Morning News Round-Up -- 5.13.10: Bike to Work... (or think about it at least...)

San Jose will join forces with other right-minded (or is it left-minded) California communities in pushing for some sort of boycott of Arizona... Don Gage and Pete Constant are the only (tea party) hold outs and are supporting the Arizona law -- sort of. Expect lots of American flag t-shirts and a Tea Party rally before the Council meeting in June...

When the San Jose City Council does take up the issue in June, it is likely that they won't get a lot of text messages during the Council meeting... John Woolfolk at the Merc looks into the lack of texting between lobbyists and the Council during Council meetings, which they banned a few months backed -- it wasn't so much as a ban as much as it was that those texts were open to the Public Records Act. We did learn something interesting from Councilmember Ash Kalra:

"Councilman Ash Kalra said he was messaging back and forth with his staff about unrelated upcoming agenda items, something he does frequently because "it's the one time of the week when they have me captive and I can get stuff done.""

That probably isn't very reassuring to all those public speakers (and City Staff) who think that Kalra is actually listening to them... silly public speakers (and City Staff)...

Yesterday was the Merc's deep-dive into the Dolores Carr half of the DA's race, today is Jeff Rosen's moment in the spotlight. There is lots of good information in the piece about his background, his law school days, how he didn't like being an associate at a law firm, and this little tidbit: he weighs 140 pounds...

Just to pile on...

The Metro's endorsements have been piling up on someone's desk, because they are all coming out at once. First it was Magdalena Carrasco and now it is Jeff Rosen. Just so we are clear, Metro endorsed Dolores Carr last go'round, but not this time...

49ers in. Yahoo in. The Santa Clara City Council is having a very busy year...

The Mercury News Editorial Board agrees with just about everyone else that the Water District should redo how it redrew their District lines... the District has scrapped the old plan and now is looking for a new plan...

The Merc Ed Board also commends the East Side Union High School District Board for cutting their own stipend and insisting on paying part of their medical benefits... which begs the question: East Side Union Board members get a stipend and health benefits?

We can't believe we've missed out on another local blog... Sunnyvale City Councildweeb Jim Griffith is writing frequently and brings us an insider's perspective to the goings on in Sunnyvale. Read more at dweeb.org... the latest updates are about Nokia opening up their Nor Cal headquarters in downtown Sunnyvale, which is "huge" according to Jim's Council Blog... He recommends: "...every one of us should immediately go out and buy our City Manager, our City Attorney, and their respective staffs a large bottle of their favorite alcoholic beverage..." That would be a sleepy party...

In sad news, the ACLU is closing its San Jose office because of budget cuts. That will make San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis and the POA pretty happy... but it makes Watch Dog sad. Why? First, the ACLU protects idiots like Watch Dog... and second, the ACLU local person, Skyler Porras, was a great quote. Remember these highlights?:

• About Mayor Reed: "...petulant political posturing..."
• About a plan for the San Jose Police Department to police themselves: "...Asking the police department to police themselves has been about as effective as asking a teenager to ground themselves after missing curfew..."
• About San Jose's plan to hire a group of social scientists to study the drunk arrest problem: "...a bumbling way to appease a scandal-plagued but politically powerful police department..."

While we are on the topic, did you know that a west coast big city mayor forced out the city's police chief? There were concerns about how the police department was dealing with vulnerable populations in the city... hmmm...

Finally, there is a woman at Valley Medical Center that they are trying to identify. If you know an elderly Asian woman that is missing, please take a look at the photo.

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 -- 1.25.10: Santa Clara First Monday...

We'll do Santa Clara first today...

The Chronicle, one of the Bay Area's newspapers not in bankruptcy proceedings (yet), loves to chime in on South Bay sports stuff. Above all, the paper is uber-protective of the 49ers. So it is no suprise that the Chroncle's spin on a letter sent from the National Football League to the City of San Francisco about the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is a positive one. The NFL told San Francisco that four really major things need to be done in order for the NFL to even consider allowing the 49ers to be in Hunters Point (assuming the Santa Clara thing falls through): a bridge over Yosemite Slough (which environmentalist are going to sue over), a new interchange off of 101 (which likely has a massive pricetag), adequate parking near the stadium (which the Board of Supervisors will never allow), and public transit infrastructure improvements (there is no public transit anywhere near this part of Hunters Point). A less "hometown" paper could write that the letter from the NFL to San Francisco could be construed as a letter siding with the 49ers and their quest to be Santa Clara-bound...

The City of Santa Clara is about to be served with a federal lawsuit by union carpenters saying that the City violated the union's free speech when it made them take down their banner outside a Citation Homes office. The sign wasn't so nice, but that isn't the point -- the City is claiming that the union violated the sign ordinance. This could get even more interesting... stay tuned.

It is good that the Merc is dedicating dozens of column inches (and a reporter) to what the rides will be named next season at Great America. For your information, Nickelodeonrides are out, Peanuts rides are in... with that information in your brain, go have a productive day.

Here's another San Francisco-related story that will have people in Silicon Valley scratching their heads... SFO is going to offer free Wi-Fi. Et tu SJC?

Could the DA Dolores Carr please go one week without doing something that lands her in the news? Well, obviously not. This time, she is instructing the prosecutors in her office to boycott a sitting judge and to not bring cases before him. Ironic, since Dolores Carr was once a judge. This item has yet to appear on Jeff Rosen's "The Case Against Dolores Carr..."

The Merc's Internal Affairs puts their hands on a letter that Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember/ Assembly Candidate Nora Campos sent to the good folks trying to figure out what to do with the Mexican Heritage Plaza. Essentially, the letter says that the City wants to stop subsidizing the place -- or at least subsidize it less -- or at the very least have a game plan to get the Mexican Heritage Plaza towards self-sustainability. (IA can't resist reminding everyone that Reed and Campos "...rarely agree on anything...")

Watch Dog apparently missed this Dolores Carr story a few weeks back -- but lucky for us, Watch Dog readers on on the case. (Thanks for the email...) You remember that Dolores Carr's office is looking into potentially illegal financial practices and misappropriation of funds by MACSA in running a Gilroy-based Charter School... well, the DA's office is conveniently waiting until June to decide about whether or not to bring charges. It isn't just Watch Dog wondering if this is politically motivated procrastination on the part of Dolores Carr... the Gilroy Dispatch does too. Here is why it might be political: Carr would like to get a certain group's endorsement for her re-election campaign in June... this certain group has a favorite candidate running for City Council in June who used to be in charge of operations at MACSA... if she buries the charges until then, perhaps this favorite City Council candidate rides into office, Carr gets the endorsement, and everyone wins, except voters, of course.

Pat Dando at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce penned an opinion piece for the Merc talking about reforming the City's pension boards... an idea that Watch Dog can't remember her ever talking about during her decade or so on the City Council when she could have actually done something about it...

