On March 24, Metro/San Jose Inside reported that Santa Clara Family Health Foundation (SCFHF) executive board member and officer Cindy Chavez participated in a board decision to provide $250,000 in funding to the Yes on A committee, on which she and Kathleen King—CEO of SCFHF—constituted a majority of the three-member committee. The committee subsequently turned over a large portion of the funds to the South Bay Labor Council Issues PAC and Democratic Central Committee’s PAC. Because of Chavez’s obvious conflicts of interest—she headed up the SBLC at the time—and the importance of a countywide sales tax increase, which will be paid by all residents, Metro/San Jose Inside felt this was a matter of public interest.

On Friday, nine nonprofit executives wrote a letter to express their thoughts on recent articles. They worry that investigative reporting could make nonprofits “the target of unfounded accusations and public reproach.” Because we feel this is a useful debate to have, and because we want to give differing points of view the proper attention they deserve, we are running below the letter in full, in addition to its appearance in the comments section where it was submitted. —Editor

While on its executive committee, prospective county supervisor candidate Cindy Chavez helped move hundreds of thousands of dollars out of a local health nonprofit, according to copies of board minutes obtained by San Jose Inside. At a pivotal meeting last June, Chavez voted to approve a budget that included a line item in which one of her employers, Working Partnerships USA, had a financial interest—and to fund a political campaign that was largely run by her other employer, the South Bay Labor Council. The two transactions totaled $400,000, more than a quarter of the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation’s budget.

Funds from two local non-profit health care foundations made their way to phone banks and mail campaigns of the South Bay Labor Council in 2012 after routing the money through a Measure A’s campaign committee. Both the VMC Foundation and the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation gave more than a quarter-million dollars each—a total of $539,000—to support an 1/8th cent county sales tax measure, Measure A. At least $90,000 of those monies were transferred to the South Bay Labor Council. An incestuous tangle of organizations, directors and consultants characterized the transactions, with common decision-makers on both the giving and receiving ends. None of the organization are willing to discuss how the funds were used and how decisions were made. Former San Jose vice mayor and South Bay Labor Council CEO Cindy Chavez currently heads up the nonprofit SBLC-linked Working Partnerships USA (WPUSA) and sits on the board for the Health Trust and Santa Clara Family Health Foundation.

It’s always a shame to let facts interfere with a good story, but county Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr.‘s downfall didn’t start with a hushed voice from a trench coat in the dark corners of a parking garage. Here’s how Metro/San Jose Inside uncovered some of the disgraced politician’s illegal activity.

Last November, a few hundred people donned their best suits and gowns and converged on San Jose’s historic Hayes Mansion to toast some of the East Side’s most accomplished alumni. The stars that night, honored in the East Side Union High School District Education Foundation’s Hall of Fame fundraiser, consisted of a 10-person class led by Khaled Hosseini, a 1984 graduate of Independence High School and author of The Kite Runner. But on Nov. 15, 2011, the IRS revoked the foundation’s nonprofit status. And yet almost no one outside of its board—including donors—knew about its lost certification when it threw a fundraiser a year later.

Working Partnerships USA, the labor-aligned nonprofit headed by former San Jose vice mayor Cindy Chavez, yesterday released its most recent Internal Revenue Service Form 990, after eight days of refusing requests to view the document. A review of the organization’s filings over the years found spending increases during key elections despite IRS restrictions on political activities by charities. In total, the nonprofit has raised and spent more than $25 million since 1998.

If you’re interested in making a non-tax deductible contribution to a man who misused thousands of taxpayer dollars, in addition to hiding campaign disclosure forms for years, George Shirakawa would like to speak with you.

Since 2009, the San Jose Fire Department has responded to emergency calls slower than previously reported. The question is by how much. In a memo sent out Friday by the city manager’s office, Fire Chief William McDonald explains that “data used in the calculation of the response-time measure were excluded in error.”

