Morning News Round-Up -- 5.21.10: "NUMMI A's" no more...

Go Sharks! (Please win... pretty please?)

Well, we guess the Oakland A's won't be going to the former NUMMI plant after all... that's because Tesla and Toyota will move in to build electric cars. Of course, Tesla track record of sticking to its word is someone less-than-desirable, just ask San Jose, but we wish Fremont, Tesla, and Toyota well. (Here is a full run-down of the Tesla Chronicles...)

As a reminder, Watch Dog predicted the NUMMI/A's effort last August...

"...Fremont’s Nummi plant is packing the bags and heading to Texas leaving nearly 5,000 newly unemployed in its wake. Perhaps a Fremont ballpark can actually happen now?...

Maybe now Bud Selig can make a decision?...

The Mercury News Editorial Board continued to look at their ballots... and today they have made the 18th floor a very exciting place to be. They endorsed Don Rocha for San Jose City Council District 9 to replace Vice Mayor Judy Chirco. They say he has "...the potential to continue in the tradition of Chirco..." They also give some ink to Jim Cogan (too close to public safety unions) and Larry Pegram (too close to Jerry Falwell)...

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce put out a reward for clues leading to catching the culprits behind the hit pieces sent against Magdalena Carrasco... ironically, the place to call with your tip is Crime Stoppers -- whose President is the aforementioned Jim Cogan, running for City Council in a different District. Hypothetically, what if someone called with a tip that identified a Cogan supporter as the culprit? Just asking... (Mission City Lantern is on the fake-mailer case too...)

While we're in District 5, ProtectSanJose.com brought us a message from Xavier Campos...

A San Josean will head to the Senate... no, not Tom Campbell (yet)... but County Superior Court Judge Edward Davila has been tapped for the federal bench by the Obama administration...

This will be bad news piled on top of bad news... property assessments are down... way down... boooooooo...

Dear Gilroy Unified Voters... thank you for passing the school bond in 2008... we are over budget... so Christopher High School will have portables instead of a great new facility... will you trust again with your vote and your cash? Love, the Gilroy Unified School District.

Sunnyvale may lose its seat on VTA, and Sunnyvale Councilmember Chris Moylan is pissed about it: "...Based on population, the one city other than San Jose that should have a permanent seat on the board is Sunnyvale..." No word on dweeb.org yet on the issue...

Some folks in Silicon Valley will be voting on June 8th and June 22nd... the 22nd being the date that the Special Election to replace Senator-turned-Lt. Gov Abel Maldonado's seat will be voted on... and if no one gets 50 percent plus, a run-off will happen on August 17th. Expect an influx of Sam Blakeslee and John Laird visits in the coming weeks...

The Lame (Duck) Governor was at Google yesterday... no doubt in an effort to shift attention from Google's bad European news this week...

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.7.10: Giving up a touchdown to the Red Wings...

Well, the Sharks run of great games ended last night as they gave up a touch down to the Red Wings. They are still up 3-1 in the series..

Watch Dog predicted it... the Morgan Hill American flag t-shirt story has gone viral and national. Here's what we wrote yesterday:

This will be a controversial issue that will likely make Fox News, the Rush Limbaugh Show, and probably spark a Tea Party rally as well.

Speaking of Tea Party-lover (Pegram)...

San Jose's District 9 gets the write up today after Districts 1/3, 5, and 7 got some ink earlier in the week. Don Rocha - the handsome one, Jim Cogan - the Constant one, Larry Pegram - the right wing whacko one, Robert Cortese - the karaoki one, and Cueva, Greer, and Trout - the ones also running... Perhaps with all the City Council races going in, Terry Christensen gets his City Council Districts mixed up with this quote: "This is a lower-key and less-engaged district than some..." Of course, based on the amount of research Watch Dog does, which is very little, it seems more people vote in District 9 than in almost any other City Council District, but why let facts get in the way of a good quote Mr. Christensen...

Speaking of City Council races, the San Jose District 7 race gets a big write up in the Metro/San Jose Inside with Minh Duong as the central antagonist... Madison better watch out, Duong has a District map with push-pins in it...

Speaking of local races with a write up in the Metro, we also learn that Jeff Rosen and Dolores Carr can't even look at each other in the eye... and no, that isn't a short joke Mr. Rosen...

The Governor was in town yesterday for a Laurie Smith fundraiser... remember when it was a big deal with the Governor came to town?

We all know that the Governor's boyfriend Abel Maldonado is now the Lt. Governor... and that the Governor wants Maldo's seat filled with two special elections, one in June and one in August, but a new lawsuit may hold up those elections...

If Carly Fiorina hadn't already alienated every single in the Bay Area, she appears to be appealing to the most far-right of right... because Sarah Palin endorsed her. Well, from one unqualified candidate to another... It's like getting the old McCain band back together again... (There are many, many jokes to tell...)

Santa Clara's power plant on Robert Avenue is up and running again after being under Cal-OSHA's watchful eye for the past couple of months. Here is the exact right thing to say after you've been under investigation and closed down for several months by Cal-OSHA, "Our interactions with OSHA were positive and constructive." That's from Larry Owens from Silicon Valley Power. As if someone would say that their interactions with OSHA were negative and unconstructive...

While we're on utilities, the Merc's Editorial Board thought the Water District was righting its governance ship... but then the redistricting came out and now the Ed Board says that they "must reject gerrymandering"... the City of Gilroy agrees...

The City of Campbell has a plan to right its financial ship... and it includes cuts and "revenue enhancements" which are not nearly as robust as other kinds of enhancements...

Anti-High-Speed Rail folks have a new picture for the center of their dart board as a new CEO was named... Roelof van Ark... who will make $375,000, which seems low considering all the NIMBY meetings this guy is going to have to sit through up and down the Peninsula...

