Morning News Round-Up -- 4.23.10: Leaving Mommy and Daddy Warbucks is a good thing...

The only San Jose news today is that the Sharks won... they lead the series 3-2.

Go electric or go to bankruptcy court... those seem to the options for Caltrain these days. That ain't fun. This would seem to have major implications up and down the region. Let is also be known that they are the first (but certainly not the last) local government agency to utter the "b" word...

Trouble in paradise... Paradise is Los Altos and the trouble is with the school district. Actually, the trouble is with getting a new teachers' contract signed by the school district. Some School Board members think the contract does nothing to address their budget problems now or long-term, some School Board members want to pass the thing and move on. The Board punted passing the contract earlier in the month and will take it up again on Monday. Is this a trend? Is this the educational equivalent of Police Officers and Firefighter contract/ benefit negotiations that cities are dealing with these days? We'll see...

It is very, very clear that (Almaden Valley's) Tom Campbell made the right move at the right time to get away from Daddy and Mommy Warbucks in the Governor's race. As Whitman and Poizner single-handedly boost up California's economy with their campaign spending, Tom Campbell is kicking ass in the U.S. Senate race he joined. A new poll done for Capitol Weekly has Campbell pulling away from Fiorina: Campbell 31, Fiorina 17, and Chuck DeVore (?) at 15 percent. (The betting line in Vegas is now Campbell by 6.5 points.)

Watch Dog is never really sure what James Rowen at Mission City Lantern means when he writes about us... but he wrote about our note on Jude Barry and Ed McGovern having clients on different side of San Jose's Measure K but working together on the 49ers' issue. It is clearly just business, but we just thought it was interesting and clearly that mainstream reporters aren't connecting dots, so we must.

Morgan Hill selected a (Barry Swenson) Builder to help redevelop its downtown... Congrats Mr. Swenson...

The same week as 420, Mountain View wants to crack down on a storefront pot club. Some people have no sense of humor dude... they are suing the club that opened up despite a City ban.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.20.10: 420, need we say more?

420... 'nuff said. Now, onto November...

It has been a bad few weeks for the South Bay Labor Council head honcho Cindy Chavez. First she got Jude Barry blacklisted -- which led to bad press. Then she sent a threatening letter to several Democratic Assemblymembers because they are supporting her "opponent" in a City Council race -- which led to bad press. Then her strong, yet unsuccessful, push to get Republican Dolores Carr endorsed for DA was uncovered -- which led to bad press. Today, the Merc's Scott Herhold ties it all up in a bow... He concludes: "...For such a sunny personality, hers are cold tactics indeed..."

"Hi Phil, it's Cindy. Can you relaunch sanjoserevealed as soon as possible? Thanks..."

Check out Watch Dog's piece from yesterday about Cindy Chavez, Dolores Carr, and Xavier Campos: United Carr Workers and Xavier Campos.

Watch Dog didn't really know something like this was possible, but... National Hispanic University was sold to a for-profit college conglomerate. Think of it as Walmart coming in to buy your small school. Laureate Education is the purchaser and their company is valued at $3.5 billion. If you are going to sell out, go big or go home, we guess...

Lately when anyone has been talking about Santa Clara, it has been about the 49ers or Yahoo... that's because everyone has stopped talking about the BAREC housing development that was controversial and contentious. But it is finally FINALLY moving forward as the clean-up starts... (If you know nothing about this development, then don't even try to understand the history...)

Yesterday was a bad day to be train-dependent. First a bomb threat that screwed up the afternoon/ evening community, then a suspicious package at the Caltrain Station in Mountain View closed things down for a while last night...

Speaking of trains... but a much, much faster one, hopefully. The Mountain View Council is studying the High-Speed Rail alignment options for Mountain View, and they really don't know what they like best... or least.

One Silicon Valley-ite who is running for high office has released his tax returns... Tom Campbell. And we learn what we already knew... he isn't a rich as Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, or Steve Poizner... Most stunning of all, he donated only $600 to charity in 2009. ... that's it. Perhaps the library in Almaden didn't need his help last year.

Speaking of Silicon Valley types running for office... Chris Kelly is a former Facebook executive running for Attorney General. (In case you didn't know that, and if you didn't know that, then you are in the majority...) He is facing some tough questions about Facebook's privacy policies. Questions like, does Facebook have a privacy policy?

Palo Alto is celebrating 420... well, Earth Day actually. They have a bunch of new enviro-sheek things happening.

To the blogs...

Protect San Jose answers a real(?) "Ask a Beat Cop" question today about a car getting stolen in downtown San Jose... of course the answer is about high-capacity night clubs...

Mission City Lantern has some advice for Cindy Chavez...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.16.10: All Tea Partied Out...

Tea Party on Cesar Chavez Plaza (ironic?) happened yesterday. Were you there? Was Pete Constant?

Here's something that perhaps the Tea Party folks might like, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmembers Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo are taking a further big pay cut and asking key City staff leaders to take a 10 percent cut as well. What's good for the goose is good for the gander and all that shit.

Speaking of people that want to be Mayor... Cindy Chavez is in the news again (again, again). First it was her blacklisting political consultant Jude Barry. Then it was threatening Assemblymembers who gave money to Magdalena Carrasco. Now we learn that she thinks that there is some evil cabal trying to screw up her world. So pervasive is this thought that she apparently gave an impassioned plea to labor folks to endorse (Republican) Dolores Carr for District Attorney because Jeff Rosen "...is endorsed by Sam Liccardo, who is linked to former Mayor Tom McEnery and Deputy District Attorney David Pandori..."

Last week we read in a Merc OpEd why the 49ers' stadium was bad dead for Santa Clara, today we read why that was BS and how the football stadium "makes sense for Santa Clara"... or makes lots and lots and lots of cents... take your pick. It is penned by Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan and Councilmember Jamie Matthews.

Emile's. Home of fine French dining in downtown San Jose and child pornography? Well, Emile Mooser, the restaurant's namesake was picked up on child pornography felony charges... and he has never even been a priest...

San Jose State is facing big budget cuts... 76 staff folks are losing their jobs. We are sure Mission City Lantern has some ideas who could be included in the 76...

Speaking of bad news for workers and institutions...

Stanford Hospitals final final offer to nurses was final. Of course, that's if you ask management. If you ask nurses, they think there is still room to move... room to move to picket line maybe.

And this, the Gilroy Unified School District has reached a "stalemate" with the teachers union: how many times can you split $0?

