San Jose Inside

Violent crime among young people is on the increase, according to a new study by James Fox and Marc Swatt from Northwestern University. Fox and Swatt indicate that the much heralded decline in youth crime in the 1990s has ceased.  According to anecdotal data of my neighbors and friends, we are experiencing a rising tide of youth crime and gang-related violence in the suburbs of San Jose.

The still-slumping economy appears to be giving Dean Singleton a free pass to continue slicing away at his newspapers. As if employees in his already decimeted newsrooms aren’t scraping by as is, Singleton’s MediaNews is now requiring all of its non-union workers to take a one-week furlough starting this month.

Last week, the Council spent two and half hours talking about making changes to a 1997 “competition policy.” At the prior Council meeting we spent two-plus hours talking about the same topic.  That policy is already burdensome and makes it difficult for businesses and/or non-profits to jump through all the hoops to do business with the city. I don’t own a business or manage a non-profit, so don’t ask me, ask the only two businesses that tried to utilize the policy during the past 12 years, but to no avail.

This is San Jose Inside’s open forum—open for discussion of a recent news event, local issue, or any other concern.

When the Merc, KCBS and the Business Journal reported yesterday that Tesla had shifted gears and reversed direction, and might not be building a plant in San Jose after all, it was old news to readers of Watch Dog Silicon Valley.

Last month saw the passing of John Byrne, lead singer of the ‘60s San Jose garage-rock band Count Five. He penned the immortal fuzzed-out 1966 hit Psychotic Reaction, which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard charts and was listed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Top 500 songs that shaped rock & roll. A whole two years before Dionne Warwick sang that tune we all know and despise, the Count Five staged its famous promo picture, wearing Dracula-style capes in front of the Winchester Mystery House.

Poor San Jose doesn’t know if should do a few extra crunches or just give up and have another Twinkie. A recent Men’s Fitness article listed San Jose as one of America’s fattest cities ... 15th fattest city in the nation. But then Women’s Health ranked San Jose number one for health and number two for fitness. And wait. Just last month, Men’s Health ranked us sixth best city in the United States—first for health and fourth for fitness.

Last Monday, eight year old Alex Casillas and his father were hit by a car that ran a red light at Story Road and Adrian Way.  The child is in critical condition at Valley Medical Center.  Tuesday night, KTVU reporter Lloyd LaCuesta did a story on the hit and run incident.  Channel 2’s website provided viewers with the address for a bank account that has been set up to assist the Casillas Family.

San Jose city officials, facing a $65 million shortfall, are penny-pinching everywhere they can. Or are they? Yesterday, the council signed off on cutting 52 positions. Another 18 employees could lose their jobs in March. Meanwhile, Councilwoman Nancy Pyle shelled out more than $6,000 to buy new furniture for her city hall office.

Are taskforces where community hopes goes to die?  I am about to find out. On Jan, 15, I went to the first meeting of the drunk-in-public taskforce, a group assembled by the council as their response to a heated public forum back in November.

San Jose dodged an expensive and lengthy arbitration process after finally striking a tentative deal with the San Jose Police Officers Association, whose union contract has been expired for nearly seven months. The union made some deep concessions, agreeing to smaller wage increases and dropping the enhanced benefits they were going after, which they argued would help retain skilled officers.

The challenge of making public education a system whereby all students gain the necessary skills to be successful participants in our 21st Century democracy will be one of the toughest problems for the Obama administration to solve—closing Gitmo will be easier. However, I am very hopeful.

Since 1921, Faber’s Cyclery has occupied a legendary, leaning building at the corner of First Street and Margaret in San Jose. The structure was already steeped in local lore when Alex LaRiviere took over Faber’s in 1978. Built in 1884, the place began life as a saloon called Benjamin’s Corner. A well-preserved old blacksmith shop still sits out back, right next to a heritage pepper tree eight feet in diameter. The original wooden bar from 1884 still sits inside the place and serves as a parts counter.

On Saturday, City Manager Debra Figone and Mayor Chuck Reed hosted 100 neighborhood residents at City Hall for a discussion and group exercise on how to balance the city’s budget and eliminate the $65 million dollar deficit.

On Thursday, January 22, President Obama named Tony West to head the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division. The division handles claims and recoveries involving billions of dollars, and its scope includes national security issues, criminal violations of consumer protection laws and constitutional issues.
Clearly, West’s career, San Jose’s present and now the United State’s future are different because the voters of District 3 didn’t elect Tony West in 1998.