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Twin Temple’s Alexandra and Zachary James bring vintage rock ’n’ roll and Satanic spectacle to the Catalyst on Friday, Oct. 2.

The OpenClaw project has started work on an enterprise edition in the hope that businesses lose their fear of the agentic AI project. OpenClaw was one of the first “AI harnesses” – tools that use a large language model to create a digital assistant that automates tasks. If users allow OpenClaw to access their email account, it can analyze messages and fire off AI-generated replies, even responding to meeting invitations and reserving time in a calendar app. The tool is the creation of developer Peter Steinberger, who released it to initial acclaim – and then consternation as security analysts found OpenClaw was a mess. Analyst firm Gartner labelled the project a source of “unacceptable cybersecurity risk” for business users, and China’s Computer Emergency Response Team warned of “extremely weak default security configurations.” That didn’t stop OpenAI hiring Steinberger and making OpenClaw the center of its plans to build personal AI agents. Speaking of OpenAI, news of work on OpenClaw Enterprise (OCE) came from a post by one of its staffers, Kevin Lin, who admitted “actual deployment of persistent agents remains limited.” “The main feedback we hear from organizations is that a stronger common security, safety, and governance standard is needed before agents can be fully adopted. As a consequence, the default stance of IT in most organizations is to ban agentic platforms like OpenClaw altogether.” “This is the problem we are trying to solve with OCE: how do we safely deploy powerful agents without nerfing their capabilities in enterprise environments?” Lin said work on version 1.0 of OCE is under way and that it “introduces an enterprise-grade control plane for agents and builds upon the foundation set by OpenClaw with support for multi-tenancy, hard security boundaries, and standardized agentic primitives.” “OCE adds governance and auditability across the agent lifecycle while making sure that core primitives like the harness, model, and sandbox can be swapped out with third party solutions as well as internal implementations.” Lin said work on the project “originally started at OpenAI and then was donated to the OpenClaw Foundation.” Joe Fernandes, veep and general manager of Red Hat’s AI Business Unit, likened OCE to RHEL and OpenShift, in that Red Hat intends to make an open source project suitable for serious use. “Linux helped enterprises move applications from proprietary Unix systems and specialized hardware onto an open operating system running on industry-standard infrastructure,” he wrote in a Tuesday post. “Later, containers and Kubernetes helped drive another transformation toward cloud-native applications composed of distributed microservices.” That mention of Kubernetes is likely no accident, as the OCE GitHub repo urges coders to think of the project as “Kubernetes for agents.” If OCE can achieve anywhere near the industry acceptance of Kubernetes, it will have done very well indeed. OCE emerged on the same day that OpenAI debuted its own “dots” personal agents, and in the same month that Meta delivered a product called “Muse” that offers OpenClaw-like automation for individuals and small businesses. ®

Filling in for Brad Kava, DNA welcomes October’s creative bounty, from Open Studios to Porchfest, and invites readers to find connection through local art and music.

Readers question addiction terminology, celebrate Janus CEO Amber Williams and share a fatal DUI case update. Christina Waters responds to criticism of her music review.

Lower prices, bigger crowds at the county fair A cheaper ticket appears to have helped bring people back through the gates. Lookout reports that Santa Cruz County Fair attendance rose 11% after admission prices were reduced. The five-day tally topped 53,000, a figure that includes visitors, volunteers and staff. Opening day alone drew more than […]

Fall has always carried a back-to-school energy, no matter how old you are. Even decades after that last first day of school, there’s something about September that makes learning something new feel especially exciting. Fortunately, you don’t have to take out a student loan or quit your day job to head back to the classroom. […]

I wake at four, twitching in the dark with pathological remorse over how I threw away my college education: in 1969 I dropped out of UCSC to become a professional folk singer. That led to a lot of construction work. With pre-dawn cortisol and adrenaline rushes. I conclude that I’m a waste of protoplasm. Later […]

ARIES March 21-April 19 Orchids may lure pollinating insects with ingenious illusions rather than nectar. Some mimic the look or fragrance of other flowers. Others resemble female insects so convincingly that hopeful males unknowingly assist with pollination. From this, we might conclude that nature can be as duplicitous as humans. But rather than being bummed […]