Mr. van Ark is coming on just in time for a new lawsuit from the duel NIMBY capitals of the Bay Area, Atherton and Menlo Park...

From fast trains to very, very slow trains... VTA is looking to make some lightrail trains express to drive ridership. Sounds like a pretty good idea to us, since we once beat a VTA train in a race and we were on foot.

Morning News Round-Up -- 2.2.10: Ground-Hog Fundraising Reports...

There was a big, 2009 year-end political filing due yesterday which had candidates all over the place scrambling to get their stuff in.

In the oft-written-about race for District Attorney, it looks like challenger Jeff Rosen raised about the same amount of money as the incumbent Dolores Carr. Welcome to the big leagues Mr. Rosen... Rumors that Rosen sent a thank you note to the Mercury News Editorial Board earlier in the week are unfounded...

In the race to replace outgoing County Supervisor Don Gage, Teresa Alvarado and Forrest Williams lead the fundraising pack with $116k and $113k respectively. Next comes Mike Wasserman with $81k and way back is Water District Board Member Rosemary Kamei ($51k) and Gilroy Councilmember Dr. Peter Arrellano with ($26k)... perhaps Kamai and Arrellano could team up, pool their money, and make a real run for it...

And to some San Jose races...

• Mayor Chuck Reed is running for re-election and his challenger raised $50... not $50k, just $50. (Reed raised just under $70k... not $70, $70k...)
• In the District 5 race for Nora Campos' seat: Xavier Campos raised just over $32k with challengers far behind. Of course, the newest entry to the race, Magdalena Carrasco wasn't in the race before December 31st, so she didn't raise any money -- but that doesn't mean Xavier & Co. aren't really, really worried...
• In the District 9 race for Judy Chirco's seat: Don Rocha and Jim Cogan both 'raised' about $21k, but Rocha plopped down $10k of his own money so he leads the fundraising race out there.
• District 1: Pete Constant raised about $13k (he has no opponent yet)
• District 3: Sam Liccardo raised about $29k (his opponent Tim Hennessey didn't file anything)
• District 7: Madison Nguyen raised $34k and may face a real re-election battle

In the huge primary battle for the Democratic nomination for the 21 Assembly seat (the one Ira Ruskin will be leaving) -- race newcomer Josh Becker kicked everyone's ass in fundraising and has the most cash on hand going into the new year, over $200k+ to be exact. San Mateo County Supervisor Rich Gordon has $133k+ on hand and Palo Alto City Councilwoman Yoriko Kishimoto has just over $100k to work with... of course, Kishimoto put in $40k of her own money this period, so she is being way outpaced on the fundraising side of the campaign.

The respect and goodwill that Republican Gubernatorial candidates Steve Poizner and Meg Whitman are showing each other is heartwarming... really. Yesterday Poizner told reporters that Whitman's campaign guru Mike Murphy threatened him to drop out of the race. (Poizner had an email sent from Murphy to a Poizner staffer to back up his claim...) Murphy, obviously much funnier than Poizner, then questioned Poizner's "mental condition"... Murphy went on to call Dianne Feinstein old and that Poizner might want to take on an old Democratic Senator in a few years rather than stay and fight in a race where he'll be outspent and beat up... I'm not sure this race is helping democracy any, and it certainly isn't good for the Republican Party, but it is good reading...

San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo put pen to paper (or finger to keypad) in today's Mercury News defending VTA and talking about innovation in tough economic times. Personal Rapid Transit, coming to an airport near you...

The Merc Editorial Board (finally) gives a nod to San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis for promoting Phan Ngy to Deputy Chief.

Here is something that should surprise absolutely nobody: our County's property tax base is taking a major hit to the tune of $70 million...

And while that's happening, the City of Gilroy (and everyone else) is trying to figure out what to do with ballooning retirement costs of city employees... today's nightmare story is about Gilroy.

And if property taxes are falling, why not look to increase the property taxes?

Foothill-De Anza Community College may become the first Community College District in the state to put a parcel tax measure on the ballot... they are moving forward with a poll to see what voters will swallow.

Protect San Jose wants body armor to be banned for felons -- that makes sense. But if you outlaw body armor, only outlaws will have body armor... or something like that. I read that on a bumper sticker once.

There was a bad accident in Los Gatos yesterday that killed a bicyclist.

Morning News Round-Up -- 1.11.10: NAACP vs SJPOA (still)

In case you don't read Watch Dog on the weekend, and we can't imagine there is anyone out there that doesn't... you missed, or should we say mist, some spelling mistakes from the right side of the political spectrum. First we chronicled, or kronikled, Pete Constant's re-election site and then an advertisement from the Chamber of Commerce, or Commerse.


Watch Dog had to be the first to mention this: the NUMMI site in Fremont is being repackaged as the perfect site for the A's according to a story in Saturday's Merc. On August 17, 2009, Watch Dog wrote this:

"...Fremont’s Nummi plant is packing the bags and heading to Texas leaving nearly 5,000 newly unemployed in its wake. Perhaps a Fremont ballpark can actually happen now?...

The head of the local NAACP may not board the Freedom Train on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day because the San Jose Police Officers' Association is a sponsor this year. In his words in the Merc, "After years and months of abusing the community, the San Jose Police Department has the nerve to show up under the banner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr..." Well, yes.


But don't worry, it is clear that the SJPOA hears the concerns of the community and is taking steps to repair its reputation... right? Well, not so much... Bobby Lopez, on his way out the door as head of the SJPOA, wrote a piece for the Merc titled: In San Jose Latino arrests, the problem is Latino drinking -- not police practices. Lopez's thinking goes like this: If Latinos would just stop drinking so much, the Police wouldn't have to arrest them so often... Protect San Jose has a reprint of Lopez's OpEd, in case you don't want to give the Merc your "business"...


