Morning News Round-Up -- 10.21.09: A John Denver Morning...

It was a busy day in San Jose.

• Continuing with sunshine songs: Sunshine on the Mayor's (and 5 others Councilmembers') shoulders did not make them happy... Sunshine, in their eyes, can make them cry... Mayor Reed complained they were asked to “sail into uncharted waters” while Mercury News Managing Editor/ Sunshine Task Force member Bert Robinson pointed to similar rules in other cities.
• Councilmembers made it easier to send (current) City jobs to private contractors (sort of).
• In 2011, San Jose candidates get to ask for more money from supporters, City Attorney Rick Doyle called the increases “…a need to be constitutional in our limits.”
• Fearing San Jose might lose its gambling revenue ($13.5 million), Councilmembers set about streamlining cardclub regulations.
• And, the City accepted a $200,000 spanking on behalf of firefighters who can’t keep their dirty magazines at home.
  

Senator Barbara Boxer took time out of the healthcare debate to pen an OpEd for the Merc on cleaning up Mt Umunhum. Boxer wants her Congressional colleagues to join her in cleaning Mt Um of decades old Air Force toxics to give Silicon Valley its own Mt Tam.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro issues an invite to join American Leadership Forum CEO Chris Block at the San Jose Rep for a provocative South African play and discussion on race.

A tragic case of domestic violence in Palo Alto led to the death of Jennifer Schipsi. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office hasn’t (yet) filed charges against Schipsi’s boyfriend/(alleged) killer Bulos Zumot.

Palo Alto’s City Council considers garbage-eating bugs to help get rid of compostables. The debate was characterized by Vice Mayor Jack Morton as taking an “impossible situation” and spinning – and we don’t think he means exercise. Morton accused colleagues of not being able to “face up to some realities.” Palo Alto is fun...

In Mountain View, bridges and a tunnel will help Googlers get to work by bike or Segway.

Adobe Founder’s John Warnock and Chuck Geschke made their way to Washington, D.C. for a little confab with the President. Warnock and Geschke were awarded the nation's highest honor for scientists, engineers, and inventors: the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo sends props to San Jose’s Downtown College Prep while questioning East Side Union High Schools rejection of DCP Alum Rock on a technicality…

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.19.09: Mayor Reed doesn't feel much like dancing...

The (apparent) Word of the Week in San Jose is Sunshine. And Mayor Chuck Reed is apparently joining in with Jonathan Edwards in singing, "Sunshine go away today, I don't feel much like dancing..." San Jose’s Sunshine Reform Task Force, created by Mayor Chuck Reed as a call for open government, saw its final recommendation for open Police records (apparently) squashed by the Mayor’s Rules Committee. Sunshine Chair/ Protect San Jose’s Ed Rast seemed unable to use his statistical prowess to convince his blogging-buddies that Sunshine was good. The Merc’s Editorial Board calls the Tuesday meeting a “major test of San Jose’s commitment to open government…” The Mayor's antagonists (unsurprisingly) on this issue are Councilmembers Ash Kalra, Nora Campos, and Kansen Chu, which Councilmember Sam Liccardo also coming down closer to the side opposite the Mayor. This should be interesting...

And if limiting Sunshine sounds like something Mayor Chuck Reed would be against (but seems to be for), then safeguarding gambling would certainly be something Mayor Reed would be against... right? Wrong. It's funny how $14 million a year to the General Fund can sway a Mayor's position...

A passionate San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen is what the Merc’s Scott Herhold misses in the tragic Police shooting of mentally ill Daniel Pham. Nguyen told Herhold she didn’t cede leadership to colleague Kansen Chu because she owes San Jose Police, but rather because the shooting happened in Chu's District. Hmmmm....

Keeping up with local elections, the Merc’s Editorial Board sends props to Cupertino Council candidates Mayor Orrin Mahoney, Housing Commissioner Mahesh Nihalani, and Recreation Commissioner Darcy Paul.

And while there are politics happening this month, the much more interesting stuff will happen next year... the Merc’s Internal Affairs calls Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen “the real McCoy” in Rosen’s efforts to oust District Attorney Dolores Carr after Rosen hired political consultant Leo Briones. IA also reports Supervisorial wannabe/ Mayor Mike Wasserman landed in (a little) hot water after posting photos of people not endorsing him.

