Rants and Raves

35 Comments

  1. During her regular inspection tours of the parks in her district, I wonder if Judy Chirco has considered the potential for a small hydroelectric facility powered by the overflow irrigation water running down the gutter at Butcher Park.

  2. I was watching Tuesday’s Council Meeting, and the very long discussion of turning over 4,000 very costly arrest records concerns me on so many levels. I was shocked to learn how much it will cost, the time and process involved in doing this, and the staff it takes to recover them from storage, etc. I am deeply concerned that the Officer’s names are not redacted from them before the public views them either. (It seems to me that would make him or her a real target for these anti-Police groups, even though they are just doing their job.)

    I was pretty angry to see that if the City grants this request, it would cost taxpayers over 200K!  As Raj mentioned in his previous column, these non-profit groups can get fee waivers, so the cost will fall on us, not them. That 200K could hire two more Police Officers, help fund crossing guards, keep a few libraries open for one more day, and a million other things we need!

    After many anti-Police groups, and speakers spoke, Sgt. Lopez gave a very sobering statement to the Mayor and Council about our community’s safety and our Police Officers. He pointed out that we’ve lost 33 Police Officers, and are working with less than 1,400 to cover this entire city of 1 million residents. He talked about how these 4,000 arrest records being requested by the former Task Force members, will only over burden an all ready over taxed over worked Police Department, and deprive taxpaying citizens of Police protection and services. He mentioned the morale of his Officers being low because they have become the scapegoat of a small minority’s very vocal, and the media’s wrath. (I had to ask myself how I’d feel if people who hated me constantly attacked me, or if my face appeared in the media followed with accusations of terrorism, brutality, and violence! I think I’d be pretty angry, especially if I put my life on the line everyday for so many ingrates.) 

    In all the years I’ve known Bobby, I’ve never seen him this upset or frustrated, and I have to tell you it disturbed me to the core. I got a real sense that our Police Officers are starting to feel hopeless, beat down, deserted, and tired of serving such an ungrateful community. It is time we pro-Police citizens take some action, before it is too late, and another Officer losses his/her life to suicide, or homicide.

    For all of you who support our Police Department, it is time for YOU to speak up. You can’t keep bitching, or blogging, or keeping your support of the Police to yourself, it is time for you to attend a Council Meeting and share your stories about the “good” things the Police do for us. If you’re too ill, or handicapped, please send an email, letter, or make a phone call to the Mayor and Council supporting our Police Officers. These men and women deserve our support NOW. They put their lives on the line for us daily, and they get little to no thanks for it. It is time for us to speak up and speak out in support of these courageous servants. So please, take action NOW, tell the Mayor and Council you support SJPD! Thank you!

  3. Interesting story in yesterday’s LA Times regarding California’s federal stimulus $$$ in danger…

    http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-health-cuts8-2009may08,0,4592200.story

    “The Obama administration is threatening to rescind billions of dollars in federal stimulus money if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers do not restore wage cuts to unionized home healthcare workers approved in February as part of the budget…”

    Big surprise is that no local paper I have seen has picked this up yet.  Worth watching at the state level.

  4. San Jose population-1 million

    Ref the Merc article 4-30-09, San Jose pop. has passed the 1 mil mark. I was born (1960) and raised in San Jose and in my opinion the quality of life in SJ has been tanking since the 70’s. Traffic, high-density housing, gangs, Silicon Valley snobs-all contributed to the decline.
    What really pissed me off was the comment in the article by Kevin Starr, a professor of history at USoCal. “So let those people that don’t want San Jose to be a big city move to Redding — seriously.” My reply-Thanks for the advice, you academic twit. So anyone who doesn’t like living in San Jose, stop your complaining and start packing.

  5. Topic: Boom cars aka jackass drivers

    Does anyone have a problem with boom cars in their neighborhood? These jackass drivers boom their car stereos so loud they vibrate my windows. These a-holes are driving all over the city and the cops don’t seem to give a shit. This loud noise is not only irritating, but if I was in a car next to one if these idiots, I wouldn’t hear an ambulance siren. Help me, please.

