Alberta's Danielle Smith says new East-West pipeline is necessary as ‘back-up plan'
Smith tells CBC's David Cochrane on Power and Politics than Canada needs to lessen its reliance on the United States in getting its oil and gas to market. Line 5 runs about 1,000 km from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario via Michigan.
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Bloomberg
20 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Alberta Bolsters Canada-Mexico Energy Ties as Trump Upends Trade
The leader of Canada's main oil-producing province visited Mexico in a bid to help reset relations with Latin America's second-largest economy, with a particular eye to promoting energy projects. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who previously argued Canada would be better off dealing with the US alone, emphasized that the northern nation now has the ability to ship oil and gas to Mexico directly thanks to new Pacific Ocean export facilities.
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Boston Globe
Cambridge names three finalists for district superintendent Monday
Mayor Denise Simmons, who serves as School Committee chair, did not respond to requests for comment Monday. Cambridge has been without a permanent schools leader since May 2024, when the School Committee voted Related : Advertisement Murphy, an attorney who had been serving as the district's chief operations officer, was named the interim superintendent that June. None of the finalists immediately responded to a request for comment Monday afternoon. The district will hold listening sessions during the week of Aug. 20, and School Committee members will conduct site visits to the finalists' school districts the week of Sept. 15, according to a schedule posted by the district. There will also be opportunities to meet each of the finalists during the week of Sept. 22, according to the district. The School Committee will interview the finalists on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, and a vote to select the next superintendent is expected Oct. 6, according to the district. Advertisement Finalist interviews will be broadcast live and will be open to the public, the district said in its announcement. Public comment will not be included, it said. Cambridge's public school district is home to about 7,000 students, according to state data, and more diverse than the state as a whole. Black students make up more than one-fifth of the district, while Asian and Latino students each count for about 15 percent, the state reported. Around a tenth of Cambridge's students are multi-race, and roughly a third are white, state data showed. Students and Cambridge district staff represent more than 109 countries, 89 languages are spoken in the schools, and about 30 percent of students speak a first language other than English, according to an online description for the superintendent's job. The superintendent oversees a district with more than 2,000 employees, including educators, and a proposed budget of $280 million for fiscal 2026. Greer, the previous Cambridge superintendent, had Smith drew complaints from teachers and parents over her decision-making on issues like the assignments of some assistant teachers in classrooms and a police presence at the school. Cambridge Public Schools hired an outside law firm to review Smith's leadership of the school early in 2024, which determined the allegations against Smith were unsubstantiated. Greer was placed on paid leave until her final day in early August 2024. Greer, whose tenure as superintendent ended a year early, received more Advertisement Greer earned $260,000 in fiscal 2023, the first year of her three-year contract, which also included a 2.5 percent bump in pay in each of the remaining two years. 'I am saddened to leave,' Greer This is a developing story. Check back for updates. John Hilliard can be reached at
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
West Aurora School District eyes tax credit for solar project
West Aurora School District 129 is looking to install more solar panels, this time at its transportation facility in North Aurora. The school board recently authorized the district's administration to execute documents and invest $250,000 as a 'downpayment' to lock-in the availability of tax credits for a proposed solar panel canopy project at the facility. The Federal Investment Tax Credit for solar projects has a 'safe harbor' provision that permits school districts to secure tax credits by showing 'continuous progress' toward the completion of a project. The proposal is to install a canopy with solar panels at the school district's transportation facility in North Aurora, officials said. 'By investing in equipment and design costs now, we demonstrate how the project is moving forward towards our final install in the summer of 2026,' West Aurora School District Associate Superintendent of Operations Angie Smith told The Beacon-News. 'The solar panels will help offset the cost of electricity needed for our EV buses. The EV buses already will save us operating costs versus gas buses. The solar panels will reduce that cost further,' Smith said. However, to lock-in the availability of tax credits for solar projects, the district is facing a 'compressed timeline' due to incentive changes associated with President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill,' Smith said. The proposed solar canopy project would provide power to the district's EV buses. The school board last year decided to add some electric school buses to the fleet. The plan to bring in 27 electric buses to replace some older diesel models is part of the district's ongoing efforts to be environmentally conscious and reduce energy costs, district officials said. 'In order to maximize our potential credit for the solar canopy project for next summer we need to have made a significant investment by mid-August,' Smith told The Beacon-News. The tax credit is estimated to be more than $525,000, officials said. It is the district's intent to install solar panels at the transportation facility next summer. However, in order to take advantage of the safe harbor provision, the district is required to expend funds by Aug. 15, Smith said. 'I know is a very tight timeline,' she told board members. Part of the difficulty is that there are some different interpretations as to when certain things in the bill take effect. Specifically, do things take effect within a certain number of days after Trump signed the 'Big Beautiful Bill' on July 4, or later than that. In order to be 'completely conservative and protective as possible,' consultants have recommended the district have money spent by Aug. 15, Smith said. 'For this project, the tax credits are roughly $525,000. In addition, the district would be eligible for Illinois Shines solar program tax credits that will be about $35,000 a year and a ComEd inverter rebate of about $65,000 a year,' she said. Smith said when you add together all the credits, rebates and incentives, 'this roughly $1.8 million project will cost the district about $100,000 and that's before utility savings.' 'This is a project that will pay for itself, but we are not in our typical timeline,' she told the school board. 'Typically, I come to you in the fall and say here are the projects we are going to do. Then we come back to you with bids. 'For this one, if we are going to protect the tax credit, we are asking you to give me the authority to sign paperwork necessary to execute a safe harbor plan. We will then come back to you in the fall or spring and review the normal process,' Smith said 'We're basically spending on the front-end for design fees and some of the materials,' Smith said. The administration will come back to the school board to discuss labor and construction-related matters for the project, she said. 'I know it's a little bit awkward but what we are doing is protecting roughly half-of-a-million dollars,' Smith said. The school board authorized the district expend $250,000 towards the project The school board essentially is putting 'a deposit down' to secure solar power for the transportation facility, Smith said. It basically protects the possible tax credit. 'If we didn't do it, we run the risk that by the time we go to apply for a tax credit, it might be nothing,' she said. 'The district is trying to receive the most tax credit.'
