The Merc’s Editorial Board sends props to San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis for firing officers involved in a drunk driving coverup and their own Sean Webby for watch-dogging the news of imminent firings. This won't be received well (we guess) from the good folks at Protect San Jose.
As (self-imposed) furlough days go…. Palo Alto workers were all in purple as they marched outside City Hall to protest contract cuts. The Merc’s (union member) Patty Fisher is sympathetic though she shares the words of Pamela Polos wondering about the wisdom of striking these days "Instead of demonstrating for their own benefits, I wish they were out there marching for national health care reform." You and the Palo Alto City Council Patty...
Sunnyvale recycling workers received an unexpected surprise among the grimy cardboard and soda cans - $100 bills rained from the ceiling. If you think the mystery money is yours, call the Sunnyvale Public Works Department.
"Warehousing kids does not teach them what family is all about," said foster youth advocate/former warehouse resident Hemal Sharifzada. And so, Santa Clara County prepares to close the 132-bed children's “warehouse” and move abused and neglected kids to “wrap around” care facilities.
Former Mountain View Mayor Rosemary Stasek passed away in Afghanistan where she was working with the women of Afghanistan with A Little Help in Kabul. Sad story. We like Rosemary a lot...
More sad economic news comes from the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. Silicon Valley FACES ditched their fundraiser.
Swine flu fears have caused the (official) demise of Stanford’s kissing frenzy, Full Moon. How else are shy first-year students supposed to get any action then?
San Jose MetBlogger Matt Bruensteiner celebrates the demise of the plastic bag and sends San Jose’s City Council kudos.
Mission City Lantern executes a little time traveling fable drawing in the Mission City’s neighbor to the South.
San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo looks for an Education Governor and tosses his support behind new Dad/ Gubernatorial wanna be Gavin Newsom. We are certain that this should put Newsom over the top...
Showing posts with label newsom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label newsom. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Morning news Round-Up – 6.18.09: Enviable talent...
Another day, another garbage story. This time, district attorneys around the bay and the State, including District Attorney Dolores Carr, are joining forces in a lawsuit alleging Target dumps “…flammable liquids and toxic chemicals in local landfills...”
Seems the County Supervisors weren’t interested in cutting services to the County’s vulnerable. Before the public had a chance to speak, Supervisor Liz Kniss took Social Services Agency cuts off the table. The Merc’s Editorial Board congratulates the Supervisors for saving services and tells the County streamlining opportunities exist elsewhere.
The Merc’s Scott Herhold offers a backhanded compliment to San Jose Police Officers Association president Bobby Lopez saying Lopez has an “enviable talent for lobbing a verbal grenade into a crowded room.” Herhold and Lopez are at odds over the cost/benefit of police officers at festivals and the culture wars.
It’s a fact, fewer students in class pays off, especially for low-income and minority students. And still, the current economic climate is forcing San Jose Unified School District to consider increasing class sizes for K-2. Janice Allen, president of the San Jose Teachers Association said teachers in 3-12 already have 30 kids, laying them off to keep kindergarten classes small would not be fair.
San Jose’s dream of becoming the Bay Area’s transit hub isn’t guaranteed. First up, overcoming NIMBY chants (and money) High-Speed Rail NIMBYs (from Menlo Park and Atherton) are raising money for the NIMBY lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority. On one hand, it’s a tough time to raise money. On the other hand, if you have to raise NIMBY money, Menlo Park and Atherton are (probably) great places to start...
And, with more NIMBY/train news…
Mountain View NIMBY’s were vocal in their opposition to a housing proposal near Caltrain. Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga disagreed, calling the location for density “one of the best” as the council supported the Minton’s proposal.
Here's a Watch Dog San Mateo/Watch Dog Silicon Valley story for you: Gubernatorial candidates (maybe) snarled as they passed on the 101 yesterday. Republican Tom Campbell spoke to a joint session of Congress, well, actually it was a joint session of the Burlingame, Foster City, and San Mateo Rotaries in Foster City. Democrat Gavin Newsom spoke to the San Jose Rotary. We’lll let you decide which event was more high-profile and let pundits describe candidates chances of success...
In a creative move to generate revenue, Morgan Hill Police Commander David Swing says the city should open it’s own vehicle impound yard. Dion Bracco (owner of Bracco’s Towing and Transport/Gilroy Councilmember) says Morgan Hill will “turn this thing into a fiasco.”
Silicon Valley Realtors descended upon Sacramento to oppose legislation removing illegal/unenforceable restrictions from title records. Assemblymember Joe Coto was moved by the Realtors and arranged for a meeting with the bill’s author. Other Silicon Valley legislators were unable to meet with the Realtors due to the pesky business of being in session.
Some will call Stanford Hospital's $124 million investment in "community benefits" a way for Stanford to be a good neighbor to their Palo Alto "friends". Others will call this investment a way to buy good will... If the latter, the cost of good will is pretty steep...
Bad news for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, a grand jury report accuses the District of being “awash in cash while county and cities drown in red ink.” Board Chairman, Sig Sanchez, chided the Grand Jury for not digging deeply. Sanchez will dig more deeply himself and provide a formal response in a month.
