Morning News Round-Up -- 5.14.10: Game One Weekend!

More political endorsements... this time from the Metro: Teresa Alvarado for Supervisor. It is a nice piece about Ms. Alvarado, but the harshest words are reserved (again) for Forrest Williams. This quote will play especially poorly in South County:

"...When he served on the council, Williams was an enthusiastic supporter of the plan to blanket the pristine valley [Coyote Valley] with homes. Trading the region’s environmental quality for short-term union jobs is unsound public policy..."

San Jose Unified is getting a new Superintendent -- Vincent Matthews, who has been the state appointed overseer of Oakland's public schools. Welcome to town Mr. Matthews...

While one public education institution ends its search for a new leader, one will start their search. San Jose State's President (of two years!) will leave San Jose State. John Whitmore was the 4th President in 7 years. The search begins... again... again... again... (Mission City Lantern has something to say about this...)

Finally on the education front, we get this headline announcing the Academic Performance Index results for the County: Test scores show most Santa Clara, San Mateo counties students reaching state goal... as if "most" is the goal. You can find your neighborhood school's listing here...

Senator Simitian may be joining many of his (NIMBY) neighbors and withdrawing support for High-Speed Rail... when the political winds change...

Tough times for Cupertino Crossroads (that place you pass on Stevens Creek all the time)... PetSmart closed, leaving the third major vacancy there (Mervyn's and The Learning Game). If you have a big box store waiting to open, perhaps Watch Dog could interest you in a Cupertino location?

Sunday is Game One of the Western Conference Finals... Go Sharks...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.30.10: DeadbeatDellums.com...

Sharks won Game 1... and not because the Red Wings were grounded for missing curfew either...

From the sublime to the ridiculous...

Because we can't help ourselves, Watch Dog Silicon Valley is now the "point out Mayor Ron Dellums' shortcomings" blog... yesterday we wrote about his Palin-esque (or was it Yoda-esque) quote in the paper. Today it is a story from the Chronicle about Mayor Dellums going back on his pledge to take a 10 percent paycut. (He needs the money to pay the IRS who probably have their own internal blog about Dellums' shortcomings... DeadbeatDellums.com) But should MLB really listen to guy who can't pay his taxes and goes back on his $18,000 paycut pledge? Just asking. We'll add this to the "things that won't happen in San Jose when the A's move here" list: there will be no anti-Wolff banners, there will be no anti-A's City Attorney, and there will be no Mayor that gives back his paycut... San Jose looks better and better everyday... don't you think Bud?

Super Bowl in Santa Clara? It could happen, and James Rowen will absolutely be there... His blog-enemies will absolutely not be...

But a story in today's Merc brings up the prospects of "...Raider Nation -- and its rough-and-tumble reputation -- descending on Silicon Valley for football Sundays..." and how that might impact the vote in June. It ain't the wine and cheese-going 49er crowd, that's for sure...

High-Speed Rail could be in trouble, according to a new State audit because it... "...suffers from 'weak oversight,' 'lax' management and a shaky funding plan..." Funny, we thought that was the norm for things coming out of Sacramento... One thing for sure, this audit will be the talk of the country-club set in Menlo Park and Atherton this weekend...

We'll let Sean Webby continue his work on this story and we won't comment at all: Prosecutor: San Jose cop's work on sex assault cases sloppy, but no charges...

Our only comment on this story is that the formatting, probably for a split second yesterday, was a bit screwy... so we share because we can't resist...

While we are on the San Jose Police, the San Jose POA's Vice President didn't mince words when he expressed regret that the Police Chief didn't get the Dallas job, sort of... "Chief Davis has lost the confidence of his troops..." tick tock Chief Davis, tick tock. Of course, we've said that before...

• Medical Cannabis Dude A: Dude, let's file a lawsuit against the City of San Jose for trying to screw with us...
• Medical Cannabis Dude B: Dude... let's do it...

(Don't worry all you medical cannabis users out there. I support you. But it is funnier to write about this story if we throw the word "dude" in once and awhile...)

If you life isn't boring enough, there will be public workshops will start this weekend about how to develop 2,600 acres of land around San Jose's "water treatment"/ sewage plant. Either your life isn't boring enough OR you ran out of your Ambien prescription...

Become the Lt. Governor go on Colbert... that is Maldo's path to fame.

But the special elections that the Governor is pushing got dinged in the Merc Editorial pages today... because of cost ($3 million) and because of politics...

The Board of Supervisors' plan to ban fast food toys gets some love on SFist.com... at the same time that George Shirakawa goes out for steak for a good cause (Dining Out for Life) and presumably not handing out toys... BUT wait, the comments on San Jose Inside tell a different story: apparently Shirakawa wasn't going to be there after his press release was sent out...

The City of Cupertino is laying out some cash ($2.1 million) now (with Siemens) to reap energy efficiency savings later (through cuts in energy and water bills)... How'd they find $2.1 million? $438k in grants, $562k in capital improvement reserves, and the other $1.1 will come from a private lender or reserves...

The Minton's project in Mountain View got approved. 203 "luxury apartments" will be built on the site of the old lumber yard... Prometheus Real Estate Group 1, NIMBYs 0...

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.5.10: No hospitals, no eminent domain, no affordable housing...

You may remember Greg Zlotnick, he was on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board but was then gifted/given a high-paying job with the District in 2007 by then CEO-Stan Williams without the Board's approval. Well, Zlotnick has been fired... job-eliminated, actually, by the new CEO.

The County's Public Safety and Justice Committee voted not to arm Juvenile Probation Officers this week. Bringing up the obvious question, the County has a Safety and Justice Committee? Even the Merc had to throw in a little jab at the Committee: "...At a high-intensity gathering of the normally sparsely attended public safety and justice committee..."

Most people clamour to have a hospital in their town -- think about downtown San Jose... but Campbell is saying no to a certain type of "boutique hospital" that would only serve rich people. The vote was 4 to 1 against changing zoning rules that would have allowed the hospital to move forward.

A long time ago, there was a big deal about the Saratoga Cemetary Board and their plans for some eminent domain findings. That really raised the profile of the group just above "anonymous" to "almost anonymous" in the public's eye. But they are back in the news again arguing about what the minutes of their meetings say, who drafts them, and if they are biased in any way. There are some nasty accusations made relative to this story, which makes it all the more interesting. Enjoy.

Cupertino voted against a plan to build 18-20 new affordable housing units in their City. The plan was actually brought forward by the Rotary Club of Cupertino. We guess the Rotary Club of Cupertino doesn't have the same pull as the Rotary Club of Cupertino...

The Sunnyvale City Council figured out its priorities for the coming year... and marijuana is on the list. Thank goodness, we could use some. It is Friday after all... wait dude, they are actually going to crack down on it. Damn...

Morning News Round-Up -- 12.2.09: Coolest Mayor in Silicon Valley Award...

West Valley cities are all the rage today... giving the SJPD a well-deserved break. Cupertino has a majority Asian-American City Council with Gilbert Wong taking the center seat on the dais and Campbell has "one of the youngest gay and youngest Asian American mayors in the country" according to the Chronicle (Evan Low). Watch Dog will refer to him as the coolest Mayor in Silicon Valley. (No offense Chuck...)

And while SJPD (and the District Attorney) get a break today, loyal reader Kathleen posted this in the comments of yesterday's Round-Up: how to have your voice heard with the Consortium looking into San Jose Police practices as well as the search for the new "Independent" Police Auditor...

