Santa Clara’s City Council this week made several noteworthy decisions during its twice-monthly council meeting, including approving a new biennial budget and offering a stamp of approval on a land sale and the next phase of a condo development. Read on for a rundown of the most newsworthy items discussed this week during the city’s...

Santa Clara’s March 2020 ballot will include a question to determine how future City Council members are elected, but first the city is building a committee to help create that pivotal question — and they need volunteers by June 28. The timeline to apply for the committee, known as the Charter Review Committee, has been...

Santa Clara Police Chief Mike Sellers will retire on Sept. 1, more than a year before his term ends in December 2020, Sellers told San José Spotlight on Tuesday. Sellers has been Santa Clara’s elected police chief for the past seven years, but he’s worked full-time for the city’s police department for more than three...

Santa Clara city officials say they’ve balanced the city’s $954.8 million budget ahead of the City Council’s expected vote on the financial forecast on Tuesday. City officials have tried over the past 18 months to find their way out of what was projected to be a $46.4 million deficit over the next two years as...

A civil grand jury this week released a scathing report on Santa Clara’s alleged failure to comply with the state’s public records law — a report city officials are disputing. The law, known as the California Public Records Act, dates back to 1968 and allows people to look at and receive documents created and kept by government...

Santa Clara’s nightlife has been stunted because of red tape, costly regulations and outdated policies, some leaders say, but now they’re trying to change that. Mike Seitz would love to have live music at the planned Barebottle Brewery in Santa Clara, just like at the company’s San Francisco taproom, but he and his business partners...

Silicon Valley is home to some of the first recreational pot shops in California. But not in Santa Clara. The Mission City passed a moratorium on commercial pot two months ago — after voters approved a measure legalizing recreational sales — and now lawmakers want to extend the ban. “There’s not enough time, really, to do all...

After a lengthy legal battle costing more than $3 million in fees, Santa Clara is appealing a court decision forcing district elections after it was sued for allegedly violating the California Voting Rights Act, according to the plaintiffs’ attorneys. City officials are appealing despite previous unsuccessful efforts from other cities in similar California Voting Rights Act cases. “The city is appealing...

In an effort to crack down on smoking and the purchase and use of flavored tobacco products by underage youth, Santa Clara City officials unanimously passed an ordinance Tuesday that enforces stricter tobacco regulations. Some of the regulations include banning smoking tobacco in new and existing multi-unit housing and requiring tenants to sign lease agreements...