San Jose Inside (https://www.sanjoseinside.com)
City Hall Diary
Last Tuesday, we considered whether to continue preliminary discussions with the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) and three private property owners regarding San Pedro Square. The issue under consideration was should RDA spend money to do capital improvements like sidewalk widening, streetscapes and loans to rehab older buildings in the area.
The San Jose Downtown Association (SJDA) has called for an investigation into whether the city’s police department targeted the nonprofit for an enforcement action by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), presumably in retaliation for SJDA’s advocacy of after-hours club closings, which SJPD opposed.
I am used to hearing about grass fires throughout the Bay Area each summer, but this year the number of fires burning across our neck of the woods and the state are just alarming. The fires in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin and Santa Cruz make you wonder what we are doing to help create this, and if nature is trying to tell us something. But beyond that, and strictly having to do with dollars and cents, who is paying for all of this—literally?
We are getting ample proof that the “thugocracy” that has been created with the proliferation of nightclubs is finally destroying the hopes for a real downtown. With the closing time near-riot early last Sunday morning, it is becoming painfully clear that we cannot have a growing and prospering downtown of residents and small business entrepreneurs as long as these raucous nightclubs and out-of-control bars continue to operate. It is turning ugly and this ugliness is killing the hopes and dreams of generations of hard working San Joseans for their downtown.
When I drove around the Boys Ranch in Morgan Hill a month ago, I expected some sort of military-style, boot-camp atmosphere. Almost all of the young men I knew who went there years ago had run from the Ranch like it was part of the protocol: Go to “the Hall,” then the Ranch, and run from the Ranch back to the Hall. I figured there had to be a reason, something unacceptable that would make youth run when they knew for sure they would get caught. However, after talking to dozens of youngsters as to why they ran, it turns out it wasn’t that deep—it was just easy.
Did you know the city has a central warehouse that costs over $850,000 a year to operate? (Yes, we do. We really shouldn’t be surprised; this is the same city that spends over $30 million on three public golf courses.) Back to the warehouse: It stocks items like toilet paper, batteries, landscaping materials and cleaning products. The $850,000 is the annual cost of the seven employees and running the warehouse, and does not include the cost of the actual inventory.
Remember Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers movies? Remember how he was in space so long he didn’t know the value of money? He threatened to blow up the world unless he was paid the astounding sum (to him) of one million dollars! In the next Austin Powers movie, Mayor Chuck Reed could play Dr. Evil.
Larry Stone Defends Eating Habits and Other Accusations
A former press secretary for taxman Larry Stone has written a “tell-all” book seriously implicating his former boss with several scathing accusations meant to demean and embarrass the county assessor.
Complaints of “Gamey” Chicken Marsala
San Jose’s favorite romance, between City Hall peregrine falcons Carlos and Clara, came to an ignominious end yesterday after three employees discovered that they ingested most of the birds after complaining that their weekly Thursday lunch special of chicken marsala tasted “gamey.”
In the course of the next two weeks, San Jose’s civil and criminal courts will be discussing the use of Tasers by law enforcement. This week in federal court, the Salinas Police Department and Taser International faces a jury in the case of a Salinas man who died after he was stunned 30 times by Taser-wielding police officers. The trial will be closely watched by San Jose attorneys and future plaintiffs who are aiming for their day in court against Taser International and the San Jose Police Department.
On May 12, 2008, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office dropped the charges against the last of the “Eastside Six”—a group that faced numerous misdemeanors and felonies from an incident on Cinco de Mayo, 2006. But don’t let the romantic lefty throwback name fool you; these were not a bunch of armed Black Panthers planning a City Hall takeover, but, rather, peaceful community activists who were only armed with cameras and bullhorns.
Cinco de Mayo weekend is a nightmare if you are a resident of downtown San Jose, an employee of a downtown business, or someone attempting to attend a downtown play, concert, movie or other non-Cinco de Mayo event. However, it’s not because of what you might think. It’s true that there are many people and a lot of noise and traffic, but that happens almost every weekend. The problem is the San Jose Police Department who throw up roadblocks at all downtown freeway exits and many city streets, making it virtually impossible to enter downtown from the outside world.
Exactly which May 1 march in support of immigrant rights did Merc reporters supposedly go to? The daily reported that the annual march wound “from East San Jose to City Hall,” which is downright bizarre since the biggest behind-the-scenes drama of the day came when the SJPD blocked off City Hall’s plaza.
In a prior column, I wrote about taking advantage of the great San Jose weather by having events at City Hall Plaza or at the Circle of Palms. At last week’s city council meeting, there was an item that pertained to sidewalk cafes at night. I support outside settings and made a motion at the meeting proposing to extend hours at sidewalk cafes until 2 a.m. A majority of the council supported the motion.
The gym at Alum Rock Youth Center on the Eastside was filled near capacity last Thursday evening when Mayor Chuck Reed held the first of four open forums on gang violence in San Jose and how to spend an additional $1 million towards the issue. While a cynic might say that the event was mere political theater—an attempt by the city leaders to quell growing frustrations about violence on the streets—it is undeniable that the forum did tap into the community’s authentic call to be included in the conversation of allocation of resources. The gathering was probably the first time I saw the city council, SJPD, parents, youth advocates, former gang members, and religious groups, all brainstorming from a position of collective problem-solving, rather than fighting over limited funding.
We all love to be as little children: to see colorful animals and play with tinker toys. And if we have young kids or grandchildren, it can be a great joy to travel the city and see so many examples of toys, painted tigers, and kaleidoscopic shades and tints at our obvious points of interest. This is the state of our public art in San Jose: colorful, playful, and totally one dimensional. There has to be more in a city and its description of itself as evidenced in her adopted pubic art program. There is a pivotal question though: Are we mature and confident enough to reflect this as a statement of who we are?
