San Jose policymakers have put out the welcome mat for criminals of all types. Their war on cops has had the unintended consequence of spiking crime and leaving city residents frustrated and defenseless

San Jose Inside’s Josh Koehn sat down with City Manager Debra Figone for a rare extended interview in late August. The following is an excerpted transcript of their discussion, which touched on Measure B, Figone’s relationship with the mayor and council, her thoughts on the performance of Police Chief Chris Moore, crime in San Jose and when she plans to retire. It should be noted that this interview took place before Moore’s announcement that he will retire from his position at the end of January 2013—Editor

The war on texting and driving has found an unlikely ally: Joey Chestnut, the San Jose resident of competitive eating fame. On Wednesday, Chestnut will link arms with AT&T officials at City Hall and stress the importance of drivers keeping their eyes on the road and hands at 10 and 2. LOL.

What does the Chicago teacher strike and standoff with the city’s Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, portend for the future of public education? Could a teachers’ strike be in San Jose’s future? Let’s examine the facts as they relate to this struggle for improving public schools.

Schools are in sessions, the last days of summer are finally upon San Jose, and all is seemingly quiet after what was one of the most heated few months that the city has known for some time. It seems that the gang violence this summer touched far too many people. Blame is a powerful emotion, but it is not what San Jose needs right now.

A public safety hearing will be held at 7pm Tuesday evening, after the City Council meeting. At the meeting, soon-to-retire Police Chief Chris Moore is expected to deliver his report on crime in San Jose this year, trends compared to past years and, in particular, how the San Jose Police Department has responded since nine homicides occurred in August.

San Jose Municipal Code Section 8.12 authorizes the use of the Police Reserves. Although the Reserves are available, the city is not utilizing their full potential. Use of the Reserve officers could offer valuable assistance to the city because they are fully sworn and have the authority of a regular officer under California Penal Code Section 832.6(a). Reserves have already completed the police academy and carry a gun.

The city begins its trimming of sick leave payouts at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, when three unions and Unit 99, which consists of the city’s top administrators, agree to end sick leave payouts for any employees hired on or after Sept. 30. This will be a negotiated battle that continues into next year with other labor unions, especially fire and police. Other items on the agenda include some good and bad news for Team San Jose, a pivotal vote on a taxi contract and a councilmember having his status changed for a missed meeting.

San Jose Inside introduces a new feature called “Story of the Week.” Each week, we’ll pick out a news story that caught our eye, for better or worse.—Editor

Mayor Chuck Reed received a traffic ticket Tuesday morning for not using his turn signal. A photo of the ticket was then leaked to the media. Police Chief Chris Moore was not pleased, and he vowed to find those responsible and hand out some discipline. Let’s break this thing down.

Your elected office holder has just been photographed coming out of a seedy hotel, cigarette dangling, tie askew and he’s carrying a sheep. You are tasked with a public response. What do you do?

President Barack Obama’s “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) program, a policy enacted in June that allows illegal immigrants who arrived in the United States as children to obtain a work permit, a valid Social Security number and a contingent promise of deferred action with regard to deportation. DACA does not provide a path to lawful permanent resident status, U.S. citizenship or legal immigration status. But, perhaps unintentionally, a new study from Stanford suggests that DACA could result in drops in crime nationwide.

Are we truly our brothers and sisters keepers? Or, does self-interest trump what is best for the common good? These questions will need to be answered in the Nov. 6 election. The way I see it, a “yes” vote on Proposition 30 and Measure D, the increase of minimum wage in San Jose to $10 per hour, will be for the best interest of all our citizens.

The city collected more than $3.5 million last fiscal year through taxes on medical marijuana collectives. Some city officials want more. Councilmember Sam Liccardo, along with Rose Herrera and Pierluigi Olivero, put forth a plan Monday to put all medical marijuana collectives not paying their Measure U taxes out of business. According to the city’s Department of Finance, in the past fiscal year, 80 of the 158 medical marijuana dispensaries have “never, or only sporadically, paid the medical marijuana tax approved by voters in 2010 through Measure U.”

The City Council meeting Tuesday will open with a commendation ceremony for local Olympian Martilou “Marti” Malloy, who took bronze in Judo in London, and the Association of Former Vietnamese Political Prisoners for their 25 years of support of Vietnamese political prisoners. But once the council gets down to business Tuesday, the mayor and councilmembers will discuss a Grand Jury report that questions the city’s funding structure and transparency in building City Hall.

San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra was in Charlotte, N.C., last week as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. The following is a recap of his final day at the Convention, President Obama’s speech and some overall themes from the week-long event.—Editor

Waking up Thursday morning, it was hard to believe that we still had the main event of the Democratic National Convention ahead of us. The previous three days had been exhilarating and empowering but also exhausting. The long days of meeting different community and political leaders from around the country made me feel good about the Democratic Party. The bulk of the members in attendance at the convention were not wealthy contributors or high-level officials but rather ordinary Americans who want to serve and love the energy and political atmosphere that surround a national convention. I met retirees, students, veterans, community activists, and public servants from all walks of life.

Arts and Culture are words used quite often to describe the vibrancy of cities; particularly big cities looking to attract business, tourists and new residents. City folk have enjoyed arts and culture entertainment for centuries, which has been funded both privately and publicly.