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The state’s gas tax is becoming obsolete as more drivers are opting for electric vehicles, which don’t require gas. Oregon now is mixing incentives and higher registration fees to try to make up the money.
The state Legislature rejected AEP Ohio’s plan to have solar-power projects in southwest Ohio funded by customer dollars. The utility now must look to other funding sources for the 300-megawatt and 100-megawatt plans.
At an Arizona symposium earlier this month, stakeholders discussed what an autonomous vehicle future will look like. A big concern was liability, but others feared that regulations will limit the field’s innovation.
Why are some lawmakers calling each other ‘bastards’ and ‘bat shit crazy’? Because governors in a dozen states now face legislatures controlled by the other party. While some can reach compromises, policy fights and angry words are common.
Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, tweeted in July 2012 an idea for a supertruck that, at the time, was just an idea. Last night, seven years after his initial ideas of a Tesla Truck graced Twitter, Tesla debuted the Cybertruck at a Los Angeles Tesla Event. (Twitter — July 31, 2012/ November 21, 2019)
The number of workers that will be laid off by the shared workspaces company, WeWork. The company released a statement on Thursday explaining that the layoffs, which will release nearly 20 percent of the company’s staff, are “to create a more efficient organization.” WeWork has been struggling to keep afloat as it has undergone several large losses in the previous months.
Launching in D.C., the “Helmet Selfie” initiative will encourage riders to wear helmets in exchange for credits towards their next ride, which will, hopefully, prevent injuries. Austin wants to join in on the campaign.
Police can request videos from Ring doorbell owners before meeting any “evidentiary standard.” Once the video is given to the police, they “can keep the video as long as they like and share it at their discretion.”
When Switch first moved to Michigan four years ago, it promised the area jobs, growth, and a big future. Many exemptions and not many jobs later, officials are growing weary of giving more breaks.
The Los Angeles City Controller, Ron Galperin, reported that the Department of Water and Power has 49,000 power poles in high fire risk locations. The LADWP says they’ve done a lot to reduce risk, but Galperin suggests more.
The Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Brittany Kaiser, will be speaking to New York lawmakers about data harvesting practices. Officials hope to stop big tech from “exploiting all the information they have on us.”
Washington's capital city hopes to create an online platform in which voters can see “what ads are in a race that’s relevant to them, what the spending was like, who was targeted, [and] who was reached by that ad.”
Gov. Ned Lamont has proposed tolls to pay for a portion of his $21 billion, 10-year plan transportation plan. House Democrats have proposed tolls only on tractor-trailer trucks and Senate Republicans are calling for using the state’s rainy-day fund.
The report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates a $7-billion budget surplus by July 2021, giving the state the potential of $26 billion in cash reserves, one quarter of which lawmakers could use at their discretion.
In addition to the tax, the bill, passed by the state’s Senate, bans all flavored tobacco products, including mint and menthol. The House passed a similar bill last week; differences still need to be worked out.
The Federal Reserve’s decision to create its own money transfer network has received a quick response: Banks are asking Congress to stop the plan and companies like Amazon and Google are supportive, as long as they have entry.
Democratic U.S. Senator Ed Markey expressed his concerns over Tesla’s Autopilot capabilities at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) told Markey that they would “be in touch with Tesla about the issue.” (Reuters — November 20, 2019)
The size of the new, $1 billion Apple Campus that will be constructed in Austin, Texas, next to the existing facility that produces MacBook Pro laptops. There are currently 7,000 Apple employees working in Austin, but the new campus plans to host 5,000 new employees with capacity to grow the staff to 15,000. The Austin Campus is projected to open in 2022.
Two advocates of driverless vehicles have argued that Florida has a perfect combination for autonomous vehicles and they predict that 10 to 15 percent of vehicles could be self-driving by 2040.
Toyota proposed plans for a fuel cell power plant that runs on half natural and half nearly identical biogas. While this seems to be the best idea yet, California hasn’t yet decided that biogas is clean enough.
Other states have regulated drone surveillance by first requiring a search warrant, but Maryland currently does not require one. Some police departments are operating with restrictions, others are not.
Qualcomm joins the 5G race and is optimistic about its $65 billion serviceable market. The San Diego phone company then went even further to predict that by 2021, 5G smartphone sales will increase to 450 million.
New study compared AI patents and Department of Labor job descriptions to see where jobs “could potentially be exposed to, complemented by, or completed by AI.” The researcher doesn’t think jobs will be lost, but “if research continues to show similar findings, then none of us (is) safe.”
Top bipartisan senators urged national security adviser Robert O’Brien to “appoint a coordinator for the country’s fifth-generation wireless networks, or 5G, strategy.” There are concerns about 5G networks allowing a greater number of devices to connect to the Internet while also not being as secure against cyberattacks. (The Hill - November 19, 2019)
The value of Uber shares sold by company co-founder Travis Kalanick in the last two weeks.
Louisiana was the target of a ransomware attack on Monday, but due to security protocols and “an abundance of caution,” the state will only lose convenience, as some systems and sites were shut down as preventive measures.
Google recently announced a partnership with the nonprofit Ascension hospital chain, but failed to reveal that Google employees would have access to patient files. Questions arise about the company’s data privacy and sharing.
The state’s new voting system encountered 45 issues in six counties during the November election. But officials are optimistic as “problems are mainly human-based” and can be trained away before March’s presidential election.
Connecticut wants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and one way it’s tackling that is to introduce more electric vehicles. As long as coal and oil are still powering EV chargers, the state may miss its mark.
The City Council opted to delay taking action until the new mayor, Kate Snyder, takes office. Almost all supported an outright ban of the facial recognition software, except for one attorney who works for Microsoft.
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