Speaking of Pat Dando... sort of:

Last week's Supreme Court ruling about campaign finance got the Merc Editors writing. They would like to see a disclaimer on corporate ads similar to the Presidential disclaimers, saying something like: "I'm John Smith, CEO of Big Oil, and I approved this message." Can you imagine that on the local level? A piece of mail from the Chamber's Political Action Committee calling Cindy Chavez the devil-incarnate with a little photo of Pat Dando on the back saying, "I'm Pat Dando, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, and I approved this message..." that would be interesting.

San Jose Inside continues in its quest to be the only local publication (print or online) to be covering the bankruptcy of the Merc's parent company. Late last week the rolled out Lou Alexander, the Advertising Manager for the Merc for 20 years to comment...

Remember the grand plans for North San Jose -- sort of another tax-generating downtown with high density housing close to jobs and transit options... well, things are moving at a different pace than anticipated, but Target is coming.

The economy has been tough for most, but good for Safeway. In addition to their new downtown San Jose addresss, they are eyeing the old (bankrupt) Mervyn's on W. Hamilton in Campbell.

There was a small-plane crash somewhere in the Santa Cruz Mountains on Saturday... but a search hadn't turned up survivors, or the plane, as of Sunday morning.

In the circular world of the local blogosphere, Mission City Lantern comments on our comments about a story on the blog over at the Santa Clara Weekly. And for your information James, we do read the Weekly blog, it just isn't always that good... no offense. The last time we wrote something from the Weekly's blog, the publisher was defending the Broom Closet Modelling Agency...

There was another suicide on the train tracks in Palo Alto over the weekend.

The Palo Alto High School Principal Jackie McEvoy will be retiring at the end of the school year. According to the news account in the Palo Alto Weekly, McEvoy is retiring for "personal reasons" which alway sounds fishy (or eggy) to Watch Dog... if you don't get the eggy reference, read the story.

There was an old-fashion liquor store robbery at gun point in north Gilroy on Saturday night... In an unrelated crime story in Gilroy, a dude jumped into a patrol car, started driving in reverse, and hit a police officer. Officers shot the man (after using pepper spray, batons, and a Taser...) Sounds like a busy weekend at the Gilroy PD...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.25.09: A Very Broccoli Thanksgiving...

Hitting the pages today news that State Senator Abel Maldonado has his fingers crossed for confirmation as Lt. Governor. The Merc’s Editorial Board chimes in their support for Maldonado calling it “progress for Californians.” And progress for broccoli too...

Now, the real question, which Watch Dog has been talking about even if no one else is: Is Pat Dando taking this extra long weekend to make a decisions about her future political career?

San Jose hasn’t been the “safest” big city since 2006 and now trails New York as 4th safest in the land. Mayor Chuck Reed remains committed to regaining the title as Assistant Police Chief Dan Katz reminds San Joseans “we’re the safest big city in California.”

And if San Jose is ever going to move up that silly list again, it may be with a new Police Chief. At least that's what some folks would like to see. With San Jose’s City Hall as a backdrop, “based on the questions… (we) ask that (Dolores Carr) convene an open grand jury…” asked Asian Law Alliance’s Richard Konda’s at a press conference with more than 15 other community groups. Police Chief Rob Davis asked Sgt. Ronnie Lopez to send an email saying his door was open and he was disappointed. Because nothing says "open door" like an email sent through a spokesperson through the media...

Convinced that continuing the conversation about police use of force is the best PR strategy... San Jose Police Officers Association Vice President George Beattie was “bothered” after re-reading the Merc’s use of force story. Beattie takes issue with the implication that force is common practice and that “minor infractions” are always safe.

Santa Clara Vice Mayor Jamie Matthews is keeping his inner-Yahoo under wraps (for now) to be “sensitive” to neighbor Sunnyvale. If Yahoo’s plans work out they’ll ditch Sunnyvale to be near the Silicon Valley 49ers – in Santa Clara.

Mountain View Police credit extra feet on the street from the Gang Suppression Team and a “zero tolerance” attitude towards underage drinking for a decrease in gang violence. That probably all helped... but also the fact that they are in Mountain View probably has something to do with it...

The Mountain View-Whisman School District yanked a discussion on special education teacher cuts before the meeting, at the request of the teachers union. Parents were pissed about a lack of “transparency” as cuts turned into part-time positions.

San Jose Insides Joseph DiSalvo sends his appreciation to teachers in schools as well as those in his life. Before heading off to enjoy his holiday repast DiSalvo closes by poking Inside readers “the division and the rancor of the discourse bordering on the personal on SJI is very distressing to me…” Perhaps he should have read the blog he posts on before agreeing to posting weekly. You think the personal stuff is bad now, DiSalvo should have read Inside during the 2006 Mayoral race...

Heading into the long weekend a little good news…

• Christmas in the Park opens for the 30th time in San Jose on Friday...
• Sunnyvale’s eSilicon is ditching a redux of their 2008 luxe dinner at Santana Row for a pizza bash in their office and a $5,000 donation to Sunnyvale’s Department of Public Safety...
• If you want to join eSilicon in the giving spirit this year the Merc has a few ideas...

And we end this short work week with this great tid-bit... As we were searching for the above picture of Pat Dando, and interesting "Sponsored Link" came up. It seems someone in the San Jose Revealed world is still paying the bill to AdWords... Go ahead, do a search for Pat Dando in Google and see what pops up.

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...

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.20.09: School Districts Gone Wild...

The Luther Burbank School District Board of Trustees was undoubtedly (not) excited to see Board President called out in last weeks Civil Grand Jury Report. They must have spent the weekend cringing over new stories they aren’t paying teachers and they were so afraid of telling parents what they thought about the Report they delayed the discussion – after 4 hours of unrelated talk. The Luther Burbank Superintendent did not say, "Thank goodness East Side Union High School District is also in the news..."

Also vying for (negative) attention, the East Side Union High School Trustees getting some special love from a County Office of Education audit accusing District officials of financial shenanigans. Not the first time the District has been in hot water: in 2004 then-Superintendent Esperanza Zendejas took Trustee credit cards away. Can (unelected) Trustee Eddie Garcia save the day? Or did he come by his bad habits honestly through years of training from former East Side Trustee/ former Councilmember/ current Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr.? (Click through the previous link for a memorable cartoon...)

The Merc.’s Scott Herhold sat with retired San Jose firefighter/ Author/ track star Jerry Williams to put a local face on the Sonia Sotomayor hearings. Herhold also reminds us that having a great kid isn’t always enough to avoid tragedy.

Sal Pizarro got an earful about parking from more San Joseans angry at the $3 charge for evening parking. Pizarro also reports the Pat Tillman Foundation received a $5,000 boost from patrons of the Britannia Arms and asks you to support Martha’s Kitchen when you head out to see Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire this week.

San Jose Insiders shared their parking peeves on Insides Rants & Raves while Baretta picks at San Jose Revealed with a little sleuthing work of their own.

Mission City Lantern shares details on three of their San Jose Revealed favorites...

