Morning News Round-Up -- 5.13.10: Bike to Work... (or think about it at least...)

San Jose will join forces with other right-minded (or is it left-minded) California communities in pushing for some sort of boycott of Arizona... Don Gage and Pete Constant are the only (tea party) hold outs and are supporting the Arizona law -- sort of. Expect lots of American flag t-shirts and a Tea Party rally before the Council meeting in June...

When the San Jose City Council does take up the issue in June, it is likely that they won't get a lot of text messages during the Council meeting... John Woolfolk at the Merc looks into the lack of texting between lobbyists and the Council during Council meetings, which they banned a few months backed -- it wasn't so much as a ban as much as it was that those texts were open to the Public Records Act. We did learn something interesting from Councilmember Ash Kalra:

"Councilman Ash Kalra said he was messaging back and forth with his staff about unrelated upcoming agenda items, something he does frequently because "it's the one time of the week when they have me captive and I can get stuff done.""

That probably isn't very reassuring to all those public speakers (and City Staff) who think that Kalra is actually listening to them... silly public speakers (and City Staff)...

Yesterday was the Merc's deep-dive into the Dolores Carr half of the DA's race, today is Jeff Rosen's moment in the spotlight. There is lots of good information in the piece about his background, his law school days, how he didn't like being an associate at a law firm, and this little tidbit: he weighs 140 pounds...

Just to pile on...

The Metro's endorsements have been piling up on someone's desk, because they are all coming out at once. First it was Magdalena Carrasco and now it is Jeff Rosen. Just so we are clear, Metro endorsed Dolores Carr last go'round, but not this time...

49ers in. Yahoo in. The Santa Clara City Council is having a very busy year...

The Mercury News Editorial Board agrees with just about everyone else that the Water District should redo how it redrew their District lines... the District has scrapped the old plan and now is looking for a new plan...

The Merc Ed Board also commends the East Side Union High School District Board for cutting their own stipend and insisting on paying part of their medical benefits... which begs the question: East Side Union Board members get a stipend and health benefits?

We can't believe we've missed out on another local blog... Sunnyvale City Councildweeb Jim Griffith is writing frequently and brings us an insider's perspective to the goings on in Sunnyvale. Read more at dweeb.org... the latest updates are about Nokia opening up their Nor Cal headquarters in downtown Sunnyvale, which is "huge" according to Jim's Council Blog... He recommends: "...every one of us should immediately go out and buy our City Manager, our City Attorney, and their respective staffs a large bottle of their favorite alcoholic beverage..." That would be a sleepy party...

In sad news, the ACLU is closing its San Jose office because of budget cuts. That will make San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis and the POA pretty happy... but it makes Watch Dog sad. Why? First, the ACLU protects idiots like Watch Dog... and second, the ACLU local person, Skyler Porras, was a great quote. Remember these highlights?:

• About Mayor Reed: "...petulant political posturing..."
• About a plan for the San Jose Police Department to police themselves: "...Asking the police department to police themselves has been about as effective as asking a teenager to ground themselves after missing curfew..."
• About San Jose's plan to hire a group of social scientists to study the drunk arrest problem: "...a bumbling way to appease a scandal-plagued but politically powerful police department..."

While we are on the topic, did you know that a west coast big city mayor forced out the city's police chief? There were concerns about how the police department was dealing with vulnerable populations in the city... hmmm...

Finally, there is a woman at Valley Medical Center that they are trying to identify. If you know an elderly Asian woman that is missing, please take a look at the photo.

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.21.10: Nazis, Tornadoes, and Parcel Taxes, OH MY!

It is no secret that Reverend Jethroe Moore II, the head of the Silicon Valley branch of the NAACP, has been vocal about his displeasure with the San Jose Police Officers' Association overall. It came to the forefront recently when Moore pulled the NAACP's support for the Freedom Train ride on Martin Luther King Day because the POA were sponsors. Well, it turns out Moore's colorful quotes about the POA may have been a little too colorful during a KCBS interview. He likened the POA's support of the Freedom Train to Nazis supporting Jewish causes. San Jose Inside nails the story. Watch Dog predicts that the NAACP Board may be trying to get Rick Callendar back soon... but for the sake of colorful future quotes, we hope Moore stays put.

It was (another) $20 million week for Meg Whitman... Can you just imagine the campaign

strategists sitting around plotting how to approach Ms. Whitman about plopping more money into the campaign? It must be sort of like siblings strategizing how to ask their parents for more money:

Campaign Staff/Kid 1: "Um Meg... can we get another $20 million?"

Whitman/Parent: "What did you do with the last $20 million I gave you?"

Campaign Staff/Kid 2: "Kid 1 spent it all on sports talk radio..."

Whitman/Parent: "Ok, here's $20 million more, but don't spend it all in one place.

Expect Poizner's staff/kids to be asking for a bigger allowance some as well... Meanwhile, in

Almaden Valley, Tom Campbell woke up today very pleased with his decision.

Those days of Councilmembers in San Jose furiously texting away in advance of their vote on important issues may be behind us. The Council is due to consider (and probably approve) some legislation that makes those texts more public -- and therefore less frequent. Rumors that both the South Bay Labor Council and the Chamber of Commerce leaders will be learning (and teaching the Council) sign language are apparently not true.

