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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:50 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill that would mandate safety testing for companies that develop the largest generative AI models has passed the state Assembly by a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">vote of 41 to 16\u003c/a>. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But critics, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, continue to raise objections as the bill makes its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been an enormous amount of work and collaboration and working with people who like the bill and people who don’t like the bill,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">SB 1047\u003c/a>. “I’m really, really proud of our coalition and grateful to my colleagues for understanding that, when it comes to technology, innovation and safety are not mutually exclusive. They complement each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bill would enact safeguards to prevent AI from being used to conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure or develop chemical, nuclear or biological weapons. After passing the assembly and getting another stamp of approval from the senate, the bill goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener has spent the last year in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12000892/ai-safety-testing-bill-heads-for-a-floor-vote-in-sacramento-taking-heavy-fire-from-silicon-valley\">pitched battle\u003c/a> with some of the most prominent figures in the AI industry, including many who warned the measure could stifle the growth of the technology in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three Silicon Valley Congress members — Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Ro Khanna and Pelosi — also spoke out in an effort to kill the bill. Even Wiener’s longtime ally, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, wrote in an \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/martin_casado/status/1828467847720509652\">open letter\u003c/a> that “more work needs to be done to bring together industry, government, and community stakeholders before moving forward with a legislative solution that doesn’t add unnecessary bureaucracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Speaking on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906876/nancy-pelosi-explains-the-art-of-power\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Thursday, Pelosi criticized the bill again.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“California is the home, the birthplace of AI. In our view. It has the knowledge, the technological knowledge, it has the entrepreneurship, and it has the responsibility to do the right thing, not to pass a bill that does not do the job because it is as well-intentioned as it is ill-informed.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also pushed back against the idea that she was speaking out against Wiener’s bill because he might face Pelosi’s daughter in a run for her seat once she leaves office. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” she said about \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2024/08/19/ai-pelosi-house-seat-00174542\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Politico\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which first reported the story. “I don’t want California going down a bad path on something this serious and has nothing to do with elections.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 has also attracted high-profile supporters, including Elon Musk, who on Monday \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1828205685386936567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1828205685386936567%7Ctwgr%5Eefeda0f975043ebdda2707011f803c34424e4ba0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsfstandard.com%2F2024%2F08%2F26%2Felon-musk-openai-scott-wiener-sb1046%2F\">posted on social media site X,\u003c/a> “This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill. For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener acknowledged his unlikely ally. “Elon Musk is not a fan of me, and I’m not a fan of Elon Musk,” Wiener said. “But even people who have very strong disagreements can still find common ground. And, in this area, Elon and I have common ground. He has long, long been an advocate for AI safety. And so this position is very consistent with his long history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he amended the measure to reflect counsel from leaders in the AI space, including safety groups, academics, startups and developers like Amazon-backed Anthropic. The bill no longer allows California’s attorney general to sue AI companies for negligent safety practices before a catastrophic event has occurred. Also, the original text, which would have established a division within the California Department of Technology “to ensure continuous oversight and enforcement,” is gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who heads the Senate Budget Committee, told KQED the changes were made in large part to improve the bill’s chances with lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, given that California is facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985932/newsoms-solution-to-a-45-billion-budget-deficit\">massive budget deficit\u003c/a>. “My experience with Gov. Newsom is he gives bills a fair shake and he listens to arguments. He speaks to people who support and people who oppose, and he makes an informed choice. And I’m confident he will do that here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 would only affect companies building AI systems that cost more than $100 million to train. However, critics argue the mere threat of legal action from the state attorney general will stifle innovation by discouraging big tech companies from sharing open-source software with smaller ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Anthropic warned in an open letter addressed to Wiener that it could not support the bill unless it was amended to “respect the evolving nature of risk reduction practices while minimizing rigid, ambiguous, or burdensome rules.” Anthropic was the first major generative AI developer to publicly signal a willingness to work with Wiener on SB 1047.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SB 1047 establishes clear, predictable, common sense legal standards for the developers of the biggest, most powerful AI systems to efficiently build in safety across the AI ecosystem startups build on,” wrote Nathan Calvin, Senior Policy Counsel at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the Center for AI Safety, which is one of SB 1047’s co-sponsors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of the bill, however, sounded another alarm, including Andrew Ng, the Stanford professor and former Google executive who detailed his concerns in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issue-252/\">post\u003c/a> viewed by more than 1 million people on \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/andrewyng/status/1798753608974139779?s=61\">X\u003c/a>. “SB 1047 will stifle open source AI and hinder AI innovation,” Ng wrote KQED. “It makes a fundamental mistake of trying to regulate AI technology rather than address harmful applications. Worse, by making it harder for developers to release open AI models, it will hamper researchers’ ability to study cutting-edge AI and spot problems, and therefore will make AI less safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why California lawmakers have pursued dozens of AI bills focused on discrete issues, compared to the European Union and the state of Colorado, which opted for comprehensive legislation, Wiener said, “California’s system is different than these other jurisdictions. We don’t tend to pick a subject matter and do ten different issues combined. We introduce individual bills. We work very hard to harmonize them,”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He acknowledged the pros and cons of this approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But doing it this way does allow us to take a more methodical approach, in terms of not having to solve everything all at once, but addressing specific issues.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 11:50 a.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A bill that would mandate safety testing for companies that develop the largest generative AI models has passed the state Assembly by a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">vote of 41 to 16\u003c/a>. \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But critics, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, continue to raise objections as the bill makes its way to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s been an enormous amount of work and collaboration and working with people who like the bill and people who don’t like the bill,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who introduced \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">SB 1047\u003c/a>. “I’m really, really proud of our coalition and grateful to my colleagues for understanding that, when it comes to technology, innovation and safety are not mutually exclusive. They complement each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The bill would enact safeguards to prevent AI from being used to conduct cyberattacks on critical infrastructure or develop chemical, nuclear or biological weapons. After passing the assembly and getting another stamp of approval from the senate, the bill goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto it. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener has spent the last year in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12000892/ai-safety-testing-bill-heads-for-a-floor-vote-in-sacramento-taking-heavy-fire-from-silicon-valley\">pitched battle\u003c/a> with some of the most prominent figures in the AI industry, including many who warned the measure could stifle the growth of the technology in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three Silicon Valley Congress members — Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Ro Khanna and Pelosi — also spoke out in an effort to kill the bill. Even Wiener’s longtime ally, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, wrote in an \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/martin_casado/status/1828467847720509652\">open letter\u003c/a> that “more work needs to be done to bring together industry, government, and community stakeholders before moving forward with a legislative solution that doesn’t add unnecessary bureaucracy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Speaking on \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101906876/nancy-pelosi-explains-the-art-of-power\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on Thursday, Pelosi criticized the bill again.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“California is the home, the birthplace of AI. In our view. It has the knowledge, the technological knowledge, it has the entrepreneurship, and it has the responsibility to do the right thing, not to pass a bill that does not do the job because it is as well-intentioned as it is ill-informed.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">She also pushed back against the idea that she was speaking out against Wiener’s bill because he might face Pelosi’s daughter in a run for her seat once she leaves office. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They don’t know what they’re talking about,” she said about \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.politico.com/newsletters/california-playbook/2024/08/19/ai-pelosi-house-seat-00174542\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Politico\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which first reported the story. “I don’t want California going down a bad path on something this serious and has nothing to do with elections.\u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 has also attracted high-profile supporters, including Elon Musk, who on Monday \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1828205685386936567?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1828205685386936567%7Ctwgr%5Eefeda0f975043ebdda2707011f803c34424e4ba0%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fsfstandard.com%2F2024%2F08%2F26%2Felon-musk-openai-scott-wiener-sb1046%2F\">posted on social media site X,\u003c/a> “This is a tough call and will make some people upset, but, all things considered, I think California should probably pass the SB 1047 AI safety bill. For over 20 years, I have been an advocate for AI regulation, just as we regulate any product/technology that is a potential risk to the public.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener acknowledged his unlikely ally. “Elon Musk is not a fan of me, and I’m not a fan of Elon Musk,” Wiener said. “But even people who have very strong disagreements can still find common ground. And, in this area, Elon and I have common ground. He has long, long been an advocate for AI safety. And so this position is very consistent with his long history.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he amended the measure to reflect counsel from leaders in the AI space, including safety groups, academics, startups and developers like Amazon-backed Anthropic. The bill no longer allows California’s attorney general to sue AI companies for negligent safety practices before a catastrophic event has occurred. Also, the original text, which would have established a division within the California Department of Technology “to ensure continuous oversight and enforcement,” is gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who heads the Senate Budget Committee, told KQED the changes were made in large part to improve the bill’s chances with lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, given that California is facing a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985932/newsoms-solution-to-a-45-billion-budget-deficit\">massive budget deficit\u003c/a>. “My experience with Gov. Newsom is he gives bills a fair shake and he listens to arguments. He speaks to people who support and people who oppose, and he makes an informed choice. And I’m confident he will do that here.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 would only affect companies building AI systems that cost more than $100 million to train. However, critics argue the mere threat of legal action from the state attorney general will stifle innovation by discouraging big tech companies from sharing open-source software with smaller ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Anthropic warned in an open letter addressed to Wiener that it could not support the bill unless it was amended to “respect the evolving nature of risk reduction practices while minimizing rigid, ambiguous, or burdensome rules.” Anthropic was the first major generative AI developer to publicly signal a willingness to work with Wiener on SB 1047.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“SB 1047 establishes clear, predictable, common sense legal standards for the developers of the biggest, most powerful AI systems to efficiently build in safety across the AI ecosystem startups build on,” wrote Nathan Calvin, Senior Policy Counsel at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the Center for AI Safety, which is one of SB 1047’s co-sponsors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Critics of the bill, however, sounded another alarm, including Andrew Ng, the Stanford professor and former Google executive who detailed his concerns in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issue-252/\">post\u003c/a> viewed by more than 1 million people on \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/andrewyng/status/1798753608974139779?s=61\">X\u003c/a>. “SB 1047 will stifle open source AI and hinder AI innovation,” Ng wrote KQED. “It makes a fundamental mistake of trying to regulate AI technology rather than address harmful applications. Worse, by making it harder for developers to release open AI models, it will hamper researchers’ ability to study cutting-edge AI and spot problems, and therefore will make AI less safe.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked why California lawmakers have pursued dozens of AI bills focused on discrete issues, compared to the European Union and the state of Colorado, which opted for comprehensive legislation, Wiener said, “California’s system is different than these other jurisdictions. We don’t tend to pick a subject matter and do ten different issues combined. We introduce individual bills. We work very hard to harmonize them,”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He acknowledged the pros and cons of this approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“But doing it this way does allow us to take a more methodical approach, in terms of not having to solve everything all at once, but addressing specific issues.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "2 Astronauts Are Stuck in Space. A Bay Area Congresswoman Wants Answers",
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"content": "\u003cp>U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren wants to know what led to two astronauts being stuck at the International Space Station until next year after problems with the Boeing spacecraft that brought them into orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lofgren (D-San José), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, \u003ca href=\"https://democrats-science.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-members-lofgren-and-sorensen-statement-on-nasa-decision-to-return-starliner-to-earth-uncrewed\">announced on Monday\u003c/a> that she wants to understand exactly what went wrong with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, whether space station operations will be affected and whether NASA should reassess its partnership with Boeing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were the first people to ride Starliner, which took off for the International Space Station on June 5 and was supposed to return eight days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after a series of glitches, including helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-decides-to-bring-starliner-spacecraft-back-to-earth-without-crew/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA officials announced Friday\u003c/a> that they would keep the astronauts at the station until February when a SpaceX Dragon capsule will return from a trip to the station launching in September. Starliner will return without a crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue the analysis with Boeing, but obviously, there is a problem here,” Lofgren said. “Everybody is aware that there have been other problems with aircraft at Boeing — we’re not blind to that. But the main issue for us now is the safety of the crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934029\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934029 size-full\" style=\"font-weight: bold;background-color: transparent;color: #767676\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029.jpg\" alt=\"An older white woman with a blue suit dress and wearing glasses.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Zoe Lofgren wants Congress to look into issues with the Boeing Starliner that led to two astronauts getting stuck at the International Space Station for months longer than planned. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Starliner completed an uncrewed flight test in 2022 but also experienced issues with its thrusters then. Despite the snag, Boeing officials celebrated the launch and \u003ca href=\"https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2024-06-05-Boeing-Starliner-Spacecraft-Completes-Successful-Launch\">said \u003c/a>it represented “the beginning of a new era of space exploration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft,” Connor Greenwood, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement to KQED. “We are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11998860 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/XSFGetty-1020x598.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Starliner missteps are stepping up scrutiny on Boeing, which has also faced problems with its commercial aircraft, including two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019 and, most recently, a midair blowout of a door-sized fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress is in recess, but Lofgren said she intends to discuss the issues with her colleagues when they reconvene after Labor Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if Congress might urge NASA to reconsider its $2.6 billion contract with SpaceX, Lofgren said it wouldn’t be negotiated in the press, but she does have mixed feelings about the company’s owner, Elon Musk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will say, although I’m not a big fan of the owner of SpaceX, the vehicle has performed well,” she said. “My level of confidence is much higher with that craft.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren wants to know what led to two astronauts being stuck at the International Space Station until next year after problems with the Boeing spacecraft that brought them into orbit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lofgren (D-San José), the top Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, \u003ca href=\"https://democrats-science.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-members-lofgren-and-sorensen-statement-on-nasa-decision-to-return-starliner-to-earth-uncrewed\">announced on Monday\u003c/a> that she wants to understand exactly what went wrong with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, whether space station operations will be affected and whether NASA should reassess its partnership with Boeing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were the first people to ride Starliner, which took off for the International Space Station on June 5 and was supposed to return eight days later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But after a series of glitches, including helium leaks and issues with the spacecraft’s thrusters, \u003ca href=\"https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-decides-to-bring-starliner-spacecraft-back-to-earth-without-crew/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA officials announced Friday\u003c/a> that they would keep the astronauts at the station until February when a SpaceX Dragon capsule will return from a trip to the station launching in September. Starliner will return without a crew.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will continue the analysis with Boeing, but obviously, there is a problem here,” Lofgren said. “Everybody is aware that there have been other problems with aircraft at Boeing — we’re not blind to that. But the main issue for us now is the safety of the crew.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11934029\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1024px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-11934029 size-full\" style=\"font-weight: bold;background-color: transparent;color: #767676\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029.jpg\" alt=\"An older white woman with a blue suit dress and wearing glasses.\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029.jpg 1024w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/12/GettyImages-1433168029-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rep. Zoe Lofgren wants Congress to look into issues with the Boeing Starliner that led to two astronauts getting stuck at the International Space Station for months longer than planned. \u003ccite>(Alex Wong/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Starliner completed an uncrewed flight test in 2022 but also experienced issues with its thrusters then. Despite the snag, Boeing officials celebrated the launch and \u003ca href=\"https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2024-06-05-Boeing-Starliner-Spacecraft-Completes-Successful-Launch\">said \u003c/a>it represented “the beginning of a new era of space exploration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Boeing continues to focus, first and foremost, on the safety of the crew and spacecraft,” Connor Greenwood, a spokesperson for the company, said in a statement to KQED. “We are preparing the spacecraft for a safe and successful uncrewed return.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Starliner missteps are stepping up scrutiny on Boeing, which has also faced problems with its commercial aircraft, including two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019 and, most recently, a midair blowout of a door-sized fuselage panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 in January.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Congress is in recess, but Lofgren said she intends to discuss the issues with her colleagues when they reconvene after Labor Day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When asked if Congress might urge NASA to reconsider its $2.6 billion contract with SpaceX, Lofgren said it wouldn’t be negotiated in the press, but she does have mixed feelings about the company’s owner, Elon Musk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I will say, although I’m not a big fan of the owner of SpaceX, the vehicle has performed well,” she said. “My level of confidence is much higher with that craft.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "California Forever Pulls Ballot Measure to Build New City in Solano County — For Now",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It seemed like California Forever, the billionaire-backed company intent on building a brand new city in Solano County, was going full speed ahead with a ballot measure that would have authorized construction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But late last month, the group abruptly pulled the measure, promising to bring it back in 2026. So what changed?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6742424972&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. For a while it seemed like nothing could stop California forever from plowing ahead with its billionaire backed idea to build a brand new city in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was until late last month, when the group sort of out of nowhere pooled the ballot measure set to go before voters this November to approve their plan. But make no mistake, we’re going to be hearing about this plan again pretty soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>I do think it’s going to be a vote on the future of Solano County, but it is also going to be a referendum on California more broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>California forever CEO, Jan Sramek says he’s going to spend the next two years trying to get more people on board with the East L.A. plan before bringing it again before voters. Today, why California forever changed course?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I remember the moment that I heard the news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Adhiti Bandlamudi is a housing reporter for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was actually working on a story about their housing portion of the plan. I had all my interviews ready. I was preparing for the Board of Supervisors meeting the next day where the board was going to formally place it on the ballot. And then I remember seeing the news in the morning and it was a complete shock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You have been spending months really reporting on the East L.A. plan, reporting on California forever. And it seemed like they were just sort of plowing forward with this idea. But then they make this announcement. I mean, what was their rationale at the time for just dropping the idea so suddenly?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>We now know, based on campaign finance records, that they spent $9 million to get this on the ballot when they gave their explanation as to why they were making the sudden change. They said that there were two things that they kept hearing from Solano voters. They wanted to see an environmental impact report and a development agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>The environmental impact report would have basically laid out how the new city would impact the vernal pools and the Jepson prairie. These like very important habitats that are in that area. And it would have also laid out important things like how the new city would get its water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>The development agreement is sort of like a report which would show how the county would hold the company accountable, basically for making good on the many promises that were tacked on to this plan, including bringing 15,000 good paying jobs to the county, things like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Based on their timeline, they were anyway going to spend the next two years working on those reports. So they said they would basically flip the timeline a bit, release the environmental impact report and the development agreement over the next two years, and then have the voters decide the fate of the new city in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That is what California forever was saying in July when they announced that they were dropping this ballot measure. But you actually spent the last couple of weeks reporting to really understand what was going on behind the scenes a little bit more, how they sort of went from going full speed ahead on this idea to this sort of screeching halt. First, how did you go about trying to answer this question of why California forever suddenly dropped this idea from the ballot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was not satisfied with the company’s initial answer that it was just because people were calling for these reports because arguably people had been calling for these reports for months. So I called a few people who had worked with the campaign who agreed to speak off the record and include their perspective in my story, but only anonymously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And then I spoke to people on the record to sort of see if they agreed or if those if those sentiments were similar. And then I posed questions to California forever to sort of like get their reaction to those comments. And what I learned is that the story goes way deeper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Yeah. What did you would you find?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Right in the beginning, I think they started off on the wrong foot. You know, I talked to so many people about the project and the thing that kept coming up is that they bought the land in secret since 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>News cast: \u003c/strong>The group only revealed this summer that they are, in fact, a collection of Silicon Valley billionaires looking to build a new city. They call the project California Forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I mean, we didn’t even know who was buying up the land until The New York Times broke the story in August of last year. I think it just rubbed people the wrong way. And I even talked to people at California forever who agreed that the land purchase was not a great look, though it might have made business sense to, like, purchase it in secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>It strikes me that it’s been a year since we actually found out who was behind former Lee Flannery Associates. What we now know is California forever. Did they go too fast here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>That’s a big part of the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>I mean, I think we went we went a little bit too quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>When I spoke with Jan Sramek:, he was basically saying that by putting it on this aggressive timeline of going to November and not really having a lot of time to talk to people and build those really important relationships, it not only made the project incredibly politicized, so much so that people didn’t want to be associated with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And he said that that really hindered the company’s ability to talk with people. And I think in speaking with county officials and just like people in general, they felt like the timeline was incredibly aggressive and it made it difficult to kind of include other perspectives in that eventual vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>We didn’t fully appreciate the extent to which putting this on the ballot would make it harder for people to work with us locally. And so we excited to kind of improve that dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I know you also heard from some people about the culture of the campaign, especially CEO John Shrum. Six inner circle. What can you tell us about that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I had also heard from some people who had worked on the campaign who agreed to sort of speak with me anonymously, that the company had this sort of like. White male bro culture that ultimately affected how they were able to, you know, kind of like interact and connect with the the very diverse community that is Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Many of them are, you know, people who came from bigger cities who want to sort of like build this dense urbanist vision for a new city. Solano County especially. And I even found this amongst the like. Supporters of the project are very diverse, like especially young families of color. So many people of color like love this project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And I got I heard so much support from them, but I didn’t necessarily see, you know, those people involved in like the leadership positions. I did talk to someone who worked with the campaign who basically said, you know, many of the decisions were sort of made by this like group of like white men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And it was difficult to include other perspectives necessarily in those like, big decisions. I opposed this to California forever. Too young trying to ask, like what he has to say to this criticism. And he did agree that, you know, the company can do better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>He pointed to the like community advisory committee that is very diverse and filled with Solano residents. But it’s not necessarily clear to me how much power those individuals really had in shaping what the town would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Coming up, who California forever needs to win over to build their new city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So what has this combination of moving too fast and also not getting enough people at the table meant for public opinion among people in Solano County when it comes to California Forever’s grand idea?