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Top Stories: Oct. 14, 2009Seeing Green; Downtown's Care Needs; 49ers Stadium Clears Legislative Hurdle; Storm Called 'Worst'by Staff on Oct 14, 2009Green Vision Named Best Sustainable Development Program in Nation The International Economic Development Council had the highest praise for San Jose and Mayor Chuck Reed. At its annual conference in Reno, Nevada, it named the city's Green Vision sustainable development program the best in the entire United States. In explaining the reward, IEDC Chair Ian Bromley said: "Furthering economic development is rarely a simple task in the best of times, and advancing the cause in the midst of a global financial crisis is nothing less than arduous." Reed responded by saying: "I hope that we can serve as an inspiration for other cities around the world to embrace clean tech innovation and sustainability." Read More at Marketwire. Where Should a New Medical Center Go? Downtown's problems are slowly getting solved. In August, the question facing downtown residents was what to do about dinner every night. Enter Safeway, with its gourmet takeout and 200 types of cheese. But what do you do when you get indigestion that just won't go away? The answer to that used to be easy: the San Jose Medical Center. Then five years ago the hospital closed down, leaving residents of downtown stranded when they needed immediate medical attention. The question really hit at the core of what local residents of a burgeoning downtown area really need, especially with the rise of high-rise condos. San Jose may be the tenth-largest city in the US, but it is also the only city on the list that has no hospital to serve its downtown area. Recognizing a dire situation, voters approved a $50 million bond last year to build a new outpatient clinic to service downtown as well as the greater San Jose area. The money is there, but the clinic is not, largely because no one has decided exactly where to put it. City Councilmember Sam Liccardo explains that City Council is working with the county to decide where to locate the clinic so that it best serves the local population. Read More at KCBS. Read More at the Mercury News. Another Hurdle Cleared for 49ers' Stadium Sen. Elaine Alquist is on a roll. Not only has Gov. Schwarzenegger signed her bills to promote digital textbooks. He also signed a bill she proposed to help the 49ers get their new stadium built in Santa Clara, without having to go through a competitive bidding process. According to the new bill, the team itself can decide on the design it wants and hand out contracts to construction companies, overruling city ordinances that require this. Now, all that's left is for voters to approve the new stadium in a referendum next year. If that happens, construction could begin as early as 2012. Read More at KLIV. District Proposes Closing Three Schools The Alum Rock School District may have approved pouring $179 million into their ailing schools, but even that is not enough to save some of the district's schools. With the student population down 3,000 students since 1999, Superintendent Joe Mazo has proposed closing two elementary schools and one middle school in order to consolidate the districts assets. Elementary schools considered for closure are Goss, Slonaker and Rogers; middle schools considered for closure are Pala and Ocala. A final decision on which schools to close is expected early next year. Read More at The Mercury News. Storm Pummels Bay Area San Jose's firefighters are hoping for a respite today, after the remains of Typhoon Morel pummeled the Bay Area with what is being called the worst storm in 47 years. Though Oakland and Santa Cruz were the hardest hit areas, San Jose saw 2.22 inches of rain by late Tuesday afternoon, an enormous amount for a city's whose average annual rainfall comes to just 15.08 inches. In that same period, Santa Cruz received over 10 percent of its average annual rainfall. The storm downed power lines throughout the region, leaving homes, schools, and businesses in the dark. The most severe outages were caused by a 500-power volt line near Moss Landing, which fell, reducing electricity to areas served by the line to one-third of their capacity. Local residents were asked to conserve power to avoid overtaxing the system. Flooding occurred along parts of the Guadeloupe River, which runs through downtown San Jose, forcing authorities to close part of the trail. The most severe local flooding occurred in Morgan Hill, where thirty residents of a local apartment complex were forced to evacuate their homes, after waters reaching knee-level seeped into their apartments. Meanwhile firefighters were running from site to site, resolving what they described as "100 little, teeny, tiny things," including flooding, downed power lines, and fallen branches. Dispatcher Randy Christopher noted, however, that "there's nothing that's too dangerous to life and limb." Other people taxed to the hilt by the storm were air traffic controllers at Mineta International Airport. Though there were no delays locally, nearby SFO was faced with three-hour delays, and many flights scheduled to land there were diverted to Mineta. The stormy weather is expected to ease today, and the rest of the week is predicted to be mostly dry. Read More at The Mercury News. by Staff on Oct 14, 2009 |
 The City of San Jose's efforts toward sustainability have been recognized as the nation's best. |
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