CONCORD – New details are shedding light on the grim results of an almost $50 million energy conservation project geared toward reducing electric bills and improving classroom climate within the Mt. Diablo Unified School District.

MDUSD is currently using more electricity, experiencing a rise in maintenance requests as a result of teacher complaints, and is achieving only a fraction of the associated fee savings promised by Schneider Electric – the contractor that led the design and installation of latest ceiling tiles, lights, HVAC equipment, and thermostat controls throughout the district .

But the Texas multinational denied allegations of fraud, inflated pricing and false claims, claiming that its upgrade work was not chargeable for the disappointing meter readings.

According to the corporate's own data, MDUSD used about 15 million kilowatt hours (kWH) of electricity in September – a rise of 80 to 100% in comparison with rates in July 2019, before Schneider was brought in.

Schneider Electric's Measure J-funded project previously promised that MDUSD's cumulative savings would reach $1.8 million, 80% of annual utility costs, one 12 months after the primary phase of the project was accomplished.

However, in response to Schneider's own numbers presented to the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee, the volunteer panel charged with holding the county accountable for responsible spending of Measure J, the $150 million bond, the county has initially recorded only 7% in energy savings Voters voted for campus infrastructure improvements and energy system efficiency improvements in 2018.

During the Nov. 14 CBOC meeting, Schneider's representatives claimed that the true problem behind MDUSD's increased electricity consumption is that the district's existing solar PV systems are deteriorating. They reported last week that 38% of the district's solar production was offline – a problem that district staff confirmed was related to contractor SunPower, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this 12 months and cut a whole bunch of jobs.

“At the meter, these savings (achieved by Schneider’s Measure J project) are effectively offset,” said Brandon Bedford, Schneider’s director of operations.

Schneider Electric also denied allegations that it got away with inflated profits, ignored local labor contracts or manipulated utility data to support claims that the multimillion-dollar project will ultimately pay for itself through the energy savings it generates by 2024 – although this doesn’t provide MDUSD with a guarantee or the flexibility to independently confirm their claims.

Superintendent Adam Clark confirmed that MDUSD had opted out of Schneider's “very costly” measurement and verification services, saying in a Nov 12 notes that the district invested that cash in additional HVAC units.

Elliott Feldman, a Schneider Electric program manager, reminded the CBOC that a savings guarantee is entirely on the discretion of the shopper and will not be required under California law. He said MDUSD's decisions in regards to the contract are consistent with those of other school districts they’ve worked with previously.

Instead of providing direct measurement and verification services for the district's total energy use, Schneider Electric calculates the project's energy savings based on metrics equivalent to wattage, lifetime efficiency and each day demand of the brand new equipment installed at MDUSD – essentially comparing each individual LED light bulb and HVAC unit and control panel adapted to the replaced technology.

A snag is emerging with Schneider's Energy Management System (EMS), which helps the district track utility bills and advise on other energy policies: MDUSD's contract only allows for 2 years of access. The district must pay an annual fee of $175,000 to proceed this consulting work.

Dave Johnsen, who supports labor and contract compliance on public projects for a regional nonprofit, asked last week for an in depth breakdown of the savings achieved through the EMS consultation. Without independent verification tools or Schneider's conservation monitoring controls, he fears the projected 20-year savings will drop dramatically if MDUSD chooses to not pay the subscription fee.

Schneider's representatives said last week that they’d no data available to review.

And the corporate did not answer several other questions last week from Johnsen and the CBOC about its controversial $50 million project.

Johnsen questioned how Schneider will save the district money over a 20-year period, a timeframe that goes beyond that California Energy Commission Guidelines for the lifespan of the device itself.

He also criticized Schneider for allocating $13 million, nearly a 3rd of Schneider's total planned savings, for “operations and maintenance costs” equivalent to workforce reductions. Citing an excerpt from Schneider's original project proposal, Johnsen said, “While these efficiencies result in some savings for the district, in many cases these operational savings are not quantifiable or verifiable.”

District staff said none of their 4 maintenance electrician positions have been eliminated, but they hope to resolve Schneider's problems and provides those employees the chance to repair other problems. This current backlog includes service requests from teachers complaining that the newly installed automated thermostats Schneider installed are causing temperature havoc in classrooms.

Linda Ortega, president of the Mt. Diablo Education Association and teachers union, said greater than 70 teacher complaints were filed last 12 months over newly installed equipment funded by Measure J, although there have been hardly any in any respect.

“Suddenly, phew! They came out of the woodwork,” Ortega said. “The district trusts our teachers to take care of our kids, but why can’t they trust us to manage a thermostat?”

Patriots

Drake May played only one series against his hometown Carolina Panthers last week during his NFL preseason debut.

The Patriots have approached the rookie quarterback's development cautiously this preseason. Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said the concerns in regards to the offensive line had something to do with how little Maye played last week.

