A coordinated effort to address some of St. James Park’s problems took place this summer. The process was a little convoluted and had some fits and starts, but the early results have been encouraging.

A serial plaintiff named John Ho has sued scores of South Bay businesses, alleging that they violate the Americans with Disability Act. Ho and another local plaintiff, Cecil Shaw, appear to be using the well-intended ADA laws as a way to make hundreds of thousands of dollars from legal settlements.

After months of outreach trying to get restaurants used to the idea, the city’s moving ahead with its ban on Styrofoam-style take-out containers, a uniquely problematic type of litter because of the way expanded polystyrene (EPS) breaks apart and infiltrates the region’s waterways. On Tuesday, the City Council will discuss the controversial ban slated to go into effect Jan. 1. Other items on Tuesday’s agenda include a jobs development program with Work2Future and a service agreement with the San Jose Downtown Association.

Scott Knies hopes the artist renderings of a Hampton Inn planned for a prime slice of land in downtown San Jose are just placeholders until developers come up with a real design. The executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association saw drawings of the six-story hotel proposed for the corner of Highway 87 and Santa Clara Street for the first time earlier this week. His reaction to the design, to paraphrase: Dear, god, no.

The last City Council meeting of the fiscal year Tuesday will feature a loaded agenda. Last week, the council unanimously approved next year’s budget, moved past its stalemate on lower benefits for new employees to approve a second tier, and paved the way for paid time off for many city contractors. Here are some of the critical items up for the last meeting of 2011-12.

Update: The San Jose City Council voted unanimously to send a minimum wage proposal to voters after it failed to be adopted by San Jose City Council Tuesday night. The motion to immediately adopt a higher minimum wage than surrounding cities failed on an 8-3 vote. The proposal will raise the minimum hourly wage in San Jose from $8 to $10, if passed by voters.

Despite the city’s stated commitment to sunshine and open government, city officials and proponents of a proposal to permanently close a block of South First Street concealed critical documents from affected parties for a year—until the eve of a council vote. Promoters of the “pavement to plaza” conversion say a $500,000 grant from ArtPlace requires the street’s full closure. San Jose will contribute $98,000 in park and economic development funds, under the plan, which goes to the City Council at today’s 1:30pm meeting.

The big news from last week’s annual meeting for the San Jose Downtown Association is that Music in the Park is no more. Back in August, we reported that Music in the Park was expected to be canceled after 23 years of throwing free summer concerts downtown. There were other reports and awards given during the meeting, but one thing worth watching is the above video that details the 25-year history of the Downtown Association. It takes a few seconds to get going, but it’s well produced and gives some insight into how far the city has come, as well as how much work remains to be done.

Rising costs and complaints have cast a cloud over one of the city’s favorite events, Music in the Park. The San Jose Downtown Association will decide this fall if this should be the 23rd and final year of the free summer concert series.