Morning News Round-Up -- 10.21.09: A John Denver Morning...

It was a busy day in San Jose.

• Continuing with sunshine songs: Sunshine on the Mayor's (and 5 others Councilmembers') shoulders did not make them happy... Sunshine, in their eyes, can make them cry... Mayor Reed complained they were asked to “sail into uncharted waters” while Mercury News Managing Editor/ Sunshine Task Force member Bert Robinson pointed to similar rules in other cities.
• Councilmembers made it easier to send (current) City jobs to private contractors (sort of).
• In 2011, San Jose candidates get to ask for more money from supporters, City Attorney Rick Doyle called the increases “…a need to be constitutional in our limits.”
• Fearing San Jose might lose its gambling revenue ($13.5 million), Councilmembers set about streamlining cardclub regulations.
• And, the City accepted a $200,000 spanking on behalf of firefighters who can’t keep their dirty magazines at home.
  

Senator Barbara Boxer took time out of the healthcare debate to pen an OpEd for the Merc on cleaning up Mt Umunhum. Boxer wants her Congressional colleagues to join her in cleaning Mt Um of decades old Air Force toxics to give Silicon Valley its own Mt Tam.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro issues an invite to join American Leadership Forum CEO Chris Block at the San Jose Rep for a provocative South African play and discussion on race.

A tragic case of domestic violence in Palo Alto led to the death of Jennifer Schipsi. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office hasn’t (yet) filed charges against Schipsi’s boyfriend/(alleged) killer Bulos Zumot.

Palo Alto’s City Council considers garbage-eating bugs to help get rid of compostables. The debate was characterized by Vice Mayor Jack Morton as taking an “impossible situation” and spinning – and we don’t think he means exercise. Morton accused colleagues of not being able to “face up to some realities.” Palo Alto is fun...

In Mountain View, bridges and a tunnel will help Googlers get to work by bike or Segway.

Adobe Founder’s John Warnock and Chuck Geschke made their way to Washington, D.C. for a little confab with the President. Warnock and Geschke were awarded the nation's highest honor for scientists, engineers, and inventors: the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo sends props to San Jose’s Downtown College Prep while questioning East Side Union High Schools rejection of DCP Alum Rock on a technicality…

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.11.09: Hey Great America, the 49ers are on the phone...

Someone’s mental health day went awry when Great America’s Invertigo trapped 24 coaster crazies for more than 4 hours. Mission City Lantern dishes Great America battled Santa Clara for a year to get the overly tall rollercoaster approved. Today seems like a very good day for the City of Santa Clara and the 49ers to call the Great America folks and make peace...

(Former) Santa Clara County prosecutor/ Labor Chief of Staff Ben Field filed (anagram) an appeal to the “miscarriage of justice” that derailed his career. Field hopes (?) to ditch labor and return to the golden path that ends in a judges robes, instead of in front of the judge.

Speaking of court... Libraries should be fun places to learn new things, like anagrams. We’re betting San Jose’s City Council didn’t intend the learning to include defense preparation. Last week's entertaining Council Education Park Library do-over has Building and Trades Council CEO (Councilmember Nora Campos’ Husband) Neil Struthers promising a day in court.

Gary “Mr. Roadshow” Richards sends a reminder that today police around the Bay are looking for cell phone using scofflaws on the road. Thank you for the (hands free) heads up...

The Merc’s Scott Herhold dishes his dark side includes stealing crackers when he meets his Mom for dinner at Whole Foods. Herhold laments the economic downturn delaying San Jose’s first Whole Foods opening.

“…like falling off a cliff...” was how Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone described this year's devastating housing value crash. Stone wants you to know you have a little time left to get your property value officially lowered. That is definately boo-worthy news...

Oops… Palo Alto’s Lytton Park facelift was yanked at the 11th hour, literally, when a resident complaint arrived 1 hour before groundbreaking. A sheepish City Manager Jim Keene said he didn’t know how one of the City’s legal requirements had been missed. You have got to love Palo Alto...

The search for a new Morgan Hill Union School District Superintendent includes a brochure calling for a collaborative leader/ team builder interested in transparency and inclusiveness with a talent for data driven curriculum. Putting together the brochure included removing discussion of “adjusted school boundaries” as too scary for prospects.

Over in Gilroy, the School District is also facing changes. Following the brouhaha over financial swindling at the hands of the Mexican American Community Services Agency, the Gilroy Unified School District hired former El Portal Principal Graciela Vallardares to help students transition from the charter school to public school. (Watch Dog can only assume she didn't have anything to do with the embezzlement...)

Morgan Hill and Gilroy City employees are facing the same fears as private employees with the crashing economy and cities facing layoffs. City Manager Ed Tewes sent an email to the Morgan Hill Times saying “employees understand the necessity of living within our means.” We can only assume that Mr. Tewes's job isn't on the chopping block...)

