In case you missed it yesterday, Watch Dog noted that the recent bad weather had the effect of sprouting some new grassroots efforts: Baseball San Jose (to promote baseball) and Books Not Filters (to fight the so-called Values Advocacy Council and Ball Gag)...
It isn't just a grassroots baseball effort however. Former Mayoral candidate Michael Mulcahy, Councilmembers Liccardo, Oliverio, and Kalra, and others seem to be in a planning mode as well...Are downtown pieces (finally!) all coming together? These folks think so...(FYI: The A's tied (?) the Brewers yesterday 3-3.)
One of the overlooked, but beloved, pieces of a complete downtown San Jose, is the Sainte Claire News Stand. They are reopened next to Cafe Trieste and are having a grand opening party tomorrow night...the owners are perhaps the nicest people in Silicon Valley.
If you murder someone in the UK and want to get out of dodge and never be found again, apparently San Jose is not the place you want to go to...Jaswinder Singh Rana found that out yesterday.
A Gilroy High School teacher was arrested for sexual assault of a 14 year old who was not his student. The teacher met the girl on Tagged.com -- a social networking site. (The brain trust of Constant/Pegram must be working overtime to try to figure out how to make political hay out of this...insert your own brain/Constant/Pegram joke here _________)
Here is something new to Watch Dog -- the Saratoga City Council is adding a fee to the garbage rates in order to pay for road repairs...interesting concept. Perhaps they should also put up tolls for the thousands of massive SUVs that cruise Saratoga's tiny streets...
Just as San Jose is changing the way Police interact with downtown nightclub/bar goers -- Campbell (the party capital of Silicon Valley?) is changing their rules about downtown (drinking) festivals too...
The National Cheerleading Competition is a big deal to some folks -- including a group of students from Morgan Hill's Sobrato High School. But these (devastated) students won't be able to go because their coach turned in the paperwork 2 weeks late. Watch Dog is certain there is a an After School Special-type lesson in this story somewhere about being on time...
Surprise, surprise. A city-wide fiber optic network built by the City of Palo Alto is not likely to happen -- it seems -- after a decade of hoping and wishing and studying. It turns out it is expensive to build and maintain such things...really? (Joint Venture Silicon Valley Network figured out the same thing about a County-wide wireless network and apparently gave up on that effort...)
Or, perhaps it isn't the money, but the fact that Palo Alto-based utility-type things sometimes seem to be (perhaps) corrupt. The Palo Alto Utilities Department is being investigated by the US Department of Transportation for conspiracy to alter records...
And from the part of the media landscape that isn't imploding (blogs)...
Revealed gives the blow-by-blow of Tuesday night's Council meeting -- which, as always, is a pretty compelling read. Revealed has often pointed out racially insensitive remarks that sometimes appear in the "Comments" section of San Jose Inside -- but I guess when Revealed makes fun of Italian-Americans, that's ok. Not to sound too much like Dale Warner, but...
Erin Sherbert at the Metro/Inside digs a little (well, a lot) deeper into San Jose's Vietnamese community describing the competing business interests of the Yes on Recall and No on Recall folks. Surprise, surprise...one Vietnamese business owner has a strip mall called Little Saigon and another has one called Vietnam Town...
Finally, we never got around to talking about Mission City Lantern's love affair with Watch Dog. Thank you, James. We appreciate your kind words and we feel the love -- but Herb Caen we are not.
Showing posts with label sherbert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sherbert. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Morning News Round-Up – 1.28.09: Are you shovel-ready?
County Supervisor Liz Kniss created a list of 32 “shovel-ready” projects that the County will use to ask for Federal dollars from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The Supe’s list comes to $174 million, a fraction of the $1.6 billion San Jose’s Mayor Chuck is asking for. Reed has requested for 50 projects. As the Merc. points out Reed’s request represents “a good chuck of the City’s total…” A little Freudian slip with your coffee? As the Metro pointed out, Chuck doesn't really play an active role in politics outside of San Jose -- which may or may not help his chances at Federal cash...
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber CEO Pat Dando left San Jose’s City Hall pissed yesterday saying, “this is policy run amok,” after the City Council voted to review a 12 year old policy on outsourcing City jobs. Ever chipper, Councilmember Nancy Pyle said, “If the current policy isn’t working, we need to find out why.” Perhaps because every discussion at the City Council takes 4 hours?...
