Category: Government & Politics
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Last-minute bill aims to protect California restaurants from surcharge ban
Restaurant surcharges could be OK after all, if they’re clearly displayed. By Kate Bradshaw This story was first published in The Mercury News on June 6, 2024. Just weeks before the July 1 start of a statewide ban on so-called “hidden fees,” State Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa) has proposed a new law to clarify how…
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Remote work rises and Caltrain ridership plummets: How Silicon Valley has changed three years since COVID
Caltrain ridership has plummeted 92% from pre-pandemic rates. Photo by Magali Gauthier. Annual report illustrates how the increasing cost of living is impacting residents — and driving them away. By Kate Bradshaw This story was first published in The Six Fifty on March 22, 2023. Each year, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a regional nonprofit think…
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Inside the wacky ways Peninsula communities are trying to skirt new housing
Pam Silvaroli comments on plans for multifamily zoning along El Camino Real at an Atherton City Council meeting Jan. 31. (Photo by Magali Gauthier) Wealthy towns have a rich playbook for preserving the status quo around housing. But it’s starting to backfire. By Kate Bradshaw Published Feb. 15, 2023 in The Six Fifty. Residents in…
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Flipping the switch on all-electric housing
By Kate Bradshaw Sept. 21, 2022 For Juan Carlos, the electricity switch was both subtle and profound. His home in a newly-renovated unit in Light Tree Apartments is at the forefront of a trend that cities across California are trying to encourage to meet their sustainability goals: switching from natural gas appliances to electric ones.…
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Going to Santa Clara’s Central Park? Watch where you step
Canada geese rest in the shade at Santa Clara’s Central Park. Photo by Kate Bradshaw. By Kate Bradshaw April 8, 2022 Santa Clara’s Central Park has a goose problem. More specifically, a goose poop problem. The park is home to—by one count—about 176 Canada geese, and each one drops roughly a pound of excrement every…
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Q&A with Windsor Town Council member Rosa Reynoza
Windsor Town Councilmember Rosa Reynoza at Windsor Town Hall on Thursday, December 9, 2021. Christopher Chung / The Press Democrat. By Kate Bradshaw June 23, 2022 Windsor is a small town that made big headlines in May 2021 when its former mayor, Dominic Foppoli, eventually resigned after a number of women made allegations of sexual assault…
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Bike battle
Two cyclists on mountain bikes ride on a trail in Waterdog Park in Belmont on Dec. 10, 2021. Photo by Magali Gauthier. How a spat over open space access in Belmont could shape preservation on the Peninsula By Kate Bradshaw December 30, 2021 There’s a neighborhood on the Peninsula where the nature access is almost…
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Figuring out how to feed kids when they’re not in school
Norma Lazcano places potatoes in a bag at a food pick-up site at the Los Robles Ronald McNair Academy in East Palo Alto on May 19. When the pandemic forced school campuses to close, child nutrition staff had to adapt quickly to make sure families didn’t lose access to the school meals that they rely…
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From farms to families
Volunteers help load boxes of food into vehicles after asking drivers how many boxes of food they want on June 4, 2021, at a food distribution site in Palo Alto. Photo by Kate Bradshaw. How a federal program to help farmers during the pandemic is changing the local food landscape By Kate Bradshaw June 11,…
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When hazards collide: How local food systems are adjusting to a changing world
Farm boxes get loaded onto volunteers’ bicycles at Veggielution urban farm in San Jose. During the pandemic, the program delivered food to 40 families by partnering with Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and has grown to serve 250. May 1, 2021. Courtesy Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition. By Kate Bradshaw June 27, 2021 As communities emerge from…
Kate Bradshaw 