The Lighter Side of … California Local

Seeking to bring order to the city’s nascent and chaotic parklet scene, the Palo Alto City Council adopted a suite of rules for outdoor dining spaces in University Avenue and portions of California Avenue.

In a sign of further fraying relations, the city is considering terminating a more than six-decade agreement with the Mountain View Whisman School District for the joint operation of campus fields.

Santa Clara is being sued by Brian Doyle, its former city attorney, who claims officials fired him unlawfully as part of a hushed agreement with San Francisco 49ers owners.

Eight community colleges in California are testing out a new education model, one that defines success by the skills a student learns, not the time they spend in a classroom. But changing the traditional education system isn’t easy.

A bipartisan bill would create a state ombudsperson to intervene when public records requests are denied. But an advocacy group is concerned that it will encourage state agencies to go to court.

The Legislature is approving lots of significant bills in the final days of the session. But the final call is up to the governor, and he isn’t shy about using his veto pen.

The Milpitas location of An-Jan Feed & Pet Supply put the word out that it will be closing, ending a decades-long run as Milpitas’ premier supplier of pet food and supplies.  The store’s long history can be traced back to 1969.

San Jose’s assistant independent police watchdog quit months after the top police auditor stepped down, according to a letter obtained by San José Spotlight. Eva Roa, the city’s assistant independent police auditor since 2020, sent a scathing letter to city officials sharing her frustrations with city management.

Three Santa Clara County departments will move to the new West Tasman campus in San Jose: the Assessor’s Office, Department of Tax and Collections, and the Clerk-Recorder’s Office.

Palo Alto city leaders gathered on a dusty field to celebrate the city's first expansion of a park in at least two decades.

San Jose has spent years and millions of dollars to open its safe parking site at the Santa Teresa VTA light rail station—but it is practically empty.

Nearly a third of K-12 students statewide were chronically absent in 2020-21, more than three times the pre-pandemic rate. Some school officials fear that pattern is becoming the new normal.

San Jose Planning Commissioner George Casey, who views himself as an independent moderate, is jumping into the District 10 City Council race. Casey, 52, is the third candidate to enter the South San Jose race in an effort to unseat incumbent Arjun Batra, who plans to run next year.

The San Jose City Council changed three ethics rules that could affect how money is used to influence policy. Officials revised the city’s revolving door protocol for former employees, removed fees for late lobbying disclosures and uncapped reimbursement amounts for personal loans candidates made to their campaigns.

The grandson of the Chinese American pioneer whose century-old cannery building has drawn much debate in Palo Alto wants remnants from the property saved if the structure itself can’t be preserved.