Monday, November 2, 2009

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.2.09: Change of Culture Edition...

Well, Sunday's paper had some more bad news for the embattled San Jose Police Department. Let's review: first it was drunk arrests, then it was attitude arrests, then it was a shooting of a mentally-ill man and the corresponding non-release of the 911 tapes, then it was the beating/ Tasing of the San Jose State student. All of this has kept the Merc's Sean Webby extremely busy. Sunday's expose on the San Jose Police Department was thorough -- and while we await Protest San Jose's response, you should read the story. In a nutshell, the San Jose Police Department uses force a lot in resisting-arrest cases, which comes as no surprise to some, but may surprise a few folks on the City Council...

The Sunday Merc also had some pretty shocking examples of use of force during fairly innocuous stuff... followed by today's paper with another story about a female San Jose State student who was roughed up during the evening of the 2006 Mardi Gras. (It isn't all bad news for San Jose PD however, a rookie Officer saved a toddler from choking on candy this weekend.)

And, of course, the corresponding Merc Editorial calling for a "culture change" for San Jose Police.

Ironically, it is the second call for a change in culture in the Merc Editorial pages this week. The first was for Wilcox High School after Teacher/Sex Gate and the Broom Closet Modeling Agency was uncovered...

And if that all wasn't enough news about the need for a change of culture, another one bites the dust in the East Side Union High School District. Superintendent Bob Nunez was finally sacked after 12 hours of hearings and lots and lots of expensive Starbucks coffees... (read that story, that is a pun...) Perhaps this is an an elaborate effort to get the seat warm again for Joe Coto when his stint in Sacramento is over...

You may have heard that these are tough economic times... well, VTA is feeling the tough economic times as hard, or harder, than anyone else. They have an operating deficit of $98 million over the next 2 years. That should be fun to deal with...

And if it is Monday, that means we read Internal Affairs this weekend. IA goes in depth about the Forbe's Magazine safe cities rankings... ironic, given what else was the in paper on Sunday (see top story above)... the Santa Clara Valley Water District passed The Dick Santos Project in Alviso, much to the delight of the opposition researchers in the Supervisor's race next year... and Deputy District Attorney is officially looking to remove the word Deputy from his name and is taking on embattled DA Dolores Carr.

Gilroy Unified has a new high school and by the accounts in the story in the Dispatch, it is one cool high school.

And could it be that the same golf course that gave headaches (both golf and political) to former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales could host a PGA Tour event? The Morgan Hill Times asks and answers the questions...

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