This weekend I had a garage sale, which was an enlightening experience for me in more ways than one. Well, maybe enlightening isn’t the best use of words, but it was interesting to say the least. The whole concept of the garage sale is really a strange one when you take the time to think about it. OK, so let me see: I will take all my unwanted junk, used clothes and useless things and lay it all out on my grass so that others can come, rummage through it, and buy items for a fraction of their original cost.

This past week was an unusually (or maybe not so unusually) busy week for the HP Pavilion as they hosted two Sharks games, two concerts and a football game, all in the space of a few days. Not only did the staff and crew who change over the arena work some serious overtime last week, but the whole downtown benefitted from HP Pavilion being one of the busiest venues in the country.

As I travel to new places, I always compare them to San Jose.  I spent the weekend in San Diego and noticed that the dynamics of that city are so different from what we have here. There, the beach towns and entertainment scene in Pacific Beach cater to a college-aged crowd and have become overrun with young kids, many of them troublemakers. On the other hand, downtown San Diego is chic, popular, classy and has an entirely different feel to it. People are dressed up in suits and dresses. Clubs have heavy cover charges and $350-per-table bottle service. The big money brings a different clientele and a much different feel.

The news that four men (including a former Bellarmine student and current freshman football coach) have been arrested for the murder of Los Gatos businessman Mark Achilli shows that though we live in a safe area, something pulled right out of a Hollywood movie can and did happen in our backyard.

I recently read that a Hudson, Kansas judge ordered a man, who had admitted to molesting a boy, to post signs around his house and to put a decal on his car—for the duration of his five years of probation and house arrest—proclaiming that he is a sex offender. My first reaction was: Why shouldn’t we know what he did? Then more questions came up, including: How much do we have the right to know about our neighbors?

This past week, I was saddened to read about the tragic deaths of two competitive bicyclists in the horrible accident involving a deputy from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department. The young deputy’s life will never be the same, as he will have to live with the consequences and, probably worse, his own memories of this tragedy.

With the recent ruling that all California homeschool teachers need to have teaching credentials, the debate that rages on about homeschooling in general will get even more heated than ever before. Many people are happy that this new mandate has come down from the state. It will affect San Jose citizens because there are charter school and homeschooling groups in this area that have had their world turned upside down.

As I have watched the controversy over the naming of the Story Road business district unfold over the past few months, it has brought up many interesting issues about cultural sensitivities, political correctness, memories and what names can mean and represent. At first, as I watched this firestorm brew, it reminded me of the Fallon statue and the controversy that erupted over a symbol of what some called American imperialism and others called a piece of history. But in this case, it is a name that has lit a fire under many Vietnamese residents—so much so that I can’t remember any other issue in our city that has been this heated for a long time.

Last week, I was fortunate to go to Hawaii with some other single gals and spend some time on the island of Oahu. As part of our trip, we were able to spend a few days enjoying the Outrigger Canoe Club right outside of downtown Waikiki. The Outrigger has an indoor gym, a private beach, a restaurant and volleyball courts among their amenities—kind of like a country club on the beach.

I understand that being in the public eye makes you a target, but the news that Sam Liccardo’s former intern, Eric Hernandez, was arrested for hacking into the City Hall e-mail system still caught me by surprise. However, as I read the story, it was clear that something just didn’t add up. Why would an 18-year-old be so angry with his former boss—Liccardo Chief of Staff Jessica Garcia-Kohl—that he would intend to hurt her and expose her relationship with Sam Liccardo? Just because she denied him access to a few rooms? Why would that make Hernandez fly off the handle? That doesn’t seem logical.

So Super Tuesday came and went, and are we any closer to knowing who might run against John McCain in the presidential election? I have watched the analysts take apart the data and put it back together every which way they can. I have read all the articles and seen interviews with both Obama and Clinton vowing to forge ahead. All signs are pointing to the fact that this election is far from over and, in reality, has only just begun. The real question is: was there really a point to voting in the primary? 

Today is the presidential primary. Hope is in the air that change can be made and things will be better with a new president. Optimism and inspiration have never been higher for me than with the candidacy of Barack Obama. He has inspired me in a way that most politicians never have, and it seems young people in our country and city have been energized by him as well.

Our conversation about parcel taxes and schools last week leads me to another important question: Is a private school education better than a public school one in San Jose?  Many people talk about the schools in this city as not being good enough for their kids; therefore, they send them to private schools where they pay thousands of dollars a year for their education. But is the actual education itself a better one? If not, then what are they really paying for? One argument would be to say that they are paying to be in a school where education is a priority and where you get to be with like-minded people who feel the same way. Is that enough?

I can’t drive by a San Jose Unified School, especially those located downtown, without frustrations, questions and concerns. We live in an area where we have the confluence of high-tech and some of the smartest minds in the world, yet our school system in San Jose boasts poor facilities, program cuts and low test scores. This year especially, we have seen regime changes at the county and politics at the top of the food chain in the district; but are the kids and teachers getting the funding and the money they need to improve the educational system in San Jose?

Is it me, or does it seem that all good, big ideas in this City are here today, gone tomorrow?  I think so many good ideas fizzle in San Jose, and I really want to know why.

A music hall was once on the forefront of the city council agenda and there were debates in both the council and supervisors chambers on whether to build it downtown or at the county fairgrounds, and then: nothing.  It was a great idea but it seemed to vanish into thin air. House of Blues was pumped-up for a time and never materialized. We are all still waiting for another music venue.

As I am making my own resolutions to lose weight, hit the gym more often and eat less carbs, I think that the San Jose City Council should make a few resolutions of their own in 2008. Here are some ways they could really improve our city this year.