Corporate and legal

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Google hosted a packed house of clean-tech industry fans Tuesday morning at the Googleplex in what amounted to a pep rally against a California ballot proposition that would suspend a law on emissions.

In the time-honored California tradition of stuffing electoral ballots with as many controversial issues as possible, this November voters will be asked to consider Proposition 23 (click for PDF), which if approved would block a previously passed law--AB32--regulating emissions in California until unemployment levels drop below 5.5 percent for a full year. AB32 essentially requires that California emission levels match the … Read more

Editors' note: This is a guest column. See Larry Downes' bio below.

The Google-Verizon Net neutrality proposal, announced on Monday during a conference call with Google CEO Eric Schmidt and Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg, at last puts to rest swirling rumors of a private treaty between the two parties to divide up the Internet and its users.

The reality is, thankfully, much more modest. The two companies have issued what they call a "legislative-framework proposal" for Net neutrality, with the hopes of breaking the legislative logjam that has paralyzed policymakers.

The framework is no more and no … Read more

Sam's Club is hoping that free Wi-Fi access will be one way to lure more buyers into its stores, especially those who are shopping for Wi-Fi TVs.

The warehouse membership club owned by Wal-Mart announced Tuesday that it plans to upgrade its more than 500 U.S. stores with Wi-Fi by November.

Provided by AT&T, the free Wi-Fi will enable shoppers to try out the full features of Wi-Fi-enabled TVs. Customers will be able to check out Facebook, Pandora, and other online services on TVs in the store to get a better sense of how they might … Read more

Barely six weeks into Hewlett-Packard's takeover of Palm, yet another key executive has apparently left the company.

TechCrunch says it has confirmed that Palm's vice president of design, Peter Skillman, has decided to leave HP, though where he will work next isn't clear.

An HP spokeswoman confirmed Tuesday that Skillman's departure took place "about a month ago."

An 11-year Palm veteran, Skillman is known as the guy who masterminded the Palm Pre, the device that was supposed to save Palm and make a serious dent in the iPhone's success. Neither ended up happening, … Read more

Before announcing that Mark Hurd's tenure at the helm of Hewlett-Packard had reached its end, the company's board of directors reportedly sought the advice of a public relations firm on how best to grapple with sexual harassment allegations against its chairman and chief executive officer.

During a presentation conducted by an APCO Worldwide representative, board members were convinced the company would have to endure months of humiliation if news of the allegations leaked to the public, according to a New York Times report that cited a person briefed on the presentation. The Washington, D.C.-based public relations … Read more

Net neutrality supporters say they're unhappy that the Verizon Communications and Google proposal for new Net neutrality rules does not go far enough.

On Monday the companies announced a joint proposal that outlines a legislative framework for consideration by lawmakers. The companies have been working together on the Net neutrality issue for almost a year. In October, they issued a shared statement of principles on Net neutrality. And then, a few months later, they submitted a joint filing to the FCC. In late March, the CEOs discussed their interest in an open Internet through an op-ed in The Wall … Read more

Oracle might be in business competition with Hewlett-Packard, but that didn't stop its CEO Larry Ellison from coming to the defense of friend and former HP CEO Mark Hurd on Monday.

Ellison sent an "impassioned" e-mail to The New York Times on Monday, decrying the HP board's decision to ask for Hurd's resignation on Friday.

"The HP board just made the worst personnel decision since the idiots on the Apple board fired Steve Jobs many years ago," Ellison said in the e-mail. "That decision nearly destroyed Apple and would have if Steve … Read more

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, an arm of the U.S. government that oversees satellite imagery collection for military and intelligence work, has awarded two satellite imagery companies contracts worth more than $3 billion each.

The two 10-year contracts are part of a program called EnhancedView to produce a new generation of satellite imagery. GeoEye, based in Dulles, Va., was awarded $3.8 billion, and DigitalGlobe, based in Longmont, Colo., was awarded $3.55 billion.

Each contract is paid annually, subject to congressional approval, and can be canceled annually. The long-term funding paves the way for development of next-generation satellites with … Read more

Wall Street investors had a weekend to think about the abrupt departure of Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd. Conclusion: they're not pleased.

HP's stock opened at $42.60 on Monday morning and dropped $3.40, or 7.4 percent, over the course of the business day. In total, the company lost about $7.9 billion in market capitalization.

Hurd resigned as top executive of the world's largest technology company by revenue on Friday, after a company investigation found that he had turned in inaccurate expense reports, reportedly in the range of $1,000 to $20,000. The company'… Read more