*By Jacqueline Corba*
Simple e-scooters may be poised to disrupt the City of Angels, a market over-saturated with vehicles forced to navigate gridlocked commuter traffic.
"We need to look at solutions, and a multi-modal city is a successful city, and that will drive our effort to reduce traffic and get people out of their cars," said Los Angeles City Council Member Joe Buscaino, who represents the 15th District. "A scooter would be helpful in reducing people, and incentivizing people to get out of their cars and into public transportation."
Buscaino is calling for more collaboration among neighboring cities and across the state of California as more locals adopt this burgeoning mode of transport.
"In my district I have a pilot program with Lime, and it's been trending well," Buscaino said.
The Los Angeles Transportation Department [reportedly](https://la.curbed.com/2018/8/22/17769700/los-angeles-scooter-ban-dockless-rules) started issuing cease and desist letters to companies that placed their dockless scooters in certain areas, including parts of downtown L.A., without clear permission.
But Cheddar's Alyssa Julya Smith [spotted a lone Bird](https://twitter.com/IamAlyssaSmith/status/1035612373472575488) Friday on the premises of Los Angeles City Hall.
In neighboring Santa Monica, four scooter start-ups now have permission to operate; Bird, Lime, Lyft, and Uber-owned Jump were selected Thursday for that city's shared mobility pilot program, which starts September 17.
Each of the companies will be allowed 750 vehicles each, bringing a total of 1,000 e-bikes and 2,000 e-scooters to the southern California city.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/the-state-of-scooters-in-los-angeles).
Nicki Minaj just reached a milestone that no other woman in rap has reached.
Apple announced that starting this week, it will stop selling some versions of the Apple watch in the U.S.
Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays.
The House of Representatives recently passed a bill aimed at increasing transparency in healthcare.
If you have a flexible spending account, here's some short information for you so you don't leave money on the table.
With high healthcare costs, bills can quickly add up. In some cases, it is possible to negotiate your medical bills. Barak Richman, law professor at George Washington University, joined Cheddar News to discuss the easiest way to talk to medical debt companies about what's owed.
Millions of people have selected insurance plans for 2024 but sometimes navigating them can be tricky time consuming and expensive. Paula Pant, host of 'Afford Anything' podcast, joined Cheddar News to break down what's needed to know about their insurance plans.
The European Union is investigating Elon Musk's X over alleged illicit content and disinformation on its platform. Cheddar News breaks it all down and discusses what it could mean for users.
Adobe and Figma called off their $20 million merger, Southwest Airlines gets fined, Nippon Steel is buying U.S. Steel and oil and gas prices surge after a pause in shipments.
With more employees being called back to the office, many workers are suddenly protesting by being in the office for as little time as possible. As the term suggests, coffee-badging means coming in for just enough time to have a cup of coffee, show your face, and swipe your badge.
