Some meetings have too much at stake to leave to Skype, which is why Mayor Chuck Reed and a small convoy of local officials took a four-day jaunt to Japan last week.

San Jose officials are looking into the possibility of replacing 41 police officers and 12 firefighters currently stationed at the airport with a private security firm. An estimated $10 million could be saved if such a switch were to be made. Airport officials have invited outside companies to submit proposals.

The education of our most vulnerable youth in Santa Clara County should be at the top of our agenda as a civil society. A high-quality educational program implemented for delinquent, foster and truant youth built around their academic, social, emotional and developmental needs and addictions would increase the quality of life for the student and the entire community. It would even reduce our state deficit if we have fewer adults in prison at a cost of $45,000 each per year.

Just when the South Bay live music gets back on its own two feet again, along comes something new to kick a leg out from under it. VooDoo Lounge, the 300-capacity nightclub that’s brought the most diverse mix of shows to downtown San Jose for the last 11 years, is closing at the end of February.

As San Jose city officials scramble to convince Governor Brown to not shut down its redevelopment agency, more and more information is coming to the public’s attention that speak to the value and effectiveness of the redevelopment system.  San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders offered the following argument in a recent column, “The Future Of California-Jerry Brown Takes On The Redevelopment Agencies.”

A couple of days before Debra Figone finalized her selection of Chris Moore as the city’s next chief of police, councilman Sam Liccardo referred to the candidates’ race as “the elephant in the room”—Moore, acting chief for the last three months, is white while the other finalist, Oakland Chief of Police Anthony Batts, is black. The real “elephant in the room,” though, was an inflammatory online report by a small newspaper in Long Beach.

Every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation, if you want to make a difference in the life of a child, become a teacher. Your country needs you.

Kudos to Pres. Obama for including that statement in his State of the Union address Last Tuesday night. America’s teaching force is the cornerstone of our society. As Pres. Obama said, teachers are known as national builders in South Korea. He exhorted Americans to treat our teachers with the same level of respect.

With word that Chris Moore will shed the interim tag to become the permanent chief of police in San Jose—he was reportedly selected by City Manager Debra Figone over Oakland chief Anthony Batts—reactions are as varied as they are passionate.

As young staffers for various South Bay Labor Council-backed candidates and office-holders, Rolando Bonilla and Ryan Ford learned a little bit about winning ugly. Recently, they also learned a bit about losing—and they just received another painful lesson.

In a move that could come as a surprise to many, the Mercury News reports that San Jose City Manager Debra Figone has decided to stay in-house and make Christopher Moore the permanent chief of police.

The city stopped accepting tax applications from medical marijuana businesses last month, and a memo from the city’s finance director indicates there were slightly more than expected.

It doesn’t sound like Gov. Jerry Brown bowed or budged Wednesday when meeting with a delegation of mayors from California’s biggest cities to talk about the proposed elimination of redevelopment agencies.

Comparisons of the nation’s crumbling Social Security system and out-of-control pension costs in San Jose were made at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

The two biggest issues facing San Jose so far this year—pension reform and the future of redevelopment—will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and the public forum concluding the session is likely to get lively.

You would think that providing for the needs of children would be everyone’s top priority. But that’s not always the case in the City of San Jose.

Anthony Batts has only been the Oakland police chief for a year, which has prompted speculation as to why he is interested in coming to fill San Jose’s open position in the midst of a three-year contract he just signed. A report by Ali Winston, a producer for KALW Radio in Oakland, suggests Batts might want to come here because Oakland faces a real threat of having its police department placed under federal receivership.