Morning News Round-Up -- 2.4.10: BART... doh!

Hey, BART may actually be on the way to San Jose... the Feds declared that BART to San Jose is "eligible for federal funding" making the Mike Honda - Carl Guardino - Chuck Reed conference calls much more exciting...

We knew yesterday was special when there were no stories about Dolores Carr... but today there is. It seems she is getting her supporters together to start fighting back. In today's Merc Editorial pages there is an OpEd from Kathleen Krenek, who runs Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. She is a fan of the SJPD and of the DA's office... according to her piece: "Although the district attorney and the police department may come under scrutiny from time to time, I want to express my pride in their commitment to safety and hard work — the kind of commitment that takes place every day when no one is looking."

From Mayor to Assembly to State Senate to Lieutenant Governor... Abel Maldonado has lived a politically charmed life. At this rate, he could President...

You know what all the money in the world allows you to do? Skip the Republican Gubernatorial next month in Santa Clara. Actually, only one of the people with all the money in the world (Meg Whitman) is skipping that debate... the other really rich person Steve Poizner will be there (master)debating himself...

Here is something: The Mountain View-Los Altos High School District has the highest paid teachers in the State with an average making $95k+.

All that time y'all spend on Facebook is bad for your employer, but really, really good for Facebook. That's why they need all the space they can get for the employees that keep your favorite time-wasting website up and running. Their new new digs at 1050 Page Mill Road in Palo Alto also has the benefit of not pissing everyone in town off because of Facebook's parking issues...

Only in Palo Alto: Developer Harold Honbach has filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Palo Alto claiming the City is running out the clock on his project to build 84 apartments and some R and D space until he dies... Seriously.

Ed Rast at Protect San Jose looks into the numbers of police complaints in San Jose. He poses some pretty interesting questions in his piece...

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.15.09: Big night for the San(ta Clara) Francisco 49ers...

The San(ta Clara) Francisco 49ers kicked some serious Cardinals' ass last night. Seven Cardinals' turnovers helped San(ta Clara) Francisco's cause as well... We're not here, to start no trouble, we're just here to do the Santa Clara shuffle... (Mission City Lantern doesn't miss a beat...)

Speaking of new stadiums... the Chronicle's man in Oakland, Chip Johnson, does his best to boost Oakland Mayor Ron Dellum's plans to keep the A's in Oakland -- and not with out some needling of San Jose. Like this: "...the chances that Wolff and San Jose city officials will prevail in their attempts to move the team are slim..." Really? I suppose Chip Johnson and Ron Dellums are closer to Major League Baseball owners than Lew Wolff (a Major League Baseball owner). Johnson's piece also states the obvious -- that is may be too little too late -- when he writes: "...It's a complete turnabout for Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums who in early 2007, shortly after taking office, dismissed any notions that the team would remain..." So perhaps Lew Wolff's non-embrace of Oakland is because it comes three years too late...

The Merc Editorial Board gives an atta-boy to Mayor Chuck Reed for punting San Jose's Redevelopment budget talks to February until things can be ironed out on several fronts: the State's money grab, perhaps the Teamsters' thingy, and some other stuff too.

Scott Herhold provides some perspective on the death of teenager Sarah Botill in Gilroy from a night of drinking. Herhold concludes that this is no ordinary story because, "...She was the daughter of a firefighter. She died after drinking at the home of an ex-councilman. And she had a few swallows of beer that night at the home of a cop..." More details about the case from the news side of the house at the Merc and the Dispatch as well...

The Merc's Mr. Roadshow describes some details about the proposed BART-to-Silicon Valley line and how some traffic delays can already be tied to BART's eventual construction...

Speaking of trains... more and less. Apparently High-Speed Rail tickets might be a little bit more expensive than originally planned (and sold to voters) and the ridership numbers may be a little less. Oops... Watch Dog would still pay a pretty steep price to not have to fly into LAX ever again. It might be a good place to get a haircut, but it is a bad place to fly in to. It is safe to assume that the higher fees and lower ridership are not what 200 folks in Mountain View were most concerned about when they attended a High-Speed Rail meeting...

