Morning News Round-Up -- 2.17.09: Soggy Biking Edition...

In case you were on lucky enough to be on vacation yesterday and missed our Morning News Round-Up, check out yesterday's goings on here. The real highlight of the day, however, was the national attention Assemblymember Joe Coto's blanket and sleeping habits received...

The Merc.’s Editorial Board is calling for San Jose Police Department to release reports on drunk arrests, no doubt making the Drunk Task Force, Councilmember Nora Campos, and the ACLU very happy. While at the same time, making this guy very nervous...Watch Dog has been covering the ever tipsy story on skyrocketing arrests of Latinos in San Jose here, here, and here.

San Jose/Santa Maria Legislator Senator Abel Maldonado is enjoying his time in the catbird seat and issued a list of demands in exchange for his Republican vote on the State budget proposal. Maldonado’s list includes eliminating partisan primaries, stopping Legislator paychecks (when the budget is overdue), and refusing raises when the State runs a deficit. Colleague/San Jose Senator Elaine Alquist has released a list of projects in Santa Clara County that will be affected if the Governor keeps his promise to stop funding if there’s budget agreement today. No wonder Coto couldn't stand to watch this rerun...Maldando will cave and be a big hero...

Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager thinks the County may have too many cars in its garage and has started an audit saying, "I was concerned that the County was purchasing a lot of automobiles, and I wanted to make sure everyone who is assigned a car needs one." High time too. It’s been nearly three decades since an audit was done of County vehicles. There are currently 144 county employees who have “take-home” cars, including Yeager’s colleague Supervisor Don Gage. I guess a 12-year job at over $100k isn't enough for Gage, he wanted the car too...

At least Supervisor Gage drives his County car...According to an informal survey by the Merc’s Mr. Roadshow Gary Richards, Gage drives solo from Gilroy to San Jose in a GMC SUV but takes light rail from County offices to events in downtown San Jose. Gage must have worried when he received the call from Mr. Roadshow as he said, "Please be nice to me. I am responsible for many key transportation projects completed under budget and ahead of schedule in South County." Check out the story to see how other local leaders get to work...

The Amgen Tour of California will zip through town today as cyclists race out of San Jose on their way to the Central Valley amidst buckets of rain. Cyclist/cancer survivor Lance Armstrong tweeted a request to move the race to April, had a bike stolen, and crashed with a photography motorcycle. The Merc’s Ann Killion covers the race in all its dripping glory.

Local Legislator’s continue dealing with the Great Recession. Around the Valley meetings are in full swing after a wet three day weekend:

• Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors will get a report from Acting County Executive Gary Graves with an update on the budget, including staffing impacts and year-end projections for the general fund. This won't be good...
• Santa Clara Valley Water District hears from staff regarding water supply and possible drought restrictions. Ironic, since it has been an incredibly wet week...
• San Jose’s City Council will look at budget corrections, changes to an arts stabilization fund, and new fees for parking violations. Now in real person speak: "corrections" mean things aren't going well, "changes" mean there isn't enough money to stabilize the arts, and "new fees" mean hold on to your wallets...
• Santa Clara's City Council will discuss a grant for police equipment...
• Sunnyvale’s Council considers changes to their sign code...
• The every-entertaining Alum Rock School District Trustees are still talking about lawyers, as in, who to keep/fire/hire.
• Campbell Union School District looks at their strategic plan, facility needs, and talks contracts with the teachers. Again, in real person speak: discussing contracts means the contracts are going to get contracted...
• Cupertino Union School District Trustees meet with the Cupertino Educational Endowment Foundation Board to discuss instructional technology, the budget, and the parcel tax...
• Los Altos School District looks at the parent survey results and hears about proposed budget cuts.

According to the Merc’s Sal Pizzaro, there is an unlikely duo voicing support for San Jose’s beleaguered Councilmember Madison Nguyen. San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber CEO Pat Dando and Labor Leader Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins have joined forces for a public service spot on KLIV and KRTY. Both stations are owned by local legend (and Nguyen fan) (and Little Saigon business owner) Bob Kieve. Watch Dog would have loved to be in the studio when those two cut that spot...

Pizzaro also lets us know that when we see him out and about this week he won’t be covering local stories, he’s taking a one-week furlough imposed by the Merc. because times are tough.

Watch Dog Weather Report: You might be thinking, as you slog through rising puddles, that all threats of drought imposed sanctions are over. Not so fast. So far this season we’ve received about 8 inches, according to Santa Clara Water District spokesperson Susan Siravo, "This doesn't get us out of the woods yet. We need eight inches plus of rain [more] to get us to where we need to be." Let's hope that those 8 inches don't all fall today...

In spite of the wet weather, San Jose’s rare peregrine falcon’s have returned to City Hall. Clara and Carlos will again be on the City’s webcam giving you the opportunity to be a 24-7 voyeur. The Merc notes that anyone interested in helping to support the San Jose City Hall falcons and the work of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group may do so by making tax deductible donations by check or online.

The Morgan Hill City Council is considering a 2% utility hike to help ease their budget woes. Measure G on last year's ballot failed miserably. Councilmember Marby Lee said of the failure, "I think part of it may be the public didn't trust us to use the money for what we said it would go for." Y'think? This week council will consider a June or November ballot measure.

Hoping to drag an East Bay sports team South, Morgan Hill property/business owner Julie Borina Driscoll sent letters to the Board of Supervisors and the Oakland Raiders urging them to consider Morgan Hill as their new home. Supervisor Don Gage suggested that Morgan Hill might not be the best solution and offered that conversion of (County owned) Hellyer Park in South San Jose is a better idea. Morgan Hill Councilmember Greg Sellers said having the Oakland A’s in Morgan Hill would be a “dream come true” but wondered about the fiscal impacts saying, "If it would cost the community money, I don't think it would be appropriate right now." Especially given the proposed 2% utility tax hike being considered...

Nearly 35 years ago Gilroy was embroiled in “Sewergate” after news broke that City Administrator Jay Baksa’s predecessor and other top-level employees had orchestrated and covered up sewage dumping into a local creek after two years of heavy rain overwhelmed the system. The State imposed a building moratorium on Gilroy. This year, the Morgan Hill/Gilroy South County Regional Wastewater Authority received the Plant of the Year Award from the California Water Environment Association. Gilroy’s Public Information Officer Joe Kline reports Gilroy is now poised to grow. He didn't say, "We need more outlets...a lot more outlets..."

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 -- 7.22.09: Mayor Gage... Again?

We'll start in South County...

