Morning News Round-Up -- 3.19.10: A very healthcare weekend?

The East Side Union High School District is facing signficant cuts. Parents and teachers and community leaders showed up to protest. That's not unusual. That's what's been happening in many/all school districts -- but not all school districts get a negative audit from the County Office of Education that criticizes how they spend money... and not all school districts fire their superintendent... and not all school districts appoint members to their board twice, even though voters said no to the twice-appointed member...

Gilroy Unified is also in pink-slip mode...

While East Side Union and Gilroy Unified would have a more difficult time doing the same thing, Cupertino Union parents are fundraising to save 100 teachers' jobs...

Meg Whitman spoke to a group from the Great Silicon Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce yesterday at Santana Row. (Which is the strangest part of that sentence? Meg Whitman speaking to the Hispanic Chamber or the fact that it was at Santana Row?)

Mountain View has something called the "Shoreline Community" fund, which seems to act kind of like a Redevelopment Agency for the Shoreline area in Mountain View. The problem with that is school districts sometimes get screwed in Redevelopment Areas -- and in the Shoreline Community area that seems to be the case. Essentially, the Mountain View-Whisman Elementary School District would like to get a bigger piece of Google's property tax. Unsurprisingly, not everyone on the Mountain View City Council likes the idea of sharing that tax money...

The League of California Cities is trying to get a measure on the November ballot to stop (again) the State from stealing local money to balance the State budget. But (unbelievably) two folks on the Saratoga City Council don't support it... Kathleen King and Jill Hunter. It seems King and Hunter don't want the County to get screwed even if Saratoga does ok under the measure. We wonder why Kathleen King is so concerned about the County... hmmmm...

With the old Mervyn's out of their Campbell store on Hamilton Avenue, Safeway is looking to build a cool new store.

Speaking of stores... What's the one thing folks in Milpitas need more than anything? How about an even bigger Walmart?

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.25.09: A Very Broccoli Thanksgiving...

Hitting the pages today news that State Senator Abel Maldonado has his fingers crossed for confirmation as Lt. Governor. The Merc’s Editorial Board chimes in their support for Maldonado calling it “progress for Californians.” And progress for broccoli too...

Now, the real question, which Watch Dog has been talking about even if no one else is: Is Pat Dando taking this extra long weekend to make a decisions about her future political career?

San Jose hasn’t been the “safest” big city since 2006 and now trails New York as 4th safest in the land. Mayor Chuck Reed remains committed to regaining the title as Assistant Police Chief Dan Katz reminds San Joseans “we’re the safest big city in California.”

And if San Jose is ever going to move up that silly list again, it may be with a new Police Chief. At least that's what some folks would like to see. With San Jose’s City Hall as a backdrop, “based on the questions… (we) ask that (Dolores Carr) convene an open grand jury…” asked Asian Law Alliance’s Richard Konda’s at a press conference with more than 15 other community groups. Police Chief Rob Davis asked Sgt. Ronnie Lopez to send an email saying his door was open and he was disappointed. Because nothing says "open door" like an email sent through a spokesperson through the media...

Convinced that continuing the conversation about police use of force is the best PR strategy... San Jose Police Officers Association Vice President George Beattie was “bothered” after re-reading the Merc’s use of force story. Beattie takes issue with the implication that force is common practice and that “minor infractions” are always safe.

Santa Clara Vice Mayor Jamie Matthews is keeping his inner-Yahoo under wraps (for now) to be “sensitive” to neighbor Sunnyvale. If Yahoo’s plans work out they’ll ditch Sunnyvale to be near the Silicon Valley 49ers – in Santa Clara.

Mountain View Police credit extra feet on the street from the Gang Suppression Team and a “zero tolerance” attitude towards underage drinking for a decrease in gang violence. That probably all helped... but also the fact that they are in Mountain View probably has something to do with it...

The Mountain View-Whisman School District yanked a discussion on special education teacher cuts before the meeting, at the request of the teachers union. Parents were pissed about a lack of “transparency” as cuts turned into part-time positions.

