Free Republic

One week after a state appeals court ruled that Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla cannot continue blocking public access to Martins Beach on the coast south of Half Moon Bay, the gate remains padlocked with no-trespassing signs.**snip** But despite Khosla’s apparent defiance of the court in the high-profile case that could affect the public’s ability to visit other beaches across California, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is making clear that it considers the scenic stretch of coastline open. full title -Sheriff says visitors to Martins Beach won’t be arrested if they go around gates locked by billionaire Vinod Khosla

A former top White House official and the head of President Barack Obama’s personal advocacy group is joining the board of a green energy company backed by a major Democratic donor that recently received millions in federal contracts. LanzaTech announced Wednesday that Jim Messina, Obama’s former deputy chief of staff, reelection campaign manager, and the head of his retooled campaign apparatus Organizing for Action was appointed to the company’s board of directors. “Jim’s proven ability to merge technology, messaging, and communications in support of ideas that transcend ‘business as usual’ will help us continue our mission of reshaping how our...

Vinod Khosla, Silicon Valley's most prominent "green" venture capitalist, announced today that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is joining Khosla Ventures as a senior adviser. The announcement, made at a small invitation-only gathering at the picturesque Cavallo Point Lodge in Sausalito, adds international star power to Khosla Ventures. Since leaving office, Blair has focused on climate change, energy security and public policy and is one of the world's most eloquent advocates for the environment. "I'm absolutely thrilled, honored and delighted to team up with Vinod and the people he has working for him," said Blair today. "Vinod is one...

Direct democracy in California is becoming the latest hot investment for venture capitalists looking to merge their societal goals with a good return on their money. By backing ballot measures tailored to promote their personal and financial interests, investors can quickly change public policy and make a buck at the same time. Proposition 87 on the November ballot, which would tax oil to promote alternative fuels, is winning support from a key financier who is heavily invested in the kind of technologies that the initiative would reward. Vinod Khosla, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems and now a prominent...

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...

Vinod Khosla is bankrolling a ballot initiative that would tax oil producers and subsidize alternative energy -- technologies he invests in as one of the valley's most prominent venture capitalists. If California voters embrace the November initiative, the tax on oil companies could generate $4 billion for projects intended to reduce the state's dependence on oil by 25 percent within a decade. Such political moves are still new territory for the well-heeled venture capital community more accustomed to funding start-up companies than ballot campaigns. That changed in 2004, when the industry put its money behind another technology-building initiative: stem-cell research....

Alternative energy researchers are hoping that California voters get a chance to act on their rage against oil companies at the ballot box in November--and alternative energy companies are pointing to the initiative as the boost needed to get the industry off the ground. However, critics of a new initiative effort say the main beneficiaries would be the venture capitalists behind the campaign. The group Californians for Clean Alternative Energy is gathering signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot that would impose a tax on oil production in California. The Clean Alternative Energy Act would place a tax...