  6. Is it so wrong to refer to the Mercury News editorial board as News Media Extremists? 

    We all know that the editorial board does not support a slur-free society, and that it constantly trashes the members of one, and only one, demographic group and silences all rebuttals by members of that demographic group.  It operates very differently with all other demographic groups.

    Let’s take a look at some examples.

    Paul Fong was quoted using the slur “white boy” in 2005 in a story by Katherine Corcoran who gloated about publishing the slur.  No apologies from those two.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Jeb Bush used the slur “old white guys” in 2008. No apology from Bush.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Don Perata was quoted using the slur “cracker” in 2006 in a story by Mike Zapler who gloated about publishing the slur.  No apologies from those two.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Robert Byrd used the slur “white ni—er” in 2001.  No apology from Byrd.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Mark Purdy used the slur “redneck” in an essay (not in a quote – his own choice) in 2005.  No apology from Purdy.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Barack Obama used the slur “typical white person” in 2008. No apology from Obama.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Michael S. Steele used the slur “white bread” in 2008.  No apology from Steele.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Bruce Newman used the slurs “shiksa” and “wasp” in an essay (not in a quote – his own choices) in 2007.  No apology from Newman.  No rebuttal allowed in the Mercury News.

    Yes, I think the editorial board at the Mercury News qualifies as News Media Extremists.

  7. Despite the whimsical writing of people here on the blog, people who hardly have anything relevant to add except silly predicitions, I would like share some material in an article today by Dale Berra in the WALL STREET JOURNAL.

    1.  Baseball stadiums are being constructed with less seating than ever before.  The two New York stadiums are the best example of this.  Indeed, the price of a Yankees Stadium for seats is now 1200 dollars, cut from 2500 because of poor attendance.

    2.  Average attendance for major league baseball is down 10% from last year.  It will likely be down 34% next year.

    3.  San Jose’s political leadership and infrastructure are both in a state of decline as is the local economy.  The deficit is growing, and as you can see by Reed’s fumbling of the IPA matter, there is no effective leadership.  Wolff is buying into a city that is being managed with all the efficiency of a Afghani reconstruction project.

    4.  The area chosen for the ballpark is cramped, filled with toxic waste, and also home to several convicted criminals.  The housing plans for that area make it too cramped for a stadium, as parking will be nonexistent.

    5.  The financing plan for the park is a patchwork of Rube Goldberg twists and turns that would make a Ottoman Pasha blush with its complications.  Land exchanges and RDA commitments that Ron Gonzales would find too secretive. 

    6.  The Diamondbacks are finding diffculties in keeping the ballpark filled.  One blogger even had the nerve to design a plan where the San Jose Giants would play in the San Jose Athletics stadium while the Athletics would be playing the San Francisco Giants in the Giants stadium.  Huh?

    7.  San Jose voters have rejected similar deals, but Reed is designed a local reconciliation bill to keep the matter from the voters.  That’s ok, because the Civil Grand Jury is made up voters as well.

    8.  Bad deal, bad offer, and just a plan where Tony D will be able to watch the game he writes about in relevant comfort, since there will only be four other people in the stadium.

  8. #4 Kathleen: There was a bit of a breakdown with our comment-moderation process over the weekend. We have it worked out and it won’t happen again. Sorry for the delay.

  9. Downtown San Jose circa 2014

    “With temperatures in the low 80’s on this gorgeous Mothers Day, the San Jose Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 in front of a sold-out crowd of 32,000 at Cisco Field.  The thousands in attendance streamed after the game towards Diridon Station and San Pedro Square/Public Market, relishing in yet another victory for their beloved San Jose A’s.”

  10. #13-Eric, Thanks for the 411, and all your hard work! I appreciate it!

    Now on to the Task Force, and it’s request for arrest records..

