Related Articles: News, All |
Top Stories: Oct. 23, 2009Milpitas Bag Ban; 'Green Vision' in Red; Fatal Crash at Brokawby Staff on Oct 23, 2009Google Severs Relations with Market Street Partners An unnamed partner at the Market Street Partners investor relations firm has been identified as the source of the leak to former Intel employee and Roomy Khan, now an SEC informant, that Google's Q2 earnings were lower than anticipated. Khan, listed in reports as “Tipper A,” then leaked the information to the Galleon hedge fund, which used the information to earn itself $9.3 million. As a result of the leak, Google has suspended its relationship with Market Street while it conducts an independent investigation. Khan allegedly received $500,000 for the tip. She is currently cooperating with police, who are also investigating her past employment with Intel and particularly her relationship with Anil Kumar of Intel Capital. Kumar is one of the six people already charged in the massive Silicon Valley-Wall Street insider trading scandal. In 1998, Khan was charged with faxing sensitive information from Intel to Galleon. Although she was convicted of this in 2002, the case was sealed, and no further information is available. The New York Times is suggesting that her husband, Sakhawat Khan, is also involved in the case. Khan is a successful chip engineer with some 30 patents registered to him. Nevertheless, he faced financial difficulties in 2005, and neighbors are unsure how he amassed what seemed to be a sizable fortune. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Read More at the San Francisco Business Times. The Mercury News. Read More at the New York Times. Santa Clara Student Beaten to Death by Roommate Scott Gregory Hawkins, 23, of Santa Clara, has no known problems with his college roommate Quran Jones. The two lived in a five-person suite in a dorm at CSU Sacramento, and their roommates described them both as "nice kids." Then something snapped in Jones, and he turned on Hawkins with an aluminum bat. By the time police arrived, Hawkins was lying bloodied on the floor, the room was in a shambles, and Jones attacked the police with a knife. They shot at him, first with a pepperball gun, but when even that didn’t stop Jones, the police turned to live ammunition. Witnesses report hearing five or six shots. When the incident was over, both Hawkins and Jones were taken to hospital, and Hawkins was pronounced dead. Police, family, and friends have no idea what sparked the fight, though the initial indication is that Jones had some kind of breakdown. Witnesses report seeing him smash furniture and windows, and some claim that he even hit himself on the head repeatedly with the bat. Hawkins's father, Gerald Hawkins, described his son as a quiet young man who was studying history with the hope of one day becoming a teacher. He adds that his son had Asperger's Syndrome, and that he was sometimes bullied for this. His passions were reading and history, and his father says he was chock full of facts about his favorite topics, ancient Roman military history and World War I and II. At CSU Sacramento he had hoped to focus on Middle Eastern history. Read More at the Sacramento Bee. Read More at NBC Bay Area. Plastic Bag Ban Coming to Milpitas? Will Milpitas follow San Jose's lead and ban plastic bags from the city? Mayor Bob Livengood thinks it may still be premature, and he would like to see how the ban in San Jose takes shape. Nevertheless, City Council voted 4-0 yesterday to instruct its staff to study the bag ban. Among the participants at the open meeting was Manny Diaz of the American Chemistry Council, a group representing plastic bag manufacturers. Diaz rejected a flat-out ban, and encouraged the city to investigate recycling alternatives instead. His view was echoed by Frank de Smidt of the local Chamber of Commerce. He called the plan to ban bags "detrimental" to the city's economic development and stated that the Chamber would oppose any fees on bags. It now remains for the Milpitas City Council to see what actually happens in San Jose, once the ban goes into effect … and that will only happen in 2011. Read More at the Mercury News. Is San Jose's Green Vision in the Red? San Jose's Green Vision may have hit a snag. Bob Garzee, one of the key players in the city's push to create a network of public-private partnerships, has been sued by Union Bank of San Francisco. Garzee, the CEO of Synegry EV, Inc., had been planning to create a technology incubator in the city with which his company could develop electric vehicles. But when his line of credit came up for review late this June, it was denied. Now his line of credit is due, and the bank is demanding that he pay back $73,322. The bank claims that his company's economic circumstances do not warrant renewal of his credit line. Garzee argues that he has tried to renegotiate with the bank, but that they have rebuffed all his efforts. Meanwhile, he claims, over 30 companies have already expressed an interest in relocating to the Electric Vehicle Development Center that he has planned. Nancy Klein of the city's Economic Development Office agrees that proposed center is in its "nascent stages," but she called Garzee's role "integral" to the center's development. Jim Robbins, Jim Robbins, former head of the Environmental Business Cluster, agrees. He calls Garzee's role "critical," adding, "It was his idea, and he has the technical ability to make it work." That may be, but with Synergy EV's future in the balance, Bob Garzee may not get the chance. Read More at the Business Journal. Morning Commute to be Affected by Crash The SJPD is warning commuters to avoid E. Brokaw Road this morning, particularly at its intersection with Junction Avenue. The road will be closed to allow police to investigate a fatal crash early this morning that left one person dead. The victim, an unidentified 24-year-old male, apparently lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a traffic light at the intersection. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Read More at the Mercury News. by Staff on Oct 23, 2009 |
Hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group was arrested on charges of insider trading, following a tip from former colleague Roomy Khan. |
|