“San Jose – Silicon Valley International Airport at Moffet Field” circa 2030.
It should start now!…the planning that is. New approach runway in northern section of current airfied. “The Yahoo runway,” as it would begin just north of the current Yahoo Sunnyvale campus and terminate west/northwesterly near NASA Ames. No more downtown SJC, no more stubby SJ skyline, no approaching flights over Sunnyvale (thus no NIMBY sentiments), and a quality international airport to serve San Jose and Silicon Valley (watch out SFO!)…a win, win all around!
Chuck sounded like a cheap version of Cassandra in the article about Chris Constantin. Well, for Chris and Chuck, it is time for the Greek Theatre at the Mission City Lantern to produce a new performance of Aeschylus’ tragedies.
SJ constantly crows that it’s the 10th largest US city. We have an alleged newspaper here—The Murky News. Saturday’s edition devoted OVER TWENTY FOUR COLUMN INCHES to a story about a Saratoga couple’s kidnapped dog!!!! That’s a real big city newspaper story. And people wonder why we get no respect.
#2—would it still be called the Norman Why Mineta?? Int’l airport?
#3—Chuck is definitely not ready for prime time—the Little Saigon debacle that he let fester for weeks, and now the Constatin deal he couldn’t recognize as a problem.
Will his re-election campaign opponent’s slogan be : well, duh?
SJC airport at Moffett! Great idea!
Then 17 Express can end at Moffett or Mtn. View instead of Didiron Station.
Without San Jose Airport there’s no reason for anyone to visit San Jose. Nearly all hi-tech business is located north of San Jose in Santa Clara, Mtn. View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino or PA. Now there are plenty of fancy hotels along 101 north of town. San Jose is mostly middle and lower class, the big shots live up in the hills or Atherton.
Sure, shut downtown SJC so a few with big egos can build their high rises, waiting for the Big One to tumble them down or be red-tagged.
It’s a great idea to have a jetport close to wildlife sanctuaries with plenty of birds to suck up the intake pipe.
PGP
How stupid can businesses, the government, and people be? This is all over the news. Every media is screaming pandemic and rapid contagion, but let us keep flying folks to Mexico and back to the US. My God how dumb can you be?
Airport officials in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland added that none of their flights to and from Mexico had been disrupted by the illness.
#4,
Was that English or blaberrish? Other than the anti-SJ idiocy, what exactly is wrong with Moffet airport concept? It’s not as if Bay Area airports don’t already exist near a body of water/wildlife sanctuaries. And Moffet has been in existence now for how long? SJC flights over the salt marshes of the south bay for how long now? Enough said.
7 – Perhaps public health experts are a bit more knowledgeable about this than you or I?
8 – Doesn’t really matter if it is a good or bad idea, it has virtually no chance of happening. It’s not just up to San Jose—there are other cities that would be involved and they have not been open to the idea. Not to mention the Feds would have to weigh in as well.
There’s no way anyone would be able to get environmental approval to build a new runway anywhere near the bay. Increasing jet traffic to the existing Moffett runways is a non-starter account Sunnyvale NIMBYs who shut down talk of moving cargo traffic to Moffett a while back. Add to that all of the investment in the new SJC terminal and parking garages at SJC and moving SJC to moffett is a non-starter. SJC is fine where it is.
11 – I’ll take public health officials over you any day. At least they know what they are talking about when it comes to a potential health crisis. You, on the other hand, appear to have no expertise except to trash every government agency regardless of whether or not you know anything about it.
I will freely admit that I’m pretty ignorant in the matter of viruses and epidemics.
However, if confronted with a decision between following a recommendation from some bureaucracy that I think is at least partially motivated by political concerns, or trusting my own judgement, I’ll trust myself, thanks.
There may well be many brilliant people in our Government agencies. But when politics is the primary concern, the agency isn’t nearly as brilliant as the sum of it’s parts.
#9- Just Wondering,(I like your name!)
I can tell you that our country is never properly prepared for disaster. If they were, people who survived Katrina would not STILL not be homeless, nor would we have become so incapacitated when phone lines went down recently. Allowing people to travel and spread disease to other states, and countries is just plain irresponsible, as many have already died from this flu.
Am I the only person who is concerned that The Homeland Security Dept. has become the lead agency in the fed. govt. holding press conferences re swine flu for CNN to cover?
This is an issue on which the CDC should be the lead agency, not HS.Swine flu is no more a homeland security issue that are the annual “regular flu” outbreaks that kill thousands of folks each year in the USA alone.
It’s a HUGE power grab by Homeland Security that smacks of a belated 1984 type power grab by the militaristic side of our govt. Ms. Napolitano will probably go to Congress for additional funding to further bloat her dept.
But when the swine flu media-induced panic is all over, will HS shrink? No way, Jose!
No JMO, you are NOT alone! I just received this and thought I’d share it with you.
Dear CADRE members:
As you know from today’s media reports, swine flu cases are spreading across the nation and this morning’s San Jose Mercury News reported that the U.S. has declared a public health emergency yesterday.
HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW from Santa Clara County Public Health Department:
Swine Flu Update – April 27, 2009 at 2 pm
Local Situation
At this time there are no reported cases in Santa Clara County. It is the role of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to inform the public, medical community and other local agencies about a potential health emergency, and the current outbreak of swine flu poses a potential risk to the residents of this community.
