Sylvia Chi 齊思涵

@sylviachi

lawyer but not your lawyer. admin law enthusiast. i work on environmental and climate justice, public banking, and public power. she/they 🇺🇸🇹🇼 Nutmegger in Oakland opinions are my own!

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Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· 23d

This guy did good, but I would've found it hard to resist sending the landlord's lawyers a version of the famous "some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters" missive.

“I believe the average IQ in the US is 92,” Berman wrote in his email to Spring’s attorneys. “So at least half of the country probably has a lower IQ, if the average and the mean are the same, and are probably not capable of engaging in critical thinking and using good judgment in areas outside their knowledge. Your client is probably one of those folks.”

An image of a letter with "Cleveland Stadium, Corp." letterhead, addressed to Dale O. Cox, Esquire, in Akron, Ohio. The date is hard to read but looks like December 21, 1974. The letter reads:

"Dear Mr. Cox:

Attached is a letter we received on November 19, 1974. I feel that you should be aware that some asshole is signing your name to stupid letters.

Very truly yours,

Cleveland Stadium Corp.

James N. Bailey,
General Counsel"

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· 25d

Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness. 🍃

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· 29d

"The report on the Smithsonian Institution shows White House officials may be sensitive to criticism of the Chinese Exclusion Act because the Trump administration has adopted a number of similar policies."

In 1882, Senator John F. Miller of California supported the Chinese Exclusion Act and other restrictions by arguing that people from China could not become Americans due to where they’re from. He said, “The Chinaman is the result of training in the art of the low life . . . It is in the economy of Providence that man shall exist in nationalities, and that they shall be divided by the antipathies of race.”

In 2025, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller stated in a social media post about immigration: “You are not just importing individuals. You are importing societies. No magic transformation occurs when failed states cross borders. At scale, migrants and their descendants recreate the conditions, and terrors, of their broken homelands.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jul 9

Another dimension another dimension another dimension another dimension another dimension

SpaceX’s terrestrial AI infrastructure for enterprise and class-leading nudification will be augmented by orbital compute (expected 2028) that lowers inference costs by utilising radiative cooling, quantum disassembly, cold fusion, square circles, tartan paint, and the metaverse. A key risk to our Buy rating is that the previous sentence was nonsense.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jul 8

Sup. Wong, who previously supported public banking, is being disingenuous at best. The whole point of the charter amendment is to *create* political insulation that the charter currently doesn't allow.

“A public bank involves decisions about deposits, lending, credit regulation, and risk management. Those decisions carry real financial consequences. They demand institutional discipline, insulation from political pressure, transparency, and deep banking expertise,” Wong said. “Our city’s track record shows that meeting those demands is harder than it sounds.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jul 6

Found some cool stuff from the Federal Power Commission in 1939: books.google.com/books?id=VMI...

Image of an infographic titled "TAXES, NET CASH CONTRIBUTIONS, AND FREE SERVICE IN PERCENTAGES OF BASE REVENUES 1936"

Two pie charts at the top depict the share of "taxes and net cash contributions" from 691 privately owned utilities as 14.4% and and 26.8% (including 8.8% in "free service") from 537 publicly owned utilities.

Below the pie charts is a map of the United States with similar pie charts in different regions (ex: Texas shows 12.4% for private utilities and 42.4% for public).

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jul 1

The settlement also includes 53 million eggs to be donated to food banks across 17 states. California AG Rob Bonta's press release is full of egg-related puns. oag.ca.gov/news/press-r...

“As Californians scrambled to feed their families, three egg producers conspired to act illegally and hatched a plan to raise the cost of eggs nationwide. My office and our federal and state partners stepped in, and as part of our settlement, California food banks from Siskiyou County to San Diego County will receive 8.9 million eggs,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “I am proud to deliver these eggs to the people of California and grateful for the critical work our food banks do every day to ensure food gets into the hands of Californians in need. My office is committed to cracking down on companies that run afoul of the law and unlawfully conspire to raise prices for Californians who are already struggling with a crisis of affordability. Let me be clear: In California we have zero tolerance for bad eggs.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 29

I was not familiar with Uwe Boll, who apparently specifically wanted Hammer for this movie. 🤔 www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general...

A snippet of text from a Google search results page with the last clause highlighted:

"Overview
Uwe Boll is a German filmmaker. He came to prominence during the 2000s for his adaptations of video game franchises. Released theatrically, the films were critical and commercial failures; his 2005 Alone in the Dark adaptation is considered one of the worst films ever made. Wikipedia"

He came back to Los Angeles in 2024, and about a year and a half later, an email arrived. It was from Uwe Boll — the German filmmaker whose decades of aggressively low-budget, critically dismissed genre films had transformed him into something of a cult figure, the kind of director whose name functions as its own punchline. Boll wanted Hammer for a movie. It was the first offer he had received in five years.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 20

The universal cat distribution system tried to ensnare us.