San Jose's City Clerk's office is entering the year 2000 with some real technological advances. The City Council decided yesterday to mandate Council candidates file online. That should make the filings for the City Council races in 2002 so easy to access...

The Merc Editorial Board gives a thumbs up to Alviso, and provides us all with an Alviso 101 with this:

Alviso is a small town uncomfortably annexed to San Jose but separate from the rest of the city and little changed through the years.

Really? You mean Vahl's hasn't changed through the years?

Mountain View is looking to head off the easy-to-predict NIMBYism about a downtown affordable housing development they are subsidizing to the tune of $9 million. Interesting that they should be concerned about that because the developer of the project, ROEM Development Corp, has had its problems with neighbors...

Good thing they have a new Police Chief, because the riff-raff are on their way to Palo Alto for the opening of PA's first Trader Joe's on Friday. Bad Hawaiian shirt sales are through the roof...

Perhaps the new revenue from the Trader Joe's will help fill a gap a budget manager in Palo Alto that mistakenly caused a $4.8 million accounting error in this year's budget. That manager, Sharon Bozman, was not mentioned by name at the meeting where Palo Alto officials continued to grapple with the gigantic budget hole -- but the complete revamping of the budget process in Palo Alto was a pretty good indication that she isn't welcome back anytime soon. Rumors that Palo Alto is now interviewing former Enron executives to fill the budget management role are unfounded...

And while Palo Alto looks to improve its budget process, Los Gatos is leaving their traffic patrol to a group of elementary school students from Van Meter Elementary... seriously. They are tracking traffic violations near their school. Thank you Los Gatos Observer.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.4.09: Champagne Hangover Edition...

So many campaign parties, so little time... And the winners (and losers) are:

• Barely 42 votes separated Palo Alto Mayor Larry Klein from newcomer/(former) Palo Alto School Board Trustee Gail Price. Klein should be wondering what happened. Klein and Price are joined by Karen Holman, Nancy Shepherd and Gregory Scharff on the (nearly) all new Palo Alto City Council.
• Sunnyvale’s Mayor Tony Spitialeri held on to his seat as did Chris Moylan, they’ll be joined by newcomer Jim Griffith who coasted to victory over Penny Kelly.
• Cupertino bounced incumbent City Councilmember Marty Miller to elect newcomer/(former) Cupertino Union School District Trustee Barry Chang along with incumbents Orrin Mahoney and Mark Santoro.
• Cupertino School District Trustees Gary McCue, Ben Liao, and Anjali Kausar are retaining their seats. With little opposition, these Trustees coasted to easy victory.
• Los Altos School District Trustee Mark Goines and newcomers Tammy Logan and Doug Smith will be dealing with the only-in-Los Altos-type school challenges.
• Orchard School District Trustees Alan Fong and Bambi Fleming will be retaining their seats. Although in Bambi’s case, she was pummeled by newcomer Mark Newton and barely beat out fellow incumbent Ken Riley. This race might not be over.
• It was grim news for new tax requests in Santa Clara County: Palo Alto’s hoped-for business tax went down in flames along with parcel tax requests from Santa Clara Unified School District and Fremont Union High School. Cupertinites happily voted not to increase taxes but push utility taxes into the kitty.

And while the election is the story of the day, the story of the month/year is San Jose's growing issue with the Police...

San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed (now) says he’s “...going to be on the side of full disclosure…” for release of 911 tapes and must now “...convince at least 2 members…” of the Rules Committee to join him today. In spite of repeated requests from Daniel Pham’s father for release of the 911 tapes, Police Chief Rob Davis worries about violating the family’s privacy... (Or perhaps he is erecting the Blue Wall...)

The Merc’s Scott Herhold challenges Chief Davis not to manipulate Pham’s family into providing the answer the Chief is hoping for and urges readers to join him at City Hall today…

Perhaps Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio has a way to ease the brewing tension... PO thinks a little weed might be just the ticket. Oliverio hopes to pick up where Santa Cruz leaves off and bring two new (medical) marijuana clubs to the City’s empty industrial sites.

Following the closure of San Jose’s downtown hospital in 2004, a flurry of activity took place (not) to get the nation's 10th largest city a replacement. San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo inherited the controversy and now reports a new site may be identified “...within weeks...”

Three teenagers were busted by San Jose Police following the gang-related Halloween stabbing of 12 and 13 year olds. Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said “...it was a tireless effort by [police] … following leads.”

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.30.09: Respecting Girls Edition...

According to (former) prosecutor/ ABC 7 legal analyst Dean Johnson, the Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr crossed an ethical line by (seemingly) cutting a plea deal for a campaign contributor's client. Deputy District Attorney/ DA wannabe Jeff Rosen offered his opinion the DA cast doubt the equity of treatment from the Carr. Rosen is no doubt delighted his boss is tripping over her own pointy-toed shoes.

The Merc’s Patty Fisher takes on the tragic gang rape in Richmond, attempting to use it as a teaching moment. Fisher points back to the DeAnza gang rape and asks why, in both cases, it was young women who bravely stepped forward to stop their male friends from torturing young women and call the cops. Fisher suggests a societal problem – we do not respect girls. (Note to Dolores Carr, please read Patty Fisher today...)

Speaking of respecting girls... (or perhaps 'respecting' them a little too much for a school employee)...

Wilcox High students pissed over the turmoil janitor Joe Miller finds himself in launched the Silicon Valley solution – a Facebook page filled with comments from adoring fans. Following a five month investigation into Miller's use of students for his modeling agency and complaints about “provocative” photos, it seems the School Board is ready to unload the questionable broom-closet modeling agency. (To all of you who are about comment on this blog about this case -- bring it on. Just because someone is a great guy and is "Mr. Wilcox" does not make what he did right. Stick to your guns School Board.)

The Mountain View Los Altos High School District is hoping to go green – and have the voters say yes. If your phone rings it could be the pollsters deciding whether to move forward with greening the classes.

A Cupertino family is struggling with the loss of their 5 year old son after one of his teachers from the Elite Chinese School accidentally drove over him.

San Jose’s Pamela Root and 2 year old Adam were surprised to find the fun loving skies of Southwest Airlines wouldn’t include them. Seems Adam was doing his terrible 2’s best when flight attendants decided they’d had enough – the plane returned to the gate in Texas and left the Root’s stranded on the tarmac. The flight attendant told Root “we just can’t tolerate that for 2 hours.” Ironic, since that's what most folks say about flying Southwest, "we just can't tolerate that for 2 hours..."

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.19.09: Mayor Reed doesn't feel much like dancing...

The (apparent) Word of the Week in San Jose is Sunshine. And Mayor Chuck Reed is apparently joining in with Jonathan Edwards in singing, "Sunshine go away today, I don't feel much like dancing..." San Jose’s Sunshine Reform Task Force, created by Mayor Chuck Reed as a call for open government, saw its final recommendation for open Police records (apparently) squashed by the Mayor’s Rules Committee. Sunshine Chair/ Protect San Jose’s Ed Rast seemed unable to use his statistical prowess to convince his blogging-buddies that Sunshine was good. The Merc’s Editorial Board calls the Tuesday meeting a “major test of San Jose’s commitment to open government…” The Mayor's antagonists (unsurprisingly) on this issue are Councilmembers Ash Kalra, Nora Campos, and Kansen Chu, which Councilmember Sam Liccardo also coming down closer to the side opposite the Mayor. This should be interesting...

And if limiting Sunshine sounds like something Mayor Chuck Reed would be against (but seems to be for), then safeguarding gambling would certainly be something Mayor Reed would be against... right? Wrong. It's funny how $14 million a year to the General Fund can sway a Mayor's position...

