Morning News Round-Up – 12.22.09: Shaken, not stirred...

Jed York pissed off a few folks when he said he’d rather go to Oakland than Hunters Point – if the 49ers don’t land in Santa Clara. Former 49ers president/Lennar-Hunters Point consultant Carmen Policy said he was “speechless” after reading San Francisco’s Matier and Ross.

Don’t hold your breath for that property tax break anytime soon. Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone says between staff cutbacks and the mountain of appeals, well think molasses…

Good news for outdoor fans. San Jose’s Mount Umunhum is getting some help from the Feds. Congressmember Mike Honda wrangled the Fed “earmark” and is hopeful trails will open in 2 years.

Racist computers? HP doesn’t think so but is taking the accusation seriously according to spokesperson Mark Budgell who wasn’t laughing when he saw the laughter filled video.

Autism aides for the Mountain View – Whisman School District will enter the new year with fewer benefits and hours after negotiations this month.

Mountain View police busted a 14-year-old boy for an “angry” toss during a football game. No dish on details, yet.

Tis’ the season for those pesky DUI checkpoints. Palo Alto police busted 16 drivers for not reading the paper before enjoying the holiday nog.

After your nog you might need a taxi instead of the bus… The creaky economy is taking a toll on bus lines. VTA officials announced plans to decrease service to help close a $70 million gap.

Mission City Lantern sends props to the 49ers for belief in a “true and ethical democracy” and calls out holiday heros. If you didn’t get props you may have received a dirty turnip. Is that like a dirty martini?

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.17.09: Going Rogue?

We hate to make this the top story today for fear that we'll hear from Kathleen about it... but a San Jose Police Lieutenant is suing the SJPD and Chief Davis for alleged racial discrimination. This is probably just what Chief Davis wants to deal with right now. On the positive side, it allows City Attorney Rick Doyle to answer media inquiries, which provided this gem of a quote:

"I think San Jose has a very good record of not having any racial discrimination in employment..." You think San Jose has a very good record? You don't know? We'll probably find out in the course of this lawsuit which will almost certainly end in a settlement...

To baseball:

We found this from an NBC Sports blog "Circling the Bases" about how Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums wants to not only use Oakland Revedevelopment dollars to keep the A's in Oakland, he wants to use some of your Federal tax dollars (stimulus) too. I'm sure that project will go over big in D.C.

On the same topic, there was a meeting about the neighborhood/traffic impacts of a new stadium downtown last night. But the best part of today's story about that meeting is what the Mayor had to say about the San Jose Giants involvement in opposing the MLB plans downtown: "Did they [the San Jose Giants] not notice the million dollars we spent on Muni Stadium? It's kind of funny... But I don't expect people to be consistent when it gets to these political issues." If I read that right, it seems the Mayor used sarcasm and humor...

And on the topic of stadiums... the Merc Editorial Board supports baseball, but with a "limited public investment." Watch Dog likes any Editorial where "beer batter" is referenced...

It is obvious today that reporters/editors at the Merc rely on Watch Dog to read "out of town" newspapers for them. Yesterday morning we spotted a Matier & Ross piece on sfgate.com that talked about a pretty unfavorable audit of Valley Medical Center doctors' travel. Then last night, (after reading Watch Dog?) the Merc got on the story... (We also kind of joked about it yesterday with this: It is a good thing that we have a local newspaper to cover local topics...

The Fly/San Jose Inside "has heard" that the Chamber of Commerce may be Going Rogue at their annual Legends and Leaders event... Which begs the question, is Sarah Palin a legend or a leader?

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.16.09: Anti-San Jose A's... funded by?

Here is something that will make the Mayor's (and Lew Wolff's) holiday season a little bit less festivek. An anti-San Jose A's groups is forming with the San Jose Giants folks as the front for a "...San Francisco public relations agency..."... The first inning of this battle will be for the group to poke legal holes (via an expensive lawyer) in the environmental impact report... What else do we know about this group? The San Jose Giants are not footing the bill for the lawyer or the PR agency and the San Francisco Giants aren't returning phone calls... hmmm...

Speaking of professional sports... Ethics and basketball closed out San Jose’s City Council year. Mayor Chuck Reed saw most of his proposals agreed to by colleagues. The Merc’s Editorial Board said some of the proposals have “an unfortunate political tone,” they’ll be happy to know those are on hold. San Jose is ready for the NBA, but is the NBA looking for San Jose?

It is a good thing that we have a local newspaper to cover local topics... the Chronicle's Matier & Ross have a piece today about how doctors at the County's Valley Medical Center seem to vacation/study on the taxpayers' dime... in Maui, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, the Bahamas, and Europe.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold says a fond adieu to Santa Clara Valley Water District Boardmember Sig Sanchez who served the public for more than 55 years after winning his first election.

The Merc’s Editorial Board calls for funding alcohol education for kids following the tragic binge drinking death of Morgan Hill’s Sarah Botill.

Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo calls funding the needs of gifted students “as important a civil rights issue” as helping low achieving students pump it up.

Protect San Jose invites one and all for dinner and drinks at the Police Officers Association annual holiday festivities and suggests you might run into your favorite Protect San Jose blogger. Of course, inviting "one and all" may exclude Councilmember Ash Kalra, if you scroll through the comments on Protect San Jose...