It was the threat of the Soviets leapfrogging us with their launch of Sputnik that spurred America to refocus on creating a generation of the best mathematicians and scientists. And Houston, we have a problem. The nation that put the first footprints on the moon in 1969 and built amazing vehicles that transport humans to orbit the earth—the Space Shuttle—is losing an important race in American education.
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A Public Spanking
County Assessor Larry Stone visited the San Jose City Council study session last week and gave an extensive lecture on the role of the County Assessor and a critique of Spectrum Economics. His comments were blunt, sparing only profanity about the economist hired by the RDA for $15,000. I wrote about this topic three weeks ago.
This is the only time that another elected official has spoken to the City Council at length during my tenure.
The Only Economist Worth Trusting is Named ‘Hindsight’
Last Tuesday, the City Council had a study session on the upcoming Redevelopment Agency (RDA) budget. RDA funds are regulated by state law and are almost entirely spent on land and construction, similar to how bond monies are restricted. We have funded some limited city services in RDA and Strong Neighborhood Initiatives (SNI) areas (not citywide), such as anti-gang programs and code enforcement. The bulk of RDA funds have gone to capital project like the HP Pavilion, numerous museums, the convention center, parking garages, hotels, Adobe and facade grants as well as industrial projects in North San Jose and Edenvale. However, RDA also funded approximately $70 million for SNI capital projects like community centers, parks, traffic calming, etc
From Last Place to First
As most of you are most likely aware from the front page article in the San Jose Mercury News on August 12, The San Jose Municipal Rose Garden was selected as America’s Best Rose Garden. What an incredible achievement! Congratulations and thanks to all involved including the paid park maintenance city staff and the non paid volunteers.
The rebirth of the Rose Garden could not have been done by only park maintenance staff or only by volunteers. It is the combination of both that allows for this fantastic achievement. And the leadership of Beverly Rose Hopper and Terry Reilly.
Tea Party’s Over
By the time this article hits the streets, there likely won’t be a place in the valley to buy a bottle of kombucha tea. Nob Hill on Santa Teresa Boulevard had a few last Friday; Cosentino’s Market on Bascom Avenue had a couple more. Even over the hill in Santa Cruz, grocers expected to run out by the end of the weekend.
It started quietly, about two weeks ago. First, megastore Whole Foods announced it would join roughly a dozen suppliers in stopping sales of all unpasteurized kombucha tea products. The issue: concerns that the fizzy, fermented elixirs may contain more alcohol than the “trace amounts” listed on the label.
Yes Means No, And No Means Yes
Welcome to the City of Santa Clara where “Yes” means No, and “No” means yes. That is, when it comes to the Measure J Campaign, the drive to build a football stadium for the 49ers. A posting on the website, Save Santa Clara.com, indicated that supporters of Measure J had gone to the trouble of registering several different domain names that might have been useful to the opposition. Apparently, it’s true.
3%—100%? 250%!
City Hall DiaryMonday: No Impact Man Film at City Hall
Nearly 300 San Jose residents attended to watch this documentary, which portrays a family that adopts environmentally friendly choices over the course of a year. For example, they bike instead of driving, buy only locally produced food and give up their television. The main point of the evening was that we do not have to wait for government to mandate behaviors that help the environment but that collectively we as residents can choose to compost, use less electricity, bike vs. drive today, etc..
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.
Direct Competition Lowers Costs
On Nov. 3 at the city council meeting, I removed an item from the consent calendar. The agenda item was asking for council approval to spend $286,700 for software. This particular software would help the housing department manage its loan program. Several years ago the Housing Department purchased software to manage this data, however, it never worked and we ended up going through litigation for eight years.
Feedback From RDA Survey is Beneficial
A couple of weeks ago I put together my own web based Redevelopment Budget survey. I shared financial information in bullet point form in the introduction and then gave information throughout the survey. In some cases I would state the dollar amount given to a particular program and then ask a question. More than 600 people completed the survey, which required that each question be answered. The survey could not be taken twice.
As with most issues that involve money, the feedback to my survey was mixed
Goodbye San Jose
This is my last post for San Jose Inside. I’m looking to start my own site in a couple of months (please stay tuned). A quick note of thanks to Jack Van Zandt and to Eric Johnson. I hope that you enjoy my final post.
When I was a kid growing up in San Jose, the neighborhood park was constantly tended to. Every Summer, there was a recreational leader who organized activities and coached the park’s baseball team. Fast forward to today, where you’ll find the park restrooms closed on weekdays, and you’re lucky if the City sends someone to mow the weeds once a month. In his letter to shareholders, Google co-founder Sergey Brin wrote, “I am optimistic about the future, because I believe that scarcity breeds clarity.” I hope that the scarcity that we all now face will finally bring clarity to San Jose.
Two Americas Come Together
Last week Michael Phelps taught me about championship perseverance, Rudy Giuliani schooled me down on never letting terrorists win, Colin Powell explained how American might can defeat all, and Steve Forbes showed me that despite what all the losers say, “there is nothing wrong with the fundamentals of our economy.”
Billed as the “Super Bowl of Success,” the day-long seminar held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose was named simply “Get Motivated,” and drew more than 10,000 people. Sitting in the penthouse suite my friends and I snuck into, I couldn’t help but feel that in spite of the pyrotechnics, the famous people, and the massive energy, which (I assume) can only be matched by a mega-church revival, this was a funeral for an old American way of thinking. It was a celebration of the rock-solid institutions of an American identity that once was—unbridled capitalism, Jesus, and winning—in the face of a new, changing, and confusing America. Phelps, Giuliani, Powell, Forbes and the rest of us came together for once last hoorah.
Mercury News Discovers Puberty
The Mercury News devoted the majority of its front page today to an in-depth look at the hormonal changes that occur in adolescents. Under the large, all caps headline “PUBERTY,” Silicon Valley’s only daily newspaper, winner of several Pulitzer prizes under its previous ownership, breathlessly revealed that humans between the ages of 10 and 16 begin paying attention to members of the opposite sex — and leave clothes on the floors of their rooms.
ETech in the Valley
Last week saw the Silicon Valley return of ETech, the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, where programmers and philosophers pool resources with fringe technologists, CEOs, hackers, artists, marketers, urban planners, statisticians, garage software engineers and geeks from every part of the spectrum—all with the future in mind. It took place at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose, and here are just a few of the things this tech nomad experienced during his traversal of the landscape.
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Since it’s fun to shadow distinguished writers who put San Jose locales in their novels, and since the San Jose Police Department just can’t get enough attention these days, here we go again with another epic endorsement of Menlo Park author Barry Eisler.
Old School High Tech
I can’t think of any better reason to lurk in the Imperial Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose than to listen to a keynote address titled “Jackhammers, Polymers and Diamonds: New Applications in Explosives.” Given by Dr. Christa Hockensmith, the speech will be one of 10 highlighting ETech, the O’Reilly Emerging Technology Conference, taking place March 9–12 at the Fairmont.