A beautiful little cat with black, brown and red markings (tortoiseshell?) and magnificent floofy tail.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 20

It certainly sounds like he should not have been arrested and charged, but also — this isn't his first time being arrested by Park Police for alleged water-related crimes?

In 1996, Park Police arrested Hearn for canoeing on the Potomac River after heavy rains left it near a record high. A federal judge dismissed charges of failing to obey a lawful order because the river where Hearn was canoeing is governed by Maryland not the federal government.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 19

The regulatory information section of the SDS does not mention FIFRA registration; in fact, there's no mention of FIFRA in the entire SDS. The product's label also doesn't say anything that suggests it's FIFRA-registered. pfharris.com/mwdownloads/...

US Federal Regulations:
TSCA (TOXIC SUBSTANCE CONTROL ACT): The ingredients of this product are listed or exempted from listing because of Low Volume Exemption has been granted in accordance with 40 CFR 723.50 SARA 302/304 EMERGENCY PLANNING EMERGENCY PLAN: There are no SARA Title III Section 302 extremely hazardous substances present in this formulation (40 CFR 355). SARA 311/312: Acute Health: [x] Chronic: [ ] Fire: [ ] Sudden Release of Pressure: [ ] Reactive/Oxidizer: [x ] SARA 313 (Specific Toxic chemical listings): Hydrogen peroxide (Conc. >52%) CERCLA Section 103: This RQ of Hydrogen peroxide (Conc. >52%) is 1,000 lbs. Many states have more stringent release reporting requirements. Report large spills required under federal, state, and local regulations. State and Local Regulations: Certain states maintain their own ingredient lists which differ slightly from the Federal standards. Check with your state for additional regulations. CA Proposition 65 (Safe Drinking Water & Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986): This product does not contain any Proposition 65 chemicals.

A pretty boring product label for the 12% hydrogen peroxide product. No mention of FIFRA. It does give some warnings about first aid treatment, what not to use it on, and that it's not labeled for medicinal use. (!) It is apparently made in the USA.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 19

This got me thinking: Are they violating FIFRA (Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) in using this hydrogen peroxide for this application? Based on these Reuters pictures, it looks like the product they used was Harris 12% hydrogen peroxide.

U.S. National Park Service workers dump bottles of hydrogen peroxide in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington

A product photo of a 1-gallon jug of Harris 12% Hydrogen Peroxide

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 17

Post the best picture you have ever taken of your pet(s).

A photo of two beautiful shepherd mix dogs on a couch. They are intertwined with the darker one sort of pinning down the lighter one with his head.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 17

There's one organized group of Bay Area politicians and political donors who have been recently bragging about how they successfully recalled a local progressive politician: the Abundance Network. prospect.org/2026/06/12/n...

The footers on six similar sites — targeted against other political figures — disclose that they were paid for by the same group, “Americans for Opportunity,” and link to a second, spare site that names that group as an independent expenditure committee — a kind of PAC. That site says the group is “preparing to launch.”

The similar-looking sites are:

“Fire Barbara Lee,” which is gathering signatures to oppose the Oakland mayor who this month launched a re-election campaign.
“Recall Carroll Fife,” targeting the progressive Oakland city councilmember.
The “Sheng Thao Files,” which presents what it calls the “definitive exposé” of the recalled former Oakland mayor’s time in office.
The “Pamela Price Files,” is another dossier of recalled Alameda County district attorney Price’s time in office.
The “Bonta Files,” aimed at California’s attorney general, Rob Bonta.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 16

The regime is telling the court that they're using the nonconsensual deepfake child porn generator for vital national security missions...

According to the DOJ memorandum, there are only four artificial intelligence models, including Grok, that “support mission-critical operations across Secret and Top-Secret classified networks.’” A separate declaration filed by Cameron Stanley, the chief digital and artificial intelligence officer at the Department of Defense, details how the military relies on Grok’s Gov model to “support vital national security missions.” That includes using the model as part of recent strikes against Iran. Forcing xAI to stop running the gas turbines powering Colossus 2, Stanley says, “directly threatens ongoing national security interests.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 14

What a weakass apology. Basically said that he's sorry if anyone was upset. Doesn't name that he did something racist.

Over the past few days, a video has circulated online and generated a wide range of reactions. For that reason, I believe it's important to offer a public apology.

I sincerely regret everything this situation has caused. I have taken time to reflect on what happened and I understand the responsibility I have in this moment.

I am not here to justify myself or debate different interpretations. I am here to acknowledge that this situation has caused discomfort and to express my most sincere apologies in a clear and respectful manner.

