Last updated: July 4, 2026
These Terms of Use apply to your access to and use of MonitorMenlo.news (the "Site") and to all content originated or disseminated by the Site. By continuing to use the Site after this page is posted or updated, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site. These Terms are intended to be made available through a conspicuous link appearing throughout the Site. Your acceptance also occurs through your continued use of the Site — including reading its content, clicking any links, or downloading any information — as set out in the disclosure above and in the footer of every page.
Nature of the Site. The Site publishes commentary, opinion, and factual analysis on a matter of public concern. It is not a campaign communication and does not advocate a vote for or against any ballot measure or candidate. It is not affiliated with, funded by, or endorsed by the City of Menlo Park or by any campaign supporting or opposing the measure discussed here. Statements of opinion reflect the views of the Site operator; factual assertions are drawn from public records and published reporting, which readers are encouraged to consult directly.
MonitorMenlo.news is a publication initially created to provide information relating to the Menlo Park Downtown Parking Plazas Ordinance appearing on the November 3, 2026 ballot, through long-form commentary, fact checks, and shorter notes. It is not a campaign site: it does not encourage a Yes or No vote on the measure. The Site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated on behalf of the City of Menlo Park, any campaign committee, or any developer named on the Site. The Site does not provide legal, financial, or voting advice, and nothing on the Site should be relied upon as such. Nothing on the Site creates an attorney-client, fiduciary, advisory, or other professional relationship between you and the Site operator.
Editorial opinions expressed on the Site — including ratings such as "Verified," "Needs Context," and "Misleading" — are intended as expressions of editorial opinion based upon disclosed, cited facts, not assertions of objectively verifiable fact except where a specific claim is expressly identified and sourced as such. This Site seeks to provide a range of views but does not assert that it is objective in the sense that its Site operator lacks an opinion on the matters in issue.
Standards, guidelines, and other aspirational matters expressed anywhere in this Site disclose only how the Site operator endeavors to source claims, handle corrections, separate fact from opinion, and operate this Site. No such standard, guideline, or other similar material printed here as a matter of disclosure shall create an obligation on the part of the Site operator or an enforceable right. To the contrary, as guidelines they do not create enforceable rights as a matter of contract, estoppel, equity, or law or any third-party beneficiaries.
The Site's Site operator aims to cite primary sources — public records, public filings, and public statements — for factual claims discussed. Content reflects information reasonably available to the Site operator at the time of publication and may be revised, corrected, or removed as new information becomes available, without notice and at the Site operator's discretion. Nothing in this section creates any duty to update previously published material. The Site does not guarantee completeness, currentness, objectivity, or freedom from error.
Original text, graphics, and layout on the Site are the property of the Site operator unless otherwise noted. Excerpts from government records, public filings, and other public-domain or fair-use material are used for commentary, criticism, and reporting purposes. You may link to any page on the Site. You may quote brief excerpts with attribution and a link back to the source page. Republishing substantial portions of the Site's original content, automated copying or scraping, or using substantial portions of the Site's original expressive content to train, fine-tune, or evaluate any machine-learning or artificial intelligence system, is prohibited without the Site operator's prior written permission — except as otherwise permitted by law, including fair use. See the Copyright Policy for more detail, including how to request permission or raise an infringement concern. Republication or re-dissemination of the contents of this Site otherwise is prohibited without the express, prior written authorization of the Site operator.
The restriction above is a contractual restriction rather than a technical claim of unauthorized computer access — the Site operator does not contend that visiting a publicly accessible page without permission violates computer-crime law, only that doing so in the manner described above breaches these Terms.
The Site links to third-party sources, including government websites and campaign materials, for reference. The Site operator does not control and is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or availability of any linked external site, and a link does not constitute an endorsement of the linked site or its contents.
In connection with the Site, you agree not to: probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Site or any connected system; attempt to bypass any access, rate-limiting, or security control; introduce any virus, malicious code, or other harmful component; interfere with or disrupt the Site's operation or servers; attempt to interfere with another person's use of the Site; impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or use the Site for any unlawful purpose. This section applies in addition to, and does not replace, the intellectual-property restrictions in Section 4.
Because the Site discusses a measure appearing on an election ballot, the Site operator states expressly that nothing on the Site is intended as campaign advertising, an independent expenditure communication, or express advocacy for or against the measure, unless a specific piece of content is expressly identified as such. Publication of, or linking to, any campaign's own materials on the Site does not constitute the Site operator's endorsement of that campaign or its positions.
