San Jose Inside

City leaders enthusiastically signed off on a resolution supporting the relocation of the A’s baseball team to San Jose at today’s council meeting. “Let’s play ball,” said Councilwoman Rose Herrera. Mayor Chuck Reed pointed out the chances of the A’s moving here are still pretty slim, but that the city is working hard to market itself as the right place for the major league baseball team.

“Art Empowers” is the title of an inspiring new student exhibition at the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University. I participated in handing out achievement certificates to more than 75 students enrolled in the ArtsConnect program of the Arts Council Silicon Valley (ACSV). The work was created in conjunction with local artists, and includes video, music, sculptures, poems and paintings. This is the 11th year of the student exhibition.

The downsizing continues at Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, as the company confirms it is laying off four people this week. Executive Editor Dale Bryant chalked the move up to the economy, saying SVCN is cutting back for the same reason everyone in the industry is laying off people.

Last week I attended two more community budget meetings to hear feedback from residents in District 9 and District 2. The District 9 meeting was a bit different from previous sessions, as there was no slide presentation. Instead, it included an overview and discussion to go over paper handouts on the Proposed Operating Budget with City Management.

Not much was shared on the cost of providing services to residents but rather, attendees were told: “Here are the proposed cuts.”

This week’s installment of San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum is open. Local issues are our main interest, but any comment on any topic is welcome.

Just because the majority of the Public Intoxication Task Force quit the group last night doesn’t mean they are giving up on their mission to revamp police practices in San Jose.

Mayor Chuck Reed today called on all City workers to accept a wage and salary freeze this year to avoid 150 layoffs in the face of the City’s $77.5 million budget shortfall.  “I’m calling for all our bargaining units to agree to true zeroes this year,” Reed said in a statement released this morning. He specified that this would mean “no wage increases, no step increases, no merit increases.”

The controversy-plagued Santa Clara Valley Water District board has finally selected a CEO—naming Beau Goldie, a longtime district employee, to the long-vacant post.

Some members of the San Jose Elections Commission are implying that Councilmember Nora Campos had something to do with the anonymous complaint field against Tom McEnery, which was brushed aside Friday after months of huffing and puffing by Campos and her allies. And staffers in Campos’s office are shocked. (Shocked!)

My family and I, along with 750 others, celebrated the life of Dan Lairon III on Saturday, May 2 at St. Martin’s Church.  The mass presided over by Father Bob Shinney S.J. was a commemoration of the good work and deeds of a distinguished former Marine and life-long educator.

In an effort to move the city out of the debacle of the IPA selection of Chris Constantin, the Mayor and several Councilmembers have been trading memos regarding the next attempt to hire an IPA, leading up to a potential Cinco de Mayo vote tomorrow. But rushing forward with another hiring process before a full investigation has been done on “IPA-gate” would do San Jose a disservice, and leave lingering suspicions.

Over a month ago I wrote about a budget meeting I led in District 6 with my own presentation on the deficit and alternative solutions. Since then, other council offices have scheduled their meetings. I was curious to hear the opinions from outside my district. So last week I attended the budget meetings in District 10, Almaden/Blossom Valley, and District 8, Evergreen. Both meetings were led by the city manager’s office with its own presentation.

San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum is open for business. All opinions are welcome.

Mayor Chuck Reed is proving that there are limits to his patience. Today, the mayor fired off an unfriendly letter to Councilwoman Nora Campos asking her to publicly apologize for drumming up drama over recent anonymous complaints against former Mayor Tom McEnery.

What do Inlaid Thermoplastic Asphalt Pavement Marking Systems have in common with bollard sleeves and Wilshire round planters? Easy. They’re all part of the SoFA District Year One Development Plan—a cosmetic redesign of South First Street between San Carlos and Reed Street.