San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio talks at length about the joys of iPods before getting to the point – no, he won’t be taking home lifetime benefits after 8 years on the San Jose City Council. Santa Clara County Supervisors make more and keep benefits after 12 years.

The flu that won’t go away is taking Twitter by storm, or so Joy Alexiou with Santa Clara County Public Health hopes. This is one viral they hope makes the top 10 Tweets.

And even though San Jose Revealed joined the San Jose City Council on hiatus, the Merc wants us to know there are still other cities in Silicon Valley and some are actually doing work…

• Palo Alto’s City Council interviews candidates hoping to join their Planning Commission.
• Santa Clara’s Planning Commission talks demolition and condo conversion.
• The Campbell Union High School District reconsiders open enrollment and how to snag some of those federal stimulus dollars.
• San Jose Unified School District looks at bringing back some of the 96 teachers they laid off.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.15.09: What's $15 million between friends running for Governor?

Ready for business in 2014 and going for the green… From native plants on the roof to recycled water in the pipes, the 49er's proposed Santa Clara stadium would be the “greenest” NFL stadium ever. The York family is also shooting for a stadium able to host the Super Bowl or World Cup. (Of course, the stadium still needs voter-approval next year.)

Silicon Valley gubernatorial wannabe Meg Whitman plunked $15 million of her (anticipated) $150 million campaign loan. Her opponents didn’t seem to care much about the Whitman throw down. Whitman’s Silicon Valley neighbor Steve Poizner coughed up $4 million of his mega-bucks for the race (not to mention the money he put into previous races...)

The Merc’s Editorial Board offers props to the team assigned the unenviable task of making San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza live up to its promise.

Now joining (formerly) homeless Victor Frost (address: Telephone Pole No. 1139) in Palo Alto’s wide open council race will be past (failed) candidates Dan Dykwel and Tim Gray. This all on the heals of the current Mayor deciding not to run for reelection.

School District races in Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Foothill-DeAnza Community College so far turning out to be the most boring with only incumbents picking up papers. The chance for excitement lasts until August 7 when the filing period closes.

California IOU’s have started landing and the Merc’s Scott Herhold has one he’s shopping around. Herhold actively sought out the IOU offering 110% of face value, now just trying to unload it for the story…

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro shares an idea from Joe Boyer on keeping people in downtown San Jose: cheap parking. (Watch Dog can only assume that Joe has never parked in another downtown, if he thinks San Jose parking is expensive.) Pizarro also lends a hand to fundraising efforts for Christmas in July and KKUP – People’s Radio - which needs your help to relocate.

Los Gatos firefighters rescued Phoebe the Cat from a tree limb after nearly a week following failed attempts with a basket, tree service, police, animal control, a “creature catcher” and PG&E.

And, in Saratoga news… The Planning Commission narrowly averted disaster by approving plans for a (giant) new home complete with pool. Commissioner Manny Cappello was emphatic in over-riding city guidelines saying “...a home like this should have a pool in Saratoga...” Obviously...

The San Jose Police Officers Association blog, Protect San Jose, gives space to the 18th Floor's favorite Chief of Staff/ City Council Candidate Jim Cogan. Cogan is promoting National Night Out.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.7.09: Revealed Reveals...

Revealed is back, and they are mad at the Mercury News. Their post is ironic: they bash the paper constantly and then they want to be treated with kid gloves... Get well Revealed...

Rod Diridon is also really pissed... The budget disaster in Sacramento has Legislators finger pointing and blaming staff for a sentence stuck in the State budget bill – a sentence that could derail Federal dollars and the speedy High-Speed Rail in Northern California. Imagine, something getting screwed up in Sacramento. At least everyone in Sacramento is working in the best interest of the State today...

For the second time in a few days San Jose’s former (beleaguered) Mayor Ron Gonzales is in the news. The Merc’s Internal Affairs reported Gonzo was a contender for top dog at the San Francisco-based Coro Center for Civic Leadership -- but didn't get it. Today, he’s gunning for (Supervisorial wannabe) Teresa Alvarado’s old gig at the Hispanic Foundation in San Jose. Watch Dog can only guess that Gonzales didn't think that these two job applications would be newsworthy this soon... We also surmise the coverage doesn't help his chances much.

Large company (Facebook) + Neighborhood = Parking Nightmare

It’s summer and the allure of the outdoors beckons. Mountain View aims to please with outdoor movies and concerts under the stars.

Not for the first time, Watch Dog wonders if District Attorney Dolores Carr has regrets… Carr declared there was no “misconduct or error of legal significance” when former prosecutor/Judge Joyce Allegro withheld evidence in a death penalty case.

Santa Clara Police killed Airman Ian York following the death of York’s girlfriend and shots at Police. The District Attorney’s office will be conducting the investigation of York’s death. Big news for a small town...

Gilroy voters gave their School District an early Christmas present last year passing a $150 million facilities bond. Facing poor planning and bickering between Trustees and staff the Gilroy Unified School District now struggles to spend the money well. Trustee Mark Good called a new wing at Las Animas Elementary a “perfect example of a project run amok.”

Mission City Lantern continues their foray into lucidity… Profile in Cowardice (Abel Maldonado, James means you…). The San Jose Revealed clues that could land you a prize.

San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio sings the praises of the neighborhood Fourth of July Parade and historic pillars. Watch Dog note, that caffeine buzz you get next to the pillar comes from Peet’s Coffee, not Pete’s.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.15.09: Mid-30s and bald...the Hooters' demographic

The Chronicle is encroaching on the Merc's turf, apparently. They have a piece in today's paper about the "Golden Triangle for smart phones..." Cupertino to Mt. View to Sunnyvale.

The DA’s office can’t seem to shake accusations of misconduct. This time, Deputy DA Jaime Stringfield is accused of withholding evidence in a sexual assault case. At risk, letting rapists roam the streets…

A handful of South Bay schools are showing success narrowing the achievement gap between white and Latino students. A big Woof to Mountain View High School, and Bracher, Arbuckle, and Grant Elementary Schools. Now seems like the perfect time for the State to cut millions (billions?) from schools...

The Gilroy Unified School District is back in good financial standing, according to Standard & Poor’s. Superintendent Deborah Flores says she’s “ecstatic about being taken off CreditWatch.” Too bad the same can't be said for this embattled San Mateo County school district (La Honda-Pescadero Unified) on Watch Dog San Mateo's watch list...

San Jose’s City Council may be taking a hit on their pay but the City’s unions aren’t ready to join them. Union leaders are accusing city leaders of asking them to take a “poison pill.” Watch Dog has to guess that the City Council is going to choose between a poison pill and paycheck...

At the heart of San Jose’s labor negotiations stands City Manager Debra Figone. The Merc’s Scott Herhold takes time to offer a portrait of Figone as an unquotable toughie putting reporters to sleep while trying to save money and jobs. (We expect Revealed's response to Herhold's Figone piece as soon as the pnuemonia passes... Get well Revealed.)

