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Charles Suppon has big plans for the Tunkhannock Area School District. At any given time, the northeastern Pennsylvania districts chief operating officer can rattle off statistics about fields in which its schools excel: arts, AP classes and softball, as well as on-the-job training programs for future farmers, welders and more. Goats and chickens roam the high schools courtyards, where students also tend to koi fish; in the hallways just beyond, high schoolers tinker with tractors, build furniture to sell and offer free tax services for the broader community. But Suppon speaks with vigor when he talks about the five-megawatt system he hopes to install across five solar arrays on the districts buildings and surrounding property. The solar panels will heat the districts pool and serve as the basis for new curricula and jobs training classes on the solar industry. For a rural district of around 2,000, Tunkhannock is punching above its weight class, he believes. Were a smaller school district doing big things. Suppons district is in a bright red portion of Pennsylvania northwest of Scranton, narrowly outside one of the states more prolific natural gas regions. For him, solar is simply a pathway toward cost savingsjust as natural gas, from which the district earns royalties off several leases, has been. Tunkhannock believes it could save upwards of $1 million a year by switching to solar, money that could be used for student initiatives. It was always a financial decision, Suppon said. We wanted to be able to offset our energy costs, produce our own energy, and only pay distribution [fees] back to the grid. Theres one catch: Tunkhannocks plan to go solar is contingent upon winning more than $1 million in funding from the states Solar for Schools program. Currently in its inaugural year, Solar for Schools was born from a bill that faced an uphill battle in a legislature where environmental bills often die by attritiona battle that required its creator, progressive Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler (D-Philadelphia) to reach across the aisle and help marry what are often competing interests in the statelabor, education, and climate. But that money for Tunkhannock might not come through because of the stiff competition for the limited funds. While last years state budget gave the Solar for Schools program $25 million to disperse to school districts, the program received applications that add up to nearly four times that amount from schools and districts large and small, rural and urban, and conservative and liberal. I was pleased, but hardly surprised, Fiedler said in an email to Capital & Main of the demand. The disparity between the grant programs budget and the size of its application pool mirrors a broader reality within the state Legislature: Despite clear and growing demand for solar energy, the political will to meet it has yet to catch up. A 2022 poll of more than 1,300 Pennsylvanians conducted by Vote Solar Action, an advocacy group urging pro-solar legislation at the state level, found that 65% of Pennsylvanians support large-scale solar farm development in the state. More than 80% said they support rooftop solar, while 73% support natural gas and 52% support coal. I [have] visited nearly every corner of the state, from Waynesburg to Bethlehem, and in every place I met folks who wanted to save money on electricity, create good local jobs, and preserve the beauty of their communities, Fiedler said. Yet the state lags far behind most others in solar development: Pennsylvania currently ranks 49th in the nation for its growth in solar, wind, and geothermal generation over the last decade, according to the nonprofit advocacy group PennEnvironment. It has fallen behind other major fossil-fuel producing states, like Texas, the countrys second-largest solar generator in 2023; California, where solar and wind together comprise close to half the states energy generation; and New Mexico, which Environment America, the national organization behind PennEnvironment, ranked 4th in the U.S. for renewable energy production in 2024. Just 3% of Pennsylvanians now have solar panels on their roofs, Vote Solar Actions poll foundthough 31% said theyd be interested in installing them. The lag could be attributed, in part, to interconnection delays by the regional grid operator PJMthough many of its neighbors in the same system, like Washington D.C., New Jersey, and North Carolina, have eclipsed Pennsylvanias solar production. Because of increased demands predicted by PJM, utility bills in Pennsylvania are slated to increase this summer. Fiedler sees solar production as an antidote to what could be an oncoming energy crisis in the state. We must generate more electricity, she said. Nuclear, wind, geothermal, and gas power plants can all be part of the solution, but the fact is we need energy now, and solar is the fastest. But solar initiatives continue to hit gridlock in the halls of state power. After making its way through the state House last summer, a bill that would have enabled community solara program that allows multiple residents to enroll in a shared solar array separate from their homesdied in the Republican-controlled Senate. The bills author, Rep. Peter Schweyer (D-Lehigh), who introduced it as a way to make solar accessible for renters, apartment dwellers and those who cant afford solar panels by themselves, has had to reintroduce the bill and start over again this session. Gov. Josh Shapiros attempt to pass an updated renewables target also failed to gain traction in the Legislature last session. Where a 2004 target required 05% of the states energy generation to come from solar, the new plan would have required the state to reach a 35% target by 2035 that included solar, wind, and nuclear energy generation. He has reintroduced it as part of a broader energy package