And remember that the Palo Alto Firefighters' Union (led by a Sunnyvale City Councilmember) was circulating a petition to get a ballot measure in November that limited (stopped) cuts to the Palo Alto Fire Department? Well, three (brave) Councilmembers are asking voters not to sign the petition: Karen Holman, Larry Klein, and Greg Scharff.

Hell hath no fury like neighbors facing school field lights...

Shocking! The Mercury News says vote "yes" on the school district parcel tax elections on the (mail-in) ballot this May...

We've seen it in San Mateo County for some time, as Watch Dog San Mateo can attest, but now some Santa Clara County cities and agencies are thinking about consolidating their police and fire departments... like Morgan Hill contracting with the Sheriff's office.

Sharpen your skates for game two tonight...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.14.10: LaDoris LaWednesday...

It was a big day in San Jose... where to begin, where to begin...

How about the San Jose Independent Police Auditor?

There is a new one -- former Judge/ former Palo Alto City Councilmember LaDoris Cordell, which will make some people excited (like maybe those that would like an independent Independent Police Auditor) and will make some people less-than-excited (like those of you who like the way it's been). Watch Dog asks one question: Has there ever been an Independent Police Auditor that the Police Officers' Association liked? We'll take our answer off the air... (And our first call is from Scott Herhold, who called Cordell an "odd choice"... Herhold also wrote this: "...And I fear she may get frustrated living with the shackles..." Probably not the best choice of words...) San Jose Inside has a fresh quote from the San Jose POA chief George Beattie: “I have serious concerns about Ms. Cordell’s ability to be independent and objective. While she has a right to be associated with community groups that have historically been critical and antagonistic to our officers, this should raise questions about her ability to be objective, just as Chris Constantin was considered biased because of his relationships. I consider this a double standard.” Does Ms. Cordell's brother works at the ACLU and her sister works at DeBug that we don't know about?

The San Jose City Council tried to make having events in downtown San Jose a little bit easier to produce (cheaper actually)... of course, it may be too little too late for Tapestry and the fireworks...

San Jose Sharks are headed to the playoffs... let the bandwagon grow...

Speaking of the bandwagon growing... the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is looking to ban "single-use" plastic and paper bags. Surprise, surprise, Republican Don Gage is opposed to the ban and has found himself with an unlikely ally, former San Jose Councilmember/former Assemblymember/American Chemistry Council shill Manny Diaz... Diaz and Gage on the same side of things -- who'd a thunk?

Here's a shocker... a politically and ethically questionable tactics from the Dolores Carr camp. This time it isn't a conflict of interest with her husband's job or hiring two PR flacks while closing the cold-case unit or botching a rape case... rather, it is about her purchasing billboards throughout the County with her name on and have it paid for by the District Attorney's office... shady, shady, shady. But, we (ok, nobody) expects anything different...

Speaking of County politics... the race to replace Supervisor Gage heated up last night. (Honestly though, could anyone really replace Don Gage?) The candidates -- Forrest Williams, Teresa Alvarado, Tom Kruse (so handsome) and Mike Wasserman -- debated last night... (Peter Arellano pulled a Pete Constant and didn't show up...) From the story, it sounds like the key issue was who had the support of labor unions and if those that could could actually make real change at 801 W. Hedding... (Note: Only one candidate has had their consultant put on the California Labor Federation's "do not patronize" list, perhaps that is the one the union-bashing crowd should get behind. Just a thought.)

A San Jose State professor apprehended a guy trying to rob the downtown San Jose Wells Fargo bank yesterday. Seriously...

A major economic development project in Santa Clara is moving forward that hasn't been written about on Mission City Lantern... Yahoo!

While we're talking about economics... the economics of the City of Gilroy will be discussed in a Special City Council closed session tonight. Specifically they will discuss "unspecified aspects of the contract negotiations with police and fire"... Let Watch Dog specific: the contract negotiations aren't going well and the pension costs are going to bankrupt the City. Even if we all shopped at the outlets, it won't help Gilroy balance its future obligations... well, maybe if we went to Brooks Brothers.

A woman fell into an open manhole on Stanford's campus yesterday. No word if Senator Simitian is a looking to pass a "no texting while walking" law...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.12.10: Thinking of summer...

Because what everyone needs on a rainy day is to think about summer... and nothing says summer like Major League Baseball:

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times writes a great piece about the Oakland Athletics and their quest to move to downtown San Jose. Please Mr. Selig, at least tell us something... anything!

For those of you that remember back a few years ago know that NUMMI was opposed to the Oakland A's moving into Fremont. Well, now NUMMI is gone and Fremont might want the A's back. They got a federal grant to look at possible reuse options and the folks in Fremont might be looking at the Green and Gold again. Unfortunately for Fremont, the Green and Gold are (probably) really, really sick of Fremont...

We know that the Chronicle doesn't like the ideas of the A's moving to San Jose... but even they couldn't deny that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed having an Opening Day meeting with Bob DuPuy of MLB was a good sign...

And from summer sports to fall ones...

The Merc goes through the "on the one hand" and the "on the other hand" economics of the 49ers stadium. Watch Dog is sticking with James Rowen's version of things and not these guys, if for no other reason than Rowen is much more interesting...

On to things not related to sports...

The task force tasked with figuring out what to do with the Mexican Heritage Plaza is almost done with their work and will send their recommendation for a school for art and culture to the San Jose City Council. Of course, they are sending their recommendation to the City Council with a $500,000 annual price tag... which may mean the recommendation is DOA...

Here's a surprise, San Jose Firefighters don't like cuts to the fire department. Of course, they don't have their own blog, so they are resigned to voicing their displeasure through the media. But when you go through the media, you let the City Manager and the Mayor tee-off on you like Phil at Augusta. The Mayor's retort: "If the firefighters gave up 10 percent [salaries], we wouldn't have to consider this [cutting services]..." The City Manager's mouthpiece Tom Manheim (he's still there?) said: "We're not in a situation that allows us to hold the Fire Department harmless..."

Here we go... it was only a matter of time before legislators on the Peninsula started listening to all the NIMBYs... and Joe Simitian is the first to crack. In the Chronicle's Matier & Ross column today, Simitian raises questions and doubt about the financial projections to High-Speed Rail... but reading between the lines, Watch Dog thinks this is really about neighborhood opposition up and down the Peninsula... who's next? Jerry Hill? Paul Fong?