Former Gilroy Mayor/County Supervisor Don Gage is aiming for the Garlic Capitol’s top job again. Gage has his sites set on being Mayor once more, if Mayor Al Pinheiro is ousted on the recall, Gage won’t wait til next year’s election. Gage is running because “...morale at the city sucks...” and back when he was mayor “…there was no whining or crying on the council...”

The Merc dug a little deeper into the Club Wet re-opening (after Watch Dog broke the news Monday). It seems the Club’s consultant/ lobbyist agreed to drastic, monumental modifications to get the Club’s entertainment permit back. Oh, wait. Actually, Wet agreed to close 15 minutes early and shrink its occupancy by 15 people. What about holding bad apples accountable?

A pair of San Jose scam artists was busted in Canada. Amir Rashidifar and Mary Delvecchio stole as much as a half million from desperate homeowners. If you have info detective Dave Solis of the San Jose Police Department's Fraud Unit at 408-277-4521.

The folks at Psycho Donuts may have bit off more than they can chew here. Co-Owner/ Head Psycho Kipp Berdiansky will debate Oscar Wright, CEO of United Advocates for Children and Families. Look for the sparks to fly this weekend on KTVU.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro helped local radio when he posted a request from KKUP for a financial boost last month. They’re a little shy of their goal and have on a few days left. If you get KKUP on your dial, perhaps you could cough it up... Pizarro also provides us with today's "Geek Alert!" Douglas Engelbart will be visiting San Jose’s Tech Museum. Don’t know him? Hint: your mouse calls him Papa.

Also in fundraising mode: San Jose’s Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center is desperate for funding, according to interim Executive Director Paul Wysocki.

Morgan Hill Unified School District (former) grant writer Dan Ehrler landed a $1 million Teaching American History grant before his departure. Now he’s coming back as grant coordinator.

Circling the Blogosphere…

• San Jose Insider/ Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo is pissed at California’s “Gang of Five” calling their recent budget decisions “the beginning of the end for California’s world leadership.”
• San Jose Revealed’s mid-June departure has turned into “Oops! This link appears to be broken.” According to Mission City Lantern, Revealed’s demise was caused by a kerfuffle on San Jose City Hall's 18th floor and the fear of a lawsuit. James is expecting the phoenix to arise under a new moniker…

And from our North County friends…

• Palo Alto’s City Manager, Jim Keene, announced (again) he’s ditching the bonus program for management and professional employees.
• The Veterans Affairs clinic in Palo Alto may have blinded 7 patients. Really. Lawsuits are pending…
• Art by committee wins out. A proposed $185,000 sculpture by artist Bruce Beasley was ditched as the Palo Alto Arts Commission decided $50,000 was enough for art. Don’t worry about Beasley, he’ll be putting a $280,000 art in the Mitchell Park Library.
• Zibibbo will be closed for the month after their weekend fire. Guess our plans for herb roasted sirloin will have to wait…

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.24.09: DA Carr meet Lt. Carr

Yet again there’s a big "Oops" being heard over at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. This time the widow of slain shopkeeper Vahid Hosseini got worried when she found out last month her $14,000 security consultant was none other than District Attorney Dolores Carr’s hubby… Too bad it took the widow to raise the alarm in the potential death penalty case. DA Carr is stepping aside from the case... Amazing that this potential conflict didn't come up in the DA's race in 2006. (Just kidding.)

San Jose Congressmember Mike Honda is elated over a $4 million Congressional committee recommendation to clean up Mt. Umunhum’s abandoned military base. If approved, work could begin as soon as fall.

A special OpEd in the Mercury News criticizes Congresswoman Eshoo for wanting to protect the biotech industry a bit too much in the pending healthcare bill. (The OpEd is written by biotech/ pharmaceutical industry watchdogs...)

San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis has a few words for Judge Diane Northway as she ponders the fate of convicted police killer DeShawn Campbell. His “highly unusual” request to speak is supported by Prosecutor Lane Liroff.

The Merc’s Editorial Board meandered through the Norman Mineta International Airport’s new digs, they’re thrilled.

Keeping up with the State money raid: Morgan Hill is looking at losing nearly $10 million over the next 2 years. Assemblymember Bill Monning stopped by City Hall to “commiserate.” Perhaps his commiserating could be better done by making local government's case in Sacramento?

It’s a wet kinda day (not that Wet…) leading to this equation:

• Winter Rains + Horse Poop = A very unhappy Calero Ranch Stables
• More of those Federal Stimulus bucks are heading West. This time the Santa Clara Valley Water District has landed $4.3 million to make recycled water more available. Supervisorial wannabe/ Water District Director Rosemary Kamei pointed to ongoing droughts and the importance of recycled water as key elements in landing money.
• Dredging up a 5 decade old solution, the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority is looking at a bigger channel and a shorter levee to stop the annual flood. The Palo Alto City Council announced their support of the $8 million proposal, mostly funded by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
  

(EPA Superfund * 2 Decades + Toxic Fumes) * People = More Clean up for Mountain View Triangle (and a pretty complicated Watch Dog equation)

That annoying little matter of cost could dash Gilroy recall champion Mark Zappa’s plan to end Mayor Al Pinheiro’s reign. Zappa said “I would never do [the recall] if it cost [$400,000], never.” Zappa still wants to talk to anti-recall campaign manager/ Mayoral wannabe/ Supervisor Don Gage “…to see what he stands for now.”

“…what the hell business is that of yours?” asks Gilroy Councilmember/former Memorial Day parade organizer Craig Gartman who bought “espresso beans” for parade employees. Colleague/ Councilmember Dion Bracco’s wife, Christy, with the new committee is pissed about the (alleged) lack of financial paperwork while District Attorney Dolores Carr receives mysterious “espresso bean” mail. (Perhaps the DA can be part of this case without a conflict?)

Hoping to fill Supervisor Don Gage’s feisty shoes are (at least) four wannabe’s and the Morgan Hill Times introduces them. Of the four, Gilroy Councilmember/Dr. Peter Arellano sent his spokesmodel to answer questions.

If you love paella from Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme (who doesn’t), you can catch them along with other local chefs starting today at the annual homage to the stinking rose. At least, so says the Merc’s Sal Pizarro who nose his way around a good dish.

Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson said thanks, but no thanks to the petitions calling for Los Gatos Council term limits and library spending. Term limit/ anti-library champion former, Councilmember Steve Glickman, was unavailable while Mayor Mike Wasserman said simply they “… didn’t comply with the law.” Watch Dog loves small town politics...

