Morning News Round-Up -- 8.10.09: A day without Dolores Carr...

A day without Dolores Carr news is like a San Jose day without (politically damaged and ethically challenged) sunshine...

Gilroy Councilmember Craig Gartman’s wrangling with opponents over Gilroy’s Memorial Day Parade financial records has landed him in the sights of District Attorney Dolores Carr.

The District Attorney hoped to take the nearly $2 million contract away from FACES to create a “more efficient” victim support agency. It looks like the Supervisors don’t agree with Carr’s “baffling” argument... this year.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold says that even though the District Attorney’s “series of blunders” has “wounded” her, it’s doubtful a serious opponent will challenge her re-election. That doesn't stop Herhold from dishing about who might be on the anti-Carr list: Deputy DA/former Mayoral candidate David Pandori, Deputy DA/former La Raza President Chris Arriola, San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo, and Deputy DA Jeff Rosen.

To other news...

It looks like there may be 10 contestants for Palo Alto’s 5 City Council seats. Sole incumbent Larry Klein no doubt hopes he’ll be heard through the fray. Further south, Mark Santoro, elected to replace Patrick Kwok in 2008, isn’t waiting until his term is up in 2009 and has tossed his hat in the ring for one of Cupertino’s open seats.

Ted Scarlett lost in his bid to replace Forest Williams as a San Jose Councilmember, then he fouled up on campaign disclosures. More than a year later he faces fines for poor reporting…

Santa Clara County’s juvenile “boot camp” is now a homey ranch that Barry Krisberg, President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, hopes will no longer be a “conveyor belt to prison.”

The Merc’s Internal Affairs had some fun last week rounding up these juicy bits…

• Someone at San Jose City Hall reads Watch Dog… Deputy Finance Director Walter Rossmann announced fired Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s underwater condo is up for rent.
• San Jose City Council’s do-over vote for a library landed winners and losers, apparently. Managing to straddle the fence Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Rose Herrera with a little success and a little flop.
• District Attorney Dolores Carr reports hubby John’s only problem was security consultant for Vahid Hosseini’s family. Meanwhile, Judge Kenneth Shapero ordered Carr’s office to handover hundreds of page of paperwork to the defense. This story isn't going away... for proof, see the top three stories of today's Round-Up.
• Those fun-filled Jerry Springer Town Hall meetings taking place across the nation as Congressmembers return home won’t be seen in Silicon Valley. Congressmembers Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren are holding telephone Town Halls and Eshoo will be at a high-speed rail meeting.

The Merc Editorial Board has joined the Tooth Fairy in support of fluoridating San Jose’s water. Senator Dianne Feinstein is also the focus of an Editorial Board commentary as they ask her to help Congressmembers Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren turn Mount Um into the Mount Tam of the South.

Happy Hollow Park wasn’t so happy Sunday night when a kid was shot, he’s in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell treads into dangerous territory comparing San Jose’s much beloved Cesar Chavez to (Pete Constant's friends) the Minutemen of Southern California.

For your governmental readership enjoyment…

• Sunnyvale City Council talks gas shutoff – for appliances, seriously.
• San Jose City Council considers adding sunshine to campaign finance and hears from the (neutered) Independent Police Auditor.
• San Jose’s Elections Commission ponders anonymous complaints, instant runoff voting, and (the above-mentioned) Ted Scarlett’s pesky filing problems.
• Santa Clara’s Parks and Recreation Commission review’s inventory and amenities at Brachler Park.
• The Mountain View-Los Altos School District looks at a school bond next June.
• The Los Gatos Union School District retreats to review goals and strategize.
• Beleagured/tiny Luther Burbank School District considers (again) their response to grand jury reports and ponders the budget.
• Santa Clara County Office of Education Trustees look at adding Federal Stimulus bucks to the budget.
• Alum Rock Union School District looks at after school programs along with speech and language.
• The Campbell Union School District considers studying a general obligation bond and gets an update to the State budget.

Morning News Round-Up – 2.27.09: Guess the Connection Edition...

Story 1: San Jose Councilmembers Nora Campos, Rose Herrera, and Nancy Pyle want in on baseball too. Watch Dog wants to know: Is there a Memo that Rose Herrera has not signed on to since she was sworn in? Competition policy. Crossing guards. Baseball...even her press-darling colleagues Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo sometimes take a break. As of press time, none of the Campos/Herrera/Pyle crew had joined the growing grassroots Facebook group, however. (Ash Kalra and Pete Constant have.)

