San Jose Inside

Governor Jerry Brown and other state lawmakers announced their plan Tuesday to curtail public employee retirement benefits. The Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2012, which will require approval of the state legislature and could lead to a vote for additional changes, would cap pensionable salaries, require new hires to pay more into the system while getting less in return, increase retirement ages, and require final compensation to consist of a three-year average rather than the final 12 months, in an effort to prevent spiking.

After filing papers to run for a second four-year term for my County Board of Education Trustee seat, I learned on the Aug. 10 deadline that no one filed papers to run against me. Therefore, I am automatically re-elected. This is a great and unexpected result, but one that is not so good for providing me a campaign forum to raise some of the most critical issues of our time.

What does shucking corn have to do with an understaffed police department in San Jose? It all comes down to resources and being open to accepting assistance.

On Tuesday, Santa Clara County proclaimed the week of Aug. 21-26 as “Freedom Week.” The facts are staggering. Roughly 80 percent of slaves in the world today are women and it is an increasing problem.

County Supervisor George Shirakawa waded into the fight over who’s to blame for the rise in crime in San Jose Thursday afternoon, releasing a statement voicing his displeasure with comments San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo made to the media. In response, Liccardo shrugged before calling out Nora Campos for her letter to San Jose’s police chief. Go ahead and click through, because this gets good.

Who should hold sway over these city streets? It’s a debate that is taking place behind closed doors and in front of the media now that San Jose is on pace to break the annual record for homicides going back 15 years. On Tuesday, State Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose) sent an “open letter” to Moore, encouraging him to ask the California Highway Patrol for assistance in combatting crime and patrolling city streets.

It saddens many tree huggers that the once heralded California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is being so abused by NIMBY groups that simple justice, common sense and economic progress demands its reform.

Hold on to your wallets, kids! Ex’pression College for Digital Arts, a for-profit college, is opening up a new campus in San Jose in September 2012. According to the San Jose Business Journal, the school is leasing 65,000 square feet of office space in Ridder Park Technology Center in North San Jose. The group plans to spend $3 million to rehabilitate the space and will serve up to 550 students. Their main bay area campus, serving 650 students, is located in Emeryville.

UPDATE: Fly has confirmed with Democratic political operative Jeffrey A Cardenas that Rose Herrera did receive an email invitation to be interviewed at the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee endorsement hearing. Below is that email, with email addresses and phone numbers redacted.

What’s worse than not getting invited to the party? Getting invited to the party and then being told you can’t come inside. San Jose City Councilmember Rose Herrera found herself in this uncomfortable position Monday night when she was locked out of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee endorsement hearing.

It’s been a while since Mayor Chuck Reed’s opponents won a battle in San Jose’s pension reform war. But a report released Tuesday by the state auditor’s office says that city officials may have played a little too fast and loose when stating the worst-case scenario for San Jose’s unfunded liability for retirement benefits. In the report, State Auditor Elaine Howle writes that a review of the mayor and other councilmembers’ use of the number $650 million, when discussing the city’s potential liability for retiree pensions and health benefits, was “unsupported and likely overstated.”

I have stated consistently and unequivocally when writing this weekly column the last four years that we must end teacher tenure laws as we know them. Ending California’s current tenure laws will be for the sake of the students and the health of the teaching profession as a whole. As a former teacher union leader 30 years ago, I was an advocate for tenure rights after my third successful year of teaching. My views have evolved.

Members of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 showed up at 4pm Sunday to close the cement and asphalt plant at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry. Aggregate Division Manager Jack Leemaster looked none too happy with the surprise when he drove up in a white pickup truck 45 minutes later. “My understanding is they had a pretty good sized order going out tonight,” said one plant worker, resting his placard’s pine stick on his shoulder. “Three hundred tons for night paving.” Twelve hours later, things would get worse for Graniterock. Before Monday crews punched in to start their weeks, picketers descended upon the company’s recycling plant at Monterey Highway and Capitol Expressway, at the sand and gravel facility in Hollister and at Graniterock operations in San Jose’s Berryessa district, Redwood City and South San Francisco.

The City Council meets Tuesday to discuss the installation of new bike lanes, fees for events at a downtown park and the expansion of corporate office space at Santana Row, amongst other items. Not on the agenda, according to city spokesman David Vossbrink, is a report expected to come out Tuesday morning from the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle, who took a closer look at Mayor Chuck Reed’s use of the number $650 million in regards to the city’s worst-case unfunded liability scenario.

The general public has become more interested in sewers with the connection to keeping our environment clean. I believe individuals may choose a previously overlooked vocation in the sewer system once they understand the salary and job security. However, this will not change in weeks or months; it will most likely take time to garner the skill set for senior positions with the city.

True friends can disagree but still support each other personally. The problem in politics occurs when that personal support is abandoned through betrayal, negligence or perceived self-interest, or for monetary reasons. The most valuable coin of the realm in politics is integrity.