News Digest News Digest (December 15, 2004)

Los Altos teacher killed by train

The man killed by a Caltrain Sunday night in Palo Alto was a popular teacher at Egan Junior High School in Los Altos. The engineer of the train said that Matt Heroux, 31, was lying on the tracks near Alma Street at 7:10 p.m. when the train approached and he made no attempt to get up, according to Caltrain spokesperson Jayme Kunz. She said there were no other apparent witnesses.

The parent of one of his students said that "he loved the students and they were all crazy about him. The whole school is upset and in shock today at the news."

The Santa Clara County coroner's office has not yet ruled if Heroux's death was a suicide or an accident. Kunz said that Heroux's wife is five months pregnant.

Avenidas offers another flu vaccination clinic

A high demand for the flu vaccine has prompted Avenidas to offer another flu shot clinic on Monday, Dec. 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 450 Bryant St. Maxim Health Systems is providing 500 doses of the vaccine and will administer the vaccination. The vaccinations will be offered to high-risk children -- 9 years of age and older -- and adults, especially those who are aged 65 and older. No appointment is necessary and shots will be given on first come, first serve basis. Individuals with Medicare, Secure Horizons, and Aetna coverage should bring proof of insurance. Maxim Health Systems will bill insurance directly. All others need to pay $20 by cash or check (payable to Maxim Health Systems) at the time of service. Contact Ellen Dietrich at Avenidas, 650-326-5362, ext. 23, with questions.

Palo Alto company partners with French on earthquake predictions

A Palo Alto company is collaborating with the French Government to study whether earthquakes can be predicted by through magnetic field disturbances in the ionosphere

The French space agency, Centre National D'Etudes Spatiales, has agreed to share information from its new satellite DEMETER with Palo Alto-based QuakeFinder, reports QuakeFinder chief of technology Officer Tom Bleier.

The satellite's mission will be to study ionospheric disturbances in relation to seismic activity, and ionospheric disturbances in relation to volcanic activity, according to Bleier.

The company launched a similar satellite named QuakeSat 1 in June 2003, which was able to collect data prior to and after the 6.5. San Simeon earthquake, said Bleier. The satellite collects Extremely Low Frenquency precursor signals over geographic regions that are affected by earthquakes.

QuakeFinder will present four research papers at the American Geophysical Union conference held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco this week.

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