https://pleasantonweekly.com/blogs/p/print/2012/10/09/strong-software-cluster-in-pleasanton-

Local Blogs

Strong software cluster in Pleasanton

Checking out the list of the largest software companies in the East Bay in the most recent edition of the San Francisco Business Times yielded some surprises.
Workday Inc., founded by PeopleSoft founder Dave Duffield, has garnered plenty of headlines and sports a high-profile office next to I-680 at Stoneridge Mall. It also is scheduled to go public this month. It ranked No.3 on the list, trailing No. 2 Epicor Software Corp. of Dublin.
What was interesting from a Pleasanton standpoint was that four of the top seven were based here--Workday, Front Range Solutions, Veeva Systems and Ellie Mae Inc. The latter three all are located in Hacienda Business Park.
DURING THIS ELECTION season with yard signs abounding throughout town, I wonder whether having your sign on the same lawn with an Obama-Biden sign is a positive or a negative for potential voters.
More challenging might be to have your City Council sign displayed on a lawn with that of octogenarian Congressman Pete Stark who is facing a spirited challenge from Dublin City Councilman Eric Swalwell. Do Pete's sign help or hurt?
The races up the ballot are partisan, while the local (city council, school board, county supervisors) are all non-partisan. The Stark-Swalwell race is a product of the open primary because both men are Democrats.
By contrast, most candidates for the local offices make no point of their partisan registration.
In the neighborhoods where folks can be expected to have some sense of the political leanings of their fellow residents, it could well be different than signs along thoroughfares such as St. Mary to Hopyard or First Street that essentially serve as small billboards.
WHILE ON ELECTIONS, I marvel at the flap over the so-called voting rights infringements from efforts to force voters to show photo ids before casting their ballots.
Common sense says that if you need photo id to drive a car, open a bank account, cash a check or get on a commercial airplane, why shouldn't that be a requirement for voting or to register to vote.
Liberal folks argue that it could limit access to minority groups and younger people who move a lot. Heirs to the Levi fortune, Lisa and Douglas Goldman, have given $750,000 to fight such efforts across the country. They are welcome to invest their funds as they see fit, but these laws meet the common sense test. Given the potential for voter fraud without such requirements they should be welcomed.