Mountain View City Council hates kids? Youth Motivated for Action and Involvement seems poised to say so after their calls for options for kids are rejected…

A Post-It note fan vandalized the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory damaging thousands of synchrotron radiation lightsource samples. The synchrotron may be best remembered for looking deep into the “evolutionary keystone” Thermopolis Archaeopteryx. (We don't really know what we just wrote, but we figured it was an important story...)

The Blogosphere shrinks…

• San Jose Inside regurgitates Gilroy news on the blossoming Mayoral throwdown.
• San Jose Revealed remains dark and silent.
• Mission City Lantern suggests a knife wielding Guvernator is looking for a throwdown with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed over (Lantern-initiated) San Jose secession plans. Lantern also adds to the "Revealed is..." list. Vote today...
• Protect San Jose has Facebook Chief Privacy Officer/ Attorney General wannabe Chris Kelly writing a campaign piece.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.31.09: Raptors and Beer Friday

The Environmental Impact Report for Santa Clara’s proposed 49er's stadium has landed. (You may not believe it, but Steven Spielberg's imagination figures prominently...) The EIR weighs in at in at roughly 2,800 pages. The rumor that Santa Clara Plays Fair’s Bill Bailey is at Starbucks with those 2,800 pages with highlighter in hand is unfounded...

Taking its lead from a recent Op-Ed by the Chamber's Pat Dando, the Merc’s Editorial Board calls on San Jose Councilmember Kansen Chu to change his tune when it comes to starting a $7.2 million library project. The low bidder was thrown out... it seems Barry Swenson and labor unions have a beef. Wouldn't it be great if there was a blog in town to describe the beef in detail...

Angry Sunnyvalians (?) are storming City Hall asking why a partially demolished Town and Country site is still a disaster a year later. Peter Pau, with Sand Hill Property, says he’s “trying” his best with the “shamefully ugly setting.”

Gilroy’s Mayoral wannabe/ Supervisor Don Gage is pissed the State is cutting Williamson Act support of local farmers. Apparently, Legislators and the Governor changed their mind about California’s future as bread basket of the world.

Gilroy girth growing by 800 acres? Could be if the Planning Commission and City Council approve requests from Gavilan College, Shapell Industries, and Wren Investors. After that, a little Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approval, with Gilroy’s future Mayor/ Supervisor Don Gage as part of the LAFCO team. Just what Silicon Valley needs... more growth in Gilroy.

Sounding a familiar refrain, Palo Alto is facing retiree pension benefits that could cripple the City.

Frustrated Caltrain commuters abandoned the government driven 511.org and are Tweeting their way to happiness dishing details on delays and seat availability.

It was the breast implants, Officer! The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow shared the cheers and jeers from his mail bag following cartoons depicting “Sex, Lies, and Traffic Tickets.”

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro applauds Camera Cinema’s Jim Zuur (Breaststroking his way to fame and glory at the Senior Olympics), Santa Clara County Librarian Melinda Cervantes (co-leading the charge with Urban Libraries Council) and Valley Medical Center’s Chris Wilder (teaching donors to text, hopefully not while driving).

Kudos to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation as they award $500,000 in grants to non-profits keeping food in the belly and a roof over the head.

San Jose Police Officers Association's Bobby Lopez chimes in on the Obama Beer Summit on Protect San Jose. In his post, he promises this, with regards to the Consortium looking at Drunk Arrests in San Jose:

"...we welcome any fair and unbiased study of our work. If the academics come back in a year’s time and clearly prove that we do have a problem, then I’ll be the first to admit it, right here on this blog..."

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.26.09: Any-Excuse-to-Use-Funny-Photo Edition...

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro gives a rundown of San Jose’s latest accolades: 3rd best place for kids (think skate parks), 12th best public university in the west (tied with Humboldt, Fresno, and Texas State), and, drumroll please, top water pollution control plant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (for power generation). Yay us -- 12th best in the west!

Santa Clara Supervisor Ken Yeager hopes to find a way to keep Henry Coe State Park open while colleague/ Supervisor/(soon-to-be Mayor?) Don Gage says close that puppy. The list of closing parks is expected right after your Labor Day hike, so enjoy it.

Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro’s biggest hater, Mark Zappa, is waiting until the Mayor returns from Portugal before filing the recall paperwork and looking to a June 2010 recall election, to save the City money. That's pretty thoughtful... For the record, Gilroy’s future Mayor?/ Supervisor Don Gage made no appearance in the story...

The race to replace Hal Plotkin by appointment to the Foothill-DeAnza Community College Distict is in the final interview stage. Foothill-DeAnza Trustees want to talk with Joan Barram (Cupertino Union School District Trustee), Richard Bernhardt (Business and student lobbyist), Jeannie Conner (Senator Joe Simitian’s political director), and Anita Manwani-Bhagat (business leader at NASA/HP/Agilent).

Congressmember Anna Eshoo’s 2nd “telephone” town hall got her props from the more than 7,000 participants. Eshoo told participants she’s doing a face-to-face on healthcare next week and testily pointed out she’s done more face-to-face town halls than any of her colleagues.

Kathleen Blanchard, the Mother of one of Gunn High Schools suicide victims spoke out at the Palo Alto Unified School Board meeting. Without pointing fingers, she gently urged change in how adults work with students and called for “attitude adjustments and philosophical adjustments” in working with kids. The Merc’s Patty Fisher digs into other teen suicides in Silicon Valley and the news is not good…

NASA Ames is ready to build “Sustainability Base,” architect Kevin Burke loves the “combination of high tech and low tech.” Meaning the building will close itself at night and use the same “technology” as historic California Adobe homes to cool off or warm up. With a little luck, there won’t be a “toxic” siding battle on this green house.

Latest perv alerts heading your way…

• Dentist/(mock) breast health worker Benva Oshana Lazar has added another complaint to his patient list – bringing his total to 8 (so far) patients pissed to learn breast exams are not part of dental practice.
• Teacher/ perv Edward Riley Slate III was busted for a 6 month sexual relationship with a student at Santa Clara’s Wilcox High.

(shy) Erotica enthusiasts/ burglars hit Gilroy’s Simply Romance for a third time taking off with leather wrist bands, cash, and owner Hank Provost’s new pipe, among other goodies. The increased attention from thieves doesn’t deter Provost, “if anything, I’m more determined to stick around.” Perhaps we now know where the ball gag came from...

