Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to pave the regulatory road for low-speed, electric public passenger vehicles in Chicago breezed through a City Council committee Wednesday amid excitement about the possibilities for transportation-deprived neighborhoods.
Tuk Tuk Chicago already is authorized to operate up to 20, three-wheeled electric vehicles on city streets — at speeds no higher than 30 mph — under an “Emerging Business Permit” issued two years ago.
Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Rosa Escareno said the vehicles offer a “unique transportation option for residents and visitors, primarily operating as a shuttle privately-hired by hotels and the convention industry.”
Like liveries, all rides must be pre-arranged. Street-hailing is strictly prohibited.
The mayor’s original plan called for creating a permanent license category for up to 10 low-speed Tuk Tuk vehicles.
Escareno said there’s been a change in plans triggered by the coronavirus. Instead of issuing a permanent license, the emerging business permit will be extended.
”Tuk Tuk Chicago has proven to be a responsible small bus operator with a desire to transition to a permanent license, However, given the impact of COVID, allowing this small business an extension of the current [permit] is more appropriate so they can better introduce this transportation option to the city of Chicago,” Escareno told aldermen.
“By doing so, this small business can continue to test the concept pre- and post-COVID, bringing a new energy-efficient, low-speed vehicle as a unique transportation option in the geography where they are allowed to operate. Without this, the small business will not have another option but to shut its doors on October 30.”
Although the current permit authorizes “up to 20” vehicles, only 10 have operated over the last two years. With the stay-at-home shutdown, the number was reduced to six, Escareno said.
Although the Tuk Tuk experiment shrunk when convention business ground to a halt and hotels were left mostly empty, aldermen are still excited about the long-term possibilities.
Ald. Nick Sposato (38th) said he was “fascinated” by the “amazing” concept. License Committee Chairman Emma Mitts (37th) said she hopes TukTuk “has the opportunity to be able to expand someday where you can, perhaps, have ’em in the neighborhoods.”
Deputy mayor appointed
Also on Wednesday, Lightfoot formally announced the appointment of Manny Perez as deputy mayor of intergovernmental affairs. Perez served as Lightfoot’s campaign manager. He replaces his boss, Samantha Fields, who was reassigned to the mayor’s office after getting engaged to Northwest Side Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th).
The mayor also announced the appointment of Martina Hone to the vacant job of chief engagement officer charged with reaching out to community leaders and making certain that their voices are reflected in city programs and policies.
Hone was born and raised in Chicago — living in Hyde Park, Chatham and Roseland. After 20 years as a congressional staffer and federal bureaucrat, she returned to Chicago to serve as chief equity officer for YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.
“Our commitment to grow our city and expand opportunity in communities that have experienced generational disinvestment demands that we draw from a diverse and dynamic set of voices and talents,” Lightfoot was quoted as saying in a press release.
“Manny and Tina are public servants who not only embody those values, but also bring incredible energy, deep experience and the vast institutional knowledge needed as we face a critical juncture in our city’s history and work to lay the foundation for our shared future.”
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Aldermen pave regulatory road for Tuk Tuk Chicago’s low-speed, electric vehicles for hire - Chicago Sun-Times
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During the 2020 presidential debate Tuesday, moderator Chris Wallace asked candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden about their views on climate change and their plans to protect the environment.
While they clashed on most points, both candidates said they supported electric vehicles. That's potentially good news for battery makers, automakers and charging infrastructure companies with a stake in the U.S. market, including Tesla, Ford, General Motors, Panasonic and QuantumScape, which recently went public via SPAC.
According to research by the International Energy Agency, sales of electric cars hit 2.1 million globally in 2019, accounting for just 2.6% of global car sales, with 880,000 of those battery-powered vehicles sold in the U.S. Even with new EV offerings on the rise here, sales of vehicles with an electric powertrain are likely to account for only 9.1% of total U.S. vehicle sales in 2025, according to forecasts by IHS Markit.
Part of Biden's climate plan includes dedicating government spending to support electric vehicles.
"We're going to make sure that we are able to take the federal fleet and turn it into a fleet that's run on — they're electric vehicles," Biden said. "Making sure that we can do that, we're gonna put 500,000 charging stations on all of the highways that we're going to be building in the future."
As of May 2019, the U.S. Department of Energy's office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, or EERE, reported that there were 68,000 electric vehicle charging stations in the U.S., with 22,620 of them in California.