San Jose Insides Joseph DiSalvo sends his appreciation to teachers in schools as well as those in his life. Before heading off to enjoy his holiday repast DiSalvo closes by poking Inside readers “the division and the rancor of the discourse bordering on the personal on SJI is very distressing to me…” Perhaps he should have read the blog he posts on before agreeing to posting weekly. You think the personal stuff is bad now, DiSalvo should have read Inside during the 2006 Mayoral race...

Heading into the long weekend a little good news…

• Christmas in the Park opens for the 30th time in San Jose on Friday...
• Sunnyvale’s eSilicon is ditching a redux of their 2008 luxe dinner at Santana Row for a pizza bash in their office and a $5,000 donation to Sunnyvale’s Department of Public Safety...
• If you want to join eSilicon in the giving spirit this year the Merc has a few ideas...

And we end this short work week with this great tid-bit... As we were searching for the above picture of Pat Dando, and interesting "Sponsored Link" came up. It seems someone in the San Jose Revealed world is still paying the bill to AdWords... Go ahead, do a search for Pat Dando in Google and see what pops up.

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.29.09: Need a space of my own (san jose downtown)

Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr is finding herself in hot water (again). This time, DA Carr persuaded one of her staff to reduce the charges for one of her big donor's clients. District Attorneys across California are publicly disagreeing with DA Carr’s suggestion that she was doing “what public servants do.” DA wannabe/ Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen suggested “there can’t be two systems of justice… Ms. Carr’s integrity and ethics … have harmed the reputation of the District Attorney’s office." District Attorney Carr, here is a number Watch Dog wants you to keep on speed-dial: 1-800-238-4427.

Here is another story of ethics in government, sort of. The Merc’s Editorial Board calls for the (temporary for now) ouster of Wilcox High Principal Tab Taber following the recent spate of bad news: a teacher (allegedly) having sex with a student/students and a janitor running a teen modeling agency out of the school's broom closet. In the Merc's view, “it's time to rebuild the culture at Wilcox High.” It sounds like they might be on to something...

And ethical issues are front-and-center in another school district this week: East Side Union High School District Trustees meet this week to decide the fate of Superintendent Bob Nunez, currently on paid leave while Trustees investigate (alleged) conflict of interest and (questionable) credit card use.

Oops, that pesky little problem holding up the Environmental Impact Report for San Jose’s plans for a Major League Baseball stadium turns out to be Hexagon Transportation Consultants’ mistake. Seems fewer baseball fans translated into more traffic for Hexagon. Acting Transportation Director Hans Larsen is busily doing the apology dance after blaming VTA for the screw-up.

“Rules are made for people who don’t have common sense,” according to San Jose resident/City Council Chief of Staff Edesa Bitbadal arguing in favor of stronger leash laws. City Councilmember Nancy Pyle said her office has been inundated with email and phone calls following the death of Beverly Head and “we are not in the business of coming up with a million rules.”

The ongoing saga of Summerhill Apartments code violations and blue-tarped roof continues in Mountain View as the City Council said no to owner Sal Teresi’s re-roofing request. City Attorney Michael Martello pointed to workers camping in the parking lot and (apparent) attempts to set up residency in an “uninhabitable building.”

That isn't funny business in Mountain View, but this is... really funny business... the Superintendent from the Mountain View-Whisman School District has a "romantic relationship" with a Principal -- which is a no-no.

Gang violence struck (again) in Gilroy. A 17 year old (alleged) Sureño was shot by (alleged) Norteño’s in his car with other (alleged) gang members. Police said (however) there’s no evidence this is retaliation for a gang murder earlier this month in Morgan Hill.

Morgan Hill’s Christian bookstore owner/perv Richard Dresser pleaded guilty to sexual battery and lewd conduct and will be registering as a sex offender following his 6 months in jail.

Meanwhile, Palo Alto High School students engaging in the annual “Egg War” used frozen eggs instead of the traditional raw to pelt each other. Students were stopped from using their normal field of battle after the Police beat them to their Stanford stomping grounds. (Please don't read into that sentence too much. The Palo Alto Police didn't actually beat them -- we mean that the Police got to Stanford first. It is Palo Alto, not San Jose...) Assistant Principal Todd Feinberg is hoping students rat each other out in exchange for a shorter suspension.

Googlers hosted U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu when he announced big federal dollars for green in Silicon Valley.

