Morning News Round-Up – 12.23.09:The failure edition...

Remember those videotapes District Attorney Dolores Carr hoped would disappear? They’re back in the news. Appellate attorney Dallas Sacher hopes his wrongly convicted client is declared factually innocent after review of his tape shows Dr. James Crawford disputing medical assertions. Looks like Carr has more ‘splaining to do…

There is no truth to the rumor that it was more of those nasty videotapes clogging the sewers in the Santa Clara County Government Center. And the stench was raw sewage not worn out pols.

The Merc’s Editorial Board sends out a reminder that less tax money in translates to fewer services on the streets. Maybe Santa will sweep the streets…

Megachurch Abundant Life Christian Fellowship is losing Paul Sheppard who announced he was resigning following a “moral failure.” Congregants suggest it was Sheppard's own hot toddy that brought him down...

The victim of Saturday night’s murder in San Jose has been identified as Daniel Booker. San Jose police report observing an altercation and Bookers shooting before arresting Walter Hughes for San Jose’s 28th murder of 2009. Say what?

Protect San Jose’s Beat Cop sends a shout out for safety. Beat Cop forgot to mention, don’t bring that 45 when you head downtown for a Chai Hot Toddy…

Santa is getting a special request from someone too old to get those stockings stuffed by the big guy. San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education member Joseph DiSalvo has one tiny request, send those “hundreds of billions of tax dollars to nation building at home and not abroad.”

Morning News Round-Up --- 6.22.09: Something sporting this way comes....

The Gilroy father-son towing team facing 169 charges of fraud, perjury, attempted grand theft and other charges got some good news from the Judge. Santa Clara County Commissioner Gregory Saldivar, who ruled in Vincent Cardinalli’s favor on numerous small claims cases and was their Commissioner of choice, won’t be on the witness stand.

San Jose firefighters are fighting back after a burning grand jury report. Union President Randy Sekany shot back at the grand jury saying the report didn’t consider all the facts.

The Merc’s Scott Herhold offers his column to a “lout” who “was no rapist.” Former DeAnza baseball player Chris Skinner’s dad asked Herhold to hear his son’s side of the story. Although the source of vomit found on the rape survivor, Skinner was passed out on the bed while the rest of the team gang-raped the underage/overly drunk girl.

The thought of a naked Hangar One pissed off the Restoration Advisory Board (and local elected officials) and they weren’t afraid of letting the Navy know. NASA and the Navy continue to point fingers and squabble amongst themselves.

In a dizzying discussion of political wonkiness, the Merc outlines Baseball San Jose’s ballot timeline options. The best news for San Jose, hints the A’s will foot the election bill… (of course, it was the Mayor doing the hinting…)

On tap around the Valley for Government watchers…

• San Jose councilmembers consider coughing up nearly $30,000 to find a new Independent Police Auditor. There is no truth to the rumor the job description says “must be willing to succumb to pressure.” Finding a practice field for the San Jose/Lew Wolff Earthquakes is also up.
• Big time sporting is also on the table for Santa Clara councilmembers as they review a slew of 49’ers related items, including ballot measure timetables…
• Fremont Unified School District Trustees learn more on a one-year teacher agreement and hear the public voice on budget woes.
  
• Budget hearings and decisions are also up for the Campbell Union High School District along with district energy ideas.

Does (soon-to-be-termed-out) Assemblymember Joe “Mr. Insurance” Coto want to trade his San Jose – Sacramento commute for an Eastside-Downtown one? The Merc’s Internal Affairs thinks a showdown with Mayor Chuck Reed is shaping up… The cynical among us (IA included) would say Coto hopes to keep his name in the news while waiting....

The Merc’s Internal Affairs was surprised to learn San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant spends his council meetings updating Facebook, emailing the media and texting. While colleagues quizzed city staff, Constant let the Merc know keeping up with the internet during meetings tired him out but his training as a cop “eating donuts and drinking coffee” while on the job helped. Also in IA’s sights, poking fun at supervisorial wannabe Teresa Alvarado for campaigning during the 10th anniversary celebration of the non-profit Latina Coalition.

