental justice education and is organizing a panel discussion on gender equity for Women’s Day (March 8) and Women’s History Month. Sign up for the event here. Thanks to you both for the great work you’re doing! Kathleen joined us for the first time. She recounted her activism with the League of Women Voters which focus on have people register to vote and them encouraging them to get to the polls. A former schoolteacher, she was dismayed with the lack of civics education in the curriculum, so she focuses on getting people to vote. Now she wants to promote more civic education and engagement. We do, too! Thanks for joining us, Kathleen! We also celebrated the 2/14 action on the overpass that David and his partner Stephanie organized. You can view great photos of the event by Jim Colton of Pro Bono Photo here. You can find pictures of the 2/16 action in front of Tesla here. David is energized by the numerous actions going on around the Bay Area. You can find photos of the many events on the Pro Bono website. David also encourages us to visit Congressman Sam Liccardo, who is hosting a town hall this Friday 2/28 evening: 5:30PM at West Valley College, 14000 Fruitvale Ave in Saratoga. David encourages us to communicate our displeasure about do-nothing Democrats in as pleasant a tone as possible. He is happy to provide transportation to the event. Thanks, David and Stephanie! Nicholas, who attended Ohlone Elementary in Palo Alto, learned about the Muwekma Ohlone in school and is eager to keep learning. Thanks for joining us, Nicholas! Casey looks forward to attending the Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action meeting in Cupertino where Senator Josh Becker plans to speak. By the way, if you are interested in taking a quick action, call the Senator’s office at 916-651-4013 and ask him to co-author the Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Bill introduced by Sen. Menjivar in the CA Senate (Bill number SB 684). Thanks, Casey, for holding the senator’s feet to the fire! Ingrid is burning the candle at both ends conducting multiple interviews a week for her upcoming book. Thanks, Ingrid, for your energy and enthusiasm for this amazing project! Pria joined George this week and shared her concerns about the carbon footprint of flying and of making new cars, electric or gas. Yes, we need both to stop flying and to stop buying new cars. George and Pria set a good example for us—thanks to you both! Robin remains upset as our democracy decays into oligarchy and the billionaires conduct a smash and grab campaign on our national civil service. Thanks for keeping this emergency top of mind! Brigitta expressed her concern about the endangered nuclear plant in Ukraine and the likelihood of another Chernobyl disaster if the plant is compromised. She is also concerned about how so many US scientists are being silenced and fired. Thanks, Brigitta for raising the alarm. Daly and Climate Defiance disrupted Larry Summers talk at Stanford for over 10 minutes. Not used to being disrupted, Summers called for punishing these students. See the courageous protest here: https://youtu.be/249apgr74hM I included the text of the press release in the video description so that you can understand why it’s so important to make climate criminal Larry Summers feel uncomfortable wherever he goes. Thanks to the Climate Defiance action! Wow, do you feel the energy building in our movement? I have not felt this energized in a while! When we and our allies have a common enemy attacking our core values – social justice, diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging and preserving a habitable biosphere – it provides focus for movement building. Thanks to everyone for bringing your energy to this moment! This Friday, is BUY NOTHING DAY! Plan ahead and buy nothing on Friday. Also, let’s choreography our upcoming first-Friday Climate March (in March). Keep Up the Fight and See You Friday! R-E-S-I-S-T! Photos and Videos of Recent Actions FFF Feb 21: https://photos.app.goo.gl/R6LidFi31m8oxQsv5 Matt’s Video of Larry Summer Protest 2/25: https://youtu.be/249apgr74hM Climate Defiance Media of Protest of Larry Summers 2/25: Summers 2/25 - Google Drive Anti-Musk action at Tesla 2/16 (Pro Bono Photo): https://www.probonophoto.org/2025/16Feb25PA-MuskProtest Indivisible action on 2/14 (Pro Bono Photo): https://www.probonophoto.org/2025/14Feb25PA-RESIST Upcoming Events Friday, February 28, Noon to 1:00: Climate Strike! and BUY NOTHING DAY –– Join us for our weekly climate action at Palo Alto City Hall King Plaza. Let’s plan to buy nothing on Friday 2/28. Friday March 7, Noon to 1:00: Climate March! –– We meet at King Plaza in front of Palo Alto City Hall and march through downtown Palo Alto. Saturday, March 8 at 1:30PM to 4:30 PM: Women in Action 2025: Gender Equity, Community, Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability. Sign up for the event here. Monday, March 10, 2PM: Our Cultural Shift in Values – A Spiral Dynamics’ Perspective. Matt presents the Spiral Dynamics Values Systems Framework and facilitates a discussion on how US society’s values have shifted due to the fear of climate collapse and the vast immiseration caused by gross wealth inequality. The talk will be held at Menlo Commons. Everyone welcome. Monday, March 10 at 5pm: Make Polluters Pay campaign meeting. Register for the meeting here. Friday April 18, 5:00 to 6:30PM: Earth Day Rally –– Rally, Speakers, Music by the Climate Strikers! and others. Palo Alto City Meetings: https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/Departments/City-Clerk/City-Meeting-Groups/Meeting-Agendas-and-Minutes Climate Community Center: https://climatecommunitycenter.org/ Peninsula Peace and Justice Center calendar: https://peaceandjustice.org/events-calendar/ What We Are Reading/Watching/Listening to: Good Climate News with Alaina Wood: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/kPiliUhvXD0 Heat Pump Water Heater Program Update As of:1/31 1/8 12/3 11/7 10/1 HPWH full-service interest list signups 1307 1277 1260 1247 1175 Site assessment agreements (SAA) sent 1307 1277 1260 1247 1175 Signed SAAs 1075 1050 1027 1016 953 Completed site assessments 996 973 943 924 874 Installations Total Full Service HPWHs installed 393 383 368 357 342 Total DIY HPWH installed 98*103 103 103 99 Total Emergency HPWH installations 11 9 8 4 Total HPWHs installed 502 495 479 464 441 Target Installations 1000 1000 1000 1000 1000 Monthly Installation Rate Monthly Installation Rate 7 16 15 23 17 Target Monthly Installation Rate 83 83 83 83 83 *There was a slight downward correction in the total installations for 2024. Follow Fridays For Future Palo Alto: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fridaysforfuture_paloalto/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Fri4Future_PA YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FridaysForFuturePaloAlto Email notifications of FFF Palo Alto events: https://mailchi.mp/c8c130127345/join-fridays-for-future-palo-alto You are receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in supporting climate action in Palo Alto. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please let me know. Matt Schlegel Schlegel Consulting 650-924-8923 Author: Teamwork 9.0 Website: evolutionaryteams.com YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCLkUMHuG4HVa831s9yeoZ5Q From:Martin Wasserman To:Aram James Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; Ellen Fox Subject:Re: Watch "Why Are Soldiers Mass Resigning from U.S. Military Over Israel?" on YouTube Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 8:53:02 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Aram, I see you’re continuing your habit of slandering Israel with false accusations in every publicforum you can find. If you're so dead set against genocide, why do you never criticize Hamas, which has an explicit policy of genocide against Jews? The fact that you’ve consistentlyevaded direct questions that I put to you tells me that you know your positions are indefensible, and that your vendetta against Israel has more to do with personal reasons thanwith any honest evaluation of the conflict. Anytime you want to discuss with me or debate with me which side in this conflict favors life and which side favors death, I'll be happy tooblige. Martin Wasserman On Feb 26, 2025, at 5:45 PM, Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote: 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with right now. I get that.That is your choice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position on your obligation as a political leader, attorney and as a human being to speak outagainst the genocide in Gaza and the West Bank and the Trump administration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gaza to develop a Mediterranean Rivera. I ask you towatch the below Youtube video that I first sent around last night. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February 24, 2025) at ourcity council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:stephanie werner To:Council, City Subject:Re: Please pass resolution opposing Trump Exec Orders Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 6:41:39 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. I just wanted to express my appreciation for the council working together to create a strong response that will help protect our city. While I understand not wanting to 'poke the bear', now is not the time to be timid, and fear is not a strategy. We need a plan in place so that we can react nimbly and smartly if and when it's necessary. Respectlfully, Stephanie Compton On Friday, February 21, 2025 at 05:50:06 PM PST, Stephanie Compton <stephanie_werner@yahoo.com> wrote: Dear Mayor and Members of the Palo Alto City Council, I am writing to express my strong support for the resolution opposing recent executive orders from former President Trump, as referenced in the Palo Alto Online article dated February 14, 2025. I urge you to take a firm stand in defense of our community’s values of democracy, inclusion, and human rights. These executive orders threaten the fundamental freedoms and protections that make Palo Alto a welcoming and just place for all. Now more than ever, it is essential that our local government acts decisively to protect our residents and push back against policies that undermine our shared values. I commend the City Council for taking a leadership role in resisting unjust federal actions and ensuring that Palo Alto remains a city that values equity, diversity, and the rule of law. Please continue to stand strong in the face of these challenges and do everything in your power to uphold the rights and dignity of all members of our community. Thank you for your commitment to justice and fairness. I respectfully urge you to pass this resolution and take further steps to shield our city from harmful federal overreach. Sincerely, Stephanie Compton Sent from my iPhone From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com; Gerry Gras; Dave Price; Dana St. George; EPA Today; Diana Diamond; Gennady Sheyner; Blackshire,Geoffrey; Jasso, Tamara; editor@almanacnews.com; Ed Lauing; Council, City; Bill Newell; Stump, Molly; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; board@pausd.org; board@valleywater.org; BoardOperations; Lydia Kou; Lu, George; ladoris cordell; Holman,Karen (external); Jay Boyarsky; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Vicki Veenker; Burt, Patrick Subject:Re: How Safe is Your Home Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 6:35:11 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM Henry Etzkowitz <h.etzko@gmail.com> wrote: Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:U From: Henry Etzkowitz <H.Etzko@gmail.com>Date: February 26, 2025 at 5:47:46 PM PSTTo: John Salois <amat721@outlook.com>Cc: Office of the Provost <provost@stanford.edu>, CityCouncil<city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>Subject: Re: How Safe is Your Home Yes, it does ThanksSuggest as member of Advisory group support proposal for cistern, widespreadingsprinkler system (used to create sodden Agora, aka great lawn, in illegal, futile,attempt to impede candidate debate/discussion 2024 City Council election. Nevertheless, Saris Regis Stanford’s oak creek management agent, serendipitouslyidentified a wildfire protection system. Best Hen Sent from my iPhone On Feb 26, 2025, at 4:26 PM, John Salois <amat721@outlook.com>wrote:  Thought this might interest you. From: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning <info@sensiblezoning.org> Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 10:00 AM To: Dear John <amat721@outlook.com> Subject: How Safe is Your Home View this email in your browser For registration & more information https://pasz.com/townhall Please help us support this event https://pasz.org/donate red button link to donation page Copyright (C) 2025 *Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning*. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning PO Box 305, Palo Alto, CA 94302 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe From:Henry EtzkowitzTo:Office of the Provost; Joe Penko; Rebecca Eisenberg; Roberta Ahlquist; Lotus Fong; Brian Good; Jim Hersh; JeanneFleming; Avroh Shah; Gennady Sheyner; Palo Post; Marty Wasserman; Braden Cartwright; Sarah Wright; Ellen Fox;Mary Rorty; Council, City; Hannah Lu; mickie winkler; Charlie Weidanz; Whitney McNair; Shikada, Ed; Mark Granovetter;Bette Kiernan; Roseline Rasolovoahangy; Dr. Gloria Hom; Aram James; Heidi Roizen; Team JulieforPaloAltoSubject:Fwd: How Safe is Your HomeDate:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 6:25:27 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message:U From: Henry Etzkowitz <H.Etzko@gmail.com> Date: February 26, 2025 at 5:47:46 PM PSTTo: John Salois <amat721@outlook.com>Cc: Office of the Provost <provost@stanford.edu>, CityCouncil<city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>Subject: Re: How Safe is Your Home Yes, it does ThanksSuggest as member of Advisory group support proposal for cistern, widespreadingsprinkler system (used to create sodden Agora, aka great lawn, in illegal, futile, attempt to impede candidate debate/discussion 2024 City Council election. Nevertheless, Saris Regis Stanford’s oak creek management agent, serendipitouslyidentified a wildfire protection system. Best Hen Sent from my iPhone On Feb 26, 2025, at 4:26 PM, John Salois <amat721@outlook.com>wrote: Thought this might interest you. From: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning <info@sensiblezoning.org> Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 10:00 AM To: Dear John <amat721@outlook.com> Subject: How Safe is Your Home View this email in your browser For registration & more information https://pasz.com/townhall Please help us support this event https://pasz.org/donate red button link to donation page Copyright (C) 2025 *Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning*. