Nobody really knows how well the campaign is going for the committee attempting to recall San Jose Councilwoman Madison Nguyen. The group has been secretive about how many signatures they’ve collected so far. But what did surface this week is the number of people who have asked for the city to remove their names from the recall petition they signed.

If the San Jose City Council think their pay sucks, they have only themselves to blame. They’ve been too afraid to give themselves a raise over the years—and who can blame them? It’s kind of awkward—not to mention usually unpopular—for public employees to give themselves a salary boost. That’s why the council wants to revamp the way things are done when it comes to council compensation

San Jose Vice Mayor Dave Cortese recently fired off a guest column in the Evergreen Times, hammering the Valley Transportation Authority (he sits on the board) for suspending progress on the Eastridge light rail extension in his district. Cortese says the $334 million project was promised to voters when they approved Measure A, the sales tax measure for a variety of transportation projects, in 2000.

Abetted by the Adobe Systems-funded group 1stACT Silicon Valley, San Jose’s Office of Economic Development and Redevelopment attempted last month to introduce an ordinance to regulate newsracks in the downtown area—without talking to a number of local newspaper publishers. Although the advocates of uniform news boxes spent time with the publishers of daily papers, they failed to contact free newspaper publishers.

This past Friday night, and again on Saturday, searchlights announced the reopening of the Cuccini nightclub under its new name, Sabor, thanks to a stay of execution issued by Judge James Emerson on July 18. The Superior Court judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order that prevents the City of San Jose from pulling the club’s entertainment permit.

There’s no missing the big red tree that recently sprouted from the grassy corner of St. James Park at St. John and North First streets. A full 15 feet high or so, its straight trunk is crowned with an intricate forking pattern of bare branches ending in carefully pruned nubby ends. And of course, the tree is red. Real red. Bright shiny red.

When it comes to the gay marriage ban that is likely to be on state ballot in November, Mayor Chuck Reed is trapped in the closet. And that’s exactly where local gay-rights advocates want him.

The Little Saigon debacle seemed mostly resolved when Mayor Chuck Reed signed a peace deal with protesters in the Vietnamese community that promised that banners displaying the “Little Saigon” name could be flown to officially recognize the Vietnamese retail area. But what wasn’t spelled out was how many banners could go up.

The thought of Internet filter champion Pete Constant with a ball-gag in his mouth being whipped by a dominatrix might be a fantasy for free speech advocates. Fantasy turned to reality Monday night as actress Krista Kelly strapped on bondage gear and flagellated the conservative councilman in front of San Jose’s political elite at San Jose Stage’s Monday Night Live production. Kelly, a District 6 resident, seemed to enjoy whipping Pete a little too much. “Even Sally Leiber can’t save you now,” she screamed.

The San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA) has called for an investigation into whether the city’s police department targeted the nonprofit for an enforcement action by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), presumably in retaliation for SJDA’s advocacy of after-hours club closings, which SJPD opposed.

The San Jose Vietnamese community is a lot like the Hulk: don’t make them angry—you wouldn’t like them when they’re angry. Nobody knows this better than Madison Nguyen, who failed to take Bruce Banner’s famous advice and has now come around to realizing that their recall campaign against her (currently punctuated by the signs lining McLaughlin at the Grand Century Mall) can’t be taken lightly.

It wasn’t your average Election Day in Santa Clara County. For starters, voters elected a San Jose City Council member who wasn’t a candidate.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an appearance Monday at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s 30th anniversary celebration, where she praised Silicon Valley for ongoing innovation that is helping to address the nation’s greatest problems, including climate change.

Is it possible that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s campaign against Craig Mann is backfiring? The chamber, which is backing Rose Herrera for San Jose’s District 8 council seat, carpet-bombed the area with mailers that blast Mann, referencing his widely reported credit card use while a trustee on the East Side Union High School District board.

Mayor Chuck Reed’s efforts to make government more open and transparent have had an unexpected side effect—he’s also made it more boring.

Last week’s Willow Glen forum for the District 2 County Supervisor seat featured stumping from candidates Patricia Martinez-Roach, Richard Hobbs and George Shirakawa. What stumped Fly is why no one asked Shirakawa about the lien the city placed on his house last month because he didn’t pay his garbage bill on time.