Morning News Round-Up -- 3.17.10: It would be a lot cooler if you did...

The budget is bad in San Jose, real bad. Yesterday was a hum-dinger at the Council meeting as it pitted people who love parks, libraries, and other City services against City employees who love their jobs. According to the Mayor (in the Merc story): "Although this is the ninth year we've faced significant budget shortfall, this year is by far the worst..." What he didn't say: "Because things are so shitty, we are going to give card rooms the latitude to turn San Jose into Las Vegas..."

To help move things in the right direction, the City also approved a series of pro-business incentives... and... they also approved a rezoning thingy to allow the Earthquakes to build a soccer stadium right off Coleman avenue. Hey, if the Earthquakes play it right, they could take over the airport site (when the airport fails) and build the San Jose version of Estadio Azteca...

Happy Hollow got its facelift,

Happy Hollow got its (taxpayer) gift.

Now take your kids,

And you will see,

That it isn't as crappy as it used to be...

Ironically, the Happy Hollow story in the Merc was written by Holly Hayes... Holly Hayes' Happy Hollow story. Who said the Editors at the Merc can't be cute?

This is a story with so many interesting angles it will make your (political) head spin... Palo Alto firefighters are looking to put a ballot measure on the November ballot that would block Palo Alto from firing firefighters as Palo Alto balances its budget. This will get every firefighters union in the county (or the world) to call their political consultants as soon as possible this morning... Another layer of intrigue is that the head of the Palo Alto firefighters union putting this thing together? Tony Spitaleri... why does that name sound familiar to you? That's because he's on the Sunnyvale City Council. Just wait until the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers put a ballot measure on Sunnvyale's November...

Speaking of the ballot box, but let's move up to this spring. 8 (8?!) school districts are looking for parcel taxes on ballots this spring: Milpitas, Mt. Pleasant, Alum Rock, Palo Alto, Fremont Union, Loma Prieta, Lakeside, and Union.

Back to Palo Alto... they are going to do a tad bit more outreach before re-writing their recycling regulations. It seems folks had a bit of a privacy issue with having the city go through garbage. Shocker.

We'll end today with a little political reporting from the good folks as the Fly/ San Jose Inside. It seems that Cousin Cortese, who is running in San Jose City Council District 9 is a Karaoke DJ master. Seriously. Watch Dog has confirmed, however, that his ballot designation is not Karaoke DJ, although, to paraphrase Dazed and Confused, it would be a lot cooler if it was...

Morning News Round-Up – 10.12.09:

Senator Joe Simitian breathed a sigh of relief, the Governor took time to sign his SB19 bill that puts California in line for as much as $4.5 Billion in federal Race to the Top dollars. Also a winner in the Schwarzenegger signing frenzy was San Jose State Senator Elaine Alquist (digital textbooks/health information/instructional materials). Not faring as well were Assemblymembers Joe Coto (pawnbrokers), Paul Fong (community colleges), and Jim Beall (aging). There's a joke in here somewhere about aging pawnbrokers....

(soon to be retired) San Jose Police Officer Association president Bobby Lopez is pissed Dr. Rajiv Das wants injured retirees to have doctors sign a 2 page form. The Merc dug deep to uncover statistics : San Jose has the highest rate of retired police and firefighters on disability in the state and saying “No” isn’t part of the Trustees game plan. (un)Surprisingly, Lopez is calling for Das’ ouster…

The Merc’s Internal Affairs was sniffing around the San Jose Police Officers Association website and found president Bobby Lopez talking retirement, and encouraging his colleagues to do the same. Suggestions that Lopez may be trying to strip San Jose of experienced officers as a bargaining ploy caused Lopez to respond “am I being disingenuous?” Also in IA blogger/former South Bay Labor Council political director Philip Bump landed in his hometown paper as juror #3 causing a stir at a San Jose Downtown Association confab according to San Jose Inside, and IA boredom and annoyance at the NASA Ames LCROSS lunar bashing.

Sports loving San Jose is adding the Sacramento Kings to the list of San Jose hopefuls.

“It’s so much cheaper… to give somebody a flu shot than to let a child make a whole classroom sick,” according to Health Trust spokesperson Nicole Kohleriter at Saturdays free Flea Market health clinic. With 400 volunteers the Health Trust poked and prodded the thousands showing up for free medical care this weekend.

