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Boeing Planning $1 Billion Expansion in S.C.

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A Boeing 787 Dreamliner accelerates down the runway while taking off on its long-waited first flight Dec. 15, 2009 at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. (Photo: Stephen Brashear Getty Images)

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Bruce Smith
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Boeing announced Tuesday it is expanding in South Carolina, investing another $1 billion and creating 2,000 new jobs over eight years.
“Boeing is now a part of the fabric of South Carolina. So this is family and when family does well, we all get excited,” Gov. Nikki Haley said at an aerospace conference along with Boeing and state officials.

The state is providing $120 million in incentives for upfront expansion costs such as utilities and site preparation at Boeing’s North Charleston manufacturing complex that now employs about 6,000.

The first of the company’s 787 Dreamliners built in South Carolina rolled off the assembly line about a year ago. The plant assembles one of the planes a month and within six weeks will be assembling two a month, said Jack Jones, the vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina.

The Boeing plant also builds mid- and aft-body assemblies for 787s that are made in South Carolina and Everett, Wash. Jones said seven assemblies are put together each month and the number will increase to 10 this fall.

“We feel that with the Boeing commitment for a billion bucks and an additional 2,000 jobs created, the incentive the state is offering is commensurate with our commitment,” he said.

“With unprecedented demand for commercial airplanes — including a forecast of another 34,000 airplanes required over the next 20 years — Boeing is positioned for significant and sustained growth in the years ahead,” said a statement released by company spokeswoman Candy Eslinger.

Incentive bills were introduced in both the state House and Senate in Columbia on Tuesday.

Senate Finance Chairman Hugh Leatherman said he’s in awe of Boeing’s expansion plans. “Our state could very well become the aerospace hub, when you bring all these suppliers in here to supply not only Boeing but possibly Airbus in Alabama,” he said.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell issued a statement saying the state and Boeing have been good partners from the start.

“As a Legislature, it’s our job to create an environment that fosters economic growth so the private sector can do what government can’t, create sustainable new jobs,” he said.

Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt said the incentives are similar to those granted to BMW when its plant in Greer, S.C. expanded after opening in the 1990s.

“BMW made a big move about the same value we’re talking about here. You had to be able to improve the infrastructure to be able to grow and expand,” he said.

News of the expansion was first reported in The Post and Courier. Jones said the hiring will be spread over the eight years.

Last year, the Charleston County Aviation Authority began the process of selling 320 acres near the North Charleston assembly site. The agency also voted to give Boeing first rights of refusal on nearly 500 more acres, as well as an option to buy another 265 acres. Last year Boeing also bought the South Carolina Research Authority office site near its assembly plant.

“A lot of people are reading into that that it means we’re going to bring other programs on down,” Jones said. “There’s no commitment to that. What it does open up is flexibility. We don’t want to be landlocked.”

The 787 has been grounded since mid-January because of a problem with smoldering lithium-ion batteries. The company has proposed a fix to federal regulators and last week conducted a final test on the new design that includes more heat insulation and a battery box designed so that any meltdown of the battery vents hot gases outside of the plane. None of the 787s that reported battery problems were built in South Carolina.

SOURCE:  USA Today

U.S. Border Patrol Uniforms Manufactured in Mexico

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A Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agent pats down a man before he is returned to Mexico. (Photo: CBP/Gerald L. Nino)

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Elizabeth Harrington
(CNSNews.com) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has granted uniform contracts to VF Imagewear, Inc., an apparel company that relies on manufacturing sites in Mexico for a “significant percentage” of its occupational garments.
The latest contract with the company was awarded on Dec. 20, 2012, to make “uniform and insignia items” for the CBP at an estimated cost of $6,157,997.57, and a ceiling of $8 million.

The CBP, which is responsible for protecting America’s borders, told CNSNews.com that items from VF Imagewear, a subsidiary of VF Corporation, are manufactured in a number of locations, “including Mexico.”

“There are no domestic preference regulations or statutes applicable to DHS/CBP that would prohibit the manufacture of uniform items in Mexico,” the CBP said.  “In fact, United States obligations under International Agreements require that the Agency accept items manufactured in Mexico.”

“Consistent with the foregoing, VF is permitted to provide items manufactured in Mexico under the current contract,” the agency said.

