Woodside Preps for El Niño Storms as Mountain View Plans 27 New Trees

Watershed storm readiness, urban forest restoration, and municipal council ballot counts topped regional civic news this week as hillside public works crews cleared culverts ahead of forecasted El Niño downpours, Mountain View outlined a spring 2027 street tree replanting schedule, and updated San Mateo County vote tallies widened challenger Vamsi Velagapudi's lead in Menlo Park.

Woodside and Portola Valley Mobilize Drainage Crews Ahead of El Niño Winter

With meteorologists forecasting strong El Niño atmospheric rivers this winter, Public Works Director and Town Engineer Sean Rose and Woodside Fire Protection District officials have expanded creek culvert inspections, roadside ditch clearing, and hazardous eucalyptus tree trimming, as reported by The Almanac. Residents are encouraged to register for SMC Alert notifications and 4-to-5-day supply kits in case downed power lines or mudslides temporarily close hillside roads.

A self-serve sandbag station is open 24/7 at Town Hall parking lot (2955 Woodside Rd), while neighboring Portola Valley stocked sandbags at 765 Portola Road inside the Historic Schoolhouse parking lot alongside a limit of 20 bags per household.

Mountain View Presents Plan to Plant 27 Replacement Trees After Imazapyr Damage

In Santa Clara County, Mountain View Community Services officials unveiled a restoration blueprint to plant 21 trees on Franklin Street and 6 around Pioneer Park following canopy loss caused by soil contamination, according to the Mountain View Voice. Earlier testing by the Santa Clara County Agriculture Commissioner traced the damage to imazapyr weedkiller used at 1110 Terra Bella Ave, the city's municipal operations yard, where contaminated wood chips had been spread as mulch around 46 downtown trees.

Working with environmental consultants, the city is applying activated charcoal and organic soil amendments for soil neutralization and replanting in spring 2027, selecting drought-tolerant ginkgo, Chinese pistache, and coast live oak specimens.

Vamsi Velagapudi Widens Lead Over Incumbent Drew Combs in Menlo Park District 2

In updated San Mateo County election returns released November 6, 2026, Parks and Recreation Commissioner Vamsi Velagapudi up 69 votes (52.04% to 47.96%) over incumbent Councilmember and former Mayor Drew Combs in Menlo Park's District 2 race (892 votes to 823), as covered by The Almanac.

In the city's other two council contests, Planning Commissioner Wonman Lee leads Andrew Ehrich 60.41% to 39.59% (482 votes to 316) in District 1, while Laura Melahn leads Jeff Schmidt 65.58% to 34.42% (1,170 votes to 614) in District 4.