County budget crisis threatens youth mental health center allcove Joyce Ma and Priya Tamura November 4, 2025
![Sophia Camerl tests a VR headset in a reading nook. Her mom, Carolina Camerl, watches from out of frame. “We like to come here often. It [the Children’s Library] has a lot more books for their age,” Carolina Camerl said.](https://palyvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/library-vr-1200x800.png)
![Palo Alto community members enjoy dinner provided by local restaurants on March 8 at the Lucie Stern Community Center as part of the city's Ifar dinner event. According to Shounak Dharap, vice president of the Palo Alto Unified School District board, events that gather the community allow for interactions that wouldn't occur normally. "They [community events] let us reach out and talk to other folks we might not normally interact with, or who we might interact with in very different ways," Dharap said. "It allows folks to see their elected representatives in a different light, in a way that is more community building and less just in their governance roles."](https://palyvoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IMG_3254-1-1-1200x1070.jpg)
