Business
Airlines team up with California to boost adoption of lower carbon jet fuel
San Francisco — Jet airplanes spew enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and noxious chemicals, but the industry insists it wants to clean itself up.
Some of the largest commercial airlines and airborne cargo carriers in the U.S. have banded together to help solve the problem under their trade group Airlines for America. On Wednesday, the group announced a partnership with the California Air Resources Board to set policy to pave the way for wide adoption of sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs.
Those fuels today are based on food waste and farm crops, although alternatives including hydrogen lie on the horizon. United Airlines started using some SAF in 2015. But SAFs’ share of the market is tiny, and they’re two to three times as expensive as jet fuel — basically kerosene — from refined oil.
Biofuels also draw criticism from many environmentalists because their supply chain still contributes carbon to the atmosphere, and much of what’s burned today is a mix of SAF and fossil jet fuel. And, they say, land used to grow corn and other fuel ingredients could be put to better use.
CARB and the airlines will “work together with sustainable aviation fuel producers, aviation stakeholders, and the federal government to ensure that at least 200 million gallons of cost-competitive options are available for use by airlines within California by 2035,” the air board said in a press release. “A Sustainable Aviation Fuel Working Group of government and industry stakeholders” will be created.
The major focus will be on state and federal financial incentives and permit reform.
The plan was announced at a news conference at San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday. CARB Chair Liane Randolph said that “California is once again demonstrating that smart climate action is good for the environment and good for business.”
“This partnership with the nation’s leading airlines brings the aviation industry onboard to advance a clean air future and will help accelerate development of sustainable fuel options and promote cleaner air travel within the state,” she said.
The 200 million gallons “seems like a pretty modest goal to me,” said Aaron Smith, an agriculture and resources economist at UC Berkeley.
The federal government is aiming to create a supply of 3 billion gallons by 2030, which most industry observers consider an aggressive target.
The passenger airlines and cargo carriers working with the state are Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Atlas Air Worldwide, Delta Air Lines, FedEx, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, UPS and Air Canada.
Business
The Container Store files for bankruptcy amid stiff competition
The Container Store has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid steep losses, slumping sales and increased competition.
Business in its stores and online will continue as usual while it restructures, the Texas-based home goods, storage and custom closets chain said late Sunday. Customer deposits for in-home services will be honored, and merchandise orders will be delivered as normal.
“The Container Store is here to stay,” Chief Executive Satish Malhotra said in a statement. “Our strategy is sound, and we believe the steps we are taking today will allow us to continue to advance our business.”
The Container Store peaked in its 2021 fiscal year, when the company exceeded $1 billion in sales for the first time and posted record earnings as consumers spent heavily on home remodeling and redecorating projects during months of pandemic quarantine. A national de-cluttering craze, set off by organization expert Marie Kondo, also benefited the chain.
But since then, the Container Store has struggled.
Part of the company’s struggles are due to competition from rivals including Target, Walmart and Amazon, which often sell storage items that are similarly stylish at a lower price point. And with housing prices and mortgage rates remaining stubbornly high, many prospective home buyers have been forced to wait on the sidelines, dampening demand for a wide range of products and services that come with outfitting a new property.
For the three months ended Sept. 28, the Container Store reported a loss of $16.1 million. Sales totaled $196.6 million, down 10.5% compared with the same quarter a year earlier. Same-store sales fell 12.5%.
Founded in 1978, the Container Store operates more than 100 stores around the country. In Los Angeles County, it has locations in Century City, El Segundo, Pasadena and Woodland Hills.
It filed for bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of Texas, two weeks after the New York Stock Exchange notified the company that its shares would be suspended for failing to maintain an average global market capitalization of at least $15 million over 30 consecutive trading days.
The Container Store said it expected to confirm a plan of reorganization within 35 days and emerge from bankruptcy soon after as a private company. The company said at least 90% of its term loan lenders had pledged $40 million in new money financing.
The Chapter 11 process does not include Elfa, a separate customized closet business based in Sweden, which is owned by the Container Store.
In an email to customers Monday, Malhotra said the company had felt “the impact of the challenging macro-economic environment” but reassured them that “our obligations to you will be fulfilled as expected.”
