Latest news with #Bonelli
Los Angeles Times
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Los Angeles Times
Waymo expands service area in Los Angeles and San Francisco
Waymo, the autonomous taxi company that's offered rides in Los Angeles since November, is expanding its service area in the city. Starting Wednesday, the driverless taxis will roam more than 120 square miles of Los Angeles County, stretching from Santa Monica to downtown and from West Hollywood to Inglewood. The expanded service area will include Playa del Rey, Ladera Heights, Echo Park, Silver Lake and the entirety of Sunset Boulevard, according to company spokesperson Chris Bonelli. Customers using the ride-hailing service will also be able to take Waymo vehicles directly from Mid-City to Inglewood and Westchester via La Cienega Boulevard and La Brea Avenue, Bonelli said. The vehicles began testing on Los Angeles freeways early this year. Waymo's fleet of electric Jaguars has become a common sight in Los Angeles, where anyone can download the app and request a ride. Before coming to Southern California, Waymo launched in Phoenix and San Francisco, where collectively the vehicles have driven tens of thousands of riders more than 30 million miles without a human driver. Waymo provides more than 250,000 paid rides per week. Waymo vehicles rely on cameras, sensors and a type of laser radar called lidar to operate autonomously. Based on data collected by Waymo, their driverless vehicles had 81% fewer airbag deployment crashes, 78% fewer injury-causing crashes and 62% fewer police-reported crashes than traditional vehicles driving the same distance. The company got its start as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, which began in 2009 and put its first autonomous car on the road in 2015. The project rebranded as Waymo in 2016 under Google's parent company Alphabet and launched its driverless ride-hailing service known as Waymo One in 2020. Waymo One is poised to expand to Miami, Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Customers in Austin, Texas, can request a Waymo through the Uber app. Also starting Wednesday, Bay Area riders will have expanded access to the San Francisco Peninsula, Mountain View, Palo Alto and Menlo Park. Waymo One will be made available to customers in South San Francisco, San Bruno, Millbrae and Burlingame. Waymo's expansion in Los Angeles comes just days after several of the autonomous vehicles were vandalized and set on fire during anti-ICE protests downtown.
Boston Globe
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Advocates decry ‘dangerous rollbacks' in R.I.'s lead-safe rental registry
Advertisement 'It's already working and it continues to increase the safety and quality of our state's housing stock,' Guo said. 'One of the main goals of the rental registry was to act as a tool for enforcement of existing lead laws." Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up The state Lead Hazard Mitigation Act became law 20 years ago, requiring rental units built before 1978 to pass a lead inspection every two years. 'But still, more than 900 children were considered to have an She said lead exposure is especially prevalent in Providence, Pawtucket, Related : Advertisement Guo said that if there had been no rental registry, many landlords would not have done lead inspections. While no fines have been imposed yet, she said, 'The threat of impending fines and the possibility that tenants could withhold their rent by placing it into escrow was the most powerful motivator.' Shana Crandell, executive director of Reclaim RI, a 'grassroots housing justice organization,' said the rental registry is working in part because it lets tenants pay rent into escrow if their landlord refuses to take steps to make their apartments safe. 'If landlords want to get their rent checks, they've got to make sure the apartment they're renting out isn't toxic and won't brain damage their tenants,' she said. But, Crandell said, 'There have been attempts this session to weaken this critical public health tool.' And she called for legislators to 'oppose dangerous rollbacks of the registry' that she said would 'put renters' children at risk of serious harm.' 'This is the time to build on progress, not reverse it,' she said. Meanwhile, the legislation has received support from landlords such as Scott Bonelli, who submitted written testimony to the Senate Housing and Municipal Government Committee. 