Cover Story
8:00 A.M., Wednesday, October 19, 2011 Palo Alto Council Chambers, 1st Floor, Civic Center, 250 Hamilton Avenue. Go to the Development Center at 285 Hamilton Avenue to review filed documents; contact Diana Tamale for information regarding business hours at 650.329.2144. 2080 Channing Avenue [10PLN-00198]: Review of a request by Sand Hill Properties for a Planned Community proposal for the Edgewood Plaza Shopping Center for the renovation of the three existing, Eichler retail structures, on-site relocation of one of the retail structures, construction of 10 new single-family homes, and creation of a 0.22 acre park. The Environmental Impact Report prepared for the project has been published and the public comment period began September 30 and will end November 14, 2011. A Planning and Transportation Commission public hearing for the EIR has been scheduled for October 26, 2011. Steven Turner, Advance Planning Manager
PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL CIVIC CENTER, 250 HAMILTON AVENUE BROADCAST LIVE ON KZSU, FM 90.1 CABLECAST LIVE ON GOVERNMENT ACCESS CHANNEL 26 ***************************************** THIS IS A SUMMARY OF COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS. THE AGENDA WITH COMPLETE TITLES INCLUDING LEGAL DOCUMENTATION CAN BE VIEWED AT THE BELOW WEBPAGE: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/knowzone/agendas/council.asp (TENTATIVE) AGENDA- CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS The City Council Meeting of October 10, 2011 has been cancelled due to Columbus Day Holiday. STANDING COMMITTEE MEETINGS The Special City Council Rail Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 12, at 8:00 a.m. regarding: 1) Continued discussion of the July 19, 2011 Bay Area Council letter to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and potential Palo Alto City response, 2) Continued discussion of High Speed Rail Guiding Principles policy document, and 3) Discussion of next rail update to the City Council and presentation by Economic & Planning Systems (EPS) on economic impacts of Caltrain electrification and High Speed Rail in Palo Alto.
Veronica Weber
Veronica Weber
NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETING of the City of Palo Alto Historic Resources Board [HRB]
Above left: What goes where? A sign displaying which lunch items can be placed in compost, recycling or garbage bins was displayed outside the lunch tables at Walter Hays Elementary School. Above right: Joyce Martha, a parent volunteer at Walter Hays Elementary School, shows students how to separate their trash into compost, recycling or garbage bins during “Zero Waste Lunch Day” on Sept. 29.
Doing lunch (continued from page 39)
Although the day had been designated a special “Zero Waste Lunch
Day” at Walter Hays, Carolyn said the minimal amount of trash was much like that of a typical day. An added benefit of reusable containers is that parents can see what their kids failed to eat when the
Palo Alto Unified School District REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION OF BIDDERS PQ-11-FM FAIRMEADOW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MODERNIZATION & NEW CONSTRUCTION The Palo Alto Unified School District is inviting qualification information from General Contractors to provide Construction Services for the following upcoming construction project. Fairmeadow Elementary School: Construction of a new classroom building, addition to library, modernization to multiple existing buildings, site & landscape modernization. Contractors who were previously prequalified for PQ 11-01 Gunn High School New Classroom Buildings A&B, PQ 11-02 Gunn High School New Gymnasium and remodeling of the existing Gym and/or PQ 11-03 Palo Alto High School New Classroom & Media Arts and/or PQ-11-MS Jordan and Terman Middle School, conducted earlier this year of 2011 only need to submit Part I – Contact Information & Part III-E –Financial Strength to provide updated financial information. There will be a NON-MANDATORY prequalification conference on Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 10:00 AM at 25 Churchill Avenue, Building “D”, Palo Alto, CA. The project and the Prequalification package will be discussed. All responses to this RFQ must be received no later than 10:00 AM Friday, October 21, 2011. Interested firms shall submit Qualifications as described in the Prequalification Package to: Palo Alto Unified School District Facilities Department 25 Churchill Avenue, Building “D” Palo Alto, CA 94306 Attn: Peter Tiwana Please direct any questions regarding this Request for Qualification (RFQ) to Peter Tiwana at ptiwana@pausd.org, or fax to (650) 327-3588. These are not requests for bids or offers by the District to contract with any party responding to this RFQ. The District reserves the right to reject any and all responses. All materials submitted to the District in response to this RFQ shall remain property of the District and may be considered a part of public record.
items come back home in the lunch box that afternoon. Parent volunteers at Escondido School were surprised to discover more than 20 pounds of completely uneaten food in a single day when they examined lunch trash as part of a “Green Team” project last year. “Beautiful sandwiches, lovingly made, were completely uneaten — and that doesn’t even count the partially eaten items,” said Escondido Green Team chair Kristen Anderson. Plastic water bottles, untouched Odwalla juice drinks at $3 each, whole pieces of fruit and nearly a dozen unopened containers of yogurt were among the items recovered. “I think parents would rather know about this, so they can ask their child what they would actually prefer to eat. With reusable lunch containers this is much easier,” Anderson said. Most Palo Alto kids are way ahead of their parents when it comes to composting. Unlike residential households, schools and businesses in Palo Alto enjoy compost pickup from the city’s waste hauler, GreenWaste, so kids learn to compost — at least at school — from an early age. Even the first-graders know that lunch leftovers, including paper napkins and used paper plates, can be put in the school compost bin. And nearly all of the containers from Palo Alto schools’ federally mandated hot lunch program, managed by contractor Sodexo America LLC, are compostable. “It does take time to change behavior, and I think with consistency and positive encouragement a lot can be accomplished,” said Walter Hays parent and volunteer Federica Armstrong, an organizer of the school’s Green Team. “Sometimes the kids are really the key in helping the parents learn new habits.” The Walter Hays Green Team plans to sponsor zero-waste lunch days — and track the garbage — on a monthly basis for the rest of the year. Similar efforts at other Palo Alto campuses vary depending on decisions made by each school’s Green Team. N — Chris Kenrick About the cover: Design by Shannon Corey
Page 42ÊUÊ"VÌ LiÀÊÇ]ÊÓ䣣ÊUÊ*> Ê Ì Ê7ii Þ