Carly Heltzel, Reporter
Carly is a general assignment reporter, producing human-interest stories. Carly is currently a co-editor-in-chief at the Mountain View High School Oracle. She previously worked as an editorial intern at the Los Altos Town Crier. Carly is a senior at Mountain View High School, and joined the Post in December 2020.
RV residents file lawsuit against Mountain View to block Measure C
STORY AND PHOTO BY CARLY HELTZEL RV residents, represented by legal advocacy groups, filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the City of Mountain View in an attempt to overturn Measure C — the ban on oversized vehicles, including RVs, on narrow streets. As 83% of the city’s streets qualify as narrow, many members of the public…
Continue reading ➞ RV residents file lawsuit against Mountain View to block Measure C
A modest guide to the Sunday morning Mountain View farmers’ market
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTOS BY CARLY HELTZEL AND ARYA NASIKKAR It can be hard to navigate the more than 80 diverse stands at the Mountain View farmers’ market — each stocked with an array of fresh produce and quality products — but it’s hard to go wrong. Here are some booths to look out…
Continue reading ➞ A modest guide to the Sunday morning Mountain View farmers’ market
Beyond satisfying local sweet tooths, Los Altos’ Sweet Shop is a community staple
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL AND SIDDHANT KANWAR, PHOTOS BY EMILY MCNALLY Harry Logan is such a regular at the Sweet Shop on Los Altos Ave. that the register has a special key just to ring up his order: a ham and scrambled egg sandwich with a coffee au lait. The Sweet Shop — which likely…
Continue reading ➞ Beyond satisfying local sweet tooths, Los Altos’ Sweet Shop is a community staple
Mountain View to pilot universal basic income program with surplus COVID-19 relief funds
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The City of Mountain View is set to pilot a universal basic income program using $1 million of excess federal COVID-19 relief funds as part of a program proposed by Councilwoman Margaret Abe-Koga at the council’s April 27 meeting. “We’ve been fortunate we haven’t faced the deficit that a…
Mountain View expands local gun control
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Mountain View City Council last night unanimously approved a city ordinance prohibiting possession of any firearm on all city property, the council’s latest step toward increasing local gun control. The city’s previous gun laws banned possession of a firearm in city parks, in certain public buildings…
Mountain View Council solidifies Public Safety Advisory Board appointments
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Mountain View City Council tonight appointed seven individuals to the newly formed Public Safety Advisory Board, a group of Mountain View residents who will advise the city council on public safety matters — specifically the police department. The council appointed residents Cleave Frink, Derek Langton, Joan…
Continue reading ➞ Mountain View Council solidifies Public Safety Advisory Board appointments
Hundreds gather for youth-led Mountain View AAPI rally
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTOS BY TOMOKI CHIEN Hundreds of protesters marched through downtown Mountain View today in support of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in a local show of solidarity amidst rising anti-Asian hate crimes nationwide. The effort was largely organized by three youth chairs: Castilleja School senior Amanda Khu, Mountain View…
Continue reading ➞ Hundreds gather for youth-led Mountain View AAPI rally
MV council moves one step closer to formation of Public Safety Advisory Board
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY The Mountain View City Council recommended the appointment of seven civilian community members to the Public Safety Advisory Board during its March 16 study session, the latest development in the city’s effort to streamline police reform. The recommended appointees will be confirmed in a final vote during…
Continue reading ➞ MV council moves one step closer to formation of Public Safety Advisory Board
Graduation in the pandemic: three potential plans from the MVLA district
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY ALLISON HUANG The iconic graduation song “Pomp and Circumstance” blares through the speakers as the senior class files onto the campus bleachers together, preparing to walk across the stage in front of the sea of their families’ faces. Oh wait no, never mind. Los Altos High School Assistant Principal…
Continue reading ➞ Graduation in the pandemic: three potential plans from the MVLA district
Meet Alex Brown, quasi-famous MV activist and ‘Official Guy Who Does Stuff Sometimes I Guess’
