Morning News Round-Up -- 5.28.10: Drive safe...

This is a Friday before a long weekend, so you must, must, must read the newspaper tomorrow. Late today is a great time to release horrible news if you are a government agency, elected official, corporation, or candidate. So, Watch Dog will be watching, but you should be too...

The Mercury News is taking its news tips from Matier and Ross apparently. They get into how much money the 49ers are spending in Santa Clara. Of course it is going to "shatter local spending records" -- the most important thing folks in Santa Clara have voted on the past was if RJD2 deserved a second term as City Clerk...

Campaign filings are in other races too... In the past few months Jeff Rosen has been a fundraising machine while Dolores Carr has not. Chuck Reed raised a lot of money, his opponents did not. Madison Nguyen raised a ton and two of her opponents put a bunch of their own money ($50k and $80k) into their own campaigns... what does all this mean? Expect the airwaves (television and radio) and your mailboxes to be full in the week and a half...

The Merc finally came around to support the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District parcel tax: Measure I. The third editorial is the charm, apparently...

Robert Cortese, cousin of famous Supervisor Dave, has a true political flare. He has made it into the Metro's Fly more than almost anyone else. This time wanting to unban fireworks and supporting same sex marriage because of George Takei a.k.a. Sulu.

San Jose Family Camp isn't getting spared, but some San Jose pools might be... On the bright side of things, the pools are much closer than Yosemite.

Tesla is spending $42 million for the NUMMI plant. Which Watch Dog put together in a simple formula:

$42,000,000 for NUMMI/$100,000 per car = 420 cars for a manufacturing plant...

Not too shabby. Of course, when you are Tesla and you've only sold 900 cars total, 420 is pretty expensive...

In a story that may get overlooked today, but will have lasting implications, Caltrain got an important "waiver" from the Federal government to move forward with electrification. Yes, it sounds boring, but it seems really important.

What's old is new again at San Jose State. Former San Jose State President Don Kassing is coming back to lead State in an interim capacity next year while the school looks (again) for a new President... Welcome back Don...

The (alleged) Palo Alto/ Santa Clara kidnapper-rapist has been caught. DA Carr, do you think you can get this entire trial done before election day? It might help. Here's some more advice: Make sure all the forensic evidence gets tested before you decide to not pursue the case...

A "hit list" on a bathroom wall at Willow Glen Middle School early in the week and an Airsoft gun at Gunn High School. Ironic, we know... Don't take your guns to town... or to Gunn...

Here's something juicy, maybe. It looks like the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association kicked out its President and Executive Director. Why? Well, it seems Sherry Bijan never had a "deep interest" in doing big events in downtown Palo Alto... Of course, nobody in Palo Alto is interested in having people from outside Palo Alto come to downtown Palo Alto either, so perhaps Sherry Bijan was doing a perfect job...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.26.10: not very CSI-like...

Ah, the news about how shabbily handled the De Anza rape case was just keeps coming. Today's news: "...nearly 24 hours elapsed between when the semi-conscious girl was brought to a hospital and the first sheriff's officers knocked on the door of the house where the incident occurred..." That doesn't seem very CSI-like. Expect the Merc's Sean Webby to get another award around his coverage of this story... and expect the Sheriff, the DA, and nearly every other law enforcement official and organization to continue to hate Sean Webby. Which is a pretty good indication that he is doing his job...

Fresh off banning toys at fast food joints, the Board of Supervisors is about to get into the parcel tax game on the November ballot. The tax will go to "preserve health insurance for low-income kids"... this seems pretty ground-breaking to Watch Dog and we wish the Supervisors luck in November. We are pretty sure that there are about a dozen or so school districts out there that were eyeing November for a parcel tax as well. They might not wish the Supervisors much luck because they have to ask themselves: How many new parcel taxes are people willing to support?

The Las Vegas-ification of San Jose gets a deep dive in the Merc today. It doesn't sound like that many people have confidence in the plan for a major hotel near the new San Jose "Strip on First," but Garden City Casino is certainly moving and they are getting more tables (and increasing the City's rake) when they do...

There is at least a conceptual plan, even if not a fully-baked financial one, to make the Mexican Heritage Plaza an arts and culture school. Maybe the increased rake at the card clubs could help finance the place...

And what would a day be without a little news from the San Jose City Council District 5 race? Yesterday all the candidates attended an "ethics workshop" at Santa Clara University and they all signed a pledge to run ethical campaigns. A little late, perhaps? One candidate has already been called a communist and a gang-banger...

If you are planning on getting a fat loan from San Jose as part of your compensation for being hired to a high-level management job, it just got a little less fat... Of course, judging from some of the salaries highlighted in the Merc's Public Employee Pay Database thingy, why would someone need a loan anyway?

San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon gets the Merc Editorial Board nod for the 21st Assembly District... for a Board that questions the status quo up in Sacramento, it seems a strange choice, no?

As a companion piece up the Peninsula, it was Yoriko Kishimoto's turn for a Will Oremus profile...

While we are in Palo Alto... the Palo Alto Finance Committee voted to start charging kids/families to act in the Children's Theatre... that should go over big.

Here's something: Mountain View Police will "forgo pay raises for a year"...

We mentioned earlier this week that we can't resist pointing out imperfections with the online Merc... we are clearly wildly immature. We wouldn't argue agains that...





Finally, where have you gone Politicon Valley? We miss you...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.25.10: 2-40-2 Head line Bold herej head line bold goes here and here's more headling bold jyg

The Bay Area News Group is very proud of itself today as it unveils a (growing) database of public employee salaries for much of the Bay Area. Expect lots of folks on the 18th Floor to be search the database today... and if you have time, you can see how much more many of these folks make than you.

