Kickstart: Decision day for a manufacturing career

Forget about signing days for sports. The real championships may be won by companies that successfully sign on students completing the Manufacturing Connect program through Chicago's Manufacturing Renaissance.

Manufacturing Renaissance is a training program created in the 1980s to help prepare high school students for jobs and guide young adults in starting their careers. This year, 21 students enrolled in the 12-week Manufacturing Connect training course that prepares them for an entry-level position. Eighteen of those students also completed a credential program from the National Institute for Metalworking Skills.

On May 4, participants will tour Daley College Manufacturing Technology and Engineering Center, where they will announce their plans after graduating — entering the workforce immediately or pursuing more training. Recent graduates have gone on to work at companies such as Berry Global Group.

Manufacturing Renaissance is also accepting donations that will help the graduates pay for trade school or buy items needed as they start work.

At least PVC makers and users won't have Ida to worry about anymore.

The World Meteorological Organization has retired the name Ida from its list of Atlantic hurricane names following the August 2021 hurricane that killed 55 and caused an estimated $75 billion in damage to the U.S. in a wide range stretching from Louisiana to New England.

The storm hit regions that are home to resin plants, with outages forcing closures for plants producing PET, polyethyene, polystyrene and especially PVC. Shortages from those closures were part of a 31.5-cent jump in PVC prices through 2021, including a 5-cent hike in November.

The World Meterological Organization retires storm names if those storms cause extensive damage and death. Ida was the fifth-costliest storm in U.S. history behind Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, Maria and Sandy. All those storm names have also been retired.

If you've ever shopped at the Aldi discount grocery store chain, you already know there are no free bags. You either bring your own or buy one.

Now the Germany-based retailer says it will be the first chain to completely eliminate plastic bags, including the heavy-duty bags sold at checkout.

In its 2022 Corporate Responsibility Progress Report, released April 28, Aldi said it will eliminate all plastic shopping bags from stores by the end of 2023. It says the move will eliminate 4,400 tons of plastic from circulation. That comes on top of the estimated 15 billion bags it eliminated previously.