Experienced class action law firm takes on red light cameras in California.

A team of experienced class action lawyers is taking on California’s red light camera industry, and photo enforcement companies are expressing unease. Last month, the law firm of Pearson Simon Warshaw and Penny, LLP filed suit in San Mateo County Superior Court arguing that tickets issued throughout the Golden State since January 1, 2004 should be refunded where the photo enforcement contracts violated a state law mandating flat-rate compensation to companies like Redflex Traffic Systems. Redflex referred to the case as a particular business risk in an August 25 filing with the Australian Securities Exchange.

Production Facility Will Create 170 Jobs in Bedford County

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Matt Kisber announced today that SMW Automotive, a Tier 1 supplier of automotive chassis and suspension parts and subassemblies, will open a production facility in Shelbyville, Tenn. The 131,000 square foot Bedford County plant will represent a $26 million capital investment by the company and will create 170 jobs over five years.

“This announcement by SMW Automotive is a significant win for our state’s economy,” said Governor Bredesen. “I am very pleased to see this investment in our state by SMW Automotive, and I am confident our workforce will prove to be an asset for the company as it continues to grow.”

The Michigan-based SMW supplies safety-critical parts such as brake and chassis components for a broad range of vehicles manufactured by companies such as Nissan and Volkswagen. Other products designed and produced by SMW include steering knuckles, control arms, wheel hubs and brake corner assemblies. SMW has eight manufacturing plants in the US and other operations in Europe, South America and Asia. Its main engineering center is located in Troy and its validation laboratories in Warren, Michigan.

“Once again, the ripple effect from the presence of anchor companies like Nissan and Volkswagen has leveraged significant investment,” said Commissioner Kisber. “Tennessee’s strategy of identifying and securing business ‘anchors’ capable of generating follow-on investment like SMW Automotive means more high skill, good paying jobs are available for Tennesseans.”

“We are looking forward to launching this new plant close to our customers and suppliers. The Shelbyville area has a skilled, solid and reliable workforce, supported by the Tennessee Technology Center with CNC machining, metrology and assembly training programs,” said Tom Bane, director of manufacturing for SMW Automotive. “We have started our recruiting and training process. The plant will eventually employ 170 people based on awarded 2011-2012 business. The State of Tennessee and the Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce have provided invaluable assistance to help us get this plant up and running in a very short time. SMW will use its long experience of starting new plants to make this launch flawless.”

Applications for production positions at the new facility will be accepted immediately, and production is scheduled to get underway this fall. Interested parties should contact the Tennessee Career Center in Shelbyville, 301 North Main Street, 931.685.5000.

JOHNSON CITY, TN — One hundred new jobs will soon be coming to Johnson City which will grow its local workforce by 20 percent.

Read more via ATT jobs coming to Johnson City | TriCities.com.

Rates Decrease in 87 Counties, Increase in 5, Remain the Same in 3

NASHVILLE – Tennessee’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for July was 9.8 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from the revised June rate of 10.0 percent. The national unemployment rate for July 2010 was 9.5 percent.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for July 2010, released today, show that the rate decreased in 87 counties, increased in 5 counties and remained the same in three counties.

Lincoln County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 6.4 percent, down from 6.7 percent in June. Scott County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 19.4 percent, down from 20.8 percent, followed by Marshall County at 15.7 percent, down from 16.6 percent in the previous month.

Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 7.5 percent, down from 7.8 percent in June. Davidson County was 9.3 percent, up from 9.0 percent. Hamilton County was 8.4 percent, down from 9.1 in June, and Shelby County was 9.9 percent, down from 10.5.

NOTE: Information is available on the Internet for other Tennessee counties and cities, enter http://www.tennessee.gov/labor-wfd/labor_figures/july2010county.pdf

Data is from the following links – July 2008, August 2009, Sept 2009, Oct 2008, Nov 2009, Dec 2009, Jan 2010,  Feb 2009, Mar 2010,  April 2010, May, 2010, June, 2010, July 2010

Profit from most common red light camera ticket in California could be slashed in half under bill passed by legislature

Read more via California Legislature Votes to Drop Right Turn Fines.

A Bristol, Tennessee employer is looking to hire 200 people.

Kelly Services contacted 11 Connects today about the job openings at Touchstone Wireless.

Interested applicants can apply by calling Kelly Services at (276) 466-2843, or in person at Kelly’s offices located at 1969 Lee Highway in Bristol, Virginia.

There will also be a job fair at Touchstone Wireless, 2536 West State Street, on Wednesday from 5:30 to 7:00pm.

via Touchstone Wireless looking to hire 200 people | TriCities.com.

Civil grand jury joins appellate court in slamming red light cameras in San Mateo County, California.

Under court order, Redwood City, California was forced to admit that the red light camera installed at Whipple Avenue and Veterans Boulevard in March 2008 have done absolutely nothing to reduce traffic collisions. San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Clifford V. Cretan instructed the city council to respond to a civil grand jury report from June that blasted municipal programs throughout the county that raised $13.8 million from ticketing despite the lack of evidence of any safety benefit (read report).

