Suzanne Yada
Online Editor
A couple of years ago, the Spartan Daily staff live-blogged and live-streamed our monthly news conferences with the president of the university. We fell out of that habit, but today we resurrected it.
It was an excellent experience. We asked some tough questions — both ours and yours. And we hope to do it again for the news conference next month. Check out the live blog archive and download an MP3 of the session.
There was also live footage:
As you can see, it got quite nasty after someone asked about faculty furloughs.
- Ahh, yes. Nothing says awesomeness like smacking strangers with a pillow. And that’s exactly what I’m going to do this Valentine’s Day. Thousands gather in San Francisco every year in an annual flash-mob pillow fight. It’s free, and all you have to bring is a pillow, your Valentine and your ninja skillz. Your hard-hitting budget questions can stay at home.
- I’ve always felt that San Jose was the country’s most urban suburb. (I dare you to name another city that fits.) But soon downtown San Jose may look more like an actual urban center. The City Council approved electronic signs for downtown businesses on Feb. 3, paving the way for bright lights and flashing neon. Gee golly wilikers, just like a real city! And who knows, if BART ever gets its act together, we could turn into an actual lively destination instead of “That Place Where the Sharks Play.”
- Speaking of downtown flashing lights, do me a favor. Program 408-287-0128 into your cell phone. The next time you’re out at night around The 88 on Second and San Fernando streets, dial the number, then punch in any three digits, including the star and the pound keys. Dial zero, hang up, and amaze your friends by how you magically changed the light patterns on the building. (This months-old press release is the only definitive thing I was able to find on the piece of interactive public art.) Try punching in *14 for Valentine’s Day.
- The Merc reported today that PG&E is set to cut 25 percent of trees in two city parks because they could touch critical transmission wires and harm public safety. I would hope PG&E isn’t doing this out of cold-hearted malice. Read tomorrow’s Spartan Daily to find out how SJSU takes care of its trees. Again, hopefully not out of malice.
- EDIT: One more little tidbit: If you’re buying food at the Student Union between now and Friday, say “What’s up Doc?” to the cashier and you will get a free healthy snack, according to this Facebook event run by the SJSU Food Court page. Choose either baby carrots, celery sticks or apple bites.