Yesterday was Internal Affairs Sunday in the Merc...

Item 1: Campos the Elder (Nora): We learn that Roy Avila is not running against Nora Campos after all. (Even though he still has a website up.) Apparently he put more time into his website and initial fundraiser in Los Gatos than in actually getting his name on the ballot... or he cut himself a deal with the Campos clan...

Item 2: Campos the Younger (Xavier): We learn that labor leaders Cindy Chavez and Neil Struthers sent a threatening letter to 11 members of the State Assembly because they gave money to Xavier's opponent, Magdalena Carrasco. (If you would like to see what a threatening letter from Chavez/Struthers looks like, click here.) Sometimes it helps to have a powerful big brother-(inlaw) and sister... Mission City Lantern even chimed in on the non-Mission City-related stuff...

Scott Herhold compares the books of GOP Gubernatorial candidates Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman, becoming perhaps the second or third person in the world to read both books... Essentially, Herhold writes that Poizner is more entrepreneurial and Whitman more corporate... but he also throws in that Jerry Brown is old... which is a theme this week. (The theme was carried through to Internal Affairs, which runs down the funny jokes Republicans made about Jerry Brown's age (72)...)

Palo Alto has a budget gap of $8.3 million. They will close it the way everyone else will close it in the lesser zip codes in Silicon Valley, cutting services, laying off workers, instituting new fees, and charging residents for sidewalk repairs...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.6.10: 161 more to go...

While it may not seem like the top story of the day, it should be: Public Defenders are now representing defendants in misdemeanor cases in Santa Clara County. You know, the whole "...if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you..." that the County sort of forgot about until now...

The good folks at Protect San Jose would like to remind everyone that there are three sides to every story as they chime in (briefly) on the court rulings in favor of the SJPD in the 2006 Mardi Gras trial. (Of course, Protect San Jose voices love the "three sides" mantra...)

Perhaps there are three sides to this story... or column. Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters wrote about skyrocketing public safety pensions and how they led to Vallejo (and other cities, perhaps) bankruptcies and the piece was re-run by the Merc. It is a good primer on how pensions grew, why, and what will happen next. But remember, there are three sides to every story... right?

Yes on Prop 14, according to the Merc. Editorial Board... Open primaries. Thank you Senator Maldonado...

Scott Herhold (two "h" sounds as you read this to yourself) looks at political family dynasties in Santa Clara County. Alvarado. Cortese. Shirakawa ("...a Rodney Dangerfield complex..."). Farr ("...a sturdy backbencher..."). Diridon. Campos.

High-Speed Rail is coming to town, we all know that. But the High-Speed Rail Authority is coming to town too, on Thursday in Santa Clara. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed with be there... will you?

The Chronicle loves to hate the idea of the San Jose A's. In today's paper, they cover an anti-A's to San Jose protest that wasn't at last night's game. By the way, the A's lost 5-3. 161 more to go.

The County Office of Education is perhaps the least understood government agency in Santa Clara County... The question is constant asked, "What do they do in that fancy building?"... But one thing is for sure, the Board loves to throw Superintendents under the bus... and the bus is about to start rolling over current Superintendent Chuck Weis. Perhaps he could call Colleen Wilcox for a quick pow-wow about how these things generally end. Today's story is about how he is getting mixed reviews from the County Board of Education, and has this strange nugget:

"...Last month he handed the board a letter from his doctor warning that "his work schedule is impairing his ability to maintain long-term good heath." It advises that he have at least two or three weeks of vacation each year — he gets 25 paid days a year — and time for vigorous exercise at least three times per week..." Tick tock Chuck Weis...

County officials (and candidates) had to file economic interest statements. Some folks are rich (Forrest Williams) and some folks not so much (Teresa Alvarado). Some folks got gifts (Larry Stone) and some folks got none (Jeff Rosen). But perhaps the most interesting thing we learned from the Merc's coverage is this: George Shirakawa received tickets to the San Jose Giants from a tribal casino in Madera County... What could they possibly want from Supervisor Shirakawa. Hmmm...

The Meg Whitman Campaign Start-Up just received another round of venture capital funding from the Meg Whitman Fund... $20 million...

A plan to study the compost-to-energy plant on dedicated parkland in Palo Alto is moving forward. But a plan to study and a plan to build are two very, very different things. And the City Council there is divided 5 to 4...

From the blogs...

Mission City Lantern covers the anti-49er's litigation that was dropped... (Thank you for the comment James to give us a heads up...)

Over on San Jose Inside, Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio continues his quest for a 420 San Jose... and the debate in the Comments prove that everyone already is smoking pot.

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.29.10: Jude versus Cindy?

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...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.26.10: SJC Bake Sale?

The news just keeps getting worse (and more embarassing) for the San Jose (International) Airport. First, a coast-to-coast snow storm impacted absolutely every airport in the country, execept SJC... Then, Frontier Airlines decides it is going to leave town... And then, a report about High-Speed Rail released yesterday says that the train will hurt airports in the Bay Area, especially SJC... Now, the airport is begging local businesses to pick up the tag of their grand opening. And they are using superhero Captain Sully to do it. Look for the SJC Bake Sale announcement soon... While funding the grand opening is one issue, larger issues remain, like the fact that the airport can't really afford its debt service... stay tuned.

Councilmember Nora Campos proposed expanding and increasing the number of 'no gang zones' in San Jose. It sounds like a great idea -- especially in an election year... It probably would have sounded just as good any of the other 8 years she has served on the City Council...

Team San Jose, Teamsters, the San Jose Convention Center... another story. It turns out the local Teamsters might get the work at the Convention Center after all -- and this time, it may not cost the Convention Center all of its business...

A team from a local newspaper finally (finally!) got to sit down with Atherton's Meg Whitman. The Merc grilled her and she seemed to respond pretty well. Of course, if you dodged the media for a year, you might be able to prepare yourself well too... Watch Dog's conversation with Whitman is slated for next week.

Another turn in the story of Sarah Botill, the 15 year old Gilroy girl who died after a night of drinking. The 18 year old (Kayla Dunigan) who brought the booze will face misdemeanor charges for providing the alcohol.

Perhaps Mountain View restaurants will be getting business from all the good folks with munchies after all. The Mountain View City Council banned pot clubs for a year, but they are draft regulations to (maybe) allow them after that.

