Monday, March 30, 2009

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.30.09: What if Lew Wolff shared his microphone with Tom Campbell?

Watch Dog has said it before, but Lew Wolff is a microphone magnet. So much so that his statements from last week about wanting to move to San Jose just keeping getting covered. As a review, Wolff came out with his stongest stance yet on the status of the A's plans:
"...We are really saying that we'd love to stay in Northern California, and go to San Jose..."
Now to a local guy that has trouble finding a microphone to speak into...Tom Campbell. Did you know he is running for Governor? The Chronicle threw Campbell a bone and covered his long-shot effort to become the next Governor. Campbell's pitch? He knows the budget really, really well. In normal times, we'd advice Campbell to get a different political message, but extraordinary times may call for an extraordinarily boring messages...and Campbell's understanding of the State's complex budget is extraordinary (and dry)...

San Jose’s firefighters have offered to give themselves a wage freeze for the next year. City Manager Debra Figone should have been happy to hear about it but was pissed off the firefighters went around her to make the offer directly to the Mayor and City Council. (Former Vice Mayor) Chamber CEO Pat Dando didn’t seem to care who heard the offer and called it a “...bold step in saving the city a great deal of money this year...” (a million bucks that is)

Residents in San Jose’s Gardner neighborhood in Willow Glen say High Speed Rail is ok, just don’t take their homes to make it happen. It wouldn’t be the first time transportation took over the neighborhood. In the early 1900’s the railroads secretly bought land to build the Southern Pacific line.

The Merc’s Charlie McCollum seeks answers to America’s burning question: How does Steve Wozniak manage to keep on dancing (with the stars)? As everyone in Silicon Valley knows: geeks rule. In this case, the computers are humming with Woz love. With a broken foot, torn hamstring, and questionable dancing skills, the Woz still has fans (voteWoz.com). Gary ‘Mr. Roadshow’ Richards continues his love for our dancing Teletubbie as well.

The Merc’s Editorial Board adds their support to Congressman Mike Honda’s efforts to open Mount Umunhum to the public. The challenge is cleaning up the old Air Force Base and radio station...oh, and the $11 million required to do it. If Honda has his way the Midpeninsula Open Space District will have a new jewel. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said there’s an incredible vista and it would be a nice place to hike.

The Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted their annual History Day Competition, appropriately held at San Jose’s History Park. Students created, and defended, projects on everyone from famed United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta to Oprah Winfrey.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs expresses love for San Jose’s HP Pavilion after attending a Streisand concert and reading a study released from Sports Economics which says thousands of jobs have been created and millions pumped into the local economy. The lovefest is to support a theory that local sports officials are hoping to steal the Sacramento Kings. It doesn’t hurt San Jose's MLB ambitions either…Also in IA, their own list of Quick Notes this weekend…
Santa Clara is reeling from the apparent murder-suicide of 6 people, including 3 children, over the weekend. Very little information has been released about this incident.

A former Marine reservist, distraught about losing his business, threatened to kill himself in his San Jose home. Members of the San Jose Police Department surrounded the house, barricaded the neighborhood, and readied themselves for a patient siege. Turns out the guy snuck away and later called the cops from a payphone to give them permission to enter the home.

San Jose Revealed voices loud support for making San Jose’s Fire Station One a historic landmark. Apparently the best reason for giving it landmark status is to prevent former Mayor Tom McEnery from having his way with it. Others in the community also hope for landmark status and want to restore the structure and convert it to a museum.

On tap around the Valley for your elected officials:
  • Palo Alto Unified School District talks about growing elementary schools, changing school boundaries, and the aforementioned staff raises. Get ready for some wild discussions -- school boundaries are a big deal in Palo Alto...
  • Santa Clara County’s Committee on School District Organization meets to talk about moving property from Saratoga's Union School District to the Los Gatos Union School District...again, heads up when discussing school boundaries in fancy towns...
  • The San Jose City Council Salary Setting Commission considers a freeze on the Mayor and Council salaries...
  • Mountain View’s City Council talks about financial goals – like staying afloat in difficult times...perhaps Tom Campbell could give a Power Point Presentation on budgeting...

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