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Top Stories: Feb. 2, 2010

Davis Deputizes Phan S. Ngo; Bon Voyage Terminal C; AP Inks Deal With Yahoo

by Danny Wool on Feb 02, 2010
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Property Taxes: The Good News and the Bad News
There's some good news for homeowners in Santa Clara County. Property taxes will be going down this year. Not by a lot, mind you. It's only by 0.237 percent, but that's still an improvement over the standard hike of 2 percent that most people are accustomed to. Or is it?

After all, every silver lining has its cloud, and the drop in property taxes could well be it. Though the lower rates will mean about $100 in savings or less for most homeowners, collectively it comes to $70 million, which is indeed a significant sum, considering that the money goes to fund education and hospitals. Considering the current state of local government's finances, that's quite a significant blow. San Jose could make off especially badly with a deficit now at $100 million. The reduction in property taxes could mean another $2-3 million that will have to be covered somehow.

What it effectively means is that the county will be forced to cut back even more services to its citizens and abandon some of the more successful programs. In schools, for instance, a 1:20 teacher-student ratio for grades K-3 is likely to become a thing of the past, remembered nostalgically as something from the good old days, when property taxes were just a tad higher.
Read More at ABC 7.
Read More at The Mercury News.


Police Chief Makes a Gesture to the Vietnamese Community
It's no secret that the SJPD has been having some problems in its relationship with the Vietnamese community of San Jose, and it goes far beyond a language barrier. There's the shooting death of Daniel Pham, who suffered from mental illness, to contend with, and the tasing of college student Phuong Ho in September while his roommates recorded it on camera. Police Chief Rob Davis has decided that it's time to try and make up.

To show how serious he is, he has just appointed Phan S. Ngo as the city's new Deputy Police Chief, the first member of a minority group to join the traditionally all-white command of San Jose's finest. Ngo was already the highest-ranking police officer of Vietnamese origins when he was promoted, and he seems to be the perfect candidate to chip away at the mistrust that has built up between the Vietnamese community and the SJPD, both of which are proud to call him their own.
Read More at The Mercury News.
Read More at 8 Asians.


End of an Era at Mineta
Longtime travelers at Mineta will have to get used to the airport's new layout. Starting today, Terminal C will be closed, after almost 45 years of serving the public. By the end of the summer, it will be gone forever, demolished to make way for a new parking lot.

But that's still months away. For now, the frequent flier crowd on Alaskan Airlines, Delta, Horizon, US Airways, and Frontier Airlines, will have to get used to the brand new Terminal B—even though it hasn't been officially opened and won't be to June. Just don't get too comfortable in your airline's new home. There will still some adjustments to be made, and at least one airline, Frontier, will be moving to a revamped Terminal A as soon as it is completed next month.

As for anyone who misses the old Terminal C, at least you'll be able to park there.
Read More at ABC 7.


AP Signs Deal with Yahoo
Dean Singleton and MediaNews may be having some problems with the Mercury News now that they are declaring bankruptcy, but that doesn't stop him from playing hardball. Singleton also chairs the board of the Associated Press, which is in the midst of contentious negotiations with Google over the rights to include its stories in its search results. This all came to a head around Christmastime, when Google stopped hosting AP stories. Now Singleton has upped the ante by signing a content deal with Yahoo.

While the financial terms of the deal have yet to be disclosed, it is know that the deal does not include tiered pricing. It may be a wise deal too. While Google's dominance of search puts it way ahead of any of its rivals, and while more people turn to Google for their news than get their stories from CNN or the New York Times, there is still one area where Yahoo beats Google by almost 2 to 1. More people get their news from Yahoo (44 million) than get their news from Google (24 million). Obviously Google wants to catch up, and being locked out of AP content certainly isn't helping them. This means that Singleton can start to experiment and see how far he can push Google without harming the Merc. In the past he's threatened to sue news aggregators like Google. Now he's simply showing them how much they need him.
Read More at the Business Journal.


Cash for Clunkers?
Auto repair costs can pile up, and if you can't afford to pay them, driving around becomes a hassle. Unfortunately, there are plenty of people in San Jose faced with that problem. Not for long though. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission recently approved a $75,000 grant to the City of San Jose to help low-income residents get their cars back up to speed. The grant will be available through the Housing Service Partnership program.
Read More at the Business Journal.



by Danny Wool on Feb 02, 2010
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