Mountain View neighbor Los Altos is worried plans to remodel the San Antonio Center might take shopping dollars out of Los Altos while adding children to the Los Altos School District. City officials will meet over a negotiation table to talk turkey. Los Altos Councilmember/(former) Mountain View Vice Mayor Ron Packard offered “it’s a wonderful development for Mountain View, I wish it were happening in Los Altos.” Please use this time to shed a tear for Los Altos...

If you’re hoping for your anti-swineish shot, get in line. Santa Clara County got short changed in the dosage department and is (im)patiently waiting. The Merc notes all the other (much smaller) counties in the Bay Area received (a lot) more shots to hand out. State Health Department spokesperson Mike Sicilia blamed the computers... good excuse.

We end today on a political note about 2010. There is a new face downtown San Jose political circuit... that is, of course, if you consider Morgan Hill part of downtown San Jose. Let us explain...

Anxious to get an office job after 4 years of medical retirement, Morgan Hill resident/ (former) security guard/ bartender/ bouncer Tim Hennessey has his heart set on San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo’s seat. Hennessey complains he doesn’t want to wait until he’s 50 or 60 to run, he wants to “act now.” Hennessey’s biggest supporter, night club owner Ray Shafazand, is eager to engage in a “dirty…big war” to oust Liccardo for his night club-backed candidate, according to San Jose Insider Jessica Fromm. Oh, Hennessey is also a Republican. We found this listing on Craigslist... Could it be Hennessey is close to landing his new downtown apartment?:
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$700 Need a space of my own (san jose downtown)

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Date: 2009-10-28, 1:00PM PDT
Reply to: hous-rdn3y-1441756047@craigslist.org

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Hi, I need a place of my own. I don't want a room in someone's house . I like to have guests and not feel that I'm invading someone else's home. I like to come and go as I please without worrying about waking my roomates if it's late when I get back. I'm looking for anything from a studio to a one bedroom, but am having a hard time finding one in my price range. $700 is is over a third of my monthly income so it's the most I can afford. Please let me know if you can help me. Thanks

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.8.09: A Governor from San Jose?

District Attorney Dolores Carr received (mostly) good news when Judge Andrea Brown said defense attorneys in the child molestation videotape scandal couldn’t prove conspiracy. Defense attorney Al Lopez is keeping his fingers crossed the Judge will overturn his client’s conviction. Perhaps next week there will be a day without Dolores Carr in the news... there is still that pesky ethics issue and the "make the Grand Jury public" issue from yesterday...

Turns out gubernatorial wannabe Meg Whitman was registered to vote earlier than the Sacramento Bee (and others reported). After hours snooping through old paper records and microfiche Registrar of Voters offices in Ohio, San Mateo, and Santa Clara County dug up dusty registration records. More interesting now is, during the tough economic climate when County officials are slashing budgets, who pays for the tedious snooping to help the gubernatorial candidate? The Merc’s Scott Herhold weighs in on the drama musing – is this really the most important question in the Governors race? Probably not, but it is fun...

Speaking of the Governor's race... there is a new poll out. Jerry Brown and Meg Whitman score big -- no surprises there. But the big surprise is that Tom Campbell seems tied at the top with Whitman on the Republican side with Steve Poizner falling bad. Perhaps the next Governor will be from San Jose?

Santa Clara County has been ordered to pay $500,000 to a watchdog group for “stiffing the public on records requests.” Acting County Counsel Miguel Marquez expressed doubt that the half-million dollar settlement would hurt during these tough times “I don’t think $500,000 in and of itself is going to impact programs.” Really?

Mountain View’s City Council tinkers “around the edges” on finding places for new housing according to consultant Simon Alejandrino. Tops on the list, ditch those old “soft story” apartment buildings to find another 2,000 homes. Councilmember Ronit Bryant hopes for more mixed use while colleague Laura Macias is looking for affordability.

The Merc’s Editorial Board weighs in on local elections:

According to the Ed Board -- Sunnyvale residents should say yes to Mayor Tony Spitaleri, Councilmember Chris Moylan, and newcomer Jim Griffith.

and...