Throughout my personal and professional life, I have always tried to treat others with respect, and I will continue working to ensure that my actions consistently reflect those values.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 10

So, what are some examples of these data centers following "all the best practices"?

“While we hear these stories of the worst-case data center that is most controversial and has the most amount of opposition, we might hear less about the data center that is following all the best practices,” Zeldin said. “It is important, as more builds are getting done, that they are following those best practices, not the worst practices.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 5

Wild that Indiana's utility regulators have no jurisdiction over mergers and acquisitions! Glad they are requiring IOUs to establish energy assistance programs and banning shutoffs during heat emergencies, but also, more states need versions of California's medical baseline program.

Earlier this year, Indiana lawmakers passed sweeping legislation aimed at lowering Hoosiers’ electricity costs. House Enrolled Act 1002, which was signed into law by Gov. Mike Braun (R) on February 26, establishes multiyear rate plans based on performance incentives tied to affordability and reliability, bans utility shutoffs during heat emergencies, and requires utilities to establish energy assistance programs for low-income customers.

What it did not do was give the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) authority over mergers and acquisitions involving the state’s regulated utilities. Consequently, Indiana remains one of the only states that cannot approve or reject takeover deals. One such deal is set to proceed imminently, and Hoosiers are furious about what it could do to their utility bills.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 4

www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/c... The regime is in for a lot of litigation, which is great because I hear they are running out of lawyers.

The money to build new coal plants is coming from funds that Congress originally approved for carbon capture technology, which sucks carbon dioxide from the smokestacks of polluting facilities and stores it deep underground. Last year, the Energy Department issued a notice telling companies they could use the money for “reliability upgrades” in the near term and install carbon capture later.

Some experts and congressional Democrats have said this change amounted to a loophole that undermined the intent of the carbon capture program, which was created by the bipartisan infrastructure law of 2021.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· Jun 4

C'mon guys. "Self-governing republic that has functioned as an independent country..." It's a country. What is this performative refusal by independent media outlets to recognize that Taiwan is a country?

4. Taiwan’s government pushes ahead with geothermal

Taiwan, if you’ll forgive the pun, is in dire straits. The self-governing republic that has functioned as an independent country since the losing side of the Chinese Civil War fled there in 1949, is almost entirely reliant on imported fossil fuels to keep the lights on and semiconductor fabricators churning out the hardware that makes the island so valuable to the global economy. That reliance only grew last year when the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which has opposed atomic energy since its founding in the 1980s, completed the country’s nuclear phaseout, shutting the last of the island’s three functioning plants. The government in Taipei is now considering starting back up at least one of the old nuclear plants. But, as I told you earlier this year, it’s also looking to geothermal to make up the difference. On Wednesday, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the first government-led tender for geothermal, Think Geoenergy reported. The six-month process is meant to develop geothermal zones in Taitung County, on the island’s southeast coast.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 27

I don't know anything about astrology. I just googled to find out what Alito's sign is/what that means and found this cursed piece of Internet. www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Sa...

Celebrities born the same day: Islamic Republic of Iran, Logan Paul, Randy Orton, Susan Boyle, William James Sidis, Cécile Duflot, Vincent Bolloré, Ali MacGraw, Sergei Rachmaninoff... List of all the celebrities born on April 1.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 27

Perennial writing challenge: everything I want to say really boils down to this gif.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 22

Capital insists that a bill to strengthen California's antitrust law (especially in the absence of federal enforcement) will make prices go up. 🤔 I don't think they're credible as advocates for consumers!

A screenshot of a tweet by Nicole Norman (@nicnorman16):

NEW: CalChamber will spend six figures on a campaign against Asm Cecilia Aguiar Curry’s COMPETE Act, a bill to prohibit anticompetitive conduct by a single firm.

Sac will see the first of it today — a digital ad on a truck that reads: “Cecilia, prices are high enough already.”

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 21

The press release and NYT article (🎁 www.nytimes.com/2026/05/21/t...) refer to this idea as "universal basic capital," which doesn't sound in contradiction to another idea OpenAI floated in April, about a "Public Wealth Fund." cdn.openai.com/pdf/561e7512...

Public Wealth Fund. Create a Public Wealth Fund that provides every citizen—including those not invested in fi nancial markets—with a stake in AI-driven economic growth. While tax reforms help ensure governments can continue to fund essential programs, a Public Wealth Fund is designed to ensure that people directly share in the upside of that growth. Policymakers and AI companies should work together to determine how to best seed the Fund, which could invest in diversifi ed, long-term assets that capture growth in both AI companies and the broader set of fi rms adopting and deploying AI. Returns from the Fund could be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 20

We all saw this one coming, but it's still terrible. theequityfund.org/wp-content/u...