Finally, our friend at Mission City Lantern takes aim at Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty for taking aim at the 49ers...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.11.10: Reed, Constant, Kalra, Chirco, and Pyle agree on something...

Earlier this week, Protect San Jose posted a letter Mayor Reed wrote to Assemblymembers Paul Fong and Joe Coto essentially telling them to back off their request for a State audit of the San Jose Police Department... yesterday, Mayor Reed (and the POA?) convinced some of his colleagues to make the trek to Sacramento to do the same thing. Pete Constant, Ash Kalra, Judy Chirco, and Nancy Pyle all met with Fong and Coto and asked them to hold off on their State audit. (Watch Dog is impressed that Constant, Kalra, Chirco, and Pyle all agree on anything... We would bet they didn't carpool up there.) All of this prompted the local ACLU chief Skyler Porras to respond with this witty alliteration, calling Mayor Reed's actions: "...petulant political posturing..."

We don't know the saddest part of this story and delays, or lack thereof, at SJC... so we'll just lay out the sad parts.

• Sad Point 1: There is a massive storm blanketing much of the Midwest and a separate, week-long storm from the Mid-Atlantic northward... and those storms have virtually no impact on San Jose Airport travel.
• Sad Point 2: There is only one, daily, non-stop flight to the East Coast.
• Sad Point 3: This quote from the airport guy, "Most of our flights from San Jose are in the western United States."

For those of you out there who can stay awake long enough to sit through all the States of the (Fill in the Blank) that happen this time of year probably already heard everything that Supervisor Ken Yeager said in his speech a while back... the Merc Editorial pages were nice enough to run an excerpt today...

Santa Clara Unified hasn't been in the paper lately -- mostly because the Broom Closet Modeling Agency flap has died down... and the news about the Principal who once dated a recent graduate at a previous job has died down... but the story about the teacher who had sex with a student is back on the front burner. That's because the former Wilcox High School teacher pleaded guilty yesterday and has already begun to serve his sentence of 2 years and 8 months...

High Speed Rail NIMBYs might have to take a chill pill after Jeff Barker of the High Speed Rail Authority announced that there was a typo in a report they issued about ridership numbers. NIMBYs were hanging on to that typo as proof that the High Speed Rail Authority was full of shit...

Mission City Lantern explains his thoughts a little bit better today about why he thinks Watch Dog was wrong on who wrote the new ballot language for the 49er's measure... thank you James. We heart you too... all the way from Hawaii...

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.20.10: Rubber Boots Wednesday...

It is going to rain really, really hard today... in case you've been living under a very wet rock.

San Jose Inside has some good "deep-throat" sources in the Merc's newsroom, and those sources are prepared to dish about how they are being kept in the dark about the Merc owner's bankruptcy. Kudos for San Jose Inside's Fly for covering this story even though the Merc isn't...

Speaking of the Merc newsroom...

The Merc's Patty Fisher gives us a little insight into some grassroots watchdogs (NIMBYs) doing work on High Speed Rail... we also learn that Fisher lives near the tracks, which should probably disqualify her from writing further on the subject...

Los Gatos is knocking down some buildings and building an affordable housing apartment complex near downtown. (You did not misread the previous sentence.) Now Supervisorial Candidate/ Los Gatos Councilmember Mike Wasserman can claim to be an affordable-housing advocate... even in his own backyard.

In other Los Gatos news, retiring City Councilmember Steve Glickman is not riding off quietly into the sunset... in fact, he is being a pain in the ass to his Council colleagues and upsetting folks all over town -- according to the Los Gatos Observer. He is criculating two ballot initiatives (one for term limits and one for stopping the library reconstruction). In his own words, Glickman is "...kind of cleaning up some unfinished business..."

The Morgan Hill Times reporter Natalie Everett got assigned a great story... one that she probably never imagined in journalism school. She tested how difficult (not very) it would be to get a doctor's note and get medical marijuana from one of the local dispensaries... Her next assignment, describe how delicious In-and-Out Burger is.

Mission City Lantern criticized us yesterday for using the word fuck. We are all grown-ups Mr. Rowen, but I will try to stay away from using it... unless I get really, really pissed.

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.6.10: Smoke 'em if you got 'em...

In case you missed it. Please check out Watch Dog's post yesterday pointing out how the San Francisco Giants are trying to meddle in San Jose politics... Survey Says!

Assemblymember Jim Beall is a patient man. Heck, anyone who can sit on the San Jose City Council, then the Board of Supervisors, and then the State Assembly must be willing to wait, and wait, and wait... and so Beall must wait some more regarding his plan to implement a per-alcoholic-drink fee to pay for some criminal justice and health costs in the State. Hang in there Assemblymember Beall... someday.

*A new technology could be making its way into California politics for signature gathering. The cleverly named "Verafirma" is co-founded by San Jose's own Jude Barry and will make it possible to collect signatures for ballot initiatives via smart phones. While technologists and political operatives may be drooling over the idea, some elections officials are not quite sure. Nonetheless, it seems some political organizations are signing up to use the technology.

Here's something the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce can promote: There's a place to smoke cigars in downtown Morgan Hill. One closed cigar shop has been replaced by another. Smoke 'em if you got 'em...

But this might be something the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce may not want to promote... the owners of the 65,000 acre Sargent Ranch just south of Gilroy filed for bankruptcy in San Diego. Expect interesting times in the future with the big piece of land which already has an interesting 'planning' history that includes Gilroy, the County, and the Amah Mutsun tribe. Gilroy A's anyone?

And to the blogs...

*Protect San Jose gives props to Scott Herhold and the Merc. Seriously...

Joseph DiSalvo sets forth his ideas about Charter Schools in Santa Clara County with his post on San Jose Inside...

*Mission City Lantern points readers to the Santa Clarans for Economic Progress (pro-49er's) website. James calls the SCEP site "smashing"...

* If you know why there is an asterisk next to these stories, email Watch Dog.

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.11.09: Oakland A's?

Oakland is getting around to realization that they might lose their baseball team... they are now putting together 3 sites that could house the A's. Perhaps that would have been a good thing for Oakland to do before the A's decided they wanted to move to Fremont... and perhaps it would have been an even better idea to do before the A's decided they really, really wanted to move to San Jose...

BART to San Jose, or at least to Berryessa, is looking promising following hints from the fed’s that there’s a big chunk of change heading West. Congressmember Mike Honda and San Jose Councilmember/(incoming) VTA Chair Sam Liccardo both breathed a sigh of relief and shared tears of joy with Carl Guardino... actually, nobody cried.

