By Faughn New Location • Renewable Energy 0 Comments

Cyclum to Unveil NextGen Travel Center at Tulare Ceremony

February 24th, 2025 – Cyclum is proud to announce the Site Dedication Ceremony of its first next generation Traditional, Transitional and Renewable “TTR” fuel travel center at Mefford Airfield in Tulare, California, on March 13, 2025, at 1:00 PM. This state-of-the-art facility marks a pivotal step in Cyclum’s ambitious plan to develop approximately 400 next-generation travel centers nationwide over the next ten years, blending traditional fueling options with cutting-edge zero-carbon solutions, renewable diesel, hydrogen, renewable compressed natural gas (CNG), and electric vehicle (EV) charging.

The Tulare facility is designed to provide a new standard of convenience and sustainability for fleets and travelers, featuring premium fresh food offerings, modern amenities, and innovative fueling solutions. This site reflects Cyclum’s mission to revolutionize the travel center experience while supporting a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future.

“This dedication ceremony is a testament to Cyclum’s commitment to innovation and sustainability in the travel center industry,” said Brian Profitt, CEO of Cyclum. “Tulare is just the beginning as we pave the way for a greener and more efficient future for fleets and travelers.”

The event is part of the 2025 Trucking with Clean Fuels Conference at the International Agri-Center in Tulare from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM earlier in the day. The conference provides fleet operators and industry leaders the opportunity to explore advancements in clean fuel technologies, including a Ride & Drive experience, an exhibitor expo, and expert-led sessions.

“We are honored to partner with Cyclum to bring this groundbreaking facility to Tulare,” added JV Partner Ben Khatirine. “Collaborating with the city has been a rewarding process, and we are excited to continue working with the local community to make this site a success. This facility will serve as a critical fueling hub and a model for modern, sustainable travel centers.”

About Cyclum

Cyclum is redefining the travel center experience with its visionary plan to develop 400 innovative facilities across the United States. By integrating traditional fuels with next-generation zero-carbon solutions, Cyclum is committed to leading the charge in sustainable transportation while delivering superior convenience, comfort, and service to travelers nationwide.

https://cyclum.com/f/cyclum-to-unveil-nextgen-travel-center-at-tulare-ceremony

By Faughn Economy • Quality of Life 0 Comments

Tiny homes for the homeless now open in Madera

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Monday for the Madera Rescue Missions’s Triage Center. The Triage Center consists of six pre-manufactured tiny homes located on the Mission’s 7,600-square-foot lot. The county plans to build more in the future to accommodate those experiencing homelessness like resident David Campos. Campos said it was around 2020 when times became really tough for him.

“During Covid, we had trouble paying our bills,” Campos said.  “So, I went to several places, you know, trying to find a place.”

Campos moved around from different places in Fresno and eventually landed at the Madera Rescue Mission. On Monday, city and county officials held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the opening of the tiny homes and how they will be benefiting those in the county, like Campos. The project was funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Community Development Block Grants, as well as ARPA funding.

https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/local-news/tiny-homes-for-the-homeless-now-open-in-madera/?mc_cid=39a7626c23&mc_eid=c4726fd3b7

By Faughn Education • Workforce 0 Comments

BC partners with Amazon, Wonderful on industrial workforce training

Bakersfield College will become just the fifth institution in the United States, and the only one near the West Coast, to offer a certification program teaching apprentices at Amazon to become electromechanical technicians. The program is a three-organization partnership in that the e-commerce giant will contract with BC to train the company’s employees and employees of The Wonderful Co. will be hired by the college for the purpose of supporting the training. The training itself is planned to take place at The Wonderful Career Center in Shafter.

The company’s Reliability and Maintenance Engineering program is being funded by a $1.37 million contribution from the Bakersfield College Foundation’s donor-funded Innovation Fund, which will pay for the initiative’s training equipment. Companies that develop and operate local distribution centers have prioritized workforce development in recent years as they try to keep up with increased demand for people who can not only handle products in warehouses but also maintain and repair machinery, some of it automated, inside the buildings.

BC President Jerry E. Fliger said in a news release the partnership is an example of what career technical education should be — “effective and directly connected to industry needs.”

“Working together with industry leaders like Amazon and Wonderful bridges education and workforce development,” he added. “Because of this collaboration, BC will provide individuals with real skills that lead to high-paying, in-demand jobs.”

Added Cheryl Scott, executive director of the BC Foundation, “This partnership with Amazon is a perfect example of how strategic investments in education can transform lives and industries.”

A BC spokeswoman said by email Monday apprentices who advance through the program can get eight certifications showing their knowledge of industrial electricity, mechanical components, fluid power and programmable logic controllers. When they finish, they will receive a certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor recognizing them as an electromechanical technician. The in-person, classroom-learning portion of the program is expected to run for 12 weeks. The apprenticeship aspect comprises 2,000 work hours.

“By working alongside Amazon and The Wonderful Company, we’re ensuring students gain the skills needed to thrive in today’s workforce,” Rozanne Hernandez, BC’s dean of career technical education, said in the news release.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bc-partners-amazon-wonderful-industrial-035900838.html

By Faughn Hi-Tech 0 Comments

Stockton’s Applied Aerospace acquires firm that worked on Webb Telescope

A Stockton-based aerospace company is reaching for the stars with the acquisition of a firm that, among other things, was part of the team that created the deployable sunshield on the James Webb Space Telescope. Applied Aerospace, which makes various aerospace components, said earlier this month it has completed the acquisition of NeXolve, a Huntsville, Alabama, company with expertise in advanced polymers, films and resins used in space applications.

NeXolve helped create a five-layer sunshield for the Webb Telescope that’s the size of a tennis court. Because the telescope’s scientific breakthroughs are made by detecting infrared radiation, it needs to be kept extremely cold. The sunshield protects the spacecraft from the intense heat of the sun. NeXolve has made other membrane-based products for space as well. These include deployable solar sails that gather radiation from the sun to propel a satellite. And the company crafted an atmospheric drag sail that can brake a failing or antiquated satellite to force it reenter the atmosphere where it harmlessly burns up instead of becoming another piece of space junk.

In acquiring NeXolve, Applied Aerospace also picks up its modern facilities. Those include a spacecraft assembly bay and a characterization laboratory.

“The complementary engineering capabilities that NeXolve brings to the Applied Aerospace family is incredible,” Applied Aerospace CEO Kevin Bidlack said in the statement. “By combining our capabilities, we look forward to developing a new generation of deployable sub-systems that will help our customers improve the mission effectiveness and extend the service life of their spacecraft.”

NeXolve’s work in developing, making and testing the sunshield on the Webb Space Telescope, billed by NASA as the largest and most complex instrument of its kind ever put into space, earned the company NASA’s Collier Trophy for achievement in astronautics.

Applied Aerospace also makes a variety of aeronautical products. They range from fairings, rudders and elevators on the refueling boom of the Air Force’s KC-46A Pegasus air tanker, a derivation of the Boeing 767, to the composite reflector and strut assembly on the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Due to launch in two years, the Roman Space Telescope is designed for research into dark energy and dark matter.

Applied Aerospace’s business has been soaring. It announced in February that it closed its fiscal year with a backlog of $450 million in work, a company record high. The company said it landed 37 new contract awards and saw expansions in its existing programs.