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning PO Box 305, Palo Alto, CA 94302 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe From:Henry EtzkowitzTo:John SaloisCc:Office of the Provost; Council, CitySubject:Re: How Safe is Your HomeDate:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 5:47:57 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Yes, it does ThanksSuggest as member of Advisory group support proposal for cistern, widespreading sprinkler system (used to create sodden Agora, aka great lawn, in illegal, futile, attempt to impedecandidate debate/discussion 2024 City Council election. Nevertheless, Saris Regis Stanford’s oak creek management agent, serendipitously identified a wildfire protection system. Best Henry Sent from my iPhone On Feb 26, 2025, at 4:26 PM, John Salois <amat721@outlook.com> wrote: Thought this might interest you. From: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning <info@sensiblezoning.org> Sent: Monday, February 24, 2025 10:00 AM To: Dear John <amat721@outlook.com> Subject: How Safe is Your Home View this email in your browser For registration & more information https://pasz.com/townhall Please help us support this event https://pasz.org/donate red button link to donation page Copyright (C) 2025 *Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning*. All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Palo Altans for Sensible Zoning PO Box 305, Palo Alto, CA 94302 Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe From:Aram James To:Veenker, Vicki Cc:Gennady Sheyner; Gerry Gras; Don Austin; Dana St. George; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Binder, Andrew; EPA Today; Michelle; Emily Mibach; Mickie Winkler; Doug Minkler; Templeton, Cari; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Council, City; board@pausd.org; Jay Boyarsky; board@valleywater.org; John Burt; BoardOperations; Palo Alto Free Press; Friends of Cubberley; ladoris cordell; Rodriguez, Miguel; Damon Silver; Kaloma Smith; Henry Etzkowitz; h.etzko@gmail.com; editor@paweekly.com; Nicole Chiu-Wang; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Pat M; sharon jackson; Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; GRP-City Council; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Zelkha, Mila; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Jessica Speiser; Roberta Ahlquist; Steve Wagstaffe; Cait James; Tim James; Wagner, April; Lewis James; Reifschneider, James; Diana Diamond; planning.commission@cityofpaloalto.0rg; ParkRec Commission; Human Relations Commission; Enberg, Nicholas; Barberini, Christopher; Afanasiev, Alex; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Stump, Molly; Daniel Kottke; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; Dennis Upton; dennis burns; Roberta Roth; Salem Ajluni; Jack Ajluni; Foley, Michael; Marina Lopez; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; Patrice Ventresca; Lu, George; chuck jagoda; Rowena Chiu; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; jay.boyarsky@da.sccgov.org; josh@joshsalcman.com; Linda Jolley; Marty Wasserman; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan Subject:Watch "Why Are Soldiers Mass Resigning from U.S. Military Over Israel?" on YouTube Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 5:46:05 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. 2/27/2025 Hi Vicki, I’m sure I'm the last person you might want to speak with right now. I get that. That is yourchoice, nor will I argue with you. You well know my position on your obligation as a political leader, attorney and as a human being to speak out against the genocide in Gaza and the WestBank and the Trump administration’s proposed ethic cleansing of Gaza to develop a Mediterranean Rivera. I ask you to watch the below Youtube video that I first sent around lastnight. Please consider breaking your silence on the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Sincerely, Aram P.S. Also, I stand by my comments made last Monday( February 24, 2025) at our city council meeting regarding item # 8. https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=X95SUceKCIRma56f From:herb To:Planning Commission Cc:Architectural Review Board; Council, City; Clerk, City Subject:February 26, 2025 P&TC Meeting, Item #3: 70 Encina Avenue [24PLN-00095] Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 2:27:59 PM Attachments:Attachment #1.pdfAttachment #2.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. FEBRUARY 26, 2025 PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSIONMEETING AGENDA ITEM #3: 70 ENCINA AVENUE [24PLN-00095] I urge you to remove this item from your agenda, because thisitem violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)and the City of Palo Alto Zoning Code [Palo Alto Municipal Code(PAMC) Title 18]. CEQA Violation CEQA provides regulations for evaluating the environmentaleffects of a project. CEQA Regulation 15378(a) says "'Project' means the whole of anaction ..." and CEQA Regulation 15378(c) says "The term'project' refers to the activity which is being approved andwhich may be subject to several discretionary approvals bygovernmental agencies. The term 'project' does not mean eachseparate governmental approval." (See Attachment #1). The item for 70 Encina Avenue reviewed by the ArchitecturalReview Board (ARB) on February 6, 2025 and this agenda item donot include the application for a Tentative Map for the subjectproperty. On February 11, 2025, the applicant submitted an applicationfor a Tentative Map for the subject property [25PLN-00034]. (See Attachment #2.) CEQA Regulation 15378 prohibits processing the Tentative Mapapplication as a separate "project" from the application thatappeared on the February 6, 2025 ARB agenda and that is thesubject of this item on your agenda. Considering this agenda item tonight is a prejudicial abuse ofdiscretion and a violation of CEQA. The item needs to return to the ARB to consider and act on theentire project, including both the rezoning application and thetentative map application, after which the item can then appearon your agenda. Zoning Code Violation The evaluation of the project assumes that the City Counciladopted PHZ regulations that modify the existing PC Zone District Regulations. PAMC Chapter 18.80 "Amendments to ZoningMap and Zoning Regulations" is the only legal way to create PHZregulations either as an amendment to the existing PC ZoneDistrict regulations or as a new general purpose zone district. PAMC Chapter 18.80 is also the only legal way to amend theZoning Map to designate properties subject to thoseregulations. The failure to abide by the procedures of PAMC Chapter 18.80 isthe basis for a separate cause of action alleging that theprocessing of the subject application is a prejudicial abuse ofdiscretion and a violation of CEQA. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Herb Borock. From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com; Daniel Kottke; Reckdahl, Keith; Ed Lauing; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for CaliforniaDemocratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; Jeff Hayden; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; Veenker, Vicki;Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Council, City; Michelle; Mickie Winkler; Josh Becker;assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Bill Newell; board@pausd.org;board@valleywater.org; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Diana Diamond; EPA Today;cromero@cityofepa.org; Cribbs, Anne; Anna Griffin; Templeton, Cari; Braden Cartwright; Cait James; Tim James;Marina Lopez; Pat M; Sean Allen; sharon jackson; Shikada, Ed; BoardOperations; boardfeedback@smcgov.org;Steve Wagstaffe; Sarah Wright; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan Subject:Re: When the USA gets attacked - YouTube Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 9:17:24 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Please watch! Very short but makes its point. Thanks On Wed, Feb 26, 2025 at 6:30 AM Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> wrote:When the USA gets attacked - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZSSfCV735aEhttps://m.youtube.com/shorts/ZSSfCV735aE From:Aram James To:h.etzko@gmail.com; Daniel Kottke; Reckdahl, Keith; Ed Lauing; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for CaliforniaDemocratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; Jeff