San Jose Inside

Summer vacation and weather are finally here. I thought we might take time out from the usual political battles and talk about what books we are reading, films we are watching and leisure activities we are doing this summer. There is nothing better than reading a good book at the beach as far as I am concerned—unless it’s too hot, in which case it’s off to the movies where there is air conditioning!

Happy Fourth of July to all of our readers and partners. We are all in this together and we appreciate your support and participation.

It is a good time to take stock of where we are as a city as the birthday of our country is celebrated. There is a new mayor, a new city manager, four new and interesting council members, and a very new spirit in the management of our city. Reform is now the watchword of all and good planning is the hallmark of this regime. While we are not swimming in the greatest competence in some areas of the administration (when has that been true), there is much to be positive about. It is up to the council and city manager to get the most out of the employees and put the best and most ethical of managers in the correct positions of power. There is every reason to believe that this is occurring.

San Jose has the highest number of single men of any city in the nation.  The ratio of men to women is high, and most of those men are successful, well-educated, and have a great work ethic (depending on how you look at 80-hour weeks).  Many of the men are in their twenties and still single.  But do men in San Jose or elsewhere want to get married anymore?  In my extensive research it seems there has been a shift in the mindset of men when it comes to finding someone to marry.

City Hall Diary

I survived another late night city council meeting. This one was the last of the 2006-2007 fiscal year. The meeting began at 1:30 p.m. but did not end until 11:30 p.m.  I am not quite sure if having a ten hour meeting allows for the time needed to go over important items like Coyote Valley, a hazardous waste facility, and Evergreen, among others.  Members of the community come to the city council meetings and have to wait for hours just to be heard for one or two minutes regarding their particular issue.  And, of course, we had a smorgasbord of last-minute issues that either couldn’t wait until August, or were not planned appropriately to come up at an earlier meeting date.

Here are a few important issues with my opinions.

Wall of Taco Trucks to Keep Aggressive Builders From Skirting Triggers

The City’s confidence in protecting Coyote Valley from evil housing developers has desperately degenerated to a point where Team San Jose has been hired to design and manage a protective barrier around the perimeter of the undeveloped Mecca of Santa Clara Valley.

Anyone who wants to look at a parallel example of what our own downtown is becoming need look no further than … well … Rome. An article  in the New York Times on Tuesday paints a picture of the historic medieval district of Trastevere—just south of Vatican City on the west bank of the Tiber—and other ancient parts of central Rome around Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori, just a “stone’s throw from where Julius Caesar met his treacherous end,” as being under siege by “booze-soaked” tourists (mostly from America and Northern Europe) that have made these areas living hell for residents, some of whose families have been there since Christians were fed to lions.

The Freddy Krueger of land use issues is again the talk of the town as the Coyote Valley über-city of Xanadu is once more before the city council. Growth has alternately made, destroyed, bedeviled, bewitched and dazzled councils for forty years. It has made a few people mayor and destroyed the candidacies of others.  It has been the Holy Grail to some and the third rail for the careless. It never seems to leave us. It is the constant specter that haunts our sleep in this city. It is the stuff that dreams are made of.

This past weekend, I had the distinct pleasure (or displeasure) of driving up Interstate 5 into Northern California.  On my way up, I passed through towns like Cottonwood, Arbuckle and even a town called Weed.  After each plot of dirt, each cow and each broken down trailer whizzed by me, I began to think about how lucky I am to live where I live—where there is so much to do and not far to go to do it. Sometimes you just need to leave San Jose to realize how good you really have it. So I thought I would start a list of some things to do this summer and if you have any thoughts or ideas (which I know you always do), please feel free to tell them to us below.

City Hall Diary

Last week, the San Jose City Council passed additional rules for governing lobbyists.  I supported this item and made a few comments of my own.

Bay Bridge, Hwy. 101, Leaves of Absence Keep Tiny Office Out of Top Ten

Employees of the tiny San Jose City Auditor’s office were told on Tuesday by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) that their daily trip to the sexually-charged workplace known as the “Auditor’s Den” was not among the top ten dreaded commutes.

The Mercury News is rapidly reaching a terminal stage and those of us who care about it are very worried. The announcement that the paper is cutting another 40 people from the editorial staff is only the latest development in the steady downward spiral the paper has been taking over the past year or so. The Mercury and MediaNews management officially blames the changes on the economics of running a newspaper—falling revenues from advertising—but it is non-local ownership that is at the root of the decline. The “new” MediaNews Mercury is even beginning to make the Chronicle (where they are also cutting staff) look good.

It’s all over, apparently, without a bang or a whimper. Nary a shot was heard. The Sopranos has concluded and the charges against the former mayor have been dropped. The penultimate episodes of both have been seen. The stories of Ron Gonzales and Tony Soprano are both inconclusive. Many, thinking they are over, are dissatisfied.

The long lost question has been answered, finally!  How do we get more families and women into our downtown to make it a place for everyone?  The answer is clear:  MORE COUNTRY CONCERTS.  Who knew the answer was so simple?

City Hall Diary

Whew—just before midnight, we passed the budget! 

After many long budget hearings, staff presentations, public testimony and robbing Peter to pay Paul, we have a “balanced” budget.