The Palo Alto Promenade of Music and Film Festival is this Friday from 4 to 10 pm. The event, free to the public, features 3 outdoor stages, 1 outdoor and numerous indoor movie screens and over 50 bands and filmmakers. University Avenue will be closed from High Street to Tasso Street. 

Fore more information, go to www.paloaltodowntown.com and click on “what’s happening.”

In honor of Bike to Work Month, I have recovered my bike from my garage and have given it a much needed tune-up. Since then, it has become my vehicle of choice. With the warmer temperatures, higher gas prices, and on-going traffic and parking challenges, I am finding it more practical to bike rather than to drive. This month, Palo Alto realtors are being encouraged to ride their bikes instead of driving from house to house on Friday Broker’s Tours.  I am also a novice rider on the “Coast to Coast” team in the Second Annual Team Bike Challenge. Currently we’re in 13th place with 45 points! On Thursday, May 17th, there are events all over the Bay Area to celebrate “Bike to Work Day.”

http://www.bayareabikes.org/btwd/index.php?page=index.htm

I receive a lot of questions regarding Palo Alto’s schools, as they are often what attract people to this area. The Palo Alto School District makes it easy to find out what school is assigned to a particular address. Simply type in the address in their “school finder” at:

http://capulin.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us:8080/school_finder/SchoolFinder.cfm.   

There is also a link that will take you to a colorful boundary map: http://www.pausd.palo-alto.ca.us/parents/schools_sites/downloads/AttendanceBoundaryMaps.pdf. Ultimately, though, it’s smart to check directly with the district for final confirmation in regards to school assignment, as it’s possible for enrollment at a particular school to be full. Also, sometimes the boundaries get changed to accomodate residential changes (for example, the hundreds of new residents who will be moving into the Arbor Real Development). Another useful link for parents is www.greatschools.net. This site allows you to search nationwide for information on schools, including their API scores.