Jim's Sunnyvale Blog | Former Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Griffith

Last-minute Redistricting Change Hoses Sunnyvale

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Jim Griffith

Sorry for the phrasing, but there’s really no other way to put it. We got hosed.

On Friday, the state Redistricting Commission issued its final maps, which are now subject to a two-week review period before being approved. But before doing so, they made a last-minute change that affects Sunnyvale in a bad way. As part of the changes, they created a district currently called CA-17, which can best be described as half of Pete Stark’s district, half of Mike Honda’s. Prior to Friday, they had placed Milpitas and San Jose down to Alum Rock in that district, leaving us in Anna Eshoo’s district.
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7/26/2011 Council Summary

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Jim Griffith

Pretty short and serious evening.

We started the evening with a study session on the Lawrence Station Area Plan. In short, we’re looking at the zoning in a 1/2 mile radius around the Lawrence Station in order to design a more transit-oriented, higher-density neighborhood. It’s difficult to summarize the entire study session in a blog entry, but there are three different ways we can go with this area. First, we can make it all high-density housing. Second, we can make it high-density mixed-use, residential and some sort of commercial/industrial/office. Third, we can go for high-density office/research.
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DEADLINE TOMORROW: Opting Out of Yellow Pages Deliveries

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Jim Griffith

Sorry that I missed this one, somehow. Yellow Pages directories represent a hugely unsustainable waste of resources, due to how many get delivered, how rarely people use them nowadays, and how much bulk materials go into each one. As a result, jurisdictions nationwide are beginning to talk about requiring opt-in signups before distributors can deliver a Yellow Pages directory to someone.

Obviously, the producers of Yellow Pages directories don’t like that idea much, so they’ve supported an opt-out program instead. And the deadline for getting on this list for this year’s delivery is TOMORROW. There’s an article on this in the Los Altos Patch, and it includes links to the opt-out web page. If you’re interested in opting out this year, ACT FAST!

7/26/2011 Council Preview

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Jim Griffith

This one may be short or it may be long, and it’s hard to tell. But this will be our first meeting since learning of the passing of Councilmember Swegles, so it will be a difficult meeting, regardless.

We start the evening with a joint study session with the Planning Commission regarding the Lawrence Station Area Study. That should be interesting.

Then we get into the business of the day.
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7/19/2011 Council Summary

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Jim Griffith

Sorry this is so late. There have been more pressing things to get to. This was, indeed, a relatively short meeting that we breezed through pretty quickly. Councilmember Swegles was not present. He’d been hospitalized in Michigan a couple of days earlier and was unable to attend.

We started the evening with a redevelopment agency closed session (top secret, sorry), followed by a study session regarding the budget stabilization fund (BSF) and the contingency fund. It was a good discussion and a good prelude to our eventual vote on the issue. I’ll recall what I can from the staff presentation.
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