Morning News Round-Up -- 2.16.10: Lobbying Sacramento finally pays off for San Jose...

It has been a very long weekend... but we'll try to remember what the news was on Friday afternoon, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Here we go. Let us know what we missed -- which you usually do anyway...

Well, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmembers Pete Constant, Ash Kalra, Nancy Pyle, and Judy Chirco's lobbying Assemblymembers Paul Fong and Joe Coto paid off... Fong and Coto are pulling their request for a State audit into the San Jose Police Department. With that success rate, we wonder if Reed/ Constant/ Kalra/ Chirco/ Pyle should head back to lobby for school funding. (San Jose Inside had the scoop first, then the Merc... for those of you keeping score at home.)

Speaking of folks who don't like others looking over their shoulders...

Diversity in Silicon Valley companies was all over the news this weekend. Some folks (Google, Yahoo, Apple, Oracle, and Applied Materials) don't really like to share their diversity data with folks... folks like the Mercury News. Don't be evil... ahem...

The San Jose Police Officers Association has been working overtime... with the Mayor's very public and very strongly worded letter to Assemblymembers Fong and Coto to call off the audit dogs in Sacramento. Followed by the aforementioned lobbying trip to Sacramento by the Mayor and four Councilmembers. Then, in Sunday's paper, the POA got former Mayor Tom McEnery to chime in against the newspaper and activists. But Watch Dog's favorite line was this:

But questions long avoided by the media must be asked. How do a few politically connected mega-nightclubs, with their hand-picked lobbyists, put thousands of alcohol-infused young men on a collision course with our police? And why let clubs that generate hundreds of calls for service each year, stripping the city's neighborhoods of cops, be subsidized by everyone else?

Watch Dog has asked those questions Mayor McEnery, we really, really, really have...

The Merc chimes in on the City of San Jose budget -- and they think employees need to step it up, cut their salaries, or expect to lose their jobs... There is a study session today in San Jose to talk about the budget. That should be fun...

There was a revised report about baseball in downtown San Jose that re-did the numbers on noise and traffic. If you start from no noise and no traffic, like in downtown San Jose, of course there will be more if you add something fun to do... No doubt NIMBYs are meeting at the Peet's on the Alameda today to discuss what to do next...

And while San Jose looks for a MLB stadium and Santa Clara looks for an NFL stadium, the good folks in Morgan Hill are just hoping for a proper football stadium at Sobrato High School... but unlike in San Jose and Santa Clara, the charge is being led by high school seniors in Morgan Hill... One small problem, the stadium would actually be in San Jose's 'greenbelt' and Councilmember Ash Kalra isn't having any of it.

Tom Campbell switched races... and raised some money too!

The good folks at Internal Affairs in the Merc must be getting inundated with campaign stuff... because their column was very, very full this weekend:

• Larry Pegram of censorship fame is considering a run for San Jose City Council District 9... didn't Watch Dog hint at that recently?
• Madison Nguyen's re-election campaign is full of challengers... and one of them is Andy Diaz. Are you surprised?
• The San Jose Police Officers' Association gets an airing and IA runs down their questionnaire and the "correct" (or pandering) answers.
• Whitman didn't push Tom Campbell out of the Governor's race... money did
• And it became very clear that IA reads our sister blog, Watch Dog San Mateo, because they go into Watch Dog-esque detail about San Mateo County's big name departures from the political scene, including Warren Slocum...

Not only was IA on their political game... the Merc's Scott Herhold was also on the political beat and wrote an incredibly long breakdown of local races. He touched the big ones (Governor, US Senate), the medium ones (Sheriff, DA, Supervisor District 1), and the little ones (San Jose City Council Districts 5, 7, and 9).

Finally...

Raj at DeBug, this headline is made for your snickering: Normal police presence planned for Mardi Gras... We guess that is open to interpreting the word "normal"...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.23.09: San Jose = Agrestic?

It seems someone at the Chronicle is finally paying attention to what happens south of SFO. Last week it was this story, this week it is Matier & Ross getting into the action talking about how a 2-team option is included in the 49er's Environmental Impact Report that was passed unanimously by the Santa Clara Planning Commission. (Thank you very friendly Mr./Ms. Anonymous...)

San Jose usually loves being unique, but this is not be one of those times. Sunday’s headline on the Merc “S.J. Strategy in mental disturbances questioned.” Those pesky paper-sellers chatted up police in New York and Memphis to learn how officers with mental health training are sent when mental illness is a factor in dispatch calls. San Jose Police Sgt. Teresa Jeglum says SJPD doesn’t “have the staffing for an automatic trigger.” Probably not the best choice of words Sgt. Jeglum when responding to a story about a Police shooting...