San Jose Insider/ Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo (could he have a longer title?) has endorsed former Franklin-McKinley Superintendent Larry Aceves as his favorite for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

San Jose Inside’s Fly celebrates a (temporary?) reprieve for the (Fly hangout) “dingy, punky, (puky?)” Caravan Bar over an (un)watered down White Russian. (apparently) The Merc’s Internal Affairs story pissed off bartenders who “scribbled down letters” (on napkins) demanding an apology. Fly's piece also proves that Metro writers are probably a lot more fun to hang out with than Merc writers...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.24.09: Drunk Corsortium/Task Force Edition...

San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly questions the invitation to the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity, saying Police Chief Rob Davis likely had them in mind before the Drunk Task Force was a gleam in the Mayor and Councilmember Nora Campos’ eyes. Seems the Chief made plans with the Consortium sometime before mentioning it to the Task Force. He is said to have been eager to participate with the Consortium as of November last year and has San Jose Police Department as a participating organization on the CPLE website. So, back to Watch Dog’s original post: was there ever a plan by Mayor Reed or Councilmember Campos for the Task Force to be anything other than a place for community members to vent? Or was Councilmember Sam Liccardo prescient when he said: “…the place where good ideas go to die...” If Liccardo was right, then Reed and Campos must have known the bait and switch, Task Force and Consortium, was the plan all along...

San Jose Insider/Silicon Valley De-Bug(er) Raj Jayadev blogs his irritation with San Jose’s (apparent) drunk in public, racial (Latino) profiling problem.

Santa Clara District Attorney Dolores Carr finally has something to celebrate, a huge drug bust in a joint effort with Alameda and Monterey Counties. Over a million dollars in cash, weapons, and spy toys were captured along with 200 pounds of cocaine worth $5 million – leaving local coke-heads out of luck. Of course, the story also says the deliveries from Mexico take place every few weeks so how long the pipeline stays dry is up in the air.

San Jose and the County of Santa Clara are back at it with a tussle over money. Supervisor Don Gage seems hopeful saying under the previous regime (whose name he doesn’t share) they’d all be marching into court. This time the bickering is low key and private, like a tense couple at a party slugging down Martinis.

Would you rat out your neighbor for wasting water washing the Winnebago? The Santa Clara Valley Water District hopes you do. Facing an ongoing drought the District is contemplating cutbacks at today’s meeting. By the way, District Board members also consider allowing voters to decide term limits.

The Merc’s Editorial Board cheers for Supervisor Dave Cortese’s push towards solar and urges the Supervisors to look for rooftops and paved areas – rather than open space – for panel placement. Like, maybe their parking lot on North First?

The Merc’s Ann Killion, focused on sports, questions the wisdom of the A’s Lew Wolff bad mouthing Oakland and the stadium. Wolff initially called the Oakland stadium aging and backtracked a few days later saying he hadn’t intended to insult Oakland. Perhaps not, but Wolff wants a spiffy new place for his team to play and San Jose wants to give it to him.

Passage of Prop 1A and support from the Feds has high speed rail moving forward at a full gallop, which terrifies NIMBY’s between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro and Councilmember Perry Woodward agree the train is a boon to the Gilroy economy saying, “great European cities grew up around train stations.” Even Gilroy’s Chamber of Commerce gets in on the pro-train chant calling it an economic boon. The challenge for the High Speed Rail Authority is both how to prevent building a modern day Berlin Wall and letting NIMBY’s know their communities won’t be divided. And no offense Gilroy, but you'll never be a great European city...

Morgan Hill is into recycling – at least when it comes to ballot measures. The former Measure H has been repackaged as Measure A for May’s special election. Councilmembers hope to gain support for 500 homes they want downtown. Former Mayor Dennis Kennedy is leading the charge to May and vows not to get complacent – this time.

San Jose Revealed goes into mind-boggling (and mind-numbing) detail with charts and graphs analyzing the turnout in this month’s recall effort against San Jose Councilmember Madision Nguyen. (They lost me at Hello...) Bottom line in all the pointy-headed details: turnout was good not great and more people are voting absentee with each election. Mission City Lantern’s James Rowen also read Revealed’s analysis, Rowen calls it the “most accurate set of predictions of voting trends…”

Revealed uses their joy of analysis to look at local 2010 races. They agree with Watch Dog that San Jose’s Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo will have boring races, Madison Nguyen will face challengers and remain successful, oddly doesn’t bother to mention Nora Campos’ brother-in-waiting to fill his sister’s shoes. A fuller Watch Dog recap of Revealed's recap will appear here later today.

San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio complains he’s not part of closed door meetings with labor and calls for a city wide vote on making all negotiations public. Careful what you wish for Councilmember. Public negotiations are a sure way to kill any and all projects...and is what the Labor community was pushing with Community Benefits Initiative years ago...

The clerical screw-up that left the Gilroy Unified School District short $6 million has Supervisorial freshman Dave Cortese lending a hand. Cortese agrees with Supervisor Don Gage that something needs to be done immediately. With all the talking going on, Watch Dog hopes they figure it out soon. It is significantly less interesting to watch the screw-up drag on endlessly than it is to find (and share) solutions to them.

Mountain View residents and eight mediators met to talk about building affordable housing on a parking lot. One resident complained the area would be ghetto-ized with the ROEM development alongside the PacificEuro hotel. Jonathan Emami, a ROEM Vice President, promised a project that was “richly detailed” and would look like a market rate project. Pissed off residents have to wait until July for the design meeting. (If the name ROEM looks familiar, it is because they are the company looking to fast-track an expensive loan from the City of San Jose Housing Department...)

San Jose’s Bill Carlson is bringing good eats to the streets of San Jose – and hoping he’s found the next big thing in downtown eating: beer-bathed sausages. You can find Carlson, and your next brat, at Market & Santa Clara.

Silicon Valley’s Dancing ‘Teletubbie’ Geek Steve Wozniak fills in concerned Mr. Roadshow readers on his various injuries and his dancing exploits. Remember, Vote for Woz and your Prius speeding sins shall be forgiven.

The arts may be struggling with the economic downturn but that hasn’t stopped the Arts Council from naming Nils Peterson as Santa Clara County’s Poet Laureate. Peterson calls himself a ‘coffee shop poet,’ Watch Dog hopes that means we can see him wandering between Trieste and Peet's for a local reading.

Your Los Altos Town Crier mobile update will fill you in on PG&E’s planned power outages Wednesday.

On a (somewhat) related note...

There was a power outage in Palo Alto over the weekend, but that isn't the most interesting part of the story. Check out this media tid-bit about Palo Alto's Utility Department during the outage:

No city utilities officials were available Sunday afternoon or evening to provide information about what was happening.