Hayden; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; Veenker, Vicki;Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Council, City; Michelle; Mickie Winkler; Josh Becker;assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Bill Newell; board@pausd.org;board@valleywater.org; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Dave Price; Diana Diamond; EPA Today;cromero@cityofepa.org; Cribbs, Anne; Anna Griffin; Templeton, Cari; Braden Cartwright; Cait James; Tim James;Marina Lopez; Pat M; Sean Allen; sharon jackson; Shikada, Ed; BoardOperations; boardfeedback@smcgov.org;Steve Wagstaffe; Sarah Wright; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan Subject:When the USA gets attacked - YouTube Date:Wednesday, February 26, 2025 6:30:38 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. When the USA gets attacked - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ZSSfCV735aEhttps://m.youtube.com/shorts/ZSSfCV735aE From:Aram James To:Reckdahl, Keith; Ed Lauing; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, AssemblyDistrict 23; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; h.etzko@gmail.com; Kaloma Smith; Reckdahl, Keith; Henry Etzkowitz;board@pausd.org; Bill Newell; Mickie Winkler; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Sean Allen; Pat M; Friends of Cubberley; DavePrice; EPA Today; Diana Diamond; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; Steve Wagstaffe; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky;Veenker, Vicki; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; GRP-City Council; Council, City; board@valleywater.org; BoardOperations;Binder, Andrew; Roberta Ahlquist; Robert.Jonson@shf.sccgov.org; Perron, Zachary; Reifschneider, James;Wagner, April; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Foley, Michael; Josh Becker;assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Zelkha, Mila Subject:Watch "A brief history of how Palestinians have resisted in Gaza | Norman Finkelstein | UNAPOLOGETIC" on YouTube Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:34:19 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. https://youtu.be/Pa426LEahfQ?si=YYbRifczlOKJNmms From:Aram James To:Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23; Josh Becker;board@pausd.org; Mickie Winkler; h.etzko@gmail.com; josh@joshsalcman.com; kamhialison@gmail.com;Reckdahl, Keith; Ed Lauing; Michelle; Templeton, Cari; Cribbs, Anne; Anna Griffin; Council, City; Perron, Zachary;Clerk, City; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Friends of Cubberley; Gardener, Liz; Liz Kniss; NicoleChiu-Wang; Sarah Wright; Sean Allen; Dave Price; Jeff Rosen; Jeff Hayden; Jay Boyarsky; Jeff Conrad; GerryGras; Dana St. George; Don Austin; Yolanda Conaway; Palo Alto Free Press; EPA Today;jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Damon Silver; Rodriguez, Miguel; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; DianaDiamond; Freddie.Quintana@sen.ca.gov; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; PatriceVentresca; Burt, Patrick; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Pat M; Marty Wasserman; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Veenker,Vicki; Lu, George Subject:Watch "Why Are Soldiers Mass Resigning from U.S. Military Over Israel?" on YouTube Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:28:03 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Why Israel may collapse! Check this Youtube out!!! https://youtu.be/FVEjv6L9jtI?si=Uebay2wcZdRBwT4V From:Alan Marcum To:Council, City Subject:Resolutions Regarding City Values Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 6:27:38 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. I enthusiastically support Council taking a strong, leadership stance in voicing our City’s values and interests and opposing those administrative actions by the Trump administrationthat are contrary to those values and interests. If we do not stand up for our values, who will? If we do not strongly voice our opinions in opposing the illegal executive orders of the Trump administration, cutting and eliminatingfunding to critical programs to support the public welfare, attacking those most vulnerable in our population, who will? Appeasement is a path to failure. - Alan (pronouns: he/him/his) From:John Slafsky To:Council, City Subject:80 Willow project Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 5:58:42 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. TO: PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL I am writing to encourage the council and city to seriously consider all available steps tooppose the planned development at 80 Willow Road in Menlo Park, adjacent to the DowntownNorth and Crescent Park neighborhoods. The planned development is very likely to result in adverse consequences for residents of PaloAlto, including consequences for our environment (the San Francisquito Creek) and for ourhealth and safety (such as from delayed first-responder and other law enforcement times). Thedevelopment is also very likely to create various forms of public nuisance, as a result ofdramatic spikes in vehicle traffic along the key thoroughfare of Middlefield Road,among other places. To protect residents from the inevitable harms that this development will cause, the counciland city should explore *as soon as possible* any and all legal remedies for blocking theplanned construction. Thank you for your consideration. John SlafskyPalo Alto, CA P.S. Please redact this email address from any public record of this submission. From:Loran Harding To:Loran Harding; alumnipresident@stanford.edu; antonia.tinoco@hsr.ca.gov; Shanetta Anderson; David Balakian;beachrides; bearwithme1016@att.net; boardmembers; bballpod; fred beyerlein; Leodies Buchanan;carloslawnservice14@gmail.com; Cathy Lewis; Council, City; dennisbalakian; Doug Vagim;dallen1212@gmail.com; kdeem.electriclab@gmail.com; eappel@stanford.edu; Scott Wilkinson;George.Rutherford@ucsf.edu; Gabriel.Ramirez@fresno.gov; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; Irv Weissman; SallyThiessen; jerry ruopoli; Joel Stiner; karkazianjewelers@gmail.com; kfsndesk; Mayor; MY77FJ@gmail.com;margaret-sasaki@live.com; maverickbruno@sbcglobal.net; merazroofinginc@att.net; Mark Standriff; newsdesk;nick yovino; news@fresnobee.com; russ@topperjewelers.com; Steve Wayte; terry; tsheehan;vallesR1969@att.net; yicui@stanford.edu Subject:Fwd: Big News- Stanford test for Sepsis Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 5:08:00 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org>Date: Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 1:28 PM Subject: Big News- Stanford test for SepsisTo: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Tuesday, February 25, 2025 To all- IMPORTANT: One third of the people who die in hospitals die of sepsis. This new test will save a lot oflives: FDA clears sepsis test that significantly reduces life-or-death diagnosis time | StanfordReport L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. From:Lizzie DeKraai To:Council, City Subject:Please support robust zoning for housing Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 2:26:19 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Honorable Mayor Lauing and City Council, My name is Lizzie DeKraai and I am an English teacher at Paly. This is my 9th year in Palo Alto and my 8th year teaching at Paly. I am disappointed at the slow rate we are zoning for, approving, and building new housing in our city. I moved to Palo Alto nine years ago after grad school because my now-husband got an internship in Menlo Park. We knew nothing of the Bay Area, but found an apartment we could barely afford in Palo Alto (2750$ for a 1 bedroom) that allowed pets. This was not an easy find! We lived paycheck