Read the full story here Web Link posted Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 11:57 AM
https://n2v.almanacnews.com/square/print/2020/08/25/grand-jury-report-finds-few-enrolled-in-smc-alert-system
Town Square
Grand jury report finds few enrolled in SMC Alert system
Original post made on Aug 25, 2020
Read the full story here Web Link posted Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 11:57 AM
Comments
Posted by Chuck Bernstein
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Aug 25, 2020 at 12:38 pm
Chuck Bernstein is a registered user.
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Aug 25, 2020 at 12:38 pm
Chuck Bernstein is a registered user.
One reason that the system may not be used much is that it is not very useful. Regionalizing it would make it more helpful. Living in the south part of the county near Palo Alto and U.S. 101, it does not help me to get an alert about a malfunctioning traffic light in Hillsborough or a mountain lion sighting west of I-280. Even though I am involved with emergency services in the area (CERT, Menlo Park Fire Protection District director), I have on many occasions thought about deleting the subscription because I receive too many irrelevant or trivial notifications.
The system could be localized to make it more useful.
--Chuck Bernstein
444 Oak Court, Menlo Park
Posted by Peter Carpenter
a resident of Menlo Park: Park Forest
on Aug 25, 2020 at 1:09 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
a resident of Menlo Park: Park Forest
on Aug 25, 2020 at 1:09 pm
Peter Carpenter is a registered user.
It takes me about 3 seconds to disregard/delete an alert that is not of concern to me.
And since I may be somewhere else in the County than at my home address there is no way for the system to predict which particular alerts may be helpful to me.
Registration should be done automatically by all phone carriers with a simple opt-out option.
MPFPD CERT, Palo Alto CERT, HAM
Posted by Lynne Bramlett
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Sep 5, 2020 at 10:54 am
Lynne Bramlett is a registered user.
a resident of Menlo Park: Central Menlo Park
on Sep 5, 2020 at 10:54 am
Lynne Bramlett is a registered user.
For those who would like to read the Grand Jury report, you can access it via the link. Web Link
Anyone reading this who has not yet registered for SMC Alert, please do so as soon as possible. Web Link You might also want to register for the Nixle Alert System that's mentioned in the Grand Jury report. Web Link