Parents in Los Gatos Union School District want to ditch unhealthy school food and are raising the specter of Ketchupgate to make their point.

Cupertino will be the site of a summit on elder abuse this week. Organized by the Santa Clara Department of Aging and Adult Services organizer Margriet DeLange hopes to educate clergy and caregivers on signals and support services.

San Jose Inside has a new insider, Laura Fishman who updates on the (un) exciting Sheriff’s race next year. Two (former) Deputy Sheriff’s Association leaders launched campaigns to take Sheriff Laurie Smith out of office. Promising to put the fun back in dysfunctional, Joe Charvez attacks Jose Salcido while Inside readers attack Fishman, candidates and each other.

Mission City Lantern is on a roll reposting James Rowen’s Mercury News stadium comments (San Jose as a “ghetto town”) and accusing the Merc of stealing James’ “Reed ‘Montgomery Burns’” gag.

San Jose Revealed never made it back to the keyboard, can texting super-hero Pete Constant can save the day…

While waiting for Revealed to return Watch Dog checked out Police Officers Association Bobby Lopez’ promise to end video-gate… For our breathless readers, video-gate remains up on YouTube and ProtectSanJose.

Silicon Valley Geekster Steve “Twinkle Toes” Wozniak played second fiddle to hundreds of sunglass wearing duckies off for a swim at Los Gatos’ Vasona Lake.

Arrests, Task Forces and Video-gate.... Oh, My!

(in a Spader-free zone...)

“Thin-skinned” filmmaker/San Jose Police Officers Association President Bobby Lopez continued his media attack with an opinion piece in the Merc. (Followed closely by (another) Herhold piece on Lopez today.) In Lopez’ piece, he repeated his assertion that “patience is wearing thin” is a “serious attempt to threaten and intimidate the City Council.”

While the POA’s video may defy explanation… the entire ordeal calls for a recap of how we got where we are today…

October 2008: Latino + San Jose = Drunk Arrest?

• The Merc. broke the story that San Jose arrests for “drunk in public” outpaced all other California cities with a historic review of San Jose’s ongoing problems with “attitude” arrests.
• Then Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard said she didn’t understand why San Jose’s arrests were “so much higher than everyone else.” Mayor Chuck Reed (awkwardly) explained that “it’s a socio-economic problem.”
• Councilmember Nora Campos proposes amending a State law to ensure intoxication arrests are used uniformly and not left to the“interpretation of individual municipalities."
• La Raza Roundtable leader Victor Garza called on Mayor Chuck Reed and Police Chief Rob Davis to “reduce these arrests and stop criminalizing Latinos.”

November 2008: Houston, we got a problem…

• The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (as if they have any say in this issue…) unanimously ordered a review of public intoxication arrests, at the request of outgoing Supervisor Blanca Alvarado.
• Councilmember Sam Liccardo called for a wide range of options including a sobering center and data on arrestees.
• Mayor Chuck Reed said the Council would see if problems needed to be handled better and they would not “dodge the ethnicity question.”
• Mayor Reed and Councilmember Nora Campos join forces to create the (obvious solution) Public Intoxication Task Force. Councilmember Liccardo expressed doubt the Task Force was the best idea…

December 2008: Data? What data?

• Police Chief Rob Davis was surprised to learn the data didn’t support his assertions on San Jose’s drunk Latino arrest rates…
• Mayor Reed, data wonk at heart, said “It’s pretty clear to me that we have some problems that need to be fixed.”
• (Soon-to-be-former) Independent Police Auditor Barbara Attard’s recommendation to use Breathalyzers was implemented.

