Morning News Round-Up -- 5.28.10: Drive safe...

This is a Friday before a long weekend, so you must, must, must read the newspaper tomorrow. Late today is a great time to release horrible news if you are a government agency, elected official, corporation, or candidate. So, Watch Dog will be watching, but you should be too...

The Mercury News is taking its news tips from Matier and Ross apparently. They get into how much money the 49ers are spending in Santa Clara. Of course it is going to "shatter local spending records" -- the most important thing folks in Santa Clara have voted on the past was if RJD2 deserved a second term as City Clerk...

Campaign filings are in other races too... In the past few months Jeff Rosen has been a fundraising machine while Dolores Carr has not. Chuck Reed raised a lot of money, his opponents did not. Madison Nguyen raised a ton and two of her opponents put a bunch of their own money ($50k and $80k) into their own campaigns... what does all this mean? Expect the airwaves (television and radio) and your mailboxes to be full in the week and a half...

The Merc finally came around to support the Alum Rock Union Elementary School District parcel tax: Measure I. The third editorial is the charm, apparently...

Robert Cortese, cousin of famous Supervisor Dave, has a true political flare. He has made it into the Metro's Fly more than almost anyone else. This time wanting to unban fireworks and supporting same sex marriage because of George Takei a.k.a. Sulu.

San Jose Family Camp isn't getting spared, but some San Jose pools might be... On the bright side of things, the pools are much closer than Yosemite.

Tesla is spending $42 million for the NUMMI plant. Which Watch Dog put together in a simple formula:

$42,000,000 for NUMMI/$100,000 per car = 420 cars for a manufacturing plant...

Not too shabby. Of course, when you are Tesla and you've only sold 900 cars total, 420 is pretty expensive...

In a story that may get overlooked today, but will have lasting implications, Caltrain got an important "waiver" from the Federal government to move forward with electrification. Yes, it sounds boring, but it seems really important.

What's old is new again at San Jose State. Former San Jose State President Don Kassing is coming back to lead State in an interim capacity next year while the school looks (again) for a new President... Welcome back Don...

The (alleged) Palo Alto/ Santa Clara kidnapper-rapist has been caught. DA Carr, do you think you can get this entire trial done before election day? It might help. Here's some more advice: Make sure all the forensic evidence gets tested before you decide to not pursue the case...

A "hit list" on a bathroom wall at Willow Glen Middle School early in the week and an Airsoft gun at Gunn High School. Ironic, we know... Don't take your guns to town... or to Gunn...

Here's something juicy, maybe. It looks like the Palo Alto Downtown Business and Professional Association kicked out its President and Executive Director. Why? Well, it seems Sherry Bijan never had a "deep interest" in doing big events in downtown Palo Alto... Of course, nobody in Palo Alto is interested in having people from outside Palo Alto come to downtown Palo Alto either, so perhaps Sherry Bijan was doing a perfect job...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.14.10: Game One Weekend!

More political endorsements... this time from the Metro: Teresa Alvarado for Supervisor. It is a nice piece about Ms. Alvarado, but the harshest words are reserved (again) for Forrest Williams. This quote will play especially poorly in South County:

"...When he served on the council, Williams was an enthusiastic supporter of the plan to blanket the pristine valley [Coyote Valley] with homes. Trading the region’s environmental quality for short-term union jobs is unsound public policy..."

San Jose Unified is getting a new Superintendent -- Vincent Matthews, who has been the state appointed overseer of Oakland's public schools. Welcome to town Mr. Matthews...

While one public education institution ends its search for a new leader, one will start their search. San Jose State's President (of two years!) will leave San Jose State. John Whitmore was the 4th President in 7 years. The search begins... again... again... again... (Mission City Lantern has something to say about this...)

Finally on the education front, we get this headline announcing the Academic Performance Index results for the County: Test scores show most Santa Clara, San Mateo counties students reaching state goal... as if "most" is the goal. You can find your neighborhood school's listing here...

Senator Simitian may be joining many of his (NIMBY) neighbors and withdrawing support for High-Speed Rail... when the political winds change...

Tough times for Cupertino Crossroads (that place you pass on Stevens Creek all the time)... PetSmart closed, leaving the third major vacancy there (Mervyn's and The Learning Game). If you have a big box store waiting to open, perhaps Watch Dog could interest you in a Cupertino location?

Sunday is Game One of the Western Conference Finals... Go Sharks...

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.16.10: All Tea Partied Out...

Tea Party on Cesar Chavez Plaza (ironic?) happened yesterday. Were you there? Was Pete Constant?

Here's something that perhaps the Tea Party folks might like, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmembers Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo are taking a further big pay cut and asking key City staff leaders to take a 10 percent cut as well. What's good for the goose is good for the gander and all that shit.