Taking on the big (sign) issues, San Jose's City Council is going to review changes to the sign ordinance... too big? not big enough? too graphic? too electric? Tuesday is the big day to find out.


"Nobody wants to have any more City bailouts..." That's the sentiment of Chris Esparza who is on the committee (responsible for) making the Mexican Heritage Plaza financially sustainable. He favors a school for the arts while the other major idea is a cultural and entertainment center. The Committee will discuss the ideas publicly Tuesday night...


Scott Herhold provides a picture of how the Sargeant Ranch development (now on hold because owners filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy) involved Congressman Mike Honda, former Congressman Vic Fazio, and the Amah Mutsun tribe as part of the Ranch owner's bid to circumvent the planning regulations of the County.


The Merc delves a little deeper into the crisis facing Bay Area transit agencies, including the VTA -- but more importantly, brings us a new feature whereby they provide video of reporter Mike Rosenberg talking about the challenges of transit agencies... "New" technology being integrated into the Merc's website? Say it ain't so... That VTA story was on Sunday. Today, the Merc has a piece about how VTA has ambitious plans for the coming years, even though the agency is cash-strapped. Sort of like a newspaper implementing new technology, even though it is cash-strapped...


Speaking of cash-strapped... Team San Jose's Dan Fenton is on his way to Dallas to rescue San Jose's convention business. Team San Jose's labor contracts have pissed off just about everyone in the convention business, and the Convention Center in downtown San Jose is at risk of losing megabucks. The Business Journal (and San Jose Inside) chronicles Fenton's efforts to fix the screw up...


It is car show week in San Jose for all of you folks in the market for high-end automobiles... all three of you.


The race to replace Councilmember Nora Campos on the San Jose City Council got a little more crowded this week, and a little more complicated for sibling Campos (Xavier) who would like to walk right into his sister's seat. Neighborhood leader Aaron Resendez is signing up to run. And in a weird use of City employee time and energy, Councilmember Campos' Chief of Staff takes on the duty of criticizing a political opponent of Xavier Campos...


Moving north... Apple plans to open a "flagship" store in downtown Palo Alto... and yes, there is already an Apple store in downtown Palo Alto -- but this one is going to be a "flagship" store -- so when it opens we'll all have to go see the difference.

Morning News Round-Up – 12.28.09: Club Scarlett, where the cool kids hang...

Senator Dianne Feinstein made the call, the President agreed and the Senate confirmed it. San Jose U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard Seeborg has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate to sit on the U.S. District Court.

It has all the earmarks of a dirty story, complete with mudslinging. San Jose paid contractors McGuire & Hester $3 million, and hope to recovery some money from RMC Water and Environment for a sewer screw-up before paying for work to start over.

The Valley Transportation Authority hit the bicycle jackpot with a grant kicking off a bike-share program for Silicon Valley. San Jose Councilmember/VTA Chair Sam Liccardo pushed for bike share as part of the bicycle master plan doubling San Jose’s bikeways.

The Merc’s Internal Affairs hits the 2009 highlights with a year-end review. Complete with embarrassing drunk arrests, embezzlement and conflict of interest – what a political column wouldn’t give for a year like this. Too bad San Jose Revealed is no longer...

Scott Herhold reminds us it’s not just a year-end review but the end of the first decade in the 21st century. Herhold provides a decade review of the top 25 with the good (Google), the bad (De Anza rape) and the ugly (economic crisis).

Club Scarlett… The Merc’s Editorial Board extends a welcome to non-profit leaders at Working Partnerships as they join the club filled with lawyers, engineers and, yes, lobbyists wearing the Scarlett L.



Silicon Valley kids will not be happy to hear this… Summer classes in algebra paid off with big improvements. According to Silicon Valley Education Foundations Muhammed Chaudhry, kids can forget the local swimming pool and plan on a little number crunching.

A pedestrian died after being struck by a Cadillac on Blossom Hill Road in San Jose. Police want you to provide details (408)277-4651.



Mission City Lantern wants your John Hancock on the 49ers ballot measure petition and reports a brisk business just North of an opponents home.

Morning News Round-Up – 12.22.09: Shaken, not stirred...

Jed York pissed off a few folks when he said he’d rather go to Oakland than Hunters Point – if the 49ers don’t land in Santa Clara. Former 49ers president/Lennar-Hunters Point consultant Carmen Policy said he was “speechless” after reading San Francisco’s Matier and Ross.

Don’t hold your breath for that property tax break anytime soon. Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone says between staff cutbacks and the mountain of appeals, well think molasses…

Good news for outdoor fans. San Jose’s Mount Umunhum is getting some help from the Feds. Congressmember Mike Honda wrangled the Fed “earmark” and is hopeful trails will open in 2 years.

Racist computers? HP doesn’t think so but is taking the accusation seriously according to spokesperson Mark Budgell who wasn’t laughing when he saw the laughter filled video.

Autism aides for the Mountain View – Whisman School District will enter the new year with fewer benefits and hours after negotiations this month.

Mountain View police busted a 14-year-old boy for an “angry” toss during a football game. No dish on details, yet.

Tis’ the season for those pesky DUI checkpoints. Palo Alto police busted 16 drivers for not reading the paper before enjoying the holiday nog.

After your nog you might need a taxi instead of the bus… The creaky economy is taking a toll on bus lines. VTA officials announced plans to decrease service to help close a $70 million gap.

Mission City Lantern sends props to the 49ers for belief in a “true and ethical democracy” and calls out holiday heros. If you didn’t get props you may have received a dirty turnip. Is that like a dirty martini?

