A sea of blue surged around the Fairmont Hotel last week as the California Police Chiefs’ Association gathered for its annual training symposium. The keynote was a talk on racially-biased policing from Dr. Phil Goff, lead researcher on the Consortium for Police Leadership in Equity (CPLE), the very same expert brought in by the city council last year to see if San Jose police are, in fact, engaged in racially-biased policing).
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Keep the Airport Curfew
This afternoon at 1:30 the Council will gather for a special meeting to discuss the City’s airport. The expansion was voted favorably by the council in 1997 with then-Councilmember David Pandori casting the only vote against. The airport, with the hands artwork that is visible driving on Highway 87, was approved in 2005. Through the selling of bonds (borrowing) the city of San Jose has spent $1.3 billion on the renovation.
Opposition to Prop 16 Grows in Silicon Valley
If it is passed, the Proposition 16 amendment on this year’s ballot will require local governments to obtain two-thirds voter approval before they can provide electricity to new customers or expand their services. In other words, citizens could block attempts by their city councils to expand the service area for existing public utilities or create new ones.
Why Free Parking is a Bad Idea
Professor Donald Shoup of UCLA visited City Hall last week. He was in San Jose to present a lecture titled, “Why free parking is a bad idea.” The information he shared is based on his book and research.
There are approximately 700 million parking spaces for 230 million cars in this country and 99 percent of cars trips have free parking. Prof. Shoup showed an aerial picture of the Cisco Systems campus with its empty asphalt parking lots. He felt that these empty parking lots are not a good use of land and that it creates higher-than-needed vehicle miles traveled (VMT). He then continued to share what he thought would be a way to better utilize the land, which was to allow Cisco to build housing on their parking lots and waive all parking requirements.
Campos Wants to Expand Gang Injunction
How far do citizens’ rights to assemble freely extend? Citing an increasing gang presence in the city’s streets, Councilmember Nora Campos says it may be too far. The ACLU thinks differently.
When Times Get Tough Just Borrow More Money
Mayor Reed shared a candid and honest view of city revenues and expenses at the State of the City Breakfast last week. (Personally, I miss the State of the City speeches in the evening as it led to dinner after the speech and spending money Downtown.) As we already know the City is walking the plank, with the sharks swimming below in the ocean (sharks = bankruptcy) and a sword wielding pirate (pirate = hard choices) is forcing us to walk down the plank off the ship. Walking back up the plank in not an option unless tough decisions are made now. However it seems that another alternative being heard more and more at city hall is borrowing.
Thinking Small, Like Guinea Pigs
Past San Jose mayors have used the annual State of the City speech to announce big projects or initiatives. Commandeering a broke city, however, limits Chuck Reed to talking about already dry cement like the swoopy new airport terminal or trumpeting minor capital spending projects, such as fixing the convention center’s leaky roof or reopening the Happy Hollow Zoo with a renovated Guinea Pig Island. When it comes to mayoral speeches in San Jose, no detail is too small.
No Soup For You! No Park For You!
Last week the Council tackled two agenda items related to parks. One was to apply for a state grant. There is $184 million up for grabs for the entire state of California to be spent on city parks. California has 36 million people and San Jose has one million. If San Jose were to get 1/36th of those state funds, that would be $5 million. The other item was the city postponing the opening of 11 parks city- wide because there is no money to fund operations and maintenance.
Coto Pulls Request for Legislative Audit of SJPD Use of Force
Assembly Member Joe Coto has withdrawn his request for the state legislature to audit the San Jose Police Department for its use-of-force practices.
The news arrived in the form of a dear-colleagues email that was sent out yesterday by Roxanne Miller, the city’s envoy to the state legislature:
GOOD NEWS. .. I’ve just been advised by staff to members of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee that Assembly Member Coto this morning has withdrawn his request for the JLAC to audit San Jose’s Police Department’s use of force. The item will be removed from the February 17 Agenda of JLAC. Note: A request for audit could be renewed later this year as there will be two other meetings of the JLAC to consider audit requests in May/June or in August.
Budget Prioritization Survey 2010 Results
The city of San Jose recently completed a scientific poll of 902 residents. This poll cost $50,000. As I mentioned in a prior blog, I took many of the poll questions and posted them on the District 6 website (the district I represent) and here, on San Jose Inside. I entered the questions and three of my own into a web-based survey solution which costs $20 a year. The survey closed yesterday with 839 completing the 15 page survey (973 respondents completed part of the survey). Unlike past surveys where District 6 residents were 90 percent of the respondents, only 43.9 percent of the respondents were from District 6 this time
Candid Camera
Photo radar helps augment traffic safety, as well as that of pedestrians and neighborhoods. A tweaking of the current policy to improve safety will not cost the state any money, and in fact will raise money while at the same time lowering emergency room health care costs. Speeding cars in our neighborhoods continue to remain an issue. The City of San Jose does what it can to manage speeding on our streets with the dollars we are able to allocate.
The Thinner Blue Line
Due to the structural budget deficit and the decline of tax revenues coming into the city, the January police academy has been postponed indefinitely. By postponing the academy the city saves money but risks neighborhood safety.
Budget Prioritization Survey
The City of San Jose has contracted with a public opinion survey company to poll residents on the city’s budget in a project fondly known as “the City of San Jose Budget Prioritization Survey.” The control group of the survey is 900 residents representing the entire City. They will be contacted by home and cell phones.
Sparking Controversy in Gilroy
While councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio endeavors to get Proposition 215 implemented here in San Jose by licensing, regulating and taxing medical marijuana dispensaries, there is some serious marijuana drama going down in South County. For those who haven’t been following the sticky situation in Gilroy: it’s been two months since the city council started battling to shut down Garlic Town’s one and only medical pot club.
Pete Constant’s Spelling Problem
Over the past few years there’s been a lot of emphasis on redefining the 3Rs of education: “Reasoning, Resilience, and Responsibility,” or “Rights, Responsibility, and Respect.” Is it because the traditional 3Rs—Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic—don’t carry the same nebulous weight as those lofty goals? Or perhaps because spellcheckers and calculators make them obsolete? Or maybe—and Fly’s going out on a limb here—because only one of the 3Rs actually begins with R?
Recycled Water: The Next Step
I am one of the members who sits on the South Bay Recycled Water Committee, representing San Jose. This committee has investigated and is now recommending a partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Water District to move forward with recycled water and jointly build an advanced water treatment plant.
