🌱 Patch AM: How a new ACE fatality revives Palo Alto rail safety worries

Cheers Palo Alto! We're back, helping you stay up to date with what's happening. Let's take on the day together! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

• How a new ACE fatality revives Palo Alto rail safety worries
• How would Newsom's possible death-row commutations affect Bay Area cases?

Also on today's calendar: 11th Annual Mountain View Oktoberfest and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: How do billboards talk? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

• Saturday: Not as warm, with a high of 70 and low of 51 degrees.
• Sunday: Partly sunny and pleasant, temps: high: 71, low: 52.
• Monday: Partly sunny, showers around, with a high of 77 and low of 52 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• ACE Train Kills Person on Union Pacific Tracks Between Santa Clara and Fremont (newsbreak.com) — Rail safety is again in the spotlight after a person was killed by an ACE train between Santa Clara and Fremont, echoing a 2025 pedestrian collision near Alma Street in Palo Alto that spurred calls for Caltrain safety upgrades. The article links these tragedies to California's high rate of rail trespass deaths and ongoing debates over better protections and transparency on South Bay rail lines.
   

• As Newsom considers commuting California's death sentences, 42 Bay Area killers remain in prison (mercurynews.com) — Gov. Gavin Newsom is weighing whether to commute all California death sentences, a move that would directly affect 42 people condemned in Bay Area counties. For residents near Palo Alto and East Palo Alto, the article revisits notorious Peninsula cases, including the killing of an East Palo Alto officer and a murder at a Palo Alto real estate office, while local prosecutors debate blanket clemency.
   

📸 Around Palo Alto

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Palo Alto

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★ Featured events ★

Saturday October 10
• 11th Annual Mountain View Oktoberfest →
  Downtown Mountain View, Mountain View
  11:00 am
• Saturday Comedy + a Glass of Bubbly on Us →
  Meze Kebab, 632 Emerson St, Palo Alto
  6:30 pm
Sunday October 11
• 11th Annual Mountain View Oktoberfest →
  Downtown Mountain View, Mountain View
  11:00 am
• Fashion Showcase at Enchanté Boutique Hotel →
  1 Main Street Los Altos, CA 94022,
  2:30 pm

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

Saturday October 10
• Pink Dance Party Fundraiser →
  Seiler Family Gymnasium, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303
  9:45 am
• Second Saturday (October) →
  Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St, Palo Alto
  10:00 am
• Biodiversity in Urban Gardens (BUG) Initiative Workshop →
  Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St, Palo Alto
  10:00 am
• Peninsula and South Bay Green@Home Tour 2026 →
  San Mateo & Santa Clara Counties
  11:00 am
Monday October 12
• Gardener's Hour (October) →
  Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St, Palo Alto
  5:30 pm
Wednesday October 14
• Garden Fresh Luncheon (October) →
  Elizabeth F. Gamble Garden, 1431 Waverley St, Palo Alto
  12:00 pm
Thursday October 15
• International Credit Union Day →
  9:00 am
• Andy Z's Fall Harvest Jam →
  Jessica Lynn Saal Town Square, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto, CA 94303
  4:00 pm

📣 Palo Alto Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

 

Thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Palo Alto PatchAM possible:

• VoicED Academy — 4083738953
• Illusive Comics & Games, LLC — (408) 985-7655

Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

• Little Grey—On the Road to Recovery!
  Thank you to everyone who contributed to us at Peninsula CatWorks for Little Grey's surgery. We're happy to report that she's well on the road to… (Nextdoor Barron Park)
• Little Grey—On the Road to Recovery!
  Thank you to everyone who contributed to us at Peninsula CatWorks for Little Grey's surgery. We're happy to report that she's well on the road to… (Nextdoor Barron Park)

• City Of Mountain View posted a job opening for Recreation Leader II (Scorekeeper) (20662788) in Mountain View. Apply here.
• Loop Neighborhood posted a job opening for Team Member in Menlo Park. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Palo Alto here.

🗞 Nearby News

Los Altos Hills

• Weeklys acquires Los Altos Town Crier (losaltosonline.com)
• Measure Guide: What to know about El Camino Healthcare's Measure S (mv-voice.com)

Stanford

• Down Goes No. 3 Duke (gostanford.com)
• Stanford Traditions w/LSJUMB and Big Game Gaieties (stanford.edu)
• Stanford Researchers Develop Urine Test That Detects 95% Of Bladder Cancer Cases (pulse2.com)

Redwood City

• Downed Pole Closes Part Of Road In Redwood City: Police (patch.com)
• Día De Los Muertos Celebration Returns To Downtown Redwood City (patch.com)

Ok Palo Alto! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "How do billboards talk?" — Sign language (Thank you Ellen S. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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