A local resource guide published by the Mountain View Voice 2019-20 MOUNTAIN VIEW How cities are using public gardens to grow community Page 6 the arts | open spaces | resources | seniors education | government | neighborhoods | mv-voice.com Easy access to the care you need when you need it For treatment of colds, flu, minor injuries, and other common conditions, rely on Stanford Express Care and the Stanford Walk-In Clinic. With extended hours and multiple locations, they give you easy access to precisely the right care at the right time in the right place. 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SAN CARLOS DANVILLE 1123 Industrial (near Best Buy/Ross) 1901-F Camino Ramon 650-508-8317 925-866-6164 CAMPBELL CORTE MADERA 930 W Hamilton Ave., Suite 190 801 Tamalpais Drive 408-871-8890 415-924-6691 www.thehomeconsignmentcenter.com 4 • Info Mountain View www.MountainViewOnline.com Above: A biker on the restored Bay Trail (Photo by Magali Gauthier). On the cover: Joyce Cavanaugh picks green beans at Willowgate Community Gardens (Photo by Magali Gauthier). WELCOME TO INFO MOUNTAIN VIEW Inside Home to NASA’s Ames Research Center, four Fortune 500 6 LIFE IN MOUNTAIN VIEW companies and 1,498 startups valued at over $5 million (113 Neighbors find connection through community gardens more than last year), it’s no surprise that Mountain View has cemented itself as an epicenter for new ideas and an ever- THE ARTS increasing culture of productivity. For the past three years, 11 the city has ranked among the fastest-growing economies in The best ways to experience the arts locally the United States. But the community isn’t all about the job market: Its A+ ratings 15 RESOURCES for schools, outdoor activities and nightlife also have placed it Where to find assistance, community resources, social among the Top 10 California suburbs to live and raise a family, services and the 88th best small city to live in America, according to surveys conducted by Niche and Wallethub. The city includes award-winning OPEN SPACES schools, 8 miles of shoreline trails, a working farm, museums, performance 21 centers, an amphitheater and Castro Street’s vibrant dining scene. Tours, activities and other ways to explore parks, preserves On the flip side, the city’s economic prosperity continues to bring growing pains, mainly in the form of traffic and out-of-whack- real estate prices. This year, the city 27 SENIORS again earned D+ and F ratings for its high cost of living in multiple national surveys, Activities, resources, services including those conducted by Niche and areavibes. According to the surveys, the cost of living in Mountain View is 215% higher than the national average with housing costs 31 EDUCATION 429% above the national average. The city’s cost of living also ranks 55% higher than An inside look at public, private, higher education the statewide average. Despite these issues, residents across the city describe Mountain View as a place with close-knit neighborhoods, strong community activism and an array of unique cultural 37 GOVERNMENT activities and programs. To highlight some of the community’s best — and oftentimes New laws, city happenings, ways to get involved least publicized — offerings, we’ve decided to revamp our annual Info Mountain View publication this year. 43 NEIGHBORHOODS From volunteer opportunities to grassroots neighborhood groups to educational tours Ways to connect with neighbors, volunteer, get involved of unique destinations, each section aims to provide residents with the information they need to explore and connect with the community. In our Seniors section, for STAFF example, you’ll find out how volunteer tango dancers from the community are helping people with Alzheimer’s disease. And our Open Spaces section highlights how Publisher: Bill Johnson Major Accounts Sales Manager: residents can use their smartphones to help the open space district track endangered Info Editor: Linda Taaffe Connie Jo Cotton species at local parks. Photographers: Magali Gauthier, Sales Representatives: Tiffany Birch, Veronica Weber Elaine Clark, Janice Fabella, Neal Fine, In addition to this publication, you can visit mv-voice.com to stay up to date on news Janice Hoogner, Rosemary Lewkowitz and events happening in Mountain View. Subscribe to Express, a daily email, and have Info Designers: Kristin Brown, Kevin Legnon the news delivered right to your inbox. Or check out Weekend Express, emailed on Vice President Sales and Thursdays, for the scoop on art and entertainment. Both are free; sign up at mv-voice. Advertising: Tom Zahiralis com/express. And if you’ve got suggestions for next year’s Info Mountain View, please email editor@ Info Mountain View is a special project of the Voice. Copyright © mv-voice.com. We appreciate your feedback. 