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Articles by Samhita Krishnan
After the reckoning: Occidental’s sexual assault reforms, a decade on
Caroline Heldman, chair and professor of Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at Occidental, has been a leader in the college’s reckoning with its handling of sexual assault. A survivor advocate, Heldman said she cannot walk past certain campus buildings and houses without thinking of students who told her they had been raped there. This fall, events at another campus have brought the subject of sexual assault to the forefront of national discussion.
After the reckoning: Occidental’s sexual assault reforms, a decade on
Caroline Heldman, chair and professor of Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at Occidental, has been a leader in the college’s reckoning with its handling of sexual assault. A survivor advocate, Heldman said she cannot walk past certain campus buildings and houses without thinking of students who told her they had been raped there. As an Occidental professor for 20 years, Heldman was at the college for the 2013 federal complaints of mishandled sexual assault cases and the 2016 federal findings.
Free Kuya Jonathan campaign presses consulate for support in Eagle Rock
Courtesy of SIKLAB Anakbayan Eagle Rock, GABRIELA Eagle Rock and Anakbayan Inland Empire launched the Free Kuya Jonathan campaign in June to support Jonathan Canete, a 46-year-old caregiver from Cebu, Philippines, who was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement near downtown LA June 10. Canete has since been held at Adelanto’s Desert View annex for three months.
California housing
A building set to have 40 apartment units with four retail stores is under construction at the intersection of Wilshire and 6th Street in Santa Monica. May 24, 2023. Read on... for more on why almost nowhere in California is building enough. What’s the housing hold up? For anyone who has been monitoring the pace of new residential development in California over the last half century, the disconnect between housing planned and housing permitted won’t come as a surprise.
LA business owners
A "We Moved!" sign marks Sip Snack's former storefront on York Boulevard, pointing customers to owner PJ Roden's new location at 5110 York. Read on ... for more on this 1987 loophole. L.A. small businesses: Los Angeles County has more than 236,000 microbusinesses with nine or fewer employees, according to 2021 Census data.
This 1987 loophole is being used to evict LA business owners
PJ Roden had been on a month-to-month lease at her storefront, Sip Snack, on York Boulevard for seven years when her landlord called in April to say someone was coming to measure the building. “I asked him, are you selling?” Roden told The LA Local. He admitted he was, for around $4 million, though the building ultimately sold for $5.1 million in cash within a few weeks. “Mom-and-pop landlords in LA give you a one-year lease and then never give you another one,” she said.
Wrongful death trial begins in fatal Redwood City street-racing crash Original
Gregory Ammen and Grace Spiridon were beloved parents and members of the Redwood City community. Courtesy of Liza Spiridon Nearly four years after a street race in Redwood City left two twin girls without parents, the family of the San Carlos couple who died in the crash delivered opening statements Wednesday at a civil wrongful death trial against the two convicted in the criminal case. Grace Spiridon, 42, and Gregory Ammen, 44, were killed on Nov.
Palo Alto native biking through American South, learning along the way
Lachlan Kirby rides through Florida with a group of fraternity brothers who were themselves riding for charity. Photo by Lachlan Kirby. Lachlan Kirby has been chased by feral dogs, caught in a desert thunderstorm and welcomed into a stranger’s home more times than he can count. This fall, the Palo Alto native plans to bring some of that experience back to his hometown.
Around Town: A mission to Israel, schools to watch
East Palo Alto Mayor Webster Lincoln has been posting photos from his trip to Israel on Facebook. HASHTAG DIPLOMACY … During East Palo Alto’s final budget meeting, some council members eagerly added new items to the city’s grocery list, despite an ongoing general fund deficit. Mayor Webster Lincoln ensured to retain funding for council member training and trips, as well as matching uniforms for the team.
Forces of nature: How two Palo Alto women helped save the Bay Original
A pair of birds perch on branches at Baylands Nature Preserve in Palo Alto on March 10, 2026. Photo by Seeger Gray. Enid Pearson and Florence LaRiviere have spent more than sixty years as each other’s most reliable co-conspirators, though neither can quite remember how they met. Conservationists Enid Pearson, 101, left, and Florence LaRiviere, 102, sit for a portrait at Pearson’s house in Palo Alto on July 2, 2026. Photo by Seeger Gray.
