Palo Alto Pushes Back on James Franco

The principal of Palo Alto High School reportedly decided to erase a campus mural painted by graduate James Franco after allegations of sexual misconduct were raised against the actor, writer and director. The Paly Voice, the high school’s student newspaper, reported that workers began painting over Franco’s mural in the student center Monday at the direction of Principal Kim Diorio. The decision comes on the heels of five women accusing Franco of sexual misconduct and sexually exploitative behavior. Franco has denied these allegations. The school’s most famous graduate still has multiple other paintings being shown on campus, though. More

Palo Alto's Secret Garden

Tucked away from the rest of Stanford University's main tourist attractions, an eccentric and whimsical garden sits on the far northern tip of campus. Surrounded by a grove of oak and eucalyptus trees, its densely tangled prickly pear plants and towering yucca trees stand out starkly to passersby, leaving many curious about how a plot of land straight out of the Sonoran desert came to exist just yards away from the Stanford Mausoleum. Unbeknownst to many students and visitors, the Arizona Cactus Garden is one of Stanford's oldest living attractions, with roots reaching back to the late 1800s. Boasting over 17,000 square feet of green space, the quadrilaterally symmetrical and American West-inspired garden was designed by acclaimed landscape gardener Rudolph Ulrich between 1881 and 1883. The Arizona Garden was an unusual sight even by the standards of its time in the Gilded Age, a period that was marked by ostentatious wealth. In its heyday, it included thousands of varieties of cacti and succulents that rarely, if ever, grew naturally in the Bay Area. More

Palo Alto Man Uses Bike in Crime Spree

A man who allegedly used a bright blue bike as part of short crime spree in south Palo Alto on Thursday evening was arrested later in the day while sitting on bus bench. Police said Brandon Robert Yamagata, 30, was booked Thursday night on an assortment of charges related to a string on incidents that began at SummerWinds Nursery at 725 San Antonio Road. According to police, Yamagata stopped by the nursery shortly before 6 p.m., around closing time, and told an employee, a woman in her 60s, that he needs to use the restroom. Shortly after she let him in, the employee spotted the man in the nursery's office, holding a computer tower. He immediately ran away with the equipment and rode off on a bright blue bicycle, police said. More