Latest news with #DavidGarcia
Business Journals
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
I-77 program offering free rides reaches milestone
I-77 Mobility Partners is celebrating another milestone in its ongoing efforts to improve regional mobility and enhance connections to essential services. In July, the company surpassed more than $100,000 in free rides on the I-77 Express lanes for participants in its groundbreaking I-77 Community Assistance and Rate Equity Solutions (CARES) Program – a venture that provides improved access to financial well-being, health care, education and additional opportunities. 'We believe this is one of the first programs of its type in the country,' says David Garcia, CEO of I-77 Mobility Partners. 'As a proud member of the Charlotte and Lake Norman region, we understand the peace-of-mind that reliable travel can offer all our neighbors as they travel to job interviews, doctor's visits and other important appointments.' An Innovative Solution I-77 Express is a public-private partnership between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and I-77 Mobility Partners that developed an innovative solution to a critical transportation corridor that was often plagued by congestion. After responding to a competitive state-led procurement process, I-77 Mobility Partners secured more than $500 million in private financing – money that did not come from taxpayers' pockets – allowing the NCDOT to make major improvements to 26 miles of I-77 roughly 20 years ahead of schedule. Those improvements have decreased travel time for all drivers – not just those who chose to use the express lanes. For example, average weekday peak period speeds in the free general-purpose lanes have increased 30-40% since prior to construction in 2015 – and that's despite a 13% increase in traffic volume. I-77 CARES Piloted in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Department of Community Resources in 2023, the I-77 CARES Program began by offering five free rides per month to any resident who received assistance through the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) Program. As demand grew, I-77 Mobility Partners formally launched the program in 2024 by expanding its scope to residents in Iredell County and doubling the number of free trips each month to 10. Notably, the company pays all costs associated with the program, including reimbursing the counties for the time it takes their employees to verify the applicants' information. A Wonderful Program 'I rely on my father to take me to my medical and dental appointments,' wrote one participant in a recent poll of the program. 'So, the plan gets me to my appointments on time.' Another wrote, 'I appreciate this program so much. It helps me get my grandson from daycare. I feel much more comfortable in the toll lanes away from all the traffic.' And yet another wrote, 'Thank you so much for this wonderful program. We appreciate you so much.' Additional Donations In addition to the more than 17,000 free trips it has given away through the I-77 CARES program, I-77 Mobility Partners is on track to donate more than $750,000 to area schools and nonprofits. In particular, it is focused on promoting STEM education in Title One schools, reducing teen-driver accidents and eliminating food scarcity. 'I-77 Express has proven that managed lanes offer drivers the choice of reliable travel times while improving traffic flow and speeds in the free, general-purpose lanes,' says Rob Boisvert, Director of Corporate Affairs for I-77 Mobility Partners. 'Moving forward, we will continually search for ways in which we can further improve the surrounding community and the people we serve.'
