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In early January, as the Eaton Fire approached their neighborhood in Altadena, California, Ronald Dunlap and his wife made a last-minute decision to evacuate. We got a warning to be ready to leave, [but] we never got the warning to leave, says Dunlap, a 78-year-old artist. All of the sudden, the power went out and we looked out the window and the fire was pretty close. Hours later, the neighborhood was gone. Theres nothing, he says. Its just like somebody walked through with a blowtorch and just took everything out. For more than three decades, he and his wife had lived in a small, charming house originally built in 1912 as a maids quarters for a larger adjacent house. We bought that house after saving for years, he says. At the time, it cost $165,000. Just before it burned down, it was worth around 10 times that much. The couples home insurance can cover only around half the money needed to rebuild, Dunlap says. (And at nearly 80 years old, he doesnt want to spend the years it might take to go through the typical process of building a house in the area.) At the same time, he and his wife cant easily move elsewhere in L.A. County since the cost of a modest home is now stratospherically higher than what they’d originally paid. Several of their elderly neighbors face the same challenges, he says. But now Dunlap is hoping they may be chosen as part of a new project. A new nonprofit, founded in the wake of the fires, plans to donate small prefab houses to lower-income fire victims who cant afford to rebuild either because they were underinsured or dont have insurance at all. [Photo: Samara] Steadfast LA, the nonprofit, plans to initially donate between 80 and 100 of the houses, most of which will be 950 square feet each. Joe Gebbia, one of the cofounders of Airbnb, is donating $15 million to the effort, which Steadfast LA plans to match with other donations. Gebbia’s other company, the prefab home manufacturer Samara, is building the homes at cost, with no profit. Steadfast LA also hopes to partner with other modular-home companies. Building homes in a factory can help with one of the biggest challenges the region faces: With some 16,000 structures destroyed, the construction industry isn’t “set up for that kind of capacity,” says Mike McNamara, cofounder and CEO of Samara. “And obviously people want to get their homes as quickly as possible. [Photo: Samara] Also, the Trump administration’s immigration policies could shrink the pool of available construction workers, adding to shortages that existed even before the fires. By building offsite, the company can avoid putting more strain on the labor market. It also can use a different supply chain. The homes are built primarily with metal instead of wood and don’t have the same competition for materials. “When you think about the overall construction costs, it’s tiny compared to building a giant home on-site,” McNamara says. “The whole idea that we could just do all this work off-site is pretty interesting from a supply chain standpoint.” [Photo: Samara] The startup has a 150,000-square-foot factory in Mexico where it builds its homes on an assembly line. (Although the Trump administration may put tariffs in place for Mexican goods, McNamara says that it shouldn’t affect the company because it can use American building materials.) Automated equipment turns steel into 2-by-6 studs that are framed. Along other parts of the assembly line, the company builds roofs, walls, floors, and other components. As the structure is assembled, wiring, plumbing, and insulation are added. When the homes are shipped to a site, they essentially just need to be placed on a foundation and connected to utilities. The company also builds decks that are customized to the slope of the land on each property. The houses are designed for durability and should last 100 years, McNamara says. Normally, Samara’s homes are used as accessory dwelling units (ADUs). The smallest is a 420-square-foot studio. But its largest two-bedroom model is 950 square feet, similar in size to many of the homes that were lost in Altadena. The Dunlaps’ house was around 1,300 square feet. Around 600 of the houses that burned in the area were less than 1,000 square feet. In Pacific Palisades, some of the homes that were lost were mobile homes. [Photo: Samara] Steadfast LA will be screening homeowners to make sure they meet certain criteria, including being under certain income limits. But some other homeowners might choose to buy the houses directly, particularly if that’s all that their insurance money can cover. (A 950-square-foot two-bedroom unit starts at $261,000 plus an installation fee.) Some fire victims who have reached out to the company say they also want to take the opportunity to downsize. “People [are saying] ‘Hey, I’m older, my kids are gone,” McNamara says. “We just talked to a gentleman last week who was like, ‘My house is 2,800 square feetI don’t even want a 2,800-square-foot house.'” [Photo: Samara] Because Samara is based in California, the houses have been designed for fire resistance. The roof and siding are made from metal. The doors and windows have dual-pane glass with aluminum frames. The homes don’t have attics with eaves, where embers often enter in a fire. The air-purification systems are specifically designed to handle wildfire smoke if there’s a fire nearby. Before houses can be built on lots that burned in the fire, federal and state workers need to clear out rubble and contaminated soil, and then properties will need to be greenlit for construction. Utilities on each street may need to be repaired. It’s not clear how long it will take before new construction can begin on each site, though the first stage of cleanupremoving household hazardous wastewas completed this week. Once the permits are in place, Samara can move quickly. Building a home in the factory takes around six weeks, and multiple houses can move through the assembly line at once. “Imagine every two days or three days, a unit pops off the back of the line,” McNamara says. It’s only a partial solution; even if the homes can be built quickly, residents will likely have to move back onto desolate blocks with empty lots where construction hasn’t yet begun. Meanwhile, multiple groups, including Steadfast LA, are pushing to find ways to help accelerate development overall. All of this is happening in the context of L.A.’s massive housing shortage. “We have to continue to address this broader housing shortage at the same time as we try to rebuild,” says Shane Phillips, the housing initiative project manager for UCLA’s Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies. That includes doing more to encourage people to rebuild multifamily housing, or housing with ADUs, he argues, rather than just replacing single-family homes. Steadfast LA’s founder, Rick Caruso, is a billionaire developer known for building malls. He also previously ran for mayor of L.A. and lost, and has criticized the current mayor for her handling of the wildfiresthough the extreme weather conditions and the limitations of urban water infrastructure likely made stopping the fires impossible. (Altadena, it should also be noted, is separate from the City of L.A.) The new nonprofit is running parallel to a separate rebuilding program run by the city, as well as another run by the state. Caruso is widely expected to run for office again; if he does, he’s likely to make the fires and rebuilding part of his campaign. “There’s no question that there’s a political motivation behind Caruso’s effort here,” Phillips says. “But that doesn’t mean [it’s] not a positive thing.”
