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

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

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

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

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

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

Just to pile on...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.3.10: Grade the Mayor!

Sharks win again. Now they are up 2-0 against the Hockey Town Red Wings... As Sharks history proves, this is when it gets exciting.

The Merc's John Woolfolk talked to "friends, foes" about San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed's grade for his first year... Woolfolk talked to Chavez (who apparently IS still talking to the paper) who said bad things, Terry Christensen who said pretty good things, Raj Jayadev who said bad things, some average voter-types who said pretty good things, and Supervisor (and loser to Reed in 2006) Dave Cortese who said, "What he promised is what he delivered..." which reads to Watch Dog like a back-handed compliment, considering Cindy Chavez has often criticized Reed for promising very little...

The story about the SJPD beating of Phuong Ho took another turn we learned on Friday. Mr. Ho, the Vietnamese national San Jose State student filed a federal lawsuit against the San Jose Police officers, alleging that the Police violated his civil rights by using excessive force... $6 million is being sought. Mr. Webby's importance to the Mercury News continues...

Say it ain't so... the head of the San Jose Police Officers Association thinks that cuts and layoffs to the SJPD would hurt morale and public safety... Right, because having officers sued in federal court and on the front page of the paper is good for morale...

2,600 undeveloped acres near the water treatment (sewage) plant would be perfect for... sports! According to a lengthy, and no doubt boring, public meeting this weekend...

If it's Sunday (and it was yesterday) it is Internal Affairs day in the Mercury News. And in the midst of a campaign season, the "tips" must be flying fast and furious to the Merc reporters who contribute to IA... this week's stuff:

• Steve Poizner was on the New York Times Best Seller list with his anti-Mount Pleasant book... or was he,
• Carly Fiorina has some ex-husbands,
• Facebook or not to (mention) Facebook, that is the question for Chris Kelly, and Kamala Harris, and
• The Golden Spiggot gets criticized again... again... again...

Speaking of politics...

The Merc gives a run-down of the Supervisorial candidates running in District 1 to replace one of the two pro-fast food County Supervisors...

Speaking of speaking of politics...

The Merc has an editorial that actually questions a parcel tax at a local school district (Alum Rock) for their exclusion of charter school in their parcel tax... This is not the Ed Board's normal reaction to parcel taxes, as we've mentioned before, from April 16th's Watch Dog

Shocking! The Mercury News says vote "yes" on the school district parcel tax elections on the (mail-in) ballot this May...

Continuing on politics...

Scott Herhold and the Merc Editorial Board agree on Proposition 16. More importantly for sports fans, Herhold gets the Rosie Ruiz analogy wrong. If memory serves from Watch Dog's marathoning, Rosie "ran" and "won" the Boston Marathon, not New York... "How can we trust anything he writes when he get such simple things wrong," Cindy Chavez (probably) said as she read the paper yesterday...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.14.10: LaDoris LaWednesday...

It was a big day in San Jose... where to begin, where to begin...

How about the San Jose Independent Police Auditor?

There is a new one -- former Judge/ former Palo Alto City Councilmember LaDoris Cordell, which will make some people excited (like maybe those that would like an independent Independent Police Auditor) and will make some people less-than-excited (like those of you who like the way it's been). Watch Dog asks one question: Has there ever been an Independent Police Auditor that the Police Officers' Association liked? We'll take our answer off the air... (And our first call is from Scott Herhold, who called Cordell an "odd choice"... Herhold also wrote this: "...And I fear she may get frustrated living with the shackles..." Probably not the best choice of words...) San Jose Inside has a fresh quote from the San Jose POA chief George Beattie: “I have serious concerns about Ms. Cordell’s ability to be independent and objective. While she has a right to be associated with community groups that have historically been critical and antagonistic to our officers, this should raise questions about her ability to be objective, just as Chris Constantin was considered biased because of his relationships. I consider this a double standard.” Does Ms. Cordell's brother works at the ACLU and her sister works at DeBug that we don't know about?

The San Jose City Council tried to make having events in downtown San Jose a little bit easier to produce (cheaper actually)... of course, it may be too little too late for Tapestry and the fireworks...

San Jose Sharks are headed to the playoffs... let the bandwagon grow...

Speaking of the bandwagon growing... the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is looking to ban "single-use" plastic and paper bags. Surprise, surprise, Republican Don Gage is opposed to the ban and has found himself with an unlikely ally, former San Jose Councilmember/former Assemblymember/American Chemistry Council shill Manny Diaz... Diaz and Gage on the same side of things -- who'd a thunk?

Here's a shocker... a politically and ethically questionable tactics from the Dolores Carr camp. This time it isn't a conflict of interest with her husband's job or hiring two PR flacks while closing the cold-case unit or botching a rape case... rather, it is about her purchasing billboards throughout the County with her name on and have it paid for by the District Attorney's office... shady, shady, shady. But, we (ok, nobody) expects anything different...

Speaking of County politics... the race to replace Supervisor Gage heated up last night. (Honestly though, could anyone really replace Don Gage?) The candidates -- Forrest Williams, Teresa Alvarado, Tom Kruse (so handsome) and Mike Wasserman -- debated last night... (Peter Arellano pulled a Pete Constant and didn't show up...) From the story, it sounds like the key issue was who had the support of labor unions and if those that could could actually make real change at 801 W. Hedding... (Note: Only one candidate has had their consultant put on the California Labor Federation's "do not patronize" list, perhaps that is the one the union-bashing crowd should get behind. Just a thought.)

A San Jose State professor apprehended a guy trying to rob the downtown San Jose Wells Fargo bank yesterday. Seriously...

A major economic development project in Santa Clara is moving forward that hasn't been written about on Mission City Lantern... Yahoo!

While we're talking about economics... the economics of the City of Gilroy will be discussed in a Special City Council closed session tonight. Specifically they will discuss "unspecified aspects of the contract negotiations with police and fire"... Let Watch Dog specific: the contract negotiations aren't going well and the pension costs are going to bankrupt the City. Even if we all shopped at the outlets, it won't help Gilroy balance its future obligations... well, maybe if we went to Brooks Brothers.

A woman fell into an open manhole on Stanford's campus yesterday. No word if Senator Simitian is a looking to pass a "no texting while walking" law...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.9.10: More bad news for SJC...

It has been a month of stories about SJC. We learned that they don't really fly to the East Coast except once a day. We learned that Frontier Airlines is pulling out. We learned they are asking (begging?) companies to pick up the tab for their grand opening. And then yesterday's Study Session at the San Jose City Council. Bill Sherry, the Airport Director, told the City Council that SJC might fail unless some things change... like living wage, or privatizing custodial services, or lifting the curfew. Why? Well, there is $32 million of debt service due soon and the airport can't pay it. Um, this isn't getting any better, just more and more pathetic.

