Morning News Round-Up -- 2.24.10: Bear Arms...

Because we love this visual we thought we'd start with this today... Some probation officers will be able to bear arms. (Think about it... bear arms.)

It's a good thing District Attorney Dolores Carr already received the endorsement of the San Jose Police Officers' Association, because she decided not to bring charges against Phuong Ho. (Ho was the San Jose State student that was beaten and Tasered by SJPD while being secretly taped last year.) The charges that the DA was considering included resisting arrest and brandishing a deadly weapon. Of course, the issue that is still burning is this: will the videotaped San Jose Police Officers face charges from the District Attorney. Based on how the SJPOA endorsement went, Watch Dog really, really, really doubts it... Oh, and this must be really, really big news, because the Chronicle picked it up too...

In other DA news...

State Senator Elaine Alquist announced her endorsement of Carr's challenger Jeff Rosen yesterday. Actually, Jeff Rosen announced the endorsement, but if you have an email address, you already knew that...

Hey recent (or soon-to-be) college grads, here's some good news. Some tech giants might be hiring locally. That's great news if you've studied the past four years instead of taking bong hits...

But one "company" that isn't going to be hiring is the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. Their budget passed yesterday amidst a long-ass discussion which ended with the five-year budget passing, with which no one seems really happy: the Convention Center people aren't really happy because they need to find some more money down the line, the County is certainly not happy because they are owed 52 million bucks, and basically everyone just held their noses. (San Jose Inside's favorite tid bit is in this story too: "...Pete Constant was absent because of a medical appointment..."

We love The Garage in Naglee Park, and so does everyone on the Food Network. Eat up folks, but expect it to be busy for the next little bit...

STOP. THE. PRESSES... Noreen Likens is going to retire. Noreen Likens is going to retire. If you know Noreen Likens name, then you are probably freaked out. (If you don't know her name, she is the Principal at Gunn High School in Palo Alto.) This "news" warranted a special email "breaking news" alert from the Palo Alto Weekly. This means that both high schools in Palo Alto need Principals, which means every high school Principal in the world is polishing his/her resume and trying to find Kevin Skelly's email address... look no further Principals, here is his email...

Development and growth issues in Morgan Hill are always fun to follow... The City Council there will be considering how the City's "southeast quadrant" will develop in the coming decade. Expect some vocal proponents and opponents...

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.13.10: Mayor of Almaden for Senate...

It is a big political news day locally...

The Mayor of Almaden Valley (not Jim Cunneen or Pat Dando) Tom Campbell is dropping out of the $uper rich race for Governor against Meg Whitman and $teve Poizner and turning his sites on the slightly less rich Carly Fiorina. Campbell will jump into the Republican primary for US Senate with Fiorina and the right winger from the Southern California (Chuck DeVore)... Continue to do Almaden proud Mr. Campbell.

The pro-Santa Clara 49ers stadium folks delivered 8,000 signatures for their ballot measure to Santa Clara City Hall yesterday. Begging the question: there are 8,000 people in Santa Clara? (Just kidding.) That is almost double what they need to qualify the measure. Expect an election in June. (And expect James Rowen to continue writing about it...)

Supervisor Ken Yeager is the new President of the Board of Supervisors, taking over for Liz Kniss at yesterday's meeting. Congrats President Yeager, and good luck with that budget...

And finally this political piece: the Palo Alto Unified School District will go for a parcel tax renewal and hike in May. They are looking to increase their current parcel tax ($493) by $96. Every other school district in the County is drooling at those numbers...

The much-discussed 'inclusionary housing' policy in San Jose passed yesterday, much to the chagrine of Councilmembers Pete Constant and Pierluigi Oliverio who were out-voted by a 9 to 2 margin. The policy doesn't go into affect until 2013 at the earliest...

Merc columnis Mike Cassidy continues his Mercury News boosterism by letting us all know that the Mercury News "focuses on offering unique local content" and that they do local better than anyone. Ok. Saying it doesn't make it so Mr. Cassidy. Perhaps covering a new President of the Board of Supervisors would be "unique local content" but it doesn't appear anywhere on the Merc's site...