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>They didn’t have enough support from local elected officials. They just like could not get anyone to sign on to this plan. When you’re developing housing or building a city from scratch, it ultimately requires county approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Even if California forever won the November election, let’s just say that they got all the votes they needed, they would still need county approval to build the roads and the underlying infrastructure for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>If they wanted to use public funding to finance some of the roads and you know that highway expansion they were promising of expanding highways 12 and 113 they would need county approval to do that. And it’s way harder to get those approvals if the elected officials in charge don’t trust you or like the project that you’re working on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>So I still am not in favor of the project as proposed in the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I spoke with Supervisor Mitch Mashburn. He’s the chair of the Board of Supervisors in Solano, and he was saying that he doesn’t like the project the way that it stands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>Based on empirical data. Show us how this is a plan to do no harm, how it’s planned to truly help and not hinder or hurt in our county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>He will need to see significant changes in order to sign off on it and, you know, really get behind what California forever wants to build.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>It was the best possibility for the residents of our county moving forward to have a chance to get a true understanding of what the impacts of this project would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, what is your sense of public opinion at this point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>This topic is really divisive. There are people that either love it or hate it. And I think a large group of people are still trying to figure out how they feel about it, especially since there are a lot of questions that are remaining. I’ve spoken to a number of groups, including like Artists Against Billionaires, Solano Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Both organizations say they’re going to keep on urging the company to answer some of these questions and hold the company accountable. I also heard from people who are sort of keeping an open mind about the project, who in the meantime want to see the company investing moneys into the city is that exist almost as a way of showing goodwill that they genuinely care about the county?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anthony Summers: \u003c/strong>As a pastor, many of my congregants who wanted to buy a home for the first time have had to move to Sacramento, and then the choice of them commuting back to Vallejo to be a part of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was talking to Anthony Summers. He’s a pastor in Vallejo, and he said that he wants to see investment in his local community and also how the company can be held accountable for all these promises that they’re, you know, saying that they’re going to bring to this new city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anthony Summers: \u003c/strong>I believe it’s a it’s a fresh idea. Right. And a chance to revitalize this area. You know, and so, again, from Vallejo growing up, you know, we just have to make sure that the partnership is such that people are afforded the opportunities that are being talked about and hold the the founders of the company accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What does this decision authority to drop the ballot measure actually mean? Like, how do you think this changes things? Now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>This project is not dead. They have a lot of work ahead of them. First off, they say that they’re going to get their environmental impact report and development agreement done in two years. Those things usually take like two decades for a project of this size to complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>So if they can get all those reports done in two years, that alone will be a feat. They’ll also need to make up a lot of ground amongst people who still do not trust them. Definitely more conversations with locals. They’ll need more officials on board with their plan who will be willing to work with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Probably more schmoozing going on. Do you think we’re going to see more billboards?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>We definitely might see more billboards. We might see more schmoozing. But I will say, I think the billboards were, you know, focused around this like, ballot initiative, like coming to the voters in November. And now it’s more of a soft skill that the company is going to have to flex a bit. For sure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>There’s going to have to be more like earnest conversations with people who live, you know, in Rio Vista and in Sassoon, like kind of close to the new city, but also just people who they’re going to need votes from in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>In California. For better or for worse, we have passed a myriad of legislation to kind of make sure that developers take into consideration the environment, what people want, how water is going to get there, how many people will live there, how affordable it’ll be. And California forever ran into that. They ultimately needed community support and they will need it in order to pass this thing in two years or whenever they bring it back to the voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Adhiti, thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>On Friday afternoon, TechCrunch reported that the family of Marc Andresen, one of the billionaire investors behind California forever, is preparing to build a separate development of more than a thousand homes in Vacaville. The subdivision would be ten miles away from the proposed California Forever project. It will still need city approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Adhiti Bandlamudi, a housing reporter for KQED. This 30 minute conversation with Adhiti was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. I produced this episode, scored it, and added all the tape music courtesy of Audio Network. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"p1\">\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It seemed like California Forever, the billionaire-backed company intent on building a brand new city in Solano County, was going full speed ahead with a ballot measure that would have authorized construction. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But late last month, the group abruptly pulled the measure, promising to bring it back in 2026. So what changed?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"card card--enclosed grey\">\n\u003cp id=\"embed-code\" class=\"inconsolata\">\n\u003c!-- iframe plugin v.4.3 wordpress.org/plugins/iframe/ -->\u003cbr>\n\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https://playlist.megaphone.fm/?e=KQINC6742424972&light=true\" width=\"100%\" class=\"iframe-class\">\u003c/iframe>\n\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to the Bay. Local news to keep you rooted. For a while it seemed like nothing could stop California forever from plowing ahead with its billionaire backed idea to build a brand new city in Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was until late last month, when the group sort of out of nowhere pooled the ballot measure set to go before voters this November to approve their plan. But make no mistake, we’re going to be hearing about this plan again pretty soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>I do think it’s going to be a vote on the future of Solano County, but it is also going to be a referendum on California more broadly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>California forever CEO, Jan Sramek says he’s going to spend the next two years trying to get more people on board with the East L.A. plan before bringing it again before voters. Today, why California forever changed course?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I remember the moment that I heard the news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Adhiti Bandlamudi is a housing reporter for KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was actually working on a story about their housing portion of the plan. I had all my interviews ready. I was preparing for the Board of Supervisors meeting the next day where the board was going to formally place it on the ballot. And then I remember seeing the news in the morning and it was a complete shock.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You have been spending months really reporting on the East L.A. plan, reporting on California forever. And it seemed like they were just sort of plowing forward with this idea. But then they make this announcement. I mean, what was their rationale at the time for just dropping the idea so suddenly?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>We now know, based on campaign finance records, that they spent $9 million to get this on the ballot when they gave their explanation as to why they were making the sudden change. They said that there were two things that they kept hearing from Solano voters. They wanted to see an environmental impact report and a development agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>The environmental impact report would have basically laid out how the new city would impact the vernal pools and the Jepson prairie. These like very important habitats that are in that area. And it would have also laid out important things like how the new city would get its water.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>The development agreement is sort of like a report which would show how the county would hold the company accountable, basically for making good on the many promises that were tacked on to this plan, including bringing 15,000 good paying jobs to the county, things like that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Based on their timeline, they were anyway going to spend the next two years working on those reports. So they said they would basically flip the timeline a bit, release the environmental impact report and the development agreement over the next two years, and then have the voters decide the fate of the new city in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That is what California forever was saying in July when they announced that they were dropping this ballot measure. But you actually spent the last couple of weeks reporting to really understand what was going on behind the scenes a little bit more, how they sort of went from going full speed ahead on this idea to this sort of screeching halt. First, how did you go about trying to answer this question of why California forever suddenly dropped this idea from the ballot?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was not satisfied with the company’s initial answer that it was just because people were calling for these reports because arguably people had been calling for these reports for months. So I called a few people who had worked with the campaign who agreed to speak off the record and include their perspective in my story, but only anonymously.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And then I spoke to people on the record to sort of see if they agreed or if those if those sentiments were similar. And then I posed questions to California forever to sort of like get their reaction to those comments. And what I learned is that the story goes way deeper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Yeah. What did you would you find?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Right in the beginning, I think they started off on the wrong foot. You know, I talked to so many people about the project and the thing that kept coming up is that they bought the land in secret since 2017.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>News cast: \u003c/strong>The group only revealed this summer that they are, in fact, a collection of Silicon Valley billionaires looking to build a new city. They call the project California Forever.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I mean, we didn’t even know who was buying up the land until The New York Times broke the story in August of last year. I think it just rubbed people the wrong way. And I even talked to people at California forever who agreed that the land purchase was not a great look, though it might have made business sense to, like, purchase it in secret.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>It strikes me that it’s been a year since we actually found out who was behind former Lee Flannery Associates. What we now know is California forever. Did they go too fast here?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>That’s a big part of the problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>I mean, I think we went we went a little bit too quickly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>When I spoke with Jan Sramek:, he was basically saying that by putting it on this aggressive timeline of going to November and not really having a lot of time to talk to people and build those really important relationships, it not only made the project incredibly politicized, so much so that people didn’t want to be associated with it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And he said that that really hindered the company’s ability to talk with people. And I think in speaking with county officials and just like people in general, they felt like the timeline was incredibly aggressive and it made it difficult to kind of include other perspectives in that eventual vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jan Sramek: \u003c/strong>We didn’t fully appreciate the extent to which putting this on the ballot would make it harder for people to work with us locally. And so we excited to kind of improve that dramatically.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I know you also heard from some people about the culture of the campaign, especially CEO John Shrum. Six inner circle. What can you tell us about that?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I had also heard from some people who had worked on the campaign who agreed to sort of speak with me anonymously, that the company had this sort of like. White male bro culture that ultimately affected how they were able to, you know, kind of like interact and connect with the the very diverse community that is Solano County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Many of them are, you know, people who came from bigger cities who want to sort of like build this dense urbanist vision for a new city. Solano County especially. And I even found this amongst the like. Supporters of the project are very diverse, like especially young families of color. So many people of color like love this project.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And I got I heard so much support from them, but I didn’t necessarily see, you know, those people involved in like the leadership positions. I did talk to someone who worked with the campaign who basically said, you know, many of the decisions were sort of made by this like group of like white men.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>And it was difficult to include other perspectives necessarily in those like, big decisions. I opposed this to California forever. Too young trying to ask, like what he has to say to this criticism. And he did agree that, you know, the company can do better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>He pointed to the like community advisory committee that is very diverse and filled with Solano residents. But it’s not necessarily clear to me how much power those individuals really had in shaping what the town would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Coming up, who California forever needs to win over to build their new city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So what has this combination of moving too fast and also not getting enough people at the table meant for public opinion among people in Solano County when it comes to California Forever’s grand idea?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>They didn’t have enough support from local elected officials. They just like could not get anyone to sign on to this plan. When you’re developing housing or building a city from scratch, it ultimately requires county approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Even if California forever won the November election, let’s just say that they got all the votes they needed, they would still need county approval to build the roads and the underlying infrastructure for the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>If they wanted to use public funding to finance some of the roads and you know that highway expansion they were promising of expanding highways 12 and 113 they would need county approval to do that. And it’s way harder to get those approvals if the elected officials in charge don’t trust you or like the project that you’re working on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>So I still am not in favor of the project as proposed in the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I spoke with Supervisor Mitch Mashburn. He’s the chair of the Board of Supervisors in Solano, and he was saying that he doesn’t like the project the way that it stands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>Based on empirical data. Show us how this is a plan to do no harm, how it’s planned to truly help and not hinder or hurt in our county.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>He will need to see significant changes in order to sign off on it and, you know, really get behind what California forever wants to build.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Mitch Mashburn: \u003c/strong>It was the best possibility for the residents of our county moving forward to have a chance to get a true understanding of what the impacts of this project would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, what is your sense of public opinion at this point?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>This topic is really divisive. There are people that either love it or hate it. And I think a large group of people are still trying to figure out how they feel about it, especially since there are a lot of questions that are remaining. I’ve spoken to a number of groups, including like Artists Against Billionaires, Solano Together.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Both organizations say they’re going to keep on urging the company to answer some of these questions and hold the company accountable. I also heard from people who are sort of keeping an open mind about the project, who in the meantime want to see the company investing moneys into the city is that exist almost as a way of showing goodwill that they genuinely care about the county?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anthony Summers: \u003c/strong>As a pastor, many of my congregants who wanted to buy a home for the first time have had to move to Sacramento, and then the choice of them commuting back to Vallejo to be a part of that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>I was talking to Anthony Summers. He’s a pastor in Vallejo, and he said that he wants to see investment in his local community and also how the company can be held accountable for all these promises that they’re, you know, saying that they’re going to bring to this new city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Anthony Summers: \u003c/strong>I believe it’s a it’s a fresh idea. Right. And a chance to revitalize this area. You know, and so, again, from Vallejo growing up, you know, we just have to make sure that the partnership is such that people are afforded the opportunities that are being talked about and hold the the founders of the company accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What does this decision authority to drop the ballot measure actually mean? Like, how do you think this changes things? Now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>This project is not dead. They have a lot of work ahead of them. First off, they say that they’re going to get their environmental impact report and development agreement done in two years. Those things usually take like two decades for a project of this size to complete.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>So if they can get all those reports done in two years, that alone will be a feat. They’ll also need to make up a lot of ground amongst people who still do not trust them. Definitely more conversations with locals. They’ll need more officials on board with their plan who will be willing to work with them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Probably more schmoozing going on. Do you think we’re going to see more billboards?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>We definitely might see more billboards. We might see more schmoozing. But I will say, I think the billboards were, you know, focused around this like, ballot initiative, like coming to the voters in November. And now it’s more of a soft skill that the company is going to have to flex a bit. For sure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>There’s going to have to be more like earnest conversations with people who live, you know, in Rio Vista and in Sassoon, like kind of close to the new city, but also just people who they’re going to need votes from in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>In California. For better or for worse, we have passed a myriad of legislation to kind of make sure that developers take into consideration the environment, what people want, how water is going to get there, how many people will live there, how affordable it’ll be. And California forever ran into that. They ultimately needed community support and they will need it in order to pass this thing in two years or whenever they bring it back to the voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Adhiti, thank you so much.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Adhiti Bandlamudi: \u003c/strong>Thanks for having me.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>On Friday afternoon, TechCrunch reported that the family of Marc Andresen, one of the billionaire investors behind California forever, is preparing to build a separate development of more than a thousand homes in Vacaville. The subdivision would be ten miles away from the proposed California Forever project. It will still need city approval.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>That was Adhiti Bandlamudi, a housing reporter for KQED. This 30 minute conversation with Adhiti was cut down and edited by senior editor Alan Montecillo. I produced this episode, scored it, and added all the tape music courtesy of Audio Network. I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>"
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"content": "\u003cp>The Newsom administration, news publishers and major tech players, most notably Google and OpenAI, have reached a deal that will kill two state bills that would have forced tech platforms to share ad revenues with news organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $250 million agreement promises to provide funding over the next five years to newsrooms across California and launch a “National AI Innovation Accelerator.” The accelerator would provide financial resources “and other support” to enable newsrooms to experiment with AI to bolster their work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote the agreement leverages “substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians.” As part of the deal, the Newsom administration is committing $70 million from the state’s general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, politics is about the art of the possible,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), whose bill, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB886\">AB 886\u003c/a>, would have forced large tech platforms to pay California newsrooms a portion of their online advertising revenues in exchange for using their content. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1327\">SB 1327\u003c/a>, by state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-East Bay), would have levied a 7.25% tax on digital advertising revenue to create a tax credit for newsrooms. This deal effectively tables both bills less than two weeks before the deadline for both to make it to the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did not want to do something that was going to spend five years in the courts being litigated,” Wicks told KQED. “I’ve taken on tech before, and I’ve had other bills sit in court cases for a long time and in the court system.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that the state of California is losing newsrooms “every single day. We don’t have time for that. This really, I think, will enable us to get resources into newsrooms quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Glazer was less conciliatory. “This agreement, unfortunately, seriously undercuts our work toward a long term solution to rescue independent journalism,” he wrote in a statement. “There is a stark absence in this announcement of any support for journalism from Meta and Amazon. These platforms have captured the intimate data from Californians without paying for it. Their use of that data in advertising is the harm to news outlets that this agreement should mitigate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “News Transformation Fund” established by the deal will be administered by the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, which would distribute funding to California-based state and local news organizations, particularly those serving “news deserts” and underserved and underrepresented communities. “The University and specifically the UC Berkeley School of Journalism stand ready to support this endeavor,” UC President Michael V. Drake said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first year, Google will deposit $15 million into the new journalism fund, $5 million into the AI accelerator and $10 million toward existing journalism grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer for Alphabet, the umbrella company that owns Google, wrote, “California lawmakers have worked with the tech and news sectors to develop a collaborative framework to accelerate AI innovation and support local and national businesses and nonprofit organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google ran an aggressive lobbying campaign against both bills in Sacramento and\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983333/why-is-google-removing-news-links-for-some-californians\"> even temporarily removed news links\u003c/a> from its search engine in California in reaction to AB 886.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company made similar threats in both \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/google-news-canada-0c12334603bad9d150e6a7ade7002eb1\">Canada\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55760673#\">Australia\u003c/a> before coming to agreements to contribute to news organizations in both countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meta followed through on threats to remove news links in both Australia and Canada in response to specific legislative actions in order to influence the terms of legislation. Meta did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement has the support of the California News Publishers Association, which represents 700-plus member newsrooms. “This is a first step toward what we hope will become a comprehensive program to sustain local news in the long term, and we will push to see it grow in future years,” CEO Chuck Champion and Board Chair Julie Makinen wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deal has critics, including Free Press Action Co-CEO Jessica J. Gonzàlez, who wrote: “We are disappointed in this outcome and this process. Good policy is made out in the open, where people can see and participate in the democratic process.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group said the agreement fails to address the harms Silicon Valley has done to journalism in California, noting that “Since 2004, the state has lost 25 percent of its newspapers, total news circulation has plummeted more than 50 percent, and many ethnic media outlets and nonprofit newsrooms have struggled to survive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work will begin immediately to set up the AI accelerator and the UC Berkeley-administered fund, with plans to go live in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Newsom administration, news publishers and major tech players, most notably Google and OpenAI, have reached a deal that will kill two state bills that would have forced tech platforms to share ad revenues with news organizations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $250 million agreement promises to provide funding over the next five years to newsrooms across California and launch a “National AI Innovation Accelerator.” The accelerator would provide financial resources “and other support” to enable newsrooms to experiment with AI to bolster their work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote the agreement leverages “substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians.” As part of the deal, the Newsom administration is committing $70 million from the state’s general fund.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You know, politics is about the art of the possible,” said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), whose bill, \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB886\">AB 886\u003c/a>, would have forced large tech platforms to pay California newsrooms a portion of their online advertising revenues in exchange for using their content. \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1327\">SB 1327\u003c/a>, by state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-East Bay), would have levied a 7.25% tax on digital advertising revenue to create a tax credit for newsrooms. This deal effectively tables both bills less than two weeks before the deadline for both to make it to the governor’s desk.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I did not want to do something that was going to spend five years in the courts being litigated,” Wicks told KQED. “I’ve taken on tech before, and I’ve had other bills sit in court cases for a long time and in the court system.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She added that the state of California is losing newsrooms “every single day. We don’t have time for that. This really, I think, will enable us to get resources into newsrooms quickly.