On San Jose Inside, San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio let's us know that absolutely does NOT want to lift SJC's curfew... neither do any of his neighbors.

From one very expensive project that is failing, to another that will (hopefully) succeed. The mitigations fo the environmental impacts of the 49ers stadium will be dealt with and voted on today. If you love nitty gritty of land-use, head to the Santa Clara City Council meeting tonight. If you're normal, American Idol is on tonight...

A list came out of the lowest performing (failing) schools came out yesterday. It is a list that nobody wanted to be on... but here is who is on the list:

• Hoover Middle and Burnett Middle (San Jose Unified)
• Cesar Chavez Elementary, Ocala Middle, Joseph George Middle (Alum Rock) Escuela Popular Charter (East Side Union High School District)
• August Boeger Middle School (Mount Pleasant Elementary School District)

Libraries are under the knife (potentially) in San Jose. An OpEd in today's Merc makes the case why they shouldn't be cut... like the obvious, it is where many people look for jobs and many people don't have jobs right now.

The Merc's Scott Herhold looks at what government officials drive and on whose dime... Here's what we learn about government-funded rides: Supervisor Don Gage drives a very expensive, environment-be-damned GMC Yukon because he's a "big guy"... DA Dolores Carr goes for a foreign, luxury car -- an Acura TL... Sheriff Laurie Smith, a hybrid Camry. But the best part of the column is this tease by Scott Herhold: "...District Attorney Dolores Carr, who drives a $36,900 Acura TL (2007) with a power moon roof, a navigation system and heated front seats. That purchase required approval by the county executive's office — which I'll explain in an upcoming column..." Yay! More Carr columns coming...

Big props to Morgan Hill Police for arresting two of their "Most Wanted"...

Hangar One clean up and revamp will fall on NASA, not the Navy. That's not great news...

Morning News Round-Up – 10.13.09:

Peninsula residents met with High-Speed Rail Authority experts to review the over/under/through options to move those 100 mph trains from San Francisco to Los Angeles. The anti-roller coaster requirement takes all the fun out of transitions between grades and is giving some residents headaches. You still have time for an “Alternative Analysis” meeting tonight in San Francisco. San Jose resident Larry Ames was pleased to see his curvy high-rise proposal on the chalk board…

Mountain View was planning for a rainy day when they bought up small bits of land and identified it as possible parklands. Their rainy day has arrived and those crusty old apartment buildings will soon make way for small parks and playgrounds along Mariposa and Del Medio Avenues.

Los Gatos’ Mayor Mike Wasserman finally ‘fessed up. Yes, he is running to replace Supervisor Don Gage. The Mayor announced he’s running on a cost-saving platform, after all, he is a tax preparer.

The Palo Alto Daily News has made their choice for City Council: Larry Klein, Corey Levens, Gail Price, Leon Leong and Dan Dykwel.

The Merc’s Editorial Board is fed up with the political wrangling preventing downtown San Jose from building a new urgent care center. “… each day of delay is a further shame” in the 5 years since San Jose’s downtown hospital was closed, according to the Merc and there’s no better time than the present to jump start replacement.

Paul “not a doormat” McCauley thought he was doing a favor when he moved a billboard sporting van for the owner of “Hassle Free Process Service.” The Merc’s Scott Herhold reports McCauley is the one facing the hassle and legal beagle Jim McManis stands to benefit from McCauley’s lapse in judgment.

Kudos to Voodoo Lounge owners David Powell and Tony Beers for pulling the plug on homophobic musicians Buju Banton, according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Also tops on the Pizarro list of good, the InnVision homage to 007, complete with “shaken, not stirred.”

Protect San Jose sent props to MADD on passage of the breathalyzer ignition switch for first-time drunk drivers…

From previous San Jose Council meetings we know Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio’s thoughts run through the gutters (Library content filters anyone?), now we learn he’s dragged the rest of his body through the gutter during a sewer tour.

Palo Alto thieves made off with Gamble Gardens froggy and are politely asked to return both the frog and his lilypad says Executive Director Vanessa Roach.

As the first of the Winter storms hits, look forward to flooding and crashes on local roadways. Sounds like a good day for racking up some tele-commute time.

Gary “Mr. Roadshow” Richards dishes on good eats, police-style, for food-lovin’ road warriors. Best advice, look for those patrol cars in the parking lot when hitting your neighborhood eatery.

Morning News Round-Up – 8.7.09: And you thought you had problems...

Watch Dog breathing a deep sigh of relief... The folks at Customer Service were servicing today.

Now back to the rug for a well deserved belly rub and a nap...

Yep, those modified Caltrain horns were awfully loud, think chainsaw. Caltrain CEO Michael Scanton was joined by Deputy CEO Chuck Harvey in doing the defensive dance explaining why they piss off residents, at least for a while. Board Chair/Supervisor/(future) Gilroy Mayor Don Gage joined the defense.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed hits the big time today with CNBC chatting about Silicon Valley leading the way out of recession...

Parents with Padres Unidos have defined the necessary criteria for their next School District Superintendent: Latino, but, “not just any Latino.” Board President Don Moody said “their hearts are in the right place… I respect their opinions…” offering he plans on thinking about the children’s needs.

Mental Health advocate Robin Salak hopes her threats to Psycho Donuts will get those crazy names off the charts saying darkly “If [owner Jordan Zweigoron] doesn’t do what we want …” Meanwhile, psycho Kipp Berdiansky turned in his straight jacket leaving psycho Jordan Zweigoron holding the bag and the blog.

If you’re angling for that Honorific today is the deadline to get your papers filed for City Council and school district races in November. So far Sunnyvale’s incumbents (and the open seat) heard some chatter but no one wants to run, yet…

Speaking of elections…

Foothill-DeAnza Trustee hopefuls are now online after the League of Women Voters suggested it would be helpful. You have until August 17 to join Joan Barram and Richard Bernhardt on the list…

San Jose brothers Kulbir and Amritpal Dhaliwal are back in the news, busted in San Mateo for lying and drunk driving. Sweet kids…

San Jose Parks Manager Matt Cano hopes the city’s new Greenprint will balance promises with delivery. San Jose wants to hear from you before raising the cost of those golf lessons.

The sparkly new courthouse in Morgan Hill will join the ranks of the furloughed, along with all other courthouses across the State. So, if you have jury duty, you can now join your doctor on the links every 3rd Wednesday…

Morgan Hill’s Redevelopment Agency will be fixing the 101/Tennant interchange, without benefit of Federal Stimulus bucks.

