As morale continues to sink and police officers resign or retire from the San Jose Police Department in record numbers, the Police Officers Association‘s board of directors could call for a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Chris Moore. City Manager Debra Figone sent an email in support of Moore on Thursday to the City Council, Mayor Chuck Reed, Independent Police Auditor LaDoris Cordell, City Attorney Rich Doyle and two members Figone’s staff, David Vossbrink and Ed Shikada.
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Business
Every Dollar Counts in District 10
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Edesa Bitbadal finished third in the District 10 San Jose City Council primary, just 90 votes short of second place and a spot in the November runoff. That race will feature Johnny Khamis and Robert Braunstein. But a look at how Bitbadal spent money, and how those who opposed her spent their money, paints an interesting picture.
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Herrera Camp Collects, Spends Most Money
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Culture
Chu Campaign Bought Lots of Food, Drinks
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Semi-annual campaign disclosure documents show that San Jose Councilmember Kansen Chu spent a total of $123,786.19 for his District 4 primary race against San Jose police detective Tam Truong. Chu won the race with more than 54 percent of the vote. But a closer look at Chu’s expenditures show the councilmember had an unusual amount of dining entires in the final weeks of his campaign.
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Library Initiative Mistake Highlights First Rules Committee Agenda
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And we’re back! The Rules Committee gets to business Wednesday after a six-week layoff, and among the items on the docket are the city clerk’s library initiative gaffe, a push for less transparency regarding election swag, a review of public officials’ calendars and a City Hall gadfly offering his services to lead a department.
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Rosen Cries Foul at 3 Strikes Law
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Business
Administrator Signs off on Casino M8trix
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UPDATE: San Jose Police Chief Chris Moore conducted a public hearing Monday morning at CityHall, but no immediate approval was given to Casino M8trix’s permit request. The casino will be allowed to open once it meets the conditions set forth by administrator Richard Teng, of the SJPD Division of Gaming Control. Casino operators were given the opportunity to speak at the hearing but declined.
Richard Teng, the San Jose Police Department’s administrator for the Division of Gaming Control, gave a new glimpse into the fight between Casino M8trix and the police Friday, when he sent out a memo recommending that Casino M8trix be allowed to open its doors if eight recommendations are met. Police Chief Chris Moore will hold a permit hearing at 10am Monday at City Hall to consider Teng’s report and decide if Casino M8trix can open.
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DA’s Office Won’t Retry Lynch; Priest Perjury Charge Still Possible
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The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that it will not re-file a misdemeanor assault charge against William Lynch. Last week a jury acquitted Lynch of felony assault and hung on a misdemeanor charge. Lynch attacked Father Jerold Lindner in 2010, decades after the priest molested Lynch as a child. The DA’s office says it is “evaluating the obstacles to filing a perjury charge against Lindner,” who testified at the trial that he never molested Lynch.
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Bitbadal Weighs Recount Request
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Edesa Bitbadal says she has not decided if she will ask for a recount of the primary results for San Jose’s District 10 City Council seat. However, Bitbadal, a San Jose planning commissioner, did say several community leaders in Almaden have contacted her to do so and she will weigh her options this weekend. The deadline is Tuesday.
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Compromise Could Pave Way for Casino M8trix Opening July 20
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UPDATE: When will Casino M8trix open? Maybe as soon as July 20. City officials say they are cautiously optimistic Police Chief Chris Moore will grant the casino its necessary permits at a hearing July 19, because the card room owners have relented and agreed to open the first floor only while continuing negotiations on how top floor gaming will be managed. But casino owner Eric Swallow says the city never contacted him about such an arrangement.
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County Fights 49ers over RDA Money
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Business
Downtown Businesses Want Security Patrol
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Business
County Wants to Set RDA Record Straight!!!
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Politics
False Information from City Officials Kills Save San Jose Libraries Initiative
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In one of the biggest blunders in recent local politics, city officials admitted this week that they provided false information to organizers of the Save San Jose Libraries initiative regarding the number of signatures needed to place a measure on the November ballot. As a result, the initiative—an effort that has been in the works for more than year—is unlikely to make it to voters.
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Measure B Goes to Court Again
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The legal battle everyone expected over Measure B’s passage began Wednesday, as the city filed for a federal judicial review (a.k.a. “declatory relief”) and attorneys representing police and firefighters unions filed two lawsuits in state court. All of this will take months, if not years, to resolve, so we’ll focus on some of the more interesting commentary surrounding the legal battle.
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City Changes Policy on Homeless Camps
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A slap shot from HP Pavilion, through Guadalupe Park and into the neighboring creek bed, a rooster makes its home. He lives among shopping carts, deflated tire tubes and toilet paper rolls, empty beer cans and coolers, a Negro Modelo sign lodged in the fresh mud and a half-dozen people who spend their nights sleeping in tents. Karen Ellfson is one of these people. She lives here with her husband. At 30 years old, a month shy of her next birthday, the Morgan Hill native knows that in two weeks she’ll need to find a new home. She’s one of several dozen homeless people with targets on their backs.
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