Speaking of people that want to be Mayor... Cindy Chavez is in the news again (again, again). First it was her blacklisting political consultant Jude Barry. Then it was threatening Assemblymembers who gave money to Magdalena Carrasco. Now we learn that she thinks that there is some evil cabal trying to screw up her world. So pervasive is this thought that she apparently gave an impassioned plea to labor folks to endorse (Republican) Dolores Carr for District Attorney because Jeff Rosen "...is endorsed by Sam Liccardo, who is linked to former Mayor Tom McEnery and Deputy District Attorney David Pandori..."

Last week we read in a Merc OpEd why the 49ers' stadium was bad dead for Santa Clara, today we read why that was BS and how the football stadium "makes sense for Santa Clara"... or makes lots and lots and lots of cents... take your pick. It is penned by Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan and Councilmember Jamie Matthews.

Emile's. Home of fine French dining in downtown San Jose and child pornography? Well, Emile Mooser, the restaurant's namesake was picked up on child pornography felony charges... and he has never even been a priest...

San Jose State is facing big budget cuts... 76 staff folks are losing their jobs. We are sure Mission City Lantern has some ideas who could be included in the 76...

Speaking of bad news for workers and institutions...

Stanford Hospitals final final offer to nurses was final. Of course, that's if you ask management. If you ask nurses, they think there is still room to move... room to move to picket line maybe.

And this, the Gilroy Unified School District has reached a "stalemate" with the teachers union: how many times can you split $0?

And remember that the Palo Alto Firefighters' Union (led by a Sunnyvale City Councilmember) was circulating a petition to get a ballot measure in November that limited (stopped) cuts to the Palo Alto Fire Department? Well, three (brave) Councilmembers are asking voters not to sign the petition: Karen Holman, Larry Klein, and Greg Scharff.

Hell hath no fury like neighbors facing school field lights...

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

We've seen it in San Mateo County for some time, as Watch Dog San Mateo can attest, but now some Santa Clara County cities and agencies are thinking about consolidating their police and fire departments... like Morgan Hill contracting with the Sheriff's office.

Sharpen your skates for game two tonight...

Morning News Round-Up – 10.27.09: It's bad news Tuesday....

According to attorney Terry Bowman, representing the San Jose police officer caught on video striking San Jose State math student Phuong Ho with a police baton, “Mr. Ho is responsible…” San Jose Councilmembers Madison Nguyen, Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra stated they were “saddened the Vietnamese American community has recently experienced two incidents with the San Jose Police Department regarding possible use of excessive force.” The Merc’s Scott Herhold steps into the fray with his own analysis of Phuong Ho’s videotaped interview offering this “It’s hard to think he’s making this up… it is extraordinarily hard to make charges against cops stick before a jury.”

Following the death of Beverly Head when she got tangled up by a dog leash, San Jose takes on bikes and pooches. Somewhere, someone is hoping bikes and pooches become a leading story...

Santa Clara’s City Council tackles one hurdle standing in the way of bringing the 49ers to town. Up tonight, letting the team pick the builder of their (planned) Santa Clara Stadium…

The Merc’s Editorial Board wants Sunnyvale voters to know they’re not getting all the facts. The Merc takes a swipe at endorsed candidates Mayor Tony Spitaleri and Councilmember Chris Moylan for telling pieces of a story…

Love is in the air for the Mountain View Whisman School District. Superintendent Maurice Ghysels sheepishly admitted he’s been getting cozy with elementary school principal Carmen Mizell.

San Jose’s Redevelopment Agency released their bad news budget. After $75 million was taken by the State and facing decreased property tax revenues the Agency did some fancy (internal) footwork slashing budgets. Set your sights lower for the convention center expansion…

If you’re looking for your swine flu shot make sure you’re tops on the list. Public Health Officer Marty Fenstersheib had to shuffle after learning fewer (anti) swine-ish shots would be arriving. Kids and pregnant moms top the list… Keeping in mind, not all flues are swine-ish…

Speaking of budgets… San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio takes a stab at explaining the financial benefits of outsourcing city jobs and how San Jose’s budget works…

Also a San Jose Insider, Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo is eternally optimistic that San Jose’s 19 school districts can be organized into 4, DiSalvo wants to hear from you. Do you think 19 school boards, 19 superintendents, 19 sets of district staff, 19, well, you get the picture… willing to give up turf for the good of the children?

Protect San Jose’s numeric guru/Sunshine Task Force chair Ed Rast digs into the mind-numbing world of “item 3.5” and suggests the City Manager is reading Protect San Jose. Still no word about Sunshine…

Morning News Round-Up -- 10.6.09: No kissing...

If you screwed up as a kid this is your chance for a fresh start. Take the case of Dominick Hendricks who was caught on tape necking on the San Jose State Campus – that turned into a conviction for a “lewd act.” Thanks to some of those federal stimulus bucks, Hendricks might not have to report his crime. More interesting, what are those SJSU Police up to when kissing on campus is a crime?