According to the company’s 2012 annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “VF operates manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.”

“A significant percentage of denim bottoms and occupational apparel are manufactured in these plants, as well as a smaller percentage of footwear,” the report says.  Occupational apparel refers to uniforms made by VF Imagewear.  The company supplies uniforms for a variety of industries, including transportation, hospitality, food service and for the NFL, MLB and Harley-Davidson.

Manufacturing for Major League Baseball uniforms, however, occurs in the United States, according to the annual report.

VF Imagewear also maintains websites for the uniform programs for the CBP, the Fire Department of New York City, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the National Park Service.  “These websites provide the employees of our customers with the convenience of shopping for their work and career apparel via the Internet,” the report states.

According to VF Imagewear’s 2011 annual report, the manufacturing facilities located in Mexico, Central America and the Middle East are responsible for “cutting, sewing and finishing” of denim garments and uniforms.

The CBP said that they have recently concluded two contracts with VF Imagewear for uniforms, “a limited contract to provide uniforms for training academies and hardship and disaster situations and a contract to provide quartermaster services at the training academies.”

Currently, VF Imagewear has a contract for the short-term manufacture of uniforms and insignias, awarded in December.  The contract is a result of the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress last year, which mandated the CBP to maintain specific levels of Border Patrol Agents, Field Officers and Air and Marine Agents.

The CBP estimated that it needed to enroll an additional 850 students in its academies to comply with the mandate, which would require 3,400 uniforms.

The agreement will also allow the CBP to replace uniforms for border patrol agents, according to the agency’s justification and approval for the contract.

“[B]order patrol agents are often called upon to chase illegal aliens into contaminated waters, such as the Rio Grande River,” it reads.  “In these situations, CBP’s protocol provides that uniforms worn in those situations must be destroyed because they are considered hazardous materials.”

“This interim uniform contract will allow the uniformed personnel to replace ruined uniforms so that they may continue to perform their duties in the event of a disaster and/or hardship.”

The CBP adds, “This interim contract will ensure new agents and officers have properly fitted uniforms and therefore can assume their assigned mission-critical work without weakening our national security.”

VF Imagewear also recently secured a $50-million uniform contract with the TSA, which will be manufactured in the United States and Mexico.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) has said manufacturing government uniforms in Mexico poses a threat to national security.

“There are also national security concerns,” Speier said in a press release in 2011, regarding a prior contract between the TSA and VF Imagewear.  “Uniforms have a greater potential of being stolen in Mexico where it is more difficult to provide oversight of factories and cargo.”

The company does have concerns with its manufacturing sites abroad, according to its annual report, including “political or military conflict” and “heightened terrorism security concerns,” which “could subject imported or exported goods to additional, more frequent or more lengthy inspections, leading to delays in deliveries or the impoundment of goods for extended periods.”

VF Imagewear declined to comment about its dealings with CBP and the manufacture of items in Mexico, saying “VF does not discuss the specifics of its agreements.”

SOURCE:  CNS News

Artists Revitalize Rural Manufacturing

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Sculptor Hoss Haley (left) and glass-artist Rick Beck experiment with the patented materials of Floorazzo, a tile manufacturer in Siler City, NC. An innovative economic development project is bringing artisans into local industries to collaborate with manufacturers, training workers and expanding into new lines of production. – Courtesy of Art-Force
The manufacturing base in many rural towns of the U.S. has dwindled, but in North Carolina, combined public and private support has spurred an innovative approach: combining the creative talents of seasoned artists with the skills of local workers.
Like many rural communities, Siler City, North Carolina (population 7,887), retells its stories, honoring its tradition of manufacturing and its history of agriculture in contemporary terms. The town’s residents also recognize the value and necessity of strong public-private leadership and initiative, enabling local prosperity. Located in Chatham County in the Central Piedmont of North Carolina, Siler City has since the late 1990s experienced a dramatic increase in its Hispanic population (now almost 50%). In this same period, the town has benefitted from the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center’s financial support and from partnerships with the Chatham County Economic Development Corporation.  

But setting it apart from most other rural communities its size, Siler City is in the midst of a turn-around, one propelled by the arts, where redevelopment of its historic downtown has put artists and artisans at the core of local enterprise.

