Hacker News with Generative AI: California

Giant Sequoias Are Taking Root in an Unexpected Place: Detroit (smithsonianmag.com)
Giant sequoias are typically found in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, where they reach heights of up to 300 feet.
Environment, Urban Planning, Trees, California, Michigan
22 points by bookofjoe 33 days ago | 1 comments
NASA Ames Research Center Archives (beautifulpublicdata.com)
Tucked into the southern tip of San Francisco Bay, surrounded by the iconic Big Tech campuses for Google, Apple, and Microsoft, lies the historic NASA Ames Research Center.
NASA, Space Exploration, Research, History, California
4 points by jonathanmkeegan 35 days ago | 1 comments
The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 4: Chainsaw Monday (filfre.net)
On Monday, the last vestige of the original Sierra On-Line was laid to rest in Oakhurst, California. That branch, renamed “Yosemite Entertainment,” was shuttered on February 22nd, putting most of its 125-plus employees out of work.
Video Games, History, Business, California
13 points by doppp 35 days ago | 0 comments
Waymo gets OK to expand robotaxi service into more of Silicon Valley (techcrunch.com)
The California Public Utilities Commission has approved Waymo’s request to expand its commercial robotaxi service area, opening the door for the Alphabet company to bring its driverless ride-hailing vehicles into more communities south of San Francisco.
Self-Driving Cars, Transportation, Technology, California, Silicon Valley
7 points by badmonster 39 days ago | 1 comments
Ask HN: Moving to London from California (ycombinator.com)
I’m moving from a smaller beach town in California to London in a month as an American. Any tips?
Moving, London, California, USA
12 points by siamese_puff 40 days ago | 16 comments
California vanity license plate applications with reasons for rejection (2020) (github.com/veltman)
Warning: this dataset contains vulgar and offensive language (quite a lot of it).
California, Data, Government, Language, Censorship
77 points by networked 40 days ago | 83 comments
Building my own solar power system (medium.com)
Well it happened. PG&E has dropped the facade of necessary rate increases because of system upgrades, and they have come out and said what we knew all along: they only care about profits.
Renewable Energy, DIY Projects, California
442 points by JKCalhoun 40 days ago | 344 comments
After exam fiasco, California State Bar faces deeper financial crisis (latimes.com)
The State Bar of California’s botched rollout of a new exam — a move that the cash-strapped agency made in the hopes of saving money — could ultimately end up costing it an additional $5.6 million.
Law, California, Finance, Legal Profession, State Government
7 points by PaulHoule 42 days ago | 1 comments
"Goodwill", key member of the SoCal Python Community has passed away (socalpython.org)
In early May of 2025, the long-standing SoCal Python organizer Michael Ryabushkin—known to many as goodwill—passed away.
Python, Community, Obituary, Software Development, California
47 points by rdegges 43 days ago | 8 comments
California sent residents' personal health data to LinkedIn (themarkup.org)
The website that lets Californians shop for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, coveredca.com, has been sending sensitive data to LinkedIn, forensic testing by The Markup has revealed.
Privacy, Healthcare, Data Breaches, California, Social Media
185 points by anticorporate 43 days ago | 114 comments
Zero ships from China are bound for California's top ports (cnn.com)
Shipping, China, California, Ports
7 points by paulpauper 47 days ago | 0 comments
Zero ships from China are bound for California's top ports (cnn.com)
Shipping, China, California, Trade, Ports
17 points by Anon84 48 days ago | 0 comments
Concrete spheres for energy storage; California plans a 9-meter diameter sphere (farmingdale-observer.com)
Storing renewable energy sustainably and efficiently is one of the major challenges of our time. A team of German researchers is proposing a revolutionary solution: concrete spheres immersed in the ocean floor. Their potential is such that California is preparing to test a large-scale prototype.
Energy Storage, Renewable Energy, Engineering, Climate Change, California
30 points by joe_the_user 48 days ago | 39 comments
Zero ships from China are bound for California's ports, not seen since pandemic (cnn.com)
Shipping, China, California, Pandemic
19 points by ck2 48 days ago | 5 comments
Californians Can Sue Out-of-State Corporations That Violate State Privacy Laws (eff.org)
Simple common sense tells us that a corporation’s decision to operate in every state shouldn’t mean it can’t be sued in most of them. Sadly, U.S. law doesn’t always follow common sense. That’s why we were so pleased with a recent holding from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Privacy Laws, Lawsuits, California, Corporations
13 points by rbanffy 51 days ago | 0 comments
House Votes to Repeal California's Clean Truck Policies (nytimes.com)
House Republicans, joined by a few Democrats, voted on Wednesday to stop California from requiring dealers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles over time and to block an effort to reduce smog.
