As city staff studies a number of proposals on how to fix San Jose’s budget crisis, one idea in particular is likely to have some local business owners up in arms. Councilmember Nancy Pyle submitted a memo at Tuesday’s council meeting that recommends modifying the business tax for establishments that offer services. These businesses are taxed by the number of employees they have rather than sales.

“We must stop this death spiral of increasing pension costs and decreasing numbers of employees,” wrote Councilmembers Nguyen and Herrera in an op-ed published last week by the Mercury News. Nguyen and Herrera explained their reasons for supporting Mayor Reed’s push to confront the city’s runaway pension problem. In terms of the pension problem, the residents of San Jose also get it.

The city charter sets out some basic tenants for public employee retirement, and Mayor Chuck Reed is often touted as a stickler for adhering to the charter. The question many ask is: What exactly does the charter say?

After Mayor Chuck Reed and most of the San Jose City Council took a two-hour tongue lashing Tuesday from city employees, retirees, union representatives and even staffers of several state legislators, the council voted 8-3 to push forward with Reed’s declaration of “fiscal and public safety emergency.” That word—”emergency”—allows the city to significantly toughen its stance in pension negotiations with public employees.

What do Mark Zuckerberg, John Doerr and Reed Hastings have in common? They were all in Burlingame on May 18 headlining the NewSchools Venture Fund Summit. They each have access to billions of dollars to help transform public education. Entrepreneurs with billions of dollars are changing the educational landscape like this educator has never seen before, even if they are 27 years old and wear hooded sweatshirts.

On Tuesday the Council will discuss the fiscal reform proposals that Mayor Reed has researched and constructed. It will not be not an ordinary city council meeting but instead a major discussion being held in big cities across the country. Last week, the Council had a study session regarding the City’s retirement system.  From my view, the presentation given by staff, which included the director of retirement services, Russell Crosby, was one of the best I have seen.  A step-by-step explanation of the retirement system was provided.

Harry Mavrogenes made the surprising announcement Thursday that he will relinquish his role as Executive Director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency as of June 24. Mavrogenes has held the title since late 2004.

Mayor Chuck Reed’s fiscal reforms, which would declare a fiscal emergency that allows the city charter to be changed in an effort to slash soaring public employee pension costs, will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. While it seems likely Reed will get the necessary votes to begin the process—he already has the support of Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and councilmembers Rose Herrera and Sam Liccardo—Councilmember Donald Rocha is suggesting the city stop, take a deep breath and consider the possible litigation that could ensue.

When politicians have bad news to deliver, news they don’t really want anyone to hear, they’ll often deliver it at a Friday afternoon press conference—nobody watches the TV news on Friday night and nobody reads the paper on Saturday. But Mayor Chuck Reed’s announcement last Friday that San Jose is in a “fiscal and public safety emergency” was like a big squirt of gasoline on the smoldering heap of embers that is the city’s relationship with its public-employee unions. And the resulting flare-up did not go unnoticed.

Mayor Chuck Reed sent a letter to Bud Selig last week, once again urging the Major League Baseball commissioner to come to a decision that would grant the Oakland A’s permission to relocate to San Jose. A few days later, the mayor announced that San Jose was in a fiscal and public safety emergency, and he wants the city to move toward putting measures on a November ballot to slash public-employee retirement benefits. The timing of the two actions could be coincidental. But then again, maybe not.

Kicking off the first of three budget workshops this week, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors launched on Tuesday the first review of a proposed budget that will have to cut $219.6 million for the upcoming fiscal year. The proposed budget calls for an estimated 110 layoffs, 122 county employees would be bumped to lower-paying positions, and 300 would be transferred to different departments.

The biggest story in the news Tuesday is word that action star and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger had a child out of wedlock a decade ago. An interesting question is: What would California look like today if voters had known the truth about Schwarzenegger’s actions before he was elected governor in a 2003 recall election. Infidelity is generally a career-killer in politics, and Schwarzenegger had basically no experience before coming into office.

It’s a sad day at City Hall, as one of San Jose’s four falcon chicks born last month on a ledge on the 18th floor has died. Unita, the only female born to parents Clara and Esteban Colbert, fell while trying to retrieve food from its mother. The bird was not quite ready to fly.

There is nothing more satisfying than a grassroots effort to change the world for the better. Parents for Great Education hosted a 21st Century Education Summit at DeAnza College last Saturday afternoon. Even though the attendance was under the 250 that had been hoped for, all participants left with a renewed understanding on the importance of providing all students with 21st century skills while finding new ways to fund California’s schools adequately and consistently.

Matthew Mahood, 45, has been named the next president and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce. Coming over from the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, where he has held the lead role since 2002, Mahood will be replacing Pat Dando.

In its first month of collecting taxes on medical marijuana being sold inside city limits, San Jose took in almost $290,000. And it appears more money is still on the table. Less than three-quarters (73) of San Jose’s 100-plus collectives paid the business tax in March, according to city figures.