'Help the property owner help the situation. We are not the enemy,' he wrote. 'I fully support changes being made so that this law does as it is intended and reduces the burden and cost on the housing market.' Bonelli said he supports lead-safe housing for 'at-risk occupants.' But, he said, data indicates that about 15 percent of rental households include children under age 6 — the group most vulnerable to lead exposure. Advertisement 'Efforts should be targeted toward this specific segment rather than implementing a broad, all-encompassing approach that is unrealistic and unattainable,' Bonelli wrote. 'Overloading an already strained system with additional requirements will not effectively protect children.' The Rhode Island Coalition of Housing Providers wrote to the House Judiciary Committee in support of the legislation, saying, 'These changes strike a necessary balance between protecting public health and ensuring fair and practical implementation for housing providers.' The coalition called for restoring a landlord's ability to evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent even if the landlord hasn't yet obtained a lead certificate. 'While lead safety compliance is important, it should not be used as a loophole to prevent landlords from taking necessary legal action against tenants who fail to pay rent,' the group wrote. The coalition also supported pushing back penalties in the rental registry law until Oct. 1, 2025. 'These changes provide much-needed fairness and feasibility in implementing lead safety measures while maintaining the law's intent of protecting at-risk populations,' the group wrote. Insurance agent Anthony D. Zelano Sr. also wrote to senators in support of the legislation. 'Rhode Island's lead laws create significant obstacles for insurance companies when it comes to covering homes built before 1978,' he wrote. 'The age of these homes, the costs of inspections and renovations, and the fear of lawsuits all contribute to a challenging environment for insurers.' But Attorney General Advertisement Neronha warned that a set of four pieces of legislation would 'render the lead registry inoperable, repeal effective enforcement provisions, and allow noncompliant landlords to continue to expose Rhode Island children to the dangers of lead poisoning.' That would happen, he said, just as new laws are having their intended effect: He said Rhode Island's lead poisoning rate fell by 24 percent in 2024, leaving it with the lowest rate on record. 'I urge the committee to reject this proposed legislation, which would place the financial interests of landlords above the health and safety of children,' Neronha wrote. Edward Fitzpatrick can be reached at
CNN
29-05-2025
- General
- CNN
Incredible photos from the National Geographic Traveller competition
An intimate portrait of a Vietnamese woman sitting next to her great-granddaughter in a dark, smoky room as she works on some embroidery has won the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2025. Taken in Vietnam's Lào Cai province by UK-based photographer Justin Cliffe, the winning image was selected from thousands of entries and described by judges as portraying a 'moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity.' 'The colours, light and textures work really well,' the judges added in a press release Thursday. The art of embroidery has been passed down multiple generations of Red Dao minority people in Vietnam, according to National Geographic. Other category winners include a captivating image of an eye-like geothermal pool in Iceland, a family-run eatery in Tibet and a thrilling chance-encounter between a Bonelli's eagle and a fox in Spain. The annual competition aims to highlight the best travel photos from around the globe taken by UK and Ireland-based photographers, both amateurs and professionals. Cliffe's prize-winning image was chosen from six category winners across the themes of landscape, people, wildlife, food, city life and portfolio. 'Our competition goes from strength to strength, with this year's easily one of the strongest yet,' Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said in the release. 'Capturing everything from the dramatic landscapes of Iceland and Italy to incredible wildlife shots in Spain and Canada, the 18 finalists – who made the cut from thousands of entries – have really elevated the level of travel photography with their ingenuity and skill,' Riddell added. The six category winners can be viewed in the gallery above.
