The Cinequest film festival is in the midst of its fifteenth year, with over 200 films being shown to 60,000 people, all in downtown San Jose.  This, I would contend, is what makes a city great.

“We CAN Carry San Francisco’s Jock!” Thousands Chant

In response to the debate regarding San Jose’s “greatness,” started by sanjoseinside.com bloggers and picked up by the San Jose Mercury News tens of thousands of people gathered at Taco Bell on Bascom Ave. to dispel the rumors of the city’s inadequacies.

For those of you who rely on San Jose Inside as your primary news source (who doesn’t?), here’s some interesting stories from other publications.

I took my semi-regular turn on the Ronn Owens show on KGO yesterday, and along with the usual talk of the Sharks, BART, and various other San Jose issues, the suitability of the San Jose motto reared its dubious head.

The last time the founder of Craig’s List visited San Jose was over 2 years ago to attend a science fiction convention.  Conclusion:  if San Franciscan Craig Newmark won’t drive an hour South more frequently than that, we need more things to do in San Jose to attract nerds.  Note to Convention Center boss Dan Fenton:  call the Star Trek convention organizers.

It seems that many people enjoy discussing the relative merits of San Jose as a city of significance. While I personally dislike the word, “great” and never used it in my time as Mayor, I’ll play along for a while.

Too Busy Dealing With Goat Ordinance

VTA Board of Directors Alternate and Morgan Hill Mayor Dennis Kennedy offered up a rare apology after verbally assaulting the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group over a letter they sent urging his support for the Silicon Valley BART extension.

Can we have hot meals, smooth traffic, a baseball team, living wage for car rental workers at the airport, a brand-spanking new city hall that opens on time and an ethical city government?  Well, judging by the news of the week, the answers appears to be yes, no, maybe, probably, there’s a good chance and, as the magic eight ball would say, ask again later.  Which answer goes to which question?  Let’s take a look…

It is always a good thing to step back from the fray – and the madness of crowds or media – and look at the place where we live.

Governing Magazine just published a management report card on the fifty states.  For California, there’s good news and bad news.  First, the bad news:  we get a C minus—tied with Alabama for worst in the class.  Now, the good news: when we order double lattes at Starbucks in this state, we don’t get asked, “shall I leave some room for grits?” Joking aside, this is not a report card you want to bring home to mom and dad, Governor Schwarzenegger.

In honor of the holiday, we’ve given Tom a day off.  The Vantage Point will return on Wednesday.  In the meantime, use this open thread to let the world know your innermost thoughts about San Jose…

Temporary Stadium Proposed

During a press conference late Thursday night, a mere week after his State of the City Speech, Mayor Gonzales finally released details for his plan to bring Major League Baseball to San Jose.

Last week I enjoyed a meal at one of the finest establishments whose soup I have ever had the privilege of slurping: Chez Croissant, also known as Pho Bac So.  It’s on First Street near the County Building and it is a delight.  In fact, I guess you could say that this blog is brought to you by the numbers 2, 49 and 94.

There are a few key things to be done if baseball is to become a reality in our City.

If we really want the A’s playing ball in San Jose, we should put the right people at the table – not Bud Selig, the Commissioner who counts votes before acting; not Peter Magowan, the Giants owner who thinks the Giants territory was part of the original Spanish land grants.  Instead, we take the general managers, the A’s Billy Beane and the Giant’s Brian Sabean, and lock them in a room with enough food for 72 hours.  If we’re nice, we give them bathroom breaks. 

It is wonderful to dream—one of the freest and most enjoyable things in life.  Yet, dreams can be destructive and deflating if they substitute obsession, cant, or hype for reality. Dreams must not become your master.