Keeping up with San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis, the Merc’s Scott Herhold suggests there’s a growing rift between Mayor Reed and Davis due to “pratfalls” (the shooting of Daniel Pham), “personnel” and “politics.” Herhold pokes at Davis for keeping even his SJPD start date a state secret. With a little sleuthing, Herhold learns Davis can officially ditch San Jose with a pension over $200,000 October 24, 2010. For those of you who like to keep count, October 24th is 11 months from tomorrow... and from what our folks on the 18th floor tell us, that is going to be a loooooong 11 months for the Chief.

Let the mud fly. Silicon Valley’s GOP gubernatorial wannabe’s are getting their YouTube experience early as they slap each other around in an early war of the words. According to the Merc’s Internal Affairs a recent Merc story drew claws from the teams of Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman. At least these two will be prepared for the childish games in Sacramento should either of them beat Jerry Brown...

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed hopes to freeze Redevelopment Agency spending, slicing Redevelopment chief Harry Mavrogenes budget of $132 million. Reed also supports alternatives to dishing the $58 million owed to the County, like handing over the keys to the former City Hall, saying “their obligations are subordinate…” County Executive Jeff Smith is unlikely to go along “the fact they are overleveraged… is a problem we didn’t create.”

While Gilroy tries to shut down their defiant pot shop, San Jose gears up to write the rules to set out the “Open 4(20) Business” sign. Despite Mayor Chuck Reed’s reminder, pot shops are not (yet) legal in San Jose -- even if San Jose sometimes looks like Agrestic.

The Merc’s Joe Rodriguez visited an East San Jose neighborhood in search of answers. Why were trick-or-treating children attacked by Sureno gang members who were barely old enough to drive?

Judge Edward Lee loves his new “Soviet-bloc-style” courthouse in Morgan Hill, in spite of the smell of sewage, a flooded parking lot, a messed up sound system, an unusable jury room, and a door that won’t close. Lee admits there are “minor quirks” staff “has put up with” but is confident the County can fix problems not covered under warranty. This is the story that keeps on giving...

The week kicks off with the obligatory Carr/Rosen moment-by-moment campaign reporting. This week's update: the two work on different floors in the County building... Thank you Internal Affairs for that critical bit of information. Internal Affairs could also barely contain themselves after learning Palo Alto marketing firm Global Fluency wasn’t as fluent on the local media. It seems the Merc received a pitch to cover the (apparently) unknown berg of San Jose. Mayor Reed’s spokesperson Michelle McGurk sniffed “a pitch like this to the local paper is not something I consider a priority.” Unless it is part of her own job...

Local government buffs will want to know…

• San Jose’s Envision 2040 Task Force meets to work out San Jose’s master plan.
• The Mountain View – Los Altos High School District talks employee contracts.
• Santa Clara Unified School District considers class-size reduction and converting the old Agnews Hospital to school grounds.
• Sunnyvale’s City Council talks parkland.

This is funny...

A Watch Dog friend who reads pbump.net religiously sent us this update from Phillip Bump (via Twitter):

In a cab, headed to JFK, for a flight to San Jose. Probably for secret plots to undermine the old guard! Who knows!

Expect well-written, funny, and effective political steps to be taken soon from Canoas Garden... watch out Mayor Reed...

Morning News Round-Up – 6.29.09: Council raises meet economic reality...

San Jose’s “huge sucking sound” comes from resident dollars landing outside San Jose according to Councilmember Sam Liccardo. To fix it San Jose had a dream of North San Jose becoming a second downtown – those dreams are now turning into visions of a McCarthy Ranch redux.

Gilroy Councilmember Craig Gartman has asked colleagues to ditch their $64,000 medical benefits in exchange for a council/mayoral raise. The part-time Councilmembers will consider their 106% raise while they ask police and fire unions to take a 15% paycut. Colleague Dion Bracco doubts the lost medical benefits will be gone for more than a year calling the move whimsical, self-serving tricky politics.

Also on the frontlines of salary wars...

San Jose Downtown Association President Scott Knies and Councilmember Nora Campos engaged in a salary throwdown. Campos wants to know if Knies really really got a 19% city pay raise. Knies salary is listed on city payrolls at $134,399 and in a report from the non-profit at $68,916. $134k + $69k = $203,000, could it be…

Our Sister Blog, Watch Dog San Mateo shares this cross over story… East Palo Alto’s Housing Director Wilbert Lee called the ongoing vandalism at the Courtyard at Bay Road unforeseen. Wheelchair bound Arnold Hart complains he can’t get in, carpets used as toilets and a crowbar modified elevator are a few of the problems giving San Jose’s Community Housing a headache.