Read more via California: Court, Grand Jury Bash San Mateo Red Light Cameras

Accidents increased 40 percent one year after red light cameras went live in Baytown, Texas.

After a year of use, red light cameras have failed to deliver the promised safety benefits in Baytown, Texas. The Houston suburb activated the majority of its cameras on July 13, 2008. Since then, the number of accidents at eight camera locations has increased 40 percent, contrary to predictions from city officials. The increase in accidents has not been in minor “fender benders,” as is frequently claimed by photo ticketing advocates. Rather, the number of collisions resulting in an injury jumped 75 percent. Rear end collisions increased 39 percent. Results from comprehensive, independent studies elsewhere in the country have yielded similar results.

Read more via Red Light Cameras Increase Accidents in Baytown, Texas.

Seasonally Adjusted Rate Down 0.2 Percentage Point from June

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Commissioner of Labor & Workforce Development James Neeley announced today Tennessee’s unemployment rate for July was 9.8 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from the revised June rate of 10.0 percent. The July 2009 rate was 10.9 percent. The national unemployment rate for July 2010 was 9.5 percent, unchanged from the June rate of 9.5 percent.

Labor Commissioner James Neeley reports, “Tennessee has employment growth of 1.7% over the past year resulting in an unemployment rate that has fallen by over one percentage point. The U.S. rate of employment shows a decline in employment and a slight rise in the unemployment rate over that same period.”

Major Changes in Estimated Nonagricultural Employment
June 2010 to July 2010

According to the Business Survey, healthcare and social assistance increased by 1,200; administrative, support, and waste services added 900 jobs, clothing and clothing accessories stores increased by 500, and state government educational services increased by 500 jobs. Major employment decreases occurred in accommodation and food services, down by 3,900; federal government declined by 2,200; and mining and construction declined by 2,000 jobs.

Major Changes in Estimated Nonagricultural Employment
July 2009 to July 2010

Year-over-year increases occurred in administrative, support, and waste services, up by 15,000; health care and social assistance gained 5,400; and retail trade was up by 4,800. Year-over-year decreases occurred in mining/construction, down by 6,800; accommodation/food services lost 6,400; and transportation and warehousing decreased by 5,100.

Red light camera makers fear high court Confrontation Clause ruling will create legal challenges.

Red light camera and speed camera manufacturers fear that last month’s US Supreme Court ruling in the case Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts could create legal turmoil for the industry. The National Campaign to Stop Red Light Running issued a statement yesterday warning that the ruling has armed motorists with a greater ability to challenge the basis of automated traffic citations. Speed cameras, for example, depend heavily on legal faith in a certificate that claims to confirm the total reliability of a machine’s speed reading. In the Melendez-Diaz case, the high court ruled that merely producing such a certificate in court is insufficient. Defendants have the right to cross-examine any individual who claims to have certified evidence.

Read more via US Supreme Court Upsets Speed Camera Industry.

If you have been following the red-light cameras hearsay scene….you should check out the following links below.

California Court of Appeal Publishes Red Light Camera Hearsay Decision
California Court of Appeal declines traffic camera company request to depublish Santa Ana appellate decision.

California: Another Judge Discards Red Light Camera Evidence
Red light camera companies found to generate hearsay evidence in San Diego, California court trial.

A red light camera in Kingsport, Tennessee wrongly accused Ray Tolley, 89, of running a red light. According to WJHL-TV, Tolley received a ticket in the mail accusing him of blowing through an intersection on red in a white Ford Mustang. Tolley owns a blue 1990 Ford pickup truck, and the octogenarian rarely drives. His son, David, who was forced to fight the ticket on his father’s behalf, discovered the license plate on the pickup was off by one digit. The Kingsport police, who claim to diligently review every ticket, did not notice that the ticket claimed the Mustang in the photograph was a "pickup" truck.

via California, Tennessee: Bogus Red Light Camera Tickets.

It appears that the Kingsport, TN Police did review the evidence and found that a white Ford Mustang and a black 1990 Ford pickup is close enough. 

89-year old Ray Tolley states that he visited Kingsport about 35 years ago and his pickup has not been started since last fall.

It appears that the Kingsport Police is rubber-stamping the data submitted by camera vender Redflex as the gospel.  The photo on the right is from the Kingsport Police Department web page.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Learn more about how they picked the Best Cities for the Next Decade.

Also they published a list  367 U.S. metropolitan areas that can be sorted and ranked by different criteria.

In the example below, all metro areas in Tennessee have been extracted.  The table below was sorted by median household income.  We see that the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA has the lowest median household income for the Tennessee metro areas ranked and also has a higher cost of living than the other Tennessee metro areas listed below.

Furthermore, Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA median household income rank is 353 out of a total of 367 U.S. metro areas.  This shows that there were 14 metro areas that had a lower median household income than the Kingsport-Bristol-Bristol, TN-VA metro area.

Click here for the entire list of 367 metro areas.  The list can be sorted online or downloaded in spreadsheet format.

I am sure that our local City, County, and State elected officials will want to keep this data from getting out.