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Tag: Mountain View

  • Northern California police chief suspends use of ALPR cameras after outside agencies access data

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    The police department in the Northern California city of Mountain View is suspending the use of automated license plate reader cameras after the discovery of unauthorized access to data by federal and state agencies, the police chief said on Monday.

    In a letter to the community, Mountain View Police Chief Mike Canfield said he decided to turn off all Flock Safety ALPR cameras in the Silicon Valley hub because he no longer has confidence in the Flock system. Last week, it was disclosed that hundreds of federal and state law enforcement agencies had accessed the city’s ALPR data without the department’s knowledge.

    “Like many of you, I was deeply disappointed to learn that Flock Safety did not meet the City’s requirements regarding our data access control and transparency,” Canfield stated in the letter. “The existence of access by out of state agencies, without the City’s awareness, that circumvented the protections we purposefully built and believed were in place is frankly unacceptable to me and to the dedicated people of the MVPD.”

    On Jan. 30, the City of Mountain View said an audit of its ALPR system showed that the first ALPR camera deployed had been set to a “nationwide” setting by Flock Safety without MVPD’s permission or knowledge. As a result, between August and November 2024, data from the camera was accessed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives offices in Kentucky and Nashville, TN; Langley Air Force Base in Virginia; the U.S. GSA Office of Inspector General; Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Nevada; and an Ohio Air Force Base, according to the city, adding that it was unclear whether the searches resulted in license plate information being shared.

    The audit also showed that a “statewide” search function was enabled on 29 of 30 cameras that were deployed, which was against protocols established for the pilot program, the city said. This function allowed Flock to enable access to state law enforcement agencies not approved by MVPD. 

    The statewide setting was immediately disabled on January 5 once the MVPD identified the issue, the city said. 

    “This is a system failure on Flock Safety’s part,” the city said in a statement last week. “MVPD has a policy and controls in place for the ALPR pilot. MVPD worked closely with Flock Safety during the outset of the program to design a model that strictly prohibited out-of-state data sharing and ensured that any agency receiving access to Mountain View’s data was approved by the Police Chief or his designee.” 

    Mountain View’s first ALPR camera went online in August 2024, and the final camera was installed last month. 

    “The council voted to put this in unanimously in 2024, and we were given a lot of assurances that we would have control over our data and who gets access to it, and it definitely would not be used by anyone in the federal government, and that clearly wasn’t the case,” said Mayor Emily Ann Ramos.

    Canfield said the suspension of the Flock camera system was effective immediately and would remain inactive until the City Council provides further direction about the future of the pilot program.

    “I share your anger and frustration regarding how Flock Safety’s system enabled out-of-state agencies to search our license plate data, and I am sorry that such searches occurred. I know how essential transparency is for maintaining trust and for community policing. This is why MVPD has been so open about what we learned and why we are pausing this program until our City Council can weigh in.  

    The City Council was anticipated to discuss the ALPR system at its Feb. 24 meeting.

    “We’ll have to make sure that our police department can maintain a high level of service for our residents,” said Ramos. “I’m just not sure we’re willing to make that trade-off with the LPRs again.”   

    Canfield said that despite the unauthorized ALPR access, the cameras enhance community safety and have helped officers investigate burglaries, home break-ins, and a reported kidnapping. He added that his department was looking into alternative vendors with a stronger track record of data protection, oversight, and transparency.   

    In an emailed statement to CBS News Bay Area, Flock Safety spokesperson Holly Beilin said, “We are working through Mountain View’s specific questions and concerns directly with the city, and will continue to engage with our partners in the Police Department and city government to resolve these issues. We look forward to resuming our successful partnership following the upcoming Council meeting.”

    The City of Mountain View said last week that Flock had assured the city that its systems had been improved and were no longer enabling access outside of the State of California.

    California law prohibits any ALPR information from being sold, shared, or transferred to out-of-state or federal agencies without a court order or warrant issued by a California court. The American Civil Liberties Union has warned that ALPR cameras can infringe on civil rights and potentially violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment by facilitating unreasonable searches and pervasive surveillance.

    A six-month investigation by CBS News showed more than a dozen cases of ALPR errors leading to incidents of wrongful stops or instances of the technology being abused.

    Amanda Hari

    contributed to this report.

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    Carlos E. Castañeda

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  • Guess who’s back? It’s Pitbull and he’s headed our way

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    Pitbull is heading back to Northern California.

    Yes, Mr. Worldwide himself has announced plans to bring the I’m Back Tour to Toyota Amphitheatre at Wheatland on June 6 and Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View on June 7.

    And he’s bringing Lil Jon along for the ride.

    Tickets go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Jan. 30, livenation.com.

