Rebuttals in San Jose

Posted by Pierluigi Oliverio on Monday, August 18, 2008

City Hall Diary

Rebuttals? No, not at the 2-minute public forum at council meetings but, rather, for ballot statements.

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Ballot Mayhem

Posted by Pierluigi Oliverio on Monday, August 11, 2008

City Hall Diary

After nearly four hours of back and forth, the council emerged with measures for the November 2008 ballot. The first is the reduction and update of the telecommunications user tax. This would allow the city to capture new telephone technology like Voice of Internet Protocol (VOIP). The second is a reduction of the 911 system support fee which would result in stronger legal footing of our 911 fee that pays for the 911 call center. Years ago, the 911 call center moved from the California Highway Patrol and was given to local government to oversee, with no funding, of course. The money collected is to be cost recovery only for 911 call center staff and equipment. It appears that if both do not pass it would hurt the city with a loss of $48 million annually.

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Touring District 2 with Forest Whitaker…

Posted by Pierluigi Oliverio on Monday, August 04, 2008

City Hall Diary

…well, actually, I toured District 2 with Councilmember Forrest Williams. However, sometimes people mistakenly call him by the actor’s name instead. Who could blame them? Councilmember Williams has star power; especially driving his Batmobile Mercedes. Councilmember Williams is very energetic and shared many stories about District 2 with me. He does his morning jog up the local hill and eats oatmeal every morning. I hope to have his energy as my hair grays.

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Evergreen Ever Growing

Posted by Pierluigi Oliverio on Monday, July 28, 2008

City Hall Diary

Vice Mayor Dave Cortese wins the prize for having the most historical knowledge of his district. I had the opportunity to tour District 8 with the vice mayor and get a better understanding of the land we call Evergreen and its agricultural history.

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Constantly Eating and Pointing with Councilmember Constant

Posted by Pierluigi Oliverio on Monday, July 21, 2008

City Hall Diary

After finishing lunch at Pollo Loco on Winchester Blvd., Councilmember Pete Constant took me on a District 1 tour.  District 6 and District 1 share a long border along Winchester. Recently, both of our council offices have been working with the RDA and small businesses to help build a larger business district for Winchester. 

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