Morning News Round-Up -- 3.12.10: Pegram vs. Constant?

The Republicans are coming, the Republicans are coming... to Santa Clara. We wonder if the only two Republicans we write about on the local level -- San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant and his good "friend" Council candidate Larry Pegram -- will pass each other on the Convention floor and fight about San Jose City Council District 9. We kind of hope so. Two former San Jose Police Officers wrestling to the floor of the Republican Convention as Pat Dando and Jim Cunneen look on... that would be something. Not for nothing, we think Pete Constant could crush (literally and figuratively) Larry Pegram in a fight...

Speaking of Larry Pegram... In case you missed Watch Dog's details of Pegram's "non-profit" yesterday afternoon, take a gander (Values Advocacy Council: A deficit-ridden slush fund for Larry Pegram?). We guess one of the Values of the Council is taking up to 70 percent of the money raised for yourself... Oh, and it seems that Mr. Pegram is so focused on running for City Council, that he hasn't had time to stop running for Congress... his website is still up from when he thought running for office in Tracy was what he wanted to do with his life. Ironically, one of the issues he was running on was "..increased liberty and freedom..." we guess that doesn't extend to what you can read on a computer in a library...

The City of San Jose is writing off some bad debts that are owed...

Kramer: It's just a write off for them.

Jerry: How is it a write off?

Kramer: They just write it off.

Jerry: Write it off what?

Kramer: Jerry all these big companies they write off everything.

Jerry: You don't even know what a write off is.

Kramer: Do you?

Jerry: No. I don't.

Kramer: But they do and they are the ones writing it off.

Speaking of writing off bad debt... sort of. The San Jose Airport is hoping that their debt doesn't turn bad. But Patty Fisher of the Merc grills the aiport's spokesman David Vossbrink (who commented here...) to promote the week-long celebration being planned for June.

At least the millions spent at the airport (billions, actually) got a beautiful new building built. The County spent $20 million to get an audit done by Deloitte Consulting and the new County Exec called it "a waste of money"... but throwing good money after bad seems to be the next move for the County Exec with regards to the Valley Medical Center. This time, the price tag is only $100,000 to get the same results as the Deloitte waste of money... but after spending $20 million, what's an extra $100K?

As the County figures out new ways to spend money on things, they are also looking at the November ballot to raise some money too... and it only needs a majority vote to pass, so expect this one to be a homerun. The County may put a measure on the ballot to increase your vehicle license fee by $10 to go to road improvements. Watch Dog seems to remember that the vehicle license fee was once a touchy subject for a certain California politician...

Just in case you missed it last night, the Sharks scored a touchdown in the third period. They missed the extra point, but they still beat Nashville 8-5. (Nashville obviously had a field goal and a safety...)

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.11.10: Carr's Car Cost Constituents...

Just a quick note that the airport's spokesman David Vossbrink (like everyone else) reads Watch Dog. He posted this comment yesterday:

...By the way, we have some good news at the airport this week -- Alaska Airlines starts direct service to Maui tomorrow morning (Thursday) and to Kona on Friday morning -- and it starts its second daily flight to Austin (the nerd bird) on Sunday. This more than makes up for Frontier...

Thank you for reading... if only someone would pony up for a grand grand opening.

And if it is a new day, that means there is another Dolores Carr story. And today's daily story shows, once again, that she has no political instinct. This time, as promised, the Merc's Sco9tt Herhold looks into her fancy car (or car fancy). (We don't think he literally looked into her car, but perhaps he did...) A story like this makes writing a campaign hit piece almost too easy: Carr's car cost constituents... To add insult to injury, challenger Jeff Rosen drives an old, beat up, 15 year old piece of shit with 150,000 miles on it. Don't worry Jeff, there's a sweet Acura TL just waiting for you.

From the frivolous to the serious about the District Attorney's office... a ton of new information was uncovered about the medical examinations of sexual assault victims at VMC -- 3,000 videotaped medical exams, to be exact. Expect lots of new appeals to be filed and (hopefully) some wrongfully convicted folks to go free. The head of the DA's sex crimes unit had this to say: "...I really don't want this to happen again..." You and just about everyone else...

