Greeting the New Year is usually with a spirit of optimism. Regardless the tragedy, upset or painful experiences of the past 12 months, turning the calendar page to the New Year offers a fresh approach and outlook on life. This renewal opportunity is not by accident. The New Year has been a celebration dating back … Read more
Have you noticed when organizations or agencies make a bad decision they usually compound it by making another? Santa Clara is certainly not exempt. Because of political posturing and ignoring a threatened lawsuit, our Mayor and Council majority may now spend millions to fix a problem that should not have happened. The 2016 Charter … Read more
It is amazing to watch and hear public reactions to the Weekly’s reporting over the past few weeks. It was expected we would see some fast back peddling by the Mayor and the City Attorney over the exposure of the Banner Public Affairs contract. While that happened, there were some pretty heated Council discussions … Read more
Santa Clara has been fortunate in having some very talented staff members who have made wonderful contributions to our City. While many of our elected politicians come and go and come again, it is usually different when staff members leave as it is usually into retirement. One of our memorable members on City Staff was … Read more
When under attack…deflect and blame. Blame the 49ers, blame past City managers, blame opposing Council Members, blame the Mercury News, the Santa Clara Weekly, KPIX or blame outspoken citizens who have a brain. Folks, whatever you think of the 49ers, they are not the cause of the outrageous actions by the Mayor and her … Read more
Dominic Caserta has often been a minority voice on Santa Clara City Council. However, he may have good reason to be thankful this Holiday Season. After serving two full terms on City Council and taking a break, Caserta returned to Council two years ago with an eye on higher office. He has been preparing … Read more
Absolutely, our Mayor should have a PR firm working under her direction to shape public opinion. The choice of Banner Public Affairs fits the bill. And, speaking of bills, at $450 an hour the burn rate is intense. Though the Mayor’s calendar shows no meetings with Pete Hillan from Banner, he shows on his calendar … Read more
Playing possum was a fun game as a kid. You laid still, didn’t move and pretended to be asleep. Over the past several months our Charter Review Committee has been meeting to discuss changes to our City Charter. This was primarily focused on creating new districts for our Council elections to comply with current law. … Read more
Has Santa Clara’s Mayor gone rogue? From a public records request made to City Hall on October 2, the Santa Clara Weekly has learned Mayor Lisa Gilmor contracted and worked with a public relations firm months before the contract was approved. In January 2017, at a goal-setting meeting, the Stadium Authority and City Council agreed … Read more
Congratulations to Santa Clara. Congratulations to SummerHill development. And congratulations to our City Council who finally accepted a new development project on the El Camino. SummerHill received approval Tuesday night for their El Camino project at McCormick Drive. It is not a huge project and it is a good start considering we have been in … Read more