Gilroy’s economic woes have Councilmember Perry Woodward heading for the hills. Woodward hits the road for a two week solo trek to the top of Mt. Whitney.
Cupertino’s Ramya Auroprem was a ringer at the Rep’s Spelling Bee, pulled on stage to be part of the performance. To get the show back on track the cast resorted to made up words to fool the 13 year old’s keen sense of wordology.
Do you Facebook? Creation of a new verb, ala Google, is what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is dreaming about. Looks like the trendy Silicon Valley startup may have its dreams come true.
Times are tough when you’re stealing tips from Barristas… Watch out Starbucks, there’s a serial tip thief on the loose.
Seems the County Supervisors weren’t interested in cutting services to the County’s vulnerable. Before the public had a chance to speak, Supervisor Liz Kniss took Social Services Agency cuts off the table. The Merc’s Editorial Board congratulates the Supervisors for saving services and tells the County streamlining opportunities exist elsewhere.
The Merc’s Scott Herhold offers a backhanded compliment to San Jose Police Officers Association president Bobby Lopez saying Lopez has an “enviable talent for lobbing a verbal grenade into a crowded room.” Herhold and Lopez are at odds over the cost/benefit of police officers at festivals and the culture wars.
It’s a fact, fewer students in class pays off, especially for low-income and minority students. And still, the current economic climate is forcing San Jose Unified School District to consider increasing class sizes for K-2. Janice Allen, president of the San Jose Teachers Association said teachers in 3-12 already have 30 kids, laying them off to keep kindergarten classes small would not be fair.
San Jose’s dream of becoming the Bay Area’s transit hub isn’t guaranteed. First up, overcoming NIMBY chants (and money) High-Speed Rail NIMBYs (from Menlo Park and Atherton) are raising money for the NIMBY lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority. On one hand, it’s a tough time to raise money. On the other hand, if you have to raise NIMBY money, Menlo Park and Atherton are (probably) great places to start...
And, with more NIMBY/train news…
Mountain View NIMBY’s were vocal in their opposition to a housing proposal near Caltrain. Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga disagreed, calling the location for density “one of the best” as the council supported the Minton’s proposal.
Here's a Watch Dog San Mateo/Watch Dog Silicon Valley story for you: Gubernatorial candidates (maybe) snarled as they passed on the 101 yesterday. Republican Tom Campbell spoke to a joint session of Congress, well, actually it was a joint session of the Burlingame, Foster City, and San Mateo Rotaries in Foster City. Democrat Gavin Newsom spoke to the San Jose Rotary. We’lll let you decide which event was more high-profile and let pundits describe candidates chances of success...
In a creative move to generate revenue, Morgan Hill Police Commander David Swing says the city should open it’s own vehicle impound yard. Dion Bracco (owner of Bracco’s Towing and Transport/Gilroy Councilmember) says Morgan Hill will “turn this thing into a fiasco.”
Silicon Valley Realtors descended upon Sacramento to oppose legislation removing illegal/unenforceable restrictions from title records. Assemblymember Joe Coto was moved by the Realtors and arranged for a meeting with the bill’s author. Other Silicon Valley legislators were unable to meet with the Realtors due to the pesky business of being in session.
Some will call Stanford Hospital's $124 million investment in "community benefits" a way for Stanford to be a good neighbor to their Palo Alto "friends". Others will call this investment a way to buy good will... If the latter, the cost of good will is pretty steep...
Bad news for the Santa Clara Valley Water District, a grand jury report accuses the District of being “awash in cash while county and cities drown in red ink.” Board Chairman, Sig Sanchez, chided the Grand Jury for not digging deeply. Sanchez will dig more deeply himself and provide a formal response in a month.
Gilroy’s economic woes have Councilmember Perry Woodward heading for the hills. Woodward hits the road for a two week solo trek to the top of Mt. Whitney.
Cupertino’s Ramya Auroprem was a ringer at the Rep’s Spelling Bee, pulled on stage to be part of the performance. To get the show back on track the cast resorted to made up words to fool the 13 year old’s keen sense of wordology.
Do you Facebook? Creation of a new verb, ala Google, is what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is dreaming about. Looks like the trendy Silicon Valley startup may have its dreams come true.
Times are tough when you’re stealing tips from Barristas… Watch out Starbucks, there’s a serial tip thief on the loose.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Morning News Round-Up – 6.16.09: Nerd Birds mixing it up with America's Pastime...
Still just a glimmer in the eyes of Santa Clara leaders… The Santa Clara 49er’s stadium hopes to be a dream mashup of green, Silicon Valley and Notre Dame ideas. Architectural project director Joe Diesko said direction from team owners, the York family, was to make this the first of a new generation of the football experience. Of course, that all depends on a March 2010 election…
Gubernatorial wannabe/San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom chows down at San Jose Rotary this week. No word if he’ll pitch the 49ers bad move line to Rotarians…
State and County investigations underway, allegations of embezzlement and a closed school have led Mexican American Community Services Agency CEO Olivia Soza Mendiola to resign. El Portal School in Gilroy lost its charter and San Jose’s Academia Calmecac headed down that path as the East Side Union High School District Board began charter revocation.