January 2009: Task Forces…where good ideas go to die…

• The Drunk Task Force had its first meeting. Silicon Valley Democratic Forum’s Pete Carrillo allowed there could be a reason 57% of those arrested were Latino “but, I haven’t heard it.”
• De-Bug/Really Scary/San Jose Inside’s Raj Jayadev expressed belief the Task Force needs only will power to create reform. Oh, support and authority wouldn’t hurt either.
• The Drunk Task Force and City of San Jose staff squabble over the relevance of history, having forgotten “those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it…”

February 2009: Campos to the rescue…

• Councilmember Nora Campos went to Sacramento to call for changes to drunk arrest laws while the Latino Forum’s Pete Carrillo expressed the belief of a “credibility and trust issue.”
• The Merc’s Editorial Board calls on the San Jose Police Department to release reports on drunk arrests in support of Councilmember Nora Campos’ records request.

March 2009: Task Force slow death begins…

• Early in the month, ACLU Leader Skyler Porras said “there is no point in sitting at the table to combat the symptoms without getting at the disease.”
• The other shoe fell as the Task Force was ditched in favor of the (Police Chief-selected) Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity.
• De-Bug/San Jose Inside’s Raj Jayadev teamed up with Task Force colleague Raul Colunga to suggest the Task Force change its name to “Task Force of the Humored.”

April 2009: Flipping the bird…

• The Task Force gives a (figurative) finger to the City of San Jose

May 2009: Going, going, gone…

• Seven members of the Public Intoxication Task Force resign in protest, the day before their final meeting leaving the final meeting to conclude with 70% of the community members gone.
• The Merc’s Editorial Board calls on the city to repair the rift with the Task Force.

June 2009: Old recommendations and YouTube…

• Recommendations from what was left of the Task Force were presented to City Council among them Breathalyzers (December), sobering center (October), documenting arrests (really?), and enhanced training for officers.
• Video-Gate… (YouTube is still waiting...)

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.12.09: Why Larry Stone gets booed...

Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone is lowering the assessed value of nearly 90,000 properties, dropping the County’s tax roll by $17 Billion. Always the master of understatement, Stone says “that’s serious.” School districts, redevelopment agencies, community colleges, the Valley Water District, and the County will all be hit by the revenue drop. No wonder this guy gets booed all over town...

Santa Clara County Medical Examiner Dr. Michelle Jorden took San Jose Police off the hook reporting it was an “astronomical” amount of meth, not tasers, that killed San Jose’s Richard Lua in February this year. San Jose Inside Editor chimes in with a repeat of the Merc. story.

The Valley Transportation Authority managed to pass a (so far) balanced budget according to VTA Boardmember/County Supervisor Don Gage. VTA Board Chair Dolly Sandoval said they had some tough decisions to make like raising rates and cutting service but plan to continue providing “residents with a quality transportation system.”

San Jose’s Lynhaven Elementary School was attacked by thieves. Not after computers. These guys stole farm and science equipment the children spent 3 years raising money to buy. Principal Lesa Nieri said this really hurts during the economic crisis when the school cannot replace the equipment. The Police Officers Association is raising cash to help out.

Which got us wondering... so Watch Dog checked out You Tube and the Video-Gate video is still up.

Before San Jose’s Elections Commissions looks at letting the voters consider instant-runoff voting (IRV), Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra joined forces with the New America Foundation and Common Cause to support the idea.

It’s official, the Sunnyvale City Council will let you (legally) make that left when you leave Kaiser Santa Clara. Cost to the City to make the left legal: $1,000. Payback for Sunnyvale residents trying to go home: Priceless.

The Environmental Protection Agency wants to know if cancer causing toxins made it to Cupertino’s Stevens Creek School, two miles from the Lehigh Cement plant. Lehigh’s Tim Matz grumpily reports “Bottom line? We’re safe.” A hundred residents showed up at last night's community meeting for a lively debate regarding safety.

Parking wars have hit Los Gatos... again. Chase Bank is pissed that Jim Zanardi wants their customers to stop parking in his lot. Zanardi shrugged saying Chase customers take too many spaces, won’t help pay for repaving, and he wants to rent out vacant retail space – tough to do when the parking lot is full of bank customers. You have got to love Los Gatos battles... so person and so nasty.

