Free Republic

Bobby Doerr, legendary Boston Red Sox second baseman and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died on Monday at age 99. Doerr was the oldest living major leaguer and the only Hall of Famer to live to 99. Doerr played in the majors for 14 seasons, from 1937-51, and spent all of it with the Red Sox. Doerr was the last living major leaguer to have not just debuted in the 1930s, but to have played in the 1930s at all. He was on teams with baseball greats like Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Jimmie Foxx and Dom DiMaggio, but...

SUNNYVALE -- A prominent Silicon Valley clean-energy startup has been ordered to pay back wages and penalties for bringing in workers from Mexico and paying them about $2.66 an hour in pesos, the U.S. Department of Labor announced Tuesday. Sunnyvale-based Bloom Energy, which makes fuel cells and sells energy to clients including AT&T, Adobe, Coca-Cola, eBay, Google and Wal-Mart, was ordered by a judge to pay $31,922 in back wages and an equal amount in damages to 14 welders who were brought in to work alongside domestic workers refurbishing power generators. It followed a federal investigation that inspected records from...

Steve Westly's career has long straddled the worlds of progressive politics and alternative energy. Now Westly's roles bankrolling green-energy-firms such as Tesla Motors (TSLA) and alternative energy-friendly politicians such as President Obama have drawn questions about whether the former eBay (EBAY) executive and Democratic state controller's investments unduly benefitted from his political connections. An investigative report this week by the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., and ABC News suggested that after Westly raised $500,000 for Obama's presidential bid, cleantech firms backed by his Menlo Park venture capital firm clinched more than a half-billion dollars in federal aid....

The reinvention of Meg Whitman continues apace. The former eBay (EBAY) chief has been joining corporate boards at the rate of one a month in the wake of last year's unsuccessful run for governor. On Tuesday, powerhouse venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers announced Whitman is joining as a part-time strategic advisor. Whitman will coach entrepreneurs and help evaluate new digital investments, according to a statement. "Her experience and strategic advice will be invaluable," said Kleiner Perkins partner Ted Schlein. Whitman, in the statement, called Menlo Park-based Kleiner "fabulous advocates for technology-based start-ups." Whitman in January joined the...

The White House has released the list of tech leaders meeting with President Obama this evening in San Francisco: • John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers • Carol Bartz, President and CEO, Yahoo! • John Chambers, CEO and Chairman, Cisco Systems • Dick Costolo, CEO, Twitter • Larry Ellison, Co-Founder and CEO, Oracle • Reed Hastings, CEO, NetFlix • John Hennessy, President, Stanford University • Steve Jobs, Chairman and CEO, Apple • Art Levinson, Chairman and former CEO, Genentech • Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google • Steve Westly, Managing Partner and Founder, The Westly Group • Mark...

SACRAMENTO - A hotly contested bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in California would spur a wave of new clean-energy technology, prominent Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr predicted Wednesday. Entrepreneurs ``are going to go out and compete and innovate to bring enormous solutions to the market'' if the bill passes, Doerr, a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said at a news conference at the Capitol. He was joined by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, and executives from several alternative-energy companies. Assembly Bill 32, sponsored by Núñez and Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, would mandate cuts in...

SAN FRANCISCO - Venture capitalist John Doerr made his name and fortune with early investments in Netscape Communications Corp., Amazon.com Inc., Google Inc. and other pioneering tech firms that went from scrappy startups to household names. Now Doerr and his firm, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, are placing big bets on an emerging sector he calls "green technology," one he believes could become as lucrative as information technology and biotechnology. Menlo Park-based Kleiner Perkins plans to set aside $100 million of its latest $600 million fund for technologies that help provide cleaner energy, transportation, air and water. That's on top...