Community Corner

🌱 Patch AM: How quick-thinking Menlo Park siblings helped save a neighbor’s family

Also check out Crossing Over with Psychic Medium John Edward live in San Francisco, CA! on the Menlo Park Patch calendar

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Tuesday December 30th Patch AM
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Good morning Menlo Park! Your connection to what's happening around town is here. Take a sip of coffee and read on. ☕️️

In today's newsletter:

  • How quick-thinking Menlo Park siblings helped save a neighbor’s family
  • How 2025’s biggest Menlo Park decisions will shape your daily life
  • How did weak passwords let hackers hijack Menlo Park crosswalks?

Also on today's calendar: Crossing Over with Psychic Medium John Edward live in San Francisco, CA! and 7 more events.

Find out what's happening in Menlo Park-Athertonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Today's riddle: The world champion tongue twister just got arrested! 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

Find out what's happening in Menlo Park-Athertonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

  • Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high of 54 and low of 44 degrees.
  • Wednesday: Cloudy with a few showers, temps: high: 53, low: 48.
  • Thursday: Periods of rain, with a high of 60 and low of 55 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Group of siblings save a family from an overnight fire in Menlo Park (nbcbayarea.com) — A family on Hill Avenue in Menlo Park escaped an overnight house fire after nearby siblings spotted flames and urgently woke the residents. Menlo Park firefighters say two small dogs died, but the parents and adult children got out, with the father suffering only minor injuries. Neighbors and first responders credit the siblings’ quick actions with preventing a far worse outcome.
   

2. Looking back at a consequential year in Menlo Park (almanacnews.com) — Menlo Park spent 2025 wrestling with big housing decisions, from the contested Willow Park project and downtown parking-lot affordable housing plans to approval of a major SRI campus redevelopment. Residents also saw a wave of new restaurants, a reimagined 600 block of Santa Cruz Avenue, and challenges at the new Belle Haven Community Center and pool that prompted extra city support.
   

3. Crosswalk signals were hacked because of a weak password (padailypost.com) — Menlo Park residents are learning that hacked talking crosswalks on El Camino were compromised because default manufacturer passwords were never changed, allowing pranksters to upload fake Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg audio. Only Caltrans-owned signals were affected, but Menlo Park’s public works director says the city has been urged to strengthen passwords, and Caltrans has now updated credentials at other vulnerable intersections.
   

4. What did California lawmakers talk about this year? These 10 bills sparked hours of debate (calmatters.org) — Menlo Park’s state senator Josh Becker helped lead a major energy bill that drew hours of debate over wildfire liability and potential impacts on utility bills. The story spotlights this and nine other hotly contested California bills on topics from antisemitism in schools to AT&T landlines, showing which proposals generated the most testimony and lobbying in Sacramento this year.
   

📸 Around Menlo Park

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💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Women’s Health in the Bay Area: Bridging the Gap Between Wellness and Medicine —Aaron Smith Read on Patch
  • Good news!
    UPDATE: Paul was located shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday. He is OK and is being reunited with his family. The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank… (Nextdoor )
  • Join the California Native Plant Society, Santa Clara Valley Chapter, for a Native Plant Seed and Cutting Exchange on Saturday, January 24 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at the Peninsula Conservation Center (PCC), 3921 E.
    Bayshore Road in Palo Alto. Propagation is a year-round activity, and this is a great time to start new plants from cuttings as well as seeds. This… (Nextdoor Menlo Oaks)
  • SBM Management posted a job opening for Day Porter in Menlo Park. Apply here.
  • UBS posted a job opening for Investment Banker, M&A (West Coast) in Menlo Park. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Menlo Park here.

Ok Menlo Park! 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: I hear they’re giving him a really tough sentence.
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Send it to us!

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