Farmer Andy Mariani says of his stone fruit (no, not stoned fruit) orchard it would all “be houses sooner or later… In the meantime, we’re just trying to survive.” As the pressure to pave over agricultural lands grows. Richard Barberi added “people who live in town love their farmer’s markets… But that’s all gone if farming’s not allow to happen in this valley.”

A big Watch Dog Woof to all the local seniors kicking butt at the Olympics…

Santa Clara County Tax Assessor/Jazzman Larry Stone ditched his sax to pay for grad school but not his love of music. Stone leads the way for tonight’s kick off of the annual At&T San Jose Jazz Festival in downtown San Jose according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. San Jose Metblogger Matt Bruensteiner is also all over the weekends musical offerings.

The Merc’s Joe Rodriguez takes us inside the life of East San Jose’s Father Son team of Rudy Contreras Sr & Jr. Senior headed deep into gang territory before turning his life around, Junior just returned from war.

Stanford law professor John Barton was hit while riding his bicycle last month. The University announced the respected teacher died as a result of his injuries. No word on the driver who killed him… Condolences.

San Jose Inside cares the San Jose Mineta International Airport was named 2008 Airport of the Year by the Air Line Pilots Association… And that was before the new terminal started to open.

Mission City Lantern bids a (not so) fond farewell to San Jose Revealed, complete with poem. James also shares the sad news of one very confused porpoise who made his way from the Bay up San Tomas Aquino Creek before dying of injuries suffered in transit.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.3.09: $20 million here, $20 million there...

San Jose employee unions can't be happy about a new audit the City Council will be hearing about this week. The audit says that the City could save $20 million/ year just be bringing employee health benefits in line with the private sector AND in line with other government agencies. Expect a backlash from labor-backed City Councilmembers. (Too bad there isn't a local blog reacting to the audit...) Local public employee unions should be glad they don't operate in San Mateo County. Up there, there is a County-wide task force looking at public employee benefits and pensions... The Merc. Editorial Board also thinks health benefits and pensions should be a priority.

The Merc's Scott Herhold must read Watch Dog. His piece in Sunday's paper was titled: DA Dolores Carr deserves a re-election opponent. Amen Brother. We even listed some potential (re-election) suspects (through links) last week.

Changes as the Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International (?) Airport are being seen as a good thing by passengers. Unfortunately, as the airport gets better, the flights get fewer...

The East Side Union High School District has a new Acting Superintendent. Raising the obvious question, wasn't the last one just an "acting" Superintendent. (That's a pun people...)

Did you know that the next Secretary of State (?) is getting re-married? That's right. You just probably don't know who the next Secretary of State was going to be. But it's State Senator Elaine Alquist... and she is about to be off the market again.

Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro is under fire... and it isn't (all) about the Recall. This time he is getting dinged for cuts to public safety. Actually, this is all about the Recall -- and the saga is growing. Mayor Gage?

The Merc's Internal Affairs can't get enough of the blogwars in San Jose, probably because San Jose Inside is getting new (?) information out every Friday afternoon. This time, they SHOW ME THE MONEY... sort of.

Speaking of Phil Bump...

According to Mission City Lantern, the former Campaign Manager for Cindy Chavez for Mayor (Justin Schall) and former Political Director for the South Bay Labor Council (Phil Bump) are working on the campaign for Eric Goia for New York City Public Advocate. The Dream Team reunites... Somewhere on the 18th floor, Mr. Jansen is smiling.

While we are on the topic... San Jose Revealed seems to be down today. But Phil Bump did have time to see 500 Days of Summer this weekend and wrote a review. Whether Phil Bump is Revealed or not, he is a good writer. In short, 500 Days of Summer sucked, according to Phil Bump.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.31.09: Raptors and Beer Friday

The Environmental Impact Report for Santa Clara’s proposed 49er's stadium has landed. (You may not believe it, but Steven Spielberg's imagination figures prominently...) The EIR weighs in at in at roughly 2,800 pages. The rumor that Santa Clara Plays Fair’s Bill Bailey is at Starbucks with those 2,800 pages with highlighter in hand is unfounded...

Taking its lead from a recent Op-Ed by the Chamber's Pat Dando, the Merc’s Editorial Board calls on San Jose Councilmember Kansen Chu to change his tune when it comes to starting a $7.2 million library project. The low bidder was thrown out... it seems Barry Swenson and labor unions have a beef. Wouldn't it be great if there was a blog in town to describe the beef in detail...

Angry Sunnyvalians (?) are storming City Hall asking why a partially demolished Town and Country site is still a disaster a year later. Peter Pau, with Sand Hill Property, says he’s “trying” his best with the “shamefully ugly setting.”

Gilroy’s Mayoral wannabe/ Supervisor Don Gage is pissed the State is cutting Williamson Act support of local farmers. Apparently, Legislators and the Governor changed their mind about California’s future as bread basket of the world.

Gilroy girth growing by 800 acres? Could be if the Planning Commission and City Council approve requests from Gavilan College, Shapell Industries, and Wren Investors. After that, a little Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approval, with Gilroy’s future Mayor/ Supervisor Don Gage as part of the LAFCO team. Just what Silicon Valley needs... more growth in Gilroy.

Sounding a familiar refrain, Palo Alto is facing retiree pension benefits that could cripple the City.

Frustrated Caltrain commuters abandoned the government driven 511.org and are Tweeting their way to happiness dishing details on delays and seat availability.

It was the breast implants, Officer! The Merc’s Mr. Roadshow shared the cheers and jeers from his mail bag following cartoons depicting “Sex, Lies, and Traffic Tickets.”

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro applauds Camera Cinema’s Jim Zuur (Breaststroking his way to fame and glory at the Senior Olympics), Santa Clara County Librarian Melinda Cervantes (co-leading the charge with Urban Libraries Council) and Valley Medical Center’s Chris Wilder (teaching donors to text, hopefully not while driving).

Kudos to the Silicon Valley Community Foundation as they award $500,000 in grants to non-profits keeping food in the belly and a roof over the head.

San Jose Police Officers Association's Bobby Lopez chimes in on the Obama Beer Summit on Protect San Jose. In his post, he promises this, with regards to the Consortium looking at Drunk Arrests in San Jose:

"...we welcome any fair and unbiased study of our work. If the academics come back in a year’s time and clearly prove that we do have a problem, then I’ll be the first to admit it, right here on this blog..."

