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You have to wonder if Santa Clara Plays Fair are going to run people against the current members of the Santa Clara City Council. I for one feel that there has to be some opposition to the current city council.
I was reminded of the Gang of Four and Jiang Quin – Jiang was later given the name “Blue Apple” – hmmm kind of Santa Claran don’t you think? Anyway I digress, and all I’m saying is that we need a change and we need a balance where fair debate and reason can be heard. Dare I say ‘Reason’ pervail. I’m hoping that people like SC Plays Fair is considering running some people and that Jamie McLeod finds some other co-horts to be on her ticket and give her some support. It’s a little hard to see the current council objective and making decisions on behalf of its current citizens.
Though I have not decided how I feel about the 49ers Stadium I have to say that the Santa Clara Plays Fair organization makes good sense when you watch this on YouTube
I am sure if it was my brother who was writing this post he would be all for a stadium in in back yard – he even moved from Eaglemont to East Melbourne so he could walk to the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). But I’m not him – and given the MCG creates revenue and contributes to the city of Melbourne I have no reason to criticize but I would if they were expecting my money to fund a game that I don’t even care for (football that is). Heck if was money for Cricket I’d probably willingingly pass money to the MCG – nothing better than a day of cricket – but we are talking gentlemans sport vs hooligans and larrikans.
What comes with football? I ask you do you think is this a good thing for a small city? Who is the Santa Clara city council thinking of? What does their record tell us? The ‘owners’ of our fine city have had a lot of their own agendas in the past dictating how the residents money should be spent. Sounds like a time for change! Hmmm I’m sounding like Obama! interesting – lets bring on a change in Santa Clara and start getting some new blood on council – people who are asking their citizens what they would like.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
It has amazed me for some time that the press really hasn’t taken much interest in what is going on in small town America?
I would have thought that given the San Jose Mercury News has a complete section devoted to The Valley that it would be writing up more about what goes on in the ‘burbs’. From time to time there are snippets and from time to time there are articles but nothing regular and little or no follow up.
When the SJ Merc was going to drop The Valley section – my husband and I were devastated. And indeed they did stop printing it for a few months and incorporated The Valley in the regular part of the paper. Then I guess they had a realization that that was not working and they ‘re’ introduced The Valley. But in introducing it how little of it is actually what’s going on in the valley vs what’s going on in the tech industry. I gladly read what is going on in the industry but I would love some more reports on what happens at council meetings, how residents feel about certain issues, the disappearance of some stores etc.
Perhaps reporters no longer stroll the beat but surf the net to find their reports. I don’t know… I have a friend who is a reporter in Texas she tells me that the newspapers typically have a city council reporter – if they do I haven’t noticed city council meeting reports per say. What I mean by that is I haven’t read an article that starts like this “Last week at the XXXX city Council meeting I witnessed ….”
Or maybe we shouldn’t focus on the reporter but the editor – he/she probably doesn’t see the value in reporting what happens at city council meetings if there isn’t a dog fight! I went to one meeting where I witnessed a group of residents stand up en masse and show their support for something. The way these residents were ‘organized’ was most impressive. I think an article on showing the public how to address issues of concern would be beneficial and educational. Isn’t that the purpose of the press? To educate and report?
Surely the press should be hanging out by the planning department or wining and dining supervisors to find out what is intended for small time America?
In Santa Clara we have a small local rag (newspaper) – it’s called the Santa Clara Weekly and I’ve yet to see them report anything on issues that have some residents up in arms like the proposed Fairfield Residential project on the 900 Kiely / Kaiser spot or the Marina Playa project. Though I did note that on their website they have linked to Not with my money & Santa Clara Plays Fair.
What if San Jose Mercury News reporters or Santa Clara Valley were to interview your average Joe or Jane and ask them how they they thought about issues that will in time affect them.
How about asking about:
Are you concerned about the increase in traffic on Lawrence & El Camino?
Are you aware that there is to be more housing in this general area?
How do you feel about big business / developers paying for things the city seems to have no money for?
What do you think of the types of stores that proliferate El Camino in Santa Clara?
Do you shop in Santa Clara and if so where?
