Last week’s discussion of the Valley Fair/Westfield behemoth mall complex and its fleet of department stores is linked in one way to the more recent and dubious history of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Yes, they both have “fair” in their titles, but more precisely, they both offer lessons and opportunities to do a few things right in the development of key properties in our city. 

This weekend San Francisco held one of its largest outside concerts, Outside Lands, which featured 60 acts on six stages in Golden Gate Park’s Polo Fields. More than 60,000 attended over the three days. Headliners such as Beck, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Radiohead, Jack Johnson, Primus, Steel Pulse and Bela Fleck, as well as many local bands, took the stages from Friday evening to Sunday night.

The Mercury News recently published an article drawing attention to the salary [$259,000 in 2007—Editor] of Harry Mavrogenes, the director of San Jose’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA). What should concern San Jose residents more is whether or not the RDA is adequately serving the interests of the people.

City Hall Diary

From my experience in running for elected office, one of the difficult hurdles was raising money. Now I don’t have a problem “asking” for money per se. However, the difficulty for me was “who” I should take money from and who I shouldn’t.  Who I take money from during an election can equate to access and/or even the perception of personal favors later when in elected office.

This week’s open public forum awaits you. Blog on!

Council Decides To Ban Kids Instead

In an unintended consequence of Councilwoman Nora Campos’s proposal to ban new fast-food restaurants in San Jose, the council has decided to allow fast food growth, but also try to protect kids from childhood obesity by banning them from the city.

Silicon Alleys

NEXT WEEK, perhaps the most colossal, across-the-board, mammoth gathering of stars with every possible relationship to visual computing will descend upon San Jose. Orchestrated by Santa Clara’s NVIDIA, pretty much the world pace-setter for visual computing technologies, NVISION08 is the first visual computing mega-event. No matter how much one lampoons the self-proclaimed Capital of Silicon Valley epithet, this event, like the 01SJ Global Festival of Art on the Edge, suggests the moniker finally fits.

Food for Thought

The arrest of a 57-year-old male San Francisco high school assistant principal and a 41-year-old Milpitas woman for running a brothel in an upscale North San Jose apartment complex has shocked the residents of the building and others around the city. It was one of two similar brothels shut down by San Jose police last week and the tenth one of the year brought to police attention by complaints from neighbors. But why should the fact that brothels exist in such places surprise anyone?

The past is prologue. Here was the center of our valley’s commercial life and tax base—the heart of San Jose. The majority of hotels and department stores, movie theatres and fine restaurants were concentrated here. If you wanted a car, you had only to come to this area. Elite jewelry stores were located here as well as retail outlets for sporting goods, uniforms, ladies’ fine wear, toys, televisions, and just about anything under the sun that the consumer could want. You could even buy a tractor. This was downtown San Jose, circa 1955

At a time of utter failure with California’s overcrowded prison system, a legislative initiative called the “Runner Initiative” is gaining momentum to get on the November ballot. Dubbed as a tough-on-crime law that will be presented to voters as the “The Safe Neighborhoods Act: Protect Crime Victims, Stop Gangs and Thugs” (Proposition 6), the initiative is a sledgehammer that plays upon the public’s fears, and will ultimately punish the state. Think Proposition 21—the law passed in 2000 that dramatically increased incarceration rates and sentences on juveniles—on steroids.

It’s no secret that I am single and young (in my mind), and with that comes a fervent passion for all things shopping. I wouldn’t call myself materialistic, but when it comes to new clothes, department stores and boutiques, I find myself one of America’s great consumers—always on the lookout for something new and better to wear.

The Council Knows What’s Best For You

In an effort to save society and better the community, Councilmembers Campos, Williams, and Chu have taken it upon themselves to try and impose a one-year moratorium on the construction of fast food restaurants in San Jose.  “Obesity is a huge problem within our society and among children,” Campos was quoted as saying.

City Hall Diary

Rebuttals? No, not at the 2-minute public forum at council meetings but, rather, for ballot statements.

This is the weekly open forum for anyone who has something to say about anything.

Thousands of Milpitans Flee to Alviso

The Milpitas Post reported late Thursday that San Jose’s Honor Guard, backed by thousands of City Team peacekeepers and a bevy of Taiko drummers, invaded the small hamlet of Milpitas, resulting in several dangerous clashes with their loyal and brutal band of Minutemen left over from the city’s War of Independence in 1954.

Silicon Alleys

FREMONT resident Xavier Nuez specializes in urban blight photography. For 17 years now, he’s slithered into desolated wastelands across America and documented rundown shipyards, busted fire escapes, defunct ballparks and deserted alleyways. He makes photographic monuments out of ruins. “Long after dark, I venture into bleak urban settings, seeking out dramatic stories and elusive splendor,” he asserts on his website (http://www.nuez.com). Since Nuez shoots only in film and only at nighttime, the photos have a surreal, almost sinister look about them. When seen in large format, the details are staggering.