Morning News Round-Up -- 2.5.09: Psst...Pete...grandstanding is hard when you don't show up...

Memo to Councilmember Pete Constant: When you want to get something on the City Council Agenda, you should actually show up to the meeting that puts things on the Agenda. In San Jose, the Agenda-setting committee is the Rules (and Open Government) Committee. Constant is one of four members of the Committee -- but he missed yesterday's meeting, meaning there wasn't a quorum to put his item on the Agenda to take tobacco money from non-profits and give it to crossing guards. Oops...

Watch Dog doubts, however, that Constant will miss an upcoming meeting where he will grandstand about pornography in libraries...perhaps he'll ask to take to take money from crossing guards in order to fund censorship...

San Jose’s beleaguered Employee Pension Board (some of the same folks that are accused of misstating travel requests, losing $1+ billion of pensioner money, squabbling over who will be on the Board, etc.) It only gets worse, two Board members quit abruptly yesterday. Firefighter Mark Skeen said he’s leaving because he faces, “…an arduous period of physical rehabilitation owing to two back surgeries forced upon me by job-incurred injuries." Sgt. Bret Muncy wouldn’t share his reasons for leaving. Expect more shake-ups from this Board...

The tale of Boots Del Biaggio moves from one sad chapter to another. Boots, businessman/philanthropist/fundraiser/hockey fan, pled guilty to one count of securities fraud. Sentencing is June 10, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer (brother of this guy) will order restitution and added, “there’s no question he’s going to jail.” Boots will be trading his palatial estate for a concrete cell for anywhere between 6 and 25 years.

In a surprising twist, a San Jose Grandpa and Grandma stole children from their daughter and raised them as their own. This week, Grandpa got caught, the kind-hearted (but kidnapping) old man is in jail awaiting extradition to Tennessee. San Jose friends are confused, Tom Merritt said “It makes you feel bad. Maybe he was right to take the kids.” Too bad the law doesn't seem to see things the way Mr. Merritt does...

For the next two years, electric car owners can get all the juice they need for free. Yep, just charge up at one of the trial installations in Downtown San Jose and your electric car will barely cost you a thing. Apparently the City (or the company installing the electric stations) are going to pick up the tab. Transportation Director James Helmer said the chargers fit the City’s Green Vision and support local companies. Of course, the really big deal on the electric car front doesn’t appear destined for San Jose.

San Jose Revealed posted an entertaining quick note Wednesday. The highlights:

• According to Revealed, on Sunday, the Merc.'s Scott Herhold identified his friends who are “all old white men,” as the powerbrokers in the Valley. We are guessing Revealed knows Pat's and Zoe's gender and Bobby Lopez's ethnicity...
  
• Former Merc. reporter Josh Molina has resurfaced at the Hispanic Business magazine in Goleta...
• Revealed had a warm/fuzzy feeling about the maturity with which the Little Saigon issue was being handled (seriously?) right up to the Henry Le lawsuit.

San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly also talks about Little Saigon and says Barry Hung Do met with Mayor Chuck Reed in December to ask the City to save money (assuming Councilmember Madison Nguyen gets blasted by the recall) and use the (undemocratic) appointment process to fill her seat. Oddly, Mayoral staffer Khoa Nguyen is at the top of the list for potential appointees. This story sounds weird to Watch Dog. First we heard a strong accusation from Revealed that Ajlouny may be helping out the Recall Madison folks, now we hear that a possible succession plan to replace Madison is actually someone from the Mayor's office? Mayor Reed should probably dispell both of these things in order to help Madison stay in office...