Story 2: Also feeling his athletic best, Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr. put his lobbying experience to good use in hopes to snatch the San Francisco 49ers away from Santa Clara and put them at the County Fairgrounds. Shirakawa, Jr. met with Niner's CFO Larry MacNeil and Vice President of Communications Lisa Lang to lobby for the switch. The County’s 4-H President Murlin Lee pointed out that he’s not surprised a new new idea is in the mix, noting that Supervisors contemplated a concert hall on the site for 7 years before that ill-advised plan fell apart. Is this just a way to for the 49ers to pressure Santa Clara?

Story 3: "Technically, it's not legal..." said Ben Tan, Chief Financial Officer of the Mexican American Community Services Agency, parent to Gilroy’s only charter school El Portal's Leadership Academy. It seems MACSA skimmed $400,000 from El Portal teachers and Gilroy City Employee Retirement Funds. The “technically illegal” problem was uncovered by a teacher who tried to access his retirement funds. "It has yet to be determined if El Portal is financially or academically sound," Gilroy Superintendent Deborah Flores said. MACSA also runs Academia Calmecac in San Jose, where the organization owes staff nearly $250,000, Tan said. Add to the financial misery (and mystery), the school’s test scores plunged 66 points last year.

There is an interesting connection between the first three Round-Up stories today. Can anyone guess why the third story could cause political problems for folks in all three stories?

A disgusting 1.3 million gallons of raw sewage and storm water spilled into the San Francisco Bay in recent weeks. And those were from the big spills we heard about. "It's like living in a situation sort of like a Third World country, where there's poor sanitary management..." said Sejal Choksi of the environmental group San Francisco Baykeeper. There is a (very expensive) plan to fix up San Jose's water treatment facility before it is too late...

We Hate High-Speed Rail Story #101: Folks at last night's High-Speed Rail meeting in Palo Alto demanded tunnels, which may work in theory but probably not in practice. Doing his best school-yard bully impression, Palo Alto Vice Mayor Jack Morton threatened to sue the California High Speed Rail Authority if they don't listen to him...the rumor is not true that Morton also challenged Rod Diridon, Sr. to a duel after the meeting...

And with ironic timing, the California Avenue Caltrain station upgrade is complete and was celebrated by Palo Alto officials and the community alike...To review Palo Alto's position: Slow Train = good, Fast Train = bad...

Save the cheerleader, save the world…Morgan Hill’s Sobrato High School cheerleaders and parents stormed the (Bastille) School Board yesterday and demanded the kids be allowed to head south for the National Cheerleading Competition. (Remember, this was the story where the coach forgot to send the registration in on time...O...M...G...!) District officials complied!!! The team is going!!! Awesome!!!! F**king Awesome!!!

(Pissed off) Former Spansion employees found out their dismissal enabled company executive’s to give themselves a 10% pay raise. These would be the same executives who have driven stock prices down to a record low 5 cents/share. There are two lawsuits in the works to get to the bottom of the shenanigans at Spansion. One of the legal beagle’s, Ken Sugarman, said "Right now I just think that's a very unsavory aspect of it."

There’s a bright spot over at Valley Medical Center. A little boy who was run over walking to school with his Dad is now breathing on his own. Medical costs are mounting however. Find out how to help.

San Jose Revealed provides the results of their State of San Jose (Revealed) survey. Liccardo does well, Constant doesn't. The City Budget is a mess and folks agree that arts are important. Oh, and some folks read both Revealed and Watch Dog. Thank you. I read both too...

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 -- 2.12.09: The electric car hum you hear is Tesla (officially?) leaving town...

Well, there was a good news/bad news Tesla story yesterday which we wrote and commented on. The good news is that the San Carlos-based electric car manufacturer is getting a huge $350 Federal loan to build a manufacturing facility. The bad news is that in early February the New Mexico Business Weekly reported that the company was in "late stage" negotiations to move the (previously slated for San Jose) manufacturing plant there...

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is probably not distressed at the unwanted back-to-back cross-country flights to D.C. after all. While there with 5 other California Mayors he saw the Senate and House approve the $789 billion stimulus plan. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer promised the bill would be friendly to urban areas and get some highway funding immediately in the works. Reed said, "We'll all be coming back on the parochial stuff." Don't sound so excited about it Mayor Reed...(Reed + Stimulus = Strange Bedfellows in a Sentence)

San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly was there (or at least a former reporter was) to see SF Mayor/Gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom’s introduction by Mayor Chuck Reed before Reed dashed off to D.C. (for a photo op?) The Chronicle got in on the Newsom/San Jose action too...