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Glazer was less conciliatory. “This agreement, unfortunately, seriously undercuts our work toward a long term solution to rescue independent journalism,” he wrote in a statement. “There is a stark absence in this announcement of any support for journalism from Meta and Amazon. These platforms have captured the intimate data from Californians without paying for it. Their use of that data in advertising is the harm to news outlets that this agreement should mitigate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “News Transformation Fund” established by the deal will be administered by the UC Berkeley School of Journalism, which would distribute funding to California-based state and local news organizations, particularly those serving “news deserts” and underserved and underrepresented communities. “The University and specifically the UC Berkeley School of Journalism stand ready to support this endeavor,” UC President Michael V. Drake said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the first year, Google will deposit $15 million into the new journalism fund, $5 million into the AI accelerator and $10 million toward existing journalism grants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer for Alphabet, the umbrella company that owns Google, wrote, “California lawmakers have worked with the tech and news sectors to develop a collaborative framework to accelerate AI innovation and support local and national businesses and nonprofit organizations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Google ran an aggressive lobbying campaign against both bills in Sacramento and\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11983333/why-is-google-removing-news-links-for-some-californians\"> even temporarily removed news links\u003c/a> from its search engine in California in reaction to AB 886.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company made similar threats in both \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/google-news-canada-0c12334603bad9d150e6a7ade7002eb1\">Canada\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-55760673#\">Australia\u003c/a> before coming to agreements to contribute to news organizations in both countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meta followed through on threats to remove news links in both Australia and Canada in response to specific legislative actions in order to influence the terms of legislation. Meta did not respond to a request for comment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The agreement has the support of the California News Publishers Association, which represents 700-plus member newsrooms. “This is a first step toward what we hope will become a comprehensive program to sustain local news in the long term, and we will push to see it grow in future years,” CEO Chuck Champion and Board Chair Julie Makinen wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the deal has critics, including Free Press Action Co-CEO Jessica J. Gonzàlez, who wrote: “We are disappointed in this outcome and this process. Good policy is made out in the open, where people can see and participate in the democratic process.” \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group said the agreement fails to address the harms Silicon Valley has done to journalism in California, noting that “Since 2004, the state has lost 25 percent of its newspapers, total news circulation has plummeted more than 50 percent, and many ethnic media outlets and nonprofit newsrooms have struggled to survive.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Work will begin immediately to set up the AI accelerator and the UC Berkeley-administered fund, with plans to go live in 2025.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Remember when, in March of 2023, more than a thousand technology leaders and researchers warned that generative AI could pose “profound risks to society and humanity”? Two months later, some of the industry’s biggest backers promised international leaders they’d be game to build necessary safeguards. A similar pledge was made last month at the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, some prominent figures in the AI industry, including many who have raised safety concerns, are dismissing those worries as science fiction as they pitch an open battle against \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">SB 1047\u003c/a>, a bill that would mandate safety testing for developers of the largest AI models. That measure is on the state Assembly floor for a vote after passing through the Assembly Appropriations Committee along party lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents of AI have warned that SB 1047 could stifle the growth of the technology in California. And they’ve rallied three Silicon Valley Congress members — Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Ro Khanna and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — to aid their efforts to kill the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The view of many of us in Congress is that SB 1047 is well-intentioned but ill informed,” Pelosi wrote in an \u003ca href=\"https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-opposition-california-senate-bill-1047\">open letter\u003c/a> published last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re simply requiring these labs to perform the safety testing that they have repeatedly and publicly committed to perform,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11976097/california-lawmakers-take-on-ai-regulation-with-a-host-of-bills\"> introduced\u003c/a> the bill and is expected to run to fill Pelosi’s seat once she retires, possibly against her daughter Christine Pelosi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he amended the measure to reflect counsel from leaders in the AI space, including safety groups, academics, startups and developers like Amazon-backed Anthropic. A key amendment is that the bill no longer allows California’s attorney general to sue AI companies for negligent safety practices before a catastrophic event has occurred. Also, the original text, which would have established a division within the California Department of Technology “to ensure continuous oversight and enforcement,” is gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who heads the Senate Budget Committee, told KQED the changes were made in large part to improve the bill’s chances with lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, given that California is facing a\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985932/newsoms-solution-to-a-45-billion-budget-deficit\"> massive budget deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he added, “I’m not interested in passing a symbolic bill. I would not agree to amendments that would make it weak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Anthropic warned in an open letter addressed to Wiener that it could not support the bill unless it was amended to “respect the evolving nature of risk reduction practices while minimizing rigid, ambiguous, or burdensome rules.” Anthropic is the first major generative AI developer to publicly signal a willingness to work with Wiener on SB 1047.[aside label=\"Related Stories\" tag=\"ai\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Microsoft told KQED it has not taken a position on the bill. Robyn Hines, senior director of state government affairs, wrote that the company would prefer federal legislation but “will continue to work with Senator Wiener and others on legislation that will help harness AI’s full potential and advance sensible safety and security protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, Wiener’s measure has received public criticism from respected industry voices like Andrew Ng, the Stanford professor and former Google executive who detailed his concerns in a\u003ca href=\"https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issue-252/\"> post\u003c/a> viewed by more than 1 million people\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/andrewyng/status/1798753608974139779?s=61\"> on X\u003c/a>, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad that we’re exploring paths to the make the bill less bad because a bad bill is better than a very bad bill, but I feel that fundamentally, by regulating hypothetical risks of the technology rather than concrete risks of actual applications, I don’t think this bill will make AI safer,” Ng told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 would only affect companies building the next generation of AI systems that cost more than $100 million to train. However, critics like Ng, who is the managing general partner of AI Funds, argue the mere threat of legal action from the state attorney general will discourage big tech companies from sharing open-source software with smaller ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in Silicon Valley, do we want startups spending money to write code and build products for people? Or do we want those startups hiring lawyers and hiring auditors and hiring consultants to clarify legal ambiguity to guard against purely hypothetical risks?” Ng said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a substantial faction of the AI community, though, that is concerned about hypothetical risks. In an\u003ca href=\"https://safesecureai.org/experts\"> open letter\u003c/a>, four prominent tech policy thinkers praised SB 1047. “Relative to the scale of risks we are facing, this is a remarkably light-touch piece of legislation,” they wrote.[aside label=\"Technology Coverage\" tag=\"technology\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot of really eminent scientists who are worried and are taking these risks seriously,” said Nathan Calvin, senior policy counsel at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the Center for AI Safety, which is one of SB 1047’s co-sponsors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People don’t need to believe the “AI-terminator-wakes-up-and-kills-everyone scenarios are plausible in order to support this bill,” Calvin said, adding that generative AI is capable of relatively banal catastrophic impacts, like enabling hackers and foreign states to take down critical infrastructure or designing and deploying bio-weapons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of Wiener’s bill say opponents are asking Californians to trust Silicon Valley to self-regulate despite a demonstrated history of failing to do so, especially in regard to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11844163/proposition-24-californians-say-yes-to-expanding-on-nations-toughest-data-privacy-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data privacy\u003c/a> and monitoring hate speech on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11702239/why-its-so-hard-to-scrub-hate-speech-off-social-media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Innovation and safety are not mutually exclusive,” Wiener said. “We can do both, and the public wants us to do both. The public wants the benefits of AI and wants to reduce the risks of AI, and that is exactly what SB 1047 does.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "As the state Assembly prepares to weigh a bill that would require safety training for AI models, prominent industry figures warn it could stifle growth.\r\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Remember when, in March of 2023, more than a thousand technology leaders and researchers warned that generative AI could pose “profound risks to society and humanity”? Two months later, some of the industry’s biggest backers promised international leaders they’d be game to build necessary safeguards. A similar pledge was made last month at the White House.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, some prominent figures in the AI industry, including many who have raised safety concerns, are dismissing those worries as science fiction as they pitch an open battle against \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047\">SB 1047\u003c/a>, a bill that would mandate safety testing for developers of the largest AI models. That measure is on the state Assembly floor for a vote after passing through the Assembly Appropriations Committee along party lines.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents of AI have warned that SB 1047 could stifle the growth of the technology in California. And they’ve rallied three Silicon Valley Congress members — Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Ro Khanna and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi — to aid their efforts to kill the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The view of many of us in Congress is that SB 1047 is well-intentioned but ill informed,” Pelosi wrote in an \u003ca href=\"https://pelosi.house.gov/news/press-releases/pelosi-statement-opposition-california-senate-bill-1047\">open letter\u003c/a> published last week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re simply requiring these labs to perform the safety testing that they have repeatedly and publicly committed to perform,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11976097/california-lawmakers-take-on-ai-regulation-with-a-host-of-bills\"> introduced\u003c/a> the bill and is expected to run to fill Pelosi’s seat once she retires, possibly against her daughter Christine Pelosi.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener said he amended the measure to reflect counsel from leaders in the AI space, including safety groups, academics, startups and developers like Amazon-backed Anthropic. A key amendment is that the bill no longer allows California’s attorney general to sue AI companies for negligent safety practices before a catastrophic event has occurred. Also, the original text, which would have established a division within the California Department of Technology “to ensure continuous oversight and enforcement,” is gone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wiener, who heads the Senate Budget Committee, told KQED the changes were made in large part to improve the bill’s chances with lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom, given that California is facing a\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11985932/newsoms-solution-to-a-45-billion-budget-deficit\"> massive budget deficit\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he added, “I’m not interested in passing a symbolic bill. I would not agree to amendments that would make it weak.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Anthropic warned in an open letter addressed to Wiener that it could not support the bill unless it was amended to “respect the evolving nature of risk reduction practices while minimizing rigid, ambiguous, or burdensome rules.” Anthropic is the first major generative AI developer to publicly signal a willingness to work with Wiener on SB 1047.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Microsoft told KQED it has not taken a position on the bill. Robyn Hines, senior director of state government affairs, wrote that the company would prefer federal legislation but “will continue to work with Senator Wiener and others on legislation that will help harness AI’s full potential and advance sensible safety and security protections.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent months, Wiener’s measure has received public criticism from respected industry voices like Andrew Ng, the Stanford professor and former Google executive who detailed his concerns in a\u003ca href=\"https://www.deeplearning.ai/the-batch/issue-252/\"> post\u003c/a> viewed by more than 1 million people\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/andrewyng/status/1798753608974139779?s=61\"> on X\u003c/a>, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m glad that we’re exploring paths to the make the bill less bad because a bad bill is better than a very bad bill, but I feel that fundamentally, by regulating hypothetical risks of the technology rather than concrete risks of actual applications, I don’t think this bill will make AI safer,” Ng told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SB 1047 would only affect companies building the next generation of AI systems that cost more than $100 million to train. However, critics like Ng, who is the managing general partner of AI Funds, argue the mere threat of legal action from the state attorney general will discourage big tech companies from sharing open-source software with smaller ones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Here in Silicon Valley, do we want startups spending money to write code and build products for people? Or do we want those startups hiring lawyers and hiring auditors and hiring consultants to clarify legal ambiguity to guard against purely hypothetical risks?” Ng said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is a substantial faction of the AI community, though, that is concerned about hypothetical risks. In an\u003ca href=\"https://safesecureai.org/experts\"> open letter\u003c/a>, four prominent tech policy thinkers praised SB 1047. “Relative to the scale of risks we are facing, this is a remarkably light-touch piece of legislation,” they wrote.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have a lot of really eminent scientists who are worried and are taking these risks seriously,” said Nathan Calvin, senior policy counsel at the Center for AI Safety Action Fund, the lobbying arm of the Center for AI Safety, which is one of SB 1047’s co-sponsors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People don’t need to believe the “AI-terminator-wakes-up-and-kills-everyone scenarios are plausible in order to support this bill,” Calvin said, adding that generative AI is capable of relatively banal catastrophic impacts, like enabling hackers and foreign states to take down critical infrastructure or designing and deploying bio-weapons.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of Wiener’s bill say opponents are asking Californians to trust Silicon Valley to self-regulate despite a demonstrated history of failing to do so, especially in regard to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11844163/proposition-24-californians-say-yes-to-expanding-on-nations-toughest-data-privacy-law\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">data privacy\u003c/a> and monitoring hate speech on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11702239/why-its-so-hard-to-scrub-hate-speech-off-social-media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Innovation and safety are not mutually exclusive,” Wiener said. “We can do both, and the public wants us to do both. The public wants the benefits of AI and wants to reduce the risks of AI, and that is exactly what SB 1047 does.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "smartphone-bans-havent-worked-in-california-schools-but-some-districts-share-advice-on-what-may-work",
"title": "More California Schools Are Banning Smartphones, but Kids Keep Bringing Them",
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"headTitle": "More California Schools Are Banning Smartphones, but Kids Keep Bringing Them | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>At Bullard High School in Fresno, it’s easy to see the benefits of banning students’ cellphones. Bullying is down and socialization is up, principal Armen Torigian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enforcing the smartphone restrictions? That’s been harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of putting their devices in magnetically locked pouches, like they’re supposed to, some kids will stick something else in there instead, like a disused old phone, a calculator, a glue bottle or just the phone case. Others attack the pouch, pulling at stitches, cutting the bottom, or defacing it so it looks closed when it’s really open. Most students comply, but those who don’t create disproportionate chaos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You should see how bad it is,” Torigian said. “It’s great to say no phones, but I don’t think people realize the addiction of the phones and what students will go to to tell you ‘No, you’re not taking my phone.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bullard, which began restricting phones two years ago, is a step ahead of other schools around the state that have moved recently to prohibit cellphones in classrooms. Bullard and other pioneering schools offer a preview of how such bans might play out as they become more common. Educators who have enacted the smartphone restrictions said they help bolster student participation and reduce bullying but also raise challenges, like how to effectively keep phones locked up against determined students and how to identify and treat kids truly addicted to their devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing Bullard as an example, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week \u003ca href=\"https://mclist.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=afffa58af0d1d42fee9a20e55&id=c17c816541&e=5c1534d153\">urged school districts statewide to “act now”\u003c/a> and adopt similar restrictions on smartphone use, reminding them that a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB272\">2019 law\u003c/a> gives them the authority to do so. Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second-largest school district, recently approved plans to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-18/lausd-board-approved-strict-cell-phone-ban\">ban phones\u003c/a> in January. \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240ab3216?slug=CA_202320240AB3216\">One bill before the state Legislature\u003c/a> would impose similar limits statewide while another would \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb1283?slug=CA_202320240SB1283\">ban the use of social media at school\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb976\">Another would prevent\u003c/a> social media companies from sending notifications during school hours as part of a broader set of regulations intended to disrupt social media addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calls to limit how students use smartphones are driven in part by concerned educators. A Pew Research Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/12/72-percent-of-us-high-school-teachers-say-cellphone-distraction-is-a-major-problem-in-the-classroom/\">survey released in June\u003c/a> found that 1 in 3 middle school teachers and nearly 3 in 4 high school teachers call smartphones a major problem. During school hours in a single day, the average student receives 60 notifications and spends 43 minutes — roughly the length of a classroom period — on their phone, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2023-cs-smartphone-research-report_final-for-web.pdf\">a 2023 study (PDF)\u003c/a> by Common Sense Media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is growing pressure to protect young people from excessive screen time generally:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>In June, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/opinion/social-media-health-warning.html\">urged Congress\u003c/a> to require social media companies to place warning labels on their content in order to protect young people.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Attorneys general \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/22/technology/zuckerberg-instagram-child-safety-lawsuits.html\">from 45 U.S. states filed lawsuits\u003c/a> against Meta for failing to protect children.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Released in March, the popular book \u003ca href=\"https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/\">\u003cem>The Anxious Generation\u003c/em>\u003c/a> correlates declining mental health among young people with smartphone adoption and encourages parents to demand school districts ban smartphones until high school.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">College Park High School students relax in the Wellness Center, which provides a quiet environment as well as meditation, peer support and social services for students. Pleasant Hill on March 15, 2024. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moves to limit smartphone use in California put it near the forefront of an increasingly national trend. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul \u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ban-cell-phones-schools-nyc-new-york-kathy-hochul-plan.html\">has reportedly been mulling\u003c/a> a statewide school smartphone ban \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/05/30/kathy-hochul-considers-smartphone-ban-amid-student-mental-health-concerns/\">for several months\u003c/a> now. Florida, Ohio, and Indiana have all \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/06/09/cell-phone-school-laws/73975232007/\">imposed some degree of statewide restrictions on phones in schools, and several other states\u003c/a> have introduced similar legislation. Education Week in June said \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06\">11 states either restrict or encourage school districts to restrict\u003c/a> student phone use.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-in-san-bernardino-ban-leads-to-higher-teacher-satisfaction\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In San Bernardino, ban leads to higher teacher satisfaction\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Teachers have had classroom phone policies for years; what’s new at schools like Bullard are that their bans are blanket, campus-wide restrictions. Many of the schools that moved early to adopt such bans are smaller and charter schools, like Soar Academy, a TK–8 charter school with 430 mostly low-income students in San Bernardino. Like Bullard, it also found enforcement of its ban was tough. Suspending students wasn’t an option. Neither was yanking phones from students’ hands. That left an honor system, which relied on students’ willingness to accept that smartphones and social media are harmful to their mental health and a distraction from learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key was that we needed 100% buy-in from teachers. There couldn’t be a weak link,” said Soar principal Trisha Lancaster. “It was scary, because we weren’t sure it was going to work. But we were determined to try.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lancaster said it also helped not to give parents or students a choice in the matter. The school simply presented the new policy, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/#:~:text=Evidence%20from%20a%20variety%20of,to%20be%20greatest%20among%20girls.\">alongside ample research\u003c/a> on the harmful effects of cellphones and social media on young people, and made it clear what the punishments would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first violation, staff would keep a student’s phone for the day and call their parents. Punishments would escalate until the sixth offense, when a student would have to meet with the school board, whose members might suggest the student enroll elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Soar, the idea originated at the end of the 2022–23 school year, when teachers said they were fed up with distracted students and an overall dispiriting school climate. Students, Lancaster said, “had lost their social skills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the staff decided to ban phones during class, at recess, at lunch and after school — essentially, all times except when in a special area where parents or others can pick them up from school. Students must keep phones off and in backpacks when they are not permitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first year of the ban went smoother than expected, Lancaster said. Some students and parents protested, but most understood the policy was in students’ best interests. Test scores didn’t budge much, but at the end of the school year, a survey of teachers showed much higher job satisfaction than they recorded previously. And walking across campus, the improvements are obvious, Lancaster said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone on campus is so much happier. You see kids actually socializing, problem solving, enjoying themselves,” Lancaster said, choking up as she described the school atmosphere. “It’s true, it’s one more thing to enforce. But education matters, and now kids are learning. That’s the No. 1 reason we did this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-bans-from-san-mateo-to-san-diego\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bans from San Mateo to San Diego\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Soar’s experience has been mirrored on a larger scale in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, which serves 10,000 students at 21 TK–8 schools south of San Francisco. After a full-time return to campus in 2022, teachers in the district found many students were “interacting intensely with cellphones in a way we didn’t see before the pandemic,” said superintendent Diego Ochoa, and so the school district adopted a smartphone ban for four middle schools in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administrators were convinced to do so following a trip to a nearby high school with a smartphone ban. There, they saw students speaking to each other and looking at one another during break time instead of their phones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said the benefits of locking smartphones away is evident from improved test scores and an anonymous annual student survey that found a decline in depression, bullying, and fights in the 2023–24 school year relative to prior years. But saying the smartphone ban led to those benefits is tricky because they could have also been caused by other policy changes that happened at the same time, including a \u003ca href=\"https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-restorative-practices-high-school/\">”restorative” approach to discipline\u003c/a> that relied less on detention and suspension and more on support from counselors. Still, when students were surveyed specifically about the policy and the biggest difference in their education since it was put into place, they said that they pay more attention in class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000961\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000961\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign that reads “no phone zone” in English teacher Jen Roberts’ class at Point Loma High School in San Diego on May 3, 2024. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ron Dyste also implemented a smartphone ban and, like Ochoa, recommends them. Dyste is principal at Urban Discovery Academy, a TK–12 charter school in San Diego, which banned cellphones during the 2023–24 academic year amid an uptick in bullying, harassment and anxiety among students, staff told CalMatters. Nearly 90% of discipline cases, across Urban Discovery Academy and a school where he worked previously, could be traced to misuse of phones or social media, including students filming fights, spreading nude photos of classmates and encouraging students to kill themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I may never get some of those images out of my head. It’s horrible, what kids can do to each other,” Dyste said. “The damage to our kids and our communities is real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyste got the idea to ban phones when he and his wife went to a Dave Chapelle performance where audience members were required to secure their phones in locked pouches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My wife said, why don’t we do this in schools?” he said. “We knew we had to do something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over last summer, the school sent out notices to families about the new policy, explaining the rationale. Some students complained, but parents were thrilled, Dyste said. And the improvements in campus climate were almost immediate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of “hiding away with their screens,” said Jenni Owen, the school’s chief operations officer, students spent their breaks talking, dancing, playing volleyball, and having fun. They developed empathy and a sense of community, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the academic year, the school logged zero fights. The previous year, the school’s suspension rate was 13.5%, almost four times the state average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For schools that are wondering if they should take this on, I think the answer is, we have to,” Dyste said. “If we don’t educate kids on how and when to use this technology, we’re going to continue seeing a rise in suicide, sexual harassment, and anxiety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State legislators have recognized the importance of healthier technology use among children. California students are \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB873\">supposed to learn about\u003c/a> “appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior … related to current technology” under a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2023/11/fake-news-california-school/\">media literacy law passed in October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-to-pouch-or-not-to-pouch\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">To pouch or not to pouch\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To enforce smartphone bans, some schools rely on smartphone lockers or locked pouches like the kind Dyste saw in use at the Dave Chappelle show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He tried using locked pouches from the Los Angeles-based company Yondr but encountered numerous issues. Some kids were breaking and smashing the pouches to open them, or they’d listen to music all day by connecting their earbuds to their locked-away phones using Bluetooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside label=\"Related Stories\" postID=\"news_11999993,mindshift_64133,news_11977206\"]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to return what was left of the equipment,” he said. Instead of going with Yondr, which wanted $6,000 to cover 110 kids, Dyste found clear, plastic phone lockers on Amazon that cost $50 each and put one in each classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yondr told CalMatters: “Our pouches are designed to withstand heavy-duty usage, and we are continuously working to improve the durability of our solution. However, there will always be students who try to push boundaries, especially when policies are initially rolled out. For this reason, it is critical that our team works directly with districts and administrators in rolling out the Yondr Program, to ensure that the most effective policies and procedures are implemented for successful school-wide adoption. Without adherence to strong policies, schools may struggle with student compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soar Academy also considered purchasing Yondr phone pouches but was discouraged by the $19,000 price tag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Mateo-Foster City School District paid $50,000 to obtain Yondr pouches for roughly 3,000 students. To use them, staff hand out pouches at school entryways each morning, then students swab the pouch over a demagnetizer to unlock the pouch at the end of the day. Kids who want an exception to the rule — for a family emergency for example — must come to the school front office and ask for permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yondr pouches come with a hefty price tag, Ochoa said, but he thinks it’s worth it to improve student focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Call up five random superintendents, I don’t care where they’re at and ask them, how much would you spend to have your students pay more attention? It’s worth millions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-mixed-feelings-among-students\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mixed feelings among students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Whether phones get locked in a clear box or a silver pouch, Oakland High School senior Leah West said she finds it punitive to require students to lock their phones away before they have broken any rules with the devices. While Oakland High School does not have a blanket smartphone ban, her former English teacher sometimes locked student phones in Yondr pouches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be given a chance to prove ourselves,” she said, adding that such an approach can motivate a rebellious streak in students like her who like freedom and don’t like when she isn’t trusted to make a responsible decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louisa Perry-Picciotto, who graduated from high school in Alameda in June, said students with jobs rely on their phones for work updates and all teens use their phones to communicate with their friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she’s grateful her parents didn’t get her a smartphone until she was in eighth grade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I get distracted easily, and without a phone I was a lot more connected to the world,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000964\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000964\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1025\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leah West, 17, in Oakland on Aug. 16, 2024, is in 12th grade at Oakland High School. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Edamevoh Ajayi, who is a junior at Oakland Technical High School, said there’s no question some students don’t pay attention in class because they’re busy texting or playing games. Those students would definitely benefit from rules surrounding cellphone use like the kind being implemented at her school this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she feels like she has a strong sense of self-control and a desire to learn, and doesn’t need a phone ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they take away my belongings, I feel like I’m being treated like a child,” she said. At her school, policies vary by classroom. In general, students are free to use their phones between classes and at lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When students use their phones in class it can be frustrating for everyone else, said Fremont High School science teacher Chris Jackson. It puts teachers in a tough position: Either ignore that student and carry on for the sake of the students who are listening or disrupt learning for all students and confront them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the long run, Jackson said he’s worried that Black and brown students, who have historically faced \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/4/5/17199810/school-discipline-race-racism-gao\">higher rates of punishment than other students\u003c/a>, will again bear the brunt of disciplinary actions related to smartphone bans. Rather than punishment, Jackson would prefer to see solutions that address root issues like addiction that lead students to use their devices in violation of the rules. So no matter what policy school districts adopt, he wants the focus to remain on teaching students digital literacy and how social media can be a risk to their health.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-course-corrections\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Course corrections\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some schools who helped pioneer smartphone bans have reassessed their initial approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Bullard is changing its policy to allow students to access their smartphones at lunch time. Torigian said school administrators wanted to make room for important communications, for example by allowing students who pick up younger siblings to text with their parents. They also hoped the looser rules would encourage more students to comply with the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If kids don’t comply, teachers call parents, and if they still refuse they’re sent to what the school calls the re-engagement center. Starting last month, California \u003ca href=\"https://sd09.senate.ca.gov/news/20231010-california-law-will-make-student-suspensions-willful-defiance-illegal\">began prohibiting suspensions for “willful defiance\u003c/a>.” Torigian believes that schools need an exemption from the policy in order to enforce smartphone restrictions. He wants it back because he said he needs a way to hold kids accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why the governor’s got to give us some leeway on this willful defiance; you can’t do one [smartphone restrictions] without the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said if he had to do it over again in San Mateo-Foster City he would devote more time to explaining to students why they adopted such a policy before putting it into place. Getting a smartphone is a big deal for middle school students, a milestone for adolescents that represents more freedom and autonomy, and it’s counterproductive for the school environment if they feel punished or something they value is taken away with little explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teenagers told us, ‘you forgot to explain why we’re doing this,’” he said, adding that even if a small percentage of kids violate the policy it can be really harmful academically and to school culture. “Even with your conviction to implement a policy like this, spend the time developing the language around the policy and explaining it to your students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer, whose nonprofit is focused on how children use media and technology, agreed that it works best to explain to kids why a rule to limit smartphone access at school is necessary. Parents and teachers need the same explanation so that they can help enforce some restrictions in order to keep kids safe and healthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any even remotely engaged parent is going to want their kid to do well in school, and is going to want them to understand why phones and social media platforms get in the way of learning and can be really distracting and can affect your mental health,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Schools that banned phones a few years ago have advice for other districts as Gov. Gavin Newsom calls for a crackdown.",
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"title": "More California Schools Are Banning Smartphones, but Kids Keep Bringing Them | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At Bullard High School in Fresno, it’s easy to see the benefits of banning students’ cellphones. Bullying is down and socialization is up, principal Armen Torigian said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enforcing the smartphone restrictions? That’s been harder.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of putting their devices in magnetically locked pouches, like they’re supposed to, some kids will stick something else in there instead, like a disused old phone, a calculator, a glue bottle or just the phone case. Others attack the pouch, pulling at stitches, cutting the bottom, or defacing it so it looks closed when it’s really open. Most students comply, but those who don’t create disproportionate chaos.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You should see how bad it is,” Torigian said. “It’s great to say no phones, but I don’t think people realize the addiction of the phones and what students will go to to tell you ‘No, you’re not taking my phone.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bullard, which began restricting phones two years ago, is a step ahead of other schools around the state that have moved recently to prohibit cellphones in classrooms. Bullard and other pioneering schools offer a preview of how such bans might play out as they become more common. Educators who have enacted the smartphone restrictions said they help bolster student participation and reduce bullying but also raise challenges, like how to effectively keep phones locked up against determined students and how to identify and treat kids truly addicted to their devices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Citing Bullard as an example, Gov. Gavin Newsom last week \u003ca href=\"https://mclist.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=afffa58af0d1d42fee9a20e55&id=c17c816541&e=5c1534d153\">urged school districts statewide to “act now”\u003c/a> and adopt similar restrictions on smartphone use, reminding them that a \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB272\">2019 law\u003c/a> gives them the authority to do so. Los Angeles Unified, the nation’s second-largest school district, recently approved plans to \u003ca href=\"https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-18/lausd-board-approved-strict-cell-phone-ban\">ban phones\u003c/a> in January. \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240ab3216?slug=CA_202320240AB3216\">One bill before the state Legislature\u003c/a> would impose similar limits statewide while another would \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb1283?slug=CA_202320240SB1283\">ban the use of social media at school\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://digitaldemocracy.calmatters.org/bills/ca_202320240sb976\">Another would prevent\u003c/a> social media companies from sending notifications during school hours as part of a broader set of regulations intended to disrupt social media addiction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calls to limit how students use smartphones are driven in part by concerned educators. A Pew Research Center \u003ca href=\"https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/12/72-percent-of-us-high-school-teachers-say-cellphone-distraction-is-a-major-problem-in-the-classroom/\">survey released in June\u003c/a> found that 1 in 3 middle school teachers and nearly 3 in 4 high school teachers call smartphones a major problem. During school hours in a single day, the average student receives 60 notifications and spends 43 minutes — roughly the length of a classroom period — on their phone, according to \u003ca href=\"https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/2023-cs-smartphone-research-report_final-for-web.pdf\">a 2023 study (PDF)\u003c/a> by Common Sense Media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is growing pressure to protect young people from excessive screen time generally:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>In June, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/opinion/social-media-health-warning.html\">urged Congress\u003c/a> to require social media companies to place warning labels on their content in order to protect young people.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Attorneys general \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/22/technology/zuckerberg-instagram-child-safety-lawsuits.html\">from 45 U.S. states filed lawsuits\u003c/a> against Meta for failing to protect children.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>Released in March, the popular book \u003ca href=\"https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/\">\u003cem>The Anxious Generation\u003c/em>\u003c/a> correlates declining mental health among young people with smartphone adoption and encourages parents to demand school districts ban smartphones until high school.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000960\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000960\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/031524_Wellness-Center_MO_CM_03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">College Park High School students relax in the Wellness Center, which provides a quiet environment as well as meditation, peer support and social services for students. Pleasant Hill on March 15, 2024. \u003ccite>(Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The moves to limit smartphone use in California put it near the forefront of an increasingly national trend. In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul \u003ca href=\"https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ban-cell-phones-schools-nyc-new-york-kathy-hochul-plan.html\">has reportedly been mulling\u003c/a> a statewide school smartphone ban \u003ca href=\"https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/05/30/kathy-hochul-considers-smartphone-ban-amid-student-mental-health-concerns/\">for several months\u003c/a> now. Florida, Ohio, and Indiana have all \u003ca href=\"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/06/09/cell-phone-school-laws/73975232007/\">imposed some degree of statewide restrictions on phones in schools, and several other states\u003c/a> have introduced similar legislation. Education Week in June said \u003ca href=\"https://www.edweek.org/technology/which-states-ban-or-restrict-cellphones-in-schools/2024/06\">11 states either restrict or encourage school districts to restrict\u003c/a> student phone use.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-in-san-bernardino-ban-leads-to-higher-teacher-satisfaction\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">In San Bernardino, ban leads to higher teacher satisfaction\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Teachers have had classroom phone policies for years; what’s new at schools like Bullard are that their bans are blanket, campus-wide restrictions. Many of the schools that moved early to adopt such bans are smaller and charter schools, like Soar Academy, a TK–8 charter school with 430 mostly low-income students in San Bernardino. Like Bullard, it also found enforcement of its ban was tough. Suspending students wasn’t an option. Neither was yanking phones from students’ hands. That left an honor system, which relied on students’ willingness to accept that smartphones and social media are harmful to their mental health and a distraction from learning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The key was that we needed 100% buy-in from teachers. There couldn’t be a weak link,” said Soar principal Trisha Lancaster. “It was scary, because we weren’t sure it was going to work. But we were determined to try.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lancaster said it also helped not to give parents or students a choice in the matter. The school simply presented the new policy, \u003ca href=\"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7012622/#:~:text=Evidence%20from%20a%20variety%20of,to%20be%20greatest%20among%20girls.\">alongside ample research\u003c/a> on the harmful effects of cellphones and social media on young people, and made it clear what the punishments would be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the first violation, staff would keep a student’s phone for the day and call their parents. Punishments would escalate until the sixth offense, when a student would have to meet with the school board, whose members might suggest the student enroll elsewhere.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At Soar, the idea originated at the end of the 2022–23 school year, when teachers said they were fed up with distracted students and an overall dispiriting school climate. Students, Lancaster said, “had lost their social skills.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So the staff decided to ban phones during class, at recess, at lunch and after school — essentially, all times except when in a special area where parents or others can pick them up from school. Students must keep phones off and in backpacks when they are not permitted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first year of the ban went smoother than expected, Lancaster said. Some students and parents protested, but most understood the policy was in students’ best interests. Test scores didn’t budge much, but at the end of the school year, a survey of teachers showed much higher job satisfaction than they recorded previously. And walking across campus, the improvements are obvious, Lancaster said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Everyone on campus is so much happier. You see kids actually socializing, problem solving, enjoying themselves,” Lancaster said, choking up as she described the school atmosphere. “It’s true, it’s one more thing to enforce. But education matters, and now kids are learning. That’s the No. 1 reason we did this.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-bans-from-san-mateo-to-san-diego\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bans from San Mateo to San Diego\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Soar’s experience has been mirrored on a larger scale in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, which serves 10,000 students at 21 TK–8 schools south of San Francisco. After a full-time return to campus in 2022, teachers in the district found many students were “interacting intensely with cellphones in a way we didn’t see before the pandemic,” said superintendent Diego Ochoa, and so the school district adopted a smartphone ban for four middle schools in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Administrators were convinced to do so following a trip to a nearby high school with a smartphone ban. There, they saw students speaking to each other and looking at one another during break time instead of their phones.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said the benefits of locking smartphones away is evident from improved test scores and an anonymous annual student survey that found a decline in depression, bullying, and fights in the 2023–24 school year relative to prior years. But saying the smartphone ban led to those benefits is tricky because they could have also been caused by other policy changes that happened at the same time, including a \u003ca href=\"https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-restorative-practices-high-school/\">”restorative” approach to discipline\u003c/a> that relied less on detention and suspension and more on support from counselors. Still, when students were surveyed specifically about the policy and the biggest difference in their education since it was put into place, they said that they pay more attention in class.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000961\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000961\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/050324_School-AI-San-Diego_AH_CM_31-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A sign that reads “no phone zone” in English teacher Jen Roberts’ class at Point Loma High School in San Diego on May 3, 2024. \u003ccite>(Adriana Heldiz/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Ron Dyste also implemented a smartphone ban and, like Ochoa, recommends them. Dyste is principal at Urban Discovery Academy, a TK–12 charter school in San Diego, which banned cellphones during the 2023–24 academic year amid an uptick in bullying, harassment and anxiety among students, staff told CalMatters. Nearly 90% of discipline cases, across Urban Discovery Academy and a school where he worked previously, could be traced to misuse of phones or social media, including students filming fights, spreading nude photos of classmates and encouraging students to kill themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I may never get some of those images out of my head. It’s horrible, what kids can do to each other,” Dyste said. “The damage to our kids and our communities is real.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dyste got the idea to ban phones when he and his wife went to a Dave Chapelle performance where audience members were required to secure their phones in locked pouches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My wife said, why don’t we do this in schools?” he said. “We knew we had to do something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over last summer, the school sent out notices to families about the new policy, explaining the rationale. Some students complained, but parents were thrilled, Dyste said. And the improvements in campus climate were almost immediate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead of “hiding away with their screens,” said Jenni Owen, the school’s chief operations officer, students spent their breaks talking, dancing, playing volleyball, and having fun. They developed empathy and a sense of community, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the end of the academic year, the school logged zero fights. The previous year, the school’s suspension rate was 13.5%, almost four times the state average.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For schools that are wondering if they should take this on, I think the answer is, we have to,” Dyste said. “If we don’t educate kids on how and when to use this technology, we’re going to continue seeing a rise in suicide, sexual harassment, and anxiety.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State legislators have recognized the importance of healthier technology use among children. California students are \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB873\">supposed to learn about\u003c/a> “appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior … related to current technology” under a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2023/11/fake-news-california-school/\">media literacy law passed in October\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-to-pouch-or-not-to-pouch\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">To pouch or not to pouch\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To enforce smartphone bans, some schools rely on smartphone lockers or locked pouches like the kind Dyste saw in use at the Dave Chappelle show.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He tried using locked pouches from the Los Angeles-based company Yondr but encountered numerous issues. Some kids were breaking and smashing the pouches to open them, or they’d listen to music all day by connecting their earbuds to their locked-away phones using Bluetooth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We had to return what was left of the equipment,” he said. Instead of going with Yondr, which wanted $6,000 to cover 110 kids, Dyste found clear, plastic phone lockers on Amazon that cost $50 each and put one in each classroom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yondr told CalMatters: “Our pouches are designed to withstand heavy-duty usage, and we are continuously working to improve the durability of our solution. However, there will always be students who try to push boundaries, especially when policies are initially rolled out. For this reason, it is critical that our team works directly with districts and administrators in rolling out the Yondr Program, to ensure that the most effective policies and procedures are implemented for successful school-wide adoption. Without adherence to strong policies, schools may struggle with student compliance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soar Academy also considered purchasing Yondr phone pouches but was discouraged by the $19,000 price tag.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Mateo-Foster City School District paid $50,000 to obtain Yondr pouches for roughly 3,000 students. To use them, staff hand out pouches at school entryways each morning, then students swab the pouch over a demagnetizer to unlock the pouch at the end of the day. Kids who want an exception to the rule — for a family emergency for example — must come to the school front office and ask for permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yondr pouches come with a hefty price tag, Ochoa said, but he thinks it’s worth it to improve student focus.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Call up five random superintendents, I don’t care where they’re at and ask them, how much would you spend to have your students pay more attention? It’s worth millions,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-mixed-feelings-among-students\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mixed feelings among students\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Whether phones get locked in a clear box or a silver pouch, Oakland High School senior Leah West said she finds it punitive to require students to lock their phones away before they have broken any rules with the devices. While Oakland High School does not have a blanket smartphone ban, her former English teacher sometimes locked student phones in Yondr pouches.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We should be given a chance to prove ourselves,” she said, adding that such an approach can motivate a rebellious streak in students like her who like freedom and don’t like when she isn’t trusted to make a responsible decision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Louisa Perry-Picciotto, who graduated from high school in Alameda in June, said students with jobs rely on their phones for work updates and all teens use their phones to communicate with their friends.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, she’s grateful her parents didn’t get her a smartphone until she was in eighth grade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I get distracted easily, and without a phone I was a lot more connected to the world,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000964\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1536px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000964\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1536\" height=\"1025\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/081624_CellPhoneBan_FM_CM_03-copy-160x107.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1536px) 100vw, 1536px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leah West, 17, in Oakland on Aug. 16, 2024, is in 12th grade at Oakland High School. \u003ccite>(Florence Middleton/CalMatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Edamevoh Ajayi, who is a junior at Oakland Technical High School, said there’s no question some students don’t pay attention in class because they’re busy texting or playing games. Those students would definitely benefit from rules surrounding cellphone use like the kind being implemented at her school this year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But she feels like she has a strong sense of self-control and a desire to learn, and doesn’t need a phone ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they take away my belongings, I feel like I’m being treated like a child,” she said. At her school, policies vary by classroom. In general, students are free to use their phones between classes and at lunch.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When students use their phones in class it can be frustrating for everyone else, said Fremont High School science teacher Chris Jackson. It puts teachers in a tough position: Either ignore that student and carry on for the sake of the students who are listening or disrupt learning for all students and confront them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the long run, Jackson said he’s worried that Black and brown students, who have historically faced \u003ca href=\"https://www.vox.com/identities/2018/4/5/17199810/school-discipline-race-racism-gao\">higher rates of punishment than other students\u003c/a>, will again bear the brunt of disciplinary actions related to smartphone bans. Rather than punishment, Jackson would prefer to see solutions that address root issues like addiction that lead students to use their devices in violation of the rules. So no matter what policy school districts adopt, he wants the focus to remain on teaching students digital literacy and how social media can be a risk to their health.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"h-course-corrections\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Course corrections\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Some schools who helped pioneer smartphone bans have reassessed their initial approach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This year, Bullard is changing its policy to allow students to access their smartphones at lunch time. Torigian said school administrators wanted to make room for important communications, for example by allowing students who pick up younger siblings to text with their parents. They also hoped the looser rules would encourage more students to comply with the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If kids don’t comply, teachers call parents, and if they still refuse they’re sent to what the school calls the re-engagement center. Starting last month, California \u003ca href=\"https://sd09.senate.ca.gov/news/20231010-california-law-will-make-student-suspensions-willful-defiance-illegal\">began prohibiting suspensions for “willful defiance\u003c/a>.” Torigian believes that schools need an exemption from the policy in order to enforce smartphone restrictions. He wants it back because he said he needs a way to hold kids accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s why the governor’s got to give us some leeway on this willful defiance; you can’t do one [smartphone restrictions] without the other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ochoa said if he had to do it over again in San Mateo-Foster City he would devote more time to explaining to students why they adopted such a policy before putting it into place. Getting a smartphone is a big deal for middle school students, a milestone for adolescents that represents more freedom and autonomy, and it’s counterproductive for the school environment if they feel punished or something they value is taken away with little explanation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our teenagers told us, ‘you forgot to explain why we’re doing this,’” he said, adding that even if a small percentage of kids violate the policy it can be really harmful academically and to school culture. “Even with your conviction to implement a policy like this, spend the time developing the language around the policy and explaining it to your students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer, whose nonprofit is focused on how children use media and technology, agreed that it works best to explain to kids why a rule to limit smartphone access at school is necessary. Parents and teachers need the same explanation so that they can help enforce some restrictions in order to keep kids safe and healthy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any even remotely engaged parent is going to want their kid to do well in school, and is going to want them to understand why phones and social media platforms get in the way of learning and can be really distracting and can affect your mental health,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "san-francisco-takes-on-makers-ai-generated-deepfake-pornography-landmark-lawsuit",
"title": "San Francisco Takes on Makers of AI-Generated ‘Deepfake’ Pornography in Landmark Lawsuit",
