Lathrop's first Chick-fil-A opens
LATHROP – A Central Valley community is getting its first Chick-fil-A.
People were lined up early Thursday morning for the grand opening of the new fast food restaurant on Golden Valley Parkway.
The eatery officially opened at 6:30 a.m. Emily Martin, a Sacramento native, will be the owner-operator of the restaurant.
Chick-fil-A corporate says the new restaurant brings about 140 jobs to Lathrop.
To celebrate the opening, 100 local heroes will be getting free Chick-fil-A for a year. The fast food company is also donating $25,000 to Feeding America in support of Second Harvest of the Greater Valley.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
This food bank saved big with solar. GOP cuts could crush similar efforts.
When the team at Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina first started planning construction of a new headquarters in Winston-Salem in 2019, they seriously considered solar panels. 'Food banking at its core has always been about sustainability,' said Beth Bealle, Second Harvest's director of philanthropy, stewardship, and engagement. The organization rescues food that would have ended up in landfills to feed those in need, and Bealle and her colleagues wanted to push the sustainability concept 'in other aspects of our work — like our facility.' But at the time, they were advised that a rooftop array would be too expensive. Second Harvest shelved the idea and moved into its gleaming new 140,000-square-foot building in a former R.J. Reynolds Tobacco industrial park. 'Fast forward to the Piedmont Environmental Alliance Earth Day Fair of April 2023,' Bealle said. That's where she met the alliance's new green jobs program manager, Will Eley, who asked, 'Did y'all know about the Inflation Reduction Act?' Eley and Bealle 'hit it off fabulously,' she said. Together, they took the food bank's solar plan off the shelf and worked through the details of complying with the federal law's clean energy incentives. Two years later, on Earth Day 2025, Second Harvest and the alliance flipped the switch on a 1-megawatt array, one of the largest rooftop solar projects in the state. Assuming promised refunds from the federal government materialize, the project is expected to save Second Harvest $143,000 each year, funds the group says will be reinvested directly into programs that provide food, nutrition education, and workforce development across 18 counties of Northwest North Carolina. But with the tax rebates now on the chopping block in Congress, other organizations considering new facilities may not have the chance to follow Second Harvest's footsteps. 'We've already talked to several food banks who are in that process about our project, because they're interested in putting solar on the rooftops of their new buildings,' Bealle said. 'And that's not going to be within reach for some people if these tax credits aren't available.' The federal government has long offered tax credits to incentivize renewable energy projects, from solar farms to rooftop arrays. But before the Inflation Reduction Act, those enticements were of little use to food banks and other entities that don't pay an income tax. The 2022 landmark climate law allowed organizations like Second Harvest to access the 30% tax credit on their solar investment by essentially transforming it to a rebate. 'The process by which they were able to fully monetize the tax credits was quite the game changer,' Eley said. In North Carolina, the provision known as 'direct pay' serves as a vital sequel to an expired rebate program from utility Duke Energy, which helped dozens of houses of worship and other nonprofits go solar during its five years of existence. 'Duke Energy had the nonprofit solar rebate, and that was a tremendous tool that was very helpful,' said Laura Combs, a one-time solar salesperson who worked with tax-exempt groups around the state to access the cash back from the utility. 'When the direct payment came into play,' she said, 'that took up that slack.' The federal climate law also offers other inducements. It provides a 10% bonus to tax credits for projects deployed in government-defined 'energy communities,' including those on former industrial sites or brownfields. At least another 10% is available for clean-electricity projects that are located in or benefit low-income communities. As an organization that serves food-insecure households and that is headquartered in a poor census tract on a brownfield, Second Harvest qualified for both of these extra incentives. 'We really maximized the clean-energy layer cake,' Eley said. Altogether, the tax credits cut the $1.5 million price tag for the solar rooftop installation in half, Eley said. While the food bank had to pay the full amount up front and won't recoup those savings until it files its tax return for the year, the extra incentives mean the 1,702 solar panels will pay for themselves more quickly in the form of lower energy bills. Second Harvest and Piedmont Environmental Alliance hoped the project would serve as a beacon to other nonprofits looking to go solar. And in and around Winston-Salem, that's starting to come true, Eley says. 'It's opened up several doors there,' he said, mentioning that a local credit union and groups like Goodwill have expressed interest in installing panels. 