We know people are concerned about swine flu situation and we share that concern. At this early stage of this outbreak, there is a lot of uncertainty and the situation remains very fluid.
National Situation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the number of now 41 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States:
California: eight (8) confirmed cases
Kansas two (2) confirmed cases
New York City, 28 confirmed cases
Ohio, one (1) confirmed case
Texas, two (2) confirmed cases
At this time, the cases in the United State have had mild symptoms, with the exception of one case that was hospitalized. All of these people have or are recovering.
On Sunday, April 26th, the US Department of Health declared a national Public Health Emergency. This means they have the ability to release resources, including the national stockpile of Tamiflu and Relenza for treatment of confirmed swine flu cases. The US Department of Health emphasized that this declaration should be viewed as an early preparedness alert so that local jurisdictions and states can review their plans and put early preparedness efforts in place.
Currently, there are no travel restrictions to or from Mexico but it is anticipated that within the next 24 hour this will change and travel to and from Mexico will be restricted.
California Situation
The eight (8) California cases are located in California:
Five (5) in San Diego County
Two (2 ) in Imperial County
One (1) in Sacramento County
All local California Public Health Departments are conducting active surveillance and continue to remain in communication with each other and the California Department of Public Health. Because of the release of the national stockpile of Tamiflu, California will be receiving 25% of our 5 million courses of treatment, which means 1.25 million courses.
International Situation
The international situation remains fluid. Currently, three nations have confirmed cases of swine flu: Mexico, Canada and the United States. Nations from New Zealand to Spain have also reported suspected cases. The numbers being reported for the situation in Mexico range from 943 to 1,300 swine flu cases, with anywhere from 20 possible deaths due to swine flu to 71 possible deaths.
Next Steps
With the growing concern about this situation, the Public Health Department is taking the following actions this week.
Increase Active Surveillance by placing Public Health Department nurses at all Santa Clara County hospitals to assist the infection control staff and report findings quickly to the Public Health Department. We will also develop recommendations and guidance for SCC school districts and the San Jose International Airport specifically, and work with the Mexican Consulate to provide information to the farm worker community and others that may particularly at-risk.
Additionally, the Public Health Laboratory will continue to accept specimens and conduct preliminary tests on these specimens.
In the area of Public Information, we will continue to provide information to members of the news media and general.
For regular updates about the swine flu situation and instructions and checklists for preparing for an influenza emergency please visit the Public Health Departments web site at http://www.sccphd.org
CADRE UPDATE:
In recognition that we should try to be as prepared as we can be, we would like to share the following Pan Flu public education materials with you.
Included as attachments are the following documents and suggested uses:
1) Swine Flu FAQ
2) Pan Flu guidance document and various posters (cover your cough/wash your hands/limit spread of germs)
3) Pan Flu Fact Sheet and SCCO Health Officer’s Q&A
The above documents can/should be printed and shared with both staff/volunteers and clients/consumers. We encourage you to post these materials in your community areas (restroom stalls are one great place to educate people with this material with what we call the “potty posters” concept…)
We will continue to update you as we get direction and info that would be pertinent to share with our cbo partners and CADRE member agencies.
No new runways near the salt pans? Why? It wouldn’t be SFO building runways smack middle in the bay. As for Sunny vale NIMBYs, Moffet has been their a lot longer than they have. New terminals at SJC? Again, we’re talking 20 years out, not tomorrow. Heck, most of today’s NIMBYs won’t be around by then, so that’s one problem solved. 10 mhz days, you’re right on with the blimp hangar/terminal idea!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m pleased as punch with the recent SCC Superior Court decision regarding the Santa Clara Valley Water District. It seems that the District has been hosing (pun intended) us with a water extraction fee since the mid-90’s.
Per the judge, voters were never allowed to vote on the fee, which is in violation of Proposition 218. Last year, the fee amounted to $72 million, 20% of the District’s revenue. No wonder they’ve been able to lavish their executives with salaries and benefits befitting royalty. And no wonder they’ve been able to increase their headcount to obscene levels. Maybe this ruling will choke off the embarrassing waste that’s been in the press these last few years.
Medflies.
Bird Flu.
Hurricane Katrina.
Light Brown Apple Moth.
Glassywinged Sharpshooter.
Mortgage Meltdown.
West Nile Virus.
And now it’s the dreaded Swine Flu.
The bureaucrats that people our Government agencies LOVE it when they have an excuse to panic the people. This time it’s the revered “public health officials” who will take center stage and convince concerned looking reporters just how indispensible their expertise is in guiding us through this perilous time. Of course, they won’t actually DO anything that makes a real difference. They’ll make a lot of noise, get some publicity, and when the whole “crisis” inevitably blows over, we’ll be permanently saddled with one more Government agency that’s bigger and more bloated, more deeply entrenched and costs us more than it needs to.
Despite rumors of Mayor Chuck Reed being asked to remain at the Compound while his possible contagious state is evaluated, we would like to note that we believe the Mayor is free from contagion. Though rumors persist that Reed resists examination for fear of the alien tale appendage being discovered, we have no evidence of the Mayor’s condition other than continued melancholia and a desire for mayo.
