Bay Area Issues, Links for July 8th, 2008
Report cites inadequate conditions in Elections Department
A civil grand jury report states inadequate working conditions for Elections Department workers and lack of proper storage space for voting machines in San Francisco may result in compromised election results if not remedied.
“Among the report’s conclusions were that Elections Department headquarters, currently based in the basement of City Hall, are a maze of confusing and cluttered office spaces and hallways that do not provide sufficient room to store voting equipment, train poll workers and process paperwork such as election ballots and registers.”
Other concerns include the lack certification for the new Sequoia voting machines.
San Francisco judge rules on Federal Intelligence Surveillance Ac
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled the president’s authority as commander in chief does not allow for violation of the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act.
“Walker said Congress intended FISA to be ‘the exclusive means by which domestic electronic surveillance for national security purposes could be conducted.’ He said the law therefore limits the executive branch’s ability to claim state secrets protection against lawsuits charging FISA violations.”
The decision was issued in a lawsuit against the Bush Administration by Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity foundation designated by the Treasury Department as a front for al Qaeda.
- More from David Dayen
The Bay Area News Group East Bay submitted a list of 29 employees to be laid off by July 11. The list includes Sara Steffens, a key leader in the union campaign for the Northern California Media Workers Guild.
“ ‘Management claimed the layoffs were based on a on an “evaluation of the expendability or redundancy of positions,’ but Northern California Media Workers Guild are challenging the criteria, which they say is suspect.”
- More on the Guild from Michael Cabanatuan.
Public Policy Institute releases report on internet usag
The Public Policy Institute of California released a survey suggesting the importance of the internet in Californians’ lives.
”55% use the internet to get news on current events, including 47% who use the net to get information about their community and 46% who use it to get new or information about politics. Compared to other activities (purchasing, getting medical information, visiting a government website, for information for work, or banking), this is the highest use of the internet.”
According to the report, a digital divide exists between Latinos and other racial or ethnic groups.
“Less than half of Latinos (48%) have home computers compared to about eight in 10 or more for whites (86%), Asians (84%), and blacks (79%).”
Governor to activate plan for excessive heat emergencies
In response to forecasts of a heat wave and concerns over increased air pollution, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called for implementation of Phase II of California’s Contingency Plan for Excessive Heat Emergencies.
“Phase II activities include the coordination by OES of regularly scheduled conference calls with National Weather Service offices throughout the state, county emergency managers and representatives of key state agencies; increased outreach to the public and constituent groups by OES and other state agencies; the opening of cooling centers at state facilities; and contacts with licensed care facilities, hospitals and other facilities that serve seniors, persons with disabilities and other special needs populations.”
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