Get your telescope ready. NASA wants your help to look for water. Scientists from Mountain View based NASA’s Ames Research Center hope to blow up part of the moon. Scientist Kimberly Ennico anxiously waits for the final decision, looking forward to “making a big splash.”

Speaking of local geek fests… San Jose’s Tech Museum of Innovation celebrated its 10th birthday. Tech Boardmember/Former Cirrus Logic CEO Michael Hackworth says the Museum is past the survival stage which is good news for San Jose, which covers part of the budget.

Hooters in Campbell was the scene of more than just skin over the weekend. An argument that started in the restaurant turned into a stabbing in the parking lot with a “culprit in his mid-30s and bald” jumping into a silver Mercedes to run. Mid-30s and bald, you say? Isn't that the description of every dude at Hooters?

The Merc’s Internal Affairs had some fun this weekend...

• Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr is kinda-sorta-just-a-little helping pass legislation protecting prosecutors from misconduct charges. (Ben Field says thank you...)
• After a slow start, San Jose’s City Council is now playing “Who Gets the Biggest Paycut.” Councilmember Chu must have (finally) read Watch Dog and Herhold...
• Assemblymember Joe Coto is trading big insurance campaign cash for contributions from gambling, alcohol, and tobacco interests. How warm and fuzzy... (Watch Dog predicts Councilmember/candidate Nora Campos will be the big campaign finance winner in Coto's Sacramento assignments...)
• The ACLU’s Skyler Porras has been trying to get a meeting with the Police Officers Assocation's Bobby Lopez for some time. Turns out all she had to do was write a letter saying the POA had the right to do their YouTube video, even though it was "a desperate and obvious attempt to distract from the serious police accountability issues facing this city." (And, yes, video-gate is still up on YouTube.)

Around the Valley, here’s the dish on your local governance…

• The City Council in Santa Clara will discuss "mixed use" - like an amusement park AND a football stadium...
  
• Mountain View’s City Council studies NASA’s plans for Moffett...
• Milpitas Councilmembers will talk about rezoning 9+ acres of McCarthy Ranch for less industry and more shopping...
  
• San Jose’s City Council conducts a hearing on the budget, considers a wage freeze for the operating engineers union, higher health care costs, increasing affordable housing in North San Jose, and $300 million to renovate and expand the McEnery Convention Center...

Two last things...

On the cover of this weekend's Merc was a story about technology companies asking the Obama Administration to intervene with their beef with the Chinese government. The Chinese government is asking tech companies to pre-install censoring software on computers sold in China. Watch Dog had to chime in to let you all know that there is no truth to the rumor that Councilmember Pete Constant is representing the Chinese government on this issue...

In case you Sharks fans missed it, the hockey season ended on Friday night. The Penguins won. Which brings up the local angle: Remember when Boots Del Biaggio owned part of that team?

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.21.09

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters estimated 40% of the Valley’s voters would take part in the May 19 bloodbath, turns out they were optimistic. Roughly 25% of Santa Clara County voters showed up. Better than the State average where the ballot decisions were made by 23% of voters.

Speaking of (future) elections...

The moment Santa Clara’s City Council happily announced a (tentative) deal with the 49ers, owner Jed York was dishing. Also excited, Councilmember Dominic Caserta who said “I’m so excited, I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve.” The San Francisco Chronicle's coverage is (predictably) less enthusiastic... Expect an election in March 2010, if you live in Santa Clara.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed will meet with People Acting in Community Together (PACT) to wrangle over East San Jose’s high foreclosure rates, crime, City neglect, and mistrust of Police. PACT co-chair Margie Marquez said “...we want to get him to focus on the pain and concern in our community.”

Joe White, with the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District, said the impact of Tuesday's election was still unclear, but it would be ugly. Foothill-DeAnza’s Andy Dunn agreed saying community colleges and K-12 have some tough (impossible) decisions ahead.

Santa Clara County prosecutor Troy Benson said he “freaked out” when he learned a child sex-abuse victim’s medical exam had been videotaped. He promptly told the defense. Superior Court Judge Paul Bernal’s testimony pokes holes in Benson’s story and it seems the DA’s office can’t get their stories straight.

The folks in Mountain View are looking forward to (praying for) a shopping center face lift... The Thoits family will sell a corner slice of their San Antonio shopping center to San Diego developer Merlone Geier Partners. Mountain View Councilmember Ronit Bryant is happy and says the shopping center was not living up to its potential. Bryant looks forward to a mixed use project.

Speaking of shopping centers...

The Merc’s Scott Herhold reports Silicon Valley Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is stepping in to help Sunnyvale’s downtown. Lofgren shot letters to the Presidents of Wells Fargo and Bank of America demanding to know why they turned off the money to developer Peter Pau, especially after federal bailouts.

The Los Altos Planning Commission expects a full house tonight while they talk about a proposal for 28 new senior homes. Even NIMBYs have parents.

Los Gatos contractor/(accused) firebug Channing Verdan now has former Deputy District Attorney Dennis Lempert by his side. After telling reporters he was a “poor man” Verdan is no longer talking to the press and hasn’t entered a plea.

East San Jose teacher Janine Henderson’s students were out of shape, fighting, and 92% failed the President’s Physical Fitness test last year. Los Gatos Rotary President Beth Smith and Rotary buddies stepped in with a one year fitness program. The Merc’s Joe Rodriguez dishes all the sweaty details.

Merc. sports maven Ann Killion dishes her own version of tapas with two local nibbles…

• 49ers – let the chaos begin.
• A’s – Brad Pitt to play Billy Beane

Sunnyvale’s NetApp is the big deal in Silicon Valley with plans to buy Santa Clara based Data Domain for $1.5 Billion. NetApp CEO Daniel Warmenhoven dismissed rumors of becoming a takeover target…

Metro reporter Alastair Bland took time to visit the San Jose-Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant (the stuff you flush). After 53 years of continuous operation the plant faces a $1 billion overhaul. The Plant's Mike Ortega shares tales of Plant humor, the ill-gotten gains of a bank robbery, and drunken seagulls among them.

They coulda used a little water pollution control… The Environmental Protection Agency spanked California Waste Solutions and American Metal and Iron for dumping pollutants into San Jose waterways.

SaveBAREC was unable to save itself. The grassroots group lost an appeal in Santa Clara Superior Court to stop development on a former pesticide test site and has called it quits. Summerhill Homes has to clean the site of toxins which SaveBAREC brought attention to according to Gordon Stemple, an attorney representing residents in another lawsuit.

San Jose Revealed lets loose with Thursday Quick Notes, among them…

• Glee over newsworthy Chamber of Commerce leaders (which they got from us yesterday...),
• Mayor Reed’s trip to East San Jose, and
• Girls Gone Wild bus visits downtown San Jose.

Metro/San Jose Inside Editor posts a lament that San Jose will never lose its “soulless corporate blandness” as long as it kicks out local eateries like La Taqueria and replaces them with Carl’s Junior. The Editor expresses hope that the (McEnery) San Jose Public Market will give priority to local businesses, “not soul-sucking chains.”