San Jose’s budget woes seem to grow worse by the hour. The perennial bearer of bad tidings, Mayor Chuck Reed, announced last night lower sales revenues would add millions to the deficit and next year pension fund losses would add $52 million. The Merc’s Editorial Board and Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies are pointing an accusatory finger at the city’s labor unions. Look for more fireworks today when the Council chimes in…
The economy adds more victims to its growing list.
Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes is getting ready to take Dwight Jungkeit’s Victorian home and replace it with 8 parking spaces. Mayor Steve Tate said the property was “instrumental in creating the type of parking we want downtown.” Several other properties will add to parking making surface parking all the rage in Morgan Hill.
Morgan Hill School District is hunting for a search firm, estimated cost to the district to find Superintendent Alan Nishino’s replacement is roughly $23,000. This time trustees promise to dig deeper, Board President Don Moody said the board would be more prepared and Google applicants.
The “Great American Food & Music Fest” left a sour taste and pissed off customers. Co-organizer Jim Lewi is apologizing profusely and handing out refunds.
Home invasion survivor Chris Cote stuck barbed wire on his fence, pissing off the city and garlic king Don Christopher. Cote heads to the planning commission to plead his case. Oh, and former/current sweetheart Joan Spencer is on the commission.
Watch Dog didn’t miss the Police Officers Association opinion piece, we’ll get back to that later…
Gubernatorial wannabe/San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom chows down at San Jose Rotary this week. No word if he’ll pitch the 49ers bad move line to Rotarians…
State and County investigations underway, allegations of embezzlement and a closed school have led Mexican American Community Services Agency CEO Olivia Soza Mendiola to resign. El Portal School in Gilroy lost its charter and San Jose’s Academia Calmecac headed down that path as the East Side Union High School District Board began charter revocation.
San Jose’s budget woes seem to grow worse by the hour. The perennial bearer of bad tidings, Mayor Chuck Reed, announced last night lower sales revenues would add millions to the deficit and next year pension fund losses would add $52 million. The Merc’s Editorial Board and Downtown Association Executive Director Scott Knies are pointing an accusatory finger at the city’s labor unions. Look for more fireworks today when the Council chimes in…
The economy adds more victims to its growing list.
- The original “Nerd Bird” geek filled flight between San Jose and Austin, Texas is being cancelled this summer.
- Morgan Hill roads to become “bumpier and narrower” with darkness descending on city streets.
- The Merc’s Scott Herhold weighs in on the VTA’s plans to cut expenses. Including the loss of San Jose’s own “Tweetsie Train.”
- State Senator Joe Simitian called the next few years of funding for public schools bad, unbelieveable, downright scary and said he doubts people understand how dire things are.
- From our Sister blog, Watch Dog San Mateo… Palo Alto passed their budget. The budget wasn't pretty... Neither is their proposed business license tax, but that's moving forward too...
Brilliant, but nerdy, scientists at Stanford keeping up with Moore’s Law have found a possible silicon replacement. That’s all well and geeky but, Bismuth Telluride Valley doesn’t have the same panache as Silicon Valley.
Gilroy’s City Council will stay out of the mix as the County’s first pot shop moves through bureaucratic channels. Dude…Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes is getting ready to take Dwight Jungkeit’s Victorian home and replace it with 8 parking spaces. Mayor Steve Tate said the property was “instrumental in creating the type of parking we want downtown.” Several other properties will add to parking making surface parking all the rage in Morgan Hill.
Morgan Hill School District is hunting for a search firm, estimated cost to the district to find Superintendent Alan Nishino’s replacement is roughly $23,000. This time trustees promise to dig deeper, Board President Don Moody said the board would be more prepared and Google applicants.
The “Great American Food & Music Fest” left a sour taste and pissed off customers. Co-organizer Jim Lewi is apologizing profusely and handing out refunds.
Home invasion survivor Chris Cote stuck barbed wire on his fence, pissing off the city and garlic king Don Christopher. Cote heads to the planning commission to plead his case. Oh, and former/current sweetheart Joan Spencer is on the commission.
Watch Dog didn’t miss the Police Officers Association opinion piece, we’ll get back to that later…
Monday, June 8, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 6.8.09: Watch Dog in the news...again
Well, well, well... Watch Dog actually made it into (another) Scott Herhold article in the Merc. This time because we were observant enough in the San Jose City Council discussion about a pay cut to point out that San Jose City Councilmember calling himself a "recent" immigrant may not have been completely accurate and for linking folks with some public finance information that shows that Chu is probably better off financially than many of his colleagues. Thanks for the hat tip Scott. (Herhold's column is all about the political spin coming out of San Jose City Hall. Aside from Chu's spin, Herhold points to DA Dolores Carr's spin about the highly-guarded 9-1-1 tapes, VTA's spin about a recent Civil Grand Jury report, and San Jose Pension Board member David Bacigalupi's insistence on taking junkets...)