Because of the town’s commitment to creative individuals, the ability of its municipal leadership to accomplish community goals, and county and state resources that have been able to provide support and expertise, Art-Force’s Artist + Manufacturer Strengthening Place Program elected to work in Siler City.  

Art-Force’s core tenet is that artists are highly trained and underutilized creative thinkers, visionaries, and problem-solvers. We believe America’s small cities and towns desperately need artists’ imagination to retool manufacturing and assist communities in their economic and social transformation. People build lives where there are jobs and where they feel a sense of belonging, and creative people, through both innovation and sensitivity to local heritage, can serve as community change-agents: their work demonstrably affects local economies. 

Read the rest of the story at Daily Yonder:
http://www.dailyyonder.com/artists-revitalize-rural-manufacturing/2013/04/02/5749

New Showroom Opens Up World Of The All American Clothing Co. To Public.

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Visitors can tour and try on USA made items with the companies` showroom opening.
All American Clothing Co., the premier online location for USA made clothing items, announces the debut of its new concept with the opening of a showroom in its Arcanum, Ohio location. Located at 1 Pop Rite Rd, just south of Arcanum, Ohio, the showroom will feature the many American made items that All American Clothing Co. has to offer. It will also feature an All American theme with its coloration, pictures, and objects. The showroom will officially open on Friday April 5th and Saturday April 6th.

“For made in America supporters and enthusiasts, the showroom will create a unique experience into the world of All American Clothing Co. and its belief in supporting the American worker.,” said Logan Beam, Director of Marketing and Communications at All American Clothing Co. “All American Clothing Co. has always cared about the United States and the people in it. Our founders started manufacturing USA made jeans with a passion to never trade USA jobs for foreign profits. We are now able to showcase our passion, products, and services while creating a strong relationship with our customers.”

Are you an ‘All American?’ Click here to subscribe to the All American newsletter.

A patriotic destination, the All American Clothing Co. showroom will provide customers the opportunity to discover the unique experiences they have to offer, like Traceability. Traceability is all about the truth of where jeans come from and offers some recognition to the hard working Americans who are involved in making jeans. All American Clothing Co. is one of the first jean companies in the world that allows customers to trace their jean all the way back to the American farmers who grew the cotton used. Each jean comes with a ‘Certificate of Authenticity’ that includes a traceability number. Enter the traceability number on the All American Clothing Co. website and they will tell you exactly which farmers and mill were involved in producing that jean.

How Does Traceability Work?  Watch the video below:
The showroom will be open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM Est. A knowledgeable and passionate team of customer service experts will be available to help deliver the ‘All American’ experience.

About All American Clothing Co: 
All American Clothing Co. produces high-quality jeans and apparel that are Made in USA Certified™. All American Clothing is a made in America success story in today’s economy. The entire company supports a “USA made passion” as they strive to foster loyalty among customers. All American Clothing Co. is proof that small business can grow and succeed in America today. To find out more about the passion and effort it takes to build a business in today’s economy go to http://www.allamericanclothing.com and read the tab “Our Story.”

CONTACT ALL AMERICAN CLOTHING CO.
Logan Beam
Director of Marketing and Communications
888-937-8009

Making Manufacturing Cool

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JOHN GUENTHER
It doesn’t take a fictional ad guru like Don Draper to let you know working in manufacturing has a branding problem with younger generations. The good news for the California economy is there’s a new image already being crafted.
“Manufacturing is cool. It’s not smokestacks anymore,” said Adam Hansel, president of DTL. At a recent meeting-of-minds, Hansel held up his iPhone to boast about how his company’s machines helped build the latest Apple smartphone.

And that was one of the big rallying cries at the event: find ways to tell the new story of manufacturing.

The place was the Advanced Manufacturing Summit hosted last week in Sacramento by the governor’s economic development office, GO-Biz, and the point was to get everyone on the same page about pumping up California’s advanced manufacturing sector.

“It’s never happened before: a meeting where all the universities, industry and agencies came together to talk about advanced manufacturing,” said Doug Henton, attendee and also Chairman and CEO of Collaborative Economics.

Advanced manufacturing, briefly put, means using high-tech methods to make specialized or high-tech products, hence the “no smokestacks” comment.

