You just have to love this one. In scrutinizing the TAP audit of the Santa Clara Chamber, CVB and Convention Center I noticed the auditor used the same math as Mayor Lisa Gillmor. You may remember last month’s announcement that the arbitration court awarded Santa Clara a rent increase on our stadium of about $280,000 … Read more
Is the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce a despicable villain as the City Council claims? Funny that for 30 years the Chamber has operated as they were originally taught and trained by the City. They have been under the scrutiny and jurisdiction of the City for all this time. The City Council ordered an audit … Read more
In the old Wild West there were a few major items that won the West. The locomotive, the Winchester rifle and barbed wire. Now, you could argue there were other important ingredients like the law, and you may recall that the law of the West could be a little spotty. You may have seen an … Read more
I have discovered everyone likes magic. The fascination of making something disappear or reappear is captivating, piques our curiosity and creates a strong desire to figure out, ‘how did they do that?’ Apparently, our Mayor and Council have been taking magic lessons. First thing to come to mind is our City budget. With a sleight … Read more
A friend of mine headed up to San Francisco this week to see Ed Sheeran. As you may already know, Sheeran’s one of the most popular and coveted entertainers in the music industry. It was a sellout at AT&T Park. Most important, it was a tragedy for Santa Clara. Not that Santa Clarans don’t like … Read more
Maybe the question about this column is: “Will he return?” As you may have heard, at the beginning of July I contracted pneumonia. After nearly a week in intensive care, I was allowed to escape for home care. The past two months would have been a challenge for better equipped people like Batman. Thank you … Read more
You really must wonder what goes through the head of some of our City Council folks. They were sued by Robert Rubin, go to court to fight a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit, and after spending millions to defend their position they lose. So, they (we) get to pay Rubin’s fees as well. What you … Read more
Is it our imagination or is Santa Clara going broke? When payrolls climb by millions and revenues remain virtually the same, there is only one outcome. Our budget goes upside down. The Council’s only alternative to date is to raise taxes, fees and charges for all City services. The cost of most everything will now … Read more
Day time, night time, what does our City offer? Golden parachutes for managers, proffered to prosper. Payrolls like rockets reaching high to the sky, Leaving holes in our budget and draining us dry. With 70 employees making an astounding $300 grand, Our rock-like reserves reduced to quivering sand. “Whoa!” we bemoan at the outflow of … Read more
If you have been a resident of Santa Clara for a while, you may recall the famous Grand Jury investigation and audit requested by Lisa Gillmor. No, not the 2016 stadium audit or the 2016 Grand Jury report. This is the investigation by the Grand Jury and audit done at Gillmor’s request of the Santa … Read more