Politics, California, Environment, Transportation, Legislation
9 points by JumpCrisscross 58 days ago | 1 comments
Small nuclear reactors are no fix for California's energy needs (latimes.com)
It might seem like everyone from venture capitalists to the news media to the U.S. secretary of Energy has been hyping small modular reactors as the key to unlocking a nuclear renaissance and solving both climate change and modern data centers’ ravenous need for power.
Nuclear Energy, California, Climate Change
8 points by PaulHoule 60 days ago | 5 comments
Bay Area tech workers thought their jobs were safe (latimes.com)
In California, companies in the first quarter of this year announced 17,874 cuts in technology.
Tech Industry, Layoffs, California, Employment
18 points by axiomdata316 60 days ago | 9 comments
Reports of the death of California High-Speed Rail have been greatly exaggerated (asteriskmag.com)
Building a high-speed rail between Los Angeles and San Francisco was never going to be easy — but the critics who write it off are missing the real source of the project’s struggles.
Transportation, California, Infrastructure, Politics
219 points by surprisetalk 60 days ago | 453 comments
AI Goes to College for the Free Money (marginalrevolution.com)
Last year, the state [CA] chancellor’s office estimated 25 percent of community college applicants were bots.
Artificial Intelligence, Education, Higher Education, California
36 points by oatsandsugar 60 days ago | 22 comments
California overtakes Japan to become the world's fourth-largest economy (cnn.com)
Economy, California, Japan
7 points by pseudolus 62 days ago | 1 comments
BART's Anime Mascots (bart.gov)
Inspired by BART frontline employees and BART-contracted animals (goats, hawks) who have gone on to reach national fame, the anime mascots highlight the tight-knit connections between BART and the Bay Area.
Transportation, Culture, Community, California
150 points by archagon 62 days ago | 71 comments
California overtakes Japan to become the fourth-largest economy (cnn.com)
Economy, California, Japan, World News
10 points by MilnerRoute 63 days ago | 2 comments
AI helped write bar exam questions, California state bar admits (theguardian.com)
The state bar of California has disclosed that some multiple-choice questions in a problem-plagued bar exam were developed with the aid of artificial intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Education, California
9 points by bookofjoe 63 days ago | 0 comments
California Proposal to Tax Social Media Gathers Momentum (newsweek.com)
California lawmakers have moved forward with legislation that could see taxes applied to the largest social media platforms in the world.
California, Social Media, Taxation, Legislation
16 points by WaitWaitWha 63 days ago | 25 comments
California overtakes Japan to become the world's fourth largest economy (edition.cnn.com)
Economy, California, Japan
90 points by ozgune 64 days ago | 108 comments
California now 4th largest economy in the world (gov.ca.gov)
California, Economy, World
10 points by toomuchtodo 64 days ago | 3 comments
Chinese-owned farms press for repeal of California animal welfare law (kiowacountypress.net)
The largest pork producer in America is owned by a Chinese company, and a lot of people don’t like that.
Agriculture, Politics, China, California, Animal Welfare
25 points by miles 65 days ago | 1 comments
The California grizzly bear, gone for 100 years, could thrive if brought back (latimes.com)
The last grizzly bear seen in California was 101 years ago.A new study found that reintroducing the mammal into the state’s mountainous wilderness is feasible.California could potentially host over 1,000 grizzlies — but it’s up to residents and policymakers to decide if that’s a good idea.
Wildlife Conservation, Environmental Science, California, Endangered Species
6 points by PaulHoule 66 days ago | 2 comments
Why California's dangerous drivers get to keep their licenses (calmatters.org)
The California Department of Motor Vehicles routinely allows drivers like these — with horrifying histories of dangerous driving, including DUIs, crashes and numerous tickets — to continue to operate on our roadways, a CalMatters investigation has found. Too often they go on to kill. Many keep driving even after they kill. Some go on to kill again.
Traffic Safety, California, Law Enforcement, Accidents
18 points by colinprince 66 days ago | 7 comments