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell posts his last Inside blog with a nostalgic look backwards and a cranky view of today.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.1.09: A Palo Alto Four-Pack...no joke

Here is your daily dose of Lew Wolff-related news...

The Merc’s Mark Purdy provides support to the A’s move to San Jose...so does the Merc’s Editorial Board saying Selig’s panel is the best sign yet that the move is serious. Meanwhile, Lew Wolff is going to meet with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums -- which, like everything Wolff does, will be widely covered (here and) everywhere.

Chalk up one silver lining for the down market: affordable housing could replace the old bordello on Ditto’s Lane in Los Gatos. The Los Gatos City Council hopes to replace it (and other locations) with affordable housing. Deputy Town Manager Bud Lortz said anyone in Los Gatos making less than $120,000 qualifies for the low income housing.

Here is a four-pack of Palo Alto news for all to enjoy:

1. The Palo Alto Unified School Board must have been feeling very optimistic, they’ve approved plans for $300 million in construction for Gunn and Palo Alto High Schools, math texts “from this millennium,” and new classes including computer animation.
2. Palo Alto’s City Council has joined neighbors Menlo Park and Atherton in a lawsuit to stop High Speed Rail before it breaks ground. Councilmember Larry Klein said they plan to send “very clear signal that we intend to be players and think we can make a contribution to making the process better…”
3. Attention Palo Alto residents and businesses: Your electricity rates are going up. Well, they are at least one step closer to that reality because the City Council's Finance Committee said so last night. I guess the legal fees are mounting and need payment..
4. If world domination weren't a big enough goal, Google-geek Larry Page wants to build a massive home in Old Palo Alto...don't worry though, it will be environmentally friendly. As environmentally friendly as a 6,000 square foot home can be, Watch Dog guesses. Probably not as environmentally friendly as a home half that size would be...Watch Dog San Mateo (and others) had this story last week...the Merc. is on it today...

The "Help Wanted" sign is out at the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce. (Soon-to-be-former) Executive Director Elizabeth Borbolla could be headed to jail. Borbolla was arrested for forgery and embezzlement – the accusation is that she tried to make off with checks for roughly $4,000. Chamber President Van Nelson said Borbolla had been doing “...a heck of a job promoting the Chamber.” "Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job..."

The Environmental Protection Agency will be testing the air at the Stevens Creek Elementary School in Cupertino. The school is one of 62 selected across the nation for testing – in this case because it’s so close to a cement plant. Sandra James, spokesperson for the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant said bring it on, “we do not have a chromium problem at all.” We'll see...

Dr. Winnie Lee is Cupertino’s newest Planning Commissioner and plans to put her experience as a business owner to work on the Commission. When asked if her next stop was City Council Lee said she just wanted to get a handle on the Commission. Which reminds Watch Dog of an old joke about 100 Senators in D.C. who look in the mirror and see the next President...

The tragic deaths of 6 in Santa Clara are a mystery, the killer is said to have been a good, quiet, and gentle man who started getting angry over the past weeks. Family members and neighbors remain stunned at the deaths. This story is getting a lot of coverage in the newspaper of record for the Northern Suburb of San Jose...

Sheriff Laurie Smith’s team is trying to figure out who the man is buried under a pile of boulders in a rock quarry and how he died…

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.31.09: Butterflies, Earthquakes, and Porn, OH MY!

In case you missed it, Watch Dog had late breaking baseball news yesterday…MLB Commissioner Bud Selig named a panel to study the A’s options. The Merc’s Morning Buzz tries to spray some water on San Jose’s excitement…the apparently aren't impressed with Lew Wolff's ability to attract microphones magnetically to his mouth...

A minor 4.3 earthquake in the foothills near Mt. Hamilton yesterday shook nerves around Silicon Valley and beyond and uncovered a brand new fault line. Oh, goody. The new fault line runs parallel to the more active Calaveras line which shook the area last in 2007. You can tell the USGS all about your shaking here...

The Merc’s Editorial Board wonders why Supervisor Dave Cortese is the only one seeking a public explanation as to why a 10 year old was tossed in the pokey. In case you missed it, tossing the 10 year old into jail is also a violation of Federal law. Oops…The DA’s office recently turned over kid cases to LACY, none too soon it would seem.

Neighbors around Watson Park are pissed off. It seems San Jose once used the park as a toxic dump. When the sludge was re-discovered the City offered to help. Now that the cleanup is over, the neighbors are trying to deal with the aftermath (home prices, health effects)…

Morgan Hill’s "mixed-use" Measure A plan could be considered panacea by proponents, at least the Morgan Hill Times seems to think so. With support by everyone from the Greenbelt Alliance and Sierra Club to the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Association it looks like former Mayor Dennis Kennedy is keeping his promise to not take anything for granted. Not everyone seems to think mixed use is a good idea, downtown property owner Gary Walton claims it’s “like fitting a square peg in a round hole.” Walton must not get out of Morgan Hill much…

Gilroy’s Safeway has a creep prowling the parking lot. An 18 year old woman was the third victim attacked while heading back to the car. The attacker looks for women traveling solo, until they catch him, take the baggers on their offer for help back to your car...

San Jose Revealed offers a new target to porn crusaders Councilmember Pete "Ball Gag" Constant and former Councilmember Larry Pegram: Sexy San Jose. We would give you an idea about what Revealed wrote, but the website is down -- and has been since (before?) Revealed posted about it...

San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio keeps his partying ways going. This time celebrating the San Jose Bike Party with a “Psychedelic Robot Ride.” Watch Dog note from one blogger to another, too much rode-here-rode-there, blah blah blah.

According to the Merc’s Chris O’Brien, Senator Dianne Feinstein is trying to clean up the bureaucratic quagmire that surrounds the patent office. Local giants Cisco and Google have been complaining about patent messes that cost them big bucks and squelch the free flow of ideas... looks like they found their advocate.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold spends too much time wandering the halls of Justice. His column is all about the white or khaki shirts that watch as your worldly possessions roll through the x-ray machine, and how much those shirts make.

Sal Pizzaro shares a celebration with the Amigos de Cesar Chavez who will be delivering over 250 lunches to farm workers in Santa Clara County in honor of Cesar Chavez’ birthday today.

Those fluttering leaves everyone is seeing around the Valley are actually Painted Lady butterflies making their annual migration North. De Anza biologist Ryan Phillips is giddy with excitement and called the mass migration “truly spectacular.”

San Jose Police are investigating a late night shooting in San Jose. Sounds like neighbors on Sebasian Way were feuding, the gunman shot at men standing outside his neighbors home. Luckily for the victims (and shooter), neither victim was critically injured.

Meanwhile, Santa Clara Police are still looking into Sunday's murder/suicide...Neighbors are shocked by the deaths of 6 Sunday night. Neighbor Amit Sinha said, "It's such a quiet neighborhood. I don't even hear anybody speaking in a loud voice. And then there are 20 police with semi-automatic guns."