Now we know why San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant is missing so many meetings. He’s been busy building an iPhone app for blight. The Merc’s Editorial Board sends entrepreneurial props Constants way.

After colleagues on the Alum Rock School District Board decided to close Pala Middle School, Trustee Tanya Freudenberger said she was “sick to (her) heart.” Superintendent Jose Manzo said it was District solvency or school closure. Trustees are considering an extension of their parcel tax, which will no doubt go over well with Pala parents…

Can San Jose neighborhoods keep grocery stores in operation? You gotta wonder…

San Jose Rose Garden residents wondered why it took the San Jose Water Company 4 days to start fixing the gusher flooding their streets. Water Company spokesperson John Tang says it was a delay due to higher priority leaks and it wasn’t the media attention that bumped them up the list. Thank you for clarifying...

The story of the tragic death of a 15-year-old girl in Gilroy took a turn for the worse. Early information from the autopsy indicates she may have drowned. Mark Stanford with the County’s Department of Alcohol and Drug Services says “it’s a myth that you can sober up with… a shower.” But that may be where her friends put her...

Palo Alto Independent Police Auditors Mike Gennaco and Robert Miller want the new chief to put fresh eyes on the use of Tasers. Adding to the Taser woes, the Judge said police acted improperly when they zapped Joseph “Tony” Ciampi. Local attorney Aram James worries “it’s just a matter of time before we’re going to kill an unarmed person." Sound familiar?

Mountain View Whisman School District teachers are pissed at the way Trustees “handled the breach of professional conduct by the superintendent.” (former) Superintendent Maurice Ghysels’ is quick to point out his romance with a school principal is not the reason he’s resigning. It’s a timing thing…

San Jose Inside spent their Saturday with the NAACP for a “Courageous Conversation on Race.” District Attorney Dolores Carr, Police Chief Rob Davis, and La Raza Roundtable’s Victor Garza joined community groups for a confab on perception vs. reality over the challenges facing San Jose Police.

Mission City Lantern gets giddy over Santa Clara City Council’s approval of the 49ers environmental impact report.

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.3.09: The Broom Closet Modeling Defense...

We can't believe that the Broom Closet Modeling story is still percolating in Santa Clara... but the Santa Clara Weekly couldn't resist taking a shot at the Mercury News. The Editor/Publisher Miles Barber in the (appropriately titled) Milestoneds is pissed the Merc Editorial Board called for a change in culture for a high school where it is (apparently) ok for a teacher to have sex with a student and a janitor to solicit “only the prettiest” students for personal gain. In Milestoneds Barber suggests a winning football team proves Wilcox High is a great place. Good point?

On a much more grown-up Santa Clara note: Santa Clara officials look forward to June 49ers stadium vote.

State Senate wannabe?/ San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce President Pat Dando was popping the champagne early after the “soft-money” controversy went her way, a second time. San Jose City Attorney Rick Doyle calls campaign finance “an area of law that’s ever-evolving,” and will study the ruling before suggesting San Jose ditch rules preventing unlimited amounts of “soft money” put toward independent expenditures in local campaigns. Wouldn't it be great if there was a blog around that would give a snarky run-down on this ruling... Watch Dog misses San Jose Revealed...

San Jose’s City Council didn’t worry about nay-saying NIMBY neighbors when they said yes to two housing development proposals this week. Barry Swenson Builder looks forward to seeing a 15 story tower along (currently) sleepy West San Carlos while business owners in Evergreen are hopeful more neighbors will keep stores open.

Speaking of NIMBYs, we head further north to Mountain View... Coming in at 4 stories with a cost of $500,000 per unit, the Mountain View City Council approved use of $7 million for a below market rate development. Councilmember Laura Macias commented the “traditional” Mediterranean design looked the same as other developments (think “yawn”) but gave her support to the ROEM proposal.

Following the critical head injury San Jose High’s Matt Blea suffered on the gridiron, the Merc’s Editorial Board calls on football coaches to think about kids health over winning. Editors call on parents to lead the charge in this culture change.

Palo Alto Police hired security guards in an attempt to prevent more teen suicides along the CalTrain tracks. Police are hoping the public will keep the guards on duty with donations to Barbara Teixeira, c/o Rail Crossing Watch Fund, Palo Alto Police Department, 275 Forest Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301.

Greenwaste of Palo Alto is seeing green on skinny streets. Palo Alto residents on narrow, private streets will cough up an extra $180 to have their waste removed.

Gilroy’s medical marijuana dispensary continues to face an uphill battle. The Police report kids and medical marijuana (and booze) are being found together – so far it has not been MediLeaf’s pot. Let's get this straight: teenagers, booze, and pot together in one place? Unbelievable! Opponents are starting a petition drive of their own while Gilroy resident Karin Clements is bothered the acrimony is dividing Gilroy.

Protect San Jose’s Sunshine fan, Ed Rast, used a public records request to dig into the drunk in public problems facing San Jose Police. While the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity looked at numbers for big cities, Rast looked at San Jose neighbors to find Gilroy and Milpitas outshine San Jose in the Latino arrest department.

And the love affair continues between Watch Dog and Mission City Lantern...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.18,09: Rapid-Response Rosen...

Teens Jae Williams and Randy Thompson hung with Michael Russell at Santa Teresa High, all dressed in black and sporting bandanas... then the stabbed Russell to death. District Attorney Dolores Carr charged the teens as adults after looking “at everyone’s culpability and social history.” Thompson’s attorney, Richard Pointer, is looking for a psychiatrist because there are “some issues” that could help his client.

While DA Carr deals with this case... she is also dealing with a political race. It seems her poll numbers are dropping fast. Not too many people want to see her get re-elected according to a San Jose State poll. This is news that challenger Jeff Rosen's people have already had some rapid-response fun with...

Speaking of kids being charged as adults... San Jose has the dubious distinction of housing 5 teenagers in jail, all being charged as adults for violent crimes. The Merc’s Editorial Board is following the U.S. Supreme Court as they wade into analogies that teens are like powerful cars missing working brakes. The Merc calls for an end to life sentences for teens.

And speaking of (former) prosecutors in trouble... (Former) prosecutor Ben Field sat at the defendants' table while a State Bar of California appellate panel attacked Field’s request to overturn a 4 year suspension for misconduct. While Field waits to hear if his punishment is decreased – or made worse – he continues as right hand for (former) Vice Mayor/ Labor leader Cindy Chavez.