'We're presently working with six faith communities that are navigating [direct pay] and going through their feasibility and contracting processes for solar specifically.' That tracks with a nationwide trend of houses of worship going solar thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. There's also been an uptick in nonprofit installations statewide, according to data compiled by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association. The association doesn't monitor whether institutions access the direct-pay feature, and some recent arrays may be holdovers from the Duke rebate program, which ended in 2022. But the numbers are striking nonetheless: Since 2011, almost 150 houses of worship, local governments, and other entities that don't pay taxes have erected solar arrays, nearly all on rooftops. Sixty-three, or 42%, did so in 2023 and 2024. Now, Eley said, the groups he's working with are especially motivated to act quickly. 'The idea of going solar has been something they have tossed around for a number of years,' he said. 'We're certainly reiterating to them if you're going to make that investment, do so now.' That's because the massive budget bill passed last month by the House — dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in an homage to President Donald Trump — would make tax credits for solar and other renewable energy projects nearly unusable. The Senate is now considering whether to pass the measure as is or to make changes. As the legislation stands now, projects would have to begin construction within 60 days of the bill's passage to access the 30% tax credit. That's an easier feat for a rooftop installation than a larger, ground-mounted affair, but still incredibly difficult for nonprofits, religious institutions, or local governments that tend to have lengthy decision-making processes and aren't already planning to go solar. Even more unworkable is a provision that requires documentation that no component of a project, no matter how small, is linked to a 'foreign entity of concern' such as China. While House lawmakers voted to make the underlying 30% tax credit virtually useless, they didn't explicitly target the three related adjustments that helped enable the Second Harvest project: direct pay, the low-income community benefit, and the brownfield benefit. 'These cross-cutting provisions are part of the tax credit structure, but they are their own mechanisms,' said Rachel McCleery, the former senior adviser at the U.S. Department of the Treasury who led stakeholder engagement for the climate law's implementation. The survival of direct pay in the House measure stands in contrast to the elimination of its twin in the private sector, transferability, which allows smaller energy companies better access to incentives. But direct pay means little if the baseline 30% tax credit is still hamstrung by the 60-day start-work requirement and the foreign-entity provision. 'This is backdoor repeal of the IRA,' said McCleery, who now advises clients on defending clean energy tax credits, 'and it's backdoor repeal of direct pay — because you can't use direct pay if you don't have an underlying tax credit.' The same applies to the bonus incentives for low-income and brownfield communities. 'These cross-cutting mechanisms can still be used,' McCleery said, 'but if the underlying credit is moot, that essentially repeals the mechanisms.' On the flipside, if the Senate restores the viability of the underlying 30% tax credit in its version of the bill, the mechanisms that aid nonprofits like food banks and houses of worship will also be accessible. But advocates say that remains a big 'if.' And there are other challenges: Slashes to the Internal Revenue Service workforce could delay payments to Second Harvest and others. And the group is bracing for the impact of the other budget cuts in the House bill as written, such as to food assistance and Medicaid. 'It's just going to put pressure on people who are already under-resourced,' Bealle said. 'And that has a ripple effect to every organization that supports under-resourced people, including us.' Combs, the former solar sales professional who also volunteers with climate advocacy group North Carolina Interfaith Power and Light, called it a 'tragic snowball.' She then brought up U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, the North Carolina Republican who has consistently voiced disapproval of a full-scale repeal of the tax credits. 'Thank goodness Sen. Tillis has spoken out and been a leader on the importance of the Inflation Reduction Act incentives,' Combs said. 'I am anxious to see how this plays out in the Senate.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
The Future of Work in Oil & Gas Strategic Intelligence Report: Automation is Key for Health and Safety, Digital Twins is Enhancing Operational Efficiency