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"headTitle": "San Francisco Takes on Makers of AI-Generated ‘Deepfake’ Pornography in Landmark Lawsuit | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 1:55 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/artificial-intelligence\">artificial intelligence\u003c/a> booms, the technology has also given rise to “deepfake” pictures, including manipulated images of young, nude women and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonconsensual pornographic photos of anyone, including celebrities like Taylor Swift and pre-teens in California, can be generated in a few clicks. In February, faked nude pictures of 16 eighth-grade girls went around a Beverly Hills middle school, prompting expulsions of five fellow students accused of making them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movement has left many people, including San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, “horrified.” On Wednesday, he announced that his office had filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against 16 of the largest websites that create and distribute nonconsensual AI-generated pornography, setting up a major test of the laws that currently govern the burgeoning technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to be very clear that this is not innovation — this is sexual abuse,” Chiu said in a statement shared with KQED. “This is a big, multi-faceted problem that we, as a society, need to solve as soon as possible. We all need to do our part to crack down on bad actors using AI to exploit and abuse real people, including children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chief Deputy City Attorney Yvonne Meré first brought the issue to Chiu this year after seeing news coverage of young girls who were targeted by these deepfake images.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was “horrified and fearful thinking of my own 15-year-old daughter and how she would feel if her autonomy was stripped from her, her image distorted, her privacy wholly disregarded,” Meré said during a press conference Wednesday. “And as a lawyer I was frustrated. How can it be that this pernicious practice can go on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Deputy City Attorney Yvonne Meré speaks during a press conference at City Hall in San Francisco on Aug. 15, 2024, about a lawsuit against websites that create and distribute nonconsensual AI-generated pornography. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The suit, which Chiu’s team believes is the first government lawsuit of its kind, hopes to stamp out websites that allow users to create “nonconsensual sexually explicit images” or “undress” women — and, in some cases, children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real novelty here is that they’re focusing on the companies that create this stuff and not individuals,” Jennifer King, the privacy and data policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While individuals targeted by falsified nude images have pursued legal action before, the goal is generally to get the images scrubbed from the internet or hold the person who created them accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real difference here is that San Francisco’s going after the actual companies that enable the creation of the material,” King said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies being sued by San Francisco took no effort to hide the nonconsensual nature of the explicit material their users could create, according to the city attorney’s office. One of the websites says: “Imagine wasting time taking her out on dates when you can just use [website] to get her nudes.” Another asks users: “Have someone to undress?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sites make use of open-source generative AI models that are available to the public to adapt and train on specific content, according to the city attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even where the creators of these open-source models subsequently incorporate safeguards into new releases of the model, earlier releases — and fine-tuned versions trained to generate pornographic content — continue to circulate online,” the complaint reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu’s office alleges the companies violate state and federal laws against deepfake, revenge and child pornography. While several states have proposed or enacted legislation to criminalize such nonconsensual AI-generated images, the lawsuit asks the San Francisco Superior Court to order the sites to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID=news_11998817 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/ChatGPTGetty-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether this is possible remains to be seen, said professor Colleen Chien, co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In bringing the complaint in state court, the city attorney’s office alleges that the website operators engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices in San Francisco and elsewhere in California. Chien expects the defendants to fight the notion that their violation of laws in San Francisco’s jurisdiction can force them to shutter worldwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the suit is successful, King said, it likely cannot prevent the creation of this kind of material by private users, since the technology already exists. But it could set a new legal framework for fighting the issue. The design of the suit will test how effective existing laws surrounding AI are at blocking the companies that make this technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What this highlights is that though there have been a flurry of new laws, what it might actually need is more law enforcement,” Chien said. “These laws that they’re drawing upon have been out there, but it’s not proven how much they will actually provide protection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was one of the first states to pass anti-deepfake legislation in 2019, before the current frenzy over AI: one bill dealing with pornography and the other with political elections. Currently, state lawmakers are set to decide Thursday whether \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1831\">Assembly Bill 1831\u003c/a>, which would expand the scope of these provisions to include material altered or generated with AI, lives to face a floor vote in the Senate or dies. They’ll also decide if Senate Bill 1047, a far-reaching proposal that would require developers of the largest AI models to safety test their technology, will go to an Assembly floor vote or be killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco complaint targets two U.S. companies, one based in England and two based in Estonia, as well as a resident of Estonia and 50 unnamed John Doe defendants whose true identities are not yet known. All operate websites that produce nonconsensual AI-generated images; the entities have been visited a combined 200 million times through the end of June, according to the city attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the defendants are all over the place — they’re in England, they’re in Estonia and they’re in other places — the plaintiffs are in California,” Chien said. “And you also obviously have the biggest platforms sort of releasing the open source tools that are underlying these businesses in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to shutting down the sites, the city attorney’s office is seeking a court order for the defendants to pay the cost of the lawsuit and a civil penalty of $2,500 for each violation of state law against unfair business acts and practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really tough and it’s really unfair. It just shouldn’t be possible,” King said. “This is being done to teenage girls at school. … It impacts them in real life in a very focused way. It’s not just like, ‘random people think I’m naked on the internet.’ It’s my entire peer group.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/rachael-myrow\">Rachael Myrow\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"title": "San Francisco Takes on Makers of AI-Generated ‘Deepfake’ Pornography in Landmark Lawsuit | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cem>Updated 1:55 p.m. Thursday\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/artificial-intelligence\">artificial intelligence\u003c/a> booms, the technology has also given rise to “deepfake” pictures, including manipulated images of young, nude women and children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonconsensual pornographic photos of anyone, including celebrities like Taylor Swift and pre-teens in California, can be generated in a few clicks. In February, faked nude pictures of 16 eighth-grade girls went around a Beverly Hills middle school, prompting expulsions of five fellow students accused of making them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The movement has left many people, including San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, “horrified.” On Wednesday, he announced that his office had filed a groundbreaking lawsuit against 16 of the largest websites that create and distribute nonconsensual AI-generated pornography, setting up a major test of the laws that currently govern the burgeoning technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have to be very clear that this is not innovation — this is sexual abuse,” Chiu said in a statement shared with KQED. “This is a big, multi-faceted problem that we, as a society, need to solve as soon as possible. We all need to do our part to crack down on bad actors using AI to exploit and abuse real people, including children.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chief Deputy City Attorney Yvonne Meré first brought the issue to Chiu this year after seeing news coverage of young girls who were targeted by these deepfake images.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She was “horrified and fearful thinking of my own 15-year-old daughter and how she would feel if her autonomy was stripped from her, her image distorted, her privacy wholly disregarded,” Meré said during a press conference Wednesday. “And as a lawyer I was frustrated. How can it be that this pernicious practice can go on?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12000417\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12000417\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240815-CityAttorneyDeepfakes-13-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Deputy City Attorney Yvonne Meré speaks during a press conference at City Hall in San Francisco on Aug. 15, 2024, about a lawsuit against websites that create and distribute nonconsensual AI-generated pornography. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The suit, which Chiu’s team believes is the first government lawsuit of its kind, hopes to stamp out websites that allow users to create “nonconsensual sexually explicit images” or “undress” women — and, in some cases, children.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real novelty here is that they’re focusing on the companies that create this stuff and not individuals,” Jennifer King, the privacy and data policy fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While individuals targeted by falsified nude images have pursued legal action before, the goal is generally to get the images scrubbed from the internet or hold the person who created them accountable.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The real difference here is that San Francisco’s going after the actual companies that enable the creation of the material,” King said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The companies being sued by San Francisco took no effort to hide the nonconsensual nature of the explicit material their users could create, according to the city attorney’s office. One of the websites says: “Imagine wasting time taking her out on dates when you can just use [website] to get her nudes.” Another asks users: “Have someone to undress?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sites make use of open-source generative AI models that are available to the public to adapt and train on specific content, according to the city attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even where the creators of these open-source models subsequently incorporate safeguards into new releases of the model, earlier releases — and fine-tuned versions trained to generate pornographic content — continue to circulate online,” the complaint reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Chiu’s office alleges the companies violate state and federal laws against deepfake, revenge and child pornography. While several states have proposed or enacted legislation to criminalize such nonconsensual AI-generated images, the lawsuit asks the San Francisco Superior Court to order the sites to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Whether this is possible remains to be seen, said professor Colleen Chien, co-director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In bringing the complaint in state court, the city attorney’s office alleges that the website operators engaged in unlawful and unfair business practices in San Francisco and elsewhere in California. Chien expects the defendants to fight the notion that their violation of laws in San Francisco’s jurisdiction can force them to shutter worldwide.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even if the suit is successful, King said, it likely cannot prevent the creation of this kind of material by private users, since the technology already exists. But it could set a new legal framework for fighting the issue. The design of the suit will test how effective existing laws surrounding AI are at blocking the companies that make this technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What this highlights is that though there have been a flurry of new laws, what it might actually need is more law enforcement,” Chien said. “These laws that they’re drawing upon have been out there, but it’s not proven how much they will actually provide protection.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California was one of the first states to pass anti-deepfake legislation in 2019, before the current frenzy over AI: one bill dealing with pornography and the other with political elections. Currently, state lawmakers are set to decide Thursday whether \u003ca href=\"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1831\">Assembly Bill 1831\u003c/a>, which would expand the scope of these provisions to include material altered or generated with AI, lives to face a floor vote in the Senate or dies. They’ll also decide if Senate Bill 1047, a far-reaching proposal that would require developers of the largest AI models to safety test their technology, will go to an Assembly floor vote or be killed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco complaint targets two U.S. companies, one based in England and two based in Estonia, as well as a resident of Estonia and 50 unnamed John Doe defendants whose true identities are not yet known. All operate websites that produce nonconsensual AI-generated images; the entities have been visited a combined 200 million times through the end of June, according to the city attorney’s office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“While the defendants are all over the place — they’re in England, they’re in Estonia and they’re in other places — the plaintiffs are in California,” Chien said. “And you also obviously have the biggest platforms sort of releasing the open source tools that are underlying these businesses in California.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to shutting down the sites, the city attorney’s office is seeking a court order for the defendants to pay the cost of the lawsuit and a civil penalty of $2,500 for each violation of state law against unfair business acts and practices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s really tough and it’s really unfair. It just shouldn’t be possible,” King said. “This is being done to teenage girls at school. … It impacts them in real life in a very focused way. It’s not just like, ‘random people think I’m naked on the internet.’ It’s my entire peer group.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/rachael-myrow\">Rachael Myrow\u003c/a> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Cuts at East San José Hospital Will Harm Vulnerable Residents, Advocates Say",
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"content": "\u003cp>Late Monday afternoon — on the same day \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996422/hospital-operator-backs-off-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center-after-public-outcry\">Regional Medical Center in East San José planned to downgrade its trauma center\u003c/a> and cut back other critical health care services — residents and advocates held a vigil to mourn what they called an irresponsible divestment from a largely working-class community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action was the latest in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11990284/doctors-community-leaders-ramp-up-efforts-to-halt-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center\">series of rallies and protests\u003c/a> since May by a coalition of medical workers, community members and patient advocates who were angered by cutbacks enacted by HCA Healthcare — the parent company of Regional Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here mourning their disregard for our lives,” said Darcie Green, the executive director of health nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, who joined about a dozen other members of the coalition at the vigil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They held their vigil outside Good Samaritan Hospital in the more affluent West San José area, another facility owned by HCA Healthcare — where the company is pursuing a major expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group shared stories of their experiences with Regional Medical Center and their concerns, marched and chanted in front of Good Samaritan, and lit candles, leaving them on the edge of the facility’s east entrance driveway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As these candles are lit, they are a reminder that this fire is still burning. We’re not stopping today,” Green said. “We’re going to continue on this fight because all communities deserve to have full access to health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, HCA announced it planned to close the Regional Medical Center’s trauma center, eliminate its severe heart attack services and reduce stroke services on Aug. 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, following months of protests by the coalition, the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996422/hospital-operator-backs-off-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center-after-public-outcry\">backed off the closures in mid-July\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, hospital officials said the company plans to downgrade its trauma center from a Level II to a Level III, which offers lower levels of care, doesn’t require specialists to be on-site around the clock, and leans more on transferring patients with serious needs to other facilities after stabilizing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said that instead of eliminating its ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) program, which handles severe heart attacks, it will reduce services. For example, the hospital’s around-the-clock catheterization laboratory, where cardiologists insert catheters to help diagnose heart issues, will now only be staffed in the daytime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stroke services will also be reduced from “comprehensive” to just above “primary” levels, which the company said will still be able to serve 97% of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999961\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999961\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Darcie Green, executive director of the health nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, speaks during a vigil held outside of Good Samaritan Hospital in West San José on Monday. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until the changes, Regional Medical Center was the only comprehensive stroke center on the entire eastern side of Santa Clara County — a \u003ca href=\"https://files.santaclaracounty.gov/2024-05/impact-assessment-final.pdf?VersionId=76kKMmMNBS.DDrTkkIa.TB08YZkvCUqI\">previous report\u003c/a> released in April said 20% of the county’s stroke patients arrive there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coalition members said they plan to continue pushing back against the changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So HCA would have you believe that the move from downgrading to a Level II to a Level III is a big win for us because at least our trauma center is still open,” Green said at the vigil. “But in reality, there is a very, very, very large gap between a Level II and a Level III trauma center, and in that gap will fall the lives of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates said the cuts will disproportionately affect people who already face challenges accessing health care, including people of color, older people, and those who are uninsured or underinsured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group is trying to bring attention to what they call an inequitable investment strategy by HCA, which is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cutbacks are being made at Regional Medical Center in the city’s East Side, the company is in the midst of a multi-year effort to get major expansion plans approved for Good Samaritan, which includes two new hospital wings and a medical office building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the primary reason for the new construction at Good Samaritan is due to state seismic safety requirements, the hospital company is also adding more beds and more space to upgrade technology and add private rooms, as well as keep up with accessibility requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11996422 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/SanJoseRegionalMedCenter-1020x679.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for HCA said claims of inequity are false, noting that HCA invested hundreds of millions of dollars in seismically upgrading Regional Medical Center facilities and buildings in 2014 and nearly $200 million since in ongoing equipment and facilities upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company also plans to expand the Regional Medical Center emergency department from 43 beds to 63 beds in the coming year, costing about $10 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spokesperson said the company is making decisions based on the long-term financial viability of the hospital, balanced with the health care needs of the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the company’s critics have questioned the decision to pull back on services on the East Side when the Nashville-based conglomerate is earning significant profits, with its stock price around an all-time high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its second-quarter \u003ca href=\"https://investor.hcahealthcare.com/news/news-details/2024/HCA-Healthcare-Reports-Second-Quarter-2024-Results/default.aspx#:~:text=Revenues%20in%20the%20second%20quarter,the%20second%20quarter%20of%202023.\">earnings report\u003c/a> for 2024, HCA said its net income totaled $1.461 billion, and it expects to earn nearly $6 billion over the course of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In terms of the care, we’re trying to provide that but also do that in a sustainable way so that the institution itself doesn’t start going down a slippery slope because we haven’t managed the finances required to provide that care,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For the most part, not much will change in terms of what the public will experience,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987728\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11987728\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez speaks during a rally outside of Regional Medical Center in East San José on May 24. Chavez and others called on Attorney General Rob Bonta to halt service cuts planned by the hospital’s ownership. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said it’s “ridiculous” and “dishonest” to suggest that cuts won’t be impactful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re not looking out for patient care. They’re looking out for their business interests,” Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What they’re saying is they’re looking out for their bottom line. And our obligation is to look out for the people who live, work, play, learn and worship here,” Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My expectation is that corporations that care deeply about the community try to share in that responsibility. I’m not seeing HCA do that,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"headline": "Cuts at East San José Hospital Will Harm Vulnerable Residents, Advocates Say",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Late Monday afternoon — on the same day \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996422/hospital-operator-backs-off-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center-after-public-outcry\">Regional Medical Center in East San José planned to downgrade its trauma center\u003c/a> and cut back other critical health care services — residents and advocates held a vigil to mourn what they called an irresponsible divestment from a largely working-class community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The action was the latest in a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11990284/doctors-community-leaders-ramp-up-efforts-to-halt-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center\">series of rallies and protests\u003c/a> since May by a coalition of medical workers, community members and patient advocates who were angered by cutbacks enacted by HCA Healthcare — the parent company of Regional Medical Center.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re here mourning their disregard for our lives,” said Darcie Green, the executive director of health nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, who joined about a dozen other members of the coalition at the vigil.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They held their vigil outside Good Samaritan Hospital in the more affluent West San José area, another facility owned by HCA Healthcare — where the company is pursuing a major expansion.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group shared stories of their experiences with Regional Medical Center and their concerns, marched and chanted in front of Good Samaritan, and lit candles, leaving them on the edge of the facility’s east entrance driveway.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As these candles are lit, they are a reminder that this fire is still burning. We’re not stopping today,” Green said. “We’re going to continue on this fight because all communities deserve to have full access to health care.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In February, HCA announced it planned to close the Regional Medical Center’s trauma center, eliminate its severe heart attack services and reduce stroke services on Aug. 12.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, following months of protests by the coalition, the company \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11996422/hospital-operator-backs-off-closure-of-east-san-jose-trauma-center-after-public-outcry\">backed off the closures in mid-July\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Instead, hospital officials said the company plans to downgrade its trauma center from a Level II to a Level III, which offers lower levels of care, doesn’t require specialists to be on-site around the clock, and leans more on transferring patients with serious needs to other facilities after stabilizing them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company said that instead of eliminating its ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) program, which handles severe heart attacks, it will reduce services. For example, the hospital’s around-the-clock catheterization laboratory, where cardiologists insert catheters to help diagnose heart issues, will now only be staffed in the daytime.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stroke services will also be reduced from “comprehensive” to just above “primary” levels, which the company said will still be able to serve 97% of patients.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999961\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999961\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240812-HCAVIGIL-JG-7-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Darcie Green, executive director of the health nonprofit Latinas Contra Cancer, speaks during a vigil held outside of Good Samaritan Hospital in West San José on Monday. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Until the changes, Regional Medical Center was the only comprehensive stroke center on the entire eastern side of Santa Clara County — a \u003ca href=\"https://files.santaclaracounty.gov/2024-05/impact-assessment-final.pdf?VersionId=76kKMmMNBS.DDrTkkIa.TB08YZkvCUqI\">previous report\u003c/a> released in April said 20% of the county’s stroke patients arrive there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coalition members said they plan to continue pushing back against the changes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So HCA would have you believe that the move from downgrading to a Level II to a Level III is a big win for us because at least our trauma center is still open,” Green said at the vigil. “But in reality, there is a very, very, very large gap between a Level II and a Level III trauma center, and in that gap will fall the lives of patients.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Advocates said the cuts will disproportionately affect people who already face challenges accessing health care, including people of color, older people, and those who are uninsured or underinsured.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The group is trying to bring attention to what they call an inequitable investment strategy by HCA, which is the largest for-profit hospital operator in the nation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As cutbacks are being made at Regional Medical Center in the city’s East Side, the company is in the midst of a multi-year effort to get major expansion plans approved for Good Samaritan, which includes two new hospital wings and a medical office building.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While the primary reason for the new construction at Good Samaritan is due to state seismic safety requirements, the hospital company is also adding more beds and more space to upgrade technology and add private rooms, as well as keep up with accessibility requirements.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A spokesperson for HCA said claims of inequity are false, noting that HCA invested hundreds of millions of dollars in seismically upgrading Regional Medical Center facilities and buildings in 2014 and nearly $200 million since in ongoing equipment and facilities upgrades.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The company also plans to expand the Regional Medical Center emergency department from 43 beds to 63 beds in the coming year, costing about $10 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The spokesperson said the company is making decisions based on the long-term financial viability of the hospital, balanced with the health care needs of the community.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some of the company’s critics have questioned the decision to pull back on services on the East Side when the Nashville-based conglomerate is earning significant profits, with its stock price around an all-time high.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In its second-quarter \u003ca href=\"https://investor.hcahealthcare.com/news/news-details/2024/HCA-Healthcare-Reports-Second-Quarter-2024-Results/default.aspx#:~:text=Revenues%20in%20the%20second%20quarter,the%20second%20quarter%20of%202023.\">earnings report\u003c/a> for 2024, HCA said its net income totaled $1.461 billion, and it expects to earn nearly $6 billion over the course of the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In terms of the care, we’re trying to provide that but also do that in a sustainable way so that the institution itself doesn’t start going down a slippery slope because we haven’t managed the finances required to provide that care,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For the most part, not much will change in terms of what the public will experience,” the spokesperson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11987728\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11987728\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/05/240524-REGIONALMEDICAL-JG-6_qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez speaks during a rally outside of Regional Medical Center in East San José on May 24. Chavez and others called on Attorney General Rob Bonta to halt service cuts planned by the hospital’s ownership. \u003ccite>(Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez said it’s “ridiculous” and “dishonest” to suggest that cuts won’t be impactful.