The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce | How the Sun Rose on the Silicon Valley

#TomWolfe #SiliconValley

https://web.stanford.edu/class/e145/2007_fall/materials/noyce.html

Reuters: French Senate debates social media ban for children under 15 . “French senators vote on Tuesday on a draft law that aims to ban social media access for children under the age of ‌15, joining countries around the world in considering a move unpopular with many teenagers but ‌supported by some parents and teachers.”

yahoo news | Hancock: Bay Area leaders have tools to fix housing. Are they bold enough to use...

**Bay Valley’s unprecedented wealth is starkly shadowed by extreme inequality.** While the region’s output rivals that of a G7 nation, the top‑tenth of households hold roughly 75 % of the wealth and the bottom half less than 1 %. Decades ago the area resembled a typical middle‑class community; today it is split between a third of families below self‑sufficiency and a third whose fortunes would have seemed unimaginable a generation ago. These gaps are eroding social cohesion, driving housing out of reach for most workers, and threatening the inflow of new talent that underpins Silicon Valley’s dynamism.

**Housing scarcity is the primary engine of this disparity.** The shortage acts like a regressive tax, inflating prices far beyond what even high‑earning residents can afford and reinforcing wealth concentration. Local zoning, permitting and land‑use rules create the bottleneck, while municipal finance structures encourage cities to chase commercial development—sales‑tax‑rich retail and office campuses—rather than affordable housing, which generates little direct revenue. Consequently, jurisdictions that depend on commercial tax bases amass resources, while those that house the workforce lag behind, deepening regional inequity.

**A collaborative, policy‑driven response can break the cycle.** Drawing on the Minnesota Fiscal Disparities Program, Bay Area municipalities could pool a portion of new commercial tax growth and redistribute it according to population and fiscal need, mitigating competition and stabilizing finances. Simultaneously, local leaders must upzone housing near transit, accelerate permitting, curb misuse of environmental regulations, incentivize office‑to‑residential conversions, and promote employer‑supported housing models. By leveraging existing tools and sharing fiscal responsibility, the region can expand its housing stock, rebalance wealth, and ensure that Silicon Valley’s innovation benefits a broader swath of its residents.

Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/04/04/hancock-bay-area-leaders-have-tools-to-fix-housing-are-they-bold-enough-to-use-them/

#bayarea #siliconvalley #minnesotafiscaldisparitiesprogram #municipalities

The Hill: Anthropic launches new corporate PAC to ramp up election spending. “Anthropic PBC filed a statement of organization Friday to form ‘AnthroPAC.’ The Hill has learned it will be funded exclusively and voluntarily by employees, a common strategy for technology companies to throw money into races. It is expected to be bipartisan and give money to candidates on both sides of the aisle and […]

I love a good rant, and John Mauriello gave an EPIC rant about the hollow, corrosive, and cynical culture that is the Silicon Valley billionaire-startup scheme.

I agree with basically every statement Mauriello made in this video. A righteous, epic rant.

#design #siliconValley #sfba #scam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDvAQf1cnr8

Found on GitHub: the HN Daily Index. “A daily archive of the top 10 stories on Hacker News, organized by date. Thanks to Hacker News by Y Combinator for the API, and to Colin Percival’s Hacker News Daily for the historical archive going back to 2010.”

The Guardian: Two-thirds of under-16s with accounts on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok kept access despite ban. “The Australian government has accused big tech firms like Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the landmark ban on under-16s using social media, after the country’s online safety office warned many children had accounts.”