A consumer advocacy group wonders whether Google is getting favored use of Moffett Field from the federal government. Consumer Watchdog, a longtime critic of Google, questions whether the rent that Google pays to store its corporate jets and helicopters there is the market price for such services, though it has not offered any evidence that it isn’t.
Articles by Danny Wool
Internet browsers are developing new tools to protect users’ privacy from intrusive ad companies. Google’s Chrome already has a “Do not track” function, and Firefox is set to release one soon. Internet Explorer is also developing a privacy tool, but users will have to build their own list of sites that they want to block.
A scourge of bedbugs has hit the South Bay, and it isn’t just hotels that are affected. The Avalon at Creekside apartment complex in Mountain View recently found that at least two of its units are infested.
Faced with a dwindling budget, the San Jose Unified School District has decided to cut funding for adult education by two-thirds. Among the programs to suffer will be vocational training and English as a second language (ESL). Some 99 teachers are also expected to lose their jobs as a result. The $3.6 million saved will be diverted to K-12 education.
San Jose has launched a new program, Clean Slate, to help young people ages 14 to 25 remove their tattoos when they leave a gang. It’s a chance to get a fresh start, without being haunted by the mistakes of their past. The program offers to remove tattoos from all exposed areas on people who leave their gangs, provided that they attend a weekly life skills workshop and perform community service.
Faced with a $28 billion deficit, Governor Jerry Brown has been eying funds from the state’s 400 Redevelopment Agencies, hoping that he could put the money to “better use.” San Jose is fighting back.
More and more incidents of hand-held lasers being pointed at planes at San Jose Airport are being reported. San Jose is tied with Phoenix for third place in the country, after LAX and O’Hare, with 80 incidents reported last year.
The Santa Clara Valley Water District is concerned about the Calero Reservoir in the Santa Teresa Hills, south of San Jose. The artificial lake, with a surface area of 110 acres, is a major source of water for the region, but over the years, sand, gravel, alluvium, and clay have been accumulating beneath the downstream dam embankment. This claim, authorities said, could seriously damage the dam in the event of a major earthquake.
Amazon.com is suing the State of Texas in a law suit that could impact many Silicon Valley companies. The problem began four months ago, when Texas sued Amazon for $269 million, claiming that is what it was owed sales tax revenues. Amazon claims that internet sales should not be subject to state taxes, but Texas claims it is subject to state laws because it has a distribution center in the Dallas suburb of Irving. According to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, that would make the company subject to Texas taxes for sales in that state.
Classic rock station KUFX has a new home now that Entercom has sold the country’s last commercial classical music station, KDFC, to the University of Southern California. Fans of KUFX will have to readjust their dials to 102.1. The classical music station will continue operating, but as a non-profit.