Symantec CEO John Thompson will/may be heading to D.C. as President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, filling the last remaining seat in the Cabinet. Thompson had already announced his departure from Symantec to be replaced by Enrique Salem. (Watch Dog guesses that the talk of San Jose’s Congressman Mike Honda getting a new gig was Honda-hype...because he is still in Congress and no one is asking Honda to serve...)
The USGS released new maps detailing seismic safety along San Jose’s Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek, home to San Jose’s tech companies and new housing. For a bunch of scientists, the USGS provides some fun stuff for the non-geeks among us. For developers and homeowners, perhaps not so much fun as a warning on encroachment into the liquefaction zone. According to Mineta San Jose International Airport's David Vossbrink, the new construction meets current standards and the concrete runways are less vulnerable than a building. (This isn't Vossbrink's first time speaking for folks on shaky ground.)
Following a closed door meeting Tuesday, San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed and Bobby Lopez with the Police Officers Association (POA) emerged happy about a new contract. Lopez said, “We gave a little to get a lot… we felt it was important to increase salaries significantly.” Alex Gurza said it was cheaper to increase salaries by 5.5% than agree to the pension demands. Maybe the POA saw the billion dollar pension fund loss as a sign of the future. San Jose Inside/Metro’s Erin Sherbert has been following the deal the POA cut with Mayor Reed. POA’s Bobby Lopez is quoted as saying, “We didn’t want to be accused of being the greedy filthy cops that everyone thinks we are.” Was that the message Lopez was supposed to deliver?
Probably not. Watch Dog blames/commends Erin Sherbert for Lopez's off-message (but certainly not misquoted) quote. She has a way of making people say things they probably shouldn't. Remember when Shirakawa (jokingly) called himself a "corrupt lobbyist" in one of her stories?
San Jose Revealed has some fun coupling news of the Merc’s location within the liquefaction zone with their economic problems and shrinking size.
Cupertino’s City Council approved Shashi Corp’s request to build a high-end luxury hotel but not before arguing over the aesthetics of the proposed design. Shashi representatives were adamant about receiving approval on the revised design, approved by the Planning Commission who also argued the original didn’t appear to be “luxurious” enough. "If you're trying to put in a high-end hotel in Cupertino and it's going to be that big and massive, you might as well have something that makes people say,`Wow, that looks neat' rather than`Wow, that looks big,'" said Councilman Mark Santoro. Cupertino Watch Dogs, if you saw the plans please weigh in. This is not the first time folks in Cupertino have had controversy about a hotel and growth...
Sunnyvale’s Planning Commission will review development plans for housing for mostly low or extremely low-income seniors early February. The Commission issued concerns about density and a lack of open space. NIMBYs don't like less-wealthy people in their neighborhoods...expect a battle in Sunnyvale. Otto Lee is going to be pleased he missed this one...
Saratoga’s City Council will be hosting a community meeting to talk about the $4,700 use permit fee – if you’re interested the meeting is next week at City Hall. If you aren't...join the club.
Get your credit cards ready. The Boss is coming to town, in fact, he begins his world tour on April Fool’s day at the Shark Tank. Tickets on sale Monday. This should help the Mayor with some of those tax dollars...
Romeo and Juliet, a.k.a. James Palmerson and Roselyn Marshall, were found sleeping in grandpa’s car at a mall outside the Mile High City. Los Altos Sgt. John Korges says, “Thank god they’re safe. This was a happy ending.” (Happy ending Sgt.? They are teenagers...) Not too shabby for a 14 year old, over 1,000 miles, through the Sierra, the Wasatch, and into the Rockies. Rosylyn’s dad, Steven Marshall was surprised his mild daughter, “..would feel empowered enough to do something like this.”
San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber CEO Pat Dando left San Jose’s City Hall pissed yesterday saying, “this is policy run amok,” after the City Council voted to review a 12 year old policy on outsourcing City jobs. Ever chipper, Councilmember Nancy Pyle said, “If the current policy isn’t working, we need to find out why.” Perhaps because every discussion at the City Council takes 4 hours?...
Symantec CEO John Thompson will/may be heading to D.C. as President Obama’s Secretary of Commerce, filling the last remaining seat in the Cabinet. Thompson had already announced his departure from Symantec to be replaced by Enrique Salem. (Watch Dog guesses that the talk of San Jose’s Congressman Mike Honda getting a new gig was Honda-hype...because he is still in Congress and no one is asking Honda to serve...)
