And in the least surprising news of this week...the generous/egregious severance packages are getting a closer look at UC. That seems like a good idea, unless you want a full-fledged revolt on your hand.
A major Oakland development is coming to a halt. The City Walk development has stopped, half-finished -- which is the latest chapter in the storied/crappy history of the downtown development. In the most obvious quote of the day, the guy in charge of the project, Tony Bosowski, who is the Regional VP of the Olson Company, "It's not a good time to be in the business."
Neither the government nor businesses in Vallejo can catch a break. First the Vallejo City Government faces bankruptcy, and now the Empress Theatre (which was revamped to much fanfare) looks like it may be seeing its last days...All the energy that went into the facelift should have been put into getting people to actually catch a movie there.
The A's are rethinking their plans to move...but don't get too excited Oakland, they just want to move closer to BART in Fremont -- maybe. This is still good for Fremont and probably great for BART, but maybe bad news for Cisco Systems, the owners of the previous, proposed baseball site -- Cisco Systems.
The Oro Loma Sanitary District Board members just gave themselves a raise. This is generally something that Watch Dog gets all iritated over...but...it was onlly 4 percent, which will equal about 10 bucks a meeting -- meaning that they will get $260/meeting as opposed $250/meeting. Watch Dog will keep eyes on the District's rates...don't worry. By the way, click through to their website and see if you can resist running to the bathroom from the sound...
Showing posts with label BART. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BART. Show all posts
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Measure B (BART to Silicon Valley) drama coming to an end? The legal eagle update...
Election drama and nail biting appeared to be over when Measure B passed mid-November.
(Measure B was a tax measure to continue funding the BART extension to downtown San Jose.)
Not so fast, cried Measure B opponents last week as they filed a last minute lawsuit to delay certification and force a recount. As Watch Dog readers know, only yesterday a judge in San Jose sent them packing when it turned out the lawsuit was filed in the wrong county.
Fast-forward to today.
In a gloomy San Francisco morning in San Francisco Superior Court where arguments were heard by Judge Peter Busch for a temporary restraining order to prevent certification of election results.
Slight problem - the Registrar is good at PR and law. The Registrar this morning dropped the certified results in the mail this morning before going to court.
(No surprise) Judge Busch denied the restraining order as results had already been certified.
Is this the end of the drama? Only time will tell.
David Schonbrunn of TransDef.org, the chief opponents of Measure B, says "No one knows how the voters of Santa Clara County really voted on this." Well, the Judge, the Registrar, Carl Guardino, and more than 2/3 of the voters know how the County voted on this...the only people that don't seem to get it are the TransDef.org folks...
The Registrar graciuosly pointed out TransDef could request a recount -- at TransDef.org's cost -- for an estimated $400,000. Does T.J. Rogers have that kind of money to put behind a recount?
Stay tuned as the drama continues to unfold.
(Measure B was a tax measure to continue funding the BART extension to downtown San Jose.)
Not so fast, cried Measure B opponents last week as they filed a last minute lawsuit to delay certification and force a recount. As Watch Dog readers know, only yesterday a judge in San Jose sent them packing when it turned out the lawsuit was filed in the wrong county.
Fast-forward to today.
In a gloomy San Francisco morning in San Francisco Superior Court where arguments were heard by Judge Peter Busch for a temporary restraining order to prevent certification of election results.
Slight problem - the Registrar is good at PR and law. The Registrar this morning dropped the certified results in the mail this morning before going to court.
(No surprise) Judge Busch denied the restraining order as results had already been certified.
Is this the end of the drama? Only time will tell.
David Schonbrunn of TransDef.org, the chief opponents of Measure B, says "No one knows how the voters of Santa Clara County really voted on this." Well, the Judge, the Registrar, Carl Guardino, and more than 2/3 of the voters know how the County voted on this...the only people that don't seem to get it are the TransDef.org folks...
The Registrar graciuosly pointed out TransDef could request a recount -- at TransDef.org's cost -- for an estimated $400,000. Does T.J. Rogers have that kind of money to put behind a recount?