US president Donald Trump has convinced six leading AI companies to sign up for non-binding and vague regulation called the “White House Accord on Superintelligence” that doesn’t require them to do anything but does let them set their own rules. Meta, Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, Nvidia, and XAI signed the document, which appeared on Trump’s Truth Social account. The document, subtitled the "Joint Commitment on Frontier Responsibilities,” opens with the observation that “every company is responsible for developing its own technology safely and in a way that builds trust with customers and the public.” “This starts with every company that is training and deploying frontier models having robust internal processes and controls to ensure that their technology behaves as intended and that any issues are promptly identified and resolved.” The document then outlines four “layers of controls and audits” the White House believes signatories should implement “in addition to any other precautions.” The four are: Implement robust internal controls to monitor the capabilities and alignment of its models during training and deployment around areas like cybersecurity, biosecurity, and chemical threats, and to ensure that its models do not hack or access technical systems in unintended ways. Empower an internal team to ensure all of the controls, monitoring, and detection are operating as intended, and that any issues are remediated. Partner with an independent external auditor or evaluator to carry out independent assessments of whether the controls, monitoring, and detection are operating as intended. Designate an independent committee of the board of directors to oversee and receive reports from the teams operating the controls and the internal and external auditors and evaluators, as well as to ensure any issues identified are remediated. The document offers no definition of what constitutes “robust” internal controls, does not specify how often external auditors should inspect signatories’ systems, and contains no references to how often evaluations should take place. It does state that participating companies “will meet regularly to establish standards and best practices to improve the safety of their systems.” Or in other words, they get to make their own rules. The document leaves open the possibility that one day “it may make sense to codify these steps into laws or regulations.” For now, all involved “believe that implementing these controls and audits is critical to ensuring a safe future for everyone, and each of our companies are committed to doing this.” The document reflects Trump’s belief that the artificial intelligence industry doesn’t need strong regulation, save in one matter: its name. To address that matter, on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order requiring federal government agencies to use the term “Super Intelligence” and the acronym “SI” instead of “Artificial Intelligence” and “AI” in official correspondence, public communications, websites, reports, policy documents, and other government documents. The president wants that to happen despite not yet having a working definition of SI. He tasked his Assistant for Science and Technology to work with other agencies to sort that out within 60 days. Trump’s starting point for those deliberations, as explained in the executive order, is that frontier AI systems “do much more than imitate or automate discrete aspects of human intelligence” and “increasingly amplify human ingenuity and unlock new forms of creativity.” Those abilities apparently justify having the US government, which Trump has often accused of being enormously wasteful, devise a new definition. ®

The Digital NEST tech nonprofit settled a sexual harassment lawsuit centered on allegations against Pajaro Valley Unified School District Trustee Gabriel Medina, according to court documents. A former employee filed the 2020 court action that involved incidents before Medina was elected to the public school oversight board. The former employee—The Pajaronian withholds names of people […]

Pajaro Valley Unified school board candidate Curt Wilcox was arrested Sept. 18 and faces felony charges related to his candidacy filing, including allegations involving his residency and voter registration.

Five weeks out from the midterm elections, the Senate map is both clearer and murkier than ever. The original battleground seems largely settled, yet the anti-Republican electoral environment opens up new possibilities for Democrats. (You can read our previous Senate update here.) Let’s get to it. Go ahead and call it. The GOP appears to be largely pulling out of the race.

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Now more than ever, we modern-day court jesters need your support! Become a paid subscriber to any (or all!) of the platforms below to keep Keef gentleman-cartooning into the future and beyond! www.patreon.com/keefknight keithknight.substack.com ko-fi.com/… kchronicles.com/… Related | Fox News abandons Vance’s painfully boring speech…

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For the sake of national security, it's a relief to learn that America.gov is not hallucinating to the point that it's penning lengthy poetry.