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.24.09: DA Carr meet Lt. Carr

Yet again there’s a big "Oops" being heard over at the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. This time the widow of slain shopkeeper Vahid Hosseini got worried when she found out last month her $14,000 security consultant was none other than District Attorney Dolores Carr’s hubby… Too bad it took the widow to raise the alarm in the potential death penalty case. DA Carr is stepping aside from the case... Amazing that this potential conflict didn't come up in the DA's race in 2006. (Just kidding.)

San Jose Congressmember Mike Honda is elated over a $4 million Congressional committee recommendation to clean up Mt. Umunhum’s abandoned military base. If approved, work could begin as soon as fall.

A special OpEd in the Mercury News criticizes Congresswoman Eshoo for wanting to protect the biotech industry a bit too much in the pending healthcare bill. (The OpEd is written by biotech/ pharmaceutical industry watchdogs...)

San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis has a few words for Judge Diane Northway as she ponders the fate of convicted police killer DeShawn Campbell. His “highly unusual” request to speak is supported by Prosecutor Lane Liroff.

The Merc’s Editorial Board meandered through the Norman Mineta International Airport’s new digs, they’re thrilled.

Keeping up with the State money raid: Morgan Hill is looking at losing nearly $10 million over the next 2 years. Assemblymember Bill Monning stopped by City Hall to “commiserate.” Perhaps his commiserating could be better done by making local government's case in Sacramento?

It’s a wet kinda day (not that Wet…) leading to this equation:

• Winter Rains + Horse Poop = A very unhappy Calero Ranch Stables
• More of those Federal Stimulus bucks are heading West. This time the Santa Clara Valley Water District has landed $4.3 million to make recycled water more available. Supervisorial wannabe/ Water District Director Rosemary Kamei pointed to ongoing droughts and the importance of recycled water as key elements in landing money.
• Dredging up a 5 decade old solution, the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority is looking at a bigger channel and a shorter levee to stop the annual flood. The Palo Alto City Council announced their support of the $8 million proposal, mostly funded by the Santa Clara Valley Water District.
  

(EPA Superfund * 2 Decades + Toxic Fumes) * People = More Clean up for Mountain View Triangle (and a pretty complicated Watch Dog equation)

That annoying little matter of cost could dash Gilroy recall champion Mark Zappa’s plan to end Mayor Al Pinheiro’s reign. Zappa said “I would never do [the recall] if it cost [$400,000], never.” Zappa still wants to talk to anti-recall campaign manager/ Mayoral wannabe/ Supervisor Don Gage “…to see what he stands for now.”

“…what the hell business is that of yours?” asks Gilroy Councilmember/former Memorial Day parade organizer Craig Gartman who bought “espresso beans” for parade employees. Colleague/ Councilmember Dion Bracco’s wife, Christy, with the new committee is pissed about the (alleged) lack of financial paperwork while District Attorney Dolores Carr receives mysterious “espresso bean” mail. (Perhaps the DA can be part of this case without a conflict?)

Hoping to fill Supervisor Don Gage’s feisty shoes are (at least) four wannabe’s and the Morgan Hill Times introduces them. Of the four, Gilroy Councilmember/Dr. Peter Arellano sent his spokesmodel to answer questions.

If you love paella from Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme (who doesn’t), you can catch them along with other local chefs starting today at the annual homage to the stinking rose. At least, so says the Merc’s Sal Pizarro who nose his way around a good dish.

Los Gatos Town Manager Greg Larson said thanks, but no thanks to the petitions calling for Los Gatos Council term limits and library spending. Term limit/ anti-library champion former, Councilmember Steve Glickman, was unavailable while Mayor Mike Wasserman said simply they “… didn’t comply with the law.” Watch Dog loves small town politics...

Mountain View City Council hates kids? Youth Motivated for Action and Involvement seems poised to say so after their calls for options for kids are rejected…

A Post-It note fan vandalized the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory damaging thousands of synchrotron radiation lightsource samples. The synchrotron may be best remembered for looking deep into the “evolutionary keystone” Thermopolis Archaeopteryx. (We don't really know what we just wrote, but we figured it was an important story...)

The Blogosphere shrinks…

• San Jose Inside regurgitates Gilroy news on the blossoming Mayoral throwdown.
• San Jose Revealed remains dark and silent.
• Mission City Lantern suggests a knife wielding Guvernator is looking for a throwdown with San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed over (Lantern-initiated) San Jose secession plans. Lantern also adds to the "Revealed is..." list. Vote today...
• Protect San Jose has Facebook Chief Privacy Officer/ Attorney General wannabe Chris Kelly writing a campaign piece.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.23.09: Fabio + Garlic = Recall?

From Gilroy: The Recall Capital of Santa Clara County -- Gilroy Mayoral Wannabe/ County Supervisor Don Gage says he’s so-not trying to force Mayor Al Pinheiro out of office... but he does want to replace him if the recall is successful. The Supervisor has even offered to lead Pinheiro’s anti-recall effort. (With friends like that...) Expect the political fireworks to be on full display this weekend as the Garlic Festival heats up (featuring Top Chef's Fabio...).

Former California Water Service (San Jose Water Company) Auditor Abdirahman Ismail Abdi is on his way back to San Jose after getting busted in the UK. You remember Ismail, he tried slinking out of town with a cool $9 million.

Naval Officer/Sunnyvale Councilmember (on hiatus) Otto Lee was spotted in Silicon Valley on shore leave. The Merc’s Sal Pizarro reports Mike Fox, Sr. has signed up as chief fundraiser to retire Lee’s $200,000 Supervisorial campaign debt.

Mountain View’s City leaders are pissed the Guvernator is looking to grab as much as $6 million. Mountain View and the royally pissed off San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed ($100 million) might be joining 188 other cities in the League of California Cities Stop the Ponzi Scheme lawsuit.

The Mountain View Voice Editorial Board weighs in on the Civil Grand Jury report slamming local school districts saying the Grand Jury missed the forest for the trees and calling the reports deductions “ridiculous.” We are certain the Civil Grand Jury's feelings are hurt...

The Palo Alto VA’s blinding Optometrists got support from the Mother Ship. The California Optometric Association is standing behind Veterans Affairs Optometry Chief, Curtis Keswick, over accusations the VA blinded 7 veterans.

Team San Jose is teaming up with Los Angeles’ Nederlander Concerts in an attempt to breathe life into the San Jose Civic Center. Local Nederlander Max McAndrew said the Civic had great bones “it just needed some love.”

The Merc’s Scott Herhold takes time out from his usual tone to celebrate U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer’s sense of design. That is, Herhold tells us we can thank Breyer for decorating local courthouses.

Train vs. Man, never good. A man was killed while apparently trying to cross the railroad tracks near Caltrain’s Blossom Hill Station.

