Morning News Round-Up – 1.12.09: Manny Diaz for Secretary of Commerce?

Watch Dog San Mateo was way ahead of the City of San Jose in sniffing out recycling pilferers...But San Jose wants you on the hunt as well. San Jose leaders plan to stop would-be thieves from stealing recycling/money from the pros by asking you to turn in scavengers. Add this to your list of things the City wants you to patrol for. The list now includes watching to see if your neighbors are lighting a winter fire or an any other way are violating City codes. Perhaps we should all ask Mayor for a pay increase. Or at least a bonus to our pensions...

East Side Union High School District appointed Eddie Garcia for his second (unelected) stint on the Board. This is not a surprise -- it was a done deal a long time ago. What is surprising is the appointment was unanimously supported. Trustee Frank Biehl had originally supported Barbara Boone but gave in when three of his colleagues indicated support for Garcia. (Frank Biehl...a profile in courage...) Garcia faces yet another election in 2010, if he loses that one who will be there to get him re-appointed? Don't worry about Mr. Garcia though, he has landed a plum job as Supervisor George Shirakawa's Chief of Staff at the County. (Care to guess what a Chief of Staff at the County makes?) So, Garcia has Shirakawa to thank for this paycheck and his unelected political office -- the George and Eddie Show continues...

San Jose’s City Council will discuss a dollar for dollar match of Redevelopment funds with money from area hotels hoping to cash in on an expansive new convention center. With a little luck, the famously ugly blue tent will disappear along with the old library. The first City Council meeting of the year will also welcome newcomers Ash Kalra and Rose Herrera. Planning Commission Chair Jim Zito says of his former colleague "[Kalra] was well-informed, diligent, and did his research well." Zito's nice words about Kalra come in pretty stark contrast to the stories about Herrera in the past few weeks: first she hires then fires a staffer, then she puts the (apparent) kibosh on her former opponent's dream of becoming a Planning Commissioner...it sounds like she'll fit in fine on the 18th floor...

The Merc’s Internal Affairs heard from former Congressman Tom Campbell – coming clean to say, yep, he’s considering a run for the Guv’s seat. His two biggest challengers right now for the Republican nomination include eBay's Meg Whitman and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner – along with their giant pocketbooks. Just some inside baseball stuff -- Meg Whitman leaked her possible run for Governor in an AP story that was covered State- and Nation-wide. Perhaps Campbell should think about a larger platform to make such announcements. Internal Affairs is widely read...but...

Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio may have been feeling a little saucy last week when he told the Merc. he would not be speaking with attorney James McManis about the McEnery as lobbyist saga and called the complaint a joke. McManis told the Merc.’s, “I don't think Pierluigi Whatever-his-name-is is serving the city by making cracks like that." McManis didn't go on to say, "...and his beard is weird..."

Internal Affairs also dishes on recommendations by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of prominent Latinos to fill the Cabinet shoes of embarrassed New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson when he had to withdraw his bid to be Obama’s Commerce Secretary. Among the locals nominated by LULAC is Hector Ruiz, whose claim to fame having been fired after driving AMD into the ground. IA was also a little mystified to see "Manny Diaz" listed until they realized it wasn’t San Jose’s own on again/off again politician/lobbyist.

Santa Clara University is celebrating the success of alumni Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and former Congressman Leon Panetta (a.k.a. Leo McGarry) as President-elect Obama taps them to head to D.C. with the administration.

The Merc.’s Patty Fisher jumps into the political tug-of-war over Moffett Field's Hangar One. The Navy says preservationists can keep it – after they strip it bare of walls leaving only a giant exoskeleton behind. The new landlord, NASA, sent Deputy Director Lewis Braxton a note to say that unless the hangar was in use-able condition, NASA didn’t want any part of it – and that restoration was part of the deal. The costs are dizzying with $30 million to tear away the old siding and possibly $15 million to get something else installed. If only there was someone who had local knowledge of the issue, held an elective office, and had a connection to the Navy...

Violence is erupting around San Jose. A hostage situation in Councilmember Judy Chirco’s District ended late Sunday night without injuries. In Councilmember Kansen Chu’s North San Jose District, two people were stabbed at a mobile home park. Perhaps downtown is the safest place to be...with the number of arrests and all...

Around Silicon Valley, elected officials shake off the last vestiges’ of the holidays and begin the New Year with a vengeance. San Jose’s City Council will review the $1 billion dollar losses in pension funds, attempt to correct chronic deficits, and review a cost-benefit analysis for the Convention Center. Sounds like fun... New Supervisors Dave Cortese and George Shirakawa, Jr. take their seats for the first time and Liz Kniss takes the helm as Board Chair.

Tenet Healthcare, which is operating Community Hospital, has given Los Gatos residents until April 10 to use the hospital and emergency room. After that, the doors close until the new owner, El Camino Hospital moves in June 1. The Town's Mayor Mike Wasserman said of the temporary closing, "My concern is that the residents of Los Gatos know what's going on and where to go in an emergency." The El Camino Hospital District Board will meet Wednesday to talk about the acquisition, and perhaps an early opening?

Proving it’s never too late to give bad news, the Morgan Hill Times reported yesterday the Salvation Army was burglarized nearly two weeks before Christmas losing bicycles, food, and toys intended for needy families. Really? You are running a story a month late?