Morning News Round-Up – 1.27.09: Recall Vic?

San Jose Revealed makes a pretty serious accusation today against Mayor Chuck Reed's chief political strategist. Revealed says Vic Ajlouny is doing campaign work for the Recall Madison Nguyen team while Reed (strongly?) opposes the recall effort. If this is true, Ajlouny is as big a jerk as (most/all) people say he is...Revealed's evidence is the (obvious) similarities of direct mail used by the Recall people and past Ajlouny clients. Perhaps Reed is quietly trying to help out both sides? He does need to get to six votes after all...

The Morgan Hill City Council really knows how to party. They met all weekend in a community center to address the pressing economic issues facing them and to figure out how to collaborate with other elected bodies during the rough times. Councilmember Larry Carr is ready to move forward with downtown redevelopment saying, "In the past, we've always been more than willing to wait for other people to catch up. I'm willing to tolerate the flack we will get from not waiting for others." There will be little flack about downtown Morgan Hill on Watch Dog...after all, we've never been there...

The always entertaining Gilroy City Council also met over the weekend. They spent half of Saturday “chatting” with Morgan Hill Councilmembers about collaboration and still managed to wrap their retreat in half the time they did last year. Special guest Santa Clara City Clerk Rod Diridon, Jr. talked to the Gilroy Council about a voter outreach program enacted in Santa Clara that made for more ethical candidates. Nobody said, "Thanks RDJ2, if you only put as much effort into your own campaigns as you do into the ethics of others, you might be a State Assemblymember..."

The Gilroy Dispatch wants to know if you think Gilroy police should be paid significantly more than Gilroy firefighters. So far, the firefighters are winning.

In these difficult economic times everyone is scouring their budget to see where they can cut costs and generate additional revenue. Imagine the surprise then when Santa Cruz County officials learned that they were paying for roughly 16 fire emergencies each month – in Santa Clara County! County Supervisor Gage says Santa Clara County officials are looking at the problem but is dismissive of the financial burden to Santa Cruz County.

The idea of a joint stadium moving both the Niners and the Raiders to the South Bay received mixed reviews yesterday. Santa Clara Councilmembers Jamie McLeod and Will Kennedy said the project with both teams is more attractive. Along with the added/needed revenue, the Councilmembers and nearby residents worry famously rowdy Raider fans will bring more traffic, noise, and crime. Apparently boring, wine sipping Niner fans are better behaved.

The Merc’s Editorial board had some fun writing about a serious subject. Books, safety, and Winnie-the-Pooh – oh, yeah and a Tigger quote. Congress may have made the unintended consequences blunder of the century with a law that could force children's books off library and bookstore shelves.

Last year Rita Campos hit cyclist Bruce Finch and he was killed after being ejected from his bike. Campos said she didn’t know if Finch was still alive as she waited with him before the paramedics arrived. The CHP investigation has landed at the DA’s office, they recommend charging Campos with manslaughter.

Mr. Roadshow, Watch Dog is interested in knowing, is this year different with respect to crappy drivers or is it normal in the first three weeks for five people in the County to get hit? Is this how we kick off the Year of the Pedestrian? Yesterday it was a 9-year-old, with his Dad, on the way to Alum Rock’s Goss Elementary. Yesterday’s accident happened while the child and his father crossed, with the green and in a crosswalk. If you saw anything at Story/Adrian call SJPD at 408.277.4654.

Valley Medical Center, led by a committee of staff and consultants, want to do away with security glass separating patients from emergency room registration staff. The consultants said the move will make it more customer-friendly. Some hospitals have floor to ceiling protection and metal detectors patients must clear before entering the emergency room. VMC sees roughly double the number of patients it did before HCA shutdown the San Jose Medical Center. Arthur Slauer a healthcare security expert and former Kaiser Permanente security guru says, "All it takes is one incident, and I guarantee there's going to be a problem." The safety glass was installed 5 years ago.

Young love run amok caused two (barely) teenagers to steal grandpa’s car and wallet. At least, that’s the assumption for now. Roslyn Marshall, 13 of Saratoga, and James Palmerson, 14 of Los Altos, fell madly in love three weeks ago and Sunday morning made like Romeo & Juliet and have high-tailed it to the place where underage marriages are all the rage – (Verona?) Utah or Vegas. They’re in a grey Honda Civic, plates 5NLM445. If you see them call the tip line 408.808.4431. But don't forget to the tell the youngsters that you know where they can see a Jonas Brothers' concert for free -- that ought to stop them in their tracks...