2019 Embarcadero Media Co. All rights reserved. Reproduction Linda Taaffe without permission is strictly prohibited. Info Mountain View Editor 450 Cambridge Ave. | Palo Alto, CA 94306 | 650-964-6300 www.MountainViewOnline.com Info Mountain View • 5 Above: Residents Gene and Joyce Cavanaugh work in their garden plot at the Willowgate Community Gardens in Mountain View. Photo by Magali Gauthier. Right: Cabbage and lettuce are among the vegetables growing in plots at Palo Alto’s Rinconada Community Garden. Photo by Veronica Weber. Lebanon,” he explained. And now, he can pass the family A perfect plot tradition down to his 5-year-old daughter, who helps him garden with her own shovel and rake. Cities make space for community gardens Nibbling on fresh thyme and cherry tomatoes while they work that bring residents together is good for both of them, he said. “You can see it on her. When BY KALI SHILOH located, are divided into dozens of she goes back home she’s more re- ust beyond a locked gate at the plots, each rented to individuals freshed,” Berro said. Jend of a cul de sac in Mountain or families in the community for The site of the Belle Haven garden, View’s Willowgate neighborhood, a nominal fee (or sometimes for a city-owned parcel, wasn’t always there’s a 1-acre site where 135 resi- free). Plot holders take full respon- a flourishing neighborhood oasis. The park is dents pay as little as $50 a year to sibility for the soil and reap all the Tucked behind homes, the se- one of four community gardens in lease sprawling plots of land. Some fruits of their labor. cluded property was a notorious Palo Alto operated by the city. had to wait six years to secure a The Belle Haven Community hiding spot for stolen cars and late- Located behind Rinconada Li- spot in the 30-year-old communi- Garden in Menlo Park is divided night escapades until four years brary, the sprawling 1.3-acre maze ty, because once people get in, they into 37 plots where residents can ago, when the city agreed to rent of plots is a popular community rarely want to leave. tend their own mini gardens, at the land to Glen Rojas and Joan- attraction: Artists from the neigh- This rare site is a community gar- no cost. na Jones of the Menlo Park Rotary boring Art Center often walk over den, offering a place where resi- “I could be exhausted at work, and Club for $1 per year. They cleared to paint the foliage, and classes of dents can get their hands dirty if I come during the week, it’s truly the debris, consulted agricultural school children regularly visit to planting fruits, vegetables, herbs soothing,” said Andre Berro, who experts and created the Belle Ha- count flutters of monarch butter- and flowers — and enjoy some- signed up for his 4-by-8-foot plot ven Community Garden, turning flies that are attracted to the milk- thing more priceless: a place to get when the garden first opened. the blighted area into a vibrant weed and nectar plants and that away, build community and con- Berro, a public health worker gathering place. nest there. nect with nature. who lives in a condominium with At Palo Alto’s Rinconada Com- Community Garden Coordina- Such gardens can be found in no outdoor space to grow food, munity Garden, teacher Stephanie tor Catherine Bourquin said the city nearly every city along the Mid- said he’s happy to have a place Maples is among the 135 plot hold- tried to keep Rinconada closed to peninsula. These gardens, which to continue his family’s farming ers. She likes to spend time tending non-gardeners last year after some are generally owned and oper- tradition. her 100-square-foot garden plot ated by the city in which they are “My father had a vineyard in with her children. Continued on page 9 6 • Info Mountain View www.MountainViewOnline.com BRAT BRLEAT IN LE E IN G E C G C O F A B E U R S A IN AY O ES B S IN THE F A B E R U A SI NE AY SS IN THE B PROVIDING THE EXPERTISE OF • Proper Pruning • Fertilization CA Lic# 696959 • Watering • Mulching Offering weekly, monthly & quarterly • Landscape Design maintenance programs.