San Jose Inside

San Jose Police welcomed the nightclub Wet to town by closing the SoFA district, four blocks of it, from Reed to San Carlos streets between Market and Second.

Continued pre-election coverage for SJI’s South County residents: four ballot measures that could affect the political, cultural and infrastructural landscape of Gilroy and Morgan Hill.

Well perhaps this is the year that they decide to do the third thing—making some decisions for themselves.

Whom, you may ask, am I referring to? Namely, that vast group of young people and uninvolved individuals who for too long have been AWOL from the crucial moment in any democracy: electing the guy who is going to make the big decisions. They fight our wars, the young, and they certainly are going to pay in a big way for the sins of the fathers and mothers in the current financial implosion. It is now very heartening to see them showing up.

Continuing SJI’s coverage of local measures, we today present an argument for a “yes” vote on Measure D, written (as always) by our colleagues at Metro. Have at it.

It seems as we get closer to the election most voters have made up their minds and are just waiting to see how things fall. I heard someone today ask another person, “Is there any way Obama can lose?” And the prevailing opinion is that he has it in the bag. But why?

Have the people who have underlying prejudices against African Americans shelved those for this election? Or did John McCain’s selection of Sarah Palin inspire voters to fear his dying in office and Palin becoming President?

Last week the San Jose City Council discussed the Hayes Mansion, a historic 100-year-old south San Jose estate. The City of San Jose bought this property about 10 years ago. The story of “why” the City purchased the property is long…and depending on whom you ask, the reasoning can change. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, I will skip the reason why the City owns the 214-room hotel with two restaurants and twenty five conference rooms.

Here at SJI we believe blogging about local issues is our civic duty. Traditionally, weekends are devoted to the random pieces of wit and wisdom we call Rants and Raves. This week, Rants and Raves continues its sabbatical to make room for pre-election opinionizing. The questions: Valley Med? BART? VTA? Yes or no? And why?

These two measures conclude SJI’s week-long consideration of the State Propositions voters will be asked to decide on in a couple of weeks. One will redraw the state map, and change the way politics is done in Sacramento. The other will make it possible for war veterans to buy homes.

Claim City’s Intoxication Title is Not Accurate

Claiming that San Jose is trying to subvert their hard-earned title, a group of drunken sailors from San Francisco have filed a cease-and-desist order against San Jose, hoping to quash the city’s latest efforts to brand itself with another title.

“Capital of Silicon Valley, Safest Big City, Valley of the Heart’s Delight…these are all nice titles,” said Commodore Brad McGuinness. “Do they really need Capital of Drunks also? Shameful.”

Operated by die-hard fans of the San Jose Earthquakes Major League Soccer franchise, the Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SSVCF), an official 501c(3) nonprofit group, calls itself the “only all-volunteer fan-based philanthropy in American sports.” In what looks to be a serious hoedown this Friday, SSVCF will stage its first annual fundraiser and nosh-up at the Starlight Banquet Hall on Minnesota Avenue, complete with full sponsorship from the Earthquakes franchise itself. Silent auctions will take place. Politicos and luminaries will hold court. Old-timers from the original NASL Quakes in the ‘70s will be there.

“She Made It!” Exhibition at History Park

One of San Jose’s most precious possessions is History Park—located in Kelley Park—under the direction of the good group of people at History San José (HSJ). It’s a great place to take your family for a weekend visit. I learn so much every time I go there, which isn’t nearly often enough. We can never know enough about our past and History San Jose is doing an excellent job of bringing that point home with small but very interesting exhibitions. A new exhibit, “She Made It! — The Tradition of Women’s Arts and Crafts in Santa Clara Valley,” that opens on October 24 in the Leonard and David McKay Gallery at the Pasetta House, is a good example of what I am talking about.

Twelve state propositions is a lot to consider, and every California voter is being asked to do so. It is admittedly an iffy way to make political decisions—but this is what we’ve got to work with. To assist in the effort, SJI has been presenting two a day, including today. We finish the list tomorrow. Then it’s on to 21 local measures. (Whew.) 

The San Jose City Council needs to get a grip on its demeanor in public.  They’ve been a bit out of control with some recent comments. I was surprised but not amazed to see the statements from City Hall revolving around the topic of public drunkenness and arrests by the San Jose Police Department in the Downtown area. Basically, several members were quoted saying they’re appalled at the number of arrests, and the disparity in the arrest rate of Hispanics, far out to proportion to their one-third share of the San Jose population.

It is not surprising that the Council is out of touch on certain issues.  But the situation has become frightening to those trying to live or run small businesses in Central San Jose.

SJI continues the pre-election discussion that began in this space last week, today offering a clear “no” to a muddled plan for promoting renewable energy, and a loud ‘no” to an effort to enshrine one definition of marriage in the California Constitution. Again: These endorsements were prepared by our colleagues on the the editorial staff at Metro Newspapers, and are presented to stimulate discussion of the issues.

San Jose Councilwoman Nora Campos made a brief appearance at City Hall recently when she parachuted into the middle of a council committee hearing, asking the group to vote a second time on a plan to extend living wages to all airport workers. The vote had already gone her way, mind you, but why shouldn’t city government drop everything to make her feel included?