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The Cost of Replacing Purple LED Streetlights by Lori Lovely

William Attardi on February 4, 2026

Since many cities and towns began switching to LED streetlights about 15 years ago, a peculiar phenomenon has begun to occur. As specific batches of LED streetlights age, their cool white light fades to blue and then eventually emits a purple wash, due to delamination of the phosphor-silicon layer in some LED chips. This has been linked to a manufacturing defect that eluded quality inspections. Now that the defect has been identified, many municipalities are including performance guarantees and warranties in their street lighting contracts, allowing them to get lamps replaced for free or decreased cost. The average cost of replacing an LED street light fixtures runs from $100 to $500. If only the lamp needs replacing, the cost is around $50 to $200. The cost of replacing the entire fixture can be as much as $400 to $1,200.  The Cost of Replacing Purple LED Streetlights – Electrical Contractor Magazine

Lighting the Way for Electric Vehicles by Using Streetlamps as Chargers by Sarah Small

William Attardi on October 3, 2025

A team of researchers at Penn State created a scalable framework to develop, analyze and evaluate using streetlights as a low-cost, equitable EV charging option. They then installed 23 streetlight charging units in Kansas City, Missouri, and tested their framework. The researchers found that streetlight charging stations, compared to traditional EV charging stations, were more cost- and time-effective, had fewer negative environmental impacts, and were more convenient and accessible. Their results were published in the Journal of Urban Planning and Development, which is overseen by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Lighting the way for electric vehicles by using streetlamps as chargers

Remembering the Solemn Purpose of Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States observed on the last Monday in May to honor and mourn U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the armed forces. The holiday traces its roots to the years immediately following the American Civil War (1861–1865), which caused massive casualties—roughly 620,000 soldiers dead, about 2% of the U.S. population at the time. Communities across the North and South began spontaneously decorating the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers, wreaths, and flags, a practice that gave rise to the original name: Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR)—a powerful Union veterans’ organization—issued General Order No. 11. This proclaimed May 30, 1868, as a nationwide “Decoration Day” to honor those who died in the Civil War. After World War I, the holiday expanded to honor all American service members who died in any war, not just the Civil War.  In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to create more three-day weekends for federal employees. This moved Memorial Day to the last Monday in May, effective in 1971, when it was also officially named “Memorial Day.” As one 1868 quote put it: “That Nation which respects and honors its dead, shall ever be respected and honored itself.”