Pete Constant must be torn... His Chief of Staff is running to replace Judy Chirco on the City Council, but Pete Constant's "friend" (ahem...) is running against Cogan (and Don Rocha). Larry Pegram, the censorship-loving, gay-hating, fake-tan-wearing, Bible-thumping wacko has thrown his self-righteous, hypocritical, Sarah Palin-loving, Tea Party-esque hat into the ring. Mr. Pegram, please come out against the City's recent gambling measure on the ballot or risk losing any credibility you ever had...

It is interesting that the San Jose Police Officers' Association blog, Protect San Jose, goes 24 hours without commenting on the fact that the Police Chief seems to be packing is bags for the Big D. "The most profound statements are often said in silence..."

It was hard to miss the big fire in Santa Clara yesterday with the smoke billowing overhead. It was a 4-alarmer at a recycling plant.

Sheeeee's baaaack... the fake finger in chili lady. She's in San Jose, but not at Wendy's. Funny, if she did show up to Wendy's the employees there would actually like to give her the finger...

The Morgan Hill Unified School Board is finally going Hollywood... their meetings will now be broadcast. Just in time for folks to watch pink slips being handed out...

Morning News Round-Up – 7.13.09: A Wet Sword of Damocles...

San Jose Assemblymember Joe Coto managed to land himself in the Chronicle’s editorial pages. This time Coto is seeking to take away California’s “district of choice” program from parents hoping to send their kids to targeted schools.

San Jose’s Luther Burbank School District found itself the subject of a Civil Grand Jury investigation. School Board President Antonio Perez gets the special love that only a Grand Jury can give with accusations of creating a hostile workplace, questionable business practices, breaking state law, and financial mismanagement. Of the schools high rating by the California Department of Education, Perez said “academic excellence – the word makes me sick.”

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro bid a fond farewell to A.P. Stump’s with a crowd big enough to have revelers suggesting Stump’s should have had weekly closing parties.

San Jose’s pension fund scandal is the gift that keeps on giving. Calling it “heads I win, tails you lose” Councilmember Sam Liccardo questions the wisdom of $2.9 million in bonus benefits when the fund is underfunded for future retirees…

Club Wet in San Jose was ordered stop the dance after their 5th stabbing in 6 months. According to the club’s consultant, Dustin DeRollo, the latest stabbing was “unpreventable.” Which begs the question, were the other 4 stabbings avoidable? For the answer, check out the spin on Wet’s website where you’ll learn that stabbings are a part of a “premiere entertainment experience.”

It’s Summer and teens are hitting the roadways with creative stories designed to flummox parents. The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow (aka Gary Richards) clears up the fiction, much to the dismay of teens around the Bay.

San Jose’s Mineta International Airport opens a few gates in its sparkly new terminal while trying to confuse passengers with “counterintuitive” gates according to spokesperson David Vossbrink.

A San Jose teen was stabbed to death in a (possibly) gang related attack at a Sunnyvale brawl. Police hope you’ll share info at 408-730-7120.

Former San Jose Planning Commissioner Bhupindar “Bob” Dhillon dismissed accusations of financial mismanagement and shoddy workmanship at the growing Sikh temple. Dhillon is confident his 25 year old construction management student will be successful with the $40 million (first) project calling naysayers lying nitpickers.

San Jose's Redevelopment Agency managed to land $24 million from the State to straighten the unfriendly Julian Street. Transportation consultant Gary Black said undoing the curvy street would help make San Jose’s downtown nice. Mayor Chuck Reed is hopeful the State’s check isn’t an IOU.

The sound of the other shoe dropping would be State threats to remove San Jose Redevelopment money targeted for expansion of the Convention Center. Calling it a “totally sword-of-Damocles situation” the Agency’s Bill Ekern waits on pins and needles for word of State theft.