Interim Santa Clara County Executive Gary Graves is sucking it up. although disappointed by the appointment of Dr. Jeffrey Smith. Graves says “sitting in the executive chair is a whole different ballgame.” Smith said negotiations on take home pay are in the works, the last exec took home $292,000.

Gilroy’s tale of fence wars made the big time… Mercury News curmudgeon Scott Herhold heard from home invasion survivor when Chris Cote launched email to Herhold with his side of fence wars. Like Herhold, Watch Dog is sympathetic with Cote but thinks there has to be a better way than razor wire.

(Former) County Counsel/US Deputy Assistant District Attorney General Ann Ravel attended her own “wake” according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Pizarro had a busy week including Falcons, interesting hands, and Teddy Bear Clinics. Los Lupenos is looking for alumni, email Barbara Perez Diaz lupenos40th@ix.netcom.com.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs entertains with various mini-soaps…

• Where was “No-Show Ngyuen” during San Jose City Council budget discussions? IA thinks the absences were a sign of avoiding contentious labor votes. IA sends props to council colleague Judy Chirco for donning a hat and joining discussions in spite of chemotherapy. San Jose Insider’s joined in via Rants and Raves…
  
• Supervisorial candidate Teresa Alvarado shot a “snarky” email to IA with a huffy retort to the implication that she and opponent Rosemary Kamei the same constituency.
  
• The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office anxiously awaits a report from (retired) Superior Court Judge/(former) Prosecutor William F. Martin about a “trove of some 3,300 tapes” of sexual assault medical exams. The DA’s hope they got their stories straight for the judge…
  

Los Gatos Planning Commissioners delayed a decision on creekside storage asking Extra Space to come back in August with a bigger parking lot and a shorter building. Extra Space’s Scott Wyckoff offered there would be “no significant” environmental impact and the 3 story storage facility would be “gorgeous.” No doubt a big parking lot will help with the aesthetics.

The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow (aka, Gary Richards) got the dish from the California Highway Patrol that 200,000 hands free scofflaws have been busted.

Sad news from Santa Teresa County Park, a woman was found dead on the trail by another hiker. No word if County budget woes (and a lack of park oversight) had anything to do with her death.

Today marks 2 weeks since San Jose Revealed ditched blogging for pneumonia. Could it be Revealed has ditched blogging or just ditched the moniker? Give up on all that good will, nah… Mission City Lantern suggests Revealed has headed for fashion world or maybe a Sanford like liaison.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.8.09: Watch Dog in the news...again

Well, well, well... Watch Dog actually made it into (another) Scott Herhold article in the Merc. This time because we were observant enough in the San Jose City Council discussion about a pay cut to point out that San Jose City Councilmember calling himself a "recent" immigrant may not have been completely accurate and for linking folks with some public finance information that shows that Chu is probably better off financially than many of his colleagues. Thanks for the hat tip Scott. (Herhold's column is all about the political spin coming out of San Jose City Hall. Aside from Chu's spin, Herhold points to DA Dolores Carr's spin about the highly-guarded 9-1-1 tapes, VTA's spin about a recent Civil Grand Jury report, and San Jose Pension Board member David Bacigalupi's insistence on taking junkets...)

In another late-Friday-afternoon press event, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed released a new budget proposal that protects most "core services" like police officers and police stations, fire fighters and fire stations, and parks and libraries. To do this, the Mayor is banking on increased property tax assessments (wishful thinking?), reserves, employee pay freezes, and presumably spending cuts elsewhere in the City budget. Watch Dog expects that this plan will get wide support on the Council. This plan seems reasonable, but what happens when the State steals even more money from San Jose?

One local government has declared a "fiscal emergency" in an attempt to thwart the State's raids...

The Merc's Internal Affairs recaps Video Gate (the POA/Anti-De-Bug video and its response). (Watch Dog did that already...)

But it seems the POA is freaked out by De-Bug...

Because an interesting outcome of Video Gate is that the POA launched its own blog, complete with a first post from POA Chief Bobby Lopez. But even more interesting that that is that Protect San Jose is a place where the POA are going to "defend themselves" against the 'attacks' they have been facing. Two folks that will be coming to POA's defense are Ed Rast and Kathleen Flynn. Kathleen Flynn? Is this the same 'Kathleen' of prolific blogging fame (check out some of Kathleen's greatest hits)?

In other Internal Affairs news, the political folks at the Merc. delve into the 2-faced-ness (if that's a word) of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's pitch to Santa Clara voters in the 49ers deal, a County car audit that was wrong, and San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio getting booed/heckled off-stage at an Organized Labor rally at City Hall. Councilmember Oliverio, what did you think was going to happen?

