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

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

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

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

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

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

Just to pile on...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.3.09: Nervousness Edition...

There will be several nervous folks tonight at 8:01 p.m. as poll results start coming for some local elections. Those nervous people include some City Council candidates in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Palo Alto, some School Districts looking for additional revenue from property owners, and folks who want to sit through endless School Board meetings for the next 4 years. In case you forgot, here's how the Merc Editorial Board will be voting...

All you nervous people who have been worrying about the San Jose Police Department: stop being nervous. All that bad stuff you've been reading about the San Jose Police Department -- the drunk arrests, the attitude arrests, the beatings, the Tasings, the secrecy. The San Jose Police Department has a plan -- to police themselves. Because police have such an awesome reputation for self-reflection and willingness to find fault with one another. The quote of the day goes to the ACLU San Jose honcho Skyler Porras, "Asking the police department to police themselves has been about as effective as asking a teenager to ground themselves after missing curfew..." There is something politically new in today's story and worth noting. The Mayor and the San Jose Police Officers' Association's Bobby Lopez seem to be turning against Police Chief Rob Davis. Check it out: The Mayor said he had, "...significant concerns about how and when force is used..." and Bobby Lopez, "...We have some of the finest officers around, but unless you properly monitor the officers with the right people any group of people can go astray. You need the right supervisors, the proper safeguards. In the past I have questioned if we have that..." (Watch Dog is certain that a post is being penned right now for Protect San Jose to push the Police Chief further under the bus...) The countdown to San Jose Police Chief's decision to "spend more time with family" and "fish more" is upon us... Rob Davis is nervous today...

And we are starting to see the results of this weakening position of the Police Chief and the increased scrutiny on the San Jose Police Department. Next week, San Jose's Rules and Open Government Committee (which the Mayor runs with an iron fist) will discuss releasing the 911 tapes in the Danial Pham case. And the Mayor (seemingly) wants to hear the tapes...

Glenn Beck is going to have a field day with this one: an Arabic-immersion public Charter School is looking to opening in Fremont.

Solar is about to get cheaper in Mountain View (if you own a commercial property)...

There was a gang fight at Live Oak high School in Morgan Hill. Ironically, the school's mascot is an acorn and the school's motto is "Go Nuts!!" Well, the students seem to have followed that motto pretty well...

This should help mellow everyone out... Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio is pledging his support (on San Jose Inside) for the cultivation and dispensing of medical marijuana. PO is going for the 420 vote in Willow Glen. Wait for the first pot club to try to move on to Lincoln Avenue... PO will be one popular guy.

At the beginning of today's Round-Up, we talked about nervous people and elections... we will end the same way. Except, this nervous person is named Jim Cogan and the election is in 2010. (Ironically, he was recently made un-nervous by San Jose Unified School Board member Pam Foley dropping out of the race...) Cogan is running for District 9 City Council and he's re-nervous because Don Rocha, the Cambrian School Board member (and interim Chief of Staff to Councilmember Rose Herrera) officially threw his hat into the ring against Cogan. Expect a "tough on crime" piece on Protect San Jose from Cogan soon. In the meantime, let the race begin!