It came as a big surprise to almost everyone, including Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig: Mayor Reed’s decision to go forward on the downtown baseball stadium.  Is Reed’s push a smart move that will demonstrate the city’s commitment to host a major league team, or is it a desperate move that will destroy the chances to bring the A’s to San Jose? UPDATED

Last week in SJI I wrote about the criticality of strong leadership from our candidates running for governor to fix California’s public schools. It will not be the leaders that make the difference, but each of us who are willing to speak out and put our money where our mouth is. The assembly Democrats have a proposal that supports our children and schools, but it will not pass unless we become engaged in the debate right now.

On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the City Council will decide on five possible ballot measures that would go before San Jose voters in November. So far, the Council has budgeted money to place two items on the ballot; therefore the council must choose two of the five. However a group known as Baseball San Jose has offered to pay for the cost of putting the Downtown Baseball Stadium question on the ballot, so three ballot measure may go before voters.

By now, everyone knows about the awful car crash that left a 15-year-old girl dead, and members of her family injured. On July 13, after allegedly running a red light, Bernardino Cuebas sped away from a CHP cruiser, eventually colliding with another vehicle. According to reports, the 15-year-old girl was ejected from the car that Cuebas hit, and died at the hospital the next day.

Where are the bold and courageous leaders that give us the facts and inspire us to new heights? In Attorney General Brown’s website announcement on his candidacy for Governor he says he will speak the truth, yet his three-minute commercial is filled with the platitudes he says he abhors.

My memo below will be discussed, next Wednesday, July 28 at 2pm at the Rules Committee which includes Mayor Reed, Vice-Mayor Judy Chirco, Councilmember Nancy Pyle and Councilmember Pete Constant. This is a public meeting.

Recommendation
Direct City Attorney to prepare legally binding ballot language for a ballot measure to be considered at the August 3, 2010 Council meeting for the November 2010 election allowing residents of San Jose to vote on changing the City charter by removing charter language regarding “minimum benefit” and “contributions/ cost sharing” in regards to pensions (Sections 1504 and 1505). Removing this language would allow the flexibility to negotiate a 2nd Tier pension for new employees whose hiring date is after January 1, 2011. This proposal would not change current legally vested benefits for existing employees. 

This is San Jose Inside’s long-lost weekly open forum, where any topic of local interest is fair game. What’s on your mind?

In an article published by the Mercury News, San Jose State Professor Larry Gerston advanced the argument that huge costs savings could be realized if the county’s many school districts were consolidated.  Great gains could also be achieved if police and fire services were re-aligned countywide.

By Joseph DiSalvo and Pierluigi Oliverio

We are asking San Jose Inside’s readers and bloggers for your generosity.

The devastating fire on July 5 at Trace Elementary School in the San Jose Unified School District has created an extraordinary outpouring of support and giving from across the City of San Jose. According to Karen Fuqua, Director of Public Relations for the district, the citizens of San Jose should be very proud of their contributions to Trace. It is, she says, overwhelming and heartening at the same time.

From time to time I have talked about outsourcing certain city services to save money—so the city can use the money saved on core services we provide to the community. When I first introduced a pilot program for outsourcing park maintenance at the Rose Garden Park in 2007, the council (except for Mayor Reed) shrugged off my idea.  Now, the topic of how to provide services to San Jose residents with limited revenue is being discussed. For example, the city was able to open some of the pools that were due to be closed because the city outsourced to private organizations which are less costly.

Hard to believe that the Mercury News would provide space on its front page (let alone any page) to cover the annual spectacle that is the Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest.  Why would anyone have even the slightest interest in such an exhibition of gluttony?  Unfortunately for us, San Jose gets its name attached to the madness, as the “winner” of the event, Joey “Jaws” Chestnut, lives in San Jose.  Why would anyone celebrate this guy?  Is there any way that we can distance ourselves from Mr. Chestnut?

Many times in this weekly post I have opined that the education of all our children is our most important nationally priority. I frequently get chastised on SJI for supporting a system of public education that is perceived as weak and inadequate. There is no doubt in my mind that our public education system is our best path to the ideals that our Founding Fathers dreamed and that we commemorated on Sunday.

Hope your Fourth of July holiday was fantastic. On June 29, prior to the holiday the Council made the final vote for a balanced budget. More than 20 people spoke at the Council meeting and all but one advocated that the Council not outsource janitorial services but rather keep the janitorial staff employed, since they provide an incredibly valuable service. You would have thought janitorial was listed in the city charter by the speakers’ comments.

By the time this article hits the streets, there likely won’t be a place in the valley to buy a bottle of kombucha tea. Nob Hill on Santa Teresa Boulevard had a few last Friday; Cosentino’s Market on Bascom Avenue had a couple more. Even over the hill in Santa Cruz, grocers expected to run out by the end of the weekend.

It started quietly, about two weeks ago. First, megastore Whole Foods announced it would join roughly a dozen suppliers in stopping sales of all unpasteurized kombucha tea products. The issue: concerns that the fizzy, fermented elixirs may contain more alcohol than the “trace amounts” listed on the label.

Lately, San Jose’s political rhetoric has been hotter than its weather. Here are a few samples of comments by San Jose residents that were published by the Mercury News in recent days:

“With the resulting layoffs of 230 police and fire personnel looming, their (the unions’) motto needs to be revisited. Perhaps it should be modified to read, ‘To protect and preserve union power at the expense of public safety.’”

“Public and private workers increasingly live in separate economies…public employee unions have had a stranglehold on state and local elected officials for decades.  This has to end, as the taxpayers are fed up and tapped out.”

Should your son or daughter earn a college degree? I know college is not for everyone.

However, if you want a future for your children that equals the opportunity you had in your life, an undergraduate college degree is nearly imperative. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 4.7 percent of those with college degrees are unemployed in 2010.

The 2010 high school graduation season is now just a memory. Even though we celebrate the accomplishment of commencement from high school with gifts and praise, it is not the ticket to life’s success it once was.