Speaking of public employees...

Not a day can go by without some news coming out of the San Jose City Council District 5 race. Yesterday it was Aaron Resendez who was making public a conversation that he had with Councilmember Nora Campos' Chief of Staff Ryan Ford. (Nora Campos is candidate Xavier Campos' brother.) It wasn't a conversation as much as it was a dressing down of Resendez by Ford, according to Resendez. He has called on Councilmember Nora Campos for a public apology, which sounds like he deserves... even Kathleen says so. Ryan Ford should expect a congratulatory call from Cindy Chavez and Neil Struthers today, "Our little boy is all grown up..."
Also, our call for campaign mailers yielded some fruit, and since we are in District 5 already, here is a glimpse of how nasty the race has become... With all due respect to Pat Dando, do voters in District 5 know her name still? Do voters in District 10?

Scott Herhold can not resist apparently. He takes yet another shot, albeit from a different angle, at District Attorney Dolores Carr. This time, Herhold isn't talking about her fancy car or her lack of ethics, although these things find their way into the piece (ok, not the car stuff). He profiles a Deputy DA who wants her boss to lose... she joins 40 other Deputy DA's in wanting the same thing. 40 DA's and one columnist...

Speaking of issues of crime and justice, the Merc Editorial Board continues to review its sample ballot and come up with judicial nominations in todays paper. They choose JoAnne McCracken, Vanessa Zecher, and Julia Alloggiamento but absolutely positively do not want you to vote for Thomas Spielbauer. They went so far as to write: Don't vote for Thomas Spielbauer. Wow. Perhaps Speilbauer and District Attorney Dolores Carr could commisserate about being treated like shit from the same newspaper...

Willow Glen Middle School was at the center of the world yesterday. (Some would say that Lincoln and Minnesota are always the center of the world...) A student apprently wrote a "hit list" on a bathroom wall that sent everyone into high alert.

Matier and Ross at the Chronicle (and the entire Chronicle, come to think about it) loves writing negative stories about the 49ers wishes to move to Santa Clara... yesterday's story was about how much money the 49ers are spending on their campaign. Another way to look at it is they are spending all that money to get the hell out of San Francisco...

Violent crime is on a downswing, according to statistics in San Jose. Of course, if you read Protect San Jose, we are headed down the road of Oakland...

Mountain View is buying up land faster than a South Bay city trying to land a Major League Baseball team...

Assembly candidate Josh Becker gets a long write-up by Daily News Group reporter Will Oremus... and the story (obviously) includes a stop at University Cafe in Palo Alto... a.k.a. Becker's headquarters.

Admit it Palo Alto readers, you were at the City Council meeting last night when the Council was discussing the Stanford University hospitals' expansion plans... that must have been so much NIMBY fun... so much fun, in fact, that the Palo Alto City Council put more demands, euphemistically called "community benefits" on the growing list of things Stanford should do to make their project acceptable to Palo Alto... like a "revenue guarantee"...

It has been a while since we made fun of Palo Alto Weekly's Editor Jay Thorwaldson for his "blogging" -- but his recent chime-in on High-Speed Rail re-sparked our snarkiness. He has posted twice in 2010. Perhaps he is getting into this new-fangled technology thingy...

We put this towards the end because really, who cares: Newt Gingrich endorsed Meg Whitman. One has to believe that Whitman sold her 2012 Presidential endorsement down the river for this endorsement...

Finally, does pointing out the Merc's technical difficulties ever get old? Watch Dog doesn't think so... this was a headline for a breaking news story last night:

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 -- 5.12.10: Where's Palin?

This is not the type of news that Morgan Hill likes, we'd guess. The Live Oak t-shirt flap has reached a new level of idiosy. Hundreds showed up to hear themselves talk and to get on the evening news yesterday... One question remains: when will Sarah Palin chime in?

The Santa Clara Valley Water District seemingly can't get out of its own way on their redistricting plan. They put Gilroy with Palo Alto which almost prompted the South to invade the North talking about states' rights... Anyway, the Water District reversed its decision and will scrap the map and start over... sounds like a plan that would have been a smart idea before the initial new map was released... better late than never?

Yesterday, the Mercury News Editorial Board announced their endorsement for San Jose City Council District 5: Magdalena Carrasco. Later in the day, the Metro came to the same conclusion. Some choice quotes:

"...Carrasco has a shot at this seat because she seems better able to connect with East Side voters. The fact that she is fluent in Spanish is a big plus with many of them (Campos does not speak Spanish)..."

"...Xavier Campos worked for 20 years at the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA), ultimately becoming chief operations officer. MACSA is now under criminal investigation following findings that it was skimming from its employees’ pension funds..."

San Jose Inside gives us a glimpse into the County Board of Supervisors meeting, which we know you didn't attend... Shirakawa cried about the Arizona anti-immigrant law. Seriously, check out the story...

Dolores Carr gets a write up in the Merc today looking at her successes and talking about the other stuff too. The story comes with the obvious headline: Carr seeks re-election despite 'mistakes'... When you are the incumbent and the words 're-election' and 'mistakes' make the headline the week ballots go out, you aren't having a good week...

The mural at Mineta San Jose (International?) Airport Terminal C (that's the one you don't fly out of) will come down with it. The Merc's Joe Rodriguez gives some background about the mural and its struggle to survive.

Hey all you kids out there... the County Supervisors will pass a policy soon that keeps kids under 13 out of juvie lock-up.

Yesterday we let you know about a plan to get rid of the leaf blower hotline to help fix Palo Alto's budget shortfall. That was controversial enough... but Palo Alto also wants to charge kids to participate in the Palo Alto Children's Theatre. Now the Palo Alto City Council has crossed the line, apparently...

