Hacker News with Generative AI: California

PG&E reports profit of more than $2B for 2024 (mercurynews.com)
PG&E reported on Thursday that it had a profit of just under $2.48 billion in 2024, an increase from the $2.24 billion the company earned in 2023.
Business, Finance, Energy, California
30 points by ssuds 3 days ago | 27 comments
California homeowners to fund half of high-risk insurer's $1B 'bailout' (calmatters.org)
After saying it would run out of funds by March, California’s last-resort fire insurance provider will impose a special charge of $1 billion on insurance companies — which will in turn pass the costs along to homeowners — the first such move in more than three decades.
California, Insurance, Finance, Climate Change
36 points by JumpCrisscross 5 days ago | 44 comments
California's Fair Plan Gets $1B Bailout (nytimes.com)
California’s home insurance plan of last resort, designed for people who can’t get coverage on the private market, does not have enough money to pay claims from the Los Angeles wildfires and is getting an infusion of cash from regular insurers.
California, Insurance, Wildfires, Finance, Government
5 points by lxm 7 days ago | 1 comments
Thousands of Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S. (ktla.com)
In response to President Donald Trump’s continued musing about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America’s most economically prosperous state.
Politics, International Relations, Denmark, California
23 points by schaum 9 days ago | 10 comments
Danes sign petition to buy California from U.S. (ktla.com)
In response to President Donald Trump’s continued musing about the U.S. acquiring Greenland from Denmark, Danish citizens have launched their own effort to purchase America’s most economically prosperous state.
International Relations, Politics, Humorous News, California, Denmark
98 points by iancmceachern 10 days ago | 38 comments
Tell HN: Title: The UC Berkeley Job Market Meltdown–What No One Wants to Admit (ycombinator.com)
I work in administration at UC Berkeley, and I need to say this: something is deeply broken.
University, Labor Market, Higher Education, California
12 points by UCBThrowaway 10 days ago | 9 comments
L.A. power utility found irregularities on equipment where wildfire broke out (nytimes.com)
Southern California Edison said video evidence had led it to look more broadly at whether its equipment might have been the cause of the deadly blaze.
Wildfires, Utilities, California, Investigations, Safety
30 points by MilnerRoute 11 days ago | 25 comments
An Artist Helped Drivers with a Counterfeit Highway Sign (2023) (thedrive.com)
When Caltrans couldn't make a useful sign to direct motorists through a confusing interchange, a brave artist snuck his own onto an existing one.
Art, Transportation, California, Design
4 points by wallflower 12 days ago | 0 comments
Cities can cost effectively start their own utilities (burke.dev)
I don't think PG&E ratepayers understand how much higher the rates they pay are than what it actually costs PG&E to generate and transmit the electricity to their house. The average PG&E electricity charge now starts at 40 cents per kilowatt hour and goes up from there. Silicon Valley Power, Santa Clara's utility company, is getting power to customers for 17 cents per kilowatt hour. Sacramento's utility company charges about the same.
Utilities, Energy Costs, Public Utilities, California
420 points by kevinburke 13 days ago | 395 comments
California's AI Act Vetoed (cacm.acm.org)
Concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) systems pose serious risks for public safety have caused legislators and other policymakers around the world to propose legislation and other policy initiatives to address those risks.
Artificial Intelligence, Legislation, California, Public Safety
3 points by pseudolus 14 days ago | 0 comments
Trump Puts California High-Speed Rail in Crosshairs (ktla.com)
President Donald Trump has renewed his efforts to stifle California’s High-Speed Rail project that is currently under construction and would link the Bay Area with greater Los Angeles.
Politics, Infrastructure, California, Transportation
5 points by LinuxBender 15 days ago | 0 comments
A coastal California community is sliding 4 inches a week toward the ocean (sfgate.com)
Residents in scenic communities along the coast of Southern California have known for years that the Palos Verdes Peninsula is prone to landslides, but new research from NASA reveals a startling speed at which the Los Angeles subregion is shifting into the sea.
California, Coastline, Climate Change, Geology, Natural Disasters
12 points by harambae 16 days ago | 1 comments
State Farm seeks 22% emergency rate hike (ocregister.com)
State Farm General requested a 22% emergency rate hike in California on Monday, Feb. 3 to cover losses from the Los Angeles County wildfires and stop its “financial deterioration,” the company wrote in a letter filed with the state’s insurance commission.
Insurance, California, Wildfires, Finance
17 points by milleramp 16 days ago | 27 comments
2.2B gallons of water flowed out of California reservoirs because of Trump (cnn.com)
Politics, California, Water Resources, Climate Change
14 points by nico 16 days ago | 4 comments
Call of Duty studio co-founder pleads guilty to crashing drone into aircraft (theregister.com)
A Culver City, California resident has admitted to crashing his drone into a 'Super Scooper' firefighting aircraft battling the Los Angeles wildfires. His guilty plea spares him up to a year in prison, according to the Department of Justice.
Drones, Accidents, Law Enforcement, California, Wildfires
4 points by weinzierl 16 days ago | 0 comments
Tesla Sales Decline in California with Model 3 Plunging 36% (bloomberg.com)
Tesla Inc. registered fewer cars in California in all four quarters of 2024, as sales of its second-most important model plunged 36% for the year.