The Chronicle's version of Internal Affairs, Matier and Ross (actually, it is the other way around) also has a piece about Newsom and the 49ers. The 49ers had some serious concerns with the stadium deal in San Francisco, specifically the lack of highway access and Newsom's insistence that the stadium be LEED certified, have solar panels to power the stadium, and have showers for folks who bike-commute to the game... Watch Dog would have to agree about fans showering, but actually AT the game?

Also getting in on the Santa Clara/49ers action is the Chronicle's (most angry/spurned lover) sports columnist Ray Ratto... he has some advice for the City of Santa Clara.

And...

Willie Brown chimes in too, suggesting that if Mayor Newsom is really pissed about the 49ers move, he will funnel campaign cash to the Santa Clara-based opponents of the 49ers. Watch Dog thinks that probably won't help his chances of becoming Governor much.

Shifting gears to some crime/police stuff:

• A local swim coach is accused of molesting young girls for 30 years. A steady string of victims seem to be coming forward in this case...
• Palo Alto Police and San Mateo County Sheriffs are beefing up their patrols of Caltrain tracks, which have been the scene of two teen suicides and one attempted suicide in the past month alone.
• No doubt you heard about a 15-year-old girl who was "abducted" from over the weekend... well, she actually ran away.

And controversy is brewing in Los Gatos over spending, libraries, and a petition circulating around town. The Merc's Patty Fisher weighs in, so does Mission City Lantern... Watch Dog thinks this is small town politics at its best/worst...

A busy week around local governments this week as most agencies begin to wind down their work for June for a July break...

• The County Board of Supervisors will look at development recommendations at the County Fairgrounds. Again?
• The Cupertino Union School District will look at the 2009-2010 budget, which should be a lot easier now that they passed a parcel tax...
• The Los Gatos Union School District will hear an update on the State budget... that ought to be fun.
• Ah, and never a slow week in San Jose: The City Council will once again look decreasing their pay. (We'll see how Councilmember Chu votes... and the City Council will also look at approving concessions in some union contracts.
• But the real work in San Jose City Hall will be in the Elections Commission... they'll talk about independent expenditures and changing the limits of campaign contributions.

Finally, a big day for Cisco Systems. Today, San Jose's Cisco Systems will join the Dow Jones industrial average. You go John!

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.18.09: Left Coast Live Hang-Over...

Luis Martinez (a.k.a. The Naked Guy) slipped into mental illness and landed in Santa Clara County jails before killing himself. On the third anniversary of his death his family announces the County now has a policy on dealing with the mentally ill and the end to a $1 million lawsuit.

The Merc's Internal Affair dishes that San Jose Elections Commissioner Robert Shepard wants to investigate Councilmember Nora Campos and former Mayor/lobbyist Tom McEnery tries to direct the Elections Commission. San Jose Revealed jumps in to call the Merc an embarrassment.

Mountain View’s own Astronaut Megan McArthur is living the dream. McArthur grabbed the Hubble Space Telescope to drag it in for repairs.

Pink Slip Friday wasn’t as bad as anticipated for South Bay schools but districts are deeply worried about what the State might do. Saratoga Superintendent Lane Weiss said good planning won’t fix decreasing revenue “I’m worried.” Phil Quon, Superintendent at the Cupertino School District is determined to survive “by hook or by crook.”

Scott Herhold, the Merc’s in-house curmudgeon, offers San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed advice to help the A’s find their way to San Jose. Make the Giants happy, keep the voters happy, work with ballpark neighbors, and labor. Herhold recommends Reed get help from local superstars (former) Mayor Susan Hammer, (hoped to be Mayor) Michael Mulcahy, Councilmember Sam Liccardo, Cisco’s John Chambers, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro and San Jose Inside’s Gary Singh played during San Jose’s Left Coast Live “parallel universe” watching San Jose Police gliding on Segways through friendly crowds. Calling it Take Back the Night for the over 30 crowd Pizarro apparently Twittered his way through the night taking in music, the Playboy Playmate of the Year, and a farewell to the Reperatory Theatre's Timothy Near. Pizarro also reports Psycho Donuts is loving their 15 minutes of fame.

A joyride in Sunnyvale ended in death Saturday night. Two of the Camry’s passengers were riding on the roof before one slide off and was dragged along Lois Avenue.

An eight year old boy was the victim of a hit and run Saturday night in San Jose’s Japantown. The boy is recovering in the hospital. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Police Department at (408) 277 4654.

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.16.09: Great chefs are within SF's territorial rights?