Won’t somebody please replace Foothill-DeAnza Community College Trustee Hal Plotkin? The District has applications open until August 17, expect a replacement August 31.

In a news round-up for toney Los Altans (and their Hillside brothers and sisters)…

• The Linden Tree is up for grabs for anyone wanting a kids' bookstore…
• The Los Altos City Council set up a Landlord Tenant Committee because tenants were freaking out. Problem is the big landlord, Los Altos Village Association, is opting out…
• Los Altos Hills makes nice with the Mountain View Dayworker Center. Mayor Jean Murdo hosted a celebration at his home for the Dayworkers.
• The historic landmark Halsey House would be torn down if Councilmember David Casas had his way. But Councilmember Val Carpenter is going for “adaptive reuse.”

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.3.09: Big Buzz at City Hall...

The 49ers are one step closer to ending a 6 decade relationship with the City by the Bay. In the wee hours this morning, the Santa Clara City Council agreed on a $114 million subsidy, well below what the 49ers originally wanted. Next up, a March 2010 election. (We wonder how this will play into the politics of the 49ers...)

San Jose’s Drunk Task Force recommendations were heard by the City Council last night. Among the recommendations is to release people after they get a chance to sober up, offer up the breathalyzer (and document results), properly documenting arrests, and enhanced officer training. Well, the six months (plus) had some real results, we guess. Too bad nobody thought of these things months ago...

Which leads us to what was all the buzz around City Hall yesterday...

San Jose Police (apparently) felt compelled to seek out the (negative) limelight. Police Officers' Association head Bobby Lopez and SJPD retiree/Councilmember Pete Constant defended a controversial POA video saying Raj Jayadev (of the obscure De-Bug) used poor grammar. Seriously? Making fun of folks at a Council meeting. What's worse, POA actually paid for their video. San Jose Revealed adds to the stupidity calling it a phony controversy concocted by POA advisor Jude Barry. Watch Dog doubts that, but we do have a different theory, perhaps this was Lopez's clumsy attempt to divert attention from the Drunk Task Force findings. Here is the POA video:




The folks that the POA made fun of also put out their own video... perhaps the video editing software on Apple computers is too easy to use?


San Jose Pension Fund Chair David Bacigalupi sent a letter to fellow Trustees encouraging them to take as many “due diligence” trips as needed. (Apparently $1 billion in the hole doesn't call for restraint...) Which probably isn't the best idea. The Merc’s Editorial Board calls on Trustees to “curb their lust for travel.”

Saratoga native/film producer Andrew Trapani is turning Hollywood’s bright lights on Sarah Winchester’s spooky home. Team San Jose CEO Dan Fenton isn’t afraid of the ensuing gore and says “we welcome the chance to put San Jose on the big screen.”

Last year San Jose State’s LGBT students received a home of their own, last month SJSU graduates/Los Gatos residents/philanthropists Larry Arzie and David Stonesifer made a $1 million bequest to the center. Arzie and Stonesifer don’t want anyone to suffer the same abuse they did in the 1960’s as young gay men.

School districts around Silicon Valley will open their doors for a few this summer, everyone else can head to private offerings like those from science teacher Curtis Schneider. Oak Grove Superintendent Manny Barbara said there’s no chance of summer school next year because “we are getting hammered.”

San Jose Councilmembers are unhappy with the suggestion they cut their salary to $86,625 and get (only) $350/month for a car. Councilmember Kansen Chu complained that as a “recent immigrant” he didn’t have other resources. Watch Dog notes Councilmember Chu has been here more than 3 decades, owns rental property, and sold a successful restaurant last year…

County Supervisor/VTA Boardmember Don Gage predicted last month Caltrain would keep rolling South to Gilroy. Yesterday the “cut Gilroy” proposal was off the table.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro will be found walking the streets of downtown San Jose today checking out restaurant samples for the kick off of “Dine Downtown.”

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.26.09: A Supreme Tuesday Edition...

As we come back from a long weekend, the news today will be dominated by Supreme legal stuff... California Supreme Court's decision on Proposition 8 and Obama's pick for the US Supreme Court.

But Watch Dog must ask that you don't forget the local stuff... luckily, the Merc’s Internal Affairs never forgets the local stuff…

• Supervisor/President Liz Kniss is fighting with Supervisor Dave Cortese over foster kids. (No, this isn't a custody battle...)
• San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos has a friend in the White House, Adolfo Carrion. Unfortunately, Carrion is accused of taking bribes while a New York Bronx borough president and might not be there long enough to help. (Which is ironic, since Campos' mentor was also written about in the Merc this weekend... we'll get to this later.)
• San Jose’s normally genteel Councilmember Nancy Pyle got testy over accusations she met more than once with bail bonds lobbyists Tom Saggau and Dustin DeRollo and snapped at members of the public. Saggau said if he’s riding the elevator “with someone who's reportable, and I just mention Bad Boys Bail Bonds” he reports the contact.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is facing off (again) with labor leader/former Mayoral opponent Cindy Chavez. This time it’s a 34 page set of recommendations on how to handle the City's budget crisis. Reed did not say this, however.

San Jose Police are refusing to release 911 tapes from the fatal Mother’s Day shooting of mentally ill Daniel Pham. Santa Clara Police Lt. Phil Cooke crossed the Blue Line and sounded less convinced about the need for San Jose Police Department's secrecy saying, “Police departments live on public trust. You take that away and you have nothing.” Unfortunately, Watch Dog thinks the public trust in the San Jose Police Department may have been bruised well before this incident... (See: Drunk Task Force and IPA selection.)

The Merc Editorial Board sends kudos to the City of San Jose for helping to add Rancho San Vicente to Silicon Valley’s open spaces. The Merc credits San Jose Planners with resisting pressure from developers and lobbyists wanting to build luxury estates. (A much more contentious issue dealing with developers, open space, and lobbyists is brewing in Redwood City, for those of you interested in things north of the Santa Clara/San Mateo County line...)

It was a violent weekend in San Jose…

• A “melee” left 4 men with stab wounds at a South San Jose party. If you have info dish to the San Jose Police Department's assaults unit at 408-277-4161. (Watch Dog doubts many of our readers attend such parties, but you never know...)
• Paul Leyva was beaten and left brain-dead outside a San Jose pizzeria. Call Sgt. Merlin Newton or Detective Bill Hoyt of the San Jose Police Department's homicide unit at 408-277-5283.
• A 25 year old man was shot near McKee and Capitol. Anonymous callers can call Crime Stoppers at 408-947-STOP (7867).

