San Jose Inside

An Act of Protest Has Never Sounded So Good

The corner of Stockton and Lenzen Avenue was bumpin’ on Saturday night. At a show called “Cultura En Tu Idioma,” held at the De-Bug Community Center, some 500-plus Latino youths came to celebrate a culture of their own invention: Spanish rap, rock, poetry and cumbia, all interwoven into one singular expression. No alcohol, no fights, just young people expressing themselves and having a good time.

Law enforcement uses the state’s gang-enhancement law to crack down on violence, but a judge’s ruling in the Joshua Herrera case raises questions about its reach

THE moment before Rebecca Rivera entered the courtroom to hear whether or not her son Joshua Herrera was going to face a life sentence in prison, she gathered with 40 or so supporters, who were bustling around with nervous tension. “I talked to Joshua last night, and he wanted us all to know that whatever happens in there—he is coming home.” She began to weep, then collected herself and walked into court. The potentially devastating question that was left in her wake, the one no one dared ask, was: When? Rivera had already consoled the mother of another young man involved in the case, Alex Samarro, who had been given 23-to-life the day prior, and knew the pain she saw yesterday could be hers today.

The council meeting last Tuesday evening lasted until almost midnight. The council discussed and voted on the Mayor’s Budget Message, San Jose Medical Center and Mexican Heritage Plaza. I was happy to see the budget discussed at night so more people were able to attend.

Joshua Herrera May be Facing Life in Prison Because of an Unevaluated Gang Enhancement Law

On the steps of the Main Jail, Rebecca Rivera called out to God and her son at the same time. She asked that God save her son from a life in prison, and that her son hear her prayer. 24-year-old Joshua Herrera, housed on the fourth floor of that jail, did in fact hear his mother and the 200 or so supporters who chanted and cheered through Rebecca’s impromptu speech, many of whom also had sons, uncles, nephews somewhere in that building. And from the fourth floor, it must have been quite a sight, an unlikely movement that Rivera has pieced together since Joshua was convicted of home invasion robbery with gang enhancements in 2006. Marching alongside the Herrera family were young Chicano men who also have been labeled as gang members themselves, college students sporting their banners, firefighters who met Joshua, and about 50 leather-clad bikers sitting on Harleys that roared like they had jet engines inside them.

Controversial Land to Become Terrorist Training Camps

Continuing their fire sale of San Jose properties, Divco West, the real estate investment and asset management company that made millions in San Jose on a scorched earth and people policy, sold their large and controversial land holdings in Coyote Valley to a branch of the Islamic Liberation Front (ILF) for an undisclosed sum.

First Step in Becoming Autonomous City

Federal Realty Investment Trust continues to add to its tremendously successful Santana Row and bolster is byline, “700 shops, 200 restaurants, 19 spas, 10 hotels, 1 Little Saigon,” by focusing on ethnic consumers after deciding to incorporate a Vietnamese business district to its mix of uses.

City Hall Diary

As some of you many know via Sal Pizarro of the Mercury News I have grown a beard. I stopped shaving the morning of the mayor’s State of the City speech. I joked with Sal that I was not going to shave until we fixed the structural budget deficit. Getting our city’s finances in order is the number one priority and will take hard work and more community outreach. By that time, my beard will end up competing with Moses or the members of the band ZZ Top.

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.

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.

When it comes to the holidays, many of us expect to have them off.  Whether it’s Hanukah, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, etc., the assumption is that the holidays are automatically a day off of work or that one can request religious days off and the request is granted. However, this is not always the case.

Councilman Williams Vows To “Git ’r Done”

Following through on his promise to save a costly police substation pledged to his district, Councilman Forrest Williams offered a compromise to the council that kept the project within budget by eliminating the public art element, ammunition and squad cars.

“I said I would find a way to ‘git ‘r done,’” said Mr. Williams. “And if these cops can go without bullets and cars for awhile, they can certainly do without the foo-foo, artsy-smartsy crap.”

It seems like we have a battle over art again in San Jose. Not over what type of art, but, rather, whether to have it in the new police substation.  I, for one, am happy not to discuss the recall in District 7 or the loss of our esteemed title of the “Safest Big City” in this yuletide season and get to the real issues that determine our future.

Budget Cuts Force Donkey Patrol in Downtown

Faced with the grim task of choosing between fiscal responsibility and horses, the San Jose City Council, rather than suspend the police department’s popular horse-mounted unit, made the tough decision to retire the horses and substitute them with more financially efficient donkeys.

The tumult and the shouting have died and “Little Saigon” is now a political battle, not an alternate name to an important area of small businesses. Or is it?  A recall is in the offing if cooler and more focused minds do not prevail. I hope they do. It would be bad for the city, District 7, and the Vietnamese community. While it is difficult to understand why Madison Nguyen was so blind-sided by the somewhat predictable events of the last few weeks (and the strong feelings behind them), the council supported her down the line.  One day we may see it more clearly.

City Hall Diary

As we know, San Jose is made up of council districts and, as a result, many of us have come to identify with these boundaries and/or borders. I know I have. I was raised in Willow Glen. My parents live in the same home they bought over 30 years ago.  Most of my life experiences centered around my neighborhood; therefore, my view of the world was somewhat sheltered until I became an adult when I moved to downtown San Jose for 10 years and traveled to over 40 countries.