STORY BY CEDRIC CHAN AND CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY EMILY MCNALLY Community activist Alex Brown’s official, voted-on title and email signature is the “Official Guy Who Does Stuff Sometimes I Guess,” but it should probably be changed to be “Official Guy Who Does Stuff All the Time.” An involved political activist, the Mountain View resident…
Anticipating vaccinations, MVLA teachers’ union agrees to April full hybrid return if in orange tier
STORY BY TOMOKI CHIEN AND CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY TOMOKI CHIEN Update (Monday, March 8): DTA President David Campbell clarified to the Post that he was mistaken, and the district’s hybrid return is not in fact contingent upon the county being in the orange tier by April 19. Click here for the latest information. The…
MVLA board approves in-person return in red tier
STORY BY TOMOKI CHIEN, CARLY HELTZEL AND OLIVIA HEWANG, PHOTO BY ALLISON HUANG The Mountain View–Los Altos School District board tonight unanimously approved the plans and budget for an optional in-person return in the red tier of coronavirus restrictions, but did leave room for further amendment later this month. Tonight’s development serves as an addendum…
Continue reading ➞ MVLA board approves in-person return in red tier
The missing perspective: Mountain View’s RV residents shed light on their daily struggles, the real impact of Measure C and empathy
STORY BY NATALIE ARBATMAN AND CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTOS BY CARLY HELTZEL When Janet Stevens goes for a walk down her street, just like anyone else, she’ll strike up a conversation and smile warmly, talking to her equally friendly neighbors. But after they watch her cross the road and enter her home, something changes: People avoid…
Getting to know the new Mountain View Mayor: Kamei’s path through public service
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO COURTESY ELLEN KAMEI The daughter of a Chinese–Puerto Rican mother and a father born in Japanese internment camps, Mountain View’s newly elected mayor, Ellen Kamei, said she became a public servant to offer her unique perspective of being a third-generation resident who has watched the city grow from a middle-class…
Continue reading ➞ Getting to know the new Mountain View Mayor: Kamei’s path through public service
Mountain View opens mass vaccination site
STORY AND PHOTO BY CARLY HELTZEL Last Friday, the City of Mountain View opened its first mass vaccination site at the community center, currently serving eligible health care workers by appointments only on weekdays. Although private healthcare providers such as Kaiser Permanente and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation are vaccinating residents age 75 and older…
Continue reading ➞ Mountain View opens mass vaccination site
MV Council elects Kamei and Ramirez as mayor and vice mayor
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY GIL RUBINSTEIN As outgoing Mountain View City Council Members Chris Clark and John McAlister said their heartfelt goodbyes to a teary-eyed council, they were anticlimactically moved to the attendees box on Zoom while elected Council Members Margaret Abe-Koga, Sally Lieber, Lisa Matichak and Pat Showalter were sworn in by…
Continue reading ➞ MV Council elects Kamei and Ramirez as mayor and vice mayor
A look into the MV Housing Justice Coalition: activists protecting renters and mobile home owners
STORY BY CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY GIL RUBINSTEIN Logging onto the Mountain View Housing Justice Coalition (MVHJC) Zoom call, you’d hardly expect to be greeted with a tight-knit, welcoming group of advocates laughing about how many trout brains makes a serving of food — but the amicable environment took nothing away from the gravity of…
Hands on at a distance: Evodyne Robotics Academy continues education online
STORY BY CEDRIC CHAN AND CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY ALLISON HUANG If Evodyne Robotics Founder and CEO Raghav Gupta had waited just five more minutes, he knows he wouldn’t have been able to secure the domain name of his dreams. He spent a year coming up with the immaculate arrangement of letters and refreshed the…
Continue reading ➞ Hands on at a distance: Evodyne Robotics Academy continues education online
“I hate everything about this”: MV City Council approves implementation for Measure C, set to spend nearly $1,000,000 on street signs
STORY BY CEDRIC CHAN AND CARLY HELTZEL, PHOTO BY CARLY HELTZEL In the early hours of this morning, the Mountain View City Council unanimously approved the staff recommendation for the implementation and budget of Measure C, following hours of discussion and contentious public comment. The measure, approved by voters this November, will prohibit the parking…