On a less violent crime note... Lincoln High School’s Jeremy Talamantes saw himself as an artist with all the walls of San Jose as his canvas. San Jose Police, and residents, didn’t agree. Talamantes was yanked out of art class when busted as a member of the Toon Goons.

Morgan Hill’s sparkling new courthouse is headed for its own courtroom battle. In a finger pointing drama, County Supervisor Don Gage says the builder blew it while Paul Thompson with West Bay Builders points at County staff for errors. At issue is $20 million which the County says it doesn't owe the builder -- and the builder kindly disagrees.

An (apparent) joyrider stole a Mountain View Police car during a Shoreline concert. Police later found the car ditched in an apartment complex parking garage. (The Officer left the keys in the car... oops!)

A Monte Sereno “good neighbor” fence was anything but neighborly for Darla Padget who says City Manager Brian Loventhal sent threatening letters. The 10 year old “fence” trial heads to the jury this week.

Here for your Watch Doggers pleasure… the week around Silicon Valley government, with mad props to the Merc's Government Watch (on-again/off-again) crew...

• The City of San Jose Rules Committee talks pay cuts for Councilmembers and management as well as the growing maintenance backlog.
• The Cupertino Union School District studies the Governor’s revised/slashed education budget.
• Franklin-McKinley School District reviews (horrible) financial projections.
• Palo Alto Unified has a full plate with talks of enrollment, boundary changes, Mandarin immersion, and a delayed reopening Garland Elementary. Oh, and the (crappy) budget.

San Jose’s Oak Grove students who come from 13 countries, speak 9 languages, and have to work while in high school, need your help. Dig deep people, send the Valley’s smart kids to D.C. to compete. Donations for the "Eaglebots" can be sent to Oak Grove High School, Attn: Jeanie Romanoff, 285 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, CA 95123.

If you were anywhere near San Jose’s downtown you couldn’t miss Fanime’s costumed conventioneers. If you missed it, you really missed it...

Morning News Round-Up – 5.8.09:

San Jose’s Drunk Task Force, with only 3 remaining community members, ended with a whimper Thursday night. Police Chief Rob Davis said his officers, accused of arresting hugely disproportionate numbers of Latinos for being drunk or having attitude, “are not engaged in this to punish somebody.” Free of unruly community members, the Task Force agreed to a drunk tank, breathalyzers and better training for the police. San Jose Insider Erin Sherbert reports Task Force quitters are plotting next steps…

San Jose Insider Eric Johnson reports San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has called on all city employees to put off raises and save 150 jobs. The former San Jose councilmember says he inherited the financial disaster, that he rejected raises after becoming mayor and doesn’t take his car allowance.

Tony Spitaleri, president of the firefighters union, offered Palo Alto’s city council a one year moratorium on raises. City Manager Jim Keene is hopeful Palo Alto’s police will come forward with a similar offer. The two unions could save the city $1.5 million.

Former Palo Alto police chief Lynne Johnson screwed up, sparking a racial controversy when she asked residents to be on the watch for a black man in a do-rag. Jeffrey Smith of Palo Alto was busted, and in jail, for a Menlo Park mugging when Palo Alto authorities decided to pile on.


The Valley Transportation Authority designed and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved a change that allows more money for BART. Cheering BART fans hit Milpitas today, because – (re)using those famous words – it’s going to happen, you like it or not. Untrue are rumors San Jose councilmember Pete Constant will throw himself in front of the groundbreaking shovels.

Caltrain, trying to put off a possible $10 million deficit, is proposing an end to weekend (party) trains, charging those pesky bike riders and raising fees – again. Caltrain Board Chair/Supervisor Don Gage said “when there’s no money, there’s no service.”

Proud of his helmet hair, bike commuter/San Jose councilmember Sam Liccardo declared the comparisons to “The 40-year old Virgin” a badge of honor. Fellow helmet head/Webcor Builders president, Andy Ball, admitted to occasionally forgetting where he’d left his bike on Caltrain.



San Jose had its 10th murder of the year Thursday afternoon. Details have not been released for the man who was killed in a drive by shooting in East San Jose.

Filmmaker Heather Courtney brings the story of families left behind in Mexico to Mountain View this weekend. The Judicial Watch bigots from D.C. and their NIMBY Mountain View friends will likely show up to protest. Maria Marroquin, executive director for the Day Worker Center, said the center becomes local family.

Molly Cooper, a Morgan Hill sixth grader, beat 1,500 young authors with a winning essay on gang avoidance.

Riding the green wave, parents in the Mountain View Whisman School District are calling for sustainability to be built into all new construction. Some parents wanted to turn their kids into farmers by growing cafeteria food. Beans ‘n weanies on trees?

Los Gatos kids did their time for the Venue Teen Center phone-a-thon and raised a few bucks using those dialing fingers. The Alan Pinel real estate agency played host while real estate agents had the kids call their spouses for practice.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold jumps in to the Monte Sereno city council salary excitement. Herhold, while (sort of) saying he supports the modest stipend, he thinks Monte Sereno’s city council screwed up the execution.

No parent should bury their child. Friends and family of Heather Russell have asked Mountain View police to dig deeper into the suspicious suicide, to understand why the bubbly young woman went missing for three days before her death and how her abusive relationship may have played a part in her death. Friends will host a fundraiser for a battered women’s shelter in her honor.

Mountain View’s city council also heard from the Governator. An expected $2 million may disappear from the city’s coffers in the state grab. No wonder there’s a cat fight brewing.

Morgan Hill wants false alarm scofflaws to pay for those unnecessary police visits. Police Commander David Swing said responding to false alarms “creates inefficiency,” a secondary goal is to gather more details on everyone with a burglar alarm.

Pissed off water drinkers protested the Santa Clara Valley Water District proposed fee increases. District project manager Darin Taylor blamed expensive imported water for increases.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.28.09: Swine flu everywhere (in the news...)

Swine flu is everywhere...at least everywhere in the news, the actual flu isn't everywhere...Silicon Valley is (mostly) ready for Swine Flu, however, except maybe Kaiser. Doug North stepped off the plane from Cabo San Lucas with all the symptoms and still had to lie to get Kaiser let him see a doctor. No kidding, if you flew with the Norths on Frontier last week hang on for his results. Joy Alexiou, the County’s health spokesperson said there was an increase in worried patients but so far no confirmed cases. More details are on Twitter...

The Merc’s Editorial Board, participants on San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s campaign promised Sunshine Reform Task Force, questions whether Mayor Sunshine is holding up his end of the bargain. (Add this to the IPA fiasco/mea culpa and the loss on the Internet filters issue, and this is Mayor Reed's worst month in office, by a long shot...just ask the Merc's Scott Herhold what the Mayor's problem is...)