Lew Wolff sent a big raspberry to Oakland on Friday saying thanks for the memories but it’s time for the A’s to hit the road. (Baseball San Jose's blog channeled Sarah Palin's "thanks, but no thanks"...) The move was predicted by former San Jose Insider Jude Barry four years ago. It looks like Barry may have been more prescient than he knew. Inside's Eric Johnson gleefully quotes sports experts Gary Radnich and Bruce Jenkins agreeing with Barry. The Chronicle's Matier & Ross fill us in on who’s fighting to keep the A’s where they are…some heavy hitters. Watch Dog hopes that Senators Boxer and Feinstein remember that folks in Santa Clara County voted for them too (oh yeah, and funded their campaigns...)...

The Merc’s Sal Pizzaro had a yummy task as Iron Chef America hit Silicon Valley. Los Gatos’ Manresa chef (and Michelin 2-star chef) David Kinch whirled around Kitchen Stadium with cabbage as his secret ingredient. In the end, it was Kinch over renowned chef Bobby Flay. The viewing party at Manresa cheered. It is unclear if Senators Boxer and Feinstein think that good chefs are actually within the territorial rights of San Francisco...

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky (former candidate for Judge) thinks a surge in anti-gay hate crimes is related to the passage of Proposition 8 -- increased visibility translates to increased “gay-bashing.” No doubt worried straight, white men might feel left out, Boyarsky added "We're not playing political favorites. Certainly, we've had Christian victims of hate crimes."

Speaking of the DA's office. Santa Clara County DA Dolores Carr has to be wondering why she wanted the job of top prosecutor. A national report released by the Innocence Project accuses the DA’s office of improperly investigating crime lab errors. Hoping to make the case that the fox can guard the hen house, DA spin-meister Nick Muyo says it is not true that they can’t properly investigate themselves.

NASA has asked the Navy to pay for re-skinning Hangar One. In exchange, NASA offered to clean up the toxic soup left behind by the Navy. To sweeten the pot for neighbors, NASA announced Friday a collaboration with the Foothill-De Anza Community College District to provide a $1 billion research facility focusing on renewable-energy and resource-conservation. Foothill-De Anza Chancellor Martha Kanter is giddy about the possibilities...

El Camino Hospital officials are starting to dish on their plans to expand services at their new Los Gatos home (the hospital formerly known as Community). Silicon Valley men will be happy to hear a fancy machine that turns kidney stones to dust is in the works. The League of Women Voters has joined forces with El Camino Hospital execs to host a forum at the end of the month.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs is dishing on the goodies our elected take home from their loyal (lobbyist) fans. Senators Elaine Alquist and Joe Simitian enjoyed a spa retreat in Lodi...(hopefully not at the same time). Senator Simitian reported his wife’s business brought in a healthy chunk of change. Assemblymember Joe Coto went to a charity ball courtesy of Verizon and got an unhealthy supply of liquor thanks to Diageo...he must have been preparing for St. Patrick's Day. (Coto should be careful if he plans to drink that stuff in San Jose...)

Prospective candidates hoping to replace San Jose’s Pete Constant should call the San Jose Police Officers Association. They are not happy that one of their own has “turned a deaf ear” to them.

His friends call him the Don Quixote of San Jose’s Clock Tower, but Naglee Park resident John Mitchell is determined to see his 30 year obsession brought to a happy conclusion. The tower, built in 1892, stopped working in 1906 when that pesky earthquake toppled the tower. (How very Back to the Future...) Mitchell calls it the heartbeat of San Jose. It is unclear if the clock tower would need to 1.21 gigawatts to get going again...

There’s more than green beer on tap this week. Plan on a busy Council/Board week around the Valley...

• San Jose’s City Council will hear the Mayor’s budget message. (You’ll need lots of green beer for this one...)
• Cupertino’s Fremont Union High School District goes over their financials and meets with students...no doubt to ready them for the grim news ahead.
• The Alum Rock Union School District will consider a teachers' contract, talk about closing Pala Middle School, and revisit their policies on small schools (probably hoping to make them much bigger)...
• Palo Alto Unified School District discusses budgets for remodeling, contracts, high school master plans, and staff reductions.
  

Speaking of Palo Alto...

You could sort of see this coming if you read this and this...but the community-wide, Palo Alto broadband project may be quickly dying. Palo Alto has no money and the company that was going to do the project, Axia Netmedia Corporation, doesn't really want any part of it anymore either...

You'll remember last-week's perfectly timed study by Stanford showing that its hospital expansion projects would bring in $18 million to the City of Palo Alto coffers. The timing was perfect because Stanford and Palo Alto had a meeting about the impacts/benefits of Stanford's development this week. Now, Palo Alto would like to see more of the "community benefits" that Stanford could/should/will do in order to get Palo Alto to stand back from its adversarial position...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.16.09: Where's Maldo? Edition...