CBS News
08-08-2025
- CBS News
Suburban Chicago teens' pay for summer jobs held up for weeks due to issues with state grants
After weeks of wondering if they would get paid for their summer jobs, some south suburban Chicago teens are finally getting their paychecks. The six relieved teens were cheering Thursday. But over the past several weeks, they had nothing to smile about. "I was pretty upset," said David Garcia. "I waited two weeks, three weeks. I'm like, when am I going to get paid?" "I'm like what's happening, what's going on?" said Alahna Davis. "I need answers to my questions." "I was very frustrated, honestly, being that I'm in college," said Ella Kazembe. "You know, I'm trying to save up." The teens all worked hard doing various summer jobs. "It was my first summer job," said Nancy Bustos. They renovated classrooms, worked with children at daycares, and even did landscaping work in the heat. "Oh I was sweating a lot," said David. "I was hard working, hard working." Yet in July, the youngsters were among 108 teenagers who woke up one morning to some surprising news. "I got an email saying, 'Do not come to work,'" said Nancy. "She was explaining the situation, saying that there was a problem with the money being transferred," said Ella. The teens were hired through the Cook County Southland Juvenile Justice Council, which provided CBS News Chicago documents showing that back in April, the State of Illinois awarded them two grants for a total of $253,000. But the state had only transferred $17,000 by mid-July. "We didn't want to give them no false pretenses and no false hope," said Cook County Southland Juvenile Justice Council chief executive officer James Lyles. Lyles said he sounded the alarm with the state in mid-June. State records show two payments for $100,000, and another for $136,000, were finally transferred on Aug. 1. The Illinois comptroller's website shows that the payment was supposed to transfer an entire month earlier on July 1. So what caused the delay? Lyles said when the fiscal year ended on June 30, the state had to issue a one-day contract, which took 30 days to process — an issue he wants the state to address moving forward. "We need to know that, do you have capability and capacity to do these things while you're offering these contracts time and time again, and not put us in a position where, you know, we have to give comfortable answers to uncomfortable questions with these kids," said Lyles. And while their pay came very late, the teens are no longer stressed now that they have it. "Just be patient," said Ella. "Honestly, good things take time." To further ensure they will not have the issue with the state grants again, the Cook County Southland Juvenile Justice Council said it is considering getting a commitment in writing that the state will pay the teens in addition to the grant approval. The teens now have the cash many needed for college move-ins, which are just days away.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Yplasma zaps the air to cool chips for data centers
If you didn't know any better, you might think it's magic. David Garcia gave TechCrunch a demo video demonstration of a device developed by his company, Yplasma. A row of five candles sit in front of a harmonica-like device with wires hanging off it. Suddenly, the flames flicker and then snuff out. Inside the device, two strips of copper coursing with electrical current are generating plasmas, or clouds of charged particles, that induce airflow through the cavity and out over the candles. It's nothing a fan couldn't do, but Yplasma's actuator has no moving parts, and the strips are thin and flexible. 'It's cheap to manufacture, is very thin, so it fits everywhere, and also consumes very little energy,' Garcia told TechCrunch. A small fan in a laptop might use 3 to 4 watts, Garcia said, but Yplasma's actuator would only use 1 watt to cool the same amount. Plus, its flexible form factor means it's easier to fit in increasingly space-constrained consumer electronics. Those qualities have caught the attention of a major semiconductor manufacturer, he said. To refine its actuators, Yplasma recently raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Faber with participation from SOSV, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. As part of the deal, Yplasma will run its research and development out of SOSV's Hax lab space in Newark, New Jersey, and offices in Madrid. The company was spun out of Spain's space agency, INTA. The ability to manipulate air using nothing but electrical forces has a wide range of applications. Based on Yplasma's website, that could include vehicle aerodynamics, satellite propulsion, aircraft deicing, water harvesting, and more. In fact, the startup's initial target market was wind turbines. There, being able to control airflow and reduce drag can boost the amount of electricity one generates by 10% to 15%, Garcia said. Plus, the plasma actuators can also be configured to generate heat, helping to de-ice turbine blades. 'In North America and other parts of the world, ice is a problem. For wind turbines, 20% of the energy is lost because of that,' he said. Yplasma is still working on a product for wind turbines, and it's going to deploy a test at Sandia National Laboratory this summer. But Garcia said that after a project with the semiconductor manufacturer proved successful, Yplasma started devoting more attention to chip cooling. The company is closely studying the data center market, too. Cooling is one of the biggest non-compute expenses in a data center, so improving the effectiveness and efficiency would help bolster the bottom line. 'There's nothing between fans and liquid cooling or immersive cooling, and immersive and liquid cooling is super expensive,' Garcia said. 'They're hungry for cooling solutions.'
