The Santa Clara Valley Water District paid nearly $70,000 in membership fees last fiscal year to a long list of chambers of commerce and other networking associations. Not surprising, almost every single chamber of commerce on the list endorsed the Measure B water tax.
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Vatican Selects San Jose Agency for Papal Rebranding Initiative
San Jose-based branding firm Liquid Agency has been tapped to update the Vatican’s marketing strategy. Rome officials are looking to the Silicon Valley agency to provide a contemporary and technology-friendly identity for the Church’s global outreach efforts. The papal rebranding will replace the current identity, which has been used since 1929, when Pope Pius IX signed the Lateran Treaty, creating the newly independent Vatican City. Liquid, located in downtown San Jose’s SoFA district, is expected to produce a more iconic, streamlined look that will better enable the Church to hold its own against competing theologies.
George, Cindy & The Machine
Political theater, like a good novel or legend, needs strong central characters. Last Friday, we saw the district attorney ride in like Sir Lancelot, with Queen Guinevere by his side, to mete out a quick and final blow to the morally depraved Saxon, in this case George Shirakawa, Jr.
If it were only that simple. The triumph of Good over Evil story line quickly morphed into a human tragedy as the county supervisor fell on his sword, resigned his position, agreed to plead guilty and attributed his betrayal of public trust to a gambling addiction.
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.
Councilmembers Want to Ban Sale of Menthol Cigarettes in San Jose
First came a ban on smoking in public places; now local lawmakers are targeting a particular style of cigarettes. Seeing that menthol smokes are so popular with youngsters, especially minorities, several city officials want to support a Food and Drug Administration resolution that proposes banning the sale of menthol cigarettes. The motion brought by councilmembers Kansen Chu, Ash Kalra and Xavier Campos goes before the Rules and Open Government Committee Wednesday.
San Jose State Journalism Department Receives $8.7 Million Endowment
One of the most generous gifts in San Jose State University’s history will push the school’s journalism and communications department closer to the forefront of the digital age. Bob Rucker, head of SJSU’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, announced Wednesday that a Jack and Emma Anderson, a couple who owned the press where the Spartan Daily student newspaper was printed for 20 years, left $8.7 million in their will to help the school advance its digital marketing, new media and social media storytelling.
Council to Discuss Employee ‘Sacrifices,’ County Habitat Conservation Plan
In a report at Tuesday’s City Council meeting, City Manager Debra Figone will talk about efforts to save city jobs and services while noting the sacrifices employees have made in recent years. Also on Tuesday, the council will discuss the county’s Habitat Conservation Plan and the transfer of several properties.
Identity Theft and Affordable Prevention
Last week, I hosted a community discussion on identity theft. Our expert that evening was the Director of the Identity Theft Council. The meeting was filled with shock, drama and some hope at the end.
Finding Truth in Political Ads
Here comes the plethora of mail, radio, television, emails, blogs, YouTube ads and Facebook posts designed to win over the uninformed, the misinformed, the naive, and the truly rare undecided voter. But these messages are important, believe it or not.
Story of the Week: Mayor Reed’s Traffic Ticket Goes Viral
San Jose Inside introduces a new feature called “Story of the Week.” Each week, we’ll pick out a news story that caught our eye, for better or worse.—Editor
Mayor Chuck Reed received a traffic ticket Tuesday morning for not using his turn signal. A photo of the ticket was then leaked to the media. Police Chief Chris Moore was not pleased, and he vowed to find those responsible and hand out some discipline. Let’s break this thing down.
A Candidate Without a Campaign
After filing papers to run for a second four-year term for my County Board of Education Trustee seat, I learned on the Aug. 10 deadline that no one filed papers to run against me. Therefore, I am automatically re-elected. This is a great and unexpected result, but one that is not so good for providing me a campaign forum to raise some of the most critical issues of our time.
Silicon Valley Money Lures Obama, Romney
Silicon Valley is home to tech behemoths such as Google, Adobe, Facebook, and HP. Being one of the biggest business hubs in the world, Silicon Valley has also become a fundraising battleground for President Obama and his likely opponent in November, Mitt Romney.
Education Increases Worth of Patent Office
U.S. Reps Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda, as well as a myriad of political and civic leaders, must be congratulated on securing the regional site for one of four patent offices in the country. This is a huge win for Silicon Valley. However, the accomplishment will be less meaningful if we don’t create a public education system that represents the ideals of the area and ranks first in the nation.
Yes on Measures C, E, G and H
These measures come down to how much people want to pay in property taxes, and what kind of education they want to provide future generations. There’s no denying that the state budget continues to cripple K-12, community colleges and California’s two public university systems with funding cuts. By approving Measure C, which would result in approving up to $350 million in bonds, voters will give students at the West Valley-Mission Community College District a first-rate, two-year education without the first-class price of the UC and Cal State systems. Measure E plans to bond $95 million in MIlpitas, and Measure G (Mountain View—Whisman School District) and Measure H (Cuprtino Union School District) would approve up to $198 million and $220 million in bonds, respectively. Considering siphoning of property taxes by Redevelopment Agencies is no longer allowed and tech titans Google and Apple are located in those last two cities, they should have no trouble paying off the bonds in the future.
The Long Decline of Political Parties
A couple weeks back, I received some troubling news from the California Moderate Party. After three years of toiling in the weeds of The Golden State’s political fringes, Ash Roughani finally decided to throw in the towel on his latest effort to establish a genuine, grassroots third party. As a Democratic activist, it would seem odd for me to lament the loss of what could only have amounted to another siphon of progressive votes at a time when the left is so fractured that we can’t capitalize on our own victories. But the failure of the Moderate Party is just another symptom of the slow death of the political party system as a whole.
S.O.S.: Save Our Schools
SOS (…- - -…) is the commonly known Morse code distress symbol, not an acronym. That said, many think of “save our ship” or “save our souls when the term is used. During my tenure as a principal, school board member and SJI columnist, I have a different distress signal. If I could, I would tap out the code “Save Our Schools” every single hour of every day in all cities across Silicon Valley.
