TownSquare on PaloAltoOnline.com

Teen turns love for shoes into charity

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:55:11 PDT

Like any other modern teen, Alexandra Yesian is long on passion and short on time. A junior at Gunn High School, Yesian is also a synchronized swimmer and spends more than four hours a day in the pool. Photo by Darlene Bouchard/Palo Alto Weekly.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8766 posted Monday, July 21, 2008, 2:33 PM

Firefighters to battle smokey dump fire all night

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:41:30 PDT

A giant backhoe clawed into a 20-foot-high pile of smoking compost and sawdust at the Palo Alto city dump Wednesday evening -- resembling a mini volcano with flames spouting occasionally from the top -- as firefighters doused embers and flames. Earlier a CalFire helicopter dumped bay water on a peripheral grass fire ignited by the compost blaze. Photo by Keith Peters/Palo Alto Weekly.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8799 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 9:49 PM

Firefighters to battle smokey dump fire all night

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 23:13:05 PDT

A giant backhoe clawed into a 20-foot-high pile of smoking compost and sawdust at the Palo Alto city dump Wednesday evening -- resembling a mini volcano with flames spouting occasionally from the top -- as firefighters doused embers and flames. Earlier a CalFire helicopted dumped bay water on a peripheral grass fire ignited by the compost blaze. Photo by Keith Peters/Palo Alto Weekly.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8799 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 9:49 PM

Mother lode: USGS says 90B barrels of oil in Arctic

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:38:45 PDT

The Arctic may hold 90 billion barrels of oil, more than all the known reserves of Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Mexico combined, and enough to supply U.S. demand for 12 years, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

One-third of the undiscovered oil is in Alaskan territory, the agency found in a study released today. By contrast, a geologic formation beneath the North Pole claimed by Russian scientists last year probably holds just 1.2 percent of the Arctic's crude, the U.S. report showed.http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5903512.html

Fire at the Palo Alto landfill

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:19:52 PDT

Drivers commuting home on Highway 101 in Palo Alto got up close and personal with a fire that broke out at the Palo Alto landfill on Wednesday afternoon.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8798 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 7:10 PM

Palo Alto landfill on fire?

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 19:11:15 PDT

The air is filled with smoke around the Charleston/Middlefield intersection, and there are big clouds of smoke on the horizon. A friend tells me the Palo Alto dump is on fire. Anyone have any other information?

PA Dump ON FIRE

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:19:43 PDT

That obnoxious smoke is coming from the dump which is on fire.
6.20p

Supreme Court to hear trails lawsuit appeal

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:14:33 PDT

The California Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal of a lawsuit filed against Stanford University and Santa Clara County by the Palo Alto-based Committee for Green Foothills over hiking trails Stanford may build in the foothills.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8797 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 4:30 PM

Alot of smoke near San Antonio and Middlefield

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:14:00 PDT

Why is there so much smoke in the area?

Palo Alto VA plans big expansion

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:42:51 PDT

A $750 million reconstruction project is underway at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8796 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 3:31 PM

Jay stopped her!! So credit Jay with several years of fear.

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:04:27 PDT

To answer a question asked of me. I did contact the NEWSPAPER.THIS ONE.Talked with Ms Diamond. She wanted to do a story. Jay The Editor stopped her. NO PROBLEM JAY. IT WILL GET OUT. EVEN IF YOU TRY AND STOP IT.

New law protects trees from solar installations

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:47:32 PDT

A new law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger protects a homeowner's trees from being cut down when a neighbor installs solar panels and claims that the trees are blocking the sunlight.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8785 posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 4:17 PM

Mapping a master plan for college

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:59:35 PDT

Exactly how far in advance do most parents in Palo Alto start mapping out their child's master plan for gaining admission to a university of their choice?

I must admit that I am rather naive in this regard. I come from another part of the country. I attended a non-academically rigorous high school, skating through with mostly A's and B's without studying on a very light math and science course load which did not provide me with the appropriate preparation for a science or technical degree (e.g. only three years of math - pre-algebra in 9th grade, algebra in 10th, geometry in 11th - and three years of science). I received almost no counseling and no direct assistance from either of my parents, nor the high school, regarding college applications, and ultimately applied to only one university in my home state because I met the minimum qualifications and because it didn't require me to write an application essay. I completed college in four years on as light a course load as I could devise and ultimately received a BA. After coming to California I've mostly worked in non-tech staff/admin positions in large corporate environments.

Needless to say, I would like my children (now in elementary school) to do more than squeak through high school and college doing the absolute minimum necessary to accomplish the task. I would like them to truly have career choices versus falling into the path of least resistance.

I�ve been following some of the recent education-related posts on this forum and I do understand the importance of math education. I agree that aiming for algebra in the 8th grade is a worthy goal. To that end over the last couple of years I�ve been tutoring/priming my children in math to try to get them ahead of their grade-level elementary math curriculum at school. I can and will, as necessary, bring in math tutors at the 6th and 7th grade level if it doesn�t appear that they will be able to move along the middle to advanced math track without professional tutoring.

However, what I�ve started worrying about is all the things that I don�t know to prepare for.

I never played an instrument, played sports or did formal extra-curricular activities in high school, but I know that college selection committees use these activities to winnow applicants. Is it enough to participate in these activities, or do the children have to attain a certain level of accomplishment or take on a leadership role? How do parents and kids balance the academically rigorous Paly/Gunn course loads with all the extra activities?

