San Jose Inside

The hot topic at Tuesday’s City Council meeting will be medical marijuana, and a soon-to-be administered regulatory program that has critics on all sides. While the Planning Commission has recommended a more lax approach to the council’s direction, the city’s administration appears unwilling to budge.

By the looks of a flyer that was circulating in the state’s capitol this week, the D7 Crew ain’t nothing to mess with. In reality, though, the D7 Crew is a group of freshmen Democrat and Latino State Assembly members whose end-of-session party invitation rose “Capitol eyebrows,” according to a headline in the Sacramento Bee’s political blog, Capitol Alert. The group of Assembly members includes San Jose’s Nora Campos.

It’s been a pretty open secret in Little Saigon that the law doesn’t apply at the 20 or so Vietnamese coffee shops in San Jose. Patrons can smoke without being asked to put out their cigarettes. And scandalously-clad waitresses are known to remove what little lingerie they wear — or give an occasional lap dance — for a good tip. Things changed Sunday night when uniformed police officers sauntered into Quyen Café on Tully Road at 8:30pm on Sunday night and spotted three females — aged 22, 22 and 23 —who were leaving little or nothing to the imagination.

Hewlett Packard CEO Leo Apotheker’s move to exit the consumer computer business could bring more bad news for San Jose’s budget. The Palo Alto computing colossus currently pays San Jose and the arena’s management firm $3.25 million annually to hang its sign at the HP Pavilion’s entrance. Of that amount, $1.25 million goes directly into the city’s general fund. But with the agreement set to expire at the end of 2015, and HP’s plan to spin off its line of PCs—like the “Pavilion” models—the Shark Tank’s proper name seems unlikely to stick.

This week, as scripted by federal law, most of us enjoyed a national holiday lobbied for by the labor movement in the late 19th century. The intention of labor leaders was to create a commemorative day where the average American worker was recognized for their contributions to the nation and its people. But too many Labor Day celebrations on Monday were without the flourish and pomp paid to labor that I grew up with many decades ago.

Is San Jose really on its way to becoming known as Sin City? Sgt. Jim Unland, vice president of the police union, recently made that claim in a post on the San Jose Police Officers’ Association’s blog site, Protect San Jose. Mayor Chuck Reed dismissed the moniker, but he acknowledged that San Jose needs more police officers. Meanwhile, Police Chief Chris Moore is under fire for the 140% increase in San Jose’s year-to-date homicide rate as well as his frequent trips outside of the city. Could it be that almost everyone in public safety is now losing the public relations battle?

Camping is a time to enjoy nature and the adventure of the great outdoors. Last week, I attended a community meeting about San Jose Family Camp. There were approximately 25 residents who all appeared to be Family Camp boosters. They expressed support for Family Camp, recalling fond memories that for some dated back approximately 30 years. But in these tough budget times, Family Camp might need to be outsourced or eliminated.

In an effort to keep readers better informed about and involved with community issues, San Jose Inside is unveiling several new features in the coming weeks. Our Q&A series allows readers to become reporters and ask questions. If you’ve ever wondered why a certain question wasn’t posed, this will be your opportunity to step forward and ask. This week, Santa Clara Valley Water District CEO Beau Goldie has agreed to answer your questions.

This is the first installment of a new San Jose Inside feature that allows readers to pose questions to public officials. This week, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has answered 10 questions selected out of hundreds that were submitted by San Jose Inside commenters. The topics range from pensions and public safety to a proposed ballpark. The next public official to be interviewed by readers will be announced on Friday.—Editor

The local bail bond industry has taken aim at a county program that lets people get out of jail for free.  A group calling itself California Coalition for Pretrial Accountability is now building a war chest and “intends to lobby key decision makers” to eliminate the “Own Recognizance Release Program” (ORP) and other pre-trial services.

The tragic departure of Steve Jobs from his CEO position at Apple last week has prompted me to ask if he would please weigh in on how California should evaluate the effectiveness of their public schools. I think the direction we take today will answer the question of whether public schools can ever produce more thinkers and problem solvers like Mr. Jobs in the future.

City officials were evacuated from City Hall at 5:30pm Monday evening after an email threat was received. It’s unclear how many people were evacuated, but a spokesman for Mayor Chuck Reed said 40 to 50 city officials were standing in a particular area outside an hour after the evacuation. City officials said the threat was not directed at any particular person.

The City Council is expected to finalize the city staff’s Top 10 priorities for the current fiscal year at Tuesday’s meeting. With three high-priority spots potentially vacant on the city’s workplan, several councilmembers have submitted ideas on what they think should take a front seat.

The San Jose Redevelopment Agency’s financial obligations were discussed and voted on last week. The final chapter of RDA will be decided by the State Supreme court sometime before Jan. 15, 2012. Should RDA ultimately end, the state wants to know all of the enforceable obligations. Everything needs to be listed, from bond to lines of credit to legally binding contracts not yet paid out, including debt for affordable housing.

In an effort to keep readers better informed about and involved with community issues, San Jose Inside will unveil several new features in the coming weeks.The first new weekly feature will allow readers to become reporters and ask questions. If you’ve ever wondered why a certain question wasn’t posed, this will be your opportunity to step forward and ask. To begin the Q&A series, Mayor Chuck Reed has agreed to answer your questions.