Another reason for kids to hate school – and parents to love it. The San Jose Unified School District will offer all 32,000 students free swine flu inoculation.

It was a busy weekend for Morgan Hill Police along with San Jose’s gang unit and other County law enforcement agencies. Gang members were busy beating, stabbing, and shooting in Morgan Hill leaving 1 dead in the City’s first homicide in 4 years. First a Milpitas homicide -- now Morgan Hill...

San Jose’s Rock and Roll half-marathon took a tragic turn when 2 runners in their 30’s died.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District Directors poked at staff last year asking for a reduction in expenses. This year Board Chair Sig “Methuselah” Sanchez said he was “pleased with the (latest) report” showing travel was down. The reductions follow a Morgan Hill Times report chastising the Agency for travel and overtime.

Gilroy Planning Commissioners said no to development in the hills but signed on to expanding the City’s boundaries with proposals from Shapell and Wren Investors. A pissed off Michele Beasley with the Greenbelt Alliance called all 3 proposals sprawl saying there was plenty of land in City limits. Yes Michele, but Gilroy needs to protect that land for outlets...

Gilroy has visions of turning the Garlic Capitol into a bustling transportation hub while Councilmember Perry Woodward worries the proposed design of a 3 story, 5 lane rail line is “troubling.” Unlike toney neighbors to the North, trenching is “far too expensive” for Gilroy.

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.20.09: A Correction to Start...

We start with a correction this morning because screwed up. And boy did we heard about it from many, many people. We misread a Merc. story yesterday about the City of San Jose wasting money on cost overruns for capital projects. In fairness to us, the sentence was (somewhat) confusingly written:

...the substation is one of just three San Jose capital projects out of hundreds over the past decade or so to exceed their construction contingency budgets...

We believe one could read this sentence two ways, but we apparently read it the wrong, more cynical way. Apologies all around -- and thank all of you for reading so diligently.

On to the Round-Up...

The Merc’s Editorial Board is tickled Tesla stays in Silicon Valley with its “cool Roadster.” San Jose's Office of Economic Development is considerably less tickled... it sort of makes this press release look silly... and this one too.

It seems an Op-Ed on Sunday struck a nerve, if you believe what you read in the Letters to the Editor in the Merc. Remember, Cindy Chavez wrote (but did not text) about campaign finance reform in San Jose. Bill Baron, the chair of the Chamber of Commerce's political arm COMPAC, responded yesterday in Letters... our favorite line: "...you're being robbed of 'sunshine' in broad daylight, one dollar and one text at a time..." Colorful language Mr. Baron...

It has been a couple days since Dolores Carr's name has been in the paper -- and her name isn't in this story either. But we sort of wonder why... There is a story in today's Merc. about a defendant that was found "factually innocent" on a burglary charge. It seems both the San Jose Police Department and the Santa Clara County DA's office made mistakes which could have screwed up one 20-year old's life (and his family's loves) for the next 6 years. No word from Protect San Jose on this issue... yet. (For those of you who are considering a run against Carr, you should cut out this story for your opposition research file. Just a helpful hint from your friends at Watch Dog.)

East Side Union High School Superintendent Bob Nunez (apparently) left his last gig with a (huge) black mark. (Un)Suprisingly, East Side Union Trustees didn’t know about it because they didn’t ask his former employer for references. Now, (un)surprisingly, similar accusations are coming to haunt Nunez. Former Trustee/Superintendent George Shirakawa, Jr. shrugged off (possible) thievery saying “…Bob brought labor peace…” So, if we get this straight, misusing District funds is ok as long as nobody is on strike? Bloggers at The Unruly Advocate are not surprised with the shenanigans… Neither are we.

Facing a $44 million deficit San Jose State University President Jon Whitmore is ditching 200 faculty members. Whitmore will share the news during his Welcome Back speech today… He probably won't say, "Welcome back, don't let the door hit you on the way out..." What he should do is blame the strong leadership in Sacramento.

Congressmember Anna Eshoo announced she’s moving forward with a healthcare Town Hall – via phone. Constituents can register online (and then Eshoo's staff can hand-pick questioners...) We aren't kidding, check out this NPR story from yesterday...

Moto Amore owner John Bettancourt is one pissed off scooter rider. Bettancourt accuses San Jose bureaucracy of forcing him out of business while code enforcement’s Mike Hannon says having a tax certificate is not the same as having necessary permits. Downtown Councilmember Sam Liccardo is still hoping to talk to Bettancourt…

Gary “Mr. Roadshow” Richards dedicates his (generally) car-centric time to the two wheelers in our midst. It’s the time of month again for the San Jose Bike Party to hit the street, cyclists ask Mr. Roadshow about trails and parking…

The Merc.’s Scott Herhold also talks bikes, this time with (bike vs. drunk driver) survivor MaryAnn Levenson. Back in the saddle, Levenson teaches bike safety when she’s not kicking ass in competition.