PFAS drinking water standards may be weakened
or delayed. The Biden Administration issued federal
drinking water standards that would for the first time impose
enforceable limits on the amount of perfluoroalkyl and
polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water. This
group of widely used chemicals—also known as “forever
chemicals” because they can accumulate in the environment
without breaking down for a long time—can pose serious
health risks even at low-exposure levels, including causing
cancer, liver damage, and immune system and developmental
damage in infants and children. The final rule released in
April 2024 requires water systems to monitor for six PFAS
chemicals and remove them if they exceed the new limits.50
EPA estimates that the rule will result in reducing PFAS exposure
for 100 million Americans who use public drinking
water systems. Health benefits like fewer cancers and birth
complications and lower incidents of heart attacks and
strokes, are estimated to amount to $1.5 billion per year,
excluding benefits that are especially hard to quantify,
such as developmental, metabolic, and endocrine effects.51
Exposure to PFAS is widespread and can be found in 99
percent of humans, but communities of color, low-income
communities, and people living near manufacturing plants,
military bases, and airports have disproportionately higher
risks of exposure to PFAS.52

The Trump Administration actively opposed Congressional
efforts to address PFAS in drinking water as well as attempts
to provide funding to clean up PFAS contamination. In 2020,
the former President announced that he would veto comprehensive
legislation approved by the House to address
PFAS, which would have directed EPA to set an enforceable
PFAS limit for drinking water, after intervening to strip similar
provisions from the National Defense Authorization Act of
Fiscal Year 2020 (NDAA).53 While the NDAA required
companies to report the amounts of PFAS they discharge, the
Trump Administration’s implementation of the law allowed
polluters to exploit the de minimis exemption for releases
where PFAS constituted 1 percent or less of the discharge.54
Project 2025 does not address the PFAS drinking water
standards, but does call for revising “regulations and policies
to reflect the challenges of omnipresent contaminants like
PFAS” and reviewing PFAS’ designation as a hazardous
substance under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly known
as Superfund).55

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 19

The other day, I Googled "S7693/A8150", referring to the Senate and Assembly versions of the same bill in the NY legislature. The AI overview at the top was on point, but after the first four search results, it inserted this, which is the opposite of helpful.

$A screenshot from a Google search results page that seems to assume my query ("S7693/A8150") is an algebra problem that I need help solving. It is titled "How to solve your problem" and leads the reader through 3 steps ("Re-order terms so constants are on the left", "Combine multiplied terms into a single fraction," and "Multiply the numbers") concluding in the "Solution"): "62697950S/A".$

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 19

Which state has the worst website for accessing statutes? Maryland is a contender, especially for websites that look like they were made in the past decade: mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/l...

A screenshot of a website titled "Statutes"

At the top, there is a dropdown box labeled "Articles" wherein "Election Law - (gel)" is selected.

Below that, there is another dropdown box labeled "Sections" which is selected, showing a long list of entries, starting with "1-101", "1-201", "1-301", etc. The list is partially obscuring a radio button labeled "HTML".

Below that is a third dropdown box labeled "Statutes Affected," which is mostly obscured by the Sections dropdown box above.

There is a red button with a magnifying glass icon next to each dropdown box.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 19

The "Settlement Agreement" cites this order from Deepwater Horizon, seeming to suggest that it's precedent that this new fund has the power to determine its own procedures for handling claims. But that order was specifically interpreting the Oil Pollution Act. www.courtlistener.com/docket/45105...

C. Consistent with this Settlement Agreement, The Anti-Weaponization Fund shall have the power to determine its own procedures for submitting, receiving, processing, and granting or denying claims. See In re Oil Spill by the Oil Rig ''Deepwater Horizon" in the Gulf of Mexico. on April 20, 2010, No. 2:10-md-02179, ECF No. 1098 (E.D. La. Feb. 2, 2011). The Anti-Weaponization Fund may make those procedures public in whole or in part, in its discretion.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 19

From Acting AG Blanche's order creating the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," paragraph D might be trying to prevent future attempts at accountability? Not sure. www.justice.gov/opa/media/14...

C. Within 60 days of the Effective Date, the United States shall provide the U.S. Department of the Treasury with all necessary forms and documentation to direct a payment of $1,776,000,000 to an account for the sole use by the Anti-Weaponization Fund ("Designated Account''). The corpus of the Anti-Weaponization Fund's funding does not represent the value of any claim by Plaintiffs, but rather is based on the projected valuation of future claimants' claims.

D. Once the funds are deposited into the Designated Account, the United States has no liability whatsoever for the protection or safeguarding of those funds, regardless of bank failure, fraudulent transfers, or any other fraud or misuse of the funds.

Sylvia Chi 齊思涵@sylviachi· May 15

What a series of coincidences!