Lee Kuan Yew, the first Prime Minister of Singapore, passed away Monday morning at the age of 91. Serving from 1959 to 1990, Mr. Lee was severe, but effective as a leader. In an interview with the NY Times, he described his country’s pragmatic attitude towards policy: “Does it work? If it works, let’s try it. If it’s fine, let’s continue it. If it doesn’t work, toss it out, try another one.”
That’s how many miles, North to South, Lake Owens in California used to be. That is, before the Los Angeles aqueduct drained it completely, effectively creating a giant salt flat. Now, the name of the game is dust control. Los Angeles has already spent over a billion dollars over the last 15 years fighting dust, all the while arguing over how much responsibility it has to take on as a city. Well, now there’s an answer. A new agreement says the city must mitigate dust on no more than 53 square miles of the lake.
That’s the percentage of the world sneaker market held by the U.S. More importantly, the American sneaker industry is said to have most if not all of the influence over global tastes. Adidas, while popular in Western Europe where it is based, has had a hard time staying competitive in the U.S. market. And missteps like passing up on sponsoring a young Michael Jordan back in 1984 have certainly not helped. The WSJ takes a look at what the company is doing to try and get back its cool.
That’s how many companies have signed a pledge not to sell student data (among other things). It’s a growing concern as education technology gets more sophisticated, gathering data on students along the way. On Monday, U.S. Representatives Luke Messer and Jared Polis plan to introduce a bill that will limit how data on kindergarten to 12th grade students can be used by education technology companies.
That’s how much California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom pays in rent for his office in the state Capitol. In fact, it’s not uncommon for states to charge such fees for maintenance and care of the space. For Newsom, that cost meant shutting his offices in L.A. and San Francisco, instead opting for a $500 rented desk space at a co-working space for tech startups.
That’s how much Pirelli, the Italian tire company, will be bought for by China National Chemical Corp. Currently the fifth largest producer of tires, Pirelli’s purchase is another instance of foreign buyers taking advantage of the weak euro, as reported by Reuters.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post incorrectly described the size of Lake Owens. The text has been corrected.
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