Google’s mysterious tech barge greeted by Stockton residents weary of hard times STOCKTON — This San Joaquin Delta city has known hard times in recent years, with soaring home foreclosures, high unemployment, terrifying gang violence and a municipal bankruptcy. So when Google’s mysterious tech barge arrived in port on Thursday, local residents greeted it like their ship had come in. “The Google mother ship has made its way over here. I don’t care what’s in it,” said 24-year-old Miguel Guillen, one of many local residents who flocked all day to a parking lot where they could take photos of the massive barge and its odd-looking superstructure. “It’s putting us on the map — in a positive way for once,” said Guillen, a lifelong Stockton resident who counts seven former schoolmates as victims of gang-related killings. “That’s the beauty. It’s pushing away the negativity.” Google was forced to relocate the barge after state authorities said San Francisco’s Treasure Island lacked the necessary permits to finish building what the company has described as a floating exhibition center to showcase cutting-edge technology. Stockton officials gathered on a quiet pier Thursday morning to welcome the 250-foot vessel and its two escorting tugboats, which took nearly eight hours to travel roughly 70 miles from Treasure Island to [...] newsinca/googles-mysterious-tech-barge-greeted-by-stockton-residents-weary-of-hard-times/
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 03:50:11 +0000
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