Morgan Hill residents can point out their own historic Granada Theatre in a Thomas Kinkade painting. Referred to as “sentimentalists” by the Morgan Hill Times local historic preservationists are (again) trying to save the Granada from demolition. Mayor Steve Tate says goodbye already, unless the developer wants to save it.

The Morgan Hill City Council and Morgan Hill Unified School District Board met to “bring each other up to speed.” School Board president Don Moody read a list of school accomplishments and Police Chief Bruce Cumming did the same for the Police. Mayor Steve Tate said it was a good first step to “building bridges between the two governments.” Because, of course, without long-boring-feel-good meetings they could never work together. (Watch Dog San Mateo recommends this same type of meeting for Foster City and their School District...)

It’s good to be a City employee in Mountain View. The City Council approved a low interest home loan program for all City employees. With pay cuts hitting, could be everyone qualifies.

Mountain View residents disagreed over the benefits of affordable housing and housing density while agreeing that High-Speed Rail sounds good – underground. The General Plan meeting focused on the Whisman neighborhood where residents complained highways, freeways, and the Central Expressway cut them off from Mountain View. Hell ya, let’s get rid of the freeway!

Assemblymember Paul Fong wants the State (then the Feds) to apologize to Chinese immigrants and is being coy about how much money he wants the Feds to pay. Fong noted that when Japanese-Americans were given reparations for internment he hoped the Feds would “eventually apologize for the Chinese exclusion.” Angel Island Immigration Station Director Eddie Wong says it isn’t reparations but education that counts.

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.10.09: Supervisors in the news twice...in one day!

The County Fairgrounds development plans are back on the drawing board after Catellus, a major developer, dropped out. If this makes you feel 'deja vu-y,' you aren't alone. Supervisor Kniss used that word in describing having the latest plans scrapped. (We'll have to wait and see if the San Jose Police Officers Association will pick up Supervisor Kniss' misuse of a word for their next video...)

The Supervisors must have had their busiest day in years yesterday, actually generating two news stories. The one about the Fairgrounds, and this one about their considering looking at a plan to keep Henry Coe Park open, even though the State wants to close it to help the budget. Ken, Dave, George, Liz, and Don must be exhausted after discussing two entire issues in one meeting... As an aside, interesting byline on this story online...







Watch Dog didn't see anything in the newspaper this morning about the Vigil Kathleen Flynn organized yesterday. We did see this posting on MetBlogs, however.

Even MetBlogs noted the timing was tough because as folks were honoring Police Officers, who were represented at the event by Bobby Lopez, Video Gate still rages on... And while the Video Gate video seems to be have been taken down from ProtectSanJose, it is still on YouTube.

The San Jose City Council pay-cut issue was decided last night. They are going to cut their salaries (3.75%) but keep their full ($600/month) car allowance. The vote was 10-1 to drop the car allowance issue from the table (Councilmember Constant wanted to drop the car allowance) and then passed the pay cut unanimously. Apparently Councilmember Chu sharpened his personal financial pencil... or at least his political acumen.

Here's a nice story. Community gardens are growing (pun intended) in Los Gatos and Saratoga. As the economy crumbles, it is time to get everyone's hands dirty, apparently.

With their Santa Monica-named "Third Street Promenade" project almost ready to roll in Morgan Hill, two things need to happen first... luckily, one isn't a full rebound of the economy.

Down 101 a bit further, Gilroy gang violence is a growing problem. The DA and the County Sheriff are using an unusual tactic in prosecuting a gang shooting... she is charging "All of the gang members from both sides..." in the murder of Larry Martinez. That means the gang that Martinez was in and the gang that killed him are going to be charged. Watch Dog guesses that Defense Attorneys are going to have a field day...

And some blog news...

San Jose Revealed gives a little insight into Instant Run-Off Voting, which will be discussed at a forum at the porn-filter-free MLK Library...

ProtectSanJose, the POA's new blog, has a guest post from State Assemblymember Alberto Torrico (and Ed Rast). (The Video Gate video is no longer there... but is here.)

