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As Santa Clara faces ongoing economic struggles exacerbated by the pandemic, the city’s mayor on Saturday presented a brighter vision for the future. During Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s first in-person State of the City address, she highlighted her administration’s approach to worsening local issues, such as homelessness. The city this past year has helped fund programs like...
Santa Clara officials say 49ers stadium tour was not a ‘gift’
Two Santa Clara officials are under investigation for allegedly accepting a gift from the San Francisco 49ers football team, which they say was an informational tour they took as part of their city leadership duties. Councilmembers Karen Hardy and Raj Chahal are accused of accepting a gift visit to the 49ers stadium, as the city...
Touchdown: Santa Clara settles lawsuit with 49ers
Three years and millions of dollars later, the San Francisco 49ers and Santa Clara have settled a high-stakes lawsuit over management of Levi’s Stadium. Three weeks after San José Spotlight first reported the NFL team’s settlement offer, Santa Clara administrators on Wednesday accepted a deal to end the litigation, according to team officials. Before signing the...
Santa Clara wants residents to ditch their cars
Santa Clara residents will soon be able to ditch the car for short distances and zoom around the city on electric scooters and bikes. Micromobility companies Bird and VEO are launching hundreds of electric scooters and bikes in Santa Clara. Bird received an operating permit on Aug. 8 and will start launching a total of 800 electric...
Final offer: 49ers tell Santa Clara officials to take it or leave it
The San Francisco 49ers are upping the ante to settle a lawsuit that’s costing Santa Clara residents millions of dollars. According to a letter obtained by San José Spotlight on Wednesday, the NFL team is now offering the city a settlement package officials say is worth $13 million when factoring in the money saved on...
Ousted Santa Clara commissioner ‘lied’ about residency
A Santa Clara planning commissioner has been fired after officials discovered he does not live in Santa Clara and falsely claimed to be a registered voter in the city. Ron Patrick served in one June meeting of the Santa Clara Planning Commission when his eligibility for the position was called into question. Councilmember Anthony Becker,...
Santa Clara mayor, school district may have skirted state labor laws
Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s property management company and a local school district appear to have violated state labor laws by failing to pay prevailing wages to contractors at an affordable housing site for teachers, a San José Spotlight investigation has found. Casa Del Maestro, located at 3455 Lochinvar Ave., was a first-of-its-kind effort in the...
Santa Clara expects increase in homeless residents
Santa Clara wants to address homelessness throughout the city, as officials expect the number of unhoused residents has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates and residents discussed the prevalence of homelessness in Santa Clara during a Tuesday meeting of the city’s eight-member homelessness task force, which launched at the end of April and meets monthly...
49ers offer millions to settle Santa Clara lawsuit
One of the biggest legal battles between Santa Clara and the San Francisco 49ers could be coming to an end. The football team sued the city in 2019 after councilmembers voted to remove the team as the manager of Levi’s Stadium during non-NFL events—a controversial decision that marked the latest blow in a contentious, high-profile fight....
Santa Clara official accused of living out of state
Questions are swirling about whether a Santa Clara elected official, who holds a critical role handling everything from city records to council meeting details, lives in the city he serves. Emails to councilmembers this week claim the city clerk, Hosam Haggag, now lives in Washington, and asked if elected officials are no longer required to live in...