to paycheck, maxing out credit cards in order to live, for years. In 2021, the landlord passed away, and the new ones raised the rent so much we had to move. Finding a comparable place to live took months and we now pay 3600 a month for a two bedroom built in 1941. It is falling apart, and is more than half of my monthly paycheck, but I hope to be able to live here for a very long time. Last year, the owners of our building - who live in Hong Kong - decided to put the whole lot on the market, so we were subject to tours and constant stress that it would be sold, forcing us to move. Thankfully they took it off the market but the threat that we will lose our home looms over us every single day. I just checked Zillow and there are literally no rentals in Palo Alto right now for a 2 bedroom apartment or home under $4000 that allows dogs. It is a precarious market for renters. There are not enough places to live! There just aren't. I want to live here, to be able to walk to work, to be close to my students' musical performances, football games, and plays. I am one of three English teachers at Paly who live in the city. I will not qualify for the teacher housing, although I am happy it's being built. It's still not enough. You must not give in to pressure from people afraid of diversity and inclusion. What better way to stand up to Trump and attacks on people of color and the poor than to make our city a place where more can live and thrive? Instead of symbolic gestures, commit to material change. Please expand incentives in the Housing Incentive Program for affordable and market-rate projects. Be ambitious with the zoning standards so more people can live here. Lessen the parking requirements and go much taller on heights especially in areas that already have tall buildings. I want more students in my school, younger neighbors who I can relate to, colleagues who I can socialize with on weekends, and bustling neighborhood businesses and restaurants. Please be brave and make decisions so that Palo Alto becomes a city where more and different kinds of people can live and thrive. Thank you, Lizzie DeKraai From:Fred Balin To:Council, City; Blackshire, Geoffrey; Shikada, Ed Cc:Gennady Sheyner; bcartwright@padailypost.com; Dave Price Subject:"Correcting the Record" Re: Former (SLAC) Fire Station 7 Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:10:15 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Thank you all for last night’s informative, probing, and important discussion on firedepartment staffing as part of the mid-year budget review. I did want to add a clarification to one part of Council Member Burt’s historical discussion regarding PAFD personnel: It is true that the 2011 closure of Fire Station 7, situated on the Stanford Linear Accelerator(SLAC) site on Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, did result in a reduction of 9 firefighter positions. However, that reduction in personnel had a negligible impact on response times inPalo Alto. Why? Because the City’s contract with Stanford stipulated that Station 7’s role was to house a fire engine to be the first responder to all SLAC emergencies, and if for any reason Fire Engine 7left SLAC, the department was required to backfill the site within 10 minutes! This offsite time limit and the station's distance to Palo Alto neighborhoods explains why Engine Company 7 made a “run” on average less than once every three days, while theaverage of all the other 6 Type I Fire Engines in PA and Stanford were 3.2 runs per day and the average time Engine 7 spent on each run was far less that the other 6 fire engines. (Data isfrom the 2011 contracted Fire Services, Resources & Utilization Study) Chief Blackshire, as a former Fire Captain at Station 7, kindly correct or add to anything I have written above as needed. Thank you, -Fred Balin2385 Columbia Street From:Lauren Swezey To:Council, City Subject:Very disappointed in your recent action! Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 11:08:31 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council members, I am extremely disappointed in your decision to "[walk] back a proposed resolution that wouldhave placed the city at the vanguard of resistance to White House efforts to slash federal staff, revoke grants and punish sanctuary cities"* This shows extreme weakness on the part of the City Council. Trump is destroying ourcountry and we must take a stance against him. You have failed our city. Palo Alto native and current resident, Lauren Swezey *Published in Palo Alto Online View this email in your browser Visit us on www.lwvpaloalto.org, Facebook, and Instagram From:LWV Palo Alto (Eblast)To:Council, CitySubject:Join National Economic Blackout on Feb 28Date:Tuesday, February 25, 2025 9:41:42 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. Join LWV of Palo Alto National Economic Blackout on February 28 In response to the rollback of federal DEI initiatives, The League of Women Voters is joining the 24-hour economic blackout on February 28 organized by The People's Union USA. On February 28, participants pledge not to purchase online or in brick-and- mortar stores. We encourage members to avoid buying anything that day unless it's from a small, local business. Especially avoiding large companies rolling back or eliminating their DEI programs, including Target, Walmart, McDonald's, and Amazon. Stay Informed! Sign Up for LWV California & LWVUS News & Alerts Click here to sign up for Email News and Action Alerts from LWVUS Facebook Website Instagram Copyright © 2025 League of Women Voters Palo Alto, All rights reserved. From Voter Recipient List Our mailing address is: League of Women Voters Palo Alto 3921 E Bayshore Rd Ste 209 Palo Alto, CA 94303-4303 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can unsubscribe from this list. From:Aram James To:Ed Lauing; Reckdahl, Keith; Josh Becker; assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov; Supervisor SusanEllenberg; Zelkha, Mila Cc:Veenker, Vicki; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Dave Price; Emily Mibach; Braden Cartwright; EPA Today; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; Yolanda Conaway; Don Austin; bos@smcgov.org; board@valleywater.org; board@pausd.org; Sean Allen; Pat M; Council, City; Friends of Cubberley; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Palo Alto Free Press; Dana St. George; Gerry Gras; Binder, Andrew; Reifschneider, James; Cait James; Tim James; Marina Lopez; Afanasiev, Alex; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Barberini, Christopher; cromero@cityofepa.org; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; Raj Jayadev; Jose Valle; Gardener, Liz; Lotus Fong; Figueroa, Eric; Kaloma Smith; Burt, Patrick; Gennady Sheyner; Diana Diamond; Human Relations Commission; planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; ParkRec Commission; Marty Wasserman; editor@paweekly.com; City Attorney; Stump, Molly; Patrice Ventresca; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Bill Newell; Damon Silver; Rodriguez, Miguel; Vara Ramakrishnan; Baker, Rob; Roberta Ahlquist; Robert. Jonsen; Steve Wagstaffe; Nicole Chiu-Wang; Enberg, Nicholas; Rowena Chiu; Freddie.Quintana@sen.ca.gov; Van Le; Mickie Winkler; Wagner, April; yolanda; Perron, Zachary; Cribbs, Anne; Templeton, Cari; Michelle; Dennis Upton; chuck jagoda; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan; GRP-City Council; citycouncil@mountainview.gov; Anna Griffin; DuJuan Green; dennis burns Subject:AB 1468: The California Jewish Legislative Caucus Introduces an Ethnic Studies Bill to Censor Public Education onIsrael and Palestine Once again, a new proposed California law aims to protect Israel’s complete impunity withinU.S. society and public e... Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 11:20:15 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. AB 1468: The California Jewish Legislative Caucus Introduces an Ethnic Studies Bill to Censor Public Education on Israel and Palestine Once again, a new proposed California law aims to protect Israel’s complete impunity within U.S. society and public education. https://open.substack.com/pub/nadiarahman/p/ab-1468-the-california-jewish-legislative?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web From:Jean Pressey To:Council, City Subject:Housing Zoning Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 8:31:10 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Mayor and Councilmentbers, We desperately need more affordable housing in Palo Alto. I bought my first house here for less than $100,000, obviously many years ago.But housing costs have gone up at a faster rate than most salaries. It diminishes our community to have only rich people able to afford homes. Please meet the housing element requirements. Sincerely, Jean Pressey From:Susan Setterholm To:Council, City Cc:Palo Forward Subject:Support for robust housing changes Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 7:08:22 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Council members, I support robust changes in the laws so Palo Alto has more housing, particularly for moderate and low incomeresidents. Years ago I lived and worked in Palo Alto. The address my then boyfriend bought for $80,000 is now worth severalmillion. Professionals like we were can no longer move to Palo Alto, even as renters. I have a soft spot in my heart for the town I lived in. Please act in the best interest of people and create a robust housing reality for Palo Alto. Sincerely, Susan Setterholm From:Andrew Freeman To:Maggie Lang; john@thesfp.com; Council, City Cc:Macarena AFANDCO; Andrew Freeman Subject:Fwd: Final Reminder: You"re Invited -- Exclusive Preview: Macarena to open in Palo Alto! Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 6:06:53 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hey Maggie and John and City Council members --- Hope this email finds you well. Just following up on this invite -- we hope you will join us for this preview evening. Thisinvite is for you and a guest each. We are planning a ribbon cutting around 6:15pm and would love you to be a part of it. Please let us know if you can join us or if you would like to send someone in your place. We had reached out to the Mayor and Vice Mayor - and had some initial interest but haven'theard back. We would be honored if one of you could join or one of the city council members could be present. It's going to be a lovely dinner -- celebrating our opening the next day. Please let us know and thank you!! You can rsvp directly to me. Andrew and team (on behalf of Macarena) Hello Hola! I am overjoyed to invite you to an evening celebrating a dream come true, a sneak peek of Downtown Palo Alto’s newest Spanish restaurant, Macarena. On Thursday, February 27 at 6:00 PM, you will be among the first to experience the unveiling of Macarena, a beautiful new space in Palo Alto. Throughout the evening, we’ll enjoy rich sherry wine, explore the space together, and indulge in a menu inspired by the flavors of the owners/chefs Spanish roots. Please RSVP HERE and let us know if you have any questions or dietary before the preview. This isn’t just any night—it’s a journey of passion, tradition, and love, and I am thrilled to have you be a part of it. —————————— Andrew Freeman (he/him) Founder af&co. / Co-Founder Carbonate af&co. | LIFESTYLE MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS Fresh Approach. Bold Results. CARBONATE | CREATIVE STRATEGY & BRAND COMMUNICATIONS c. 415.254.5447 | afandco.com | @afandco CA | NY | OR "I was born with a fork in my mouth." - Andrew Freeman From:John Kelley To:Council, City Subject:PA-PACC- Re Action Item #8 at tonight’s City Council meeting, please see this article from AP News Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 6:06:06 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Re Action Item #8 at tonight’s City Council meeting, "Colleague’s Memo: Proposed Adoption of a Resolution Underscoring Council’s Commitment to Sustaining Palo Alto Values andInterests in the Face of Trump Administration Actions,” please see the article, "How Elon Musk’s crusade against government could benefit Tesla,” BY KIMBERLY KINDY ANDBRIAN SLODYSKO, Updated 9:07 PM PST, February 10, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/musk-trump-tesla-investigations-doge-crashes- f0c49a8fdf900d72eac541e4f699c5ac From:hglann@gmail.com To:Council, City Subject:RE: Please Make Cycling and Pedestrian Infrastructure a Higher Priority Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 5:01:35 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Two additional signatures on David’s letter. Rebecca Eisenberg J Rosten Thank you! From: hglann@gmail.com <hglann@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2025 6:45 PM To: 'City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org' <City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org> Cc: 'david@evcl.com' <david@evcl.com>; 'Andrea Eckstein Gara' <aegara@gmail.com> Subject: Please Make Cycling and Pedestrian Infrastructure a Higher Priority Dear Mayor and City Councilmembers, 52 volunteers from 350SV Palo Alto Climate Action have signed on to David Coale’s letter on Bike and Ped Infrastructure. Bike and ped infrastructure needs to be at a higher priority. The Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) is two years late and the last plan spanning over 12 years is only 30% built-out. We need to do better than this. In reading through the packet for 2025 City Council Priority Objectives I have some suggestions on how to make Palo Alto a leader again in serving our community with better bike/ped infrastructure. 1) The BPTP needs to be at a higher priority. Consider bringing this before the Council in Q3 (ASAP). Objectives #23 and #24 are not time sensitive and can be done in Q4 to make room for the BPTP in Q3. 2) There needs to be a better review of the BPTP. This should be done at a ½ day workshop with the PABAC and PTC committees. The BPTP is a complex plan and needs the expertise of these two groups. One workshop for this with both groups would make best use of Staff time and committee members. 3) The BPTP should have tick marks in both the Climate Action and Public safety priorities. It could be argued that good bike/ped infrastructure should be in all the city's priorities as our housing plans will be inadequate without it, and good bike/ped infrastructure is essential for local retail and adding to the vitality of our community. 4) Make sure the Safe Streets for All Safety Action plan is not delayed as this is essential for the BPTP. How many more lives do we want to lose to poor design of our streets and crossings? The SS4A also needs to be listed as a Public Safety priority as well as a Climate Action priority. 