“You can feel confident that any orders, deposits or business you have with us are safe,” he said.
It has been a tough month for large-format retail chains. Last week Party City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it would close all of its roughly 700 stores nationwide, and Big Lots said it would begin going-out-of-business sales at about 870 stores after a deal to sell the company fell through.
Business
Judge enters default judgment in suit against Kanye West's private school
A judge entered a default judgment against Kanye West’s Christian private school in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday in connection with a lawsuit filed by a former employee.
Isaiah Meadows, Yeezy Christian Academy’s former assistant principal, sought a default judgment in his wrongful termination and unpaid wages lawsuit against the school — later rebranded Donda Academy — and other defendants for failure to appear through licensed attorneys.
The judge, Christopher K. Lui, ruled in favor of Meadows’ motion. He also ruled that the answers given by defendants — Yeezy Christian Academy, Donda Services LLC and Strokes Canyon LLC — in response to Meadows’ complaint be stricken.
Last year, a lawyer representing West, and the three other defendants denied “each and every allegation of Meadows complaint,” in a filing with the court.
In August, Brian Blumfield, West’s most recent attorney who was representing the music mogul and other business entities in the matter, sought his removal from the case on the grounds that the defendants had terminated their relationship in June and that they had refused to speak to or pay Blumfield, according to court filings. The judge granted the request.
Meadows had alleged that he brought many of the school’s health and safety issues to the attention of West and the school’s director. But they were left unaddressed and Meadows was later fired.
According to the complaint, a skylight in one of the classrooms didn’t have glass, allowing rain to fall in the building. West reportedly did not like glass.
“Water would soak into the floor, which would lead to a moldy smell for the next few days.”
Further, electrical and telephone wires were also allegedly left exposed and on one occasion an electrical fire started near a student dining area.
In 2020, Meadows was offered $165,000 salary to work, according to the suit. However, he claimed that West later reneged on his promise to pay for his rent after doing so for three months — Meadows had relocated with his family from North Hollywood to Calabasas to work at the school.
The rent payments ended in February 2021, Meadows claimed after he “was suspended after calling for meetings and raising concerns regarding operations of the school.”
Meadows alleged that his salary was then cut and he was later demoted and worked as a teacher’s assistant and physical education teacher. That April, he sent an email outlining his concerns about his pay and that of other staff members.
Nearly two weeks before the new school year was to start in 2022, Meadows was told that he was being terminated “with no explanation as to why.”
The suit is one of at least five filed against West and Donda Academy since 2023 that allege a hostile workplace as a result of West’s conduct, which includes claims of discrimination and antisemitism, and retaliation, as well as various health and safety issues at the school’s property that was located first in Calabasas, then Simi Valley and finally in Chatsworth.
Donda Academy abruptly shut down in October 2022, amid a cascade of fallout from West’s antisemitic comments, which led a number of his business partners such as the Gap and Adidas to sever ties with him.
There were reports that the school reopened shortly thereafter; however, according to the California Department of Education, the school has been closed since June of this year.
Business
Santa, aka the IRS, might be dropping $1,400 into your stocking this year
Everyone’s favorite Christmas gift giver, the Internal Revenue Service, has announced that it will be doling out more than $2 billion in checks to Americans this month as part of its effort to make sure everyone received their stimulus payments from 2021.
The federal tax agency has announced that an internal review showed many Americans had never received their economic impact payments, which were supposed to go out following the filing of 2021 tax returns. Because of this, the agency is paying out the money they still owe Americans who never received their checks.
Although most eligible Americans received their stimulus payments, the checks will be sent to those who qualified but filed a 2021 tax return that left the space for recovery rebate credit blank.
Those people are eligible for up to $1,400 from the federal government. The payments should be received by late January 2025, at the latest.
“These payments are an example of our commitment to go the extra mile for taxpayers. Looking at our internal data, we realized that 1 million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it.”
Stimulus payments of $1,400 were sent out to Americans as part of a $1.9-trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Millions of Americans were eligible for the payments.
To get a check, Americans were required to make less than $75,000 per year or under $150,000 as a household.
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