Also thinking healthcare… The Merc’s Scott Herhold took pity on Congressman Mike Honda for never having tasted the delights of a Gilroy Garlic Milkshake. Herhold, without claiming culinary expertise, mailed a shake to D.C. for the Congressman’s enjoyment – or not. All Watch Dog can say is we’re glad Herhold doesn’t experiment in the kitchen on our behalf…

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro offers an invitation to “golf with a shotgun” benefitting the San Jose Police Foundation, rent a shotgun for $175, or bring your own, to shoot clay pigeons out of the sky. Also in Pizarro news… A Bert George wine tasting treat, boot camp for event organizers and Santa Clara University’s Professor Francisco Jimenez is honored by the Governor of Jalisco.

On to the week in government…

• San Jose’s Elections Commission looks at changing city campaign finance and lobbying laws as well as forbidding anonymous complaints.
• The Los Altos School District considers parcel-tax renewal and talks about funding retiree health benefits.
• In Mountain View the Mountain View – Los Altos School District talks tests with SAT/ACT results.
• Fiscal manager reclassification is on tap for the Los Gatos Union School District.
• The tiny, one school district, Luther Burbank, considers a response to grand jury reports spanking the district and approving a contract with preschool teachers.
• Budget reductions and pre-school programs are on the minds of the Palo Alto Unified School District Trustees.
• Mountain View – Whisman considers approving site plans for Crittenden Middle and Bubb Elementary schools.
• Trustees in San Jose’s East Side Union High School District listen to the public on proposed audit committee guidelines.

Protect San Jose’s Open Forum Friday is on tap with complaints of speeders in Willow Glen and PAL salaries…

Morning News Round-Up – 9.22.09:

You remember this story, former San Jose Police Officer/Santa Clara County District Attorney investigator Sandra Woodall smashed her car into parked cars and injured a teenager. Collegial courtesy (allegedly) caused San Jose Police Officers Will Manion and Patrick D’Arrigo to look the other way after Woodall's visit to the neighborhood bar for a post-rehab celebratory drink (allegedly) impaired her driving. San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis let the other shoe drop this week, he wants to fire Manion and D’Arrigo.

California hopes to snag $1.28 billion in federal funds to bundle with Prop 1A funds for Caltrain expansion and moving High-speed rail at high speed to Northern CA.

It’s a little anti-climatic - the Palo Alto City Council approved a change over to (formerly interim) Police Chief Dennis Burns who hopes to “lead the organization in a fair and ethical way.” A slap at former boss/predecessor Lynne Johnson?

De Anza community college is at the “…bottom of a funnel” according to spokesperson/former Merc reporter Becky Bartindale so they shut the doors on more than 8,000 students hoping to beef up their accounting, chemistry and writing skills.

The Merc’s Editorial Board offers San Jose the chance to step out from the crowd and become a leader – ditch the bag. Likening the demise of the plastic bag to getting cigarettes out of restaurants, Merc Editors offer it could be increasingly painful to keep the bag (along with (possible) federal sanctions).

Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff isn’t caught by surprise often so when Soccer Silicon Valley President Don Gagliardi rattled off SSV’s good deeds even Wolff was impressed according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. State Senator Joe Simitian and San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos will be in San Jose to discuss State reform with Joint Ventures Silicon Valley and the American Leadership Forum.

San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio was not happy with his colleagues last week when they ignored his request to kill a “Shared Room Occupancy” proposal in his neighborhood. Watch Dog is hopeful Oliverio meant “Single Room Occupancy” in his collegial spanking.

Mission City Lantern slaps a favorite, Jamie McLeod, and celebrates a win by the San Francisco/(future Santa Clara?) 49ers.

Protect San Jose's Tuesday numbers guy, Ed Rast, wasn't up and running by post time, the Friday forum landed two comments over the weekend.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.13.09: A Porn-Week Preview...