Oops...

Super-Sized Morning News Round-Up -- 5.17.10: Blood-Sport Monday - Hockey and Politics...

The Western Conference Finals started Sunday... Sharks lost... but at the end of the series, we are looking forward to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley sending some of Chicago's finest (and fattiest) foods west to San Jose. He and Mayor Reed made a little wager. Chuck may receive a bunch of Vienna Beef soon. Yum.

But hockey was the mild sport over the weekend with politics being a little more dangerous... Especially in San Jose's City Council District 5...

Let's go chronologically:

The Mayor may be sharing some of Chicago's finest foods from Mayor Daley with his new BFF, Magdalena Carrasco. He endorsed her late last week, according to Watch Dog's email...

But that wasn't the only, or the most intriguing, part of that City Council race this weekend. Mailers were mailed out that took a big shot at Xavier Campos' role at MACSA courtesy of the Chamber. (Can you use the phrase "courtesy of" when you are talking about who paid for a hit piece?) Longtime readers of Watch Dog will not be surprised about the MACSA/Campos connection...

But that wasn't even the more intriging news out of that City Council race. It seems someone is (illegally) using Magdalena Carrasco's name to put out a fake mailer that has her standing with a communist Vietnamese flag... welcome to 1950... The Mayor is not pleased with this latest development and is calling on the DA, the Elections Commission, the post office, and the media to all do their job to identify who did this shady work... Watch Dog won't speculate, even though we'd love to...

As if there wasn't enough going on on San Jose's east side, there was an emergency landing at Reid-Hillview over the weekend... and a man was shot and killed in the Tropicana parking lot on Sunday morning.

Expect this story to also have political repurcussions: Dolores Carr's DA's office apparently stopped the forensic testing of some evidence in the De Anza rape case. This according to evidence in an ongoing civil trial... Jeff Rosen's team is no doubt reprinting this story and distributing it widely... Especially now that he has the support of some high-placed friends...

A big, long in-depth story was in Saturday's Mercury News about the new County Executive Jeff Smith. He has some fans, namely the County Board of Supervisors, who extended his contract through 2013. But the more interesting part of the story is the detractors: the County's unions do not like Jeff Smith. But that might be expected... but Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren? Apparently Smith pushed off a meeting with Lofgren for months. Here's what she said:

"His comments so far appear to be precipitous, haphazard and detrimental to the foundation of county government... People are calling to complain to me. I spent 14 years of my life making a good hospital and many of us are thinking, 'What is he doing?'"

Well, we know he isn't making friends with people in high places...

That isn't the only County employee in the news this week... there is a new County Counsel in the mix -- the acting County Counsel Miguel Marquez is getting the acting removed from his name...

The Merc's Internal Affairs shed some light into how the employee negotiations are going at the City of San Jose. It seems that City Manager Deb Figone had her lunch at Flames interupted by some city workers that were having a protest and started banging on Flames' windows yelling "Save our jobs!"... of course, Figone used to eat lunch at Morton's, but since the pay cut, she's now at Flames... We also learn from IA that the San Jose Redevelopment Agency forked over a $62 million check to the State Govenrment t his week. No word yet if the Governor has signed the thank you note...

Also in an attempt to get attention for their union plight, Jim Unland at the San Jose Police Officers' Association wrote a Memo to the Mayor on Friday... we're sorry we missed it then, but the Mayor probably isn't...

Perhaps this will help with the Figone/Employee and Police/Mayor relations: Measure K in San Jose got the deep dive in Sunday's paper as the Merc's Sandra Gonzales goes into the lovely Garden City Casino for some "man/woman on the street/at the table" interviews and looks at the pros and cons of relying on gambling to plug San Jose's budget holes...

The Water District reversed course and approved a new map for districts. Gilroy is no longer with Palo Alto... And that new Gilroy/Morgan Hill district is the one that the fast-food toy-loving Supervisor Don Gage will run for this fall... But the Mayors of Gilroy and Morgan Hill are still not pleased...

Sometimes it is good to have a reporter/columnist that is over 25 years old... such is the case with Scott Herhold. He gives a great perspective on Larry Pegram's first go'round on the San Jose City Council. If you read between the lines, Pegram left the Council with his three buddies on the heals of a bribery scandal... Pegram wasn't indicted or found to have done anything wrong...

File this story under D -- as in "Drive Cindy Chavez Crazy." Local political consultant Jude Barry is a founder of a technology firm that allows folks to register to vote and sign ballot petitions through iPhones, iPads, and other smart phones. It is the same company that landed Barry on the California Labor Federation's Do Not Patronize list... (This story should tell you how important that list is...) The Santa Clara County Registrar is accepting registrations that use Verafirma technology...

File this story under W for Weird... the Merc Editorial Board, generally a pro-education parcel tax bunch is "reserving judgement" on one parcel tax this June -- Measure I in Alum Rock Union Elementary School District because they are not including charter schools in their tax measure. The other parcel taxes in Milpitas, Oak Grove, and Mount Pleasant get the Merc Editorial nod...

Palo Alto may be getting some taller buildings... above 50 feet actually. Expect the NIMBYs to start the rebellion soon...

Ken Yeager and the rest of the Santa Clara County Supervisors (except Don Gage and George Shirakawa) get props from Dorothy Dimitre in the San Mateo Daily Journal for their fast food toy ban...

We didn't write about this last week, but it doesn't mean we missed it. Saratoga City Councilmember Susie Nagpal died last week. Very sad story.

And because sometimes important things happen outside of our regular sphere: Burlingame and its police department have started the long road toward pension reform. From the San Mateo County Times: "...Police sergeants and captains in Burlingame have agreed to pay freezes through the end of the year and are ready to cut retiree benefits, the first union contract that includes pension reform for a city struggling to deal with escalating employee costs..."

Morning News Round-Up – 1.30.09: Drunks, Fast Cars and Animal Cruelty...

A rift is growing on San Jose’s Drunk Task Force. Community members are demanding a look back while city staff seem to think the past is irrelevant. Watch Dog has been following San Jose’s drunken intrigue from the beginning. Perhaps a sign of things to come…

• "I don't think that we need to have [arrest reports] to take a good and hard look at the way (public intoxication) arrests are conducted now or for us to come up with options to make things better,'' said Deputy City Manager Norberto Duenas. Those who forget history...
• ACLU head, Skyler Porras is pissed and said it’s all about "public relations [rather] than an opportunity to create accountability and transparency."
  