A Mountain View woman who disappeared for four days last year after partying in Mountain View is now heading to jail. To stay out of trouble with the parents she lied to the Police saying she’d been kidnapped and assaulted...now she’s ‘fessed up to concocting the story. Liz Wylie, Police spokesperson, said something was amiss about the story…Y'think?

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.30.09: What if Lew Wolff shared his microphone with Tom Campbell?

Watch Dog has said it before, but Lew Wolff is a microphone magnet. So much so that his statements from last week about wanting to move to San Jose just keeping getting covered. As a review, Wolff came out with his stongest stance yet on the status of the A's plans:

"...We are really saying that we'd love to stay in Northern California, and go to San Jose..."

Now to a local guy that has trouble finding a microphone to speak into...Tom Campbell. Did you know he is running for Governor? The Chronicle threw Campbell a bone and covered his long-shot effort to become the next Governor. Campbell's pitch? He knows the budget really, really well. In normal times, we'd advice Campbell to get a different political message, but extraordinary times may call for an extraordinarily boring messages...and Campbell's understanding of the State's complex budget is extraordinary (and dry)...

San Jose’s firefighters have offered to give themselves a wage freeze for the next year. City Manager Debra Figone should have been happy to hear about it but was pissed off the firefighters went around her to make the offer directly to the Mayor and City Council. (Former Vice Mayor) Chamber CEO Pat Dando didn’t seem to care who heard the offer and called it a “...bold step in saving the city a great deal of money this year...” (a million bucks that is)

Residents in San Jose’s Gardner neighborhood in Willow Glen say High Speed Rail is ok, just don’t take their homes to make it happen. It wouldn’t be the first time transportation took over the neighborhood. In the early 1900’s the railroads secretly bought land to build the Southern Pacific line.

The Merc’s Charlie McCollum seeks answers to America’s burning question: How does Steve Wozniak manage to keep on dancing (with the stars)? As everyone in Silicon Valley knows: geeks rule. In this case, the computers are humming with Woz love. With a broken foot, torn hamstring, and questionable dancing skills, the Woz still has fans (voteWoz.com). Gary ‘Mr. Roadshow’ Richards continues his love for our dancing Teletubbie as well.

The Merc’s Editorial Board adds their support to Congressman Mike Honda’s efforts to open Mount Umunhum to the public. The challenge is cleaning up the old Air Force Base and radio station...oh, and the $11 million required to do it. If Honda has his way the Midpeninsula Open Space District will have a new jewel. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said there’s an incredible vista and it would be a nice place to hike.

The Santa Clara County Office of Education hosted their annual History Day Competition, appropriately held at San Jose’s History Park. Students created, and defended, projects on everyone from famed United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta to Oprah Winfrey.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs expresses love for San Jose’s HP Pavilion after attending a Streisand concert and reading a study released from Sports Economics which says thousands of jobs have been created and millions pumped into the local economy. The lovefest is to support a theory that local sports officials are hoping to steal the Sacramento Kings. It doesn’t hurt San Jose's MLB ambitions either…Also in IA, their own list of Quick Notes this weekend…

• Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is trying to ditch his Tesla...probably because the Governor read the Tesla Chronicles on Watch Dog...
• While the classes for East Side Union High School will be taking more students, and teachers no extra pay, the teachers in Palo Alto are getting a 5% raise...proving that it’s good to be in a town where property taxes keep on giving.
• Jude Barry apparently ditched John Garamendi’s Gubernatorial race because the Lt. Governor can’t raise any money. The rumors are not true that Barry was too busy writing Watch Dog to run Garamendi's race...
  

Santa Clara is reeling from the apparent murder-suicide of 6 people, including 3 children, over the weekend. Very little information has been released about this incident.

A former Marine reservist, distraught about losing his business, threatened to kill himself in his San Jose home. Members of the San Jose Police Department surrounded the house, barricaded the neighborhood, and readied themselves for a patient siege. Turns out the guy snuck away and later called the cops from a payphone to give them permission to enter the home.

San Jose Revealed voices loud support for making San Jose’s Fire Station One a historic landmark. Apparently the best reason for giving it landmark status is to prevent former Mayor Tom McEnery from having his way with it. Others in the community also hope for landmark status and want to restore the structure and convert it to a museum.

On tap around the Valley for your elected officials:

• Palo Alto Unified School District talks about growing elementary schools, changing school boundaries, and the aforementioned staff raises. Get ready for some wild discussions -- school boundaries are a big deal in Palo Alto...
• Santa Clara County’s Committee on School District Organization meets to talk about moving property from Saratoga's Union School District to the Los Gatos Union School District...again, heads up when discussing school boundaries in fancy towns...
• The San Jose City Council Salary Setting Commission considers a freeze on the Mayor and Council salaries...
• Mountain View’s City Council talks about financial goals – like staying afloat in difficult times...perhaps Tom Campbell could give a Power Point Presentation on budgeting...
  

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.13.09: JasonJasonJason Edition...

San Jose’s Councilmembers Sam Liccardo, Rose Herrera, and Ash Kalra have banded together to propose a way of covering Police costs downtown while not causing bars and clubs to leave downtown. (Although, that might make the Police Chief a little happier if the clubs left downtown...) San Jose Downtown Association’s Deputy Director (and powerbroker) Blage Zelalich, said “We advocate a model that will keep downtown safe, but encourage a thriving and eclectic nightlife." The Police Chief didn't respond by saying, "We plan on arresting everyone downtown no matter what..."

The bad news keeps on coming for the Palo Alto Utilities Department. Earlier this week Federal officials from the Department of Transportation raided their headquarters and took out 7 boxes of stuff looking for forged documents? fraudulent hiring practices? who knows...Whatever it was in those boxes, the Feds are certainly looking for items above and beyond an internal investigation that happened last year.

San Jose Revealed asked readers to identify San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Pat Dando’s policy wins and today updates us on the results – according to Revealed it’s not a happy track record. Which mirrors what the Metro wrote weeks ago... Revealed and the Metro, friends at last...

Largely because of the taxes it brings in, every city would seemingly like to have a (bland) upscale Santana Row-like development in their community. But Mountain View won’t be getting their own Santana Row if developer Fred Thoits has anything to say about it. According to Thoits (talking about Mountain View's wishes), "If [Santana Row] is their vision we just can board up the stores and look at vacant property with no revenue and no sales tax." He sounds angry.

The Los Altos School District Board voted against placing a parcel tax on a upcoming ballot. Survey consultant (pollster) Connell Lindh warned the District would need to raise funds and that the spring and winter breaks would cause two weeks of lost campaign time. The proposed $168/parcel was deemed too risky to ask of District voters. The move means the District will be cutting programs and services and will likely be laying off employees. I guess the recession is even hitting Los Altos...

Local businesses stand to benefit from D.C.’s stimulus package with a push towards green technology and internet infrastructure. Cisco’s Director of Technology, Jeff Campbell, said "It was all about physical infrastructure in the past...” Julie Blunden with San Jose’s SunPower added the infusion of funding will help expand manufacturing and accelerate growth.