The forum was prompted by a White House competition to create advanced manufacturing centers around the country and drop on them the funding that goes along with winning one in your state, almost $70 million.

“California raised its hand and said ‘We’re going to take the lead,'” said Kish Rajan, director of GO-Biz, AKA the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. “We’re going to be in the pole position.”

That seems like no-brainer, since California is the largest manufacturing state in the country with 1.2 million jobs in that sector. Rajan added that manufacturing as a whole contributes $230 billion to the state’s economy.

While story of manufacturing shown in the news lately has been how it’s on the decline, shown in colorful chart after colorful chart, boosters see a big opportunity for California.

“This is a different type of manufacturing,” said Henton. “A lot of these are things that we do better. We’re good at it, such as in aerospace. These are industries using advanced tools, like making biomedical devices. We’re a leader in that.”

California’s aerospace industry is still one of the state’s strengths and is represented in its top 10 exports. While the sector might not return to the good old post-WWII or Cold War days, some see an opening in the unmanned vehicle market, of the land, sea and air variety.

“I think that’s a big place for California to play because, since it’s a knowledge-based economy, it’s about retraining workers that were already in the aerospace industry or bringing in new people to the aerospace industry around this new technology,” said Louis Stewart, deputy director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at GO-Biz.

But California has ahead of it–maybe not a cliff–but a bit of a workforce hill to climb: Older workers are retiring out of manufacturing and it’s difficult to find the youngsters with the right skills to replace them, thus the comments about making manufacturing cool to the kids these days.

One panelist jokingly mentioned creating an “MTV Cribs” to show off homes of CEO’s of advanced manufacturing companies.

Brandon Cardwell, VP of Programs at the i-GATE Innovation Hub, noted that boomers are now moving out of manufacturing workforce and workforce training isn’t keeping up with the changing labor market. Census figures from 2011 showed that 2.8 million manufacturing workers, or one-quarter of all manufacturing workers, were 55 or older.

“We need bring back shop class in high school,” said Gene Russell of the non-profit Corporation for Manufacturing Excellence.

A big bullet point was the need to get more students interested early and make a clear pathway for them to go from high school all the way to the advanced manufacturer floor. Of course, it might not hurt to let them know manufacturing jobs can make an average of 39 percent more than the overall California average wage.

“I think now is the time that we need to start connecting the stories from industry and academia so that we understand what kind of workforce needs to be come about for these future trends and then basically rebranded and tell why this new wave of advanced manufacturing is where the students should be looking at, as opposed to looking at traditional manufacturing which is not necessarily the most appealing to the younger generation,” said Stewart.

On top of getting students interested, there’s the issue of getting them trained with the right skills for these high-tech jobs. Tim Rainey, the executive director of California’s Workforce Investment Board, said most training is still modeled for big, industrial manufacturing, but the sector is now made of clusters of smaller companies.

Getting people trained up has also been made difficult by employers decreasing spending on training as an employee benefit.

To do it right, panelists said it will be vital to convince employers to invest into training partnerships with schools with funding, donation of equipment and providing more apprenticeships.

Finally, attendees broke into smaller groups for brainstorming and Rajan wrapped up the day with some words on the new effort.

“If you keep this spirit going, California, as I said this morning, is unstoppable.”

Military Must Purchase Made in America Steel

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), the author of legislation to ensure that armor plates for America’s military is truly “Made in America,” announced on Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Defense restored a 35-year rule requiring that steel purchased by the U.S. military be 100 percent domestically produced.
The rule, originally overturned in 2009, requires armor plated steel to be both melted and finished in the United States. Several Ohio companies, including Cleveland’s ArcelorMittal and Cliffs Natural Resources and Marion’s Nucor, are involved in the production of armor plates.

“This is a win for our military and for American companies like ArcelorMittal, Cliffs, and Nucor, that make steel for our military right here in the United States,” Brown said on Tuesday. “We know how to make steel armor plates here in America, and there’s no reason why countries like China and Russia should be making the steel used in our military’s vehicles and equipment.”

Steel armor plates are used for military vehicles, tanks, and equipment. Under regulations, specialty metals procured for defense purposes— including steel armor plate — must be produced in the United States.