The Alameda (State Route 82/El Camino Real) is getting a face-lift and plans are underway to ditch the “highway” moniker.

There’s big trouble in Garlic-land… Gilroy Police, while looking for (wife beater) Joel Barnes, wound up with a meth dealing teenage girl (apparently) shacking up with machine gun toting 30 something’s Raul Maciel and Thomas Esparza. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Joel Barnes may call the Sheriff's office at 299-2311. We have to say, nothing goes with meth like garlic.

The Los Altos Town Crier caught up with the news that Pilgrims Haven is a go…

The tanking economy is driving Los Altos library lovers to call for renewal (and increase) of a 20 year old parcel tax. Los Altos Hills Councilmember/library fan Jean Mordo said the (up to) $90 proposed tax “is not a lot of money” and looks forward to a June 2010 ballot measure.

It’s a booze-free (not free-booze) day for the Los Altos Community Picnic after the City Council said no to the proposed sale of donated beer. Mayor Megan Satterlee called the “novel” idea “excellent, out-of-the-box thinking” but joined colleagues in saying drinking would contradict the “family-spirited thing.”

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.13.09: Get well, get well soon...

Silicon Valley’s FACES is breathing a deep sigh of relief after the Supervisors voted to ignore the District Attorney’s “aggressive bid” to snag victims support services. The DA pulled out all the stops with elected officials, law enforcement, and retired judges lobbying the Supervisors. As if the DA didn't have enough on her plate... Will she ever get a win?

You want to be a student at San Jose State University? Figure out how to pass those pesky pre-college math and English classes the first time or on your own. Remedial course Professor Stefan Frazier says many didn’t get a quality high school education and need that extra boost. Maybe... but that boost won't be in downtown San Jose.

Timothy Richardson and Robert Hendricks thought they had a brilliant plan, kidnap women and sell them as sex slaves. The Santa Clara Police and FBI charged them with “human trafficking” and busted the icky entrepreneurs. Santa Clara Police Chief Stephen Lodge is on the lookout for other victims.

Looks like those Los Altos retirees will be facing a lawsuit from grumpy NIMBYs unhappy at the thought of more seniors in their midst.

There’s a battle brewing at BMW of Mountain View. Union members are crying foul while it looks like Auto Nation is trying to force the union out.

Pinnacles National Monument as a National Park? Santa Cruz Congressman Sam Farr is pushing for the increased support and visibility…

A quick look at November races around Silicon Valley…

• Palo Alto’s wild west free-for-all has a lucky 13 candidates joining incumbent Larry Klein to duke it out for 5 open seats.
• With 3 open seats on the Cupertino City Council, Cupertino Planning Commissioner Marty Miller hopes to beat out Darcy Paul, Mahesh Nihalani, Daniel Nguyen, and Barry Chang to join incumbents Orrin Mahoney and Mark Santoro. The incumbents hope they’ll be there as well.
• Each of Sunnyvale’s 3 open seats has two candidates. Incumbents Mayor Anthony Spitaleri and Christopher Moylan face opposition while newcomers Jim Griffith and Penny Kelly duke it out.
• Los Altos School District incumbent Mark Goines is joined by John Radford and Doug Smith in his bid for one of 3 open seats. At press time it was unclear if Stephanie Lau-Chen made the filing deadline.
• Other school district boards on the November’s ballot include Cupertino Union, Patterson Unified, Orchard, and Sunnyvale.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold turns his softie side to send a plea for San Jose’s iconic Andy’s Pet Store. Today they are offering professional doggie manicures. Andy’s is facing tough times and Herhold hopes you’ll join the firebreathing, rabbit training owner Lissa Shoun in saving the joint.

The Santa Clara/San Francisco 49ers served 1,000 happy fans piles of pasta and handed much needed checks to City Year Silicon Valley, Fresh Lifelines for Youth, and the Santa Clara Police Athletic League.

Looks like San Jose Revealed’s hiatus could be permanent, or maybe they forgot to pay the rent.

Takin' to the Streets on San Jose Inside’s The Fly.

Protect San Jose keeps reading Watch Dog: Yesterday’s anonymous blogger turns out to be Ed Rast. Police Officer Association President Bobby Lopez fills us in on confusing numbers from City Manager Debra Figone and blogger/Councilmember Pete Constant is still pissed off about (fired) Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s San Jose condo.

And on that note, we'd like to wish Pete Constant a speedy recovery from surgery today. (A Watch Dog tipster filled us in...)

