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Santa Clara County residents may have heard a lot on the homeless. Every day on the streets of Santa Clara County, I have seen a ton of people having a cart full of sleeping material. Day after day, and night after night, the number of people being homeless in Santa Clara County have increased. So could there be any action by the county to deal with the sharp increase in the number of homeless? In this blog, I give my short take on the current state of the homeless population in Santa Clara County.
The center of the big bulk of the homeless population centers in the 10th largest city in the United States, San Jose. Homeless encampments are still growing, sometimes scattered around the Silicon Valley. Downtown San Jose is one of the places that I've seen a handful of homeless population both on the streets and under bridges and over crossings. No one have seemed to notice, and no one is checking. Not even once that the city of San Jose have checked for anyone sleeping under the bridges.
Santa Clara County supervisor Dave Cortese wants to do something about the growing number of homeless people. He does promise that the people living on the streets will find someplace to live. In terms of the housing market, there isn't much space that could be reserved for the homeless. I never heard from people whether there is any moves by Santa Clara County or the city of San Jose to place homeless people in newly-built homes.
The Community Homeless Alliance Ministry (CHAM) is also heavily involved, led by Pastor Scott Wagers. Wagers spoke many times on the issues of the homeless. When I took pictures of the scene all over San Jose, Wagers saw the extent of where the homeless may be living. Many examples that I've provided in the photos show the places where the homeless could be. News reports that I've viewed online and on television tells the facts on the large clusters of the homeless population centered near "the Jungle," which is defined as a man-made district located on the intersections of Story and Senter Roads, across from Happy Hallow Park & Zoo next to the Coyote Creek. That encampment has been since quarried off by San Jose Police. But shortly after the Jungle has been dismantled, another large encampment appeared at the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
As the housing continues to grow, there is very little space and time for Santa Clara County and the cities and towns within the county to come up with a plan to get all the homeless off the streets and into the homes, something that I believe is unhappy with Supervisor Cortese or Pastor Wagers. As I did look everywhere, the only possible way that could help put homeless into homes is to hire a landlord. But the main question remains a mystery to whether the landlord hired by the county or cities involved will dedicate his/her time to identify a place that will house many of the homeless. This is something that no landlords have ever done before.
The biggest question remains to be seen in regards to the future of the housing for the homeless. Will Santa Clara County and their cities work on a plan? Who knows what is next...
BONUS: The following pictures were taken not far from San Jose State University. The pictures contains images that shows homeless sleeping out on the streets of downtown San Jose.
This blog is part of my three-part sequential blog. Click here for the next one.
There were two blogs that I originally posted which included mentions of the Fiesta Nightclub in San Jose. The first blog involved a promotion including the owner of Ambitious Ink in downtown San Jose and the first signs of a possible violation, which triggered my investigation after a promotion involving the Ambitious Ink owner was posted on Facebook. The second involves my investigation into a high-profiled person that sparked some illegal activity that was originally undetected. In both cases, there has been some ties with Go Der Magazine (pronounced as "Go Dare"). But the most recent shooting that happened on January 11, 2015, at 1:20am has even more trouble with Fiesta Nightclub, including it's management and some kind of indirect involvement from some of KMEL Radio DJ personalities, though only mentioned in promos. Beyond the fact that the Fiesta Nightclub made national and international headlines, only in this blog uncovers more on some of Fiesta Nightclub's history, as well as the history of a local magazine seen doing drugs even in their offices posted on social media.
To describe the Fiesta Nightclub, it is a underground club known to play Mexican music but does have the ability to book private events that is only announced and invited to certain guests.
A photo posted by GO DER Magazine (@godermagazine) on
As said in my previous blog, possible violations has been uncovered when I made an unannounced visit, but went undercover to investigate possible violations of some of San Jose city ordinances involving smoking regulations. That event at the time was promoted by a user, which now I have learned is also involved in shooting a film for Bay Area Racing, using the hashtag #BARMovie, filming at various places in Santa Clara County and posted many videos of those on his Instagram page.
