In a move that seems straight out of a mafia playbook, the union representing Santa Clara’s police officers solicited donations from businesses in exchange for police department support. In its “2021 Business Supporter” flyer, sent to local retailers, the Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association said, “Place our decal in your window, and we will direct...

Santa Clara is mulling whether to pay a consultant $300,000 to create a tourism strategy for the city, a move scrutinized by several city councilmembers given the city’s questionable history of hiring expensive consultants. “It’s starting to look more like wasteful spending,” said Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker. “I’d rather see available funds spent on...

Santa Clara lost a bid to overturn a lawsuit forcing it to hold district elections after the city was sued for allegedly violating the California Voting Rights Act. City officials appealed the decision in 2019, despite previous unsuccessful efforts from other cities in similar California Voting Rights Act cases. But an appeals court Dec. 30...

Santa Clara lawmakers are not pleased with the loss of revenue from non-NFL events at Levi’s Stadium, and they say it’s due to sloppiness on the part of the San Francisco 49ers’ management. An accounting report presented this week to the Stadium Authority, a legislative body comprised of Mayor Lisa Gillmor and other elected leaders, stemmed...

After years of finger pointing and court battles, Santa Clara lawmakers approved a new way to keep tabs on Levi’s Stadium and the 49ers’ financials. Most recently, the city and 49ers have clashed over who owes money to whom. The 49ers, which manage Levi’s Stadium, say the city owes $2.74 million for losses from non-NFL...