From the Fed's stimulus deal to the State's budget deal:

Silicon Valley Leadership Group (cycling) CEO Carl Guardino is delighted with the tax breaks offered to the high tech industry in the State deal and said, "This potentially is a huge win..." (If $.12/gallon tax increase is a huge win, we'd hate to see a huge loss...) But the word "potentially" in Guardino's quote may prove important. The deal isn't done yet and Jon Coupal, the anti-tax guru from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association said, "I'll believe it when I see it...I would be stunned to see Republican votes sufficient to pass this thing."

Hope you weren’t in need of an emergency room Thursday. Valley Medical Center, one of Santa Clara County’s three trauma centers and the busiest in the Valley, was closed most of Thursday after an unidentified young man arrived bringing with him a noxious odor. Regional and O’Connor (and patients) apparently bore the brunt of the closure. VMC is open today.

Deputy DA Ben Fields gets to keep his job while he tries to clear his name from the charges that he made stuff up while prosecuting cases. Good thing he gets to keep his day job, since the County’s legal top dog, Ann Ravel has “…declined to support [Field's defense attorney Allen Ruby’s] request for additional funds...” Ruby, having already received $50,000, asked for an additional $250,000 in (non-existent) County funds to appeal the charges.

Santa Clara Police Officers approached a man reportedly planning on shooting a cyclist. When he ignored Officers and pointed his gun at them -- the Officers shot him. Names have been withheld for both the Officers and the other guy who is in the hospital in critical condition. SCPD wants you to call the Santa Clara Police Department Investigations Division with information, 408-615-4800.

The Morgan Hill Unified School District is in a state of “near fiscal disaster.” This year, they will avoid mid-year lay-offs. Next year lay-offs are a given. Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini is looking to her higher power for help and says, "We are just praying that the State gives us flexibility…We are trying to survive." There is a 100% chance that prayer will not be answered...

Gilroy is losing a 6 decade business and 26 jobs when Gilroy Pontiac Buick GMC closes its doors. Neighboring auto dealers all said “we’re fine” when asked if they were also getting ready to shutter the doors. What about the $13+ billion GMC received in bailout money? “…didn't trickle down to us. It stayed up there somewhere, but I don't know where it went. They forgot about the little people..." according to Joe Lopez, former Pontiac General Manager.

Morning News Round-Up – 1.27.09: Recall Vic?

San Jose Revealed makes a pretty serious accusation today against Mayor Chuck Reed's chief political strategist. Revealed says Vic Ajlouny is doing campaign work for the Recall Madison Nguyen team while Reed (strongly?) opposes the recall effort. If this is true, Ajlouny is as big a jerk as (most/all) people say he is...Revealed's evidence is the (obvious) similarities of direct mail used by the Recall people and past Ajlouny clients. Perhaps Reed is quietly trying to help out both sides? He does need to get to six votes after all...

The Morgan Hill City Council really knows how to party. They met all weekend in a community center to address the pressing economic issues facing them and to figure out how to collaborate with other elected bodies during the rough times. Councilmember Larry Carr is ready to move forward with downtown redevelopment saying, "In the past, we've always been more than willing to wait for other people to catch up. I'm willing to tolerate the flack we will get from not waiting for others." There will be little flack about downtown Morgan Hill on Watch Dog...after all, we've never been there...

The always entertaining Gilroy City Council also met over the weekend. They spent half of Saturday “chatting” with Morgan Hill Councilmembers about collaboration and still managed to wrap their retreat in half the time they did last year. Special guest Santa Clara City Clerk Rod Diridon, Jr. talked to the Gilroy Council about a voter outreach program enacted in Santa Clara that made for more ethical candidates. Nobody said, "Thanks RDJ2, if you only put as much effort into your own campaigns as you do into the ethics of others, you might be a State Assemblymember..."

The Gilroy Dispatch wants to know if you think Gilroy police should be paid significantly more than Gilroy firefighters. So far, the firefighters are winning.

In these difficult economic times everyone is scouring their budget to see where they can cut costs and generate additional revenue. Imagine the surprise then when Santa Cruz County officials learned that they were paying for roughly 16 fire emergencies each month – in Santa Clara County! County Supervisor Gage says Santa Clara County officials are looking at the problem but is dismissive of the financial burden to Santa Cruz County.

The idea of a joint stadium moving both the Niners and the Raiders to the South Bay received mixed reviews yesterday. Santa Clara Councilmembers Jamie McLeod and Will Kennedy said the project with both teams is more attractive. Along with the added/needed revenue, the Councilmembers and nearby residents worry famously rowdy Raider fans will bring more traffic, noise, and crime. Apparently boring, wine sipping Niner fans are better behaved.

The Merc’s Editorial board had some fun writing about a serious subject. Books, safety, and Winnie-the-Pooh – oh, yeah and a Tigger quote. Congress may have made the unintended consequences blunder of the century with a law that could force children's books off library and bookstore shelves.

Last year Rita Campos hit cyclist Bruce Finch and he was killed after being ejected from his bike. Campos said she didn’t know if Finch was still alive as she waited with him before the paramedics arrived. The CHP investigation has landed at the DA’s office, they recommend charging Campos with manslaughter.

Mr. Roadshow, Watch Dog is interested in knowing, is this year different with respect to crappy drivers or is it normal in the first three weeks for five people in the County to get hit? Is this how we kick off the Year of the Pedestrian? Yesterday it was a 9-year-old, with his Dad, on the way to Alum Rock’s Goss Elementary. Yesterday’s accident happened while the child and his father crossed, with the green and in a crosswalk. If you saw anything at Story/Adrian call SJPD at 408.277.4654.

Valley Medical Center, led by a committee of staff and consultants, want to do away with security glass separating patients from emergency room registration staff. The consultants said the move will make it more customer-friendly. Some hospitals have floor to ceiling protection and metal detectors patients must clear before entering the emergency room. VMC sees roughly double the number of patients it did before HCA shutdown the San Jose Medical Center. Arthur Slauer a healthcare security expert and former Kaiser Permanente security guru says, "All it takes is one incident, and I guarantee there's going to be a problem." The safety glass was installed 5 years ago.

Young love run amok caused two (barely) teenagers to steal grandpa’s car and wallet. At least, that’s the assumption for now. Roslyn Marshall, 13 of Saratoga, and James Palmerson, 14 of Los Altos, fell madly in love three weeks ago and Sunday morning made like Romeo & Juliet and have high-tailed it to the place where underage marriages are all the rage – (Verona?) Utah or Vegas. They’re in a grey Honda Civic, plates 5NLM445. If you see them call the tip line 408.808.4431. But don't forget to the tell the youngsters that you know where they can see a Jonas Brothers' concert for free -- that ought to stop them in their tracks...

Morning News Round-Up – 1.26.09: A York/Davis Monday...