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.17.09: Tom Campbell for Governor (of Almaden)

Former Silicon Valley Congressman Tom Campbell tops a San Jose State University poll of Silicon Valley Republicans. That's good news for Campbell, but bad news for Whitman and Poizner. (It is good news for Almaden Valley too... imagine a Governor from Almaden?)

Team San Jose’s Dan Fenton is confident an expansion and face-lift at San Jose’s 20 year old Convention Center will help conventioneers find their way to San Jose, again. Matt DiNapoli and cousin Michael Mulcahey agree and don’t think the scaled down version is a problem. University of Texas public administration professor Heywood Sanders snorts when he hears Fenton argue San Jose has something special, saying San Francisco says “effectively the same thing.”

Who says your vote doesn’t count? The Orchard School District saw Trustee incumbent Ken Riley edged out by Bambi Ann Fleming by 2 votes. With less than 15% of registered voters showing up, the squeaker brought to mind other recent close races. Remember Gilroy’s School Board race last year decided by 6 votes and San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra forced into a runoff with a candidate who beat out the 3rd place finisher by 12 votes.

The teens who killed Michael Russell have been outed, their MySpace pages scoured and friends chatted up by the press. In the week since Russell’s death the Santa Clara District Attorney’s office has decided to try the 15 and 16 year olds as adults.

(Former) Sunnyvale resident/Scout Leader/Mormon youth leader William Knox was called out as molester by his 3 step-sons. The Mormon Church is identified in lawsuits for ignoring the boy's pleas for help. If only there was another established church that had experience dealing with stuff like this...

It’s the high life in Gilroy as MediLeaf keeps the doors open. Councilmember/attorney Perry Woodward worries a legal battle over legitimacy could cost the City as much as $600,000. Mayor Al Pinheiro is pissed saying it’s about obeying a Council vote. Supervisorial wannabe/MediLeaf-friend Peter Arellano and colleagues Perry Woodward and Craig Gartman made history by boycotting a closed session discussion discussing possible litigation. Is everyone stoned in Gilroy?

Gilroy’s City Council is ready to renegotiate with firefighters. Councilmember Cat Tucker argues the union request for 4 firefighters to an engine is unreasonable, “we’re a small town. We can’t afford to have 4 (firefighters) on an engine.” Meanwhile, folks near the Sunrise fire station better ready their own hoses, Sunrise is open 3 days until the end of the year.

The blinding light on Palo Alto’s California Avenue will start to diminish this year. Following the unexpected removal of 63 trees, and the ensuing meetings with pissed off residents, a mix of 6 tree species was unanimously approved by the City Council. The California Avenue Area Development Association had hoped for selection of a single species for aesthetic purposes. Isn't it often about aesthetics in Palo Alto?

If you’re a South Bay cyclist, life is pretty good. San Jose’s City Council is prepared to double the number of bike lanes. The Valley Transportation Authority is ready to have loaner bikes waiting at the train. Thousands of bike lockers are on the way and multiple bike bridges, underpasses, and trail extensions opened this year. Bike commuter/ San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo says “obviously, we’re no Copenhagen…. but, that’s extraordinary progress…”

“...all children, irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity or religion...” should have access to success, according to San Jose Insider/Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee Joseph DiSalvo, hopeful his readers agree. That's really going out on a limb Trustee DiSalvo...

San Jose Police Officer Association President/Protect San Jose’s Bobby Lopez wants everyone to listen to the recently released 911 tapes from the shooting of Daniel Pham. Lopez argues the Merc didn’t do much fact checking before posting their story.

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.2.09: Change of Culture Edition...

Well, Sunday's paper had some more bad news for the embattled San Jose Police Department. Let's review: first it was drunk arrests, then it was attitude arrests, then it was a shooting of a mentally-ill man and the corresponding non-release of the 911 tapes, then it was the beating/ Tasing of the San Jose State student. All of this has kept the Merc's Sean Webby extremely busy. Sunday's expose on the San Jose Police Department was thorough -- and while we await Protest San Jose's response, you should read the story. In a nutshell, the San Jose Police Department uses force a lot in resisting-arrest cases, which comes as no surprise to some, but may surprise a few folks on the City Council...

The Sunday Merc also had some pretty shocking examples of use of force during fairly innocuous stuff... followed by today's paper with another story about a female San Jose State student who was roughed up during the evening of the 2006 Mardi Gras. (It isn't all bad news for San Jose PD however, a rookie Officer saved a toddler from choking on candy this weekend.)

And, of course, the corresponding Merc Editorial calling for a "culture change" for San Jose Police.

Ironically, it is the second call for a change in culture in the Merc Editorial pages this week. The first was for Wilcox High School after Teacher/Sex Gate and the Broom Closet Modeling Agency was uncovered...

And if that all wasn't enough news about the need for a change of culture, another one bites the dust in the East Side Union High School District. Superintendent Bob Nunez was finally sacked after 12 hours of hearings and lots and lots of expensive Starbucks coffees... (read that story, that is a pun...) Perhaps this is an an elaborate effort to get the seat warm again for Joe Coto when his stint in Sacramento is over...

You may have heard that these are tough economic times... well, VTA is feeling the tough economic times as hard, or harder, than anyone else. They have an operating deficit of $98 million over the next 2 years. That should be fun to deal with...

And if it is Monday, that means we read Internal Affairs this weekend. IA goes in depth about the Forbe's Magazine safe cities rankings... ironic, given what else was the in paper on Sunday (see top story above)... the Santa Clara Valley Water District passed The Dick Santos Project in Alviso, much to the delight of the opposition researchers in the Supervisor's race next year... and Deputy District Attorney is officially looking to remove the word Deputy from his name and is taking on embattled DA Dolores Carr.

Gilroy Unified has a new high school and by the accounts in the story in the Dispatch, it is one cool high school.

And could it be that the same golf course that gave headaches (both golf and political) to former San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales could host a PGA Tour event? The Morgan Hill Times asks and answers the questions...

