Het verhaal
Mayor Vicki Veenker delivered her State of the City on Wednesday evening, August 19, at the Palo Alto High School Performing Arts Center. Unlike the last two editions in March, she treated the speech as a progress report so there would be “meaningful updates” to share. In an hour she walked through the city’s goals: housing, a lively commercial core, the Cubberley purchase, and more efficient government.
Milestones included the recently opened Homekey Palo Alto and Mitchell Park Place, progress on the San Antonio Area Plan (more than 1,500 homes on the city’s south side), the 3150 and 3001 El Camino Real projects, and the new public safety building for police, fire leadership, and emergency response. She also cited the Newell Bridge replacement, part of flood work on San Francisquito Creek, and the city’s first official Pride Month. The balanced budget that closed an expected $17 million gap came up more than once.
Measure J, a sales tax for the Cubberley Community Center, is on the November ballot. Other topics, including oversized vehicles and the vote against closing the Churchill Avenue rail crossing after a teenager’s suicide, came up in passing. Automatic license-plate readers stayed out of the speech.
“I believe that our secret sauce is that we have a magical convergence here of incredibly talented, community-minded people who attract more talented, community-minded people,” Veenker said. “So while we still have work to do, if we work together, play together and stand together as one community, then, friends, the state of our city is strong!” Vice Mayor Greer Stone opened the evening; Pastor Kaloma Smith and Julie Dominguez and Corina Arellano of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe also spoke. Table tennis player Lily Zhang, who grew up in Palo Alto and is the first American Olympic medalist in the sport, played, including against the mayor.