Christmas came early for San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos when the bid for rebuilding a fire station in her Council District (and the busiest in San Jose) came in a million dollars under engineering estimates and $3 million under original estimates. Astute Watch Dogs with good memories will remember that when Campos got the Council behind her to vote for this fire station, it was an indication that Mayor Reed could be beaten on specific issues -- and Campos beat him first. Council colleague Pete Constant still argues against a complete rebuild for the East Side fire station saying, "When we're spending taxpayer money we should be looking for the best value." Perhaps he'll remember this as he pushes to spend money on a useless city-censorship device for library computers...
San Jose Police Department lost two of its own to suicide last month while the Walnut Creek Police Department also lost a member. SJPD Sgt. Mike Sullivan says the three suicides in such a short time has everyone stunned, "Morale is low and we're all asking 'Why did they do it?' Both were stellar police officers. That's the thing — why?"
Is San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant looking for a new wife? Constant recused himself from a discussion about benefits for second spouses saying, "potentially I could have another spouse as a retiree some time in the future, and this would affect me.” Nothing like planning for a second wife...
Who watches out for the children? That’s the question being asked as proposals come from law firms and the District Attorney’s office to represent children in court. Why is this an issue? Because the Merc did a series this year which questioned the viability of the DA’s office to adequately represent children. Chief Assistant DA Marc Bueller says the DA’s office is doing a fine job representing children, "We will continue to have the same commitment to quality representation, with experienced lawyers who have expertise in the area of dependency."
The Cupertino Union and Montebello School Districts will consider merging or shifting territory at this weeks meeting. And now that Pearl Cheng is moving on, Cupertino will also need to discuss how to fill her vacancy. With any luck Pearl won’t advocate a plot to replace herself with a failed candidate a la George Shirakawa/Eddie Garcia...
Sunnyvale’s City Council will hear a year end financial report, maybe Otto Lee will be happy to be leaving for Iraq at the end of Tuesdays meeting. Sunnyvale will also work out how to replace Lee while he’s gone.
The tumultuous meetings in Alum Rock will continue as they review the decision for a generous parting gift for Superintendent Norma Martinez along with replacing legal counsel.
Yes, Virginia, that is snow you see at Mt. Hamilton. Lick Observatory guide Wendy Hansen said the weather was unusual this early in the winter season. While no one expects it to stay long there are places you can go to play.
Cancel that party! Around the valley corporations are stepping up to help the many non-profits struggling to support area residents. Three Cheers to T.J. Rodgers (Cypress Semiconductor), Michael Hsing (Monolithic Power Systems), Paul Maritz (VMWare), Hank Nothaft (Tessera Technologies), Steve Specker (Electric Power Research), and their boards for redirecting the money for parties to Second Harvest Food Bank. Dr. Zbigniew Radzimski (Silicon Quest International) is hoping the San Jose Family Shelter will find a better use for their party money. Sacred Heart’s Executive Director Poncho Guevara says the new phenomena is an indication companies are trying to find new ways to get their employees involved.
The economic crisis has created a rush to local libraries. San Jose Library Director Jane Light says ,“the library is a natural place to go," as people live more frugal lives. There is a fear that as the crisis deepens funding to libraries will be among the first to go. This must make Larry Pegram nervous -- you know how dangerous libraries can be...
San Jose may not be the safest place in California but it among the most diverse. In fact, San Jose ranks fourth for both diversity and safety. Ironically, it is diversity and safety are the center of the San Jose drunk arrest controversy...
The Metro's "The Fly" was out late Saturday night to observe the traditional SJPD party zone shutdown. The Fly reports on San Jose Inside that club patrons paused to vomit on area businesses prior to driving off in their cars, SJPD officers arrested others, and a Metro photographer was cited for iPhotojournalism. Like The Fly says – there are a few bad apples on both sides of this ongoing problem.
The fraud lawsuit against Dan Pulcrano was dismissed when the case was settled out of court, much to the chagrin of San Jose Revealed writers...
What has been a bright spot on the San Jose sports scene -- the San Jose SaberCats may not be playing this season...owners voted to cancel the season for financial reasons. While the positive spin come from the owners sounds good -- the USFL thought it would be back too...
Monday, December 15, 2008
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2 comments:
Trusting Marc Buller with child welfare issues is an iffy proposition. Don't forget that he was the architect of the Encinal Ten, a group of school children in the Encinal Elementary School who were hailed into court for an alleged hate crime in June 1993.
After their parents spent their college savings accounts and retirement accounts for attorneys and suffered through the rigors of massive negative publicity, the child making the complaint ended up stating that his accusation had been a hoax. It left egg and bigotry on Marc Buller's face, and there has never been closure in the community for The Encinal Ten.
I wouldn't want Marc Buller around children. The danger of his seeing them in an opportunistic light for political gain is far too great.
SJ Revealed's Philip Bump comes out of the shadows in this new Twitter feed:
www.twitter.com/philipbump
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