The Los Altos School District got a new Superintendent this week. An internal pick, Jeffrey Baier...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.11.10: Life without a leaf-blower hotline...

Ballots are out... candidates are running around like crazy... and the Merc is about to weigh in on all the races... A while back they endorsed Teresa Alvarado for Supervisor... and Jeff Rosen for District Attorney... and now they are getting into the San Jose City Council races. District 5 is first up and they give a big nod to Magdalena Carrasco to replace Nora Campos. Some choice quotes that District 5 voters will be seeing a lot of in the coming weeks...

"What she lacks in political connections, she makes up in intelligence, thoughtfulness and a deep understanding of the values and needs of the community. We recommend her in the June 8 primary."

"Despite having served on the Planning Commission, he shows little insight into city operations."

And perhaps the most damning...

"He [Xavier Campos] was chief operating officer of the Mexican-American Community Services Agency, which is under criminal investigation for skimming off workers' retirement contributions. He says he was aware of MACSA's cash-flow problems but not the diversion of funds."

Ouch...

New, high-tech luggage scanners at Mineta San Jose (International) Airport get a write up in today's Merc. They are apparently cutting-edge, very cool, and something that "should be done everywhere"... Now, if only airlines and people started flying out of the joint, they could actually start using the luggage scanners...

Apparently several judge seats are up in the County... Tracey Kaplan at the Merc had the (tedious) task of getting into the nitty gritty of each race.

The San Jose/Evergreen Community College District is closer to getting a new chancellor... there are three finalists -- one local (the President of Evergreen Valley College) and two not so local... Watch Dog will bet on one of the two not so local folks...

The not-so-newly-formed Santa Clara County Elections Commission will meet finally... after 2 years. This seems to be over the objections of the Registrar of Voters. He seems to hate oversight more than a large, local police department does...

Add a rail company to the list of folks opposing High-Speed Rail... Union Pacific.

This should piss people off... the Leaf Blower Complaint Hotline in Palo Alto will be shut down due to budget cuts. If you have a complaint about your neighbor's leaf blowing, please call 800-Get A Life...

A new tax may be coming to Mountain View this fall... this time, more taxes on your 650 phone line that you are so proud of...

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 -- 4.22.10: Opposed versus Opposing...

The San Jose Police Officers' Association has opposed the gambling measure on the San Jose ballot in June since it was put on the ballot a few months ago. Of course, they didn't oppose it enough to actually write an "argument against Measure K" for the ballot guide. Instead, they blogged about. So I guess we can say the POA are "opposed" but they aren't really "opposing."

But inside the story in today's Merc there are even more interesting details, if you read between the lines:

• Cindy Chavez still isn't talking to the Merc, but answered a question on Measure K through her spokesperson with a "no comment" -- thus violating Rule 1 of press relations.
• Even more interesting in the story is this: Ed McGovern pushing a yes on Measure K campaign on behalf of the card clubs and Jude Barry is a political consultant for the Police Officers' Association, which is opposed to the measure. This is interesting because Ed McGovern and Jude Barry are working together in Santa Clara on the 49ers' stadium campaign. Politics makes strange bedfellows... (No Councilmember Oliverio, we don't mean that kind of bedfellow...)

Here we go again... again. Senator Maldonado is gunning for Lieutenant Governor. Can't we all just get along?

While we are in Sacramento... Mr. Smith (well, Mr. Guardino actually) went to Sacramento, and got a piece written in the Merc about their trip... which we are sure will make the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce less than pleased because they went to Sacramento this week and got nothing written...

Speaking of Mr. Guardino, he comes to the defense of Cindy Chavez with a Letter to the Editor in today's Merc. He makes no mention, however, of why she has been in the paper lately: heavy-handed political tactics. But Cindy should send Carl flowers today...

Wouldn't it be great to buy alcohol and Advil in the same place? That way, you can get the cause and the cure for a hangover in one space... Well, the Campbell City Council doesn't think it is such a good idea and denied Walgreens' the proper permits...

The City of Palo Alto hired a consulting firm to see how it might be able to see how to trim costs from the fire department... of course, they forgot to find out if the consulting firm had every actually recommended reducing staffing levels of fire departments ever. The answer? No. Never. Not once. Well, that was money well spent by the City of Palo Alto...

A woman was violently attacked and robbed at the Gilroy outlets on Wednesday in the bathroom. Scary.

What a buzz kill... and during the week of 420: Mountain View Police busted a grow house with $100,000 of pot plants...

On the blogs...

San Jose Inside lets us all know about Sam Liccardo's birthday cake at his campaign kick-off, and that Zoe Lofgren was there. We also learn that candidate Tim Hennessey has "friends" on Facebook that are mad at him...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.21.10: 420 hangover...

The Sharks' series is tied at 2 games a piece...

In case you missed it, you should probably check out yesterday's post about what the San Jose City Council could have looked like... the way we (almost) were...

The Merc Editorial Board sets the stage for the next budget battle in San Jose. Calling the voluntary pay cut from the Mayor (and Constant and Liccardo and Oliverio and Kalra and Chirco) good stuff, they say more is needed from the unionized workforce... oh, and 1,300 employees in the City of San Jose got pink slips yesterday, including police officers and firefighters. Watch Dog guesses this is serious now... and it is going to get very ugly. Of course, the Police union and the Firefighters union are saying that the City is going to go to hell in a hand-basket. But more interestingly, Cindy Chavez did comment in the story in the Merc, but she did it by issuing a statement... we guess she must be sick of talking to folks at the local paper of record, given the goings on of the past few weeks. Note to Cindy Chavez: You are welcome to speak here anytime you like -- shoot us an email...