In another late-Friday-afternoon press event, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed released a new budget proposal that protects most "core services" like police officers and police stations, fire fighters and fire stations, and parks and libraries. To do this, the Mayor is banking on increased property tax assessments (wishful thinking?), reserves, employee pay freezes, and presumably spending cuts elsewhere in the City budget. Watch Dog expects that this plan will get wide support on the Council. This plan seems reasonable, but what happens when the State steals even more money from San Jose?
One local government has declared a "fiscal emergency" in an attempt to thwart the State's raids...
The Merc's Internal Affairs recaps Video Gate (the POA/Anti-De-Bug video and its response). (Watch Dog did that already...)
But it seems the POA is freaked out by De-Bug...
Because an interesting outcome of Video Gate is that the POA launched its own blog, complete with a first post from POA Chief Bobby Lopez. But even more interesting that that is that Protect San Jose is a place where the POA are going to "defend themselves" against the 'attacks' they have been facing. Two folks that will be coming to POA's defense are Ed Rast and Kathleen Flynn. Kathleen Flynn? Is this the same 'Kathleen' of prolific blogging fame (check out some of Kathleen's greatest hits)?
In other Internal Affairs news, the political folks at the Merc. delve into the 2-faced-ness (if that's a word) of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's pitch to Santa Clara voters in the 49ers deal, a County car audit that was wrong, and San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio getting booed/heckled off-stage at an Organized Labor rally at City Hall. Councilmember Oliverio, what did you think was going to happen?
The Chronicle's version of Internal Affairs, Matier and Ross (actually, it is the other way around) also has a piece about Newsom and the 49ers. The 49ers had some serious concerns with the stadium deal in San Francisco, specifically the lack of highway access and Newsom's insistence that the stadium be LEED certified, have solar panels to power the stadium, and have showers for folks who bike-commute to the game... Watch Dog would have to agree about fans showering, but actually AT the game?
Also getting in on the Santa Clara/49ers action is the Chronicle's (most angry/spurned lover) sports columnist Ray Ratto... he has some advice for the City of Santa Clara.
And...
Willie Brown chimes in too, suggesting that if Mayor Newsom is really pissed about the 49ers move, he will funnel campaign cash to the Santa Clara-based opponents of the 49ers. Watch Dog thinks that probably won't help his chances of becoming Governor much.
Shifting gears to some crime/police stuff:
A busy week around local governments this week as most agencies begin to wind down their work for June for a July break...
In another late-Friday-afternoon press event, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed released a new budget proposal that protects most "core services" like police officers and police stations, fire fighters and fire stations, and parks and libraries. To do this, the Mayor is banking on increased property tax assessments (wishful thinking?), reserves, employee pay freezes, and presumably spending cuts elsewhere in the City budget. Watch Dog expects that this plan will get wide support on the Council. This plan seems reasonable, but what happens when the State steals even more money from San Jose?
One local government has declared a "fiscal emergency" in an attempt to thwart the State's raids...
The Merc's Internal Affairs recaps Video Gate (the POA/Anti-De-Bug video and its response). (Watch Dog did that already...)
But it seems the POA is freaked out by De-Bug...
Because an interesting outcome of Video Gate is that the POA launched its own blog, complete with a first post from POA Chief Bobby Lopez. But even more interesting that that is that Protect San Jose is a place where the POA are going to "defend themselves" against the 'attacks' they have been facing. Two folks that will be coming to POA's defense are Ed Rast and Kathleen Flynn. Kathleen Flynn? Is this the same 'Kathleen' of prolific blogging fame (check out some of Kathleen's greatest hits)?
In other Internal Affairs news, the political folks at the Merc. delve into the 2-faced-ness (if that's a word) of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom's pitch to Santa Clara voters in the 49ers deal, a County car audit that was wrong, and San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio getting booed/heckled off-stage at an Organized Labor rally at City Hall. Councilmember Oliverio, what did you think was going to happen?
The Chronicle's version of Internal Affairs, Matier and Ross (actually, it is the other way around) also has a piece about Newsom and the 49ers. The 49ers had some serious concerns with the stadium deal in San Francisco, specifically the lack of highway access and Newsom's insistence that the stadium be LEED certified, have solar panels to power the stadium, and have showers for folks who bike-commute to the game... Watch Dog would have to agree about fans showering, but actually AT the game?
Also getting in on the Santa Clara/49ers action is the Chronicle's (most angry/spurned lover) sports columnist Ray Ratto... he has some advice for the City of Santa Clara.
And...
Willie Brown chimes in too, suggesting that if Mayor Newsom is really pissed about the 49ers move, he will funnel campaign cash to the Santa Clara-based opponents of the 49ers. Watch Dog thinks that probably won't help his chances of becoming Governor much.
Shifting gears to some crime/police stuff:
- A local swim coach is accused of molesting young girls for 30 years. A steady string of victims seem to be coming forward in this case...
