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Top Stories: Aug. 10, 2009Green Buses; Cop-Killer Sentenced; Young Entrepreneurs; Carr Wants FACESby Staff on Aug 10, 2009New Buses to Hit the Streets Santa Clara County’s Valley Transportation Authority announced that it would be modernizing to a fleet 70 environmentally-friendly hybrid buses. The buses, which emit 95 percent less nitrogen oxide and 80 percent less particulate matter than existing buses, are part of the VTA’s efforts to meet the new federal and state standards on emissions. The new buses will be manufactured locally by Gillig at its Hayward plant in the East Bay. Three companies bid to manufacture the buses, with the cheapest price coming from the Toronto-based firm Orion. Orion, however, could not provide buses that met with the VTA’s specification that the buses be over 40 feet long. A third company, New Flyer of Minnesota, was ruled out because of price. VTA General Manager Michael T. Burns was pleased with the final decision, noting that “The local economy benefits because VTA will be purchasing these buses from a bus manufacturer located in Hayward.” Gillig’s CEO Dennis Howard said that the new contract will generate 35 new jobs and help to support an additional 1,272 vendors and suppliers. In related news, VTA officials have decided to advance a fare hike from January 2010 to October 2009, generating an additional $1 million in revenues and offsetting the need for service reductions. The VTA is anticipating a $36 million budget shortfall by September. Read More at the Business Journal. Read More at VTA Watch. Read More at KLIV. Cop Killer Gets Life DeShawn Campbell, 29, was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2001 killing of San Jose police officer Jeffrey Fontana, 24. He also received a series of other sentences, including one of 25 years to life, for other crimes involved in the murder. Campbell was, however, spared the death penalty after a previous ruling that he is mentally retarded. At the time of the murder, Campbell, who was associated with the Crips, had a previous conviction for felony burglary and two outstanding warrants for his arrest. The defense argued that while he was present at the crime scene, he did not fire the gun that killed Fontana. The trial, which began in February, included 95 witnesses, 150 pieces of material evidence, and 18 hours of closing arguments. For Fontana’s family, the sentencing signaled a brief moment of relief after eight long years since the incident. “The person who killed Jeffrey has been given the most he could be given under the circumstances,” said Sandy Fontana, the victim’s mother, “but nothing will bring Jeffrey back.” This was the first local trial for the murder of a police officer since 1970. Read More at ABC 7. Read More at the Mercury News. Local Teens Take the Initiative in a Down Job Market Greg Kamrad and J.P. Whitford, both 19, couldn’t find a job this summer, so they decided to create one for themselves. The two business majors from Sunnyvale founded College Car Wash, charging $10 to wash their clients’ cars. The advantages were obvious: not only were they $5 cheaper than their cheapest competitors, the two sophomores make house calls, washing the cars in their customers’ driveways. While the South Bay Labor Council bemoans the fact that with 11.8 percent unemployment countywide, seasonal jobs are almost nonexistent in the current economic climate, these two college kids proved that with a little initiative, a bucket and a rag, they could make some money this summer. Read More at ABC 7. Body Found in Bushes outside Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Police are investigating the cause of death of a man found dead in the bushes outside the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center on Sunday morning. The man, believed to be a transient, is as yet unidentified. He was found by security guards patrolling the perimeter of the property. Read More at The Mercury News. FACES to Continue Aiding Crime Victims SV FACES, a San Jose-based non-profit, has been providing emergency aid, counseling, and compensation to victims of crime and to court witnesses in Silicon Valley for over three decades. Recently, San Jose District Attorney Dolores Carr has challenged the group’s status as an independent organization, claiming that the public would be better served if the services that FACES provides came under the auspices of her office. Of course, the transfer of authority would also mean that the $1.8 million dollar contract that FACES now has with the county would come under the control of the DA’s office. Carr argued that criminal reports, which are kept by the DA’s office, would be more readily available to the victims, and that they would be prepped to give testimony in the same building where their attorneys work. Detractors argued that under the DA’s proposal, fewer advocates would be hired to assist the victims, leading to delays in such things as compensation for robbery victims. County Board President Liz Kniss agrees. According to her, there have been no major complaints about how FACES operates, and given the number of cases it handles—8,700 last year alone—it would be difficult to transfer the workload smoothly. The County’s Board of Supervisors is expected to formally renew its contract with FACES on Tuesday. Read More at The Mercury News. by Staff on Aug 10, 2009 |
 VTA is set to launch a fleet of hybrid buses, built locally by Gillig. |
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