The Capital of Silicon Valley.  The Heart of Silicon Valley.  Silicon Valley South.  A lot of names have been used, a lot of places have claimed adoption of it, but we still have the problem of what and where is Silicon Valley.  Do we have that same problem with our city?  People definitely know the way here now, but do they know when they have arrived?  More importantly do they have a memorable feeling of “place” that will lead to a return trip?

Urge Richest Nations to Reject Debt Forgiveness Policy

After a successful pitch to Major League Baseball at Spring Training in Arizona three months ago, Mayor Ron Gonzales and County Assessor Larry Stone have traveled to Scotland in order to bring their unpopular message of “keeping debt in place to pay for a BART extension” to the leaders of the world’s richest nations.

The Fourth of July has passed and I have given my feelings about the “greatness” of San Jose some additional perspective.  I really like the definition of “great” that includes the mention of “skill” as well as importance.  It speaks more precisely to what matters in people as well as places.

Hey San Jose, we just became the tenth largest city in America and all we get is Scott Herhold (link) and Tom McEnery (link) telling us don’t worry, be happy.  We didn’t crack the top ten by being complacent, so let’s seize the moment and strive for something to make us bigger and better.  How about a ballpark?  We still need a site. Or BART extension? We still need federal money, lots of it.  Or new city nickname?  Now, that’s something we can do.

In the Spring of 1989, I traveled to China with San Francisco Mayor Art Agnos and a Bay Area delegation.  It was smack in the middle of historic times. No, not our junket, but the student protests at that time filling up Red Square (is that what you call it, Jack?) in Bejing.  The air was full of the feel of historic events imminent.  It was at that moment that another “epochal” event occurred: FLASH - San Jose passed San Francisco in population.

Motor City Mayor Immediately Cries Foul

As San Jose celebrated its leap onto the “Top Ten Largest Cities in America” list, Detroit decried the latest ranking and immediately cried foul.  During a noon press conference, Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick immediately discounted the results because of “miscounts and imperfect information gathering processes.”

By the intensity of the attacks on me from certain quarters, I am happy to note that the cult of lobbyists and yes men and women that inhabit the political basement of our City are feeling a bit of heat.  The insiders that so enjoy the Monday Night Live frolic are scheming for ways to deflect some of the attention. Not a chance.  Imagine selling mentions in the show, from Calpine to Coyote, Divco to DeRollo, for contributions.  Perhaps next will be a sponsorship of the City Council meetings - a sad sight.

When Oscar Wilde wrote of foxhunting and called it “the pursuit of the uneatable by the unthinkable,” he might have had a glimpse into San Jose’s future.  There is a showcasing of local politicians tonight called Monday Night Live and it is an interesting spectacle.  It has an honorable pedigree – the local media, spearheaded by the Mercury scribes, had for years skewered and parodied politicians, aping the Washington Gridiron Dinner with a version of their own. They were brutal, cutting and, quite often, very funny.  I often commented that if that was the level of their everyday writing, the Mercury would have a shelf of Pulitzers. The edict to afflict the powerful was fully met year after year.

No One Wants to Serve During “Reign of Ethical Lapses”

Both of the finalists in the District 7 general election to replace disgraced former-councilman Terry Gregory have decided to drop out of the race for fear of losing their ethical compasses.

There are some at City Hall that seem to think that not getting caught in a lie is the same as telling the truth. Such fine distinctions seem to be very much in vogue these days - from top management to the Council Chambers - from Cisco to Norcal to the Coyote Valley, there is much sophistry. Special investigators and grand juries and DA’s are now the staple of almost every story out of City Hall.

Some people are calling it garbage-gate.  Others say it’s Gonzales-gate.  I’ve even heard a few call it Guerra-gate.  Investigations and alliteration are popular at City Hall these days.

Previous Forecast of Tropical Storm Wrecked by Grand Jury Report

The National Weather Service, which has been closely tracking the violations of good and decent government by the Gonzales administration, has finally been forced to upgrade their forecasts from tropical storm to hurricane.  The change over the previous status was caused by “exponentially intensified pressure” by the latest grand jury allegations.

It is never too late to make the right decision.  Only fifty years after our city leaders opted out of the heart of our community and moved our government to North First Street—they’re back!  Well, they are nearly back. A big move is underway and a new era is dawning. The problem is packing up a half century of files, reports, and compact some largely unlamented errors in judgment and move them a couple of miles to their new home on East Santa Clara Street.  It is high time that it happened.

Yesterday, Governor Schwarzenegger announced a special election for November, 2005.  Since it’s an off year event, it will cost California taxpayers somewhere between $45 and $80 million.  That’s a lot of dough – enough to furnish a new San Jose City Hall.

Some years ago in the mid-eighties, the Mercury News and associated media types used to put on a local Gridiron show poking fun at the local politicians, exhibiting some good writing, and punishing us with some bad singing and horrible acting.  Many of us wondered why they saved all their excellence in writing for this show and seldom flashed it in the paper.

Business Leader’s Job Move Called Bold, Surprising by Al-Jazeera

In what is being called a first in the lingering war in Iraq, aggressive insurgents temporarily laid down their guns and rocks, and vowed to stop all torture and executions in observation of the departure of San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce chief Jim Cunneen.