This week the Merc called Steve Poizner's Gubernatorial campaign "anemic" and then late yesterday a story posted that went further into detail about what the rumor-mill in Sacramento is churning out. Poizner may not spend the $15 million he is putting in for some time and all the money that is being put into the race by Whitman and Poizner may mean that San Jose's Tom Campbell is backing out of the race, to which Campbell's press secretary says: "People can talk and conjecture all they want, but there's no change..." Of course, Campbell's press secretary did confirm that supporters are encouraging Campbell to run for Senate instead... because nothing could go wrong with a Campbell Senate bid... (36.6%)

More bad news for the Santa Clara Unified School District and Wilcox High School. Just as the Broom Closet Modeling Agency flap has died down, the Santa Clara Police are forwarding to the District Attorney their findings of their investigation into whether the Wilcox High Principal knew a teacher was known for having sex with students before he was arrested for (you guessed it) having sex with a student... now the District Attorney Dolores Carr needs to review the findings and decide if she wants to take on a high-profile rape case... where have we seen this before? We can only hope two things in this case: 1. that Jim McManis isn't the defense attorney for the Principal, and 2. that the DA's husband isn't working for the victim's (victims'?) families in some way...

To light or not to light... that is the question (at the Ann Sobrato high School football field in Morgan Hill). One complication -- the football field is actually in San Jose ... and within the City's greenbelt. San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra, who represents the part of San Jose that would be impacted had this to say: "I'd certainly be open to discussing it. I don't want to close any doors to the interest the community may have to try to find a way to make it happen. But under the current zoning, it just won't work." Oh well... perhaps there is a high school in Dillon that will share their Friday Night Lights...

They are going to pave "paradise" (Palo Alto Bowl) and put up a "parking lot" (for a new hotel and townhomes)...

San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant joins Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio this week on San Jose Inside talking about the City budget. San Jose's new blogging duet...

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 -- 8.14.09: The announcement Raj has been waiting for...

Usually we cover blogs at the end of the Round-Up, but today we moved one blog up: Protect San Jose. Today, Bobby Lopez, the head of San Jose Police Officers Association, let us know that he will be leaving his union post at the end of this year. We will miss his quotability... but Raj probably won't.

While we are on the topic... San Jose Police are dealing with the City’s 19th murder – a 46 year old sex offender was stabbed to death on The Alameda. As they deal with the 19th murder, the 13th murder makes news: gang member Ray Murillo was busted for San Jose’s – he’s accused of shooting an 18 year old at a house party.

Speaking of crime (sort of)... It’s bad enough the Department of Justice is investigating Palo Alto's Utility Department for falsification of their employee qualification tests… Now a breakdown in communications caused a breakdown in gas service for customers – for the second time this year.

Speaking of crime (really)... Gilroy Police Sgt. Chad Gallacinao was worried the early spike in gang activity signaled a tough year ahead. So far, the summer has been quiet as gang activity has dropped dramatically. (Oddly?) The drop in activity coincides with the bust of Nortenos and Surenos on trial for Larry Martinez.

and

California Youth Soccer Hall of Famer Thomas Anderson faces an additional molestation charge after a second child came forward.

Morgan Hill’s pedestrian-(un)friendly Third Street Promenade is mired in construction leaving pedestrians confused (and wounded) and businesses crying foul.

Now something significantly more shopper-friendly… Local Farmers Markets taking home over $100,000 weekly? According to the math in the Mountain View Voice it’s possible. That’s some kinda lettuce… (Watch Dog thinks the Voice might be a little jealous...)

Mountain View – Los Altos High School District Trustees are debating a “green bond” that could save the District over $400,000 annually. Superintendent Barry Groves looks forward to a committee working out details that could lead to a June 2010 vote.