Terrified tiny-tots attending downtown San Jose’s Lowell Elementary School got their anti-Swine dose the easy way – a nasal spray. Head Nurse Melinda Landau happily said “we’re doing good” before packing up and heading to Washington Elementary. Ixia Rivera a 10 year old now Swine-proofed said “it felt weird… but it didn’t’ hurt.”

Environmentalists for Meg? Conservatives are pissed that Silicon Valley Republican Gubernatorial wannabe Meg Whitman gave nearly $1.4 million to environmental causes.

San Jose Police Captain Manny Martinez is ditching San Jose to become Daly City’s new Chief of Police. When the going gets tough... the tough head north... could the Chief be far behind?

There is a simple solution to missing goals – change them. San Jose Chief Development Officer Paul Krutko thinks lowered expectations for Team San Jose’s management of the Convention Center will still be tough to meet during the current economic disaster, but he’d love to see “measures with higher levels of performance.” Team San Jose President Dan Fenton blames bad data from the City as the Convention Center heads for its biggest financial loss in 5 years. Mayor Chuck Reed scolded Fenton for an unconvincing media band-aid.

San Jose Police are working the press for feel good stories to counter their pesky media nightmares. The Merc’s Patty Fisher shares a heroe's tale after learning rookie Officer Matt Bordoni was a two time lifesaver. A quick thinking, and Morse Code savvy, 10 year old Bordoni rescued a neighbor in trouble.

San Jose Councilmember/VTA Vice Chair Sam Liccardo announced plans to introduce “segregated bike lanes” while doubling the miles of bike lanes in San Jose. Liccardo also let loose plans to solve the “first mile – last mile” dilemma for transit riders with a bike share program.

Mountain View neighbors of Cuesta Park are pissed to hear plans for flood protection and worry it could destroy the “rural feel” of their park. Mountain View Mayor Ronit Bryant says there’s “no way everyone can agree and be happy” but remains confident most people are “ok with the process.”

Mission City Lantern welcomes (not really) the return of anti-Mayor Judy Nadler gadfly Debbie Bress. (And Mr. Rowen, we are sorry about our spell-check oversight... thanks for the correction. We just wanted to make sure you were paying attention...)

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.9.09: Chiefs of PD's Past and Present...

(Former) San Jose Police Chief/Stanford Hoover Institute Research Fellow Joseph McNamara takes issue with the Merc's coverage of San Jose's Police Department -- and uses the Merc's Opinion page to call on Sean Webby to cover the happy side of San Jose Police business. McNamara suggests the Merc's headline writers are shaping public opinion with spicy headlines. Police coming to the defense of police? Say it ain't so.

(By the way, Watch Dog does not know, and has never spoken to, Sean Webby...)

Speaking of Police Chiefs... Chief Rob Davis (apparently) dusted off his resume early this year to apply for head honcho position in Los Angeles. Davis' didn't land the gig, perhaps due to the salacious headlines in the Merc that are upsetting McNamara, or perhaps the annoying Drunk in Public scandal, or perhaps Chief Davis isn't well loved by the rank and file? The Merc's Internal Affairs tried to get the (secretive) Chief to dish details of his (possible) LA LA land visit... but no luck.

As opposed to Rob Davis who was trying to head to greener pastures, there was a Superintendent locally who was put out to pasture... East Side Union High School Trustees dished details on the ouster of Superintendent Bob Nunez. With monthly expenses running as much as $4,000 a month, auditors found sloppy bookkeeping but nothing illegal in his expensive (alleged) meals with Supervisor/(former) Trustee George Shirakawa and Trustee Eddie Garcia. The audit also found weak oversight... really?

First plastic bags now Styrofoam... Environmentalists must be celebrating in San Jose as the 10th largest city in the nation considers banning those pesky white (non-degradable) coffee cups from public events. Lauren Kates of Aunt Lali's Mobile Cafe said the free ride she's gotten on disposables was nice but she's not stressing over the changes. The same can't be said for the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers who could be looking for a mouthpiece...

The Merc's Editorial Board calls on Campbell's Planning Commission to just say no to a planned "specialty" (rich persons') hospital. Accusing the specialty doctor digs of "cherry-picking" profitable surgeries...

Two train deaths occurred Friday afternoon and both were homeless. Cheryl Mendoza and John Vincent were killed in separate accidents on the Caltrain right of way. Mendoza's death is being investigated as a possible suicide and her friends mourned the San Jose woman who had been homeless for as long as they could remember.

Smart and predatory, the success of the California gull in the Bay's wetlands could threaten wetland restoration efforts. Cheryl Strong, a wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service worries planned wildlife habitats could turn into an "expensive hotel for gulls."

And this will get firefighters' attention... in Gilroy a City Councilmember is proposing fewer firefighters per truck. Can this be the start of a trend?

Mission City Lantern sends props to Stanford football for besting the Beavers while lamenting the whipping San Jose Spartans took at the hands of Nevada wolf pack.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.29.09: Lawyers = Prostitutes?

Stanford Law grad Cristina Warthen surprised the feds and the Judge when she continued advertising an evening of “companionship” while she was on trial for evading taxes on the ill-gotten gains of “companionship.” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Callaway said Warthens internet ads were “a wink and a nod” to “advertising high end prostitution.” The oldest profession practiced by lawyers -- we know there is a joke there somewhere about screwing people...

Putting Stanford grads in a less-imprisoned light… Googlers Sergey Brin and Larry Page had high praise for their old friend and mentor Rajeev Motwani saying the “impact he had through the many researchers and entrepreneurs” out shown his own numerous accomplishments. Following Motwani’s death earlier this year Brin and Page decided to create an endowed chair at Stanford in their friends honor.

The Soul of the Community is pretty good, according to a survey funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. San Jose residents found affordable housing one of the biggest problems and a few were unhappy about the closing of stab-ariffic Club Wet

The community’s soul may be good for some but for others it’s about to get worse. The Emergency Housing Consortium announced closure of half the beds available to the homeless. Santa Clara County Office of Affordable Housing Director Margie Matthews said “this is all about the economy, and EHC – like all nonprofits… “ is “having to cut back…”

East Side Union Trustees ended Friday night without a decision on their embattled Superintendent Bob Nunez, currently on paid leave from his $225,000 gig. Marisa Hanson, President of the East Side Teachers Association, said delaying the decision was the right thing to do “the County report found him innocent … but then the board went ahead with another investigation…” Nobody mentioned the court of public opinion...

