Good morning. It’s Thursday, Aug. 29.
- Lawmakers approve controversial AI safety measure.
- San Francisco plans to cull its statues and monuments.
- And a shout-out of California’s great “road hotels.”
Statewide
1.
California’s Legislature approved a fiercely contested bill Wednesday that would create regulations designed to address the catastrophic potential of artificial intelligence. The measure has drawn broad opposition from tech leaders who say it will stifle innovation — with notable exceptions. Anthropic, Elon Musk, and AI research legend Geoffrey Hinton are among those who backed the measure. It will fall to Gov. Gavin Newsom to make the final call; it’s unclear where he stands. N.Y. Times | Washington Post
2.
Lawmakers also approved a bipartisan mandate that all public schools develop limits or outright bans on cellphone use. The measure marked a reversal from a decade ago when many schools allowed phones as part of a broader embrace of apps as educational tools. But teachers soured on the devices as they were forced to compete for students’ attention. Schools with bans already in place have reported significant changes: more talking, more playing, more “kids being kids.” Newsom is expected to sign the bill. L.A. Times | Sacramento Bee
3.
Allstate is planning to raise insurance rates for about 350,000 California homeowners by an average of 34%, the biggest hike by a major insurer in three years, according to company filings. The increase is part of an upheaval in California’s insurance market that began around 2017, when a series of wildfires erased decades of industry profits. More fires followed, leading insurers to revisit their rates and pull back from the state altogether. S.F. Chronicle
- See home insurance costs in your zip code. 👉 S.F. Chronicle
4.
Freestanding bungalows in a quintessential surf town. A restored oil boomtown motel in the high desert. And colorful adobe homes in an actual palm-tree oasis.
Wildsam Magazine named the nation’s 27 greatest “road hotels,” which it defined with three criteria: retro aesthetics, boutique amenities, and a roadside location beyond the city.
Northern California
5.
San Francisco is planning a survey to decide which of the city’s roughly 100 statues and monuments should be removed for their links to “power, privilege, white supremacy, patriarchy, and colonialism.” The effort gained urgency after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, when vandals toppled statues of Junipero Serra, Ulysses S. Grant, and Francis Scott Key in Golden Gate Park. It’s part of a larger $250 million initiative in cities across the U.S., known as “The Monuments Project,” that aims to remake the public art landscape. S.F. Chronicle
6.
A year after the fentanyl death of a baby exposed failures by Santa Clara County’s child-welfare agency, officials shared an update on reforms during a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday. Disappointed by what she heard, Supervisor Sylvia Arenas delivered an extraordinary rebuke to the head of social services, Daniel Little. “You were in charge, Dan,” she said. “How about acknowledging that to our community? … Are you going to apologize to each and every child that you put at risk that didn’t have a safety plan?” Mercury News
- Watch a key portion of Arenas’ statement. 👉 YouTube
7.
Yelp sued Google on Wednesday, accusing the search giant of giving its own business reviews preferential placement and directing traffic away from Yelp. The lawsuit comes just weeks after a federal judge declared Google an illegal monopoly in a landmark ruling that opened the door to more litigation. “This is the time to have the conversation,” said Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s chief executive. “This is the time to correct past wrongs.” Google called Yelp’s claims “meritless.” N.Y. Times | Wall Street Journal
8.
At the Nvidia parking lot in Santa Clara, Porsches, Corvettes, and Lamborghinis take up spots once occupied by humbler models. As of Monday, stock shares for the chipmaker at the heart of the artificial-intelligence boom had gained 3,776% since the start of 2019, minting many new multimillionaires. Unchanged, however, are the work demands at Nvidia, where the hours are long and the pressure is intense. That creates a problem. “At a certain point, with a certain amount of money, the stress starts to lose its appeal,” Bloomberg wrote.
- Nvidia’s latest earnings report on Wednesday showed that enthusiasm for AI is still running hot. Wall Street Journal
9.
In July, as California endured record heat, highs in San Francisco hovered around 70 degrees. The contrast is linked to what one meteorologist called the city’s “natural swamp cooler.” When the summer sun heats up the Central Valley, it creates low pressure that wants to suck the cool, moist air in from the Pacific. The fog takes the path of least resistance, rushing through gaps such as the Golden Gate while delivering a chilly blast to adjacent San Francisco. The meteorologist Rob Mayeda posted time-lapse video of the Golden Gate from Tuesday that offered a perfect illustration. @RobMayeda
Southern California
10.
In California, the majority of gun deaths occur in rural areas. Between 2016 and 2021, Kern County had the state’s highest gun homicide rate: 9.1 deaths per 100,000 people — more than double the statewide average. Patrick Orque recalled hanging out with friends one night in his hometown of Delano when gunshots boomed. “We heard the ‘pew, pew, pew.’ And then we just went back to what we were doing,” he said. Later, he learned that a woman he attended high school with had been killed: “That’s just how it is in Delano. It’s sad to say, but it’s regular.” The Guardian
11.
In 2022, the federal government put Orange County’s Ziggurat building up for auction on the condition that it be preserved. It got no takers. This year, on June 5, it tried again, offering the brutalist structure in Laguna Niguel with no preservation requirement. A stampede of investors has since driven the top bid to more than $150 million, more than double the starting bid. The winner is expected to bulldoze the structure. The Real Deal
12.
Malibu, with its expansive beaches and glassy waves, is a surfer’s paradise. Perched on the edge of a sprawling metropolis, it’s also one of the most crowded surf zones on earth. The surf videographer Brad Jacobson dedicated a recent segment to Malibu surfers jostling with one another for precious wave space. YouTube
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