Former Olympic Wrestler/New Gilroy High School Principal Marco Sanchez is busily making friends and hiring teachers. Superintendent Deborah Flores is delighted indicating he’s confirmed her first impressions. Could one Gilroy school be facing renewal?

California Highway Patrol’s Cristina Tagle suggested Gary “Mr. Roadshow” Richards readers leave their “emotions at home” in anticipation of Monday’s BART strike.

Mary Ann Cook reports through Mainstreet Los Gatos that library supporters have a new friend in the petition battle – the recumbent bicycle-riding activist. Also, Los Gatos’ own Dave Schaub will head out on a solo trip dubbed 49 in 9 for Ronald McDonald House -- that's 49 states and 9,000 miles. He will definately need a delicious Fred's steak after that...

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell joins the great American healthcare debate suggesting insurance for all should come with rules like: fat people can’t eat out or go to bars, no one gets more than 2 drinks, and tobacco is outlawed.

Mission City Lantern engages in a thinly veiled tale of San Jose politics and people.

Morning News Round-Up – 6.30.09: A little independence is a good thing, right?

Mountain View’s city council is looking to strengthen its milquetoast pleas for NASA Ames Hangar One. No doubt a strong retort from Mountain View will (not) sway the Navy who previously ignored congressional requests…

Linking Bay cities isn’t only a BART dream, from our Sister blog Watch Dog San Mateo…

• Peninsula cities are falling just short of (actually) thumbing their collective noses at State efforts to get cities to accept their “fair share” of housing. Commissioner Lee Lippert said the “vibrant” retail on El Camino was taking a beating as housing moved in. Vibrant, really?
• Pissed off Palo Alto employees marched on City Hall the day before their contract expires. Union leader Mike Keate wants negotiations to be productive and City Manager James Keene wants them to be public, promising entertaining days ahead.
• “(We) got plenty of creative ideas…” from comments during a High-speed Rail outreach according to regional manager Dominic Spaething. A tunnel high on the list for Palo Alto, Atherton and Menlo Park…
• Foothill-DeAnza Community College District Board Vice President Hal Plotkin will join Chancellor Martha Kanter in D.C.. No doubt he’ll be pulling out of the race to replace termed out Assemblymember Ira Ruskin leaving room for Palo Alto’s Yoriko Kishimoto to do battle with San Mateo Supervisor Rich Gordon.
  

Embezzlement troubles were set aside for MACSA’s annual 100 Most Influential Latinos in Silicon Valley according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. No shows included outbound executive director Olivia Soza-Mendiola and “many members of the group’s leadership.” Pizarro also shares the success of Michele Gray’s Walk through the Vineyards and opening applications for the Chamber’s Leadership program.

Celebrating American Independence will mean something different for the (really pissed) residents of Mountain View’s Americana apartments. These (un)lucky souls get to spend the long weekend moving out so the expected asbestos shake down doesn’t affect them. Irony much?


More tools in the toolbox, that’s what veteran cop Pat Dwyer hopes will help officers to back away from shooting the mentally ill. The Merc’s Scott Herhold shares Dwyer’s thoughts in his role as County mental health’s police liaison trying to prevent another Daniel Pham situation.


The Civil Grand Jury spanked school districts including Gilroy and Gavilan for not preventing $288,000 in losses with better controls. The Grand Jury wants district Trustees to reconcile inventory. Gilroy Superintendent Deborah Flores said she’s happy to involve Trustees but wonders about asking that level of micro-management…


Morgan Hill’s city council is scrambling to buy up foreclosed homes at the same time the Planning Commission recommends relieving developers of responsibility for building affordable homes.


Savvy Cellar Wines fills the gap left when Christine Tran’s deal with Mountain View to fill the Train Depot self destructed. Desperately in need of a wine bar, Mountain View residents could be heard celebrating all the way to Hangar One.


"Folks say that if you listen real close…” begins the winning entry for San Jose State University’s annual Bulwer-Lytton worldwide literary parody contest.