"Where's Maldo?! Where's Maldo?!" -- this was the anxious question overheard at the Governor’s Sunday breakfast. The Governor’s aide was referring to Silicon Valley (and Central Coast) State Senator Abel Maldonado who was giving noncommittal comments about support for a proposed solution to the budget disaster. Maldonado, whose District includes Saratoga and Santa Maria (and a long, thin strip of coast in between) first stubbornly held to the Republican stance – no new taxes. By Sunday Maldonado was “open” to finding a solution to the budget crisis. For those FOA (Friends of Abel) and FOA (Foes of Abel), you'll remember that he was the lone Republican to vote for the budget in 2007 -- firmly entrenching himself as a go-to Republican vote when things get tough for the Governor.

Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr. is not supporting embattled San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen in her recall election. Nor is he supporting the recall. Unbelievably, Shirakawa's spokesperson Andrea Flores Shelton says “he remains neutral.” In politics, Watch Dog will note, sometimes "neutral" doesn't really cut it. In this case, you are either supporting Councilmember Nguyen (anti-recall) or you are not (pro-recall). Neutral (and Shirakawa) fall into the pro-recall camp here. Perhaps that's why Nguyen seemed a little baffled saying she’d spoken with Shirakawa throughout his campaign for Supervisor and that "His name has been on our web site for six months or so, and nobody called us before to tell us to take it off." Shirakawa's name is off of Nguyen's site now, but some interesting folks are on it...like Willie Brown and Supervisor (?) Blanca Alvarado...

The Merc.’s Internal Affairs reports the flurry of campaign websites and finance accounts being launched for former eBay chief/Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman opened by folks not on the Whitman team. Tom Hall, who bought the sites said he would have given them to her if she’d asked and said he’d done it because “…it was kind of funny.” Perhaps Whitman would be willing to bid for the domains?...

Also from the Merc.’s Internal Affairs, Congressman Mike Honda could be (?) considering a run for Mayor against San Jose’s incumbent Mayor Reed. "Rep. Honda has been urged to run and is honored by the support...his plan is to stay in Congress..." said Honda's spokeman however...Councilmember Nora Campos is also being named as possible opponent to Reed (or a replacement for Assemblymember Joe Coto.) Coto has already stated his intention to run for termed out Senator Elaine Alquist’s seat in 2012, but the Metro had a recent piece that also has Coto considering a run against Reed...Watch Dog predicts nobody runs against the Mayor, Campos will run for Coto's seat, and Coto will run for Alquist's seat. We know we aren't breaking any new ground with those predictions -- but we think there is more noise than action in the anti-Reed camp.

And speaking of Assemblymember Joe Coto. What kind of leadership can we expect from him during his run for State Senate? Well, he was caught napping (check out the photo) following extended hours at the State Capitol trying to wrap up the budget crisis. Speaker Bass had the Sergeants-at-Arms confiscate car keys to prevent sleepy Legislators from escaping. Apparently this is how the largest State in the Union is supposed to operate...

San Jose Councilmembers Pete Constant and Pierluigi Oliverio are hoping to take tobacco settlement money away from non-profits (that, in part, help stop kids from smoking) to pay for the City’s crossing guards over the next three years. Oliverio suggested, "...we could have a crossing guard with a vest that says: 'Don't Smoke!'" Margo Leathers Sidener, President of Breathe California of the Bay Area, said, "The purpose [of the settlement] was to reduce the damage and burden on our communities that tobacco brings and prevent that from happening in future," and is distressed that the Councilmembers are hoping to skirt the spirit of the settlement agreement. She also (apparently) doesn't think Oliverio's beard is as funny as everyone else does...

We wrote last week about a Morgan Hill school official looking to a higher power for funding help...Well, it looks like Morgan Hill Unified Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini heard from her higher power as Legislators propose giving schools a five year waiver allowing them to decide whether to pay for summer school or sports, adult education or assisting gifted students. Essentially, allowing local school districts to spend their money how they want and need. . A good idea from Sacramento? Say it ain't so.

Palo Alto Unified's Superintendent Kevin Skelly is feeling the pain for saying some kids (African-American/Latino) can’t compete with other kids (white/Asian). Merc. columnist Patty Fisher gave him a sympathetic hearing over the weekend saying, “I fear, however, that in his effort to mend fences and keep his job, he has abandoned the straight talk and joined the feel-good chorus.” Skelly apologized saying "As I have listened, reflected, and learned, I can understand why people would feel this way. And I am sorry that I gave this impression. We are committed to excellence for all our students, no matter their background." This issue has started a big debate on the Palo Alto Weekly's comment's page...(but not as big as this issue did...)

