Services will be held for Captain Matthew P. Manoukian Saturday, Aug. 18 at 3pm in the gymnasium at Mountain View’s St. Francis High School. Manoukian was killed Aug. 10 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province by an Afghan police officer with whom Manoukian had just shared a meal, according to an Associated Press report.  The attacker escaped to Taliban protection, a Taliban spokesman said. Manoukian was the son of Santa Clara County Judge Socrates “Pete” Manoukian and state appeals court Associate Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian.

Last week, Mayor Reed and the majority of the City Council attended the opening of the world’s largest material processing facility in San Jose. After the ceremonial acknowledgments, I stayed to tour of the facility, which is located on Dixon Landing Road, an area near Milpitas that was annexed to San Jose. I was amazed at the size and amount of material coming down several lines at the facility. The tour certainly gave me pause on what we collectively throw away and where it is processed.

The horse of Millionaire Mitt Romney’s wife was beaten badly in the Olympics by the steed of a British billionaire’s granddaughter, setting off a firestorm among America’s elite on whether Romney was really dedicated to, or wealthy enough to engage in, “American Exceptionalism.” But then Bain Capital swooped in for the rescue.

This week I will turn in my candidate papers and $3,500 to the Registrar of Voters for a ballot statement for my Trustee Area No. 4 seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Education. It has been a privilege to serve the education community, its students and teachers as a board member these past four years. San Jose Inside has allowed me a forum to present and discuss the leading educational issues of our valley. There is much good work to do in the next four years, and I would like to be a voice at the political and policy table.

A key piece of evidence has disappeared in the Mercury News rack theft caper. At least one news rack in the Mercury’s possession vanished as the San Jose Police Department prepared to commence a criminal investigation into the daily’s dumping of its competitors’ racks. Mercury News executives offered no explanation for the disappearance—only that they had “triple checked” the yard.

Santana Row will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year. It has provided a new destination for Bay Area residents as well as additional tax revenue for San Jose. On Tuesday, the City Council will consider approving a large office building at Santana Row instead of housing. This new 240,000 square foot office building will provide an attractive option to companies locating in San Jose.

There are two kinds of thieves: ones who own up to their actions when caught and those who make up facts to justify their thievery. The Mercury News executive team has chosen to go the route of lying thieves. Luckily, no one is really fooled, and the ethical character of the group running the Bay Area’s daily newspapers is now on display for all to see. The emperor has no clothes.

San Jose is about to have the dubious distinction of having the first store in the Bay Area. If we’re lucky, it will close down within a month. Whether the food is any good is not the question. At some point conscience must control a person’s pocketbook.

At the upcoming Aug. 7 City Council meeting, the discussion will focus on how to prioritize city spending IF revenues increase. So, in the example below, if revenues increase by $10 million—either by revenue growth or tax increase—this is how I think it should be spent by percentage.

News reporters are human beings who have a difficult job. Public officials have a tough job, but don’t always appear to be human. The divide stems from a failure to communicate. Here are a few rules for candidates and public officials in dealing with the press.

It was such an honor to be named a White House Champion of Change on July 12 for my work with homeless children and youth. After working with runaway and homeless youth for 40 years, 29 years of which have been in Santa Clara County, it is great to have such recognition. I’m now working on ways to use this honor to further the work in our area to end youth and family homelessness by 2020.

August is on the horizon, which means the local political landscape is about to heat up. Campaigns will kick back into gear, ballot initiatives will pit voters against their more indulgent neighbors, and a couple of the more intriguing local elected officials will call it quits.

I don’t necessarily agree that an individual city could ever build enough housing for the homeless or extremely low income housing, as more individuals would come. However, there may be a more cost-effective solution for a portion of the homeless population that could also help reunite families.

Dave Hodges operates A2C2 medical marijuana collective in San Jose. He wrote this column for San Jose Inside.—Editor

Harborside collectives in San Jose and Oakland were recently ordered to shut down by U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag. Many have called Harborside a model for other medical marijuana collectives. To help everyone better understand what the complex California law states, I want to provide some direct quotes and key information.

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag’s war on medical marijuana is a violation of current federal Department of Justice policy, an embarrassment to the President of the United States and is, literally, threatening the health and safety of our community. She should be removed from her post, immediately.

Thomas Kinkade, the “Painter of Light,” resided in his mansion in Monte Sereno until his untimely death at the age of 54 due to an accidental overdose of alcohol and valium on Good Friday, April 6, 2012. His estranged wife of 30 years, Nanette Kinkade, and their four children would normally be the rightful heirs to Mr. Kinkade’s estimated $66 million fortune. But Mrs. Kinkade filed for divorce two years before he died, and, for the last 18 months of his life, Mr. Kinkade was in a relationship with a young woman, Amy Pinto-Walsh.