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Los Angeles is making it easier to find an EV charger. Here’s their plan for closing the “charging gap.”
In a quest to make finding a charger easier for electric vehicle drivers, the city of Los Angeles is taking a novel approach: installing EV chargers on light poles on city streets, because the electric infrastructure is already there.
“At most we’ll have to change fuses or do structural retrofits so that we can attach it,” said Miguel Sangalang, director of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Lighting. “But nothing like changing out the actual entire line or improving the electrical system itself.”
Los Angeles has installed 725 light-pole chargers so far, and Sangalang says the street light system can support 3,000 or 4,000 more.
And unlike commercial companies that are installing chargers in affluent parts of the city, the city’s mission is to select locations that are more inclusive.
“We want to go into places where commercial actors might not necessarily want to go first,” Sangalang said. “We’re going to be that public option for people to have access to it on the right-of-way for everyone.”
The driving need
Last year, Americans bought about 1.4 million electric vehicles — a new record, according to Argonne National Laboratory. While widespread adoption of EVs is a critical tool in the fight against climate change, renewable energy experts worry that a lack of public charging will push drivers away from EVs and toward gas-powered vehicles.
To keep up with growing EV sales, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that in addition to all the private chargers at homes and offices, the United States will need 1.2 million publicly accessible chargers by 2030. Currently the U.S. has more than 160,000 public chargers throughout the country.
What’s happening in LA is an example of the kinds of solutions, big and small, that will be needed to reach those goals.
“The slower we go, the bigger the impacts of climate change that we’re going to see,” Melissa Lott, a clean energy researcher at Columbia University, said. “And that directly means impacts on our economy, but also our health.”
Building a national network
Two years ago, federal lawmakers approved $5 billion to spur the construction of a national network of 500,000 electric charging ports by 2030. The objective is to install a public charging facility about every 50 miles along highways.
Since the law passed, 33 states have either issued proposals or awarded construction contracts to build the network, but so far only four new new charging sites are in the ground, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Lott said a lot of different factors play into that.
“It’s going to be people installing home chargers and it’s going to be people at their businesses giving their employees places to charge that maybe other people can access,” Lott said. “It’s going to be fueling stations becoming fueling stations for more than gas and diesel and other types of fuels.”
Chargers can’t just go anywhere, either. Lott said it’s like when cellphones first came out and service wasn’t as widespread. EV chargers also need a network to connect to.
“You have to pick certain places and make sure the infrastructure behind it, all the stuff that’s invisible to us on the day-to-day is actually there and ready to go,” she said. “That takes time, that takes permits, that takes all types of processes to get it approved, and a lot of work, a lot of labor.”
Better maintenance
Another way to address the charging gap is through improved maintenance of existing public chargers. Like most technology, chargers require regular service and repairs.
“[If] the charger that you thought you were going to use to refuel your vehicle is actually inoperable … that’s a huge problem,” said Walter Thorn, senior vice president of product for a repair company called ChargerHelp.
ChargerHelp trains technicians to service a variety of charging equipment operated by many different charger companies across 17 states.
As part of its service, ChargerHelp spot checks chargers in the field and often reports back to a charging company about a problem the owner did not know about. The company says it serviced 18,000 chargers last year.
Data from every service visit is logged into a central database, allowing technicians to learn from previous calls and reduce the number of trips required to keep a charger up and running.
A recent JD Power survey found 35% of EV drivers in the Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale area reported visiting a charger where they were unable to charge. In Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth that number was 29%.
Another study from the University of California Berkeley in 2022 found 28% of public chargers in the San Francisco Bay Area did not function properly.
Last year, ChargerHelp collaborated with the federal government in developing a new standard that says chargers will have to work 97% of the time.
“Reliable charging infrastructure is a critical piece of a successful transition,” Thorn said.
Some residents east of Atlanta were evacuated while others were told to shelter in place to avoid contact with a chemical plume after a fire at a chemical plant.
Rockdale County Fire Chief Marian McDaniel told reporters that a sprinkler head malfunctioned around 5 a.m. Sunday at the BioLab plant in Conyers. That caused water to mix with a water-reactive chemical, which produced a plume of chemicals. The chief said she wasn’t sure what chemicals were included.
A small roof fire was initially contained, but reignited Sunday afternoon, Sheriff Eric Levett said in a video posted on Facebook as gray smoke billowed into the sky behind him. He said authorities were trying to get the fire under control and urged people to stay away from the area.
People in the northern part of Rockdale County were ordered to evacuate and others were told to shelter in place with windows and doors closed. Sheriff’s office spokesperson Christine Nesbitt did not know the number of people evacuated.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division were both on site, county Emergency Management Director Sharon Webb said. The agencies are monitoring the air “to give us more of an idea of what the plume consists of.”