    Let us add up the cost for the 200 arrest records the Task Force has already cost taxpayers, which comes to 34,000.00. Now we’ll add in the cost of the other 4,000 they want, which comes to another $200 thousand dollars. Total is 234 K. Oops! I forgot! That doesn’t include the crime citizens, and businesses will have to endure because members of the Police force won’t be out in the community protecting us, they will be pulled off their jobs for six months to recover these reports. I need to be sure and add in the fact that 33 of the 1,400.00 Officers we had are gone, and the 25 new hires we were promised won’t be hired. We are a city of 1 MILLION people. Hum…

    Okay, now let’s see, how many Police Officers could we hire for that outrageous sum of money, or how many crossing guards could we hire/keep, or how many senior lunch programs could continue, or other vital services would that pay for? Hum… Anyone come up with what I did? That the price of these arrest records being demanded during the worst economic time the City has ever had, is just another useless expense that robs taxpayers of vital services, and leaves us even more vulnerable to the thousands of hardened criminals being released to our communities by State prisons, due to over crowding?  Of that’s right, I forgot! Criminals have more rights than decent, hard working, lawful citizens! God, what was I thinking?

  11. It been kind of slow, I guess there’s been so much excitement recently with the reactionary politics and the impending budget crisis implosion that’s coming after Tuesday’s ballot failures that no one has the energy to rant.

    So let’s pause and look into the future from a calm vantage and think about what we’d like to make for our children and community.

    Let’s start with infrastructure.  What bugs me is that all the discussions and plans start with mediocre, watered down plans as if people are afraid to talk about what it really takes to prepare for ongoing growth and prosperity.

    Transportation – We need both high speed heavy rail and local light rail (like the old street car system.)  The trouble is we opted for one and try to do serve both distance commuters and local travellers and it sucks.  Let’s double track and run express routes and put a fast regional rail line along every expressway, freeway and other major artery, then fill in the local routes with a combination of LR and BRT (Bus rapid transit).

    And then lets build out the road system to capacity, adding lanes and interchanges, merges, meters and everything needed to mitigate the heavy usage.  Toll lanes suck, but I’ll buy in if it’s a complete bay area network that doesn’t start and stop every few miles like the current HOV lanes.

    Water, power, sewage, parks, hospitals, schools and libraries.  Sometimes we go on building sprees and forget operating money.  Sometimes we gouge developers for amenities, and again forget operating and maintenance costs.  Sometimes federal mana from heaven funds a projects which encourage investment to get the matching funds, but again, what about the operating costs.  How about building a UC campus as an adjunct to SJSU and offering research focused graduate education tied to local industry?  Let’s expand onto Moffett FAF and partner with industry on not-only far future research but practical near-future projects from solar to desalination.

    I’d rather dream big than be a small minded manager of compromised visions that only considers what’s possible “in this climate.”

  12. #10 I hate baseball and San Jose,

    I learned a lot about you based on your post.  You live in a small, 1920’s vintage bungalow; weeds overgrowing, exterior paint peeling and roof in serious disrepair.  All of your blinds are shut tight as to allow no sunlight in…cold, dark, dank.  There’s no furniture with the exception of a 1940’s vintage radio near the never used fireplace.  And in the corner of one room you sit with your laptop, blasting my optimism for our great city.

    First of all, this recession won’t last forever.  Second, SJ voters did reject a ballpark measure…WAY BACK IN 1992!  And it was for a utility tax hike to pay for a Giants stadium.  The proposed A’s stadium will be PRIVATELY financed (JMOC #12); that means Lew Wolff will pay for it, not you or I.  A public vote would only be necessary if there was public financing involved; meaning you and I would pay for it.  Third, you’re obviously bias towards the Reed Administration (a Campos family member are we?), so your baseless attack is just that…baseless!  Fourth, the D-Backs are having a hard time keeping the ballpark filled?  Try horrid start to season and current economy.  What do the D-Backs have to do with San Jose anyway?

    The negativity and lack of vision of the grumpy ole urban troll.  Try going outside and getting some fresh air and Sun, because the future is bright for San Jose.

  13. 15 – While your optimism for a ball park is cute, your ongoing cheerleading is wearing thin. Talk about baseless attacks—you go after #10 by making personal attacks based only on your vivid imagination. You refute very little of what #10 posted.
    When you get a grip on reality, reread what #10 wrote and you will find some very valid arguments that have not been adequately dealt with.
    It takes more than wishful thinking and blind optimism to make this ballpark fly. San Jose leaders have a habit of wishing for the moon and falling short and not even ending up with a handful of stardust—but spent millions of dollars to fail. Sounds like you’d be a perfect councilmember.

