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 -- 4.14.10: LaDoris LaWednesday...

It was a big day in San Jose... where to begin, where to begin...

How about the San Jose Independent Police Auditor?

There is a new one -- former Judge/ former Palo Alto City Councilmember LaDoris Cordell, which will make some people excited (like maybe those that would like an independent Independent Police Auditor) and will make some people less-than-excited (like those of you who like the way it's been). Watch Dog asks one question: Has there ever been an Independent Police Auditor that the Police Officers' Association liked? We'll take our answer off the air... (And our first call is from Scott Herhold, who called Cordell an "odd choice"... Herhold also wrote this: "...And I fear she may get frustrated living with the shackles..." Probably not the best choice of words...) San Jose Inside has a fresh quote from the San Jose POA chief George Beattie: “I have serious concerns about Ms. Cordell’s ability to be independent and objective. While she has a right to be associated with community groups that have historically been critical and antagonistic to our officers, this should raise questions about her ability to be objective, just as Chris Constantin was considered biased because of his relationships. I consider this a double standard.” Does Ms. Cordell's brother works at the ACLU and her sister works at DeBug that we don't know about?

The San Jose City Council tried to make having events in downtown San Jose a little bit easier to produce (cheaper actually)... of course, it may be too little too late for Tapestry and the fireworks...

San Jose Sharks are headed to the playoffs... let the bandwagon grow...

Speaking of the bandwagon growing... the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is looking to ban "single-use" plastic and paper bags. Surprise, surprise, Republican Don Gage is opposed to the ban and has found himself with an unlikely ally, former San Jose Councilmember/former Assemblymember/American Chemistry Council shill Manny Diaz... Diaz and Gage on the same side of things -- who'd a thunk?

Here's a shocker... a politically and ethically questionable tactics from the Dolores Carr camp. This time it isn't a conflict of interest with her husband's job or hiring two PR flacks while closing the cold-case unit or botching a rape case... rather, it is about her purchasing billboards throughout the County with her name on and have it paid for by the District Attorney's office... shady, shady, shady. But, we (ok, nobody) expects anything different...

Speaking of County politics... the race to replace Supervisor Gage heated up last night. (Honestly though, could anyone really replace Don Gage?) The candidates -- Forrest Williams, Teresa Alvarado, Tom Kruse (so handsome) and Mike Wasserman -- debated last night... (Peter Arellano pulled a Pete Constant and didn't show up...) From the story, it sounds like the key issue was who had the support of labor unions and if those that could could actually make real change at 801 W. Hedding... (Note: Only one candidate has had their consultant put on the California Labor Federation's "do not patronize" list, perhaps that is the one the union-bashing crowd should get behind. Just a thought.)

A San Jose State professor apprehended a guy trying to rob the downtown San Jose Wells Fargo bank yesterday. Seriously...

A major economic development project in Santa Clara is moving forward that hasn't been written about on Mission City Lantern... Yahoo!

While we're talking about economics... the economics of the City of Gilroy will be discussed in a Special City Council closed session tonight. Specifically they will discuss "unspecified aspects of the contract negotiations with police and fire"... Let Watch Dog specific: the contract negotiations aren't going well and the pension costs are going to bankrupt the City. Even if we all shopped at the outlets, it won't help Gilroy balance its future obligations... well, maybe if we went to Brooks Brothers.

A woman fell into an open manhole on Stanford's campus yesterday. No word if Senator Simitian is a looking to pass a "no texting while walking" law...

Morning News Round-Up – 12.11.08: Baseball in San Jose? Not if East Side Union has anything to say about it...

Play Ball! Or not. If you’re a kid in the East Side Union High School District your sports may be cut. Superintendent Bob Nunez is considering elimination of all sports saying, “I didn’t do this for shock value. I did it because I need to look at the academic programs we would not have if we keep sports.”

But that doesn't mean all sports talk is bad...San Jose’s outgoing Vice Mayor (soon-to-be Supervisor) Dave Cortese is hoping to throw the first ball at a San Jose A’s game. Cortese’s hopes were raised when a letter from Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig potentially erased the pesky problem of Giants territorial-rights. Mayor Chuck Reed appears suspicious of the sudden appearance of the letter saying, “One curious fact is why and how this letter surfaced at this time.” Is Lew Wolff simply waiting for the best offer? Because he has two different sites in Fremont he is thinking about and teasing San Jose again...where is Baseball San Jose when you need them?

Mission City Lantern is rooting for Santa Clara to become the home of A’s baseball.

In Los Gatos Danielle Jolley created a baseball league for kids with disabilities in honor of her son, Justin, born with Down syndrome and a passion for baseball. The Challenger Division is the first for California’s District 12 and joins similar divisions across the United States.

Giants beat reporter (that’s pre-blog for the puppies out there) Nick “The Greek” Peters has been elected to Coooperstown for having followed the Giants since they left the Big Apple for the Golden Gates in 1958. Peter says about his job, "I knew from my junior year in high school that this is what I wanted to do." In spite of wishes from San Jose Giants fans, Peters doesn’t cover the games in South Campus.

Before he goes, head Yahoo! Jerry Yang will likely let go as many as 1,500 fellow Yahoos in an effort to “better align costs with revenues.” Ouch. The push for a deal with Microsoft is also on the table as Ivory Investment Management (a big Yahoo! shareholder) asks to renew negotiations.

In a scoop Watch Dog reported last week, the Merc finally got the story today and announced that Sunnyvale City Councilmember Otto Lee will be leaving for active duty in Iraq. Watch Dog wishes Lee a safe journey and swift return to duty in Sunnyvale.

Before taking off Lee helped the Sunnyvale City Council decide to convert the Onizuka Air Force Station into an auto mall. Councilmembers Chris Moylan and Dave Whittum voted against the proposal preferring instead the site become housing.

The preschooler who passed away this week did not die of meningitis as previously reported. Dr. Poki Namkung now believes the cause, "is most likely a very common bacteria that we all carry. For unknown reasons, her body could not respond appropriately. It really is extraordinary bad luck." Thank you House.

The Merc editorial team weighs in on the lively San Jose City Council meeting earlier this week suggesting the complaint filed against former Mayor Tom McEnery was a grumpy rival with plenty of cash. Apparently the complainant did a mass mailing with complaints against McEnery, Watch Dog wasn’t on the mailing list and had to read it here. (For a full timeline of how this played out, including where Councilmember Nora Campos got her "delay until the Elections Commission reviews the complaint" idea, read this.)

Saratoga’s new (rotating) Mayor will be Chuck Page with Councilmember Kathleen King as his Vice Mayor. Incoming Councilmembers Howard Miller and Susie Nagpal were sworn in for their first terms.

Los Altos police had a scare when they pulled over Morgan Hill resident Troy Moulton for a traffic violation. Moulton had over a dozen homemade bombs with him. Watch Dog is trying to figure out whether to laugh or stop traveling to either Morgan Hill or Los Altos.

Joshua Williams mother Ida held tears back as she watched the trial of her son yesterday. Williams and reputed gang member Israel Juarez are accused of a gang retaliation killing in November in the (apparent) gang capital of Santa Clara County...Gilroy.