Morning News Round-Up – 6.30.09: A little independence is a good thing, right?

Mountain View’s city council is looking to strengthen its milquetoast pleas for NASA Ames Hangar One. No doubt a strong retort from Mountain View will (not) sway the Navy who previously ignored congressional requests…

Linking Bay cities isn’t only a BART dream, from our Sister blog Watch Dog San Mateo…

• Peninsula cities are falling just short of (actually) thumbing their collective noses at State efforts to get cities to accept their “fair share” of housing. Commissioner Lee Lippert said the “vibrant” retail on El Camino was taking a beating as housing moved in. Vibrant, really?
• Pissed off Palo Alto employees marched on City Hall the day before their contract expires. Union leader Mike Keate wants negotiations to be productive and City Manager James Keene wants them to be public, promising entertaining days ahead.
• “(We) got plenty of creative ideas…” from comments during a High-speed Rail outreach according to regional manager Dominic Spaething. A tunnel high on the list for Palo Alto, Atherton and Menlo Park…
• Foothill-DeAnza Community College District Board Vice President Hal Plotkin will join Chancellor Martha Kanter in D.C.. No doubt he’ll be pulling out of the race to replace termed out Assemblymember Ira Ruskin leaving room for Palo Alto’s Yoriko Kishimoto to do battle with San Mateo Supervisor Rich Gordon.
  

Embezzlement troubles were set aside for MACSA’s annual 100 Most Influential Latinos in Silicon Valley according to the Merc’s Sal Pizarro. No shows included outbound executive director Olivia Soza-Mendiola and “many members of the group’s leadership.” Pizarro also shares the success of Michele Gray’s Walk through the Vineyards and opening applications for the Chamber’s Leadership program.

Celebrating American Independence will mean something different for the (really pissed) residents of Mountain View’s Americana apartments. These (un)lucky souls get to spend the long weekend moving out so the expected asbestos shake down doesn’t affect them. Irony much?


More tools in the toolbox, that’s what veteran cop Pat Dwyer hopes will help officers to back away from shooting the mentally ill. The Merc’s Scott Herhold shares Dwyer’s thoughts in his role as County mental health’s police liaison trying to prevent another Daniel Pham situation.


The Civil Grand Jury spanked school districts including Gilroy and Gavilan for not preventing $288,000 in losses with better controls. The Grand Jury wants district Trustees to reconcile inventory. Gilroy Superintendent Deborah Flores said she’s happy to involve Trustees but wonders about asking that level of micro-management…


Morgan Hill’s city council is scrambling to buy up foreclosed homes at the same time the Planning Commission recommends relieving developers of responsibility for building affordable homes.


Savvy Cellar Wines fills the gap left when Christine Tran’s deal with Mountain View to fill the Train Depot self destructed. Desperately in need of a wine bar, Mountain View residents could be heard celebrating all the way to Hangar One.


"Folks say that if you listen real close…” begins the winning entry for San Jose State University’s annual Bulwer-Lytton worldwide literary parody contest.


San Jose Councilmember/San Jose Insider Pierluigi Oliverio lets loose on non-controversial consent calendar items (the issues city staff figures are non-controversial) and invites all to Monday Night Live. More entertaining than consent… Watch Dog tipsters share the news that Olvierio refused to play along with the (semi) satirical bashing – the punishment for doing so was a special public spanking.


Mission City Lantern wants to know what’s up with San Jose Revealed.

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

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

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

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

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




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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.13.09: A Porn-Week Preview...

News flash from San Jose Revealed – Porn gets hot. San Jose’s Vice Mayor Judy Chirco and Councilmembers Ash Kalra and Sam Liccardo trumped Rove-wanna-be Pete Constant with an early memo. The Merc’s Scott Herhold calls the Chirco-Kalra-Liccardo memo deft and says Library Director Jane Light “fought a canny rear-guard battle.” The Spartan Daily gets into the act, which makes sense, since it is San Jose State's library facing filters if Porn Kings Pegram and Constant have their way.

Rest assured, Watch Dog will be all over this issue on the coming week -- as we have been in the past. Including pointing out the irony that as this fake porn issue comes forward, Newsweek takes a shot at Larry Pegram by delaring "The End of Christian America"...

The annual salary dish on government salaries is out. Some of San Jose’s retirees are getting hefty bonuses for not staying home sick. Former Assistant Police Chief Charles Younis, now Los Altos’ Police Chief, took home an extra $243,000 while retired Deputy Fire Chief James Carter got almost $300,000. Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio is a little miffed saying sick leave isn’t meant to boost the nest egg.

In order to blunt criticism from the "sick leave" story, some folks went on a PR kick...

The Merc’s Patty Fisher chatted up San Jose’s newest highest ranking female firefighter, Deloach Reed. Assistant Chief Reed spent two decades hauling hoses and climbing ladders while sharing locker rooms, at times the “only girl in a frat house.”