Tesla, Electric Vehicles, California, Automotive Industry, Sales
55 points by toomuchtodo 17 days ago | 39 comments
A Mount Lyell shrew has just been photographed alive (sfgate.com)
Until a few months ago, it was the only known mammal in the state of California that had never been caught on camera.
Wildlife Photography, Endangered Species, California
125 points by nithinj 19 days ago | 38 comments
New California bill might block the "AI did it" defense in civil cases (veeto.app)
Assembly Member Krell's artificial intelligence liability measure addresses a growing question in civil litigation by preventing defendants from claiming AI systems autonomously caused harm to plaintiffs.
Artificial Intelligence, Law, California, Civil Litigation
78 points by opawlowski 19 days ago | 73 comments
Giant Solar Farm in Mojave Desert Could Close Just a Decade After Opening (ibtimes.com)
A California utility wants to end its agreement to buy power from a giant solar farm in the Mojave Desert because it found cheaper alternative clean energy sources, a move that will sound the death knell to what was once the world's largest solar plant, according to reports.
Renewable Energy, Solar Power, California, Environmental Issues, Energy
4 points by Tempest1981 19 days ago | 2 comments
Trump's orders, officals released water from two California dams (latimes.com)
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers abruptly increased the amount of water flowing from two California dams.
Politics, Environment, California, Dams, Water Management
35 points by DocFeind 19 days ago | 18 comments
Decision to dump water from Tulare County lakes altered after confusing locals (sjvwater.org)
Water managers were relieved Thursday evening after the Army Corps of Engineers agreed to back off of a sudden decision earlier in the day to dump massive amounts of water from Kaweah and Success lakes.
Water Management, California, Environment, Local Government
166 points by awnird 20 days ago | 77 comments
California law enforcement misused state databases more than 7k times in 2023 (eff.org)
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD) committed wholesale abuse of sensitive criminal justice databases in 2023, violating a specific rule against searching the data to run background checks for concealed carry firearm permits.
Law Enforcement, Data Privacy, California, Technology, Government
564 points by hn_acker 21 days ago | 310 comments
Cali's AG Tells AI Companies Almost Everything They're Doing Might Be Illegal (gizmodo.com)
According to a recent legal memo, Silicon Valley's hottest business may be entirely based around criminal activity.
Artificial Intelligence, Law, California, Technology
181 points by clumsysmurf 22 days ago | 153 comments
'Super pod' of 1,500 dolphins captured on video as they cavort off Cali coast (apnews.com)
A miles-long cluster of dolphins has been filmed leaping and gliding across Carmel Bay off the central coast of California, forming an unusual “super pod” of more than 1,500 of the marine creatures.
Animals, California, Marine Life, Wildlife
8 points by c420 23 days ago | 1 comments
Trump says he's sending water to LA. It's going to megafarms (grist.org)
While President Donald Trump has issued a flurry of far-reaching decrees during his first week in office, one relatively niche issue has received a disproportionate share of the president’s ire and attention: California water policy.
Politics, Water, Agriculture, California
31 points by rntn 23 days ago | 5 comments
First outbreak of rare bird flu strain reported at California poultry farm (theguardian.com)
The first outbreak of a rare bird flu in poultry has been detected on a duck farm in California, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.
Bird Flu, Agriculture, Public Health, California, Animal Health
5 points by howard941 24 days ago | 1 comments
California went a record 98 days with 10 hours of electricity from renewables (grist.org)
A new study in the journal Renewable Energy that looked at California’s deployment of renewable power highlights just how reliable the future of energy might be. It found that last year, from late winter to early summer, renewables fulfilled 100 percent of the state’s electricity demand for up to 10 hours on 98 of 116 days, a record for California.
Renewable Energy, California, Climate Change, Energy Storage, Research
29 points by vegetablepotpie 25 days ago | 31 comments
A free California? Initiative to leave U.S. cleared to gather signatures (usatoday.com)
LOS ANGELES – President Donald Trump, long a vocal detractor of California, touched down in Los Angeles on Friday to tour fire ravaged areas, pledging federal support after days of criticizing Democrats over the fires.
Politics, California, United States
10 points by Stratoscope 26 days ago | 5 comments
Why Is Homeowners Insurance Getting So Expensive? (construction-physics.com)
The recent Los Angeles fires have highlighted the rising costs of homeowners insurance in the US. Between 2020 and 2023, US homeowners insurance premiums rose 33% on average. In some places, insurers are simply cancelling policies entirely, due to a combination of rising insurance costs and state regulations that limit how much insurers can raise rates.
Homeowners Insurance, Insurance Costs, Climate Change, California, Real Estate
8 points by paulpauper 27 days ago | 1 comments
Reservoir was built to save Pacific Palisades. It was empty when the flames came (latimes.com)
After flames leveled nearly 500 homes in Bel-Air and Brentwood in 1961, Los Angeles had a reckoning over firefighting.
Firefighting, California, History, Los Angeles, Natural Disasters
39 points by perihelions 27 days ago | 21 comments