A Web site that would connect individuals and government agencies with each other during emergencies is making its way to Morgan Hill for testing, a source said.
The Common Operating Picture Web site - COMPIC for short - can be found at www.caview.org, where it is in operation but in "beta" mode, meaning it's still being tested. It's an "open architecture Web application for sharing map-based information," said David Coggeshall, a consultant with San Francisco Communications, a San Francisco-based company that has teamed with Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network and Santa Clara County government and federal agencies including the Department of Homeland Security to fund and develop it as part of the Joint Venture: Silcon Valley Network Disaster Planning Initiative backed by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss.
When it's ready, individuals will access the site and with several clicks of a computer mouse could be able to pinpoint location of their children in school, while government agencies would track government vehicles, said Alex Kennett, a board member of the Joint Venture and a Morgan Hill-based real estate broker. The site uses Google maps and can already track equipment to precise location using GPS technology.
"Our legacy is to get this thing up and running and to turn it over to the users," Kennett said.
A presentation about the COMPIC will be made Thursday morning during the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce's monthly networking breakfast. It begins at 7:15 a.m. at Mama Mia's Ristorante Italiano, 275 East Dunne Ave.
San Jose Water Co. director of emergency services Jim Wollbrinck, Coggeshall and police and fire officials from the city and county are expected to attend, Kennett said.
COMPIC has been tested in San Francisco over the past year. The people behind the site have chosen Morgan Hill as a "testbed" and members of the business community will be asked to try it and provide feedback, Kennett said.
Slav Kandyba Slav Kandyba covers city and county issues for South Valley Newspapers. Reach him at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201 or e-mail him.
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