Council Unable to Question City Manager in Annual Review

Predicting a haranguing about his role in the Norcal garbage scandal, City Manager Del Borgsdorf was able to fend off any direct questions by filibustering anxious council members during a rare eight-hour, closed-door, annual performance review on Tuesday.

It is said that the cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Are we spending too much time on the investigations into the events that have recently happened at City Hall? This is a question that is being posed in the community.  Let’s look at the cost: the Cisco investigation was $150,000, the Norcal scandal, so-called Garbagegate, was at a $100,000 limit, and the Terry Gregory affair was a bargain at $60,000.  The Gregory investigation ended in his resignation after a very late response by the mayor and council. In the Cisco affair, the plug was pulled by the council at what many thought was the penultimate moment.

I recently read where Forbes magazine named San Jose as the “Richest City in the U.S.” We may be the richest when it comes to money, but are we the poorest when it comes to fun?

What happened to the days where you would meet coworkers for happy hour or take clients out to eat?  What I see in the Bay Area now are tech geeks that are more than happy to spend 12-hour days in their cubicles, and less time out on the town.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This week marked the 42nd anniversary of the assasination of President John F. Kennedy. I just looked at a photo of him at the San Jose Municipal Airport in 1960 and pulled down a copy of “Profiles in Courage” that he autographed to my Dad - another world.  It is incredible to think of the America then - and how we have changed. How this Valley has changed from the small emerging garden city to the center of the high technology information age now.  On today’s thread, let’s comment on the good and the bad of those monumental changes.
   
I’ll begin. We no longer have to drive to San Francisco or Oakland
for great entertainment, U2 and McCartney, Disney Ice shows,
Globetrotters, Sharks (hockey in our city: no way!) and music for
each and every ethnic group and taste in our region - that’s good! 
Traffic: that’s not so good. It was easier to drive in our city when we had more canneries and fewer technology centers. 

The Downtown: light years to the positive side, but it sure was nice to go to OJ’s, and a Santa Clara vs. San Jose State basketball game - and park right on the street for both.

I really wanted to leave this nightclub and crime issue and turn to some other topics this week. Yet, quite easily, they pull me back into the fray.

First there is a thoughtful blog by David Hickey on the bad old days of prostitutes, crime and drugs on every corner in the Sofa area of downtown (before it had that name) in the late seventies. It was a very bad scene.

One of my missions on SanJoseInside is to point out to our readers things that I think are missing in San Jose and provide ideas for ways to fill the gaps.

Repeal of Ban on Alcohol Sales Could Give Rise to Gasclubs

Shortly after a unanimous vote by the San Jose City Council on an urgency ordinance that gives the police chief more discretion in shutting down problem nightclubs in downtown, a committee of nightclub owners met and decided to take their business elsewhere—to the neighborhood gas stations.

As I walked the streets of New York the past few days, I visited Fr. Duffy Square, the Theatre District, and the many neighborhoods that make up the immediate downtown, a fascinating crossroads of all that this nation is and can be.  I am struck by one simple fact:  the presence of police is one of the most reassuring sights, giving the finest sense of well-being imaginable. In bunches of two, three, and four, on horse, car, motor bike, and practically suspended on high wires across Broadway, they console, advise, direct, and even crack a joke or two.  “Did you hear the one about the ….”  Never mind. They are a presence to enjoy.

I took a trip this weekend to Chicago.  Not only do they have more bars per capita than any other American city, they have key components that make it one of the best cities in the United States.  Though San Jose will never be Chicago, it can try to model itself after the Windy City in a few ways:

Chuck and Cami Want “Authentic Experience” in Silicon Valley

After a successful few days in San Francisco trumpeting organic farming and environmental stewardship, Prince Charles and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall and future HRH The Princess Consort, expressed the need to “let down our hair and slum a bit.”

Sometimes you get a moment of clarifying light in a public meeting. It is rare but not impossible. Such was the case in last week’s meeting between Police Chief Rob Davis and many residents and business owners.  There were three council members present: Cindy Chavez, Dave Cortese, and Chuck Reed.

I have to admit that I didn’t go to one Earthquakes game this year.  I like soccer, I support San Jose teams, but I didn’t make it to a single game. We support the Sharks even after a year-long lockout, but the majority of San Joseans bypass what is the most popular sport in the world.

Constant Disagreement Attracts Attention of TV Therapist

Just several hours after a decision by the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to cancel a scheduled meeting on long-range spending plans for the oft-threatened BART extension to Silicon Valley, VTA General Manager Michael Burns received a call from Dr Phil McGraw, inviting the entire VTA Board to a session on the therapist’s hit show.

The presence of police downtown is becoming more and more of an issue after the recent shootings.  Most people who live or work in central San Jose consider the presence of police officers in their neighborhoods to be an unmitigated positive. They are disciplined, courteous, respectful, and a deterrent to unpleasant occurrences—all in all, something that law-abiding citizens desire.

I have found the perfect place in San Jose for well-dressed, professional, hip people to congregate - a Sharks game!  Ladies, take that money you are paying to Match.com and buy some club-level Sharks tickets instead. For your benefit, here is a breakdown of the gene pool at the Tank:

Limited Time Offer Comes with Two Hours Free Parking

With cruising at an all time high downtown, Conditional Use Permits handed out like penicillin in a whorehouse, and gun battles taking place in front of nightclubs, the downtown business community has responded by implementing an aggressive program that will distribute free Taser stun guns for the defense and safety of those visiting downtown.