The Merc’s Editorial Board sounds ready for a quick ride to Los Angeles on the future High-Speed Rail. They also drop a little reminder that the NIMBYs in San Mateo County stopped BART from heading south 50 years ago. The Editor's hope that the same NIMBYs today’s NIMBYs (Atherton/Palo Alto/Menlo Park) grow up.

AT&T wants that cable clipper bad and is offering a quarter of a million dollars to the first person who coughs up the clipping culprit who sabotaged 4 locations Thursday.

San Jose State University is trying to get some seniors to call it quits. SJSU had to turn its back on thousands of college wannabes because of the economy and now dishes that they’ve got over a thousand “super seniors” who can’t seem to leave their hallowed halls. With two dedicated seniors who have been there 15 years Provost Carmen Sigler says leave already.

Alviso is set to become a boaters haven once again. With visions of Chris Crafts dancing in their heads, the County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote on construction of the final piece in a 4 year project. The Audubon Society’s Bob Power is hopeful San Jose’s legion of boating fanatics use the non-motorized kind.

San Jose’s Mayor Reed had plans for a press conference on home foreclosures while a mysterious "Linda" had other plans and whispered to the press the conference was moved. A pissed off Mayoral spokesperson, Michelle McGurk, said the (late) April Fool’s joke was “sad and pathetic.” Reed and the media did make their date but not without some scrambling.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs dishes San Jose’s City Clerk sent school-marm notes to the City Council reminding them they were welcome to watch the A’s opener in Oakland – on their own dime. (Hint Hint)

San Jose Revealed reveals a bare bones Wiki on San Jose’s political cast of characters. Revealed wants you to make the reveals. Another reveal, this time calling out former Chamber of Commerce mouthpiece Jay Rosenthal as Watch Dog. Revealed’s last Watch Dog reveal didn’t work out so good when Jude Barry turned up at CalBuzz. Keep trying Phillip, you'll pin us down soon...

San Jose Insider Pete Campbell rails against perks for public servants and complains that he doesn’t get a car allowance the San Jose City Council shouldn’t get one either. This was before the salaries were posted online...Campbell is going to be pissed.

Morgan Hill Unified School Board President Don Moody was MIA for Tuesday's big decision on furloughs. Translation: no decision was made. Trustees Shelle Thomas, Peter Mandel, and Bart Fisher said no way to forced furloughs. SEIU President Pam Torrisi said her members want assurances the savings would save jobs.

The economy has taken its toll on the Earthquakes and that’s translating to a loss for Morgan Hill. The Earthquakes were planning a training center there but Vice President David Alioto says that’s on hold. Mayor Steve Tate says he understands. (The Earthquakes tied the Fire yesterday 3-3, in case you are wondering. Perhaps they could use a new practice facility.)

Cupertino Union and Moreland School Districts are keeping their fingers crossed. Mail ballots arrived in voters homes last week. If voters say yes, parcel taxes go up and schools get to breathe again. Fresh off his BART success, political consultant Barry Barnes is hoping voters say yes as well...

Morning News Round-Up -- 3.26.09: Revealed revealed...

First things first...yesterday, Revealed revealed that Watch Dog was written by Jude Barry. Today, Watch Dog reveals that Revealed revealed wrong...(Revealed also revealed some really old news...)

Parents hoping the kid is heading to college better shoot for local schools. For the first time in San Jose State’s long history, students from outside Santa Clara County are being turned away. CSU Chancellor Charles Reed (ha!) said all campuses will be capping enrollment due to the State budget crisis.

"Shovel ready” projects around Silicon Valley are lining up to get their share of $1.1 billion in Federal stimulus dollars. If your job is road repair, you’re in luck.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold shares the lowdown on salaries for heads of non-profits. No surprises here: non-profits have to pay a hefty price to run multi-million dollar agencies. Winning the award for thrift, Charles Geschke takes no salary for running the foundation he and his wife Nancy set up after he (won the lottery) founded Adobe Systems.

It must be really boring for Police Officers in Cupertino. A very drunk Bradley Dexter took the tip jar from the bar where he was slugging back Long Island Ice Tea’s. Naturally, Officers showed up with 6 police units and a helicopter to rescue the glass jar with less than $10.

Silicon Valley’s chief geeks made their way to D.C. to meet with the new Administration and Congressional Representatives. TechNet exec’s, including Facebook’s Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly and Cisco’s John Chambers were there to ask for more support for education, science, and a boost to green tech.

The Merc’s Editorial Board is calling for watch dogs to keep sniffing around the Agnews Developmental Center closing. Citing the sale of valuable land and cheaper care the Merc worries that money, not care, might be the prime motivator for the closure.