San Jose Councilmember/San Jose Insider Pierluigi Oliverio lets loose on non-controversial consent calendar items (the issues city staff figures are non-controversial) and invites all to Monday Night Live. More entertaining than consent… Watch Dog tipsters share the news that Olvierio refused to play along with the (semi) satirical bashing – the punishment for doing so was a special public spanking.


Mission City Lantern wants to know what’s up with San Jose Revealed.

BART to Warm Springs...a slight delay?

Here are two BART stories that Watch Dog will connect for loyal readers:

• Last Friday, the Valley Transportation Authority had a workshop to talk about how crappy sales tax revenue has been lately. Those sales tax revenues mean that the timeline for BART may be very, very, very long...so long that Supervisor/President Liz Kniss and other Board members were shocked.
  

• Today, we learn that two former BART officials, along with the lawsuit-happy Transportation Solutions and Education Fund, are suing the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for allocating funds for the Fremont Warm Springs BART extension. The Transportation Solutions and Education Fund say that the Warm Springs extension is only supposed to happen when the funds for the full BART extension to Santa Clara County come available...and with the sales tax revenue tanking...well, you can figure out the rest...

The Transportation Solutions and Education Fund folks are the same San Rafael-based dudes that sued to stop Santa Clara County's Measure B votes from being counted in November...which eventually passed. Apparently that loss pissed off the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund folks pretty badly...

So badly, in fact, that the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund needed to make themselves relevant again following their bad loss on Measure B. And nothing beats suing a government agency to produce headlines...

This BART does not speak for the real BART, but we can assume that the real BART might say something similar:

Morning News Round-Up – 12.12.08: Drunk San Jose...continued...with a twist

Although ‘The Lioness’ has left the Chambers on Hedding her presence will still be felt. Supervisor Blanca Alvarado’s career had dramatic ups and downs, she’ll take some time off and return to San Jose to continue her work. Alvarado was San Jose’s first Latina Councilmember and the County’s first Latina Supervisor, appointed when Congresswoman (former Supervisor) Zoe Lofgren left for D.C. (after Lofgren beat-up on this guy.)

Whether the booze is to dull the pain of the economic crisis or to celebrate the holidays – watch out. Without any drunk tanks it could cost you as much as $8,000 in addition to the night in jail if you get pulled over for a DUI. A drunk tank might have prevented the death of a Sunnyvale man this week. A drunk driver driving North in the Southbound lanes of 280 killed one man and injured another.

But not everyone gets arrested for being drunk in San Jose. District Attorney Dolores Carr is expected to ask a secret grand jury to investigate a possible cover-up by two San Jose police officers for driving drunk. (Ironic, given the zero-tolerance policy usually in place.) Earlier this year District Attorney investigator (and former San Jose police officer) Sandra Woodall smashed her Cadillac Escalade into two cars injuring a teenager. Officers then (reportedly) helped her answer questions and delayed a blood alcohol test long enough to render any results inaccurate.

Angry parents, students, and coaches yelled at East Side Union Superintendent Bob Nunez for his threat to take away sports in an attempt to balance the budget. The San Jose Earthquakes (Lew Wolff) and Oakland A’s (Lew Wolff) have stepped up with offers to help the District raise money for sports. Watch Dog gnaws on this bone, come June when the final decision is made how likely is it sports remain while teachers, administrators, and staff disappear? What do you think, should East Side toss sports?

Without athletics to unload, the City of Morgan Hill is laying off as many as 13 employees in an effort to cut $2.1 million from its budget. At a community meeting, attendees offered ideas ranging from a 10% pay cut for management (savings: $40,000) to shutting off street lights (savings: $150,000). Councilmember Greg Sellers expressed concern that the budget cuts made now might be a prelude to a more painful situation if the state again takes/cuts City funds.

The Merc. makes a case to the Alum Rock Board of Trustees to put aside rancor and move forward – put the children, not the personalities, first. That truly would be a first in that school District...

