Mar 9, 2016
To turn a catch phrase on its head — San Jose does not have a spending problem; it has a revenue problem. The City has a structural deficit because revenues are insufficient to pay for essential services. That structural deficit predates the catastrophic losses to the City’s two pension funds, and without more revenue it will continue, despite the fact…
Feb 25, 2016
With the unanimous appointment of Lisa Gillmor to the Mayor’s seat, the characteristically divided Santa Clara City Council has taken an important step in becoming a more collaborative policy-making body. Mayor Gillmor was widely considered the best choice to follow Jamie Matthews, who unexpectedly resigned earlier this month. “Mayor Gillmor will provide us a platform to come together, work harmoniously,…
Feb 24, 2016
Santa Clara County Approving financing plan & design-build construction for $281M new jail On August 11, 2015, the Board of Supervisors considered the Administration’s proposal to construct a new jail facility, including housing, programming, treatment, and the financing necessary to complete this complex project. On December 17, 2015, the County received a letter from the BSCC notifying us that the…
Feb 23, 2016
This entry was written before Justice Scalia’s death. While the outcome of the Freidrichs case before the current court might be different than previously anticipated, the importance of defending against similar unfounded lawsuits in the future remains. If the Court had found in Ms. Freidrichs favor, it would have essentially gutted the foundation of the union movement, which is…
Feb 16, 2016
Santa Clara County Report on existing pay equity laws and recs on amending County contracting policy This is the second in a series of report-backs provided by the County Counsel and the Office of the County Executive in response to the Board of Supervisors’ September 15, 2015 directives for more information. One of those directives was to assess current County…
Feb 13, 2016
Today, Justice Antonin Scalia, the most vocal conservative on a conservative Supreme Court, died at the age of 79. There are many implications for Supreme Court cases that have already been heard and cases that are upcoming. It is expected it will take quite some time for President Obama and United States Senate to decide on the next justice. We…
Feb 9, 2016
Yesterday, Jamie Matthews surprised even his close friends and political associates when he announced he was relinquishing his seat as Santa Clara Mayor immediately after his city hosted Super Bowl 50. Matthews’s abrupt resignation clearly demonstrates a failure on the part of the 49ers, who seem to have no issue with putting their political allies in difficult and unfavorable…
Feb 2, 2016
County of Santa Clara Reinstating Turner to complete Valley Medical Center retrofit; subsequent cost increase means add’l funding needed for other Measure A projects Measure A authorized the County to borrow $840 million to fund the earthquake retrofitting of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and other hospital maintenance and refurbishing projects knows as the Seismic Safety Program. The pinnacle project…
Jan 28, 2016
Usually, a Whooper column is written to expose a story or column that distorts information or presents a misleading narrative. Today, we shine the light of truth on a piece that does all of that PLUS it includes some utter stinkin’ indefensible flat out lies. The article in question appears in San Jose Inside’s column, The Fly (1/27/16). Its title…
Jan 25, 2016
Today, Silicon Valley Rising (SVR) filed the Opportunity to Work Initiative which would require employers to offer qualified part- time employees the opportunity to work additional hours before hiring new part-time or temporary employees. It is the first initiative of its kind in the country. Although San Francisco and SeaTac have adopted similar ordinances, no previous initiative has aimed to provide…