District Attorney Dolores Carr can't get a break...apparently a prosecutor kept secret evidence that would have helped Army Vet/PTSD Sgt. Binkley’s defense. Oddly, the news dropped online midnight Saturday that two of Carr’s people filed conflicting reports. Carr’s recent troubles include two attorney’s in trouble for withholding evidence and a general slap for holding back interviews with survivors of sexual assault – putting all those cases in jeopardy. Somewhere, Karen Sinunu is smirking...

By the time San Jose (barely) managed to get the signs up, San Francisco’s Little Saigon celebrated its five year anniversary with the installation of lions representing peace, happiness, and safety. (Ironically, none of those things seem to be present in San Jose's Little Saigon...) This year, SF's Little Saigon expects to bring 20,000 visitors to San Francisco to celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. “We deliberately brought the Vietnamese community into the mainstream rather than appeal to them with anti-communist rhetoric, as the leaders did in San Jose,'' said Vu-Duc Vuong, who once ran San Francisco's Southeast Asian Community Center.

Tanking retail sales will hit local cities hard. San Jose already had a $4.6 million sales tax revenue shortfall before the economy really went into the toilet. Santa Clara budgeted for $43.4 million and received nearly $2 million less. Translation: roughly $200 million less dollars were spent locally. "We are concerned obviously," said Santa Clara Deputy City Manager Carol McCarthy. "Like anyone else, we're out there, we're brainstorming and getting information." I'm not sure brainstorming is going to help the economy, but I guess it couldn't hurt.

Palo Alto may do something about their need for cash. They are looking to businesses to cover the City's budget shortfalls. Specifically, they want to impose a tax businesses via a Business License Tax (BLT). While most cities have a BLT (on rye?) PA doesn't. The difference is that Palo Alto is thinking about a gross-receipts tax opposed to a simple, annual fee that many/most cities have. Why a gross-receipts tax? More money for Palo Alto, of course. (This was part of Watch Dog San Mateo's Recession Repercussions theme today...)

Closing its doors and pissing off customers at the same time, nice going Circuit City. Circuit City is shutting down nationwide, locally in San Mateo, San Jose, and Sunnyvale. In their haste to shove merchandise out the doors they forgot to lower prices. According to customers they actually jacked up prices then shaved a little. Good news is, they expect to be hiring before closing doors permanently in March. Add to the big box closings, Home Depot is closing Yardbirds, Expo, and Design Center stores, in an announcement made Sunday night.

State Senator Joe Simitian stood in front of 200 anxious educators and parents Saturday morning who worry about the Governator’s plan to stop funding schools. Franklin-McKinley Deputy Superintendent Tim McClary said, "We have contracts we have to honor. PG&E is not going to give us electricity if we don't pay the bill.'' Simitian suggested residents “…need to let Republicans know that they think new revenue has to be part of the solution.'' Nobody responded..."isn't that what we elected you to do, Joe?..."

Mountain View’s Housing Element update is on the table for community discussion tonight. The League of Women Voters is hosting a talk with retired planner Don Weden – under discussion are how housing element updates affect climate change. No word if NIMBY-ism will be addressed.

Car as deadly weapon strikes again, for the third and fourth times this year. Exchange student Santosh Kumar Racherla was hit and killed while crossing El Camino Real. Mountain View’s Man Lai Leung was hit after a truck plowed through a fence, across a lawn, hitting several cars and finally stiking Leung while he was unloading groceries.

Thirty years ago a few looney tree huggers had a crazy dream – hiking trails to link the San Francisco Bay to the Pacific. Since then, the Mid-Peninsula Regional Open Space District has been buying land and is poised to purchase the last four pieces of the puzzle. The Merc’s Patty Fisher doesn’t expect her aging knees to be in working order when it happens, but does write it all up. (Watch Dog San Mateo has been covering this too...)

Is Santa Clara in line to be home of trans-bay football teams? The NFL is hoping to make it so. The owners of the NY teams who share a stadium (currently in New Jersey) said in these dire economic times it makes sense for the Raiders and Niners to join forces. No word if Santa Clara Councilmember Jamie McLeod is more amenable to a two team proposition. This would mean 20 home games each year in Santa Clara -- that's a lot more traffic (presumably)...

Cupertino Union School District will interview candidates to fill the empty seat created when Pearl Cheng who was tapped to replace newly elected Assemblymember Paul Fong on the Foothill-DeAnza Board. Watch Dog would like to fill you in on the candidates background, but Cupertino lists only their names: Larry Curb, Daniel Halabe, Anjali Kauser, Jack Yang, Joyce Yee, Katherine Yu, and Ione Yuen. There is no truth to the rumor that Supervisor George Shirakawa is trying to get Eddie Garcia appointed in Cupertino...

In addition to the Cupertino appointment, here's what's happening around other elected bodies in Silicon Valley this week:

• The Santa Clara Board of Supervisors and Mountain View Councilmembers will noodle how best to ask for federal dollars...other than beg?
  
• Sunnyvale’s Council will listen to neighbors unhappy with construction and consider creating standards for construction management..sounds like a good plan...
• In San Jose, the topics include moving City jobs to private firms, a bailout for the County’s largest homeless shelter provider, the Convention Center, and elimination of 52 jobs..that should be a doozy...
• The always exciting Alum Rock Union School District will discuss the status on the new Superintendent search and “challenges related to Pala Middle School.” For those who missed it, the challenge is how to swap Pala with East Side’s Adult Ed Independence High.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs had a field day Sunday. So much (old) news so little space.

• Recently (re)elected Alum Rock Trustee/attorney Esau Herrera wants to dump the lawyers and hire the firm he used to work for. Herrera also wants the lawsuit against fellow Trustee/former District employee Dolores Marquez dropped and says, "I think it's a waste of legal fees to carry on what apparently was a personal grudge."
• Former Mayor/blogger/lobbyist Tom McEnery is being eased out of his pet blog San Jose InsideMetro's Dan Pulcrano. (San Jose Revealed reminds us they pointed out the slow removal of McEnery months ago.)
• Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone (booo) couldn’t get into inaugural ceremonies even with a VIP ticket. But Willie Brown did, and he didn't even have his ticket...

Bellarmine boy does good. Tony West is heading to D.C. for the Obama administration. San Jose Inside sends props to litigator/Obama’s CA finance co-chair/super lawyer Tony West for landing a plum job with the Department of Justice. Check back around noon for a West update -- including what it says about the shifting political fortunes of Silicon Valley big shots.

San Jose Revealed is almost embarrassed to say they told us about the Arts Council Silicon Valley pursuit for a Poet Laureate for Santa Clara County weeks ago. Sadly, that “news” now is front page fodder for the ailing Merc. Revealed also wants to remind the Merc. that there are actual local stories and includes among them humiliated San Jose Councilmember Terry Gregory (and others) accepting gifts, the current Madision Nguyen recall fiasco, and McEnery lobbying. Watch Dog would like to add to this list Shirakawa/Garcia cronyism...