dubbed the Lightning Plan. In a divided legislature, the fate of both initiatives is tenuous. As renewable energy faces sweeping attacks at the federal level under the direction of President Donald Trump, states are stepping up to hold the line. Whether Pennsylvania will prove itself to be a meaningful player in this fight remains an open question. Climate change has become politicized, said David Masur, executive director of nonprofit advocacy group PennEnvironment. Which then potentially can create more powerful special interests who are opposed to common sense policies and have a vested self-interest in the status quo, and politicians having sort of a knee jerk reaction to oppose things [that] are probably good even for their very own constituents. Case in point: Solar for All, a federal grant program initiated by the Biden administration that awarded Pennsylvania $156 million for residential solar installations on low-income households, was designed to save residents $192 million over the next 20 years in energy costs while averting 43 million tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere, the equivalent of removing more than 9 million cars from the road for a year. These funds quickly became a negotiating chip. During deliberations over the 2024 state budget, a line was inserted into an omnibus fiscal code bill that prevented the state from accessing the funds. Though the Solar for All program was just one of several dozen federal environmental grants Pennsylvania won under Biden-era initiatives, the budget bill specifically calls out that one program. It requires legislative approval for the programs funds to be disbursed. So, Fiedler sought out exactly that when she authored HB 362, a bill that would force the Legislature to vote on allowing the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, the states independent financing authority, to distribute funds it has already been awarded. Fiedler said the funds are already under contract with the federal government. HB 362 passed the House Energy Committee, which Fiedler chairs, in March. It now sits in the state House, home to a slim one-vote Democratic majority, as a battle to free the money falters after being confronted with a last-minute hurdle. Two days after the bill passed, Rep. Craig Williams (R-Chester County), introduced an amendment that would require the states utility regulator to promulgate regulations on net meteringa system that allows residential solar users to sell surplus energy back to the grid to incentivize the buildout of rooftop solar. Environmentalists fear the amendment could open the door to doing away with net meteringa major financial incentive for many residential solar owners. Reforming net metering has long been a priority of the American Legislative Exchange Council, a conservative lobbying firm that disburses model bills to states, including those fighting renewable energy and attacking environmentalists. The group argues that paying solar owners for the energy they produce is costly for utilitiesthey pay them retail rates, rather than wholesale rates, and residential solar producers may end up generating enough energy to offset distribution fees theyd pay for the wires that move energy around the grid. Utilities then pass those costs onto consumers, and nonsolar users end up subsidizing their neighbors with solar panels, they argue. Williams has used similar language in opposing solar legislation; environmentalists generally disagree with this premise. Critics were quick to point out that, prior to joining the Pennsylvania House in 2020, Williams spent more than 10 years as general counsel for PECO, a Philadelphia-based utility that has come under fire from environmentalists for neglecting to increase its share of renewable energy. State lobbying and campaign finance records show the company spent more than $600,000 on lobbying in 2024, and donated $6,000 to Williams in 2024 between a failed run for attorney general and a successful campaign to keep his seat in the state House. The trade group that represents PECO and other utilities, the Edison Electric Institute, has long challenged net metering as states have grown their share of solar production. The more people who generate energy from their homes, the less [utilities] get to build out their larger operations, said Elowyn Corby, Mid-Atlantic regional director for Vote Solar Action. Williams amendment passed with support on both sides of the aisle. Environmentalists, however, consider it a poison pillone that could weaken the states fledgling solar industry. In Pennsylvania, probably the best thing we have going for solar is net metering, said Masur, the PennEnvironment director. Minus Williams amendment, Fiedlers Solar for All bill makes common sense, Corby said. At its heart, the goal of this legislation is to make sure Pennsylvania doesnt send federal money that belongs to our neighbors back to DC, Fiedler said. The Solar for All program focuses specifically on serving homeowners who might otherwise be unable to afford solar panels of their own. In Pennsylvania, funds are specifically earmarked for low-income households, who are guaranteed at least 20% savings on their electricity bills. Its unclear whether Fiedler will push forward to advance HB 362 now that it includes a threat to net metering. In the coming months,the state Legislature may also vote on initiatives that would put solar panels on municipal and emergency response buildings; warehouses and distribution centers; and townhouses governed by homeowners associations. Shapiro has proposed reupping the Solar for Schools programs $25 million appropriation in the 2025-2026 budget, set to be finalized by June 30. Though Fiedler said shes pleased to see the program reinstated, she said that number is the minimum we should budget. Jim Gregory, a former state representative and now executive director of the