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Gennady Sheyner
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About Gennady
Gennady Sheyner has been covering Palo Alto since 2008. His beats include City Hall, with a special focus on housing, utilities and transportation. He also covers regional politics for the Palo Alto Weekly, Palo Alto Online and its sister publications. He has won awards for his coverage of elections, land use, business, technology and breaking news.A native of Ukraine, Gennady grew up in San Francisco and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor’s degree in English and from Columbia University with a master’s degree in journalism. Prior to joining Embarcadero Media, he spent three years covering breaking news and local politics for The Waterbury Republican-American, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. He is a massive fan of English football, marathons and churros.
Stories by Gennady
New tax figures hint at economic recovery, but not quite to prepandemic levels
After falling into a deep funk in spring 2020, Palo Alto's economy is starting to show signs of life, with hotel and sales tax revenues now exceeding the city's projections, a new analysis shows.[Wednesday, October 20, 2021]
To support affordable housing, Palo Alto hikes developer 'impact fees'
Commercial builders in Palo Alto will have to pay significantly more to support the city's affordable housing projects after the City Council voted on Monday night to hike up the city's "impact fees."[Tuesday, October 19, 2021]
Utility customers to get 'smart meters'
In a move that aims to make Palo Alto's utilities more efficient, city leaders voted to approve $18.1 million in contracts on Monday to convert all electricity, gas and water customers to smart meters.[Tuesday, October 19, 2021]
Palo Alto set to strengthen tree protection rules
Palo Alto famously loves its trees -- as its namesake redwood, official seal and Urban Forest Master Plan proudly testify. But laws that protect trees are due for an update, the City Council agreed Monday.[Tuesday, October 19, 2021]
City prepares to switch to 'smart meters'
Seeking to advance its conservation goals, Palo Alto is preparing to approve more than $18 million in contracts on Monday to transition all electricity, gas and water customers to "smart meters."[Friday, October 15, 2021]
Palo Alto scrambles to react to barrage of new housing laws
City planners are crafting an "urgency ordinance" to comply with laws that streamline approval processes for residential projects, relax density regulations and effectively abolish single-family zoning.[Friday, October 15, 2021]
California pulls the plug on gas-powered leaf blowers under new law
Nearly three decades after Peninsula cities began enacting bans on gas-powered leaf blowers, the effort has found a foothold at the state level, with the governor signing a bill that will phase out their sales.[Wednesday, October 13, 2021]
Developer sues Palo Alto over failure to build downtown garage
After exploring and rejecting the idea of constructing a new downtown garage, Palo Alto is now embroiled in litigation with a downtown developer who believes the city has been misusing the fees that it collects from builders.[Tuesday, October 12, 2021]
By popular demand, Palo Alto prepares to expand Boulware Park
When Ventura residents talk about their vision for the neighborhood's future, parks usually top the wish list. Now, with plans to expand the neighborhood's only park advancing, help is at last on the way.[Tuesday, October 12, 2021]
Palo Alto is insufficiently prepared for cyberthreats, a new audit finds
Palo Alto's city leaders often tout the city's reputation as a technological powerhouse, but when it comes to preventing cybersecurity threats at City Hall, the city has some room for improvement, a newly completed audit concludes.[Thursday, October 7, 2021]