Pissed off about a series of low rent criminals cruising local retailers, the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is training business owners to fight back. Chamber Executive Director Ronee Nassi is hoping it will end the days when shopkeepers chase shoplifters down the toney streets of Los Gatos.

The Valley Transit Authority is using their Federal stimulus dollars to buy hybrid buses. Should make waiting behind the bus less unpleasant. The VTA kicked off a series of meetings for pissed off commuters last night in Campbell, more meetings to follow.

Doobies and Senator Barbara Boxer share the limelight under the gentle penmanship of the Merc’s Sal Pizarro today. Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone claims it isn’t the smoke that makes him think San Jose’s own rockers, the Doobie Brothers, will do for San Jose what the Beatles do for Liverpool.

Three teenagers were satisfying that midnight need for In-N-Out when a party pooper stole their ride right out from under them – with a gun in hand. If you have news to share you are encouraged to call Mountain View Police at 650-903-6344.

An evening commuter Caltrain hit and killed a pedestrian. No word on whether suicide was involved.

Mission City Lantern calls out San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed for picking on Councilmember Ash Kalra’s Chief of Staff, suggestion the Mayor beat up his own staff before sharing the love.

San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio uses his bully pulpit for a (yawning) description of musical chairs (jobs) before coming to his (un)surprising conclusion that it’s hard to let go of civil servants.

Protect San Jose blogger/Council wannabe Jim Cogan shares his observation that National Night Out was a success because a Police Officer could be overhead saying “now that I know about it…” and neighbors started a neighborhood watch group. Thank you Jim.

Morning News Round-Up – 12.05.08: With a theme...

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is in a mad dash for $1 billion in aid from the Feds saying, “We want to make sure we get our share.” First on the Honey-Do list, the ever sexy street paving for a mere $100 million, and BART, and green tech, and...and...and...Isn't it times like these that it would be helpful for Mayor Reed to be a little bit more political? Did he help Obama or any other Democrats in the past election? Too bad, because as Senator Boxer famously said, "elections have consequences..."



Alum Rock gets reprimanded by the Merc for their massive bungling of the Norma Martinez bailout. Pointing out it’s about the children, “This latest giveaway is more evidence that voters aren't electing trustees worthy of their children's abilities.” (Chuck Reed added that some of the money that went to Martinez would be better spent on San Jose roads...)

Sunnyvale’s new City Manager, Gary Luebbers atteneded his first Sunnyvale City Council meeting to learn the Council, and the job, he’d just left was paying him the $309,000 they owed him. With the quarter million Sunnyvale is ponying up it’s a good guess that the taxman will be knocking on his door...(Chuck Reed hopes that the tax that Luebbers will pay will be returned directly to Silicon Valley for BART...)

Thanks to a Watch Dog tipster we know Sunnyvale Councilmember/former Sup. candidate Otto Lee will be leaving for Iraq to continue his job as a Naval Supply Officer. Lee must have updated his Wikipedia page to scoop the media. (Chuck Reed asked that Lee's meeting-stipend that Sunnyvale Councilmembers get be transfered to a "green tech" economic development fund...)

Oops! U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled as many as 900,000 people may be eligible to collect damages from American Corrective Counseling Services – used by Santa Clara County and others as debt collectors. If you got dinged any time between 1997 and now you could be part of the class action. (Chuck Reed believes the City of San Jose is owed part of this money...)

The Mercury News gives their take on the Big Three Bailout. Automakers showed up in Washington without the private jets and contrition in evidence. Among the Merc’s suggestions – drop the battle with states wanting higher fuel standards. (...and Chuck Reed wants some of that bailout too...)

Area gossip blog Valley Wag reports Google CEO Eric Schmidt could be setting up girlfriend #2 with a job at Google rather than funding her floundering documentary film company, Kate Bohner Productions. Wife Wendy deals with the very public mistress by running a bookstore 3,000 miles away. (Chuck Reed thinks that if Google has enough money to hire the CEO's mistress, than perhaps they could spare a few bucks for San Jose...pretty please?)

The folks at San Jose Revealed are grumpier than usual taking a whack at Tom McEnery, Sam Liccardo, and Lew Wolff in one long (grumpy) breath. (Chuck Reed knows enough to not ask the San Jose Revealed folks for money...)

And finally this nugget...San Jose has had some high-profile problems with arresting drunks downtown and entering them into 'the system'. In most places, drunks go into the drunk tank until they sober up -- keeping drunk people off the street for the night but not clogging the justice system with small 'crimes'...San Jose doesn't have a drunk tank anymore, contributing to this problem. But when San Jose did have a drunk tank, they didn't use it. (Reed promises to get a new drunk tank with Federal money if it comes...)