The worst couple you know is officially divorcing. Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her husband, Bryon Noem, filed for divorce in South Dakota on Tuesday, tying a pretty bow on a long-winded saga that was … quite captivating. As many might recall, the couple’s tattered relationship came to the forefront of everyone’s social media accounts when a tabloid broke the news…

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MAGA influencers are slamming Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for an ad released by the state that pushes welfare-to-work requirements without conforming to racist, anti-Black tropes. Huckabee Sanders, who previously served as President Donald Trump’s press secretary, released the ad on Monday. It depicts a young white man lazily playing video games as Huckabee Sanders…

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Before OpenAI launched its new AI agent, Dots, on Tuesday, Elon Musk's xAI had already acquired the domain name "dot.com," which now redirects to the Grok chatbot download page.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill banning law enforcement officers in the state from using electrical shock gloves, a “pain compliance” tool and recent hit with ICE officers that function similarly to tasers at a lower voltage. ICE recently purchased about 6,000 pairs of the gloves, which have been roundly condemned by human rights groups as “inherently abusive equipment that facilitates torture”—for $16.7 million dollars.

“This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed.”

“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families. California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state,” Newsom said in a statement that accompanied the bill’s signing. “This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities.”

The ban will go into effect in 2027 as part of a suite of bills Newsom signed in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in California, including a 25 percent tax on companies that operate immigration detention facilities in the state, a ban on face coverings by federal agents—a previous version of which was blocked by a judge—and a law expanding oversight requirements for federal immigration detention centers in California.

As I have previously reported, the shock gloves ICE purchased have been the subject of several lawsuits, including a wrongful death suit:

A pending wrongful death lawsuit alleges that a 43-year-old man named Jonathan Mansfield died because corrections officers shocked him 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser. Two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds. The manufacturer’s recommended limit is 15 seconds. A man with heart problems sued over allegations that he was shocked at a Las Vegas trade show, as the Associated Press reported.

And in 2023, a man who was incarcerated in Kentucky’s Bullitt County Jail sued an employee of that jail for shocking him repeatedly with the gloves. “The gloves feel just like a taser,” Josh Elswick, who was in handcuffs and shackles when he was shocked, said. Bullitt County Jail representatives told local media they would stop using electric shock gloves shortly thereafter. 

California’s ban on shock gloves is likely to be challenged in court—and the Department of Homeland Security has already promised that it will flout any such law. As a DHS spokesperson told me earlier this month, “Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from any safety equipment is despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers. To be crystal clear: we will not abide by unconstitutional bans. The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that California’s sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement.”

Jeff Niklaus, CEO of Compliant Technologies, the firm that manufactures the gloves, blamed “political bias” and lack of understanding of his product for the ban in a September 22 YouTube video.

“We were never contacted by any legislator or agency within California,” Niklaus said, calling the firm’s gloves the “safest, most humane deescalatory product probably ever to come along.”

Researchers at Northeastern University found vehicles and their companion apps regularly shared detailed data with some of the largest tech companies.

On October 30, neighbors will gather under the redwoods to preserve the food assistance, counseling, crisis response and disaster recovery services that help ensure San Lorenzo Valley families have somewhere to turn when they need it most.

“Community Bridges helped me hold my family, this house, and my own wellbeing together.”

For Merritt Grooms, that support came at a moment when one crisis was quickly becoming many.

After a January 2023 disaster caused major damage to her San Lorenzo River home, Merritt faced nearly $30,000 in repairs after her insurance claim was denied.

That’s when Mountain Community Resources stepped in. 

With help from our dedicated MCR Advocate Suzie, Merritt secured grant funding to make the repairs possible. The center also loaned her industrial dehumidifiers to address water and mold damage while the work was being arranged.

But repairing the house was only part of what her family needed.

Merritt was raising two teenagers as a single mother, working full-time and caring for her own mother. As those responsibilities mounted, Mountain Community Resources connected her with a therapist so she would not have to carry everything alone.

More recently, the center has helped her search for affordable housing that would allow her children to finish high school in the community they call home.

Merritt’s experience illustrates something Mountain Community Resources sees everyday:  how a difficult moment rarely arrives by itself. 

