NewsWatch: How Many Counties do we Need? Alligator Fat

Hackers Post San Francisco Police Home Addresses

Hackers launched another online attack Wednesday against a California transit agency that found itself in the middle of a debate about free speech after it turned off cellphone service in its stations last week to thwart a potential protest. This time, hackers gained access to the website of the union that represents Bay Area Rapid Transit Police and posted personal information on more than 100 officers. Fox News

Paypal Founder Invests in Floating Micro-Countries

These micro-countries built on oil rig-like platforms will be moveable, diesel-powered 12,000 ton structures. Each structure may house up to 270 residents, and they are planned to link together into a massive web. Thiel plans to launch a flotilla office park off the coast of San Francisco next year and predicts full settlement of the first island in 2019. He and the Seasteading Institute aim to have 10 million floating residents by 2050. Inhabitat

County Sanitation District Opens First Wastewater Hydrogen Fuel Plant

Methane emitted from the Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD) wastewater facility is now being converted into hydrogen to not only power fuel cell vehicles, but also serve as a sustainable source of electricity and heat for the facilities themselves. Methane from the plant feeds into a state of the art fuel cell built by FuelCell Energy, Inc., where it is then re-formed to hydrogen. Inhabitat

America's 100 Best Places to Live

These terrific small towns -- even now -- boast great job opportunities, top-notch schools, safe streets, economic strength, and more. CNN

County Buys Vacant Property to Spark Redevelopment

DeKalb County, Ga., is using federal cash to take over foreclosed and vacant properties to create a land bank of foreclosed property and prime it for redevelopment. The bank could help put vacant homes and unused commercial properties into the hands of neighborhood associations or developers, clearing the way for new uses. Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Alligator Fat a New Source of Biodiesel

Most of the 700 million gallons of biodiesel produced in the United States came from soybean oil. The search for non-food sources of biodiesel already has identified a number of unlikely candidates, including spent oil from deep fryers in fast-food restaurants and sewage. The scientists realized that alligator fat could join that list. Each year, the alligator meat industry disposes of about 15 million pounds of alligator fat in landfills. American Chemical Society

Internet Upgrade For Northern New Mexico

On Monday, federal, state and local officials gathered in Española to mark the start of a $10.6 million project paid for by federal stimulus dollars meant to bring faster Internet connections to thousands of Northern New Mexicans. The project, called Redi Net, will expand high-speed Internet to more than 120 government institutions, schools and hospitals in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Rio Arriba counties, as well as in several pueblos and the city of Española, thanks to the laying of 150 miles of fiber optics. Santa Fe New Mexican

L.A. County Officials Say Crime Would Rise Under Prison Plan

Los Angeles County supervisors on Tuesday condemned Sacramento's cost-cutting decision to keep some state prisoners in local lockups and have parolees be supervised by county agencies, asserting that both would lead to an increase in crime.Los Angeles Times

How Many Counties Do We Need?

If Walmart can manage 8,500 stores in 15 countries and its real-time global supply chain, all from Bentonville, Ark., why do we need separate administrative units for the more than 2,100 counties with fewer than 50,000 residents? Governing