San Jose High celebrates the small victories. Test scores are up following “unrelenting hard work” with teachers and the principal showing the love. Not as happy was East Side Union School Board President Patricia Martinez-Roach who said there was “absolutely no excuse” for their low test scores. Except maybe those pesky budget problems and the ongoing Bob Nunez controversy. Or perhaps because they have twice un-elected officials on their Board...

Los Gatos sold 13 acres of Vasona Park last year for $6 million, then they voted unanimously to use half that to purchase 2.7 acres near Vasona Park, with ready buildings, for a mega-sports complex... y'know, for kids...

Gilroy Schools saw an increase in students even as districts across the state are closing schools. District enrollment coordinator Roger Cornia blamed the economy saying private school wasn’t in the cards for many students, not when Mom and Dad are facing layoffs.

Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro hosted a 5 hour community round-table that drew criticism from Council colleague Perry Woodward “Let’s be honest – this was the mayor’s show… how he intends to defeat the recall… Councilmembers should be allowed to participate… instead of the mayor imposing his political views…” Gilroy sure has more interesting politics than San Jose...

Palo Alto City Managers and professional employees contemplate becoming Teamsters even as some of their prospective members argue wage cuts with unionized service workers.

Mission City Lantern takes a poke at “wonderful human being, a great person to have as a friend” Labor leader/(former) Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. With friends like that...

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.25.09: Who's in for Club Wet this weekend?

The Merc’s Editorial Board sends props to San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis for firing officers involved in a drunk driving coverup and their own Sean Webby for watch-dogging the news of imminent firings. This won't be received well (we guess) from the good folks at Protect San Jose.

As (self-imposed) furlough days go…. Palo Alto workers were all in purple as they marched outside City Hall to protest contract cuts. The Merc’s (union member) Patty Fisher is sympathetic though she shares the words of Pamela Polos wondering about the wisdom of striking these days "Instead of demonstrating for their own benefits, I wish they were out there marching for national health care reform." You and the Palo Alto City Council Patty...

Sunnyvale recycling workers received an unexpected surprise among the grimy cardboard and soda cans - $100 bills rained from the ceiling. If you think the mystery money is yours, call the Sunnyvale Public Works Department.

"Warehousing kids does not teach them what family is all about," said foster youth advocate/former warehouse resident Hemal Sharifzada. And so, Santa Clara County prepares to close the 132-bed children's “warehouse” and move abused and neglected kids to “wrap around” care facilities.

Former Mountain View Mayor Rosemary Stasek passed away in Afghanistan where she was working with the women of Afghanistan with A Little Help in Kabul. Sad story. We like Rosemary a lot...

More sad economic news comes from the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Silicon Valley FACES ditched their fundraiser.

Swine flu fears have caused the (official) demise of Stanford’s kissing frenzy, Full Moon. How else are shy first-year students supposed to get any action then?

San Jose MetBlogger Matt Bruensteiner celebrates the demise of the plastic bag and sends San Jose’s City Council kudos.

Mission City Lantern executes a little time traveling fable drawing in the Mission City’s neighbor to the South.

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo looks for an Education Governor and tosses his support behind new Dad/ Gubernatorial wanna be Gavin Newsom. We are certain that this should put Newsom over the top...

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.23.09: City Managers in the News... (and plastic bags too)

San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed offered to “step out and take the lead in the South Bay to eliminate the scourge of plastic bags” at a press conference before the San Jose City Council officially said no to plastics. Councilmember Sam Liccardo offered San Jose could be the tipping point as nearby Mayors were waiting for San Jose to ban the bag. Tim Shestek of the American Chemistry Council complained San Jose simply hadn’t tried hard enough to recycle the millions of bags that find their way to the Bay. Watch Dog spies have sent numerous tips as to the lobbying effort that the Chemists (unsuccessfully) put up on the 18th floor... A tongue-and-cheek snippet from the funniest tip: "It took a team of lobbyists to get Pete Constant to vote NO."

The press from (former/fired) San Jose Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s loan for a San Jose pied-à-terre was on the minds of San Jose’s City Council as they said they want to approve all home loans in the future. They might want to ask if the person they are providing the loan to is actually going to live in the home for which the loan was made...

(Former) eBay CEO Meg Whitman held her “official” candidate coming out party far from home. Whitman hit the trail in Orange County to promise an immediate RIF (reduction in force) of state employees. It sounds an awful lot like "blowing up boxes"...

This may be the busiest press week in Palo Alto City Manager James Keene's life...

• Union employees in Palo Alto are taking the Guvernators lead -- they’ve given themselves a furlough day to save the City money. City manager James Keene is pissed saying employees don’t get to just say “we’re not coming to work today” and called the employee-generated furlough a strike. You say furlough, I say strike... you say tomAto, I say tomato... tomAto tomato, furlough, strike... let's call the whole thing off...
• Meanwhile, other Palo Alto employees aren’t talking to each other. Public Works employees “ignored” Planning Department directions and chopped down 63 trees along California Avenue. An embarrassed City Manager James Keene apologized and promised to do better while Public Works Director Glenn Roberts called it “unacceptable.”

From Palo Alto to Morgan Hill, the City Managers in the News theme continues...

• Morgan Hill attorney Ben Tichinin’s lawyer Steven Fink said “the First Amendment doesn’t just protect acts of chivalry, it protects the weirdos and the loonies…” Yep, he was talking about his client's predilection for spying on Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes.
• Ed Tewes landed in the news a second time as Morgan Hill struggles to balance the budget, deal with (likely) layoffs, and unhappy unions.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro celebrates San Jose’s roots as part of the San Jose Mariachi and Mexican Heritage Festival. Pizarro (hopes to) rub elbows with Benjamin Bratt, Joan Baez, Los Lobos, Mariachi Cobre, Carlos Santana, and Linda Ronstadt while tapping his toes.

Mountain View Whisman Trustee Fiona Walter said her “wish and planning would be is we keep class sizes as small as we can…” as the District faces $1 million cuts from the State (and more to come) and new school boundaries. From your mouth to Sacramento's ears Trustee Walter...

