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Top Stories: Aug. 3, 2009Schmidt Quits Apple Board; San Jose Talks Healthcareby Staff on Aug 03, 2009Schmidt Resigns from Apple Board Citing potential conflicts of interests, Steve Jobs of Apple announced that Google CEO Eric Schmidt is resigning from the Apple board of directors. Schmidt has served on the board since 2006. In the past, Schmidt has recused himself from meetings in which Google’s business interests conflicted with those of Apple. Because of Google’s development of Android, he was not involved in discussions about the iPhone. Nevertheless, when the FTC announced in May that it would be investigating potential conflicts of interest stemming from Schmidt’s participation in Apple’s board, Google’s Chief Legal Officer responded that he did not believe that there was a problem. Apparently he spoke to soon. Just last week the FTC began making inquiries again, after Apple blocked various Google apps from its iPhone. Perhaps that’s why Jobs stepped in with this morning’s announcement that “Now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple's Board.” Read More at CNET. Healthcare Targeted in Municipal Budget Makeover San Jose’s City Council is about to enter the healthcare discussion. Auditors claims that the city can cut $20 million off an already strained municipal budget by adjusting the city’s current healthcare plan so that it more closely resembles plans used by other cities and the private sector. This means steeper costs for the insured. Proposals include raising employees’ share of premium costs from 10 percent to 20 percent and increasing the cost of co-payments from $10 to $25. People who opt out of the plan may still end up paying too: the proposal calls for reducing the amount of money that they receive. Employees who opt out of healthcare currently take home an additional $5,560, more than twice what city employees in San Francisco almost three times what Santa Clara County workers get. This new plan to slash healthcare costs may get the green light from Council Chamber after it is discussed tomorrow. But that’s when the real challenge begins. Once the city agrees to the plan, it will have to take it up with the unions. But they are already seething about wage freezes and furloughs, and the proposed new rise in healthcare costs could prove more unpopular than the city bargained for. Read More at KLIV. Read More at the Mercury News. No Death Penalty for Mountain View Man The Santa Clara County District Attorney has ruled out the death penalty for Jing Hua Wu, 47, who was charged with three counts of murder. Wu, an engineer for SiPort Inc., was fired from his job on November 4, 2008. Upon returning to work later that day, he killed the company’s CEO Sid Agrawal, its Vice President of Operations Brian Pugh, and its Human Resource Manager Marilyn Lewis. With the death penalty off the table, Wu now stands to face life in prison without possibility of parole. Read More at ABC7. Moser to Replace Bob Nunez at East Side Union High School District With its current superintendent on administrative leave, unresolved budget cuts, and 26,000 students preparing to start the school year, the East Union High School District has selected Dan Moser as its Acting Superintendent. Since 1974, Moser, a Vietnam vet, has worked at seven out of the district’s eleven high schools as a teacher, vice-principal, and principal. Before becoming Acting Superintendent, he served in Nunez’s “cabinet” as an assistant superintendent. Meanwhile, the investigation of financial irregularities under Nunez has been gathering momentum, and an independent auditing team is expected to look into Nunez’s activities. Nunez is believed to have used the district credit card inappropriately to pay for travel and meals, and to have billed the district for unused vacation time, when he was not in the office. The school district is suffering from severe budget cuts that now threaten its athletic program, and parents are being asked to make a $200 “donation” for their children to participate in sports activities. Read More at the Mercury News. by Staff on Aug 03, 2009 |
 Google chief Eric Schmidt has resigned from the Apple Computers board of directors. |
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