  14. 5: High-density housing contributed to decline? If anything it’s the opposite. We built more roads than we can apparently maintain and people are too spread out to make mass transit very worthwhile. It’s hard to believe people still think in the ‘50s mindset of “cities bad suburbs good.”

    10: Regarding past failures, this is hardly comparable since the A’s will build their own stadium as mandated by city regulations. Dealing the land is hardly a bad thing as it’s just sitting there with no benefit to anyone at the moment. In fact, if it’s like Airport West, the city will save on maintenance and taxes by unloading the land. The A’s see SJ as good for business because of the market here, not because of gifts from the city. If that was the case, they’d be demanding a handout from any and all cities who want MLB to come to town.

  15. Staff cuts are being proposed. Entire management levels are being flattened, etc. But, it is a waste of time to attend the Budget Hearing. Citizen input is tolerated by the Council as a necessary evil but they are not interested in hearing what you have to say. Little rational thought can be expressed in the short time they allow so they can pontificate on the ideas they have already decided on. Go ahead and attend if it makes you feel better, but don’t expect any satisfaction.

  16. Sorry, there are very few shacks here in the Rosegarden.  Tony, is that you I see at Zanotto’s when my wife and I shop there?  You have moved from dumpster near Mountain Mike’s, good for you.

    Ps, you really did not refute any of my points.  I am sorry, but we learned that trolls were never tall, and at 6 foot 2, I was never considered a troll.

    Pss, I love baseball as my son plays little league baseball, and Tony, please, the park is for people to watch the games.  You make us nervous

  17. #18 writes: “It is also under the flight path for SJC.  Forget about trying to enjoy the game when you are being assualted by airplane noise.”

    What a load of rubbish. The NY Mets’ stadium is located just a belch and a hollar from LaGuardia Airport and, if they’re landing on Runway 31 or taking off on Runway 13, you hear the airplanes all the time during the game. Despite the air traffic at the nearby airport, when the Mets decided to replace Shea Stadium, they built the replacement right next door.

    You really need a better argument.

  18. Okay everyone; it is time for you to put your opinions out to the Mayor and City Council instead of just blogging about it.

    The City Council is holding Public Budget Hearings tomorrow night, Tuesday, May 12th, and Monday, June 15th, at 7:00 PM, at City Hall in the Council Chambers.

    When you see what the City Manager is proposing be cut, everything but staff of course, you’ll scream and claw your face. So make the time to go to the meetings and give your input, or don’t complain about the outcome!

  19. #10 Good points, and this one needs a bit more info

    The area chosen for the ballpark is cramped, filled with toxic waste, and also home to several convicted criminals.  The housing plans for that area make it too cramped for a stadium, as parking will be nonexistent.

    It is also under the flight path for SJC.  Forget about trying to enjoy the game when you are being assualted by airplane noise.

    The only place worse to put a stadium would be next to the airport, but nobody would be that stupid.  Oh wait.  Isn’t that where the Earthquakes are going?

  20. The City has convincingly destroyed the myth that you need to offer big salaries in order to attract talent.
    Where’s the talent?
    All we’ve wound up with instead, is exactly what a rational person would expect- a spoiled, overpaid, mediocre workforce with a resentful attitude toward their employer.

  21. 25 – If you worked 10 – 12 hour days, nights and weekends, and had to do the work of several people because you don’t have sufficient staff, you might be resentful too. But, most city workers in this situation are NOT resentful. They are tired of being overworked and they burnt out but they continue to give 100+%.
    Sorry to tell a different story than the one you wish were true #25, but most of the city work force does not even come close to matching your fictional description of them.

  22. #24, I agree morale is very important in a work environment however we citizens must also consider the morale of existing and future residents. Where is our bang for our buck? What kind of return on investment (ROI) are we/they getting for the sales tax they are charged (assuming they shop in SJ)? How about the ROI for their property taxes? How about the ROI for their hours and hours of unpaid, volunteer labor? Where is the incentive to come to SJ to live, work and do business?

