Morning News Round-Up – 10.9.09: There are in fact two things...

Celebrating a Hippocratic Friday…

With a dramatic "off with his head," (not really) the crowd gathered to continue discussions for tree replacement on the drama imbued California Avenue in Palo Alto. Seems the new (again revised) plans for trees emphasizes diversity over uniformity and a tree-free zone until January. Resident Roswitha Remling is happy “I think diversity is a good thing.”

High-Speed Rail Authority boardmember Rod Diridon is breathing a sigh of relief. Judge Michael Kenny has offered a tentative ruling that work can move forward for the speedy connector running from San Francisco to Los Angeles. NIMBY peninsula neighbors attorney Stuart Flashman retains optimism but believes “the judge has made up his mind.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Tom “I don’t know about science” Donohue complained it was the tree-huggers that strong armed Apple and PG&E into quitting in an attempt to discredit the chambers (anti) clean air stance. Silicon Valley’s iconic Apple shrugged saying it was the Chambers opposition to limiting greenhouse gasses. According to San Jose Inside, the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce may be the next to ditch the dinosaur like behavior…

Wrapped in silver under an inky morning sky, hundreds gathered at NASA Ames to watch as LCROSS smashed into the moon at more than 5,000 miles per hour. No dramatic shooting plumes. Gregory Schmidt of the Lunar Science Institute, is excited anyway as the lack of a plume might mean even more exciting news ahead.

The tragic death of cyclist Kristy Gough will mean a $1.2 million check from Santa Clara County to Gough’s Mom, Karen Clarkson, and an (as yet) unknown amount yet to be sent to Father Rip Gough. Clarkson said the process of sending personal treasures off for review by strangers was “almost like dying a second time.”

The family of Morgan Hill’s gang shooting victim Juan Arellano said he was a “loving kid” with a “good heart” and in the “wrong place.” The family disputes Arellano’s (supposed) gang involvement and says other aspects of the original story were wrong.

Santa Clara Unified School District is digging into details of teacher/perv Edward Slate’s relationship with a 17 year old student, and the possibility that they overlooked early warnings.

The Merc’s Sal Pizarro focuses on fun art this weekend including the Luna Park Chalk Art Festival with Aztec dance and chalk-art celebrities, classic movies in the classy Stanford Theatre on Palo Altos (un)tree-free University Avenue along with the kick off of Palo Alto’s annual Pumpkin Patch.

Seems fruit crazed cat burglars’ sneak in under the cover of darkness to strip persimmons from Mountain View neighbors. Resident Bruce Karney is pissed and once saw a fruit thief haul off stolen treats in a Mercedes heading for the “underground persimmon market.” Neighbor Eugene Cordero suggested calling Village Harvest to denude the trees ahead of thieves and donate the booty to food agencies.

Protect San Jose’s Beat Cop clarifies the difference between an emergency (911) and complaints about music or parking (311). Beat Cop also hands out the cell phone 911 equivalent for San Jose residents (408)277-8911.

San Jose Inside follows up on the mystery behind the Bay Area’s 2nd place Daily Beast ranking, right ahead of the (apparently) even dimmer Boston area– home to MIT and the lesser known (?) Harvard.