San Jose’s East Side Union High School District got press coverage... but maybe not how they wanted. "Rumors, poor communication and a lack of leadership...” is how the Merc characterizes East Side's feeble and unrealistic sports fundraising efforts. Trustee Eddie Garcia is hopeful you’ll show up at a meeting tonight, with your checkbook. (In case you forgot...)

Morgan Hill Superintendent Alan Nishino is pulling down $206,000 while Gilroy’s Superintendent, Dr. Deborah Flores made $175,000. Worse, Morgan Hill teachers' salaries are at the bottom with Gilroy and Morgan Hill Principals take home more than Palo Alto’s. Morgan Hill Trustee Bart Fisher is hopeful Nishino will pass up his guaranteed 3% raise. Weird, since (presumably) the Board of Trustees actually gave the Superintendent the raise in the first place...

Everyone is weighing in on the Propositions in the May 19th Special Election. The Merc’s Editorial Board says ignore party loyalists, vote yes on 1A. Morgan Hill Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Bonnie Tognazzini says the State shortfall will hit $14 billion if both 1A and 1B don’t pass. Which will probably impact some salaries...

Mountain View officials just found out that they’re “jobs rich” and house poor. The Association of Bay Area Governments is asking Mountain View accept its “fair share” of housing around the Bay by building more than 2,000 new units in the coming years. Councilmember Mike Kasperzak says the City goofed and missed previous opportunities to build housing.

The best and brightest from the Mexican American Community Service Agency couldn’t dazzle Gilroy Unified School District trustees and instead went the B.S. route. MACSA leaders dumped 200 pages of class schedules and handwritten calendars in front of Trustees hoping they wouldn’t notice a lack of details about the growing financial (embezzlement) problems. Seems latest figures on MACSA’s embezzling ways at El Portal Leadership Academy is now $800,000. Trustee Denise Apuzzo demands MACSA show remorse. MACSA’s Board President, Louis Rocha said the screw-ups were made by a few administrators and steps were taken.

Now that Judge Kevin Murphy declared that the Santa Clara Valley Water District's fees are unconstitutional, Great Oaks Water Co wants $5 million, and then some. Water District Chair Sig “Methusala” Sanchez plans to appeal. One possible fallout from the Judge's decision, farm failure on a grand scale. (Buried in the story is the news that Supervisor Don Gage plans to run for a seat on the Water District Board next year.)

San Jose Revealed wants former Mayor/lobbyist Tom McEnery to give up his losing ways – with the Sharks – and turn over the reins to another former Mayor. The Sharks are playing golf today, in case you missed it...

San Jose’s Police Officers Association has set up a trust fund for the family of Enrique Flores, stabbed to death at Almaden Expressway and Foxworthy this month. There are leads and Sgt. Ronnie Lopez says it doesn’t look like a gang-related murder. For further information, contact the Association at (408) 298-1133.

The City Manager in Palo Alto sees big cuts on the horizon...with a $10 million budget gap, what else are you going to do...Perhaps raise taxes on businesses? They could foam-containers... but instead are just going to be ban them...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.14.09: Blogs (and porn) First Edition...

Blog-related stuff first today:

• San Jose Revealed lets loose with poetic allegory while blogging about San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant’s “porn filter fetish.” Revealed confesses to possible naiveté in thinking the fear over reason crusaders had been spanked soundly last year. While questioning Mayor Reed’s political savvy on the matter, Revealed rolls out the cynical theory that Reed is simply looking for a re-election sound bite. And in case you missed it, we tracked down Councilmember Constant and his BFF Larry Pegram's whereabouts...
• San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio engages in a little political-blogger-suck-up and writes about his Breakfast with the Chamber. Unfortunately, we also learn a little about PO's sleeping habits...
• After only 6 years in office, Gilroy's anti-blog Mayor Al Pinheiro is hosting his first “Coffee with the Mayor.” Pissed off residents blogging on the Gilroy Dispatch got the Mayor’s attention. “I will never answer on those blogs or get in there and get started in some pissing contest… Anyone who wants answers can come get a hold of me,” said the Mayor. Pinheiro is relying on charm to sooth the angry blogger.
  

And now the desperate economic news:

• Palo Alto leaders see their fair city as the center of the Valley’s ultra-high-speed fiber internet mecca and is seeking federal stimulus bucks to make it happen – never mind those funds are targeted for the technologically impoverished. Councilmember Larry Klein said “it’s a 21st century technology. There are other places in the world that are doing this, and some of them do compete with us.” Oh yeah, and in February the Palo Alto City Council basically threw in the towel on this plan...
• Once fueled by double macchiato bolstered techies, Silicon Valley is hit hard by the economy. According to a Merc. analysis of new data from those folks at the Employment Development Office, tech accounted for 21% of lost jobs for the first part of the year. Why do you think we blog?...
• Furlough and layoff are the new buzzwords in Silicon Valley and it’s creating huge demand for services at local non-profits. Nancy Tivol, with Sunnyvale Community Services, gets the same questions from reports all the time, “Are you seeing the middle-class line up for bags of food?”
• Speaking of furloughs...San Jose’s annual downtown Fourth of July fireworks has been furloughed – to use the current vernacular. Fireworks organizer Fil Maresca said it was a business decision, costs for City services had increased ten-fold over the decade of operations, driving Maresca to douse the fire.
• The Merc’s Editorial Board uses a word Watch Dog has waited a lifetime to see grace the editorial pages “duh.” The big duh in this case is sick leave as retirement benefits in San Jose.
• Mountain View homes maintained a median price of just over $1 million but, according to the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, no one is buying.
  

I guess with the previous stories, this is no big surprise: Silicon Valley's CEOs also see a grim outlook moving forward. When asked by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group what could be done, only 20% would support corporate taxes. They were more generous for cuts - over 90% thought there were too many State government employees, prisons could be cut as well as welfare and human services. The Merc’s Editorial Board chimes in on the survey as well. Carl can work it...

And the rest of the news:

Supervisor Don Gage hopes regionalizing County fire services will improve services in South County and save money. With three different agencies serving South County today he’s hopeful others will share his vision.

The Valley Transit Authority is moving ahead with plans to let the few of you who still have disposable dollars ride solo in the HOV lanes. Adjusting fees according to drivers tolerance for pain, the VTA hopes to keep traffic moving.

San Jose’s Oak Grove School District promoted Assistant Superintendent Tony Garcia to replace outgoing Manny Barbara. It is unclear if Manny Barbara will go back to his former job as an animator...(I know the spelling is off...work with me people!)