Sunnyvale Councilmember/Attorney/Naval Officer/Super Hero(?) Otto Lee is in the news again. This time for a patent infringement case (from a few years ago) in a Philadelphia Federal court. The normally mild-mannered and cheerful Lee was referred to as arrogant when he testified on behalf of the defendants stating a "cease and desist" letter was an "eat s--- and die" letter. Too bad Lee doesn't use that language at Sunnyvale City Council meetings -- they would be a lot more exciting...

Cupertino Planning Commissioner Lisa Geifer found out from a Merc. story on Thursday that City Councilmembers Mark Santoro and Gilbert Wong wanted her dismissed for “insubordination.” Wong and Santoro moved the Council meeting to a different building, away from the cameras which normally record meetings, to discuss Geifer's removal. One small problem for Wong and Santoro, they were in violation of State's open meeting laws. Mayor Orrin Mahoney said the incident was “not our finest hour” and Councilmember/VTA Board President Dolly Sandoval called it an injustice. Santoro said, "[Geifer] basically refused to do what the Council had asked and chose to do something else instead." Geifer didn't respond saying, "I am sending Santoro an 'eat s--- and die' letter..."

Mountain View officials are considering charging sports leagues and others for using Mountain View's fields. Community Services Director David A. Muela is proposing fees of $1/hour for the use of City playing fields and projects the City could collect $20,000 annually. Muela originally wanted a $2/hour fee but the Parks and Recreation Commission cut that to $1 with Commissioner Gary Griffith opposed and saying "these programs are the hardest hit for our youth."

The teenager rushed to Valley Medical Center on Thursday after being exposed to toxic fumes died Friday. (Remember, this caused VMC to be shut down for a while with a toxic smell...) Police are still trying to figure out why he had open containers of hydrogen sulfide in his room. This is pretty nasty stuff, according to Wikipedia.

And we finally learn the results of the much-anticipated Mission City Lantern survey about banning plastic bags. James says that his readers oppose it 2 to 1. Watch Dog guesses that is not a statistical analysis, but rather, three people voted and the vote was 2 to 1. (Sorry James, we couldn't resist...)

Morning News Round-Up – 1.19.09: Inauguration Eve...

Today, Watch Dog celebrates with the rest of the country the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King. The Merc. has a full listing of events that allow you to celebrate the legacy...starting with the annual freedom train from San Jose.

Marco Zuniga’s wife was Tasered early Saturday morning. Zuniga stepped up to the officer and was Shot outside the hip club Loft. Sunday, San Jose Inside followed the story of SJPD dropping deeper into trouble over the drunk and Latino in San Jose saga. Luckily for Chief Davis Marco Zuniga is resting in the hospital and is expected to survive. This was the second officer involved shooting in two days, on Friday a man took a gun from an SJPD officer and, after a 6 hour standoff, killed himself.

San Jose City Council will consider appointing recycled Employee Pension Board member David Bacigalupi who left the board in 2002 and former Retirement Director Edward Overton – who was replaced in 2007 after the pension board racked up $50,000 in undocumented travel expenses. Pension Board member/SJPD pensioner/San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant wants to toss those applicants in favor of retired officer Brian Arvin and is gearing up for a battle with his former colleagues who support Bacigalupi...oh yeah, Bacigalupi also voted against Constant's disability claim when Constant left the force -- no wonder Constant doesn't like this guy...

Lew Wolff doesn’t love Santa Clara, or maybe Wolff just fears the community's love for Great America...the Merc’s Internal Affairs reported Sunday that Wolff said Santa Clara was off the list of would-be locations for his A’s.

Watch Dog was tickled to see San Jose Inside following the Gilroy story of Garlic Ta-ta’s last week...that was even before Inside gave a shout out to Watch Dog for sniffing out the Tesla/San Jose story at the Mayor’s biscuits and gravy breakfast.

Creative refinancing sounded like a winning deal for cash strapped schools. The refi enabled schools to lower their interest rate, shorten their payoff, and even reduce property taxes. Citizens for Bond Accountability, with San Jose’s Jill Escher at the helm, questioned the legality of the financial wizardry. Attorney General Jerry Brown agreed declaring the scheme illegal though he left in place the funding received from past refi’s. The Los Altos School District breathed a deep sigh of relief, they gained nearly $11 million and were able to remodel the Gardner Bullis School as a result. Friday Escher called on San Jose Unified to come clean with the crafty dealings that lead to the AG’s decision.