While most electric vehicle owners can charge overnight at home, it's not always practical for urban apartment dwellers or drivers taking electric vehicles on longer trips. Adding charging infrastructure could speed up adoption of electric vehicles for commercial and consumer use by alleviating so-called "range anxiety."
In an exchange with Wallace about Trump's relaxation of fuel economy standards, the president said that he also supports electric cars.
"I'm OK with electric cars, too. I'm all for electric cars. I've given big incentives for electric cars. What they've done in California is just crazy."
Trump continues to take umbrage with California's auto emissions standards, which are stricter than federal rules, as well as Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to ban sales of new, gas-powered passenger cars and trucks in California by 2035.
Tuesday's comments contrast with Trump's prior actions on electric vehicles. In March 2019, the White House proposed ending the $7,500 federal tax credit for people who purchase a battery-powered electric vehicle rather than a gas-powered car.
However, in a January 2020 interview with CNBC's Joe Kernen, Trump said of Tesla CEO Elon Musk: "He's one of our great geniuses; we have to protect our genius!" He also said, "He's going to be building a very big plant in the United States. He has to! Because we help him so he has to help us." Tesla is now embarking on design and construction of a new plant in Texas.
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Biden and Trump agreed on at least one thing in debate: Support for electric vehicles - CNBC
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The Tre's really just an Iveco S-Way, but it packs an in-house Nikola powertrain.
Nikola
There's no doubt Nikola is playing defense. The company continues to reel from the aftermath of a detailed report from a financial forensics firm that called the electric-hydrogen truck startup an "intricate fraud." Nikola on Wednesday attempted to calm some fears as it laid out a roadmap for its near-term accomplishments. Meanwhile, General Motors, its potential partner, has reportedly pushed back a date to officially create a tie-up between the two.
Among the upcoming plans, Nikola promised it will finish the first Tre battery-electric semi prototypes in the coming weeks sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. That shouldn't be too much of a hassle since the Tre is essentially a rebadged Iveco S-Way with the startup's own battery-electric powertrain underneath. This month's bombshell report accused the firm of lacking any sort of proprietary technology, but with the Tre, Nikola could show it does in fact have something of worth. Iveco's parent company, CNH Industrial, poured a massive investment into Nikola in 2019 and the two plan to work together to tackle the European semi market.
We don't know what the prototypes will pack, but Nikola promised a 720 kilowatt-hour battery pack, 644 horsepower and 1,327 pound-feet of torque. This is supposed to be an in-house powertrain, but you'll excuse us if we remain skeptical. Part of the deal with GM is for the legacy automaker to supply its Ultium battery technology and fuel-cell systems, which has always sounded odd if Nikola was far along on its own powertrain. The Tre is supposed to enter production next year, according to the timeline.
Back to GM, the automaker has skipped a tentative closing date for its contract with Nikola. The deal was supposed to close on Wednesday, but the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday that GM has pushed the contract signing back as it likely renegotiates the deal's terms.
"Our transaction with Nikola has not closed," the automaker told Roadshow in a statement. "We are in discussions with current Nikola management and will provide further updates when appropriate or required."
Following the departure of Nikola's former Executive Chairman Trevor Milton, two women have since come forward alleging Milton sexually assaulted them when they were teenagers. "In light of recent allegations regarding the personal behavior of [Milton], we want to emphasize that GM strongly condemns sexual harassment and abuse of any kind," GM said.
The deal never seemed to provide GM much of anything, but following fraud allegations and Milton stepping down and vanishing from social media, it feels like GM has a lot more to lose if things continue to go south. While Nikola receives hardware for its promised lineup of semi trucks and its promised Badger pickup, GM was to get Nikola stock worth $2 billion. In the past month Nikola stock fell nearly 55%, though shares rose nearly 5% in premarket trading on Wednesday.
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Tesla Semi, meet the Nikola Tre -- ready for production next year
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Nikola promises electric semi prototypes this year as GM delays potential partnership - CNET
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All of the EVSEs we evaluated did the job and are weatherproof, meaning they can be installed inside a garage or outside. We favor the plug-in type because of the portability; these chargers are easy to take with you when you move or even when you're on vacation, should you rent a home.
We found that a compact design and an easy-to-manage cable that’s long enough can help optimize garage space and maximize flexibility.