NT 22,
I LIKE IT! We need more out of the box thinking like that over here. I would suggest that the current investment in SJC could in the future be adaptively reused: shopping center, housing, education facility. Again, great idea.
Nam Turk’s post #22 does not make sense. He talks about a proposed “second” SJC runway “parallel to Coleman” to move the SJC approach “over Santa Clara office parks.”
Since SJC currently has three runways, is Turk proposing building a fourth? Look at the SJC diagram: http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KSJC/map
You’ll see that all three runways are roughly parallel, and about 20 degrees offset from Coleman. Where is this wonderful new runway supposed to be located? West of Coleman?
Then he starts going on about a cross runway, ignoring the fact that SJC’s current runways are oriented the way they are to take advantage of prevailing winds. Assuming you had the money, where would you place a cross runway, taking into account the fact that it would have to be at least 8000 feet long to be even remotely useful? Add to that length extra space as a safety “overrun area.”
There’s no cost effective way to expand SJC’s runway system. You could extend runway 11/29 a bit, but that’s about it.
Pedant 26: I meant that the new runway would be in a second alignment, not parallel to those existing. Regular approaches would be from the northwest where there is low residential. Rare takeoffs in rough conditions (the current restricting factor) would be aimed away from the downtown core.
As for the prevailing winds, so what? Does every airport in the world operate according to the wind? These are jets we’re talking about; they are not gliders. Severe storms aside, I doubt that’s a deal breaker.
And what of the space? My whole idea was based on acquiring new land, not jamming something into the existing space. Yes, I know that’s expensive, hence “cheapest” in quotation marks. It would, however, be a way of utilizing new improvements to SJC while appeasing those who don’t like planes over downtown and the limitations that come with.
P.S. If you’re going to engage in debate with someone, talk to them and not about them. You just look arrogant with that “he says this” bullshit.
Regarding SJC, the “cheapest” solution may be to build a second runway parallel to Coleman and bring landing approaches over Santa Clara office parks (low NIMBY factor). Many airport have runways that cross; these would potentially intersect at the southern end near Coleman/880/87. The big issue, of course, would be acquiring land in a neighboring municipality. However, I believe part of the airport already crosses city limits. The recent investments in SJC mean we’re there for the long term, so we have to make do.
Citizens / SJI waste time talking about trivia ( grand prix, downtown events, Sharks, theater, – “bread and circuses” while important issues are`ignored
“Civic Leaders” and city government are more interested in their own self interests and enrichment than public interest and believe their own lies rather than change what does not work
Public is lied to again and again and told everything is great – we are` #1, we are capital of _____, the future will be better, things will improve just ignore last 20-30 of public leadership failure and billions in wasted taxes just pay more taxes for less while ignoring clear signs coming disaster year after year
City is afraid to do accurate comparisons with other cities while picking comparisons that make our city look good so the public believes lies
Airports are and should be designed to allow aircraft to land and take off into the wind as much as possible. The runways at SJC allow for this. If you don’t want to take my word for why it’s a good idea, here’s a good explanation from the folks at NASA: http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/design/tutorial/tutorial2.html
“Airplanes take off and land more efficiently when oriented into the wind. To maximize the airplane’s potential to achieve the greatest lift in the shortest amount of distance and time during takeoff, airplanes should be pointed into the wind. By landing into the wind the ground speed is minimized. This allows the pilot more time to make the adjustments necessary for a smooth touchdown. Ground speed is a combination of airspeed (the speed provided by the propulsion system’s thrust minus some drag) plus wind speed. Therefore if an airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing with a wind that has a speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 120 mph (100 mph + 20 mph = 120 mph). Conversely, if the airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing into the wind with a wind speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 80 mph (100 mph – 20 mph = 80 mph). This is helpful to the pilot as the pilot attempts to stall the airplane just above the runway for a smooth landing.”
Acquiring new land around SJC for a cross runway that’s not needed is a non-starter. Even if it were a good idea, you’re not going to convince anyone that the costs and disruption are worth it.
I just read all the propositions and mailed in my completed absentee ballot. It seems that all but the last were little more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. Budget reform? What budget reform?
29: The layout I proposed does not even suggest a 45-degree turn of the runway. Checking weather.com right now, the wind is 10MPH from the northwest, the orientation I stated. I don’t think it would be a huge change, unless wind is currently so precise now.
I am voting no on everyone except the one that raises the lottery prizes. I might get lucky and win, so I want/need/desire/expect the biggest return on my investment.
Who cares if it makes any money. Learn how to think!!!!
Using the 1000 acres currently wasted on SJI in a more intelligent manner will produce hundreds, if not thousands, of times the economic revenue as compared to SJI.
In so far as travelers coming to San Jose, and the South Bay, they will still come here irrespective of whether the airport is in San Francisco or Hollister.
Hope everyone enjoys the Cinco de Mayo the city is spending millions on this coming weekend since our 4th of July celebration costing a fraction of that has been canceled. What the hell are our city leaders thinking? This is total bs.
37: I don’t see a great need for such a venture, but the idea was spurred by complaints of planes flying over downtown, making noise and limiting height in our city’s core. A second runway would bring planes along a route less populated or potentially tall. I’m more brainstorming than lobbying.