The Merc recommends a yes vote on parcel taxes for Fremont Union High School’s Measure G and Santa Clara Unified’s Measure C.

Looking at next year’s elections – Los Gatos Union School District ponders a bond measure to raise (around) $24 million for a new Lexington School along with other school projects.

The Mountain View–Whisman School District is heading for big changes. Trustee Ellen Wheeler says sticking to home schools might not be best for students “we know that low-income Hispanic and low-income African-American students” do better when they go to a “different school.”

Morgan Hill Police haven’t found the shooter for last week's gang related killing of Juan Arellano and Morgan Hill is rocking from the violence. Police are holding a community meeting to talk turkey on gang violence.

Not wanting to be left out of the gang action... Gilroy Police are dealing with (suspected) gang violence that landed a hearing and speech impaired man in the hospital.

Pissed off Gilroy developers asked the City Council to talk dancing. They are complaining that a police officer is a real party pooper and won’t let club customers dance the night away. Developer Gary Walton called dancing one of the “oldest forms of human expression.” The straw breaking this camel’s back was the (non) dance at Gilroy’s Gaslight Theatre where police busted vandals and broke up fights. Sounds like Club Wet...

San Jose Insider Jessica Fromm chats with candidates in next years County Supervisor race to succeed Don Gage pointing to Rosemary Kamei and Teresa Alvarado as the candidates to watch. Perhaps these candidates should start talking gang intervention in Gilroy and Morgan Hill...

Protect San Jose’s numbers geek, Ed Rast, launches a multi-part series hoping to get you to give San Jose’s City Hall an earful about budget priorities.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.14.09: Welcome to Club Wet, here's a card for Bad Boys

If you were online and reading Watch Dog this weekend, you probably saw a post from Friday evening about Club Wet's latest and greatest. It includes a YouTube video, so you should probably check it out if you are trying to ease into your Monday morning without doing any real work -- but turn down the volume. (We thank San Jose Inside for being on top of all things Wet.) The Merc followed up with a story on Saturday about the Club. We are especially fond of the quotes of Club Wet's lobbyists/ spokesmen Tom Saggau:

"...No one was hurt, no one was arrested..."
"...every once in a while, people act inappropriately..."

Flashback: Remember, these quotes below that followed a stabbing at Club Wet made by Saggau's partner, Dustin DeRollo, not so long ago

"...It was one individual bad apple that spoiled the barrel..."
"...We don't think this was preventable..."

We bring this up because the firm of Saggau and DeRollo is in the paper again today... but not about Club Wet, about bail bonds. We wonder if Saggau and DeRollo hand out Bad Boys Bail Bonds cards inside the Club...

Speaking of bail bonds, the issue is back and it looks like a 22-month moratorium for new bail bonds will be voted on. The Merc's Editorial Board chimed in supporting the moratorium and called it a "gift" to bail bonds operations. (They also call out the aforementioned lobbyists...)

(Former) Mayor Tom McEnery is moving forward with plans for his Urban Market hoping San Jose’s (already struggling) restaurateurs will help with mini-eateries. The Merc’s Sal Pizarro reports more than a little eye-rolling at the thought of expansion during the economic crisis.

and, speaking of (receiving) anonymous complaints… San Jose’s Elections Commission isn’t interested in hearing from anonymous whistleblowers unless they use the phone. (Former) Mayor Tom McEnery’s 20 “unintentional” paperwork screwups pissed off Commissioners and McEnery neighbors.

Proving nepotism runs strong in San Jose, Councilmember Nora Campos hopes to hand the keys to her office to brother Xavier in San Jose’s 2010 council race. The Merc’s Internal Affairs checked with Campos about the little problem of embezzlement charges facing former employer MACSA to learn the former Chief Operations Officer didn’t get involved in day-to-day operations. (If that is true, we love the ironic job title Campos had...) IA also dishes local judges are refusing furlough days. No doubt the folks making a lot less than the judicial $170,000 would like to do the same. Also in the news, the Boots (Del Biaggio) heading to prison pulled out all the stops with everyone from Catholic Bishops to San Jose Redevelopment Agency staff writing “he’s a nice guy who made a boo-boo” letters to lessen the sentence. Finally, the Van Jones leaves D.C. story won’t end with a return of former labor leader Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins.