Stay tuned as the drama continues to unfold.
Morning News Round-Up -- 12.02.08: The election isn't over yet...
An East Bay issue in a different County...Measure B (BART to Silicon Valley) in Santa Clara County passed (barely) as reported by Watch Dog Silicon Valley. But the opponents of Measure B aren't done fighting yet. In court yesterday, Superior Court Judge Mary Jo Levinger scolded the opponents for filing a lawsuit in the wrong County and sent them scurrying for San Francisco in an attempt to force a recount – at the Santa Clara County’s expense. Transportation Solutions Defense Fund President David Schonbrunn complained they were being forced "… to go to two different courts." Perhaps Schonbrunn would complain less if he could take BART to San Francisco from Santa Clara County...
And if Ignacio De La Fuente took BART, he could have avoided this...
Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente doesn’t really have to follow the rules like everyone else. (The same frame of mind that landed his son in hot water…) He was fined $1,500 for receiving $2,331 in free parking at SFO in 2004 and 2005. He repaid the airport, but the fine is from the FPPC, the overseers of all things ethical for elected officials. The most obvious question is why is De La Fuente flying out of SFO when he has an airport in his backyard?
Money is tight in the Bay Area, perhaps they have more in other parts of the Country. To find out, UC hopes to expand non-state admission…especially after this story last week about international students feeling the economic pinch.
New regulations put forward by East Bay legislators are aimed at hitting pimps/johns who victimize children “where it hurts”…that’s not a Watch Dog play words, that’s what the story says…
Pot-advocates won a US Supreme Court (the high court) battle yesterday – high times for the Oakland-based medical marijuana group -- Americans for Safe Access. If police take your weed, they have to return it…In a node to the decision, Watch Dog noticed the reporters of this story used the phrase “high court” enough times that everyone, expect their Editors, got the joke…
It isn’t just pot-advocates…Fremont is going green-er too. (The other green...)
Activist want to shut down the Delta pumps…again. Environment versus Business…the repeat.
First written about here, it isn’t just police officers that are getting a sweetheart deal from UC in the retire, collect pension, start working again scam…
Yikes, it just keeps getting uglier out there. DHL is cutting 800 Bay Area jobs…East Bay to be among the hardest hit. About 265 of the layoffs are slated to hit Alameda County alone. That includes DHL locations in Oakland, Fremont and Dublin.
And if Ignacio De La Fuente took BART, he could have avoided this...
Oakland City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente doesn’t really have to follow the rules like everyone else. (The same frame of mind that landed his son in hot water…) He was fined $1,500 for receiving $2,331 in free parking at SFO in 2004 and 2005. He repaid the airport, but the fine is from the FPPC, the overseers of all things ethical for elected officials. The most obvious question is why is De La Fuente flying out of SFO when he has an airport in his backyard?
Money is tight in the Bay Area, perhaps they have more in other parts of the Country. To find out, UC hopes to expand non-state admission…especially after this story last week about international students feeling the economic pinch.
New regulations put forward by East Bay legislators are aimed at hitting pimps/johns who victimize children “where it hurts”…that’s not a Watch Dog play words, that’s what the story says…
Pot-advocates won a US Supreme Court (the high court) battle yesterday – high times for the Oakland-based medical marijuana group -- Americans for Safe Access. If police take your weed, they have to return it…In a node to the decision, Watch Dog noticed the reporters of this story used the phrase “high court” enough times that everyone, expect their Editors, got the joke…
It isn’t just pot-advocates…Fremont is going green-er too. (The other green...)
Activist want to shut down the Delta pumps…again. Environment versus Business…the repeat.
First written about here, it isn’t just police officers that are getting a sweetheart deal from UC in the retire, collect pension, start working again scam…
Yikes, it just keeps getting uglier out there. DHL is cutting 800 Bay Area jobs…East Bay to be among the hardest hit. About 265 of the layoffs are slated to hit Alameda County alone. That includes DHL locations in Oakland, Fremont and Dublin.
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