Monte Sereno has selected Curtis Wright as its new (rotating) Mayor and Don Perry as Vice Mayor.

It was a mix of celebration and nostalgia as Campbell said farewell to Mayor Don Burr who has spent 50 years supporting his community in various roles and welcomed new (recycled and rotating) Mayor Jane Kennedy and Vice Mayor Evan Low. While Kennedy celebrated her fourth Mayoral appointment, newcomers Mike Kotowski and Jason Baker were sworn in to their Council seats in front of friends and family.

New VTA Board Chair Dolly Sandoval has asked her colleagues to stop bickering and get behind implementation of BART saying, "If we are going to max federal stimulus dollars or our own local dollars, we've got to make sure we are singing from the same hymn book." Amen sister...Outgoing VTA Chair Liz Kniss reportedly told a packed room of Measure B supporters she didn’t expect to see BART in her lifetime. Looking surprised, Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino voiced an expectation of the first trains rolling through in 2017. Perhaps 2017 if we all sing from Dolly's hymnal...

Morning News Round-Up – 12.05.08: With a theme...

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is in a mad dash for $1 billion in aid from the Feds saying, “We want to make sure we get our share.” First on the Honey-Do list, the ever sexy street paving for a mere $100 million, and BART, and green tech, and...and...and...Isn't it times like these that it would be helpful for Mayor Reed to be a little bit more political? Did he help Obama or any other Democrats in the past election? Too bad, because as Senator Boxer famously said, "elections have consequences..."



Alum Rock gets reprimanded by the Merc for their massive bungling of the Norma Martinez bailout. Pointing out it’s about the children, “This latest giveaway is more evidence that voters aren't electing trustees worthy of their children's abilities.” (Chuck Reed added that some of the money that went to Martinez would be better spent on San Jose roads...)

Sunnyvale’s new City Manager, Gary Luebbers atteneded his first Sunnyvale City Council meeting to learn the Council, and the job, he’d just left was paying him the $309,000 they owed him. With the quarter million Sunnyvale is ponying up it’s a good guess that the taxman will be knocking on his door...(Chuck Reed hopes that the tax that Luebbers will pay will be returned directly to Silicon Valley for BART...)

Thanks to a Watch Dog tipster we know Sunnyvale Councilmember/former Sup. candidate Otto Lee will be leaving for Iraq to continue his job as a Naval Supply Officer. Lee must have updated his Wikipedia page to scoop the media. (Chuck Reed asked that Lee's meeting-stipend that Sunnyvale Councilmembers get be transfered to a "green tech" economic development fund...)

Oops! U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled as many as 900,000 people may be eligible to collect damages from American Corrective Counseling Services – used by Santa Clara County and others as debt collectors. If you got dinged any time between 1997 and now you could be part of the class action. (Chuck Reed believes the City of San Jose is owed part of this money...)

The Mercury News gives their take on the Big Three Bailout. Automakers showed up in Washington without the private jets and contrition in evidence. Among the Merc’s suggestions – drop the battle with states wanting higher fuel standards. (...and Chuck Reed wants some of that bailout too...)

Area gossip blog Valley Wag reports Google CEO Eric Schmidt could be setting up girlfriend #2 with a job at Google rather than funding her floundering documentary film company, Kate Bohner Productions. Wife Wendy deals with the very public mistress by running a bookstore 3,000 miles away. (Chuck Reed thinks that if Google has enough money to hire the CEO's mistress, than perhaps they could spare a few bucks for San Jose...pretty please?)

The folks at San Jose Revealed are grumpier than usual taking a whack at Tom McEnery, Sam Liccardo, and Lew Wolff in one long (grumpy) breath. (Chuck Reed knows enough to not ask the San Jose Revealed folks for money...)