Discover how future of work technologies, including AI, IoT, and automation, are revolutionizing the oil and gas industry. These advancements enhance operational efficiency, safety, and predictive maintenance, redefine workforce skills, and address industry challenges. Stay ahead with essential insights into this transformation. Dublin, June 09, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Strategic Intelligence: The Future of Work in Oil & Gas" report has been added to offering. This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the future of work in the oil and gas industry, examining how related technologies address four key industry challenges. It identifies which technologies companies should invest in, explore, or ignore across the value chain, highlights leading adopters and specialist vendors in the power industry, and includes case studies. The report also analyzes trends in M&A, hiring, and company filings, and features a thematic scorecard ranking major oil and gas companies on their engagement with future of work of work technologies are dramatically changing how work is performed in the oil and gas industry. As these technologies continue to develop, they will likely be used in tandem. The impact of future of work technologies in oil and gas is already significant and will only grow in the coming future of work is transforming the oil and gas industry Future of work technologies are dramatically changing how work is performed in the oil and gas industry. As these technologies continue to develop, they will likely be used in tandem. Combining automation with Internet of Things (IoT) or artificial intelligence (AI) technologies enables the collection and analysis of data, facilitating predictive maintenance and uninterrupted production, and can aid exploration through seismic data analysis. Consequently, the skillset required in the oil and gas sector is changing. Proficiency in digital tools will become essential for workers, while the significance of manual labor skills will diminish as automated systems take on these tasks. Integrating automation technologies can significantly improve health and safety in a notoriously hazardous industry. In remote and offshore locations, robotics and drones can mitigate risks associated with heights, accessing equipment, and exposure to toxic chemicals and gases. Fully automated systems operate continuously, leading to increased productivity and cost savings. Automation enables real-time monitoring and control from a centralized location, supporting remote asset management. This not only improves operational visibility but also facilitates prompt decision-making and intervention in case of emergencies or anomalies. Digital twins allow companies to monitor, analyze, and optimize their operations in real-time. By integrating data from sensors, equipment, and processes, digital twins provide a comprehensive view of assets, enabling predictive maintenance and performance optimization. This technology helps companies identify potential issues before they occur, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. BP has estimated that optimization analysis, which used to take more than a day, can now be performed in 20 minutes because of the use of digital Highlights The oil and gas industry is currently under pressure from fluctuating oil prices, increasing regulatory requirements, and the energy transition. Future of work technologies could give companies a competitive advantage and allow them to circumvent these challenges. Key technologies that should be prioritized include AI, IoT, connectivity, and robotics, which can significantly enhance operational efficiency and safety. Automation can help improve health and safety in the oil and gas industry by reducing the need for human intervention in high-risk tasks. Robots are increasingly used for tasks such as pipeline inspection, maintenance of equipment in confined spaces, and handling of hazardous materials. The oil and gas industry is facing a workforce shortage. As older workers retire, digital technologies are crucial for knowledge retention. AR headsets allow oil and gas companies to document maintenance and repair tasks, which will be vital in training the next generation of workers. Reasons to Buy The analyst's strategic intelligence ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. This report is essential reading for senior executives to understand how the oil and gas industry will be transformed by future of work technologies, ensuring your company does not get left behind. Key Topics Covered: Executive Summary Players The analyst's Future of Work Framework The Impact of the Future of Work on Oil and Gas Case Studies The Future of Work Timeline Signals Companies Sector Scorecard Glossary Further Reading Thematic Research Methodology List of Tables Key players in the Future of Work Future of Work timeline Future of Work M&A trends Leading Future of Work adopters in the oil and gas industry Specialist future of work vendors in the oil and gas industry Integrated oil and gas scorecard company screen Integrated oil and gas scorecard thematic screen Integrated oil and gas scorecard valuation screen Integrated oil and gas scorecard risk screen Glossary A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to: 3D Systems (DDD) ABB Aker Solutions ADNOC Aize Alibaba Alphabet Andium ANYbotics Amazon Apple Autodesk AT&T Avathon Baker Hughes Baker Industries Baidu BP Bidgely Bosch Caterpillar Celona Chevron Cloudera Cisco (Webex) CNPC Cyberhawk Dassault Systemes DJI Ecopetrol EDF Eni Epiroc Emerson Equinor ExxonMobil Fugro FANUC Gazprom GM (Cruise) Halliburton Honeywell Huawei Hyundai (Boston Dynamics) IBM Kuwait Petroleum Lenovo Liebherr Lukoil Merge Labs Midea (KUKA) Microsoft Microsoft (Teams/365) Midjourney MOL NIOC NICE Nesh Nvidia OMV Oceaneering OpenAI Parrot Petrobas Petronas PKN Orlen PDVSA Repsol Reliance Industries Rockwell Automation Rokid Rosneft Samsung Electronics Saudi Aramco Sasol Schneider Electric Schneider Electric (Aveva) Shell Siemens SLB Salesforce Salesforce (Slack) Seeq Stem Suncor Tatneft Tesla Teradyne TotalEnergies UiPath Uplight Verizon Vuzix YPF Xiaomi Yuneec XenonStack For more information about this report visit About is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. CONTACT: CONTACT: Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@ For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900Sign in to access your portfolio