Inside xAI: 100-hour weeks, boardrooms named ‘Judgment Day,’ and a culture of fear
Published Jul. 9, 2026at6:00am Add The Standard as a preferred source on Google By the time he got sick enough to go to the emergency room, he had been working 100-hour weeks for several months. But a 26-year-old xAI employee, who spoke with The Standard on condition of anonymity, knew the work didn’t stop. Texts he received from his boss while he was in the ER waiting room confirmed it. That was when he knew the culture at Elon Musk’s AI company had crossed from intense to something else entirely.
Channing House’s resident ‘tech squad’ leads the charge on AI
Left to right: Channing House residents David Golden, David Greene, Bert Laurence and Dave Cortesi sit for a portrait at Channing House in Palo Alto on June 24, 2026. Photo by Seeger Gray. Bert Laurence was standing in the lobby when a retired doctor stopped him with a question: Had he been playing with AI? He had. That hallway chat, a year and a half ago, grew into a committee that now meets regularly to make sense of the technology reshaping their community.
Around Town: Chili cookoff, donkey delivery, a special assignment
Barron Park donkey Buddy munches on green grass in Palo Alto’s Bol Park on Dec. 6. Courtesy Jenny Kiratli. SOME LIKE IT HOT … America’s 250th Birthday is about to get a lot spicier. The Chilli Cookoff and Summer Festival will kick off this July 4th featuring food trucks, kid activities, live entertainment and a free chilli tasting.
Housing package with Liccardo’s bills sails through Congress, stifled by Trump Original
President Trump refused to sign on Wednesday the most significant federal housing reform package in more than 30 years, canceling a scheduled signing ceremony to demand Congress first pass his SAVE America Act. The housing package included four bills spearheaded by Rep. Sam Liccardo, whose district includes Palo Alto, Mountain View and Menlo Park.
Palo Alto hopes to lure officers from neighboring cities with pay incentives
James Reifschneider, who this week was appointed Palo Alto police chief, stands in the lobby of the new Palo Alto Police Department headquarters on Sept. 10, 2025. Photo by Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto has given the city manager new authority to offer cash bonuses, extra vacation time, deferred compensation and relocation expenses to attract experienced officers from other departments, a tool Police Chief James Reifschneider says could help close a stubborn staffing gap without breaking the budget.
Peter Bing, philanthropist who championed Stanford, dies at 91
A small crowd previews the Bing Concert Hall before its opening in 2012. Weekly file photo. Peter Bing knew where felt most at home. As an undergraduate at Stanford in the early 1950s, he spent most nights at the Cecil H. Green Library when the day was done, according to the university. He was, by his own account, a shy student. The stacks and the silence suited him. Decades later, when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake shook the building to its bones he stepped forward to fund its restoration.
A quarter century after her death, Maria Hsiao’s family still waits for answers
Maria Hsiao, 21, was out with her sister and three friends on June 10, 2001 when she was fatally struck in the head by a single shot outside a nightclub. Photo courtesy Palo Alto Police Department. Twenty-five years ago tonight, Maria Hsiao stepped outside a downtown Palo Alto nightclub and never went home. Hsiao, a 21-year-old art student celebrating her birthday with her sister and three friends, was shot in the head outside the Q Cafe on Alma Street on June 10, 2001.
New signals, ramps aim make Charleston rail crossing safer
Improvements eyed for the Charleston crossing include a pre-signal and reconstructed curb ramps. Courtesy city of Palo Alto The bustling intersection of Alma Street and Charleston Road has many well-documented problems. Drivers stop on the nearby train tracks. Cyclists queue in the no-queue zone. Left-turning cars get trapped when the gate comes down, sometimes with consequences.
Palo Alto sees wave of business openings as workers return to the office
Pedestrians walk down University Avenue on June 9, 2026. Photo by Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto’s office workers are back, and they’re hungry. Six new businesses have either opened or are about to open in Palo Alto’s commercial corridors, and city officials say the timing may not be accidental: after a shift to remote work during the pandemic, more employees are now showing up in person, and they need somewhere to eat lunch.