Why Americans Love Small Business

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SCOTT SHANE 
Small business may be the most popular institution in America. According to a 2012 poll conducted on behalf of the Public Affairs Council, 88 percent of Americans view small business favorably. In fact, 68 percent of us would rather pay more to do business with a small business than a big one. Could America’s love of small business help broker a deal between Republicans and Democrats in Congress?
Few institutions can compete with small business in the eyes of Americans. A 2010 Pew Foundation survey found that Americans view small business more positively than they perceive churches and universities.

Small business’s favorability is remarkably stable. Gallup Organization polls in both 2010 and 2012 reported 95 percent positive views of small business among Americans.

Why do Americans love small business? Five reasons jump out from all the studies and surveys.

1. Small business owners are the embodiment of the American dream.
Americans like the gumption it takes to invest one’s life savings to follow the dream of starting a company. We are, after all, supposed to be a nation of go-getting, risk takers living in the land of opportunity.

2. Americans love the idea that big companies come from tiny ones. 
While studies show that few small businesses actually grow, and only a sliver of entrepreneurs want to do more than start a little company, virtually all big companies started small. As a nation, we love the idea that oak trees come from acorns.

3. Small business is the underdog and Americans root for the underdog.
Small business owners work more hours and make less money than the rest of us, according to the Pew Foundation. They face competition from deep pocketed big companies who — according to the perception of a significant minority of Americans  — sometimes use unfair tactics to compete, a Public Affairs Council survey found.

4. Small business owners are seen as honest and ethical. 
Only 8 percent of Americans think the CEOs of major corporations are highly ethical, but 52 percent who view small business owners as such, according to the Public Affairs Council survey.

5. Small business is seen as the backbone of a middle class way of life.
When asked who should get credit for supporting the middle class over the last half century, 51 percent of Americans picked small business — more than double the amount that chose labor unions, big companies or the federal government.

Most Americans believe small business owners are America’s job creators. A July 2012, Rasmussen survey found that 57 percent of American voters think small business owners create more jobs and generate more economic growth than either big businesses or the government.

Perhaps small business’s popularity can bridge the political divide that has paralyzed Washington. Unlike capitalism itself, small business is perceived positively by both Democrats and Republicans alike. A 2012 Gallup survey found that while nearly three times as many Democrats as Republicans view the federal government favorably, and nearly twice as many Republicans as Democrats see big business in a positive light, 95 percent of Republicans and 94 percent of Democrats have a positive view of small business.

Note to Washington: Why don’t you focus on policies that help small business generate good will between the parties?

SOURCE:  Entrepreneur 

Women Miss Out on Manufacturing Gains

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By Ben Casselman
American factories are hiring again. But they aren’t hiring women.
Manufacturing, one of the hardest-hit sectors during the recession, has been a leader in the recovery, although as today’s mixed durable goods number shows, the sector has been on shakier ground of late. U.S. factories have added more than half a million workers in the past three years, with most of the gains coming in the durable-goods sector, which makes longer-lasting items like cars and dishwashers.

Women, however, haven’t seen the same gains. Female employment in the manufacturing sector has actually fallen by 13,000 in the past three years. Female durable-goods employment has been mostly flat, up a paltry 4,000 jobs.

The recovery has also been weaker for women outside manufacturing. Women’s employment didn’t hit bottom until September 2010 — six months after men’s employment started rising — and women saw shallower gains once they did start finding jobs.

But that disparity is explained, at least to a significant degree, by the fact that men were hit earlier and harder by the recession, which struck male-dominated professions such as construction and manufacturing with particular force. Despite their weaker gains in the recovery, women are actually closer than men to their pre-recession employment level.

Such a “catch-up” effect doesn’t explain what’s going on in manufacturing, however, as the National Women’s Law Center noted in a report today. Women lost manufacturing jobs faster than men during the recession, and have gained them back more slowly in the recovery.

The decline of women in manufacturing appears to reflect a longer-term trend. Women’s share of factory jobs rose steadily in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, peaking at just under a third — 32.2% — in the early 1990s. Since then, their share has dropped just as steadily, falling in 20 of the past 21 years. Women held 27.3% of manufacturing jobs in 2012, the lowest level since 1971.

