Well, the news of “Cheapskate Chuck” Reed just keeps getting better, doesn’t it?  But I feel that his cheapness, frugalness, or whatever you want to call it, is getting blown out of proportion a bit.  Are we splitting hairs or do his questionable moves regarding reimbursements really mean as much as people are making them out to be?

When I checked my mail the other day, amidst the Pennysaver and Victoria Secret catalogs I found a personal letter from the one and only Cindy Chavez in my mailbox!  Imagine my surprise and delight when I thought of how important I must be to the Chavez campaign that she would take the time to write me to tell “her side of the story.”

I want to take this time to salute a brave soul, the owner of Chic Chateau, one of the only retail clothing stores in all of downtown.  So much has been said about how retail cannot survive downtown—because there aren’t enough people or there isn’t enough money or enough parking—that we need to keep an eye on how Chic Chateau is doing to see if they can prove the naysayers wrong.  Geared toward the 20- to 30-something woman, the boutique will be a barometer of how retail will do in our downtown now and in the future. 

Have you ever heard the expression that someone “looks good on paper?”  When it comes to our current, soon-to-be-official lame-duck mayor, Ron Gonzales, he looked quite good on paper when he first started his career as a politician.  He served in the private sector working with schools; he was a smart businessman, a devoted husband, well-educated and the first Hispanic mayor in San Jose since 1850.  But, after years in office, his career and life have taken a turn and he is now one of those politicians that look very bad on paper. Hmmm, let’s see—censured by the city council, arrested and charged with felonies, an affair with his 25-year-old intern and, now, a laughing stock.  Need I kick the guy more while he’s down?

Just as our discussion about the possible public bailout of the Rep Theater was catching steam, it appears other arts groups in the city realized that this may be their chance to catch a break and get some help themselves.  The discussion about what organizations and businesses are eligible for public funds each year, and which ones are not, needs to continue here and at City Hall.  If the city continues to pour money into arts groups and public events that they feel add to our quality of life, but who don’t have solid business plans and only hope to be successful on their own some day, we could repeat the fate of the San Jose Symphony.

The news this weekend, that the San Jose Repertory Theatre is looking for a $1 million bailout, brings up a lot of issues for debate and questions that need to be answered.  Is the city constantly putting money into things that they don’t monitor?  Why the shock and surprise of the city council on the financial problems of the theatre, one of the premier performing companies in the country? Has there really not been any improvement in communications with and within City Hall? Norcal redux, anyone?

All the talk here on the site last week about a write-in campaign got me thinking (I know, don’t hurt yourself Single Gal): Could a write-in campaign really work for the election in November?  Would it really be possible to write in a candidate (like Pandori) and hope that enough people who wasted their votes on Mulcahy would vote that way on Election Day?  Call me crazy (which many of you have and will continue to do), but I really think it’s not as far-fetched as it seems.

Recently a new shopping mall, San Jose Market Center, opened up right outside of downtown on Coleman Ave and Taylor Street. It boasts retail giants such as Target, PetSmart, Office Depot and Cost Plus, while also offering services such as nails, tanning and even dentistry.  But the interesting thing is now that restaurants are popping up in the Market Center (Panera Bread, Red Brick Pizza, and soon Unamas and Chili’s), people are leaving downtown for the ease and the convenience of the mini-mall.  Is the death toll sounding once again for downtown?

Because it’s summer and heat waves make me insane, I have been spending a lot of time in our lost-in-the-60s sister town to the south, Santa Cruz.  The more time I spend in the little-beach-town-that-could, the more I realize what we’re missing in San Jose.

I know that the subjects of professional sports franchises, music halls, retail and housing have all been discussed on this blog at length as a few things San Jose is missing.  We all agree that San Jose has the amazing potential to be a great city or no one would waste their time talking about it, but my question is: What do we really need in San Jose?

All the talk about subsidies and too much money spent on the race will hit its peak as the Grand Prix rolls into town this weekend.  But will this oppressive heat keep spectators away from a fun, novel event that brings more new people to San Jose than almost any other event we’ve had in our city’s history? 

It tells you a lot about our society and the way we look at the justice system when, after reading the article on the Ron Gonzales case in the Mercury News on Monday, the first thing I think of is: “Oh God!  He’s going to get off!” The article reports that merely two of the seven, I repeat, seven charges can be disproved by documents already made public. Yet, the article was mostly about lawyers saying this is just the first step to a jury disbelieving the prosecution and the evidence they will present.  Because lawyers these days can find so many loopholes—giving guilty and greedy people the chance to go free because of them—panic rushes up my spine in thinking that Gonzales could get off

Is it me or does anyone else feel that this mess with Ron Gonzales is starting to blow over?  Maybe it’s because we get our news on a 24-hour cycle and are so completely inundated with stories like Britney’s dysfunction as a mother and violence around the world, that local news of this caliber can get swept under the carpet and forgotten.  I am not saying people aren’t talking about it anymore, but I feel a sense that people are not as angry as I thought they would be, and that scares me.

This summer could the busiest we have seen in a while in downtown San Jose, and that is good news for a city trying to become the cool, hip and fun place we all know it can be.  If you throw aside concerns about city subsidies and the way many events came to be here and just enjoy, this could be the summer where many people who never visited downtown San Jose before, come for the first time.  But, what will their impression be when they get here?

OH MY WORD!  Those are the only words to describe how surreal it was to hear that Ron Gonzales and Joe Guerra were actually arrested for their roles in the Norcal scandal.  I knew that things were corrupt at City Hall, as we have been hearing on this site and throughout the mayoral campaign, but I guess I never really thought that it would catch up to them this way. 

Reading about the Hayes Mansion brought to light the issue of city subsidies and the way San Jose has handled this important matter.  The city now spends $4.2 million per year to keep the Hayes Mansion in business. No, that is not a misprint—$4.2 million a year.  I understand that the Hayes is a historical building and in this “new” city with new buildings popping up each day (with no historical significance whatsoever) we need to protect and keep those buildings both beautiful and a part of our city’s culture. But that is not what is happening in this case; in running this hotel and conference center, we are paying for what seems to be a bottomless money pit.