Business News at a Glance

Something New May Be Rising Off California Coast: Wind Farms

California’s aggressive pursuit of an electric grid fully powered by renewable energy sources is heading in a new direction: offshore. On Friday, the U.S. Interior Department took the first steps to enable companies to lease waters in Central and Northern California for wind projects. If all goes as the state’s regulators and utilities expect, floating windmills could begin producing power within six years. Such ambitions were precluded until now because of the depths of the Pacific near its shore. Several contenders are expected to enter the bidding, equipped with new technology that has been tested in Europe.

In Liberal San Francisco, Tech Leaders Brawl Over Tax Proposal to Aid Homeless

For months, technology companies in San Francisco have fought a local ballot proposition that would impose taxes on corporations to fund initiatives to help the homeless. But last week, that unified front crumbled when Marc Benioff, chief executive of Salesforce, broke from the pack; he committed $2 million to passing the tax measure and criticized his fellow moguls for not caring. Now San Francisco’s tech community is in an uproar over the initiative, which is known as Proposition C and will be on the ballot Nov. 6. Venture capitalists and companies are lobbying and donating money to defeat the tax.

Quaker Bets That Oat Milk Is More Than Just a Passing Fad

These days, a trip to the grocery store to pick up milk can be a daunting task. Not only are there new spins on traditional cow’s milk — ultra-filtered? grass-fed? — but there’s also a dizzying array of alternatives. Now, Quaker Oats is muscling its way into the aisle with a version based on the grain that made it famous. In January, the company plans to bring Quaker Oat Beverage — not “milk” — to the mass market. It will use the distribution might of its parent company, PepsiCo, in hopes of claiming a big piece of a fast-growing sector.

Who Will Be the Face of the 50-Pound Bill? Probably Not a Soccer Player Riding a Unicorn

The 50-pound bill, worth about $65, is rarely used in everyday life in Britain, but that hasn’t stopped Britons from trying to get their favorites to be the face of a forthcoming design of the note. As soon as the Bank of England announced plans last weekend to redesign the bill, petitions popped up extolling the virtues of a range of worthies. There is Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim woman who spied for Britain during World War II; Margaret Thatcher, the country’s first female prime minister; and an English soccer player riding an inflatable unicorn.

Lena Dunham and Ex-Producing Partner Shut Down Lenny Letter

Lenny Letter, the feminist newsletter and website founded by Lena Dunham and her former producing partner, Jenni Konner, closed down Friday. The end of the publication, which began in 2015, comes three months after Dunham and Konner announced that they were splitting as producers. Dunham rose to fame as the creator of the HBO show “Girls,” which ended after a six-season run last year. Konner was an executive producer of “Girls” and its showrunner.