Do you work in Santa Clara?
you know just normal average day questions that average day people might answer – not questions that think tanks or PR companies direct us towards. Who cares really what the News paper headline is going to say in 2040 or 2034 or 2030 – I care about what it says now and it seems that the press really doesn’t care about us now so why the heck does a PR company think they are going to care about us in 2035? pleeeezzzeeee
Perhaps the Santa Clara Weekly could go out and interview Mr & Mrs Joe Average like the Mountain View weekly does – now there is a paper that seems to be objective. Isn’t that what papers are supposed to be objective reporting the facts from all sides – no biase? hmmm
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Wow finally people of ‘importance’ are talking to each other. I’m always amazed here in the US about the ‘me’ culture. There is a reason in Australia we call everyone a ‘mate’. We definitely consider our mates and got their back covered more than here in the US where it’s all about “ME”. So I read in the SJ Merc today that Santa Clara, Mountain View, Sunnyvale and Cupertino city councils sat down and talked about the planning issues on the books.
They all hugged – how Californian is that? Should I be so rude to say: Pass me a bucket!
It’s about time these people of ‘influence’ and so called ‘power’ sat down and realized that the locals aren’t happy with what is going on and we do notice things.
I think what is interesting is that less than 10 residents were there to be a part of this – is this yet another case of ’secret meetings’ ? It seems to me that city councils like to have meetings in camera i.e. behind closed doors. They want us to live in their city but they don’t want to tell us what they are up to maybe because they know we might leave if we knew the truth. Then they turn on each other with childish attitudes in defence of what the other city has supposedly done to them i.e. the right turn lane forcing traffic back to Santa Clara
I see Ms Mahan wants to include San Jose in the talks – wow Patricia how big of you! Why didn’t you guys do it to start with? Worried they might have some more pull than you Patti? Hey your average reporter out their may not recognize the political ploy you just pulled but … your average local yocal does.
Personally I think the city officials and staff should sit down with the big developers and call a truce and start working out a plan to improve the areas that truly need improving and then start building new areas and cleaning up old areas.
Perhaps we could have a bit more “mateship” and a little less American “me” provided we don’t take on the tall “poppy syndrome”, she’ll be right mate!
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
I have the privilege of having a few days bed rest due to a some surgery. So as I have time I’ve been thinking about what would you do improve El Camino – if I had millions of dollars and total power to alter the state that currently is – here is my master plan. Please read this with tongue in cheek and the right to freedom of speech.
I think I’d sit down with some landscapers and see what we could do about greening El Camino – so it is more in line with Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Perhaps the trees that sit on the 900 Kiely Site where the old Kaiser hospital was could be moved to selective locations along El Camino. After all common sense tells you that Fairfield Residential is going to “conveniently” ‘loose’ most of those established pines! We all know that trees have a habit of ‘disappearing’ when developers take over a lot – even though they make big commitments to ‘keep’ or ‘move them’ hmmm. I’m not a genius but my gut tells me it’s more wishful thinking on a developers side vs reality. New York City Cracks down on Slumlords
Then all the stores on El Camino that require painting be issued with a selection of different paints – actually be issued with the paint not the money but the paint, rollers, brushes, tarps, tape etc and the city sets a clean up store front month. Imagine a community painting month – much like the community Spring Clean up. Perhaps we could have this month after the Spring Clean up period.
Of course this would happen after the building inspectors have done their due diligence and checked all the properties that look like they need inspections and to be up to code! Imagine that – just humor me this is my dream. But imagine if we had inspectors check that signs were approved as per building code, and that properties have fire alarm inspections by a person of authority - not just the owner! And what about cleaning store fronts and back areas. Or perhaps maybe all this is done and I’m just not aware of it – but it seems to me that it should be done more often! Quarterly for the next two years till owners and tenants get into a routine and develop some pride of their store fronts. You may find this article interesting about how NY city council introduced regulations to clamp down on slum lords
Now humor me on the signage along El Camino – perhaps we could have a change in policy and we don’t advertise ‘24 hour book stores’ or ‘tattoo store’ or ”24 hour video stores’ or ‘liquor stores’ – heck someone took on the tabacco companies and Joe Cool is no longer to advertise. Or the sign be no bigger than 20×30 inches! Let’s face it those that frequent those stores already know where they are and with the internet it’s possible to find anything if you really want it. So why the need for the urban blight? I ask you is it necessary – what are we advertising here in Santa Clara? We know how to tattoo you while you drink liquor flip through magazines that show not much but skin or watch a movie that demeans women and stay in a hotel that the police regular drive by in the evening to see who is frequenting it! Charming!