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re not looking out for patient care. They’re looking out for their business interests,” Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What they’re saying is they’re looking out for their bottom line. And our obligation is to look out for the people who live, work, play, learn and worship here,” Chavez said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My expectation is that corporations that care deeply about the community try to share in that responsibility. I’m not seeing HCA do that,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>In the early years of her career, Rocio van Nierop used to stay late in the office of a sports betting tech company in Boston. In the evening, that’s when she saw other Latinos working in the office: the janitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she took a job in Silicon Valley in 2013, she thought that in moving to California, a state where \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-population/#:~:text=No%20race%20or%20ethnic%20group,than%20half%20of%20younger%20Californians\">two in five people\u003c/a> have roots in Latin America, according to U.S. Census data, the workforce would at least reflect the region’s demographics. She was wrong. Latines were few and far between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never had a single colleague above or even below me that were Latinos until I started hiring,” van Nierop said, referring to when she became a manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience cemented her belief that Latinas should not just be part of the tech industry. They need to lead it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why, for the past decade, she’s helped grow Latinas in Tech from a group of friends meeting for coffee into a full-fledged advocacy organization with 25 chapters in seven countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as Bay Area tech companies have grown to be some of the biggest corporations in the world, Latinx workers of all genders have largely been left out of the tech workforce. Latinas only represent about 2% of tech workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now advocates like van Nierop, the CEO of Latinas in Tech, are confronting a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs at a time when mass layoffs at tech firms have become commonplace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study from the Oakland-based Kapor Foundation, a nonprofit focused on making the tech sector more equitable, reported that while about one in five workers in the U.S. is Latine, only one in 10 workers in tech is Latine. In management, only 5% of executive leadership roles and 3% of tech company board seats are held by Latine professionals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I shared van Nierop’s shock at the lack of Latines making inroads in the tech industry in the Bay Area and in professional fields overall. Like van Nierop, I had the experience of working late in San Francisco’s Financial District. I chatted in Spanish with Carmen, the woman who cleaned the office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999290\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999290\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artwork from a Latinas in Tech calendar hanging on the walls of the organization’s offices in Moraga on Aug. 7, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Employers often cite a lack of an adequate pipeline of workers as why their companies or industries lack diversity. Van Nierop agrees that we need more Latines graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, but said companies need to expand their pipelines as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People tend to hire people they know, she added, because if a hiring manager doesn’t have any Latinas in their network, they’re unlikely to hire them. But even when Latines can get a toehold in an industry, they often face barriers to advancement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is why van Nierop, 44, has emphasized helping Latinas become “jefas” — female bosses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re a Latina in power of hiring, then somehow more Latinos come because people hire people that they get to know in their networks,” she said. “Companies have to be intentional on bringing people in at the same level of qualifications but from different backgrounds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop was born in the U.S. and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where her parents are from. She\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>graduated with a degree in marketing from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a well-known private university in Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She worked for some marketing firms in Mexico before moving to Boston to work for Betclic Group, an online gambling sports betting company. She landed in the Bay Area when she took a job with presentation software company Prezi, leading its marketing in Latin America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999291\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999291\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Basdges from past Latinas in Tech conferences on a coat rack in Rocio van Nierop’s office in Moraga on Aug. 7, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop, who is married and has two children, left Prezi in 2019 to focus full-time on Latinas in Tech, an organization with about 33,000 members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization’s membership has grown because of geographic expansion, but the share of Latinas working in tech in the U.S. has been stagnant for years. On top of that, many Latinas in the industry feel stuck in low-level roles, according to Latinas in Tech annual survey. This year’s results found that 64% of respondents were in non-managerial roles despite most of them having enough experience to move up the ranks. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11986455/for-some-latinas-in-tech-career-growth-still-remains-elusive\">Read my previous piece about that here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop said tech executives have talked for years about diversity as the “right thing to do,” and yet staff and management remain mostly male and white or Asian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She saw progress in the past decade as many companies added a chief diversity officer position to their executive ranks. However, now many companies are eliminating or limiting those roles after last year’s Supreme Court \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954612/u-s-supreme-court-strikes-down-affirmative-action-barring-california-private-universities-from-considering-race-in-admissions\">decision that prohibited colleges from using race\u003c/a> as a factor in admissions. The ruling does not apply to the private sector. Yet, many executives have used it as cover for not diversifying their staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[aside postID=news_11993172 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/06/240626-SUSANA-ROJAS-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I entered the world of professional journalism two decades ago, I heard a lot of proclamations and platitudes about the need for more diversity in newsrooms. The first company I worked for out of college distributed swag with the slogan “Diversity No Excuses.” I wonder if any publicly traded company would make such a statement now that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11990976/kqeds-approach-to-dei-challenges-in-americas-evolving-political-landscape\">DEI has become a derogatory term in political discourse\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, but that conversation, along with the fact that everybody’s scrubbing it and putting it under the table, is not even needed anymore,” van Nierop said, referring to the argument that hasn’t been enough to persuade companies to hire people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Companies that don’t cater to the Latinx market will miss out on tapping into our spending power as consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I met with van Nierop at the Latinas in Tech headquarters in Moraga, she showed me a room filled with “jefa” branded swag — T-shirts, mouse pads and stickers. According to van Nierop, “jefa” is a mentality of delivering solid work, knowing the value you bring to your employer and having decision-making power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too many Latinas are conditioned to work hard and not call attention to themselves, van Nierop said. She chalks it up to the phrase “calladita te ves más bonita,” which roughly translates to “you look prettier with your mouth shut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is what we are told since we are little girls and is expected from us to maintain harmony,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not speaking up holds Latinas back in the workplace. Latinas in Tech has focused on equipping its members to network, negotiate higher salaries and effectively ask for promotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we take ownership of that ‘jefa mode,’ we’re really changing the outcome,” van Nierop said. “We’re going to pass from a mentality of servitude to a mentality of ownership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In the early years of her career, Rocio van Nierop used to stay late in the office of a sports betting tech company in Boston. In the evening, that’s when she saw other Latinos working in the office: the janitors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When she took a job in Silicon Valley in 2013, she thought that in moving to California, a state where \u003ca href=\"https://www.ppic.org/publication/californias-population/#:~:text=No%20race%20or%20ethnic%20group,than%20half%20of%20younger%20Californians\">two in five people\u003c/a> have roots in Latin America, according to U.S. Census data, the workforce would at least reflect the region’s demographics. She was wrong. Latines were few and far between.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I never had a single colleague above or even below me that were Latinos until I started hiring,” van Nierop said, referring to when she became a manager.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The experience cemented her belief that Latinas should not just be part of the tech industry. They need to lead it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why, for the past decade, she’s helped grow Latinas in Tech from a group of friends meeting for coffee into a full-fledged advocacy organization with 25 chapters in seven countries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even as Bay Area tech companies have grown to be some of the biggest corporations in the world, Latinx workers of all genders have largely been left out of the tech workforce. Latinas only represent about 2% of tech workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now advocates like van Nierop, the CEO of Latinas in Tech, are confronting a backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion programs at a time when mass layoffs at tech firms have become commonplace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study from the Oakland-based Kapor Foundation, a nonprofit focused on making the tech sector more equitable, reported that while about one in five workers in the U.S. is Latine, only one in 10 workers in tech is Latine. In management, only 5% of executive leadership roles and 3% of tech company board seats are held by Latine professionals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I shared van Nierop’s shock at the lack of Latines making inroads in the tech industry in the Bay Area and in professional fields overall. Like van Nierop, I had the experience of working late in San Francisco’s Financial District. I chatted in Spanish with Carmen, the woman who cleaned the office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999290\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999290\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-04-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Artwork from a Latinas in Tech calendar hanging on the walls of the organization’s offices in Moraga on Aug. 7, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Employers often cite a lack of an adequate pipeline of workers as why their companies or industries lack diversity. Van Nierop agrees that we need more Latines graduating with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math, but said companies need to expand their pipelines as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>People tend to hire people they know, she added, because if a hiring manager doesn’t have any Latinas in their network, they’re unlikely to hire them. But even when Latines can get a toehold in an industry, they often face barriers to advancement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That is why van Nierop, 44, has emphasized helping Latinas become “jefas” — female bosses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When you’re a Latina in power of hiring, then somehow more Latinos come because people hire people that they get to know in their networks,” she said. “Companies have to be intentional on bringing people in at the same level of qualifications but from different backgrounds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop was born in the U.S. and raised in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, where her parents are from. She\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>graduated with a degree in marketing from Tecnológico de Monterrey, a well-known private university in Mexico.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She worked for some marketing firms in Mexico before moving to Boston to work for Betclic Group, an online gambling sports betting company. She landed in the Bay Area when she took a job with presentation software company Prezi, leading its marketing in Latin America.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999291\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999291\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240807-ROCIO-VAN-NIEROP-MD-05-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Basdges from past Latinas in Tech conferences on a coat rack in Rocio van Nierop’s office in Moraga on Aug. 7, 2024. \u003ccite>(Martin do Nascimento/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop, who is married and has two children, left Prezi in 2019 to focus full-time on Latinas in Tech, an organization with about 33,000 members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The organization’s membership has grown because of geographic expansion, but the share of Latinas working in tech in the U.S. has been stagnant for years. On top of that, many Latinas in the industry feel stuck in low-level roles, according to Latinas in Tech annual survey. This year’s results found that 64% of respondents were in non-managerial roles despite most of them having enough experience to move up the ranks. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11986455/for-some-latinas-in-tech-career-growth-still-remains-elusive\">Read my previous piece about that here.\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Van Nierop said tech executives have talked for years about diversity as the “right thing to do,” and yet staff and management remain mostly male and white or Asian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She saw progress in the past decade as many companies added a chief diversity officer position to their executive ranks. However, now many companies are eliminating or limiting those roles after last year’s Supreme Court \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11954612/u-s-supreme-court-strikes-down-affirmative-action-barring-california-private-universities-from-considering-race-in-admissions\">decision that prohibited colleges from using race\u003c/a> as a factor in admissions. The ruling does not apply to the private sector. Yet, many executives have used it as cover for not diversifying their staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I entered the world of professional journalism two decades ago, I heard a lot of proclamations and platitudes about the need for more diversity in newsrooms. The first company I worked for out of college distributed swag with the slogan “Diversity No Excuses.” I wonder if any publicly traded company would make such a statement now that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11990976/kqeds-approach-to-dei-challenges-in-americas-evolving-political-landscape\">DEI has become a derogatory term in political discourse\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Diversity and inclusion is the right thing to do, but that conversation, along with the fact that everybody’s scrubbing it and putting it under the table, is not even needed anymore,” van Nierop said, referring to the argument that hasn’t been enough to persuade companies to hire people of color.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Companies that don’t cater to the Latinx market will miss out on tapping into our spending power as consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When I met with van Nierop at the Latinas in Tech headquarters in Moraga, she showed me a room filled with “jefa” branded swag — T-shirts, mouse pads and stickers. According to van Nierop, “jefa” is a mentality of delivering solid work, knowing the value you bring to your employer and having decision-making power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Too many Latinas are conditioned to work hard and not call attention to themselves, van Nierop said. She chalks it up to the phrase “calladita te ves más bonita,” which roughly translates to “you look prettier with your mouth shut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is what we are told since we are little girls and is expected from us to maintain harmony,” she added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But not speaking up holds Latinas back in the workplace. Latinas in Tech has focused on equipping its members to network, negotiate higher salaries and effectively ask for promotions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If we take ownership of that ‘jefa mode,’ we’re really changing the outcome,” van Nierop said. “We’re going to pass from a mentality of servitude to a mentality of ownership.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported for K Onda KQED, a monthly newsletter focused on the Bay Area’s Latinx community. \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/newsletters/k-onda\">\u003cem>Click here to subscribe.\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Susan Wojcicki, a Silicon Valley visionary who helped shape Google and YouTube, died Friday after a two-year battle with non-small cell lung cancer, according to her husband. She was 56.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many,” her husband, Dennis Troper, wrote in a Facebook post. “Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wojcicki, born in Santa Clara, Calif., \u003ca href=\"https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/18/how-the-wojcickis-parents-raised-23andme-founder-youtube-ceo.html\">grew up\u003c/a> on Stanford University’s campus, where her father was a physicist. There, she developed a passion for innovation and making a difference in the world. (Her two younger sisters, Anne and Janet, also went on to become powerhouses in their own respective fields.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 1998, Wojcicki rented her garage to Larry Page and Sergey Brin, a pair of Stanford grad students on the cusp of building the search giant Google.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wojcicki quickly saw the company’s potential and left her job at Intel to become Google’s first marketing manager. In the years to follow, she quickly moved up the ranks, having a hand at growing the platform’s consumer products and building its advertising business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, Wojcicki played a major role in Google’s purchase of YouTube in 2006 when it was just a small startup. She was appointed YouTube’s CEO in 2014 and led its explosive growth over the past decade. She also oversaw the platform as it grappled with hate speech, misinformation and inappropriate content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, Wojcicki announced she would step down from her role to ” start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people’s lives around the world: finding information, telling stories and supporting creators, artists, and small businesses. I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved. It’s been exhilarating, meaningful, and all-consuming,” she said in a \u003ca href=\"https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-personal-update-from-susan/\">blog post\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from growing two tech behemoths, Wojcicki also devoted herself to improving the workplace for women and parents. At Google, she was the first to take parental leave and continued to advocate for such policies in the workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Wojcicki will be remembered for how she “always put others first.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll never forget her kindness to me as a prospective ‘Noogler’ 20 years ago. During my Google interview she took me out for an ice cream and a walk around campus. I was sold – on Google and Susan,” he said in a \u003ca href=\"https://blog.google/inside-google/message-ceo/an-incredible-life-and-career/\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wojcicki was also known for her \u003ca href=\"https://hub.jhu.edu/2014/05/22/commencement-2014-wojcicki/\">compelling graduation speech\u003c/a> at John Hopkins University in 2014. There, she reflected on her career and the nature of opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rarely are opportunities presented to you in the perfect way, in a nice little box with a yellow bow on top,” she said. “Opportunities, the good ones, they’re messy and confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Later, Wojcicki played a major role in Google’s purchase of YouTube in 2006 when it was just a small startup. She was appointed YouTube’s CEO in 2014 and led its explosive growth over the past decade. She also oversaw the platform as it grappled with hate speech, misinformation and inappropriate content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2023, Wojcicki announced she would step down from her role to ” start a new chapter focused on my family, health, and personal projects.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I took on each challenge that came my way because it had a mission that benefited so many people’s lives around the world: finding information, telling stories and supporting creators, artists, and small businesses. I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved. It’s been exhilarating, meaningful, and all-consuming,” she said in a \u003ca href=\"https://blog.youtube/inside-youtube/a-personal-update-from-susan/\">blog post\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aside from growing two tech behemoths, Wojcicki also devoted herself to improving the workplace for women and parents. At Google, she was the first to take parental leave and continued to advocate for such policies in the workforce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Wojcicki will be remembered for how she “always put others first.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ll never forget her kindness to me as a prospective ‘Noogler’ 20 years ago. During my Google interview she took me out for an ice cream and a walk around campus. I was sold – on Google and Susan,” he said in a \u003ca href=\"https://blog.google/inside-google/message-ceo/an-incredible-life-and-career/\">statement\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wojcicki was also known for her \u003ca href=\"https://hub.jhu.edu/2014/05/22/commencement-2014-wojcicki/\">compelling graduation speech\u003c/a> at John Hopkins University in 2014. There, she reflected on her career and the nature of opportunities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Rarely are opportunities presented to you in the perfect way, in a nice little box with a yellow bow on top,” she said. “Opportunities, the good ones, they’re messy and confusing and hard to recognize. They’re risky. They challenge you.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>A study published on Thursday asserts \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tiktok\">TikTok’s\u003c/a> algorithms promote Chinese Communist Party narratives and suppress content critical of those narratives, a claim the embattled company forcefully denied to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Titled “\u003ca href=\"https://networkcontagion.us/reports/the-ccps-digital-charm-offensive/\">The CCP’s Digital Charm Offensive\u003c/a>,” the study by the Rutgers University-based Network Contagion Research Institute argues that much of the pro-China content originates from state-linked entities. ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, owns TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Institute co-founder Joel Finkelstein wrote that includes media outlets and influencers, such as travel vloggers who post toothlessly about Chinese regions like Xinxiang, where the government has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/against-their-will-the-situation-in-xinjiang\">imprisoned\u003c/a> more than 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This manipulation is not just about content availability; it extends to psychological manipulation, particularly affecting Gen Z users,” Finkelstein wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While American teenagers do not typically make geo-political decisions, Finkelstein argued a positively skewed view of China shaped by manipulation “undermines critical thinking and democratic discourse.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NCRI said in its report that “our findings, which, while not definitive proof of state orchestration, present compelling and strong circumstantial evidence of TikTok’s covert content manipulation.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>TikTok has repeatedly said the Chinese government has no influence over its U.S. app, and proving otherwise would be difficult — something that the Department of Justice has acknowledged in \u003ca href=\"https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/legislation-that-could-force-a-tiktok-ban-revived-as-part-of-house-foreign-aid-package\">discussions\u003c/a> over a law that could ban the app.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11998860 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/XSFGetty-1020x598.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NCRI’s report could add to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.techpolicy.press/transcript-tiktok-ceo-testifies-to-congress/\">surge of concern\u003c/a> in Washington, D.C. Other research outfits \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/technology/israel-hamas-war-meta-tiktok-social-media.html\">have urged\u003c/a> TikTok to give them better access to data to study things like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/tiktok-risks-pushing-children-towards-harmful-content/\">mental health\u003c/a> of young users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to understand how social media works from the outside is difficult and getting more difficult because social media is tightening their grip on access,” said Hany Farid of UC Berkeley’s School of Information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://networkcontagion.us/reports/12-21-23-a-tik-tok-in-timebomb-how-tiktoks-global-platform-anomalies-align-with-the-chinese-communist-partys-geostrategic-objectives/\">NCRI analysis\u003c/a> published in December looked at the volume of posts with certain hashtags — like “Uyghur,” “Xinjiang,” “Tibet” and “Tiananmen” — across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. That report found anomalies in TikTok content based on its alignment with the interests of the Chinese government. For example, researchers wrote, hashtags about Tibet, Hong Kong protests and the Uyghur population appeared to be underrepresented on TikTok compared with Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NCRI claims that following the first report’s publication, TikTok disabled its hashtag measurement functionality in a move that made it impossible for the researchers to replicate their findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID=news_11965403 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2023/10/231019-GazaRally-011-BL-qut-1020x680.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For its new report, NCRI researchers turned to “user journey” data, setting up 24 “sock puppet” accounts to mimic the new-to-the-platform experience of 16-year-old Americans. The accounts searched for each of four target keywords — Uyghur, Xinjiang, Tibet and Tiananmen — on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, clicked on the first post that appeared and scrolled through subsequent videos fed by the algorithm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers also said they saw evidence of hashtag/keyword “hijacking,” attaching trending hashtags for topics considered highly sensitive or provocative by the Chinese government to unrelated posts in an attempt to muddy the waters and drown out genuine content. The researchers wrote, “60.3% of all content served by TikTok’s search algorithm was flagged as irrelevant in contrast to <5% for Instagram and YouTube, demonstrating the CCP influencing tactic of hashtag/keyword hijacking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson dismissed NCRI’s study. The spokesperson said many TikTokers use unrelated hashtags to drive traffic to their content and that it’s a practice common across all social media platforms. All platforms algorithmically promote engagement, so if a video is proving popular, TikTok’s algorithm is designed to elevate it, not bury it, the spokesperson added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This non-peer reviewed, flawed experiment was clearly engineered to reach a false, predetermined conclusion,” he wrote. “Creating fake accounts that interact with the app in a prescribed manner does not reflect real users’ experience, just as this so-called study does not reflect facts or reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A study published on Thursday asserts \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/tiktok\">TikTok’s\u003c/a> algorithms promote Chinese Communist Party narratives and suppress content critical of those narratives, a claim the embattled company forcefully denied to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Titled “\u003ca href=\"https://networkcontagion.us/reports/the-ccps-digital-charm-offensive/\">The CCP’s Digital Charm Offensive\u003c/a>,” the study by the Rutgers University-based Network Contagion Research Institute argues that much of the pro-China content originates from state-linked entities. ByteDance, a Chinese technology company, owns TikTok.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Institute co-founder Joel Finkelstein wrote that includes media outlets and influencers, such as travel vloggers who post toothlessly about Chinese regions like Xinxiang, where the government has \u003ca href=\"https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/against-their-will-the-situation-in-xinjiang\">imprisoned\u003c/a> more than 1 million Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This manipulation is not just about content availability; it extends to psychological manipulation, particularly affecting Gen Z users,” Finkelstein wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NCRI’s report could add to a \u003ca href=\"https://www.techpolicy.press/transcript-tiktok-ceo-testifies-to-congress/\">surge of concern\u003c/a> in Washington, D.C. Other research outfits \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/technology/israel-hamas-war-meta-tiktok-social-media.html\">have urged\u003c/a> TikTok to give them better access to data to study things like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/tiktok-risks-pushing-children-towards-harmful-content/\">mental health\u003c/a> of young users.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Trying to understand how social media works from the outside is difficult and getting more difficult because social media is tightening their grip on access,” said Hany Farid of UC Berkeley’s School of Information.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An \u003ca href=\"https://networkcontagion.us/reports/12-21-23-a-tik-tok-in-timebomb-how-tiktoks-global-platform-anomalies-align-with-the-chinese-communist-partys-geostrategic-objectives/\">NCRI analysis\u003c/a> published in December looked at the volume of posts with certain hashtags — like “Uyghur,” “Xinjiang,” “Tibet” and “Tiananmen” — across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. That report found anomalies in TikTok content based on its alignment with the interests of the Chinese government. For example, researchers wrote, hashtags about Tibet, Hong Kong protests and the Uyghur population appeared to be underrepresented on TikTok compared with Instagram.