AI Is Cutting Hours of Office Work, but Also Creating a New Kind of Busywork
A new Work AI Institute survey of 6,000 digital workers shows AI tools save roughly 11 hours per week per employee, but also generate more than six hours of “botsitting” – monitoring and fixing AI output. While 75% of respondents report higher personal productivity, only 13% of organizations claim measurable revenue gains. The study highlights a hidden labor layer, with 37% of AI interaction time spent on oversight and 41% of workers unable to explain AI‑generated results. The findings suggest the productivity boost is not automatically translating into business growth.
This New Law Could Create a Million New Apartments and Condominiums in California
California’s Senate Bill 79, the Abundant and Affordable Homes Near Transit Act, takes effect on July 1, forcing cities to approve taller multifamily projects around rail, ferry and rapid‑bus stops. The law could unlock zoning for up to 1.5 million new apartments and...
New Evidence Confirms Edison's Idle Line Ignited Eaton Fire, Lawyers Say
New surveillance footage from a Pasadena swim club captured two bright flashes at the base of Southern California Edison’s idle M16T1 transmission tower on Jan. 7, 2025, coinciding with faults recorded on a nearby live line. Insurers’ lawyers argue the century‑old, out‑of‑service...
Trump Announces New Coal Export Terminal in Oakland
President Trump announced a $700 million coal investment using the Defense Production Act, earmarking $75 million to build a new West Coast export terminal at the Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal. The "West Gateway" project is slated to break ground this summer...
Temporary Rent-Gouging Protection Vanishes for L.A. Fire Survivors as County Lets Ban Expire
Los Angeles County’s temporary rent‑gouging protection, enacted after the Eaton and Palisades wildfires, expired on Friday when supervisors failed to approve another extension. The rule had capped rent hikes at 10% above pre‑fire levels, but its lapse now leaves renters...
Competition to Run JPL Comes at Fraught Moment of Federal Budget Cuts, Project Overruns, Management Missteps
NASA announced a competitive bidding process for the management of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ending Caltech’s decades‑long monopoly on the $30 billion, 10‑year contract that runs through 2028. The move follows high‑profile cost overruns on missions such as Psyche and the...
Hiltzik: The Republican Assault on Obamacare Has Created a Healthcare Bloodbath, with Worse yet to Come
The expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies on Jan. 1 triggered a sharp drop in enrollment, potentially falling to 16.5 million—a 26% decline from the previous year. Meanwhile, average premiums surged 58% to $178 a month and deductibles jumped 37%...
Aerospace Company Behind Garden Grove Chemical Leak Scare Faces Court Cases, Supply Disruption
GKN Aerospace’s Garden Grove plant in Orange County was evacuated after a pressurized tank of a toxic chemical threatened to overheat, prompting a citywide shelter-in-place. While the immediate danger passed, the incident has triggered multiple class‑action lawsuits alleging negligent storage...
Hiltzik: U.S. World Cup Hotel Bookings Are Disappointing, and Trump Is a Major Reason
Tourism to the United States dropped 5.5% last year, with Canadian arrivals plunging 21% and German visits falling 11.3%. Hotel operators in all 11 World Cup host cities report bookings below expectations, and 65% of Los Angeles hotels say demand fell...
Hiltzik: Are Dodos and Mammoths Coming Back From Extinction? Don't Count on It
Colossal Biosciences announced it hatched 26 chickens in an artificial eggshell, touting the feat as a stepping stone toward resurrecting extinct birds like the moa and dodo. The company, which previously claimed a “dire wolf” de‑extinction, has raised $200 million and...
Hiltzik: Justice Department Attack on UCLA and Other Med Schools Shows It Has No Idea What Makes a Good Doctor
The Justice Department sent letters to UCLA and Yale medical schools accusing them of using race as a factor in admissions, claiming the practice violates a 2023 Supreme Court ruling on racial preferences. The article contends the DOJ’s analysis is...
Jury Rejects Elon Musk's Lawsuit, Sides with OpenAI in Bitter Feud over AI Future
A federal jury in Oakland dismissed Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, ruling that his claims were barred by the statute of limitations. Musk, who invested $38 million and co‑founded the nonprofit, had alleged that OpenAI’s leaders breached a charitable trust by...
A Route 66 Road Trip Is All About the People You'll Meet. Start with These Legends.
The article spotlights four distinctive Route 66 personalities—a Tulsa entrepreneur who turned a Facebook‑listed gas station into Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios, a New Mexico motel owner who won a treasure‑hunt prize and now runs the South West Motel, an Arizona barber whose advocacy...
California Consumers Accuse Popular Italian Food Brand of Tomato Fraud
Cento Fine Foods, a U.S. distributor of Italian foods, faces a California class‑action lawsuit alleging it mislabels its canned tomatoes as San Marzano, a premium variety with EU protected status. Plaintiffs claim the company lacks the required consortium certification, which it...
Oversight Chair Seeks Information From OpenAI's Sam Altman About Potential Financial Conflicts
The House Oversight Committee chair, Rep. James Comer, has sent a letter to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman demanding documents on potential conflicts of interest between Altman's personal investments and his leadership of the AI firm. The request comes as Elon...