Steve Jobs 'not strong enough' to attend meeting

Ailing Apple CEO Steve Jobs was too weak to attend a meeting on Tuesday, according to his lawyer.

Jobs, who is on extended medical leave from the electronics giant, was due to attend a Woodside Town Council meeting about a historic Californian mansion that he wants to demolish.

His lawyer Howard Ellman told the council: "I don't think he would be strong enough if we were here until 1 a.m., and I think there's a strong possibility of that," according to the Mercury News report.

He referred to health issues that have seen him on leave from Apple since January.

There was been much talk about Jobs' health since he appeared at several industry events in 2008 looking extremely thin. The internet lit up with speculation as to what was wrong with him.

He then publically admitted that he was suffering from a hormone imbalance, but saying he would continue to run Apple. A week later he said that his health issues were "more complex" than first thought and temporarily stepped down as CEO.

He did not present his usual keynote address at this year's MacWorld conference in San Francisco, further fuelling rumours about his health issues.

The 54-year-old pancreatic cancer survivor is scheduled to return to Apple in June, which board member Arthur Levinson said is still going to happen.

"Nothing has changed," Levinson said in February.

Jobs' appearance at the council meeting was the latest chapter in a battle over a dilapidated 14 bedroom mansion that he wants to demolish to build a new house.

He was given permits in 2004 to knock down the building, but preservationists sued him to stop the demolition.

It will cost US$13.3 to restore the mansion, originally built for mining mogul Daniel C Jackling in 1925. The new house would cost $5.1 million less to construct.

- NZ HERALD STAFF