San Jose’s City Attorney, Rick Doyle, made an offhand comment last year that has erupted into a battle royale yesterday. Doyle said Councilmembers (Nora Campos) who wanted to review private legal documents created in his office for downtown's Peralta Plan (McEnery Plan) would need their colleagues’ approval. Using this (mis)information yesterday, San Jose’s Rules Committee told her to take a hike with her request to make those documents public. It turns out Doyle goofed. Campos does have a right to review those documents after all. Which is not nearly as interesting as the battle raging between San Jose Revealed and San Jose Inside about who 'won' and who 'lost' in yesterday's Rules Committee/Elections Commission/Reed-McEnery-Campos dust-up. (Since McEnery's project is getting $6 million, it is safe to say he thinks he won...) Watch Dog points out that (seemingly) Campos got the idea to push on this issue from reading Revealed. See Watch Dog's "blogosphere of influence"...
The Alum Rock School District quietly talked with East Side Union about a plan to swap Pala Middle School for East Side's Adult Ed. Independence. When news first leaked Alum Rock Trustee Gustavo Gonzalez expressed concern about a growing need for schools that could make existing crowding problems worse. In today’s news, Board President Gonzalez seems to switch gears, saying “We have to look at the whole District and how we are running all our schools. We have some work to do to shore up our budget.” Watch Dogs can join the now public fun tonight at the Alum Rock Board meeting -- and if you've never been to an Alum Rock Board meeting, you should go...
Ash Kalra, San Jose’s newest Councilmember, faces some trouble in his District from Day 1. His old alma mater, Oak Grove High (part of the East Side Union High School District), has been the site of two teen stabbings recently. This week a 12 year old was arrested for armed robbery after he and a friend attacked a 16 year old and stole a cell phone. Last year a 16 year old girl stabbed a student in a gang-related incident. Have fun Councilmember Kalra...
San Jose is (supposedly) a mecca for electric cars… Mayor Chuck Reed unveiled the City’s first public "Smartlet"charging stations for electric cars. While you can now park and charge your Tesla car at the Fourth Street garage, it is the parking of the Tesla company in San Jose that is in real danger.
Greg Larson took over as Los Gatos Town Manager last year, not knowing the economic disaster that loomed internationally. This week, Larson reported Los Gatos is sitting on a $3.7 million reserve with $4.4 million in revenue stabilization reserve. In something of a small world story, Larson started his career in San Jose and was (then Mayor) Tom McEnery’s Budget and Policy Director before a series of moves including San Jose (again), Sacramento, Arizona, and Santa Cruz before landing in Los Gatos. Oh yeah, he also famously served with his famous buddy as Stanford's student body co-president...
Saratogans still have time to apply for openings on the Planning and Heritage Preservation Commission (a.k.a. the NIMBY Commission of Saratoga...) Applications are due today as City Hall is closed Friday with the new “9/80” schedule.
Use of City facilities in Cupertino may soon be free if you’re a non-profit or promoting cultural ties. Councilmember Gilbert Wong worries about the loss of revenue, "I think that with the economic times not doing so well...You're just going to open up a huge can of worms."
Los Gatos pooches have a new/old hangout with the reopening of the elegantly named Los Gatos Creek County Dog Park. The park previously sported real turf which was torn up and turned to mud causing pooch people to stay away. (Watch Dog suspects pooches would have loved the mud but the good folks of The Town don't like dirty dogs in their homes...) The recent renovations to do away with the mud cost the County nearly $227,000, the original park ran $325,000.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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