I spent the weekend in “The City” (you know, the other one, San Francisco), much to the surprise of my friends who call the “Foggy City” home.  Some were ready to disown me because it has been about six months since I last made my way up 101 to spend some time there. I had to stop and think about why that was and all I could think of was: It’s a gigantic pain. 

Ok, I know this topic has been discussed before, and sometimes it takes a while for me to get certain things through my thick skull, but how hard is it to complete the Guadalupe River Park Trail?  I mean, this isn’t the transcontinental railroad we’re talking about here, though I think that may have been built and completed faster than the few miles of trails we need in San Jose.

As I was watching the Sharks lose another game to the Detroit Red Wings this weekend, I thought about the feelings of disappointment, lack of confidence and heartbreak that San Jose’s only sports team is putting us through for another year in a row. Then I thought about how those athletes must feel?  Do they take it as hard as we do?  Is a sweet victory greater for them than for us? And, in turn, is a horrible defeat, like the one on Saturday (and Wednesday for that matter), worse for them or for us? 

Well, we’ve really made the big time now: Oprah!  The words “San Jose” actually graced her lips as the best place for a single gal to meet men.  Now, before you all rant and rave about how superficial I am or that there must be 1,000 things wrong with me and that is why I am still single, let’s talk about where all the throngs of single men are really hiding—unless they are just hiding from me.

The debate over the San Jose Flea Market is a microcosm of our city and society as a whole. One side represents an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality that can be good for the city. The other side offers a realistic criticism of our inability to preserve anything that could be deemed historical or part of the fabric of our culture.  Though I do see merit on both sides of the argument, I support the development of the land around the flea market and think it could be a great thing for our city. 

Though some of you think that I loathe the yuppie culture of Willow Glen, it really is a beautiful area and I realize that residents pay an arm and a leg to live there and maintain their million-dollar homes. I recently drove to Willow Glen for dinner at a friend’s house with two of the aforementioned yuppies (on their home turf no less). As I drove past Willow Glen Elementary, I thought how sad it was that most people who live in those expensive homes don’t send their kids to the local public school, putting them into private schools instead. 

The recent news about Lew Wolff and his “secret” plans to bring an Earthquakes stadium to San Jose while converting industrial land to homes in South San Jose to help fund the project, has brought up a whole array of questions from the public about Chuck Reed’s administration and their promise of “open government.”

I was fascinated to read in the Mercury News on Monday about the Willow Glen house that was deemed a “junkyard” and how the owners are being taken to court on charges of “blight.” When I read it was in Willow Glen, I wondered if this house was really as bad as it was made out to be, or if it was the work of the Willow Glenites—the same ones that put their PierreLuigi signs in the exact same spot on their lawns a la The Stepford Wives. Would this be happening in any other neighborhood in San Jose?

I always feel like we are so lucky to have events like Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8 in our town. However, it’s interesting to note that as each event comes and goes, there are those who love every minute and naysayers who react negatively about our city as a result.

I thought I would take the discussion up a notch to the national level and talk about Barack Obama. He is really taking the country by storm, and it’s beyond refreshing to see. When is the last time you remember someone exciting the country like this?

This past weekend, I took a trip with some girlfriends to the one and only “Sin City.” After getting up from a blackjack table, thinking about the $200 I essentially spent on three drinks, I had a few thoughts about if San Jose was more like Las Vegas.

So many things interest me in the District 6 election that is taking place today in San Jose.  First of all, as you are reading this, many people will have already voted for their candidate, as the absentee balloting is projected to be higher than ever. (Are we getting lazier or does no one get satisfaction from dropping their ballot in a box anymore?)

With all the negativity of Mardi Gras and the way it was handled in the city, I thought I would give you a positive view: how I actually spent my Mardi Gras.

While most professionals were scared away from downtown (for good reason), my friend talked me into grabbing dinner at the Poor House Bistro on Autumn Street.  Being that it is a New Orleans-style restaurant, we thought they would probably celebrate the holiday the authentic way—and we were spot on with that assessment.

The San Jose Mercury News editorial and article on Sunday about the state of our downtown brought up more issues that will inspire further debate about what kind of downtown we all want.

The main issue of the article was the policing of downtown—something we have discussed at great length on San Jose Inside—which doesn’t have a simple solution.  But, the money the city is spending on police being downtown is not just the city’s responsibility. Those that cause the conditions that warrant extra policemen should definitely bear some of the financial responsibility for it. Fly-by-night promoters and nightclub owners would think twice about opening a sleazy club for a quick buck if they knew they had to shell out some money from their own pockets for police protection of those exposed to their clubs and patrons. It is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.

Don’t worry, this article is not going to be about our purpose on earth or any existential crisis I may be having; but, rather, about when it comes to politicians and the voting process, what really matters.

When we think about our city, we often think about the big-ticket items that make a huge impact.  We are always talking about ways to enrich San Jose with more, more, and more! This includes building BART, baseball stadiums, funding large scale developments and adding retail shopping.  But it seems that when we do that—which is important—smaller projects that are also important to some citizens fall through the cracks.