Speaking of hotels and motels it’s sad to have to tell prospective visitors that they really should not consider one of the more well known motels along the SC El Camino Strip – and as one of my friends said to me last Thanksgiving: “that explains why the reviews on line were very negative”.
Don’t get me wrong I’m all for helping and assisting those that need accommodation when they are in bad times. However, sticking them in a hotel that you know is frequented by people of interest to the local police is not nice! Surely those people who are looking for low income housing assistance deserve better. How low do we have to go?
Am I the only one that notices how little planning has gone into our section of El Camino? sigh….
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Yesterday evening at the general plan discussions it was mentioned that there should be somewhere for us to go shopping. I had to laugh. I guess what last night brought up for me was that perhaps I am not the only person that notices that apart from cheap utilities Santa Clara really doesn’t have a lot to offer it’s residents. No I take that back – we have some wonderful parks and play grounds (only a mom would know that). We also have a wonderful library and great staff. But as for shopping!
Well I think I should be given a gas allowance by the city because I tend to have to go out of the city to buy my food. When the Safeway on Homestead and Kiely introduced ‘mood’ lighting I knew we were not going to shop there anymore! I’d rather go to 7/11 on Kiely where the teenagers all look like they are hanging out to meet or make a connection!
My gas allowance would allow me to go to Trader Joe’s or Whole paycheck or perhaps the Safeway in Rivermark – but at that safeway it’s really a case of ’spot the parking spot’. Boy there was some deep planning in that puppy when it came to parking! Good one planning commission – make sure the customer waits for his/her parking spot and wasting more gas when you go to the Rivermark Safeway! Perhaps they thought people would walk to the store at Rivermark.
I’m afraid walking to a store is not an American tradition. That, for me, was culture shock when I first came here. I have lived all over the world and mostly in the US have I had the need to drive to a supermarket and stock up. I hear Australia is soon to have it’s first Costco – unlike Americans, Australians use their garages for parking their cars – I wonder how Costco will survive!
Speaking of Costco I do go to the SC Costco – that I might say has had some planning but I’m sure that’s more Costco’s experience in how to build vs the planning departments experience! Good one Costco you win on the parking space award! I can always park at Costco – unfortunately with the price of gas the line there is somewhat longer than normal and causing some inconvenience to shoppers, Costco is not to blame for that though.
I’ve often wondered why we have so many Korean supermarkets in Santa Clara given I’ve only met two Koreans who actually live in Santa Clara – a lot of the ones I’ve met that own business don’t actually live in Santa Clara they just work here.
I have a dream that the current book stores on El Camino in Santa Clara actually become Barnes and Noble or imagine a Keplers! Oh now that’s a little piece of Heaven vs the urban blight that resides there now. How is it something like Keplers that offers knowledge and wisdom has a hard time staying in business when a store that looks like it only sells picture books looks like it’s been on El Camino for 50 years?
And how is that a lot of those questionable stores on El Camino look like that they wouldn’t pass a building inspection? Or don’t they do building inspections after a store opens in this country? hmmm maybe they don’t I don’t know – but aren’t there fire codes and health regulations that are enforced? I guess not otherwise some of those places along El Camino would have been cleaned up by now.
Rick asked why don’t I get involved – well unlike some of the Rich Santa Clara families that run ourcity I have to work for my crust and help raise a family and work towards having them be upstanding citizens – so I hope in time it is them that I can pass the torch to. I’ve done my bit in politics and made a difference and I’m just watching and observing the lack of passion many Americans have for their communities. I wonder if it comes down to the fact that voting here is not compulsory. Imagine compulsory voting? With compulsory voting you need to take an interest in your politics be it local or national – it’s all about your vote.
Once I became a citizen I felt I now had the right to speak out. And so I do … here and with my vote come election day.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
For the longest time I’ve wanted to write about El Camino in Santa Clara – am I the only one that notices how disgusting our section of El Camino is? You leave Sunnyvale heading south on El Camino and you enter “THE ZONE”.
House of Pain, Karaoke Bars and ill fated book stores that seem to have cars parked out the front 7/24 and these cars are all in need of a wash as I think are the book stores! The real question is does anyone buy a book in there? The thought makes me shudder!
Does Ms Mahan, Dominic, Will or Joe go into these stores or are they just proud of the fact we don’t have a pot hole in Santa Clara? Cringe …. here we are in what we consider modern times and you get to our section of El Camino and the place looks like the back streets of Thailand. Even the chief of police for BangKok some years ago closed down the bars after 2am in the hope of cleaning up the city. He stirred up the seedier part of his world and clamped down on pimps and druggies – though I think in Bangkok it’s an uphill battle but surely in Santa Clara we can do something about it? Or does the City Council not see what I see?