But there’s one other factor that influences the Patriots’ timidity with the No. 3 overall pick in 2024, in accordance with Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston.

The Patriots are hesitant partially due to the end of the Mac Jones deal, and their fears have also affected how they take care of Maye, Curran said during a recent appearance on NBC Sports Boston.

New England drafted Jones No. 15 overall in 2021. He had a successful rookie season before being traded to Jacksonville for a sixth-round pick within the offseason after two disastrous seasons.

“Do I think they're doing the right thing by playing it safe? No,” Curran said. “You can play it out, you can pass it off, you can run draws, you can run screens. You can leave everybody there to block. You can leave him on the field a million percent of the snaps Bailey Zappe took, a lot of the snaps Joe Milton took. None of those guys got blown up.”

“So to me, that's way too cautious, but that's what happens when you look back and destroy a first-round quarterback,” Curran added. “The wreckage is still smoldering.”

The Patriots have been scarred “a million times” by the course of Jones' profession, Curran said.

“The owner, Mayo, and everyone else involved in making decisions, Eliot Wolf, as members of the management team, saw what had happened at Mac Jones and said, 'We're not making that mistake again,'” Curran said.

Mayo said earlier this week that Maye would play more within the Patriots' second preseason game against the Eagles on Thursday. Mayo said he was unsure how much he would play.

“I'm excited to get out there,” Maye told reporters Tuesday. “I'm excited to go out there with the guys and try to make some plays. I'm going to dress up. I don't know how much I'm going to play, but I'm going to go out there and play until they take me out.”

With superhero movies losing steam in popular culture, video game movies are the following big thing on the horizon. In recent years, movies and tv shows based on interactive entertainment have steadily gained traction, including “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “The Last of Us.”

Hollywood's relationship with the younger art form has evolved from a way to make a fast buck to an inviting conversation about tips on how to translate the experience of playing a video game into watching it. Some projects do it with computer graphics (“Sonic”), others with animation (“Mario”). However, other video game franchises have it easier because they’re inherently cinematic (“The Last of Us”).

The best success story – and probably the most fascinating – is the interpretation of the creators Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet “Stand out.” What sets this eight-part Prime Video series other than other efforts is the way in which the source material is structured. In Bethesda Game Studios titles, players create their very own protagonist, the Vault Dweller, who’s banished to the wasteland to explore. Players have free will and the flexibility to drastically change the world.

Players meet the bizarre residents, form alliances with factions and, in some cases, determine who lives or dies. In crazier cases, players may even blow up a whole settlement. This can really make you unpopular. It's different from an easy platformer like Mario or a narrative blockbuster like The Last of Us.

How do you make a show with such an open premise? The creators use greater than 25 years of history and the splendidly strange tone of video games. The original 2D games lampoon American culture, politics, and capitalism, while the later games add a darker tone, a touch of paranoia, and an anything-goes mentality. (There's sophisticated alien sagas in “Fallout 3” and beyond.)

The TV show captures a fraction of that, but offers newcomers and longtime fans a tantalizing treat: a fresh storyline with characters and situations which can be just as memorable as anything within the video games. For those recent to the Fallout world, it's a dark and comedic tackle the post-apocalyptic world. The retro-future world of this alternate reality is each familiar and anachronistically strange. They consider Lucy, Maximus and The Ghoul, also often called Cooper Howard, as protagonists with different experiences within the wasteland.

Meanwhile, video game veterans will enjoyment of the references to the franchise. Everything is totally perfect, from the distinctive Vault-tec font to the way in which computer hacking is completed. In some ways, the Fallout show appears like it might have been a scenario written for a video game. Wagner and Robertson-Dworet have done an exceptional job making the world and story feel accessible to Fallout newcomers, but authentic to those that have spent a whole bunch of hours within the video games.

It's a difficult balancing act that the creators master skillfully while keeping secrets hidden within the interwoven narrative. Figuring out how all of the pieces fit together is a journey that just about appears like a video game quest.

Additionally, the plot that unfolds across the eight episodes is important as a part of the franchise's lore. This is essential because, unlike other media, video games allow curious people to go to the worlds they see on television and explore them as often as they need. They can watch the Prime Video show and if the world of Fallout piques their interest enough, they’ll enterprise into the wasteland themselves.

And that’s what “Fallout” fans recent and old have done. According to Steam data, “Fallout 76,” “Fallout 3,” “Fallout 4,” and “Fallout New Vegas” saw a rise in players jumping into the games. The titles rank in the highest 20 on the gaming service's top sellers list. A streaming show hasn't had this big of an impact on a video game since “Cyberpunk: Edgerunners” sparked renewed interest in “Cyberpunk 2077” after its vicious launch.

For fans, the tide is popping with video game movies and tv shows. The collaboration between Hollywood and video games creates high-quality, symbiotic projects because the two determine tips on how to present worlds that usually are not only enticing to explore with a controller, but in addition intriguing enough to maintain viewers from watching to captivate the tv.