Dez Reads. Invisible Drunk Drivers.

Our driverless cars are immune from prosecution.

At least that’s what cops in San Bruno, California, found out when they attempted a DUI stop on a Waymo for making an illegal U-turn. Mark Emerson leads this week with a new ethical wrinkle in the automation space: Who do you hold accountable when a machine commits a crime?

In happier news, we all at Dez are so proud of our COO and partner, Maya Shackley, for winning USA Swimming’s Golden Goggles award. In addition to being accomplished swimmers in their own right, Maya and her husband David, have given countless support to these American athletes over the years. We join the USA Swimming community in thanking them for putting others above themselves.

Rounding out Dez Reads this week: MaryGrace Lucas will apparently pay any amount of money required for a cup of coffee, tariffs be damned; Jen Hirshon outs herself as a Swiftie; and Will Kim shares his bathroom reading habits with the world.

I’m very grateful to our team for continuing to share what they’re reading and thinking, especially as business keeps rolling in at Dez. Thank you, as always, for reading along with us.

Here we go.

No Driver, No Ticket

NY Post. Cops pull over driverless Waymo taxi during DUI operation: ‘No driver, no hands, no clue’

We have another Waymo controversy out of California, and these driverless growing pains just keep getting better. This time, police pulled over a Waymo for making an illegal U-turn… only to find out there was no one behind the wheel to actually ticket.

The San Bruno Police Department even admitted in their now-viral post that their citation books don’t have a box for “robot.” Photos show an officer peering into the car like it was a scene out of Black Mirror. Waymo called it a “glitch” and promised to investigate it, while locals debated online how exactly you punish a driverless car.

Just imagine. A live police chase dragging on across TV only to end with cameras zooming in on a Waymo just trying to get to its next ride. Personally, I can’t wait for these things to make it to Chicago. Glitches or not, driverless cars are the future, and the stories we’ll get along the way are going to be just as entertaining as the tech itself. What a time to be alive.

– Mark Emerson

Making Waves

USA Swimming. 22^nd Annual Golden Goggle Awards Honors One of Our Own

Team Dez is full of sports enthusiasts, former athletes, and diehard fans. Some of us are still trying to relive our glory days, keep up on the court, field, course, etc., while others of us are paying it forward and impacting the outcomes of the next generation in a major way.

Enter Maya Shackley, Dezenhall COO & CFO, and her husband David, who were honored at this year’s Golden Goggles (chef’s kiss award name!) with the USA Swimming Foundation’s Impact Award.

Swimming is in Maya’s DNA. She got her start in the pool as a club swimmer, lifeguard, and pool manager at the Palisades Pool in Bethesda, MD. She continued backstroking her way through college on the club swim team at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and eventually met David at the Alexandria YMCA pool. They’ve been swimming together and championing the sport ever since.

The Shackleys have lived Dez’s “we impact outcomes” ethos and have been incredibly involved in USA Swimming and the Foundation in countless ways, including personally mentoring and financially supporting numerous swimmers through USA Swimming’s Donor-Athlete Partnership program. Maya has also earned the title of official baker of USA Swimming from the Olympian’s – keeping them in a steady supply of cookies and brownies to fuel their training.

It’s no surprise to us that USA Swimming’s most successful Olympic Trials in its history happened while Team Shackley was supporting behind the scenes, cheering loudly poolside and helping these athletes achieve their dreams.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on others.” – Jackie Robinson

– Anne Marie Malecha

Brewed Awakening

The Wall Street Journal. Hell Hath No Fury Like a Coffee Drinker in 2025

Tariffs and bad weather have apparently brought our coffee chickens home to roast. The Wall Street Journal reports roasted coffee prices are up 22% in the past year. But if you’re a coffee shop lover like me, you already knew this. My beloved café au lait, once my hack at a cheap, low-caffeine almost-latte experience, now regularly clocks in at over $6.

The WSJ reports, “One TikTok user posted footage of $17.49 tubs of Folgers at Costco set to the DMX lyric ‘y’all gon’ make me lose my mind,’” and then points out that those same tubs now cost even more: $19.49. And lawmakers have floated a bipartisan bill that would give coffee a tariff exemption, with the ever-present California Democrat Ro Khanna pointing out, “Americans started a revolution over a tax on tea.”

Yet here we are, still buying. Americans spent more on coffee this year than last. The prevailing theory: when life gets expensive, we still crave small delights, opting for miniature luxuries as the bigger ones drift out of reach. As one person told WSJ, people are choosing that “accessible $8 Frappuccino versus that trip to Monaco.” (Side note: I bet the coffee in Monaco is exquisite.)

But the reason we’re still buying may be simpler than that. Coffee shops hold a unique place in our lives. They’re not just about quick caffeine. They’re about comfort, routine, creativity, community, and feeling grounded, despite the grind. So, yeah, the price stings right now. But I’m done poring over it. Some rituals are worth the cost.

– MaryGrace Lucus

Life of a Dough-girl

BBC. Taylor Swift feared happiness could ‘dry up’ her songwriting

If you’ve been living under a rock, you may have missed the news that Taylor Swift has just dropped The Life of a Showgirl today, and she’s continuing to rewrite every rule in the pop star playbook. I have mad respect for the woman who reclaimed her master recordings and sells out stadiums globally. Also admirable is her ability to face down internet trolls and media vultures, all the while appearing genuinely nice.

But seriously, the biggest news of the day is that she likes to bake! I’m genuinely curious if she’s good at baking. Does she have a signature bake? More importantly, does she dream of a Paul Hollywood handshake as her next career challenge? How would she face his famous stare-down in the Bake Off tent?

I think I’ve become a Swiftie, and now I’ve got to get back to the album (which, contrary to my usual musical tastes, is currently giving my playlists a run for their money).

– Jen Hirshon

The John Gone Wrong

The New York Times. Is It OK to Use Your Phone on the Toilet?

I hope you are not reading this week’s edition of Dez Reads from the toilet because health experts say that it is apparently a bad habit. Aside from the heightened chance that you will drop your phone in the water, a recent study says that smartphone users who use their phones at least once a week on the toilet have a 46% increased risk for hemorrhoids.

Doctors say that if you really insist on watching YouTube or scrolling through your social feed while you’re doing your business, you should use a toilet stool – also known as the “Squatty Potty” – to make sure you’re not hunched over and also increasing your chances of constipation.

For introverts like me, using our phones in the bathroom has weirdly become a way to seek refuge from others who may judge us for what is on our screens. But these new findings should be another reminder that our obsession with these devices can have unintended consequences, even when we are relieving ourselves.

– William Kim

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