July 11, 2005
It Is A Puzzlement
Local officials were baffled when they got their first look at the federal government's top priority list of potential terrorist targets in California.Posted by Ithildin at July 11, 2005 12:10 PM | PROCURE FINE OLD WORLD ABSINTHEWhy was Emerald Hills Golfland, the South San Jose miniature golf course and water slide, on the list, along with more obvious targets like San Francisco's Transamerica Pyramid and Oakland's McAfee Coliseum?
The statewide list was supposed to identify ``critical infrastructure,'' possible targets of high economic or social importance that would be eligible for special federal grants to provide extra protection.
``We doubled over laughing,'' said Frances L. Edwards, director of San Jose's Office of Emergency Services. ``It was comical.''
Although the entire list has never been made public, 259 sites in California are eligible for a share of nearly $13 million that's been promised to the state under the new federal Buffer Zone Protection Program. Each local government will get $50,000 a site for surveillance cameras, protective barriers or other equipment to discourage a terrorist attack.
``I would be real happy to bring 50,000 bucks to San Jose,'' said Robert Kenney, vice president of Golfland Entertainment Centers, which also has courses in Sunnyvale and Milpitas.
But even Kenney was surprised that San Jose's Golfland, with a maximum capacity of 750, would be on the same list as Disneyland and Great America. ``I'd be happy if the money was used not to defend Golfland but a more visible site,'' he said.
Golfland wasn't the only place that had local and state officials scratching their heads when the list was first distributed last fall. San Jose's downtown arena was listed twice, as HP Pavilion and under its old name, Compaq Center. Spartan Stadium, with a capacity of about 30,000, was there, but Stanford Stadium, which holds 85,000, was not.
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In all, 18 sites in Santa Clara County and three counties to the south -- Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz -- are eligible for federal funding. It's been widely reported that California's list includes icons such as the Golden Gate Bridge and Disneyland, along with major stadiums and amusement parks. Locally, Paramount's Great America in Santa Clara, with an estimated 2 million visitors a year, is among the obvious places listed.
But Lofgren said she was shocked by many of the things that were included, some that were left out and by the overall shoddiness of the federal effort.
``In Los Angles County, they had the district offices of some city council members but not others,'' she recalled. ``They had a check-cashing office.''
In one case, the branch office of a major Silicon Valley company was listed, Lofgren said, but not its larger, more economically significant Santa Clara County headquarters. Also missing, she said, was a company she regards as integral to the Internet and a facility elsewhere in California that she believes could be crucial to the state's water supply.