News flash from San Jose Revealed – Porn gets hot. San Jose’s Vice Mayor Judy Chirco and Councilmembers Ash Kalra and Sam Liccardo trumped Rove-wanna-be Pete Constant with an early memo. The Merc’s Scott Herhold calls the Chirco-Kalra-Liccardo memo deft and says Library Director Jane Light “fought a canny rear-guard battle.” The Spartan Daily gets into the act, which makes sense, since it is San Jose State's library facing filters if Porn Kings Pegram and Constant have their way.

Rest assured, Watch Dog will be all over this issue on the coming week -- as we have been in the past. Including pointing out the irony that as this fake porn issue comes forward, Newsweek takes a shot at Larry Pegram by delaring "The End of Christian America"...

The annual salary dish on government salaries is out. Some of San Jose’s retirees are getting hefty bonuses for not staying home sick. Former Assistant Police Chief Charles Younis, now Los Altos’ Police Chief, took home an extra $243,000 while retired Deputy Fire Chief James Carter got almost $300,000. Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio is a little miffed saying sick leave isn’t meant to boost the nest egg.

In order to blunt criticism from the "sick leave" story, some folks went on a PR kick...

The Merc’s Patty Fisher chatted up San Jose’s newest highest ranking female firefighter, Deloach Reed. Assistant Chief Reed spent two decades hauling hoses and climbing ladders while sharing locker rooms, at times the “only girl in a frat house.”

The Merc’s Editorial Board sounds ready for a quick ride to Los Angeles on the future High-Speed Rail. They also drop a little reminder that the NIMBYs in San Mateo County stopped BART from heading south 50 years ago. The Editor's hope that the same NIMBYs today’s NIMBYs (Atherton/Palo Alto/Menlo Park) grow up.

AT&T wants that cable clipper bad and is offering a quarter of a million dollars to the first person who coughs up the clipping culprit who sabotaged 4 locations Thursday.

San Jose State University is trying to get some seniors to call it quits. SJSU had to turn its back on thousands of college wannabes because of the economy and now dishes that they’ve got over a thousand “super seniors” who can’t seem to leave their hallowed halls. With two dedicated seniors who have been there 15 years Provost Carmen Sigler says leave already.

Alviso is set to become a boaters haven once again. With visions of Chris Crafts dancing in their heads, the County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on construction of the final piece in a 4 year project. The Audubon Society’s Bob Power is hopeful San Jose’s legion of boating fanatics use the non-motorized kind.

San Jose’s Mayor Reed had plans for a press conference on home foreclosures while a mysterious "Linda" had other plans and whispered to the press the conference was moved. A pissed off Mayoral spokesperson, Michelle McGurk, said the (late) April Fool’s joke was “sad and pathetic.” Reed and the media did make their date but not without some scrambling.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs dishes San Jose’s City Clerk sent school-marm notes to the City Council reminding them they were welcome to watch the A’s opener in Oakland – on their own dime. (Hint Hint)

San Jose Revealed reveals a bare bones Wiki on San Jose’s political cast of characters. Revealed wants you to make the reveals. Another reveal, this time calling out former Chamber of Commerce mouthpiece Jay Rosenthal as Watch Dog. Revealed’s last Watch Dog reveal didn’t work out so good when Jude Barry turned up at CalBuzz. Keep trying Phillip, you'll pin us down soon...

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell rails against perks for public servants and complains that he doesn’t get a car allowance the San Jose City Council shouldn’t get one either. This was before the salaries were posted online...Campbell is going to be pissed.

Morgan Hill Unified School Board President Don Moody was MIA for Tuesday's big decision on furloughs. Translation: no decision was made. Trustees Shelle Thomas, Peter Mandel, and Bart Fisher said no way to forced furloughs. SEIU President Pam Torrisi said her members want assurances the savings would save jobs.

The economy has taken its toll on the Earthquakes and that’s translating to a loss for Morgan Hill. The Earthquakes were planning a training center there but Vice President David Alioto says that’s on hold. Mayor Steve Tate says he understands. (The Earthquakes tied the Fire yesterday 3-3, in case you are wondering. Perhaps they could use a new practice facility.)

Cupertino Union and Moreland School Districts are keeping their fingers crossed. Mail ballots arrived in voters homes last week. If voters say yes, parcel taxes go up and schools get to breathe again. Fresh off his BART success, political consultant Barry Barnes is hoping voters say yes as well...