- Palo Alto Police and San Mateo County Sheriffs are beefing up their patrols of Caltrain tracks, which have been the scene of two teen suicides and one attempted suicide in the past month alone.
- No doubt you heard about a 15-year-old girl who was "abducted" from over the weekend... well, she actually ran away.
A busy week around local governments this week as most agencies begin to wind down their work for June for a July break...
- The County Board of Supervisors will look at development recommendations at the County Fairgrounds. Again?
- The Cupertino Union School District will look at the 2009-2010 budget, which should be a lot easier now that they passed a parcel tax...
- The Los Gatos Union School District will hear an update on the State budget... that ought to be fun.
- Ah, and never a slow week in San Jose: The City Council will once again look decreasing their pay. (We'll see how Councilmember Chu votes... and the City Council will also look at approving concessions in some union contracts.
- But the real work in San Jose City Hall will be in the Elections Commission... they'll talk about independent expenditures and changing the limits of campaign contributions.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Morning News Round-Up – 3.4.09: It’s a Nguyen-Win!
(Sorry about the obvious title. Too easy...) Now, onto Nguyen News Round-Up:
San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen survived the recall and won by more than 1,200 votes. Congrats Madison, sorry Andre Charles...
The Merc.'s Scott Herhold reminds Nguyen, and her supporters, that she is partially to blame for having stepped into the mess that landed her in a recall election. Herhold calls out Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr. (Grand Poobah) as a loser in this battle for remaining “neutral”...
San Jose Inside blogged live from Nguyen’s Police Officers' Association celebration, numerous mentions of raucous noise but no details about who was there and what was being said away from the microphone…
San Jose Revealed received (and posted) Tweets from the streets of San Jose – most seem to be from no on recall volunteers. Revealed called the race at 8:19 pm, sending a dig at the yes on recall team for creating so much turmoil.
Mission City Lantern sends a warning to recall fans…Nguyen could be on the war-path…
And other news...
Sales tax revenues are down, no surprise there. A VTA Workshop last week painted a bleak picture for the BART to San Jose timeline and shocked VTA Boardmembers, according to President Liz Kniss.
Gilroy’s City Council has taken a stand against housing, or so it would seem from the funding denial at this week's Council meeting. Councilmembers Dion Bracco, Craig Gartman, and Bob Dillion denied purchase of 50% stake in South County’s Cannery Project – effectively leaving empty downtown properties. Councilmembers Cat Tucker and Peter Arellano, along with Mayor Al Pinheiro supported the project but without Councilmember Perry Woodward the proposal died a painful death.
In sporting news...His Hairness met with the 49ers yesterday to see if he could woo...
Composting has created a Task Force situation in Palo Alto. The normally non-controversial need to do the right thing split the City Council and drove them to fill a Task Force with vocal advocates on both sides. Former Councilmember/park advocate Emily Renzel stands staunchly against composting in the new Byxbee Park while Palo Alto’s Community Environmental Action Partnership member Bryan Long supports a smaller park if it means saving the planet.
Los Altan Dana Nachtman will have her documentary “Witch Hunt” on display at San Jose’s Cinequest this week. Nachtman, a journalist and mom, followed the saga of working-class men and women accused (and wrongfully convicted) of child molestation in the early 80’s. (Sounds like a film our local DA's office should take a look at...)
And on the local blog/website front...
Watch Dog wrote previously about the Los Gatos Observer not being updated since new ownership (Virtual Valley/Metro) took over. In a weird twist to that story, this note now appears by ousted Observer Editor Alastair Dallas. Does he still have the password?
San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen survived the recall and won by more than 1,200 votes. Congrats Madison, sorry Andre Charles...
The Merc.'s Scott Herhold reminds Nguyen, and her supporters, that she is partially to blame for having stepped into the mess that landed her in a recall election. Herhold calls out Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr. (Grand Poobah) as a loser in this battle for remaining “neutral”...San Jose Inside blogged live from Nguyen’s Police Officers' Association celebration, numerous mentions of raucous noise but no details about who was there and what was being said away from the microphone…
San Jose Revealed received (and posted) Tweets from the streets of San Jose – most seem to be from no on recall volunteers. Revealed called the race at 8:19 pm, sending a dig at the yes on recall team for creating so much turmoil.
Mission City Lantern sends a warning to recall fans…Nguyen could be on the war-path…
And other news...
Sales tax revenues are down, no surprise there. A VTA Workshop last week painted a bleak picture for the BART to San Jose timeline and shocked VTA Boardmembers, according to President Liz Kniss.
Gilroy’s City Council has taken a stand against housing, or so it would seem from the funding denial at this week's Council meeting. Councilmembers Dion Bracco, Craig Gartman, and Bob Dillion denied purchase of 50% stake in South County’s Cannery Project – effectively leaving empty downtown properties. Councilmembers Cat Tucker and Peter Arellano, along with Mayor Al Pinheiro supported the project but without Councilmember Perry Woodward the proposal died a painful death.
In sporting news...His Hairness met with the 49ers yesterday to see if he could woo...
