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.
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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.
People often ask where I get my ideas for restaurants. The answer is everywhere—word of mouth, suggestions from friends and colleagues and simply walking into places that look intriguing. The story about how I found Tu Mero Mole, a Mexican restaurant I review in this week’s issue, is a little more involved.
On Tuesday, Santa Clara County officials will vote on a $6 million cut to the local Social Services Agency’s budget. The Agency’s Director Will Lightbourne calls the services being cut vital, noting that the most obvious cuts, the ones that will have the least impact on the county’s most vulnerable populations, “have been gone for a long time.”
Mayor Chuck Reed knows a thing or two about dealing with deficits, which may be why a South Bay consortium of local businesses has invited him to chime in on the CalTrain problem. Faced with a $30 million deficit, the rail line may have to cut services so that trains only operate during commuter rush hours. That would mean no midday service and no service on weekends.
Violence is on the rise in San Jose, especially gang violence. That’s why the city held a Crime and Gang Prevention Summit this Saturday. Among the solutions it offered was greater involvement by faith-based initiatives. It hopes that volunteers mobilized by the churches will turn out en masse to help people leave gangs.
It might have meant more had the victory come in past seasons, when Gonzaga was a consistent March Madness dark horse to win national titles, but Santa Clara’s 85-71 men’s basketball victory Thursday night definitely qualifies as an upset.
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.
