Don’t expect to see San Jose’s Chuck Reed join the growing list of mayors who have pledged their support to the Freedom to Marry campaign. In an interview with San Jose Inside last week, the mayor said he supports civil unions and domestic partnerships, but he draws the line at marriage. San Jose is the largest city in the country not to have its mayor supporting Freedom to Marry.
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Occupy Movement Should Rethink Strategy
The quixotic Occupy movement needs some real leadership now. While most of us share the concerns of the movement and have marveled at their ability to highlight issues that have really caused our economic pain, the immature and needless violence against people and property is hurting their cause and is ineffective in creating the change they seek.
San Jose Inside’s 2011 Year in Review
As the year winds down, you can almost hear the collective sigh coming from City Hall. Or maybe that’s an echoing whoosh from councilmembers, the mayor, city manager and their staffs, who hightailed it for the holidays. Either way, 2011 was a tumultuous year, fierce in the manner civic actors clashed over pension reform, public safety, pot, a potential ballpark, ballot measures, pay cuts, occupations of city property and other issues of varying degrees of importance.
Court Gives RDAs Death Sentence
A ruling Thursday by the California Supreme Court is more or less the nail in the coffin for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. It’s also a critical victory for Gov. Jerry Brown, whose budget has been under scrutiny for major shortfalls compared to rosy projections regarding revenue. The state’s high court decided $1.7 billion can be legally taken from RDAs across the state, and the ruling also denies agencies the ability to “pay to play” by giving money over to the state to remain in existence.
What’s in a Name?
For as long as I can remember, the body politic in San Jose has often displayed disturbing public signs of penis envy of its once-larger neighbor to the north, San Francisco. But a little rebranding could be exactly what San Jose needs to compete in the future.
City Losing Patience with Occupation
In response to the ongoing Occupy San Jose protest at City Hall, the city is once again changing its stance on where protesters are allowed to camp and asking the public to stop donating food to occupiers. A memo sent Thursday by the city manager’s office to Mayor Chuck Reed and the San Jose City Council says the city has stepped up its effort to remove Occupy San Jose, which is now nearing its 50th day.
City to Decide on Selling Land to A’s
The City Council will hold a public hearing Tuesday to decide whether or not it should sell land to owners of the Oakland A’s. The plan is to sell the property for $6.975,227, which is 36.5 percent of the total ballpark site’s current value. The theory, according to ballpark advocates, is the economic benefit of a ballpark would outweigh some combination of corporate, retail offices and housing.
Union Plays Role in Pot Club Referendum
Faced with what they called a back-door ban of San Jose’s collectives, the barely month-old Citizens Coalition for Patient Care (CCPC) turned in more than 47,000 signatures to the city clerk last week, well over the 29,653 signatures needed for a referendum against regulations the City Council passed in September. James Anthony, CCPC chairman, said the organization also registered nearly 8,000 new voters and raised over $200,000 from supporters. The group may need both on their side, as Mayor Chuck Reed proposed raising the Measure U tax on collectives from 7 to 10 percent to cover potential election costs for the referendum.
Different Occupy Movements in Bay Area
The whole world is keeping tabs on anti-Wall Street protests. On Saturday, the San Francisco occupation marched against police brutality. Four days prior, police arrested more than 100 people in Oakland for camping at City Hall. The militant response by police to protesters angered many, and the iconic takeaway was pictures and video of protester and Iraqi war veteran Scott Olsen lying bloody and dazed, his skull fractured by a tear-gas canister fired by police. This all happened after San Jose police raided the camp at San Jose’s City Hall plaza on Sunday, Oct. 23, arresting eight occupiers. In response, Shaun O’Kelly climbed atop the plaza structure in the dark of night. He now camps on a 5-foot-wide ledge.
Council Sees White, Figone Sees Red
Four San Jose councilmembers want City Manager Debra Figone to explain how she hires and ensures diveristy in senior staff positions. Few outside searches take place for qualified candidates, and just as few minorities currently hold director-level positions. As a result, Councilmembers Kansen Chu, Ash Kalra, Nancy Pyle, Xavier Campos and Don Rocha sent a memo to the city’s Open Rules and Government Committee asking for data. They also want a discussion on hiring practices to take place at the council level.
San Jose’s Roads in Serious Trouble
San Jose’s roads are the worst in the county and among the bottom third for cities in the Bay Area. And it appears they’re only going to get worse. A report given to the City Council from Transportation Director Hans Larsen says San Jose is currently able to fund just 15 percent of the nearly billion dollars it will take to maintain roads over the next decade. That will result in an $860 million backlog.
Wolff Wants Land to Expedite MLB Decision
Oakland A’s co-owner Lew Wolff wants to get a stadium built in San Jose, and he’s ready to purchase land in an effort to force MLB Commissioner Bud Selig’s hand in deciding if the team can relocate. On Tuesday, the City Council is meeting in closed session to discuss the sale of six properties to Wolff. A deal with Wolff would only make up half of the 14 acres needed for the stadium’s construction.
Former SJ Police Chief Candidate Resigns
Some people said it was only a matter of time until Anthony Batts would leave his post as Oakland’s chief of police following his public and unsuccessful bid to become the head of the San Jose Police Department. Those people were right. Earlier this week, Batts offered the city of Oakland his resignation.
The Six Degrees of Michael Lewis
Oddly enough, three of the biggest stories in San Jose right now all have one thing in common: the most famous nonfiction author in America, Michael Lewis. His current bestseller, Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, details how countries, states and municipalities are going bankrupt, and he uses San Jose as a model for implosion by pension.
A’s Expect Selig’s Decision ‘Very Soon’
Almost three years since a special committee was formed by Major League Baseball to figure out the best place for the Oakland A’s to play, San Jose continues to wait for a report to be released on whether or not the team should relocate here. But that could change in the coming weeks.
Merc Merges with San Mateo Times, Considers Dropping “San Jose” Name
Nine newspaper nameplates in the Bay Area will disappear under a consolidation plan announced yesterday by the Bay Area News Group, which owns the San Jose Mercury News.
Mercury News Publisher and BANG president Mac Tully told the San Francisco Chronicle — the region’s only major daily not owned by BANG — that it’s “still under discussion” whether the Mercury News will drop “San Jose” from its name.
