Morning Media Summary

Tech:

Standford Gets Blessed With High-Speed Fiber, How About The Rest of Us?:
“Like some sort of archangel descended from internet heaven, Google has bathed Stanford University in glorious high-speed goodness as part of the beta test of their new gigabit fiber network. Since the program was announced, the service, which is now being provided free to students and faculty in the Palo Alto area, has caused a lot of people to ask (sometimes beg) that their city be next on Big G’s list for communication salvation. But can Google save us all from crappy internet? And more importantly, is it a good idea to let them?”

Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple:
“Steve Jobs, the visionary CEO at the helm of the most valuable tech company in the world, has stepped down.”

Global Warming / Environment / Energy:

Study links El Nino climate to civil wars, unrest:
“Scientists have found another thing to blame on the climate demon El Nino: civil strife in poor tropical countries.”

Insurance / Gambling:

Internet gambling’s new best friend? Conservatives:
“Advocates for legalizing Internet gambling have neutralized opponents with arguments designed to appeal to fiscal and social conservatives.”

Health / Safety:

New scare: Scented laundry products and dryer vents:
“But exposure, let alone mere detection, is not toxicity and Steinemann offers no evidence that these emissions actually affect anyone’s health or the environment in any meaningful way.”

Economics:

Weekly Claims Above Key Mark Thanks to Verizon Strike:
“New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected last week, lifted by striking Verizon Communications workers, a government report showed on Thursday.”
Legal:

Michigan court deals blow to new medical marijuana law:
“An appeals court ordered a central Michigan medical marijuana dispensary closed as a public nuisance. It had facilitated the sale of about 19 pounds of marijuana between its members in the first 2-1/2 months after it opened in May 2010.”

Labor:

SEIU approves new contract with state:
“The workers of Oregon’s largest state employees’ union have voted three-to-one to ratify a tentative contract agreement with Gov. John Kitzhaber for the 2011-13 biennium.”

Transportation/ Land Use:

Gov. Brown places his jobs advisor on bullet train board:
“Gov. Jerry Brown appointed an advisor, Michael Rossi, to the board of the California High-Speed Rail Authority on Wednesday. Rossi is Brown’s senior advisor for jobs and business development and had a long banking and finance career prior to joining his Democratic administration.”