    There is also an artist presale, but fans need to register in advance — by 10 p.m. Jan. 26 at livemu.sc/pitbull — in order to participate

    PITBULL I’M BACK TOUR NORTH AMERICA DATES:

    Thu May 14 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre

    Sat May 16 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre

    Sun May 17 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium

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    Jim Harrington

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  • South Bay protesters gather against Venezuela actions, ICE killing in Minneapolis

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    Hundreds of South Bay protesters took to the streets Saturday to show their disdain toward President Donald Trump’s military actions in Venezuela and the killing of a Minnesota woman by a federal agent earlier this week.

    Rallies began Saturday morning in Los Gatos and Mountain View, with more planned later into the day in Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, San Jose, Richmond and San Francisco. Many were organized by a coalition of groups including May Day Strong, Indivisible and others.

    Robin Dosskey, of Mountain View, waves at motorist while protesting in Mountain View, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. About 25 people gathered at the corner of West El Camino Real and Grant Road to protest the recent immigration enforcements and President Donald Trump’s military actions in Venezuela. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) 

    In a statement, May Day Strong called for unity against U.S. occupation of Venezuela and the removal of “reckless untrained ICE agents from our communities.” They argued overseas wars and increased immigration enforcement enriched billionaires at a human cost, and that tax money should be used for “good jobs, better schools, access to health care and (getting) our basic needs met.”

    At Los Gatos, David Bowie’s “Under Pressure” blared to over 100 people as passing cars honked in support of the demonstration.

    George Hoffman, a 49-year-old Los Gatos resident, said he’s been protesting regularly at the town’s Tesla dealership since April 2025, in an effort to push back against Elon Musk’s support of Trump.

    Hoffman said he started attending protests because he was tired of keeping quiet on the Trump administration’s actions and “feeling like everything was broken.”

    “It was killing me,” he said. “I was in a hole of despair and loneliness.”

    One week ago, a U.S. strike in Venezuela killed about 80 people and ended with the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores, who are now in New York City awaiting trial on federal drug charges. Trump and others in his administration have said the U.S. would “run” the country, taking millions of barrels of oil with the blessing of the South American nation’s acting leadership.

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Lynda Turkus, of Mountain View, shakes a cowbell while protesting in Mountain View, Calif., on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. About 25 people gathered at the corner of West El Camino Real and Grant Road to protest the recent immigration enforcements and President Donald Trump’s military actions in Venezuela. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

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Many within the U.S. and internationally criticized the attack as a flagrant violation of international law that ignores Venezuela’s sovereignty. However, Venezuelan expatriates in Florida and elsewhere were supportive of Maduro’s removal after years of reported human rights violations and economic troubles in the country.

In Mountain View, a couple dozen people went to a Chevron gas station to protest. Cindy Ferguson, a 73-year-old Mountain View resident, has been going to several demonstrations, including the No Kings protests in June. She specifically wanted everyone to rally around Chevron due to the president’s actions in Venezuela to gain control of their oil reserves. Ferguson was formerly in the Army between 1973 and 1976. She criticized the similarities she saw between the U.S.’s intervention in Iraq and Iran and the attacks in Venezuela, saying “none of it worked, then or now.”

“They stand to profit really big, so he’s just paying off his billionaire buddies, and all the money and spending is for that,” Ferguson said. “Why aren’t we feeding kids? Why aren’t we giving health care? We could do a lot with that money, too. Let’s care for everyone.”

On Wednesday, a Minnesota woman named Renee Good was fatally shot by a federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis, a killing caught on video that quickly sparked outrage and, from the Trump administration, unsupported claims that Good was a “domestic terrorist.” A day later, two people were wounded in Portland, Oregon, when federal immigration officers shot them in their car outside of a hospital. Both of the shootings inspired vigils and demonstrations against crackdowns authorized by Trump.

Many people that were protesting in the South Bay were enraged over the Good’s death. John Elliott, a 77-year-old Los Gatos resident, said that he had seen the video footage of Good’s shooting and thought it was “striking” that there were people who could justify it. Similarly, 20-year-old Campbell resident Michael Zambon felt that Good’s death was an extrajudicial killing.

“This is really not just about the murder of Renee Nicole Good. It’s also about the rule of law,” Zambon said. “This is a regime of lawlessness. And I believe we need to push back as best we can in order to ensure that the rule of law can endure in the consciousness of the country.”

Lisa Guevara, a 58-year-old resident of Menlo Park, is affiliated with Showing Up for Racial Justice, an organization to help white people organize against racial discrimination. Guevara connected the ICE-involved shootings with the attack on Venezuela as examples of Trump’s government trying to convince Americans that they have a right to enter Venezuela or American cities to strong-arm them.

