Cyrus Farivar
@cfarivar.bsky.social
"suh-ROOS" / سیروس 🕵️ 20+ year tech journalist, editor, author, comms 🔥 🏡 Ex: Fire Aside 📰 🎧 Ex: Forbes, NBC, Ars Technica 🖖 Friend of DeSoto 😎 Nice dude 🐻 4th-gen Californian // Oakland, CA 📥 cyrus@farivar.media 📱 +1-341-758-0888 (mobile/Signal)
Another bases loaded walk brings another Baller home, making it 18-10 B's in the bottom of the 8th! #LetsGoOakland #OaklandBallers
"The spokesperson declined to respond to @arstechnica.com's follow-up questions about whether Polymarket was claiming that, by definition, it provides 'the most accurate information' to people experiencing a wildfire." bsky.app/profile/cfar...
Cyrus Farivar@cfarivar.bsky.social · 18h agoSenators demand crackdown on wildfire “prediction markets” (by @cfarivar.bsky.social) arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Senators demand crackdown on wildfire “prediction markets” (by @cfarivar.bsky.social) arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
Senators demand crackdown on wildfire "prediction markets"
Fire experts warn such markets could incentivize arson.
arstechnica.com
Looks like it might finally be time to pull out your air purifiers.
Wildfire Smoke Incoming From Pacific Northwest, Will Likely Stink Up Bay Area By Wednesday
Smoke from the dozens of wildfires now burning in the Pacific Northwest is already fouling the air to our north, and it is set to start fouling ours in the next 24 hours.
sfist.com
I'm starting to see many buildings in the neighborhood update landscaping to meet Berkeley's new fire safety regulations. This one has new planting a few feet away from the building, and plants in flowerpots.
City of Berkeley@berkeleyca.gov · 2d agoA safer neighborhood could have benefits for all. 🏘️ Join the movement to work collectively to reduce brush, thin trees, and more can help slow wildfire. 🌲🔥 When these efforts are coordinated across a neighborhood, they can break up wildfire pathways. Learn more:
Oregon's senators are demanding the CFTC crack down on prediction markets that let people bet on wildfires — warning the practice could tempt gamblers to start fires themselves to win their bets.
Senators warn wildfire prediction markets could spur arson for profit
Oregon's senators are demanding the CFTC crack down on prediction markets that let people bet on wildfires — warning the practice could tempt gamblers to start fires themselves to win their bets.
centraloregondaily.com
Do you have any idea how unpopular your industry has to be to get the governor of Texas to pause approvals of your newest facilities? Abbott just halted all data center approvals in his state until they're properly vetted: www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/t...
Texas data center projects must stop until state audits them
On Monday, the governor ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to audit all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.
texastribune.org
U.S. wildfire season exceeds 10-year average as 99 large fires burn www.axios.com/2026/08/03/u...
U.S. wildfire season exceeds 10-year average as 99 large fires burn
Thousands have been forced to flee fast-moving wildfires in Washington and Oregon.
axios.com
El Farolito wins national title — short on rest and 2,200 miles from San Francisco missionlocal.org/2026/08/el-f... via @missionlocal.org
El Farolito wins national title — short on rest and 2,200 miles from San Francisco
'Burrito Boys' take home second national title in three seasons in decisive fashion with 3-0 trouncing
missionlocal.org
New: We found 50 cops who misused Flock cameras and other license-plate readers for personal purposes, often to spy on their girlfriends or ex-wives. He "watched every single move I made. ... Who do you turn the chief of police in to?" wapo.st/3S6rTuo
She left her ex. He secretly tracked her through a network of policing cameras.
Flock’s array of license-plate cameras was built to fight crime. But at least 50 law enforcement officers were charged with or accused of misusing it and other systems.
wapo.st
Endorsement: One candidate is ready to be California’s insurance commissioner. The other would be a disaster www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/arti...
Endorsement: Ben Allen for California insurance commissioner
OPINION: In a race with no Republican, some California voters may see an opportunity to take a chance on a radical candidate for state insurance commissioner. That would be a terrible mistake.
sfchronicle.com
Fire in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland prompts multiagency response, water drops www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
Fire in Joaquin Miller Park in Oakland prompts multiagency response, water drops
A vegetation fire in a very high hazard zone in Oakland’s Joaquin Miller Park prompted a multiagency response Friday night. The fire burned several trees about 65 yards off the Sequoia Bay Trail.
sfchronicle.com
Weed habits of Star Trek TNG characters: Picard: doesn’t disapprove, but not a regular user. Smoked it therapeutically while recovering from being assimilated. Smoked with Vash and that MILFy Baku lady from Insurrection but never with a member of his crew
Notably — and I think @masnick.com will appreciate this — the ACLU of Minnesota has reversed its earlier support for this law.
The judge's order is here: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Order/Notice to Attorney – #21 in X.AI LLC v. Ellison (D. Minnesota, 0:26-cv-03425) – CourtListener.com
ORDER: The Court respectfully denies the request for a temporary restraining order. The Court will instead hear the emergency motion as a motion for preliminary injunction. (1) Defendant shall file a ...
storage.courtlistener.com
NEW: Judge denies request by Elon Musk’s xAI to pause Minnesota nudification ban www.nbcnews.com/tech/elon-mu...
Judge denies request by Elon Musk’s xAI to pause Minnesota nudification ban
The ruling clears the way for the first-in-the-nation law to go into effect on Saturday.
nbcnews.com
‘I did a double take’: In rare twist, Woodside Fire embers carried over ocean water, reignited www.sfchronicle.com/california-w...
‘I did a double take’: In rare twist, Woodside Fire embers carried over ocean water, reignited
The Woodside Fire burning in Sonoma County spread in a way that astonished a seasoned fire watcher — twice.
sfchronicle.com
High school defends staying silent while boys made AI nudes of 59 classmates (by @ashleybelanger.bsky.social) arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...
High school defends staying silent while boys made AI nudes of 59 classmates
Gaps in laws may help Pennsylvania high school escape AI nudes scandal.
arstechnica.com
California could see less goats grazing for wildfire mitigation under new overtime regulations www.capradio.org/articles/202...
California could see less goats grazing for wildfire mitigation under new overtime regulations
As an overtime pay exemption for herders expires, grazing companies say they could soon go under.
capradio.org
Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Announce New York Has Sued Kalshi for Running Illegal Gambling Operation ag.ny.gov/press-releas...
Governor Hochul and Attorney General James Announce New York Has Sued Kalshi for Running Illegal Gambling Operation
NEW YORK – New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James today announced that New York has sued KalshiEX, LLC (Kalshi) for running an
ag.ny.gov
I'm finding new scams everywhere, particularly since I've been working with Erin West, the team at Operation Shamrock (www.operationshamrock.org), and the Stolen podcast. Today, I got this email from a purported book publisher, referencing a book of mine that I wrote 15 years ago! 😂
It took the City of Berkeley (a place near and dear to my heart!) eight years to approve a relatively short bike lane. Nearly a century ago, the entire Bay Bridge was built in three years and four months. bsky.app/profile/cfar...
Cyrus Farivar@cfarivar.bsky.social · 6d agoControversial bike lane in Berkeley wins approval after heated 8-year saga www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Controversial bike lane in Berkeley wins approval after heated 8-year saga www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/arti...
Controversial bike lane in Berkeley wins approval after heated 8-year saga
A proposal to install about a mile of protected bike lanes and remove an estimated 145 parking spaces along a commercial corridor in Berkeley has gained approval despite fierce opposition.
sfchronicle.com