Palo Alto Matters - Community voices for sustainable solutions
News, data, commentary and connections to help Palo Alto residents get informed, get involved, and speak up about community concerns.
Palo Alto Weekly – Editorial / March 24, 2017
Faced with a strong backlash from residents across Palo Alto’s political spectrum and angry colleagues who felt disrespected, the City Council majority that had in January abruptly voted to remove the implementing programs from the draft revision to the Comprehensive Plan reversed course with a do-over Monday night.
Palo Alto Weekly – by Gennady Sheyner / March 17, 2017
The agency that oversees California’s campaign-finance laws has launched an investigation into the campaign finances of Palo Alto City Councilman Greg Tanaka, who reported an influx of cash from developers after winning the election last November and who accepted and later returned $5,000 from a property owner whose project he was set to review.
Palo Alto Weekly – by Palo Alto Weekly editorial board / March 17, 2017
State and federal campaign laws have long been rooted in the principle that the transparency of campaign contributions is the most effective way to discourage and expose special interests attempting to influence elections and public policy.
Palo Alto Weekly – by Gennady Sheyner / March 17, 2017
Palo Alto officials will revisit on Monday their controversial January decision to strip all programs from the city’s guiding land-use document, the Comprehensive Plan — a move that some characterized as a “formatting” change and others decried as a betrayal of public trust.
Palo Alto Weekly – by Gennady Sheyner / March 16, 2017
Prompted by a citizen complaint, the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has launched an investigation into the campaign of Palo Alto Vice Mayor Liz Kniss, whose re-election bid was boosted by a flurry of late contributions from developers and who did not disclose most of these contributions until well after the election.
The Weekly’s Feb. 2 editorial (“A reckless majority“) and the sibling guest opinion by Councilman Tom DuBois (“When democracy is hijacked“) take serious issue with the Comprehensive Plan decisions of the City Council majority in response to the recommendations of the Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC).
Last week the Palo Alto City Council reviewed a series of policy and program choices sent to them by the Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC) and staff. A Weekly editorial spoke of a “reckless majority.” Councilman Tom DuBois went further in an op-ed using words like “democracy is hijacked” and “massacred our Comprehensive Plan” and referred to his council colleagues as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
Palo Alto Weekly – Guest Opinion by Tom DuBois / February 3, 2017
Monday night, in a brazen display of power, some members of the Palo Alto City Council massacred our Comprehensive Plan, the shared long-term vision that guides all of the city’s work.
The five members who make up the new, more development-friendly majority on the Palo Alto City Council blatantly stuck it to their four colleagues and the community Monday night with what appeared to be a carefully orchestrated take-over of the critical land-use portion of the new Comprehensive Plan.
Dear climate activists and Standing Rock supporters,
You’re invited to a special event in Sunnyvale next Wed (9/6) at 7 PM with attorneys Chase Iron Eyes and Daniel Sheehan of the Lakota People’s Law Project. The day after speaking at Google, Chase and Danny will join us at the Congregational Church of Sunnyvale for a local event that is free and open to the public.
Chase Iron Eyes is a citizen of Standing Rock and a leading spokesperson for the NoDAPL movement. In February, following intense surveillance by militarized security forces, he was arrested and charged with two felonies by North Dakota law enforcement.
Daniel Sheehan is president of the Romero Institute and a renowned constitutional attorney. As chief defense counsel for Chase Iron Eyes, his legal strategy will expose the collusion between government, industry and militarized security to suppress Native populations and the right of all Americans to peacefully demonstrate.
I attended their talk in Berkeley last week and thought it was a perfect blend of information and inspiration–from the opening video to the legal defense and offense, from Danny’s deep knowledge of constitutional rights to Chase’s ability to connect and ground us to our common humanity, from updates on individual water protectors to the petition to #DropDAPLCharges, from the call to divest to the push for public banking–they covered it all.
If they can do the same or similar in Sunnyvale, I don’t think anyone who supported the Standing Rock movement will regret going. I was really glad I went.
Tickets are free to attend, but Pastor Ron has graciously donated space for this event and we’d love to channel support for the Congregational Church’s Homeless Services where donations of ready-to-eat meals and toilet paper are needed and welcome.
Doors open at 7:00 PM for seating, tabling with local groups and interaction. Speakers begin at 7:30 PM. Please join us next Wednesday and help us get the word out!