TechCrunch
09-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Yplasma zaps the air to cool chips for data centers
If you didn't know any better, you might think it's magic. David Garcia gave TechCrunch a demo video demonstration of a device developed by his company, Yplasma. A row of five candles sit in front of a harmonica-like device with wires hanging off it. Suddenly, the flames flicker and then snuff out. Inside the device, two strips of copper coursing with electrical current are generating plasmas, or clouds of charged particles, that induce airflow through the cavity and out over the candles. It's nothing a fan couldn't do, but Yplasma's actuator has no moving parts, and the strips are thin and flexible. 'It's cheap to manufacture, is very thin, so it fits everywhere, and also consumes very little energy,' Garcia told TechCrunch. A small fan in a laptop might use 3 to 4 watts, Garcia said, but Yplasma's actuator would only use 1 watt to cool the same amount. Plus, its flexible form factor means it's easier to fit in increasingly space-constrained consumer electronics. Those qualities have caught the attention of a major semiconductor manufacturer, he said. Techcrunch event Save up to $475 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $450 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW To refine its actuators, Yplasma recently raised a $2.5 million seed round led by Faber with participation from SOSV, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. As part of the deal, Yplasma will run its research and development out of SOSV's Hax lab space in Newark, New Jersey, and offices in Madrid. The company was spun out of Spain's space agency, INTA. The ability to manipulate air using nothing but electrical forces has a wide range of applications. Based on Yplasma's website, that could include vehicle aerodynamics, satellite propulsion, aircraft deicing, water harvesting, and more. In fact, the startup's initial target market was wind turbines. There, being able to control airflow and reduce drag can boost the amount of electricity one generates by 10% to 15%, Garcia said. Plus, the plasma actuators can also be configured to generate heat, helping to de-ice turbine blades. 'In North America and other parts of the world, ice is a problem. For wind turbines, 20% of the energy is lost because of that,' he said. Yplasma is still working on a product for wind turbines, and it's going to deploy a test at Sandia National Laboratory this summer. But Garcia said that after a project with the semiconductor manufacturer proved successful, Yplasma started devoting more attention to chip cooling. The company is closely studying the data center market, too. Cooling is one of the biggest non-compute expenses in a data center, so improving the effectiveness and efficiency would help bolster the bottom line. 'There's nothing between fans and liquid cooling or immersive cooling, and immersive and liquid cooling is super expensive,' Garcia said. 'They're hungry for cooling solutions.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem attends ICE raid at Los Angeles County home
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include the intended target of the raid. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem joined federal immigration agents Thursday on a raid targeting a man with a criminal record at a Huntington Park, California, home, the agency said. The raid occurred Thursday morning when about a half-dozen vehicles carrying heavily armed, masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents converged on a home occupied by a 28-year-old pregnant mother of four. Sabrina Medina said she was in the shower around 6 a.m. when her brother-in-law first saw the menacing presence in front of the family's home. 'I was just terrified, I'm not going to lie to you,' Medina told KTLA's Rick Chambers. 'I was shaking. I was scared. I've never gone through anything like this.' Medina said she looked out the window and saw 10 men dressed in tactical military gear, all carrying rifles. 'I was like, 'Am I dreaming or is this real?'' she said. According to Medina, who is a U.S. citizen, the agents told her to exit her home with her children. Standing in the driveway, they showed her a warrant for her husband, listing his name as David Garcia. As she explained that her husband's name is Jorge and that he was not at the house, one of the agents was captured on an outdoor home surveillance camera turning the device away from what was transpiring. Cameras inside the home captured the heavily armed ICE agents going through the residence room by room, all while Noem, wearing a bulletproof vest and ballcap, watched from the street. DHS later posted on X that the target of the raid was 'an illegal alien from Mexico who had previously been deported. His criminal history includes drug trafficking and assault.' After hearing about the raid, L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn went to the Huntington Park neighborhood and spoke with some of Medina's neighbors. 'I'm very disappointed in this government right now and what they're doing,' she told KTLA. Four months pregnant with her fifth child, the Huntington Park mother said if her husband is deported, the family's future is bleak. 'I'm not going to be able to pay my rent when I have to pay it,' she explained. 'My husband is not here. I don't know if they're going to pick him up tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. It's sad.' ICE agents, along with Noem, eventually left the home empty-handed, and the children were allowed back inside. For now, the family is unsure what the coming days will bring, but Medina said if her husband is deported, she and her children will likely follow him back to Mexico. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
