WITH HONORS … Weeks after he officially concluded his tenure as Palo Alto fire chief, Geo Blackshire returned to City Hall for a special recognition of his 28 years of service. Blackshire joined the Fire Department as a firefighter in 1998 and worked his way up the ladder before being named chief in 2019. His chief duties as a new chief included leading the department, which includes an ambulance service, through the COVID-19 pandemic. The special resolution that the City Council passed in Blackshire’s honor on Nov. 3 recognizes his leadership during those uncertain times. “His calm, consistent presence and focus on the wellness of his team and community embodied the kind of strength and optimism that defined his leadership,” the proclamation read. “He really lost sleep during that period of time, researching and ensuring that both the public as well as our staff were in the best possible circumstances,” City Manager Ed Shikada said during the ceremony. The council also recognized Blackshire for overseeing the construction of Fire Station 3 near Rinconada Park and for spearheading the rebuild of Fire Station 4 near Mitchell Park, a project that is about to begin. Blackshire thanked the council, the City Hall leadership team, his command staff and his family for their support and trust. He saved his best for the firefighters, who he said deserve all the credit. “We talk about what I’ve done during Covid, but they were the ones in the back of the ambulance, transporting these patients who were affected by this virus and knew very little, but they came to work, and they did the job,” he said. “And with all the budget cuts, with all the changes, when we’ve gone up and down, they never wavered, and they came to work, and they did their job.”
DIAL DOWN … In early October, Palo Alto students made it clear that they would protest a “bell-to-bell” cellphone ban, even as new legislation pushed major public school districts across the country to totally restrict cell phone-use on campus. Palo Alto schools already implement phone restrictions that vary across each campus, but the district had to adopt a policy to comply with Governor Gavin Newsom’s Phone-Free School Act. Assembly Bill 3216 requires districts to create a policy to limit on-campus phone usage by July 1, 2026. The Palo Alto Board of Education adopted its new official policy on Nov. 4, prohibiting middle and elementary school students from using devices on campus at any time and allowing high school students to use their phones outside of instructional time effective on Jan. 1, 2026. “The Governing Board of Education recognizes that student use of smartphones and other mobile communication devices on campus may be beneficial to student learning and well-being in some circumstances, and could be harmful and disruptive of the instructional program in some other circumstances,” according to the district’s new policy documents. All students may use their cell phones in emergency circumstances and district staff may take measures, in accordance with the law, to limit the use of devices during approved times. The more-lenient restrictions came after students argued that a ban would cause students to leave school to use their phones, create a rift between teachers and students and prohibit kids from accessing necessary learning tools. “We will hold anyone that tries to do this accountable and responsible for their actions and their consequences on the student body,” Palo Alto High School student board representative Dylan Chen said at an Oct. 15 school board meeting. For the most part, the Board of Education agreed with student assessments. “I believe in our students’ capacity for discernment,” said Board President Shana Segal. “You will all soon enter a world where technology will always be present but external restrictions will not. So, it’s essential that now is the time to practice the habits, balance.” Many community members and Board member Alison Kamhi disagreed with lighter restrictions, citing larger populations like the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has completely banned cell phone-use. “The Harris Poll from mid 2024 showed that 40% of Gen Z wishes that social media didn’t exist but they are still using it,” said district parent Emma van Niekerk at the meeting. “So when we find people using something that they don’t like, we are dealing with an issue of addiction.”
