Tootfinder

Billionaire-backed group
"Building a Better California"
put $5 million into the campaign against Proposition 40,
escalating a costly fight over California’s proposed one-time wealth tax on billionaires.
Proposition 40 would levy a 5% tax
on billionaires’ assets
to raise $100 billion for healthcare, pitting California Democrats, unions and progressives against one another.
While unions representing teachers and firefighters front the opposit…

Billionaires open the purse to fight California wealth tax
A group funded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and other billionaires gave $5 million to a group opposing Proposition 40. What it means for the fight over the proposed California billionaire tax.

Billionaire-backed Building A Better California reserves $87M in TV ad time to oppose California's proposed one-time wealth tax; Sergey Brin put $82M into BABC (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/1…

Billionaires Prepare $87 Million Ad Campaign to Block California Wealth Tax
A coalition backed by the Google co-founder Sergey Brin and wealthy tech investors is trying to neutralize a proposed one-time tax on the state’s richest residents.

Calibre v9.15 adds an AI-powered interactive fiction game | OMG! Ubuntu
https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/09/calibre-ebook-app-ai-ficton-writing?v1

Calibre v9.15 adds an AI-powered interactive fiction game
The latest update to Calibre, the popular open-source ebook manager, features an AI-powered writing game. Calibre v9.15's "Create Your Own Adventure"

Clever, Denmark’s largest #EV charging provider,
is introducing dynamic pricing at all its public (and home) charging points: the charging price = spot energy price and time-varying network charges. A special subscription is required, so unfortunately it is not yet available on an ad hoc basis.

Today in #GenAI fail. What the hell is this?
This is not the 669 area code and nothing on this map of the San Francisco region of California is accurate.
The shape of California isn’t even right.
#sfbayarea #slop

Mathematicians: “Math isn't really about proofs, it's about understanding!”
Physicists: 👀
https://terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/18/if-math-is-more-than-proof-we-need-to-better-celebrate-the-rest-of-it/…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs a law that will penalize influencers who do not properly disclose paid political content, with fines of up to $5K per post (Ken Bensinger/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.c…

California Cracks Down on Influencers’ Undisclosed Political Ads
Under a new law, creators could face fines of $5,000 per post if they don’t disclose that they were paid to make political content.

Newsom signs bills to shield California elections from Trump interference, and increase transparency
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of election-security bills Saturday,
vowing California will block any attempts by Donald Trump and law enforcement allies to meddle with November’s vote.
New laws make it a felony to seize ballots or voting machines,
restrict police activity near polling places,
and expand early ballot drop-off locations and multilingua…

Newsom signs bills to shield California elections from Trump interference, increase transparency
In an effort to guard against potential interference in the Nov. 3 election, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation to boost security for state’s voting systems and voters’ ability to cast ballots.

The fall of once-mighty McClatchy newspapers underscores California’s news crisis
Dan Walters describes working for the Sacramento Bee several decades ago as “like living in Sweden.”
The newspaper had a bustling office in California’s capital replete with a cafeteria,
a gas station,
a credit union,
and a medical clinic, where staff could get their vaccinations and seek care for typing-related hand injuries,
recalls the longtime columnist,
who worked…

The fall of once-mighty McClatchy newspapers underscores California's news crisis
The union that represents McClatchy journalists said that more than 90 unionized journalists and media workers across 17 publications had been laid off.

Five news reporters and two members of the military who were invited to an event at Vandenberg space force base in California
were briefly 👉 detained at gunpoint by security officers who thought they were gatecrashers, according to local news reports.
The incident happened Monday ahead of an invitation-only groundbreaking for a new training facility for missile operators at the federal airfield near Santa Barbara, California.
Reporters from Noozhawk and KEYT were among tho…

Reporters and military duo held at gunpoint by security at US space force base
Officers reportedly believed invitees were trying to make unauthorized entry on to Vandenberg base in California