Speaking of firefighters... the Merc Editorial Board also chimes in on a bill making its way through Sacramento that would require municipalities to get state approval before filing for bankruptcy... ironic, since the state would probably have a big role in causing the bankruptcy in the first place... the bill is being pushed by the state firefighters union, which is also ironic for obvious reasons...

More on firefighters (in Palo Alto) below...

And the City of San Jose taketh (away jobs) and giveth (away land). Selleth, actually. The final deal for the two downtown parking lots to be sold to the Sobrato Organization went through yesterday, with a $20 million pricetag. Next up for the $20 million... baseball.

The San Jose Police Officer that was on trial for fondling a young girl while on duty was found not guilty yesterday.

A new fire chief will take over in Mountain View... and he is coming from Utah to do it. Welcome Scott Vermeer. We love your paintings...

The battle between Sunnyvale City Councilmember/ Palo Alto firefighters union boss and the Palo Alto City Council continues... the Council officially is asking voters to not sign the Spitaleri petition for a ballot measure... and he is pissed.

Earlier in the week, we learned of a group of band members from Los Gatos who were trapped in Munich. Which Watch Dog didn't think was such a bad place to be trapped... but there is a group of high school singers from Mountain View that are trapped in Paris. Perhaps the Mountain Viewers and the Los Gatans could get together on the German/ French boarder and put on a show?

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.20.10: 420, need we say more?

420... 'nuff said. Now, onto November...

It has been a bad few weeks for the South Bay Labor Council head honcho Cindy Chavez. First she got Jude Barry blacklisted -- which led to bad press. Then she sent a threatening letter to several Democratic Assemblymembers because they are supporting her "opponent" in a City Council race -- which led to bad press. Then her strong, yet unsuccessful, push to get Republican Dolores Carr endorsed for DA was uncovered -- which led to bad press. Today, the Merc's Scott Herhold ties it all up in a bow... He concludes: "...For such a sunny personality, hers are cold tactics indeed..."

"Hi Phil, it's Cindy. Can you relaunch sanjoserevealed as soon as possible? Thanks..."

Check out Watch Dog's piece from yesterday about Cindy Chavez, Dolores Carr, and Xavier Campos: United Carr Workers and Xavier Campos.

Watch Dog didn't really know something like this was possible, but... National Hispanic University was sold to a for-profit college conglomerate. Think of it as Walmart coming in to buy your small school. Laureate Education is the purchaser and their company is valued at $3.5 billion. If you are going to sell out, go big or go home, we guess...

Lately when anyone has been talking about Santa Clara, it has been about the 49ers or Yahoo... that's because everyone has stopped talking about the BAREC housing development that was controversial and contentious. But it is finally FINALLY moving forward as the clean-up starts... (If you know nothing about this development, then don't even try to understand the history...)

Yesterday was a bad day to be train-dependent. First a bomb threat that screwed up the afternoon/ evening community, then a suspicious package at the Caltrain Station in Mountain View closed things down for a while last night...

Speaking of trains... but a much, much faster one, hopefully. The Mountain View Council is studying the High-Speed Rail alignment options for Mountain View, and they really don't know what they like best... or least.

One Silicon Valley-ite who is running for high office has released his tax returns... Tom Campbell. And we learn what we already knew... he isn't a rich as Meg Whitman, Carly Fiorina, or Steve Poizner... Most stunning of all, he donated only $600 to charity in 2009. ... that's it. Perhaps the library in Almaden didn't need his help last year.

Speaking of Silicon Valley types running for office... Chris Kelly is a former Facebook executive running for Attorney General. (In case you didn't know that, and if you didn't know that, then you are in the majority...) He is facing some tough questions about Facebook's privacy policies. Questions like, does Facebook have a privacy policy?

Palo Alto is celebrating 420... well, Earth Day actually. They have a bunch of new enviro-sheek things happening.

To the blogs...

Protect San Jose answers a real(?) "Ask a Beat Cop" question today about a car getting stolen in downtown San Jose... of course the answer is about high-capacity night clubs...

Mission City Lantern has some advice for Cindy Chavez...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.13.10: Battle of Millionaires...

Let the battle of millionaires (billionaires?) begin... Great America is suing the City of Santa Clara and the 49ers over their plans to build a stadium. The suit is over the Environmental Impact Report and its legality... as the story in the Merc suggests, this might be a way for Cedar Fair (the folks that own Great America) to improve their position in negotiations with the City and the Team... sort of like the San Francisco Giants complaining about the A's move to San Jose. As we said, it is a battle of millionaires... (Even the Chronicle wrote about the lawsuit, so it must be important...)

Gilroy might be happy about a story where a man drove 3,000 miles to get to their town... if it was about someone going to the Garlic Festival or to shop at the outlets... but this story is about a Canadian man who drove from Ontario, Canada to Gilroy to have sex with a 17 year old. Not exactly the stuff of note for the Gilroy Chamber.

On a lighter note, there are three new chicks at San Jose City Hall... (and no, we don't mean the new summer interns Councilmember Oliverio...)

If you love Ming's in Palo Alto, and any who is anyone in politics does love Ming's, then get ready for a big change in your life. The owners of Ming's are taking all the money you paid for your dim sum and putting into a big new hotel on the same site. Don't worry, a new Ming's will emerge out of the project and they will have plenty of pork buns for everyone...

In case you have extra time today, take a look at this PensionMeter put together by the SacBee. We'll write about it later...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.12.10: Thinking of summer...

Because what everyone needs on a rainy day is to think about summer... and nothing says summer like Major League Baseball:

Bill Shaikin of the LA Times writes a great piece about the Oakland Athletics and their quest to move to downtown San Jose. Please Mr. Selig, at least tell us something... anything!

