San Jose’s best annual event began its 17th year last night at the California Theatre with a Bay Area premiere showing of Indian director Mira Nair’s “The Namesake,” from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. This was quite a coup for our film festival as Nair’s previous film, “Vanity Fair,” starring Reese Witherspoon and former Cinequest honoree Gabriel Byrne, got a big Hollywood-blowout release. The filmmakers were on hand at the opening gala afterward.

I thought the story a week or so ago about improvements in our local transportation system was very informative.  Basically, it goes like this: the California Transportation Commission slanted the available funding to rural and non-economically important areas of the state. The Mercury News headline screamed: “South Bay Road Plans Dim.” They have refused, in some goofy pique or lack of sanity, to fund the economic engine of the free world: San Jose, Silicon Valley, us!  What are they thinking?

With all the negativity of Mardi Gras and the way it was handled in the city, I thought I would give you a positive view: how I actually spent my Mardi Gras.

While most professionals were scared away from downtown (for good reason), my friend talked me into grabbing dinner at the Poor House Bistro on Autumn Street.  Being that it is a New Orleans-style restaurant, we thought they would probably celebrate the holiday the authentic way—and we were spot on with that assessment.

How City Officials Snuck It Through

Very few people in San Jose know the story about the political maneuvering that paved the way for the San Jose Airport to be renamed for Norman Mineta. 

Hopefuls Try to Distinguish Themselves in Race to Succeed Chuck Reed

In the race to succeed Mayor Chuck Reed in his former council district, several dozen candidates are trying to distinguish themselves by establishing credibility before the March 6 special election.

Finally, our new mayor and city council have listened to the voices of San Jose’s citizens and neighborhood leaders and set budget priorities for the coming year that are in accordance with the wishes of the vast majority. In a meeting on Tuesday, the mayor, council members and their staffs made a commitment to funding the items most often mentioned on this site and in the neighborhoods. These break down into roughly three areas: public safety, public works infrastructure, and public recreational services.

Well, the committee that has been debating the future of downtown’s nightclub culture and, in the truest sense, the “future” of downtown itself, seems to have figured it out. Unfortunately, I fear that they have it very, very wrong.

The San Jose Mercury News editorial and article on Sunday about the state of our downtown brought up more issues that will inspire further debate about what kind of downtown we all want.

The main issue of the article was the policing of downtown—something we have discussed at great length on San Jose Inside—which doesn’t have a simple solution.  But, the money the city is spending on police being downtown is not just the city’s responsibility. Those that cause the conditions that warrant extra policemen should definitely bear some of the financial responsibility for it. Fly-by-night promoters and nightclub owners would think twice about opening a sleazy club for a quick buck if they knew they had to shell out some money from their own pockets for police protection of those exposed to their clubs and patrons. It is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.

The City of San Jose Via a Web Browser

If elected, constituent service will be my top priority. 

For the past twelve years, I have worked in the private sector high-tech industry.  Based on my experience, web browser technology is an excellent communication tool that can be implemented into the way the City of San Jose does business. By implementing a web-based solution to the District 6 office, I will be able to enhance constituent services and, within a year, have empirical evidence describing specific outcomes by tracking constituent issues in real time.

For those of you who think that nothing of interest or importance ever happens in San Jose, take a wander around the San Jose Museum of Art’s current exhibitions. It’s impossible not to enjoy this fascinating local show of works by M.C. Escher and some of the seminal artists from the Op Art era. Judging by the large crowds I witnessed there over the weekend, these exhibitions are very popular and are bringing locals and visitors here alike, proving once again that our museum is a vital part of life in San Jose and the region.

Every few years at a showing of movie classics or at a meeting of mystery writers, it once again raises its black, shinny head.  Known in lore and anecdotes everywhere as the “Black Bird,” it is the creation of writer Dashiell Hammett and was portrayed in the film noir classic, “The Maltese Falcon,” starring that hardboiled realist, Humphrey Bogart.  It is, in short, “the stuff that dreams are made of.”

Don’t worry, this article is not going to be about our purpose on earth or any existential crisis I may be having; but, rather, about when it comes to politicians and the voting process, what really matters.

Our vision for the future of San Jose should be nothing less than assuring that the city we leave for future generations provides the quality of life and opportunities that were provided for those of us who were born and raised here.

My son, who is seventeen, is already concerned that he may not stay in San Jose. He talks about how he’s tired of the traffic and how congested this area has become.  He’s not sure if he will be able to find a job and be able to afford to live here. And he is just like thousands of others.

SF Mayor Admits To Wearing Diapers During Staff Meetings

After several embarrassing revelations this week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom saved the best for last with an admission that he wears diapers during long staff meetings and “some cross country air travel.”

When I read that the San Francisco Symphony plans to come to San Jose on October 5 and play a free concert in Chavez Plaza, I jumped for joy. They are also increasing their number of performances at the Flint Center next season by adding three family concerts, and the symphony’s Youth Orchestra will present Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” in the California Theater on December 15. This is exactly the type of regional approach that we need to take here in Bay Area. How lucky we are to have our neighboring world-class orchestra coming here to play an absolutely free concert for our community and picking up the $100,000 tab themselves.