Upfront ELECTION
Forum on state propositions set for Oct. 8 Wealth of local political forums scheduled as Nov. 6 election looms
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forum on the pros and cons of all the state propositions will be held Monday, Oct. 8, at 2 p.m. at Avenidas, 450 Bryant St., Palo Alto. The forum is sponsored by the League of Women Voters Palo Alto. Civic groups will be hosting a variety of voter-education forums in the coming weeks, providing the electorate with opportunities to learn more about the people and issues they will be voting on Nov. 6. Here are some other upcoming events: Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education s -ONDAY /CT P M AT Churchill Ave., Palo Alto. The forum will focus on special education. Sponsored by the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education. s 7EDNESDAY /CT P M AT the English Resource Center (ERC) adjacent to the Palo Alto High School Library. Cosponsored by Paly’s Student Equity Action Network, Parents Advocating Student Success and Paly alumni.
Health
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7\ZO IHJR VU OV\ZPUN THUKH[LZ¯ ABAG is demanding Palo Alto zone for housing for 18,000 new residents. I challenged ABAG’s demographic projections. The livability of our community depends upon strong leadership on this issue. ¸:JOTPK X\LZ[PVUZ [OL LJVUVTPJ HZZ\TW[PVUZ ILOPUK B()(.ZD MVYLJHZ[Z JP[PUN YLJLU[ L_HTWSLZ PU ^OPJO ZVTL VM [OL ZTHY[LZ[ WYVMLZZPVUHS WSHUULYZ [\YULK V\[ [V IL KLHK ^YVUN¯š —San Francisco Public Press, Summer 2012
www.gregschmid.com Paid for by Greg Schmid for City Council 2012 -77* ‹ 1HUPJL >H` ‹ 7HSV (S[V *(
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School principals initiated efforts on each campus to identify at-risk students, and a variety of peer support programs such as “Sources of Strength� and “Henry M. Gunn Gives Me Hope� took hold. The California Healthy Kids Survey describes itself as “the largest statewide survey of resiliency, protective factors and risk behaviors in the nation.� Local officials called it a reliable measure for making statewide comparisons and longitudinal assessments of student health. In the survey, Palo Alto students report higher resiliency and less engagement in high-risk behavior compared to students across Santa Clara County and “comparable schools.� But local school officials expressed concern about reported levels of substance abuse. Among 11th-graders, 29 percent reported using alcohol and 19 percent reported using marijuana in the last 30 days. Sixteen percent reported binge drinking in the last 30 days. In terms of school safety, 24 percent of seventh-graders reported they had been harassed on school property in the last 12 months, and 15 percent said they had been afraid of being beaten up. Eighty-three percent of seventh-graders reported feeling safe or very safe at school. In the area of home life, 82 percent of seventh-graders, 78 percent of ninth-graders and 74 percent of 11th-graders report that “There is a parent or some other adult who talks to me about my problems.� Regarding school “connectedness,� 79 percent of Paly freshmen
s -ONDAY /CT AT P M IN the boardroom of school district headquarters, 25 Churchill, sponsored by the Palo Alto Weekly and moderated by California Sen. Joe Simitian, a former Palo Alto school board member. s 3UNDAY /CT AT P M AT Congregation Etz Chayim, 4161 Alma St. s 7EDNESDAY /CT AT P M at Nixon Elementary School, 1711 Stanford Ave., sponsored by the PTAs of Nixon and Escondido elementary schools. Pros and Cons forum covering all state propositions s 4UESDAY /CT P M AT 1305 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto. Sponsored by the Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid-peninsula. s 7EDNESDAY /CT P M AT 850 Webster St., Palo Alto.
Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View and Sunnyvale per the new boundaries created by the 2010 census. Sponsored by League of Women Voters Los Altos/Mountain View and Crittenden Middle School PTA. Co-sponsored by League of Women Voters Palo Alto and League of Women Voters Cupertino-Sunnyvale. Palo Alto City Council s 4HURSDAY /CT P M at 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters Palo Alto. State Assembly and State Senate s 7EDNESDAY /CT P M at 701 Laurel St., Menlo Park. Cosponsored with League of Women Voters South San Mateo County.
Santa Clara County Board of Education: Trustee Area No. 1 s 7EDNESDAY /CT P M at 1701 Rock Ave., Mountain View. Trustee Area No. 1 encompasses
Election Day: presidential, state legislature and county final elections s 4UESDAY .OV A M P M More information is available at www.smartvoter.org. N — Palo Alto Online staff
and 70 percent of Paly juniors, and 80 percent of Gunn freshmen and 81 percent of Gunn juniors said they felt “meaningful participation.� Officials said the two high schools were comparable on “connectedness� data but that Paly students reported slightly higher levels of substance abuse.
The Healthy Kids Survey, taken voluntarily and anonymously, garnered participation by 74 percent of seventh-graders, 87 percent of ninth-graders and 82 percent of 11th-graders. N Staff Writer Chris Kenrick can be emailed at ckenrick@paweekly. com.
Public Agenda A preview of Palo Alto government meetings next week CITY COUNCIL ... The council has no meetings scheduled this week. BOARD OF EDUCATION ... The board will hear reports on official 2012-13 school-enrollment statistics and results of the 2011-12 Healthy Kids Survey. The board also will hear reports from the principals of Gunn and Palo Alto high schools about plans for their guidance-counseling programs. The board will vote on updates to board-policy documents and a resolution on the Stanford-Palo Alto Trails program. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the boardroom of school district headquarters (25 Churchill Ave.). PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION ... The commission plans to discuss the Comprehensive Plan Amendment and review the proposed designs for the Rinconada Park Long Range Plan. The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 10, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). COUNCIL RAIL COMMITTEE ... The committee plans to hear an update on staff’s work with Caltrain on traffic and grade-crossing analysis; consider updates to the Rail Committee Guiding Principles; and discuss a memo to update the community on rail issues. The meeting will begin at 8: 30 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ... The commission plans to hear a presentation about Project Safety Net; review its annual priorities; hear a presentation on the Family Odyssey Project from the Midpeninsula Media Center; and consider extending the term of the current chair and vice chair. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, in the Council Conference Room at City Hall (250 Hamilton Ave.). LET’S DISCUSS: Read the latest local news headlines and talk about the issues at Town Square at PaloAltoOnline.com