A passionate San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen is what the Merc’s Scott Herhold misses in the tragic Police shooting of mentally ill Daniel Pham. Nguyen told Herhold she didn’t cede leadership to colleague Kansen Chu because she owes San Jose Police, but rather because the shooting happened in Chu's District. Hmmmm....

Keeping up with local elections, the Merc’s Editorial Board sends props to Cupertino Council candidates Mayor Orrin Mahoney, Housing Commissioner Mahesh Nihalani, and Recreation Commissioner Darcy Paul.

And while there are politics happening this month, the much more interesting stuff will happen next year... the Merc’s Internal Affairs calls Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen “the real McCoy” in Rosen’s efforts to oust District Attorney Dolores Carr after Rosen hired political consultant Leo Briones. IA also reports Supervisorial wannabe/ Mayor Mike Wasserman landed in (a little) hot water after posting photos of people not endorsing him.

Before the San Jose Flea Market closes the doors permanently, a festive 50th anniversary is planned according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Also celebrating a golden anniversary the American GI Forum with Damian Trujillo, dinner, and dancing. Perhaps even dancing WITH Damian Trujillo...

For all your governmental Watch Dog pleasure, the week to come…

• San Jose’s City Council keeps busy with discussions of outsourcing city employee jobs, more on campaign finance, gambling, and limiting (or expanding) Sunshine.
• The Santa Clara County Office of Education School Board considers charter schools and test results.
• The East Side Union High School District also focuses on sunshine with a solar project.
• The Cupertino High School plan is on the table for the Cupertino High School District.
• San Jose Unified School District gets the lowdown on (swine) flu shots and budget transfers.

Morning News Round-Up – 10.16.09: The Biggest Little City in the World is NOT San Jose...

The Merc’s Editorial Board calls moves by San Jose (retired) Police Officer David Bacigalupi and the Police Officers' Association “tone deaf” and filled with “chutzpah” about wanting to get rid of the doctor that makes disability recommendations to the City's pension boards. Following stories in the Merc. that “Dr. No’s” own job was in danger Police Officer Association President/Protect San Jose blogger Bobby Lopez writes he’s not interested in firing Dr. Das, he wants to clone him… We wonder where Councilmember Constant comes down on this issue...

Mayor Chuck Reed wasn’t in Reno for the roulette. San Jose’s “green mayor” went to take home an award from the International Economic Development Council for his Green Vision. San Jose Inside found Reed hopes to inspire “other cities around the world…” Isn't Reno a weird place for this type of award to be given out? It is the definition of suburban sprawl with big, energy-guzzling casinos with indoor smoking... but it is the Biggest Little City in the World... funny, we thought that was San Jose.

“Mayor Green” will be happy to hear San Jose is on its way towards 100 miles of trails with a little over 50 miles ready for action. Save Our Trails President/Willow Glen resident Taisia McMahon hopes to keep Willow Glen trailheads in the mix…

The debate over the tree-free California Avenue roared on during Palo Alto’s Architectural Review Committee. Committee members (strangely) prefer an architectural aesthetic to tree selection. Board member David Solnick complained “there’s really no design guidance here…” Only-in-Palo Alto...

Los Altans have an election on their hands… 4 candidates are competing for 3 Trustee seats on the Los Altos School District Board. Mark Goines (incumbent), Doug Smith, Tamara Logan and Rowene Hood agreed financial solvency tops the list of concerns, but not without taking shots at the Charter school in town.

Mountain View’s Rengstorff Park will become a “safe and enjoyable” place if Councilmembers have their way. Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga said summer use of the Community Center was unbearable and colleague Mike Kasperzak hopes to rebuild the Community Center as tall as possible, maybe even 4 stories… 4 stories in Mountain View passes for tall, we guess.

Hoping to see City employees pedaling more, Cupertino looks at the purchase of as many as 5 EZip bikes. City spokesperson Rick Kitson hopes employees will ride/pedal their way to cross town meetings.

Mani-pedi with that hip surgery? Seems to be the question for Los Gatos businessman Bobby Sarnevesht hoping to open a physician owned hospital in Campbell. What looked like a simple business proposition got heated when the opposition started coming from Congressional representative Mike Honda, nurses, and the South Bay Labor Council.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.21.09: A South Bay Stadium... or two... or three...

Stadium news from around the South Bay...

Paul Krutko, San Jose Chief economic dude, says a (nearly) 8 decade old stadium is the youngest outdoor stadium the “Capital of Silicon Valley” has to offer. Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff is hoping to change that with a sparkly new Euro style stadium – if he can round up the bucks.

A Santa Clara Citizens Review Committee is in for the coin toss and supports amending Santa Clara’s City Charter to allow the 49ers to hire a football-centric design team. But, only if the Guvernator doesn’t sign State Senator Elaine Alquist's bill by October 11.

San Jose talks plastic bags this week while the Merc’s Patty Fisher reports it was a non-event when Palo Alto went plastic-free. San Jose’s hang-up is the cost of an Environmental Impact Report while Fisher sings the praises of the reusable bag.

With a single school and a mere 566 students you would think the Luther Burbank School District would keep itself below the radar. But you would wrong. A recent Civil Grand Jury report accused District Trustees of conflicts of interest, secrecy, intimidation, questionable spending, and election malfeasance. This week, the Luther Burbank Board was supposed to respond... but they got a 5-week extension. Watch Dog guesses that it is sort of like getting a few extra weeks to do your homework... Brand new Superintendent-Principal Becki Cohn-Vargas likens fixing problems to “…rebuilding a train while it’s going 100 m.p.h.” Yes, but if the train is about to run off the tracks, perhaps slowing it down to fix it would be a really good idea...

Speaking of trains... Those annoying Caltrain whistles will begin relocation to the underside of the train, making nearby (sleeping) residents very happy.

Mountain View is considering the PRT (personal rapid transit) as the dream commute alternative for Google/NASA/Moffett. Unfortunately, jet-packs may never happen.

San Jose’s City Council gears up for a rehash of the City Executive home loan discussion this week. Redevelopment Agency Director Harry Mavrogenes benefited from the practice when he moved inside FROM San Jose TO San Jose.

And while we are on housing...

The Silicon Valley housing market is “…picking itself up from the bottom” according to the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo said the City will kick in another $2.7 million to help first time homebuyers get into the condo, or house, of their dreams.

From the Merc’s Internal Affairs…

• A report from California’s Fair Political Practices Commission reports that our local folks in Sacramento spent as much time on the fundraising circuit as they did making laws... perhaps they are sticking to what they are best at...
• Palo Alto State Senator Joe Simitian could be paying more attention to Assemblymember Ira Ruskin’s replacement that you’d think – he’s planning an Assembly redux in 2012.
• San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera is hearing from opposing sides on proposals for a new library.

San Jose Inside channels Kermit the Frog, or maybe the Jolly Green Giant, to send props to San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed for pitching the green dream.

Mission City Lantern enjoyed the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival until arriving in the “Free Speech” area to find anti-49ers fans. Mission City also posts (un)love notes to Justin Schall, Philip Bump, Bill Bailey, and Brian Darby... again.

Local lawmakers in action, for your Watch Dog pleasure, thanks to the Merc's crack staff…

• Santa Clara County’s Committee on Children, Seniors & Families tries to lessen disproportionate impacts of child welfare on African-Americans and Latinos.
• Alum Rock School District holds a team-building session on governance... that sounds like a barrel of laughs...
• Cupertino Union School District studies special education and state test scores...
• Palo Alto Unified School District looks at a parcel tax and the budget...
• San Jose Unified School District looks at approving Gann appropriations limits for 2009-2010.
• Santa Clara Unified School District considers adding students, growing Haman Elementary, and a possible new lease.
• The Franklin-McKinley School District sends props to schools for API/AYP successes.

