South Bay officials suggest conflicts of interest in regional communications project

The $50 million-plus federally funded project was hyped as a major public safety telecommunications coup for the Bay Area, intended to weave together a state-of-the-art broadband network so that police, fire and rescue personnel could communicate easily and securely during a terror attack or major earthquake. But now the ambitious project is facing shock waves of its own.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Santa Clara County Executive Jeff Smith are charging that the agency administering the project has potential conflicts of interest involving the company supplying the technology. Reed is also upset that San Jose -- the Bay Area's largest city -- will not initially be part of the project, and he wants to know why. "Sunshine, fiscal responsibility, open government, none of that was employed here," Reed said. "Maybe this is the best deal in the world, but I rather doubt it."