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There's money in chasing golf carts as well as ambulances: San Anselmo woman awarded $4.3 million in golf cart crash suit

"just having someone write some code to let the car's laptop automatically process and run the plate on every car they pass."
They're just on the verge of it though

On the verge, a few years ago..
Roof mounted camera(s) talk to a PC in the trunk. Updated every night with new plate numbers. When there's a hit, the dashboard laptop pings.

Exactly, because breaching a levee in one place does not magically strengthen it in others,

You're being a big fucking idiot. It becomes particularly easy to believe when confronted with proof that an eyewitness account of the flooding from a federal emergency official reached the Homeland Security Department's headquarters starting at 9:27 p.m. the day before, and the White House itself at midnight while they claimed ignorance for an entire additional day. It's important to add as much delay as possible after any malfeasance to muddy the trail... Put another way, what kind of fucking numbnuts thinks such a thing is impossible? They said the same thing about Olivehurst/Marysville/Yuba City.

Ford has also become a lot more reasonable on climate and emissions issues over even just the past three years.

Yeah. It's not like they would buy a Norwegian electric car manufacturer in anticipation of the California no-emission laws, ship 250 cars over, then when the car/oil lobby got a postponement destroy the cars instead of returning them to fill the European demand, and try and sell off the company to some sleazy company-butcher.

Oh wait, they did.

Marin County (north of San Francisco - the other side of the Golden Gate bridge, for those not familiar) has been considering Desalination recently too. Currently they get all their water from either 5 rain-fed lakes (which have been the primary source of water for ~100 years) or the Russian River in Sonona County. The strong anti-growth movement in Marin over the last 20 years has ballooned suburban sprawl in Sonona County with SF commuter homes. Sonoma county's own water needs thus preclude Marin getting more water from the Russian in the future. During the late 1970s drought a water pipe was installed on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge to bring in water from Contra Costa county in the east. That pipe was finally removed in the 1990s when they started to retrofit the bridge (which has been literally falling apart).

Marin County (north of San Francisco - the other side of the Golden Gate bridge, for those not familiar) has been considering Desalination recently too. Currently they get all their water from either 5 rain-fed lakes (which have been the primary source of water for ~100 years) or the Russian River in Sonona County. The strong anti-growth movement in Marin over the last 20 years has ballooned suburban sprawl in Sonona County with SF commuter homes. Sonoma county's own water needs thus preclude Marin getting more water from the Russian in the future. During the late 1970s drought a water pipe was installed on the Richmond-San Rafael bridge to bring in water from Contra Costa county in the east. That pipe was finally removed in the 1990s when they started to retrofit the bridge (which has been literally falling apart).

Among the stolen items that were recovered, according to the affidavit:

Nineteen CD-ROM discs containing the entire restricted library of sound effects created during the past 25 years for use in the "Star Wars" films, with an estimated "collectible value" of $95,000.

More than 2,000 high-quality digital images from "Episode II," valued at $125,000.

Hundreds of video files of "Episode II," from concept shots to final clips, valued at $100,000.

About 113 storyboard images - or sketches outlining scenes from the film - with handwritten notes by Lucas, valued at more than $100,000.

From an article with actual substance rather than a big graphic of the reporter:

Among the stolen items that were recovered, according to the affidavit:

? Nineteen CD-ROM discs containing the entire restricted library of sound effects
created during the past 25 years for use in the "Star Wars" films, with an
estimated "collectible value" of $95,000.

? More than 2,000 high-quality digital images from "Episode II," valued at
$125,000.

? Hundreds of video files of "Episode II," from concept shots to final clips,
valued at $100,000.

? About 113 storyboard images - or sketches outlining scenes from the film - with
handwritten notes by Lucas, valued at more than $100,000.

and

When threatened with dismissal, Foley admitted that he had taken photo images,
storyboards and a script for "Star Wars Episode I: Phantom Menace," but "nothing
big," according to the court document. He specifically denied having a copy of
"Episode II."

Foley said he was an "avid fan" and had taken the items for his "souvenir
collection" at his Petaluma home, according to the court document.

Foley agreed to allow Webb to look through the items at his home and when they
arrived at his Lakeville Circle townhouse the investigator saw "tons of 'Star
Wars' items," Webb said in the affidavit. Foley turned over numerous items,
including 25 CDs with images of the film, three videotapes of "Episode I"
voice-over tests, 115 storyboard image strips and a hard disk drive with
downloaded photo images.

He (or his mother, who lives in the Irvine residence cited below) also, perhaps, attempted to destroy evidence:

Authorities served a search warrant at the Irvine residence the next day, the
court document said, and found "Star Wars" production photos in a trash can, as
well as shredded documents that appeared to be "Star Wars" sketches.