If you are involved at all in politics in Silicon Valley, Friday was a busy day. Local political guru Jude Barry was put on the "do not patronize" list of the California Labor Federation because he co-founded a company that allows folks to gather signatures for ballot initiatives via iPhone. Internal Affairs had a run-down, so did San Jose Inside. If you want the full story, including a quote from Cindy Chavez who (probably) coordinated the entire thing -- read the IA version of things. The labor folks are "unhappy" because the signature-gathering software -- Verafirma -- is being used for an anti-labor signature-gathering effort. Of course, it is also being used by a group aiming to repeal Prop 8 and another group trying to legalize marijuana. So, Watch Dog has to wonder, who is next on the California Labor Federation's blacklist: perhaps the "paycheck protection" folks are using HP computers, Apple iPhones, and Cisco routers... We wonder when Marc Hurd, Steve Jobs, and John Chambers will get their black-list notice...
So what does this all mean? We'll see. We know what it means for Teresa Alvarado, a Barry client. She didn't get the South Bay Labor Council endorsement but Forrest Williams did. The Labor Council must have been impressed with Williams' depth of knowledge, command of issues, and charisma... The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce endorsed Mike Wasserman. No doubt that they were impressed by the "R" after his name...
If you would like to see some Jude Barry's work, check out the 49ers new tv ad. Ironically, you know who could have used a campaign television ad this good? Cindy Chavez...
James at Mission City Lantern also has something to say about Jude... we aren't sure what he means all the time, but in this case, we think he means that he likes Jude and he likes Cindy Chavez, but that Jude is right in this case and Cindy is wrong.
San Jose, the self-touted "green capital," is putting two football fields' worth of solar on the new airport parking garage, but it seems that the two football fields' worth of solar will be Canadian football fields... because local companies didn't really bid on the project...
If you love public visioning processes, you were probably at the one this weekend for the Diridon Station area of downtown. If that stuff doesn't put you to sleep, try Ambien...
"Dude, let's go to the San Jose City Council on Tuesday to let them know about how much we love pot... err, cannabis, clubs." You have got to love a City that is going to the ballot to increase the number of poker tables, but may vote to shut down pot clubs.
From pot to prostitution: 5 folks were arrested in Gilroy for prostitution. But the best is the flowery language that the police officers used in their press release tooting their own horns about the arrests:
"They are in conflict with our philosophy of maintaining a city in which our residents and law-abiding visitors can enjoy a safe place to live, work and play... The disposition of our Department is that we will take whatever steps are necessary to dissuade those who choose to engage in illegal activities within our city from doing so."Wow! The police have both a philosophy and a disposition on prostitution. Disposition is a 64 point word in Scrabble and prostitution is a 73 point word...(without double letters or double word scores)... kudos Gilroy PD.
Finally, perhaps the most far-reaching thing in today's Round-Up, besides the Barry/Chavez feud:
Mozart isn't just the name of a composer, it is also the name of a father/son development team. Both father and son are suing Palo Alto separately because they are claiming the 10 percent affordable set-aside for housing projects is an unfair tax. All housing eyes will be watching these lawsuits...
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