While many Santa Clara County homeowners sweated to pay their semiannual property tax payments in the recession that followed 2008’s economic collapse, and businesses cut back on expenses, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors president George Shirakawa Jr. spent $36,830 of their money on plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, dining and other items—like a television and a $627 glass door mini-fridge that he claims were related to county business—since January 2009. The county’s top elected official broke the $30 dinner spending limit with steaks that cost as much as $102 each (including tax and tip), violated the ban on alcohol purchases and claimed that his meetings with lobbyists, political consultants and friends were official county business. A regular at taquerias, Chinese restaurants, Italian bistros and rib joints, the board’s runaway frequent diner avoided detection by filing a “missing receipt” declaration more than 180 times. Amazingly, Shirakawa never lost the top copy of the receipt—the one with the tip and total—only the slip that details the number of guests and the items consumed.

The following is an excerpt from a Metro investigation into Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa. Since taking office in January of 2009, Shirakawa has broken the law by not filing nine campaign disclosure forms showing how he has collected money to pay off a $110,000 debt from the 2008 campaign. In addition to this stunning lack of transparency, forms that Shirakawa did file during that campaign show a policy of nepotism in doling out more than $50,000 in campaign cash to a close friend, two of his daughters and the mother of one of his children.—Editor

Members of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 showed up at 4pm Sunday to close the cement and asphalt plant at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry. Aggregate Division Manager Jack Leemaster looked none too happy with the surprise when he drove up in a white pickup truck 45 minutes later. “My understanding is they had a pretty good sized order going out tonight,” said one plant worker, resting his placard’s pine stick on his shoulder. “Three hundred tons for night paving.” Twelve hours later, things would get worse for Graniterock. Before Monday crews punched in to start their weeks, picketers descended upon the company’s recycling plant at Monterey Highway and Capitol Expressway, at the sand and gravel facility in Hollister and at Graniterock operations in San Jose’s Berryessa district, Redwood City and South San Francisco.

Paperwork is the worst; unless there isn’t any. A call down to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Thursday turned up some interesting details in the re-election campaigns of county supervisors Dave Cortese and George Shirakawa. Both men ran unopposed to re-election to the board of supervisors in the recent primary, but both raised money. This begs a few questions: Why would a politician need to raise money for a campaign in which they are running unopposed? And why would someone give money to an unopposed candidate? Could there be some amorous backscratching going on here?

San Jose Police were called to the headquarters of the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday afternoon after an independent distribution firm discovered its news racks — along with those of other local publications — in a metal recycling dumpster behind the daily’s plant. News outlets whose news racks were found in the garbage container included Metro, the Palo Alto Daily Post, the Mountain View Voice, Good Times, La Oferta, the San Francisco Chronicle and other publications.

Despite the city’s stated commitment to sunshine and open government, city officials and proponents of a proposal to permanently close a block of South First Street concealed critical documents from affected parties for a year—until the eve of a council vote. Promoters of the “pavement to plaza” conversion say a $500,000 grant from ArtPlace requires the street’s full closure. San Jose will contribute $98,000 in park and economic development funds, under the plan, which goes to the City Council at today’s 1:30pm meeting.

Eric Swallow currently owns the city’s oldest card room, Garden City Casino, with partners Peter and Jeanine Lunardi, and they want nothing more than to shut down the aging facility and replace it with a 21st-century gambling establishment. Casino M8trix is a $50-million, 16-story highrise alongside Highway 101 near San Jose’s airport. The casino’s owners are in a standoff with San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore and some members of city staff.

Lupe Nunez, a vice principal for two years at one of two charter schools formerly operated by the Mexican American Community Service Agency (MACSA)  school, says she’s not sure if Xavier Campos was involved in the disappearance of funds from the teachers’ retirement accounts, “but you kind of wonder.” The question weighs on the minds of many teachers who worked for below-market wages at charter schools in Gilroy and San Jose, operated by MACSA, as executives raided $1 million from their pension accounts to pay other expenses, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office.