Santa Clara County's Superior Court Judge Lucy Koh is being nominated

for a Federal Judgeship in California's Northern District Court by President Obama. Senator Barbara Boxer recommended Ko. If confirmed, Ko will be the first Korean-American Federal Court judge in the country. Of course, the Senate just got a little less blue-state friendly...

Sunnyvale Town Center, the major project that is stalled "indefinitely" is still the center-piece of Sunnyvale's 5 year development plans... perhaps 5 years the economic double whammy (downtown Sunnyvale overall and the Recession) might be over... might...

While we are in Sunnyvale... (recently) former Mayor Tony Spitaleri spoke at a public protest of the sale of the preschool at the Congregational Community Church and it may have jeopardized the sale of the building, which kind of sucks. And that's why the Church is raising ethical questions about Spitaleri's actions. Intrigue in Sunnyvale...

And one more nugget from Sunnyvale... the City will be considering (again, again) publicly funding City Council campaigns. Just what the general fund of Sunnyvale needs, another line item...

We know the weather has been wacky the past few days -- hail,

thunder, lightening, wind -- but did you know that Dorothy Gale almost visited South County at around 2:30 p.m. yesterday?

While we are in South County... Politicon Valley gets in on the "make fun of misspellings" game as they watch Peter Arellano's "campaing" website go live...

In education news, the Foothill-DeAnza Community College District may ask voters for a parcel tax at some point soon. We often mention parcel taxes that School Districts are putting forward, but this would be the first Community College District is in the State to go for one. Which will certainly piss off the School Districts located in the Community College District. Why? Because voters generally won't support too many property taxes on the same ballot. Our guess is that there are a dozen or more School Districts in the same geography as Foothill-DeAnza, and some (or all) are thinking about going for a parcel tax or renewing one already in place...

Morning News Round-Up – 9.10.09: The finger-pointing edition…

Economics? We don’t need no stinking economics… Experts on the financial returns of baseball stadiums (there’s a gig for that?) aren’t sure moving the A’s to San Jose paints the same rosy picture. Redevelopment Agency assistant executive director John Weis disagrees saying holding out for offices could lead to 20 years of empty land.

Also thinking about sports, Sunnyvale wants more time to mull over Santa Clara’s 49er impact report. Worried about traffic Sunnyvale Councilmember Melinda Hamilton said “it is not our problem” to fix.

Union leader Brian Ward accused Palo Alto city officials of hiding $22 million in the cookie jar while crying poor. Administrator Lalo Perez says that money is all but spent on approved projects.

Give it up or dish seem to be the options facing text-addict San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant. Texting is “a way of life” complains Constant when faced with a possibility of council meetings becoming a no-text zone. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed countered pointing to Saratoga where Mayor Chuck Page shrugged “we owe it to our citizens to pay 100% attention.”

Santa Clara County will scrounge their cookie jar for $3.7 million to pay builders for the Morgan Hill courthouse. More interesting, (apparently) no one knows the final tally for courthouse costs.

San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos hopes you’ll be there for a groundbreaking on a new East San Jose park. The Merc’s Sal Pizarro also dishes Applied Materials vice president Joe Pon is ditching the corporate life to move to San Francisco’s James Irvine Foundation while philanthropists Michael and Susan Eckhardt chided Silicon Valley residents for being chintzy.

Cupertinites can look forward to more creative signage aimed at “people traveling 50 mph” but don’t bother asking for any “tacky” signs, those are still a no-no.

Los Gatos Mayor Mike Wasserman hopes to “…help Los Gatos on a larger scale” and is tossing his hat in the ring to replace termed-out Supervisor Don Gage. The Merc noted the Supervisors oversee county jails, health and human services and the Valley Transportation Agency.

Congressmember Anna Eshoo hosted a lively town hall on healthcare. Pointing to hidden costs of emergency care Eshoo told the rambunctious crowd overall costs would drop. Not everyone agreed and the normally polite residents from the toney towns of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto hurled accusations of liar at Eshoo.

Los Altos Hills joined the top 10 on Forbes list of expensive places to live. With a median home $3.28 million Los Altos Hills landed 8th on the list of toney zipcodes.

Los Altos Hills resident/former San Jose fire protection engineer Ed Munyak landed a spread in Metro for the growing support of his theory that the World Trade Center couldn’t have come down without pre-planted explosives.

San Jose’s 20th homicide of the year happened in a parking garage while the Dub Show Tour ’09 raged above. San Leandro’s Lake Eric Calvin was covered in so much blood paramedics didn’t know how many times he’d been shot. Protect San Jose’s Officer James Gonzales (apparently) thinks the link between the E-40 event and the shooting is more obvious. Anyone with information is urged to contact Sgt. Dave Tindall or detective John Barg of the San Jose Police Department's homicide unit at 408-277-5283.

Metro’s Fly did the math on the failed recall effort… A recall election in Monte Sereno would cost the taxpayers $200,000 while paying those pesky councilmembers $300 runs $21,600. Fly followed San Jose’s City Council discussion on budget busting golf courses.

