We'll do Santa Clara first today...
The Chronicle, one of the Bay Area's newspapers not in bankruptcy proceedings (yet), loves to chime in on South Bay sports stuff. Above all, the paper is uber-protective of the 49ers. So it is no suprise that the Chroncle's spin on a letter sent from the National Football League to the City of San Francisco about the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a positive one. The NFL told San Francisco that four really major things need to be done in order for the NFL to even consider allowing the 49ers to be in Hunters Point (assuming the Santa Clara thing falls through): a bridge over Yosemite Slough (which environmentalist are going to sue over), a new interchange off of 101 (which likely has a massive pricetag), adequate parking near the stadium (which the Board of Supervisors will never allow), and public transit infrastructure improvements (there is no public transit anywhere near this part of Hunters Point). A less "hometown" paper could write that the letter from the NFL to San Francisco could be construed as a letter siding with the 49ers and their quest to be Santa Clara-bound...
The City of Santa Clara is about to be served with a federal lawsuit by union carpenters saying that the City violated the union's free speech when it made them take down their banner outside a Citation Homes office. The sign wasn't so nice, but that isn't the point -- the City is claiming that the union violated the sign ordinance. This could get even more interesting... stay tuned.
It is good that the Merc is dedicating dozens of column inches (and a reporter) to what the rides will be named next season at Great America. For your information, Nickelodeonrides are out, Peanuts rides are in... with that information in your brain, go have a productive day.
Here's another San Francisco-related story that will have people in Silicon Valley scratching their heads... SFO is going to offer free Wi-Fi. Et tu SJC?
Could the DA Dolores Carr please go one week without doing something that lands her in the news? Well, obviously not. This time, she is instructing the prosecutors in her office to boycott a sitting judge and to not bring cases before him. Ironic, since Dolores Carr was once a judge. This item has yet to appear on Jeff Rosen's "The Case Against Dolores Carr..."
The Merc's Internal Affairs puts their hands on a letter that Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember/ Assembly Candidate Nora Campos sent to the good folks trying to figure out what to do with the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Essentially, the letter says that the City wants to stop subsidizing the place -- or at least subsidize it less -- or at the very least have a game plan to get the Mexican Heritage Plaza towards self-sustainability. (IA can't resist reminding everyone that Reed and Campos "...rarely agree on anything...")
Watch Dog apparently missed this Dolores Carr story a few weeks back -- but lucky for us, Watch Dog readers on on the case. (Thanks for the email...) You remember that Dolores Carr's office is looking into potentially illegal financial practices and misappropriation of funds by MACSA in running a Gilroy-based Charter School... well, the DA's office is conveniently waiting until June to decide about whether or not to bring charges. It isn't just Watch Dog wondering if this is politically motivated procrastination on the part of Dolores Carr... the Gilroy Dispatch does too. Here is why it might be political: Carr would like to get a certain group's endorsement for her re-election campaign in June... this certain group has a favorite candidate running for City Council in June who used to be in charge of operations at MACSA... if she buries the charges until then, perhaps this favorite City Council candidate rides into office, Carr gets the endorsement, and everyone wins, except voters, of course.
Pat Dando at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce penned an opinion piece for the Merc talking about reforming the City's pension boards... an idea that Watch Dog can't remember her ever talking about during her decade or so on the City Council when she could have actually done something about it...
Speaking of Pat Dando... sort of:
Last week's Supreme Court ruling about campaign finance got the Merc Editors writing. They would like to see a disclaimer on corporate ads similar to the Presidential disclaimers, saying something like: "I'm John Smith, CEO of Big Oil, and I approved this message." Can you imagine that on the local level? A piece of mail from the Chamber's Political Action Committee calling Cindy Chavez the devil-incarnate with a little photo of Pat Dando on the back saying, "I'm Pat Dando, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, and I approved this message..." that would be interesting.
San Jose Inside continues in its quest to be the only local publication (print or online) to be covering the bankruptcy of the Merc's parent company. Late last week the rolled out Lou Alexander, the Advertising Manager for the Merc for 20 years to comment...
Remember the grand plans for North San Jose -- sort of another tax-generating downtown with high density housing close to jobs and transit options... well, things are moving at a different pace than anticipated, but Target is coming.
The economy has been tough for most, but good for Safeway. In addition to their new downtown San Jose addresss, they are eyeing the old (bankrupt) Mervyn's on W. Hamilton in Campbell.
There was a small-plane crash somewhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Saturday... but a search hadn't turned up survivors, or the plane, as of Sunday morning.
In the circular world of the local blogosphere, Mission City Lantern comments on our comments about a story on the blog over at the Santa Clara Weekly. And for your information James, we do read the Weekly blog, it just isn't always that good... no offense. The last time we wrote something from the Weekly's blog, the publisher was defending the Broom Closet Modelling Agency...
The Palo Alto High School Principal Jackie McEvoy will be retiring at the end of the school year. According to the news account in the Palo Alto Weekly, McEvoy is retiring for "personal reasons" which alway sounds fishy (or eggy) to Watch Dog... if you don't get the eggy reference, read the story.
There was an old-fashion liquor store robbery at gun point in north Gilroy on Saturday night... In an unrelated crime story in Gilroy, a dude jumped into a patrol car, started driving in reverse, and hit a police officer. Officers shot the man (after using pepper spray, batons, and a Taser...) Sounds like a busy weekend at the Gilroy PD...
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