Yes. I agree. Nam Turk is a good guy and usually makes an intelligent contribution to any discussion. See his comments on the nonsensical porn filters in libraries. However, I get upset when people, even by accident, say things that are not true, or make no sense, and his statement implying that SJC somehow contributes to the economic vitality of this area falls into those categories.
While it is true the rental car companies, junk trinket, and junk food vendors at SJC contribute a few dollars to the economy, using the 1000 acres occupied by SJC in a more intelligent manner will dwarf the airport’s pitiful economic contribution. As mentioned, travelers coming to this area are not coming here because of the location of SJC. They are coming here for other reasons, and they will still come, and spend the same amount of money, whether they land at San Francisco, or Hollister.
Let’s all stop believing the nonsense from SJC supporters, and put an end to this albatross. We have the potential to make San Jose a great city, but as long as the airport is here we are doomed. And, Chuck, it does not matter how many people are living in San Jose. As long as SJC is here, we are stymied in creating a decent living environment for our residents.
They just built a 325 foot long pedestrain/bicycle bridge over I280 in Cupertino. It cost $15 MILLION! $15 MILLION for a 325 foot long bridge? Surely it’s at least 325 yards. 325 feet is .061 miles. That means the bridge cost $243.2 MILLION PER MILE to construct. In a recession? And VTA paid for most of it? Let’s see, VTA has the lowest percentage of operating costs from the fare box of any public transit system in North America, and they spend $243 million per mile for people NOT to use their busses and trolleys? Great! Fire the lot of them!
42—“the paper” neglected to inform you that the GI Forum owed the city hundreds of thousands of dollars for police @ 5 Mayo over several years. They renegotiated the deal, and I think the city ultimately forgave it all. But it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. What the curent deal is, I don’t know, but I seriously doubt the GI Forum can pay the cost of it.
I’m concerned with all the excessive handwashing going on in response to the Pig Flu Crisis and how it squares with our conservation efforts in the face of the Water Crisis.
With these concerns in mind, I’m urging our City Council to enact an emergency ordinance that would require all handwashing to be done using bottled water only.
This would have the added benefit of curing people of the economy-killing habit of saving their money, as they’d be forced to buy a lot of water, thus helping to solve the Economic Crisis.
Also, the City could impose a fine on anyone caught using tapwater to wash their hands and the added revenue would help to solve our Budget Crisis.
Hey! This thinking outside the box is fun!
Oh, to be a Bureaucrat and actually be PAID for coming up with this kind of crap!
I’m sorry all, but I started all the talk about relocating SJC in the future ; my idea was a new approach runway at a future Moffet airport (to appease Sunnyvale Nimbys). NT came back with an alternative idea of a new approach runway at the current SJC site. So lay off the guy. It’s just citizens thinking outside the box for the future of our city/county. Yes, both ideas stem for the yearning of our downtown reaching its full high-rise potential and (in the case of my idea) better utilizing both Moffet Field and the current SJC site. Anyhow, enough with this already.
The city has forgave millions of dollars the GI forum defaulated on repaying for the cost of prior Cinco de Mayo. The true cost, however, comes after the sanctioned Cinco de Mayo events when the trouble makers screw it up for everybody. The city gets stuck with a big bill. If we can’t afford our 4th of July celebration which should take priority, we sure shouldn’t pay for Cinco de Mayo and it should be canceled first. It is an insult to our country to cancel the 4th and keep Cinco de Mayo.
#49-Steve,
“Police made 15 felony and 22 misdemeanor arrests as of 3 a.m. Sunday, officer Jose Garcia said, and none at the parade or festival.” Did the people sponsoring this event pay for Police coverage of their festival, or did the city? Hum?
Did you know the Police are to blame because not many Latino’s turned out to attend this event, and that all these arrests aren’t the fault of the troublemakers it’s the fault of the Police too, according to this intellectual giant,
“He blamed the Latino community’s oft-frayed relationship with police, a rift that has grown wider after a Mercury News analysis showed that a disproportionate percentage of misdemeanor arrests involve Latinos.
“People are staying away because of that,” he said. “People are scared.”
Abstract Concepts?
Dubious Distinctions?
“San Jose – Silicon Valley International Airport at Moffet Field” circa 2030.
It should start now!…the planning that is. New approach runway in northern section of current airfied. “The Yahoo runway,” as it would begin just north of the current Yahoo Sunnyvale campus and terminate west/northwesterly near NASA Ames. No more downtown SJC, no more stubby SJ skyline, no approaching flights over Sunnyvale (thus no NIMBY sentiments), and a quality international airport to serve San Jose and Silicon Valley (watch out SFO!)…a win, win all around!
Again, the planning should start now!
Chuck sounded like a cheap version of Cassandra in the article about Chris Constantin. Well, for Chris and Chuck, it is time for the Greek Theatre at the Mission City Lantern to produce a new performance of Aeschylus’ tragedies.
SJ constantly crows that it’s the 10th largest US city. We have an alleged newspaper here—The Murky News. Saturday’s edition devoted OVER TWENTY FOUR COLUMN INCHES to a story about a Saratoga couple’s kidnapped dog!!!! That’s a real big city newspaper story. And people wonder why we get no respect.
