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Top Stories: Oct. 16, 2009Earthquake Drill; Teen Texters Warned; PG&E Rebatesby Staff on Oct 16, 2009Immigrant Groups Protest Napolitano's Visit to SCU Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano delivered a speech to an audience of 500 at USC's Mayer Theater, while protesters outside raised the contentious issue of immigration reform. The protesters demanded that the Secretary, who is responsible for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Citizenship and Immigration Services agencies promote legislation to assist the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants now in the country. Waving banners such as "Justice for Immigrants," they called on the Obama administration to take steps to ease the legalization process and put a moratorium on deportations until the matter is resolved. At a pre-protest gathering at Somos Mayfair in East San Jose, speakers focused on one of the main issues confronting immigrant reform-keeping families together. Many of the undocumented workers have been in the United States for years, if not decades, and their children born in the country are American citizens by law, even though they themselves can be deported at any time. Nevertheless, many of the protesters feel that the question immigration reform has been put on the backburner while the administration deals with health care and energy reform. The Interim Executive Director of San Jose's Services, Immigrant Rights and Education Network Richard Hobbs called the situation "inhuman and against American core values." Hobbs added that 380,000 undocumented workers were detained and incarcerated during the 2008-2009 fiscal year, and that number could be as high as 440,000 next year. Yet while this is going on, California is faced with an overtaxed prison system and is considering releasing other offenders who have committed crimes. Napolitano, the valedictorian of USC's 1979 graduating class and the former governor of another border state, Arizona, noted that she sympathized with the protesters' position. "We're a nation that prides ourselves on our fairness," she commented, and described the current immigration laws as unwieldy. Read More at Inside Bay Area. San Jose Preps for The Big One Twenty years after the Loma Prieta quake, scientists warn that there's a 50 percent or higher chance that California will be hit with another major earthquake, registering 7.5 or higher, in the next 30 years. That's why millions of people participated in an earthquake drill at 10:15 am yesterday morning, diving for cover and holding tightly for three minutes to simulate the experience of a real tremor. Dubbed "The Great California Shakeout," it was the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history, with almost 7 million participants. "It's cool," said one of hundreds of students who participated in the earthquake drill at San Jose's Tech Museum. Students dove under tables and chairs when possible, or clung to each other during the 3-minute simulation. San Jose's Assistant Fire Chief Theresa Deloach-Reed didn’t comment on whether it was cool or not, but she did say that families should be prepared in case of a real emergency. Each home should have a quake kit, she said, with enough food, water, and batteries to last 72 hours, the amount of time it could take rescue crews to reach people who are trapped. Kits should also include a transistor radio, tool kit, and necessary medications. Jay Alan of the state's Homeland Security Office said that these supplies would free first responders to reach the most severely affected areas. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Read More at KCBS. Student Drivers Learn a Lesson in Texting Most people believe that the main cause of automobile accidents involving teen drivers is alcohol, but a study of teen crashes covering the period 2003-2005 shows that 87 percent of all accidents result from distracted driving, such as driving while texting or talking on the phone. This was the message that the Allstate Insurance Company hoped to get across to young drivers at the San Jose Municipal Stadium yesterday. Under the watchful eye of driving instructors, teens were given a chance to wind through a course of traffic cones and other obstacles while chatting with their friends or sending them text messages. Pretty soon, the cones were little more than roadkill, and teens—and their parents—were getting the message. Allstate representative Robert Varich used the opportunity to encourage parents to become more involved in their children's driving habits and promoted a parent-teen driver contract about "smart driving." He equated the responsibility of parents in the equation with that of lawmakers, who he believed should enact the necessary laws to prevent distractions from drivers—whether kids or adults. Read More at Reuters. Mineta Workers Next to Get the Axe as City Downsizes Despite all its efforts to close the budget gap this year, San Jose is projecting another $90 million shortfall in the 2010-2011 fiscal year. City Manager Deborah Figone now says that the only option is more layoffs. In an email to municipal workers on Wednesday, Figone asked all employees "to remain flexible," while warning that they are facing "another very challenging budget year." While all departments, including fire, planning, and public works, could soon feel the pressure to cut back on staff, Mineta Airport is particularly vulnerable in this round of job cuts. With declining passenger traffic, some of its staff could be out of work as early as January 1, Figone warned. But that's just the beginning. Last year's budget crisis revolved around an $84 million dollar deficit, while in the coming year the projected deficit is already at $90 million. Coupled with the fact that all the "easy targets" have already been eliminated, this could be a bad year for countless city employees—including many who feel that their jobs are secure. Read More at the Business Journal. PG&E Customers Can Expect a Rebate PG&E didn’t expect that the price of energy would go down this year. But they did, particularly natural gas, "and because of that, we will refund the difference to our customers,' says David Eisenhauer, the company's spokesperson. In total, the company plans to pay back $409 million to some 3.1 million customers. Only customers in the lowest two tiers of the companies five-tiered system will not be eligible for the rebate, but they are the customers who are either most energy-efficient or have used the least electricity. Read More at The Mercury News. by Staff on Oct 16, 2009 |
 Homeland Security chief Janet Napolitano, a graduate of Santa Clara University, was greeted by protests as she spoke there yesterday. |
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