The USGS released new maps detailing seismic safety along San Jose’s Guadalupe River and Coyote Creek, home to San Jose’s tech companies and new housing. For a bunch of scientists, the USGS provides some fun stuff for the non-geeks among us. For developers and homeowners, perhaps not so much fun as a warning on encroachment into the liquefaction zone. According to Mineta San Jose International Airport's David Vossbrink, the new construction meets current standards and the concrete runways are less vulnerable than a building. (This isn't Vossbrink's first time speaking for folks on shaky ground.)
Following a closed door meeting Tuesday, San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed and Bobby Lopez with the Police Officers Association (POA) emerged happy about a new contract. Lopez said, “We gave a little to get a lot… we felt it was important to increase salaries significantly.” Alex Gurza said it was cheaper to increase salaries by 5.5% than agree to the pension demands. Maybe the POA saw the billion dollar pension fund loss as a sign of the future. San Jose Inside/Metro’s Erin Sherbert has been following the deal the POA cut with Mayor Reed. POA’s Bobby Lopez is quoted as saying, “We didn’t want to be accused of being the greedy filthy cops that everyone thinks we are.” Was that the message Lopez was supposed to deliver?
Probably not. Watch Dog blames/commends Erin Sherbert for Lopez's off-message (but certainly not misquoted) quote. She has a way of making people say things they probably shouldn't. Remember when Shirakawa (jokingly) called himself a "corrupt lobbyist" in one of her stories?
San Jose Revealed has some fun coupling news of the Merc’s location within the liquefaction zone with their economic problems and shrinking size.
Cupertino’s City Council approved Shashi Corp’s request to build a high-end luxury hotel but not before arguing over the aesthetics of the proposed design. Shashi representatives were adamant about receiving approval on the revised design, approved by the Planning Commission who also argued the original didn’t appear to be “luxurious” enough. "If you're trying to put in a high-end hotel in Cupertino and it's going to be that big and massive, you might as well have something that makes people say,`Wow, that looks neat' rather than`Wow, that looks big,'" said Councilman Mark Santoro. Cupertino Watch Dogs, if you saw the plans please weigh in. This is not the first time folks in Cupertino have had controversy about a hotel and growth...
Sunnyvale’s Planning Commission will review development plans for housing for mostly low or extremely low-income seniors early February. The Commission issued concerns about density and a lack of open space. NIMBYs don't like less-wealthy people in their neighborhoods...expect a battle in Sunnyvale. Otto Lee is going to be pleased he missed this one...
Saratoga’s City Council will be hosting a community meeting to talk about the $4,700 use permit fee – if you’re interested the meeting is next week at City Hall. If you aren't...join the club.
Get your credit cards ready. The Boss is coming to town, in fact, he begins his world tour on April Fool’s day at the Shark Tank. Tickets on sale Monday. This should help the Mayor with some of those tax dollars...
Romeo and Juliet, a.k.a. James Palmerson and Roselyn Marshall, were found sleeping in grandpa’s car at a mall outside the Mile High City. Los Altos Sgt. John Korges says, “Thank god they’re safe. This was a happy ending.” (Happy ending Sgt.? They are teenagers...) Not too shabby for a 14 year old, over 1,000 miles, through the Sierra, the Wasatch, and into the Rockies. Rosylyn’s dad, Steven Marshall was surprised his mild daughter, “..would feel empowered enough to do something like this.”
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Morning News Round-Up – 1.22.09: Bigots, Beignets, and BART...
The County’s lawyers are in trouble – again. (District Attorney Dolores Carr must keep a bottle of the good stuff ready for when the Merc. calls.) This time, Peter Waite has the dubious honor of being the first prosecutor to get spanked by the State Bar in 20 years. He pissed them off when he hid testimony in a murder trial. Oops. Waite said, "I've always agreed it was a screw-up and a mistake, and that the case would be done differently than nine years ago.'' DA Carr kept mum. The DA’s office is also awaiting results in Deputy DA Ben Fields prosecution. More recently, Carr’s office fessed up they withheld interviews of sexual assault victims and kept the doors of justice closed while investigating a police cover-up. Not so Law and Order-y, is it...
The Merc.’s Editorial board gives props to the Alum Rock Union Elementary School Board of Trustees. The Board has granted a 5 year extension to KIPP Heartwood Academy, a charter school with results. In the past, with golden parachute Superintendent Norma Martinez, charter schools were under attack. In a signal that children are more important than politics, Interim Superintendent Jose Manzo supported KIPP. Watch Dog note to Merc. Editors: her last name is not Rodriguez, unless you’ve heard about a recent name change that we missed.