For those of you that remember back a few years ago know that NUMMI was opposed to the Oakland A's moving into Fremont. Well, now NUMMI is gone and Fremont might want the A's back. They got a federal grant to look at possible reuse options and the folks in Fremont might be looking at the Green and Gold again. Unfortunately for Fremont, the Green and Gold are (probably) really, really sick of Fremont...

We know that the Chronicle doesn't like the ideas of the A's moving to San Jose... but even they couldn't deny that San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed having an Opening Day meeting with Bob DuPuy of MLB was a good sign...

And from summer sports to fall ones...

The Merc goes through the "on the one hand" and the "on the other hand" economics of the 49ers stadium. Watch Dog is sticking with James Rowen's version of things and not these guys, if for no other reason than Rowen is much more interesting...

On to things not related to sports...

The task force tasked with figuring out what to do with the Mexican Heritage Plaza is almost done with their work and will send their recommendation for a school for art and culture to the San Jose City Council. Of course, they are sending their recommendation to the City Council with a $500,000 annual price tag... which may mean the recommendation is DOA...

Here's a surprise, San Jose Firefighters don't like cuts to the fire department. Of course, they don't have their own blog, so they are resigned to voicing their displeasure through the media. But when you go through the media, you let the City Manager and the Mayor tee-off on you like Phil at Augusta. The Mayor's retort: "If the firefighters gave up 10 percent [salaries], we wouldn't have to consider this [cutting services]..." The City Manager's mouthpiece Tom Manheim (he's still there?) said: "We're not in a situation that allows us to hold the Fire Department harmless..."

Here we go... it was only a matter of time before legislators on the Peninsula started listening to all the NIMBYs... and Joe Simitian is the first to crack. In the Chronicle's Matier & Ross column today, Simitian raises questions and doubt about the financial projections to High-Speed Rail... but reading between the lines, Watch Dog thinks this is really about neighborhood opposition up and down the Peninsula... who's next? Jerry Hill? Paul Fong?

Yesterday was Internal Affairs Sunday in the Merc...

Item 1: Campos the Elder (Nora): We learn that Roy Avila is not running against Nora Campos after all. (Even though he still has a website up.) Apparently he put more time into his website and initial fundraiser in Los Gatos than in actually getting his name on the ballot... or he cut himself a deal with the Campos clan...

Item 2: Campos the Younger (Xavier): We learn that labor leaders Cindy Chavez and Neil Struthers sent a threatening letter to 11 members of the State Assembly because they gave money to Xavier's opponent, Magdalena Carrasco. (If you would like to see what a threatening letter from Chavez/Struthers looks like, click here.) Sometimes it helps to have a powerful big brother-(inlaw) and sister... Mission City Lantern even chimed in on the non-Mission City-related stuff...

Scott Herhold compares the books of GOP Gubernatorial candidates Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman, becoming perhaps the second or third person in the world to read both books... Essentially, Herhold writes that Poizner is more entrepreneurial and Whitman more corporate... but he also throws in that Jerry Brown is old... which is a theme this week. (The theme was carried through to Internal Affairs, which runs down the funny jokes Republicans made about Jerry Brown's age (72)...)

Palo Alto has a budget gap of $8.3 million. They will close it the way everyone else will close it in the lesser zip codes in Silicon Valley, cutting services, laying off workers, instituting new fees, and charging residents for sidewalk repairs...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.6.10: 161 more to go...

While it may not seem like the top story of the day, it should be: Public Defenders are now representing defendants in misdemeanor cases in Santa Clara County. You know, the whole "...if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you..." that the County sort of forgot about until now...

The good folks at Protect San Jose would like to remind everyone that there are three sides to every story as they chime in (briefly) on the court rulings in favor of the SJPD in the 2006 Mardi Gras trial. (Of course, Protect San Jose voices love the "three sides" mantra...)

Perhaps there are three sides to this story... or column. Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters wrote about skyrocketing public safety pensions and how they led to Vallejo (and other cities, perhaps) bankruptcies and the piece was re-run by the Merc. It is a good primer on how pensions grew, why, and what will happen next. But remember, there are three sides to every story... right?

Yes on Prop 14, according to the Merc. Editorial Board... Open primaries. Thank you Senator Maldonado...

Scott Herhold (two "h" sounds as you read this to yourself) looks at political family dynasties in Santa Clara County. Alvarado. Cortese. Shirakawa ("...a Rodney Dangerfield complex..."). Farr ("...a sturdy backbencher..."). Diridon. Campos.

High-Speed Rail is coming to town, we all know that. But the High-Speed Rail Authority is coming to town too, on Thursday in Santa Clara. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed with be there... will you?

The Chronicle loves to hate the idea of the San Jose A's. In today's paper, they cover an anti-A's to San Jose protest that wasn't at last night's game. By the way, the A's lost 5-3. 161 more to go.

The County Office of Education is perhaps the least understood government agency in Santa Clara County... The question is constant asked, "What do they do in that fancy building?"... But one thing is for sure, the Board loves to throw Superintendents under the bus... and the bus is about to start rolling over current Superintendent Chuck Weis. Perhaps he could call Colleen Wilcox for a quick pow-wow about how these things generally end. Today's story is about how he is getting mixed reviews from the County Board of Education, and has this strange nugget:

"...Last month he handed the board a letter from his doctor warning that "his work schedule is impairing his ability to maintain long-term good heath." It advises that he have at least two or three weeks of vacation each year — he gets 25 paid days a year — and time for vigorous exercise at least three times per week..." Tick tock Chuck Weis...

