San Jose is about to decide whether it will join the ranks of cities that tax pot too. In November, residents will weigh in on Measure U, the “Medical Marijuana Ordinance,” which taxes every stage of the medical marijuana industry, from planting to processing to wholesale and retail. Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio says, “This is the only type of tax that would pass in this environment. We tax alcohol, we tax cigarettes … this would fall into the same category.”
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Today would have been John Lennon’s 70th birthday, and it is turning into a sort of international celebration. The Google Doodle today is a sweet animation based on Lennon’s line drawings and set to a clip of his song “Imagine.”
San Jose will be finishing line for Stage Four of the 2011 Amgen Tour of California. The city’s Chief Development Officer Peter Krupko pushed for the decision, after two years in which San Jose was the starting point of the 800-mile bike race. According to Krutko, the city prefers hosting the finish line because it garners more excitement and attracts more people.
The Adobe Animal Hospital, a new, high tech veterinary hospital in Los Altos, is testing a new cure for canine arthritis based on stem cells. The cells are injected into the arthritic joints to reduce overall inflammation. The effectiveness of the treatment is still being studied, but some results indicate that it reduces inflammation and increases joint mobility in thirty percent of cases.
Mark Zuckerberg, 26, is the world’s youngest billionaire. He’s not the only one under forty here in Silicon Valley. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who founded Google, are both in their mid-thirties. It’s a youthful work environment, and according to a survey conducted by Business Pulse, most high tech employees in Silicon Valley have seen age discrimination first hand.
One of the main reasons that voters decided overwhelmingly to support the construction of a $937 million stadium in Santa Clara for the 49ers is that no money from the general fund would be used to pay for the new stadium. Santa Clara Plays Fair, which opposed the new stadium, now claims that the city is paying for other team expenses, including police escorts for the team’s buses.
Stanford women’s soccer dominates; Cardinal football looses a heartbreaker and its ranking; Sharks are ready to go; Quakes settle for a draw; Spartans lose a nail-biter at Homecoming.
It’s the city versus the unions in this year’s local election, a direct reflection of the runaway deficit and how it affects everything from parks to public safety. Public figures aside, the election is revolving around local Measure V, which could impact the salaries and benefits of city employees.
Parents gathered outside the Police Athletic League headquarters yesterday to protest police budget cuts. Waving signs with messages like “Don’t gut our kids’ future,” they called on the SJPD to continue its youth athletics program, and not to transfer participating officers to street beats. Over 5,000 kids participate in the SJPD’s PAL league, and parents say that this is the best way to keep them off the streets and away from gangs.
The SJPD has cited a twelve-year-old boy for pointing a plastic pellet gun at another student. The incident occurred at the Beacon School, which serves students who have had difficulties fitting into the public school system. Police later identified the boy, questioned him and confiscated the pellet gun.