Merrit Grooms and her child received the assistance they needed from Mountain Community Resources dedicated team.

Damage to a home can quickly become a financial crisis. Financial pressure can affect a parent’s emotional well-being. Housing instability can disrupt a child’s education and separate a family from the people and places that anchor their lives.

That’s exactly why having a trusted place to turn matters.

Support That Changes with the Moment

For 43 years, Mountain Community Resources has helped San Lorenzo Valley residents navigate challenges that rarely fit neatly into a single category.

A family may first walk through the doors for food and discover help applying for public benefits. A parent looking for housing assistance may also find counseling, parenting support, or a legal consultation. When disaster strikes, residents can turn to local professionals who already know their community and are prepared to help them take the next step.

That flexibility is at the heart of the center’s work. Mountain Community Resources staff listen first, build trust and help people navigate what comes next, because lasting stability.

The Mountain Affair provides an opportunity for the San Lorenzo Valley community to reconnect and hear about successes and growing need.

Mountain Community Resources roots stretch back to the community response following the devastating 1982 mudslides. Since then, the center has continued to work alongside residents, local organizations and emergency responders, to help the Valley prepare for and recover from fires, storms and other disasters.

Today, Mountain Community Resources directly serves 744 community members whose households include 1,809 people, including 376 children and teenagers.

Last year alone, the center provided:

• 5,170 bags of food 
• 575 crisis-support visits 
• 427 hours of counseling 

Behind every number is a neighbor experiencing something deeply personal: groceries brought home to a family, a parent finding support through a safe conversation during a crisis, or a person hearing the reassurance they need the most, “You don’t have to figure this out alone.” 

One Evening with an Impact All Year

On Friday, October 30, that spirit of neighbors helping neighbors will fill Highlands Park & Senior Community Center in Ben Lomond for the 41st Annual Mountain Affair, Mountain Community Resources’ signature fundraiser and a celebration of the people that make the San Lorenzo Valley special.

“Mountain Community Resources has been part of the San Lorenzo Valley for more than four decades because this community has always understood the importance of neighbors taking care of neighbors,” said Community Bridges CEO Raymon Cancino. “MCR is a trusted place to turn. Mountain Affair gives people a chance to celebrate this community while making sure that support will be here when a neighbor needs it.”

 Guests will gather for food prepared by Chef Marina Camarlinghi and grill master Victor Cuevas-Sanchez of Barbara & Company Catering, wines from Alfaro Family Wines, live music, and a silent auction showcasing the generosity of local businesses and community partners. 

Every ticket, sponsorship, and Fund-a-Need investment helps keep food assistance, counseling, parenting education, housing navigation, public-benefits enrollment, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, and crisis support available throughout the year.

More Than a Night Out

A ticket to Mountain Affair is more than admission to an event.

It can help put food on a neighbor’s table. It can connect a parent with counseling before stress becomes a crisis. It can help a family understand its options after a disaster. And it can keep trusted advocates available when a resident feels unsure where to turn.

Every week, Mountain Community Resources welcomes hundreds of community members for various services such as our weekly food distribution.

Merritt’s story illustrates the difference that kind of support can make. Mountain Community Resources could not undo the damage to Merritt’s home or erase the pressures facing her family. But its staff could deeply listen, help her identify resources, and remain beside her as her needs changed.

That is what community care looks like: not a single intervention, but a relationship that helps someone keep moving forward.

When San Lorenzo Valley residents fill the room at Mountain Affair, they make that relationship possible for the next neighbor who needs it.

Join the 41st Annual Mountain Affair

Friday, October 30, 2026

6:30–9:30 p.m.

Highlands Park Senior & Community Center

8500 Highway 9, Ben Lomond

Individual tickets are $120, and sponsorship opportunities are available.

Purchase tickets, explore sponsorship opportunities or make a donation at communitybridges.org/mountainaffair.

For more information, contact donations@cbridges.org or 831-688-8840 ext. 205.

Come raise a glass, share a meal and help keep trusted support close to home.

The post A place to turn: The 41st Annual Mountain Affair keeps support close to home appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.