I continue to be amazed, and at times, amused by the quality and tone of some of the arguments being made by some politicians and fans wanting to bring the A’s to San Jose. One of the central arguments being put forward is that the Giants don’t have a “right” to deny the people of San Jose a baseball team. In fact, they do. Major League Baseball extended the territorial rights to Santa Clara County to the San Francisco Giants. That’s a fact, and nothing’s going to change that, unless, and until, the baseball owners change their minds and vote to reverse their decision. Not likely.
Your search for oakland returned 613 results
Giants vs. A’s in San Jose
Councilman Sam Liccardo tells Fly that political consultants working for the San Francisco Giants have been “push-polling” to turn the San Jose public against the idea of the Oakland A’s franchise coming to the South Bay. A push-poll (for anyone who missed the 2000 Republican primary, in which the George Bush campaign famously used the tactic against Sen. John McCain) is an attack masquerading as a telephone poll. Liccardo says the Giants have been calling people in his district asking if they agree or disagree that city resources should be spent on police, fire fighters, parks, trails…or “land giveaways.”
Implementing Proposition 215 in San Jose
I support an ordinance in San Jose that allows for the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana dispensaries/collectives.
Proposition 215, which was passed with voter approval in 1996, called for the legalization of Medicinal Marijuana with 56 percent of the voters in favor. Santa Clara County supported this proposition by 64 percent. Since then, the legislature has passed SB420 which dealt with the actual implementation of Medical Marijuana.
Oliverio Proposes Cannabis Business Tax
UPDATED: City Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio released a memo Tuesday proposing that San Jose adopt an ordinance to regulate and tax the cultivation and sale of medical marijuana at dispenseries in San Jose.
The memo, which the District 6 councilmember will speak about at next Wednesday’s Rules Committee meeting, asks the council to discuss allowing medical cannabis establishments in specifically zoned locations within the city. It also outlines his proposal for the taxation of doctor-prescribed uses of pot, most notably that all tax revenue generated would be earmarked for the police department and street maintenance.
We’re 2nd Smartest!
“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the smartest of them all?” That was the question posed by the Daily Beast this week, and San Jose and the rest of the Bay Area came in at an impressive 2nd place!
RDA Staff Cut by 25 Percent
At the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, 24 staff members are about to get laid off—out of a total staff of 109. The decision, called “heart-wrenching” by Agency head Harry Mavrogenes, was the inevitable outcome of a state raid on the RDA’s funds in an effort to cover Sacramento’s own deficit. This year the state is grabbing $62 million; next year it plans to take another $13 million. All of this is in addition to the $13 million that the state took in 2008. The layoffs will save the RDA about $3.1 million.
Council Welcomes Ballpark Report
The San Jose City Council continued its overwhelming support of bringing major league baseball to San Jose at Tuesday’s council meeting, voting unanimously to approve the findings of an economic impact report on the potential ballpark.
Explosive 9/11 Theory
Just a few years ago Ed Munyak, a fire protection engineer for the city of San Jose, seemed like a lonely, out-there figure, a sometimes-target because of his outspoken position on the events of Sept. 11, 2001. These days, hundreds of other building trade professionals have joined him in challenging the official narrative about the collapse of three buildings at New York’s World Trade Center (WTC) on that fateful, traumatic day.
Reed Says City Is ‘Ready to Play Ball’
A report commissioned by San Jose’s Office of Economic Development claims that relocating the Oakland A’s to San Jose would add $130 million to the local economy and create as many 2,100 jobs, almost 1,000 of them new jobs. The anticipated economic benefit to the city is expected to approach $3 billion over the next thirty years. Beneficiaries of the move would include local schools, which can expect to see as much as $842,000 per year from it, and Santa Clara County, which would get $948,000 because of a profit sharing agreement with the city in redevelopment areas.
Will BART Make it to San Jose?
Although it is struggling with a four-year $250 million deficit, BART may yet reach San Jose. The California Transportation Commission will be voting today whether to extend the service. To date, some $400 million has already been allocated to the project, which would add 16.1 miles of track to the line. Today’s vote is for another $40 million, the first installment of an expected $240 million. The total cost is expected to hover around $6.1 billion, much of which will come from federal funding. Santa Clara County voters narrowly approved a 1/8-cent sales tax to help pay for the extension in November.
15th Annual Police Memorial
Memorial Day is a day when we commemorate those who died serving in our military. For the past 15 years, the City of San Jose has recognized our police officers at an annual Police Memorial Ceremony. This started in 1995 under Mayor Susan Hammer. The event has grown from a small event to one that draws many.
Please insert 75 cents into the slot on the side of your monitor
After radically downsizing the editorial department of the Mercury News and its once high-flying digital media empire, MediaNews Group CEO Dean Singleton now wants to charge for online access to its content. A May 8 memo from Singleton and MediaNews exec Jody Lodovic outlined the company’s interactive strategy, noting “not only does [free online news distribution] erode our print circulation, it devalues the core of our business — the great local journalism we (and only we) produce on a daily basis.”
Breakfast With the Chamber
...I did not actually eat breakfast with members of the Chamber of Commerce last week, but I met with them early in the morning—which is a challenge for me since I normally go to bed at 1am. The Chamber, as many of you know, is an interest group that advocates on behalf of small and large businesses. They invited me to attend their meeting for some Q-and-A.
The Chamber, like labor unions, the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, or the League of Conservation Voters, typically endorses candidates running for political office. Endorsements carry clout with some voters, but more importantly, endorsements come with monetary donations, plus independent expenditures for political mail to voters, and volunteers to walk door-to-door on your behalf. In my Council election, the Chamber endorsed my opponent and as a result, they did four independent expenditures on his behalf in addition to donating money to his campaign.
More on the A’s
There’s been a lot more chatter about the A’s moving (or not) to San Jose, but you would have to look in the San Francisco Chronicle to find it. Here are some highlights (and lowlights).
Commissioner Bud Selig visited Scottsdale Stadium on Sunday and met for an hour with Giants managing general partner Bill Neukom and President Larry Baer. Baer would not discuss the meeting but hinted Selig affirmed his public stance that he will not allow the A’s to breach the Giants’ territorial rights to San Jose. “From what we could tell, there is no change in his position,” Baer said. Henry Schulman, SF Chronicle, March 16
On Deck
Now that the City of Fremont has struck out, it’s San Jose’s turn at bat to try and lure the Oakland A’s to town. Or is it? Last week, A’s owner Lew Wolff asked San Jose city officials to essentially calm down, and refrain from contacting Major League Baseball about moving the A’s to San Jose. “Such contacts are not recommended,” Wolff wrote in an e-mail to San Jose’s mayor.
As everyone probably knows, the San Francisco Giants’ territorial rights to Santa Clara County stand in the way of an A’s move to San Jose. But…everyone has their price. How much do you suppose it would take for the Giants to relinquish their claim to Santa Clara County?
Will the Bay Area Become A One-Newspaper–Company Region?
In the wake of Hearst Corp.’s threat to close the San Francisco Chronicle, some analysts are speculating that the Bay Area’s largest and oldest newspaper might join the ranks of Dean Singleton’s MediaNews empire—which includes the San Jose Mercury News and virtually every other newspaper in the region.
