Morning News Round-Up -- 4.19.10: When in Munich...

The Sharks won game two... but lost game three in OT...

Speaking of Silicon Valley professional sports... The Merc's Editorial Board loves Measure J: "...The site near highways and rail is perfect for football, and Santa Clara is a well-run city that can capably handle this project..." So does the Merc's Scott Herhold, who says the 49ers' stadium makes sense, even if it didn't make cents... (Mission City Lantern is happy...)

This will make everyone at Protect San Jose very, very angry. (As if they weren't angry enough!) The Merc won a bunch of awards at the California Newspaper Publishers Association annual contest, and the stories that Sean Webby wrote about the use of force by the San Jose Police Department are now "award-winning stories by Sean Webby"...

Oh, and this: Sean Webby has a profile of LaDoris Cordell as she gets ready to move into the Independent Police Auditor's office in San Jose. We learn about her background, her time on the bench, her time in Palo Alto City Hall, and how she will approach the IPA job. We also get a choice quote from Councilmember Pete Constant, who along with the Mayor and Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, voted against her appointment: "...I have concerns that her star power may overshadow the role of the IPA..." Because why would we want an Independent Police Auditor that is independent or that audits the police?

Patty Fisher of the Merc dives into the deep end with her column today criticizing the firefighters unions in Palo Alto and San Jose. And even calls out the San Jose firefighters union and their ideas to help close the budget deficit in the city: "...Their idea of concessions is to defer some vacation and their $495 annual uniform allowance. Hey heroes, let's get real..."

It was Sunday yesterday, which means the Merc's Internal Affairs is reason enough to get the paper... usually. This week we learned that San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio gets more girls without the beard, even if it is the NHL playoffs and that Dr. Phil is helping State Senator Leland Yee get a bill passed in Sacramento...

Who said that only Southern California could have a 3rd Street Promenade? Not Morgan Hill... their's opened up this weekend to much fanfare... at least a lot of fanfare for Morgan Hill...

There was a brutal attack during a home invasion in Gilroy on Tuesday. The two victims are still in the hospital and one is still in critical condition. Police think the home, and the victims, were targeted.

A group of musicians from Los Gatos High School had a great trip to Europe to play some concerts... on their way back home, they had a layover in Munich, which is where they have been since Friday because of the volcano in Iceland. Don't worry, they are having a great time in Germany and they are enjoying missing class too. Thank you Luftansa! Here is some advice for you high schoolers, from Rick Steves...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.15.10: Tea Party Day...

Sharks lost...

Even though Scott Herhold at the Merc thinks LaDoris Cordell was an "odd choice" for the San Jose Independent Police Auditor job... he didn't convince the Editorial Board who called the choice "daring" and "great for the time"... as for the San Jose Police Officers' Association, they have a different opinion:

"...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..."

As we said yesterday, really? Cordell has a brother or sister that works at the ACLU, the NAACP, or DeBug?

Speaking of public safety unions in San Jose, the firefighters looked through last year's budget and found $7 million worth of things that could have been cut from the City Manager's budget, saying that such frivolous spending creates a credibility gap for the City when it says they are broke. The story on San Jose Inside does provide this jab back at the firefighters about their plans to close the budget gap: "...All told, the union’s proposals would come to a little over a million dollars. The total of the contracts outlined in “City Spending Gone Wild” only adds up to a little over $7 million—loose change compared to the $116.2 million quagmire that the city is still trudging through..."

Another nugget in the San Jose Inside story: lobbyists Dustin DeRollo and Tom Saggau are on the case for the firefighters... perhaps the firefighters forget the great work these two did for bail bonds shops and Club Wet...

Zoe Lofgren on the Supreme Court? Someone in Washington thinks it is a good idea: the Computer & Communications Industry Association. Watch Dog loves the Congresswoman, but we aren't sure about this particular job opening for her...

San Jose City Council races are still heating up. Magdalena Carrasco beat out Xavier Campos for the Chamber of Commerce endorsement yesterday, as reported by San Jose Inside. Perhaps Labor's threatening Carrasco's supporters helped push the Chamber towards Carrasco?

In a nod to NIMBYs, some folks on the Peninsula are considering whether or not to join the (Tea Party?) effort to repeal the High-Speed Rail bond... have fun with that...

Speaking of the Tea Party, there will be a "Tax Day Protest" in downtown San Jose today. That should be a fun, gun-toting shin-dig... In case you forgot, last year San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant joined the (anti-immigrant, pro-Palin) fun... (Thank you tipster for the picture...)

In an (un?)related story... LA may shut down a white supremacist meeting permitted for this weekend...

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...