Things could not only be better in Silicon Valley; we have the power to set a path for other regions to follow.

President Barack Obama delivered a speech focusing on cybersecurity Friday at Stanford University, before signing an executive order intended to facilitate a dialogue between tech companies and the government.

A trove of celebrity nudes leaked on the Internet, including Jennifer Lawrence (see cover), forced Apple to defend its iCloud security. The company’s answer: It’s not our fault.

Rep. Mike Honda cruised past challenger Ro Khanna in early election results. Still, both made it to the November runoff, thanks to California's top-two primary system.

The titans of Silicon Valley need some personal public relation advisors. Marissa Mayer, Tim Cook, Meg Whitman, Scott McNealy and many others fail to grasp the most basic PR concepts. They don’t have to look far for good role models. David Packard, Bill Hewlett, Steve Jobs and Gordon Moore were masters at molding their public image.

San Jose and its surrounding cities topped a list of best-performing metro areas thanks to its booming tech industry, which thrust it from 51st to numero uno in the nation just a year ago.

Silicon Valley is home to tech behemoths such as Google, Adobe, Facebook, and HP. Being one of the biggest business hubs in the world, Silicon Valley has also become a fundraising battleground for President Obama and his likely opponent in November, Mitt Romney.

Cupertino is a very small city that borders San Jose on the western edge of its larger neighbor. It is an elite community that prides itself on its excellent schools, ethnic diversity and its agrarian heritage. Its biggest claim to fame remains that it is the corporate headquarters to the wealthiest company in the world, Apple.

The tragic departure of Steve Jobs from his CEO position at Apple last week has prompted me to ask if he would please weigh in on how California should evaluate the effectiveness of their public schools. I think the direction we take today will answer the question of whether public schools can ever produce more thinkers and problem solvers like Mr. Jobs in the future.

Does Apple really understand climate change? Not according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This week, Apple became the latest in a series of major corporations to quit the Chamber, citing differences over attitudes toward climate change. Catherine Novelli, Apple’s Vice President for Worldwide Government Affairs, said that the company “would prefer that the chamber take a more progressive stance on this critical issue.” On Wednesday, the Chamber fired back.