Do my kids need to pretty much settle on a college major by 8th grade?

I know that it might seem premature for me to ask all of this when my children are still in elementary school, but I have weak background knowledge on this stuff and I don�t want my kids to miss out because I was naive about the process.

Tour of California won't visit Palo Alto next year

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:39:01 PDT

Although a sprint through town kicked off this year's race, Palo Alto is not a stop on next year's Tour of California bike race, race presenter AEG announced today.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8787 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 9:52 AM

Mom and dad's duties get virtual nip-tuck

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:37:11 PDT

Being a parent is a bit like conducting a symphony, to hear Palo Alto resident Nazila Alasti describe it. Just to attend a kids' soccer game, a slew of movements must be coordinated among families, from carpooling to snack duty — all subject to last-minute cancellation if another child's plans change, she said.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=9085 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 12:00 AM

Stanford's Castro picked No. 10 in Major League Baseball draft

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:39:30 PDT

Stanford arrived to play its three-game NCAA Super Regional series at Cal State Fullerton on Thursday in time to check the latest Major League Baseball draft news, which provided some good news indeed for Cardinal catcher Jason Castro. The junior was selected No. 10 by the Houston Astros, the second college catcher picked.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8260 posted Thursday, June 5, 2008, 3:15 PM

Cell phone etiquette

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:50:45 PDT

Am I the only cell phone hater in the world. I am getting mad with all the unnecessary calls I receive on my cell which could easily be left as a message on my home phone. Why do teachers and others think that because I am not at home I am available to talk on my cell phone for routine matters? I don't want to discuss my child's school issues while I am in the grocery store. I don't want to be told my child's progress at swimming while I am having lunch with a friend. I put on all forms that cell phone number is for urgent reasons only, but I still get routine calls when it is incovenient to talk and even when I say that it is inconvenient, they still tell me it will only take a few minutes. I know their time is precious, but so is mine. I answer the phone because it may be urgent, I may have to hurry to pick up my child because he is sick, or I may have to give permission for my child to go to a friend's house after school, but I don't want to discuss things on my cell.

I recently had lunch with several friends, a rarity in my book. Instead of it being the pleasant time of catchup I had expected, it was one friend after another answering their cell to chat to someone that could have happened some other time. This ended up being one of the worst lunchdates ever.

If you need me to give urgent action, use my cell. Otherwise leave a message on my homephone, after all that is what it is there for. If I am at home I will answer, but I don't want routine calls on my cell.

Editorial: Fiber moves forward with council vision

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:37:25 PDT

A major step occurred Monday night when the Palo Alto City Council voted unanimously (with Councilman Jack Morton absent) to move forward with a plan for a high-speed, wide-bandwidth fiber-optic communications system.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=9032 posted Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 12:00 AM

Guest Opinion: Bikes, feet and automobiles

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:31:45 PDT

I can't cope. It's all becoming a bit much. With a career in the healing arts (massage and yoga) I should be one of Palo Alto's more mellow citizens. But on a recent commute home I found myself hanging out my car window hurling insults at the cyclist running through the stop sign at Homer and Bryant.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=9075 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 12:00 AM

Shop Talk: Yogurt explosion rocks Palo Alto

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:30:39 PDT

NO MELTDOWN IN SIGHT ... Palo Alto loves yogurt � but not necessarily the store-bought variety in little round containers. Palo Altans seem to go for the more expensive, frozen variety that is swirling around town in small, upscale, crowded shops in what some have called the "yogurt war."

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/story.php?story_id=9071 posted Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 12:00 AM

Cutting emissions could cost PA $1.3 million

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:41:38 PDT

By switching to energy-saving street lights and using remanufactured printer toner cartridges, the City of Palo Alto could save as much as $500,000 — and significantly reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions, the City Council learned Monday night.

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8777 posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 5:41 AM

The (not so) real world

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:19:37 PDT

More than 65,000 users log in to Second Life — an Internet site resembling a 3-D virtual world — every day to socialize, stroll beaches, visit islands and cities, shop, attend lectures and classes, visit libraries and night clubs and do business.

Businesses, universities get Second Life

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8780 posted Tuesday, July 22, 2008, 1:15 PM

PUBLIC AGENDA: Parks and Recreation Commission, ban on smoking in public parks

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:15:23 PDT

The Palo Alto City Council will discuss the cost-effectiveness of the climate protection programs and the November library bond measure at 7 p.m. Monday, July 21, in the Council Chambers at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.).

Read the full story here http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=8742 posted Friday, July 18, 2008, 10:01 AM

Tesla - will this be the new Prius?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:42:41 PDT

http://www.almanacnews.com/news/show_story.php?id=2331

For those of us who hate the quiet Prius, are we now going to find these driving around Palo Alto instead?

Keeping outsiders out of PAUSD

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:34:25 PDT

Rather than worrying about keeping Tinsley or LAH kids out of PAUSD who legally have the right to be here , we should be much more concerned about keeping those who are non-residents of Palo Alto out. http://www.paloaltodailynews.com/article/2008-7-22-pa-residency

It is not only dishonest for non-residents to get their kids into our schools, but teaching the kids that dishonesty pays as long as you don't get caught. Can you imagine telling your child to lie to his friends and teachers about where he lives?

This problem is bigger than most of us imagine. I have known at least one student who lives with a relative during the week in PA, and goes home to be with parents on Friday evenings.