🚙 Mpls considers drivers in driverless cars

Minneapolis Could Require Drivers in Driverless Cars

The Minneapolis City Council is considering an ordinance that would require Waymo and other autonomous vehicle companies to have a human present in the driver's seat at all times. There will be a public hearing on the ordinance on Sept 22. [Star Tribune]

• Why? Waymo cars are already being tested on Minneapolis streets with a human "safety monitor" behind the wheel, though rides aren't available to the public yet. The four council members who authored the ordinance said that it would protect workers from losing income and mitigate traffic safety risks posed by autonomous vehicles. A local public policy manager for Waymo called the proposal a "de facto ban on autonomous vehicles." [Star Tribune / MinnPost]
• Who benefits from autonomous taxis? Some femme riders report feeling safer in an autonomous vehicle without a driver. Waymo also touts autonomous vehicles as safer for bicyclists, though their cars still reportedly veer into bike lanes. In cities where Waymo already operates fully autonomously, it doesn't seem like the cost savings from cutting out drivers are passed on to consumers at all – Waymo rides cost more, on average, compared to human-driven rides with Uber and Lyft. [Techcrunch]
• Not in the ordinance: Privacy concerns. As Twin Cities residents are growing more incensed with state surveillance from companies like Flock Safety, autonomous cars with cameras are raising similar concerns. Waymo cars record video even when parked, though it’s unclear how long footage is stored. Waymo also made headlines earlier this summer, when a representative called police on two teenagers spotted drinking in a car and directed the vehicle into a parking lot. [Nashville Banner / Associated Press / NPR]

Permitted: After Carlton Johnson II carried out a mass shooting in Loring Park last week, people are wondering how a man with a documented history of domestic abuse and assault was permitted to buy a gun in the first place. According to state law, Johnson's history did not automatically disqualify him from getting a permit to carry, but the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office could have denied his application if they deemed him a danger to himself or the public. Across the river, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said his office would have denied Johnson's permit. [Star Tribune]

From St. Paul to Guantanamo: Adam Abdullah, a St. Paul man with no criminal record who was detained by ICE in December, is currently being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He has been there for about two weeks. Abdullah is from Somalia, and says that there are multiple other Twin Cities Somalis also being held at the military prison. The ACLU sued to stop the federal government from sending migrants to Guantanamo, and a hearing is set for Oct. 14. [MPR News]

Pause on sweeps? St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker told FOX 9's Emily Pofahl that the city does not have any plans to close more homeless encampments. The Council President said that she doesn't think the city should close encampments until the city is able to provide the residents with somewhere else to go – though funding from the state and from Ramsey County would be required to do that. Mayor Kaohly Her said that the city does still plan to close the remaining encampments, but has not shared a date. [FOX 9]

Culture in the classroom: St. Paul has launched a new Afrocentric magnet program at Benjamin E. Mays Elementary School in the Rondo neighborhood. The magnet program adds to the city's offerings of cultural programs at schools, including an East African magnet school, Karen language and culture programs, and a Hmong language and culture middle school. [Sahan Journal]

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