Morning News Round-Up -- 8.11.09: Hey Great America, the 49ers are on the phone...

Someone’s mental health day went awry when Great America’s Invertigo trapped 24 coaster crazies for more than 4 hours. Mission City Lantern dishes Great America battled Santa Clara for a year to get the overly tall rollercoaster approved. Today seems like a very good day for the City of Santa Clara and the 49ers to call the Great America folks and make peace...

(Former) Santa Clara County prosecutor/ Labor Chief of Staff Ben Field filed (anagram) an appeal to the “miscarriage of justice” that derailed his career. Field hopes (?) to ditch labor and return to the golden path that ends in a judges robes, instead of in front of the judge.

Speaking of court... Libraries should be fun places to learn new things, like anagrams. We’re betting San Jose’s City Council didn’t intend the learning to include defense preparation. Last week's entertaining Council Education Park Library do-over has Building and Trades Council CEO (Councilmember Nora Campos’ Husband) Neil Struthers promising a day in court.

Gary “Mr. Roadshow” Richards sends a reminder that today police around the Bay are looking for cell phone using scofflaws on the road. Thank you for the (hands free) heads up...

The Merc’s Scott Herhold dishes his dark side includes stealing crackers when he meets his Mom for dinner at Whole Foods. Herhold laments the economic downturn delaying San Jose’s first Whole Foods opening.

“…like falling off a cliff...” was how Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone described this year's devastating housing value crash. Stone wants you to know you have a little time left to get your property value officially lowered. That is definately boo-worthy news...

Oops… Palo Alto’s Lytton Park facelift was yanked at the 11th hour, literally, when a resident complaint arrived 1 hour before groundbreaking. A sheepish City Manager Jim Keene said he didn’t know how one of the City’s legal requirements had been missed. You have got to love Palo Alto...

The search for a new Morgan Hill Union School District Superintendent includes a brochure calling for a collaborative leader/ team builder interested in transparency and inclusiveness with a talent for data driven curriculum. Putting together the brochure included removing discussion of “adjusted school boundaries” as too scary for prospects.

Over in Gilroy, the School District is also facing changes. Following the brouhaha over financial swindling at the hands of the Mexican American Community Services Agency, the Gilroy Unified School District hired former El Portal Principal Graciela Vallardares to help students transition from the charter school to public school. (Watch Dog can only assume she didn't have anything to do with the embezzlement...)

Morgan Hill and Gilroy City employees are facing the same fears as private employees with the crashing economy and cities facing layoffs. City Manager Ed Tewes sent an email to the Morgan Hill Times saying “employees understand the necessity of living within our means.” We can only assume that Mr. Tewes's job isn't on the chopping block...)

Pissed off about a series of low rent criminals cruising local retailers, the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce is training business owners to fight back. Chamber Executive Director Ronee Nassi is hoping it will end the days when shopkeepers chase shoplifters down the toney streets of Los Gatos.

The Valley Transit Authority is using their Federal stimulus dollars to buy hybrid buses. Should make waiting behind the bus less unpleasant. The VTA kicked off a series of meetings for pissed off commuters last night in Campbell, more meetings to follow.

Doobies and Senator Barbara Boxer share the limelight under the gentle penmanship of the Merc’s Sal Pizarro today. Santa Clara County Tax Assessor Larry Stone claims it isn’t the smoke that makes him think San Jose’s own rockers, the Doobie Brothers, will do for San Jose what the Beatles do for Liverpool.

Three teenagers were satisfying that midnight need for In-N-Out when a party pooper stole their ride right out from under them – with a gun in hand. If you have news to share you are encouraged to call Mountain View Police at 650-903-6344.

An evening commuter Caltrain hit and killed a pedestrian. No word on whether suicide was involved.

Mission City Lantern calls out San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed for picking on Councilmember Ash Kalra’s Chief of Staff, suggestion the Mayor beat up his own staff before sharing the love.

San Jose Insider/San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio uses his bully pulpit for a (yawning) description of musical chairs (jobs) before coming to his (un)surprising conclusion that it’s hard to let go of civil servants.

Protect San Jose blogger/Council wannabe Jim Cogan shares his observation that National Night Out was a success because a Police Officer could be overhead saying “now that I know about it…” and neighbors started a neighborhood watch group. Thank you Jim.

Morning News Round-Up -- 7.17.09: Darn... that bus I never take is getting cut

An economy in free fall is where the Valley Transit Authority’s Michael Burns places responsibility for transit cuts and fare hikes. Not that it’s any consolation, but Randy Rentschler of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said cuts are happening all around the bay “…often much worse than those in Santa Clara County.” (Watch Dog San Mateo covered the same story, but swapped out VTA and replaced it with SamTrans...)

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro highlights the historical insights of Evergreen Valley College Professors Nannette Regua and Arturo Villareal “Mexicans in San Jose” which starts with the founding of San Jose in 1777 and concludes with the opening of the Mexican Heritage Plaza.

News Flash: Palo Alto neighbors (NIMBYs) support a building taller than recommended height limits. Of course, that limit is 25 feet… Amazing.

That pesky business tax in Palo Alto won’t apply to non-profits and the rates have been modified, a lot. On to the voters.

Los Altos Hills plans on meeting State requirements to provide their “fair share” of affordable housing with the granny unit. $4 million home, separate unit in the back… Granny is going to have a nice place to live...

Morgan Hill will cough up $310,000 to renovate the Granada Theatre, decreasing the number of seats. Paul Gunsky, CineLux owner, will operate the Granada in exchange for exclusive rights at a new movie theatre a block away.

To local blogs...