Composting has created a Task Force situation in Palo Alto. The normally non-controversial need to do the right thing split the City Council and drove them to fill a Task Force with vocal advocates on both sides. Former Councilmember/park advocate Emily Renzel stands staunchly against composting in the new Byxbee Park while Palo Alto’s Community Environmental Action Partnership member Bryan Long supports a smaller park if it means saving the planet.
Los Altan Dana Nachtman will have her documentary “Witch Hunt” on display at San Jose’s Cinequest this week. Nachtman, a journalist and mom, followed the saga of working-class men and women accused (and wrongfully convicted) of child molestation in the early 80’s. (Sounds like a film our local DA's office should take a look at...)
And on the local blog/website front...
Watch Dog wrote previously about the Los Gatos Observer not being updated since new ownership (Virtual Valley/Metro) took over. In a weird twist to that story, this note now appears by ousted Observer Editor Alastair Dallas. Does he still have the password?
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.12.09: The electric car hum you hear is Tesla (officially?) leaving town...
Well, there was a good news/bad news Tesla story yesterday which we wrote and commented on. The good news is that the San Carlos-based electric car manufacturer is getting a huge $350 Federal loan to build a manufacturing facility. The bad news is that in early February the New Mexico Business Weekly reported that the company was in "late stage" negotiations to move the (previously slated for San Jose) manufacturing plant there...
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is probably not distressed at the unwanted back-to-back cross-country flights to D.C. after all. While there with 5 other California Mayors he saw the Senate and House approve the $789 billion stimulus plan. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer promised the bill would be friendly to urban areas and get some highway funding immediately in the works. Reed said, "We'll all be coming back on the parochial stuff." Don't sound so excited about it Mayor Reed...(Reed + Stimulus = Strange Bedfellows in a Sentence)
San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly was there (or at least a former reporter was) to see SF Mayor/Gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom’s introduction by Mayor Chuck Reed before Reed dashed off to D.C. (for a photo op?) The Chronicle got in on the Newsom/San Jose action too...
San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera apparently got cold feet on the Constant-Oliverio bandwagon and yesterday suggested the tobacco money/crossing guard discussion could wait for the larger budget discussion. Again missing a quorum, the Rules Committee (Pete Constant) was unable to push the item forward to Council.
Archbishop Mitty High’s Assistant Soccer Coach/Santa Clara Sporting Coach Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. is accused of molesting two young teenage girls during his volunteer days. Mitty Principal Tim Brosnan put Sanchez on administrative leave (and let parents know after the Merc. published a story). Santa Clara Police Lt. Phil Cooke asks anyone with info to call (408) 615-4826 and notes they are also looking for additional victims.
There will be one less Deputy District Attorney to prosecute the Coach, however. That's because Judge Pat McElroy with the State Bar wants Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Ben Field stripped of his right to practice law for 4 years saying Field "abused his prosecutorial power,'' in his unethical approach to putting sexual predators behind bars. District Attorney Dolores Carr wants to read the 67 page ruling before talking about the case. Field was putting away some pretty horrible people...he just couldn't the rules apparently.
And...
Gilroy Magazine founder Sunny Pappu Kavil was facing charges of child molestation, assault, and sexual battery before Monterey County DA Glenn Pesenhofer said there wasn’t enough evidence. Kavil’s Bishop, Ben Griffin, helped ensure Kavil was innocent saying, "I have interviewed (Kavil) for his honesty, keeping the Ten Commandments and I can swear that he can be trusted for what he says.” Because the Church does such a good job of preventing sexual assault.
Between Santa Clara County’s (sometimes) overzealous prosecution of sex offenders and Monterey’s lack of prosecution, it would appear victims may need to videotape their rapists to see them behind bars.
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board declared 26 areas “trash-impaired” and in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Last year, volunteers pulled 125 tons of garbage out of local creeks, including 15,000 plastic bags. David Lewis with Save the Bay said "… actions have not been taken to reduce the trash, so there have to be tougher regulations." San Jose Environmental Services Deputy Director, Melody Tovar, said "We recognize that trash in our creeks is a significant and complex problem. And we understand that it affects the vibrancy of our City's creeks. But we're concerned about the expense." So, save your town some money – pick it up and make sure it gets to the recycle or garbage bin. No word from the American Chemistry Council's local lobbyist...
San Jose Police are back in the news with another Taser death. A man in his 20’s died yesterday after having been Tasered when officers were trying to take him into custody. This isn’t the first Taser-related death in San Jose and it’s likely to add to the mounting legal costs of this non-lethal (?) tool. Officer Enrique Garcia said the man, who was in an Eastside backyard, “resisted and got into a violent struggle with our officers.”
The Merc.’s Editorial Board says San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen behaved foolishly during the Little Saigon uproar but that is not enough reason to recall her. The Merc. wants you to vote no on the recall calling it an act of vengeance and suggests a healthy challenge in next year’s election would be the grown-up response. Unforunately, grown-up responses haven't been the norm in this fiasco...