Morning News Round-Up – 9.10.09: The finger-pointing edition…

Economics? We don’t need no stinking economics… Experts on the financial returns of baseball stadiums (there’s a gig for that?) aren’t sure moving the A’s to San Jose paints the same rosy picture. Redevelopment Agency assistant executive director John Weis disagrees saying holding out for offices could lead to 20 years of empty land.

Also thinking about sports, Sunnyvale wants more time to mull over Santa Clara’s 49er impact report. Worried about traffic Sunnyvale Councilmember Melinda Hamilton said “it is not our problem” to fix.

Union leader Brian Ward accused Palo Alto city officials of hiding $22 million in the cookie jar while crying poor. Administrator Lalo Perez says that money is all but spent on approved projects.

Give it up or dish seem to be the options facing text-addict San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant. Texting is “a way of life” complains Constant when faced with a possibility of council meetings becoming a no-text zone. San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed countered pointing to Saratoga where Mayor Chuck Page shrugged “we owe it to our citizens to pay 100% attention.”

Santa Clara County will scrounge their cookie jar for $3.7 million to pay builders for the Morgan Hill courthouse. More interesting, (apparently) no one knows the final tally for courthouse costs.

San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos hopes you’ll be there for a groundbreaking on a new East San Jose park. The Merc’s Sal Pizarro also dishes Applied Materials vice president Joe Pon is ditching the corporate life to move to San Francisco’s James Irvine Foundation while philanthropists Michael and Susan Eckhardt chided Silicon Valley residents for being chintzy.

Cupertinites can look forward to more creative signage aimed at “people traveling 50 mph” but don’t bother asking for any “tacky” signs, those are still a no-no.

Los Gatos Mayor Mike Wasserman hopes to “…help Los Gatos on a larger scale” and is tossing his hat in the ring to replace termed-out Supervisor Don Gage. The Merc noted the Supervisors oversee county jails, health and human services and the Valley Transportation Agency.

Congressmember Anna Eshoo hosted a lively town hall on healthcare. Pointing to hidden costs of emergency care Eshoo told the rambunctious crowd overall costs would drop. Not everyone agreed and the normally polite residents from the toney towns of Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Palo Alto hurled accusations of liar at Eshoo.

Los Altos Hills joined the top 10 on Forbes list of expensive places to live. With a median home $3.28 million Los Altos Hills landed 8th on the list of toney zipcodes.

Los Altos Hills resident/former San Jose fire protection engineer Ed Munyak landed a spread in Metro for the growing support of his theory that the World Trade Center couldn’t have come down without pre-planted explosives.

San Jose’s 20th homicide of the year happened in a parking garage while the Dub Show Tour ’09 raged above. San Leandro’s Lake Eric Calvin was covered in so much blood paramedics didn’t know how many times he’d been shot. Protect San Jose’s Officer James Gonzales (apparently) thinks the link between the E-40 event and the shooting is more obvious. Anyone with information is urged to contact Sgt. Dave Tindall or detective John Barg of the San Jose Police Department's homicide unit at 408-277-5283.

Metro’s Fly did the math on the failed recall effort… A recall election in Monte Sereno would cost the taxpayers $200,000 while paying those pesky councilmembers $300 runs $21,600. Fly followed San Jose’s City Council discussion on budget busting golf courses.

A plethora of screw-ups landed the Live Oak High School theatre project in the rarified air of having a 2nd state inspector. Sanchez Inc’sNancy Sanchez pointed at the engineer and architect for things like an (un)disinfected drinking fountain and other screw-ups.

San Jose Insider/De-Bug coordinator Raj Jayadev reappeared to chat with students about President’s virtual visit. According to Jayadev, students without textbooks were unimpressed.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.13.09: Get well, get well soon...

Silicon Valley’s FACES is breathing a deep sigh of relief after the Supervisors voted to ignore the District Attorney’s “aggressive bid” to snag victims support services. The DA pulled out all the stops with elected officials, law enforcement, and retired judges lobbying the Supervisors. As if the DA didn't have enough on her plate... Will she ever get a win?

You want to be a student at San Jose State University? Figure out how to pass those pesky pre-college math and English classes the first time or on your own. Remedial course Professor Stefan Frazier says many didn’t get a quality high school education and need that extra boost. Maybe... but that boost won't be in downtown San Jose.

Timothy Richardson and Robert Hendricks thought they had a brilliant plan, kidnap women and sell them as sex slaves. The Santa Clara Police and FBI charged them with “human trafficking” and busted the icky entrepreneurs. Santa Clara Police Chief Stephen Lodge is on the lookout for other victims.

Looks like those Los Altos retirees will be facing a lawsuit from grumpy NIMBYs unhappy at the thought of more seniors in their midst.

There’s a battle brewing at BMW of Mountain View. Union members are crying foul while it looks like Auto Nation is trying to force the union out.

Pinnacles National Monument as a National Park? Santa Cruz Congressman Sam Farr is pushing for the increased support and visibility…

A quick look at November races around Silicon Valley…

• Palo Alto’s wild west free-for-all has a lucky 13 candidates joining incumbent Larry Klein to duke it out for 5 open seats.
• With 3 open seats on the Cupertino City Council, Cupertino Planning Commissioner Marty Miller hopes to beat out Darcy Paul, Mahesh Nihalani, Daniel Nguyen, and Barry Chang to join incumbents Orrin Mahoney and Mark Santoro. The incumbents hope they’ll be there as well.
• Each of Sunnyvale’s 3 open seats has two candidates. Incumbents Mayor Anthony Spitaleri and Christopher Moylan face opposition while newcomers Jim Griffith and Penny Kelly duke it out.
• Los Altos School District incumbent Mark Goines is joined by John Radford and Doug Smith in his bid for one of 3 open seats. At press time it was unclear if Stephanie Lau-Chen made the filing deadline.
• Other school district boards on the November’s ballot include Cupertino Union, Patterson Unified, Orchard, and Sunnyvale.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold turns his softie side to send a plea for San Jose’s iconic Andy’s Pet Store. Today they are offering professional doggie manicures. Andy’s is facing tough times and Herhold hopes you’ll join the firebreathing, rabbit training owner Lissa Shoun in saving the joint.

The Santa Clara/San Francisco 49ers served 1,000 happy fans piles of pasta and handed much needed checks to City Year Silicon Valley, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, and the Santa Clara Police Athletic League.

Looks like San Jose Revealed’s hiatus could be permanent, or maybe they forgot to pay the rent.

Takin' to the Streets on San Jose Inside’s The Fly.

Protect San Jose keeps reading Watch Dog: Yesterday’s anonymous blogger turns out to be Ed Rast. Police Officer Association President Bobby Lopez fills us in on confusing numbers from City Manager Debra Figone and blogger/Councilmember Pete Constant is still pissed off about (fired) Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s San Jose condo.

And on that note, we'd like to wish Pete Constant a speedy recovery from surgery today. (A Watch Dog tipster filled us in...)

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.21.09: A Garbage Saga in Cupertino?