Category:
E-Commerce
Federal workers are facing uncertainty as President Trump and Elon Musk have already given notice to around 30,000 employees, with no signs of slowing down. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was created with the purpose of slashing the size of the 2.3 million-strong federal workforce, leaving many career government employees scrambling. For those affected, the transition out of government work can feel daunting. Many federal workers have spent yearssometimes decadesbuilding careers within the public sector, where job stability and structured career paths are the norm. Many people are now grappling not only with the financial implications of losing a job but also with the emotional toll of being abruptly separated from work they found meaningful. I dont cry often, but I absolutely lost it, one anonymous Park Service worker who was let go told Fast Company recently. I worked very, very hard, in a dangerous profession, to earn the position I was in, and to have it taken away from me truly hurt. That worker and tens of thousands of others have been thrust into a competitive job market, where everything from a workers skill set to the wording of a résumé may differ. While the road ahead might seem uncertain, career experts say there are clear steps laid-off federal workers can take to position themselves for new opportunities. Making a successful transition is about understanding the private sector’s expectations and adapting accordingly. 1. Evaluate Your Skill Set and Practice Interviewing The first thing to do when looking for a job is understand where the opportunities lie and what the requirements are for those roles, says Fast Company contributor and Careerminds expert Amanda Augustine. She recently helped put together this guide for laid-off federal employees navigating a career transition. She says once you find a job post that seems promising, its about seeing where your skill sets match up. Job postings can give you ideas on how you can translate your previous experiences into terms that are being used in the job description, says Augustine. Your skill set from a government job likely wont be a perfect match for the private sector, so its important to find a way to rephrase your strengths. Informational interviews are a way to get a better sense of where your skill set fits and what opportunities you should be looking into. This helps identify where a gap in experience might be that you can address by acquiring certification, a certain hard skill, or even a soft skill that you want to work to fill. Informational interviews can also help answer questions like what type of job you want to pursue, whether youd like to work at a nonprofit, in the private sector, or doing something entirely different. You can also ask about the best way to translate your skills. There is also a lot of information out there for job hunters to see what kinds of questions employers will ask in interviews based on the industry they are in, says John Mullinix, head of growth marketing for Ladders. On our site, we have a list of behavioral interview questions and how you might answer those for different industries. 2. Update Your Résumé When looking for a new job, a strong résumé is key, as its likely the first thing a recruiter looks at. Mullinix says former federal employees should probably condense their experiences. Federal résumés are often long because they want you to include every little detail. Most HR people are not going to spend that much time on your résumé, he says. We actually did a study. Right now they spend about six seconds looking at a résumé. So it’s not ideal for your résumé to be four to six pages long. You want it to be one to two max. When deciding what to leave on and off your résumé, the main focus should be functionality. Federal résumés tend to be organized chronologically, with detailed summaries of each position. But in the private sector, this is not always what recruiters are looking for. [Job seekers] want to include the [positions] that are most relevant or hyper-relevant for the roles that they’re going to apply to, Mullinix advises. We don’t need a 25-year summary. Try to keep it to the last 10 years. The language that you use on your résumé is also important, as you want to talk about impact and achievement versus process. Including quantifiable results instead of generic descriptions of duties and responsibilities is always more valuable, Mullinix says. Employers want to know what you did and the impact you had. For employees with government clearances, unless it’s relevant for the role you are applying for, Mullinix says, you dont need to include it. Government jargon does not always translate to the corporate world. When crafting your résumé, there is almost a language barrier in how government employees describe their skills in the private sector, says Augustine, noting, The first thing to do is [think about] the civilian equivalents to any really specific government jargon that nobody outside of your field understands. There is actually also a large database online that describes different government terms and can help you understand how to strip out some of that very specific terminology to make it more generic, or in terms that a prospective employer will appreciate. 