Her smile lights up a room, as the saying goes, but don’t be fooled by Santa Clara Police Officer Patti Lynch’s easygoing manner. On duty she’s quick and agile as a cheetah, and cool as steel under pressure. A few weeks ago, the 17-year SCPD veteran took me on a ride-along to share a day … Read more
By Carolyn Schuk, with contributions from Christy Kinney Art Family-Style Uncertain weather didn’t dampen spirits at Santa Clara Unified School District’s Family Art Day last Saturday at the Triton Museum. Volunteers were on hand to help hundreds of kids and their parents enjoy a day of artistic exploration with a variety of media and techniques. … Read more
Santa Clara Finance Director Gary Ameling voiced cautious optimism about city finances at the March 29 City Council meeting. At mid-year, some of the city’s funds are growing for the first time in several years, Ameling said, and income is $4.2 million above budget as a result of growing sales and transient occupancy taxes and … Read more
Would the historical Moses recognize himself as a “Jew?” Or the historical Jesus recognize himself as a “Christian?” The fact is that during their earthly sojourns neither Moses nor Jesus would have known the words “Jew” or “Christian,” respectively. Something both would have recognized, however, is the radical submission to divine will encapsulated in the … Read more
Advance Design Consultants – Go-To Folks for High-Tech Facilities When Silicon Valley serial entrepreneurs such as Sun Microsystems founder Andy Bechtolsheim need a home for their newest ventures, Lorenzo Rios and his team at Advance Design Consultants (www.adcengineers.com) are the go-to folks. Experts in mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design for high-tech companies, ADC is currently … Read more
Santa Clara’s hide-the-redevelopment-money maneuvers could come back to haunt the city in the form of cuts in core services such as education and pubic safety, as Gov. Jerry Brown advances his “realignment” of the state’s finances. “It’s a shame that the community leadership is working to secure this funding [in RDA projects],” says Elizabeth Ashford, … Read more
In 2009 State Controller John Chiang launched an audit of 18 California RDAs – Santa Clara wasn’t on that list, but Fremont, Hercules, Pittsburg, Richmond and San Jose were. On March 7, he issued his report. Perhaps the most surprising information – considering we’re talking about what proponents call California’s most important community and economic … Read more
At an emergency meeting Monday, the Santa Clara Redevelopment Agency (RDA) and Stadium Authority (SA) voted to transfer $4.5 million from the agency into a SF 49ers business entity called Stadco for infrastructure construction described as “predevelopment.” Santa Clara voters approved a ballot measure last June to go forward with a 49ers stadium project. The … Read more
Since the mid-1980s, there has been an increasing howl of complaint that public school teachers “make too much money” – reaching a crescendo around 2000. It’s an assertion made routinely by right-wing TV pundits who garner tens of millions in income by unearthing egregious betrayals of the public trust and passing them off as the … Read more
Thanks to California’s State Controller John Chiang, Californians (at least, computer-literate ones) can, for the first time, easily find out what public employees actually earn. Just type lgcr.sco.ca.gov into your browser. You’ll see compensation information for every position in every department of every California municipal, district, county, and state agency. What’s more, the information can … Read more