A 2018 political rally at San Francisco City Hall. (Photo: Sheila Fitzgerald, via Shutterstock)Voter participation dramatically increased in California in the 2018 midterm elections, part of a nationwide trend. About 51.9% of California’s 25.1 million eligible voters hit the polls in the 2018 general election, up from 36.6% in 2014, the previous midterm election, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
A woman hails a ride-share driver. (Photo: Maridav, via Shutterstock) OPINION: Technology has given us more freedom to choose the way we work, live, travel, and shop. But many Americans are hitting bureaucratic roadblocks on their way find full- and part-time work with peer-to-peer services like Lyft, Postmates, and Handy.
A ride-sharing illustration. Photo: PP77LSK, via Shutterstock)It’s as if they can read your mind: Before customers even ask to be picked up, apps let Uber or Lyft know you’ll need them. That’s because personal data housed in smart phones tell ride-sharing companies when and where their customers most frequently need rides. It’s innovated the car-service industry, critics say, at the expense of users’ privacy.
OPINION: Advances in technology are changing the way we live, work and play. By simply going online, a bed and breakfast in San Luis Obispo can book rooms, a salon owner in Pasa Robles can market her team of stylists, and farmers in Watsonville can let buyers around the world know when to expect their shipments of strawberries.