San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed is probably not distressed at the unwanted back-to-back cross-country flights to D.C. after all. While there with 5 other California Mayors he saw the Senate and House approve the $789 billion stimulus plan. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer promised the bill would be friendly to urban areas and get some highway funding immediately in the works. Reed said, "We'll all be coming back on the parochial stuff." Don't sound so excited about it Mayor Reed...(Reed + Stimulus = Strange Bedfellows in a Sentence)
San Jose Inside/Metro’s Fly was there (or at least a former reporter was) to see SF Mayor/Gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom’s introduction by Mayor Chuck Reed before Reed dashed off to D.C. (for a photo op?) The Chronicle got in on the Newsom/San Jose action too...
San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera apparently got cold feet on the Constant-Oliverio bandwagon and yesterday suggested the tobacco money/crossing guard discussion could wait for the larger budget discussion. Again missing a quorum, the Rules Committee (Pete Constant) was unable to push the item forward to Council.
Archbishop Mitty High’s Assistant Soccer Coach/Santa Clara Sporting Coach Ricardo Sanchez, Jr. is accused of molesting two young teenage girls during his volunteer days. Mitty Principal Tim Brosnan put Sanchez on administrative leave (and let parents know after the Merc. published a story). Santa Clara Police Lt. Phil Cooke asks anyone with info to call (408) 615-4826 and notes they are also looking for additional victims.
There will be one less Deputy District Attorney to prosecute the Coach, however. That's because Judge Pat McElroy with the State Bar wants Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Ben Field stripped of his right to practice law for 4 years saying Field "abused his prosecutorial power,'' in his unethical approach to putting sexual predators behind bars. District Attorney Dolores Carr wants to read the 67 page ruling before talking about the case. Field was putting away some pretty horrible people...he just couldn't the rules apparently.
And...
Gilroy Magazine founder Sunny Pappu Kavil was facing charges of child molestation, assault, and sexual battery before Monterey County DA Glenn Pesenhofer said there wasn’t enough evidence. Kavil’s Bishop, Ben Griffin, helped ensure Kavil was innocent saying, "I have interviewed (Kavil) for his honesty, keeping the Ten Commandments and I can swear that he can be trusted for what he says.” Because the Church does such a good job of preventing sexual assault.
Between Santa Clara County’s (sometimes) overzealous prosecution of sex offenders and Monterey’s lack of prosecution, it would appear victims may need to videotape their rapists to see them behind bars.
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board declared 26 areas “trash-impaired” and in violation of the federal Clean Water Act. Last year, volunteers pulled 125 tons of garbage out of local creeks, including 15,000 plastic bags. David Lewis with Save the Bay said "… actions have not been taken to reduce the trash, so there have to be tougher regulations." San Jose Environmental Services Deputy Director, Melody Tovar, said "We recognize that trash in our creeks is a significant and complex problem. And we understand that it affects the vibrancy of our City's creeks. But we're concerned about the expense." So, save your town some money – pick it up and make sure it gets to the recycle or garbage bin. No word from the American Chemistry Council's local lobbyist...
San Jose Police are back in the news with another Taser death. A man in his 20’s died yesterday after having been Tasered when officers were trying to take him into custody. This isn’t the first Taser-related death in San Jose and it’s likely to add to the mounting legal costs of this non-lethal (?) tool. Officer Enrique Garcia said the man, who was in an Eastside backyard, “resisted and got into a violent struggle with our officers.”
The Merc.’s Editorial Board says San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen behaved foolishly during the Little Saigon uproar but that is not enough reason to recall her. The Merc. wants you to vote no on the recall calling it an act of vengeance and suggests a healthy challenge in next year’s election would be the grown-up response. Unforunately, grown-up responses haven't been the norm in this fiasco...
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Morning News Round-Up -- 2.11.09: Newsom (and Coto?) Bashes Mayor Reed...
Yesterday, we mentioned San Jose’s Mayor Chuck Reed would be hopping on a red-eye flight to D.C. to join Mayors Antonio Villaraigosa and Jerry Sanders in search of stimulus (money). What we didn’t know was he’d be introducing San Francisco Mayor/Gubernatorial hopeful Gavin Newsom at a San Jose town hall where Newsom referred to the D.C. trip as a “photo op.” Ouch.
Perhaps it isn't just Newsom who is making fun of Chuck Reed. Today, Metro/San Jose Inside serve as the vehicle for a trial balloon for a possible Coto for Mayor campaign in 2010. This could get more and more interesting...(Watch Dog anxiously awaits...)
The Fed’s showed up in Palo Alto’s Utilities Department and left with 7 boxes filled with documents about the qualifications (or lack thereof) of pipeline workers. Utilities' Director Valerie Fong isn’t worried, Palo Alto conducted its own investigation after questions were raised about employee qualifications. Fong said, “Our own assessment was that these tests were conducted with integrity, and the folks who work on the gas pipeline were indeed qualified."
