http://www2.paloaltoonline.com If it is local and useful, it is on PaloAltoOnline.com. en-us Palo Alto on Monday gave an emotional sendoff to Planning Director Curtis Williams, whose mild-mannered leadership, passion for community engagement and encyclopedic knowledge of local zoning laws won praise from even some of the city's most vehement land-use critics.]]> Palo Alto will present potential plans for parking in the downtown area at a pair of community meetings scheduled for June 18 and 19 at 7 p.m.
]]> Palo Alto firefighters put out two residential fires in Palo Alto this weekend, one on Friday afternoon and another Saturday.]]> A hopeful crop of aspiring civic leaders celebrated a Palo Alto graduation last week. With an oft-cited shortage of volunteers stepping up for city commissions and other community-service roles, the reinvigorated fellowship program known as Leadership Palo Alto aims to help fill the void.]]> New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg today, June 16, urged Stanford graduates to harness Stanford's spirit of innovation to pursue the American dream for themselves, and to help extend it to others.]]> One person is looking for a rocking chair for a newborn baby. Another, a tote bag to carry a pet guinea pig. One person offers up a nearly new yoga mat; another, a "large-ish cardboard box" that is "not sturdy enough for shipping but great for summer fun with kids."]]> Increased reliance on local funds and diminished state and federal funding mark the Palo Alto school district's proposed $170 million operating budget for 2013-14. The budget will be up for a vote by the Board of Education Tuesday, June 18.]]> One of the biggest mysteries about the opera "Médée" by late 18th-century composer Luigi Cherubini is why its last few pages are blacked out with charcoal. For centuries the opera was performed incomplete, but X-Ray technology developed by scientists at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) has allowed them to uncover the hidden score. ]]> ]]> Stanford junior Kori Carter has big plans for the middle of August, no matter what happens at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships next week in Des Moines, Iowa. Read more at [PASportsOnline.com http://www.paloaltoonline.com/sports]]> Palo Alto signaled its dramatic economic turnaround on Thursday night when it passed a budget that adds police officers, accelerates street repairs and -- for the first time in years -- contains no service cuts whatsoever.]]> In a strongly worded defense of the actions they took in response to bullying complaints at Duveneck Elementary School, Palo Alto school district administrators have told the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights that allegations were "investigated fully and responded to in a timely and thorough manner."]]> In a liberal-minded community that prides itself on top-notch schools, high-achieving students and progressive values, the idea of a civil rights violation is anathema. However, the results of a Office for Civil Rights investigation -- revealed in February of this year -- has sharply called into question local schools' capacity to deal fairly, effectively and legally with bullying and discriminatory harassment and highlighted the need for more leadership, training and accountability from the district.
• PDF of entire package of stories]]> Palo Alto's rancorous and highly emotional debate over a proposed senior-housing development on Maybell Avenue will spill over into next week after the City Council decided on Thursday not to vote on the project and directed the developer and the opposition to give diplomacy another chance.]]> Stanford University officials received a fiery rebuke Wednesday night from the chair of Palo Alto's Planning and Transportation Commission, who called the university "arrogant" for its resistance to add a road to the Mayfield housing project that would keep traffic from the new development out of neighborhood streets.]]> National Security Agency documents leaked to the press say Mountain View's Google has been cooperating with the US government to spy on citizens on an unprecedented scale, allowing direct access to the company's servers. Google executives deny that to be the case. ]]> Palo Alto's iconic Varsity Theatre building on University Avenue, most recently a home to Borders Books, will soon be transformed into an idea lab for Samsung.
]]> As Palo Alto officials plow ahead with negotiations over a new lease for Cubberley Community Center, they are setting aside until a later date broader questions over what types of uses the sprawling and eclectic complex should accommodate.]]> A compilation of video content from the Palo Alto Weekly and Palo Alto Online staff.]]>