San Jose Inside

The Santa Clara Valley Water District became the first water agency in the nation to join a movement to divest from fossil fuels, retracting investments from companies considered to contribute to climate change and harm the world’s water supply.

Evan Low, mayor of Campbell, was recently asked by the Red Cross to host a blood drive in his city. The problem? Low is a gay, and gay men are banned from donating blood. The ban is an antiquated policy implemented in 1985 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But Low is having none of it.

Joe Simitian wants to run for Congress. It’s the worst kept secret in local politics. What seat the former state legislator and current county supervisor will run for is anybody’s guess. But Mighty Joe will be ready. In the first six months of the year, Simitian raised almost $50,000 through his officeholder account, a good chunk of which came in the last month of the filing period. Fly called Simitian to discuss, and the supervisor was more than happy to oblige.

We previously talked about the need for an active, empowered role for citizens in the stewardship of San Jose’s parks and trails. The significant cutbacks in budget and personnel have left city staff to do more work with less people and less money. The solution is to create multi-partnerships with citizens, neighborhood associations, businesses and community groups to provide a collective stewardship for the future.

UPDATE: The proposed “soda ban” did not make it out of committee Wednesday.—Editor

What’s the most pressing issue facing the City of San Jose? Is it following through on pension reform to reduce unsustainable sky-high pension liabilities? Paving our streets? Hiring more police officers? Restoring library hours? Unfortunately, some at City Hall believe that telling you what you can and can’t drink trumps all of these other pressing concerns. Today a City Council committee will discuss a proposed ban on “sugary drinks” at all city properties and all city events. Just what is classified as a “sugary drink,” you ask? The answer may surprise you.

Joseph Di Salvo, a county Board of Education trustee, implores President Obama to rededicate the country to meeting its education goals when he speaks at the 50th anniversary celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s most important speech.

In a move New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg might appreciate, Councilman Ash Kalra wants to ban sugary drinks from all city-owned buildings and city-sponsored events. Other items on the Rules and Open Government Committee agenda include a potential raise in the airport’s noise curfew fines and David Wall alleging that the Environmental Innovation Center fiasco was a ponzi scheme.

After months of outreach trying to get restaurants used to the idea, the city’s moving ahead with its ban on Styrofoam-style take-out containers, a uniquely problematic type of litter because of the way expanded polystyrene (EPS) breaks apart and infiltrates the region’s waterways. On Tuesday, the City Council will discuss the controversial ban slated to go into effect Jan. 1. Other items on Tuesday’s agenda include a jobs development program with Work2Future and a service agreement with the San Jose Downtown Association.

Contractors working on San Jose’s $11 million Environmental Innovation Center (EIC) walked off the job last month a half-year behind schedule and $1.6 million over budget. A couple weeks later, the company, Modesto-based Applegate Johnston, Inc., filed for bankruptcy. Modesto-based Applegate Johnston, Inc. was awarded a contract for San Jose’s EIC in 2011, despite having previously finished two fire stations several months late.

The people in charge of providing financial and protective services for Santa Clara County residents run a department lacking structure and accountability, according to a just-released Civil Grand Jury audit that goes before the county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Other items on the board agenda include grand jury reviews for health inspections of food trucks and farmers markets, and a review of Juvenile Hall.

Representative Zoe Lofgren has issued a statement on the death of former aide Cindy Avitia. She worked on the congresswoman’s staff from 2006 to 2010, and was killed in an automobile accident in Mexico, according to Lofgren’s office. Avitia was a strong advocate for immigration reform. According to the Chihuahua, Mexico newspaper Tiempo, the accident occurred near the city of Parral in northern Mexico.

In 1988, while working for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in Minneapolis—he was stumping for Hubert “Skip” Humphrey for the U.S. Senate—a revelation occurred out of the public sphere. As a witness to the event, it resonates today in the era of partisanship. It was an example of how politics really work when not viewed solely through the jaded lens of the media.

Breaking up is hard to do. Breaking up a fight between the San Jose police union and City Hall could be damn near impossible. In what appeared to be an effort to mend fences and remind people who’s the boss, Acting Police Chief Larry Esquivel recently sent an email this week to his command staff—roughly 50 deputy police chiefs, lieutenants and captains—scolding them for signing on to a letter critical of the city recent actions involving labor negotiations.

Ticked off that Santa Clara County refused to continue labor negotiations over the weekend and still demands forced overtime to patch up staffing shortages, the county’s largest union sounds like it’s ready to strike. SEIU 521 will hold a noon press conference to announce the decision, where it is expected to demand benefits that would make it easier to recruit and retain qualified workers.

Starting in September, as a result of federal budget sequestration earlier this year, rent will rise significantly for Santa Clara County’s Section 8 tenants, close to 60 percent of whom are elderly or disabled.