A plethora of screw-ups landed the Live Oak High School theatre project in the rarified air of having a 2nd state inspector. Sanchez Inc’sNancy Sanchez pointed at the engineer and architect for things like an (un)disinfected drinking fountain and other screw-ups.

San Jose Insider/De-Bug coordinator Raj Jayadev reappeared to chat with students about President’s virtual visit. According to Jayadev, students without textbooks were unimpressed.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.27.09: A Cause for NIMBY Celebration

High-Speed Rail foes have something, other than their never-ending NIMBYism, to hang their hats on today. A Judge questioned the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed route over Pacheco Pass (and into San Jose). This has NIMBYs pretty psyched. Not so fast, say High-Speed Rail advocates, because the Judge also called the other possible routes, over Altamont Pass and across the Bay, too expensive. Nonetheless, this means delay, and cost, and probably huge parties up and down the Caltrain corridor this weekend. Remember, if you drink at these parties NIMBYs, take the train home...

Speaking of High-Speed Rail, perhaps it is the only issue that could be less fun for local a member of Congress to hear about than healthcare at a Town Hall these days... And Congresswoman Eshoo heard all about it this week.

Speaking of Speaking...

The Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was in town yesterday greeted by San Jose's Rotary Club (and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren...) The Merc focused their coverage (and headline) of the story on the protesters outside the Rotary meeting while San Jose Inside focused on what the Speaker said...

And speaking of trains...

Diridon Station was closed for a period of time yesterday afternoon after a written bomb threat was found.

Prosecutors from the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office are in the news today, and (amazingly) the story doesn't involved the words "lack of ethics" or "Dolores Carr"... (They are supporting a bill that the Governor is expected to sign to crack down on fraudulent mortgage brokers.)

It seems access to public information isn't an issue only in San Jose (think text messages)... Saratoga is dealing with it too. Saratoga officials are complaining that they have received 20 requests so far this year. (San Jose's City Clerk Lee Price is ROFL at that HUGE number.)

Here are the scrolling headlines of the Gilroy Dispatch today.

• Police arrest man after high speed drunken chase.
• Murder suspect pleads guilty to unrelated drug charge.
• Wanted man adds stolen gun, stolen motorcycle charges to list.

Need we say more?

The Morgan Hill Times has a slightly different crime story: Skaters attack ice cream truck...

Your South County papers, all crime, all the time.

And finally, the Merc's Scott Herhold provides a local angle (Jude Barry) to the death of Senator Kennedy. The Editorial page also pays respects.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.18.09: The Final Tesla Chronicle Chapter?

San Jose has been jilted by fickle lover Tesla one last time. Ditched by Elon Musk for the allure of a geek filled campus next door, San Jose is mum about news of Tesla’s powertrain manufacturing moving to Palo Alto. But Watch Dog has not been mum... heck, we've been writing about this for ever...

San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed (apparently) reads the Merc’s Editorial pages. Feeling the sting following an Editorial Board call to dish on lobbyist driven texts, the Mayor released a Memo calling on colleagues to ‘fess up on those lobbyist texts. [CR is POed... LMAO!]

(soon to be former) Police Officers Association President/ Blogger Bobby Lopez was one pissed off cop when he learned “wasteful spending” at City Hall caused a $5 million cost overrun on SJPD’s “second home.” The architectural professionals explaining themselves today are no doubt shaking in their boots.

If rumors of San Jose Revealed’s ties to the South Bay Labor Council are to be believed, maybe San Jose Revealed morphed into Politicon Valley. Politicon Valley started blogging, and Tweeting, late June – sans anonymous blogger snark. Recently, Politcon Valley landed a story direct from the South Bay Labor Council… Welcome to Silicon Valley Politicon Valley...

Gilroy Unified School District Trustees “enthusiastically” supported 60 hours of community service before high school graduation. Trustee Javier Aguirre said he was excited because the volunteer hours would “allow our graduates to continue being competitive.”

The Mountain View Voice Editorial Board was pissed when the El Camino Hospital Board of Directors gave a (nearly) 5% raise to a dozen top execs. Pointing to the collapsing economy, national debate on soaring healthcare costs, and the ever increasing unemployment rates, the Voice reminds readers there are 2 elected seats up for grabs in the November election.

In other healthcare news… Governor Schwarzenegger’s cuts to Healthy Families could affect 9,000 Silicon Valley children according to Saratoga Councilmember/ Executive Director Santa Clara Health Plan’s Kathleen King. Thank you Governor.

In a contentious radio debate on the elixir of life (no, not this) Palo Alto’s Senator Joe Simitian took a stab at explaining the finer points of the great Delta (water) debate – and what it means for Silicon Valley.

Great America’s dangling roller riders might be surprised to learn they weren’t the first ones to get hung up on Invertigo. Mission City Lantern joins the fray pointing at another of James Rowen’s favorite targets – Cedar Fair.

Mischief + Scott Herhold = Quarterly puppy update

Silicon Valley’s favorite philanthropists, Mike and Mary Ellen Fox, celebrated their golden anniversary and received some love from the Merc’s Sal Pizarro.