Mountain View community leaders are working with Police and City officials to stop hate crime violence. Documentary filmmaker Patrice O’Neill will be following the efforts started by former Human Relations Commissioners Alicia Crank and Chris Burley to turn Mountain View into a “model city.”

San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Ed Trustee Joseph DiSalvo hopes the Obama’s will use their popularity and television face time to stop bullying at school. DiSalvo should hook up with Mountain View’s anti-hate crime team to bring the message home.

Don’t know how we missed this one yesterday…San Jose’s Drunk Task Force members Raj Jayadev and Raul Colunga teamed up in a joint statement to Mayor Reed and Councilmember Nora Campos saying: you should have brought the Consortium in before the Task Force or not at all. They suggest a name change to “Task Force of the Humored.” Funny.

Los Gatos resident/Attorney John Hopkins is being inducted into the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame. A who’s who of Silicon Valley luminaries will be there for the honor, including former US Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta and Sharks CEO Greg Jamison.

Congressman Mike Honda will deliver a hand made flag that includes 1,000 red, white, and blue paper cranes from St. Joseph’s of Cupertino students to President Obama. The kids, and Honda, had to do a mountain of paperwork to get the flag to D.C. but they’re thrilled to know their work will take up residence at the White House.

Pete Campbell, San Jose Inside blogger, jumps in on the action to question San Jose’s automatic pay raises.

Speaking of pay raises...

Gilroy’s City Council stepped in to stop Gilroy’s automatic pay raises. Councilmember Bob Dillon said they didn’t want to freeze wages and the upside was folks still had jobs at City Hall. City Administrator Tom Haglund also gets to keep his job, he complained was just keeping up with normal practice but pinky-swears to talk to Council ahead of time on political challenges.

Los Gatos Town Council meets tonight at a retreat to talk about The Town’s Boards and Commissions and where they’re heading. In the past, the retreat met at the Toll House Restaurant to chew over the future of The Town with a good glass of wine. This year they’ll meet in Council Chambers a.k.a. The Dungeon – clearly not as much fun.

Cheap condos are on the market in Los Altos...now is the time for low income buyers to move to toney Los Altos. With fewer than 10 condos available you’d better move quickly, however.

Mountain View’s City Council voiced unanimous support for converting industrial land to housing for as many as 1,120 homes. The VTA complained the project wasn’t dense enough next to the Whisman Light Rail stop. (Apparently) Mountain View hasn’t figured out what “transit oriented development” means.

Morning News Round-Up – 1.20.09: Obama-rific Edition...

Apparently something is happening in Washington today...so we'll be brief...

San Jose Revealed chastises the weakening Mercury News for a possible misstep in saying Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles is the last living person to have stood on the balcony with Dr. Martin Luther King. Revealed even posts the famous photo of Hosea Williams, Jesse Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Rev. Ralph David Abernathy as proof. Revealed was right on one count, facts are boring. Sorry Revealed, Rev. Kyles’ story is posted here along with the posted photo – people moved around after the photo. Watch Dog likes Revealed, but if you’re going to smack someone get your facts straight.

Revealed continues saying San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen remains firmly in the Labor camp – her vote for Republican/Councilmember Pete Constant’s choice for the Planning Commission not withstanding. After the Inauguration excitement today, the City Council will vote on new Commissioners for the Civil Service, Elections, and Planning Commissions along with a new Constant colleague on the Retirement board. Will Nguyen vote with Constant/Reed or toe the labor line? We'll see...

And some more Constant (don't worry, there's enough to go around...) Herhold gets in on Constant band-wagon. Herhold, who calls Constant noble and (generously) describes his frame as “husky,” provides the background leading to the battle over Police/Fire Pension Board member selection. Perhaps Herold should take a look at how often Constant is out of City Hall on Pension Board business...we hear it is a lot...Watch Dogs enjoying the City Hall escapades – drop a line to Watch Dog.

Details are emerging about the SJPD shooting in front of The Loft early Sunday. The Officer, Joseph Paolini is on leave after shooting Marcos Zuniga in the face while the two struggled. Zuniga is expected to survive, but the real question is – will SJPD survive this drama while they are trying to justify arresting record numbers of Latinos? Oh yeah, there was also another Bay Area officer involved shooting on New Years...

The Merc’s Editorial Board weighs in on the Governor’s proposal to toss environmental standards out the window in an effort to put construction workers on the job widening Hwy 101. The Guvernator wants to waive CEQA, and the ability to file a lawsuit, on ten projects statewide. Sierra Club Director Bill Magavern supports the Legislative Analysts Office's recommendation to streamline regulations on 122 less controversial projects.

