In other news
• The Los Angeles Times reports on environmentalists calling for Arrowhead bottled water companies to leave the San Bernardino Mountains.In a petition to the state, several environmental groups and local activists argued that Blue Triton Brands is harming wildlife habitat and species by pumping water from Strawberry Creek and called for an investigation by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Opponents of the water withdrawal from the San Bernardino National Forest want state officials to evaluate the environmental impacts and uphold protections under state law, said Rachel Doughty, an attorney with the environmental nonprofit Story of Stuff Project. “They’ve taken the water out of the stream,” Doughty said.
• Our partners at Calmatters report on the steps California is taking to regulate artificial intelligence, including leading the way in working with the European Union: “More than 40 U.S. states are considering hundreds of AI regulatory bills while the federal government seems content to sit back and wait. As a tech-first state with a huge economy, California has an opportunity to lead the way — so much so, in fact, that the European Union is even looking to partner with the state on AI legislation. The EU will open an office in San Francisco in 2022 and has sent its technology envoy, Gerard de Graaf, to better communicate on AI laws and regulations. … Last month, de Graaf visited Sacramento to meet with several state lawmakers key to regulating AI. ” Read on to learn more about the regulations state legislatures are considering.
• The Freedom of the Press Foundation is speaking out after the watchdog journalism organization fired a number of employees in the face of lawsuits from Elon Musk and others. According to a news release, “Media Matters for America announced it was laying off at least 12 staff members. The foundation’s president cited a “multi-pronged legal attack,” including a lawsuit by Elon Musk’s Mr. X and subsequent lawsuits by Republican state attorneys general. … The SLAPP anti-law, which fast-tracks speech retaliation lawsuits and allows defendants to recover attorneys’ fees, has helped Musk defend against other frivolous lawsuits. But by filing the Media Matters lawsuit in federal court in Texas, Musk was able to avoid the anti-SLAPP allegations. X’s lawsuit alleges that Media Matters defamed it by reporting that it placed ads next to anti-Semitic and white supremacist content. The social media platform alleges that Media Matters manipulated its algorithms, for example by following accounts that could generate problematic ad placements. But there’s no dispute that X placed the ads as reported, and critics have called the lawsuit “spectacularly stupid.” So have the attorneys general investigations and lawsuits, which rely on complex theories that Media Matters violated consumer protection laws. One of those cases, brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, resulted in a preliminary injunction being issued to block the proceedings, arguing that it would have a chilling effect on Media Matters’ constitutionally protected activities.
• California lawmakers may soon ban plastic bags in grocery stores. This time, for real. SFGate reports: “The California Legislature approved two bills (last week) that would ban grocery stores from providing plastic bags to customers. The state already banned flimsy, single-use plastic bags in 2016, but now sturdier, reusable bags are set to be phased out, reports the Mercury News… The bill would require retailers to offer paper bags containing at least 50% recycled paper in lieu of reusable plastic bags, for a minimum fee of 10 cents. If the bill passes the unopposed House and is signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the ban on reusable plastic bags would go into effect on January 1, 2026. These bills do not ban thin plastic produce bags, but a separate law signed by Governor Newsom in 2022 requires that these “pre-checkout bags” be replaced with recycled paper bags or compostable bags, effective January 1, 2025.
• Some homeowners who have been dropped by their insurers are forced to choose between paying more than $10,000 a year for insurance from lesser-known companies or going without insurance. The Washington Post reports that many of these homeowners are choosing to go without insurance: “Most of the uninsured homeowners are people who have paid off their mortgages and no longer need insurance. The Consumer Federation of America estimates that about 14 percent of people who own their homes outright are uninsured, putting low-income and minority homeowners especially at risk. Only 2 percent of mortgage holders choose to go uninsured. Experts say the trend is driven by the growing threat of climate change (forcing insurers to pay out increasingly large claims) and soaring home prices. Both trends are driving up premiums: Home insurance is set to rise an average of 11.3% through 2023, according to S&P Global. Further complicating the issue, rising claims are driving some insurers out of disaster-prone areas, leaving former policyholders with fewer options and more expensive options.
• And finally… NBA great, star announcer and noted Grateful Dead fan Bill Walton died today at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. Here’s his Los Angeles Times obituary. Key quote: “His absurdist streak was always on display alongside ESPN announcer Dave Pash, who played Walton’s comedic straight man. After Walton had gone on a lengthy monologue, Pask ventured to stop him, to which Walton replied, “Who the hell are you?” Pask once jokingly challenged Walton to take a bite of a lit candle cupcake, and when Walton unflinchingly complied, a surprised Pask said, “I’m kidding!”, burst out laughing, and covered his face with his hands in disbelief.
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