School
A major campus construction project is slated to start during the summer of 2024. The plan features a new Voyager program facility consisting of a therapy courtyard and a multi-use classroom. The undertaking also includes a new maker space for the Funky Monkeys robotics team as well as more science labs.
Utility upgrades and measures toward sustainability and modernization will also be implemented. In addition to improving existing water and sewage systems, the construction project will install solar panels and update heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in new buildings.
Community
Following the Cupertino City Council’s approval of a $9 million budget cut in Cupertino on April 9, the city is revising certain services and amenities. In 1998, Apple signed a deal with the city, agreeing to give it a 1%stake in Apple’s sales tax. Last year, this deal was deemed improper by a federal audit, and Cupertino is now subject to pay an estimated $56.5 million of its profits from the agreement with Apple to the state of California.
As a result of this budget cut, Cupertino has announced plans to cut popular city events such as the Fourth of July and Shakespeare in the Park celebrations. In addition, the prices of recreational services, such as the Blackberry Farm Golf Course, will be raised. Other foreseen cuts include decreases in the number of public works contracts and vacant positions. These reductions may impact the range of amenities available to Cupertino residents in the future.
National
The tumultuous rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid data pushed many students to forfeit colleges that they could not afford. Normally opened to seniors in October, the 2023 FAFSA application process was not available until December. As a result of persisting technical difficulties with the online form, the release of FAFSA results to colleges was delayed greatly.
Many universities, including the UCs, pushed back their commitment deadlines past May 1, which is usually known as National College Decision Day. However, others, like the Juilliard School in New York, did not. Consequently, the FAFSA delay compelled some students to withdraw from certain colleges and reconsider their post-secondary paths.
International
The Swiss company Climeworks launched the Mammoth on May 8, a direct air capture plant that extracts carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. An advancement in the fight against global warming, the Mammoth is located in Iceland and is currently the world’s largest direct air capture plant. Its model has the potential to extract almost 10 times the amount of carbon dioxide as its predecessor, the Orca, at a yearly estimate of 36,000 tons.
Climeworks aims to have the Mammoth extract carbon dioxide in the megatons by 2030 and in the gigatons by 2050. As of now, the plant is still in progress as engineers continue to add final touches and improvements. Climeworks is also currently working to implement more direct air capture plants across the globe in countries such as Canada, Kenya and the United States.
