MENLO MERGER ... The two Coldwell Banker real estate offices in Menlo Park recently merged into one location at 1377 El Camino Real, near Valparaiso Avenue, reports the Weekly's sister paper, The Almanac newspaper. The other office, at 930 Santa Cruz Ave., has been vacated. The El Camino office can accommodate the 20 Santa Cruz Avenue agents and the 60 agents already working in the El Camino site, office manager Wendy McPherson said. The building on Santa Cruz Avenue "needed a lot of work," she added. The company has 57 office locations and about 3,900 sales associates in northern California, stretching from Tahoe to Monterey.

WOODSIDE EXPANSION ... Meanwhile, the offices of Alain Pinel Realtors at 2930 Woodside Road in Woodside are larger by about 1,100 square feet since the real estate company took over the lease of the office next door at 2934 Woodside Road, the Almanac also recently reported. With office space usually scarce in Woodside, the decision rested more in the opportunity that presented itself than a need for space, Alain Pinel Vice President Bill Lewis said. When the owner of the property informed Pinel of the office's availability, "We jumped on it," Lewis said. Alain Pinel Realtors opened its first location in Woodside in 1997, said Barry Baltor, a vice president and the company's business operations manager. Seventeen Realtors operated out of Woodside before the expansion in December; now that number is 25, he said. Parking space tends to be scarce in Woodside, but this office has enough, he said. "Actually, we're very lucky. It's quite convenient," he said.

SNAIL SABOTAGE ... Protecting your garden from pests doesn't have to involve harsh chemicals. Teresa Lavell, a certified integrated pest management advocate, will teach a class on less-toxic ways to thwart snails, slugs and plant suckers on Saturday, March 19, 2-4 p.m. at Common Ground Garden, 687 Arastradero Road, Palo Alto. The cost is $5 and the class is sponsored by the City of Palo Alto Public Works' Watershed Protection Group, Common Ground Garden, and the Our Water, Our World program. Info: tinyurl.com/snailsabotage