About twice a week, the unthinkable happens in the United States. A gunman enters a school, church, or community space and opens fire. This is true even in California, which has some of the nation’s most effective gun laws and a (relatively) low rate of gun violence: Californians experienced a mass shooting every six days in 2023. Chances are, at least one person reading this article will have to respond to the unthinkable. How you prepare and react will play a key role in helping your community heal. And although each shooting…

Artificial intelligence (AI) probably can’t do your job, but it could undermine this year’s elections. Experts and federal agencies are warning that the potential benefits of AI could be outweighed by malicious actors, a failure to regulate, and a failure to moderate. One super PAC already used AI to impersonate former President Donald Trump and a magician created fake robocalls discouraging people from voting. In Europe and India, voters are being bombarded…

At 27 years old, Rigel Robinson’s political future was bright. He was elected to the Berkeley city council five years prior at 22, making him the city’s youngest-ever council member. He and another new elected, Rashi Kesarwani, were also the first Asian American council members in nearly 40 years. Robinson captured national media attention not just for his barrier-breaking election but his outspoken support for a controversial housing project.

Earlier this month, a group of Asian Americans told San Francisco officials that they feel unsafe in their communities. For researchers, advocates, and many Asian American electeds, the news was hardly surprising. During the pandemic, Anti-Asian hate spiked to levels unheard of since the years after two white autoworkers killed Vincent Chin — including in California.

Theorycrafting has changed our relationship with video games. Our collective pursuit of the meta – that is, the mathematical study of game mechanics – has pushed us to the point where, as Dan Olson declared, “It’s rude to suck at Warcraft.” Even single-player communities aren’t immune. It’s so pervasive that much of the games media ecosystem depends on an unseen legion of guide writers. But there is more to theorycrafting...

Many cities in California are punching well above their weight to solve the housing affordability crisis. Ukiah (pop. 16,607) recently became one of the first rural cities to receive the state’s “prohousing” designation earlier this month. It is a remarkable accomplishment for a community that was once perceived as resistant to development. As recently as the early 2000s, developers complained about the “arduous” process…

Dead videogames are like catnip for the terminally online like myself. Even a slight dip in a game’s player count is enough to generate countless hours of hasty YouTube punditry, breathless news articles and misguided comparisons. Although these narratives are usually misguided, our terminal obsession with player counts touches on something that is somehow both overlooked and over-commodified. Games die all the time, often by…

California’s unfunded pension woes could become worse in the next few years. Last year, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System suffered a 6.1% investment loss in the fiscal year ending on June 30, the first such loss since 2008. Cities will not feel these impacts immediately, but they will almost certainly be felt in the next few years.

When COVID-19 shut down San Diego, it felt like the end of the city’s vibrant arts sector. Venues closed their doors, gigs dried up, wallets tightened, and an existential malaise swept through a community that lived paycheck to paycheck. “Our social, intellectual, and professional lives can be pretty embedded in the rhythm of art exhibitions' openings,” said Allison Wiese.