Morning News Round-Up -- 4.19.10: When in Munich...

The Sharks won game two... but lost game three in OT...

Speaking of Silicon Valley professional sports... The Merc's Editorial Board loves Measure J: "...The site near highways and rail is perfect for football, and Santa Clara is a well-run city that can capably handle this project..." So does the Merc's Scott Herhold, who says the 49ers' stadium makes sense, even if it didn't make cents... (Mission City Lantern is happy...)

This will make everyone at Protect San Jose very, very angry. (As if they weren't angry enough!) The Merc won a bunch of awards at the California Newspaper Publishers Association annual contest, and the stories that Sean Webby wrote about the use of force by the San Jose Police Department are now "award-winning stories by Sean Webby"...

Oh, and this: Sean Webby has a profile of LaDoris Cordell as she gets ready to move into the Independent Police Auditor's office in San Jose. We learn about her background, her time on the bench, her time in Palo Alto City Hall, and how she will approach the IPA job. We also get a choice quote from Councilmember Pete Constant, who along with the Mayor and Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, voted against her appointment: "...I have concerns that her star power may overshadow the role of the IPA..." Because why would we want an Independent Police Auditor that is independent or that audits the police?

Patty Fisher of the Merc dives into the deep end with her column today criticizing the firefighters unions in Palo Alto and San Jose. And even calls out the San Jose firefighters union and their ideas to help close the budget deficit in the city: "...Their idea of concessions is to defer some vacation and their $495 annual uniform allowance. Hey heroes, let's get real..."

It was Sunday yesterday, which means the Merc's Internal Affairs is reason enough to get the paper... usually. This week we learned that San Jose Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio gets more girls without the beard, even if it is the NHL playoffs and that Dr. Phil is helping State Senator Leland Yee get a bill passed in Sacramento...

Who said that only Southern California could have a 3rd Street Promenade? Not Morgan Hill... their's opened up this weekend to much fanfare... at least a lot of fanfare for Morgan Hill...

There was a brutal attack during a home invasion in Gilroy on Tuesday. The two victims are still in the hospital and one is still in critical condition. Police think the home, and the victims, were targeted.

A group of musicians from Los Gatos High School had a great trip to Europe to play some concerts... on their way back home, they had a layover in Munich, which is where they have been since Friday because of the volcano in Iceland. Don't worry, they are having a great time in Germany and they are enjoying missing class too. Thank you Luftansa! Here is some advice for you high schoolers, from Rick Steves...

Morning News Round-Up -- 11.9.09: Chiefs of PD's Past and Present...

(Former) San Jose Police Chief/Stanford Hoover Institute Research Fellow Joseph McNamara takes issue with the Merc's coverage of San Jose's Police Department -- and uses the Merc's Opinion page to call on Sean Webby to cover the happy side of San Jose Police business. McNamara suggests the Merc's headline writers are shaping public opinion with spicy headlines. Police coming to the defense of police? Say it ain't so.

(By the way, Watch Dog does not know, and has never spoken to, Sean Webby...)

Speaking of Police Chiefs... Chief Rob Davis (apparently) dusted off his resume early this year to apply for head honcho position in Los Angeles. Davis' didn't land the gig, perhaps due to the salacious headlines in the Merc that are upsetting McNamara, or perhaps the annoying Drunk in Public scandal, or perhaps Chief Davis isn't well loved by the rank and file? The Merc's Internal Affairs tried to get the (secretive) Chief to dish details of his (possible) LA LA land visit... but no luck.

As opposed to Rob Davis who was trying to head to greener pastures, there was a Superintendent locally who was put out to pasture... East Side Union High School Trustees dished details on the ouster of Superintendent Bob Nunez. With monthly expenses running as much as $4,000 a month, auditors found sloppy bookkeeping but nothing illegal in his expensive (alleged) meals with Supervisor/(former) Trustee George Shirakawa and Trustee Eddie Garcia. The audit also found weak oversight... really?

First plastic bags now Styrofoam... Environmentalists must be celebrating in San Jose as the 10th largest city in the nation considers banning those pesky white (non-degradable) coffee cups from public events. Lauren Kates of Aunt Lali's Mobile Cafe said the free ride she's gotten on disposables was nice but she's not stressing over the changes. The same can't be said for the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers who could be looking for a mouthpiece...

The Merc's Editorial Board calls on Campbell's Planning Commission to just say no to a planned "specialty" (rich persons') hospital. Accusing the specialty doctor digs of "cherry-picking" profitable surgeries...

Two train deaths occurred Friday afternoon and both were homeless. Cheryl Mendoza and John Vincent were killed in separate accidents on the Caltrain right of way. Mendoza's death is being investigated as a possible suicide and her friends mourned the San Jose woman who had been homeless for as long as they could remember.

Smart and predatory, the success of the California gull in the Bay's wetlands could threaten wetland restoration efforts. Cheryl Strong, a wildlife biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service worries planned wildlife habitats could turn into an "expensive hotel for gulls."

And this will get firefighters' attention... in Gilroy a City Councilmember is proposing fewer firefighters per truck. Can this be the start of a trend?

Mission City Lantern sends props to Stanford football for besting the Beavers while lamenting the whipping San Jose Spartans took at the hands of Nevada wolf pack.