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Ohio hopes to stay ahead of the changing workforce by implementing The Choose Ohio First scholarship that will support 1,400 students on their path towards becoming computer science graduates. “We certainly need them.”
Irvine City Council progressed the government-owned utility program, hopefully allowing cleaner energy and more “local control and accountability” for their electricity. This would be a first for the county.
Harrisburg, Pa., region ranked fifth most prone to small business cyberattacks and officials are hoping that this encourages proactive cybersecurity, asking “What am I doing to protect my business?”
Cuyahoga County Budget Director Maggie Keenan said after the administration decided to “go in a different direction” on Wednesday. Keenan was fired one day after county officials approved County Executive Armond Budish’s budget for 2020 and 2021. Keenan claims “They shouldn’t have fired the one who knows where all of the bodies are buried.” (cleveland.com — December 11, 2019)
The amount of money for which Scott Breza is suing Tesla after his 2017 Model X 75D allegedly swerved off the road to avoid objects that were not really there while in autopilot. Breza is claiming the car is defective and that Tesla hadn’t corrected the errors after several requests by Breza. Tesla will no longer be taking orders for the 75D version of the Model X vehicle, but when asked if they would discontinue the entire Model X line, CEO Elon Musk responded very simply via Twitter: “Def not.”
San Francisco’s Spin will be the first scooter company in the nation to have its workers join a local union. The scooter company has been mostly gig based, but Spin is excited to “set a precedent in the industry.”
Sacramento and Yolo County officials approved all-electric buses to help reduce traffic congestion. Riders are upset because the buses don’t have seat belts or much bicycle carrying capacity.
Six local governments will limit the use of natural gas in buildings and encourage the use of electric appliances, in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But many are concerned that it will just increase costs.
Ford Motor Co. has purchased two pieces of land for its autonomous vehicle testing center in Austin, Texas. The center will begin data collection on Austin transportation behaviors of cars, people, bicycles and scooters.
The domain, that is mostly inhabited by nonprofit groups, was quietly sold to a public equity firm for just over $1 billion. Many are concerned over the “incentive to sell censorship as a service.”
Four types of gambling, including online sporting bets, could be operating in Michigan by March if Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as expected, signs a package of bills sent to her Wednesday by the Legislature.
With a $20 million deficit for the 2020-21 school year, officials are blaming the state and federal governments for not spending enough on local public schools. But enrollment is also dropping while costs continue to rise.
The region has a $75 billion tourism industry, yet some workers can’t get to their jobs on time because city buses take up to three hours to travel 15 miles and the rail system only works on weekday rush hours.
Allowing hundreds of municipalities to impose their own ridesharing taxes is a terrible idea. There's a simpler and better way to make sure these companies pay taxes that’s beneficial to both states and localities.
Democrats rely heavily on urban voters for support, but the states that hold the first caucuses and primaries don't have really big cities. That tends to leave them off the campaign agenda.
Matt Halprin, YouTube’s Global Head of Trust and Safety, discussing YouTube’s privacy and harassment policy that was revealed on Wednesday. YouTube is one of several social media platforms that has been under fire recently for their lack of intervention in user harassment and hate speech. But others claim that monitoring comments and posts is an infringement on First Amendment rights. (The Hill — December 11, 2019)
The total time it took Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket to fly into space and back in the company’s 12th test flight. New Shepard is a passenger rocket that will take crews into the upper limits of the Earth’s atmosphere so that the riders can experience weightlessness. The first passenger-loaded launch was originally planned to happen by the end of 2019, but “we’ve tapped the brakes a bit.”
Mayor de Blasio constantly makes regulations against Uber and Amazon and encourages residents to “shop in their neighborhood to the maximum extent possible.” But does that matter when his campaign spends millions on Big Tech?
While there are hundreds of thousands of EVs in California, there are just over 700 chargers on the 240 mile stretch from Lodi to Bakersfield. The project hopes “to help ensure all Californians can take part in the clean car revolution.”
The Port of Seattle Commission has banned the use of biometric technology, but they only control part of Sea-Tac. The part that is controlled by Custom and Border Protection will still implement facial recognition in July 2020.
A solar-generating facility that will be located in San Bernardino County has been approved for development. Residents are complaining that the 3,500-acre plant will ruin agricultural land, air quality and scenic views.
El Paso, Texas, officials were considering purchasing El Paso Electric, but a divided discussion gave them pause. It would cost millions of dollars and years to complete, also is it even legal to acquire the utility’s assets?
Taking on the questions faced by state and local government in a world of rapidly advancing technology.
Jim Alder, head of Toyota AI Ventures, said of opportunities to invest in electric air taxi startups. A study revealed that investors are shifting focus from ground transportation to air travel in 2020, which could radically change the understanding of transportation. Joby Aviation, an air taxi startup based in Silicon Valley, has been valued at $450 million and has powerful investors such as Intel, JetBlue Airways and Toyota Motor Corp. (Reuters — December 9, 2019)
The number of attorneys general that are requesting the federal government implement stricter online protections for children. A letter to the Federal Trade Commission asked for stronger rules regarding data collection for children under 13 years old. “Without modification to the current rule, companies will continue to build profiles on children based on collected data. Those profiles will be used to target them for many decades to come.”
Plus.ai and Land O’Lakes partnered to freight the butter from Tulare, Calif., to Quakertown, Pa., with a safety driver ready to take over at any time, though they didn’t have to. Self-driving trucks could be “a few years out.”
Columbus, Ohio, is hoping that residents will connect their cars with technology that allows their vehicle to interact with other cars and traffic signals. All 1,300 “connected” cars would receive up to $300 in gift cards.
Senators from the region are pushing for the electric grid operator to reduce greenhouse gases, but progress is slow. Senators say the operator has “institutional tunnel vision” and the utility says its ideas are “taken off the table.”
Google claims it has cracked the code on quantum supremacy — IBM says not so fast. One researcher explains why he doesn't see quantum computers outpacing classical computers anytime soon ... and maybe not ever.
A challenge to Berkeley’s requirement that cellphone companies notify customers of possible radiation dangers of having phones close to their bodies was rejected by the Supreme Court because Berkeley’s notice is “literally true.”
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