Palo Alto, CA|News|
Palo Alto Phasing In Plastic Straw, Utensil Ban
Starting next year, the Peninsula city is asking diners to put a fork in plastic if we are to save our creek-to-Bay-to-Pacific waterways.

I've been a writer as long as I can remember -- in my secret hiding places as a kid growing up in Woodstock, Vt. Professionally, I've worked for decades as a reporter and editor for a number of California publications, including the North County Times (which was folded into the Union-Tribune group in San Diego County), Del Norte Triplicate and Times Standard on the Redwood Coast, Tahoe Daily Tribune and most recently with the online community news site Lake Tahoe News on the South Shore.
I've written in many beats, with some travel involved. My travels have taken me to cover U.S. sprinter Michael Johnson delivering the Olympic torch to Stonehenge at sunrise on its way to London for the 2010 Summer Games. Eight years before, my press coverage granted me my own running leg of the Olympic torch in South Lake Tahoe on its way to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Starting next year, the Peninsula city is asking diners to put a fork in plastic if we are to save our creek-to-Bay-to-Pacific waterways.

Besides all things garlic, southern Santa Clara County's premier summer festival will highlight Grammy Award-winning artist Colbie Caillat.
Data privacy represents one of the most compelling issue of our time, so the city of Cupertino's tech commission would like to help.
Officers hold a special place in their hearts for the run to benefit Special Olympics and carry the torch with the Olympians.
The first defendant to be sentenced in the far-reaching, nationwide scandal, John Vandemoer was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine by the judge.
The San Jose man, who worked at Sylvandale Middle School, is accused of child molestation, exploitation of two teenage boys.
The City Council directed staff to return to the drawing board with a phased-in approach to addressing the multitude of RV homesteaders.
When the women left the San Jose bar for an encounter at a Santa Clara motel room, they met the barrel of a gun and were robbed.
Rep. Anna Eshoo signed the bipartisan letter as a congressional gesture to slow down military tensions building in the Middle East.
A reporting party told Santa Clara Co. deputies that an argument at the 'Park N Ride' was heard before at least one gunshot.
The idea from the Stanford Robotics Club's Extreme Mobility Team is to allow the public to build the canine robot.
Many sales jobs will bring on those new to the sales world as well as seasoned help.
Santa Clara County teenagers in the Foster Youth program plan to buck the trend of troubling numbers and move on to higher education.
The latest Lending Tree placed the Silicon Valley town high on the list for citizens not falling into debt trap, not counting mortgages.
CHP's class designed for seniors will review a range of topics from brushing up on the rules of the road to driving alternatives.
According to police, two suspects shown here ripped into the cash and coin machine at the laundromat on Wayland Lane.
Mineta San Jose International Airport hosted a ceremony to launch the zero-emission courtesy bus fleet, the largest in the United States.
Palo Alto excitement, business and traffic is expected to build this week as Stanford's graduation culminates with a Father's Day ceremony.
The $1 family friendly movies are being screened Tuesdays and Wednesdays through summer.
The deadline to apply for an honor that encourages civic pride in Redwood City is June 30.