“I think all of it is connected; It’s all this fascist, patriarchal, white supremacy situation,” Guevara said. “It’s this idea of being able to to determine other people’s lives for them, whether it’s in foreign countries or whether it’s in our own neighborhoods.”

Hoffman said Good’s death was another example of the Trump administration lying to people about what has been happening in the nation.

“We need to stop seeing this as a single issue,” Hoffman said. “It’s all the same fight.”

This is a developing report. Check back for updates.

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Nollyanne Delacruz

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  • Registration is open for El Camino Health’s heart forum

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    Heart forum

    Registration is open for El Camino Health’s 15th Annual Heart Forum.

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    Anne Gelhaus

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  • Map: Starbucks in the Bay Area that are on the closure list

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    After Starbucks announced it would be shutting hundreds of stores, its website is listing dozens in the Bay Area as being closed as of Sunday, Sept. 28.

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    Bay Area News Group

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  • Review: Punk superstars honor heavy metal titans during superb concert

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    The world’s greatest pop-punk band paid tribute to the most important heavy metal men of all time on Saturday night.

    It occurred when The Offspring — the fabulous Orange County act known for such alt-rock-radio smashes as “Pretty Fly (for a White Guy),” “Why Don’t You Get a Job?” and “Self Esteem” — tipped its hat to the late-great Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath midway through its winning set at Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View.

    The tribute began with a short bit by lead guitarist Noodles (aka, Kevin Wasserman), who — living up to his name — nicely noodled his way through a short take on “Electric Funeral” from Sabbath’s landmark second studio album, 1970’s “Paranoid.”

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    Jim Harrington

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  • Letters: Let’s invest in the Bay Area’s greatest asset: nature

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    Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

    Invest in Bay Area’s
    greatest asset: Nature

    Re: “Bay Area needs unity to solve its problems” (Page A9, Aug. 17).

    I second Russell Hancock’s recent call for bold regional leadership in this period of “federal ruckus.” As climate impacts intensify, California must act now to build climate resilience for tomorrow — and for future generations.

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    Letters To The Editor

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  • Waymo raises $5.6B Series C from Alphabet, major investors

    Waymo raises $5.6B Series C from Alphabet, major investors

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    Robotaxi company Waymo announced on Friday it closed a $5.6 billion Series C funding round, the largest investment round the company has raised to date.

    The Moutain View-based company said it plans to use the round’s funds to expand its robotaxi operations in cities like Austin and Atlanta and support services in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.

    “As our Waymo One ridership grows, we remain focused on expanding the safety and mobility benefits of the Waymo Driver to more places while enhancing our operational capabilities,” Waymo said in a news release. “To this end, we recently introduced the 6th-generation Waymo Driver, optimized for cost and enhanced capabilities.”

    The round is Waymo’s second external fundraising round since a $2.25 billion Series B in 2020, which grew to $3.2 billion. At the time of that round, the company was focused on further developing its autonomous trucking efforts, which it has since pulled back from.

    Since then, the company has been focused on its Robotaxi ride-share service. It provides more than 100,000 paid rides a week across its three major markets—San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix—and operates on highways in the Bay Area and Arizona.

    The company’s driverless fleet has driven upwards of 25 million miles to date.

    Waymo plans to launch robotaxi operations in Atlanta and Austin in 2025, where its vehicles will be exclusively offered through the Uber app.

    The Series C round was led by parent company Alphabet with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, Fidelity, Tiger Global, Perry Creek and T. Rowe Price. The round comes after Alphabet CFO Ruth Porat said the tech giant would invest $5 billion.

    The round brings Waymo’s total capital raised to $11.1 billion, following a $3 billion and $2.5 billion round.

    “Customers love Waymo. The company has built the safest product in the autonomous vehicle ecosystem as well as the best,” said Chase Coleman, founder of Tiger Global, in a news release. “Their proven experience fostering rider loyalty, securing key partnerships, and collaborating with automotive industry leaders demonstrates their ability to balance ambitious goals with responsible execution, positioning them as the enduring leader in the space.”

    Despite its success in the industry ecosystem, Waymo could be a money-loser for Alphabet. According to second-quarter filings from Alphabet, “other bets” from the company brought in $365 million, up from $285 million in Q2 2023. However, the division, which includes Waymo, lost over $1 billion in operating income, an over $810 increased loss in 2023.

    Alphabet is expected to report its third-quarter earnings on Oct 29.

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    Andrew Mendez and Scott Budman

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  • Teacher at Mountain View school arrested on suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a student

    Teacher at Mountain View school arrested on suspicion of inappropriate conduct with a student

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    A teacher at a Mountain View school was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of inappropriately touching a student, according to a news release by Mountain View police.

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    Nollyanne Delacruz

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