The debate over the San Jose Flea Market is a microcosm of our city and society as a whole. One side represents an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality that can be good for the city. The other side offers a realistic criticism of our inability to preserve anything that could be deemed historical or part of the fabric of our culture.  Though I do see merit on both sides of the argument, I support the development of the land around the flea market and think it could be a great thing for our city. 

Do you remember getting an allowance as a kid? I do and it wasn’t very much, so I had to learn to manage my money very carefully. My chores were visible to my parents and they judged me on my performance. They could clearly see if I was not performing up to par.  In addition, my parents would oversee how I spent my money. They wanted to make sure I was not wasting it and that I spent it prudently. 

“Schmoozer of the Year” Stone Thrives Again

According to research by Joint Venture Silicon Valley Group, the demise of society and the human race could be linked to Blackberry usage. Wednesday’s mobile device outage, although infuriating to many addicts, was hailed as a watershed event that researchers say the valley needed in order to “reconnect with others and thrive into the future.”

Hypocritical actions are in full bloom in San Jose.  In this case, it is a recommendation to the Sunshine Task Force by one of its members who is exhibiting that most unfortunate characteristic. Labor representative Bob Brownstein is suggesting that the city be required to detail all costs anytime a significant public subsidy is required. The wages of any jobs, impact on neighborhoods, return in taxes, and anything that could reasonably be assumed to be a pertinent part of a project, would have to be expeditiously disclosed. This is just like the joke about not being able to run a two-car funeral. In recent municipal lore, it is known as not being able to give away retail space to Starbuck’s. That’s some business sense—and some funeral.

Though some of you think that I loathe the yuppie culture of Willow Glen, it really is a beautiful area and I realize that residents pay an arm and a leg to live there and maintain their million-dollar homes. I recently drove to Willow Glen for dinner at a friend’s house with two of the aforementioned yuppies (on their home turf no less). As I drove past Willow Glen Elementary, I thought how sad it was that most people who live in those expensive homes don’t send their kids to the local public school, putting them into private schools instead. 

When I was a child, my family and I would patronize the downtown. I fondly remember attending shows at the Center for the Performing Arts and the San Jose Symphony. Like many families, we would walk to Original Joes after the shows.

The arts act like candles for the downtown, shedding light on the wonderful museums, restaurants and other amenities that draw people out of their homes and to the city center.  Whether it’s theater or music, the arts brings people to the downtown core. Without the arts, our downtown would have ceased to exist.

Recently Canned Shock-Jock to Take Over as Department Spokesman

In response to recent allegations that San Jose police officers use excessive force in a disproportionate amount against Latinos and African-Americans, San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis announced late Thursday, in a hastily thrown together news conference, that the department had hired shock-jock Don Imus as its new spokesman and public relations liaison to smooth things over.

For those of you who think creating modern art doesn’t require dedication, you should take a look at the exhibition of works by Korean artist Il Lee (“Ballpoint Abstractions”) currently on display at the San Jose Museum of Art. You will be amazed. I did not know that such intense, focused dedication was possible. Why do I say that? Lee’s work is produced by scribbling on paper and canvas with a ballpoint pen—weeks, months and years of scribbling, millions upon millions of scribbles placed just where he wants them to create his intended visual effects.

The results are in and the sound and fury are subsiding: the Mexican Heritage Plaza is still in the red, the San Jose Police Department arrests more minorities than their ratio in the population, and people are still skeptical of sports facilities. And, in a news flash from Monte Sereno, neighbors are fighting over a fence. There does not seem to be much else of excitement in the paper these days.

The recent news about Lew Wolff and his “secret” plans to bring an Earthquakes stadium to San Jose while converting industrial land to homes in South San Jose to help fund the project, has brought up a whole array of questions from the public about Chuck Reed’s administration and their promise of “open government.”

Do you remember your 8th grade graduation? I do. I graduated from Hoover Middle School in 1984 at the Municipal Rose Garden Park in the historic Rose Garden neighborhood. I remember the day perfectly. I wore my best collared shirt with slacks and sported a “bowl-style” haircut.  The sun was shining, the smell of roses lingered in the air, and the freshly-mowed grass was dark green. I remember walking through the pristine gardens with the girl whom I had a crush on. Students and parents took family photos in the gardens with the colorful roses as a natural backdrop.

Partnership Could Give Legal Status to Thousands of Mustelids

In an unlikely partnership that has Ferrets Anonymous members grasping victory from the jaws of defeat, the South Bay Labor Council and the illegal ferret group have joined forces, setting a precedent that has other lobbying organizations redefining what it means to recruit.

With a clear mandate from the voters and armed with his popular reform agenda, Mayor Reed dragged the old-guard San Jose City Council Members by their hair to a unanimous vote authorizing the taking of the first baby steps toward ending the excesses of the Gonzales era. That’s more than a full measure of ifs, ands and buts, I know, but could this really be the beginning of the beginning of the end of the eight year free-for-all? Is our council going to go back through the looking glass without some kicking, screaming or scheming? If these reforms are going to work, every single member of the council has to voluntarily follow them to the letter. Excuse me if I think this may be a bit overoptimistic.

As tempting as it is to write this week on the navel gazing of the San Jose Police Department and its study of itself suggesting some important and disturbing targeting of minorities, I will save that until another day. My topic today is the one that refuses to go away, the Tombstone (“the town too tough to die”) of our time. It is the scam of the century, the development too lucrative to die: Coyote Valley. Like Freddy Krueger, no matter how many times it is declared dead in innumerable study sessions and elections or in the pronouncements of mayors and budget directors and editorial writers, the new city of sprawl and delusion keeps coming back. No one can drive a stake in its heart, protected as it is by the woolly thinking of certain council members, the Hessians of the lobbying cult, and an impenetrable Kevlar vest of greenbacks and cynicism.

I was fascinated to read in the Mercury News on Monday about the Willow Glen house that was deemed a “junkyard” and how the owners are being taken to court on charges of “blight.” When I read it was in Willow Glen, I wondered if this house was really as bad as it was made out to be, or if it was the work of the Willow Glenites—the same ones that put their PierreLuigi signs in the exact same spot on their lawns a la The Stepford Wives. Would this be happening in any other neighborhood in San Jose?

Is There Some Hope?

As we look at the past, it is important to remember that the same leadership (I use the term loosely) that presided over the sad demise of San Jose’s credibility in the last decade was the predominant force on the VTA Board.  This is not much to inspire confidence or faith in anything, let alone a leap of faith like BART.