Conservative Energy Network-Pennsylvania, has committed himself to convincing his former colleagues of the importance of renewables in a diverse state energy portfolio. If that money is going to be made available, we want to see it made available to low- and moderate-income families in rural Pennsylvania, he said. Gregory said hes watched as attitudes toward solar among conservatives in state government have shifted. I dont oppose anyone who wants to put solar on their rooftop or anything like that to help with utility bills, said Rep. Kathy Rapp (R-Warren) at a recent meeting of the House Energy committee on Fiedlers bill. Rapp has, for several sessions, introduced legislation requiring solar operators to create end-of-life plans for their arrays, which has yet to pass. Though far from an all-out embrace of solar, Rapps language offers a window into a softening stance on renewables. In 2019, Rapp wrote on her Facebook profile that solar and wind energy pose serious environmental risks, and called its supporters radical Green New Deal proponents. Despite past roadblocks, Fiedler remains optimistic about the fate of solar initiatives in the state. She sees the Solar for Schools program as evidence of broadening support for clean energy. I believe there is political will for solar and all types of energy development in the state, she said. A lot of that success comes from the broad stakeholder coalition we built and from the support of colleagues on the other side of the aisle. For school districts like Tunkhannock, the states ability to reach consensus has very real consequences. With the fate of federal solar tax credits unclear, district leaders say they are currently on the edge of their seats. The Solar for Schools grant could end up being a lifeline. To say not getting potentially a million dollars in grant money wouldnt affect us at all I think would be a lie, said Suppon, the school districts chief operating officer. This piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.
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An upcoming exhibition at Londons Design Museum will let guests take a journey through Wes Andersons never-before-seen personal archivesfrom the coat worn by Gwenyth Paltrow in The Royal Tenenbaums to the original Grand Budapest Hotel model and the actual puppets used in the stop-motion film Fantastic Mr. Fox. The exhibition, titled Wes Anderson: The Archives, includes more than 600 objects collected by the iconic filmmaker over the past 30 years. It opens on November 21 and runs through the following July, and advance tickets are already on sale. Aside from a smaller initial showing at la Cinémathque française, a collaborator on the exhibition, this will be the first time that Andersons archives have been displayed. In fact, most of the items have rested in storage ever since the shooting of their respective films. Max Fischer’s Rushmore Swiss Army knife. [Photo: Roger Do Minh/ the Design Museum] An extensive archive Andersons personal object curation began after the making of his first feature-length film, Bottle Rocket, which was released in 1996. Andersons meticulous collecting of these items began when he realized that everything that had been made for Bottle Rocket was owned and then sold off by the films production company, the release explains. So, from his second feature filmRushmorehe personally took care of every item after shooting concluded, ensuring he was the guardian of all items crafted for each movie. Model of The Grand Budapest Hotel [Photo: Thierry Stefanopoulos/La Cinémathque française] Because of this concerted effort, the Design Museum now has access to items from 1998s Rushmore all the way up to Andersons most recent project, the 2023 short film anthology collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Richie Tenenbaum poster, The Royal Tenenbaums. [Photo: Richard Round-Turner/ the Design Museum] Some of the most recognizable pieces in the collection include props, costumes, and puppets from Andersons films. From The Grand Budapest Hotel, theres the original candy-pink model of the titular hotel, standing several feet tall; the films Boy with Apple painting, which becomes a central character in itself; and the jaunty concierge costume worn by Ralph Fienness Gustave H. From The Royal Tenenbaums, theres the much-emultated tan fur coat worn by Gwyneth Paltrows Margot Tenenbaum, as well as a poster of Richie Tenenbaum thats shown in the film. And from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, costumes from the full ensemble cast will be on display together. Miniature washing machines, Isle Of Dogs. [Photo: Richard Round-Turner/ the Design Museum] Fans of Andersons animated stop-motion films, Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs, will get an opportunity that might be the most exciting of all: coming face-to-face with the characters themselves. Rat puppet, Arch Model Studio, Fantastic Mr. Fox. [Photo: Richard Round-Turner/ the Design Museum] A glimpse of Wes Anderson’s creative mind In addition to props from the films, Wes Anderson: The Archives plans to offer a peek into Andersons work process and lesser-known details from his career. Starting with the earliest point in his artistic evolution, the museum will show a screening of Andersons Bottle Rocket short film, the original 13-minute version of the eventual feature-length movie starring Owen and Luke Wilson. The short serves as the very first example of Andersons now-iconic style, and is often cited as the launchpad for his later fame. Wes Anderson’s personal notebooks from The Royal Tenenbaums. [Photo: Roger Do Minh/ Wes Anderson] Also on view will be a series of Andersons annotated notebooks from the set of The Royal Tenenbaums, as well as early sketches, storyboards, and polaroids from set. In short, its a Wes Anderson superfans most far-fetched dream, all contained in one museum showing.