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>NCRI claims that following the first report’s publication, TikTok disabled its hashtag measurement functionality in a move that made it impossible for the researchers to replicate their findings.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For its new report, NCRI researchers turned to “user journey” data, setting up 24 “sock puppet” accounts to mimic the new-to-the-platform experience of 16-year-old Americans. The accounts searched for each of four target keywords — Uyghur, Xinjiang, Tibet and Tiananmen — on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, clicked on the first post that appeared and scrolled through subsequent videos fed by the algorithm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Researchers also said they saw evidence of hashtag/keyword “hijacking,” attaching trending hashtags for topics considered highly sensitive or provocative by the Chinese government to unrelated posts in an attempt to muddy the waters and drown out genuine content. The researchers wrote, “60.3% of all content served by TikTok’s search algorithm was flagged as irrelevant in contrast to <5% for Instagram and YouTube, demonstrating the CCP influencing tactic of hashtag/keyword hijacking.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement, a TikTok spokesperson dismissed NCRI’s study. The spokesperson said many TikTokers use unrelated hashtags to drive traffic to their content and that it’s a practice common across all social media platforms. All platforms algorithmically promote engagement, so if a video is proving popular, TikTok’s algorithm is designed to elevate it, not bury it, the spokesperson added.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This non-peer reviewed, flawed experiment was clearly engineered to reach a false, predetermined conclusion,” he wrote. “Creating fake accounts that interact with the app in a prescribed manner does not reflect real users’ experience, just as this so-called study does not reflect facts or reality.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "What Will It Take to Improve EV Infrastructure in California?",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may have heard some horror stories about electric vehicle charging — long lines, lengthy waits, broken units. Sometimes even\u003cem> finding \u003c/em>a charging station is a challenge. When your car’s low on charge but no charger is available, it’s stressful. Maybe you’re halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles and you’re stuck waiting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s one of the big things stopping Bay Curious listener Kelly Lindberg from buying an electric car right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m hoping that by 2030, between having some years to save up and the technology getting better and cheaper, maybe that’s around the time [it] could work for our family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Lindberg has an idea to help alleviate the charging congestion. She’s noticed a lot of empty former gas station sites around her neighborhood in Oakland and wondered, “Would it be a good idea to turn some of these spaces into electric car charging stations?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom set a goal for the state to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by the year 2035. So even if you’ve got a gas-powered car, and this isn’t a problem you’re facing currently, it may be soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>How to set up a charging station\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To find out what goes into installing a new charging station, I met up with Jonah Eidus, who oversees real estate development for electric car charging company EVgo. The company has hundreds of charging stalls across the Bay Area and thousands across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In general, when we’re installing new chargers, we’re looking to be in high-traffic areas where the chargers will be used for about 15 to 45 minutes,” Eidus said. “And that means we also want to have amenities nearby so people have something to do during those 15 to 45 minutes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since charging your car takes longer than pumping gas, stations are designed with the surroundings in mind. They aim to install stations in the parking lot of a Safeway, for example, or close to a coffee shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are many other considerations too, Eidus said, including the availability of parking stalls. Is there enough space for many cars to park? The goal, after all, is to build as many charging stalls per site as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does the site integrate well into the electrical grid? The product they are ultimately selling is electricity, so they have to make sure that a site \u003cem>has \u003c/em>the electricity to sell at an affordable price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, is the charging station set up near those who need it most, including those who live in apartment complexes and don’t have the option to charge from their own garage? There are also city zoning regulations and safety considerations to take into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not even half of what goes into establishing a charging site. In fact, EVgo has a mapping algorithm that integrates 27 different factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Suffice to say, it is a fairly sophisticated process that we go through,” Eidus said. “When a site goes live, a lot of thought and a lot of data has gone into the decision to build that site.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Improving reliability and keeping up with demand\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California — particularly the Bay Area — \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/bay-area-electric-vehicles.html\">leads the nation\u003c/a> in electric vehicle adoption. To meet that growing demand, California has to build 1 million new chargers by the end of 2030, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24795161/assembly-bill-2127-second-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-second-assessment-revised-staff-report.pdf#page=52\">according to the state’s own projections (PDF)\u003c/a>. Some experts say \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2024/07/california-electric-car-chargers-unrealistic-goals/\">that’s not feasible\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say we’re tight on the number of chargers,” said Carleen Cullen, co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Cool the Earth and a former transportation advisor to Gov. Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only are they in short supply, the ones we do have are not always reliable, Cullen said. She helped conduct a study a few years ago to test the reliability of charging stations in the Bay Area and found that a quarter of them weren’t functional, meaning the screens were broken, the payment system didn’t work or the equipment was flawed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cullen said while the infrastructure has improved a lot since then, there’s still not enough of it — despite the fact that \u003ca href=\"https://smartasset.com/data-studies/ev-chargers-2023\">California is outpacing other states\u003c/a> in both EV adoption and infrastructure. And in order to reach Newsom’s goal, we need consumers, charging companies, EV manufacturers, local governments and utility companies to work together, Cullen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to move the adoption of EVs forward, we need to move the number of charging ports available as well, and we need to move the grid capacity as well,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999354\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tashinda Richardson of Oakland plugs in her rented electric vehicle at an EVgo Fast Charging station in Oakland on Jan. 29. Richardson said it can be hard to find a charger when she needs one. Sometimes, she said, chargers won’t work or the plug will get stuck in the car. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A big hold-up right now, according to Cullen, lies with PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a huge lag time between when the charging station vendor requests the power and when PG&E actually delivers it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a charging station to operate, it needs to be hooked up to the power grid. That’s where PG&E comes in. And they won’t just let you set up a charging station anywhere. They have to be able to deliver enough power to that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is the section of the grid you’re trying to connect to also connected to a big manufacturing plant, for example? Are your neighbors using a lot of electricity during certain times of the day? Then the available power is likely spoken for. Does that portion of the grid rely heavily on solar power? Then the chargers may not work when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have over 600,000 EVs in our service territory. And we’ve seen EV adoption grow at about 26% of the compound annual growth rate over the last few years. That’s a significant amount of load that we’re seeing on the system,” said David Almeida, a manager within PG&E’s clean energy transportation group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almeida said the utility company underestimated electricity demand, and as a result, it doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the rapidly growing EV industry right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they’re working on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are building out a forecast that doesn’t look at necessarily just historical load, but it looks at where we anticipate load growth,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to make electric car charging stations faster to build and more reliable once they’re up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite all the work needed to bolster this transportation system overhaul, Almeida said it’s ultimately worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, California’s transportation system is by far the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-data\">largest contributor\u003c/a> to our greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning away from gas-powered cars is critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change, and EVs are already helping to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c09642\">study\u003c/a> by scientists at UC Berkeley showed EV adoption in the Bay Area has already reduced our carbon emissions by almost 2%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been a believer from the very beginning,” Almeida said. “And it’s just very cool to see a lot of this prove out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. This is Bay curious. And today we’re going on a little road trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of a car driving\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Here we go. So we are driving around San Francisco in my Volkswagen E-golf, and it’s an electric vehicle. And we’re looking for a place to charge. And I’m here with Dana Cronin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And how do you normally find a place to charge in the city?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s pretty rare that I have to find a place to charge because I mostly charge at home. But when I do have to find a place, I pull up an app on my phone and …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Safely, of course, pulled over by the side of the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Exactly. Let’s actually pull over real quick up here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sound of car decelerating)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Okay, so I pull up this app on my phone and what it does is it loads all sorts of different chargers that are nearby that are owned by all sorts of different companies. The numbers mean how many charging stations are in each of these locations. Of the one that’s nearby, it looks like one is out of service; four are currently being used … but looks like one is available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> 0.2 miles away. That’s not too bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Yeah, let’s give it a shot. Okay, so the charger is somewhere in this enormous parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> You know that there’s a spot open right now because of your app, right? Or is it possible that it’s there but someone’s using it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I would … I would say I don’t feel 100% confident based on the app.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> There’s a line of Teslas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So, let’s go and see if the non-Tesla chargers are near the Tesla ones, too. Oh, and here we are to the right. … This is also Tesla charging. Just kidding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We drove around the parking lot for a while but then finally found the chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> So, it’s full. (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> There was a little dispute with another customer over who was there first. It was totally us, but we let it go. Eventually, another stall opened up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Charging port here, plug it in and it looks like this one gives me the option to pay by the EVgo app, or I can pay by credit card, which is actually great. It does not seem … Oh, there we go, there we go. Okay, let’s remove the card … (pause) authorization declined. I will try a different card payment. (pause) Authorized!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Step one: Complete! (laughing)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Step 7,962: pay for the charging. (laughing)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Generally, I would say this was not super easy, and yet it’s pretty much totally full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Yeah, I mean, it’s not easy. I feel really lucky most of the time. I charge at home because it is, you know, it’s a pain and it’s a little stressful, especially if you are really low on charge. Like I’ve been in situations where I’m really sweating it out because I go to one charging station and like the screen is broken or the Wi-Fi isn’t working, or sometimes they’ll have these in paid parking garages and they don’t tell you that. And it’s like $30 just to get in the garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Like it feels like you do have to have an at-home charger right now for this to be convenient and conducive to your lifestyle. Like, I can’t imagine, like fully relying on this, you know. I, for one, will probably just stick with my Subaru for now. My gas-powered Subaru, for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> On today’s episode of Bay Curious, we dive into the world of electric vehicles. I love driving mine, but as you saw, it’s not perfect. California currently dominates the EV market, and the state has a lofty goal of banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. So if you’re not driving an EV yet, you may be soon. Is your community set up for it? Is the Bay area’s current infrastructure matching up with the demand? We’ll get into all that just after a quick break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>SPONSOR\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>For this episode, I’m tossing to my co-pilot … reporter Dana Cronin … to explain what’s going on with the Bay Area’s EV infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Like a lot of Bay Area residents … maybe you included … I want my next car to be electric. But if my 2012 Subaru Outback died tomorrow … I’m not sure I’d be ready to make the switch. Especially after that drive with Olivia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Kelly Lindberg … feels the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Lindberg:\u003c/strong> You hear those stories in the news sometimes about, like, the drive between, like, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. You know, people going in their Teslas and having a super long line at the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Kelly works for a climate startup accelerator, and she’s thought, “There’s gotta be a solution to this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One came to her… as she was driving through her neighborhood in Oakland. She’s noticed a lot of abandoned gas stations around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Lindberg:\u003c/strong> Would it be a good idea to maybe turn some of these spaces into electric car charging stations?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I mean … sounds like a good idea to me. I, too, live in Oakland and have noticed quite a few empty lots. Whether they’re former gas stations, convenience stores, or storefronts … it seems like there’s plenty of empty space for charging stations to set up shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, to do that, you first need a charging company. So, I met with one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sounds of loud road noise)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Jonah Eidus is wearing a navy-logoed polo and is parked at an EVgo charging station. He oversees EVgo’s real estate department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EVgo has hundreds of charging stalls in the Bay Area … the one we’re meeting at is in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood … right off of 580 on Fruitvale Avenue. It’s set up at a Shell gas station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> So this site is an eight-stall, fast-charging site, capable of delivering up to 350 kW to each car. And it is definitely one of the more popular stations in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>That’s enough to charge most modern EVs in less than 20 minutes. And it is popular! Over the course of our interview … all eight stalls were full almost the whole time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without wasting any time, I posed Kelly’s question. Could empty lots and gas stations near her house get setups like this one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> In general, when we’re installing new chargers, we’re looking to be in high-traffic areas where the chargers will be used for about 15 to 45 minutes. And that means we also want to have amenities nearby so people have something to do during those 15 to 45 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>It takes longer to charge your car’s battery than it does to pump gas. So this charging station, for example, is right next to a Peet’s Coffee and a Farmer Joe’s grocery store. A perfect place to run some errands while you wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we’re talking, Dave Robinson drives up in his brand new 2023 KIA EV6, backs into a stall, and plugs in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>What do you plan to do while you wait?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Robinson:\u003c/strong> Just hang out. You know, if it’s going to be a while, there’s coffee shops and everything else around. So it’s easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Convenience! It’s a big factor in selecting a charging site, Jonah says. But there are lots of other factors, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus: \u003c/strong>Availability of parking stalls, grid interconnection, forecasted charging demand, electricity rates and importantly, multifamily housing density nearby the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>OK … let’s take those one at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> Availability of parking stalls …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Meaning … is there enough space for cars to park here? The goal is to build as many charging stalls as possible per site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … grid interconnection …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>This one is super important. Because after all, the product they are ultimately selling … is electricity. And they need to make sure that a specific site HAS the electricity to sell\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … forecasted charging demand … electricity rates …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>How many customers do they expect, and how much will those customers have to pay to charge? The cost of electricity can \u003cem>literally \u003c/em>vary block to block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And … EVGo is a for-profit company after all … so it needs to pencil out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … and importantly, multifamily housing density nearby the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Is the charging station set up near those who need it the most? Those who live in apartment complexes, for example, don’t have the option to charge from their own garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not even \u003cem>half \u003c/em>the considerations that go into establishing a charging site. There’s also things like a city’s zoning regulations … and safety considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, EVgo has a mapping algorithm that integrates 27 different factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus: \u003c/strong>Suffice to say, it is a fairly sophisticated process that we go through. And when a site goes live, a lot of thought and a lot of data has gone into the decision to build that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Jonah couldn’t say exactly whether the specific abandoned gas stations in Kelly’s neighborhood could be converted to charging sites … I guess that’s a question for the algorithm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(music)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem> \u003c/em>So that’s how companies choose specific charging sites … and avoid others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at the \u003cem>heart \u003c/em>of Kelly’s question … is a bigger question. Clearly, we need MORE charging stations … whether at abandoned gas stations … or near coffee shops and grocery stores. So … why hasn’t the electric vehicle charging infrastructure kept up with demand?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To answer that question, I met up with Carleen Cullen. She’s the co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Cool the Earth and a former transportation advisor to Governor Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sounds of a busy parking lot)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We meet up at another charging station … this one in the parking lot of a Safeway in Mill Valley. We’re chatting next to Carleen’s Chevy Bolt … which is parked in a stall, ready to charge … when, all of a sudden, another EV driver pulls up behind us and asks how long we plan to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I guess that’s part of the challenge is that there’s so few chargers that we have someone waiting on us here waiting for a charge, somewhat impatiently. So we’re going to go ahead and get charging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen:\u003c/strong> Let’s get started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Carleen swipes her credit card, pulls the charger around to her car, plugs in, and it starts charging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sound of the high-pitched hum from the charger)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>So when you hear that great hum, you know that that’s happening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Carleen is somewhat of an electric vehicle evangelist … an E-V-vangelist … if you will. Half the time we spent together I felt like I was in an EV infomercial. But she’s not naive. She knows the current infrastructure is flawed. In fact, she did a study a few years ago where she tested the reliability of charging stations in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>And we found that about a quarter of the stations in the Bay area weren’t functional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Meaning the screens were broken or the payment system didn’t work or the equipment was flawed. She says the infrastructure has improved a lot since then, but there’s still not enough of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>I would say we’re tight on the number of chargers. Yeah, we’re definitely tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And that’s in part because … what we’re talking about here … is a MAJOR overhaul of an entire transportation system. In 2020, Governor Newsom set a goal to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in California by the year 2035. And California is outpacing other states in both EV adoption and infrastructure by a long shot. We have more chargers than any other state. But in order to reach that lofty goal … Carleen says we need three things:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen:\u003c/strong> We need to move the adoption of EVs forward. We need to move the number of charging ports available as well, and we need to move the grid capacity as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>These things all have to happen simultaneously. Consumers, charging companies, EV manufacturers, utility companies, local governments … everyone has to work in concert for this to work. Carleen says, right now, the utility companies aren’t necessarily pulling their weight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>There’s a huge lag time between when the station, the charging station vendor requests the power and when PG&E actually delivers it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>For a charging station to operate, it needs to be hooked up to our power grid. That’s where PG&E comes in. And they won’t just let you set up a charging station ANYWHERE. They have to be able to deliver enough power to that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is the section of the grid you’re trying to connect to also connected to a big manufacturing plant … for example? Are your neighbors using a lot of electricity during certain times of the day? Then the available power is likely spoken for. Does that portion of the grid rely heavily on solar power? Then the chargers may not work when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are critical considerations, says David Almeida … a manager within PG&E’s clean energy transportation group. And he says Carleen’s critique is fair. He says, yes, the utility is definitely still playing catch-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>David Almeida:\u003c/strong> So we have over 600,000 EVs in our service territory. And we’ve seen EV adoption grow at about 26% of the compound annual growth rate over the last few years. That’s a significant amount of load that we’re seeing on the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He also says … they didn’t plan for that increased demand for electricity. In fact, they UNDERestimated it … and, as a result, they don’t have the infrastructure to support it right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he says, they’re working on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>David Almeida: \u003c/strong>We are building out a forecast that doesn’t look at necessarily just historical load, but it looks at where we anticipate load growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He says their goal is to make electric car charging stations faster to build and more reliable once they’re up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>This all sounds like a lot of work. Overhauling our entire state’s transportation system … building thousands and thousands of new charging stations … getting utility companies on board … I’m exhausted just thinking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s important to remember WHY we’re doing this. Right now, California’s transportation system is BY FAR the largest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning away from gas-powered cars is critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Evs are already helping to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study by scientists at UC Berkeley showed EV adoption in the Bay Area has already reduced our carbon emissions by almost 2 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, obviously, to keep up that progress … the system has to work for EVERYONE. And I’m not sure we’re there yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music sneaks in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> What do you think, Olivia? Any more sympathy for the cause?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> You know, yeah. I didn’t realize there were so many hurdles to getting new charging stations online. I feel really lucky that I am able to charge my car at home and so this isn’t an issue I have to deal with very often. But for folks who can’t charge overnight where they live — that’s a huge hurdle. And I’m sure it’s a non-starter for some people! It’s got to get better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Yeah … 2035 is not THAT far away … and if we’re gonna reach that goal, we’re going to need more charging stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m kind of hoping my Subaru lasts just a couple more years …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Dana Cronin — thank you!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Dana Cronin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story would not have been possible without our question-asker, Kelly Lindberg. That’s because you, our dear audience, decide what we cover by submitting questions — and then voting on which ones we should answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have a new voting round-up at BayCurious.org with three enticing questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 1:\u003c/strong> Why did Oakland International Airport become San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, giving us two very confusingly similar-sounding airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 2:\u003c/strong> I remember going to the Berkeley dump, now Cesar Chavez Park, with my dad in the 1970s. It was pretty wild. It’d be really interesting to learn more about its evolution from dump to park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 3:\u003c/strong> I was walking my dog on Thornton Beach on the Daly City/SF border and found a really long tunnel coming out of the hillside around some abandoned piers. Any idea what it is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Voting is so easy! Just grab your phone, pull up BayCurious.org, scroll to our voting round and click on your favorite question! No registering or emails or phone numbers or anything complicated. We try to make it easy on you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made by Ana De Almeida Amaral, Amanda Font, Olivia Allen-Price, Christopher Beale. Special thanks to Laura Klivans, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED Family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"#episode-transcript\">\u003ci>View the full episode transcript.\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You may have heard some horror stories about electric vehicle charging — long lines, lengthy waits, broken units. Sometimes even\u003cem> finding \u003c/em>a charging station is a challenge. When your car’s low on charge but no charger is available, it’s stressful. Maybe you’re halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles and you’re stuck waiting.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s one of the big things stopping Bay Curious listener Kelly Lindberg from buying an electric car right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m hoping that by 2030, between having some years to save up and the technology getting better and cheaper, maybe that’s around the time [it] could work for our family,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the meantime, Lindberg has an idea to help alleviate the charging congestion. She’s noticed a lot of empty former gas station sites around her neighborhood in Oakland and wondered, “Would it be a good idea to turn some of these spaces into electric car charging stations?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom set a goal for the state to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by the year 2035. So even if you’ve got a gas-powered car, and this isn’t a problem you’re facing currently, it may be soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>How to set up a charging station\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>To find out what goes into installing a new charging station, I met up with Jonah Eidus, who oversees real estate development for electric car charging company EVgo. The company has hundreds of charging stalls across the Bay Area and thousands across the country.