Cupertino Public Works Director Ralph Qualls asked his City Council to hold off on a deciding whether to stick with garbage collectors Los Altos Garbage. Perhaps nervous about Qualls, LAGCo sent a letter directly to Councilmembers, bypassing staff, with their new proposal. This story would seem to be of limited interest to most folks, except... Los Altos Garbage's parent company (Norcal) is prominently featured in Watch Dog San Mateo's Garbage Saga. But even more intriguing, the same company was also involved in Gonzales/Garbage Gate in San Jose.

Speaking of Mayor's being roughed up... Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro faces a recall effort from conservative activist Mark Zappa and the Police Officers Association. Zappa said recalling the Mayor would “...send a strong message to the other starry eyed members of council who the real boss is...” Watch Dog wonders if San Jose's Bobby Lopez is getting any ideas...

The Merc’s Editorial Board joins the growing chorus of those unhappy with finances in local school districts. The Editorial Board goes so far as to say Luther Burbank School District, with one school and 575 students, shouldn’t be a District. East Side Union’s questionable spending is called out and a lack of documentation questioned.

Those Federal bucks stimulating the economy have found their way to San Jose. Early beneficiaries are roads and trails. (Not this place, which a recent emailer suggested was a good place for stimulus dollars to be spent.)

San Jose Police have (again) opted not to release 911 tapes from the murder/suicide by Jian Ming Liang. In a letter to the Mercury News, Chief Rob Davis (with City Attorney Rick Doyle) said “...it is not the department’s intent to deny every request for 911 information...” Though, (apparently) it is the result…

Joining the band of cities pissed at the Guvernator, Cupertino is part of a lawsuit from the League of California Cities fighting the jurisdictional dollar theft.

The unique gang murder case underway in Morgan Hill has a new Judge and new charges for Christian Jimenez. The trial restarts Wednesday after the new Judge has had time to catch up.

Hank Nijmeh’s family owns San Jose’s iconic Falafel’s Drive-In. He’s lived in Silicon Valley for over 40 years, graduated from Campbell’s Del Mar High School, and is now being deported by U.S. immigration to Israel. His crime appears to be mental illness and smoking pot.

For decades the fact she flew military planes during WWII was a State secret. San Jose’s Marcella Tucker was one of 25,000 American women trained to fly military aircraft. Soon she’ll receive the Congressional Gold Medal recognizing her efforts.

Local restaurateur, Tom Muller of Lou’s Village fame, shared memories of Walter Cronkite’s visit with the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. "And that's the way it is..."

The Merc’s Scott Herhold tossed his curmudgeonly attitude overboard for his first Bike Party with 2,500 cycling revelers.

And to the local blogosphere...

• Mission City Lantern is hosting a new poll on the identity of San Jose Revealed.
• Speaking of Revealed... you know what's not fun? Your blog these days...
  

Morning News Round-Up – 7.2.09: Let the pre-holiday fireworks begin...

Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr won’t be putting away her dance shoes just yet. (now) Judge/(former) prosecutor Joyce Allegro is accused of withholding evidence that might have kept a defendant off death row…

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed took Santa Clara County Sheriff Lt. Jose Salcido out of the running for Sheriff (maybe). Reed pulled Salcido inside city hall to bridge the divide between police and the rest of the world. Mission City Lantern is also curious about the newly created position. San Jose Inside points out Salcido's buddy is SJPOA leader Bobby Lopez. Could Salcido be angling for another new gig…

Palo Alto’s plans for a new library are “woefully inadequate” according to Friends of Palo Alto Libraries. Library Advisory Commissioner Rajesh Mashruwala said downtowns unique demographic (seniors, daytime workers, homeless) causes special challenges. Right, because those folks don’t want books or computers in their libraries…

Los Altos police are on the look out for a San Jose crew of vandals/imbeciles who scratched graffiti on business windows.

It isn’t enough to get the County out of debt but Tax Assessor Larry Stone reported a (slight) increase in property values.

Mountain View’s City Council is ready to do battle with the Feds over Hangar One… Mountain View will (probably) look to Palo Alto and Sunnyvale to join the party.

Cupertino has an eye on the Fed’s stimulus money to find energy savings. For $526,000 Watch Dog has a few energy saving ideas available…

Los Gatos Union School District is likely to be out $1.5 million because of the State’s budget disaster. District CFO Leslie Paulides said it shouldn’t have a huge effect on the kids because they’ll draw on rainy day funds. Not like San Jose Unified which faces a $19 million shortfall and is increasing class sizes.

The Saratoga Planning Commission sympathized with neighbors worried about the “high density” proposal but bravely waded through terrified complaints to allow the proposal from Adel and Maria Khouja. The end result, two homes on a (newly) subdivided 50,000 square foot lot. Gives a whole new meaning to density…

The dish from San Jose inside, another victim of the economic downturn… San Jose landmark A.P. Stumps is packing those ginzo knives and pouring the last shaken, not stirred next week. Get your reservations in early for the week long farewell.

Morning News Round-Up – 6.25.09: Nothing but words, baby...

First, the Environmental Protection Agency wants to know if toxic chromium from Cupertino’s Lehigh Cement plant made its way to an elementary school. Now, proposed new rules from those pesky regulators are causing neighbors to jump for joy while Lehigh’s Tim “We’re safe” Matz is worried.

As if public employee pension funds (especially in the City of San Jose) don't have enough problems, a Pension Trustee from San Jose was arrested in San Mateo following a domestic violence call... Patrick G. Skillsky then attacked police called to the scene Perhaps he was just really, really upset about all the market losses he didn't see coming... Ironically, the City of San Jose is considering having professionals oversee the Pension Funds rather than appointed, untrained folks. It seems like there is no time like the present...

Santa Clara County Supervisors found a replacement for outgoing executive Pete Kutras. Dr. Jeffery Smith, executive director of the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center steps in during the worst economic disaster since the depression. President Liz Kniss said the supervisors were impressed by Smith’s range of experience in “medical, legal and public policy.” Smith will need his multiple degrees, and a healthy sense of humor...

East Side Union High School athletes will breath a sigh of relief, the board of trustees are expected to approve a budget that moves money from an insurance settlement to partially fund sports. The remaining $1 million is expected to come from athletes and donors who have so far stepped up with $150,000. Fundraiser/Trustee Eddie Garcia expressed rousing optimism saying “I think we’re going to get there.”

Gilroy’s divided police union approved a contract saving the city $1.1 million by just 5 votes. Police Officer Association President Mitch Madruga blamed city council saying there had been a “total lack of leadership” calling the 3 months of negotiations “ridiculous.”

Mountain View’s city council unanimously rejected a proposal to rehab a “blighted” building for reuse as affordable housing. Councilmember Ronit Bryant said the developer had provided “nothing but words.” City planning staff said it was tough to see how an existing “slum” could be rehabilitated sufficiently to remain habitable for another 55 years. Councilmembers also agreed to purchase the United Pentecostal church for $3.5 million, Councilmember Jac Siegel called it a “strategic location.”

Cupertino city councilmembers have an “economic uncertainty fund” to hold them over when the Governator comes calling with his hand out. Councilmember Dolly Sandoval reminds us the state’s budget crisis is “not going to be solved in one fiscal budget year.” No doubt Sandoval is (not) looking forward to hearing from the Guv again next year…

Updated 2010 campaigning news… A Watch Dog tipster pointed out an oversight, the Merc’s Sal Pizarro mentioned yesterday a potential candidate for San Jose’s downtown area. Nightclub owner Mauricio Mejia is contemplating a run against incumbent Sam Liccardo. Thanks, tipster.