County officials (and candidates) had to file economic interest statements. Some folks are rich (Forrest Williams) and some folks not so much (Teresa Alvarado). Some folks got gifts (Larry Stone) and some folks got none (Jeff Rosen). But perhaps the most interesting thing we learned from the Merc's coverage is this: George Shirakawa received tickets to the San Jose Giants from a tribal casino in Madera County... What could they possibly want from Supervisor Shirakawa. Hmmm...

The Meg Whitman Campaign Start-Up just received another round of venture capital funding from the Meg Whitman Fund... $20 million...

A plan to study the compost-to-energy plant on dedicated parkland in Palo Alto is moving forward. But a plan to study and a plan to build are two very, very different things. And the City Council there is divided 5 to 4...

From the blogs...

Mission City Lantern covers the anti-49er's litigation that was dropped... (Thank you for the comment James to give us a heads up...)

Over on San Jose Inside, Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio continues his quest for a 420 San Jose... and the debate in the Comments prove that everyone already is smoking pot.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.5.10: Garcia vs. Poizner...

First, the important stuff...

Go Stanford. Beat UConn...

Go A's. Beat Seattle (and move to San Jose...)

Now, to less important stuff...

The Mercury News Editorial Board (unsurprisingly) endorsed Jeff Rosen... But the language they used was harsh, and Watch Dog is certain that voters will see this phrase over and over again...: "...Dolores Carr has shown that she lacks the moral compass and clear judgment to serve as the county's top law enforcement official..."

Speaking of skyrocketing public employee pension and benefits cost... actually, we weren't, but this story is the result of those things: Pools in San Jose may not open as planned this summer. Swimming, swimming in the swimming pool, when days are hot, when days are cold, in the swimming pool... or not.

San Jose Councilmember Kansen Chu woke up Saturday morning to this headline: "San Jose Councilman Kansen Chu violated state, city limits on gifts..." No word yet if Chu's first call was to Sam Liccardo for advice...

Stanford and Palo Alto don't get along. If you missed that, then you are very, very new to Silicon Valley... In exchange for Palo Alto putting up a huge stink about Stanford's hospital expansion plans, Palo Alto wants Stanford to help pay for the the PAPD's new building. Usually those deals are cut behind closed doors, but this quid pro quo is right out in the public...

In other unsurprising news: Caltrain is in deep shit... and it may be taxpayers who need to keep it afloat, because riders can't afford the $50/day to ride the train what it would take to keep Caltrains running... Good times.

The folks at Protect San Jose can't type fast enough to counter this Merc profile of Raj Jayadev, the head of De-Bug and a thorn in the side of SJPD. You'll remember Raj as the dude the San Jose Police Officers' Association made fun of in their video last year. In an ironic twist, that video which mocked Raj actually gave him a bigger pedestal to blast the Police... now culminating in a (mostly) positive story about Raj and De-Bug. Good work SJPOA...

It was quite a day for Steve Poizner on Friday. Having nothing to do with his run for Governor, folks from the East Side Union High School District, and Mount Pleasant High School specifically, protested him at the mall where Poizner was signing his new book about teaching in the East Side Union High School District. In this news clip, we see Eddie Garcia getting in the face of Poizner. Poizner could have responded, "Mr. Garcia, as soon as the voters elect you to something, I will listen..." But Poizner didn't do that...

Speaking of troubled high schools... a victim of a stabbing was dropped off (or stabbed) at the entrance to Gilroy High School.

Yesterday was Sunday, which is the reporters at the Merc fun day, at least in terms of Internal Affairs. Here's the fun stuff we learned...

• The Santa Clara County Bar Association like Jeff Rosen better than Dolores Carr... so does Scott Herhold and nearly everyone who works in the DA's office...
• The East Side Superintendent that got fired before the most recent one got fired is getting fired again... from the Alisal Union School District. They sure do know how to pick 'em at ESUHSD...
• And perhaps most shocking is this: Steve Poizner had a man-crush on Ron Gonzales... Oh, as shocking, someone actually had to read Poizner's book to find out that info...

One task force to talk about tree removal and another to talk about tree planting. That's the plan for TJ Martin and Fontana Parks in San Jose because PG&E needs to remove trees and neighbors are not pleased...

The Merc Editorial Board continues with its political endorsements... beyond the really fun one for Jeff Rosen, a really not fun unendorsement for Proposition 17... which is funded by Mercury Insurance. (Note to Mercury Insurance: Please don't raise Watch Dog's rates...)

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.30.10: Rosen and Carr -- the saga continues...

We've said it before: When lawyers run against each other in politics, expect a litigious campaign -- especially when the folks are running for District Attorney. And the DA's race took another turn yesterday, and like most turns thus far, it doesn't turn in the incumbent's favor -- at least the way Watch Dog (and the Merc's headline editor) sees it. (Merc headline: DA challenger Rosen can keep flattering quotes in ballot statement. San Jose Inside had a different take: Carr v. Rosen split decision) Dolores Carr had sued to try to make Jeff Rosen change his ballot statement because it included quotes from the Mercury News and former DA George Kennedy and it compared the two candidates -- which is a no-no. The ruling: Rosen can keep in the quotes from the Merc and from former DA George Kennedy. He voluntarily changed the comparison part of the statement. Rosen's quote in the story sort of sums the whole thing up: "...Her ballot statement is about how she's a bureaucrat... My ballot statement is about how I'm a tough, ethical, experienced prosecutor who has prosecuted hundreds of cases and she has not." Anytime you do something that let's your opponent get that quote in the paper, you need to rethink your strategy.

The budget, the budget, the budget... San Jose is in trouble. The Merc Editorial Board is calling on employees to make concessions -- as it is the only way to get things more in line with reality...

