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Top Stories: Jan. 20, 2010

GOP Mayor Opposes Prop 8; Constant Fights Plastic Bag Ban; Yelp Thrives Despite Complaints

by Danny Wool on Jan 20, 2010
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Wind Turbines Spinning in Downtown San Jose
Adobe has put a new spin on alternative energy in downtown San Jose. It has installed twenty vertical axis wind turbines atop the garage of its downtown facility. The wind "spires" are 30 feet tall and 4 feet in diameter. They weigh approximately 650 pounds each. They are expected to produce about 2 percent of the headquarter's electricity, or about 2,000 kilowatt hours per year. Adobe explains that in an urban environment, there is little room for solar panels, but wind panels provide an ideal alternative. Adobe's three towers form a wind tunnel to spin the rotors.
Read More at Triple Pundit.
Read More at SFGate.com.


GOP Mayor Takes the Stand in Defense of Gay Marriage
San Diego's mayor Jerry Sanders took the stand at the Prop 8. trial Tuesday to defend gay marriage. It was a turning point in the trial, because unlike many local politicians who oppose Prop 8, Sanders is a conservative Republican. In his testimony he described how he was forced to confront his own prejudices when his daughter Lisa came out as a lesbian. Lisa married her partner in Vermont last month, but Sanders insisted that she should have been able to do so in her home state of California.

At a press conference, Sanders, a longtime veteran and former Chief of the San Diego PD, said, "I have seen violence against gays and lesbians in the community. I've seen hate crimes. I've seen people beat to death." He went on to explain that discrimination against gays and lesbians leads to violence. Supporters of Prop 8 dismissed his testimony as "emotional."

Sanders publicly renounced his opposition to gay marriage in 2007, when his daughter came out to him. At the time, local party leaders were considering withdrawing their support for him as mayor. Sanders nevertheless won the election and went on to file briefs in favor of gay marriage.

Other testimony yesterday focused on the economic impact of the gay marriage ban on California. Professor M.V. Lee Badget of the University of Massachusetts argued that the ban was costing the state $40 million in wedding-related tax revenue over the next three years. In response, Charles Cooper, an attorney defending gay marriage, cited election materials from 2008 stating that Prop 8 would have no financial impact on the state.
Read More at The Mercury News.
Read More at KCBS.
Read More at the LA Times.


Does Anybody Like Yelp—Apart from Investors?
Yelp's deal with Google may have gone sour, but the company is still ahead of the game. With a reported $15 million in the bank, the review is about to become profitable, and investors are ready to jump in. Among these is Elevation Partners, which could be on the verge of putting $50 million into the company.

But not everyone is happy with Yelp, or at least with its reviews. Many small businesses complain that customer reviews are largely negative, and that this turns away business. Small Business Magazine Inc. recently wrote that "A bad Yelp review can damage more than an entrepreneur's ego. One small businesswoman, owner of a bookstore, was recently charged for confronting a reviewer over some nasty comments.”

Other dissatisfied businesses claim that Yelp's sales team has resorted to extortionist tactics to get them to advertise on the site—for $300 per month. They claim they were told that bad reviews would be highlighted unless they paid up, and that this would draw business from them. Many of these businesses say they would prefer being kept off Yelp in the first place.
Read More at NBC Bay Area.
Read More at Inc..


Constant Wants Plastic Bags Back
City Councilmember Pete Constant has plenty of reasons why he wants the city to revoke its new ban on plastic and paper bags, due to go into effect next year. Some store owners are concerned about people shoplifting with the bags they bring into their shops. Other claim that the ban discriminates against them, since restaurants—a major source of discarded bags and food wrappers—are exempt.

For Constant, however, the real issue is cost. Implementing the program will cost the taxpayer $650,000. "I wonder how we can justify that when we're laying off employees and we're short-staffed in our police and fire departments," he says.

Constant was the only member of City Council to vote against the original ban. Since it passed, he has been working with local businesses and the Chamber of Commerce to determine the scope of the new law.
Read More at the Mercury News.


Job Hunting Not So Bad in San Jose
Unemployed? A new report by job-search engine Juju.com suggests that San Jose is the place to be. There are only 2.5 unemployed workers per job here, second only to Washington, D.C., with 1.93 unemployed per job. In contrast, Detroit has 20.01 unemployed people for every job advertised. The real question then is why is unemployment so high in San Jose? Could it be because job applicants don't have skills to match the jobs advertised? That may be the case, but since unemployment runs across the board, from high tech to construction, more information about what jobs are out there is certainly needed.
Read More at the Business Journal.



by Danny Wool on Jan 20, 2010
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