Santa Clara County leaders and California Attorney General Rob Bonta are suing to stop the construction of an ICE facility near Gilroy, after this news outlet first reported on the federal government’s plans and obtained blueprints showing the building would hold and process detainees. Officials announced the lawsuit Wednesday, naming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement...
San Jose passes budget with millions of dollars in service cuts
The San Jose City Council passed a $5.5 billion budget Tuesday, balancing a $50 million deficit by tapping into reserve funds and making wide ranging service cuts — but no layoffs. Over the course of the four-month-long budgeting process, San Jose leaders have warned the city may need to resort to painful fiscal trimming. However, in...
Santa Clara’s special event zone helps businesses, not vendors
Soccer fans from around the world are expected to flood Santa Clara this weekend for the FIFA World Cup, bringing team chants, fan marches and crowds to Levi’s Stadium — but outdoor merchants and food vendors may not benefit from the event at all. Santa Clara has created a “special event zone” to temporarily restrict sidewalk...
Proposed Palo Alto office complex sparks debate
As Palo Alto prepares to create a new residential community along San Antonio Road, city leaders are confronting a question that had dogged prior planning efforts: How much office space should the new neighborhood accommodate? The focus on the debate is on what’s known as the CTI subarea next to U.S. Highway 101 and just...
Super Bowl 60 pumps $195M into Santa Clara County
South Bay officials are touting a new economic analysis of Super Bowl 60, which found the game drove $720 million in total economic activity throughout the Bay Area, $195 million of which went to Santa Clara County. The report, released Friday by the Bay Area Host Committee, may bolster the case from leaders in San...
Hundreds turn out for Palo Alto’s first Pride event
By all accounts, Palo Alto’s first Pride Month event was a resounding success. King Plaza in front of City Hall was transformed into a sea of rainbows on Sunday afternoon, with rows of colorful pop-up tents lining the streets and hundreds of attendees (and a handful of pet dogs) adorned in pride regalia. To mark...
South County families create their own livestock fair
Santa Clara County fairgrounds leaders caused an uproar this year for pushing the annual fair date to keep vendors happy and – as a consequence – some youth farmers out of contention for junior livestock shows. The parents’ response: Fine, we’ll organize our own. Preparations for an alternative fair are now underway among farmers in...
State primary may have seeded San Jose mayor’s future goals
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is going back to City Hall with his hat in his hands. But while his bid for governor failed, he’s shown residents and political observers a new side of himself – and the monied interests he’s willing to rub shoulders with. Mahan – who was in sixth place behind Steve Hilton...
Santa Clara County expands protections to include more renters
Santa Clara County is expanding the types of renters covered under its eviction protection laws — and the amount landlords will pay to help displaced tenants relocate. The Board of Supervisors on June 2 voted 4-1 — with District 5 Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga voting no — to revise the county’s 1993 tenant protection law, which...
The Biz Beat: San Jose’s Sourdough Eatery offers art on the side
Nestled in a 100-year-old former residence, Sourdough Eatery in San Jose feels like a roadside attraction on Route 66. Part delicatessen, part art gallery and part living history museum, it is a tribute to owner Barbara Lenhart. Every visible wall is covered with Lenhart’s oil portraits of celebrities, politicians and glamor girls. Lenhart sits at...