Morning News Round-Up – 4.21.09: It was an interesting fact...

It's been a fun filled month in San Jose with Porn BFF's Larry Pegram and Pete Constant battling for headlines over Mayor Chuck Reed's "clownish" IPA mishap and the ongoing Drunk Task Force drama. Rep's from the rest of Silicon Valley are breathing a deep sigh of relief as San Jose stays firmly in the spotlight.

San Jose’s IPA screw-up continued. Unless you were under a rock you saw this one coming…

• The newly appointed Independent Police Auditor Chris Constantin quits under the growing outrage.
• San Jose officials sheepishly admit newly appointed Independent Police Auditor Chris Constantin would be auditing his own brother.
• Watch Dog posted the early rumor about the eminent demise of Chris Constantin as Independent Police Auditor.
• Mayor Reed : When asked about the brother “It was an interesting fact and probably should have been in there. But it was one of a whole series of facts about the man.''
• Councilmember Nora Campos stomps her foot saying she received a promise from the Mayor.
• Merc Editorial : Constantin did not disclose the brotherly love in his application. City leaders did not tell a citizen review panel about Constantin’s brother, those same leaders did not ask the city attorney about any conflict.
• Scott Herhold : Mayor Reed’s staffers were unenthusiastic about Constantin, it was a clownish affair. Way to turn on the boss...
• San Jose Revealed : That was quick, followed by a public spanking of Constantin and Mayor Reed.

Tonight San Jose’s city council will decide whether to back the guy with limited punctuation skills!!!! Or, library proponents, Books Not Filters. For all your (unfiltered) viewing pleasure…

• The Spartan Daily revisits the redux of the decade old proposal. With millions of visitors and internet sessions were the handful of complaints worth all the hoopla?
• A Watch Dog tipster sent the message Pegram had his army storming city hall, much to the dismay of the folks on the 18th floor. (Thanks, tipster, if you see them today shoot Watch Dog a note)
• Watch Dog shares Exclamation Points from the Loudest Filter Screamer, the Rovian Larry Pegram!!! Exclamation point count: 5.
• A pissed off library patron shared Pegram’s (not so) well designed flyer. Exclamation point count: 8.
• Pegram sends email with dire warnings. Exclamation point count: 5.
• The Merc Editorial Board appears bored with the ongoing BFF Pegram/Constant drama.
• Newsweek takes a shot at Pegram with the End of Christian America.
  Watch Dog spies at city hall, keep us informed…
  

If you live in Mountain View, well, you probably can’t afford it, or anywhere else in Silicon Valley. The Environmental Planning Commission hears the grim news this week. Mountain View planner Scott Plambaeck was philosophical saying “yeah, housing’s expensive here.”

Morgan Hill’s Measure A advocates are leaving nothing to chance. They’ve got their own blogging and mixers with movers and shakers, including Mayor Steve Tate and former Mayors John Varela and Dennis Kennedy. Without any organized opposition the measure depends on voters optimism about the future.

A few of Gilroy’s finest received raises over 30% in the last few years. Councilmember Craig Gartman is getting pissed at slow disclosure from city administration and wonders if he should keep turning over rocks or ignore them. This is one case where ignorance is not bliss…

Yesterday’s 420 was largely ignored by the local press but Watch Dog bets the Beer Tax will get pot brewing. Assemblymember Jim Beall is hoping the second time around will help to fill the state’s empty coffers. Prepare for marches from pissed off grape stompers and hops swillers…

Los Gatos town council is proposing more new and higher fees to help raise funds. You know that safe where you hide your guns to protect you from thieves, count on it costing you…. Mayor Wasserman wants to charge for false alarms and you might end up paying more for using that park.

Open space in Mountain View is about to become a Summerhill Homes construction zone. The Los Altos NIMBY’s are getting support from Los Altos councilmember David Casas who says “I will be encouraging the neighborhood ... to vocalize and coordinate their activities to make sure that their interests (are represented).”

Julie Packard, yes, that Packard, was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.20.09: Porn on 420...a perfect day?

Where to begin today's Round-Up? That is the question. Let's go with porn...

If you missed it, a pissed-off library patron shot Watch Dog a copy of a flier that "Values" Advocacy Council folks were handing out San Jose libraries this weekend. Please notice that none of these folks bothered to enter the library and take a look through the Chicago Manual of Style...or an 8th Grade English text book.

While we are on it, the Merc’s Editorial Board chimes in on Internet filters and advocates common sense and spending money where it helps over fear-mongering. “The long-expected showdown over censorship at San Jose's public libraries has fizzled into a squabble over money. And that is a very good thing.” Watch Dog will have more on this subject as today (and tomorrow) roll on.

Now, onto the San Jose and another controversy about police and police oversight...not as sexy as pornography, but...

The new Independent Police Auditor may have a tiny conflict of interest. Ok, probably a bit larger than tiny. It seems seems Chris Constantin’s brother is a San Jose homicide detective. Mayor Chuck Reed and the City Council were aware but no one bothered to mention it during the press roll-out. (Check out the Mayor's press release here. See if you can find mention of Chris Constantin's brother...) Downtown Association President Scott Knies called for Constantin’s resignation. San Jose Revealed offered up the news as well…

District Attorney Dolores Carr has yet another prosecutorial mishap on her hands. This time David Tomkin’s identified his status as prosecutor in a letter to the Santa Cruz Planning Commission. The husband and wife duo of Cheryl and Thad Poland called it inappropriate and so does the State Bar code.

In an obvious sign that there are a lot of folks who are willing to work for free and do tedious work...San Jose Revealed has a new Friday feature – “Next Week’s Agenda.” This week Revealed is excited to see:

• Retiree Healthcare
• Porn-For-All
• No Free Parks
• Drunk Latino Task Force Squabbles
• Who Hangs in Downtown San Jose

Retired San Jose firefighter James Carter collected a cool quarter million for unused sick days. Apparently not getting his talking points from Jack Salois, even Mr. Carter thinks it was over the top. When told the amount he’d collected a surprised “Holy Cow” popped out of his mouth.

Baseball neighborhood NIMBY’s get their Easter cocktails at Patty’s Inn with Baseball San Jose fans according to bartender Ken Tonelli. Neighbor Bobby Menbari is worried about drunk baseball fans ambling through the neighborhood. Neighborhood President Helen Chapman says the new ballpark should be built “…really, really well.” As opposed to what, Ms. Chapman?

Roll out the bike – it’s a Spare the Air Day – no free transit though on this record breaking hot day.

San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio confesses that, although a San Jose native, safety concerns kept him out of East San Jose. The Campos combo of Councilmember Nora Campos and Planning Commissioner Xavier Campos took Oliverio touring to dispel his childhood bias. It must have worked, Oliverio becomes a pitchman for Council wannabe Xavier Campos.

The Metro/Inside Fly got a giggle when Council candidate Pam Foley received a plug (and dinner) from San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Pat Dando. The irony is, Foley’s opponent in the race, Ball Gag’s Chief of Staff Jim Cogan, once worked for Dando. Cogan was a no show at the Chamber event. The following night Foley was the guest of Silicon Valley Assemblyman Jim Beall at the annual Santa Clara County Democratic Party dinner. Watch Dog spies tell us Cogan did make the Democratic Dinner which featured Gubernatorial wannabes John Garamendi and Gavin Newsom.

Speaking of Pat Dando..."Run, Patsy, Run!" Is the word from the Merc’s Internal Affairs about Chamber CEO Pat Dando’s toying with a shot at County Supervisor next year. Dando says she’s interested in balancing the views on the Board, not that she’s politically ambitious. Good thing the political reporters at the Merc. read the Metro a few weeks ago or they would have missed this one...

The Merc’s Joe Rodriguez shares the life of San Jose’s Yosimar Reyes and asks “Poor, brown and gay: Poetry makes his day, but does it pay?” MACLA leader Tamara Alvarado said slam poets tend to fade quickly but “Yosi” is a natural writer. With friends like Carlos Santana and Harry Belafonte, the poet is headed for good rhythms.

Internal Affairs also reports a squabble is brewing between GOP gubernatorial wannabe/neighbors Meg Whitman and Steve Poizner. Poizner is calling Whitman’s handling of eBay finances “disastrous. Easy for Poizner to say, he sold his company at the peak of the original tech boom and didn't have to manage it through any busts...

Finally, Internal Affairs calls out San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed for “stupidest statement of the year.” His Mayoralness apparently thinks Silicon Valley families earning $250,000 can’t buy a house and created the up and coming “upper working class.” Really, Chuck?