San Jose Revealed is still dark... (sad)

James at Mission City Lantern is still on the "who writes San Jose Revealed" investigation... the finalists (according to James) are Justin Schall, Ash Pirayou, and Doug Winslow. We think he is missing some of the likely suspects...

Not missing a beat... Protect San Jose uses the rising homocide rate to call for more Officers.

And San Jose Inside/Fly relays a funny idea: Drug testing for Sacramento lawmakers...

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 – 6.2.09: It's a do-over...

Leading the way, our Sister blog Watch Dog San Mateo posts Silicon Valley news…

• Businesses face new taxes in November, odd time to do this... A big oops from Palo Alto officials over an ill-advised probe into Children’s Theatre
• San Jose’s Cayetano Figueroa-Fernandez used his break time to sell meth in the company parking lot
• Not related to Silicon Valley but Watch Dog couldn’t resist, senior prank day at Menlo-Atherton scores big…

Santa Clara city leaders, and the Niners, face a motley crew of anti-stadium voices. City manager Ron Garratt looks forward to lively discussion an election will bring saying “it makes for a better project when folks are involved.” Stanford economist Roger Noll says Santa Clara will end up with a “better deal than just about any other city…”

Palo Alto Unified School District Trustees aren’t waiting for the other enormous/painful shoe to drop from the State. Tonight Trustees propose a budget that keeps existing pay raises. Trustees expect September will have them sorting out the State’s disaster.

A Santa Clara County Grand Jury report slams the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). Words matter and these words paint a picture of the VTA as a petulant teenager… Unresponsive, unaccountable, disobedient and dishonest. VTA spokesperson Jennie Loft shoots back that the report is filled with erroneous information and sounds more like the “anti-BART rhetoric… rejected by voters in November,” than a Grand Jury report.

The Morgan Hill Times Editorial Board takes a shot at Caltrain’s budget cutting proposal to eliminate service to the Southern portion of Santa Clara County. The Times calls for more service and a “shuttle train.”

Bike commuter/Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager is pissed county fleet cars go unused, take vacations to Malibu, and several drivers “are racking up… parking fines,” for over $100,000. President Liz Kniss praised Yeager and called for a halt on the proposed purchase of new sheriff’s cars. The President didn’t point out the audit was decades overdue…

Shock, shock hits the streets of San Jose. San Jose Councilmember Nora Campos officially announced her plans to take termed out Assemblymember Joe “Mr. Insurance” Coto’s seat. Campos’ promised not to forget San Jose saying “my biggest job will be to make sure we don’t lose any more local money.” The surprise is that anyone thought otherwise…

Taking pity on taxpayers, the Santa Clara Valley Water District directors voted unanimously not to raise rates and to make more than $100 million in budget cuts. Director Rosemary Kamei warns the cuts come from delayed projects and rate payers will be in for a rude awakening at a future date…

This summer kids are losing their Jamba Juice jobs to unemployed old folks. Business owners like Details’ Bernie Levine are cutting staff while trying to keep mortgage paying parents off unemployment lines.

Girls Middle School students aren’t looking for Jamba Juice, they launched an eco-friendly micro business with $100. “Buckle My Jeans” co-founders Jamie Bindon, Rachael Rappoport, Maggie Brown and Jaime McConachie report their motto “we’ve got your jeans in the bag,” was a no-brainer. There’s no truth to the rumor Watch Dog was first in line for the doggie bag…

San Jose was the site of a green/labor conference with such luminaries as economist James Galbraith, Sierra Club leader Carl Pope and San Jose’s own Cindy Chavez. (Un)surprisingly, the only coverage was from an alternative/online media source out of San Francisco.

The crashing economy has a few bright spots. Palo Alto officials are looking for a place to build a new cop-shop, current negotiations could turn to their favor. Councilmember John Barton said it was an example of the council “acting in a very business-wise manner.”

The Merc’s Joe Rodriguez reports a small victory in consumer affairs. The 17 year old credit nightmare for Manuel and Luz Fausto is over and there’s a check for $500,000 in the mail. Consumer advocate Denise Richardson says the web is buzzing, “finally, some good news to report.”

Morgan Hill Superintendent Alan Nishino announced he’s outa here at the end of June. Nishino leaves a $4.1 million shortfall and a “fractured” union relationship.

Gilroy Councilmember Dion Bracco supported colleagues who said no to South County Housing’s project a few months ago. Bracco said he wouldn’t spend his own money on the project, at the time. Last night Bracco convinced colleagues a do-over was needed because the project owner was now changing the financial agreement.

San Jose Revealed calls this week the “boringest week ever,” aside from the Merc’s Scott Herhold increasingly busy schedule and old news about Nora Campos it wasn’t worth a visit to the keyboard yesterday.

Morning News Round-Up -- 5.11.09: A 'Hypocritical Grandstanding'-Free Zone...

Swine Flu mania persists as County officials review the results of this test to their pandemic plan. Outcome? Things could be better. County health officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib bought a new gizmo to test your fluish samples but as of Friday there were still 800 untested samples. The “pandemic” never turned into a hospital filler but folks were scared.

Valley Transit Authority Board Chair Dolly Sandoval recommended her fellow Board members ditch their $200/month stipend. It won’t cover the $79 million gap but Sandoval hopes it will send “...a message that we are willing to step up...” This brings up the obvious question: VTA Board members get a stipend?

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has declared a solution to keeping libraries open so the unemployed have computer access. City employees give up raises for the next year. According to Reed he, the City Manager, and all senior staff have given up pay raises. Of course, when you make almost $300,000 a year… This brings up the obvious question: Why are folks due pay-raises anyway? Hasn't the budget been a mess for years?

A’s/Earthquakes owner Lew Wolff will be asked to foot the bill for the new San Jose A’s baseball stadium. Tuesday the City Council will discuss details for negotiations and community outreach. Reminding neighbors to be part of the conversation, former neighborhood association president Harvey Darnell said stopping the ballpark won’t mean “...you’ll get nothing. You’ll still get a lot of something...”