5) Add the east-west bicycle and pedestrian crossing project, as noted in the Rail Ad Hoc Committee, as its own objective with timelines and reviews. This should go under the Climate Action and Public Safety priorities. This is a must build item before any rail crossings are built and has been a priority of the Rail Committee for a while. This will reduce congestion and increase safety for our school children and others and could be a real game changer for how Palo Altans get around our city. 6) All of the above measures are needed if we are to reach our SCAP goals of a 20% increase of bike/ped mode share in the next five years; from 19% now to 40% by 2030. The SCAP has done pretty well in many categories but has not yet addressed this mode shift, and it needs attention if we are to meet our goals. This could also help make up the 9% shortfall in the SCAP 80 by 30 GHG reduction goals. It is interesting that there is no mention of bike/ped or even transportation in any of the objectives regarding housing. Without good bike/ped planning and transportation integrated into our housing plans, they will fail miserably. These items must be included and called out as such to make sure it really happens. If you build it they will come, so let’s make sure we build the right things, no more parking garages that promote car use and congestion while increasing GHGs at a very high cost. We need more bike/ped infrastructure, which reduces congestion, parking problems and GHGs while making our community more healthy, resilient, and supports our local businesses. This is the most cost-effective way to reduce our GHGs as noted in Project Drawdown that studied the top 100 actions that can be done to reduce GHGs. Thanks for your consideration of these changes to make Palo Alto more livable, vibrant and safer for all road users. Sincerely, David Coale, Carbon Free Palo Alto (CFPA), Bike Palo Alto, and SVBC Palo Alto team Elaine Uang Nils Angliviel de La Beaumelle Joel Davidson Michael Slinger Cynthia Chinlee Jay Whaley Steven Atneosen Virginia Tincher Mary Lou Meeks Ava Kwok Marilyn Keller Tobias Wolff Edward Miszkiewicz Tom McCalmont Aiden Miao Michael Saunders Santiago Olvera Kelly Miller-Sanchez Jordan Briskin Nancy Krop Aditee Kumthekar Sheila Gholson Gail Price Guoping Su Tom Malzbender Barbara Peters Sean van Dril Leticia Gonzalez-Ratchev Dirk Hoekstra Mel Kronick Myrna Rochester Nancy Martin Kevin Coleman Steve Eittreim Luke Beckman C Ruth Celeste Crystal McGurl Carl Trumello James Felix Cook John Van Horne Margaret Rosenbloom Ezra Kainz Emily Zurcher Matt Schlegel Peter Cross Scott Mellberg Mark Hoffberg Andrea Gara Hilary Glann Lawrence Garwin Lynnie Melena Jane Gwin-Kerr From:Aram James To:Perron, Zachary; Binder, Andrew; Dave Price; EPA Today; Aram James; Tim James; h.etzko@gmail.com; SeanAllen; Pat M; Council, City; Jeff Conrad; Jeff Rosen; Dana St. George; Gerry Gras; board@pausd.org; Don Austin;Yolanda Conaway; board@valleywater.org; BoardOperations; Bill Newell; ladoris cordell; Vara Ramakrishnan;Rodriguez, Miguel; Ed Lauing; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Foley, Michael; Emily Mibach; Jensen, Eric;Figueroa, Eric; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Veenker, Vicki; Lu, George; Reckdahl, Keith; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com;Braden Cartwright; WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto; Roberta Ahlquist; Human Relations Commission;planning.commision@cityofpaloalto.org; ParkRec Commission; Cecilia Taylor; Sheriff Transparency; GennadySheyner; Jay Boyarsky; Robert. Jonsen; Robert.Jonson@shf.sccgov.org; Baker, Rob Subject:Watch "WATCH: Viral Judge Shuts Down RIDICULOUS Case Against Black Man" on YouTube Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 4:37:31 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. More walking while black cases Mhttps://youtu.be/02AS3AOYeag?si=pr9sM4RjachTTYzx From:Amy ChristelTo:Council, City; Shikada, Ed; Greer Stone; Lauing, EdSubject:Not one gallon of unleaded fuel was used by planes at PAO in Jan. 2025! Greenwashing and false promise.Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 4:16:13 PMAttachments:IMG_1056.PNG CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Council Members, The City’s website reports that your airport, PAO, pumped “zero” gal of unleaded fuel, 100R, in the month of January 2025. The vague promises to transition to unleaded fuel made by PAO staff and pilot groups mean nothing. They are not using unleaded fuel, and pilots pumped over 30,000 gal of leaded aviation fuel in the first month of this year. They are spraying the Baylands and ourhomes with lead every day. Meanwhile, we residents hear nothing about the cause of a large twin engine plane that “landed” in the water at the end of the runway. That pilot should pay for all monitoring and remediation of fuel leaks and damage to the wetlands. It’s all hushed up, hoping we’ll forget the image of a submerged plane leaking fuel in the water next to hiking trails and the Duck Pond. Reckless and unaccountable pilots are hurting the residents of this region as well as the wildlife and then environment. In no way should the airport be given a larger footprint by extending the runway. If you do that, even larger corporate jets can use that airport every day. Think of the Lear jet crash over Philadelphia. We don’t need to be the lackeys for the FAA and airlines, and corporate execs. The ONLY sustainable solution for PAO is to SHUT IT DOWN. It is elitist and unenvironmental! If this site will not permit the attachment of my screenshot of the PA webpage reporting fuel use at PAO, look it up yourselves. The City is responsible for this albatross of an airport because it took grants from the FAA and took away our rights as citizens. That was a lazy decision and we on the ground are bearing the cost every day. Please do something to protect us: Give pilots 30 days to purchase the STC for their planes to use the 100R fuel—it’s NOT expensive, compared to what they spend flying. after the 30 day grace period, double the price of leaded fuel at PAO. Thank you,Amy ChristelPalo Alto Sent from my iPad From:Winter Dellenbach To:Council, City Subject:Item #8 tonight - Resolution Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 3:30:00 PM To: Palo Alto Council Members From: Winter Dellenbach Date: 2-24-2025 RE: Agenda Item #8, Resolution Dear Council Members: First, thank you Mayor Lauing and Council member Veenker for initiating this memo. An initial draft is always the hardest, so thank you for your work on this. I’m sure all Council members support the intent of this draft Resolution. It will be more powerful, with greater impact if it is unanimously approved. If Council members suggest changes that need a bit more discussion to reach unanimous approval, please priority agendize a follow-up discussion. We must get this right. My thoughts: As the starting point, the Values Recital in “A” of the draft is excellent. Well done. Here are changes I request being made: Section 1, confirming commitments to these Values. I hope to see some changes made as to tone, brevity: -Keeping the focus on our City, not on what’s being done elsewhere. -Eliminating reference to "the Administration" in the first point of this section. Reactiveness is a sign of weakness. A stronger statement would show proactive leadership. -Changing all points to consistently state what we support in the affirmative, rather than oppose or denounce, and is less divisive. -Editing for brevity will provide sharpened clarity. Section 2 - The furtherance of these values. These are the actions our City will take. It leaves out what I consider to be the most important action (in red), listed in this order: 1.Review to ensure current City policies and procedures, are consistent our stated values, updating any that are not. 2.Then, Communicate changes to federal policies or actions with residents, and the City’s response to them that impact Palo Alto. We have Palo Altans, workers, climate policies, etc. at risk right now. We can’t know what we need to do unless we know where we are now. Please direct staff to undertake a review of relevant policies, procedures and protocols, then Council can update as needed. From:pennyellson12@gmail.com To:Council, City Subject:Palo Alto Link in The Campanile --What the kids think. Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 3:12:54 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Honorable City Council Here is a Paly student-written editorial from The Campanile about Palo Alto Link. Palo Alto should discontinue Link, invest in shuttle – The Campanile . I’ve heard from friends and students that, after taking just one ride on Palo Alto Link, they start receiving repeated notifications reminding them constantly they can pick up their phones to dial-a-ride. This is how marketers cultivate car dependence. City of Palo Alto, sadly, has stepped in line with the car industry’s agenda. This is not consistent with our city values related to transportation or SCAP. This car program subsidizes car trips for people who can fully afford to pay for Uber and Lyft for short local trips with no screening for financial need. When the grants run out and the program becomes unaffordable, the city will have built a car-dependent customer base who will be angry to lose “their” cheap car rides. This seems unwise. Please scrap this program before further harm is done; or, at least, limit its use to people who have been means tested for financial need and/or physical need for subsidized car trips. Palo Alto Link is a poor use of taxpayer dollars. Please eliminate this program from the city budget. I can think of many better uses for these funds. I bet you can too. Thank you for considering my comments. Penny Ellson Virus-free.www.avg.com From:Aram James To:Reckdahl, Keith; Ed Lauing; h.etzko@gmail.com; Diana Diamond; EPA Today; Braden Cartwright; Don Austin;Yolanda Conaway; bos@smcgov.org; <michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com>; Binder, Andrew; Reifschneider, James;Afanasiev, Alex; Human Relations Commission; Kaloma Smith; George for Palo Alto; board@valleywater.org;Barberini, Christopher; Enberg, Nicholas; Dave Price; jgreen@dailynewsgroup.com; editor@paweekly.com;editor@almanacnews.com; Jessica Speiser, Educational Leader for California Democratic Delegate, AssemblyDistrict 23; Shikada, Ed; planning.commission@cityofpaloalto.0rg; ParkRec Commission; Cribbs, Anne;Templeton, Cari; Pat M; Steve Wagstaffe; frances.Rothschild@jud.ca.gov; Patricia.Guerrero@jud.ca.gov; Council,City; BoardOperations; boardfeedback@smcgov.org Subject:New America Media, News Analysis, Paul Kleyman, Posted: Dec 11, 2015 SAN FRANCISCO--In the wake of public outcry over the latest police shooting of an unarmed A… Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 2:50:47 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. FYI: From the archives of aram james -Ban Tasers says expert!!! 2015 New America Media, News Analysis, Paul Kleyman, Posted: Dec 11, 2015 SANFRANCISCO--In the wake of public outcry over the latest police shooting of an unarmed A… Source: The Contra Costa Pulse | Community news and youth voices for Contra Costa County Expert: Stun-Guns Far From ‘Nonlethal’ Alternative to Bullets | The Contra Costa Pulse https://search.app/9ubRbswVr9TqY5pR9 From:Scott Souter To:Council, City Subject:I support the resolution opposing recent executive orders Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 2:29:47 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Council, I am writing to express my strong support for the resolution opposing the President’s recent executive orders. You have my backing to stand up for Intelligent, thoughtful leadership: governance that is based on reality, science, and fairness, not favors. You have my backing to stand up for freedom of speech, religion, and the press, in opposition to anti-democratic power grabs. Please do express a position against subjugation by oligarchs and in support of fair and informed decision-making in governance. Thank you, Scott Souter From:KuoJung Chang To:Veenker, Vicki; Lauing, Ed; Council, City; City Mgr; City Attorney; Administrative Services Subject:CC Meeting Agenda 2/24/25 Item 8 Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 2:13:27 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. The proposed resolution is short on specific harm to the City of Palo Alto and does not contain any actions the city could take that would be effective against any harm should it occur. A more helpful approach would be for the city to publish a list of expected Federal funding to the city and its partners (such as housing and social services). Update this list monthly so the citizens can see what grants have been delayed or denied. Withthe target of $2 trillion in cuts to Federal spending, it would not be surprising if some of these grants did not materialize. If committed funding is not forthcoming, work with the state Attorney General, who has a war chest to sue the Federal government. The proposed resolution mentions the city’s commitment to climate action and DEI. These points are waving red flags at the administration and are likely to put Palo Alto high on the list of jurisdictions to be denied Federal funding. Some of the city’s large corporate neighbors such as Meta and Alphabet have eliminated the DEI terminologyfrom their policies and websites. Stanford University is actively making moves in this direction. Please consult with the city’s attorney and Stanford’s legal counsel to identify possible negative consequences to the city of such a resolution. We appreciate your careful consideration of the best ways to deal with the current Federal issues. Fred KohlerKuo-Jung Chang University South From:Samina Sundas To:Veenker, Vicki; Burt, Patrick; Julie Lythcott-Haims; Stone, Greer; Council, City Subject:You are cordially invited Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 1:14:54 PM Attachments:apple-touch-icon-180x180.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links.Dear all, you are cordially invited for our annual interfaith iftar dinner. Please spread the word to all your contacts. Looking forward to seeing you all,Samina Sundas 650-387-1994 Interfaith Iftar Dinner eventbrite.com From:Melissa Dinwiddie To:Council, City Subject:Strong Support for Resolution Opposing Trump’s Executive Orders Date:Monday, February 24, 2025 12:30:28 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Mayor Veenker and Members of the Palo Alto City Council, I am writing to express my strong support for the resolution opposing recent executive orders from former President Trump, as referenced in the Palo Alto Online article dated February 14,2025. I urge you to take a firm stand in defense of our community’s values of democracy, inclusion, and human rights. These executive orders threaten the fundamental freedoms and protections that make Palo Altoa welcoming and just place for all. I was born in Palo Alto, went through the Palo Alto school system, and my parents still live in the house where I grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Thesurrounding communities are influenced by what Palo Alto does, so this resolution is not just "virtue signaling," as some may try to convince you. Courage begets courage, and standing upto bullies helps embolden others to stand up to bullies. Now more than ever, it is essential that our local government acts decisively to protect our residents and push back against policies that undermine our shared values. I commend the City Council for taking a leadership role in resisting unjust federal actions andensuring that Palo Alto remains a city that values equity, diversity, and the rule of law. Please continue to stand strong in the face of these challenges and do everything in your power touphold the rights and dignity of all members of our community. Thank you for your commitment to justice and fairness. I respectfully urge you to pass this resolution and take further steps to shield our city from harmful federal overreach. Sincerely,Melissa Dinwiddie, native Palo Altan speakerPicture Melissa Dinwiddie Innovation Strategist & Keynote Speaker at Creative Sandbox Solutions™ LinkedIn | Website | YouTube | Media +14158605463 How prepared is your team to Create the Impossible™? Find out in 10 minutes with my free Innovation Culture Assessment Sent via Superhuman