California

A library organization in Marin County has secured a grant from the California State Library to upgrade its Internet networking equipment, work that will involve replacing a core network system at one library.

Ava Community Energy in the San Francisco Bay Area has drafted its Zero-Emission Medium and Heavy-Duty Goods Movement Blueprint to aid in the transition of trucking toward zero-emission vehicles.

For the past few weeks, a futuristic-looking contraption has been cruising around, scooping up trash in Huntington Harbour, keeping especially busy as heaps of debris wash down with recent rainstorms.

San Mateo County, Calif., is pushing back on a proposal to bring driverless taxis to the peninsula’s streets and highways, doing so first via a letter sent recently to regulators.

The questionable reliability of charging infrastructure in the state has been a pain point for EV drivers that threatens to hurt adoption and the state’s broader climate goals if not addressed.

The legislation would set mandatory AI safety testing requirements before training or market release and would mandate an internal fail-safe be included in all AI systems to trigger an immediate shutdown if issues are detected.

Plus, Alabama announces $188 million for broadband; California sees digital discrimination legislation introduced; Phoenix opens a digital skills training center; and more.

California’s largest state employee union fell victim to a ransomware attack last month that likely exposed Social Security numbers, home addresses, birth dates and other sensitive information.

California’s leading climate regulator added performance metrics to a $200 million plan proposed by the nation’s largest public electric vehicle charging network Thursday.

The state’s Department of Health Care Services is also working with K-12 districts to make the Soluna and BrightLife Kids digital mental health apps available on school-issued devices and in school wellness centers.

Mass layoffs at the Los Angeles Times are pulling focus back to legislation that would force companies, like Google and Meta, to pay for the news published on their platforms. The bill stalled last year amid stiff opposition.

The Affordable Connectivity Program that helped millions of households across the country — and 2.8 million in California — afford Internet access is ending, without additional funding from Congress.

Míocar, a nonprofit car-sharing platform, is expanding its reach across the rural California Central Valley, bringing electric vehicles and expanded transportation options to low-income communities.

A new report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation found that the economies of producing green hydrogen at scale will be difficult to overcome as the government and the private sector search for non-fossil fuel energy sources.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration is looking for a solution capable of using generative AI to generate potential responses to taxpayers via telephone and live chat.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined 25 other top state attorneys to ask the federal government for an inquiry into how AI technology could make it more difficult to protect consumers from illegal scam calls and texts.

A Sacramento manufacturing plant could stand to benefit from the $3.1 billion federal grant awarded last month to revive an over-budget and overdue high-speed rail project between Merced and Bakersfield.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a $291.5 billion budget this week that proposed resolving a roughly $37.8 billion shortfall with cuts, delayed and deferred funding and by withdrawing $13 billion from state reserves.