Many people were interested in John’s article last week about free iPods. In fact, many were incensed that the FAA was spending so much money on such a frivolous program. Sure, those iPods are pretty popular, but I just wanted to make sure it was stated some place on the site: John makes his columns up.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s get to the news from the last week.
Let’s start with sports! In the Mercury, Barry Witt looks at the process for getting a baseball stadium over by Diridon station, now that the Del Monte site is out of the running. Also, Rodney Foo reports about the Council making the change to the Grand Prix course official, a switch which some businesses along the former route are unhappy with, as Mary Gottschalk reported in last week’s Rose Garden Resident.
In this week’s paper, Ms. Gottschalk details the progress on the new Rose Garden Branch Library, which will be ready in September, but needs help fundraising to get furniture, computers and other essentials before the opening. Gee, a building in this city opening without furniture and computers would be embarassing, wouldn’t it?
In the Almaden Resident, Sandy Brundage gives us the details of the new city fraud and audit hotline pilot project that will start July 1st. I have a feeling some of our readers may be getting their dialing fingers ready, just in case they see something good to report.
Back in the Mercury, they did manage to cover some non sports-related city hall news. For instance, there’s a story by Steve Johnson about the city’s failure to land the state stem-cell research center.
Metro‘s The Fly reports on the Mayor’s continuing disdain for public requests for information. Also in Metro, Gary Singh has a new column called “Silicon Alleys.” His first column opens with a call for a new motto for San Jose. Well, aside from the fact that his column is titled after a part of New York that stole its name from us, I think a new motto is a good idea to discuss, but I think I’ve read that discussion before…
Upcoming special event: Next Tuesday, April 19th, Jude will be appearing on a panel at a Commonwealth Club Event at MLK library. The discussion is called “Joining the Blogosphere” and admission is free. Other panelists include Dan Gillmor, formerly of the Mercury and now a full-time blogger; David Satterfield, the managing editor the the Mercury; Chuck Olsen, producer of a film called blogumentary; and David Pescovitz, editor of BoingBoing.net. See the Commonwealth Club’s web site for more information.
Leave Gary Singh alone! He makes up better news than you guys do!
SJ Inside is a great site that encourages dialogue; the challenge now is to get more people to read and participate. It seems that the same people or “handles” are always the ones blogging.
As a South San Jose resident, I must say that I am tired of the Almaden Resident. This paper thinks of itself as a tabloid working feverishly to uncover some great scandal. Also, their stories are not news, they are opinion. I rarely see anything positive come out of that paper but rather most stories tend to editorialize rather than report. There is a reason paper’s have an Opinion section. If the Resident wants to be an opinion paper, it should say that.
Their attacks on Pat Dando have been and continue to be, based on the cartoon in today’s issue below the belt. It must be a slow news day in Almaden if all they can do is criticize probably the greatest Councilmember District 10 has ever seen and a woman who was and is a great role model for our city.
Message to the Resident: Pick on someone else & starting reporting real news for a change.
This is a dead horse. She tries to do backroom deals that smell. Stop Gonzales and Chavez from destroying and ruining downtown and SJ. Go out quietly. Be done with you.
So His Imperial Mayorness, Ron the First, has decided to axe money for poor neighborhoods and spend it on the toy baseball field for himself and his Court Jester, the Non Assessing Assesor, Larry, the Stoneman.
Hmm, so kids will not get park services, but Ron will get a baseball cap.
What a city, and what a nothing mayor.
I live in a weird part of San Jose, on the Los Gatos border. My phone service comes from Verizon in Los Gatos and when people call 411 and answer “San Jose” to “What city?” they can’t find me. I get a Los Gatos phone book with useless yellow pages. I can’t call 311 because even though I’m a SJ taxpayer, only SBC has an agreement with the city to provide 311 service. I also end up with the Los Gatos Weekly Times on my lawn each week. I have never seen such poor writing allowed to be published as in this paper. Every article written assumes the reader has inside knowledge of the subject. Didn’t any of these people have to write book reports in school?
I love the Metro. They have gutsy writers that the the Merc would never hire. I often refer to the Metro’s voting guide because the Merc’s recommendations can’t be trusted. But the SVCN papers are pathetic and their controversial cartoonist is 100% amatuer.
Mark T-
I gotta disagree with you on SCVN’s cartoonist. Steven DiCinzio is controversial, holds nothing sacred, and sooner or later manages to piss EVERYBODY off…which is exactly why he is a good editorial cartoonist. I’ve often wondered how he ended up in such otherwise bland publications.
But I will agree that much of the rest of the Los Gatos Weakly-Tums is a snooze, unless you like real estate ads.
Also, I share your frustration about living near the SJ/LG border. For years I lived in a county pocket surrounded, but not served, by San Jose. I think our municipal forefathers must have drawn the lines during happy hour at the old Tower Saloon.
