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Top Stories: Nov. 19, 2009

New Police Tape Released; Horizon Arrives at Mineta; Proposed Yahoo Campus in Trouble; Custodian/Photographer Reassigned

by Danny Wool on Nov 19, 2009
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Supreme Court Decision to Have Impact on County
In 2005, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote: "It would be misguided to equate the failings of a minor with those of an adult, for a greater possibility exists that a minor's character deficiencies will be reformed." It was the majority view in Roper v. Simmons, a ruling that raised the age of eligibility for the death penalty across the United States from 16 to 18. Admittedly, it was no easy decision, and the court was almost evenly split with a 5-4 vote. Justices Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, and Thomas opposed.

Now, however, the Supreme Court is deciding whether to take that decision to its next logical conclusion: To quote Justice Kennedy again: "The age of 18 is the point where society draws the line for many purposes between childhood and adulthood." If "a greater possibility exists that a minor's character deficiencies will be reformed," should courts be able to sentence minor to life imprisonment for crimes committed by them when they were under age 18?

The impact of the ruling will be felt immediately in Santa Clara County. Just yesterday, SanJose.com reported that DA Dolores Carr plans to try the two teens suspected in the murder of Michael Russell as adults. As the Mercury News points out, if you add the three teens charged with the Halloween shooting of a 12-year-old trick-or-treater last month, who could also be charged as adults, the county could soon have five juveniles facing sentences of life without parole.

What happens to them could very well be decided in D.C., not CA. And what happens in DC could very well depend on what happened in FL in 1989. Joe Sullivan, then 13, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for rape. His lawyer is now petitioning the Supreme Court, saying his sentencing at the time was unconstitutional. One of the people challenging the lawyer there is none other than Justice Kennedy, who now seems to reject the notion that a juvenile could be deemed "forever unfit" to participate in society. "Why does a juvenile have a constitutional right to hope, but an adult does not?" he asks.

It is that question, and the question of how that concurs with the ruling that "a greater possibility exists that a minor's character deficiencies will be reformed" that will determine the fate of five local teens.
Read More at The Mercury News.
Read More at PBS.


New Flights for Mineta
There's more reason now to turn to Mineta. One week after Alaska Airlines announced that it would be starting flights between San Jose and Hawaii, Horizon Air announce that it will be flying twice daily to Spokane.

Horizon is a sister airline to Alaska, based in Seattle-Tacoma. It is the country's eighth-largest regional carrier, serving 52—now 53—cities in the U.S. and Canada.

Airport officials are hopeful that this signifies greater confidence in the future of air travel among the airlines, and that it will lead to even more airlines landing in Mineta.
Read More at KLIV.


The Impact of Yahoo's New Campus
Perhaps it's just trying to keep up with the Joneses—er, Googles—but Yahoo has been discussing the possibility of launching a new three-million-sq.-foot, 46-acre campus in the city of Santa Clara near Great American Parkway. Though there is no timeline for construction yet, the campus took a step closer to realization with the release of a draft environmental impact report.

According to the EIR, the news was not good. Not only would emissions resulting from the new campus exceed the established threshold for the region, but it would also aggravate the existing jobs v. housing imbalance in Santa Clara. With these considerations hanging over the project, perhaps it's good that there is no timeline. Read More at KLIV.


School Custodian Who Runs Modeling Agency to Be Moved to Grounds Crew
Wilcox High's custodian Joe Miller has reached a deal with the Santa Clara Unified School District allowing him to keep his job, but to be transferred to the Grounds and Maintenance Department. Miller will also continue operating his modeling agency, Rockabilly Model, which featured models selected from Wilcox High. Though he describes the pictures he shot as "vintage photography," some have claimed that the photos were "clearly provocative," that he pulled students out of class to discuss potential modeling gigs, and that in at least one case, one of the students posed topless.

Despite this Miller had overwhelming support from the students at Wilcox High, and their Facebook group, "Save Joe Miller's Job!" now has over 2,400 members. Miller claims that the case against him was brought to divert attention from other scandals at the school, including the arrest of a special ed teacher who allegedly had sex with a student and allegations that the principal knew about the problem but did nothing to stop it.
Read More at the Mercury News.


Student Heard Apologizing to Police in New Audio
When Phuong Ho was beaten and tased by the police, the SJPD claimed he was resisting arrests. Enhanced audio of the video taken by one of Ho's housemates on his cellphone tells a different story. In the audio and accompanying video. Ho can be seen lying on the floor, telling the policemen that he is just looking for his glasses, which were knocked off. He can also be heard apologizing repeatedly while he was beaten with a baton and tased.

While the Mayor has called for a public safety committee meeting tonight to begin investigating whether the SJPD is using excessive force, some students are beginning to ask questions about the incident and how it is being covered by the press.

In an editorial published in SJSU's Spartan Daily, Kyle Szymanski points out that the existing video covers just a few moments of the incident and that it was recorded by Ho's friends. While he states clearly that this in no way exonerates the police, he suggests that further investigation is needed before people jump to conclusions about what happened. "Let's remember that independent investigators need time to get both sides of the story," he concludes his piece.
Read More at The Mercury News.
[url=http://media.www.thespartandaily.com/media/storage/paper852/news/2009/11/16/Opinion/Opposing.Views.S.j.Police.Arrest.Methods-3833075.shtml]Read More at the Spartan Daily.



by Danny Wool on Nov 19, 2009
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