Busted. Peter Be of Beohana Solar fleeced Silicon Valley residents of hundreds of thousands of dollars, promising a free solar system. Santa Clara County deputy district attorney Ken Rosenblatt said green minded residents got the bad news that nothing in life is free after writing big checks. Those with information on Beohana Solar may contact the District Attorney's Office at 408-792-2572

Attempted cop killer Pete Valdez III has been declared mentally unfit, for a second time. County deputy district attorney Dana Overstreet will figure out whether to go to trial, ask for a 3rd doctor or send Valdez to the rubber room; she’ll get back to us on July 8.

Caption-free artwork at the Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC for frequent flyers) is driving the Merc’s Scott Herhold to distraction. Perhaps one of the 54 Silicon Valley hand models in Christian Moeller’s “Hands” will help Herhold find the pithy comment he seeks as he opens a Valley wide competition.

Finally, one Watch Dog tipster kept their television tuned in to San Jose’s Planning Commission soap opera. Big surprise, the center chair is filled by co-conspirator Thang Do, again.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.12.09: Why Larry Stone gets booed...

Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone is lowering the assessed value of nearly 90,000 properties, dropping the County’s tax roll by $17 Billion. Always the master of understatement, Stone says “that’s serious.” School districts, redevelopment agencies, community colleges, the Valley Water District, and the County will all be hit by the revenue drop. No wonder this guy gets booed all over town...

Santa Clara County Medical Examiner Dr. Michelle Jorden took San Jose Police off the hook reporting it was an “astronomical” amount of meth, not tasers, that killed San Jose’s Richard Lua in February this year. San Jose Inside Editor chimes in with a repeat of the Merc. story.

The Valley Transportation Authority managed to pass a (so far) balanced budget according to VTA Boardmember/County Supervisor Don Gage. VTA Board Chair Dolly Sandoval said they had some tough decisions to make like raising rates and cutting service but plan to continue providing “residents with a quality transportation system.”

San Jose’s Lynhaven Elementary School was attacked by thieves. Not after computers. These guys stole farm and science equipment the children spent 3 years raising money to buy. Principal Lesa Nieri said this really hurts during the economic crisis when the school cannot replace the equipment. The Police Officers Association is raising cash to help out.

Which got us wondering... so Watch Dog checked out You Tube and the Video-Gate video is still up.

Before San Jose’s Elections Commissions looks at letting the voters consider instant-runoff voting (IRV), Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra joined forces with the New America Foundation and Common Cause to support the idea.

It’s official, the Sunnyvale City Council will let you (legally) make that left when you leave Kaiser Santa Clara. Cost to the City to make the left legal: $1,000. Payback for Sunnyvale residents trying to go home: Priceless.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to know if cancer causing toxins made it to Cupertino’s Stevens Creek School, two miles from the Lehigh Cement plant. Lehigh’s Tim Matz grumpily reports “Bottom line? We’re safe.” A hundred residents showed up at last night's community meeting for a lively debate regarding safety.

Parking wars have hit Los Gatos... again. Chase Bank is pissed that Jim Zanardi wants their customers to stop parking in his lot. Zanardi shrugged saying Chase customers take too many spaces, won’t help pay for repaving, and he wants to rent out vacant retail space – tough to do when the parking lot is full of bank customers. You have got to love Los Gatos battles... so person and so nasty.

Morgan Hill residents can point out their own historic Granada Theatre in a Thomas Kinkade painting. Referred to as “sentimentalists” by the Morgan Hill Times local historic preservationists are (again) trying to save the Granada from demolition. Mayor Steve Tate says goodbye already, unless the developer wants to save it.

The Morgan Hill City Council and Morgan Hill Unified School District Board met to “bring each other up to speed.” School Board president Don Moody read a list of school accomplishments and Police Chief Bruce Cumming did the same for the Police. Mayor Steve Tate said it was a good first step to “building bridges between the two governments.” Because, of course, without long-boring-feel-good meetings they could never work together. (Watch Dog San Mateo recommends this same type of meeting for Foster City and their School District...)

It’s good to be a City employee in Mountain View. The City Council approved a low interest home loan program for all City employees. With pay cuts hitting, could be everyone qualifies.

Mountain View residents disagreed over the benefits of affordable housing and housing density while agreeing that High-Speed Rail sounds good – underground. The General Plan meeting focused on the Whisman neighborhood where residents complained highways, freeways, and the Central Expressway cut them off from Mountain View. Hell ya, let’s get rid of the freeway!

Assemblymember Paul Fong wants the State (then the Feds) to apologize to Chinese immigrants and is being coy about how much money he wants the Feds to pay. Fong noted that when Japanese-Americans were given reparations for internment he hoped the Feds would “eventually apologize for the Chinese exclusion.” Angel Island Immigration Station Director Eddie Wong says it isn’t reparations but education that counts.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.11.09: Festivus for the Rest of Us...

There is one story that pops out in today's news: There is a bronze quail missing from the new Mary Avenue Bicycle bridge in Cupertino. If you see a stolen quail in your travels, please let the police know...

Now, onto less important stuff:

The neighbors surrounding the proposed San Jose A's stadium celebrated Festivus last night. They met for an Airing of Grievances, the ritual passed on from generation to generation during this wonderful holiday. (Feats of Strength is apparently going to happen at the next meeting...) One nice insight from the Mayor, he said he hoped that the territorial rights issues would be addressed over the summer. It looks like a November 2009 ballot could become reality... as the Mayor suggested recently.

Yesterday we covered a new tactic that the DA and the Sheriff are using to go after gangs in Gilroy. At the same time, gangs were reloading and shooting... a 19 year old woman was caught in the cross-fire.

While some NIMBYs are being very NIMBY-y about High Speed Rail (see Palo Alto, Atherton, Menlo Park, etc., etc., etc.) others aren't. Mountain View is in the "aren't" column.

A (relatively) big, new development project got approved yesterday in Palo Alto by the Planning Commissioners. Amazingly enough, folks who live in the area of Palo Alto Bowl also seem supportive of the 4 story hotel and housing development.

Speaking of development... The Greenbelt Alliance put out a report that says that "in-fill" development, rather than sprawl, can address the Bay Area's population growth over the next couple of decades. The Merc Editorial Board likes the idea of in-fill...

Times are not good in local school districts, obviously. Milpitas Unified is the latest to consider cutting most, if not all, of summer school classes and the Mountain View Whisman School District is holding off on putting a bond measure on the ballot until they know the full extent of the State's budget grab...

San Jose Inside wrote up Tony West's Rotary speech on Wednesday -- he apparently rocked the Rotary house. (For historical purposes, we will point you toward Watch Dog's Tony West historical perspective here.)

Ok, so we know that the Navy is in charge of taking the toxic siding off of Hangar One at Moffett. What is less clear, or unclear, is who will pay to replace the siding.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.4.09: Close the Fence Gate...

49ers spokesperson Lisa Lang said there’s a long road ahead before Silicon Valley will be tail-gating. Environmental reports, voter approval, two cranky Santa Clara Councilmembers, and chatter of a Great America parking lot lawsuit lay ahead. Stepping up in support of tail-gating, Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone with friends State Senator Elaine Alquist, Assemblymember Joe Coto, and San Jose Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant.

Here is your crime news for the week...

San Jose Police won’t be asked to release the 911 tape from the deadly shooting of Daniel Pham, yet. The Rules and Open Government Committee heard a plea from District Attorney Dolores Carr for secrecy. After a Grand Jury investigation they’ll reconsider unless Police Chief Rob Davis or District Attorney Dolores Carr object, again.