The question pertains to what other possible violations that the Fiesta nightclub really have, including whether or not Fiesta Nightclub were abiding local and state laws. I was unable to get any answers from the management or from people in my unannounced visit, and the only hint that got me to check out the club as part of my undercover investigation was a promotional video posted on Instagram.
The news of the shooting also made local headlines, including TV stations and the San Jose Mercury News, who all noted that cell phone video was recorded inside the nightclub when shots were fired, sending Brown to safety as he was singing the song. MAGAZINE: FALSE CLAIMS, OR MORE THAN JUST THE CLAIMS?
The organization that covers underground rap music and events that includes marijuana, Go Der Digital, who operates Go Der Magazine, claims that they are an "urban entertainment publication that provides insight into the world of urban music, culture, fashion, and trends." While they do promote events at venues such as Fiesta nightclub, my findings on social media reveals more than just the claims they insisted to cover.
Some posts on Go Der Magazine's Instagram page also reveals disturbing images and hard evidences of drug use possibly (and potential) not limited to only marijuana. A health study contacted out of British Columbia, Canada (mentioned in the blog on Ronnie Rey), uncovers shrinking of the brain when marijuana is consumed. While I may not have the magazines in hand to take a look at my findings, the evidence is very clear and there is no denying about the findings. The first thing that was on the list is events that cover marijuana (cannabis) at various locations, but particularly those that draw huge crowds. Promotions shown on social media have included graphic images and tattoo parlors that Go Der Digital does promote. Fiesta nightclub does have strong ties to Go Der Magazine when the event is promoted there, though it is
not clear about the cozy relationship between the magazine and Fiesta.
No comments were made by either party so far.
LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT FIESTA NIGHTCLUB?
Fiesta Nightclub is located not far from Capitol Expressway on Monterey Road near Rancho Drive, only about a block from the Capitol Caltrain station.
Other than the known location of the club, there is relatively little information and background about the Fiesta Nightclub, though from several videos taken from the scene, it can accommodate up to about 1000. But there were some information that I've uncovered myself through an unannounced visit - that was to get the facts and see for myself if there is any more information about the club itself. Various social media posts revealed that the cost to enter the Fiesta nightclub is $20 for many of the events. But no employees would speak about the background information on the Fiesta nightclub - not even to the media.
Fiesta Nightclub does have a Facebook page, but the page is written in Spanish with no mention of any promotions such as Chris Brown's private event. My indications, however, points to serious problems involving Fiesta Nightclub itself, including breaking the law on smoking ordinances, and now, security checkpoints. Fiesta Nightclub itself did not previously made local, national, or international headlines. The nightclub is known for promoting Mexican music during certain times despite the fact that it can promote other events including hip-hop, R&B, and other genres.
Artists that have performed at the Fiesta Nightclub have included Rance Oliver (LoveRance), DJ Rick Lee, among others. One of my blogs also included several known party goers inside the nightclub, which included Stephanie Smith ("Huss Baby", sometimes stylized as "Hu$$ Baby"), who Smith is currently serving a jail sentence after KSBW and KION television reported about a crime that involved the San Benito County Sheriff and two of Smith's accomplices - one of which is from Sacramento.
REDUCED POLICE FORCE MEANS HIGHER CRIME RATES IN 2015?
As far as security at the Fiesta Nightclub, that could be sparking concerns among San Jose police officers. In the 2014 election, the San Jose Police Officers Association recommended Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese to head up the city of San Jose in dealing with the issue in retaining the police force. However, his opponent, former San Jose City Councilman Sam Liccardo, eventually won the election in a tight race.
The problems with the SJPD are far from over. There is now talk about even further reduction of the San Jose police officers, even assigning the California Highway Patrol to handle some of the duties. The result was mostly from negotiation stalls between the city and the police officers association that led to over 600 police officers leaving the force, resulting in cutbacks from some of the most valuable programs. If the reduction trend does continue, SJPD could only have half the normal number of officers in less than 2 years, though the trend depends on several different factors that could have unpredictable results.
The bottom line is that the overall fate of Fiesta Nightclub, including the relationship with Go Der Magazine, is not clear as of yet, though the operations will continue for now.