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Hawa Hassan was only 4-years-old when fighting forced her and her family from their home in Somalia. Hassan spent the next three years in Kenya, where some of her earliest memories were of running around tents in a refugee camp with her siblings and helping her mother stock the goods store shed opened there. When she was seven, Hassans mother sent her to live with family friends in Seattle. It would be another 15 years before she saw her family again. A lot of my childhood was spent wondering about my own background and my own identity, said Hawa, a chef and entrepreneur who now lives in New York. For many years, I had this deep desire to find people like myself and tell that story. [Photo: courtesy Ten Speed Press] Hassans new cookbook, Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Communities from Eight Countries Impacted by War is the fruit of that longing. To write it, Hassan spent three years travelling and interviewing dozens of chefs and entrepreneurs from Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, and Yemencountries perhaps better known to outsiders for civil strife than rich ingredients and complex flavors. The chapters are divided by country, each one offering a brief history; lush photos of daily life; several recipes; and at least one interview with a local grower, restaurateur, or community organizer. My number-one goal is to tell a different story about what it means to be from these places, Hassan said. I hope that when people pick up this book, they come for the recipes, but they stay for the stories. In the DRC she spoke with a baker who found success delivering mikateor doughnutsto customers during the pandemic. A brewer from Baghdad reflects on building a new life in New York and highlights masgoufa grilled fish with tamarind sauceas a must-try Iraqi dish. Though many of the people she spoke with have been displaced, Hassan said she intentionally focussed on food traditions and everyday life rather than conflict. This was much more about the idea of home rather than what the temperature of a country is, or what your politics are, she said. Mikey Muhanna, a social entrepreneur featured in Hassans Lebanon chapter, said that perspective came as a relief. I was apprehensive at the beginning, he said. There’s a million orientalizing books, like, let’s go to war-torn countries and talk about real people on the ground, but the more I got to speak to her, and her collaborator [photographer Riley Dengler], I realized that they were coming from a place of real curiosity. He said Hassans work offers a blueprint for how to report on communities other than ones own. Its really powerful to see somebody who has the life perspective that Hawa has tell these stories with integrity, patience, and curiosity, he said. Hassan traces the roots of Setting a Place for Us more a decade back to a six-month stay in Norway, where her mother and siblings eventually settled. After so many years apart, Hassan said she had to learn to find her place again in her family. That’s when I started thinking about how I know it’s not only my family that has these big stories to tell about being othered or impacted by war or by family separation, she said. Hassan was working as a model in New York at the time, but in Norway she spent hours in the kitchen with her mother making Somali food. When she returned to the U.S. in 2015 she started to lay the groundwork for her company, Basbaas, a condiment company with offerings like tamarind date sauce and coconut cilantro chutney. In 2020, she published her debut cookbook, In Bibi’s Kitchen, which she cowrote with Julia Turshen. A collection of recipes from grandmothers in eight eastern African countries, it won the James Beard Foundation award for Best International Cookbook. The sauce [company] has helped me to inch my way onto the American dining table, and tell a story of not just being a Somalian girl, but being an African girl, she said. She saw In Bibis Kitchen as an expansion of that storyoffering a glimpse of womens daily lives in East Africa. Following the success of In Bibis Kitchen, she was approached by Food Network TV to host her own show. She starred in Hawa at Home, where she cooked dishes like Doro Wat and made piri piri sauce, bringing East African food to new audiences. Her new book is a more intimate exploration of her life storyone that relates to millions of displaced people around the world. Setting a Place for Us is the next layer of who I am that I’m willing to share, which is a person who’s been impacted by civil unrest, displacement, and family separation, Hassan said. But despite the heavy subject matter, the book is largely optimistica celebration of the places people have returned to after years away or that that they continue to long for from afar. My philosophy is we have no sad stories to tell, Hassan said. Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Communities from Eight Countries Impacted by War will be published on Tuesday, May 13, by Ten Speed Press.
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