CNN
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Incredible photos from the National Geographic Traveller competition
An intimate portrait of a Vietnamese woman sitting next to her great-granddaughter in a dark, smoky room as she works on some embroidery has won the National Geographic Traveller (UK) Photography Competition 2025. Taken in Vietnam's Lào Cai province by UK-based photographer Justin Cliffe, the winning image was selected from thousands of entries and described by judges as portraying a 'moment between generations that captures so much beauty and humanity.' 'The colours, light and textures work really well,' the judges added in a press release Thursday. The art of embroidery has been passed down multiple generations of Red Dao minority people in Vietnam, according to National Geographic. Other category winners include a captivating image of an eye-like geothermal pool in Iceland, a family-run eatery in Tibet and a thrilling chance-encounter between a Bonelli's eagle and a fox in Spain. The annual competition aims to highlight the best travel photos from around the globe taken by UK and Ireland-based photographers, both amateurs and professionals. Cliffe's prize-winning image was chosen from six category winners across the themes of landscape, people, wildlife, food, city life and portfolio. 'Our competition goes from strength to strength, with this year's easily one of the strongest yet,' Pat Riddell, editor of National Geographic Traveller (UK), said in the release. 'Capturing everything from the dramatic landscapes of Iceland and Italy to incredible wildlife shots in Spain and Canada, the 18 finalists – who made the cut from thousands of entries – have really elevated the level of travel photography with their ingenuity and skill,' Riddell added. The six category winners can be viewed in the gallery above.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Waymo, Magna to jointly build robotaxis at new Arizona factory
This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. Autonomous driving technology developer Waymo is partnering with Tier 1 automotive supplier Magna International to jointly build robotaxis at a new 239,000-square-foot facility in the Metro Phoenix area, the company announced in a May 5 blog post. The factory is a multi-million dollar investment and will create hundreds of jobs in Mesa, Arizona, that support Waymo's plans to scale its commercial Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service to additional U.S. cities. Through next year, the two companies aim to outfit 2,000 additional Jaguar I-PACE electric SUVs with the 'Waymo Driver' autonomous driving technology stack in Arizona for use in Waymo's ride-hailing service. But the facility will be capable of building 'tens of thousands' of robotaxis a year once fully operational, according to the release. Waymo said its Waymo One autonomous ride-hailing service has grown significantly over the past several years, creating demand for additional vehicles equipped with autonomous driving technology in order to scale the commercial mobility service to additional U.S. cities. Waymo operates roughly 1,500 vehicles across Austin, Los Angeles, Phoenix and the San Francisco Bay Area and currently provides over 250,000 paid trips per week in its driverless robotaxis, according to the release. The next planned launch cities for Waymo One include Atlanta, Miami and Washington, D.C. The new Arizona facility will allow Waymo and Magna to install AV hardware on multiple vehicle platforms simultaneously — and at higher volumes. Among the equipment being installed at the plant is an automated assembly line. In an email to Automotive Dive, Waymo Product Communications Manager Chris Bonelli said the company has a contract manufacturing partnership with Magna, which leases the building. The robotaxi build process includes sub-assembly of the Waymo Driver components and general assembly to integrate them into the Jaguar I-PACE SUVs, according to Bonelli. Once installed, Waymo drives the vehicles manually to validate the hardware and software before commissioning it for use by Waymo One. 'We have a series of hardware and software checks in place to be sure all components are working as intended,' Bonelli said. In the blog, Waymo said it has implemented new processes at the Arizona facility that significantly reduce the time and cost required to certify its autonomous vehicles to carry riders. Vehicles assigned to Waymo's Phoenix fleet can drive autonomously out of the facility and directly into service in less than 30 minutes after leaving the factory. For Waymo One vehicles destined for ride-hailing service in other cities, they can be deployed within hours after being shipped to a local depot, according to Waymo. 'The Waymo Driver integration plant in Mesa is the epicenter of our future growth plans,' said Ryan McNamara, Waymo VP of operations, in the release. 'With our partners at Magna, we've opened a manufacturing site that enables the cost efficiency, flexibility, and capacity to scale our fleet to new heights.' Waymo uses a fleet of modified Jaguar I-PACE vehicles for its Waymo One ride-hailing service, but the company plans to add Zeekr RT passenger vans from China-based electric vehicle brand Zeekr. The EV will also be outfitted with the Waymo Driver in Arizona. Zeekr is majority owned by automaker Geely, one of China's biggest OEMs and the parent company of Volvo Cars. Although tariffs on imported vehicles could impact the cost of the Zeekr RT, Bonelli said Waymo is 'monitoring the dynamic tariff situation closely' and will continue to test the EV on public roads as planned. Waymo's collaboration with Magna follows a similar partnership announced on April 30 with Toyota Motor Corp. Waymo and Toyota plan to collaborate on the development of an autonomous vehicle platform and explore ways to integrate Waymo's technology into personally owned Toyota vehicles. Recommended Reading Toyota, Waymo to collaborate on autonomous driving platform Sign in to access your portfolio