McDaniel said crews were working on removing the chemical from the building, away from the water source. Once the product is contained, the situation will be assessed and officials will let residents know whether it is safe to return to their homes, she said.
An evacuation center was opened at Wolverine Gym in Covington.
Washington — Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday in the first and only vice presidential debate of the cycle, as the two candidates look to prop up the Republican and Democratic tickets with fewer than 40 days until Election Day.
The debate, hosted by CBS News at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City, will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator and CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan.
Here’s what to know about how the candidates are preparing for the debate:
How JD Vance is preparing for the VP debate
The Ohio Republican has been preparing for the debate for more than a month, a source directly involved told CBS News, including with “murder board” sessions with a small team that includes Vance’s wife and his advisers, along with senior Trump adviser Jason Miller.
Among Vance’s main focuses during the preparation has been studying Walz’ debate style and policy record, the source said, noting that Vance will attempt to highlight what he sees as the Minnesota governor’s left-wing views during the debate.
Vance told reporters last week that his plan is to break down what the Trump-Vance administration would do to make “life better” and connect that to policy.
“So, we’re studying up as much as we can on the issues that matter to the American people, and I’m looking forward to it,” Vance said.
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, a Minnesota Republican, is standing in for Walz during Vance’s debate prep, four sources familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Emmer and Walz have deep roots in Minnesota and are close in age.
Emmer told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday that he’s known Walz for decades and has spent the last month working to “get his phrases down, his mannerisms.”
“My job was to be able to play Tim Walz so JD Vance knows what he’s going to see,” Emmer said.
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How Tim Walz is preparing for the VP debate
Walz has been preparing for the debate with a close team of advisers, a source familiar with the preparations told CBS News. Some of the people involved also helped Vice President Kamala Harris take on former President Donald Trump, among others, like a long-time aid to Walz who worked with him during his bids for governor.
For Walz, whose name recognition was until recently limited outside of Minnesota, the focus is on continuing to introduce himself to the American people, according to the source. He’ll also work to highlight Harris’ vision for the nation’s path forward.
“You’ll hear me talk like I have about things that impact Americans, making sure they have the opportunity to thrive, making sure that we’re being factual in how we talk about that,” Walz told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow of the debate earlier this month. “And so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll work hard, that’s what I do.”
During debate prep, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is standing in for Vance, a campaign official familiar with the preparation told CBS News. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, also assisted Harris during her debate prep in 2020, and is close in age to Vance.
When and how to watch the presidential debate
Debate coverage on CBS News 24/7 begins at 4 p.m. ET, with the debate getting underway at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 1.
The 90-minute debate will be streamed on CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ across all available platforms and CBSNews.com. The debate will also be simulcast across other broadcast and cable networks.
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Actor John Ashton, best known for his role as the by-the-book detective in the “Beverly Hills Cop” franchise, has died, his publicist Alan Somers confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. He was 79.
Ashton died Thursday in Ft. Collins, Colorado, after a battle with cancer.
“John was a loving husband, brother, father, and grandfather who will be deeply missed by all who knew him,” a statement said.
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Ashton was born in Springfield, Massachusetts on Feb. 22, 1948, and raised in Enfield, Connecticut. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California.
Throughout his 50-year career in show business, Ashton appeared in nearly 100 movies after making his debut in 1973’s “The Psychopath.”
He was probably best known for his role as Det. Sgt. John Taggart in the first two installments of the “Beverly Hills Cop” series alongside Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold. He reprised his role in 2024’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”
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Other film credits include “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “She’s Having a Baby,” “Midnight Run,” “Little Big League” and “Gone Baby Gone.”
On television, he played Willie Joe Garr on several episodes of “Dallas” and made an appearance on such shows like “Columbo,” “Police Squad!” “Hardball” and others.
“John devoted his career to honing his craft and bringing characters to life on the screen. His presence will be greatly missed,” Somers said.
Ashton is survived by his wife Robin Hoye, three children, three step-children and a grandson. He also leaves behind two sisters and a brother.
“John leaves behind a legacy of love, dedication, and service. His memory will forever be treasured by his wife, children, grandchildren, as well as his brother, sisters, his extended family and all who loved him,” Somers said. “John’s impact on the world will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come.”
The family requests any donations in Ashton’s memory be made to Pathways Hospice Care
Residents in Georgia ordered to evacuate or shelter in place after fire at chemical plant
Israeli airstrikes kill dozens across Lebanon as Hezbollah confirms a 7th top commander was killed
Residents told to evacuate or take shelter after Georgia chemical plant fire