Around Town: Voting splits, time to scamper
A voter fills out their ballot at the Palo Alto Art Center in Palo Alto on Nov. 3, 2020. File photo by Magali Gauthier. VOTER SPLITS … Are you curious to learn whether your neighbors voted the same as you in the June 2 primary election? The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters maintains a detailed, precinct-level map of the vote splits, allowing the public to access a granular level of data about voter turnout.
Mosquito District ekes out a victory in all-mail election Original
An Aedes albopictus female mosquito, also known as an (Asian) tiger mosquito or forest mosquito feeds. Courtesy James Gathany/Centers for Disease Control via Bay City News. Summer is coming, and so are the mosquitoes. For years, the county’s vector control district has been fighting the itch on a shrinking budget. Now, property owners have voted to scratch it.
Youth lead the charge on Palo Alto’s first Pride event
The pride flag is unfurled in front of City Hall on June 2, 2026. Photo by Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto has long prided itself on progressivism. It just never had a Pride event — until now. When asked why it has taken so long for an event like this to come to Palo Alto, Mayor Vicki Veenker pointed to the gravitational pull of larger regional celebrations. For years, she said, residents participated in other well established events across the Bay Area, like San Francisco Pride.
AI is even coming for your fortune teller’s job
Published May 21, 2026at6:00am Teenagers applying for college have to juggle an anxiety-inducing load of deadlines, transcripts, and personal statements. But when 19-year-old Juliet Zou plugged the date, time, and location of her birth into ChatGPT, she wasn’t trying to get the chatbot to write an essay about “facing adversity” or “gratitude.” Instead, the Palo Alto native was using a new tool for an ancient practice: divination. Schools, like people, carry their own elemental signatures.
CD14 council office spends $1.07 million on streetlight repairs, ‘When the streets are dark, people feel less safe’
Councilmember Ysabel Jurado made streetlight repair one of her first priorities after taking office, seeing reliable lighting as a basic public safety issue for Council District 14 (CD14). Since November 2025, more than 400 streetlights across CD14 have been repaired, the result of $1.07 million in discretionary spending by Jurado’s office. In Boyle Heights alone, more than 1,900 lights were reported as out last year, and Jurado said her office has brought that number down by nearly 500.
CD14 council office spends $1.07 million on streetlight repairs, ‘When the streets are dark, people feel less safe’
Repair work crew and Ysabel Jurado after a recent streetlight announcement. Courtesy of council member from Ysabel Jurado’s Office Councilmember Ysabel Jurado made streetlight repair one of her first priorities after taking office, seeing reliable lighting as a basic public safety issue for Council District 14 (CD14). Since November 2025, more than 400 streetlights across CD14 have been repaired, the result of $1.07 million in discretionary spending by Jurado’s office.
Opinion: NBA must go beyond canceling ‘Magic City Monday’
Amelia Darling/The Occidental When the Atlanta Hawks announced “Magic City Monday,” it initially felt like just another themed game night. The promotion promised lemon pepper wings, exclusive merchandise and a halftime performance from T.I., all in tribute to one of Atlanta’s most well-known institutions. Then the backlash began.
'Every moment is a gift': Senior center Valentine's dance
Ballet Alegria group at the Highland Park Senior Citizen Center Valentine’s Dance on North Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, CA. Feb. 12, 2026. Lila Weiner/The Occidental Seniors gathered at the Highland Park Adult Senior Citizen Center Feb. 12 for a Valentine’s Day dance featuring music, dancing and social activities, according to attendees and organizers.
Oxy students join LA protests against ICE activity
Community members and Occidental College students protesting at the intersection of York Boulevard and Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, CA. Jan. 18, 2026. Marty Valdez/The Occidental Occidental College students joined demonstrators in Northeast LA (NELA) Jan. 18 to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in Highland Park, according to students and organizers who attended the protest.