A big Bay restoration project will break ground in Alviso today. This is a long time coming... like 80 years.

This should go over big... the Cupertino Union School District is increasing its teacher-to-student ratio in order to deal with budget shortfalls. Expect crowded meetings and upset parents...

The Third Street Promenade opened to traffic (cars and people) yesterday. Not the one in Santa Monica, but the one in Morgan Hill.

There will be no pot dispensaries in Gilroy. That's the vote of the City Council. It didn't pass by five votes, however, meaning that it won't go into affect immediately, but rather in February. (Note to those candidates running for the South County Supervisorial seat -- the vote at the Gilroy City Council was split. One of the candidates in your race is in favor of pot dispensaries...) San Jose Inside breaks the "sticky situation" down as well...

Protect San Jose, which has been complaining about the Mercury News for some time, is now fond of reposting things directly from their website. Yesterday they reposted some comments that have been published in response to Bobby Lopez's "Latinos have a drinking problem" piece. Because the comment section of the Mercury News is where enlightened dialogue thrives...

Morning News Round-Up -- 9.2.09: Illegal Fiscal Practices + Misappropriation of Funds = Get a Good Lawyer

The Mexican American Community Services Agency’s (MACSA) theft of teacher retirement funds has former teacher/ union leader Marty Herrmann really pissed. Who can blame him. A State investigator’s report gave the news to the Santa Clara Office of Education that MACSA was engaged in “illegal fiscal practices” and “misappropriation of funds.” District Attorney Dolores Carr is still trying to figure out whether to launch a criminal investigation (still?). And we would guess some folks are hiring lawyers...

Caltrain CEO Mike Scanlon is still apologizing for the loud tweeting and tooting pissing off residents as the commuter rail rumbles past bedrooms. Yes, they are trying to figure out how to comply with Federal regulations and soften the racket. The good news is that the horns are quieter than they have been.

The lucky Hal Plotkin-replacement on the Foothill-DeAnza Community College Board will be Joan Barram who did her time supporting Foothill-DeAnza since 1980 on various boards. Barram is no stranger to school boards having served on the Cupertino Union School District Board for a dozen years.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro hung out with creative geniuses at the San Jose Tech Museum playing with everything from wind-up radios to solar powered commuter ferries. Pizarro suggests a visit to the Tech’s new upstairs is good for the imagination.

Palo Alto Unified School District got a whopper of a tax credit – (up to) $25 million. Chief Business Official Bob Golton deadpanned “it’s good to be lucky.” The rich get richer, so to speak...

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo ponders a battle brewing in Sacramento over test data and teacher performance. At stake, millions of Federal dollars.

Mission City Lantern sends kudos to State Senator Elaine Alquist and celebrates Alquists 49ers Senate bill.

Protect San Jose’s data wonk, Ed Rast, does a walk through the cost of doing business comparing San Jose to other Silicon Valley communities. No response from City administrators being smacked by Rast.

A recap of Merc’s Government Watch for your viewing pleasure…

• The County Board of Supervisors Public Safety and Justice Committee talks about a new program to keep kids out of crime...
• San Jose’s City Council wants to land some of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act dollars at the airport for “taxable short-term debt” conversion. Also on tap discussion of that pesky Grand Jury report smacking San Jose’s Los Lagos golf course for mega-cost overruns.
• The Santa Clara County Office of Education noodles over how to get students on the Board.
• Budget woes and Grand Jury reports are on tap for the Los Altos School District.
• After seeing those STAR reports the Los Gatos Union School District talks test results.
• In Sunnyvale, the Fremont Union High School District gets more depressing news about state budget updates.
• Furloughs for Board Members (seriously?), managers, and confidential employees is in the works at the Campbell Union School District.
• Developers in the Mountain View-Whisman School District will be on hand for a discussion of increased developer fees. That should be a fun conversation...

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.26.09: Any-Excuse-to-Use-Funny-Photo Edition...