Fry’s former exec/Baccarat-loving/embezzler Ausaf “Omar” Siddiqui is generating a lot of business for local lawyers. No less than 5 lawsuits are filling the courthouse. Fry’s is suing Siddiqui, vendors are suing Fry’s, and casinos around the country are after Siddiqui for millions in unpaid gambling debt. Nonetheless, your best buys are always...

A would-be bank robber hit up a grocery bound Mountain View B of A. The robber left without the cash, or groceries, when he figured out the silent alarm was ringing. Begging the question, if a robber doesn't leave with any merchandise or money...?

It was not a good day for Ernest Latta. Dude busted the window of an auto body shop in Mountain View, cut himself, tried to hot wire a Volvo, and was hauled off to jail. Police Officer Liz Wylie said Latta , “...wasn’t in the right frame of mind...” She's probably right...

Early this year 5 twenty-something cretins from San Jose tried to kill a man taking an evening stroll. They are all behind bars and looking at possible charges from other crimes. SJPD Jermaine Thomas hopes you’ll share what you know and call 408-277-4166.

San Jose’s Officer Jermaine Thomas is a busy guy. Thomas reports a possible gang-related shooting ended with a man in the hospital.

This doesn't fit in "crime news" but... San Jose Inside’s Fly "stumbled across" the San Jose Police Officers Association/Bobby Lopez’ clumsy video making fun of De-Bug’s Raj Jayadev. Fly asks if Jayadev’s bald head was scary and suggests Councilmember Pete Constant has trouble with numbers.

For your trash protection needs… San Jose residents are offering the Merc’s Mr. Roadshow tips on keeping wild boars out of the garbage. Suggestions include the miraculous duct tape, mountain lion pee, and eating the boars…

Business owners are threatening to leave Palo Alto if a tax on gross-receipts becomes reality. Terry Conner with Thoits, Love, Hershberger and McLean wants the City to tax business by employee, not income. So do a group of business owners along with Councilmembers Larry Klein and Pat Burt. On the other side, Councilmembers Jack Morton and Greg Schmid say it’s just as easy to report receipts as employees. Not to mention a few lawyers generate more money than the local bookstore…

Former Mayor/lobbyist Tom McEnery teamed up with Mexican Heritage Plaza CEO Marcela Aviles to ask that money for the arts not suffer during the Great Recession. As an example of benefit they point to “40 million media impressions” coming from the Mariachi Festival. (We expect San Jose Revealed to go on an anti-McEnery tirade on this... just because.)

The Monte Sereno decades-old fence fiasco (Fence Gate?) made the list for the Merc’s Scott Herhold. Pointing out the big winner are the lawyers, Herhold suggests a loss for the City could result in covering $1 million in legal fees for the “litigious couple.” Would it be appropriate to call for the closing of the Fence Gate?

The battle for Los Gatos term limits and capital expenditure limits is heating up. Lunardi’s had Tim Smith with San Francisco’s Pacific Petition competing with volunteers from Friends of the Library over shopper signatures. Lunardi’s Manager Steve Pinney was pissed at the controversy and suggested Smith “go to Nob Hill.”

Developers David Rossi and Gary Naillon are pitching designs for the Village Shopping Center that some say fits in San Jose’s Santana Row – not Saratoga. Councilmember Jill Hunter wants a “new and improved design” before she supports the project. Oh yeah, and Not In My BackYard...

Saratoga Planning Commissioners were giddy at the prospect of a microbrewery in the Village and unanimously approved plans for St. Stan’s Brewing Company. Commissioner Manny Cappello said “it fills a need” for the Village and suggested the microbrewery would soon need a much larger location. Watch Dog likes that a brewery would fill a need in Saratoga. We guess beer has been hard to find over there...

Cupertino’s Bill Moody said the relationship between real estate prices and good schools is enough for him to contribute as much as $50,000 from his real estate sales to the Cupertino School District. Moody promises to track donations on his website.

The Sunnyvale City Council is looking at a proposal to upgrade their 50 year old water pollution control plant. At issue is finding the $380 million to do it and whether the plant is new or updated. No word if Sunnyvale hopes to turn their sewage facility into a tourist attraction like San Jose...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.5.09: Cinco de Mayo Corrections and Elections

Unbelievably (ha!), Watch Dog was wrong yesterday. Mayor Reed is not (was not) asking for an apology from Councilmember Campos regarding the Independent Police Auditor issue, he was asking her for an apology on the McEnery lobbyist complaint issue... Thank you Anonymous...

But the Merc. Editorial Board seems to want to get to the bottom of the Independent Police Auditor issue. They are calling for the records of the closed session meeting to be released so everyone can find out who knew what when about the IPA's brother.

The Editorial Board also demands for San Jose to be represented on regional boards like the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Sounds reasonable enough...

And while we are drinking IPA... San Jose Insider/De-Bug’s Raj Jayadev calls for a slowdown in finding San Jose’s new Independent Police Auditor. Jayadev will no doubt be at today’s Council meeting where the new IPA selection process should prove entertaining.

Swine flu still dominates the news:

• Dr. Douglas Owens uses the craziness to advocate for better funding for local health departments. Nothing like a well-timed crisis to avoid budget cuts...
  
• Two more children were added to the list of confirmed Swine flu sufferers. Santa Clara County now has an even dozen cases.
  
• And, for all your Swine Flu news, the Merc. has their own Special Reports section. Nothing like a well-timed crisis to avoid budget cuts...

Today is also an election day... sort of. Voters in the Cupertino Union and Moreland School Districts need to turn in their mail-in ballots today. Don’t drop it in the mail, take it directly to the Santa Clara County Registrars office. The Merc reports that as of yesterday roughly 30% of voters had returned the ballot deciding on parcel taxes for schools.

In the world of blogs versus newspapers, San Jose Revealed takes a shot... Revealed had some fun with the “leak” from the Mayor’s office to the Merc. (let’s not forget the Metro). According to Revealed the “confidential” letter sent by the Mayor to Councilmember Nora Campos, the City Attorney, and the rest of the City Council made it to the Merc. at roughly the same time it was given to Campos. Revealed smacks the Merc., John Woolfolk, and Scott Herhold for neglecting their journalistic duties.

The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow supports the suggestion to name the 101-280-680 interchange for former San Jose City Councilmember Joe Colla. Colla may be best remembered for plopping an old Chevy on San Jose’s “Monument to Nowhere.” Mr. Roadshow received a letter from Colla’s daughter, Colette Blakely, offering support and Supervisor Dave Cortese, calling Colla the “pride of the Italian-American community” voices his support as well.

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce gave Garden City Construction’s Jim Salata the go ahead to restore the sign found during building clean up. The Merc’s Sal Pizarro reports no one anticipated the controversy over restoring the “Anglo California National Bank." The Chamber's Chief Anglo, Pat Dando, has been receiving complaints since last weeks unveiling. They didn't see this coming? Really?

It’s up to the County Supervisors now: Support the environment or the American Chemistry Council. The Recycling and Waste Reduction Commission voted for the environment and recommends the Supervisor’s follow their lead.

Gilroy’s rapist/math teacher Alberto Vicuna pleaded no contest to nine counts of sex crimes with a 14 year old girl from Oak Grove High School. The 32 year old Vicuna listed himself as a 15 year old on his online profile, but when he met the girl told her he was really 28 but had “forgotten” to update his Tagged.com profile. Deputy District Attorney Ray Mendoza said no other potential victims have come forward, yet.

Gilroy issued a challenge to its unions, compromise or layoffs. Mayor Al Pinheiro doesn’t want to touch the rainy day fund and is asking City employees to do with smaller paychecks. Union representative Jim Buessing says the City’s cushy reserves make it tough to even consider more layoffs. And by the way Mayor Pinheiro, it is both figuratively and literally a rainy day today...