Opinion: What 'Heated Rivalry' reveals about women’s desire
Amelia Darling/The OccidentalAmelia Darling/The Occidental Last Sunday, I opened my Instagram and found myself perplexed at a clip of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani urging residents to spend their snowy evenings inside reading a horny gay hockey romance. “Heated Rivalry” is the only thing everyone seems to want to talk about these days. The critically acclaimed book series turned TV series has taken the internet by storm.
Modern Armenian Coffee Culture
Here's the latest from TheEastsiderLA.com. Want breaking news from your neighborhood when it happens? Sign up for our Neighborhood Alert emails and stay on top of the stories that matter where you live. Sign up here. Now on to today's news. —Robert Fulton • Got a story idea or photo to share? Submit it here • Advertise in the Eastsider newsletter 📷 Eastside Scene Glassell Park–There's a bumper crop of oranges waiting to be picked at the school garden at Delevan Drive Elementary.
Inside Kavat Coffee, Serj Tankian’s Armenian café in Eagle Rock
Serj Tankian and Kavat Coffee manager Ara Ajounian share a moment over Armenian coffee, reflecting the café’s mission to blend tradition, creativity, and community. Eagle Rock—For some first-time visitors, the primary draw of Kavat Coffee will be that Serj Tankian, lead singer of the hard rock band System of a Down, founded and owns the establishment. But if that gets people in the door, the operators hope that the focus on serving “premium modern Armenian coffee” keeps them coming back.
Opinion: Your skinny jeans are not a recession indicator
Over the last few months, videos have filled my phone screen, declaring everything from “quiet luxury” to “the rise of skinny culture” as recession indicators. Lipstick sales? Recession indicator. Conservative wardrobes? Recession indicator. Suddenly, the internet is full of amateur economists diagnosing the entire financial system through trending aesthetics. But the obsession with spotting the next downturn through fashion or lifestyle trends isn’t new; it’s just gone viral.
Opinion: Water bottles and the adverse effects of environmental hypocrisy
When I first walked through Occidental during O-Week, I couldn’t help but notice the pastel-colored water bottles tucked into backpack side pockets, scattered across library tables and abandoned in the lost and found. Even my social media feeds were flooded with them: a spectrum of brightly colored vessels that seemed to define campus life.
Friends of the Eagle Rock Library Book Sale: Building accessibility and connection beyond the page
The Eagle Rock Branch of the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) hosted its semiannual book and bake sale Oct. 25. According to Martha Pulido-Caceres, a longtime member of the Friends of the Eagle Rock Library, the event is the library’s biggest fundraiser and one of the most anticipated neighborhood gatherings of the year. “We do our sale twice a year,” Pulido-Caceres said.
Opinion: Social media is ruining personal style
I’ll admit it: I bought a Brazil soccer jersey. Not because I watch soccer, or wear jerseys or have any meaningful connection to Brazil. I bought it because I saw someone wear it on TikTok. It looked cute. For a moment, I thought it might make me look cute, too. It’s a familiar loop: scroll, desire, purchase, regret. But the deeper issue isn’t the jersey, or even the impulse. It’s what this cycle reveals about a fundamental shift in how we relate to fashion, identity and ultimately, ourselves.
Bob Baker Marionette Theater to perform at Coachella
This spring, the Bob Baker Marionette Theater will take its puppets to the desert, joining the ranks of performers at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Each season, the historic LA institution delivers weekly productions for audiences of all ages, according to the Bob Baker website. Sophie Peoples, a community member, was in attendance at the Hallowe’en Spooktacular show. “It’s just so much joy, it really brings a smile to your face,” said Peoples.
Environment Archives
As summer swings into high gear, Mountain View and other parts of the Bay Area are warming up, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a heat advisory for the weekend.
Redwood City Archives
Adrian Lee will be Redwood City’s new public works services director, while Justin Chapel will serve as the assistant director and chief sustainability and resiliency officer.
Environment Archives
Visitors hoping for a midweek nature respite in Menlo Park will have to wait. Flood Park will be closed every Wednesday for two months for pest control.
Redwood City Archives
A San Mateo County civil jury returned a verdict in the wrongful death case stemming from a 2022 Redwood City crash that killed a San Carlos couple and left their twin daughters without parents.
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