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“In general, when we’re installing new chargers, we’re looking to be in high-traffic areas where the chargers will be used for about 15 to 45 minutes,” Eidus said. “And that means we also want to have amenities nearby so people have something to do during those 15 to 45 minutes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since charging your car takes longer than pumping gas, stations are designed with the surroundings in mind. They aim to install stations in the parking lot of a Safeway, for example, or close to a coffee shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are many other considerations too, Eidus said, including the availability of parking stalls. Is there enough space for many cars to park? The goal, after all, is to build as many charging stalls per site as possible.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Does the site integrate well into the electrical grid? The product they are ultimately selling is electricity, so they have to make sure that a site \u003cem>has \u003c/em>the electricity to sell at an affordable price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Additionally, is the charging station set up near those who need it most, including those who live in apartment complexes and don’t have the option to charge from their own garage? There are also city zoning regulations and safety considerations to take into account.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not even half of what goes into establishing a charging site. In fact, EVgo has a mapping algorithm that integrates 27 different factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Suffice to say, it is a fairly sophisticated process that we go through,” Eidus said. “When a site goes live, a lot of thought and a lot of data has gone into the decision to build that site.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cstrong>Improving reliability and keeping up with demand\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>California — particularly the Bay Area — \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/12/us/bay-area-electric-vehicles.html\">leads the nation\u003c/a> in electric vehicle adoption. To meet that growing demand, California has to build 1 million new chargers by the end of 2030, \u003ca href=\"https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/24795161/assembly-bill-2127-second-electric-vehicle-charging-infrastructure-second-assessment-revised-staff-report.pdf#page=52\">according to the state’s own projections (PDF)\u003c/a>. Some experts say \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2024/07/california-electric-car-chargers-unrealistic-goals/\">that’s not feasible\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I would say we’re tight on the number of chargers,” said Carleen Cullen, co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Cool the Earth and a former transportation advisor to Gov. Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not only are they in short supply, the ones we do have are not always reliable, Cullen said. She helped conduct a study a few years ago to test the reliability of charging stations in the Bay Area and found that a quarter of them weren’t functional, meaning the screens were broken, the payment system didn’t work or the equipment was flawed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cullen said while the infrastructure has improved a lot since then, there’s still not enough of it — despite the fact that \u003ca href=\"https://smartasset.com/data-studies/ev-chargers-2023\">California is outpacing other states\u003c/a> in both EV adoption and infrastructure. And in order to reach Newsom’s goal, we need consumers, charging companies, EV manufacturers, local governments and utility companies to work together, Cullen said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We need to move the adoption of EVs forward, we need to move the number of charging ports available as well, and we need to move the grid capacity as well,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11999354\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11999354\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/08/240129-EVFILE-KSM-24_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tashinda Richardson of Oakland plugs in her rented electric vehicle at an EVgo Fast Charging station in Oakland on Jan. 29. Richardson said it can be hard to find a charger when she needs one. Sometimes, she said, chargers won’t work or the plug will get stuck in the car. \u003ccite>(Kathryn Styer Martínez/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A big hold-up right now, according to Cullen, lies with PG&E.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a huge lag time between when the charging station vendor requests the power and when PG&E actually delivers it,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a charging station to operate, it needs to be hooked up to the power grid. That’s where PG&E comes in. And they won’t just let you set up a charging station anywhere. They have to be able to deliver enough power to that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is the section of the grid you’re trying to connect to also connected to a big manufacturing plant, for example? Are your neighbors using a lot of electricity during certain times of the day? Then the available power is likely spoken for. Does that portion of the grid rely heavily on solar power? Then the chargers may not work when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have over 600,000 EVs in our service territory. And we’ve seen EV adoption grow at about 26% of the compound annual growth rate over the last few years. That’s a significant amount of load that we’re seeing on the system,” said David Almeida, a manager within PG&E’s clean energy transportation group.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Almeida said the utility company underestimated electricity demand, and as a result, it doesn’t have the infrastructure to support the rapidly growing EV industry right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But they’re working on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are building out a forecast that doesn’t look at necessarily just historical load, but it looks at where we anticipate load growth,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The goal is to make electric car charging stations faster to build and more reliable once they’re up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite all the work needed to bolster this transportation system overhaul, Almeida said it’s ultimately worth it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, California’s transportation system is by far the \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-inventory-data\">largest contributor\u003c/a> to our greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning away from gas-powered cars is critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change, and EVs are already helping to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent \u003ca href=\"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.3c09642\">study\u003c/a> by scientists at UC Berkeley showed EV adoption in the Bay Area has already reduced our carbon emissions by almost 2%.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’ve been a believer from the very beginning,” Almeida said. “And it’s just very cool to see a lot of this prove out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-content post-body\">\u003ch2 id=\"episode-transcript\">Episode Transcript\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price. This is Bay curious. And today we’re going on a little road trip.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Sounds of a car driving\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Here we go. So we are driving around San Francisco in my Volkswagen E-golf, and it’s an electric vehicle. And we’re looking for a place to charge. And I’m here with Dana Cronin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And how do you normally find a place to charge in the city?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> It’s pretty rare that I have to find a place to charge because I mostly charge at home. But when I do have to find a place, I pull up an app on my phone and …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Safely, of course, pulled over by the side of the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Exactly. Let’s actually pull over real quick up here.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sound of car decelerating)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Okay, so I pull up this app on my phone and what it does is it loads all sorts of different chargers that are nearby that are owned by all sorts of different companies. The numbers mean how many charging stations are in each of these locations. Of the one that’s nearby, it looks like one is out of service; four are currently being used … but looks like one is available.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> 0.2 miles away. That’s not too bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Yeah, let’s give it a shot. Okay, so the charger is somewhere in this enormous parking lot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> You know that there’s a spot open right now because of your app, right? Or is it possible that it’s there but someone’s using it?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> I would … I would say I don’t feel 100% confident based on the app.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> There’s a line of Teslas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>So, let’s go and see if the non-Tesla chargers are near the Tesla ones, too. Oh, and here we are to the right. … This is also Tesla charging. Just kidding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>We drove around the parking lot for a while but then finally found the chargers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> So, it’s full. (laughs)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> There was a little dispute with another customer over who was there first. It was totally us, but we let it go. Eventually, another stall opened up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Charging port here, plug it in and it looks like this one gives me the option to pay by the EVgo app, or I can pay by credit card, which is actually great. It does not seem … Oh, there we go, there we go. Okay, let’s remove the card … (pause) authorization declined. I will try a different card payment. (pause) Authorized!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Step one: Complete! (laughing)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Step 7,962: pay for the charging. (laughing)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Generally, I would say this was not super easy, and yet it’s pretty much totally full.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price\u003c/strong>: Yeah, I mean, it’s not easy. I feel really lucky most of the time. I charge at home because it is, you know, it’s a pain and it’s a little stressful, especially if you are really low on charge. Like I’ve been in situations where I’m really sweating it out because I go to one charging station and like the screen is broken or the Wi-Fi isn’t working, or sometimes they’ll have these in paid parking garages and they don’t tell you that. And it’s like $30 just to get in the garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Like it feels like you do have to have an at-home charger right now for this to be convenient and conducive to your lifestyle. Like, I can’t imagine, like fully relying on this, you know. I, for one, will probably just stick with my Subaru for now. My gas-powered Subaru, for now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> On today’s episode of Bay Curious, we dive into the world of electric vehicles. I love driving mine, but as you saw, it’s not perfect. California currently dominates the EV market, and the state has a lofty goal of banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. So if you’re not driving an EV yet, you may be soon. Is your community set up for it? Is the Bay area’s current infrastructure matching up with the demand? We’ll get into all that just after a quick break.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>SPONSOR\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>For this episode, I’m tossing to my co-pilot … reporter Dana Cronin … to explain what’s going on with the Bay Area’s EV infrastructure.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Like a lot of Bay Area residents … maybe you included … I want my next car to be electric. But if my 2012 Subaru Outback died tomorrow … I’m not sure I’d be ready to make the switch. Especially after that drive with Olivia.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious listener Kelly Lindberg … feels the same way.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Lindberg:\u003c/strong> You hear those stories in the news sometimes about, like, the drive between, like, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. You know, people going in their Teslas and having a super long line at the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Kelly works for a climate startup accelerator, and she’s thought, “There’s gotta be a solution to this problem.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One came to her… as she was driving through her neighborhood in Oakland. She’s noticed a lot of abandoned gas stations around.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Kelly Lindberg:\u003c/strong> Would it be a good idea to maybe turn some of these spaces into electric car charging stations?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I mean … sounds like a good idea to me. I, too, live in Oakland and have noticed quite a few empty lots. Whether they’re former gas stations, convenience stores, or storefronts … it seems like there’s plenty of empty space for charging stations to set up shop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, to do that, you first need a charging company. So, I met with one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sounds of loud road noise)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Jonah Eidus is wearing a navy-logoed polo and is parked at an EVgo charging station. He oversees EVgo’s real estate department.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>EVgo has hundreds of charging stalls in the Bay Area … the one we’re meeting at is in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood … right off of 580 on Fruitvale Avenue. It’s set up at a Shell gas station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> So this site is an eight-stall, fast-charging site, capable of delivering up to 350 kW to each car. And it is definitely one of the more popular stations in Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>That’s enough to charge most modern EVs in less than 20 minutes. And it is popular! Over the course of our interview … all eight stalls were full almost the whole time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Without wasting any time, I posed Kelly’s question. Could empty lots and gas stations near her house get setups like this one?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> In general, when we’re installing new chargers, we’re looking to be in high-traffic areas where the chargers will be used for about 15 to 45 minutes. And that means we also want to have amenities nearby so people have something to do during those 15 to 45 minutes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>It takes longer to charge your car’s battery than it does to pump gas. So this charging station, for example, is right next to a Peet’s Coffee and a Farmer Joe’s grocery store. A perfect place to run some errands while you wait.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As we’re talking, Dave Robinson drives up in his brand new 2023 KIA EV6, backs into a stall, and plugs in.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>What do you plan to do while you wait?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dave Robinson:\u003c/strong> Just hang out. You know, if it’s going to be a while, there’s coffee shops and everything else around. So it’s easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Convenience! It’s a big factor in selecting a charging site, Jonah says. But there are lots of other factors, too.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus: \u003c/strong>Availability of parking stalls, grid interconnection, forecasted charging demand, electricity rates and importantly, multifamily housing density nearby the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>OK … let’s take those one at a time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> Availability of parking stalls …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Meaning … is there enough space for cars to park here? The goal is to build as many charging stalls as possible per site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … grid interconnection …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>This one is super important. Because after all, the product they are ultimately selling … is electricity. And they need to make sure that a specific site HAS the electricity to sell\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … forecasted charging demand … electricity rates …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>How many customers do they expect, and how much will those customers have to pay to charge? The cost of electricity can \u003cem>literally \u003c/em>vary block to block.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And … EVGo is a for-profit company after all … so it needs to pencil out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus:\u003c/strong> … and importantly, multifamily housing density nearby the charging station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Is the charging station set up near those who need it the most? Those who live in apartment complexes, for example, don’t have the option to charge from their own garage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s not even \u003cem>half \u003c/em>the considerations that go into establishing a charging site. There’s also things like a city’s zoning regulations … and safety considerations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, EVgo has a mapping algorithm that integrates 27 different factors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Jonah Eidus: \u003c/strong>Suffice to say, it is a fairly sophisticated process that we go through. And when a site goes live, a lot of thought and a lot of data has gone into the decision to build that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Jonah couldn’t say exactly whether the specific abandoned gas stations in Kelly’s neighborhood could be converted to charging sites … I guess that’s a question for the algorithm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(music)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem> \u003c/em>So that’s how companies choose specific charging sites … and avoid others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at the \u003cem>heart \u003c/em>of Kelly’s question … is a bigger question. Clearly, we need MORE charging stations … whether at abandoned gas stations … or near coffee shops and grocery stores. So … why hasn’t the electric vehicle charging infrastructure kept up with demand?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To answer that question, I met up with Carleen Cullen. She’s the co-founder of the environmental nonprofit Cool the Earth and a former transportation advisor to Governor Newsom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sounds of a busy parking lot)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>We meet up at another charging station … this one in the parking lot of a Safeway in Mill Valley. We’re chatting next to Carleen’s Chevy Bolt … which is parked in a stall, ready to charge … when, all of a sudden, another EV driver pulls up behind us and asks how long we plan to be.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>I guess that’s part of the challenge is that there’s so few chargers that we have someone waiting on us here waiting for a charge, somewhat impatiently. So we’re going to go ahead and get charging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen:\u003c/strong> Let’s get started.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Carleen swipes her credit card, pulls the charger around to her car, plugs in, and it starts charging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(sound of the high-pitched hum from the charger)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>So when you hear that great hum, you know that that’s happening.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Carleen is somewhat of an electric vehicle evangelist … an E-V-vangelist … if you will. Half the time we spent together I felt like I was in an EV infomercial. But she’s not naive. She knows the current infrastructure is flawed. In fact, she did a study a few years ago where she tested the reliability of charging stations in the Bay Area.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>And we found that about a quarter of the stations in the Bay area weren’t functional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>Meaning the screens were broken or the payment system didn’t work or the equipment was flawed. She says the infrastructure has improved a lot since then, but there’s still not enough of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>I would say we’re tight on the number of chargers. Yeah, we’re definitely tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>And that’s in part because … what we’re talking about here … is a MAJOR overhaul of an entire transportation system. In 2020, Governor Newsom set a goal to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles in California by the year 2035. And California is outpacing other states in both EV adoption and infrastructure by a long shot. We have more chargers than any other state. But in order to reach that lofty goal … Carleen says we need three things:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen:\u003c/strong> We need to move the adoption of EVs forward. We need to move the number of charging ports available as well, and we need to move the grid capacity as well.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>These things all have to happen simultaneously. Consumers, charging companies, EV manufacturers, utility companies, local governments … everyone has to work in concert for this to work. Carleen says, right now, the utility companies aren’t necessarily pulling their weight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Carleen Cullen: \u003c/strong>There’s a huge lag time between when the station, the charging station vendor requests the power and when PG&E actually delivers it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>For a charging station to operate, it needs to be hooked up to our power grid. That’s where PG&E comes in. And they won’t just let you set up a charging station ANYWHERE. They have to be able to deliver enough power to that site.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Is the section of the grid you’re trying to connect to also connected to a big manufacturing plant … for example? Are your neighbors using a lot of electricity during certain times of the day? Then the available power is likely spoken for. Does that portion of the grid rely heavily on solar power? Then the chargers may not work when the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These are critical considerations, says David Almeida … a manager within PG&E’s clean energy transportation group. And he says Carleen’s critique is fair. He says, yes, the utility is definitely still playing catch-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>David Almeida:\u003c/strong> So we have over 600,000 EVs in our service territory. And we’ve seen EV adoption grow at about 26% of the compound annual growth rate over the last few years. That’s a significant amount of load that we’re seeing on the system.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He also says … they didn’t plan for that increased demand for electricity. In fact, they UNDERestimated it … and, as a result, they don’t have the infrastructure to support it right now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, he says, they’re working on it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>David Almeida: \u003c/strong>We are building out a forecast that doesn’t look at necessarily just historical load, but it looks at where we anticipate load growth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>He says their goal is to make electric car charging stations faster to build and more reliable once they’re up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin: \u003c/strong>This all sounds like a lot of work. Overhauling our entire state’s transportation system … building thousands and thousands of new charging stations … getting utility companies on board … I’m exhausted just thinking about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s important to remember WHY we’re doing this. Right now, California’s transportation system is BY FAR the largest contributor to our greenhouse gas emissions. Transitioning away from gas-powered cars is critical to mitigating the impacts of climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And Evs are already helping to do that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A recent study by scientists at UC Berkeley showed EV adoption in the Bay Area has already reduced our carbon emissions by almost 2 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, obviously, to keep up that progress … the system has to work for EVERYONE. And I’m not sure we’re there yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music sneaks in\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> What do you think, Olivia? Any more sympathy for the cause?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> You know, yeah. I didn’t realize there were so many hurdles to getting new charging stations online. I feel really lucky that I am able to charge my car at home and so this isn’t an issue I have to deal with very often. But for folks who can’t charge overnight where they live — that’s a huge hurdle. And I’m sure it’s a non-starter for some people! It’s got to get better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Yeah … 2035 is not THAT far away … and if we’re gonna reach that goal, we’re going to need more charging stations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’m kind of hoping my Subaru lasts just a couple more years …\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price:\u003c/strong> Dana Cronin — thank you!\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Dana Cronin:\u003c/strong> Thank you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Music\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>That was KQED’s Dana Cronin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This story would not have been possible without our question-asker, Kelly Lindberg. That’s because you, our dear audience, decide what we cover by submitting questions — and then voting on which ones we should answer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We have a new voting round-up at BayCurious.org with three enticing questions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 1:\u003c/strong> Why did Oakland International Airport become San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, giving us two very confusingly similar-sounding airports?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 2:\u003c/strong> I remember going to the Berkeley dump, now Cesar Chavez Park, with my dad in the 1970s. It was pretty wild. It’d be really interesting to learn more about its evolution from dump to park.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Voice 3:\u003c/strong> I was walking my dog on Thornton Beach on the Daly City/SF border and found a really long tunnel coming out of the hillside around some abandoned piers. Any idea what it is?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>Voting is so easy! Just grab your phone, pull up BayCurious.org, scroll to our voting round and click on your favorite question! No registering or emails or phone numbers or anything complicated. We try to make it easy on you.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bay Curious is made by Ana De Almeida Amaral, Amanda Font, Olivia Allen-Price, Christopher Beale. Special thanks to Laura Klivans, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan and the whole KQED Family.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Olivia Allen-Price: \u003c/strong>I’m Olivia Allen-Price.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>"
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"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"marketplace": {
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"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
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"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
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"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
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"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"planet-money": {
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"politicalbreakdown": {
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"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"pri-the-world": {
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"title": "PRI's The World: Latest Edition",
"info": "Each weekday, host Marco Werman and his team of producers bring you the world's most interesting stories in an hour of radio that reminds us just how small our planet really is.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 2pm-3pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-World-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"radiolab": {
"id": "radiolab",
"title": "Radiolab",
"info": "A two-time Peabody Award-winner, Radiolab is an investigation told through sounds and stories, and centered around one big idea. In the Radiolab world, information sounds like music and science and culture collide. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, the show is designed for listeners who demand skepticism, but appreciate wonder. WNYC Studios is the producer of other leading podcasts including Freakonomics Radio, Death, Sex & Money, On the Media and many more.",
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"reveal": {
"id": "reveal",
"title": "Reveal",
"info": "Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX, Reveal is public radios first one-hour weekly radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting. Credible, fact based and without a partisan agenda, Reveal combines the power and artistry of driveway moment storytelling with data-rich reporting on critically important issues. The result is stories that inform and inspire, arming our listeners with information to right injustices, hold the powerful accountable and improve lives.Reveal is hosted by Al Letson and showcases the award-winning work of CIR and newsrooms large and small across the nation. In a radio and podcast market crowded with choices, Reveal focuses on important and often surprising stories that illuminate the world for our listeners.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.revealnews.org/episodes/",
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"rss": "http://feeds.revealradio.org/revealpodcast"
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},
"rightnowish": {
"id": "rightnowish",
"title": "Rightnowish",
"tagline": "Art is where you find it",
"info": "Rightnowish digs into life in the Bay Area right now… ish. Journalist Pendarvis Harshaw takes us to galleries painted on the sides of liquor stores in West Oakland. We'll dance in warehouses in the Bayview, make smoothies with kids in South Berkeley, and listen to classical music in a 1984 Cutlass Supreme in Richmond. Every week, Pen talks to movers and shakers about how the Bay Area shapes what they create, and how they shape the place we call home.",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 16
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},
"science-friday": {
"id": "science-friday",
"title": "Science Friday",
"info": "Science Friday is a weekly science talk show, broadcast live over public radio stations nationwide. Each week, the show focuses on science topics that are in the news and tries to bring an educated, balanced discussion to bear on the scientific issues at hand. Panels of expert guests join host Ira Flatow, a veteran science journalist, to discuss science and to take questions from listeners during the call-in portion of the program.",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Science-Friday-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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},
"snap-judgment": {
"id": "snap-judgment",
"title": "Snap Judgment",
"tagline": "Real stories with killer beats",
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