Anyone who wants to look at a parallel example of what our own downtown is becoming need look no further than … well … Rome. An article  in the New York Times on Tuesday paints a picture of the historic medieval district of Trastevere—just south of Vatican City on the west bank of the Tiber—and other ancient parts of central Rome around Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori, just a “stone’s throw from where Julius Caesar met his treacherous end,” as being under siege by “booze-soaked” tourists (mostly from America and Northern Europe) that have made these areas living hell for residents, some of whose families have been there since Christians were fed to lions.

The Freddy Krueger of land use issues is again the talk of the town as the Coyote Valley über-city of Xanadu is once more before the city council. Growth has alternately made, destroyed, bedeviled, bewitched and dazzled councils for forty years. It has made a few people mayor and destroyed the candidacies of others.  It has been the Holy Grail to some and the third rail for the careless. It never seems to leave us. It is the constant specter that haunts our sleep in this city. It is the stuff that dreams are made of.

This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure (or displeasure) of driving up Interstate 5 into Northern California.  On my way up, I passed through towns like Cottonwood, Arbuckle and even a town called Weed.  After each plot of dirt, each cow and each broken down trailer whizzed by me, I began to think about how lucky I am to live where I live—where there is so much to do and not far to go to do it. Sometimes you just need to leave San Jose to realize how good you really have it. So I thought I would start a list of some things to do this summer and if you have any thoughts or ideas (which I know you always do), please feel free to tell them to us below.

City Hall Diary

Last week, the San Jose City Council passed additional rules for governing lobbyists.  I supported this item and made a few comments of my own.

Bay Bridge, Hwy. 101, Leaves of Absence Keep Tiny Office Out of Top Ten

Employees of the tiny San Jose City Auditor’s office were told on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) that their daily trip to the sexually-charged workplace known as the “Auditor’s Den” was not among the top ten dreaded commutes.

The Mercury News is rapidly reaching a terminal stage and those of us who care about it are very worried. The announcement that the paper is cutting another 40 people from the editorial staff is only the latest development in the steady downward spiral the paper has been taking over the past year or so. The Mercury and MediaNews management officially blames the changes on the economics of running a newspaper—falling revenues from advertising—but it is non-local ownership that is at the root of the decline. The “new” MediaNews Mercury is even beginning to make the Chronicle (where they are also cutting staff) look good.

It’s all over, apparently, without a bang or a whimper. Nary a shot was heard. The Sopranos has concluded and the charges against the former mayor have been dropped. The penultimate episodes of both have been seen. The stories of Ron Gonzales and Tony Soprano are both inconclusive. Many, thinking they are over, are dissatisfied.

The long lost question has been answered, finally!  How do we get more families and women into our downtown to make it a place for everyone?  The answer is clear:  MORE COUNTRY CONCERTS.  Who knew the answer was so simple?

City Hall Diary

Whew—just before midnight, we passed the budget! 

After many long budget hearings, staff presentations, public testimony and robbing Peter to pay Paul, we have a “balanced” budget.

Furious Over Stunt To Steal Daughter’s Headlines

The Hilton family has filed a lawsuit with the Santa Clara County Superior Court alleging that ex-Mayor Gonzales and former aide Joe Guerra have used unfair tactics in order to wrest headlines away from their daughter, infamous socialite Paris Hilton.

The San Jose City Council voted unanimously to end free downtown parking in city garages and impose a $5 charge after 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday nights from July 1. This comes in the wake of the widespread use and abuse of the garages for partying and mayhem at night as we have been discussing here on SJI. The projected $400,000 of revenue raised by this fee will be used to pay for city parking garage policing and clean-up.

It is very heartening to read of Jim Fox’s plan to renovate and restore the Sainte Claire Building to its pre-implosion splendor.  Although many know it as the Original Joe’s Building, whatever you call it, the building was a vital part of San Jose’s past and can become an important part of the city’s future. Shuttered for 35 years, it is reminiscent of the fiasco when our new Center for the Performing Arts opened in 1972 and, a few months later as workmen were performing some minor repairs, the interior retractable ceiling collapsed. The city’s answer, inexplicably, was to leave it there and litigate. (As one wag suggested, it was like leaving two cars in an intersection for two years while the guilt was assigned.) 

Breaking News

Charges have been dropped against the former mayor and his aide by the Santa Clara County District Court judge hearing the case. You can read the story in the Mercury News here:

http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6123426

A PDF file of the ruling can be found here:

http://bayareanewsgroup.com/multimedia/mn/news/gonzales_courtruling_061307.pdf

What do our bloggers think of this development?

The city council’s new plan for “soft” closings has stirred up debate about our downtown—what it has become and what it could be. Wrongfully or rightfully, some people are on one side of the fence, saying that downtown is a place of murders and thugs, while others wonder if it is really that bad.

City Hall Diary

As I have mentioned before in a few of my posts, my parents taught me the importance of saving my money and using it prudently at a very young age. I think my parents taught me well; they practiced what they preached and I learned by example.

San Jose Convention Center Hosts Google Developer Day

Google held its annual Developer Day at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center last week and I attended the event. (I’m involved with a project that’s being pitched to the Google Foundation.)  I can attest to the fact that the City of San Jose did itself proud last week.