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro gives a rundown of San Jose’s latest accolades: 3rd best place for kids (think skate parks), 12th best public university in the west (tied with Humboldt, Fresno, and Texas State), and, drumroll please, top water pollution control plant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (for power generation). Yay us -- 12th best in the west!

Santa Clara Supervisor Ken Yeager hopes to find a way to keep Henry Coe State Park open while colleague/ Supervisor/(soon-to-be Mayor?) Don Gage says close that puppy. The list of closing parks is expected right after your Labor Day hike, so enjoy it.

Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro’s biggest hater, Mark Zappa, is waiting until the Mayor returns from Portugal before filing the recall paperwork and looking to a June 2010 recall election, to save the City money. That's pretty thoughtful... For the record, Gilroy’s future Mayor?/ Supervisor Don Gage made no appearance in the story...

The race to replace Hal Plotkin by appointment to the Foothill-DeAnza Community College Distict is in the final interview stage. Foothill-DeAnza Trustees want to talk with Joan Barram (Cupertino Union School District Trustee), Richard Bernhardt (Business and student lobbyist), Jeannie Conner (Senator Joe Simitian’s political director), and Anita Manwani-Bhagat (business leader at NASA/HP/Agilent).

Congressmember Anna Eshoo’s 2nd “telephone” town hall got her props from the more than 7,000 participants. Eshoo told participants she’s doing a face-to-face on healthcare next week and testily pointed out she’s done more face-to-face town halls than any of her colleagues.

Kathleen Blanchard, the Mother of one of Gunn High Schools suicide victims spoke out at the Palo Alto Unified School Board meeting. Without pointing fingers, she gently urged change in how adults work with students and called for “attitude adjustments and philosophical adjustments” in working with kids. The Merc’s Patty Fisher digs into other teen suicides in Silicon Valley and the news is not good…

NASA Ames is ready to build “Sustainability Base,” architect Kevin Burke loves the “combination of high tech and low tech.” Meaning the building will close itself at night and use the same “technology” as historic California Adobe homes to cool off or warm up. With a little luck, there won’t be a “toxic” siding battle on this green house.

Latest perv alerts heading your way…

• Dentist/(mock) breast health worker Benva Oshana Lazar has added another complaint to his patient list – bringing his total to 8 (so far) patients pissed to learn breast exams are not part of dental practice.
• Teacher/ perv Edward Riley Slate III was busted for a 6 month sexual relationship with a student at Santa Clara’s Wilcox High.

(shy) Erotica enthusiasts/ burglars hit Gilroy’s Simply Romance for a third time taking off with leather wrist bands, cash, and owner Hank Provost’s new pipe, among other goodies. The increased attention from thieves doesn’t deter Provost, “if anything, I’m more determined to stick around.” Perhaps we now know where the ball gag came from...

San Jose Insider/ Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo (could he have a longer title?) has endorsed former Franklin-McKinley Superintendent Larry Aceves as his favorite for State Superintendent of Public Instruction.

San Jose Inside’s Fly celebrates a (temporary?) reprieve for the (Fly hangout) “dingy, punky, (puky?)” Caravan Bar over an (un)watered down White Russian. (apparently) The Merc’s Internal Affairs story pissed off bartenders who “scribbled down letters” (on napkins) demanding an apology. Fly's piece also proves that Metro writers are probably a lot more fun to hang out with than Merc writers...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.16.09: Great chefs are within SF's territorial rights?

Lew Wolff sent a big raspberry to Oakland on Friday saying thanks for the memories but it’s time for the A’s to hit the road. (Baseball San Jose's blog channeled Sarah Palin's "thanks, but no thanks"...) The move was predicted by former San Jose Insider Jude Barry four years ago. It looks like Barry may have been more prescient than he knew. Inside's Eric Johnson gleefully quotes sports experts Gary Radnich and Bruce Jenkins agreeing with Barry. The Chronicle's Matier & Ross fill us in on who’s fighting to keep the A’s where they are…some heavy hitters. Watch Dog hopes that Senators Boxer and Feinstein remember that folks in Santa Clara County voted for them too (oh yeah, and funded their campaigns...)...

