Top Stories: June 24, 2009

County Poem Unveiled; Green Building Mandated; Neda Agha Soltan Honored

By Staff (Jun 24, 2009 )

An Ode to Santa Clara County
Santa Clara County’s poet laureate Nils Peterson may not have written a word of it, but he was proud to announce that the county’s official poem has finally been completed. The poem, entitled “A Family Album; Santa Clara County 2009,” was composed by hundreds of local residents, each of whom contributed a line. Peterson then selected 100 lines and fashioned them into a poem, divided into such sections as Work, People, Our Lives, What Was Lost, What’s Here, and The Look of Our Place. From the section What’s Here:

I thought it would be almost like Kansas, but it’s not.
Home of garlic fog, traffic bog and many who jog.
Sometimes the earth shakes beneath our feet.

The entire poem can be read here. Read More at KLIV.


Protesters Remember Neda Agha-Soltan
Iranian-Americans and others gathered at the Plaza de Cesar Chavez Tuesday evening to remember Neda Agha Soltan, the 26-year-old Iranian woman who was shot dead during the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tehran this weekend. The protesters, many dressed in green—the color of Iran’s nascent democracy movement—and black—as a sign of mourning—observed 20 minutes of silence, followed by classical Persian music and speeches and poetry in Farsi. Santa Clara county is home to the largest community of Iranian Americans in the Bay Area. Read More at the Mercury News.


New Vote for San Jose Planning Commission Chair
Citing the Brown Act, which prohibits the majority of any government panel from privately discussing votes, outgoing planning chairman Jim Zito has overturned the vote naming Thang Do as his successor. The decision was based on a recommendation by City Attorney Rick Doyle. According to Zito, four of the seven commissioners discussed their votes privately, in violation of the state’s open meetings law. Read More at the Mercury News.


San Jose Now Nation’s First City to Mandate Green Building Policy
The San Jose City Council voted to mandate LEED (Silver or better) regulations for new commercial buildings and the BIG (Build It Green) Green Point Rated system for residential construction. It is the first city in the U.S. to adopt the environmentally friendly building codes. Read More at Serious Materials.


Clear Reason for Long Lines at San Jose Airport
Clear, the company whose Clear Card allowed commuters to speed through security checks at some two dozen airports throughout the country, including Mineta San Jose, SFO, and Oakland International, closed suddenly on Monday, citing problems with its agreement with its senior creditor. About 165,000 people who paid $128 for the card are now left stranded on the long security check lines, forcing them to arrive earlier for their flights. There has been no announcement as to whether or how the company will compensate its customers. Read More at KLIV.


Three BART Unions Prepare to Strike
The Bay Area may face serious traffic snags in the coming weeks as negotiations with five of BART’s unions near a month-end deadline for contract negotiations. Two unions, the AFSME representing mid-level workers, and ATU, representing train operators and station attendants, have already authorized a strike, while a third union, SEIU, will vote on its next steps on Thursday. The remaining unions are police unions and therefore cannot strike.

Union organizers reject BART’s request that they make benefit concessions in the new contracts. BART claims that this is necessary since sales tax revenues have had the largest drop in transit company’s 37-year history. Read More at KCBS.