    I would further argue that working under conditions where one gets merit raises for their contribution helps morale, and from what I understand under union contracts everyone gets the same raises no matter their contribution. Where’s the incentive? Last, employees if they are truly unhappy have a right to “vote with their feet” and leave their job if they believe there are better options for them elsewhere.

    #25: I respectfully disagree with most of your statement. During my volunteer work I have had the pleasure of getting to know many City employees and have found them to be dedicated, smart and hard working. Unfortunately there is a lot of work for them to do and, also unfortunately, we cannot afford to hire more of them to lighten the load. As with any barrel there will be some “bad apples,” but to paint everyone with the same brush is not honoring the diversity of talent the City of SJ employees bring to the table.

    What I do agree with is that in our society (not just the City!) there is a huge sense of entitlement. Instead of asking “what is my part, what do I contribute to the greater good?” it’s “Gimme, gimme, gimme” and then “I’ve got mine Jack, now you go get yours.” Sad.

    Tina

  23. Last night I attended the City Council meeting budget discussion to voice my concerns and ideas. There were many people there, mostly folks who had a specific item they didn’t want to see cut. The Park Rangers program and Friends of the Rose Garden were very well represented.

    I was disapointed that not many speakers spoke about ways to increase revenue, rather than simply “save our program.” I’m in fear that if one program gets saved (because more bodies showed up), other programs will get the ax. I was also really upset that at the start of the meeting there was an exercise where City executives answered 5 written questions posed by the Mayor. (I am no longer able to find the Mayor’s Memo dtd 5/6/09 on the City website, maybe it got moved.) While the answers provided were straightforward, it seemed that the answers were designed to keep everything status quo. This is frustrating to me because our City’s history has proven that status quo gets us into a financial mess that hurts us all.

    Anyway, in prep for my turn at the podium I pulled some numbers from the 2008 Mercury News salary/employee count data and displayed it while I verbally rushed through my 1 minute delivery. The numbers are below and I hope they make SJI readers think as much as they made me think.

    There are 68 City of SJ workers making over
    $200K:
    58 at $200K – 250K
    9 at $250 – 300K
    1 at over $400K

    There are 2,638 City of SJ workers making over $100K:
    2,288 at $100 – $150
    350 at $150 – $199

    Let me say here I don’t begrudge anyone a decent living and I believe we have some seriously hardworking folks in the City that shoulder a lot of responsibility. They should be paid for it at a level WE CAN AFFORD. My point for bringing up the numbers was to ask the Council to push for temporary pay cuts to those at the “top” :

    10% temporary pay cut for those making over $200K: $20K x 68 = $1.36M (Assumes lowest rate of pay at $200K = $20,000 for 68 employees)

    5% temporary pay cut:$5,000 x 2638 = $13.2M (Assumes lowest rate of pay at $100K = $10,000 for 2638 employees)

    0 cuts for workers making under $100K.

    Tie the end of the temporary pay cut to when the City is no longer running a deficit.

    Other ideas:
    Pay freezes for the next three years
    Merit and step increases on hold
    Cap sick leave time: “Use it or lose it”
    Eliminate sick leave payouts for new employees.

    I also said that I do not want to see any more cuts to our programs, services, etc. however I would be willing to vote for a half or full cent sales tax increase and I’d also be willing to pay a small increase in my parcel tax for parks, libraries and pools.

    I hope other SJI readers are considering ideas for increasing revenue and letting the Mayor and Council hear what they are.

    Tina

  24. #22

    Just because New York City does something stupid does not mean San Jose has to emulate that stupidity.  Hopefully, San Jose would try to create a better, and higher, standard of living for its residents.

  25. #24, why should government employees be treated any differently or better than private sector employees. Businesses are implementing RIFs, pay cuts, shorter workdays, longer workdays, all manner of hits to employees. Government should be doing the same.

