Palo Alto Launches $1.55M Suicide Prevention Efforts With Installation Of Cameras At Caltrain Crossings
Remote operators will be able to speak live to people spotted on or near the tracks, and new signs will be posted at each intersection letting people know that the area is under video surveillance.
The Mercury News:
New Cameras Being Installed At Caltrain Crossings In Palo Alto
Palo Alto announced this week began installing video systems at four Caltrain crossings to detect potentially suicidal people walking near train tracks and alert police. The cameras will provide live feeds to remote operators as part of a suicide prevention initiative that sprung from two clusters of teen suicides, in 2009 and 2015. The $1.55 million system includes four cameras installed on single poles at the Churchill Avenue, Meadow Drive and Charleston Road crossings, and two cameras installed on separate poles at the Palo Alto Avenue crossing. The cameras have the ability to pan, tilt and zoom to view objects up to 1,000 feet away along the tracks, according to the city’s news release. (Kelly, 3/22)
In other news from across the state —
Orange County Register:
People With Marijuana On Their Record Can Clear It Up; Most Haven’t
Prop. 64 was the nation’s first legalization measure that eliminated all cannabis-related criminal penalties for people under 18, with jail time and fines swapped out for community service and drug education courses. The DPA estimates that up to one million people were eligible to have their crimes downgraded or cleared under Prop. 64. (Staggs, 3/23)
The Mercury News:
Saratoga’s Oldest Business Sold To Los Gatos Health Care Group
Saratoga’s longest running business, Our Lady of Fatima Villa, will change hands this summer for the first time in its 68-year history. Kalesta Health Care Group will be the new owner-operator of the senior center at 20400 Los Gatos-Saratoga Road which houses 85 seniors in its skilled nursing and physical therapy facilities and 84 seniors in its assisted living section. (Peterson, 3/22)