The decline might come as a surprise given that increasing automation has made much factory work less physically demanding. But automation has also wiped out many of the jobs traditionally held by women — both factory-floor jobs such as quality control and backroom clerical positions. Additionally, many of the fastest-growing manufacturing sectors, such as fabricated metal products and machinery, have a relatively small share of women employees. And as the NWLC report points out, jobs in those sectors have gone disproportionately to men.

Manufacturing gets an outsized amount of attention given its share of the economy — less than 11% of private-sector employment for all workers, and just 6% for women. But manufacturing jobs, especially in the durable goods sector, tend to be fairly well-paying, and remain a rare path to the middle class for workers without a college degree. It’s a path that remains far less common for women than for men.

Legislation To End Tax Breaks for Companies Shipping Jobs Overseas

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Senator cosponsors Bring Jobs Home Act that rewards companies bringing jobs back to U.S.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill is backing a measure to boost job creation by rewarding companies that “insource” jobs to the U.S., while ending tax breaks for those companies shipping jobs overseas.

The Bring Jobs Home Act introduced by Senator Debbie Stabenow, creates a special 20 percent tax credit for the moving expenses of companies who shift operations back to the U.S. from abroad.

The bill also prevents companies from deducting from their taxes the costs associated with shipping jobs overseas. Under current law, companies can deduct 100 percent of the cost of shipping equipment overseas, terminating leases, and other expenses associated with offshoring a business-meaning that taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars annually.

“Right now, some companies are undercutting hardworking Americans by sending valuable jobs out of the country,” McCaskill said. “We shouldn’t be rewarding them for doing it. Instead, let’s use some common sense, and reduce their incentive to outsource by ending tax breaks for companies that send jobs overseas, and rewarding companies that bring jobs back to the United States.”

A similar measure had bipartisan majority support in the Senate last year, but ultimately failed to advance after a Republican filibuster.

SOURCE:  PoliticalNews

Experience, Reliability Give Chinese Long Beach Electric Bus Contract

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Harry Saltzgaver
Long Beach Transit’s board voted Monday to award an $11.5 million contract for 10 all-electric buses to a firm whose parent company is Chinese-owned, noting that the bid complies with Made In America specifications and touting its large experience edge over the second bidder.
BYD Motors, the winning bidder, is a U.S. subsidiary of BYD Company Ltd., a publicly-held company in China. The other finalist, Proterra, is a private equity company out of Greenville, S.C.

LBT staff first made the recommendation to go with the BYD bid in February, but the LBT board asked to table the decision for a month to gather more information. After two study sessions, that decision was made at Monday’s meeting on a 5-2 vote, with Lori Ann Farrell and Maricela de Rivera voting no.

BYD has been in business since 1995 and sells batteries, solar panels and electric cars in addition to buses. Company officials said they plan to build a new chassis facility in California sometime next year, although the chassis for the first 10 Long Beach buses will come from China. The batteries are built in a plant in LA.

Proterra was formed in 2004 and has about 160 employees. They have sold 32 of their EcoRide BE35 electric buses and have delivered 14 (compared to 1,000 and 365 for BYD).

Both firms’ coaches carry 35 seated passengers and more than 20 standing. A primary difference is Proterra’s use of lithium-titanate batteries offering a 30-mile range where BTD uses iron-phosphate batteries with a 7.5 year warranty and a range of 118 to 163 miles.

LBT plans to use the buses on the Passport routes downtown, including trips to and from the Queen Mary. The board approved an additional $1.8 million in potential spending if a WAVE (Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification) charging system can be developed from current prototypes as a charging station at the Queen Mary stop. The $11.5 million bid includes 10 manual pug-in depot chargers, which take four hours for a full charge.

According to the staff report, the BYD system will cost significantly less than the Proterra system, saving more than $4 million, despite the lower initial cost for Proterra buses. The proven battery system and warranty were other major factors in BYD’s favor.

Money for the purchase came primarily from a Federal Transit Administration grant from the Transit Investments for Greenhouse Gas and Energy Reduction (TIGGER) program, some Prop 1B money and a $700,000 grant from the Port of Long Beach’s Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Mitigation Grant Program.

SOURCE:  Gazzete

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