It’s graduation season, and tassels are being turned in high schools, community colleges, vocational programs and universities all over the South Bay. This year, a friend of mine who I first met seven years ago when he was locked up in the max unit of juvenile hall (I was giving writing workshops through a program called “The Beat Within”) got his high school diploma and is now taking classes at De Anza College. He was the kind of youngster that was always quick witted, which probably got him more trouble than anything else, but this year, his gift for gab was rewarded, and he was the commencement speaker at his graduation. He was even on the evening news when they did a segment on graduations, which was a bit of redemption for him since the last time he was on TV, he was kicking in a newspaper stand during Mardi Gras years ago.
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Soccer At What Cost?
More “Facts” and “Figures” on the Soccer Stadium Deal
On page one of the “Fiscal and Economic Impact Major League Soccer Stadium Proposal Report” we read:
The City of San Jose is currently reviewing a request by the Oakland Athletics to develop a Major League Soccer Stadium for the San Jose Earthquakes as part of a new mixed-use development at the Airport West site. It is anticipated that the Stadium will be owned by the City and leased to the Oakland Athletics. While this arrangement will not generate property tax revenue to the City’s General Fund, the lessee will be required to pay possessory interest tax to the City.
QUESTION: Why are the Oakland A’s involved here?
Soccer at Any Cost?
Last week, the Mercury News reported that San Jose city officials and a team of developers had come to an agreement on a $132 million deal that “sets the stage for a major league soccer stadium near the airport as early as 2010.” The Mercury News article failed to address a number of important questions surrounding the project.
San Jose by the Numbers
San Jose Finishes Third Behind SF and Oakland
The SF Chronicle recently published a compilation of facts and figures relative to the Bay Area’s three largest cities. The simple data provides a picture of where we are, and perhaps, where we are going
Fund Thyself
A month ago I drafted a memo that would expand the city’s ordinance to allow Community Benefit Improvement Districts (CBID). This is not an original idea, nor is it cutting edge. In fact, it’s embarrassing that the City of San Jose didn’t jump on this opportunity sooner.
Cold Calling
San Jose Mercury News employees already know the drill—just stay home and wait by the phone. It took about two hours on Friday for Merc executives to call employees and inform them they no longer had a job. Between buy-outs and layoffs, the Merc lost a total of 50 positions in this round of cuts, half of which came out of the newsroom.
Single Gal and What I’m Thankful For
With the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, it is always a good use of time to reflect on what is important to you and those you care about. In addition to the obvious, friends and family, here are some things that I’m thankful for this year:
San Jose in Context
We seem to spend a lot of time on this site bemoaning the fact that San Jose is perceived as a second-class member of the “ten largest cities in the U.S.” club (we don’t get the big convention or we don’t get the big team). Why? In a blog earlier this week, some cynic even compared San Jose to Toledo and Omaha. The comparison might be apt if we were surrounded by the vacuum of the prairie, but we aren’t.
Single Gal and Small Cities with Big Stadiums
You can’t turn a page in the paper without the subject of stadiums dominating the news. The Oakland A’s to Fremont, the 49ers to Santa Clara—it doesn’t stop! Not that I don’t like hearing of sports teams coming closer to San Jose. I mean, we did pass Detroit in size, didn’t we? So by default we deserve more sports teams!
The Future of Sports
Yesterday, I attended what many are calling a seminal event in the history of sports and business. At the headquarters of Cisco in north San Jose, most of the northern California media assembled with CEO, John Chambers, and the owner of the Oakland Athletics in the person of Lew Wolff. Also present were Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig and A’s General Manager Billy Beane of “Money Ball” fame. It was a quartet that few reporters could resist. They didn’t and the cast did not disappoint.
Bush Sends FEMA to Raider Nation
Football Fans Impressed With President’s Resolve
The weary and battered citizens of Raider Nation received their first hopeful news of the season earlier in the week when they learned President George W. Bush was sending in the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to Oakland to rescue the ailing Raiders football team.
Single Gal and Sports Franchises
Will San Jose ever get a professional baseball team or are we holding onto a pipe dream? I would love nothing more than the Oakland A’s to call San Jose their home, but honestly, we need to talk about the fact that this probably will never happen in this city. Why do I bring this up now? Because a few of my friends, who are strongly leaning towards voting for Michael Mulcahy in the mayor’s race, said that the things that were “important to them are important to Mulcahy.” Amongst other things, this means they want a baseball team in San Jose (join the club) and they think Mulcahy is the man to get the deal done.
Dutch Hamann - Part Two
Let’s get back to the man in charge of change—A.P. “Dutch” Hamann. He graduated from the University of Santa Clara during the early stages of the great depression. Although his name was Anthony P. Hamann, everyone I’ve ever known called him “Dutch,” a nickname derived from his German heritage. Dutch was the alumni director of the University when I first knew him prior to World War II. When the war broke out, Santa Clara became practically deserted as the priests, students, faculty and administrators were called to military duty. Dutch joined the Navy where he rose to the rank of Lt. Commander. After the war he returned to Santa Clara as business manager, but after a few years he left to join General Motors as division manager in Oakland.
Open Thread
Happy Thanksgiving!
This week marked the 42nd anniversary of the assasination of President John F. Kennedy. I just looked at a photo of him at the San Jose Municipal Airport in 1960 and pulled down a copy of “Profiles in Courage” that he autographed to my Dad - another world. It is incredible to think of the America then - and how we have changed. How this Valley has changed from the small emerging garden city to the center of the high technology information age now. On today’s thread, let’s comment on the good and the bad of those monumental changes.
I’ll begin. We no longer have to drive to San Francisco or Oakland
for great entertainment, U2 and McCartney, Disney Ice shows,
Globetrotters, Sharks (hockey in our city: no way!) and music for
each and every ethnic group and taste in our region - that’s good!
Traffic: that’s not so good. It was easier to drive in our city when we had more canneries and fewer technology centers.
The Downtown: light years to the positive side, but it sure was nice to go to OJ’s, and a Santa Clara vs. San Jose State basketball game - and park right on the street for both.
The Single Gal and Live Music
One of my missions on SanJoseInside is to point out to our readers things that I think are missing in San Jose and provide ideas for ways to fill the gaps.
Presbyterians and Prostitutes
When Chinese men from Canton arrived during the gold rush as contract laborers, they never intended to stay here. If a man could manage to save $100, he could return to his village and live out the rest of his days, never having to work again. But very few accomplished this goal, as gambling and opium took their toll. In order to enter Chinese heaven their bones had to be buried in China, and shipping the remains of men whom died in California back to their home became big business.
