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Editor’s note: Zoe Morgan will be the new editor of the Mountain View Voice starting Monday, July 7. Keep an eye out for her announcement in a separate column.
The first thing I tell people, when they ask about Mountain View and what it’s like to cover the news here, is that the city always punches above its weight and it never gets boring.
From the outside, it can be a hard case to make. After all, Mountain View is a mid-sized suburban city that blends in with its neighbors along the borders, with the usual strip malls and single-family homes that endlessly creep up the Peninsula. It has enough affluence and resources to stay financially afloat each year, and none of the public agencies are incompetent.
But Mountain View doesn’t just have parks, it has more than 700 acres of wildlife habitat and recreation space north of Highway 101, likely making it the nicest former landfill you can find. It doesn’t just have historic resources, it has Hangar One – a hulking dirigible garage so big that fog would form on the ceiling. And while the future of North Bayshore and East Whisman are looking a bit shaky right now, it’s undeniable that the city took a brave, “go big” approach to transforming its office parks relative to nearby cities.
This week I am departing as editor of the city’s community newspaper, the Mountain View Voice, to embark on a new career. And it’s these features – and more importantly the people – that make it such a bittersweet decision.
As I’ve prepared to move on from the Voice, I couldn’t help but marvel at the archive of stories we had covered over the last decade. Just when you think things are going to get dull, you find out the water district (somehow) owns a bunch of homes in Waverly Park and is weighing whether to make them part of its homeless housing strategy. In one night, storefront cannabis retail went from a surefire thing to banned across the entire city, following hours of feedback by a staggering 80 public commenters that overflowed from the council chambers.
But what I don’t think is fully captured in our coverage are the more subtle and intangible parts of Mountain View that make this place special. In meeting with residents, I’ve found a certain unpretentious, down-to-earth attitude that you really come to appreciate when you travel elsewhere. Every time I’ve been stuck at a booth for Art & Wine or the Monster Bash, I run into new people who are passionate about the community, generally supportive of the local press and frankly just fun to talk to.
The civic engagement is high, yet Mountain View still manages to get things done and avoid getting bogged down in process-oriented purgatory. Even in the face of highly divisive topics like rent control and RV parking, I got the sense that the vast majority of the people I interviewed meant well and wanted to support vulnerable residents.
Back in 2017, when Trinity United Methodist Church in downtown Mountain View applied for a permit to serve as a cold weather homeless shelter for up to 50 people, you would’ve expected a firestorm of opposition. The hearing lasted seven minutes. Nobody even showed up to make a stink about it. And few Mountain View residents opposed the conversion of Crestview Hotel into permanent supportive housing.
It’s remarkable how much the city has changed in just the 10 years I’ve been with the Voice. San Antonio Road looks radically different now, and the Milk Pail is no more. North Bayshore now has housing, and Google’s expansive new tech offices have dramatic, sloped rooftops with “dragonscale” solar panels layered on top. The community center looks so much better since the renovation, and Castro Street will be fascinating as it continues its transformation into a pedestrian mall.
I’ll be leaving the Voice in capable hands, and I’m confident that the publication will continue to be the top source of local news for residents despite the loss of our print edition. But I won’t be leaving Mountain View, at least not for the foreseeable future. I’ll still be running on Stevens Creek Trail and avoiding bicyclists zipping by at Mach 5, and I’ll still be paying way too much to eat at my favorite spots on Castro Street. I’ll be watching with curiosity as downtown Lot 12 evolves from a dirt-and-gravel parking lot to affordable housing, and wandering aimlessly through the sea of people at the farmers’ market. They’re mundane activities, but it’s these everyday experiences that’ll keep me here once I’ve edited and posted my last story.
Thank you Kevin. Career-wise, what’s next for you?
Thank you Kevin for your excellent reporting of Mountain View. You were excellent as a reporter covering education, and even better as an editor of the publication. Even your sign off note here is well written, engaging, and personalized. I will miss your unique leadership of the MV Voice.
“none of the public agencies are incompetent“
The bar is low. Thanks for the even-keeled writing!