The Merc’s Editorial Board calls on San Jose’s Mayor and City Council to repair the growing rift with the Drunk Task Force. The Merc also calls on the Consortium brought in to displace the Task Force to reach out to the communities that are most affected by this City/Community rift.

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s political arm, COMPAC, wasted no time filing a lawsuit against the City of San Jose. They’re pissed off about a $5,000 fine after a judge agreed with them there are no limits to free speech. (We hear Revealed furiously typing away now...)

Will the Independent Police Auditor with the shortest reign in history run for termed out Councilmember Judy Chirco’s seat? The Merc’s Internal Affairs wants to know. Chris Constantin is being coy but candidate Jim Cogan says Constantin isn’t a threat. (Watch Dog sort of said the same thing about Cogan a while back... much to Cogan's displeasure...)

Thanks to a Watch Dog tipster we learned… San Jose’s Assemblymember Joe Coto got press for working with the Greenlining Institute and the Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition to get $30 million set aside as support for Hispanic run non-profits. (Hopefully not this Hispanic run non-profit...)

Internal Affairs also dishes Councilmember Nora Campos has her sights set on Sacramento, not the Mayor's seat...yet. Campos’ recent missteps over the too public former Mayor/lobbyist complaint, Independent Police Auditor, and tossing her Task Force baby under a bus may have helped make the decision.

Which brings us to the Merc’s Scott Herhold's column about Councilmember Campos. He takes time to dis San Jose Councilmember (and new Mom) Nora Campos on Mothers Day. Herhold doesn’t restrict himself to Campos and calls out Campos' staffers Ryan Ford and Rolando Bonilla for getting the boss noticed through “hypocritical grandstanding.”

San Jose Police shot and killed a young man in East San Jose Sunday morning as they responded to a domestic disturbance and he answered the door wielding a knife.

Gilroy Police busted three gang members for stabbing a 20 year old man during a Saturday afternoon gang fight. A fourth assailant is being sought, if you’ve got info call investigator Geoff Guerin of the Gilroy Police Department at 408-846-0650.

For all you Silicon Valley City Hall Watch Dogs, here’s where to get your fix this week:

• The San Jose City Council Chambers will be the site of baseball negotiation principles and how to talk to the community. (Oh, and that pesky budget problem is on tap as well.)
• San Jose’s Elections Commission will consider charging you for the privilege of complaining, campaign contribution limits, and anonymous filings...
• The Mountain View City Council talks about the Day Worker Center of Mountain View (the bigot’s of D.C. will be there as well)...
• The Santa Clara City Council talks dollars (or lack thereof)...
• In Sunnyvale, there’s a plan hatching to create City-generated email spam letting you know about public meetings. (Please include us...)

In your kids' schools this week…

• The Alum Rock Union School District considers small schools and how much to pay the interim Superintendent. (How about with savings from not having to pay the last one?)
• The Cupertino Union School District studies revised budgets. (Revised down, we guess...)
• Los Gatos Union School District talks union contracts. (Have fun...)
• The Mountain View-Los Altos High School District will consider laying off one teacher, and bringing back adult education...

Revealed adds to items of government watch interest in San Jose… (It must be nice to have interns to do this type of stuff for you Mr./Ms. Revealed...)

• Federal stimulus dollars helping San Jose’s homeless.
• It’ll cost you more to recycle those old cans.
• Garbage, garbage and more garbage.
• Crime at local gambling joints is on the rise, hookers down, child abuse up.

Morning News Round-Up -- 4.14.09: Blogs (and porn) First Edition...

Blog-related stuff first today:

• San Jose Revealed lets loose with poetic allegory while blogging about San Jose Councilmember Pete Constant’s “porn filter fetish.” Revealed confesses to possible naiveté in thinking the fear over reason crusaders had been spanked soundly last year. While questioning Mayor Reed’s political savvy on the matter, Revealed rolls out the cynical theory that Reed is simply looking for a re-election sound bite. And in case you missed it, we tracked down Councilmember Constant and his BFF Larry Pegram's whereabouts...
• San Jose Insider/Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio engages in a little political-blogger-suck-up and writes about his Breakfast with the Chamber. Unfortunately, we also learn a little about PO's sleeping habits...
• After only 6 years in office, Gilroy's anti-blog Mayor Al Pinheiro is hosting his first “Coffee with the Mayor.” Pissed off residents blogging on the Gilroy Dispatch got the Mayor’s attention. “I will never answer on those blogs or get in there and get started in some pissing contest… Anyone who wants answers can come get a hold of me,” said the Mayor. Pinheiro is relying on charm to sooth the angry blogger.
  

And now the desperate economic news:

• Palo Alto leaders see their fair city as the center of the Valley’s ultra-high-speed fiber internet mecca and is seeking federal stimulus bucks to make it happen – never mind those funds are targeted for the technologically impoverished. Councilmember Larry Klein said “it’s a 21st century technology. There are other places in the world that are doing this, and some of them do compete with us.” Oh yeah, and in February the Palo Alto City Council basically threw in the towel on this plan...
• Once fueled by double macchiato bolstered techies, Silicon Valley is hit hard by the economy. According to a Merc. analysis of new data from those folks at the Employment Development Office, tech accounted for 21% of lost jobs for the first part of the year. Why do you think we blog?...
• Furlough and layoff are the new buzzwords in Silicon Valley and it’s creating huge demand for services at local non-profits. Nancy Tivol, with Sunnyvale Community Services, gets the same questions from reports all the time, “Are you seeing the middle-class line up for bags of food?”
• Speaking of furloughs...San Jose’s annual downtown Fourth of July fireworks has been furloughed – to use the current vernacular. Fireworks organizer Fil Maresca said it was a business decision, costs for City services had increased ten-fold over the decade of operations, driving Maresca to douse the fire.
• The Merc’s Editorial Board uses a word Watch Dog has waited a lifetime to see grace the editorial pages “duh.” The big duh in this case is sick leave as retirement benefits in San Jose.
• Mountain View homes maintained a median price of just over $1 million but, according to the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, no one is buying.
  

