Single Gal and the End of Summer
Sep 4, 2007 by Single Gal Comments (6)
As Labor Day weekend comes to a close, we bid farewell to another summer gone by. Schools are in session, fewer people go out of town on the weekends, and we all get back to our normal routines. Though this summer was full of time at the beach in Santa Cruz or weekend trips to Lake Tahoe, there is something comforting about getting back into the swing of things. So I thought we could all make suggestions on things to look forward to this fall as our summer ends.
Where a Park? How Big a Park?
Sep 3, 2007 by Pierluigi Oliverio Comments (17)
City Hall Diary
At the August 28 city council evening meeting, the council spent over two hours deliberating on where to put the park that is part of the Irvine Development in North San Jose. This item was continued from the August 14 meeting where the council discussed it at length until 1 a.m.
Idaho Senator Tapped as Interim City Auditor
Aug 31, 2007 by John McEnery IV Comments (38)
Experience and Change of Plea Deciding Factors
Disgraced Senator Larry Craig of Idaho has decided to resign his post in the U.S. Senate—after increasingly vociferous calls for his removal—in exchange for relocating to San Jose to take over the vacant city auditor post.
Paying for Our Crumbling Infrastructure
Aug 30, 2007 by Jack Van Zandt Comments (26)
The latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau places San Jose at the top of the list of the nation’s richest cities with a population greater than 500,000 with our median income of $73,804. Santa Clara County was second (to Marin County) in the nation in its category, showing a median income of $80,838. (Since there are a lot of gazillionaires in the city and county it means that in order to achieve the median, there must be a hell of a lot of people living on much less than the winning figures.) The average rise in income over the past year was around $1,300.
The Business Journal’s Half-Baked View
Aug 29, 2007 by Tom McEnery Comments (23)
The Business Journal so much reminds me of that old saying about editors: that they “come in after the battle and shoot the wounded.” Never was it truer than in their recent editorial about Cirque du Soleil. They have been absent in past years concerning the takeover of City Hall by lobbyists; absent on the unconscionable stealing of our future by the transfer of 1400 acres of industrial tax base to residential housing; absent on any meaningful discussion of the proper support for small businesses in the downtown; and absurdly critical of candidate Chuck Reed on some relatively minor issues in the recent election. Not much of a record.
Single Gal and Where Is Our Hospital?
Aug 28, 2007 by Single Gal Comments (18)
Last week a friend forwarded an email to me about Stanford Medical School and how they might be looking to relocate their school in order to best serve their students’ needs. Now I know that they have filed for relocation, but I cannot find much to substantiate that they may be looking outside of Palo Alto for a home. This brings up a few interesting topics. Why couldn’t San Jose be the home for Stanford Medical School? And in that vein, why couldn’t Santa Clara University or San Jose State open a medical school in our town? Finally, and perhaps most importantly, what major city in the U.S. finds themselves in the same boat as San Jose in that we don’t have a hospital in our city core? I can’t imagine that you won’t find a major hospital in Detroit or Chicago.
What Do Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose Have in Common? Their Residents
Aug 27, 2007 by Pierluigi Oliverio Comments (19)
City Hall Diary
On Thursday, August 23, 2007, the elected officials of the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County met to talk about five top priorities that affect the city and county. City and county staff attended, including San Jose City Manager Debra Figone and County Executive Pete Kutras.
South Bay Gets Its Fourth Professional Sports Franchise
Aug 24, 2007 by John McEnery IV Comments (14)
49ers to Santa Clara, A’s to Fremont, Warriors to Mexican Heritage Plaza
In a very complicated deal consummated late Thursday night, the San Jose City Council has decided that the best use for the beleaguered Mexican Heritage Plaza is to turn it into a sporting facility designed and equipped to house last year’s NBA Cinderella team, the Golden State Warriors.
The New Old City Council
Aug 23, 2007 by Jack Van Zandt Comments (40)
While I was glad to see the back of the last mayor and council, I am beginning to worry about the effects of the old guard members on the new council. Why is it that decisions that seem obvious to the rest of us require months of delays and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on consultants? And while, like the rest of the country, our infrastructure is crumbling, why does the Redevelopment Agency want to spend nearly a million bucks to bring a circus downtown? To top it all off, why has the council voted unanimously to unreasonably abridge the public’s freedom to speak in public meetings and limit the citizens’ ability to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” as per the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?
Business Journal Wrong on Binding Arbitration History
Aug 22, 2007 by Tom McEnery Comments (86)
You really wonder how many times the San Jose Business Journal (SJBJ) will blunder into a story, cite a few facts, and then make sweeping comments that stand history, if not common sense, on its head. The paper did it again with its recent editorial on the binding arbitration award to the Firefighters Union. Whether it’s the citizens’ General Plan or the recent political turmoil at City Hall, the SJBJ displays a Bushian knowledge of local history that is frightening.
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