The San Jose Public Libraries Commission wants the city to extend a parcel tax to avoid laying off 53 of its 314 full-time library employees. Other matters going before the Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday include a memo from councilmembers Don Rocha and Xavier Campos in support of immigration reform, a report on budget priorities and a letter slamming George Shirakawa and anyone else who eats on the public dime.
Read More 2Chuck Reed
Pride of the Bascom Community
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Tomorrow is a big day for District 6. After 13 years of waiting—the past three of which were spent staring down a fully-functional yet sadly dormant shell—we finally get to see the Bascom Library and Community Center open all of its doors to the public. For residents of Blackford, Buena Vista, Burbank, Del Monte, Shasta/Hanchett Park, Sherman Oaks, and Winchester, the 2pm ribbon cutting at 1000 South Bascom Ave. will be the culmination of a protracted struggle with City Hall, and the district’s own councilmember.
Read More 29Mayor Reed Says Thanks, But No Thanks to Hosting 2024 Olympics
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The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sent letters Tuesday to the nation’s largest 25 metro areas, inviting city officials to submit a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. A day later, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed shot down any idea of San Jose hosting future Olympic games in an email city staff this week.
Read More 3Yes, Don Rocha is Still a Male Model
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Councilmember Khamis Says Illness Stopped Him from Voting on Prop 8 Brief
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POA Wants What’s Best for Members; Helps Facilitate SJPD Exodus
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San Jose’s police union leadership says it wants what’s best for its members. But how many members will be left if the Police Officer Association keeps on hosting other departments’ recruiters in its headquarters? In an ad in Sunday’s Mercury News, the Austin Police Department announced it was hosting two recruiting sessions in San Jose. After stopping by The National Hispanic University on Tuesday morning, the Texans moseyed over to the POA shop to hold court for three afternoon hours.
Read More 100Show Me the Money: City Employee Salaries for 2012
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San Jose released its annual list of city salaries late last week, reminding us once again where the bulk of the municipal budget goes. Like most municipalities, payroll accounts for the city’s single highest expense. San Jose shelled out $596 million, or 62 percent of this fiscal year’s budget, on payroll for its 5,500 employees. This year, retired Sgt. John M. Seaman topped the list, receiving total compensation in the amount of $308,345.
Read More 7Chuck Reed: Our Republican Mayor
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Rules Committee to Consider Extension of High-Rise Developer Incentives
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San Jose needs to grow up more than out, according to city leaders who want to extend high-rise developer incentives another few years. Other items going before the Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday include budgeting, lowering traffic fees and a potential name change for the San Jose/Santa Clara Water Pollution Control Plant.
Read More 7Council to Discuss Card Room Crime
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East Side Union High School District Education Foundation Decertified by IRS
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Last November, a few hundred people donned their best suits and gowns and converged on San Jose’s historic Hayes Mansion to toast some of the East Side’s most accomplished alumni. The stars that night, honored in the East Side Union High School District Education Foundation’s Hall of Fame fundraiser, consisted of a 10-person class led by Khaled Hosseini, a 1984 graduate of Independence High School and author of The Kite Runner. But on Nov. 15, 2011, the IRS revoked the foundation’s nonprofit status. And yet almost no one outside of its board—including donors—knew about its lost certification when it threw a fundraiser a year later.
Read More 10Elections Commission Needs New Members
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A city commission that handles election and ethics complaints needs two new members. The deadline to apply is Friday. New members would have a chance to form recommendations to update the cavity’s municipal code. Suggestions created by the election’s commission last year include modifications to the city’s sign ordinance, clarifications on campaign disclosure methods and rules to prevent bribes.
Read More 0NRA Fires off Letter for Rules Committee Discussion on Local Gun Control
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The National Rifle Association heard about a local attorney’s idea to crack down on assault weapons in San Jose and hired a law firm to write up a disapproving missive to City Council. Other items going before the Rules and Open Government Committee on Wednesday include support for a Constitutional amendment acknowledging companies aren’t people, a report on how transparent the city is in holding meetings and disseminating information and more rants from City Hall critic David Wall.
Read More 2Firefighters Union President: City Plays Politics with Department Response Times
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The city recently acknowledged that it was missing thousands of emergency response times when calculating how long it takes first responders from the San Jose Fire Department to arrive on scene. Robert Sapien, president of San Jose’s firefighters union, explains in an op-ed why emergency response times matter not only in life and death situations, but also when calculating the city’s budget.—Editor
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