The Merc’s on-again/off-again Government Watch is back up with the following news…

• San Jose’s Mexican Heritage Plaza Steering Committee hopes a noon time meeting will deliver creative ideas on “sustainable” business models and cost reduction.
• Sunnyvale’s City Council goes after a homeland security grant for bomb sniffing pooches.
• The 49ers proposed stadium is on tap at Santa Clara’s City Council.
• Yummy cafeteria food fills the plate for the Los Gatos Union School District.
• A scathing Civil Grand Jury report has the Luther Burbank (1 school) School District considering responses to “Board of Trustees of Luther Burbank School District (LBSD) Gets an ‘F’.” Also up for discussion, extending the interim Superintend while the search continues.

Mission City Lantern let loose with an attack on the Merc’s Barbara Marshman and the Chronicle and a (possible) accusation of Santa Clara City Councilmember Jamie McLeod as a former Gavin Newsom girlfriend (really?).

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.”

Morning News Round-Up – 12.23.08: More Drunk News...

Congratulations, Sergeant Manion and Officer D’Arrigo. You received a get out of jail free card from the secret Grand Jury, just in time for Christmas. These guys were not indicted for their part in the Sandra Woodall drunk driving cover up – they may not be so lucky when Chief Rob Davis begins his own internal investigation...but Watch Dog expects they'll be ok.

The Merc. recommends the drunk Task Force installed by Mayor Reed and Councilmember Campos focus first on the wildly disproportionate arrests of Latinos. What the Editorial doesn't say is that this Task Force won't start until 3 months after the problem was identified by their reporter Sean Webby and that the Task Force won't make any recommendations until April...six months?!

Make note of this name, Ausaf Umar Siddiqui. He managed to scam Fry’s Electronics, and vendors, for $65 million since 2005. This story includes “secret backroom” deals, masquerading as an owner, casino jets, exotic cars, and swarms of FBI agents invading Fry’s to take Siddiqui away in handcuffs. Fry’s spokesman Manuel Valerio says that while Siddiqui made off with millions “neither Fry’s nor Fry’s customers were damaged by this.” Watch Dog wonders if the Fry’s family would agree. (As an aside, does anyone out there remember rising political star Manuel Valerio? Same guy...)

It’s a big week for travelers. The weather around the country is not cooperating. If air travel is on your mind, be patient and bring your sense of humor. David Vossbrink, spokesman at the Mineta International Airport, says that the cancellation of hundred’s of flights across the country due to blizzards raging from Seattle to Chicago to Washington, D.C., were most troublesome for San Jose flights. And take it from Vossbrink -- he knows something about patience and sense of humor from his last job...

Mr. Roadshow received a request to make 2009 the Year of the Pedestrian – making travel safer for those on foot. Pedestrian deaths are on the rise, making streets more pedestrian (and bike) friendly seems a logical solution.

San Jose Revealed does a holiday rundown of the less than cheerful variety. Revealed is surprised that the ball playing skills of the President-elect’s appointees are more newsworthy than torture. Well, perhaps Revealed never saw the Bush Basketball Team -- Cheney sucked! We needed a change...

Morgan Hill looks at budget cuts that include shutting off residential streetlights, letting potholes go unrepaired, shutting down playgrounds, letting park turf die, and decreasing code enforcement. Mayor Steve Tate says, "It's not anything real dramatic that you would notice a whole bunch. Maybe if you're going to a park every day, and see half the grass gone, you'd notice that. It depends. Generally, I don't think you will." Mayor Tate -- voters have a funny way of noticing such things. You know who else notices such things?...the Morgan Hill Police showed up in force with nearly half the department at the Council meeting to protest the loss of three police officers.

The Los Gatos Observer posts photos of the Monte Sereno and Los Gatos Councils being sworn in. Watch Dog is a little confused as the Observer ran the story of the Los Gatos swearing in on November 18 – complete with photos of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner delivering the oath of office. Is news so slow in Los Gatos that the Observer needs to rerun old news?