NOTE OF CAUTION:The external pictures and/or
videos in this blog post can be disturbing. Please exercise caution when
viewing the pictures/videos. (Credits belong to original owners.)
Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak
According to the New York Times, Lyndon Rive was born in South Africa around 1977. He first came to the state of California in 1998 to compete in his favorite sport - underwater hockey. He eventually decided that California is the place to go as Santa Clara County is home to the Silicon Valley.
From there, the article to me does not question about his vision for SolarCity - instead, the article rather questions about his Bay Area, and what he likes best about the entire Bay Area. Both the Rive brothers, Lyndon and Peter, certainly likes technology, which is perhaps one possible reason why the Bay Area is special to them.
The second thing that could be on their mind is the weather - California has plenty of sunny days during the summer with no rain in the forecast. South Africa also has a similar climate like California, but with December summers and June winters.
Besides just SolarCity itself, another possible reason for why the Bay Area is the Rives' favorite destination is the location and contribution to knowing to solve air pollution problems. Both of the Rive' brothers are aware of the growing traffic problems in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties, where traffic has been increasing. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), Caltrain, SamTrans, and San Francisco Municipal Transit Agency (SFMTA) have been trying to improve their bus and rail infrastructure for many years to reduce the use of foreign oil, which seems to be SolarCity's mission and somewhat part of Rives' main vision for SolarCIty.
The Rive' brothers and their cousin, Elon Musk, who also is part of Tesla Motors, has a strong relationship between Tesla and SolarCity.
However, given that many articles seem to address the reasons behind Lyndon Rive's move to the Bay Area from South Africa, the public, including myself, won't actually know what the true reasons of why the Rive brothers chose the Bay Area besides just their vision for SolarCity.
NOTE: The above picture is a flyer given out to people addressing why SolarCity is proclaimed to be the top full service solar provider. Trademarks shown in the picture (including the flyer in the picture) belong to the respective owners.
Original Work: Kyle Chak
E-mail: chak595301@gmail.com
Twitter: @KyleSChak
Has anyone recalled seeing my previous blog on problems with fares on 511's website? The Bay Area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), which manages the 511 website in the Bay Area, has been under my microscope for at least a couple of years with my first mention about the MTC back in March 2014. If you did recall in my investigation, BART's fares has been inaccurate and still does not match the 511 website's trip planner, which could be several dollars off the actual fare paid in cash or Clipper card.
511's trip planner before my blog was up may have created a lot of embarrassment at both the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) and Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in terms of fare alignment. The former is currently creating the latter's new tracks for the extension to both Milpitas and San Jose's Berryessa station, with construction currently in progress.
As I have been saying, most Bay Area transit agencies have a youth fare policy that defines between the ages of 5 to 17 or 18 years old, but BART's fare alignment and policy does not match that of what most Bay Area transit agencies utilize. Meanwhile, VTA introduced a new fare policy that would upgrade the upper age limit for youths from 17 to 18 years old.
Recent developments hinted by a BART employee at the debut of the Oakland Airport extension pointed to big debates at BART headquarters in Oakland not long after my investigative blog was up online. BART board members were aware of my blog's insight into how BART's fare table is not the same as how transit agencies are using a fare policy for youth, senior, and the disabled. This also applies to commenting on BART's website, which I exposed that the word limit for commenting is only 1000 words.
The employee at the event also told me that extending the upper age limit from 12 to 17 or 18 has been going on for at least a couple of years with no results. Currently, riders between the ages of 13 to 17 must pay the full adult fare to ride BART from one destination to another. Big debates on the fare alignment were at times fierce,
pointing to similar fare policies that already took place on almost all
transit agencies except BART themselves. There is still no consensus or
timeline of whether BART even plans to change their fare policy to match
the youth, senior, and disabled with those of most Bay Area transit
agencies.
But still, BART has not yet consulted with other transit agencies around the Bay Area to see what their fare policies are, and how BART intends to improve their service based on the age structure and those that are seniors and/or disabled. Even at my last check-up on 511's website, most transit agencies have accurate fare information in all categories except for BART.