• Metro/De-Bug’s Raj Jayadev agreed saying "It's very strange to be asked to investigate an issue and not be given the most relevant documents to do an a honest examination."
  
• San Jose City Manager Deb Figone wants the Sunshine Reform Task Force to address the issue of report release – of course, Sunshine wants the reports released it’s Rules where the hang-up occurs.
  
• Attorney/Merc attendee at Sunshine committees James Chadwick "The members of the rules committee have been clear they have no interest in providing public access to police reports,"

Splattered all over the old-school news today – Plans to build Tesla plant in San Jose cancelled. Watch Dog issued the warning last year, a month later Watch Dog scooped the competition and yesterday watched as the rest of the media caught up. Tesla is lining up behind banks/states/local mayors for federal money to keep things moving. In a sign that Mayor Chuck Reed has been reading Watch Dog he says (now) the news was disappointing but not unexpected. Company founder Elon Musk will be unveiling the latest edition to the family – in Los Angeles – in March.

SanJoseRevealed gloats a little over the Tesla loss laying responsibility for the economic downfall at the feet of Chuck Reed. Revealed also spent time googling Dan Pulcrano and Chuck Reed – double checking positioning for SJR stories. Revealed didn’t find the multiple mentions of SJR on Watch Dog.

Boots is heading to jail, at least that’s what it looks like with Del Biaggio pleading guilty to at least some of the charges against him. The US Attorney Generals office and Boots’ lawyer Elliot Peters aren’t talking to the press but it’s clear Boots’ is talking to someone.
The Morgan Hill Times editorial board weighs in on efforts in Morgan Hill and Gilroy to cope with the economic crisis and takes issue with a few things. Like, it’s going to take 3 years to study the economic crisis? Looks like Morgan Hill and Gilroy are competing with San Jose in the study-don’t-solve department.

Duffers are among the latest group proposed to help raise state funds and local golf courses are not happy. "It's like getting hit with a sucker punch," said Tony Lauria, director of sales and marketing at Coyote Creek Golf Club north of Morgan Hill. "It's unfair to hit an industry that's struggling, and doing its best to keep our jobs."

Gilroy moved it’s police headquarters into a new building and promptly slapped a sign on the front claiming it was a “green business.” Seems Gilroy needs a lesson in what it means to reduce the carbon footprint. The new building is an energy hog and accounts for 41% of the city’s entire electricity and gas bill. Lisa Jensema, who recently lost her job as Gilroy’s Environmental Programs Coordinator, says the boastful sticker on the front door was not claiming to have reduced the city's carbon footprint, but to have encouraged other green practices - increased recycling, warmer clothes during the winter, shuttered blinds during summer, and so on.

The latest victim of the economic crisis? Animals, specifically animals in rodeos. County Supervisor Don Gage said "We don't feel the animal cruelty ordinance is a high priority right now." Not wanting to leave it at that acting county executive Gary Graves wrote, "we do not believe we have the resources at this time to adequately provide the review and development of options that will allow the board to make an informed decision on the (animal cruelty ordinance)."

There’s a sea change in shopping centers – Cupertino and Sunnyvale plan to capitalize on modern thought rather than rebuild the Edsel. With Sand Hill Property’s Peter Pau at the helm and 34 acre’s of shopping, housing, office space and so on. "We are not trying to create a mall here. We're blowing the mall up," Reed Moulds, Sand Hill project manager said. It looks like mall experts took a trip to Europe, question is, how well will communities adapt to the local mall being integrated in residential neighborhoods?

Abandoned in San Jose, J.R. ended up at the Santa Clara animal shelter. That is, until his mug was spotted by celebrity animal trainer Mathilde DeCagny. Now the formerly homeless terrier is a star in Hotel for Dogs. In the rare occasion where animal cruelty ends up benefitting the critter...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.28.10: This stuff writes itself sometimes...

Where to even begin on a day like today. Contentious budget cuts at San Jose City Hall? No. Banning fatty toys at the County Building? No. Sacramento shenanigans that have impacts in Silicon Valley... perfect...

There might be an election in some parts of Silicon Valley in May, June (x2), August, and November... that's because the Governor would like to fast-pitch the special election to replace Senator/Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado... (we wonder who this helps... hmmm...) "Hello Pat, It's Arnold. What are you doing between now and August?..."

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to ban toy giveaways at fast food joints within unincorporated areas of the County. The two that voted against the measure: Don Gage and George Shirakawa... seriously, this stuff writes itself...

Big day at San Jose City Hall yesterday... they were voting to cut the fat a little bit further, including their own paychecks. The tension at City Hall is apparently at an all-time high... or so they say. Unions are pissed at the City. The City would (ahem) like more cooperation from the unions... and never the twain shall meet, apparently. So the City Council needs to do something, and the only thing they can really do is cut -- and without willing unions, they have to cut non-willing unions..

That is on the cut side of things, but on the revenue side of things in San Jose, there are tons of folks looking at Measure K as one way to help stem the tide. Measure K would allow the City's two card rooms to expand in return for a higher rake for the City's coffers. (New slogan: What happens in San Jose, stays in San Jose...) The San Jose Police Officers' Association is opposed to the Measure (so are a few Council members)... but the San Jose Firefighters have thrown their support on the other side of things. Firefighters and Police Officers usually don't break ranks with each other on such things... perhaps this is a sign of things to come?

Earmarks are the bane of every good-government stalwart... of course, the disapproval is for other people's earmarks, not our own. Our folks requested $612 million in earmarks in next year's budget, which does not include the cool billion that Congresswoman Jackie Speier is proposing for Bay clean-up projects...

Minton's in Mountain View is about to get 203 units of housing. Of course, the new development isn't without detractors or NIMBYs... Mayor Ronit Bryant said it pretty well, in Watch Dog's estimation: "Will it bring more people into the neighborhood?... Yes, and I want more people downtown. We can't be proud of having a vibrant downtown and then say we don't want any more people in it..." You said it! Perhaps they could share the love with downtown San Jose?

You remember the story about the consultants that the City of Palo Alto hired to look into how to save money within their fire department... and how the consultants had never ever, not even once, recommended staffing reductions? Well, the consulting firm has been sacked...

Here is a heartwarming story from South County: A mother was arrested (and her kids were taken from her) because she left her kids alone at a motel. The four year old was wandering around the parking lot and the two year old was in a room alone. A special place in hell awaits...

We'll end with this, in case you don't read the East Bay Express... (pregnant pause) ... Some fans have been kicked out of A's games in Oakland for having anti-Lew Wolff banners. No wonder Lew Wolff wants to get out of there as soon as possible...

