Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to opt out of the Secure Communities federal program, also known as SCOMM. Members of the Board of Supervisors and the public claim that the program, which submits all fingerprints taken in the county to the Department of Homeland Security, only drives illegal immigrants deeper underground, and encourages them to avoid the police at all costs.
Articles by Silicon Valley Newsroom
San Jose was listed as the city with the second highest incidence of drunk driving nationwide in a survey of 20 major metropolitan areas. The survey was conducted by Insurance.com, an online marketplace for auto insurance. The ranking was based on information submitted by users seeking car insurance. Among the factors taken into account were drunk-driving convictions and a number of other alcohol related violations.
Professor Carlos D. Bustamante, a professor of genetics at the Stanford University School of Medicine, is one of just twenty-three recipients nationwide of this year’s MacArthur Foundation “Genius Award.” Bustamante is a population biologist who mines DNA sequence data for insights into the dynamics and migration of populations and the mechanisms of evolution and natural selection. He will receive $500,000, paid quarterly over the course of five years.
Because the state budget is stalled in the Legislature, the California Transportation Commission has put $932 million in transportation funding on hold. When added to the $3 billion that it put on hold last month, the total amount of transportation funding for roads and rail that is being delayed across the state amounts to almost $4 billion. Among the projects that are delayed are several local road improvements.
The Palo Alto City Council unanimously voted no confidence in the proposed high speed rail link between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and called on the state and federal government to stop funding the $43 billion project. At the meeting, City Council also called on the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board to refuse to accept any aerial lines in cities in the peninsula that oppose them.
PG&E has released its list of top 100 gas pipeline trouble spots, including two in San Jose and a total of eleven in Silicon Valley. A second list, also released yesterday, consists of 100 additional segments that are being monitored for problems. Representatives from San Jose will be meeting with PG&E this Thursday to discuss further steps to protect residents from potential hazards.
PG&E has warned San Jose that the two of its 100 highest risk natural gas pipelines run in the northern part of the city. Though general locations were revealed, the gas company has stated that it will not reveal the precise locations until later today, when it releases its findings to the Public Utilities Commission.
At its meeting on Tuesday, San Jose City Council voted to run the proposed high speed rail line on an aerial track, at least 60 feet above the city, as it makes its way to Diridon Station. The 8-2 vote rejected the alternative proposal of building an underground tunnel for the train, as is planned for Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Three weeks before the San Bruno disaster, long-time PG&E employee Mike Wiseman had filed suit against the company for its alleged disregard of safety violations. The outcome of his lawsuit could have a major impact into any investigation of what actually happened in San Bruno.
Despite all the budget cuts, despite all the layoffs, California’s schools are getting better, and Santa Clara is at the top of the pack. Three local elementary schools—Faria Elementary in Cupertino, Murdock-Portal Elementary in San Jose, and Millikin Elementary in Santa Clara—were named the highest scoring schools in the state, based on the Academic Performance Index test results.