San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera apparently got cold feet on the Constant-Oliverio bandwagon and yesterday suggested the tobacco money/crossing guard discussion could wait for the larger budget discussion. Again missing a quorum, the Rules Committee (Pete Constant) was unable to push the item forward to Council.

Archbishop Mitty High’s Assistant Soccer Coach/Santa Clara Sporting Coach Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. is accused of molesting two young teenage girls during his volunteer days. Mitty Principal Tim Brosnan put Sanchez on administrative leave (and let parents know after the Merc. published a story). Santa Clara Police Lt. Phil Cooke asks anyone with info to call (408) 615-4826 and notes they are also looking for additional victims.

There will be one less Deputy District Attorney to prosecute the Coach, however. That's because Judge Pat McElroy with the State Bar wants Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Ben Field stripped of his right to practice law for 4 years saying Field "abused his prosecutorial power,'' in his unethical approach to putting sexual predators behind bars. District Attorney Dolores Carr wants to read the 67 page ruling before talking about the case. Field was putting away some pretty horrible people...he just couldn't the rules apparently.

And...

Gilroy Magazine founder Sunny Pappu Kavil was facing charges of child molestation, assault, and sexual battery before Monterey County DA Glenn Pesenhofer said there wasn’t enough evidence. Kavil’s Bishop, Ben Griffin, helped ensure Kavil was innocent saying, "I have interviewed (Kavil) for his honesty, keeping the Ten Commandments and I can swear that he can be trusted for what he says.” Because the Church does such a good job of preventing sexual assault.

Between Santa Clara County’s (sometimes) overzealous prosecution of sex offenders and Monterey’s lack of prosecution, it would appear victims may need to videotape their rapists to see them behind bars.

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board declared 26 areas “trash-impaired” and in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Last year, volunteers pulled 125 tons of garbage out of local creeks, including 15,000 plastic bags. David Lewis with Save the Bay said "… actions have not been taken to reduce the trash, so there have to be tougher regulations." San Jose Environmental Services Deputy Director, Melody Tovar, said "We recognize that trash in our creeks is a significant and complex problem. And we understand that it affects the vibrancy of our City's creeks. But we're concerned about the expense." So, save your town some money – pick it up and make sure it gets to the recycle or garbage bin. No word from the American Chemistry Council's local lobbyist...

San Jose Police are back in the news with another Taser death. A man in his 20’s died yesterday after having been Tasered when officers were trying to take him into custody. This isn’t the first Taser-related death in San Jose and it’s likely to add to the mounting legal costs of this non-lethal (?) tool. Officer Enrique Garcia said the man, who was in an Eastside backyard, “resisted and got into a violent struggle with our officers.”

The Merc.’s Editorial Board says San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen behaved foolishly during the Little Saigon uproar but that is not enough reason to recall her. The Merc. wants you to vote no on the recall calling it an act of vengeance and suggests a healthy challenge in next year’s election would be the grown-up response. Unforunately, grown-up responses haven't been the norm in this fiasco...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.2.09: Groundhog Day Edition...

The most interesting story in a while was in the Merc. this weekend about Mayor Reed's friend/advisor/confidant Vic Ajlouny. Tax Assessor Larry Stone calls the relationship odd and says, "Vic's style is kind of slash and burn, and it is very peculiar that Chuck continues to rely on him for political advice." Among Ajlouny's exploits, a failed attempt to fill Reed’s City Council seat with (less-than-qualified) Hon Lien. The real question is, why is this story with a byline from Josh Molina coming out now? Molina has been gone for a long, long time...

The Merc’s Scott Herhold picks his top 10 powerbrokers in San Jose... Herhold’s unsurprising list includes Bob Brownstein, Pat Dando, Chuck Davidson, Carl Guardino, Zoe Lofgren, Bobby Lopez, Tom McEnery, Chuck Reed, Bert Robinson, and Barry Swenson. He also includes the next 15 folks and a group of folks under 40...Watch Dog will revisit this list later today or tomorrow with some additional analysis...

The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, not to be left out, is hosting a luncheon for 100 Women of Influence in March and is also seeking your thoughts on the top 40 Under 40...