Ron Gonzales can’t deliver nothing, no baseball, no stem cell reseach, no downtown and no nothing. San Jose is a can’t do city, unlike chicago which is a can do city with big shoulders. I went on a trip to Nashville recently, and downtown Nashville just blows San Jose with highrises and downtown vitality!
Isn’t there any city that San Jose can take on? The answer is an absolute no. We a need mayor who is capable of doing something.
I must disagree with John DeMarchi’s description of the Almaden Resident. Everything I have read in the Resident has been greatly researched and fair, and if Pat Dando ends up looking bad, it’s because she deserves it (although the cartoon today is rather bad).
I do not see how Mr. DeMarchi can call Dando the greatest council member District 10 has ever had. She had never before been challenged by a newspaper and skated through most her tenure on the council without any scrutiny from the Mercury News or the laughable Almaden Times (which, as Dando’s unofficial mouthpiece, gladly prints whatever she wants, and still does, several months after she has left office). When the Resident stared publishing and looked at Dando with fresh eyes, that is when the news about her started leading to bad press.
If you are a dedicated Dando backer—someone who benefited from her largess—nothing will change you mind about her. But for those of us who live in Almaden Valley and have been watching her, we know how she really is, and the Resident’s reporting is honest and well received.
Hey Ed,
I think Mr. DiCinzo is employed by such bland, low circulation papers because he is not an artist. If he has the talent, he’d be better off writing than drawing, and would probably generate a lot more controversy than he already does, but I find that his blunt and unsophisticated style almost makes the drawing incidental to his message. That’s why I call him an amateur—all of his stuff looks to me like it belongs in a high school paper.
Glad to hear I have empathy for my no-man’s-land neighborhood situation though! I grew up next door to one of Dutch’s assistants and his family actually owned a saloon so you’re not so far off with that observation!
Dando worked hard for District 10. Yes, she made some people mad, no elected can ever please their constituents 100% of the time. But, she and/or her staff were always present in the community and never gave us the run-around. Dando worked hard to address the needs throughout the District—Almaden, Blossom Valley, Santa Teresa. She was never afraid to take heat and always worked in collaboration with the community to reach their goals.
The Almaden Resident coud be a good paper if their articles were less editorial and more news. I take more offense with their writing than their content; they need to let the reader make up his/her own mind.
The Merc did not report negative stories on Dando because there was probably nothing there to report that was bad. She holds high ethical standards for herself & for her staff. You may not like her style, but she was no-nonsense and no BS.
If the only criticism that can be levied against her is that she, like many other outgoing Councilmembers, cleaned their offices on the way out, so be it. But, the cartoon today was below the belt.
One of the things we can talk about is transperancy of relationships. For example, I have never believed the comment that has been made for years that Chuck Reed had some sort of nondisclosed tie to a Mercury News leader by business or family. It simply is not true, and we know that Chuck has worked to hard for the city for anyone to insist that, because he would disclose that, and not just leave it blank, right?
Getting back to the news, which is what today’s post is about, Scott Herhold’s column today couldn’t be more right-on. Gonzo has done nothing but embarrass San Jose and he’s gotten worse as a lame duck. Sadly, the field of candidates to replace him doesn’t contain anyone who seems to have the ability to get this town back on the road towards an identity.
Yo Mark T-
I’ll agree that Mr. DiCinzo is no Rembrant, but the guy makes some pretty incisive points drawing, as he does, for the various SCVN papers. A few examples:
http://www.lgwt.com/lg-op-decinzo.shtml
http://www.cupertinocourier.com/cu-op-decinzo.shtml
http://www.sunnyvalesun.com/sv-op-decinzo.shtml (I guess San Jose isn’t the only city with a public art controversy.)
http://www.almadenresident.com/ar-op-decinzo.shtml
(John DeMarchi isn’t going to like this one!)
My point: If you want fine art, go to a museum. Or spend enough time at the aforementioned saloon and this stuff starts looking good!
Say anything you want about us but just spell our name right….
It’s Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, better known as Community Newspapers…We do not go by SCVN or SVCN…that moniker was too confusing and rather obtuse.
dc
so we know now that Gonzales is not related to anyone at Knight Ridder. We know that Cortese is not, so they have been vetted.
But is Chuck, please say it isn’t so.
Cindy would not, nor ever would conduct a backroom deal. She would also clarify any relationship she had with Knight Ridder.
McEnery is also a very good guy about clearing the air.
Still awaitin’ the Chuckster, here.
(Jeopardy music a playin’ San Jose State Dance Team a dancin’——hey, Ray, they are ok)
David C,
Mea culpa X 2!
Ed
Oh David,
Upon further checking, here’s a little something I found on your web page:
© SVCN, LLC.
Maybe somebody should notify the Publisher?