Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: Will PAUSD roll back classroom screens after parent pushback?

Make time for Ragnarocktoberfest 2026 3-Day Nerf Event on the Palo Alto Patch calendar

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Tuesday September 29th Patch AM
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Morning Palo Alto! We've got the scoop on the latest happenings in town. Read on to get looped in. ☕️️

Before we get to what's happening, a big thank you 👏👏👏 to these businesses for making Palo Alto PatchAM possible. Click here to show your appreciation! 💚

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In today's newsletter:

  • Will PAUSD roll back classroom screens after parent pushback?
  • How three Caltrain crossing redesigns could reshape driving across Palo Alto.
  • How a Palo Alto-raised designer turns backyards into outdoor living rooms

Also on today's calendar: Ragnarocktoberfest 2026 3-Day Nerf Event and 9 more events.

Today's riddle: What do you call a one-legged Big Foot? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Tuesday: Sunny and warmer, with a high of 89 and low of 57 degrees. 🌶 Hot!
  • Wednesday: Sunny and very warm, temps: high: 89, low: 56.
  • Thursday: Mostly sunny and very warm, with a high of 87 and low of 57 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

• Too Much Tech? (thecampanile.org) — Palo Alto parents are pressing PAUSD to sharply scale back classroom technology, arguing heavy screen use harms learning and child development, while district leaders seek a more moderate, age‑based approach. A new technology committee of parents, students, educators and staff is now weighing stricter limits, alternatives like paper-based work, and ways to teach responsible tech use without eliminating devices entirely.
   

• Palo Alto advances plans to redesign three rail crossings (paloaltoonline.com) — Palo Alto is moving ahead with detailed designs to separate Caltrain tracks from the busy Churchill, Meadow and Charleston crossings, a costly project that could dramatically change traffic and safety for local drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. City leaders advanced all three concepts to a 35% design phase to keep grant funding options open, while debating construction timelines, potential road closures and how to pay for work that could top $1 billion.
   

• Meet the landscape artist blurring the line between indoor rooms and outdoor spaces (paloaltoonline.com) — A Peninsula-raised landscape designer who grew up in Palo Alto and Menlo Park is reimagining Bay Area gardens as seamless extensions of the home, tailored to each client's lifestyle. He draws on local horticulture training and extensive world travel to blend architectural elements, Asian influences, and drought-tolerant plantings into highly personalized outdoor "rooms" that work year-round in our climate.
   

📸 Around Palo Alto

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🗓 Upcoming Events in Palo Alto

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📣 Palo Alto Shout Outs!

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

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • LAST NIGHT'S FULL MOON .
    . . . broke through a layer of clouds moving in from the west. The mackerel sky at midnight stopped me in my tracks. Looking carefully, you'll see a… (Nextdoor Downtown North)
  • Pretty sunset on Sat Sep 26 at 7:14pm, right before the rising of the Harvest Moon, down by the Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve.
    Now that it's a few days past the Autumnal Equinox, the sunsets are moving further South and the hours of daylight are quickly getting shorter every… (Nextdoor Barron Park)
  • Four Points by Sheraton posted a job opening for Front Desk Night Auditor in Palo Alto. Apply here.
  • CSC Generation, Inc. posted a job opening for Kitchen Assistant (Sur La Table) in Palo Alto. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Palo Alto here.

🗞 Nearby News

Los Altos Hills

  • Preparations underway to face El Niño storms (losaltosonline.com)
  • These are California's richest suburbs now — and how they've changed in past decade (sfchronicle.com)
  • Acorn Adventure: Intro to Needle Felting (funcheap.com)

Stanford

Menlo Park

  • CHP To Target Drivers Speeding Along Winding Roads In La Honda: Report (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: Hop Squatch! (Thank you Terri R. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

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