Every Saturday SJI creates a space for discussion about topics that haven’t been brought up elsewhere. What’s on your mind?

With celebratory talk about the 40th anniversary of Woodstock reverberating throughout the land, no one seems to be bringing up the darker side of that era, especially since August will also mark the 40th anniversary of the Tate-LaBianca murders. Since the Conspiracy Convention 2009 just happens to hit the Santa Clara Marriott this weekend, I think I must probe a few seemingly connected spheres of influence.

The San Jose Elections Commission is considering changing the way citizen’s vote for city officials in an effort to save both money and time. At its June 10 meeting, the commission is set to discuss the possibility of San Jose becoming the most populous jurisdiction in the United States to implement Instant-Runoff Voting when casting ballots for city office holders

So Fly was browsing YouTube.com, looking for more videos of Keyboard Cat, when up popped an interesting little video posted by the San Jose Police Officers Association. On it, Raj Jayadev, founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug (and a regular SJI contributor), is seen addressing a San Jose City Council meeting, talking about the distrust brewing between some city residents and the police department.

The City Council last night agreed to soften San Jose’s police tactics when it comes to arresting people for public intoxication, a move they hope will result in fewer arrests. After a few hours of discussion, the council voted 8-1 to sign off on recommendations put forward by the city-appointed Public Intoxication Task Force.

San Jose’s Economic Development office has mysteriously authored a Memorandum that would permanently reverse 25 years of land use planning in the city.

Billed as an “Economic Emergency Amendment” to the North San Jose Area Development Policy, the memo calls for a massive development of one million square feet of retail space, 2,000 hotel rooms, and 8,000 residential units. The memo is signed off on by Paul Krutko, the city’s economic development point man, and is accompanied by a resolution, dated June, 2009, to be sent to the City Council.

“This is the civil rights movement of our times.” “We are bleeding to death.” “This is a public safety issue.” These comments were spoken by members of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s contingent that rode up to Sacramento yesterday to make a bold statement about the lack of funding for public education.

When I ran for city council I was asked many times, “What are you going to do about the schools?” Unlike Chicago or New York, where the care of the schools falls under city government, San Jose has multiple school districts that have separate elected officials that are responsible for the care of the schools, making the City of San Jose and the school districts completely separate.

San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum is a place where visitors are invited to suggest topics for discussion. What’s on your mind?

Last week saw Bay Area electric car maker Tesla sign a deal with Daimler, making it worth half the value of Big Three car manufacturer GM. Yesterday, the company hit a snag when it was forced to recall all 345 of its Roadster vehicles because some bolts on the rear chassis were improperly torqued.

When news broke of a 27-year-old Vietnamese man being shot and killed at his home by a San Jose police officer, the pain of the tragedy in the local community was amplified by a gut-wrenching and unexpected feeling—familiarity.

While questions are still being asked after the May 10 shooting of Daniel Pham, the basic fact pattern that has been disclosed by the San Jose Police Department is sadly reminiscent of a 2003 incident involving a young Vietnamese mother, Cau Bich Tran, who was shot by San Jose police in her home.

Perhaps Councilwoman Nora Campos’s trek to the state Capitol today is an omen of what’s to come Thursday. After much speculation, the District 5 council rep says she will publicly announce her plans for public office in 2010. Her staffers stayed tight-lipped about it, only saying that she has decided to hold off on her announcement until Thursday for personal reasons.

Hopefully, we all took a moment yesterday to honor those who have fallen while serving under our nation’s flag. However, I wonder how many of our public school students can actually tell us what the meaning and significance of Memorial Day is? US History is too often a dreaded subject in the nation’s schools.

In a growing controversy with the local Vietnamese community, San Jose police have refused to release 9-1-1 tapes that would clarify what they knew about Daniel Pham’s mental health. Pham, 27, was shot dead in Berryessa on Mother’s Day after allegedly slashing his brother’s throat. His family claims they informed police that he was mentally ill.

Memorial Day is a day when we commemorate those who died serving in our military. For the past 15 years, the City of San Jose has recognized our police officers at an annual Police Memorial Ceremony. This started in 1995 under Mayor Susan Hammer. The event has grown from a small event to one that draws many.

In San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum, the site’s users set the agenda, and opinions on any issue of local interest are welcome.