Technology

Technology-related bills struggled during recent legislative session

SACRAMENTO – California’s leaders often point to the burgeoning high-tech industry as evidence of the state’s strong, future-oriented economy. The industry’s ongoing success helps Democrats rebut arguments from conservatives who say that California isn’t particularly business friendly. But despite

San Francisco sues Uber in battle over driver privacy

Steven Greenhut May 16, 2017

SACRAMENTO – The city of San Francisco filed suit last week against the ride-sharing service Uber after the company filed a motion in court to block the release of a drivers’ personal information. This sets up the latest battle between

SpaceX returns stem cells from orbit

James Poulos March 22, 2017

Amid ongoing controversy over the economic impact of California’s thick regulatory environment, its leading space pioneers continued to notch new successes, underscoring the potential value of orbital and interplanetary technology to more earthbound challenges and opportunities. Off the Pacific coast,

New DMV rules would allow testing of driverless vehicles without human in car

James Poulos March 17, 2017

Responding to industry criticism and public uncertainty, California has rejiggered its rules to accommodate fully driverless vehicles. “California’s new proposals follow a Michigan law passed in December, which allowed testing with no human driver. It also created a framework for

Traffic deaths spike in California, U.S.

James Poulos March 2, 2017

Following a nationwide trend, traffic deaths in California have spiked, alarming analysts and prompting fresh questions about technological distractions like smartphones, and fueling debate over how policymakers can or should respond. The news was relayed in a report by the National

Google takes lead on California driverless cars

James Poulos February 15, 2017

As Silicon Valley rushes to stake out a lead in what’s hoped to be a robust market for driverless cars, the company spun off of Google has established a clear lead — perhaps giving the competition a reason to consider focusing

Rep. Darrell Issa leads bipartisan push for visa reform

James Poulos January 16, 2017

With contending pieces of legislation now up for consideration in Congress, California has returned to the national spotlight on one of the most contentious immigration issues — special visas granted by the federal government to attract foreign talent. Long critiqued

Assemblyman wants to crack down on unpermitted, self-driving vehicles

Matt Fleming January 12, 2017

It’s not enough that Uber killed its unpermitted, self-driving-vehicle pilot program in San Francisco just a week after it started; an assemblyman wants to squash any further attempts to test vehicles without a permit as well. Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San

Tesla aims to build 1 million cars annually by 2020

James Poulos October 13, 2016

High-flying clean-energy industrialist Elon Musk has doubled down on his production plans in California. Tesla, his auto company, “took a major step toward its ambitious goal of one day building 1 million cars a year by seeking to double the size

New report alleges work abuses by Apple’s Chinese suppliers

Steve Miller September 8, 2016

A statute passed by California lawmakers in 2010 to stem labor abuses abroad has been of meager help in policing tech giant Apple, a group that studies labor abuses in China claims. The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, heralded