    I’m sure most city employees are well-meaning. But I’ve heard stories of temporary contract workers being asked by regular city employees to slow down because they were “making us look bad.” Next time you drive by a road construction site, count how many people are just standing around. There is definitely room for improvement.

  26. The word and feeling that has most contributed to the decline of this society is “entitlement”.  Illegal immigrants, as well as people who were born here but never held a real job for long, are now somehow “entitled” to health care at taxpayer expense; while people who work hard and try to do the right thing get shut out of the hospitals because they can’t pay and have no insurance. For chrissake, even Mercedes commercials talk about getting the car you DESERVE!!!  NO, everybody does not DESERVE a Mercedes.

    The USA is in a serious state of decline, brought about by the fact that although all men may be created equal, they don’t remain that way for very long.  But Obama and Pelosi et al. are hell bent on “fixing”  that by “sharing the wealth”.

    Schools cater to the underperformers, leaving the achievers—who will eventually pay for everything—left in a lurch.  The school adminstrators work hard to keep kids who have no interest whatsoever in school, so they can get funding which is based on average daily attendance.

    Diversity for its own sake has become a rallying cry, even when it results in tolerating gangs, grafitti, illegal immigrants and citizen slackers getting taxpayer sponsored benefits that hard working folks can’t hope to obtain.  Lawyers are even pleading “cultural defenses” to get clients off from mayhem, mutilation, and murder, all in the name of doversity!!  Anybody who objects to this dumbing down of society is immediately branded a racist.

    The fact that Social Security will be bankrupt in a decade or two is merely symptomatic of the complete moral, economic, and ethical bankruptcy into which this once-great country is heading…at a faster and faster pace every day.

  27. Has “Move SJC To Hollister” ever been to a real sporting event? Probably not, based on the drivel posted here. Baseball games are LOUD, lots of cheering, booing, PA chatter, organ music, etc. A few planes flying overhead aren’t much of a factor why nobody is pushed out of shape over the location of the Mets’ stadium. But there’s a solution to this non-existent “problem”-Don’t build a baseball stadium downtown.

  28. 29 – Please don’t insult us with your “stories” or the good old warhorse about how many workers are “standing around.” If you’ve got something factual to back-up your “stories”, fine, but it appears you don’t. Certainly there is always room for improvement, but unsubstantiated stories and drive-by sightings of work crews certainly does not improve anything. I’m sure you will do better in the future.

  29. #30-JMO,
    You forgot to add that our Police Department is under attack for doing their job, and Judges are letting criminals free to wreak havoc among unsuspecting citizens. Courts are more concerned with the rights of harden criminals, and are releasing them into our communities due to prison over crowding. Our Police Department is being cut, and the remaining 1,374 Officers left, are expected to cover and protect 1 MILLION citizens! How on earth can this City, or other cities expect understaffed Police Departments to compete with criminals that out number them 1,000 plus to one?

    I watched in amazement while citizens stood up one by one, in Tuesday night’s Public Budget Meeting, asking that the arts, and other non-essential programs take precedence over much needed City services.  I sometimes wonder what it would be like to be that oblivious to the horrific things going on around me. Must be nice~

  30. 23 – Interesting, but if your plan was enacted it would further destroy morale in an already dismal workplace. Perhaps not the best way to get the “biggest bang for the buck.”

  31. There’s a proposal to discontinue the practice of returning library books to their “home branch” and instead reshelve them at whichever branch to which they are returned. The City claims this will eliminate 4.1 positions. It takes 4 full-time employees to drive books back to the proper branch? FOUR? You’ve got to be kidding. This task could be kept on top of by ONE person who is used to having to hustle at a private sector job. I’ll do the job for 1/2 the cost the City’s paying.

    So why am I the only one to question this glaring inefficiency? Isn’t this the sort of thing head librarian Jane Light is paid big bucks to notice and correct?
    We’ve either got 4 lazy book delivery people or one incredibly overpaid, mediocre department head.
    And why would any other City Department be any better?

  32. #34—that solution seems counter-intuitive.  If a book is returned to a branch other than the branch from which it was checked out, when someone at the branch from which it was checked out requests that book, someone will have to get it to the requester’s branch.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *