Archive for March, 2010

SOL Wednesday

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

We are sorry. We will not be publishing today. We will have a giant Round-Up tomorrow, but for today… you are SOL…

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

SOL Wednesday

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010


We are sorry. We will not be publishing today. We will have a giant Round-Up tomorrow, but for today… you are SOL…

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.30.10: Rosen and Carr — the saga continues…

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

We’ve said it before: When lawyers run against each other in politics, expect a litigious campaign — especially when the folks are running for District Attorney. And the DA’s race took another turn yesterday, and like most turns thus far, it doesn’t turn in the incumbent’s favor — at least the way Watch Dog (and the Merc’s headline editor) sees it. (Merc headline: DA challenger Rosen can keep flattering quotes in ballot statement. San Jose Inside had a different take: Carr v. Rosen split decision) Dolores Carr had sued to try to make Jeff Rosen change his ballot statement because it included quotes from the Mercury News and former DA George Kennedy and it compared the two candidates — which is a no-no. The ruling: Rosen can keep in the quotes from the Merc and from former DA George Kennedy. He voluntarily changed the comparison part of the statement. Rosen’s quote in the story sort of sums the whole thing up: “…Her ballot statement is about how she’s a bureaucrat… My ballot statement is about how I’m a tough, ethical, experienced prosecutor who has prosecuted hundreds of cases and she has not.” Anytime you do something that let’s your opponent get that quote in the paper, you need to rethink your strategy.
The budget, the budget, the budget… San Jose is in trouble. The Merc Editorial Board is calling on employees to make concessions — as it is the only way to get things more in line with reality…
More San Jose budget crap: If a city is a collection of neighborhoods and the neighborhoods are built around community centers, then San Jose is in even deeper shit… because “dozens of San Jose communiity centers” are about the get the axe. Expect a lot of folks to show up to speak at tonight’s budget session, bring your No Doze.
Would you like to own a chunk of land in North San Jose? Well, if you are a government agency with extra cash on hand (and which government agency doesn’t have a bunch of extra cash on hand) you could own the last bit of Agnews…
If you were looking forward to buying both the cause of hangovers (beer) and the cure (Advil) at Palo Alto Walgreens, you are going to have to wait longer. Neighbors filed complaints to the State Alcohol Beverage Control folks and things are on hold for a while.
Downtown Morgan Hill potential redevelopers have been narrowed to three: Barry Swenson Builders, City Ventures, and The Olson Company… and only one wears a hat all the time…
Christopher High School in the Gilroy Unified School District will get its aquatics center… but it will be two years later than expected.

Posted in agnews, barry swenson, carr, city of palo alto, gilory unified, jeff rosen, Morgan Hill | 1 Comment »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.30.10: Open Carry Crazy…

Tuesday, March 30th, 2010

Could the “Open Carry” movement please get itself under control? A former city worker in San Bruno left a message for the City Attorney saying that he was going to bring an unloaded weapon to a meeting… of course, the only way for someone to know that a weapon is unloaded is if you pull the trigger and nothing comes out. Which is probably a little too later for the City Attorney in San Bruno — which is why a temporary restraining order has been brought against Harold Wulff. Now, he can’t really go to that meeting at San Bruno’s City Hall…
The “conversation” about Atherton Councilmember Charles Marsala continues in the Home/Loan Gate controversy on the Almanac’s “Town Square Forum“… needless to say, folks in Atherton have way too much time on their hands…
We love this story and its headline: “Lawmaker (Ira Ruskin) names top term priorities…” As if his top term priority isn’t to find something else to do when this term is up…
And while Ruskin does his thing, Assemblymember Jerry Hill was writing an Op-Ed for the Daily Journal. He is doing his best to remind you that everything that Sacramento does is not completely insane… that is not an easy task Mr. Hill…
The former Belmont Chamber president says he knew he would get off on the molestation charges, but now he has to put his life back together. The Belmont Chamber can’t go a week without being in the news…
Do you remember the wave that knocked out Mavericks’ spectators this year? Well, Supervisor Gordon is coming to the rescue with a meeting about public safety at Mavericks… the timing of this meeting probably would have been better before the competition, but…

Posted in belmont chamber, charles marsala, Ira Ruskin, jerry hill, Maverick, open carry, rich gordon | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.29.10: Jude versus Cindy?

Monday, March 29th, 2010

If you are involved at all in politics in Silicon Valley, Friday was a busy day. Local political guru Jude Barry was put on the “do not patronize” list of the California Labor Federation because he co-founded a company that allows folks to gather signatures for ballot initiatives via iPhone. Internal Affairs had a run-down, so did San Jose Inside. If you want the full story, including a quote from Cindy Chavez who (probably) coordinated the entire thing — read the IA version of things. The labor folks are “unhappy” because the signature-gathering software — Verafirma — is being used for an anti-labor signature-gathering effort. Of course, it is also being used by a group aiming to repeal Prop 8 and another group trying to legalize marijuana. So, Watch Dog has to wonder, who is next on the California Labor Federation’s blacklist: perhaps the “paycheck protection” folks are using HP computers, Apple iPhones, and Cisco routers… We wonder when Marc Hurd, Steve Jobs, and John Chambers will get their black-list notice…
So what does this all mean? We’ll see. We know what it means for Teresa Alvarado, a Barry client. She didn’t get the South Bay Labor Council endorsement but Forrest Williams did. The Labor Council must have been impressed with Williams’ depth of knowledge, command of issues, and charisma… The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce endorsed Mike Wasserman. No doubt that they were impressed by the “R” after his name…
If you would like to see some Jude Barry’s work, check out the 49ers new tv ad. Ironically, you know who could have used a campaign television ad this good? Cindy Chavez…

James at Mission City Lantern also has something to say about Jude… we aren’t sure what he means all the time, but in this case, we think he means that he likes Jude and he likes Cindy Chavez, but that Jude is right in this case and Cindy is wrong.
San Jose, the self-touted “green capital,” is putting two football fields’ worth of solar on the new airport parking garage, but it seems that the two football fields’ worth of solar will be Canadian football fields… because local companies didn’t really bid on the project…
If you love public visioning processes, you were probably at the one this weekend for the Diridon Station area of downtown. If that stuff doesn’t put you to sleep, try Ambien…
“Dude, let’s go to the San Jose City Council on Tuesday to let them know about how much we love pot… err, cannabis, clubs.” You have got to love a City that is going to the ballot to increase the number of poker tables, but may vote to shut down pot clubs.
From pot to prostitution: 5 folks were arrested in Gilroy for prostitution. But the best is the flowery language that the police officers used in their press release tooting their own horns about the arrests:
Finally, perhaps the most far-reaching thing in today’s Round-Up, besides the Barry/Chavez feud:
Mozart isn’t just the name of a composer, it is also the name of a father/son development team. Both father and son are suing Palo Alto separately because they are claiming the 10 percent affordable set-aside for housing projects is an unfair tax. All housing eyes will be watching these lawsuits…

Posted in 420, 49ers, city of palo alto, diridon, gilroy, jude barry, Lantern, sjc | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.29.10: Home/Loan Gate continues in Atherton…

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Well, it was a big day in Atherton on Friday. There was a City Council meeting scheduled to discuss Councilmember Charles Marsala’s residency (which allegedly is not in Atherton) and a loan which he (allegedly) sought from a guy that was suing the Town. In any event, there wasn’t a quorum so the meeting didn’t really happen, but Marsala’s foes on the Council, Kathy McKeithen and Jim Dobbie, did hold court and hear from the community (a.k.a. their friends) about Marsala… Home/Loan Gate continues…..
The financial incentives for Menlo Park to approve the Bohannon project look very strong… $1.67 million per year strong. Good luck saying no to that…
Perhaps MP could share some of their wealth to keep County parks from taking a huge hit… but don’t bet on it.
The La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District has had a tough time of it recently… and by recently we mean the past 3 years. Bond money spent improperly, Superintendent turn-over, being on the State’s education shit list… so drastic changes could be afoot. And not a moment too soon…
A San Carlos woman died off Sharp Park Beach on Sunday. She was trying to rescue her dog that had been swept up in a wave…
We end on this enlightening note:
Dude. Cow Palace. April 17 and 18. Just in time for 420…

Posted in 420, atherton, charles marsala, cow palace, dobbie, lahonda-pescadero, mckeithen, mp, san mateo county, sharp park beach | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.26.10: Can you name the 1992 San Jose City Council?

Friday, March 26th, 2010

A couple of days ago in the Palo Alto Daily News, there was a story about a Palo Alto City janitor who cashing out sick leave ($100k+) and retiring with a pension and benefits for life… well, the Merc must have seen that story and asked around San Jose City Hall if the same thing happens there. Guess what? It does. The total amount of sick leave cash outs in 2009 was $11.3 million, up from previous years. It is mostly to police officers and firefighters, who have unlimited (?) sick leave and vacation payouts when they are donPublish Poste with their stint with the City. The leader of the pack was a retiring deputy police chief who cashed in $305,447 of unpaid sick leave and vacation. Today’s story also has a little history: “…But the presidents of the police and firefighters unions noted that city officials in 1992 gave them the unlimited sick-leave cash out benefit…” Ok all you old timers… We’ll start the 1992 City Council list with Mayor Susan Hammer, David Pandori, Shirley Lewis, Pat Sausedo… can anyone out there name the rest?
(Not to be out-reported, the Palo Alto Weekly dives deep into how much ‘cash outs’ have cost Palo Alto… $5.3 million last year. We have no clue who was on the Palo Alto Council when those cash out decisions were made…)
The finalists for the now-high profile Independent Police Auditor’s job in San Jose have been announced, even though the Merc caught wind of LaDoris Cordell’s name prevoiusly. The other three:
  • Jeff Schwartz, the head of Letra, a consulting firm that trains and researches law enforcement stuff,
  • Marcos Soler, a director with the Research and Strategic Initiatives for the Civilian Complaint Review Board in NYC, and
  • Victoria Urbi, a police review commission officer with Berkeley’s civilian Police Review Commission.
Well, let’s hope whomever gets the gig that they are not neutered like the last several IPAs have been… Because there’s nothing a Watch Dog likes less than being neutered…
There is some closure to the sex with a student story in Santa Clara Unified. The Wilcox High School “special” education teacher Ed Slate will spend 2 years and 8 months for “…oral copulation with a minor, sexual penetration, and sodomy with a person younger than 18…”
While we are talking about schools, sort of… the County Office of Education is under the gun from “Alternative School” teachers and staff. The teachers are worried that by taking their concerns to the Board of Trustees, rather than the Superintendent Chuck Weis, that they may face retaliation…
No more classes, no more books, no more teachers dirty looks… at least for summer school. Morgan Hill closed summer school for the coming summer…

