“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” a father tells his son while standing outside the cyclone fences being erected for the inaugural. He was, of course, talking about tickets. And if you know a congressperson, you had a chance of getting the Ticket of the Century.
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Tough Talk From New Yahoo Boss
Carol Bartz, Yahoo’s brand-new CEO, is promising to bring some passion to the job. On a conference call with analysts and reporters this morning, Bartz said she planned to help Yahoo get “some friggin’ breathing room” so the company can “kick some butt.”
Searching for Goog
Last week, Apple announced that next year’s MacWorld would be its last. In a related article, the SF Chronicle reported that several other large trade shows have been cancelled, and that the city would take a direct financial hit as a consequence. The article offered a quote from an industry expert who declared the days of large-scale trade shows to be over.
Meanwhile, San Jose continues to make plans for a $300 million expansion of the convention center. Rather than spending $300 million on the expansion, why not entice Google to buy the Sobrato Tower (now owned by Oracle) with a $100 million subsidy? Think about it…a Google move to the downtown would be a huge (and permanent) financial shot in the arm for the hotels, restaurants, and merchants.
‘Tis a Bit of a Mystery
Ruminations on the Enigma Variations
I’m still a bit wound up from the election, Luis Valdez’s magnificent performance at the Mexican Heritage Plaza recently, and the afterglow of our wonderful mariachi festival. The election has definitely captured a mood of optimism and the determination to keep our hand on the plow and fix the mess we’re in.
Lately, I’ve been in a writing mood, which only became more insistent after I turned on the car radio the other night and found myself listening to English composer Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations. On the long drives home from San Jose, especially after evening gigs where I have to be the host and “on” for the evening, I always turn on the radio for the drive back and listen either to the classical station or show tunes or Sinatra. If I’m lucky, I get to hear something new that catches my imagination, which helps me to stay alert.
Disrupt the Vote
Nancy Pelosi talks tech in Mountain View
At Google headquarters, as elsewhere in Silicon Valley, the term “disrupter” is commonly used to describe technological innovations or companies that force evolution. Nancy Pelosi found a novel way to repurpose the word during a visit to the search-engine giant’s Mountain View campus Monday.
“Our founders were disrupters,” Pelosi said. “They disrupted the status quo.”
Media is the New Community Organizing Tool
Yesterday, I attended a roundtable discussion at Google, hosted by the Knight Commission, which was about “Meeting the Public’s Information Needs.” It was very interesting brainstorming, and was the first time I had seen different parts of the media and community landscape in the same room—from managing editors of the Mercury News to folks who had just started neighborhood news websites.
Shirakawa Campaign Tied to Lobbyist Vicki Iseman
Presumptive Favorite Claims Relationship Not Romantic
A bombshell story yesterday coming out of La Oferta, San Jose’s Hispanic newspaper, linked county supervisor hopeful George Shirakawa, Jr. with former McCain lover/lobbyist Vicki Iseman, in what might be the only thing stopping a Shirakawa coronation in his race to succeed Blanca Alvarado in District 2.
The Viewing of Pornography in Public Libraries is a Problem
Over a year ago, an ABC 7 News I-Team report exposed San José’s failure to protect children from pornography and those who would openly view pornographic material in their presence. The investigation revealed that there have been a number of individuals arrested for viewing child pornography in libraries, and still others have been arrested for performing lewd acts such as masturbating in public while viewing pornographic material. Please take the time to see the reports here and here.
Pete Constant: Self-Appointed Censor-in-Chief
If our city council’s holier-than-thou moral army member Pete Constant really wants to put a stop to any opportunities for “sexual misconduct and lewd behavior” in the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Library, why doesn’t he advocate the installation of men’s room toilet stalls with walls all the way to the floor in case Larry Craig comes to town? Or why doesn’t he work to stop distribution of applications for the Congressional page program there in case some hapless San Jose student gets an intern position with the likes of Congressman Foley or Senator Vitter? Oh, wait: Craig, Foley, and Vitter are members of the Republican moral army too. Ironically, Constant’s plan to restrict internet access at the library will presumably mean that the more than 1.25 million websites mentioning the extracurricular activities of these three men—Craig (778,000 Google hits), Foley (75,000 Google hits) and Vitter (400,000 Google hits)—will be on his porn censorship list.
Single Gal and Damn That Justin Timberlake!
A fact that I wouldn’t normally like to admit I am willing to admit to you for the sake of an article. I actually planned on attending tomorrow night’s Justin Timberlake concert at the Shark Tank. I was excited as I (another humdinger) watched him perform on the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night and was actually looking forward to a night out of dancing and being entertained. Regardless of what you think of him, his music, or his taste, he is an entertainer, and they are a dying breed in this world.
New Harry Potter Book One of Government Managers’ Perks
Advance Copy of Series Finale Critical For Competitiveness
When Dan Fenton took his job as CEO of Team San Jose, the prospect of running another organization along with his current duties as leader of the Convention and Visitors Bureau seemed a daunting and overwhelming task until the city made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: an advanced copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
What to Do With the Old City Hall
Welcome to “Mission Green,” San Jose’s Neighborhood of the Future
Last week, I put forth the idea for a Google or Yahoo “Search and Discover Museum” to be developed at the old Martin Luther King Library property on W. San Carlos. Before such an exciting project (or any other project) could be built there, space would have to be found for the 150 or more city employees who currently hold their offices there.
What Should San Jose Do With the Old Library Building?
How About a “Search and Discover Museum”
Several months ago, the San Jose Business Journal reported that a plan to move the San Jose Art Museum to the old Martin Luther King Library building on W. San Carlos St. had fallen through. What if the city were to entertain bids for a major developer and a major Silicon Valley corporation to work together to build a “Search and Discover Museum” that would serve as a hall for world class exhibitions and a permanent home for a West Coast annex of the Smithsonian Institute?
SanJoseInside.com Purchases Mercury News
$1.2 Billion Deal Creates Media Giant
Just days after the Sacramento-based McClatchy Company announced it would sell the San Jose Mercury News to pay down debt acquired with the $4.5 billion takeover of Knight Ridder, an unlikely “white knight” has stepped in to purchase the local rag vowing to keep it “viable and local.”
Alum Rock Park Albino Menace
Albinos have been sighted chasing cars on ominous Hicks Road. They have been seen lurking about in the woods above The Cats Restaurant in Los Gatos. And a large enclave of albinos frolics in the gorges of upper Alum Rock Park. Urban legends of flesh-eating albinos are not unique to San Jose. Google “albinos urban legend” and countless links from communities all over the world provide harrowing accounts of albinos emerging from the dark in search of human flesh or poodle meat.
