Category: 3. Business

Posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2025

OTTAWA, ON (Thurs., December 18, 2025) – Algonquin College is thrilled to share that Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd. has generously donated a Ford Mustang Mach-E to support learners in our automotive-based programs, particularly Automotive Service Technician and Motive Power Technician. Valued at nearly $60,000 CAD, this electric vehicle (EV) will serve as a key resource for practical demonstrations and hands-on exercises, giving learners direct experience with cutting-edge EV technology.

Ford of Canada’s donation of the Mustang Mach-E comes at a pivotal time, as Ontario is preparing to roll out a new province-wide curriculum in automotive education that includes a significant amount of EV training.

The growth of electric vehicle adoption is helping drive a cleaner, more sustainable economy, and Algonquin College plays a central role in training the region’s automotive professionals. The College offers diploma and apprenticeship programs that prepare learners to work in a range of automotive areas, including passenger vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles, and more. Hundreds of learners pass through these programs each year, earning skills and knowledge that accelerate their careers and strengthen local economies.

“There are hundreds of thousands of EVs registered in Ontario, and more are being registered each year,” explained Jeffery Newson, Coordinator of Algonquin College’s Automotive Service Apprenticeship Programs. “The province looks to our graduates to be fully prepared to service EVs, and we’re ready to answer that call. Ford of Canada’s donation allows us to develop and deliver course material that helps learners become ready for real-world scenarios and succeed in this rapidly evolving industry.”

Additionally, Ford of Canada, through the local dealership Barrhaven Ford, has committed to sponsoring the Algonquin College automotive team in the upcoming 2026 Skills Ontario Competition in Toronto. Automotive learners have excelled in past Skills Ontario competitions, bringing home four medals in three automotive categories, including gold in Auto Service Technology, at last year’s event.

“We are deeply grateful for the support of industry partners like Ford of Canada to keep our programs current and relevant,” said Katherine Root, Dean of the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE). “Keeping up with the rapid pace of technological innovation requires coordinated action. Providing gifts in kind—like this modern Ford EV—and sponsoring our students, that’s more than financial support—it’s how we ensure our learners get the training they need to become leaders in their fields.”

Algonquin College is proud to partner with Ford of Canada, who has been a generous and committed supporter of our programs. Their investment in our learners help us drive prosperity and innovation in the National Capital Region and beyond.

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Media contact

Meg Fraser
Communications Officer
Algonquin College
613-302-0138
fraserm2@algonquincollege.com

About Algonquin College 

The mission of Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology is to transform hopes and dreams into lifelong success. Algonquin College, an Ontario public sector community college, does this by offering hands-on, digitally connected, experiential learning in close to 200 programs. Algonquin College is the largest polytechnic institute in Eastern Ontario, with campuses in Ottawa, Perth and Pembroke, with fully online programming delivered through AC Online. 

About Ford of Canada 

Ford of Canada’s operations include a national headquarters, three regional offices, three vehicle assembly and engine manufacturing plants, two parts distribution centres, two R&D sites, and three Connectivity and Innovation centres. Ford employs approximately 7,000 people in Canada, while an additional 18,000 people are employed in the more than 400 Ford and Ford-Lincoln dealerships across the country. For more information, please visit ford.ca. 

 

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Press Releases

12/18/2025

Governor Lamont Announces Funding To Establish New State Program Helping To Make Energy Efficiency Upgrades at Existing Homes

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont, chairman of the State Bond Commission, today announced that the commission voted at its meeting this morning to approve an allocation of $18 million in bond funding that will be used to establish the Housing Environmental Improvement Revolving Loan and Grant Fund – a new state loan and grant program that will assist in making energy efficiency upgrades at existing single-family and multi-family homes and helping residents generate savings on energy bills.

Administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), this program will be used to help with the retrofitting costs of items such as the installation of more efficient heating and cooling equipment, building envelope upgrades, and other similar items that produce energy savings. The program will build on the success of DEEP’s most recent barrier remediation program, the Residential Energy Preparation Services program, which recently utilized all its available funding, removing hazards in dozens of homes, clearing the path for money saving efficiency upgrades.

