A legal fight may keep San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed’s state public pension initiative off the November ballot now that proponents want to sue over the way California Attorney General Kamala Harris worded the ballot language.
Read More 6Kamala Harris
Both Sides Disappointed in Description of Statewide Pension Reform Initiative
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Did 49ers’ Aldon Smith Get Preferential Treatment in Gun Charges Investigation?
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San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith surrendered himself to authorities on felony weapons charges Wednesday night. The 24-year-old, who until Thursday was on indefinite leave from the team, turned himself in to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office after checking out of rehab. He immediately posted $75,000 bail. While sports fans might be more concerned with Smith’s return to the Niners, a report on how his weapons case was handled has raised questions about the possibility of preferential treatment. A source within the county tells San Jose Inside that a dispute is now raging between the Sheriff and District Attorney’s offices.
Read More 4Attorney General Clears DA Jeff Rosen of Any Illegal Conduct in Granting Admin Leave
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The office of Attorney General Kamala Harris has informed the county that Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen broke no laws when giving some of his top deputies extra admin leave to make up for lost wages. In a letter to County Executive Jeff Smith, who asked the AG to start a civil investigation in April, Alicia Fowler, a senior assistant attorney general in the Employment and Administrative Mandate division, wrote: “Based on all the information that the county provided to us, including extensive documentation and in-person interviews, we have concluded that there has been no violation of law.”
Read More 0POA Moves Forward with Measure B Lawsuit
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Harris OKs Judicial Review of Measure B
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War of the Jeffs: District Attorney, County Executive Spar over Pay Bumps
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Two years ago, District Attorney Jeff Rosen cleverly cushioned the effects of county-mandated pay cuts for some of his senior prosecutors through an accounting loophole. After his top supervisors were disproportionately affected by the cuts, he started giving them “admin leave” so they could collect vacation time for a payout down the road to replace lost wages. The slick move, legal under county policies, got the attention of County Executive Jeff Smith, who’s now asking Attorney General Kamala Harris to investigate. The question is: What’s really happening here?
Read More 2New Laws of the Land for 2013
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Last year, way back in 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown broke a state record by signing more bills into law during his three terms than any other governor since 1967. (Take that, Reagan.) In 2012 alone, Brown signed an astounding 876 regular-session bills. Here’s a select overview of some of the more relevant laws now in effect.
Read More 0Kalra: My Time at the DNC
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San Jose Councilmember Ash Kalra has been in Charlotte, N.C., all week as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention. The following is a recap of his first three days at the Convention. President Obama will deliver his DNC speech tonight, and Kalra has agreed to write an additional column for San Jose Inside on Friday.—Editor
My journey to Charlotte began at Mineta San Jose International Airport on Sunday morning. During my tenure on the City Council I have found it difficult to leave the city for extended periods of time. In fact, this week in Charlotte will be my longest time away from San Jose during my entire time in office. Thankfully, there was no council meeting this week due to the short week following Labor Day. And since residents are rightfully concerned about how taxpayer dollars are spent, you should know that I’m personally paying for this trip—I am not using any city funds or special interest contributions.
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