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Top Stories: Aug. 18, 2010

Strict Speed Limits Around Trace Elementary; New Twist in Facebook Lawsuit; Two Stabbings in San Jose

by Danny Wool on Aug 18, 2010
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Blakeslee Takes Maldonado’s Seat
The Republican Party maintained its minority power in the state legislature in yesterday’s election, with Sam Blakeslee defeating Democrat John Laird for the District 15 Senate seat long held by Abel Maldonado.

Democrats had counted on a Laird victory bringing them one seat short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass budget legislation. Although Democrats are a majority in the district, accounting for 41 percent of registered voters, the seat has been held by the minority Republicans since 1996. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Blakeslee received 48.8 percent of the vote, while Laird's received 44.1 percent.

Blakeslee, who received the endorsement of gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman, campaigned on a platform of not raising taxes to deal with the state’s $19 billion budget deficit. He won the overwhelming majority of votes in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, while Laird was the clear winner in Santa Cruz and Monterey. In Santa Clara County, which has the largest block of voters in the district after San Luis Obispo, there was just a 1 percent spread between the two candidates.
Read More at ABC 7.


Slow Down. School Ahead
The speed limit in the vicinity of Trace Elementary School has been reduced from 25 to 15 mph, the lowest anywhere in San Jose. The decision to reduce the speed limit there came in the wake of the July fire, which destroyed much of the school. Many classes are now being held in portable classrooms on both sides of Dana Avenue, and students frequently cross the street to get to and from class.

Parents have expressed their relief at the city’s decision to lower the speed limit around the school, with one mother saying, “Honestly, I think they should have lowered it a long time ago.”
Read More at CBS 5.


Check to Zuckerberg May Support Facebook Ownership Claim
A $3,000 check from wood-pellet manufacturer Paul Ceglia to Mark Zuckerberg has been submitted in a New York court as proof of a contract between the two men back in 2003. Ceglia claims that he owns 84 percent of the social networking site, valued at $6 to $11 billion because of a contract he had with Zuckerberg granting him 50 percent ownership plus 1 percent for every day that the launch of the site was delayed. The check is dated April 23, 2003, just three days before the contract that Ceglia alleges he signed with Zuckerberg. The check was deposited by Zuckerberg in his Fleet account on the day that the contract was supposedly signed.

Ceglia has yet to release the original contract that he claims he and Zuckerberg signed, though he claims it is in his possession. Meanwhile, Zuckerberg admits that he did work for Ceglia, but that everything else about his case is fraudulent. The parties are also fighting over whether the case should be heard in the Alleghany County Supreme Court or in federal court in Buffalo.
Read More at the Wellsville Daily.
Read More at Bloomberg.
Read More at Information Week.


A Night of Stabbings in San Jose
Two separate stabbing incidents left three people injured in San Jose, with one of the victims in life-threatening condition. The first incident occurred at about 7:30 pm outside the Taco Bell at Winchester Avenue and Payne Road. Two teenagers, standing near their car, were jumped by unknown assailants. A nineteen-year-old was stabbed and taken to the hospital by a friend. His companion, age seventeen, waited behind for the police to arrive so that he could report on the incident, but he was also stabbed. He is reported to be in critical condition.

The second incident occurred shortly before 9pm at Kollmar Drive and Story Road. The victim, 34, was attacked by nine or ten people while walking to a bus stop. His injuries are not critical.

Police are investigating the two incidents and trying to determine if they were in any way related or if they were gang-related. No arrests have been made.



by Danny Wool on Aug 18, 2010
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