Even more disturbing to my findings after my repeated reviews of BART's three booklets that addresses reduced fares reveals that BART has never published a fare table for both the youth and the senior/disabled one review of the booklet after another (the most recent review was in September 2014), despite mentioning of the 62.5% discount mentioned on both BART's website and on several BART-related booklets obtained at the Fremont BART station. Instead, BART opts users to go directly to BART's website and figure out what the actual fare is, rendering 511's website information on BART fares for the youth, senior, and disabled completely useless. Furthermore, for instance, the difference between the two BART booklets between 2012 and 2014 revealed very little change except for the slight increase in adult fares.
A 511 spokesman told me via a private message in my earlier blog stated that BART may have introduced a fare table formula that is not in line with other Bay Area transit agencies, which still questions me about BART's accurate fare information discrepancies published on both BART's website and 511's website. BART's general manager, Grace Crunican, several of BART's board members, and other BART representatives have yet to respond to the fare discrepancies published on 511's website. Most recently, Caltrain and VTA has already passed their actions uniting the upper youth age limit to 18 years old as part of the Bay Area's effort to have a standardized youth age. Both of them joins Golden Gate Transit's standardized youth age on their buses, with possibly more transit agencies around the Bay Area to follow.
San Jose city councilman Ash Klara and transit advocate Chris Lepe offered no comment on my findings related to the structure of BART fares as BART extends to Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, Santa Clara County supervisor Dave Cortese also was involved in the investigation as he was part of the board at the MTC when I was at the groundbreaking for the Bay Area's first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jose, as well as an event at the Bay Area Chrysanthemum Growers Association. At San Jose State University, San Jose City Councilman Ash Kalra offered no comment. But the question still lingers in the air on not only extensions of BART, but also BART's adjustment on their fare policy for the youth and the senior/disabled. It is still unknown whether BART wants to proceed with an improved look to their new fare policy.
You have seen many articles on sideshows from local Bay Area television stations. Sideshows in Oakland, taking place right in front of news choppers and the California Highway Patrol. But my blog also shows more disturbing examples of more illegal activity, including the possible filming of a movie that has been emerged from social media and possibly on YouTube.
His name is "MostCesar Perez" on social media. His Twitter and Instagram accounts are also active, though named differently. He often has done projects for "Go Der Magazine" (pronounced as "Go Dare"). He is often busy with his projects.
But while Perez is busy, I am investigating his most recent work that could be associated with dangerous and reckless driving, even filming on the streets where on some properties, it is not legal.
The picture on Instagram shows the illegal activity that happened near the intersection of 7th and Maritime Streets near the port of Oakland. But Perez was unaware of his actions that could be the subject of a police investigation. The project that Perez is doing associates with Bay Area Racing, using the hashtag, #BARMovie on both Twitter and Instagram. He wanted to show that movie to his friends, including those that are participants of the potential illegal activity.
Newscasts that aired on local television stations over the Thanksgiving holiday showed illegal sideshows at the Port of Oakland. But the concern is not just on the sideshows. It is also the racing part that caught my attention when the Instagram post showed the nearly identical scene of where the sideshow took place. At least two of the television helicopters showed what exactly was on the scene, which some of the action may be on Bay Area Racing's YouTube page.
My investigation uncovered that Bay Area Racing had big secret plans, which all of those included posts that alerted fans only on the day that the illegal activity was due to take place and asking fans to repost on social media, especially on Instagram. Bay Area Racing chose Perez to direct the film that is still in the works, but the illegal activity portion is likely much of a concern to law enforcement.
Under California state law, sideshow activities are strictly prohibited as sideshows and other illegal activities poses a serious threat to the public. So far, however, Perez is unable to comment on my latest findings involving illegal activities, including sideshows, street races, drag races, and so on. Still, Bay Area Racing has chosen to break the rules by utilizing the Port of Oakland as a place to do illegal activities. It is unknown when Bay Area Racing has started, and if they were aware of who was really keeping an eye.