3. Focus on Networking Networking can seem like a daunting task, especially if youre searching for connections outside your usual area of employment. But there are steps you can take to make it seem less overwhelming. Having an updated LinkedIn profile is key. One thing you want to do is make sure you’re updating it so that it’s telling the same story as your updated résumé, Augustine says. But even beyond that, it starts with just connecting with those you meet. LinkedIn is not just for the people you meet while you’re working. It’s [for] your friends, your family. Look up target companies and engage with their content on LinkedIn so you dont come off as cold in your outreach, Mullinix advises. Now might also be a good time to attend relevant conferences, trade shows and or other networking events to make connections with target companies. Connecting with everyone you know and sending them each a thoughtful message so they are reminded how they know you, while also identifying loose connections (like a friend of a friend), is beneficial, says Augustine. You can also identify people on LinkedIn who previously orked for the government and have already transitioned to the private sector. Think creatively about networking opportunitiesespecially when it comes to virtual options. There are various different ways to approach this, Augustine says. Not everybody’s good in a big, crowded room. Not everybody’s good face-to-face. One of the silver linings of COVID and the shutdowns is that a lot of virtual networking options opened up. Augustine says you might also consider joining efforts with a former coworker who has also been laid off. Finding someone else to work with and share resources gives you a support system along the way, she explains. The odds of both candidates being an exact perfect fit for the exact same role are fairly slim, so youre not really in competition. The job hunt may be challenging, and you may still be mourning your old role, but the most important thing is to be patient. Augustine and Mullinix agree that doing the work and staying consistent will help you land your next job. Be patient with yourself, Mullinix says. Do the things that are hard and do them consistently, and you should see success.
Category:
E-Commerce
According to reports released this week, the Trump administration is considering scrapping a hallmark finding that greenhouse gases endanger public healthand even some oil companies are opposed to the idea. Based on reports from both Bloomberg and The Washington Post, Lee Zeldin, the recently appointed administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, has privately urged President Donald Trump to rewrite whats known as the Endangerment Finding, a federal statement released in 2009 that set the stage for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. Heres what to know about the finding, and what could happen if Trump rescinds it. What is the Endangerment Finding? The 2009 Endangerment Finding was the federal governments official acknowledgment that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. The statement specifically identifies six problematic gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The Administrator finds that six greenhouse gases taken in combination endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations, the statement reads. The Administrator also finds that the combined emissions of these greenhouse gases from new motor vehicles and new motor vehicle engines contribute to the greenhouse gas air pollution that endangers public health and welfare. Today, the Endangerment Finding is the key legal mechanism underpinning the regulation of air pollutants from vehicles and power plants. Scrapping the finding was first suggested in the right-wing Project 2025, which also advised eliminating federal restrictions on fossil fuel drilling on public lands and curtailing federal investments in renewable energy technologies. The move was also considered during Trumps first term, though it never came to fruition. What will happen if the Endangerment Finding is scrapped? Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, the EPA can regulate air pollutants if it finds that they cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. If the Endangerment Finding were to be revoked, that could set the scene for a major federal deregulation of greenhouse gas emissions, especially when it comes to the automotive industry and power plants. The possibility comes as several other levers of climate deregulation are on the horizon. This week, Congress is set to vote on two bills that would roll back climate regulations instituted in the final months of the Biden administration. The first bill concerns a fee on methane emissions by oil and gas companies, which the EPA said in November would reduce methane emissions by 1.2 million metric tons through 2035. The second bill concerns efficiency standards for tankless water heaters set by the Energy Department, which were predicted to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 million metric tons over 30 years. Meanwhile, operations at the EPA might also have a major shake-up in store. During his first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Trump said Zeldin is currently planning to cut “65or so% of the people from environmental.” A White House official later clarified that Zeldin plans to eliminate 65% of what it says is the EPA’s “wasteful spending,” which will include staff cuts. How are experts reacting to this news? So far, several legal experts have suggested that an attempt to roll back the Endangerment Finding would result in an influx of legal challenges, and that it wouldn’t hold up under scrutiny. Sean Donahue is an attorney who has represented environmental groups that support the Endangerment Finding. In an interview with The Washington Post, he argued, You can have a lot of good and reasonable disputes about exactly how we should be addressing climate change. But the proposition that greenhouse gas emissions from human activities dont endanger public health and welfare is not a position that could be supported by the science or what EPAs own record suggests. David Doniger, a senior strategist and attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, told The Washington Post that his firm is prepared to challenge the move in court, should it come to that. Even some oil and gas companies are wary of the potential decision. According to Bloomberg, some energy companies have pointed out that nullifying the Endangerment Finding would open the doors for an influx of public nuisance lawsuits against oil producers and power plants. At the time of this writing, Trump has not commented on whether he plans to act on Zeldins recommendation.
Category:
E-Commerce
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