#2—would it still be called the Norman Why Mineta?? Int’l airport?
#3—Chuck is definitely not ready for prime time—the Little Saigon debacle that he let fester for weeks, and now the Constatin deal he couldn’t recognize as a problem.
Will his re-election campaign opponent’s slogan be : well, duh?
SJC airport at Moffett! Great idea!
Then 17 Express can end at Moffett or Mtn. View instead of Didiron Station.
Without San Jose Airport there’s no reason for anyone to visit San Jose. Nearly all hi-tech business is located north of San Jose in Santa Clara, Mtn. View, Sunnyvale, Cupertino or PA. Now there are plenty of fancy hotels along 101 north of town. San Jose is mostly middle and lower class, the big shots live up in the hills or Atherton.
Sure, shut downtown SJC so a few with big egos can build their high rises, waiting for the Big One to tumble them down or be red-tagged.
It’s a great idea to have a jetport close to wildlife sanctuaries with plenty of birds to suck up the intake pipe.
PGP
How stupid can businesses, the government, and people be? This is all over the news. Every media is screaming pandemic and rapid contagion, but let us keep flying folks to Mexico and back to the US. My God how dumb can you be?
Airport officials in San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland added that none of their flights to and from Mexico had been disrupted by the illness.
http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_12229025
#4,
Was that English or blaberrish? Other than the anti-SJ idiocy, what exactly is wrong with Moffet airport concept? It’s not as if Bay Area airports don’t already exist near a body of water/wildlife sanctuaries. And Moffet has been in existence now for how long? SJC flights over the salt marshes of the south bay for how long now? Enough said.
7 – Perhaps public health experts are a bit more knowledgeable about this than you or I?
8 – Doesn’t really matter if it is a good or bad idea, it has virtually no chance of happening. It’s not just up to San Jose—there are other cities that would be involved and they have not been open to the idea. Not to mention the Feds would have to weigh in as well.
There’s no way anyone would be able to get environmental approval to build a new runway anywhere near the bay. Increasing jet traffic to the existing Moffett runways is a non-starter account Sunnyvale NIMBYs who shut down talk of moving cargo traffic to Moffett a while back. Add to that all of the investment in the new SJC terminal and parking garages at SJC and moving SJC to moffett is a non-starter. SJC is fine where it is.
11 – I’ll take public health officials over you any day. At least they know what they are talking about when it comes to a potential health crisis. You, on the other hand, appear to have no expertise except to trash every government agency regardless of whether or not you know anything about it.
Moffett Field has two advantages over the current airport.
a.) it’s on the light rail
b.) the blimp hanger would make an awesome terminal
#10
SJC is fine where it is
One of the stupidest things posted yet on SJI.
Just Wondering,
I will freely admit that I’m pretty ignorant in the matter of viruses and epidemics.
However, if confronted with a decision between following a recommendation from some bureaucracy that I think is at least partially motivated by political concerns, or trusting my own judgement, I’ll trust myself, thanks.
There may well be many brilliant people in our Government agencies. But when politics is the primary concern, the agency isn’t nearly as brilliant as the sum of it’s parts.
#9- Just Wondering,(I like your name!)
I can tell you that our country is never properly prepared for disaster. If they were, people who survived Katrina would not STILL not be homeless, nor would we have become so incapacitated when phone lines went down recently. Allowing people to travel and spread disease to other states, and countries is just plain irresponsible, as many have already died from this flu.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-27-flu-global_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-04-27-flu-united-states-who_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30398682/?GT1=43001
Am I the only person who is concerned that The Homeland Security Dept. has become the lead agency in the fed. govt. holding press conferences re swine flu for CNN to cover?
This is an issue on which the CDC should be the lead agency, not HS.Swine flu is no more a homeland security issue that are the annual “regular flu” outbreaks that kill thousands of folks each year in the USA alone.
It’s a HUGE power grab by Homeland Security that smacks of a belated 1984 type power grab by the militaristic side of our govt. Ms. Napolitano will probably go to Congress for additional funding to further bloat her dept.
But when the swine flu media-induced panic is all over, will HS shrink? No way, Jose!
#11 – Why exclude these:
– Islamofacism
– War on Terror
– Security Alert Color Scale
We’ve just been relieved of the most fear-mongering administration in US History. Light Brown Apple Moth? Are you kidding me?
No JMO, you are NOT alone! I just received this and thought I’d share it with you.
Dear CADRE members:
As you know from today’s media reports, swine flu cases are spreading across the nation and this morning’s San Jose Mercury News reported that the U.S. has declared a public health emergency yesterday.
HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW RIGHT NOW from Santa Clara County Public Health Department:
Swine Flu Update – April 27, 2009 at 2 pm
Local Situation
At this time there are no reported cases in Santa Clara County. It is the role of the Santa Clara County Public Health Department to inform the public, medical community and other local agencies about a potential health emergency, and the current outbreak of swine flu poses a potential risk to the residents of this community.
We know people are concerned about swine flu situation and we share that concern. At this early stage of this outbreak, there is a lot of uncertainty and the situation remains very fluid.