The establishment of the program and its related bond funding was authorized by the Connecticut General Assembly through Public Act 25-125, which Governor Lamont signed into law this summer.

“Energy efficiency improvements are a huge part of the way that savings can be generated on energy bills,” Governor Lamont said. “One of the great things about energy efficient upgrades is that they help reduce costs and increase reliability for all ratepayers – not just the person installing an energy efficient upgrade – by reducing wasted energy across the electric grid. With this funding, we’re also removing barriers that prevent people from being able to install energy efficient upgrades. Everyone should be able to realize the savings that can come from installing energy efficient upgrades in the home. Altogether, these funds will help expand affordable housing in Connecticut by rehabilitating existing housing and integrating energy upgrades that lower utility costs, improve resident comfort, and extend building life.”

“The Housing Environmental Improvement Revolving Loan and Grant Fund builds on DEEP’s commitment to addressing high utility costs for low-income residents,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said. “With housing and utility costs rising, this funding is essential to help residents and developers, who live in or own low income single and multifamily buildings, access weatherization and energy efficiency measures that can lower utility bills, increase comfort and safety, and keep housing costs affordable.”

When the program begins, $12 million from this initial $18 million allocation will be used to provide loans for developers to install energy upgrades and retrofits in existing multifamily affordable housing, including but not limited to more efficient heating and cooling equipment and building envelope upgrades.

The remaining $6 million will go toward removing barriers that prevent people in lower-income, single family homes from making their homes more energy efficient. Barriers include asbestos, knob and tube wiring, mold, and moisture. These barriers disqualify homes from state and federal weatherization and energy upgrade programs, as contractors are unable to move forward with energy audits, window and insulation installation, and other measures if such barriers are present. For example, in 2024, about 30% of Home Energy Solutions – Income Eligible units and 50% of Weatherization Assistance Program units were deferred due to health and safety barriers. Lower-income residents face the highest energy burden, or percentage of gross income spent on energy bills, and without funding for barrier remediation these homes cannot proceed with weatherization work and therefore are not able to improve their energy efficiency, which can save money on utility bills and increase home comfort.

In 2024, DEEP compiled public input related to this funding through a request for information, where respondents highlighted gaps and challenges in the affordable housing energy efficiency space, such as lack of technical assistance, difficultly accessing financing, high costs, health and safety barriers, and market confusion. Additionally, DEEP held three Affordable Multifamily Stakeholder Roundtables in June that produced similar key takeaways and sparked the creation of an interagency working group to discuss coordination among their various affordable multifamily programs.

The next steps in the establishment of the Housing Environmental Improvement Revolving Loan and Grant Fund include determining the process to recruit entities that can implement the program. DEEP hopes to solidify a process for entity selection by early to mid-2026, with the goal of initial program launch for both the grants and loans by end of 2026.

Funding complements other recent efforts to reduce energy costs

The funding and establishment of this program complement other efforts Governor Lamont has enacted recently to help reduce energy costs. These include:

• Governor Lamont signed energy affordability legislation this year that will save ratepayers at least $300 million on their electricity bills over the next two years, and more in future years.
  • Public Act 25-173 was a collaborative, bipartisan effort to provide rate relief immediately and over the longer term to Connecticut residents and businesses facing costly utility bills.
  • Connecticut was recently recognized for its passage of Public Act 25-173 and Public Act 25-125 by the National League of Conservation Voters in its 2025 Clean Energy Report.
  • The $300 million includes savings to ratepayers of $125 million annually in each of fiscal years 2026 and 2027 by shifting hardship protection measure costs off electric bills to state bonds; and $30 million in savings in fiscal year 2026 and $20 million in fiscal year 2027 by shifting electric vehicle charging program costs off electric bills to state bonds.

