Weekends are traditionally times for newspapers to catch up on long-running stories and, frankly, pad the paper with non-news items. And there was plenty of that this past weekend:
- The San Jose Mercury News looked at whether a new baseball stadium for the Oakland A’s could fit next to San Jose’s planned high-speed rail station, and concluded: The state’s high-speed rail chief says he sure hopes so. “By all means,” Mehdi Morshed told the paper, “we’re going to be working with the city and others to make the high-speed train station complimentary to everything else around it.”
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The Houston Dynamo are “pushing ahead” with their new soccer stadium, reports the Houston Chronicle, the team having filled an office with renderings and started an archeological dig. Now all the Dynamo ownership needs is to “complete its financing package agreement with the city and have the county, by way of Commissioners Court, vote in favor of contributing $10 million to the project.” Details, details.
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The New York Times marked, um, the one-month anniversary of the Japanese baseball season opener by reporting on the privately funded renovations carried out by the Seibu Lions: “With the $51,111,111.11 posting fee the Lions earned from the [Boston] Red Sox in the deal [for pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka], they renovated the drab, outdated Seibu Dome, constructing concession stands and seating, resurfacing the playing field, installing an enormous video scoreboard and, most notably, building magnificent bathrooms with electronically warmed toilet seats.” No word on whether they’re now charging $3.50 for Pocky.
You definitely need to watch out for foul balls while enjoying your Pocky (green tea is the best).
Layoffs abound in San Jose while they are trying to shove this stadium down our throats.
Check my blog, the only against the project.
SAN JOSE SKETCHES BY BOZ
www.sanjosessketchesbyboz.blogspot.com
Two neighborhood groups are circulating petitions opposing it as we speak.
Fremont will seem like a walk in the park compared to the outcry coming in San Jose.
Collins,
While I agree there will likely be a bit more opposition in SJ from the local neighbors, I have a feeling you’re going to see alot more support from the immediate neighbors than you did in Fremont as well. Particularly from young first time home owners in the developments right around the stadium that will watch their home values go up as the stadium goes up. And that ignores the fact the parts of the city not immediately around the stadium will likely support it as long as it’s privately funded and won’t have any NIMBY objections because it won’t be in their backyard.