Government Watch

• Assemblyman Rich Gordon, D-Menlo Park, will lead a hearing and public discussion on the state’s high-speed rail project in Palo Alto today. The hearing will primarily focus on the newly-released draft business plan. Gordon is the chair of the budget subcommittee that oversees resources and transportation agencies. The hearing is 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., today, Palo Alto City Hall, 250 Hamilton Ave., Palo Alto.

County government

• San Mateo County is holding a public workshop to receive public input on its Energy Efficiency Climate Action Plan project which aims to increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The workshop will focus on vulnerability to climate change and potential strategies to respond to climate change impacts within the unincorporated areas.

The workshop is 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Half Moon Bay Senior Center, 535 Kelly St., Half Moon Bay.

City government

• The Redwood City Planning Commission will make appointments to the architectural advisory and historic resource advisory committees and receive training on the Brown Act from the city attorney’s office. The commission on its consent agenda will also a set a Dec. 6 public hearing to consider recommending that the City Council designate the residence at 1842 Whipple Avenue a historical landmark. The colonial revival home was constructed in 1926.

The commission meets 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15 at City Hall, 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City.

• The city of Belmont will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the new pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Highway 101. The bridge links Belmont to the Sports Complex, Bay Trail and Redwood Shores. The event is 9:30 a.m., Saturday, the Belmont Sports Complex, 550 Island Parkway, Belmont.