Before the San Jose Flea Market closes the doors permanently, a festive 50th anniversary is planned according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Also celebrating a golden anniversary the American GI Forum with Damian Trujillo, dinner, and dancing. Perhaps even dancing WITH Damian Trujillo...

For all your governmental Watch Dog pleasure, the week to come…

• San Jose’s City Council keeps busy with discussions of outsourcing city employee jobs, more on campaign finance, gambling, and limiting (or expanding) Sunshine.
• The Santa Clara County Office of Education School Board considers charter schools and test results.
• The East Side Union High School District also focuses on sunshine with a solar project.
• The Cupertino High School plan is on the table for the Cupertino High School District.
• San Jose Unified School District gets the lowdown on (swine) flu shots and budget transfers.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.19.09: "I coulda been a contenda..."

San Jose Inside’s Fly and Watch Dog both received email from San Jose Council contender Pam Foley saying that she’s no longer a contender. Foley say that when a “thoughtful, ethical, and committed” leader does jump into the race she might endorse. Ouch… Fly anticipates Redevelopment staffer/ Cambrian School Board member/ Rose Herrera (interim) Chief of Staff and (very handsome man) Donald Rocha could leap in to fill the gap. Foley could have been the chief contender...



Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff wants those soccer fans to show their colors but doesn’t “...give a damn...” what the fans say about the Quakes losing streak. Wolff’s soccer fans (apparently) aren’t ready to cough up the $5 million in annual sponsorship (yet).

Watch Dog loves garbage, it’s nice to see the Merc’s Patty Fisher joining us in the garbage buzz. Fisher is desperately trying to recycle Styrofoam – seems no one wants the flammable, carcinogen containing petroleum product. Perhaps Manny Diaz (a.k.a. Mr. Chemistry Council) has a place for it...

An interesting note about San Jose construction projects, the (over) $9 million cost overrun on San Jose’s police substation is one of hundreds of projects exceeding cost projections. Hundreds?
That sounds like great planning. Bobby Lopez is going to be really pissed now...

San Jose “made a lot of progress,” according to Sunshine Task Force Chair Ed Rast, letting the sun shine on communications but in critical areas calls for “…maintenance of the status quo…” Translation, most of the stuff City Council will make public through City law, is already public. Next up for discussion, ths psky txt msgs. San Jose Inside follows the texting drama and fills us in that the library now takes text queries. That will be good news for lobbyists who want to use the library...

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo is looking forward to her Town Hall – sans healthcare. Eshoo has picked another thorny subject to keep constituents hopping – High Speed Rail. On the Peninsula, she may want to have a healthcare Town Hall...

The report card is in on California schools with the annual (dreaded) STAR report. Silicon Valley schools did slightly better than average. Morgan Hill and Gilroy are celebrating their “slight improvement.”

The least the nasty quagga and zebra mussels could do is make good eats. Instead, they’re a nasty pest keeping pissed off boaters cleaning, scrapping and out of Vasona Lake and Lexington Reservoir.

One step closer to a shared stadium? The 49ers and Oakland Raiders shared the scrimmage field for a work out for the second year.

San Jose (perv) dentist Benva Oshana Lazar keeps his dental practice going while Santa Clara County prosecutors look for more victims of Lazar’s special teeth cleaning/breast exams. If your teeth weren’t the only ones touched give San Jose Police Detective Dawn Marchetti a call at 408-277-4102.

The heat is on in San Jose this weekend. No, no one is calling out the City Council’s (mock) Sunshine. According to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro, it’s the time of year for Salsa to reign. Pizarro also dishes San Jose’s City Hall introduction to Bollywood has hit the big screen in Santa Clara.

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo “reluctantly” celebrates infusion of $2 million Federal stimulus bucks into the district.

Protect San Jose Tuesday blogger/ Sunshine Chair Ed Rast takes a stab at promoting performance service objectives for San Jose, pointing to Sunnyvale as a leader.

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.13.09: Things Stink Edition (the Merc, spoiled food, and sewage...)

The San Jose City Council “enthusiastically” approved the principles needed to bring A’s baseball to San Jose. Among them: the City ain’t paying for the stadium. Mayor Chuck Reed is calling for a Good Neighbor Committee to address the stadium process and other plans for the area including BART and High-Speed Rail. Baseball takes another step forward...