Palo Alto, beware of the phony grandson. Grandparents in Palo Alto received calls from a man pretending to be a favorite grandson, in desperate need of money. The creep duped more than $11,000 out of this Palo Alto townsfolk. Police Agent Dan Ryan says, "Anyone who calls you and asks for money right away, it's probably not good..."

Scott Herhold got sentimental for the herpes ridden Koi at San Jose’s Japanese Friendship Garden. Someone out there, you know who you are, set diseased Koi free in the pond, infecting and killing most of the 265 fish. Park Ranger Penny Lee reports once the international disease hit the West Coast there was no stopping it. Not very friendly...

Facebook is ditching the virtual campus created in downtown Palo Alto for a real one at Stanford Research Park. To keep its geeks in check, and on campus, employees will get a Caltrain pass and a cafeteria with readily available meals and snacks. Say farewell to seeing your favorite Facebook geek at University Coffee all day long.

Google hired 200 Googlegoats to clear Googleweeds near the Googleplex in Google (Mountain) View. If you missed them this year, you can catch them in action next Googleyear.

staying with farm animals…

The economic crisis could be seen as chickens coming home to roost and it is exactly that for many local families. Sam’s Downtown Feed and Pet Supply partners with the 4-H to sell live chicks and has recently seen a huge increase in the number of families bringing home their own egg layers. The McCarty family of Willow Glen has 6 chicks and plans to sell eggs to the whole neighborhood. And, if local laws matter to you, you can have up to 6 chickens without a permit.

Cupertino’s City Council reviews their General Plan update today, in it ways to accommodate more than 1,000 new homes most of them affordable housing. Which won't be easy... Witness Mountain View...

Mountain View residents freaked out about an affordable housing proposal talked the City Council into studying the affects of 51 affordable units near downtown. With words like “ghetto,” two residents blamed their recent property decreases on the proposal. Councilmember Tom Means pointed out the global economic crisis might have had a bigger affect. Councilmember Laura Macias said she’s tired of reports that tell her what she already knows and says this will “...confirm what ROEM and I already believe…” this is a nice project that will increase property values. (Councilmember Macia, please take a look at ROEM's history with unhappy neighbors here...)

A new, and unreasonable, way to deal with High-Speed Rail emerged in Palo Alto yesterday... Palo Alto Vice Mayor Jack Morton called for the High-Speed Rail Authority to be disbanded and replaced with some other agency, like CalTrain... Really? Perhaps that would have been a stronger argument before the State (and a majority of folks on the Peninsula) voted FOR High-Speed Rail last November...

There’s no word yet from the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce on the controversial proposal to move the Friday Night Music Series out of West Second Street. Chamber Executive Director Chris Giusiana is anxiously awaiting the results of the eVote with the event kickoff next month.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.7.09: Today's Round-Up...whether you like it or not...

San Jose has sports on the brain these days. Earthquakes/A’s owner Lew Wolff will get to take advantage of the cratering economy for the Earthquakes stadium land. San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo said, “...prices have come back to earth...” about the proposal to discount a smaller parcel of land for the proposed Earthquakes stadium. Council colleague Nora Campos was also supportive saying jobs would be created and an ongoing revenue stream created with the arrival of the Earthquakes.

San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo screwed up. In an email to constituents Liccardo said he wants to use “an abundance of caution” in moving forward. Apparently, Liccardo is the most newsworthy item in San Jose, the Merc can’t seem to get enough (re-writes) of this story. Watch Dog is about to point to something more newsworthy that the paper can focus on...here is a hint: It rhymes with Harry Seagram...

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, with community leaders, expressed concern over the data coming out of the San Jose Police Department. Rev. Jeff Moore, head of the NAACP said, “Chief Davis encourages strict enforcement with no apologies.” After other law enforcement experts suggested the data shows racial profiling and an overly aggressive policy towards minor street crimes, former Police Officer and Councilmember Pete Constant denied there was any problem saying the public expects a “standard of conduct.” (Watch Dog is sure that Police Officers wish Constant would have stood up for them when their contract was on the table...better late than never...) Drunk Task Force Member Pete Carrillo becomes the first (as far as Watch Dog can tell) to call for Davis' head...

San Jose Revealed asks if the Police Chief runs an (allegedly) overaggressive Police Department because of his religious beliefs. We'll let Revealed take the heat for even asking the question, and keep our snout shut.

The Merc’s Editorial Board says charter schools are coming “whether you like it or not.” (Newsom much?) They say that the best way for school districts to deal with it is accept the competition and step up their own efforts to educate children.

Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone sees a decline in property tax rolls – for only the second time since the Great Depression. The County, already struggling to make ends meet, will see lower revenues as a result by nearly $30 million. Supervisor Don Gage pulled out his crystal ball and said next year will be even worse. San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio calls on residents to pray “for the stock market to rise not just for your own 401k but for your City services.”

San Jose’s “villages” could see high-rises popping up in coming years. Planning Director Joe Horwedel said projects like the Ohlone planned for Midtown would ease San Jose’s anticipated growth spurt. Resident Dan Chapman worried that the tall buildings could create a mini-downtown.

The Morgan Hill Unified School District is seeing a growing rift between unions and administrators. The District proposed a one-day furlough, saying it could save over a quarter of a million dollars and could ask for another two furlough days. SEIU President Pam Torrisi wants reassurance that the furloughs will save jobs and that administrators are going to suffer as much as the custodians. Trust much?

Tempers flared in the usually mellow Palo Alto City Council chambers yesterday. Vice Mayor Jack Morton accused the Fire Department of "giving the City the finger" because it was refusing to figure out where to cut its own budget. This caused people to go ballistic, including Councilmember Larry Klein, who wants to keep Palo Alto mellow. Klein called Morton's choice words, "unprofessional and intemperate"...the gloves are coming off as the economic reality sets in.

Gilroy Unified School District Trustees want their money back. The District suffered a foul up when Measure J taxes were left off property owners tax bills but the District voted to tax residents at a higher rate for the last two years of the measure. Trustees had hoped the County Supervisors would be the bad guys but the County dropped it back in their laps – absent a court order.

Los Gatos normally looks down its nose at the mainstream chain store, but this month they’ll be welcoming J. Crew downtown. But, when the President’s wife and daughters are wearing J Crew…it must be good enough for Los Gatos...

Mountain View’s City Council is trying to deal with a $6 million shortfall this year. City Manager Kevin Duggan said the challenges are “so significant” they need more time to figure out how to cut the budget. First up, cutting maintenance in public parks and fees to residents to use sports fields. Lower on the list cuts to Police and Fire, which make up half the general fund operating budget.

The public has spoken and now it’s up to High Speed Rail officials to sift through all the comments to figure out the word. Dominic Spaethling, High-Speed Rail Project Manager, looks forward to digging through the mountains of comments saying cities provided “a wealth of information for things we should be aware of.”

Cupertino officials have been responding to complaints by neighbors upset with construction at the Villa Serra apartments. Seems residents can’t park at home and driveways are in a mess. Councilmember Mark Santoro said to residents “for having the fortitude to live there, I applaud you. No matter how good a job they do, it’s going to be a bad environment.” Construction won’t be completed for two years, in the meantime, if you live there good luck.

Sunnyvale City Manager Gary Luebbers will be talking with Councilmembers tonight about making “appropriate changes in the City’s business model,” and believes the changes are needed to address the global financial meltdown.