San Jose Inside interviews the Lt. Larry McGrady, whom they dub the "Club Cop"... And the post is by Dan Pulcrano, so perhaps you should check it out. Dan is writing again, which will give San Jose Revealed something to write about too...

Morning News Round-Up -- 6.9.09: Video Gate, Day 7

Video Gate is not over yet. Councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Ash Kalra sent a letter to Police Officers Association chief Bobby Lopez yesterday about the video and the Merc Editorial Board chimed in as well. The Editorial Board didn't pull many punches. If you don't want to read the actual Editorial, here are a few choice words they used to describe the video (and the POA): "juvenile" "thin-skinned" ""inflammatory" "intimidating"... The POA certainly got its money's worth from the PR firm that put the video out. Oh yeah, Boby Lopez promises to take down the video from YouTube and from ProtectSanJose.com... but it isn't gone yet (as of 8:15 a.m.).

All this talk about Raj Jayadev got us thinking, what does this guy write about on Silicon Valley De-Bug? Here's his latest: The Death of Vietnamese Man Calls Out to a Vietnamese Woman, and the City Policies that May Have Failed Them Both. Consider Jayadev's criticism of the San Jose Police with this organization's logo... or this organization's tag-line, "Promoting technology to protect the innocent from Police brutality." In other big cities, Watch Dog thinks Jayadev would be considered a pretty mellow critic.

On the flip side of things, Kathleen commented on Watch Dog yesterday, and yes, we have the courage to post comments... Here is the information about her Vigil tonight at City Hall.

Moving right along... The San Jose City Council is thinking about taking a pay cut. But Councilmember Chu is still standing in the way... We guess Watch Dog's notes and Herhold's column haven't made their way to Councilmember Chu's desk yet...

Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio's budget survey is done. It is so scientific it hurts. The responses are here... but all you really need to do is figure out what Oliverio would cut or keep -- because (amazingly) they match up with the results. In Watch Dog's survey, we found that 90 percent of the people love Watch Dog "a lot." And 4 out of 5 dentists surveyed recommended sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum.

The 49ers apparently aren't going to sign the convicted dog-fighting-ring-leader Michael Vick to their squad. In an related note, the political people trying to get a ballot measure passed in Santa Clara next March exhaled loudly.

On the fourth day of Christmas... four Red Ruffed lemurs... and some falcons at City Hall...

The County is not going to take the State's cuts lying down... well, mostly they are going to take the State's cuts lying down. But they might try to do something about the (proposed) closing of Henry Coe State Park.

The Merc's Scott Herhold reviews the De Anza rape case (again) following a 20/20 story this week. Take a look and decide for yourself what you think about the column, but one line stands out: "...this case will always haunt Carr politically..." (Not M.L. or Larry but Dolores.)

It's been a good week for Silicon Valley businesses: yesterday Cisco joined other blue chip companies on the Dow Jones index and later in the day Apple previewed a new iPhone (and announced that the old one will only be $99)... Watch Dog is saving iPennies for the old iPhone.

If you live in Mountain View, your rates on most utilities are going up. Water, sewer, garbage, recycling, etc., etc., etc. Oh, and just to be nice, they are giving you a few weeks to prepare -- the hikes go into affect July 1. Water and sewer is going up 5% and garbage/recycling is going up 7%. Thank you Mountain View...

City Unions in Palo Alto are fighting back, and packing the City Council Chambers. Last night was public Round 1, Watch Dog expects this to be a long fight...

That fight in Palo Alto shouldn't be confused with this one. Two teenagers wielding pipes fought police. Police eventually won.

Mission City Lantern throws props Watch Dog's way, sort of...

We would include updates from San Jose Revealed, but they must be sleeping in late or taking a long weekend or both...

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 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.

And controversy is brewing in Los Gatos over spending, libraries, and a petition circulating around town. The Merc's Patty Fisher weighs in, so does Mission City Lantern... Watch Dog thinks this is small town politics at its best/worst...

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.

Finally, a big day for Cisco Systems. Today, San Jose's Cisco Systems will join the Dow Jones industrial average. You go John!