The drama of San Jose’s 2006 Mayoral race continues Wednesday when Elections Commissioners revisit charges that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s political arm, COMPAC, violated campaign finance rules when producing campaign hits against then-Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. To further complicate matters the City law requires the same Commissioners who identified the violation to impose the fine...which would be ok, except only one of them remains on the Commission. City Attorney Rick Doyle has recommended changing those rules first -- sounds like a good idea.
Shut that tap! Fix that faucet! Water rationing is coming to Silicon Valley. The question is when...Santa Clara Water District Board Chair Sig Sanchez said, "Unless a miracle happens, we're going to go to mandatory rationing at some point." Not all Board members were happy delaying the decision to March and wanted something more immediate...Board member/Alviso Mayor Richard Santos said, "Mandatory water conservation now. Not in March, not in April, my vote is now. Thank you."
Vowing Los Gatos Boulevard would “…never become El Camino or Stevens Creek," Los Gatos Councilmember Joe Pirzynski warned against dumbing down the vision for the Boulevard to accommodate the recession. The Council is dusting off the 12 year old Los Gatos Boulevard Plan while another car dealership leaves town.
The big excitement of the month will be happen next week when the Amgen Tour of California comes roaring through with Lance Armstrong and local pro Justin Robinson. It is unclear if these two guys will be riding...
Marcus Keppert was 15 when he was killed by drunk driver speeding down San Jose’s Almaden Expressway. Three years after he died, George Xinos is facing felony charges and (perhaps) 9 years in jail. Prosecutor Charles Gillingham said, "Marcus has paid for his actions. Now the defendant needs to be held accountable."
San Jose Police tossed Andrew Chavez and Juan Arias into jail for the murder of Kimo Fernandez early Sunday morning at a house party gone wrong. Officer Jermaine Thomas said the three were at a party when a fight broke out leaving Fernandez as San Jose’s third homicide of the year. (The fourth homicide was found only hours later when Fisaha Isaac Cunningham was found shot to death in South San Jose.)
San Jose Revealed goes into full Nguyen Defense Mode today...
One last note:
Watch Dog is flattered, really, by the acclaim resulting from Scott Herhold’s column yesterday...Today, Mission City Lantern responds to Herhold...James, why don't you tell us what you really think? (Thanks James...)
Perhaps it isn't just Newsom who is making fun of Chuck Reed. Today, Metro/San Jose Inside serve as the vehicle for a trial balloon for a possible Coto for Mayor campaign in 2010. This could get more and more interesting...(Watch Dog anxiously awaits...)
The Fed’s showed up in Palo Alto’s Utilities Department and left with 7 boxes filled with documents about the qualifications (or lack thereof) of pipeline workers. Utilities' Director Valerie Fong isn’t worried, Palo Alto conducted its own investigation after questions were raised about employee qualifications. Fong said, “Our own assessment was that these tests were conducted with integrity, and the folks who work on the gas pipeline were indeed qualified."
The drama of San Jose’s 2006 Mayoral race continues Wednesday when Elections Commissioners revisit charges that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s political arm, COMPAC, violated campaign finance rules when producing campaign hits against then-Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. To further complicate matters the City law requires the same Commissioners who identified the violation to impose the fine...which would be ok, except only one of them remains on the Commission. City Attorney Rick Doyle has recommended changing those rules first -- sounds like a good idea.
Shut that tap! Fix that faucet! Water rationing is coming to Silicon Valley. The question is when...Santa Clara Water District Board Chair Sig Sanchez said, "Unless a miracle happens, we're going to go to mandatory rationing at some point." Not all Board members were happy delaying the decision to March and wanted something more immediate...Board member/Alviso Mayor Richard Santos said, "Mandatory water conservation now. Not in March, not in April, my vote is now. Thank you."
Vowing Los Gatos Boulevard would “…never become El Camino or Stevens Creek," Los Gatos Councilmember Joe Pirzynski warned against dumbing down the vision for the Boulevard to accommodate the recession. The Council is dusting off the 12 year old Los Gatos Boulevard Plan while another car dealership leaves town.
The big excitement of the month will be happen next week when the Amgen Tour of California comes roaring through with Lance Armstrong and local pro Justin Robinson. It is unclear if these two guys will be riding...
Marcus Keppert was 15 when he was killed by drunk driver speeding down San Jose’s Almaden Expressway. Three years after he died, George Xinos is facing felony charges and (perhaps) 9 years in jail. Prosecutor Charles Gillingham said, "Marcus has paid for his actions. Now the defendant needs to be held accountable."
San Jose Police tossed Andrew Chavez and Juan Arias into jail for the murder of Kimo Fernandez early Sunday morning at a house party gone wrong. Officer Jermaine Thomas said the three were at a party when a fight broke out leaving Fernandez as San Jose’s third homicide of the year. (The fourth homicide was found only hours later when Fisaha Isaac Cunningham was found shot to death in South San Jose.)
San Jose Revealed goes into full Nguyen Defense Mode today...
One last note:
Watch Dog is flattered, really, by the acclaim resulting from Scott Herhold’s column yesterday...Today, Mission City Lantern responds to Herhold...James, why don't you tell us what you really think? (Thanks James...)
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