The Merc’s Sal Pizzaro had a yummy task as Iron Chef America hit Silicon Valley. Los Gatos’ Manresa chef (and Michelin 2-star chef) David Kinch whirled around Kitchen Stadium with cabbage as his secret ingredient. In the end, it was Kinch over renowned chef Bobby Flay. The viewing party at Manresa cheered. It is unclear if Senators Boxer and Feinstein think that good chefs are actually within the territorial rights of San Francisco...

Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Jay Boyarsky (former candidate for Judge) thinks a surge in anti-gay hate crimes is related to the passage of Proposition 8 -- increased visibility translates to increased “gay-bashing.” No doubt worried straight, white men might feel left out, Boyarsky added "We're not playing political favorites. Certainly, we've had Christian victims of hate crimes."

Speaking of the DA's office. Santa Clara County DA Dolores Carr has to be wondering why she wanted the job of top prosecutor. A national report released by the Innocence Project accuses the DA’s office of improperly investigating crime lab errors. Hoping to make the case that the fox can guard the hen house, DA spin-meister Nick Muyo says it is not true that they can’t properly investigate themselves.

NASA has asked the Navy to pay for re-skinning Hangar One. In exchange, NASA offered to clean up the toxic soup left behind by the Navy. To sweeten the pot for neighbors, NASA announced Friday a collaboration with the Foothill-De Anza Community College District to provide a $1 billion research facility focusing on renewable-energy and resource-conservation. Foothill-De Anza Chancellor Martha Kanter is giddy about the possibilities...

El Camino Hospital officials are starting to dish on their plans to expand services at their new Los Gatos home (the hospital formerly known as Community). Silicon Valley men will be happy to hear a fancy machine that turns kidney stones to dust is in the works. The League of Women Voters has joined forces with El Camino Hospital execs to host a forum at the end of the month.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs is dishing on the goodies our elected take home from their loyal (lobbyist) fans. Senators Elaine Alquist and Joe Simitian enjoyed a spa retreat in Lodi...(hopefully not at the same time). Senator Simitian reported his wife’s business brought in a healthy chunk of change. Assemblymember Joe Coto went to a charity ball courtesy of Verizon and got an unhealthy supply of liquor thanks to Diageo...he must have been preparing for St. Patrick's Day. (Coto should be careful if he plans to drink that stuff in San Jose...)

Prospective candidates hoping to replace San Jose’s Pete Constant should call the San Jose Police Officers Association. They are not happy that one of their own has “turned a deaf ear” to them.

His friends call him the Don Quixote of San Jose’s Clock Tower, but Naglee Park resident John Mitchell is determined to see his 30 year obsession brought to a happy conclusion. The tower, built in 1892, stopped working in 1906 when that pesky earthquake toppled the tower. (How very Back to the Future...) Mitchell calls it the heartbeat of San Jose. It is unclear if the clock tower would need to 1.21 gigawatts to get going again...

There’s more than green beer on tap this week. Plan on a busy Council/Board week around the Valley...

• San Jose’s City Council will hear the Mayor’s budget message. (You’ll need lots of green beer for this one...)
• Cupertino’s Fremont Union High School District goes over their financials and meets with students...no doubt to ready them for the grim news ahead.
• The Alum Rock Union School District will consider a teachers' contract, talk about closing Pala Middle School, and revisit their policies on small schools (probably hoping to make them much bigger)...
• Palo Alto Unified School District discusses budgets for remodeling, contracts, high school master plans, and staff reductions.
  

Speaking of Palo Alto...

You could sort of see this coming if you read this and this...but the community-wide, Palo Alto broadband project may be quickly dying. Palo Alto has no money and the company that was going to do the project, Axia Netmedia Corporation, doesn't really want any part of it anymore either...

You'll remember last-week's perfectly timed study by Stanford showing that its hospital expansion projects would bring in $18 million to the City of Palo Alto coffers. The timing was perfect because Stanford and Palo Alto had a meeting about the impacts/benefits of Stanford's development this week. Now, Palo Alto would like to see more of the "community benefits" that Stanford could/should/will do in order to get Palo Alto to stand back from its adversarial position...