The City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to determine if the city should conduct an audit of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency’s incubator programs. As San Jose Inside first reported, a study buried for two years shows the RDA spent more than $30 million on start-up companies that often provided a poor return on investment.

Faced with its 11th straight year of a budget shortfall, the city of San Jose is considering selling off and/or converting land used by public golf courses to prevent further cuts to libraries and community centers come next summer. Mayor Chuck Reed and other city officials will be holding the first of several community meetings at 6pm Wednesday at the Mayfair Community Center.

The City Council will meet Tuesday to discuss a variety of topics relating to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. Included in items to be discussed are: an advertising concession agreement with Clear Channel, Inc.; leasing space agreements with airlines; public transit for the airport; and development of land west of the airport.

Councilmember Sam Liccardo submitted a memo late Thursday calling for an audit of four incubator programs funded by the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. The request responds to a 2009 study—unseen by most city officials for two years—which finds that RDA spent more than $30 million on business-building incubator programs which, it says, showed very poor returns on investment.

Redevelopment agencies in California will have their day in court, and a decision on whether or not the 398 active entities will be allowed to continue operations will reportedly be made by January.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom made an appearance Friday at an event hosted here in San Jose by the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. At the event, he proposed several plans to boost the state’s economy while also eliminating agencies that he says are redundant.

It’s the final day of the fiscal year, which means many people who work for the county and city will be out of a job starting tomorrow. It also means lawsuits are on the way.

As city staff studies a number of proposals on how to fix San Jose’s budget crisis, one idea in particular is likely to have some local business owners up in arms. Councilmember Nancy Pyle submitted a memo at Tuesday’s council meeting that recommends modifying the business tax for establishments that offer services. These businesses are taxed by the number of employees they have rather than sales.

Mayor Chuck Reed sent a letter to Bud Selig last week, once again urging the Major League Baseball commissioner to come to a decision that would grant the Oakland A’s permission to relocate to San Jose. A few days later, the mayor announced that San Jose was in a fiscal and public safety emergency, and he wants the city to move toward putting measures on a November ballot to slash public-employee retirement benefits. The timing of the two actions could be coincidental. But then again, maybe not.

If you have an attorney in Silicon Valley, you’re probably paying more per minute than anywhere else in the country. According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data for 2009,

Matthew Mahood, 45, has been named the next president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. Coming over from the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he has held the lead role since 2002, Mahood will be replacing Pat Dando.

In its first month of collecting taxes on medical marijuana being sold inside city limits, San Jose took in almost $290,000. And it appears more money is still on the table. Less than three-quarters (73) of San Jose’s 100-plus collectives paid the business tax in March, according to city figures.

Cinco de Mayo won’t be quite the extravaganza it normally is this year. San Jose’s annual parade and festival has been canceled. Mounting costs and a lack of cooperation from the city were reasons cited for the cancellation, according to the American GI Forum, a veterans group that puts on the celebration.

The local construction industry had a bone thrown its way Tuesday, as the first portion of a BART extension project has received federal support, according to a San Jose Business Journal report.

San Jose’s airport looks to be moving one step closer to privatizing its fire and security services, leaving city firefighters and police officers out of the loop in cost-cutting measures.

The future of professional sports in the nation’s 10th largest city is in limbo. In furious preparations for an opportunity that may never materialize—and to protect the land holdings that may one day house a ballpark—San Jose has taken extraordinary steps.