About twice a month, I get an inquiry from someone who is considering purchasing a home in my council district. I think it is good idea as it shows they are doing their due diligence.

Councilmembers are often the conduit in which information flows about neighborhoods. We are on the receiving end of emails, phone calls and conversations at the grocery store where residents share information and perspectives that they often do not want to vent in a public forum amongst their neighbors. Thus councilmembers are able to have both a top-level and detail-oriented perspective of the neighborhoods in their districts.

A stranger attempting to lure a three year old away from the child’s older sister with candy is odd, not to mention, bold. For the stranger to then follow the two children into their home and try to pry the younger child from her mother’s arms is unbelievable.  Although this might sound like a nightmare, this scenario actually took place last week in San Jose. The stranger is a woman whom suffers from mental illness and was subsequently arrested.

A study released this week by The Daily Beast revealed that San Jose has the longest life expectancy of any major American city. The study examined lifespan data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention going back ten years, and found that local men live to be 79.2, on average, while women live to be 82.9.

In 1996, The Compassionate Use Act, Proposition 215, passed with 66 percent of the vote,allowing for the launch of medical marijuana clubs in the state. The Act itself dictates that “governments implement a plan to provide the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need.” Oakland, Santa Cruz, and San Francisco were the first local cities to provide safe access to medical marijuana for those in need.

Rocketship’s Silicon Valley expansion is becoming more and more a compelling story. The Wall Street Journal’s Vauhini Vaha for the Bay Area edition wrote on July 14, “While the organization’s initial efforts are yielding strong test results among elementary students, the expansion plan is drawing opposition from the superintendent and teachers’ union in the county’s biggest district, who say the Palo Alto nonprofit is cutting out local officials who were elected by voters to oversee education. They also say the charter’s rapid growth might come at the expense of the region’s tradition public schools.” UPDATED: July 21, 1:20pm

Last week, “the Feds” visited Pioneer High School to present an initiative collaborating with cities to prevent a terrorist action. They distributed a brochure titled “Building Communities of Trust.” The Feds included the Department of Justice and the FBI. I attended to hear first-hand the details and the comments from attendees that were assembled.

A recent NBC Bay Area report on the increase in prostitution downtown—and the disbanding of the city’s vice squad—has gone viral, and spawned a Twitter debate over the cause. Protect San Jose, a blog run by the police union, Tweeted that city manager Deb Figone was to blame for the downtown hookers, drawing a response from Daily Fetch, an anonymous political blog.

Unfortunately, there is more evidence that the “audacity of hope” is a bust and “fierce urgency of now” is just rhetorical flourish without meaning. I say that as one of the millions who stood on the U.S. Capitol lawn proudly cheering with teary eyes at the inauguration of our 44th President. The Obama administration has proposed a 20 percent reduction in its fiscal 2012 budget for career and technical education. Just as we were beginning to make significant headway in raising the stature of vocation education for the 21st Century we cut the proverbial legs out from underneath the effort.

At the June 21 Council meeting, a city employee (who was about to be laid off) spoke during the open forum section of the meeting. “Thank you Mayor and Council. My name Michael Medlin.

On June 26, in the “Internal Affairs” column, the Mercury News reported on the San Jose City Councils’ decision to approve the transfer of the old city hall property site to Santa Clara County. Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio was the only member to vote No.  He said, “‘The old City Hall could have been sold to benefit the general fund.’”

Several weeks prior to the council vote, and after having learned that the City of San Jose was planning to eliminate a $106,000 subsidy to the Health Trust’s Meals On Wheels Program for needy seniors, I sent a letter to the Merc in an effort to bring attention to the fact that the money could easily be found if the city would simply re-examine the land swap deal with the County of Santa Clara.

Editor’s Note: Police union president George Beattie wrote an op-ed blaming city officials for police layoffs. City Manager Debra Figone responded by sending a memo to the mayor and city council detailing why layoffs occurred and San Jose passed on a federal police grant that would have saved jobs. Beattie has now provided San Jose Inside with a response to Figone’s memo.

An analysis of the Santa Clara County Office of Education Bullying task force found a lack of awareness, lack of commitment, and lack of skills to respond, among a long list of local weaknesses. I fervently believe we can and must do better. A country that treasures its guiding documents called the Charters of Freedom must work to ensure every child is free to learn without harassment and intimidation.

Back in July 1776, the Continental Congress voted to declare independence from England and adopt the Declaration of Independence. However, there were several votes before the final vote that were not unanimous as some colonies voted no or chose to abstain. Voting is an opportunity not everyone across the globe is afforded. We know that in close elections every vote counts. We also know that in our respective legislative bodies (at different levels of government) that each vote casted by an elected official has a magnified impact.

Are locally elected school boards and their politics at the root of the inertia that has led to little reform of a system of public education? Is the new request for Rocketship Education’s 20 Charter Schools a means to get around the non-productive politics of school boards?

As I have shared in prior blogs, issues that are discussed in closed session meetings are suppose to remain confidential until the City Attorney reports out at a public council meeting. Well, that is the way it is supposed to work anyway.

I am sure you remember the slogan during your challenger’s campaign, the “fierce urgency of now.” It has been exactly 30 months since the inauguration of President Obama, and we still have a public school system in chaos and shambles. In addition, we have not completed the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and test scores in math and English-Language Arts continue to be the major factor in judging effective schools.