The economic crunch continues to pound public libraries. The Santa Clara County Library shut down a third of their computers leaving (unemployed) web-surfing wannabe’s in the lurch when the demand for high intensity data shot up.

For government Watch Dogs, this week is full of fireworks… thank you Merc.

• The County Board of Supervisors discusses passing the State’s cutbacks on to foster care and AIDS prevention.
• San Jose’s City Council hears a debate between experts about San Jose A’s bringing a pretty penny and (finally) concludes the long discussion about bail bonds moratoriums.
• Figuring out whether there are enough textbooks is on tap at the Fremont Union High School District.
• County pockets could become part of the City of Monte Sereno and the Monte Sereno City Council reviews a hazard mitigation plan.
• The Franklin-McKinley School District talks test results.
• During the economic disaster, and with schools losing State money hand over fist, the Santa Clara County Office of Education reviews policies on Board compensation, benefits, and travel.
• The Campbell Union High School District gets an update on the strategic plan. Wonder if this economic crisis was predicted 3 years ago.
• Superintendent Bob Nunez is the discussion at the East Side Union High School District... again.
  
• Hearing about test results and studying student enrollment, attendance areas and transportation is in the works for the Mountain View-Whisman School District.

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.9.09: This Boots was made for prison...

Boots Del Biaggio never got so much press as when his sentence of 8 years and $67 million was handed down. Del Biaggio has until January 8th to pack his bag for prison. The other shoe drops when a judge hands Del Biaggio SEC penalties.

The fallout from former Mayor Tom McEnery’s visit to the Elections Commission continues today. Commissioners contemplate new rules on anonymous complaints, you know to “minimize frivolous complaints.” No word if this will be called the McEnery Amendment. Our biggest complaint is that the anonymous complaints are usually the most fun...

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse: County Tax Assessor Larry Stone, will really earn his daily boo this week. Thousands of homeowners who received property tax relief earlier this year will get an unpleasant notice – your taxes are going up.

San Jose Congressmember Mike Honda put pen to paper to say he was “flummoxed” over misinformation giving rise to contentious town hall meetings on healthcare. Honda concludes healthcare saves money and lives.

Palo Alto union staffers mysteriously picked up a bug that kept 25 percent of them out of the office. Union representative Lynn Krug offered “…I can only guess that the individual employees may have become ill from the stress of the City of Palo Alto contract negotiation proposals…” A sick-out, very retro.

Darkrooms, “donuts,” and atriums were on the minds of Palo Alto Unified School District Trustees as they looked at plans for using up the $378 million from last years successful bond measure. Trustee Camille Townsend wants the high school plans to give a “unifying theme.”

“Beach Hi” (Miami Beach High School) sends props to alumni/ Palo Alto City Councilmember Larry Klein. Beachers are adding Klein to their Hall of Fame along with actor Andy Garcia and U.S. Secretary of State Robert Rubin. That's pretty good company.

Silicon Valley giant, Apple, has fans, investors, and everyone else on the edge of their seats waiting for today’s big announcement.

Speaking of Apple, CEO Steve Jobs’ legal beagle wants Superior Court Judge Marie Weiner to agree to knocking down Jobs’ home in Woodside. It isn’t often you hear an attorney tell a judge “…pigs will fly…”

It’s all about the schools…

Santa Clara Wilcox High School student Victoria Villagomez watched President Obama as he encouraged students to study, practice, and be careful on Facebook. Villagomez, sharing the single parent lifestyle with the President, said “everyone can relate to the problems he had.”

The Merc’s Editorial Board shared a few thoughts on the craziness leading up to President Obama’s speech to children. Suggesting while it would have been tough for English teachers to explain “the Decider’s chronically bad grammar,” any President talking to kids is “charming.”

A field of 5 lines up for 3 seats on the Cupertino Union School District election in November. Joining incumbents are Soma McCandless and Kern Peng.

Teacher Patty Polifrone is ditching Mountain View-Whisman Schools. Rumors say the beleaguered teacher is heading a little south after pissed off parents didn’t dig her teaching style.