Reed: "Lew, you have my word: no banners in Cisco Field..."

Wolff: "That's the guarantee I've been looking for. Thank you Chuck... When can we move in?"

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.16.09: Untrusted Trustees...

East Side Union High School District has a “line of troubles” and a “string of scandals” according to the Merc’s Editorial Board. They call on Trustees to do a national search for a “charismatic, ethical, reform-minded” Superintendent to replace their most recently disgraced leader. There’s also a hint of what incumbent Trustees 2010 election could look like with this Editorial pointing to the Board's own scandals. (Don't say we didn't warn everyone...)

Back in the news… Are kids committing adult crimes old enough to serve adult sentences? Santa Clara District Attorney Dolores Carr is staying out of the public eye while the Supreme Court weighs in on a case that could affect her chances to send teenagers to jail forever in the Halloween attack on children.

San Jose Police busted two teens, 15 and 16, for the murder of Santa Teresa High sophomore Michael Russell. While the names of the kids are kept under wraps, students and parents figured it out and scoured their MySpace pages looking for clues to the senseless attack.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold shines a light on pressing reader questions over the return of medical services to downtown San Jose. Herhold’s guess as to the biggest risk “a suburban-style clinic with parking and fence” could do in chances for “an intelligent urban mix of homes and shops,” with a medical clinic.

Patience is a virtue and it pays well. Cargill Salt dickered with the IRS for 6 years over how big a tax break they should receive for sale of the salt flats. Pesky environmentalists aside, Cargill walks away with a cool $100 million tax break.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs reports District Attorney Dolores Carr couldn’t help getting chummy with pal/ contributor/ attorney Jim McManis. In spite of the recent hot water Carr got in over her relationship with McManis, Carr was sharing cocktails with chum him. We wonder which one of McManis' clients are going to get a deal this week...

IA also notes the 2010 races are heating up as Gilroy Councilmember Peter Arellano jumps into the crowded pool of contenders for Supervisor Don Gage’s (termed out) seat.

IA has the hots for opposing San Jose City Council aspirants, Don Rocha and Jim Cogan. IA calls this a “swoon-inducing contest.” Watch Dog has to wonder how folks would respond to such language if the two candidates were women...

The final Environmental Impact Report for the (proposed) 49ers Santa Clara stadium popped up late Friday afternoon, just in time for a little light weekend reading. According to Assistant City Manager Ronald Garratt, traffic and parking were – of course – the big issues. Garrett suggests you need an actual game day to see if the planning worked.

San Jose Unified School Districts chief nurse Melinda Landau is heading to downtown San Jose with a basket of swine flu shots for kids. San Jose Unified is the only District shooting for mass inoculation. According to District Superintendent Don Igelesia’s District-wide inoculation is Landau’s “mission.”

Los Gatos molester Del Colegrove is heading to jail – until 2063. Busted for molesting a 16 year old, Colegrove was also accused of molesting the girl’s older sister 20 years ago.

Editors at the Mountain View Voice wonder if their City Council considered the conflicting message sent when they ok'ed a freeway accessible shopping mall at the same time setting aggressive goals for greenhouse gas reductions. The Voice suggests a shopping mall might be a better idea downtown with a park and housing on their new found land next to the Stevens Creek Trail.

Morning News Round-Up --- 12.17.08: Sports teams leaving, coming, and (hopefully) building downtown...

If using the Taser stops being cool, will police departments go back to bullets? This summer, after the dismissal of 70 lawsuits, TASER International was found partly responsible in the death of Robert C. Heston. (Apparently not related to this gun-loving Heston.) Yesterday, the City of San Jose agreed to pay $70,000 to the wife and child Jose Angel Rios – the City’s first Taser-death-related settlement. San Jose officials face the dismal prospect of two more lawsuits for Taser-related deaths.

After nearly three decades as a public servant, Supervisor Blanca Alvarado attended one last heated meeting as the Supervisors decided to renovate, not expand, the William F. James Boys Ranch. Supervisor Don Gage fought to expand the ranch saying, "We need to go for the 108 beds — this society is getting more violent." (Not everywhere Supervisor Gage, mostly just in your neck of the woods...)

At the same County Supervisors' meeting, and in a presumably much less contentious discussion, Supervisors decided to continue inspecting boats for the invasive quagga mussel.

Crackberry users might need a ranch of their own soon. Mr. Roadshow reminds us that texting while driving joins playing an accordion while driving as a jail-ready offense beginning January 1, 2009. Put the Crackberry and accordions down while driving people...

In spite of a request from San Jose’s outgoing Vice Mayor (Supervisor-elect) Dave Cortese and patients, Good Samaritan Hospital is closing a medical rehab program for cardiac patients. San Jose businessman Tim Bumb says it’s a mistake to close, because he has been using the facility since his quadruple bypass last year. Between Bay 101 and the San Jose Flea Market, Bumb can probably afford a treadmill if not an entire spa.

An excited Lana Malloy took office Tuesday as a Monte Sereno’s Councilmember. A fan of protecting hillsides, Malloy said serving on the Towns Site and Architectural Committee was a must before election to council and reported working on pressing issues such as correct story poles. (story poles?) Malloy fears a proposal from Russ Stanely to convert the La Hacienda Inn into a multi-story senior housing complex saying, "My fear is if [Stanley] gets his way with multi-family housing, it puts the city in jeopardy." After all, who wants those pesky seniors living nearby.

While some cities still can’t manage to get their council meetings on television (Attention Watch Dog San Mateo -- your cities of Atherton and East Palo Alto can't seem to get this right...) Morgan Hill has taken the fireside chat to a new level. As if the world was clamoring for it, now you can get your fix of City Manager Ed Tewes via podcast. Most recently Tewes chatted with Councilmember Marby Lee about the economic struggles faced by Morgan Hill.

As Sunnyvale’s Sailor/Councilmember Otto Lee leaves for Iraq the City Council voted to appoint former Councilmember Dean Chu to keep Lee’s seat warm until his return. Chu came closest (but still lost) in the November 2007 election. David Whittum (the highest vote-getter) and Chris Moylan voted against the proposal. (In an unrelated note, for those of you interested in San Mateo politics...check out what happened yesterday in San Mateo County when a seat opened up -- our northern Watch Dog is an angry dog...)

The Merc's Sal Pizzaro reports Santa Clara University’s Father Paul Locatelli accepted a replica of the St. John’s Bible worth nearly $100,000 from university benefactor Tita Crilly Diepenbrock. If you’re able to repeat the name of the Bible’s home three times “Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library” you can visit, and touch the beautiful reproduction.