Skift
a day ago
- Skift
Travel Tech M&A Ramps Up: 40+ Deals in 3 Months
Economic uncertainty leads to lower valuations, and that means it can be a good time to buy for companies that have the means. Analysts were right: 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for travel tech M&A. In the past three months alone, Skift has tracked more than 40 deals — many driven by companies flush with recent funding or looking to consolidate in a changing market. Skift has tracked more than 40 travel tech deals in the past three months alone. Much of the activity comes from tech companies with fresh funding from the past couple of years, which they secured in part to grow via M&A. Many large companies and investment firms are scooping up travel tech companies as well. Multiple late-stage startups — established businesses with a proven track record — raised big amounts last year as they seek to modernize the travel industry. But for younger startups, funding has been tight: So far this year, Skift has tracked fewer than 60 startup funding rounds, and only two were over $100 million. That's pacing much lower than last year when we tracked more than 200 fundings, with more than a dozen over $100 million. As investors have told Skift, economic uncertainty leads to lower valuations, and that means it can be a good time to buy for companies that have the means. Between startups running out of money and independent owners looking for an exit, there should still be plenty of opportunity. Below are details about more than 40 M&A deals involving travel tech from the past three months. The selling price for most of the deals was undisclosed. That often — but not always — means the deals were small. Boeing Selling Aviation Software for $10.55 Billion Private equity firm Thoma Bravo in April said it plans to purchase Boeing's aviation software business in an all-cash transaction of $10.55 billion, expected to close by the end of the year. The deal includes the software for airline operations, flight planning, and lease management: Jeppesen, ForeFlight, AerData, and OzRunways assets. Boeing is keeping a piece of fleet management software. The software business employs 3,900 people, including those who will remain with Boeing and those who work for the assets being sold. Amadeus Makes Two Acquisitions Amadeus, the distribution tech company, has made two acquisitions so far this year. The Madrid-based company acquired ForwardKeys, a travel data analytics firm, in the first quarter of the year. Amadeus paid $17.4 million (€15.3 million) for the company, which had about 100 employees, according to a document filed with the Spanish government. And at the end of April, Amadeus announced that it acquired Hermes, a tech product meant to streamline traveler screening at international borders. Amadeus bought the tech from Netherlands-based software company WCC Group. Amadeus made two acquisitions in 2024: Vision-Box for $347.7 million to expand its biometrics services for airports, and Voxel for $123.2 million to strengthen its payment tech services. Sabre Sold Its Hospitality Unit Sabre in April said it plans to sell its hotel tech business for $1.1 billion in cash to the private equity arm of San Francisco-based TPG. The deal is expected to close in the coming months. Sabre CEO Kurt Ekert had put a lot of effort into building the hotel tech unit since he started his role in 2023, but a top priority is reducing over $5 billion in debt. About 1,000 employees are moving with the sale, reducing Texas-based Sabre's headcount to about 5,500. Ekert talked more about the decision in an interview with Skift. JetBlue Ventures Sold to Private Equity The airline JetBlue in May said it sold its venture capital arm, JetBlue Ventures, to the private equity firm Sky Leasing as part of a focus on profitability. Amy Burr, CEO of JetBlue Ventures, spoke with Skift about what's next. JetBlue Ventures has invested in 55 early stage startups and made more 40 follow-on investments since it was founded in 2016. Eight of those companies have either been acquired or gone public, and a handful have gone out of business. JetBlue was the sole investor in JetBlue Ventures, and the investments always came from the airline's balance sheet, Burr said. That means the airline still has a stake in all the startups it has invested in so far, and the plan for now is to maintain that. JetBlue Ventures' total equity investments were valued at $89 million at the end of the first quarter this year, according to a public filing. American Express Acquires Center for Expense Management American Express in April acquired Center, a startup platform for expense management. American Express said it will integrate Center's tech with its corporate card program for commercial customers. The Center team joined American Express, the company said. The credit card company's expense management services historically have come through third-party platforms, including Concur and Emburse. Washington-based Center said its platform is meant to give businesses real-time visibility into employee spending, as well as automate accounting tasks and streamline expense submission processes. Lighthouse and Duetto Complete Their First Post-Funding Deals Lighthouse and Duetto both made their first acquisitions since getting fresh capital in recent