The ideal cable can reach to the car’s charge port whether its location on the car is front or rear, left or right. We found that a long 25-foot cable is handy. (Keep in mind that your next EV may not have the same port location.) A design that nicely integrates a hook for the unused cable portion is also convenient.
An app that communicates with you is handy, too, although most EVs allow you to view charging status and get notifications through the car manufacturers’ app.
In making your selection, it's important to understand all the features and know exactly where you want to mount the charger. Functions and size are ultimately the key differentiators among the name-brand ESVEs that we assessed. And finally, don’t be swayed by the lower prices, because the cheaper EVSEs often don’t charge as quickly.
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How to Choose the Best Home Wall Charger for Your Electric Vehicle - ConsumerReports.org
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DOVER, DE – All Delaware prescribers and pharmacists can now integrate their electronic health record and pharmacy management systems with the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP), the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation has announced.
The integration will be via Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway solution.
Appriss Health has delivered PMP services for the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation since 2017. The system manages more than 16 million controlled substance prescriptions and currently has more than 7,800 users.
The Delaware Division of Professional Regulation is covering all fees associated with the integration service to ensure broad adoption and help providers meet state mandates and policies regarding the prescribing of controlled substances.
“Delaware currently has the second highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, and the ongoing opioid crisis has created a colossal challenge for the state’s behavioral health treatment providers,” Delaware Prescription Monitoring Program Administrator Jason Slavoski said. “This statewide partnership with Appriss Health improves our PMP’s efficacy to help mitigate the opioid epidemic in our communities.
Through PMP Gateway, all providers throughout the state will have easier access to new resources and PMP information within their clinical workflow. This integration helps to enhance timely clinical support decisions and improve patient care and safety for all Delaware residents.
The statewide integration of PMP data into electronic health records (EHR) at the point of care increases the ease of access and use of prescription information to help healthcare providers make critical clinical decisions, including the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, as well as patient care and safety.
Prior to this integration initiative, Delaware prescribers had to log in to separate systems to query patient information, which took important time away from patient care. Now, the EHR will automatically initiate a patient query, which will return the patient’s controlled substance prescription records directly within the clinical workflow inside the EHR.
“Wide adoption of prescription monitoring information into clinical workflow can effectively identify, prevent, and manage potential problems with prescription drug addiction,” said Appriss Health President Rob Cohen. “We’re honored to partner with the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation to provide healthcare providers with enhanced tools for early intervention of substance use disorder and improved outcomes.”
DOVER, DE – All Delaware prescribers and pharmacists can now integrate their electronic health record and pharmacy management systems with the state’s prescription monitoring program (PMP), the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation has announced.
The integration will be via Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway solution.
Appriss Health has delivered PMP services for the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation since 2017. The system manages more than 16 million controlled substance prescriptions and currently has more than 7,800 users.
The Delaware Division of Professional Regulation is covering all fees associated with the integration service to ensure broad adoption and help providers meet state mandates and policies regarding the prescribing of controlled substances.
“Delaware currently has the second highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, and the ongoing opioid crisis has created a colossal challenge for the state’s behavioral health treatment providers,” Delaware Prescription Monitoring Program Administrator Jason Slavoski said. “This statewide partnership with Appriss Health improves our PMP’s efficacy to help mitigate the opioid epidemic in our communities.
Through PMP Gateway, all providers throughout the state will have easier access to new resources and PMP information within their clinical workflow. This integration helps to enhance timely clinical support decisions and improve patient care and safety for all Delaware residents.
The statewide integration of PMP data into electronic health records (EHR) at the point of care increases the ease of access and use of prescription information to help healthcare providers make critical clinical decisions, including the prescribing and dispensing of controlled substances, as well as patient care and safety.
Prior to this integration initiative, Delaware prescribers had to log in to separate systems to query patient information, which took important time away from patient care. Now, the EHR will automatically initiate a patient query, which will return the patient’s controlled substance prescription records directly within the clinical workflow inside the EHR.
“Wide adoption of prescription monitoring information into clinical workflow can effectively identify, prevent, and manage potential problems with prescription drug addiction,” said Appriss Health President Rob Cohen. “We’re honored to partner with the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation to provide healthcare providers with enhanced tools for early intervention of substance use disorder and improved outcomes.”
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Delaware integrates prescription monitoring program into its electronic health record system - news.delaware.gov
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