Shirakawa Sentencing Hearing Continued Due to New Felony Charge
Jun 7, 2013 by Josh Koehn Politics Comments (4)
George Shirakawa Jr., right, and his attorney John Williams speak to Judge Philip Pennypacker at Friday’s sentencing hearing.
George Shirakawa Jr. remains free after his hearing Friday, at which he was scheduled to be sentenced for misusing campaign and county funds. Judge Philip Pennypacker chose to delay sentencing the former county supervisor until at least July 19 due to a new felony charge that the District Attorney’s office filed against Shirakawa on Wednesday.
President Obama Insists Phone Call Surveillance Done Legally
Jun 7, 2013 by Josh Koehn Politics, Culture Comments (4)
President Obama defended the widespread surveillance of phone calls made within the country during a press conference Friday at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. (Photo by Jamie Soja)
During a press conference held Friday at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, President Obama insisted that “Big Brother” has played by the rules while keeping tabs on nearly every phone call made within the nation’s borders during the last seven years.
Santa Clara County Adds Detailed Health Report to General Plan
Jun 7, 2013 by Jennifer Wadsworth Politics, Culture Comments (1)
A public health report added to the county’s general plan notes that the hospital system will have to deal with a surge in elderly patients in coming years. (Photo by DigiDreamGrafix, via Flickr)
Santa Clara County residents enjoy longer life expectancies and overall better health than the rest of the state and nation, but stark disparities based on wealth and race persist.
How Teens View Social Media, Privacy
Jun 7, 2013 by Sparky Harlan Culture, Media Comments (2)
Teen behavior online is in steady flux, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. (Photo by Gates Foundation, via Flickr)
According to the May 2013 Pew Research Center report, “Teens, Social Media, and Privacy,” teens are changing their habits when it comes to choosing social media and how much information they make public. Parents be advised.
Property Values Continue to Climb in 2013
Jun 6, 2013 by Christiana Cobb Politics, Business Comments (3)
About 47,000 county homeowners will soon find out that their homes are worth more than what they paid for them. Assessor Larry Stone announced in a press release Thursday that the South Bay’s residential property market continues to trend upward.
If Stupidity Were a Felony
Jun 6, 2013 by Rich Robinson Politics Comments (16)
George Shirakawa Jr. found himself in more legal trouble this week, when the District Attorney’s office announced new charges related to fraudulent political mailers sent in the 2010 San Jose City Council race between Xavier Campos and Magdalena Carrasco.
If stupidity were a felony, ex-county Supervisor George Shirakawa would be spending a lot more time in jail. The new charges filed by District Attorney Jeff Rosen against Shirakawa, resulting from DNA samples found on a political dirty trick mailer, is the latest example. But this brings us to a new problem: Shirakawa didn’t act alone. The pieces were written, designed and printed by others. There must be more DNA out there that identifies those who helped. These folks should be lawyering up right now.
Recent Spate of Violence Spurs Community Vigil Tonight at City Hall
Jun 6, 2013 by Jennifer Wadsworth Politics, Culture Comments (8)
As San Jose copes with one of its most violent years in decades—22 homicides since the start of 2013—a group of community members will gather tonight at City Hall to honor the memory of those lost.
Further Adventures in the New Paradigm
Jun 6, 2013 by James P. Reber Politics, Culture Comments (3)
Dog owners have a greater responsibility when visiting San Jose parks ever since the city stopped supplying bags for droppings. (Photo by Tom Clifton)
I have mentioned before that we are now all part of a new paradigm in civic life, especially as it relates to our parks, trails and recreation programs. The new paradigm is not a great distance from this traditional view. It is merely a small step forward by the citizenry toward a closer level of ownership and participation than we have generally assumed. That one step is active care. A recent example relates to bags supplied at our local dog parks.
DNA Links Shirakawa to Fraudulent Mailer that Helped Campos in 2010 Council Race
Jun 5, 2013 by Josh Koehn Politics Comments (24)
District Attorney Jeff Rosen points to a picture of a fraudulent mailer that investigators say George Shirakawa Jr. was responsible for sending.
A cloud has been cast over the 2010 election of San Jose Councilman Xavier Campos with this morning’s announcement that George Shirakawa Jr. participated in a covert effort to change the election’s outcome, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney. Shirakawa, the disgraced former county supervisor who will be sentenced for unrelated crimes Friday, allegedly licked stamps affixed to fraudulent campaign mailers that were designed to discredit council candidate Magdalena Carrasco, who lost two close elections to Campos, a friend and staffer of Shirakawa’s at the time of the crime.
Campaign Coordination: A (Legally Interpretive) Labor of Love
Jun 5, 2013 by The Fly Politics, The Fly Comments (3)
Cindy Chavez, right, celebrates her special election primary victory Tuesday night. (Photo by Aron Cooperman)
The Fair Political Practices Commission awarded a cookie last week to Cindy Chavez, champ of Tuesday’s county supervisor primary. FPPC Chief Enforcement Officer Gary Winuk ruled that mass mailers shared between Chavez, the county Democratic party and the South Bay Labor Council followed the Political Reform Act to the letter, which must mean it was written in some kind of Cyrillic and Arabic scramble. Part of the ruling stated that anyone who registers with a party is considered a member, even if they don’t pay dues, which means a party’s candidate of choice basically has an unlimited amount of coordinated funds at their disposal.
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