months. Lighthouse, the London-based tech platform meant to help hotels drive revenue, raised $370 million last November. It acquired The Hotels Network in April, a Barcelona-based tech company focused on marketing and distribution for hotels. The deal added a new offering for Lighthouse and more than 20,000 hotel clients. (See Skift's story.) Duetto, the San Francisco-based hotel revenue management platform, last June was acquired by private equity firm GrowthCurve Capital for an undisclosed sum. The company in April acquired UK-based hotel data analytics firm HotStats. Lyft Acquires Freenow to Enter Europe Rideshare app Lyft in April said it plans to acquire taxi reservation app Freenow from BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz Mobility for $197 million. The deal is expected to close in the coming months. San Francisco-based Lyft operates in the U.S. and Canada. It reported that it reached an all-time high of 44 million annual riders in 2024. Germany-based Freenow operates in 150 cities across Ireland, the UK, Germany, Greece, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, and Austria. Lyft said the combined company will have more than 50 million annual riders. Bolt Makes Its First Acquisition Bolt, the rideshare app, in March acquired Viggo to expand services into Denmark. Estonia-based Bolt operates in more than 50 countries. Besides rideshare and airport pickup, Bolt offers car rentals, delivery, and e-bike and scooter rentals. Viggo operates a fleet of more than 300 electric vehicles and has 450,000 users in Copenhagen and Aarhus. Bolt already had e-bike rental operations in Copenhagen. Hotelbeds Acquires Civitfun, Its First Deal Post-IPO HBX Group, the owner of hotel wholesaler Hotelbeds, said in May that it acquired hotel tech company Civitfun. The company bought Civitfun for $3.4 million (€3 million) 'plus a deferred consideration contingent on the achievement of future EBITDA levels,' according to a filing with the UK government. Spain-based HBX Group negotiates discounted rates for 250,000 hotels — including 100,000 that it has direct contracts with — and then marks them up for more than 60,000 travel sellers. Spain-based Civitfun primarily offers digital check-in and check-out tech for hotels and vacation rentals, as well as products for hotel and guest communications, upselling, and company said it had 3,500 clients. HBX Group said its hotel partners now have access to the Civitfun tech, and the company plans to strengthen that tech. Spain-based HBX Group went public in February at a valuation of $3.3 billion (€2.84 billion) deal. Former CNBC Host Acquires Dylan Ratigan, the former CNBC and MSNBC host and serial entrepreneur, in March acquired hotel-booking site and became the new CEO. Ratigan said he was attracted to for the domain name, and the potential to expand its hotel business, as well as to branch out into travel-adjacent verticals, such as restaurants and event tickets. In 2022, HotelPlanner and were slated to merge with a shell company and go public in a SPAC deal valued at $688 million. But the three companies called off the marriage without explanation in February 2022. Mondee Acquired Out of Bankruptcy Mondee, a booking platform for travel agents, in April said that it had been acquired and exited Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Mondee co-founder and Chairman Prasad Gundumogula acquired a majority stake in the company as a co-owner of the buyer, a company called Tabhi. Other Tabhi owners include affiliates of TCW Asset Management Company, Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Mondee had been a public company before it was delisted from Nasdaq in December. SITA Acquires Airport Design Company CCM SITA, the airline-owned tech provider for much of the air travel industry, in March said it acquired airport design company CCM. Switzerland-based SITA provides tech for passenger processing, baggage handling, and airport operations, and more. Milan-based CCM said it has designed more than 300 airports worldwide. SITA says the deal is meant to combine tech and interior design as more airports prioritize self-service, biometrics, mobile apps, and IT spending. SITA says it is working to improve the passenger journey process ahead of an expected two-fold increase in air traffic by 2040. Juniper Travel Technology Adds Another Company Juniper Travel Technology acquired RezMagic, a Florida-based event management software company that focuses on the cruise industry. Juniper Travel Technology is a business unit of Juniper Group, which is an operating portfolio of Vela Software, one of the six divisions of Toronto-based Constellation Software. Juniper Group owns more than 30 companies, including around a dozen in travel. The company plans to buy as many as a dozen travel tech companies this year, said Jaime Sastre, CEO of Juniper Group, in an interview with Skift in January. Tripadvisor completed its $430 million merger with parent company Liberty Tripadvisor Holdings, a deal announced last December. Amex GBT and CWT extended the deadline for their merger to close from March 21 to Dec. 31, been an ongoing U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit to block the deal, which was first announced in March 2024. CWT's value was reduced from $570 million to $540 million. Tech firm Prosus in May completed its acquisition of Despegar, Latin America's largest online travel company, for $1.7 billion. The deal was announced in December. Other Acquisitions