In case Mountain View bigots haven’t heard – this is a "post racial" world. Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga, Mountain View’s first Asian-American female Mayor received a disturbing email, students lives were threatened, and a school sign was vandalized. Chamber CEO/Mesa de la Communidad Oscar Garcia has teamed up with failed City Council candidate/Human Rights Commissioner Alicia Crank to create “Not in Our Town,” to combat an increase in local hate crimes.
It isn’t bad enough that Steve Jobs is (maybe) fighting for his life, now the SEC is investigating when and how much Jobs and other high-ranking Apple folks knew about Jobs' health. Apparently the SEC is now on the ball -- as opposed to this...
Los Altans are celebrating now, they get to keep their precious, non-degradable/free plastic bags for groceries. The Los Altos City Council rejected joining a regional effort to charge impoverished Los Altos residents 25 cents per bag. Perhaps the local fashionistas were worried about losing the raw materials for creative/recycled ball gowns.
The Merc.’s Scott Herhold dedicates his space to the grieving family of Quy Tran, killed at a dangerous intersection by a hit-and-run driver over the weekend. Tran’s son Hung has generously (incredibly) said her killer is a good person and, “I think all his life, he'll live in suffering." This is not the first accident at Senter Road and Independence Drive, Herhold reports several seniors have been hit here where there is no crosswalk or traffic signal. No doubt San Jose’s Department of Transportation removed the crosswalk to make life safer for someone – clearly not pedestrians. Not the first time DOT has goofed, remember little Breanna Eck, DOT also thought a lack of crosswalks in her neighborhood was a good idea.
San Jose Revealed received a "tipster’s fax" with questions about McEnery's Peralta Action Plan. The "fax" asked if the 3% loan and the $400,000 developer fees being paid by McEnery is normal and/or appropriate. There’s also a rumor that Revealed was blocked from some/all City Hall computers. Perhaps Councilmember Pete Constant and Larry Pegram are to blame...
Metro/San Jose Inside’s news sleuth Erin Sherbert weighs in on San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s chances of getting Obama dollars (for BART and green-tech) because of his complete lack of support during the Prez’s race. (At least his lack of support for the guy who won...) In a break from Reed, Mayoral senior staff Jeff Janssen doesn’t share the Mayor’s optimism. If Obama dollars land in San Jose it’s more likely due to hard work by DiFi, Boxer, Lofgren and Honda – who all voted for and worked for Obama. Sherbert's story also gives a timeline of when the Mayor will be in D.C. -- the first trip is slated for late February/early March. Really? Because Watch Dog heard something about an economic recovery plan that will be done by Presidents' Day Congressional recess. Plus, these guys were in D.C. schmoozing this week while our Mayor was not...
Gilroy may not be getting Garlic Ta-ta’s but they do have beignets coming thanks to restaurateur/blues fan Dan Craig. Local developer Gary Walton will be opening a tapas and wine bar nearby. Craig said he wants a place for “mature” guests, “You know, a respectable place where you can see live music." He didn’t say “there’s no room for ta-ta’s near my beignets.” Watch Dog note to Chris Bone, you need to visit the Big Easy – it’s not “benet.”
The Merc.’s Editorial board gives props to the Alum Rock Union Elementary School Board of Trustees. The Board has granted a 5 year extension to KIPP Heartwood Academy, a charter school with results. In the past, with golden parachute Superintendent Norma Martinez, charter schools were under attack. In a signal that children are more important than politics, Interim Superintendent Jose Manzo supported KIPP. Watch Dog note to Merc. Editors: her last name is not Rodriguez, unless you’ve heard about a recent name change that we missed.
In case Mountain View bigots haven’t heard – this is a "post racial" world. Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga, Mountain View’s first Asian-American female Mayor received a disturbing email, students lives were threatened, and a school sign was vandalized. Chamber CEO/Mesa de la Communidad Oscar Garcia has teamed up with failed City Council candidate/Human Rights Commissioner Alicia Crank to create “Not in Our Town,” to combat an increase in local hate crimes.
It isn’t bad enough that Steve Jobs is (maybe) fighting for his life, now the SEC is investigating when and how much Jobs and other high-ranking Apple folks knew about Jobs' health. Apparently the SEC is now on the ball -- as opposed to this...
