[LINK] Love The Goog! $30M prize for a Moon rover, and they get access to a private NASA airfield

[Glen Turner]

On Fri, 2007-09-14 at 16:23 +1000, steve jenkin wrote:

>     Both stories are very typically Google, both show positive sides of
> the operation.
>     That they can 'horse-trade' with NASA says they are credible and
> respected.
>     And probably 'put back' into the community.
>     That'd be why the whining lefties don't get to park their jets there
> too :-)

If you check the local newspaper -- the San Jose Mercury -- you'll
see that the thousands of people living adjacent to Moffatt Field
are very upset.

http://www.mercurynews.com/search/ci_6916274
...
Last Monday, NASA publicly disclosed a two-year deal with Brin and Page
that was reached on Aug. 1 without the knowledge of elected officials
or the public.

"We made a public relations mistake," said Steven Zornetzer, associate
director for institutions and research at NASA's Ames Research Center.
"We didn't anticipate the stir."

The agreement also allows two Gulfstream jets owned by Page and Brin to
use the airfield, gives NASA scientists access to the founders'
aircraft and lets them bring their equipment aboard for scientific
research.

State Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, said she supports
the science-related work but that the private jet is another matter.

"It has the look of an end run," Lieber said. "Someone may have gotten
a little over-enthusiastic with this one."
...