More San Jose budget crap: If a city is a collection of neighborhoods and the neighborhoods are built around community centers, then San Jose is in even deeper shit... because "dozens of San Jose communiity centers" are about the get the axe. Expect a lot of folks to show up to speak at tonight's budget session, bring your No Doze.

Would you like to own a chunk of land in North San Jose? Well, if you are a government agency with extra cash on hand (and which government agency doesn't have a bunch of extra cash on hand) you could own the last bit of Agnews...

If you were looking forward to buying both the cause of hangovers (beer) and the cure (Advil) at Palo Alto Walgreens, you are going to have to wait longer. Neighbors filed complaints to the State Alcohol Beverage Control folks and things are on hold for a while.

Downtown Morgan Hill potential redevelopers have been narrowed to three: Barry Swenson Builders, City Ventures, and The Olson Company... and only one wears a hat all the time...

Christopher High School in the Gilroy Unified School District will get its aquatics center... but it will be two years later than expected.

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.29.10: Jude versus Cindy?

If you are involved at all in politics in Silicon Valley, Friday was a busy day. Local political guru Jude Barry was put on the "do not patronize" list of the California Labor Federation because he co-founded a company that allows folks to gather signatures for ballot initiatives via iPhone. Internal Affairs had a run-down, so did San Jose Inside. If you want the full story, including a quote from Cindy Chavez who (probably) coordinated the entire thing -- read the IA version of things. The labor folks are "unhappy" because the signature-gathering software -- Verafirma -- is being used for an anti-labor signature-gathering effort. Of course, it is also being used by a group aiming to repeal Prop 8 and another group trying to legalize marijuana. So, Watch Dog has to wonder, who is next on the California Labor Federation's blacklist: perhaps the "paycheck protection" folks are using HP computers, Apple iPhones, and Cisco routers... We wonder when Marc Hurd, Steve Jobs, and John Chambers will get their black-list notice...

So what does this all mean? We'll see. We know what it means for Teresa Alvarado, a Barry client. She didn't get the South Bay Labor Council endorsement but Forrest Williams did. The Labor Council must have been impressed with Williams' depth of knowledge, command of issues, and charisma... The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce endorsed Mike Wasserman. No doubt that they were impressed by the "R" after his name...

If you would like to see some Jude Barry's work, check out the 49ers new tv ad. Ironically, you know who could have used a campaign television ad this good? Cindy Chavez...

James at Mission City Lantern also has something to say about Jude... we aren't sure what he means all the time, but in this case, we think he means that he likes Jude and he likes Cindy Chavez, but that Jude is right in this case and Cindy is wrong.

San Jose, the self-touted "green capital," is putting two football fields' worth of solar on the new airport parking garage, but it seems that the two football fields' worth of solar will be Canadian football fields... because local companies didn't really bid on the project...

If you love public visioning processes, you were probably at the one this weekend for the Diridon Station area of downtown. If that stuff doesn't put you to sleep, try Ambien...

"Dude, let's go to the San Jose City Council on Tuesday to let them know about how much we love pot... err, cannabis, clubs." You have got to love a City that is going to the ballot to increase the number of poker tables, but may vote to shut down pot clubs.

From pot to prostitution: 5 folks were arrested in Gilroy for prostitution. But the best is the flowery language that the police officers used in their press release tooting their own horns about the arrests:

"They are in conflict with our philosophy of maintaining a city in which our residents and law-abiding visitors can enjoy a safe place to live, work and play... The disposition of our Department is that we will take whatever steps are necessary to dissuade those who choose to engage in illegal activities within our city from doing so."

Wow! The police have both a philosophy and a disposition on prostitution. Disposition is a 64 point word in Scrabble and prostitution is a 73 point word...(without double letters or double word scores)... kudos Gilroy PD.

Finally, perhaps the most far-reaching thing in today's Round-Up, besides the Barry/Chavez feud:

Mozart isn't just the name of a composer, it is also the name of a father/son development team. Both father and son are suing Palo Alto separately because they are claiming the 10 percent affordable set-aside for housing projects is an unfair tax. All housing eyes will be watching these lawsuits...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.26.10: Can you name the 1992 San Jose City Council?

A couple of days ago in the Palo Alto Daily News, there was a story about a Palo Alto City janitor who cashing out sick leave ($100k+) and retiring with a pension and benefits for life... well, the Merc must have seen that story and asked around San Jose City Hall if the same thing happens there. Guess what? It does. The total amount of sick leave cash outs in 2009 was $11.3 million, up from previous years. It is mostly to police officers and firefighters, who have unlimited (?) sick leave and vacation payouts when they are donPublish Poste with their stint with the City. The leader of the pack was a retiring deputy police chief who cashed in $305,447 of unpaid sick leave and vacation. Today's story also has a little history: "...But the presidents of the police and firefighters unions noted that city officials in 1992 gave them the unlimited sick-leave cash out benefit..." Ok all you old timers... We'll start the 1992 City Council list with Mayor Susan Hammer, David Pandori, Shirley Lewis, Pat Sausedo... can anyone out there name the rest?

(Not to be out-reported, the Palo Alto Weekly dives deep into how much 'cash outs' have cost Palo Alto... $5.3 million last year. We have no clue who was on the Palo Alto Council when those cash out decisions were made...)

The finalists for the now-high profile Independent Police Auditor's job in San Jose have been announced, even though the Merc caught wind of LaDoris Cordell's name prevoiusly. The other three:

• Jeff Schwartz, the head of Letra, a consulting firm that trains and researches law enforcement stuff,
• Marcos Soler, a director with the Research and Strategic Initiatives for the Civilian Complaint Review Board in NYC, and
• Victoria Urbi, a police review commission officer with Berkeley's civilian Police Review Commission.

