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A Message from Police Chief Andrew Binder
New Police Chief Andrew Binder, who was appointed by City Council on Monday night, shares the Department’s priorities and focus areas such as continuing and expanding community engagement and communications, hiring and retention of department staff, and more in a new quarterly blog series. Read the blog here.
August is National Wellness Month
The Art Center offers free virtual meditation sessions with stress management consultant Julie Forbes, Ph.D. Join Julie every Thursday at noon from July 14-August 25. Sessions will rotate each week between Mindful Meditation, Body Scan, Loving Kindness, and Guided Visualization. Go here to learn more. Find wellness ideas for the whole family here.
Proposed 2022 Green Building & Local Energy Code Changes
Every three years, the State adopts new building standards referred to as the California Building Standards Code. While the State sets the minimum building standards, local jurisdictions can enact more stringent local building standards based on unique local climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions. The City’s proposed 2022 green building regulations aim to increase water conservation and reduce water loss, lower embodied carbon in new construction projects, reduce fossil fuel use in buildings, and facilitate electric vehicle adoption by community members and visitors to Palo Alto. Register to join two upcoming meetings on August 16 and August 18 (both scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m.) to learn more and share input on these new proposals. Community input will help inform the City Council as they consider staff recommendations later this fall. Learn more and register for a community meeting here.
Weekly City Manager Blog Series: August 8, 2022
Each Council meeting, City Manager Ed Shikada provides “City Manager Comments” sharing recent City news, and updates for the community to stay informed on important issues. This blog series summarizes these weekly updates. Updates provided at this week's City Council meeting include the availability of the new Novavax COVID-19 vaccine County-wide, preparation tips for a healthy return to school, and continued Palo Alto COVID-19 testing options. The City continues to further City Council's priorities for the year including community health; to that end, join a Community Health Fair hosted by the City and Palo Alto YMCA on Sunday, August 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. Attend an upcoming ArtLift Microgrant Program activity and read a new climate action blog about electrifying your home. Read the blog here.
Palo Alto Fiber Update
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the immediate need of providing high-speed and reliable internet for our community to support work, education and learning, health care, and delivery of government services. Through Palo Alto Fiber, the City would provide broadband, high-speed internet services directly to your home and/or business. To help the City Council determine service details such as price and speed, a market research survey is available to residents and businesses to learn about the community’s internet preferences and needs. Plus, a new deposit program allows community members to show strong interest in locally controlled internet services and is an important factor for consideration as the City Council explores the fiber effort. Submit a $50 deposit today to demonstrate your neighborhood’s support for Palo Alto Fiber. The City Council is hosting a joint study session with the Utilities Advisory Committee tentatively scheduled for their September 19 meeting. Learn more about Palo Alto Fiber, take the residential survey, submit a deposit, and find out what’s new and what’s next in a recent blog.
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