National Situation
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated the number of now 41 confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States:
California: eight (8) confirmed cases
Kansas two (2) confirmed cases
New York City, 28 confirmed cases
Ohio, one (1) confirmed case
Texas, two (2) confirmed cases
At this time, the cases in the United State have had mild symptoms, with the exception of one case that was hospitalized. All of these people have or are recovering.
On Sunday, April 26th, the US Department of Health declared a national Public Health Emergency. This means they have the ability to release resources, including the national stockpile of Tamiflu and Relenza for treatment of confirmed swine flu cases. The US Department of Health emphasized that this declaration should be viewed as an early preparedness alert so that local jurisdictions and states can review their plans and put early preparedness efforts in place.
Currently, there are no travel restrictions to or from Mexico but it is anticipated that within the next 24 hour this will change and travel to and from Mexico will be restricted.
California Situation
The eight (8) California cases are located in California:
Five (5) in San Diego County
Two (2 ) in Imperial County
One (1) in Sacramento County
All local California Public Health Departments are conducting active surveillance and continue to remain in communication with each other and the California Department of Public Health. Because of the release of the national stockpile of Tamiflu, California will be receiving 25% of our 5 million courses of treatment, which means 1.25 million courses.
International Situation
The international situation remains fluid. Currently, three nations have confirmed cases of swine flu: Mexico, Canada and the United States. Nations from New Zealand to Spain have also reported suspected cases. The numbers being reported for the situation in Mexico range from 943 to 1,300 swine flu cases, with anywhere from 20 possible deaths due to swine flu to 71 possible deaths.
Next Steps
With the growing concern about this situation, the Public Health Department is taking the following actions this week.
Increase Active Surveillance by placing Public Health Department nurses at all Santa Clara County hospitals to assist the infection control staff and report findings quickly to the Public Health Department. We will also develop recommendations and guidance for SCC school districts and the San Jose International Airport specifically, and work with the Mexican Consulate to provide information to the farm worker community and others that may particularly at-risk.
Additionally, the Public Health Laboratory will continue to accept specimens and conduct preliminary tests on these specimens.
In the area of Public Information, we will continue to provide information to members of the news media and general.
For regular updates about the swine flu situation and instructions and checklists for preparing for an influenza emergency please visit the Public Health Departments web site at http://www.sccphd.org
For more information about swine flu, visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine
For information in Spanish, visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/espanol/swine_espanol.htm
CADRE UPDATE:
In recognition that we should try to be as prepared as we can be, we would like to share the following Pan Flu public education materials with you.
Included as attachments are the following documents and suggested uses:
1) Swine Flu FAQ
2) Pan Flu guidance document and various posters (cover your cough/wash your hands/limit spread of germs)
3) Pan Flu Fact Sheet and SCCO Health Officer’s Q&A
The above documents can/should be printed and shared with both staff/volunteers and clients/consumers. We encourage you to post these materials in your community areas (restroom stalls are one great place to educate people with this material with what we call the “potty posters” concept…)
We will continue to update you as we get direction and info that would be pertinent to share with our cbo partners and CADRE member agencies.
Take care.
Anna Swardenski
No new runways near the salt pans? Why? It wouldn’t be SFO building runways smack middle in the bay. As for Sunny vale NIMBYs, Moffet has been their a lot longer than they have. New terminals at SJC? Again, we’re talking 20 years out, not tomorrow. Heck, most of today’s NIMBYs won’t be around by then, so that’s one problem solved. 10 mhz days, you’re right on with the blimp hangar/terminal idea!
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m pleased as punch with the recent SCC Superior Court decision regarding the Santa Clara Valley Water District. It seems that the District has been hosing (pun intended) us with a water extraction fee since the mid-90’s.
Per the judge, voters were never allowed to vote on the fee, which is in violation of Proposition 218. Last year, the fee amounted to $72 million, 20% of the District’s revenue. No wonder they’ve been able to lavish their executives with salaries and benefits befitting royalty. And no wonder they’ve been able to increase their headcount to obscene levels. Maybe this ruling will choke off the embarrassing waste that’s been in the press these last few years.
Kathleen #7,
Medflies.
Bird Flu.
Hurricane Katrina.
Light Brown Apple Moth.
Glassywinged Sharpshooter.
Mortgage Meltdown.
West Nile Virus.
And now it’s the dreaded Swine Flu.
The bureaucrats that people our Government agencies LOVE it when they have an excuse to panic the people. This time it’s the revered “public health officials” who will take center stage and convince concerned looking reporters just how indispensible their expertise is in guiding us through this perilous time. Of course, they won’t actually DO anything that makes a real difference. They’ll make a lot of noise, get some publicity, and when the whole “crisis” inevitably blows over, we’ll be permanently saddled with one more Government agency that’s bigger and more bloated, more deeply entrenched and costs us more than it needs to.
As for the swine flu issue, I’m not over-reacting:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04282009/postopinion/opedcolumnists/pig_flu_fears_only_feed_the_problem_166504.htm
Despite rumors of Mayor Chuck Reed being asked to remain at the Compound while his possible contagious state is evaluated, we would like to note that we believe the Mayor is free from contagion. Though rumors persist that Reed resists examination for fear of the alien tale appendage being discovered, we have no evidence of the Mayor’s condition other than continued melancholia and a desire for mayo.