In other A's news, the hometeam's starting pitcher at tonight's A's/Royals game in Oakland is a guy named Outman. Seriously, a pitcher named Outman. Could you think of a better name for a starting pitcher?

The Merc’s parent company, Media News, plans to start charging for online content. Calling free online content “...an injustice to our print subscribers...” Media News CEO Dean Singleton also plans to gear online content to young people who rely on the internet for news. Good luck media news, the cliff that you are going over is near... this plan stinks...

So does this...

San Jose Fire’s Hazmat Team made a visit to AT&T with 50 firefighters. 325 employees were evacuated, 28 were checked out by paramedics, and 7 landed in the hospital. Why? Someone forgot to toss their old lunch out before it turned noxious. Captain Barry Stallard said when another employee sprayed a cleaner to cover the noxious odor “...that’s when the party started...”

And this...

San Jose’s aging (waste) water treatment plant is headed for an overhaul – and they want you to help plan what comes next. The rebuilt facility is expected to run $1 billion, ideas from energy generation to marshland habitat are all on the table. Perhaps a name like the water treatment plant in San Francisco is in order...

Mr. Roadshow, Gary Richards, stepped out of the car to ask cyclists what would really motivate them to pedal to work. Turns out it’s a hot shower closely followed by safe bike storage. (Sometimes bike-sweaty) San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo said it’s helpful when employers don’t require a three piece suit. Mr. Roadshow also dishes on bike etiquette.

The Merc’s Editorial Board calls on San Jose’s Mayor and City Council to have an open discussion about government Sunshine. The Editorial Board worries that without Sunshine Task Force discussion the City could move deeper into the darkness. A good first step would be to figure out who knew what when about the Independent Police Auditor...

Arizona developer DMB Associates ditched their South County project but not so their plans to build in the Cargill salt ponds. John Bruno says if the project doesn’t land in the salt ponds it will be built in the Central Valley. Save the Bay’s David Lewis calls it a “ridiculous false choice.” Watch Dog San Mateo has the salt ponds/Redwood City updates for DMB's 12,000 units. (That's not a typo, they really want to build 12,000 units...)

Mountain View’s City Council ended the uproar over the Day Worker Center by ignoring the Judicial Watch bigots and NIMBYs with approval of the Center. Councilmember John Inks got a little misty eyed saying “...in my heart, I got to say you have to allow people to improve their condition...”

And it was a busy day for the Palo Alto Police Department's Dan Ryan...

Police Agent Dan Ryan reports a mountain lion was spotted using the San Francisquito creek as a pathway, not unusual according the calm agent. Visitors near University Ave. should be on the look out for large cats. (And large cats should be on the lookout for SUVs and Priuses.)

It isn’t often someone celebrates a computer glitch. Palo Alto Police Detective Jason Jenkins took advantage of a computer foul-up to retrieve $4,800 on its way to a scam artist in Canada. The 99 year old who got her money back was delighted, Police Agent Dan Ryan said the grandmother wants to bake cookies for Jenkins.

The City of Cupertino is warning home owners associations about questionable and aggressive tactics of cable/phone providers. Not technically illegal, the tactics for locking up customers could tread on the edge of violating FCC regulations. Not to mention being in bad form…

Santa Clara University has $50 million in “shovel ready” projects with only one hitch – no money. An anonymous private donor has $7 million on the table while SCU waits on the results of the May 19 ballot measures. If 1A and 1B pass, the University’s Vice President James Purcell hopes SCU will be in the State's priority list.

The last of the ballots has been counted, Cupertino Union School District voters passed their parcel tax by 70%. Phil Quon, District Superintendent, said the campaign was the biggest community effort he’d ever worked on.

The Foothill-DeAnza Community College District is looking for the next Martha Kanter – and wants you to help. Kanter is headed to D.C. as Undersecretary of Education, her replacement has big shoes to fill but terrible budget times to fill them...

San Jose Insider/County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo hopes to remind us of the power and value of the arts. Calling the arts the “one component of a quality public” education that gets “pummeled” in the drive to teach to tests, DiSalvo makes a good case for the arts and Watch Dog has the macaroni sculpture to prove it… You go Joe!

Watch Dog loves a good story about friends… Los Gatos’ Amy Shever watched with sadness as the pets of 9/11 victims were killed or lost in New York. She learned half a million pets are put down annually when their owners die or become disabled. 2nd Chance 4 Pets was born to give critters new families.