I’m happy to drive around during the day but at night I lock my doors and don’t venture out anymore and if I’m like this how many others are?
Have you ever noticed that we have more $49 oops it’s now $53 a night hotels than any other part of Silicon Valley El Camino? Have you ever noticed the Tattoo stores in Santa Clara? House of Pain – what a great name – I think that’s what we should call our part of El Camino – the Row of Pain because it pains me to go down this section. I avoid it at all costs.
It also saddens me that we feel obliged to have developers ‘fix up’ our urban blight. Why can’t we as a community take this on? Where are the grandma’s that forced druggies out of communities? Where are the greenies that hang out in trees? Where are the mothers that are up in arms about school scores? Come on guys time to let City Council know that we see what they aren’t doing – one person speaks out for us at the moment and she is ostracized and criticized for having an opinion that is against the other six ‘family’ members!
I don’t know about you but I’m a little sick of the ‘family’ running the town – time for change!
The city has taken it open themselves to hold open discussion with residents about the future of Santa Clara – what a shame so few people attended these events. Perhaps it’s because their is a general acceptance by a lot of old timers in the city that there is no way to have the city planners, administrators or council people hear what we want. Years ago I heard that there was public outcry about the proposed changes to the old quad downtown.
I observed tonight that the public relations company that ran the meeting has obviously been instructed to get the residents to start thinking about where they would like the ‘downtown’ of Santa Clara to be. Funny I always thought a downtown was where the streets were called “Main Street” “1st Street” “High Street” “2nd Street” or streets named after the founders of the city “Harrison” “Lafayette” – why would you now want Lawrence and El Camino to be the heart of our downtown? It’s practically the border of Sunnyvale – makes no sense to me. But then again I’m just a resident their is no money in any of this for me! Oh, what’s worse I’m not a Mahan, Caserta, Kennedy or other city councilman/women who owns property in the old quad where the old downtown used to be – I don’t have a vested interest in where downtown should be.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Today I went to a funeral of one of our neighbors here in Santa Clara. It was naturally sad on one level and enjoyable on another. That bitter sweetness of funerals is an odd feeling. Funerals remind you of a life had and a reminder to enjoy your own life.
I’ve known this neighbor for a number of years and as the neighbors come together to remember her life there is one question.
The question is; do the likes of the City Council know what is going on in the community? Do they walk the streets and get to know the concerns? Or perhaps they just sit in their high chairs on the odd Tuesday night in City Hall and pass judgement of what they feel is best for us? I’m so sceptical that I suspect that the ‘judges’ of our city destiny have little knowledge of what is really going on in the community. In reading the article in the Santa Clara Weekly this week about how the powers that be decided what to do with our city center I shudder and think that the mentality and lack of foresight lingers in the current regime. In fact as I read that article I realized that history is repeating itself – the 6 / 1 vote then is similar to the current 6 / 1 vote. The one lone counsellor is Jamie McLeod. Jamie gathers criticism for not going along with the rest of the council – but perhaps Jamie should be applauded for her willingness to speak out and think outside of the box.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Congratulations to Paul Fong - even though rumor has it his lawn signs were ‘disappearing’ his team managed to get out there and get his word out. I noticed that Caserta didn’t drop by our house this year – must have been the fact we didn’t decide to put up one of his signs. Can you blame us after the press and his campaign monies! I have never been a believer in supporting election campaigns. I’m more of the opinion that all parties should have one money pit and get given the same amount of money. This means they are on the same footing and there is no bias! Wow imagine a fair fight! Not one where he who has the most money or the most support wins.
I notice that the press hasn’t made too much mention about Caserta’s failed bid for assembly – good but alas we here in Santa Clara have to endure his presence a little longer! And I guess this means we will see more developers sniffing around given we know that he likes to be part of their gravy train. Perhaps the only difference here in a small town it’s more noticeable = had he been in Sacramento we might not see who he is ‘flirting’ with. It makes me wonder if he has collapsed power and contribution and created …. hmmm his own little empire here in Santa Clara. I can see it now “Caserta Corner” or ahh know “Caserta Trail” personally I think “Caserta Station” would be better – after all the gravy train has to stop somewhere!
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