Opera lovers are a passionate bunch but they don’t normally pay in blood. Opera San Jose’s General Director Irene Dalis is giving opera lovers the opportunity to win tickets to the opening night of Cosi fan Tutti with a donation to the Red Cross. An offer even Dracula would love.

Saratogans will soon be able to get their tea fix locally, Maria Tran’s Teas the Season received approval from the Saratoga Planning Commission – along with a request that the restaurant stay open past 4 p.m. daily and have outdoor seating.

Cupertino is filling a position for Environmental Coordinator in spite of a heated debate on the Council. Councilmember Dolly Sandoval was determined to keep the position funded saying, “I am hoping that we're not going to backtrack on that decision by being penny-wise and pound-foolish. This position is going to pay for itself over and over again." Colleague Gilbert Wong worried the State might (might?) take more money from local jurisdictions – seeking to ease concerns City Manager David Knapp said Cupertino is “…very careful with our pennies. We have an organization that knows how to react in hard times." Famous last words...

The Merc Editorial team cheers the idea of a A’s ballpark in downtown San Jose. Lew Wolff is encouraged to look for private funding ala SBC/Pac Bell/AT&T park. Unfortunately, Major League Baseball hates that idea, but Scott Knies probably loves it...

Music makes the news in Saratoga – the drum major along with the rest of the marching band of Redwood Middle School head to D.C. for an appearance in the Obama inaugural parade. The kids need your help getting there – sending 115 kids will cost $200,000. The Merc’s Patty Fisher asks you send your check for the Saratoga Music Boosters to Redwood Middle School at 13925 Fruitvale Ave Saratoga, CA 95070.

Vova and Jenny Ekhilevsky lost their 4 year old daughter to a mysterious illness and want to know why. Originally thought to be meningitis, the child’s death had parents in Los Gatos and the Santa Cruz mountains terrified. Now, the Coroner’s office has no idea why this otherwise healthy child died.

Apparently seeking to outdo Supervisor-elect George Shirakawa, Jr. for expensive taste, Morton's Steakhouse in downtown San Jose saw the New England Patriots chow down following their victory of the Oakland Raiders. San Jose Inside’s The Fly says that while the steaks are expensive at Morton’s it was the champagne and cognac that helped the bill tip the scales at $30,000.

Also hanging out in San Jose restaurants, Sal Pizzaro attended a farewell party for San Jose’s (fired) Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard at Smoke Tiki Lounge. The party included De-Bug’s Raj Jayadev, former IPA now Superior Court Judge Teresa Guerrero-Daley along with a host of Councilmembers. Attard promises to continue consulting on police-oversight issues saying, "I'll still be a thorn in the sides of those who need that, and a beacon of light to others.”

San Jose Inside's Tom McEnery chides The Fly for referring to the boys in blue as “rogues” preferring instead to lay that moniker at the feet of federal judges considering the release of 52,000 inmates due to overcrowded prisons. McEnery worries that poor neighborhoods may see an influx of ex-cons.

The death of the SaberCats leads San Jose Revealed to a long diatribe about the various sporting maneuvers underway in San Jose.

Can it really be MacWorld without Apple? Yep, Steve Jobs has yanked Apple and himself from MacWorld after next months event. Rumors abound that Jobs’ health is the real reason for the disappearance from MacWorld...and the tumble in the stock price...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.6.09: "We love democracy...but not THAT much..."

Ly Tong, the man who went on a hunger strike because "Little Saigon" was that important to him, is again at the center of controversy. He was at rally at San Jose’s City Hall to keep the recall efforts against Councilmember Madison Nguyen in mind – and to demand an undemocratic appointment if the recall is successful. Nguyen, showing the poise that was missing early on in this fiasco, said, "At this point, my focus is to do my job as a council member during the day and at night to reach out to as many voters as I can."

So...if Watch Dog has this correct. The pro-recall folks love democracy so much that they want to excercise their right to recall a Councilmember, but they don't love it enough to actually believe voters should have the choice about who should represent them next?

Also in recall news, another name has popped up as a possible appointee, community activist/CA Peace Prize winner/Education Fund Boardmember Cora Tomalinas.

Booooooo....Larry Stone, Santa Clara County’s Assessor, is reviewing home sales as long ago as 2000 to try to catch all the homes that have turned over since the dot com bust. The hardest hit parts of the County: Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Milpitas, as well as East and Central San Jose are expected to see home prices plunge. Stone came out using the “D” word and said, "If it isn't the Great Depression, it's the Great Recession." Stone must have been reading Watch Dog, because we've used the phrase before...

San Jose is planning for the future with the Envision 2040 Task Force...The Task Force wants you to provide thoughts. (In case you have absolutely, positively nothing else to do) the Envision 2040 Task Force is meeting at the Mexican Heritage Plaza at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow.

San Jose State University is raising tuition and cutting back on the number of students it accepts in an attempt to deal with the severe loss of funding from the State. Oh yeah, and as unemployment rates increase, State schools face an increasing demand for their classes. (If you'd like truly unique take on all things San Jose State, you should head over the Mission City Lantern. James has some thoughts...)

While you’re sitting around unemployed, unable to get into school, and not helping either the recall or anti-recall folks, perhaps you'd like to look at the Madoff Client Database. For entertainment you can see which of your friends had investments with Bernie Madoff. Like Ian Thiermann, the 90 year old of Ben Lomond, who is now working at the corner market to put food on the table. Wouldn't it be ironic if Boots Del Biaggio was invested with Madoff and vice versa?

Those loud cheers your heard over the honk of the CalTrain horn this morning were cyclist who are getting more space on trains...in April. Congrats cyclists -- you had a grievance, you got it heard, and you got it (partially) addressed. Now, about those tights...

South County Councilmembers/VTA Boardmembers Greg Sellers (Morgan Hill) and Perry Woodward (Gilroy) showed up at a VTA City group meeting to elect their VTA alternate. Unsurprisingly, the guy who didn’t show up, Milpitas Mayor Bob Livengood, didn’t win the seat. Sellers was accused of political maneuvering by Livengood, positioning himself for a run at termed out Supervisor Don Gage’s seat in 2010. Sellers dismissed that with a laugh saying he was “not interested” in Gage’s seat and "I think it's silly and naive to say that." Wow! A fight is brewing between Greg Sellers and Bob Livengood...perhaps this Mild-Mannered Show Down could be on Pay-Per-View...