Pierluigi Oliverio was the first person in San Jose to see the green tidal wave coming.

Last October, the number of local pot clubs could be counted on one hand. Now, medical marijuana collectives have sprung up in every part of the city—some more legit than others. One web directory currently lists almost 70 San Jose–based medical marijuana dispensaries.

With the San Jose City council finally taking a serious look at regulating medical marijuana this week, the District 6 councilmember could not be blamed for saying, “I told you so.”

“I hate to keep going back, but if we would have done this a little earlier, everything would have been fine,” Oliverio says.

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Should San Jose have its own Navy to protect and defend Alviso? Ask that question to most people and they would respond, “Of course not,” and add, “Are you crazy?” 

Most people would agree that the City of San Jose doesn’t need a Navy, but what about having our own State Department? We could be like Berkeley, and issue policy declarations for the rest of the world to follow and obey.

The San Jose City Council’s unilateral call to boycott the State of Arizona over the immigration issue is a bit like one principality declaring economic war over another. Give me a break.

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I turned 40 in December. I spent my birthday with family and long-time friends. Many of my friends I have known since age five, from kindergarten in San Jose Unified School District, which equates to knowing most of my friends for more than 30 years. The majority of my friends are not political in their occupations and nearly all of them have never been to a San Jose Council meeting. Instead, they are teachers, nurses, Realtors, attorneys, tech folks, blue-collar skilled tradesmen, stay-at-home parents and—as my Mom likes to point out— most are married with children.

Many of my native San Jose friends have a very positive outlook towards San Jose. Their views are somewhat different than what I hear in my council office, where, typically, I hear alot about what is wrong with our city or questions as to why things aren’t done differently.

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