Staff Reports, Bakersfield Californian

Taft College is one of 10 community colleges statewide that each received $25,000 in grants to provide scholarships for students seeking "green" jobs, Sempra Energy Foundation announced Tuesday.

"The grants will help educate community college students in environmental sustainability and prepare them for careers in green job fields," said Jessie J. Knight Jr., chairman of the board of directors of the foundation, in a statement.

Courtnet Edelhart, Bakersfield Californian

Bakersfield College plans to cover its northeast parking lot with solar panels. The project will supply about a third of the campus' energy needs, and power generated when school is not in session will be sold back to the power grid.

The school says the $8.3 million project will generate an estimated 2.1 million kilowatt hours annually, and factoring in energy savings, rebates and tax breaks, will be budget neutral.

Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times

What with budget cuts, teacher layoffs and increasing class sizes, the situation at L.A. Unified School District is grim. But there’s yet another issue. With 14,000 buildings housing 700,000 students spread over 710 square miles serviced by 1,300 school buses, the district is one of the largest users of water and energy in the state of California.