Rants and Raves

SJI’s weekly Rants & Raves is a forum where the site’s regulars and visitors set the agenda. Any topic is fair game. What’s on your mind?

22 Comments

  1. Efforts to gain support for the stadium in Santa Clara were given a boost two weeks ago when the Santa Clara Unified School Board voted unanimously to support it.  Two disgruntled naysayers came and even belittled the student reps to the board to no avail.

    Stadium backers are receiving good responses among citizens.  Stadium campaigners in Santa Clara, despite the news of thousands coming in from SF from Newsom’s allies in opposition, are moving well downfield for a toucdown.

  2. Is there anything more sad or pathetic than our airport holding a lunch to beg local businesses to give them money for a party they can’t afford?

    • Did you read the part where Check Reed begs them to fly more?  “Your company, your people, need to start using the airport. We need a lot of people traveling through this airport.”  Is Chuck crazy?

      This is a disgrace.  When will we wake up “and smell the coffee” (to quote Ann Landers).  This airport is a loser, and it is negatively affecting all of Santa Clara county, not just San Jose.  Any politician who continues to support this albatross is either incompetent and/or corrupt, and it is time to either remove them from office, or put them in jail for this fiasco.

      http://www.mercurynews.com/top-stories/ci_14480546

      • Maybe if our city council spent more time on attracting business to locate in San Jose so people had a reason to fly here our airport would be busy. I can’t see all the low income housing our city council has rather decided to build as attracting many airport travelers.

      • It suddenly occurs to me that information technology, such as the internet, has made face to face meetings less important.  Perhaps one factor in the decline in the number of business travelers is the success of Silicon Valley.  Constant email, cell phone, video chat and all the rest makes a $2-600 plane ticket and lost work time seem like a waste to send someone when you can handle the business remotely.

        I can see people flying in for conferences, seminars, training and recruitment.  I imagine people fly out for similar purposes as well as high end sales work, vacations and old-fashioned junkets where you really don’t need to go but you talked your way into a free trip at company or taxpayer expense.

        Operating big expensive jets for moving people around is perhaps not cost effective for many businesses, and so flying commercial rather than on private jets is probably more common.  And even that would be a last resort if you just had to be there in person.

        I wonder if the airlines have been experiencing problems with their business models the last decade?  Is it all attributable to 9/11 or are people just not as excited about flying?  Maybe we’ve just outgrown the fad (1950’s to 2000) where everyone could fly anywhere easily.  It’s really a pain to get to the airport, get through dumb security and then sit in a packed flying greyhound bus for a couple of hours and navigate out the other side.

        Could we make it easier for foreign carriers to expand into SJC to take advantage of unused capacity?  Are the runways still too short?  Could we fix that?  How do the numbers at SFO compare to SJC?  How about direct links to Taiwan, Hong Kong and connections to India?

        • At 11,000 ft., the two SJC runways are long enough for 747’s, although none of the gates are designed to handle Jumbo Jets.  In fact, only two gates are designated for international usage (US Customs services).  All of the rest, even the newer gates of the North Concourse and “future” South Concourse (yeah right!), are designed for domestic flights only.  Taiwan, Hong Kong or India?

    • Let’s see, when we are short of dough personally, we don’t throw parties.  And can you imagine asking the neighbors to pitch in for your 50th or something?

      Earth to Chuck—JUST DON’T DO THE PARTY, WE’RE BROKE!

  3. Nice post Sky King!

    You know, two weeks ago I posted a crazy idea to close SJC in the future and consolidate operations at SFO.  Some people liked the idea, others thought it was, well, crazy.  Now, two weeks later after news about 1) high-speed rail potentially taking travelers away from SJC, 2) SJC loosing passengers steadily since 2000, 3) loosing revenue with debt payments rising, 4) reconsideration of late-night flights between 1130pm and 630am, 5) putting a harsher height limit on future downtown “high”-rises to attract long-haul/international flights and 6) can’t even afford paying for a grand party to open Terminal B in June….well, the craziness now appears pretty sane to me!