Posted in city of palo alto, coe, hammer, ipa, morgan hill unified, pandori, sausedo, scusd, shirley lewis | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.26.10: Home/Loan Gate in Atherton…

Friday, March 26th, 2010

Home/Loan Gate in Atherton continues… remember, Councilmember Charles Marsala asked for (and was denied) a $500,000 loan from a resident who had a pending lawsuit with the Town of Atherton — and then Marsala voted against a citizens police oversight commission that the person suing Atheron wanted… The person suing Atherton claims that Marsala voted against the commission because the loan didn’t come through. Coincidentally (?) there are also rumors swirling that Marsala doesn’t live in Atherton — heck, without a gigantic loan, who could? Later today, there will be a special meeting about the Marsala residency issue at 2 p.m. If you have absolutely nothing going on in your life on a Friday afternoon, perhaps you should stop by the meeting and then send Watch Dog an email about the outcome… Whatever the outcome of that meeting, Watch Dog predicts that there may be an open seat on the Atherton Council before too long…
We aren’t going to take any credit for this Editorial in the Daily Journal, but certainly we here at Watch Dog have also been critical of Redwood City spending money on a mining-loving PR firm to fight the idea of a new County jail in their community…
Your favorite very local public station will stay open… KCSM will keep broadcasting for a little bit longer at least.
Usually when we think of outsourcing, we think China and India, but San Carlos may outsource some functions (police/fire) to San Mateo…
Pacifica Riptide is pushing some community activism in an effort to restart “greenwaste” drop off in Pacifica… Will the no-bid garbage company in Pacifica listen?
Our new friends at the Burlingame Voice actually pick up and read the Daily Post… they have a story about possible embezzlement at a Burlingame school…

As a reminder, the Daily Post does not post news on their ugly website, instead we learn this:

“You won’t find any news on this site. Giving away news online is a dumb way to do business. News is valuable. We put our news in print. The news creates demand for our paper, and increased readership makes our ads more effective than advertising in any other medium.”
Plus, does anyone really think that people are getting their news online?: Online newspapers enjoy double-digit year-over-year growth, reaching one out of four internet users, according to Nielsen/Netratings… That’s from 2005, get with it.

Posted in atherton, burlingame voice, charles marsala, daily post, home/loan gate, riptide | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.25.10: Dolores Carr defends the Merc’s rights? Weird

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

We mentioned it yesterday, lawyers running against lawyers can be fun… but it can also be litigious and boring. But we have to write about it anyway (especially when everyone else is writing about it…) Dolores Carr is now mad that Jeff Rosen is using Mercury News reprinted articles on his website — which may violate copyright laws. We don’t really blame Carr, all of the articles call her unethical, politically stupid, and other really nice things. Ironically, this puts Dolores Carr in the position of defending the rights of the newspaper that has absolutely crushed her over the past year. So, while Dolores Carr is spending time looking for reprint criminals, she should turn her attention to one of her own endorsers, Pete Constant, who uses reprints of the Mercury News all over his official City Hall website…
Scott Herhold compares Chicago Mayor (for Life) Daley and San Jose Mayor (for Now) Reed… His conclusion?: “…if he [Reed] had more of Richie Daley in him, he would enjoy more results…” Especially stinging for Reed and his crew will be this line: “…We are more open, more transparent, more ethical. As Reed’s opponent, Cindy Chavez, said in the 2006 campaign, to what end?…” Cindy the Prognosticator.
The Merc Editorial Board defends the County’s “Plan to Ban” (toys from Happy Meals…)
Budget woes are hitting everyone… the Santa Clara Unified School District is reminiscing about what it used to be like to have money as they hand out 100 pink slips…
Here’s a Merc headline for you: Confusion, criticism follow Santa Clara Valley Water District groundwater fee… but then again, when doesn’t confusion and criticism follow the Water District?
Scott Herhold touched on it this week: schools, neighbors, and traffic do not mix in Los Altos… the Los Altos City Council agrees and is asking the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District to get its traffic shit together…

Posted in 280, carr, Chuck Reed, county exec, herhold, jeff rosen, scusd, toys, water district | No Comments »

Morning News Round-Up — 3.25.10: A Round-Up Free Day…

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Good morning loyal readers.

We won’t be Rounding-Up today. Sorry to disappoint. We will be back tomorrow.

If you promise not to tell anyone, we’ll tell you a little secret: we are reworking the Watch Dog site and will be relaunching a revamped site in the next two weeks.

Shhh… Stay tuned.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

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