Google's Larry Page Goes on Eco-Friendly Construction Rampage

To build the new, Google must tear down the old. As must its billionaire cofounder Larry Page, whose neighbors believe he's illegally tearing down houses in Palo Alto to make room for a gargantuan eco-mansion. More »

Mark Zuckerberg possibly seen leading employees in Palo Alto parade

Spotted in an alley behind the offices of SocialText were a group of Facebook employees participating in a team building exercise:

They were chanting something about "Team Redrum!" "Team Redrum!" "Team Redrum!" loud enough to distract from yogurt sales at Fraiche. We think the guy in the cape may be Zuckerburg, but can't confirm it.

The caped character is also wearing a mask, which would fit with the shy Zuckerberg's profile — especially in Palo Alto, probably the one place in the world where he'd be recognized instantly. As for the exercise itself, Kurt Vonnegut once coined a term for the capacity of human beings to instantly bond into tribes over completely arbitrary divisions: "Granfalloon." This tendency has been exploited by management to bore employees and distract them from real work ever since. Update: No Zuck for you today.

Michael Arrington calls for Palo Alto chicken eviction

In a 543-word opus describing his travails finding Internet connectivity in Palo Alto after a Comcast outage, imperialist blogger Michael Arrington was distracted by a noisy rooster. "There should be no live chickens in Palo Alto," he complains. While roosters, like the one pictured, are strictly forbidden in Palo Alto outside of areas zoned for agriculture, residents are allowed to keep up to six hens with a regular permit. How to dispose of the noisy cock? The city will happily loan a humane trap for $5 a day.

Caffe del Doge, the Venetian coffee chain whose University Avenue outpost we featured in our guide to Palo Alto Wi-Fi hotspots, is opening up a new cafe in the mid-Peninsula city's train station. [Palo Alto Daily News]

Palo Alto's $240K Web embarrassment

Websites are cheaper to build than ever. Cheaper, that is, unless you're a government body. Word of the cheap revolution has not reached Palo Alto's City Hall, where officials have signed off on a $240,000 website redesign, with a contractually obligated $25,000-a-year "maintenance fee." For all that, you'd think you'd at least get a functional, efficient, easy-to-navigate site, especially if you're the capital of Silicon Valley, right? Think again. More »

The Facebooker's guide to Palo Alto nightlife

Let's say you're a recent college grad, looking to join one of Silicon Valley's most buzzed-about companies. Facebook, with its drumbeat of hints pointing to an IPO, seems like a potentially profitable choice. And, since they offer a $600 stipend if you live within a mile of the office, you decide to live in Palo Alto, even though you might prefer San Francisco. Think there's nothing going on in Palo Alto? Wrong. Even if you burn the midnight oil, there are spots to refuel — or wind down. Here's your guide to the nightlife offerings within stumbling distance of Facebook HQ. More »

Facebook takes over Palo Alto

Is Facebook the new Google? In one respect, yes. Just like the ever-expanding search engine, Facebook is gobbling up prime Silicon Valley real estate, setting its sites on downtown Palo Alto's office space. In addition to their main offices at 156 University Avenue and 164 Hamilton Ave, they recently opened up a third office across the street at 151 University, and will expand into another building on Hamilton sometime this fall. Add to that its $600-a-month subsidy to employees who live within a mile of the office, and the company's affecting rents, too. With 300 employees, and more being hired, Facebook's expansion is no surprise. But most tech hacks, writing from the comfort of their San Francisco desks, have only noted the company's cultural impact. If you're a Peninsula dweller, it's hard to notice the physical — and economic — impact. Here's what the influx of fresh-faced Facebookers means to you. More »

A guide to Palo Alto hotspots

I found myself at home in Palo Alto the other day, involuntarily offline thanks to a wonky broadband connection. So I headed to Coupa Cafe to get caffeine and log onto its Wi-Fi hotspot. And, just maybe, overhear an entrepreneur and venture capitalist doing the Sand Hill Road mating dance. Greylock's David Sze likes to hold meetings there, as does LinkedIn founder and angel investor Reid Hoffman. But it's gotten so popular and so packed, that I wasn't able to find an empty outlet — let alone a seat. What to do? More »

Fire in downtown Palo Alto

The 300 block of University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto is aflame, according to Megan McCarthy, who's on the scene. "Flames are shooting 20 to 30 feet into the air from the rear of the building," reports Palo Alto Online. Threatened by the blaze: The Peninsula bureau of the San Jose Mercury News. A block away: Accel Partners, the VC firm which funded Facebook and BitTorrent, among others. Anyone know of other businesses that might be affected? Leave a comment, and Megan will update us if there's more news.

Loose wires: Ted Leonsis is happier than you

• AOL's Netscape team explains its process of preventing users from gaming the site. Meanwhile, AOL's Weblogs, Inc. team games Netscape competitor Digg. (One Weblogs, Inc. writer tells me that Weblogs, Inc.'s internal mailing list is clogged with requests for Digg/Netscape/Reddit/Del.icio.us votes.) All's fair in love and war, right? [Netscape and Diggforlife]
• Palo Alto, the movie: in which four friends remember the hardships of growing up in the hundredth-highest per-capita-income city in America. [Pictured; Official site via Adam Hahn]
• Best summary of a tech-based musical ever: "I think that Google: The Musical wasn't really about Google. It was more about the zombies that attacked the main characters." [Google Blogoscoped]
• The country of Cameroon finds its true economic calling: making millions off exploiting the ".cm" domain name. [CNET]
• For those who are keeping track, Ted Leonsis creeps ever closer to achieving his entire list of life goals (presumably updated since he posted it in January). Noticably absent is "not sound kind of like a prick by posting already-achieved life goals." [Ted's Take]

Palo Alto school trains little day-traders

Ah, so this is what Palo Alto is doing with the money that would have gone toward universal pre-school. They're training little investors! The Palo Alto Weekly describes a scene in Jordan Middle School's "Money, the Market, and More!" class, where rising sixth-grader Anu Rajan says: More »