San Jose Inside

Four people died in Almaden Valley on July 24th, 2007—two teenage boys just beginning their lives as young adults and a married couple walking together for a stroll.

One teenage boy was driving his car with a friend as a passenger. He lost control of his car on Graystone Lane as he was traveling faster than the posted speed limit. He hit and killed a married couple walking on the side of the road before slamming into a tree, only to have his car explode into a fire. Everyone was dead at the scene. This was so tragic that I was despondent when I read the story.

Complaints of Monopoly Flood in After Latest City Hall Retail Debacle

The U.S. Justice Department is looking into practices by the South Bay Labor Council to determine whether their control of San Jose has violated any antitrust laws in the wake of a failed City Hall retail leasing effort.

“Greed is good” is the line most people remember from Oliver Stone’s film, “Wall Street.” Of course, the moral of the story is that greed isn’t good and it can put you in prison and leave you penniless. Unfortunately, this lesson has been lost on corporate America, Wall Street and the interdependent real estate and mortgage industries. (Just look at the ridiculous level of CEO pay and the soaking we are getting from everybody from the oil companies and food importers to drug manufacturers and the health insurance companies.)

When Silicon Valley real estate baron Carl Berg was asked last week why he’s selling his multi-million-square-foot portfolio of buildings, he was quick to be precise on the reason.  He reportedly said it’s “because I can’t stand the mayor of San Jose. I believe this city has the worst development environment in the United States.” This is very interesting.

I know, most of you think all I do is complain that there isn’t enough to do in this town. Yet, with the city’s single biggest event—the San Jose Grand Prix—coming up this weekend, I am just a little lukewarm on the whole idea this year.

It’s my turn to complain about traffic. Traffic: another reason to keep jobs in San Jose.

I join over 50 percent of San Jose residents who leave their homes every day to travel to their jobs to earn a living outside of San Jose. Those of us who commute, trek highways 101, 880, 85, 87 and 280 mostly north to the “land of jobs.” I am getting back on the road and joining my fellow residents on our neighborhood streets as we try to snake our way to the freeway entrance—a feat in and of itself.  I hesitate to say this, but now I am reminded why people cut through neighborhoods. Saving a few minutes commuting is a big deal to many with all the traffic congestion to slow us down.

Advance Copy of Series Finale Critical For Competitiveness

When Dan Fenton took his job as CEO of Team San Jose, the prospect of running another organization along with his current duties as leader of the Convention and Visitors Bureau seemed a daunting and overwhelming task until the city made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: an advanced copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

There are plenty of proposals for poorly planned, wanton residential developments in the city. Coyote Valley and Evergreen come to mind, but now there are cracks beginning to show in the showpiece North San Jose development. Namely, the lack of proper planning has resulted in insufficient schools for the children of new residents, necessitating going quite a distance to get to one, and the area’s existing schools are rapidly becoming overcrowded, especially in the crucial lower grades. There has even been a spillover into nearby Santa Clara which is upsetting their educational apple cart.

“Part of being a leader is to figure out how to get those six votes,” Chuck Reed said recently. What he did not say was that being a leader also entails being worthy enough to be followed. Reed is figuring out the leadership issues and he is doing very well getting the votes when he needs them. He is admired—not feared—and respected.

The other day, I was talking with some friends about things that San Jose could do to make itself a better place for the single folks (or even the non-singles) that live in this town.  We have already established that San Jose has lots of single people, and plenty of single men to boot, whose main complaint is always the lack of things to do. 

Public and Private Sector Jobs

As I mentioned before, I am working full time in the private sector during the council recess. I enjoy my private sector job and I believe it is healthy for anyone who runs for public office to keep their “day job.”  I like working in the software industry and helping different companies solve problems. I believe that my experience in private industry keeps my brain sharp and ensures that I don’t lose touch with reality.

First Step in Saint-Making Process Appropriate Says Benedict

Just hours after all criminal charges were dropped against lobbyist duo Tony Arreola and Sean Kali-Rai for bribery, conspiracy, perjury, grand theft, fraud, tax evasion, kickbacks and shoplifting, the two were seen boarding a Papal Air 777 for a quick flight to the Vatican after a surprise invitation from Pope Benedict XVI.

If you think they are wasting our money at City Hall these days, you should take a look at the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD), the public agency created by the California Legislature to oversee supply of our water and manage flood control. They have a board of seven directors, five elected by region and two appointed by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The SCVWD has a plush, marble-floored and chandeliered $26 million headquarters complete with duck pond, and an extremely well-compensated CEO, Stanley M. Williams.

If, as the old strategist suggested, politics is war by other means, then we are seeing something new in the epic battle between the reformers and the fixers in San Jose; namely, the introduction of legal assaults to buttress the crumbing coalition of lobbyists, developers and labor that has ruled and nearly ruined our city in the past decade. You wonder how gullible, or actually, how dumb these people feel the rest of us are.

The other day I checked my email only to find a note from my sister with the subject line: “My Friend Tried This and it Worked!”  I wasn’t sure if it was a weight loss pill or some ointment, but when I opened it up, I found a link to eHarmony.com where I could set up an internet dating profile.