NT 22,
I LIKE IT! We need more out of the box thinking like that over here. I would suggest that the current investment in SJC could in the future be adaptively reused: shopping center, housing, education facility. Again, great idea.
Nam Turk’s post #22 does not make sense. He talks about a proposed “second” SJC runway “parallel to Coleman” to move the SJC approach “over Santa Clara office parks.”
Since SJC currently has three runways, is Turk proposing building a fourth? Look at the SJC diagram:
http://flightaware.com/resources/airport/KSJC/map
You’ll see that all three runways are roughly parallel, and about 20 degrees offset from Coleman. Where is this wonderful new runway supposed to be located? West of Coleman?
Then he starts going on about a cross runway, ignoring the fact that SJC’s current runways are oriented the way they are to take advantage of prevailing winds. Assuming you had the money, where would you place a cross runway, taking into account the fact that it would have to be at least 8000 feet long to be even remotely useful? Add to that length extra space as a safety “overrun area.”
There’s no cost effective way to expand SJC’s runway system. You could extend runway 11/29 a bit, but that’s about it.
Pedant 26: I meant that the new runway would be in a second alignment, not parallel to those existing. Regular approaches would be from the northwest where there is low residential. Rare takeoffs in rough conditions (the current restricting factor) would be aimed away from the downtown core.
As for the prevailing winds, so what? Does every airport in the world operate according to the wind? These are jets we’re talking about; they are not gliders. Severe storms aside, I doubt that’s a deal breaker.
And what of the space? My whole idea was based on acquiring new land, not jamming something into the existing space. Yes, I know that’s expensive, hence “cheapest” in quotation marks. It would, however, be a way of utilizing new improvements to SJC while appeasing those who don’t like planes over downtown and the limitations that come with.
P.S. If you’re going to engage in debate with someone, talk to them and not about them. You just look arrogant with that “he says this” bullshit.
Regarding SJC, the “cheapest” solution may be to build a second runway parallel to Coleman and bring landing approaches over Santa Clara office parks (low NIMBY factor). Many airport have runways that cross; these would potentially intersect at the southern end near Coleman/880/87. The big issue, of course, would be acquiring land in a neighboring municipality. However, I believe part of the airport already crosses city limits. The recent investments in SJC mean we’re there for the long term, so we have to make do.
Citizens / SJI waste time talking about trivia ( grand prix, downtown events, Sharks, theater, – “bread and circuses” while important issues are`ignored
“Civic Leaders” and city government are more interested in their own self interests and enrichment than public interest and believe their own lies rather than change what does not work
Public is lied to again and again and told everything is great – we are` #1, we are capital of _____, the future will be better, things will improve just ignore last 20-30 of public leadership failure and billions in wasted taxes just pay more taxes for less while ignoring clear signs coming disaster year after year
City is afraid to do accurate comparisons with other cities while picking comparisons that make our city look good so the public believes lies
Airports are and should be designed to allow aircraft to land and take off into the wind as much as possible. The runways at SJC allow for this. If you don’t want to take my word for why it’s a good idea, here’s a good explanation from the folks at NASA: http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/design/tutorial/tutorial2.html
“Airplanes take off and land more efficiently when oriented into the wind. To maximize the airplane’s potential to achieve the greatest lift in the shortest amount of distance and time during takeoff, airplanes should be pointed into the wind. By landing into the wind the ground speed is minimized. This allows the pilot more time to make the adjustments necessary for a smooth touchdown. Ground speed is a combination of airspeed (the speed provided by the propulsion system’s thrust minus some drag) plus wind speed. Therefore if an airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing with a wind that has a speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 120 mph (100 mph + 20 mph = 120 mph). Conversely, if the airplane with an airspeed of 100 mph is landing into the wind with a wind speed of 20 mph then the actual ground speed of the airplane is 80 mph (100 mph – 20 mph = 80 mph). This is helpful to the pilot as the pilot attempts to stall the airplane just above the runway for a smooth landing.”
Acquiring new land around SJC for a cross runway that’s not needed is a non-starter. Even if it were a good idea, you’re not going to convince anyone that the costs and disruption are worth it.
I just read all the propositions and mailed in my completed absentee ballot. It seems that all but the last were little more than robbing Peter to pay Paul. Budget reform? What budget reform?
JMoC has a point, the upcoming special election is a crock. I’m voting “no” on everything except the one about reducing legislator’s salaries.
29: The layout I proposed does not even suggest a 45-degree turn of the runway. Checking weather.com right now, the wind is 10MPH from the northwest, the orientation I stated. I don’t think it would be a huge change, unless wind is currently so precise now.
I am voting no on everyone except the one that raises the lottery prizes. I might get lucky and win, so I want/need/desire/expect the biggest return on my investment.
An airport in Hollister makes no money. It’s not just the South Bay’s airport.
#35
Who cares if it makes any money. Learn how to think!!!!
Using the 1000 acres currently wasted on SJI in a more intelligent manner will produce hundreds, if not thousands, of times the economic revenue as compared to SJI.
In so far as travelers coming to San Jose, and the South Bay, they will still come here irrespective of whether the airport is in San Francisco or Hollister.