Faber’s Cyclery is the subject of the Merc’s Joe Rodriguez passion this week. A San Jose cyclery since 1921, owner Alex LaRievere dreams of turning it into the cycle museum San Jose has been waiting for, one with beer. Adding to the allure, before it was a cyclery haven it was a blacksmith, stage coach stop, and saloon (complete with brothel). If you have the deep pockets, LaRievere is looking for give him a call (408) 294-1314. Perhaps if he brought back the brothel, folks would give money...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.24.09: Drunk Corsortium/Task Force Edition...

San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly questions the invitation to the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity, saying Police Chief Rob Davis likely had them in mind before the Drunk Task Force was a gleam in the Mayor and Councilmember Nora Campos’ eyes. Seems the Chief made plans with the Consortium sometime before mentioning it to the Task Force. He is said to have been eager to participate with the Consortium as of November last year and has San Jose Police Department as a participating organization on the CPLE website. So, back to Watch Dog’s original post: was there ever a plan by Mayor Reed or Councilmember Campos for the Task Force to be anything other than a place for community members to vent? Or was Councilmember Sam Liccardo prescient when he said: “…the place where good ideas go to die...” If Liccardo was right, then Reed and Campos must have known the bait and switch, Task Force and Consortium, was the plan all along...

San Jose Insider/Silicon Valley De-Bug(er) Raj Jayadev blogs his irritation with San Jose’s (apparent) drunk in public, racial (Latino) profiling problem.

Santa Clara District Attorney Dolores Carr finally has something to celebrate, a huge drug bust in a joint effort with Alameda and Monterey Counties. Over a million dollars in cash, weapons, and spy toys were captured along with 200 pounds of cocaine worth $5 million – leaving local coke-heads out of luck. Of course, the story also says the deliveries from Mexico take place every few weeks so how long the pipeline stays dry is up in the air.

San Jose and the County of Santa Clara are back at it with a tussle over money. Supervisor Don Gage seems hopeful saying under the previous regime (whose name he doesn’t share) they’d all be marching into court. This time the bickering is low key and private, like a tense couple at a party slugging down Martinis.

Would you rat out your neighbor for wasting water washing the Winnebago? The Santa Clara Valley Water District hopes you do. Facing an ongoing drought the District is contemplating cutbacks at today’s meeting. By the way, District Board members also consider allowing voters to decide term limits.

The Merc’s Editorial Board cheers for Supervisor Dave Cortese’s push towards solar and urges the Supervisors to look for rooftops and paved areas – rather than open space – for panel placement. Like, maybe their parking lot on North First?

The Merc’s Ann Killion, focused on sports, questions the wisdom of the A’s Lew Wolff bad mouthing Oakland and the stadium. Wolff initially called the Oakland stadium aging and backtracked a few days later saying he hadn’t intended to insult Oakland. Perhaps not, but Wolff wants a spiffy new place for his team to play and San Jose wants to give it to him.

Passage of Prop 1A and support from the Feds has high speed rail moving forward at a full gallop, which terrifies NIMBY’s between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro and Councilmember Perry Woodward agree the train is a boon to the Gilroy economy saying, “great European cities grew up around train stations.” Even Gilroy’s Chamber of Commerce gets in on the pro-train chant calling it an economic boon. The challenge for the High Speed Rail Authority is both how to prevent building a modern day Berlin Wall and letting NIMBY’s know their communities won’t be divided. And no offense Gilroy, but you'll never be a great European city...

Morgan Hill is into recycling – at least when it comes to ballot measures. The former Measure H has been repackaged as Measure A for May’s special election. Councilmembers hope to gain support for 500 homes they want downtown. Former Mayor Dennis Kennedy is leading the charge to May and vows not to get complacent – this time.

San Jose Revealed goes into mind-boggling (and mind-numbing) detail with charts and graphs analyzing the turnout in this month’s recall effort against San Jose Councilmember Madision Nguyen. (They lost me at Hello...) Bottom line in all the pointy-headed details: turnout was good not great and more people are voting absentee with each election. Mission City Lantern’s James Rowen also read Revealed’s analysis, Rowen calls it the “most accurate set of predictions of voting trends…”

Revealed uses their joy of analysis to look at local 2010 races. They agree with Watch Dog that San Jose’s Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo will have boring races, Madison Nguyen will face challengers and remain successful, oddly doesn’t bother to mention Nora Campos’ brother-in-waiting to fill his sister’s shoes. A fuller Watch Dog recap of Revealed's recap will appear here later today.

San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio complains he’s not part of closed door meetings with labor and calls for a city wide vote on making all negotiations public. Careful what you wish for Councilmember. Public negotiations are a sure way to kill any and all projects...and is what the Labor community was pushing with Community Benefits Initiative years ago...

The clerical screw-up that left the Gilroy Unified School District short $6 million has Supervisorial freshman Dave Cortese lending a hand. Cortese agrees with Supervisor Don Gage that something needs to be done immediately. With all the talking going on, Watch Dog hopes they figure it out soon. It is significantly less interesting to watch the screw-up drag on endlessly than it is to find (and share) solutions to them.

Mountain View residents and eight mediators met to talk about building affordable housing on a parking lot. One resident complained the area would be ghetto-ized with the ROEM development alongside the PacificEuro hotel. Jonathan Emami, a ROEM Vice President, promised a project that was “richly detailed” and would look like a market rate project. Pissed off residents have to wait until July for the design meeting. (If the name ROEM looks familiar, it is because they are the company looking to fast-track an expensive loan from the City of San Jose Housing Department...)

San Jose’s Bill Carlson is bringing good eats to the streets of San Jose – and hoping he’s found the next big thing in downtown eating: beer-bathed sausages. You can find Carlson, and your next brat, at Market & Santa Clara.

Silicon Valley’s Dancing ‘Teletubbie’ Geek Steve Wozniak fills in concerned Mr. Roadshow readers on his various injuries and his dancing exploits. Remember, Vote for Woz and your Prius speeding sins shall be forgiven.

The arts may be struggling with the economic downturn but that hasn’t stopped the Arts Council from naming Nils Peterson as Santa Clara County’s Poet Laureate. Peterson calls himself a ‘coffee shop poet,’ Watch Dog hopes that means we can see him wandering between Trieste and Peet's for a local reading.

Your Los Altos Town Crier mobile update will fill you in on PG&E’s planned power outages Wednesday.

On a (somewhat) related note...

There was a power outage in Palo Alto over the weekend, but that isn't the most interesting part of the story. Check out this media tid-bit about Palo Alto's Utility Department during the outage:

No city utilities officials were available Sunday afternoon or evening to provide information about what was happening.

Oops...