Mountain View Whisman School District Trustees are moving the popular PACT (not to be confused with PACT) program at Stevenson School. Trustee Ellen Wheeler is worried about the $2 million price tag for the move along with lost rent of $363,000 for Stevenson. Mountain View Whisman will also be enacting a lottery to decide whether incoming kindergartners get their neighborhood school if school enrollment gets to high.

Gilroy City Councilmembers will meet behind closed doors to discuss layoff-prevention ideas offered up by two of the City’s labor groups. Firefighters were upset to learn their proposal hadn’t been given to Council earlier said Firefighter Jim Buessing. AFSCME and Police reps don’t have any ideas to offer to the Council Wednesday when they meet.

Gilroy School District Trustees are wrestling with the District's administration recommendation to build a new school ($20 million) or contain costs by increasing class size. Trustee Fred Tovar said he would support larger classes only if it was temporary. Trustees will continue the debate and discuss sale of a former school site at their February 5th meeting.

The Baker’s Dozen of SJSU Journalism students traveling cross country to the Inauguration by way of the Civil Rights landmarks received the good news Monday. Courtesy of Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, they hold 7 of the coveted tickets to the swearing in and 6 to the parade. Rock on, Congresswoman Lofgren...as new Chair of the House Ethics Committee, she’ll have all manner of tough decisions ahead. Also Inauguration-bound, the Redwood Middle School students from Saratoga will be group #17, after the Ohio Ladies and before the Marines – get your tape ready.

Were you near Senter Road and Independence Drive on Sunday around 8 a.m.? If you were, did you see a green sedan hitting 81 year old Quy Tran while she was on her way to Mass? Tran’s son Hung is hoping the driver will turn himself in. If you know anything, give SJPD a call at 408.277.4654. Tran is on life support but doctors don’t expect her to survive.

San Jose has its second murder of year. Early this morning, SJPD officers arrested 19 year old Richard Delgado for using his car as a murder weapon. Delgado crashed into a fence. After neighbors confronted him about it, Delgado drove across a neighbors lawn to run over a 46 year old woman. "Based on witness statements, we believe it was an intentional act," Sgt. Mike Sullivan said.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.26.08

There's a ghost-guest at Mission City Lantern reporting the Santa Clara City Council continues the drama over "To Recuse or Not to Recuse." The videotape of a 2004 meeting doesn't exist, the Gadfly lied, and now Councilmember Jamie McLeod is being asked about her own need to recuse. The ghost-guest might want to read earlier Mission City Lantern blogs that complain about McLeod abstaining.

San Jose State and the City of San Jose ending joint projects? The much bally-hooed soccer field on SJSU land will not be built. University spokewoman Pat Harris said, "We needed to pull back and think about our athletic program." This is the second time the a joint City/University project has fallen through -- last year Lew Wolff had hoped to build a new soccer and football facility to replace the aging Spartan Stadium.

Physicists, doctors, and attorneys line up on the ice get together each week at Sharks Ice in San Jose as part of the largest adult hockey league in the nation. Saratoga resident, team organizer, and perfect hockey-named dude Stu Slamowitz says, "Playing hockey gives us all a chance to get some exercise, and get out our aggressions." Perhaps some of the gadflies in Santa Clara should start skating…

In an effort to make life easier for the automobile, the Cupertino City Council has given its blessing to an updated Santa Clara County Comprehensive Expressway Planning Study, which includes a $5.2 million widening of Lawrence Expressway to 8 lanes. The 74 projects could cost up to $2.5 billion and extend for the next 30 years. Watch Dog just loves government-named studies – so humorless, “Comprehensive Expressway Planning Study”…how fun.

Metro's Fly questions whether the Los Gatos Town Council prearranged the election of Mike Wasserman as The Town’s new (rotating) Mayor.

Hoping to join in the neighborhood naming fun, San Jose Revealed has proposed everything from DiNapoli Town to the Tom McEnery Sphere of Influence -- and tossed in a few named BART stations for good measure.

Calling for a re-thinking of policing in San Jose, Silicon Valley De-Bug's Raj Jayadev blogs on San Jose Inside. Jayadev and calls for more police oversight and addressing issues identified in a Grand Jury report. (Not) Surprisingly, San Jose Inside comment-givers attack Jayadev

Santa Clara Valley Water District inspectors found the Gilroy Unified School District and contractor Gilbane, had not adequately prevented polluted water from gushing into Lions and Day Creeks. Big oops. Gilbane is likely to pay a $170,000 fine for dumping the dirty water.

Morgan Hill Finance Director Jack Dilles is leaving to become Santa Cruz's Finance Director. Leaving behind a $3.3 million budget deficit, Dilles faces a roughly $7 million deficit in Santa Cruz. Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes wishes Dilles the best saying, "He helped bring to the city our long-range strategic approach, a forecast to help us see the future effects of today's decisions." I guess Dilles expertise was forecasting deficits, not preventing them…