Judges get more hip - smarter than many business owners it seems

A 21yo environmental 'freak" cum anarchist is implicated in several fire bombings in California.

The judge, asked about the release of this guy while he waits for further federal charges to be adjudicated stated: ..........he could not consider releasing Lewis unless GPS tracking was made available."I've been advised by pretrial services that electronic monitoring could be enhanced by GPS, which would allow (us) to pinpoint his actual whereabouts," Nowinski said. "(I) will not consider release until the technology is made available.".....

Full story here: http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2005/02/18/news/top_stories/01firebombs.txt

Now keeping an apparently quite dangerous criminal under surveillance seems a creditable idea. Many don't understand that for years the practice of "electronic surveillance" of criminals is a low-tech, analog easy to defeat "has been".

Too bad more business owners don't look closely at the advantages of GPS ... they seem unwilling to know the truth about their business.

Kudos to Judge Nowinski

dave
www.satviz.com

Drivers sue over timesheet dispute

February 17, 2005
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Bus drivers for the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System filed a suit against the district............. (see the article here: http://www.schoolbusfleet.com/t_inside.cfm?action=news&storyID=774)


It's always amazing to me how agencies who play the sad violin song of 'we have no money' continually get themselves into expensive, wasteful battles like this. I have no idea how many of the drivers (72 initated the suite) may have been forced to work un-paid overtime, but I do know this won't be an inexpensive issue for the contractor and school district to settle.

A simple GPS tracking solution for the busses would not only have provided an extra measure of protection for the children, but it would have eliminated any claims like this, founded or unfounded.

The easiest thing for management to do is "nothing" claiming lack of money. The most intelligent thing for management to do is find innovative ways to stretch the dollars they have.

The CEO of Qualcomm stands to "earn" a "bribe" of $700 million dollars if the company gets sold, the CEO of HP gets outright fired and earns an extra $21 million as a reward for poor performance, the President of the US has trouble finding appointees who even pay their employee taxes and contractors charged with carrying our most precious assets don't even want to pay the fair (and small) wages their employees are due.

*I*N*T*E*G*R*I*T*Y* ... whither art thou?