Cyrus Farivar

Salty Otter owner says AI logo uproar has ‘crushed’ her lifelong dream Following a wave of online criticism and one-star reviews from locals, The Salty Otter Sports Grill replaced its colorful, AI-assisted otter logo with a stark black-and-white design. Owner Rachael Smi...

Salty Otter owner says AI logo uproar has ‘crushed’ her lifelong dream lookout.co/salty-otter-...

AI startup sues ex-CEO, saying he took 41GB of email and lied on résumé Hayden AI also claims co-founder improperly sold over $1.2M in stock.

AI startup sues ex-CEO, saying he took 41GB of email and lied on résumé (by @cfarivar.bsky.social)

arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Proton Mail Helped FBI Unmask Anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ Protestor A court record reviewed by 404 Media shows privacy-focused email provider Proton Mail handed over payment data related to a Stop Cop City email account to the Swiss government, which handed it to the ...

New from 404 Media: Proton Mail, the privacy-focused email service, gave authorities data that let the FBI unmask an anonymous 'Stop Cop City' protester. It was payment data linked to the anonymous email account. From that, FBI ID'd them, then tracked their movements www.404media.co/proton-mail-...

Got this scam email this week. Good times!

Should New York City Burn Its Parks? This Scientist Thinks So.

Should New York City Burn Its Parks? This Scientist Thinks So.

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/c...

US Sen. Ron Wyden wants answers from Trump administration on wildfire preparedness Lawmakers across the West are nervous about a potentially destructive wildfire season at a time when federal firefighting agencies are strained.

Oregon's snowpack is meager so far, and fears are growing that this summer's wildfire conditions will be dire. With about half of the state's land managed by the federal government, Sen. Ron Wyden is pushing the Trump administration to provide some answers on its plans to do to prepare.

How Shakhtar keep signing so many Brazilians amid Russia-Ukraine war It has been four years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, but that hasn't stopped the flow of Brazilian soccer players to Shakhtar Donetsk.

How Shakhtar keep signing so many Brazilians amid Russia-Ukraine war

www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Enjoy Bodø’s fairytale while you can, the big beasts won’... Theirs is story where enjoyment does not come with moral compromise, but for Europe’s giants humbling the great and good too often is bad for the product

Enjoy Bodø’s fairytale while you can, the big beasts won’t let it happen often (by @rorysmith.bsky.social)

observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

Duly noted. I was going for function over form. Just wanted to get them done.

Maybe my best use case of Claude to date: whipping up some quick business cards for Farivar Media LLC!

Went from concept to being printed by a local shop here in Oakland in under two hours.

Santa Monica Schools Weigh Artificial Turf Trade-offs Santa Monica-Malibu school district study finds artificial turf saves 20 million gallons of water annually but raises chemical exposure concerns.

New study lays out trade-offs as Santa Monica school district weighs artificial turf decisions www.smdp.com/new-study-la...

Eagle Scout here. Troop 2, Santa Monica, Calif.

Hard agree.

bsky.app/profile/jfal...

Out-of-state police access Silicon Valley license plate readers - San José Spotlight Mountain View officials revealed last month Flock had included their automated license plate reader camera network in a national "lookup" setting without the city's permission, allowing unauthorized l...

Out-of-state police access Silicon Valley license plate readers sanjosespotlight.com/out-of-state...

San Francisco’s Bay Bridge becomes a glowing network of Ethernet-enabled LEDs 25,000 LEDs will blaze along 1.8-mile-long section every night for 2 years.

If you're excited about Bay Lights' return, here's my 2013 coverage for @arstechnica.com with @ohthatflo.bsky.social !

arstechnica.com/information-...

arstechnica.com/information-...

With no end in sight to dry days and high wildfire risk, Colorado eyes a task force Warmest start to a water year in 131 years has experts forming coalition of agencies focused on water, agriculture and emergency management.

With no end in sight to dry days and high wildfire risk, Colorado eyes a task force coloradosun.com/2026/02/26/c...

Wildfire Seasons Are Starting to Overlap. That Spells Trouble for Firefighting.

Wildfire Seasons Are Starting to Overlap. That Spells Trouble for Firefighting. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/c...

Northwest Houston gun store owner arrested for deepfake nudes of TikTok influencer A northwest Houston gun store owner is accused of using artificial intelligence to create nude photos and videos of a TikTok influencer.

Northwest Houston gun store owner arrested for deepfake nudes of TikTok influencer

abc13.com/post/northwe...

@evrat.bsky.social found the best one: Hurumo. :-)

Do you want to be on the email list? If so, what's a good email for ya?

What a delight to meet and re-connect with so many of you!

I love our community so much!

And shout out to @jowens510.bsky.social for being the first to arrive and one of the last to leave!

Big ups to my pal @ryansingel.bsky.social for helping me organize!

bsky.app/profile/ryan...

We rebooted, thanks to a push from @cfarivar.bsky.social, a low key Bay Area journalist get together I started 20 years ago

50+ folks showed up from grizzled vets to j-school students

Super fun and was clear folks want community. Saw lots of old friends

Gonna do it again. No fancy tools needed

Hard agree. My (late) mother also loved it too.

And if you want to grab coffee in Oakland or take a meeting on a bike, I'm always up for that too.

Text/Signal me: 341-758-0888
Email me: cyrus@farivar.media
Book a meeting: lnkd.in/g38iTuTd

-30-

Deepest expertise: Silicon Valley (startups, scams, criminal justice, surveillance), wildfire tech & policy, and the tech/law intersection. As a 4th-gen Californian who covered #firetech since 2020 and worked at a wildfire-tech startup in 2025 — I actually know the beat.

Rhino - AI-Powered Property Insurance for Wildfire-Exposed Homes Rhino is an insurance brokerage specializing in wildfire-exposed property insurance. We use AI-powered property analysis to help California homeowners find and keep coverage.

On the comms side: for 20+ years I was the journalist receiving pitches. Now I help companies make those pitches land. Available this spring for startups or orgs looking to sharpen their media strategy. (Currently working with withrhino.com on media strategy and event planning!)

I have some limited availability to take on new clients this spring.

On the journalism side: I'm seeking full-time, contract, or freelance opportunities — reporting and/or editing. This year I've had bylines at the @sfstandard.com (where I'm weekend editor), @arstechnica.com , and @theguardian.com.

Nearly two months ago, my most recent full-time job ended — and I immediately launched Farivar Media LLC. (farivar.media) 🧵

Here's a wild idea. Angelenos should, uh, bike and/or take transit?

bsky.app/profile/henr...

Using data on half a million wildfire starts, researchers are working to predict them The team, led by a Boise State University civil engineering researcher, looked at half a million wildfire starts, and hundreds of attributes about them. Beyond the obvious weather variables like wind ...

Using data on half a million wildfire starts, researchers are working to predict them (by @murphywoodhouse.bsky.social)

www.kjzz.org/science/2026...