The Metro/San Jose Inside’s Fly has insiders heading to D.C. for Tuesday’s historic inauguration. Fly reports Obama is already having a positive affect on the economy, most notably for the Fly’s favorite hang, the D.C. bar scene which will be open and serving until 5am for most of next week. Watch Dog hopes this includes the SJSU students who traveled the route of the civil rights movement on their way to the inauguration and are now reporting events for local news media.

Silicon Valley stands poised to have a direct influence on public policy following years of science and technology being ignored. San Jose’s Rep. Zoe Lofgren recalled days when then Gov. Jerry Brown was ridiculed for talking about windmills, “Now everybody is talking about wind energy and solar.” Silicon Valley stars with close ties to D.C. include Google CEO Eric Schmidt along with John Doerr and former Symantec CEO/possible Commerce Secretary John Thompson. SupervisorLiz Kniss is hoping...

Does San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen owe colleague Pete Constant and Mayor Reed a favor for their support while she battles a recall? It’s possible the former Labor darling will start voting the Constant/Reed ticket. The Merc’s Internal Affairs ponders the question as her friends at the South Bay Labor Council leap in with more assistance, perhaps an attempt to stave off a Reed/Constant maneuver. Mission City Lantern weighs in on the logic of Nguyen’s decisions...(Lantern talking logic?)

It’s a sign of the times, rural amenities disappearing as luxury homes pop up. San Jose’s Cevalo Riding Academy is being left homeless following the owner’s request for a change in land designation from rural to high density. This is the 11th lost home for Cevalo and leaves Calero Ranch Stables as the sole public stable in San Jose. The Santa Clara Water District holds the lease for Calero – that expires in 2010 – better move your horses now.

Morning News Round-Up – 12.29.08: Slow news, more drunks, boys gone bad...

Reporters like to take vacations too... hence the year end lists -- all of which could have been written in the past month and a half... Scott Herhold focuses on the sensational from murder to mayhem (Little Saigon) to surprise wins and includes stories of Bellarmine boys gone bad… Internal Affairs sticks to the political, always juicy, with month by month reminders of who’s (not) running and who’s spatting. Internal Affairs Year in Quotes...

The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow, Gary Richards, contributes to the list making with his ‘Dirty Dozen’ traffic hotspots. The Merc wants to know what traffic hotspots make you growl.

San Jose city retiree’s won’t be happy to hear that their employee pension fund suffered a loss of nearly $1 Billion this year, worse than similar funds. Councilmember (and pension overseer) Pete Constant, watching the decline, said “We’ve got a problem and we need to face it,”. Constant also said he would happily relinquish his seat on the board to anyone brighter than himself. (Watch Dog fans will be amused to hear this was so easy WD let it go) Retirement Director Russell Crosby said the oversight structure of the funds, with so many non-experts has probably contributed to the bad performance. pssst, there’s more Watch Dog news to come…

Kids in court might be getting a little help in the coming year. The Mercury News special investigation “Broken families, broken courts” led state officials to push for changes including a new courthouse (the abandoned garment factory is out). The legal beagles working for families have a new name but the same old folks. And, kid’s will no longer be represented by District Attorney Dolores Carr’s office.

The Morgan Hill Times reports that 528 people were arrested for DUI since December 12th. Morgan Hill police arrested 17 and Gilroy police arrested 12 of the (suspected) drunk drivers, no word if the remaining 499 were drunk Latinos in San Jose. Maybe that data will be released when the
Drunk Task Force wraps in April.

It seems our friend Ausaf Umar Siddiqui, you know, the Fry's executive that embezzled/gambled away Fry's money? It seems the Vegas DA's knew him too...why? Because Siddiqui was kiting checks all over Las Vegas, for years and millions... The Merc appears to love Siddiqui as well – they ran 6 stories about his brazen multi-year, baccarat driven fraud and deception stealing millions over the past 3 days.

Sally Lieber (can't spell Lieber without the 'lie') is in a bit of hot water for having a fundraiser on City of Mt. View property, a no-no for public officials. She didn't respond by saying, "But I used to be a State Assemblymember...I can do whatever I want..."

Apparently breastfeeding mommies are a no-no on Facebook. No word if co-founders, Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, or Peter Thiel (or their moms/wives/girlfriends) have noticed the uproar. The mommies are fighting back with a Facebook group whose membership spiked to over 75,000 in days. Facebook billionaires shouldn’t worry, no doubt San Jose’s Pete Constant and Larry Pegram will slap a filter on the mommies.

San Jose State University artist Robert Graham passed away Saturday in Santa Monica with his wife Anjelica Houston at his side. Locally, Graham may be best known for the sculpture of the Aztec Feathered-Serpent Quetzalcoatl. Watch Dog note: Graham’s Quetzalcoatl is the result of art by committee and conservative Christians.