I guess with the previous stories, this is no big surprise: Silicon Valley's CEOs also see a grim outlook moving forward. When asked by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group what could be done, only 20% would support corporate taxes. They were more generous for cuts - over 90% thought there were too many State government employees, prisons could be cut as well as welfare and human services. The Merc’s Editorial Board chimes in on the survey as well. Carl can work it...

And the rest of the news:

Supervisor Don Gage hopes regionalizing County fire services will improve services in South County and save money. With three different agencies serving South County today he’s hopeful others will share his vision.

The Valley Transit Authority is moving ahead with plans to let the few of you who still have disposable dollars ride solo in the HOV lanes. Adjusting fees according to drivers tolerance for pain, the VTA hopes to keep traffic moving.

San Jose’s Oak Grove School District promoted Assistant Superintendent Tony Garcia to replace outgoing Manny Barbara. It is unclear if Manny Barbara will go back to his former job as an animator...(I know the spelling is off...work with me people!)

Faber’s Cyclery is the subject of the Merc’s Joe Rodriguez passion this week. A San Jose cyclery since 1921, owner Alex LaRievere dreams of turning it into the cycle museum San Jose has been waiting for, one with beer. Adding to the allure, before it was a cyclery haven it was a blacksmith, stage coach stop, and saloon (complete with brothel). If you have the deep pockets, LaRievere is looking for give him a call (408) 294-1314. Perhaps if he brought back the brothel, folks would give money...

BART to Warm Springs...a slight delay?

Here are two BART stories that Watch Dog will connect for loyal readers:

• Last Friday, the Valley Transportation Authority had a workshop to talk about how crappy sales tax revenue has been lately. Those sales tax revenues mean that the timeline for BART may be very, very, very long...so long that Supervisor/President Liz Kniss and other Board members were shocked.
  

• Today, we learn that two former BART officials, along with the lawsuit-happy Transportation Solutions and Education Fund, are suing the Metropolitan Transportation Commission for allocating funds for the Fremont Warm Springs BART extension. The Transportation Solutions and Education Fund say that the Warm Springs extension is only supposed to happen when the funds for the full BART extension to Santa Clara County come available...and with the sales tax revenue tanking...well, you can figure out the rest...

The Transportation Solutions and Education Fund folks are the same San Rafael-based dudes that sued to stop Santa Clara County's Measure B votes from being counted in November...which eventually passed. Apparently that loss pissed off the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund folks pretty badly...

So badly, in fact, that the Transportation Solutions and Education Fund needed to make themselves relevant again following their bad loss on Measure B. And nothing beats suing a government agency to produce headlines...

This BART does not speak for the real BART, but we can assume that the real BART might say something similar:

Morning News Round-Up – 3.4.09: It’s a Nguyen-Win!

(Sorry about the obvious title. Too easy...) Now, onto Nguyen News Round-Up:

San Jose Councilmember Madison Nguyen survived the recall and won by more than 1,200 votes. Congrats Madison, sorry Andre Charles...

The Merc.'s Scott Herhold reminds Nguyen, and her supporters, that she is partially to blame for having stepped into the mess that landed her in a recall election. Herhold calls out Supervisor George Shirakawa, Jr. (Grand Poobah) as a loser in this battle for remaining “neutral”...

San Jose Inside blogged live from Nguyen’s Police Officers' Association celebration, numerous mentions of raucous noise but no details about who was there and what was being said away from the microphone…

San Jose Revealed received (and posted) Tweets from the streets of San Jose – most seem to be from no on recall volunteers. Revealed called the race at 8:19 pm, sending a dig at the yes on recall team for creating so much turmoil.

Mission City Lantern sends a warning to recall fans…Nguyen could be on the war-path…

And other news...

Sales tax revenues are down, no surprise there. A VTA Workshop last week painted a bleak picture for the BART to San Jose timeline and shocked VTA Boardmembers, according to President Liz Kniss.

Gilroy’s City Council has taken a stand against housing, or so it would seem from the funding denial at this week's Council meeting. Councilmembers Dion Bracco, Craig Gartman, and Bob Dillion denied purchase of 50% stake in South County’s Cannery Project – effectively leaving empty downtown properties. Councilmembers Cat Tucker and Peter Arellano, along with Mayor Al Pinheiro supported the project but without Councilmember Perry Woodward the proposal died a painful death.

In sporting news...His Hairness met with the 49ers yesterday to see if he could woo...

Composting has created a Task Force situation in Palo Alto. The normally non-controversial need to do the right thing split the City Council and drove them to fill a Task Force with vocal advocates on both sides. Former Councilmember/park advocate Emily Renzel stands staunchly against composting in the new Byxbee Park while Palo Alto’s Community Environmental Action Partnership member Bryan Long supports a smaller park if it means saving the planet.

Los Altan Dana Nachtman will have her documentary “Witch Hunt” on display at San Jose’s Cinequest this week. Nachtman, a journalist and mom, followed the saga of working-class men and women accused (and wrongfully convicted) of child molestation in the early 80’s. (Sounds like a film our local DA's office should take a look at...)

And on the local blog/website front...

Watch Dog wrote previously about the Los Gatos Observer not being updated since new ownership (Virtual Valley/Metro) took over. In a weird twist to that story, this note now appears by ousted Observer Editor Alastair Dallas. Does he still have the password?