Around Town: municipal friends, a bicycling legend and climate ... - Palo Alto Online

Around Town: municipal friends, a bicycling legend and climate experts | News | Palo Alto Online |

In this week's Around Town column, a proposed new type of city-to-city partnership, a book about a local bicycling legend and a panel discussion about climate change.

WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS? … Palo Alto's municipal family has grown rapidly over the past decade, with the addition of Yangpu District, Shanghai, China, in 2019 bringing the number of "sisters" to eight — one more than Kim Kardashian. The list expanded further last year when the city added its first domestic "sibling" city: Bloomington, Indiana.

But as Palo Alto officials have learned, sister relationships can be tricky, particularly when the two cities have different priorities and expectations. Palo Alto's Deputy City Manager Chantal Gaines said during an Oct. 10 discussion of the topic that some international sisters devote far more resources to the partnership than Palo Alto. "Typically, when they interact with us they're very, very surprised that the city resources are far more limited on the Palo Alto side than it is wherever they are," she told the council's Policy and Services Committee. Now Palo Alto's unveiling a new proposal for municipal partnerships that aims lower — and gives both cities a chance to test out the waters first before welcoming each other to their respective families.

Known as the "Friendship City" program, partnerships would last three years (unless both parties agree to extend) and the city would only befriend two cities within the first three years. In discussion the proposal, which the committee endorsed by a 2-1 vote, with Chair Greg Tanaka dissenting, Vicki Veenker and Ed Lauing both suggested that the program could provide educational and cultural benefits at a limited cost if it's coordinated by Neighbors Abroad, the nonprofit that runs Palo Alto's existing sister partnerships. The recommendation will now go to the full council for consideration.

BOOK OF JOBST … When Palo Alto native Jobst Brandt went out on bicycle rides, he gravitated toward places where few cyclists had previously dared to venture. An engineer whose passion for bike design and technology became legendary in the cycling community, Brandt conquered mountains and went down dirt roads well before the concept of "mountain biking" even existed in the popular imagination.

Brandt, who died in 2015, is also known for partnering with Palo Alto Bicycles, a University Avenue institution, to create the bicycle brand Avocet. Local cyclers credit him with introducing innovations such as treadless tires, the bicycle computer and touring shoes, as well as mentoring generations of mountain bikers. Last week, as Palo Alto Bicycles celebrated its 50th anniversary under the ownership of the Hoffacker family, it celebrated Brandt's legacy by releasing "Jobst Brand: Ride Bike!" a book filled with interviews, biographical tidbits and photos from his various adventures.

His son, Olaf Grant, told the Palo Alto Weekly that the book was inspired in large part by the copious volume of photos that he left behind, which included tens of thousands of slides and many thumb drives. "He was an archivist of his own life," Olaf Brandt said. He said that many cyclists who used to ride with Brandt helped over the past two years with the project, which chronicles his many journeys, including his regular trips to the Alps, according to the book.

"We wove a biography together out of his individual interviews," he said. The book is available at isolapress.com/shop/jobst-brandt.

GETTING REAL ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE … The Ellen Fletcher Middle School Fall Speaker Series, a year-long effort hinged on sustainability-related themes, will host Pat Burt, Palo Alto City Council member; Elliott Wright, executive director, Hidden Villa and ex-grants administrator of the Inflation Reduction Act; and Anu Ramamurty, climate strategist and founder of Kat Kid Adventure for a panel discussion on Oct. 18 at 6:30 p.m. at the school. The panel discussion about climate change and sustainability is open to all.

Ramamurty, who is also a school district parent, wrote in an email, "Since sustainability and climate change are real world issues that are playing out as we speak, this speaker series is a way to bring current environmental and sustainability issues, solutions and actions to light for our community. It is a way for students and families to stay informed on the state of our environment and ways in which they can engage."

The discussion, titled "National to Local: The State of Climate Action Across the Country and in Palo Alto," will provide information on the state of climate action, both nationally and locally, and new laws, initiatives and opportunities for students and their families to advocate for a regenerative future.