Christopher Weber

Associated Press

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing Podcast

Today in Manufacturing has a new podcast brought to you by the editors of Industrial Media. In each episode, we discuss the five biggest stories in manufacturing, and the implications they have on the industry moving forward.

A man leaves his home during a mandatory fire evacuate as smoke from the Silverado Fire fills the air, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, in Irvine, Calif.

Utility Says its Equipment May Have Sparked California Blaze

Two firefighters were critically injured while battling the fire.

Firefighters watch as a helicopter drops water in a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles.

Blackouts Possible as CA Fires Loom

Less than two weeks after blacking out much of Northern California, weather could prompt it to shut off power to about a half-million people.

This Tuesday, May 28, 2019, photo shows the Skai vehicle, developed by Alaka'i Technologies in Newbury Park, Calif. The transportation company is betting its hydrogen-powered electric flying vehicles will someday serve as taxis, cargo carriers and ambulances of the sky.

Hydrogen-Power Electric Flying Vehicle

It looks like an oversized drone crossed with a luxury SUV.

Court Blocks Soda Ad Warning

It's seen as a victory for beverage and retail groups that sued to block the ordinance.

In this July 2, 2018, photo, traffic moves on the old Gerald Desmond Bridge next to its replacement bridge under construction in Long Beach, Calif. The new Gerald Desmond Bridge at the nation’s second-busiest port isn’t just a crucial route for cargo trucks and Southern California commuters - it’s a concrete-and-steel science experiment for engineers and seismologists. It’s slated to open next year.

New Bridge Has Sensors

The new bridge will have about 75 seismic sensors.

In this Dec. 31, 2014, file photo, the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains provide a backdrop to the downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area in Baldwin Hills. California greenhouse gas emissions fell below 1990 levels, meeting an early target years ahead of schedule and putting the state well on its way toward reaching long-term goals to fight climate change, officials said Wednesday, July 11, 2018.

California Meets Gas Reduction Goal Years Early

California law requires that emissions return to 1990 levels by 2020 and reach 40 percent below that marker by 2030.

In this July, 7, 2004, file photo, a storage tank is seen at the Arrowhead Mountain Water Company bottling plant, owned by Swiss conglomerate Nestle, on the Morongo Indian Reservation near Cabazon, Calif. Nestle has been offered a three-year permit to keep taking millions of gallons of water from Southern California's San Bernardino National Forest, but with new restrictions designed to keep a creek flowing for other uses. The offer announced Wednesday, June 27, 2018, by the U.S. Forest Service allows the maker of Arrowhead bottled water to continue piping water from the Strawberry Creek watershed as it has done for decades.

U.S. OKs Nestle Water Draws from Forest

The company contends that it inherited rights to forest water dating back more than a century.

In this Sept. 17, 2015, file photo, Darshan Brahmbhatt, plugs a charger into his electric vehicle at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District charging station in Sacramento, Calif. California utilities will invest nearly $768 million to expand a network of charging stations and other infrastructure for electric vehicles as the state moves toward a goal of 5 million zero-emission cars on the roads by 2030. The California Public Utilities Commission voted 5-0 Thursday, May 31, 2018, to fund programs statewide, with an emphasis on building facilities in disadvantaged communities.

CA to Spend $768M on EV Infrastructure

There will be an emphasis on establishing facilities in disadvantaged communities where traffic and air pollution are often heaviest.

In this photo provided by G.F.Bunting survivor and co-plaintiff Lalo Barajas, center, whose partner Peter Fleurat was killed during devastating debris flows in January at their home, speaks at the site in Montecito, Calif, Thursday, March 29, 2018. Attorneys from left, Joseph Liebman, Geoff Spreter, Peter Bezerk, and Alex Robertson, right, announced the filing of a wrongful-death lawsuit by Barajas and Fleurat's siblings claiming Southern California Edison transformers ignited California's largest-ever wildfire in December. The suit says the blaze could have been prevented and the debris flows wouldn't have happened as a result.

Utility Sued After Deadly Mudslides

Plaintiffs allege faulty equipment sparked a huge wildfire that stripped hillsides bare ahead of heavy rains.

In this photo Wednesday, May 14, 2014 file photo, a Google self-driving car is on exhibit at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Calif. Driverless cars will be tested on California roads for the first time without a human being behind a steering wheel under new rules for the fast-developing technology. The regulations approved Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, are a major step toward getting autonomous vehicles onto the streets of California, the nation's self-driving car hub.

State OKs Fully Driverless Tests

Until now, driverless cars could only be tested on public roads in the state if a person could take the wheel in an emergency.

In this Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017, photo provided by Jack Zellweger, a fire rages at the Chevron El Segundo Refinery in El Segundo, Calif. A fire that erupted at the West Coast's largest oil refinery threatened storage tanks and sent huge flames into the sky and black smoke across neighborhoods before crews quickly smothered it. Dozens of firefighters responded late Tuesday to the 1,000-acre refinery just south of Los Angeles, which processes nearly 275,000 gallons of crude per day.

Fire at Oil Refinery

The fire threatened storage tanks while sending huge flames into the sky