On Jan. 24, Los Altos city staff presented a new and “improved” plan for the Los Altos Outdoor Dining program to the city council. They requested to extend the current parklet program through June, at which time, if approved, restaurant owners are supposed to choose between parklet dining or…

Los Altos Hills is viewed as a relatively safe town, yet we are particularly vulnerable to home burglaries. The odds of a residence in Cupertino being burglarized in 2022 were 0.4%, Saratoga and Atherton were 0.6% and Portola Valley came in at 0.3%. Los Altos Hills was 1.5% – that’s higher t…

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Recently, there has been a lot of press about the possibility of a couple of property owners and developers in Los Altos Hills proposing to build anything they desire based on what is referred to as a “builder’s remedy” under state law. The town has also been portrayed as being unresponsive …

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There is only one solution for gun control: no guns. Most Western European countries, Australia, New Zealand and other civilized countries besides the United States have it figured out. No one needs a gun except law enforcement, and then only after proper training on how and when to use it. …

As a 40-year Mountain View resident, I’ve been feeling like Alice after she tumbled down the rabbit hole. Several years ago, I started sensing animosity directed at longtime residents like me. Why are we being mocked and belittled for caring about issues that make a community a good place to…

The Los Altos City Council’s new year is not off to a great start. Although the council last week met its deadline to adopt a mandatory housing element update, the seemingly innocuous task of mayoral appointments to boards of regional agencies triggered a reminder of continued, strained coun…

The city of Los Altos Environmental Commission has created a new resource page designed to help residents replace old gas appliances with new, more efficient electric ones. It describes the type of gas appliances that can be replaced; the various advantages and potential disadvantages of ele…

The League of Women Voters supports a coordinated state-level approach to housing. This requires that individual jurisdictions credibly plan for their fair share of housing across all income levels so they can meet the economic and societal needs of current and future residents.

While every city in California was trying to create an acceptable housing element, the city councils, their consultants and we, the citizens, lost sight of the larger picture. What is slipping away is our ability to participate in shaping the communities where we live.

January is the month for looking back to give thanks for all the blessings of the past year, and resolving to do even better in the year ahead. One of the things the nonprofit EAH Housing is grateful for is the opportunity and privilege to deliver the first 100% affordable housing developmen…

We received an email from our financial adviser starting with, “Many of us wonder what lies ahead for 2023 in regard to the markets, the economy and inflation.” It started me thinking. I confess that when I wonder what lies ahead for 2023, my thoughts are more local; the markets, the economy…