And finally this nugget...San Jose has had some high-profile problems with arresting drunks downtown and entering them into 'the system'. In most places, drunks go into the drunk tank until they sober up -- keeping drunk people off the street for the night but not clogging the justice system with small 'crimes'...San Jose doesn't have a drunk tank anymore, contributing to this problem. But when San Jose did have a drunk tank, they didn't use it. (Reed promises to get a new drunk tank with Federal money if it comes...)

Morning (or late afternoon) News Round-Up – 12.03.08

The close knit community of Los Gatos was devastated to learn high school senior Michael Halpin collapsed in front Los Gatos High and was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital. Friend and teammate Nick Hirschman said, "Michael was one of the guys — he always gave 100 percent in practice, and off the field he was the nicest guy, everyone got along with him." Share your condolences here.

While BART has been the transportation darling in search of funding, a new rail is stepping up. High speed rail advocates, who recently received voter approval for a $9.95 billion down payment from California voters, are hoping the Obama administration will chip in as part of the New New Deal.

With over 250 days a year of sunshine it seems unlikely the Mineta San Jose International Airport would ever be closed...but for the second day this week the heavy fog has flights canceled. That's bad for travelers, but good if you missed hearing from Airport spokesman David Vossbrink of Gonzales Administration fame, noting that flight were “all holding and circling.” Yes, Larry Ellison, this includes you.

Political payback bites Los Gatos Planning Commissioner Michael Kane who lost his seat on the Planning Commission. At the same meeting departing Councilmember Steve Glickman (who voted against Kane) admitted he’d fibbed to a voter in 2000, telling the “cantankerous old coot” his name was Sandy Decker – his opponent in the race. In a bit of irony, a comment is posted that Glickman was “the only honest one on the council.”

Speaking of Los Gatos and Commissions...Colleen Wilcox, former County Superintendent, was named to the Los Gatos Arts Commission.

A Watch Dog tipster reports all was not peaceful on the dais in San Jose yesterday with Councilmember Pete Constant snapping at colleague Sam Liccardo over “labor peace.” Liccardo pointed out to Constant he might have raised the topic a year ago when Council first discussed the issue. At that time Constant complained the process was too long, right before he supported Liccardo’s ideas. (Around 2 hours in are Constant comments.)

The Merc's Patty Fisher dedicates her column to a project started by Los Altos High School student Mingbo Gong – haiku as a vehicle for understanding. It’s not enough that Gong has launched a successful project, he does it as part of Bay Area Asian Unity, a non-profit he founded to help earthquake victims in China. Watch Dog favors Fisher’s haiku:

Blank computer screen
Anxious editor hovers
Column deadline nears

The Merc also says farewell to the American Musical Theatre without venturing a guess as to who might be the next to fall.

About his narrow loss for school board, (former) Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Jaime Rosso says, "It looks like I didn't make it. I fell six votes short but that's OK." With the topsey turvey nature of recent elections Watch Dog wonders, what were the campaign strategists thinking?

Friends of the Gilroy police are holding a bake sale, well, sort of. You can eat out at one of your favorite restaurants and a portion of the proceeds goes to the Gilroy Volunteers in Policing to raise funds for public safety.

Sounds like a throw down to District Attorney Dolores Carr. The headline says it all “West Coast Linen should be accountable for its dirty laundry.” The Gilroy Dispatch is calling on the District Attorney’s office to investigate allegations of non-payment, illegal hiring practices, blackmail – you name it and Sausalito-based Lohrey Enterprises Inc. has been accused of the transgression.

On San Jose Inside former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery urges San Jose to roll up its sleeves, put noses to the grind stone, pull out all the Silicon Valley ingenuity, and trudge forward through the economic maelstrom.

As proof that a good idea can come from questionable sources San Jose Revealed agrees with aspects of the proposed San Jose Public Market while offering skepticism at the idea of offering Tom McEnery $5 million to make it happen. Revealed likens the Market to the disastrous San Jose Pavilion.

Meanwhile in the Mission City Lantern posts a rapid fire series of attacks on Santa Clara Council gadfly Steve Hazel.