Remote work rises and Caltrain ridership plummets: How Silicon Valley has changed three years since COVID

Each year, Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a regional nonprofit think tank, publishes its Silicon Valley Index, a report chock-full of data points attempting to paint a point-in-time portrait of the region. This year's data points confirmed a lot of what I'd observed anecdotally in my own circles: Essentials like housing, transportation, food and child care feel more expensive than ever.

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Beyond plastic straw bans: ‘Generation Dread’ author and Stanford postdoc Britt Wray on coping with (and acting on) eco-anxiety

Britt Wray, a Stanford postdoc who lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains, talks about her book "Generation Dread: Finding Purpose in an Age of Climate Crisis," which discusses the mental health impacts of the climate crisis, especially on young people who are increasingly agitated that the planet is facing unprecedented threats due to the actions of previous and current generations. 

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Seven family-friendly holiday reads for storytime

This year, our suggested holiday reading list includes a selection of inspiring stories from a girl who pushes the boundaries to follow her courageous (and forbidden) dream to a mapmaker on a fantastical voyage attempting to flee from social barriers.

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Films return to Menlo Park’s Guild Theatre with the Doc5 Festival

Films are coming back to the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park. The former movie theater that was recently renovated into an intimate music venue will soon have a big screen and extra seats set up on the dance floor for guests attending the Doc5 Film Festival, a series of five documentaries showing Wednesday, Sept. 7, through Friday, Sept. 9.

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Palo Alto’s kiddie zoo just reopened! Here are 8 animals that zookeepers think you shouldn’t miss on your first visit back.

After two years and $33 million, the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo is twice the size, with 50 species and a two-story treehouse. (Photo courtesy Palo Alto Junior Museum & Zoo) When the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo outgrew its clunky 1940s architecture (including concrete bathtub-shaped exhibits), the beloved family staple closed to undergo a two-year makeover. Now it’s back at nearly double the size with a Loose-in-the-Zoo theme that ...

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How a local nonprofit builds community between tech giants and students one email at a time

How a Silicon Valley non-profit builds community between tech giants and local students one email at a time Dialog to Learn has pioneered a literacy program linking elementary school students to Peninsula professionals. A Dialog to Learn student next to a handwritten letter my “digital buddy” gave me when we finally got to meet in person. (Photo by Caitlin Wolf) I stare at my computer screen wondering where to start. “My favorite color is aqua blue. I ...

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