[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 132 (Thursday, August 13, 2026)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               CELEBRATING THE ALMANAC'S 60TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. SAM T. LICCARDO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, August 13, 2026

  Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the Almanac newspaper on 
the occasion of its 60th anniversary. It's important to honor those 
local news sources that have survived the industry's many financial 
challenges to provide an essential public service to our democracy, 
particularly in this moment when our First Amendment has come under 
repeated and serious threat.
  The Almanac has provided critical community-focused journalism for 
Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside and Portola Valley for six decades. 
Throughout its history, it has brought news and information to local 
residents without fear or favor. Its journalists have always believed 
strong journalism builds better communities.
  In 1965, three Portola Valley mothers, troubled by the lack of 
coverage of local issues, and the defeat of a Portola Valley school 
bond measure, met for lunch among the eucalyptus trees on the Stanford 
Campus to develop a solution. Soon after, Hedy Boissevain, Betty Fry, 
and Jean Heflin, got to work at their kitchen tables and family garages 
and published the first four-page edition of what was then called ``The 
Country Almanac.''
  The paper then found its first real home at the corner of Woodside 
and Canada roads in Woodside, and the founders' children and friends 
delivered the papers--a year's subscription cost two dollars.
  From its modest stall, the paper continued to grow and by 1975, the 
newspaper could afford its first full-time reporter, Pam Jones, who was 
often the first to tell residents what was going on in their towns. In 
the 1980s, local newspaperman Mort Levine and his wife, Elaine, 
acquired the Almanac and the coverage area expanded to include Menlo 
Park, Portola Valley, Woodside, and Atherton,
  In 1993, Embarcadero Publishing Co., founded by Bill Johnson, bought 
The Almanac and added it to its family of newspapers. Today that family 
includes newspapers and websites serving Midpeninsula communities 
including Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Redwood City.
  Today, as local newsrooms across the country are shrinking or 
shutting their doors entirely, the Almanac continues to endure and 
adapt to meet the needs of its communities. Its three dedicated 
staffers, Editor Andrea Gemmet and staff writers Jennifer Yoshikoshi 
and Arden Margulis, provide local and accountable journalism that 
residents trust.
  In 2026, the California News Publishers Association honored the 
Almanac with 22 California Journalism Awards, including six first-place 
honors for Breaking News, Photo Essay, Layout and Design, Housing and 
Land-Use Coverage, and Coverage of Youth and Education--a testament to 
a small newsroom doing outsized work.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the founders, staff, 
and readers of The Almanac on six decades of delivering the news, and 
in wishing them continued strength as they carry local journalism 
forward for the Midpeninsula in the decades to come.

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