The dissolution of redevelopment agencies and state budget cuts to municipal housing funds have made it tougher for San Jose to meet its goal of building more affordable homes in recent years, according to an annual housing report going before the City Council on Tuesday. Other items on the council agenda include an incentives package for Samsung, a commendation for a police officer who never clocks off and a North San Jose cemetery that is running out of space.
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Shirakawa Learns It’s Lonely at the Bottom
It was striking that George Shirakawa Jr. pleaded guilty Monday in Superior Court with nary a friend or family member there to support him. You never know who your friends are in politics until you are down. The absence of so many spoke volumes.
Shirakawa Pleads Guilty to All Charges
Hands loosely clenched, the thumb on George Shirakawa, Jr.’s right hand nervously rubbed back and forth across the inside of his index finger, as Judge Philip H. Pennypacker read the charges against the disgraced former county supervisor. “Guilty, your honor,” Shirakawa said Monday, announcing the same plea after each of the 12 criminal charges against him, which include five felonies—four for perjury and one for misappropriation of public funds—and seven misdemeanors.
Mayor Chuck Reed’s Approval Rating Slips in Recent Opinion Poll
Rising crime rates and controversy surrounding San Jose’s Measure B pension reform efforts may have cut into Mayor Chuck Reed’s approval rating, which, according to a recent opinion poll, is listed at 55 percent.
Shirakawa Scandal Dishonors Community, Future Minority Candidates
As an active resident in Santa Clara County’s District 2, I, like so many others, am ashamed of George Shirakawa. The former supervisor blatantly violated the trust of the most vulnerable residents of our district. His deplorable actions have led this district, which suffers from high rates of poverty, gangs, drug issues, under-education and lack of healthcare, to have absolutely no representation until August.
Supervisors to Discuss Immigration Reform
Santa Clara County, inextricably defined by its immigrant population, has long been touted as one of the best places for foreign-born to become successful, engaged members of society. So, as the country tackles comprehensive immigration reform for the first time in decades, the county has a lot to add to the national conversation. The county Board of Supervisors will discuss this topic and others at Tuesday’s meeting.
ABV News Gets Transparent; Khamis Still Unsure of Braunstein’s Intentions
ABV News’ sixth issue hit digital news racks Monday, this time with a little less sensationalism and a little more transparency. Robert Braunstein, high school sportscaster and defeated District 10 City Council candidate, now signs his name at the end of the newsletter, which includes news links and a brief editorial.
Making Politics Work for Public Education
Someone asked me last week if there are underreported stories about public education in the Bay Area. Absolutely there are. People and ideas are converging in Silicon Valley, and they have the potential to alter the landscape of schools and learning.
Increased Doctor Pay Cuts into VMC Budget
In the first five months of the fiscal year, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s on-call and overtime pay for doctors took a staggering leap, going from an average of less than $20,000 a month in 2011-12 to $967,000 this fiscal year. The Board of Supervisors will discuss the $1 billion health agency’s drastic uptick in costs—4,835-percent increase in per-month, on-call wages— as well as other issues at Tuesday’s meeting.
San Jose State of the City 2013: Things are Getting Better, Kind of
Mayor Chuck Reed noted Thursday night that he was delivering his seventh State of the City speech. Next year he’ll have one final opportunity to get it right.
A Review of Santa Clara County’s Grand Jury, Which is Accepting Applications
Santa Clara County’s Civil Grand Jury—a watchdog of local government—needs 19 new jurors to serve during the coming fiscal year. Every year, the grand jury fields citizen complaints and chooses which to pursue as investigations. Reports from the past two years have included a look at funds used for the construction of San Jose’s City Hall, the treatment of female inmates at a county jail and wasteful spending at Valley Medical Center. The deadline to apply is March 8.
Super Bowl 2013: The Good, Bad and Ugly
Rich Robinson looks back the good, the bad and the ugly of Super Bowl weekend in New Orleans. While the game didn’t go as hoped for San Francisco 49ers fans, the ambience and the food didn’t disappoint. But one local historical attraction glazes over the most shameful period in our nation’s history.
On Gangs and Doing the Right Thing
The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force held its fifth annual community summit Saturday, and more than a hundred San Jose residents were in attendance. For me, much of the information presented at the meeting served as an unfortunate reminder of the havoc gangs create in our communities.
Breaking Down Local Legislators’ 2012 Work
When the calendar ticked over to 2013, a slew of bills authored last year by our local state senators and assembly members became actual law. Moving forward, those lawmakers have until late February to introduce bills, which means they’re in the middle of planning a legislative agenda for the coming year. We compiled a list of their just-enacted bills and called up those same representatives to ask them what they have planned for the upcoming year.
Fire Chief to Report on Response Times; Survey Questions Racial Biases of Police
San Jose’s fire chief, William McDonald, will present a verbal report along with a 46-page written report about the department’s response times—and failure to accurately report them—at Thursday’s Public Safety, Finance and Strategic Support Committee meeting. Also on the agenda is a survey that finds San Jose police officers are about as racist as the rest of local citizens—which isn’t a good thing—and a report on crime around the city’s two casinos.
Firefighters Union President: City Plays Politics with Department Response Times
The city recently acknowledged that it was missing thousands of emergency response times when calculating how long it takes first responders from the San Jose Fire Department to arrive on scene. Robert Sapien, president of San Jose’s firefighters union, explains in an op-ed why emergency response times matter not only in life and death situations, but also when calculating the city’s budget.—Editor
