Why weren’t the voting machines subjected to hackers before
counties spent millions buying the touch-screen machines?
The following organizations and individuals deserve either CHEERS or JEERS this week:
JEERS: For the news that $19 million worth of electronic touch-screen voting machines in Santa Clara County are essentially worthless. Dubbed unsafe from hackers, the machines have been ordered mothballed by Secretary of State Debra Bowen. Wow.
What’s amazing is that counties across California bought these machines given the ease with which they are hacked. Bowen says the machines compromise the integrity of elections. If that’s true there should be no compromise, of course, and $19 million of your county tax dollars – plus $500,000 for two new paper ballot scanners – will go down the electronic drain. It’s too bad exhaustive hack-proof tests weren’t done before the purchases.
CHEERS: For Barry Bonds. Love him, hate him, there’s no denying the power and the timing of his baseball swing and the majesty of his home run record. It’s been amazing to watch.
JEERS: For the upcoming water rate hike … yeah, yeah, we know, the city’s just passing on the rate hike handed down from the bureaucratically bloated Santa Clara Valley Water District. By writing a letter of protest, residents could hand the rate hike right back to the city. It would be a Herculean effort – half of all residents would have to send a letter of protest to City Clerk Shawna Freels, 7351 Rosanna St., Gilroy, CA 95020. It must be received by Sept. 17.
CHEERS: For the latest John Bisceglie production Shake Rattle and Roll. Fabulous costumes and set, fun music and dance, great songs and superb local family entertainment. Catch it this weekend at the South Valley Middle School Cafeteria at 7:30pm Friday and Saturday with matinees Sunday at 1 and 5pm.
CHEERS: For the political brakes being put on the Coyote Valley Development plan. Under the new and refreshing mayoral leadership and under the gun of heavy criticism leveled at the EIR, Coyote Valley plans will slow to a crawl. Santa Clara County District One Supervisor Don Gage said the laundry list of items not adequately addressed in the EIR is long. There’s no reason to develop Coyote Valley now or in the future. A plan to preserve it as is and keep the area as a permanent greenbelt between South County and San Jose would make perfect sense.