The Site publishes commentary, criticism, reporting, and opinion concerning matters of public interest. Statements of opinion should not be interpreted as assertions of objectively verifiable fact except where expressly identified and supported by cited sources. Nothing herein constitutes legal advice regarding voting rights, election procedures, or ballot eligibility.
The Site does not currently accept user-submitted content, comments, or uploads. If that changes, this section will be updated to include a designated process for copyright infringement notices. Until then, any concern about the Site's own use of third-party material should be directed to the contact in Section 18.
THE SITE AND ITS CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE SITE OPERATOR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS AND YOU USE IT AT YOUR OWN SOLE RISK.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SITE OPERATOR AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, CONTENT PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, AND DIRECTORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, ACTUAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF REVENUE OR INCOME, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, EVEN IF THE SITE OPERATOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT WILL THE COLLECTIVE LIABILITY OF THE SITE OPERATOR AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, CONTENT PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, AND DIRECTORS TO ANY PARTY (REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE) EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU HAVE PAID TO THE SITE OPERATOR FOR THE APPLICABLE CONTENT OR SERVICE OUT OF WHICH LIABILITY AROSE.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree that any claim arising from your receipt and review of any content from this site, your reliance on the Site's content, or any decision you make — including any voting decision — after reviewing it is released as against the Site operator and any affiliated individuals. You therefore release and agree to hold the Site operator harmless for any claim, damage, injury, or loss arising from or incurred by use of this Site, its content, or otherwise, whether arising from the Site operator's negligence or otherwise. Your release extends to claims, damages, or injury arising from a loss of data or goodwill or opportunity, this Site's contents, your use or reliance on the Site, your inability to use the Site, or any interruption of availability of or error or omission in the Site's content. This release does not extend to claims arising from knowing and intentional misconduct, and does not limit the disclaimers and limitations of liability in Sections 9 and 10.
YOU FURTHER ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH AND DO HEREBY WAIVE THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 1542 OF THE CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE (AND SIMILAR PROVISIONS OF OTHER JURISDICTIONS) WHICH PROVIDES AS FOLLOWS: “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.”
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Site operator from any third-party claim arising from your violation of these Terms, including without limitation your republication or dissemination of its contents, your unlawful conduct in connection with the Site, or your infringement of any third party's rights through your use of the Site, except to the extent caused by the Site operator's own willful misconduct. This indemnification shall extend to all costs and liabilities incurred by the Site operator including its reasonable attorney fees at any level of proceeding, including appeal.
The content on this site was developed in Des Moines, Iowa using internet resources accessed there and relying on editorial decisions that occurred there. You agree and stipulate that these Terms and any claims you may raise in connection with your use of the Site or the content it contains shall be governed by the laws of the State of Iowa, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. You further agree that any claim or dispute arising under these Terms or in connection with your use of the Site or the content it contains shall be brought exclusively in the state courts located in Polk County, Iowa, or the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. You irrevocably consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. You agree that any claim you bring, or authorize another to bring on your behalf, must be commenced within six months of the date of your acceptance of these Terms and, if related to the content of this Site, in no event more than one year after the initial date of publication of the content in issue.
The Site operator may revise these Terms at any time by posting an updated version on this page. Your continued use of the Site after a revision takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
The Site operator retains sole editorial control over all content published on the Site. No contributor, source, or other third party has authority to require publication, removal, revision, or characterization of any content. Editorial judgments, including decisions regarding corrections, headlines, ratings, and publication timing, remain solely with the Site operator. The Site is self-funded and non-commercial and does not accept contributions, donations, or consideration of any kind — see the Site's footer and Privacy Policy for more.
You acknowledge that any reliance upon information published on the Site is undertaken voluntarily and at your own risk. Readers are encouraged to consult original source documents, which are cited wherever reasonably practicable.
Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy (incorporated here by reference), constitute the entire agreement between you and the operator regarding the Site and its content.
No waiver. The Site operator's failure to enforce any provision of these Terms is not a waiver of that provision.
Assignment. The Site operator may assign these Terms; you may not assign your rights or obligations under them.
Electronic communications. If you contact the Site operator by email, you consent to receiving a response electronically and agree, where permitted by law, that such communications satisfy any requirement that they be in writing.
Force majeure. The Site operator is not liable for any failure or delay caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including outages of third-party hosting or infrastructure providers.
Reservation of rights. The Site operator reserves all rights not expressly granted in these Terms.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.
The initial Site operator is Monitorium Media, LLC. You may contact the organization at editor@monitormenlo.news.