They may not know how to party, but San Jose’s Drunk Task Force does know how to attack. While sending Councilmember Nora Campos to Sacramento to urge Speaker Karen Bass to change laws about drunk arrests, the Task Force urged a 6 month moratorium on the arrests in San Jose and put a host of options on the table. Latino Forum’s Pete Carrillo, a master of understatement, said "I believe there is a credibility and trust issue between the SJPD, the city administration and the city at large.''

The Tesla news keeps coming, Tesla spokeswoman Rachel Konrad said the company couldn’t raise $100 million in venture funding to make the move to San Jose and that, "It's not exactly clear when, if ever, the headquarters will leave San Carlos." So, it’ll be interesting to see what sites the Mayor’s spokeswoman, Michelle McGurk, means when she says "Our team is working aggressively to find a site that meets these new priorities here in San Jose."

Santa Clara County’s head lawyer Ann Ravel is gunning for the County’s top dog seat... Acting County Executive Gary Graves was hoping to get “acting” removed from the title and may have been surprised to hear who the competition was to replace Pete Kutras. This will be an interesting play with the new Board of Supervisors...perhaps Supervisor Shirakawa would like the job to go to Eddie Garcia?

The Merc’s Editorial Board weighs in on the recent negotiations between San Jose City Council and the Police Officers Association. Lots of numbers get tossed around but the bottom line is, don’t hand out any raises for the next contract negotiation.

Last year, San Jose’s Councilmember Nancy Pyle wanted to make it easier to bring on volunteer crossing guards, her colleagues didn’t share her spirit of volunteerism. This year, colleagues Pete Constant, Pierluigi Oliverio, and Rose Herrera want to take funds supporting dozens of non-profits to hire more crossing guards. Pyle said, "I just really think we need to do a fair process here." What’s really surprising here is the switch by Herrera, last week supporting her labor-backed friends when discussing the competition policy and this week supporting Council contrarians Constant and Oliverio.

Los Gatos Mayor Mike Wasserman will give his State of the Town speech at tonight’s City Council meeting. On deck, a look back to his previous Mayoral incarnations and a look forward at belt tightening.

In Cupertino, Mayor Orrin Mahoney will give his State of the City at a lunch meeting Wednesday. Mahoney is proud of the City’s low crime rate and says, "Basically, things are stable or have decreased. The only area that has increased is auto burglary." Mahoney will be arguing a refrain heard around the Valley -- people and employers choose places that have something to offer...

Morning News Round-Up – 01.16.09: Inaugration Weekend Edition...

The Drunk Task Force met for the first time last night, sans liquid refreshments. Silicon Valley Democratic Latino Forum’s Pete Carrillo said there might be a reason 57% of those arrested might be Latino, “But, I haven’t heard it.” Chief Rob Davis defended the practice as a way to keep drunks from committing more crimes. Accusations of arresting large numbers of the (un)drunk, not bothering with breathalyzers, and not having a sobering station have led members of the Task Force to ask for an audit. Perhaps the fired "Independent" Police Auditor would do such things if she didn't have to clean out her desk. The Davis Defense last night appears to signal combative days ahead -- and perhaps for the next 6 months...

New San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera has barely started her job and already grumpy constituents are feeding stories to local blogs. According to the author on San Jose Revealed, Herrera is talking big at the District 8 Community Roundtable about bulldozing the Village Square unless her 18th floor colleagues get busy sending jobs her way.

Moffett's Hangar One might be recovered after all…NASA Ames Deputy Director Lew Braxton reported only hours after the Navy talked of skinning Hangar One. There are two prospective clients who could share the cost of rehab. The future house-guest – an airship of course.

Watch Dog is happy to report that among its many readers is….The Fly from Metro and San Jose Inside – or so it would seem with Inside's posting today “Ta-tas in Garlicville.” Inside pulled a quote from Gilroy Dispatch letter writer James Fennell that Garlic Ta-Ta’s would allow local girls to show their wares.

Gilroy voters passed Measure P last year – this will allow for a more than $173 million investment in area schools over the next ten years. In the works are upgrades and additions for existing schools, still under discussion is the possibility of a new school...

