A Santa Clara mayoral candidate is facing a state-level complaint over his campaign’s undisclosed use of AI-generated images. Diana Torres, a freelance political consultant, filed the complaint against candidate Gary Ferraris to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) on Sept. 24. The complaint alleges Ferraris’ campaign website used images created with artificial intelligence without...
Palo Alto advances plans to redesign three rail crossings
After years of debate, Palo Alto leaders on Monday advanced three alternatives for redesigning the rail corridor near the Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive and Charleston Road crossings, even as they acknowledged it’s unlikely all three will make it to the construction phase. The designs for all three crossings are currently at the 15% design stage,...
State Prop. 43 aims to raise tax measure threshold
A proposition going before California voters in November could make it more difficult for local governments and agencies to get funding from tax measures by raising the approval threshold. Proposition 43 would require a two-thirds majority vote for citizen initiatives pertaining to sale taxes — such as real estate, utilities and transit — which under...
Residents warn of mobility challenges as Palo Alto ends ride-hailing service
As Palo Alto Link prepares to run its final trip next month, residents who have come to depend on the city’s ride-hailing service are raising concerns about losing a valuable resource they have come to depend on since it first rolled out in 2023. Ian Irwin, who is in his 70s and has a daughter...
Santa Clara County funds independent living home upgrades
Last year, Santa Clara County created a grant to improve conditions at independent living homes. But advocates said there needs to be more oversight on who gets awarded these grants. Independent living homes house some of the most vulnerable populations in the county, including people with mental health issues. Some residents have suffered in these...
Ex-Santa Clara County undersheriff pleads guilty in weapons case
Eight years of investigation and prosecutions in a bribery scandal involving the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office approving concealed weapons permits came to an end this month, with a guilty plea by the department’s former second-in-command. Rick Sung, who served as undersheriff, pleaded guilty on Sept. 21 to two felonies involving incidents from 2017 to...
Santa Clara mayoral candidate claims Levi’s Stadium financials fall short
Former Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe is calling for an independent analysis of the economic benefit Levi’s Stadium provides to the city, saying residents deserve a clearer accounting of the stadium’s costs, revenues and contributions to city coffers. Watanabe, a mayoral candidate in the upcoming Nov. 3 election, held a news conference Thursday in front...
Santa Clara looks to ban recreational nitrous oxide sales
Santa Clara is preparing to ban recreational sales of nitrous oxide products, also known as whippets. But smoke shops within city limits have already started moving away from selling them. The City Council on Tuesday received an update on the proposed ban, which would prohibit the sale and distribution of nitrous oxide for recreational use...
Mountain View legal settlement protecting RVs expires soon
For years, Sylvia Garcia Cruz and her family have lived in a recreational vehicle on Terra Bella Avenue, one of roughly three dozen streets in Mountain View that does not prohibit the parking of RVs and trailers. Twice a week, Garcia Cruz pays someone to move her RV to a different spot on the street in...
Pending San Jose airport road closure poses risk to cyclists
San Jose residents and bicycle advocates are fighting to stop a looming obstacle in their path. Recreational cyclists and bike commuters traveling from San Jose to Santa Clara and Sunnyvale on Ewert Road have been horrified to learn of a planned Oct. 1 closure. The road, which borders the airport, is an essential conduit to...