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Top Stories: Aug. 9, 2010Global Warming and Soot; Crackdown on Cellphone-Using Drivers; The Buzz at HempConby Danny Wool on Aug 09, 2010San Jose No. 2 on Business Travel List The National Business Travel Association has listed San Jose as the second most friendly place for business travelers in the U.S., topped only by Orange County. At a time when state and local governments are searching desperately for anything they can find to increase their revenue, San Jose has some of the lowest taxes on everything from hotel stays to car rentals to eating meals out. In other words, Silicon Valley is a great place to come to for business, and we even have a brand new terminal at Mineta to make coming and going a whole lot easier. In contrast, Portland ranks the worst, with the highest taxes, but why would anyone want to go there anyway? Read More at KLIV. Stamping out Soot When we think of global warming, we immediately think of carbon dioxide, or perhaps even methane, the two invisible gases that have the greatest impact on the planet’s temperature. Now Mark Jacobson of Stanford wants us to add a new culprit to the list, and this one is easy to see. Soot, says, Jacobson, is another major culprit, particularly in the Arctic regions, where it absorbs the sunlight that both hits the snow and bounces off it. He calls this a “double whammy.” Soot, he says, comes from burning any fuel that leaves dark residual matter. It’s in diesel, jet fuel, and shipping fuel, he explains. But soot is unlike carbon dioxide in that it is the greenhouse gas most easily dealt with. It lingers in the air for only a few weeks, unlike CO2, which can last for decades. As such, global efforts to reduce soot can have an almost immediate impact on the environment. “If you eliminate emissions of soot, most of its temperature reduction will occur pretty quickly because you’re reducing the atmospheric concentration almost immediately,” he says. Soot may not have the same impact as CO2 on the atmosphere, but as global warming hurls us into a hotter, flatter world, it’s another low-hanging fruit that we can tackle. Read More at KCBS. ’Pay Attention or Pay the Price’ “Pay attention or pay the price.” That’s one of the slogans being used to launch a new, no-tolerance campaign for people talking on their cell phones while driving without using a hands-free device. The campaign, which will encompass all of Silicon Valley, is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. It is a repeat of a two-day effort last year, during which highway patrol officers issues over 700 citations. So keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel. There’s a pretty hefty fine if you get caught. Read More at KLIV. HempCon Celebrates Alliteration The crowds that visited the San Jose Convention Center for the medical marijuana fest this weekend were not able to smoke pot on the premises. Authorities denied organizers the right to set up a self-medication tent on the premises. There were, however, plenty of other ways for visitors stoked to toke. Vendors sold a vast assortment of foods that showed how “seventies” pot brownies really are. Top sellers were cannabis cupcakes and cannabis caramel corn, but there was also “hemp honey,” “ace ale,” and “bammy biscotti.” Thousands of visitors attended the event, but this was just a prelude to next year, especially if marijuana is legalized on the November ballot. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Hurd Resigns from HP What is going on over at Hewlett-Packard? Way back in 2005, Carly Fiorina was forced by the board to step down as Chair and CEO. Carly landed on her feet, and is now running as the Republican candidate in a bid to replace Barbara Boxer in the Senate. None of her successors fared quite so well. The following year, Patty Dunn, her replacement as Chair, was implicated in the HP spying scandal, after Newsweek revealed that she had ordered the company’s General Council to hire security experts to keep tabs on board members in order to find the source of an information leak (a judge later dismissed criminal charges against her). Now, Fiorina’s replacement as CEO has been forced to step down as well. “HP always prided itself on having the highest ethical standards,” says Professor Eugene Muscat of San Francisco University. But the new CEO, Mark Hurd, has been at the center of a sexual harassment scandal with softcore actress Jodie Fisher. An investigation into her claims found that Hurd had falsified expense account reports and hired a marketing consultant who, for all intents and purposes, did nothing. The Board is not taking this lightly. Hurd was forced to resign, and the company issued the following statement: “The Board investigation found that Mark demonstrated a profound lack of judgment that seriously undermined his credibility and damaged his effectiveness in leading HP.” Ironically, the original sexual harassment charges have been dropped, so that all Hurd is now accused of doing is cheating on his expense account. He is leaving the company with $12 million in severance pay and $16 million in stock options. According to the Business Journal, all told he could walk away with between $40 and $50 million by the year’s end. During his five-year tenure, HP’s stock rose 113 percent. Read More at ABC 7. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Read More at the Business Journal. Police Still Looking for Highway Shooter The SJPD is still looking for a gunman they say opened fire on Interstate 680 northbound, injuring a passenger in a passing vehicle. The shooting occurred shortly before 9:00 pm on Saturday night. The shooter is described as a Hispanic male in his mid-twenties, with a goatee and moustache. He was driving a white Chevrolet Trailblazer at the time. The victim, who has yet to be identified, was taken from his home to the Regional Medical Center. His wound is reportedly not life-threatening. Read More at The Mercury News. by Danny Wool on Aug 09, 2010 |
 Lower hotel taxes make San Jose a good place for business travel, according to a just-released report. |
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