Los Altans are celebrating now, they get to keep their precious, non-degradable/free plastic bags for groceries. The Los Altos City Council rejected joining a regional effort to charge impoverished Los Altos residents 25 cents per bag. Perhaps the local fashionistas were worried about losing the raw materials for creative/recycled ball gowns.
The Merc.’s Scott Herhold dedicates his space to the grieving family of Quy Tran, killed at a dangerous intersection by a hit-and-run driver over the weekend. Tran’s son Hung has generously (incredibly) said her killer is a good person and, “I think all his life, he'll live in suffering." This is not the first accident at Senter Road and Independence Drive, Herhold reports several seniors have been hit here where there is no crosswalk or traffic signal. No doubt San Jose’s Department of Transportation removed the crosswalk to make life safer for someone – clearly not pedestrians. Not the first time DOT has goofed, remember little Breanna Eck, DOT also thought a lack of crosswalks in her neighborhood was a good idea.
San Jose Revealed received a "tipster’s fax" with questions about McEnery's Peralta Action Plan. The "fax" asked if the 3% loan and the $400,000 developer fees being paid by McEnery is normal and/or appropriate. There’s also a rumor that Revealed was blocked from some/all City Hall computers. Perhaps Councilmember Pete Constant and Larry Pegram are to blame...
Metro/San Jose Inside’s news sleuth Erin Sherbert weighs in on San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s chances of getting Obama dollars (for BART and green-tech) because of his complete lack of support during the Prez’s race. (At least his lack of support for the guy who won...) In a break from Reed, Mayoral senior staff Jeff Janssen doesn’t share the Mayor’s optimism. If Obama dollars land in San Jose it’s more likely due to hard work by DiFi, Boxer, Lofgren and Honda – who all voted for and worked for Obama. Sherbert's story also gives a timeline of when the Mayor will be in D.C. -- the first trip is slated for late February/early March. Really? Because Watch Dog heard something about an economic recovery plan that will be done by Presidents' Day Congressional recess. Plus, these guys were in D.C. schmoozing this week while our Mayor was not...
Gilroy may not be getting Garlic Ta-ta’s but they do have beignets coming thanks to restaurateur/blues fan Dan Craig. Local developer Gary Walton will be opening a tapas and wine bar nearby. Craig said he wants a place for “mature” guests, “You know, a respectable place where you can see live music." He didn’t say “there’s no room for ta-ta’s near my beignets.” Watch Dog note to Chris Bone, you need to visit the Big Easy – it’s not “benet.”
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Metro versus Merc: Yesterday's Coverage...
In the news business, speed is important. Reporters, Editors, and newspapers fall all over themselves to be first with a scoop...
Yesterday, sad news broke about about Councilmember Judy Chirco and her being diagnosed with breast cancer. Our best wishes go out to her, her family, and her staff.
But the news roll-out of this story was interesting to watch unfold yesterday:
Woolfolk has an office in City Hall, has all the sources in the world in City Hall, and works for the local "paper of record." He got scooped by an hour and a half on this story...that's pretty weak.
Sherbert works for the Metro outside of City Hall and some folks inside City Hall won't even talk to the Metro. Her scooping Woolfolk is pretty cool.
Is this just another sign of the Mercury News' downfall? Or perhaps is Woolfolk at fault? We know how Revealed feels about him...
Or perhaps the Weekly + Blog model just opens up new scoops for the Metro/Inside family of publications...
Again, this is not to undermine the seriousness of Chirco's health -- rather, a summary of the news surrounding the news...
Yesterday, sad news broke about about Councilmember Judy Chirco and her being diagnosed with breast cancer. Our best wishes go out to her, her family, and her staff.
But the news roll-out of this story was interesting to watch unfold yesterday:
4:19 p.m.
Erin Sherbert with the Metro posts the story on San Jose Inside
5:47 p.m.
John Woolfolk with the Mercury News posts the story on the Mercury News website
Woolfolk has an office in City Hall, has all the sources in the world in City Hall, and works for the local "paper of record." He got scooped by an hour and a half on this story...that's pretty weak.
Sherbert works for the Metro outside of City Hall and some folks inside City Hall won't even talk to the Metro. Her scooping Woolfolk is pretty cool.
Is this just another sign of the Mercury News' downfall? Or perhaps is Woolfolk at fault? We know how Revealed feels about him...
Or perhaps the Weekly + Blog model just opens up new scoops for the Metro/Inside family of publications...
Again, this is not to undermine the seriousness of Chirco's health -- rather, a summary of the news surrounding the news...
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