David Lidsky's Blog, page 264

The L.A. fires underscore how much California has to lose if Trump withholds disaster aid

The federal government typically covers 75% of rebuilding costs after a major disaster. Trump has threatened to withhold firefighting money from California.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

What immigrant entrepreneurs can teach us about success

46% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants—Here’s why

1.5 degrees of warming has always been a red line for climate. We just passed it

The world just blew past a key climate threshold. Still, experts say, it’s not a reason to give up on climate action.

This week, multiple wildfires have burned more than 33,000 acres across Los Angeles, fueled by a rare set of perfectly terrible conditions, including a midwinter drought.

PowerSchool data breach: Hackers steal student Social Security numbers, grades, and medical information from edtech giant

The California firm is the largest provider of cloud-based education software for K-12 schools in the country, supporting more than 50 million students.

PowerSchool, a leading education technology firm, said the company was the target of a data security breach in late December, in which hackers stole sensitive data including Social Security numbers, grades, and medical information affecting both students and teachers, according to TechCrunch.

6 years ago, Elon Musk offered help during wildfires. This time he blamed DEI

Once considered an environmental champion as CEO of Tesla, Musk now took to X to blame Democrats and DEI for the L.A. fires.

When a devastating wildfire hit California in November 2018, a powerful CEO went on Twitter to ask how his company could help. That CEO’s name was Elon Musk.

Google, Microsoft, Meta, Apple: Here’s a list of Big Tech companies donating millions to the Trump inauguration

The money is pouring in as Silicon Valley CEOs including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are angling for favor with the incoming administration.

Google and Microsoft are the latest tech companies to donate $1 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration fund.

Why fire hydrants were never going to be enough to combat L.A.’s fires

Public figures have questioned L.A.’s ‘dry’ fire hydrants, but experts say the hydrant system wasn’t designed for this intensity of fire.

At 4:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening, the first of three municipal water tanks in Los Angeles’s Pacific Palisades neighborhood ran dry, as emergency responders stretched the system to its limits in combatting the widespread wildfires. The second water tank was empty by 8:30 p.m. that night, followed by the third at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, according to local officials. 

Incarcerated firefighters are making as little as $27 a day to battle L.A.’s fires

The program has been criticized for being exploitative, but some incarcerated people say the firefighting initiatives can be rewarding.

Hundreds of prisoners are battling the devastating Los Angeles wildfires through a longstanding program with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). 

California overhauled its troubled insurance system. Then Los Angeles caught on fire

The Palisades Fire could cause more than $10 billion in damages, further straining the state’s fragile insurance market.

On Tuesday, after a ferocious Santa Ana windstorm blew through Southern California, a severe brush fire broke out in the wealthy Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, burning more than 1,000 structures and forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate as of Wednesday afternoon. Another large brush fire broke out near Pasadena around the same time; at least five people have been killed by the fires.

Dell’s new PC names are boring—and a smart move

The computer giant is ditching decades-old sub-brands in favor of ones nearly identical to Apple’s. They’re derivative, but effective.

There are surely many reasons that the parents of tech icon Michael Dell did not name him Inspiron or XPS. For one, Dell’s parents aren’t Elon Musk. More generally, there is appeal to a commonplace name. Yes, you sacrifice originality. You risk being called a copycat by your cousin. But in return you get benefits like clarity and simplicity.