Nam Turk,
SJI has to go. Adding another runway makes no sense. We need to start screaming for it to be moved to Hollister. Now. Not later.
This airport is an albatross around San Jose’s neck, and it has to go. Airports and human habitation are incompatible.
Enough already with the nonsense. It just provides ammunition to the wing-nuts who support SJI.
Nam Turk,
Respectfully, just what IS the point of this hypothetical 2nd runway? Is it to get around the curfew?
Hope everyone enjoys the Cinco de Mayo the city is spending millions on this coming weekend since our 4th of July celebration costing a fraction of that has been canceled. What the hell are our city leaders thinking? This is total bs.
#34
Do you know if there is really any type of formal effort (exploratory or otherwise) going on to move the SJ airport?
Tina (under the flight path)
It is SJC, not SJI. It is also not moving to Hollister.
37: I don’t see a great need for such a venture, but the idea was spurred by complaints of planes flying over downtown, making noise and limiting height in our city’s core. A second runway would bring planes along a route less populated or potentially tall. I’m more brainstorming than lobbying.
38 – What millions are you talking about? The paper indicated there are no city funds involved.
#43
Yes. I agree. Nam Turk is a good guy and usually makes an intelligent contribution to any discussion. See his comments on the nonsensical porn filters in libraries. However, I get upset when people, even by accident, say things that are not true, or make no sense, and his statement implying that SJC somehow contributes to the economic vitality of this area falls into those categories.
While it is true the rental car companies, junk trinket, and junk food vendors at SJC contribute a few dollars to the economy, using the 1000 acres occupied by SJC in a more intelligent manner will dwarf the airport’s pitiful economic contribution. As mentioned, travelers coming to this area are not coming here because of the location of SJC. They are coming here for other reasons, and they will still come, and spend the same amount of money, whether they land at San Francisco, or Hollister.
Let’s all stop believing the nonsense from SJC supporters, and put an end to this albatross. We have the potential to make San Jose a great city, but as long as the airport is here we are doomed. And, Chuck, it does not matter how many people are living in San Jose. As long as SJC is here, we are stymied in creating a decent living environment for our residents.
They just built a 325 foot long pedestrain/bicycle bridge over I280 in Cupertino. It cost $15 MILLION! $15 MILLION for a 325 foot long bridge? Surely it’s at least 325 yards. 325 feet is .061 miles. That means the bridge cost $243.2 MILLION PER MILE to construct. In a recession? And VTA paid for most of it? Let’s see, VTA has the lowest percentage of operating costs from the fare box of any public transit system in North America, and they spend $243 million per mile for people NOT to use their busses and trolleys? Great! Fire the lot of them!
42—“the paper” neglected to inform you that the GI Forum owed the city hundreds of thousands of dollars for police @ 5 Mayo over several years. They renegotiated the deal, and I think the city ultimately forgave it all. But it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. What the curent deal is, I don’t know, but I seriously doubt the GI Forum can pay the cost of it.
So many crisises. Crisi? Crise’s?
I’m concerned with all the excessive handwashing going on in response to the Pig Flu Crisis and how it squares with our conservation efforts in the face of the Water Crisis.
With these concerns in mind, I’m urging our City Council to enact an emergency ordinance that would require all handwashing to be done using bottled water only.
This would have the added benefit of curing people of the economy-killing habit of saving their money, as they’d be forced to buy a lot of water, thus helping to solve the Economic Crisis.
Also, the City could impose a fine on anyone caught using tapwater to wash their hands and the added revenue would help to solve our Budget Crisis.
Hey! This thinking outside the box is fun!
Oh, to be a Bureaucrat and actually be PAID for coming up with this kind of crap!
I’m sorry all, but I started all the talk about relocating SJC in the future ; my idea was a new approach runway at a future Moffet airport (to appease Sunnyvale Nimbys). NT came back with an alternative idea of a new approach runway at the current SJC site. So lay off the guy. It’s just citizens thinking outside the box for the future of our city/county. Yes, both ideas stem for the yearning of our downtown reaching its full high-rise potential and (in the case of my idea) better utilizing both Moffet Field and the current SJC site. Anyhow, enough with this already.
The city has forgave millions of dollars the GI forum defaulated on repaying for the cost of prior Cinco de Mayo. The true cost, however, comes after the sanctioned Cinco de Mayo events when the trouble makers screw it up for everybody. The city gets stuck with a big bill. If we can’t afford our 4th of July celebration which should take priority, we sure shouldn’t pay for Cinco de Mayo and it should be canceled first. It is an insult to our country to cancel the 4th and keep Cinco de Mayo.
#49-Steve,
“Police made 15 felony and 22 misdemeanor arrests as of 3 a.m. Sunday, officer Jose Garcia said, and none at the parade or festival.” Did the people sponsoring this event pay for Police coverage of their festival, or did the city? Hum?
Did you know the Police are to blame because not many Latino’s turned out to attend this event, and that all these arrests aren’t the fault of the troublemakers it’s the fault of the Police too, according to this intellectual giant,
“He blamed the Latino community’s oft-frayed relationship with police, a rift that has grown wider after a Mercury News analysis showed that a disproportionate percentage of misdemeanor arrests involve Latinos.
“People are staying away because of that,” he said. “People are scared.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12285816