It’s the first thing you hear when meeting friends/coworkers: Are you going? Today the Merc. provides a short list of Silicon Valley’s contribution to the growing crowds in D.C.. Tony Alexander, a local labor political director, still doesn’t have enough tickets for the numerous balls – Watch Dog tip, call Phaedra. Dr. Norman Banks was invited by former patient Prof. Paula Messina – and will be covering a bet made years ago with an old friend. From the Redwood Middle School to the heads of Symantec, eBay, Oracle, and Google everyone who could get a ticket will be heading East soon.

In case you missed it, check out Watch Dog's coverage of Tesla packing up their San Jose tent...

Morning News Round-Up – 1.12.09: Manny Diaz for Secretary of Commerce?

Watch Dog San Mateo was way ahead of the City of San Jose in sniffing out recycling pilferers...But San Jose wants you on the hunt as well. San Jose leaders plan to stop would-be thieves from stealing recycling/money from the pros by asking you to turn in scavengers. Add this to your list of things the City wants you to patrol for. The list now includes watching to see if your neighbors are lighting a winter fire or an any other way are violating City codes. Perhaps we should all ask Mayor for a pay increase. Or at least a bonus to our pensions...

East Side Union High School District appointed Eddie Garcia for his second (unelected) stint on the Board. This is not a surprise -- it was a done deal a long time ago. What is surprising is the appointment was unanimously supported. Trustee Frank Biehl had originally supported Barbara Boone but gave in when three of his colleagues indicated support for Garcia. (Frank Biehl...a profile in courage...) Garcia faces yet another election in 2010, if he loses that one who will be there to get him re-appointed? Don't worry about Mr. Garcia though, he has landed a plum job as Supervisor George Shirakawa's Chief of Staff at the County. (Care to guess what a Chief of Staff at the County makes?) So, Garcia has Shirakawa to thank for this paycheck and his unelected political office -- the George and Eddie Show continues...

San Jose’s City Council will discuss a dollar for dollar match of Redevelopment funds with money from area hotels hoping to cash in on an expansive new convention center. With a little luck, the famously ugly blue tent will disappear along with the old library. The first City Council meeting of the year will also welcome newcomers Ash Kalra and Rose Herrera. Planning Commission Chair Jim Zito says of his former colleague "[Kalra] was well-informed, diligent, and did his research well." Zito's nice words about Kalra come in pretty stark contrast to the stories about Herrera in the past few weeks: first she hires then fires a staffer, then she puts the (apparent) kibosh on her former opponent's dream of becoming a Planning Commissioner...it sounds like she'll fit in fine on the 18th floor...

The Merc’s Internal Affairs heard from former Congressman Tom Campbell – coming clean to say, yep, he’s considering a run for the Guv’s seat. His two biggest challengers right now for the Republican nomination include eBay's Meg Whitman and Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner – along with their giant pocketbooks. Just some inside baseball stuff -- Meg Whitman leaked her possible run for Governor in an AP story that was covered State- and Nation-wide. Perhaps Campbell should think about a larger platform to make such announcements. Internal Affairs is widely read...but...

Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio may have been feeling a little saucy last week when he told the Merc. he would not be speaking with attorney James McManis about the McEnery as lobbyist saga and called the complaint a joke. McManis told the Merc.’s, “I don't think Pierluigi Whatever-his-name-is is serving the city by making cracks like that." McManis didn't go on to say, "...and his beard is weird..."

Internal Affairs also dishes on recommendations by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of prominent Latinos to fill the Cabinet shoes of embarrassed New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson when he had to withdraw his bid to be Obama’s Commerce Secretary. Among the locals nominated by LULAC is Hector Ruiz, whose claim to fame having been fired after driving AMD into the ground. IA was also a little mystified to see "Manny Diaz" listed until they realized it wasn’t San Jose’s own on again/off again politician/lobbyist.

Santa Clara University is celebrating the success of alumni Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano and former Congressman Leon Panetta (a.k.a. Leo McGarry) as President-elect Obama taps them to head to D.C. with the administration.

The Merc.’s Patty Fisher jumps into the political tug-of-war over Moffett Field's Hangar One. The Navy says preservationists can keep it – after they strip it bare of walls leaving only a giant exoskeleton behind. The new landlord, NASA, sent Deputy Director Lewis Braxton a note to say that unless the hangar was in use-able condition, NASA didn’t want any part of it – and that restoration was part of the deal. The costs are dizzying with $30 million to tear away the old siding and possibly $15 million to get something else installed. If only there was someone who had local knowledge of the issue, held an elective office, and had a connection to the Navy...