San Jose Insider/Metro columnist Gary Singh rehashed his Saturday visit to Soccer Silicon Valley’s honoring of Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff. Singh wasn’t moved by Silicon Valley Leadership Group Carl Guardino’s “sappy” introductory speech. We were...

Assemblymember Paul Fong must be quaking in his boots. Mission City Lantern broke the news that anti-49ers fans at Santa Clara Plays Fair have accused Fong of voting for State Senator Elaine Alquist's bill because of “moneyed interests."

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.21.09: A South Bay Stadium... or two... or three...

Stadium news from around the South Bay...

Paul Krutko, San Jose Chief economic dude, says a (nearly) 8 decade old stadium is the youngest outdoor stadium the “Capital of Silicon Valley” has to offer. Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff is hoping to change that with a sparkly new Euro style stadium – if he can round up the bucks.

A Santa Clara Citizens Review Committee is in for the coin toss and supports amending Santa Clara’s City Charter to allow the 49ers to hire a football-centric design team. But, only if the Guvernator doesn’t sign State Senator Elaine Alquist's bill by October 11.

San Jose talks plastic bags this week while the Merc’s Patty Fisher reports it was a non-event when Palo Alto went plastic-free. San Jose’s hang-up is the cost of an Environmental Impact Report while Fisher sings the praises of the reusable bag.

With a single school and a mere 566 students you would think the Luther Burbank School District would keep itself below the radar. But you would wrong. A recent Civil Grand Jury report accused District Trustees of conflicts of interest, secrecy, intimidation, questionable spending, and election malfeasance. This week, the Luther Burbank Board was supposed to respond... but they got a 5-week extension. Watch Dog guesses that it is sort of like getting a few extra weeks to do your homework... Brand new Superintendent-Principal Becki Cohn-Vargas likens fixing problems to “…rebuilding a train while it’s going 100 m.p.h.” Yes, but if the train is about to run off the tracks, perhaps slowing it down to fix it would be a really good idea...

Speaking of trains... Those annoying Caltrain whistles will begin relocation to the underside of the train, making nearby (sleeping) residents very happy.

Mountain View is considering the PRT (personal rapid transit) as the dream commute alternative for Google/NASA/Moffett. Unfortunately, jet-packs may never happen.

San Jose’s City Council gears up for a rehash of the City Executive home loan discussion this week. Redevelopment Agency Director Harry Mavrogenes benefited from the practice when he moved inside FROM San Jose TO San Jose.

And while we are on housing...

The Silicon Valley housing market is “…picking itself up from the bottom” according to the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo said the City will kick in another $2.7 million to help first time homebuyers get into the condo, or house, of their dreams.

From the Merc’s Internal Affairs…

• A report from California’s Fair Political Practices Commission reports that our local folks in Sacramento spent as much time on the fundraising circuit as they did making laws... perhaps they are sticking to what they are best at...
• Palo Alto State Senator Joe Simitian could be paying more attention to Assemblymember Ira Ruskin’s replacement that you’d think – he’s planning an Assembly redux in 2012.
• San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera is hearing from opposing sides on proposals for a new library.

San Jose Inside channels Kermit the Frog, or maybe the Jolly Green Giant, to send props to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed for pitching the green dream.

Mission City Lantern enjoyed the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival until arriving in the “Free Speech” area to find anti-49ers fans. Mission City also posts (un)love notes to Justin Schall, Philip Bump, Bill Bailey, and Brian Darby... again.

Local lawmakers in action, for your Watch Dog pleasure, thanks to the Merc's crack staff…

• Santa Clara County’s Committee on Children, Seniors & Families tries to lessen disproportionate impacts of child welfare on African-Americans and Latinos.
• Alum Rock School District holds a team-building session on governance... that sounds like a barrel of laughs...
• Cupertino Union School District studies special education and state test scores...
• Palo Alto Unified School District looks at a parcel tax and the budget...
• San Jose Unified School District looks at approving Gann appropriations limits for 2009-2010.
• Santa Clara Unified School District considers adding students, growing Haman Elementary, and a possible new lease.
• The Franklin-McKinley School District sends props to schools for API/AYP successes.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.18.09: There's a new Chief in town...

For those long-time Watch Dog readers, you remember the turmoil the last Palo Alto Police Chief brought on to herself. Well, Palo Alto is appointing the taking the "Interim" off of Interim Police Chief Dennis Burns. Here's hoping that Burns doesn't follow in Lynne Johnson's PR footsteps...

A "suspicious" fire hit Citti's flower shop in Santa Clara. Sad. Watch Dog always loved Citti's and we hope they get that building back soon.

That gas you were smelling in Japantown in San Jose yesterday was caused by a construction crew that hit a gas line.

Unsurprisingly, the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union School District Board disagrees with what the Civil Grand Jury says about the District's pay packages and legal fees. One day, there will be a government agency that actually agrees with a Civil Grand Jury report -- that would be newsworthy.

Just down the street in Saratoga, an audit showed that as many as 1,740 businesses may not be paying the City's business license fee. Raising the obvious question: there are 1,740 businesses in Saratoga?

Library wars are brewing in Palo Alto. Mostly because Palo Alto just loves books so much. In fact, the Library Commission heard from pissed off readers who demanded a redesign to accommodate more books. Palo Alto’s City Council also had some (detailed) suggestions about the new library. One mad Library Commission Chair Susie Thom resigned saying “in 2 hours the council was able to discount 4 years of work.”

Morgan Hill tow truck operators are angry about a City proposal for a City-owned impound lot. They fought in court claiming it violated State law (the judge disagreed). According to tow lawyer Bruce Tichinin the City’s impound lot would “put my tax-paying clients out of business.” Tow operator/ Gilroy City Councilmember Dion Bracco adds jurisdictions in SoCal don’t make as much money as Morgan Hill hopes will roll on in.

Morgan Hill's State Senator, Abel Maldonado, was a no-show when it came to voting on a bill that could have helped Morgan Hill. The bill failed and Morgan Hill is out $2 million. Maldo said he hopes to get a do-over if the bill shows up in special session and promised Mayor Steve Tate “I’ll keep an eye on this bill.”

Oops. California didn’t post Gilroy High’s score on the eagerly anticipated Academic Performance Index. Superintendent Deborah Flores suspected it was “something to do with participation.” In fact, not enough students put those old #2’s to paper for Gilroy to qualify.

Mission City Lantern gives some props to Watch Dog and renames a local lobbying outfit...