    • You know, two weeks ago I posted a crazy idea to close SJC in the future and consolidate operations at SFO.

      Just for the sake of accuracy, you took a suggestion by another poster, said it was a good idea, and then expanded on it.  I like the thought and work you put into your expansion, but I also like credit given where credit is due.

      I suspect many people have suggested closing SJI and moving the operations to SFO over the past few years.

      • AC,
        You are absolutely right.  My “idea” was the expansion concept, not so much the initial thought.  I stand corrected and I apologize.  As for your last sentence, if anyone out there is interested in starting a website/blog or social network group on this consolidate SFO/SJC idea, I’m there!

        [email protected]

    • Whatever the problems of San Jose Airport, the “high-speed” choo-choo train is one thing they DON’T need to worry about.

      China is never going to lend Obama or California the money to build it.

      China needs trucks, freight trains, and cargo planes to haul their exports to American consumers.  They don’t care if the trust fund children at the Sierra Club stamp their feet and throw a tantrum because they don’t get to ride their Disney Train.

  4. Flying is such a horrible experience nowadays that I prefer to drive if I can spare the time. Driving cross-country costs about the same for two people.

    If I have to fly, I prefer SJC because it’s closer to home. But if I could get to SFO by high-speed rail, I might change my mind.

    • Five homicides after two months translates to 30 for the year, which is about average for San Jose, and is well below what one would expect in any other American city of a million-plus people.

  5. MTC and Regional Government

    So they’ve made the first steps towards regional action on collective issues moving beyond bridge tolls to the carpool lanes.  By changing the HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) Lanes into HOT (High Occupancy and Toll) Lanes.  Fastrack Will allow commuters to opt into faster HOT lanes for a toll that will be automatically deducted when used.  Enforcement will be stiff with heavy automation (like in London) where camera’s and sensors will police the lanes for cheaters with the potential for automated tickets being sent directly to the registered vehicle owner (probably after comparing the photo of the driver to the DMV photo on the drivers license.)

    I’m kind of skeptical, but at least something is being done while everyone else seems to be paralyzed with budget melt-down mania.  Privatizing public goods seems wrong, but if it results in a faster commute and improved service, maybe its worth it.

    There’s supposed to be a tipping point of just a few percent that gets the whole freeway to grind to halting stop and go traffic.  Getting some cars off the road and better using the carpool lanes might change the situation for everyone.  In looking at cities where Carpool lanes were added, the places that implemented a complete system and connected the CBT (central business district) saw real gains in commute time for everyone in all lanes.

    In the bay area, we have a lousy system where carpool lanes start and stop so its not a complete network, though MTC promises that the revenue from the HOT lanes will be used to do that.  They also have talked about Regional Express buses that would use these lanes and offer additional commute options. 

    What do people think of public toll roads in the bay area?

  6. I know this may not be as news worthy as Carr’s husband being investigated again because there isn’t any drama to report as far as the paper is concerned but, two people involved in this murder pleaded guilty.

    Javier Olalde pleaded Guilty on 01/08/10

    Jose Ortiz pleaded Guilty on 02/26/10

    One of them is being sentenced March 9th, at 1:30 pm.

    The family is still devastated by his murder and hoping for justice.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_14480194?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com

  7. The Bridge

    A man on his Harley was riding along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, God said, ‘because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish.’

    The biker pulled over and said, ‘Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want.’
    God replied, ‘Your request is materialistic; think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take!  I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things.  Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help man kind.’

    The biker thought about it for a long time. Finally, he said, ‘God, I wish that I , and all men,  could understand women; I want to know how she feels inside, what she’s thinking when she gives me the silent treatment, why she cries, what she means when she says nothing’s wrong, why she snaps and complains when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy.
                                        God replied: ‘You want two lanes or four on that bridge?”

Leave a Reply

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