Violence is erupting around San Jose. A hostage situation in Councilmember Judy Chirco’s District ended late Sunday night without injuries. In Councilmember Kansen Chu’s North San Jose District, two people were stabbed at a mobile home park. Perhaps downtown is the safest place to be...with the number of arrests and all...

Around Silicon Valley, elected officials shake off the last vestiges’ of the holidays and begin the New Year with a vengeance. San Jose’s City Council will review the $1 billion dollar losses in pension funds, attempt to correct chronic deficits, and review a cost-benefit analysis for the Convention Center. Sounds like fun... New Supervisors Dave Cortese and George Shirakawa, Jr. take their seats for the first time and Liz Kniss takes the helm as Board Chair.

Tenet Healthcare, which is operating Community Hospital, has given Los Gatos residents until April 10 to use the hospital and emergency room. After that, the doors close until the new owner, El Camino Hospital moves in June 1. The Town's Mayor Mike Wasserman said of the temporary closing, "My concern is that the residents of Los Gatos know what's going on and where to go in an emergency." The El Camino Hospital District Board will meet Wednesday to talk about the acquisition, and perhaps an early opening?

Proving it’s never too late to give bad news, the Morgan Hill Times reported yesterday the Salvation Army was burglarized nearly two weeks before Christmas losing bicycles, food, and toys intended for needy families. Really? You are running a story a month late?

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.1.09: Feliz ano...

Watch Dog Silicon Valley salutes all who celebrated the New Year all the way to dawn, Watch Dog San Mateo offers this to help cure what ails you.

Incoming San Jose councilmember Rose Herrera is off to a curious start as reported by the Fly on SanJoseInside. Watch Dog will try to make some sense of it. Herrera promised Mark Tiernan the top dog seat in her office, then Tiernan told her he wouldn’t be available full-time until March. Herrera downgraded Tiernan to policy director and hired Jennifer Malutta as top dog. According to Fly Malutta wasn’t happy with the new Tiernan title and had Herrera give Tiernan the boot. Watch Dog note: Malutta’s claim to fame was as Deputy Chief of Staff to Ron Gonzales. A staffer on the 18th floor wondered “How do you go from being No. 1 to being let go the day before break?”

The quiet release of interesting news continues with Santa Clara county officials declaring a much improved process for delinquent kids in court. Watch Dog San Mateo last week highlighted the holidays as an ideal time to bury news. It was only this summer that the county was described as “one of the worst-performing" of 100 nationwide sites working on detention alternatives. Patricia Gardner, with the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, gives props to the courts saying "What great transparency for a court to give such a report."

(Un)Surprisingly, San Jose police officer Julio Morales denies any inappropriate touching of a young woman picked up in downtown San Jose. Police Watch Dogs, (San Jose dumped theirs) will be snooping around to see if the officer believed the 18 year old was involved in criminal activity and was armed at touch time.

It took a little over ten years from campaign promise to grand opening but Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves says the library opening in January is on time and on budget – built with funds approved in 2000. And that was with 3 terms as Mayor under his belt.

Before the festivities were underway a pedestrian was killed by a train in Mountain View, near Castro Street. 2008 saw 16 deaths on the tracks, 8 from suicide by CalTrain.

Sunnyvale Councilmember Otto Lee is off to do battle in Iraq, leaving behind a wife, two daughters and $182,000 in campaign debt. Lee wants friends to send money, not care packages, to recover from the expenses generated by his failed run for Supervisor.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold provides a list of resolutions he hopes others will make this year from living scandal free to kid-free political ads. Herhold doesn’t say what his own resolutions are, tomorrow?

SanJoseRevealed asks for your predictions on the biggest items in 2009, topping the list so far are Tom McEnery gets busted for lobbying boo-boos, the Vietnamese community gets pissed, and the Merc leaves town. Revealed’s parting photo for 2008 has Santa Clara city councilmember Kevin Moore (reportedly) dressed as Buckwheat getting cuddly with Fred Flintstone (Chuck Blair). Blair, with two failed attempts at Santa Clara city council, is (perhaps) more pre-historic character than he thinks.

MissionCityLantern closes the year with a backgrounder for their numerous international visitors. Rowen reports the blog is biting sarcasm engaged in “drive by shooting” wit and cynicism (with a typo we hope will be fixed), that may be rancid butter but at least is on “your side of the bread.”

And now Watch Dog is curling up in front of a roaring fire with a little hair of the dog… Wishing all a Happy New Year.