Well, let's hope whomever gets the gig that they are not neutered like the last several IPAs have been... Because there's nothing a Watch Dog likes less than being neutered...

There is some closure to the sex with a student story in Santa Clara Unified. The Wilcox High School "special" education teacher Ed Slate will spend 2 years and 8 months for "...oral copulation with a minor, sexual penetration, and sodomy with a person younger than 18..."

While we are talking about schools, sort of... the County Office of Education is under the gun from "Alternative School" teachers and staff. The teachers are worried that by taking their concerns to the Board of Trustees, rather than the Superintendent Chuck Weis, that they may face retaliation...

No more classes, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks... at least for summer school. Morgan Hill closed summer school for the coming summer...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.24.10: I heart lawyers... especially ones running against each other

Who doesn't love a great political fight? But the fight gets a little boring sometimes if it is between two lawyers, like Dolores Carr and Jeff Rosen. Dolores Carr is taking Jeff Rosen to court over his ballot statement. (Because voters love frivolous litigation?) Carr is claiming Rosen is using quotes from others and comparing himself to her in his ballot statement -- both apparent no-nos. Of course, the best part of this is the Carr has given quotes to others to use in their ballot statements in the past and has compared herself to her opponent in the past. Um, lawyers, everyone finds the law boring... no offense.

So it has come to this: paycuts for City of San Jose workers. Sort of. That was the discussion at yesterday's City Council meeting. The story in the Merc has some colorful language to describe what is happening in the City: "[The budget discussion] ...comes amid the heightened politics of an election year as the city careens toward a fiscal crisis that could force dramatic service reductions..." Careens? It looks like the City Council will eventually take smaller concessions from unions (maybe) and do a series of one-time, short-term fixes to get through next year. That sounds familiar, like every year for the past decade. Watch Dog isn't sure that pushing these big salary cuts off another year until the Mayor wins reelection and won't have to worry about anything politically is a great idea for the labor-majority on the Council, but whatever...

To figure out part of the budgetary problems that municipalities face with pay, benefits, and pensions, check out this story about a Palo Alto janitor that took home $156k in 2009 and will receive a full pension and lifelong healthcare coverage... if only we had a national healthcare policy.

For those NIMBYs that want High-Speed Rail to (inexplicably) end in San Jose to avoid big impacts to the Peninsula got some troubling news yesterday... even if that were the case, the impact to Caltrain would be as impactful as the impact of High-Speed Rail. That's because the transfer to a new train to make it the final 50 miles up the Peninsula would hurt Caltrain and would require new tracks, new construction, and new trains... Face it Peninsula, your just train-screwed.

And if the previous story doesn't give you your NIMBY fix, perhaps this will: a public comment session on the "Minton Project" last night in Mountain View. Let's just say that not everyone supports 203 new housing units...

In the midst of the Great Recession, garbage rates are going up in Morgan Hill.

Ending with some blog stuff...

Jessica Fromm at San Jose Inside looks through some fundraising reports in the San Jose City Council District 5 race and finds that Magdalena Carrasco outraised (Nora's brother) Xavier Campos this quarter and that Campos spent more money that he took in during the same period. One candidate is raising money, and one is spending it... hmmm. Perhaps the Supervisor Shirakawa needs to call an emergency staff meeting to straigten things out...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.17.10: It would be a lot cooler if you did...

The budget is bad in San Jose, real bad. Yesterday was a hum-dinger at the Council meeting as it pitted people who love parks, libraries, and other City services against City employees who love their jobs. According to the Mayor (in the Merc story): "Although this is the ninth year we've faced significant budget shortfall, this year is by far the worst..." What he didn't say: "Because things are so shitty, we are going to give card rooms the latitude to turn San Jose into Las Vegas..."

To help move things in the right direction, the City also approved a series of pro-business incentives... and... they also approved a rezoning thingy to allow the Earthquakes to build a soccer stadium right off Coleman avenue. Hey, if the Earthquakes play it right, they could take over the airport site (when the airport fails) and build the San Jose version of Estadio Azteca...

Happy Hollow got its facelift,

Happy Hollow got its (taxpayer) gift.

Now take your kids,

And you will see,

That it isn't as crappy as it used to be...

Ironically, the Happy Hollow story in the Merc was written by Holly Hayes... Holly Hayes' Happy Hollow story. Who said the Editors at the Merc can't be cute?

This is a story with so many interesting angles it will make your (political) head spin... Palo Alto firefighters are looking to put a ballot measure on the November ballot that would block Palo Alto from firing firefighters as Palo Alto balances its budget. This will get every firefighters union in the county (or the world) to call their political consultants as soon as possible this morning... Another layer of intrigue is that the head of the Palo Alto firefighters union putting this thing together? Tony Spitaleri... why does that name sound familiar to you? That's because he's on the Sunnyvale City Council. Just wait until the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers put a ballot measure on Sunnvyale's November...

Speaking of the ballot box, but let's move up to this spring. 8 (8?!) school districts are looking for parcel taxes on ballots this spring: Milpitas, Mt. Pleasant, Alum Rock, Palo Alto, Fremont Union, Loma Prieta, Lakeside, and Union.

Back to Palo Alto... they are going to do a tad bit more outreach before re-writing their recycling regulations. It seems folks had a bit of a privacy issue with having the city go through garbage. Shocker.

We'll end today with a little political reporting from the good folks as the Fly/ San Jose Inside. It seems that Cousin Cortese, who is running in San Jose City Council District 9 is a Karaoke DJ master. Seriously. Watch Dog has confirmed, however, that his ballot designation is not Karaoke DJ, although, to paraphrase Dazed and Confused, it would be a lot cooler if it was...