Rideshare apps Uber and Lyft have been accused of severely increasing the prices for rides shortly following a mass shooting on the New York subway system that left at least 13 people injured and many more fleeing in terror. Screenshots from people’s phones showing fares as high as $145 to get away from the area of the shooting have been going around Twitter as people express outrage over the grimmest bit of price gouging seen since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“@Uber turn off surges in sunset park,” wrote one local woman. “People are scared, let them get out safely.”

Both Uber and Lyft use an automatic system that detects areas of high demand and implements “surge” pricing, increasing the prices of their services based on how many people in the area are requesting them. You can see how this could at times create horrifying dystopian nightmare situations, and yet both companies continue to rely on it.

San Diego’s largest high school caused a stir with its latest effort to address education equity, and its approach certainly prompts more than a few questions.

On Sunday the U-T’s Kristen Taketa reported that Patrick Henry High in San Carlos, a school that teaches 2,500 students, removed several honors, advanced and gifted education courses without informing parents or seeking their input. Some of the courses included classes for advanced English, advanced history and advanced biology.

*snip*

From the jump, the school could not have communicated this change more poorly. Even if you weren’t interested in incorporating feedback from parents, the school owed all its families the courtesy of transparent communication about what was occurring.

Instead it seems that the school chose to keep parents in the dark, and in turn parents are understandably confused, angry and concerned about what the implications will be for their children.

Putting that aside, the idea of trying to mix classes to lift all students has merit. Although, it’s fair to wonder if this is really the best approach the school could apply.