• Connecticut’s Conservation and Load Management (C&LM) energy efficiency programs, implemented by Connecticut’s utilities with oversight from DEEP and the state’s Energy Efficiency Board, continue to provide significant energy and bill savings benefits to ratepayers.
  • C&LM program investments in 2025 alone are expected to deliver $353 million in bill savings to Connecticut ratepayers over the lifetimes of the installed efficiency measures.
  • In 2025, an individual Connecticut resident participating in the home energy assessment program through EnergizeCT is expected to receive an average incentive of $1,129, which will result in $2,068 average lifetime bill savings.
  • Overall, C&LM programs returned $2.38 in benefits for every $1 invested from 2022 to 2024. Benefits are anticipated to increase to $3.30 for every $1 invested in 2025-2027.

Twitter: @CTDEEPNews

Facebook: DEEP on Facebook

Contact

DEEP Communications  
DEEP.communications@ct.gov
860-424-3110

While official statistics compiled by government agencies are still considered the most reliable, policymakers are increasingly using private data to get around their limitations. Claudia Sahm is a former principal economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and has studied the growing role of alternative data in monetary policy. In this podcast, Sahm says the immediacy and granularity of private company data should serve as a complement to traditional data, not as a substitute.

Read the article in the IMF’s Finance & Development magazine

December 18, 2025 9:28 AM

Council approves agreements for seven displays

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Dec. 17, 2025) — The Santa Monica City Council on Tuesday approved a Digital Display District Ordinance establishing a digital display district encompassing Third Street Promenade and Santa Monica Place shopping center. 

Building on the Realignment Plan, which focuses on a clean and safe downtown through public safety investments, capital improvements, and new and existing Promenade activations, the Digital Display District Ordinance is intended to complement broader revitalization efforts. Together with initiatives such as the Entertainment Zone, both serve as strategic placemaking tools to support a vibrant and revitalized downtown. 

The ordinance allows the city to advance its vision of downtown as a cultural, entertainment, and economic center while maintaining standards for quality and consistency of digital displays, such as: 

• Digital displays are limited to corner buildings on Third Street Promenade and on four exterior façades at Santa Monica Place. 
• Each display is capped at 1,000 square feet, with a maximum of 16 displays districtwide. 
• All digital displays require approval through individual Development Agreements, ensuring consistency and meaningful community benefits. 
• Each owner of the digital display must meet minimum building occupancy standards to ensure active, occupied ground-floor spaces that support pedestrian activity and a vibrant streetscape. 

Other key provisions of the ordinance include: 

• Limits on brightness, hours of operation and refresh rates 
• Projections and encroachment standards 
• Prohibitions on flashing or traffic-confusing content 
• Mandatory use of 100 percent renewable energy, where commercially available 
• Emergency alert capabilities for public announcements 
• Strict maintenance, safety and malfunction requirements 

The ordinance also requires the provision of community benefits, including financial contributions to the city. The ordinance specifically requires that applicants provide a one-time contribution to the city of $500,000 per digital display and continuous annual financial contributions consisting of a revenue-sharing model or minimum annual guarantee of at least $500,000, whichever is greater. 

Assuming all 16 displays are active, the estimated ongoing contribution to the city is expected to be between $3.5 million and $7.0 million annually, or 20 percent of the gross annual revenues for each approved digital display, whichever is greater. 

Additionally, each digital display must allocate at least 20 percent of screen time for city public messaging and arts content that may include civic information, cultural programming, local storytelling, and public art.

The ordinance will go into effect 30 days after the second reading, slated for early 2026. 

Following the adoption of the ordinance, the council also approved four development agreements for seven large-format, off-premise digital displays in Downtown Santa Monica: 

• Four displays at 395 Santa Monica Place 
• One display at 301 Arizona Avenue / 1253 Third Street Promenade 
• One display at 1202 Third Street Promenade 
• One display at 1310 Third Street Promenade 

The approved Development Agreements will go into effect upon the effective date of the ordinance. 

For more information, watch the meeting discussion here, or see the staff report here.

Media Contact

Tati Simonian


Public Information Officer


Tati.Simonian@santamonica.gov

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