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo helped a Sharks-loving teen with a pesky No Teal school rule only to find himself facing the news that local gang members also love the teal. DiSalvo wrapped with a cheer for the uniform, and no teal.

Sgt. Jim Unland heads back 6 years on Protect San Jose to the night San Jose Police shot Bich Cau Thi Tran while she was waving her “Asian vegetable peeler.” The post is complete with police photos of the peeler/ weapon and goes after local media for screwing up the story from the get-go.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.10.09: A day without Dolores Carr...

A day without Dolores Carr news is like a San Jose day without (politically damaged and ethically challenged) sunshine...

Gilroy Councilmember Craig Gartman’s wrangling with opponents over Gilroy’s Memorial Day Parade financial records has landed him in the sights of District Attorney Dolores Carr.

The District Attorney hoped to take the nearly $2 million contract away from FACES to create a “more efficient” victim support agency. It looks like the Supervisors don’t agree with Carr’s “baffling” argument... this year.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold says that even though the District Attorney’s “series of blunders” has “wounded” her, it’s doubtful a serious opponent will challenge her re-election. That doesn't stop Herhold from dishing about who might be on the anti-Carr list: Deputy DA/former Mayoral candidate David Pandori, Deputy DA/former La Raza President Chris Arriola, San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo, and Deputy DA Jeff Rosen.

To other news...

It looks like there may be 10 contestants for Palo Alto’s 5 City Council seats. Sole incumbent Larry Klein no doubt hopes he’ll be heard through the fray. Further south, Mark Santoro, elected to replace Patrick Kwok in 2008, isn’t waiting until his term is up in 2009 and has tossed his hat in the ring for one of Cupertino’s open seats.

Ted Scarlett lost in his bid to replace Forest Williams as a San Jose Councilmember, then he fouled up on campaign disclosures. More than a year later he faces fines for poor reporting…

Santa Clara County’s juvenile “boot camp” is now a homey ranch that Barry Krisberg, President of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, hopes will no longer be a “conveyor belt to prison.”

The Merc’s Internal Affairs had some fun last week rounding up these juicy bits…

• Someone at San Jose City Hall reads Watch Dog… Deputy Finance Director Walter Rossmann announced fired Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s underwater condo is up for rent.
• San Jose City Council’s do-over vote for a library landed winners and losers, apparently. Managing to straddle the fence Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Rose Herrera with a little success and a little flop.
• District Attorney Dolores Carr reports hubby John’s only problem was security consultant for Vahid Hosseini’s family. Meanwhile, Judge Kenneth Shapero ordered Carr’s office to handover hundreds of page of paperwork to the defense. This story isn't going away... for proof, see the top three stories of today's Round-Up.
• Those fun-filled Jerry Springer Town Hall meetings taking place across the nation as Congressmembers return home won’t be seen in Silicon Valley. Congressmembers Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren are holding telephone Town Halls and Eshoo will be at a high-speed rail meeting.

The Merc Editorial Board has joined the Tooth Fairy in support of fluoridating San Jose’s water. Senator Dianne Feinstein is also the focus of an Editorial Board commentary as they ask her to help Congressmembers Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren turn Mount Um into the Mount Tam of the South.

Happy Hollow Park wasn’t so happy Sunday night when a kid was shot, he’s in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell treads into dangerous territory comparing San Jose’s much beloved Cesar Chavez to (Pete Constant's friends) the Minutemen of Southern California.

For your governmental readership enjoyment…

• Sunnyvale City Council talks gas shutoff – for appliances, seriously.
• San Jose City Council considers adding sunshine to campaign finance and hears from the (neutered) Independent Police Auditor.
• San Jose’s Elections Commission ponders anonymous complaints, instant runoff voting, and (the above-mentioned) Ted Scarlett’s pesky filing problems.
• Santa Clara’s Parks and Recreation Commission review’s inventory and amenities at Brachler Park.
• The Mountain View-Los Altos School District looks at a school bond next June.
• The Los Gatos Union School District retreats to review goals and strategize.
• Beleagured/tiny Luther Burbank School District considers (again) their response to grand jury reports and ponders the budget.
• Santa Clara County Office of Education Trustees look at adding Federal Stimulus bucks to the budget.
• Alum Rock Union School District looks at after school programs along with speech and language.
• The Campbell Union School District considers studying a general obligation bond and gets an update to the State budget.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.27.09: DA Conflicts and Blogwars Edition...

Poor District Attorney Dolores Carr. Even the Mercury News Editorial Board is slamming her poor judgement in having both sides of the marital bed working the case of Vahid Hosseini's murder... She as the DA, and her husband as a security consultant to the victim's family. DA Carr did respond on person via a Letter to the Editor... Watch Dog thinks it will take a bit more than a Letter to the Editor to get away from this controversy. (We also have to wonder whether this significant slip up has some folks thinking of unseating the incumbent...)

Blogwars that were launched on Friday created lots of blog-buzz over the weekend. The most recent chapter in this fun-fest started when San Jose Inside posted "Team Chavez, Revealed" 'outing' San Jose Revealed's author. San Jose Revealed responded (twice) over the weekend. Mission City Lantern continues its commentary on the subject... Phil Bump (fingered by Inside) denies the accusation on his own site. Commenters are busy typing away on all sites. (The Mercury News also found its way online to write a piece about the blogwar...)

On an (un)related topic -- it was all about the Chamber of Commerce this weekend in the local paper: Pat Dando, the Chamber CEO, called for a re-vote on a library project in San Jose. We also learned that another Pat (Sausedo) will be going "in-house" at the Chamber of Commerce as VP.

Former San Jose Planning Commissioner Randi Kinman is elated that the "blight"-inducing baseball safety net is coming down from San Jose City College's field. A tiny problem like violations to the Environmental Impact Report had Trustees voting unanimously to dump the project -- even after sinking $2 million into the project. Another quarter million is required to undo the safety net...

Campbell Union and Mountain View-Whisman are now entering the rarified air of "basic aid" schools districts. Even though they rely on their own property taxes to funds schools, the State loves their money just as much as it loves every other school districts' money...

The Merc's Patty Fisher toured an empty Santa Clara County Children's Shelter. 14 years after opening, the center changes its mission from destination to way station as children find temporary homes with friends and family.

The Merc's Scott Herhold takes a look at the Billy DeFrank Center's new interim CEO Paul Wysocki.

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 -- 5.15.09: Drive to Work Day...

San Jose City Auditors were busy this week. First, they cleared up some (apparently) screwed up statistics from San Jose Police. Good news, San Jose does not have 400% more car thefts than the rest of the state, it is actually the 4th lowest in the state and recovers nearly all stolen cars. The bad news is that San Jose paid the San Jose Conservation Corps $375,000 more than they should have.

It’s another Pink Slip Friday. Don’t lose hope, invite friends over for an old fashioned game night and build relationships. That’s the word from folks like Kris Rowberry, Roopa Govindarajan, and Elise Sandusky whose job loss is turning into a family opportunity.

Mountain View Whisman School District Trustees heard from political consultants from Tramutola about the differences between a Proposition 39 bond and a general obligation bond. Sounds like a stimulating meeting...

The Feds giveth (with a lot of strings) and the State taketh away (with very few exceptions). South Bay schools receiving federal stimulus dollars will end up losing money after the State steps in. Jerry Kurr with East Side Union asks “...what is supplemental and what is supplanting?...”

Dude... Gilroy could be the site of the County’s first medical marijuana outlet. Morgan Hill realtor Batzi Kuburovich watched his father die of cancer – only his Mary Jane helped with the pain. Laura Case, a middle-aged mother of two says it’s cool, we need the tax dollars and medical marijuana doesn’t make pot more available, must a little more legal...

Jack Van Zandt is celebrating the 2009 Mariachi Festival and getting giddy over Linda Ronstadt. Mariachi Festival attendees will hear Carlos Santana...

Greg Gray, a Bellarmine boy and prankster, passed away earlier this year. San Jose Insider Pete Campbell will be at the 7th Annual Walk Through the Vineyards to honor Gray and raise money for Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

Palo Alto is taking advantage of depressed real estate prices to buy up cheap land and save it for a rainy day.

Mission City Lantern is (apparently) on Hal Plotkin’s campaign for State Assembly to replace Assemblymember Ira Ruskin, urging everyone to read Plotkin’s blog.