$5 Billion EV Factory in Georgia

Rivian, the American EV manufacturer, just secured a significant victory in the Peach State. Following a contentious legal tussle, the Georgia Supreme Court chose not to entertain an appeal challenging the legitimacy of Rivian's anticipated property tax relief for its proposed $5 billion EV facility.

 This turn of events propels Rivian ahead in its quest to establish one of the most extensive EV plants in the region.

Back in December 2021, Rivian unfurled its ambitious plan to construct a colossal 2,000-acre EV factory in Georgia. With a staggering production capacity of up to 400,000 EVs annually, the facility significantly outpaces Rivian's existing Illinois plant, which maxes out at 150,000 units annually. 

But, as the saying goes, every rose has its thorns. The path to getting this behemoth off the ground has been riddled with roadblocks.

In fact, the legal road to Rivian's Georgia facility resembled more of a bumper car ride. Initially, Rivian's proposed project faced pushback from a group of residents who sued the Joint Development Authority (JDA) and the company in charge of initial site grading. 

Yet another group challenged the local property tax incentives slated for Rivian, which led to a judge shooting down approximately $700 million of the proposed tax benefits.

Despite these hurdles, Rivian's resilience never waned. The company stood its ground, holding firm to the commitment to its Georgia project. 

Rivian's determination paid off when the highest court in the state sided with the JDA and the State of Georgia on most issues about the company's incentive package.  READ MORE...

Gender ID and Sexual Instruction

Florida Republicans have faced backlash for a measure that bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" to elementary school children, but similar bills have been introduced and considered in other states across the country.

On Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law the Parental Rights in Education bill, which bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in kindergarten through third grade. The measure has faced criticism on a national level, including from President Biden.

In February, Biden wrote in a tweet saying that he supported those in Florida who oppose the "hateful bill" and vowed to fight back "for the protections and safety you deserve."

Biden, however, along with other critics, has been largely silent about similar measures in other state legislatures that aim to shape how discussions or viewpoints on gender and sexual orientation are held in school systems.

In early March, Georgia legislators introduced Senate Bill 613, the Common Humanity in Private Education Act, which is co-sponsored by 10 Republican state senators. It states that "no private or nonpublic school or program" should "promote, compel or encourage classroom discussion of sexual orientation or gender identity in primary grade levels or in a manner that is not appropriate for the age and developmental stage of the student."

"No teacher should be promoting gender identity discussions with small children in a classroom setting, which is exactly what this bill says and why I support it," said Georgia state Sen. Burt Jones, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  READ MORE...

JORO Spiders

A female Joro spider crawls across a branch. Credit: Davis et al, Physiological evaluation of newly invasive jorō spiders (Trichonephila clavata) in the southeastern USA compared to their naturalized cousin, Trichonephila clavipes, Physiological Entomology (2022).

If you live in Georgia, it's hard not to notice the state's latest resident.

The bright yellow, blue-black and red spiders' golden webs will be all over power lines, in trees around town and even on your front porch come summer.

The Joro spider first arrived stateside around 2013 and has since spread across the state and Southeast. But new research from the University of Georgia suggests the invasive arachnids could spread through most of the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.

There's really nothing we can do to stop them. But that's not necessarily bad news.

Joros don't appear to have much of an effect on local food webs or ecosystems, said Andy Davis, corresponding author of the study and a research scientist in the Odum School of Ecology. They may even serve as an additional food source for native predators like birds.

"People should try to learn to live with them," he said. "If they're literally in your way, I can see taking a web down and moving them to the side, but they're just going to be back next year."

"The way I see it, there's no point in excess cruelty where it's not needed," added Benjamin Frick, co-author of the study and an undergraduate researcher in the School of Ecology. "You have people with saltwater guns shooting them out of the trees and things like that, and that's really just unnecessary."  READ MORE...

Transatlantic Speed Records Set

Announcing an air-speed record from Savannah, Georgia, to Doha, Qatar, might sound trivial or even a little absurd. Until you consider the context: This was the world’s largest business jet flying 6,711 nautical miles nonstop at Mach 0.88, or 675 mph, for 13 hours and 16 minutes, on its first international flight. Then it becomes a corporate milestone.

Gulfstream’s new G700 then set another city-pair record from Doha to Paris, flying 2,953 nautical miles at an average speed of Mach 0.90 (690.5 mph) for 6 hours and 15 minutes, before returning to headquarters in Savannah.

Beyond the “records,” the transatlantic flights of Gulfstream’s new ultra-long-range jet shows the business-jet world—and potential buyers—that the aircraft lives up to the publicity it has attracted since first being announced in 2019. 

Plus, visiting the capital of Qatar was more than Gulfstream just throwing a dart at the map: Qatar Airways Group is its launch customer and plans to take delivery of the first G700, which has a list price of $78 million, next year. 

The flight gave Qatar Executive a chance to show off the Gulfstream flagship—with a fully outfitted interior—at a press conference in Doha.  READ MORE

Vaccine Suspended

CUMMING, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Public Health has paused distributing the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at one state vaccination site after several people had adverse reactions after getting the shot on the same day this week.

Georgia is now the fourth state this week to pause the J&J vaccine due to similar problems.

Channel 2′s Steve Gehlbach was at the Cumming Fairgrounds, where health officials have suspended distributing the vaccine after eight people experienced adverse reactions after getting the shots on Wednesday. One person was taken to the hospital but was released. Others were monitored at the site and sent home.

“It was a fainting issue,” Dave Palmer, North Georgia Health District spokesperson, told Gehlbach. “We don’t think it’s anything with the vaccine. It’s probably more environmental factors.”  READ MORE

Well... well... well... Cancel Culture

While Coca Cola and Delta are being influenced by the cancel culture not to have anything to do with Georgia or it brand of Southern Politics, it would appear that the Professional Golfers in Georgia are not that TEED-OFF and are deciding to hit that little white ball around the green grass despite having to do without being able to drink in Coca Cola products.

It would appear that golfers are FLIPPING A BIG FAT BIRD to the cancel culture as the rest of us should be doing instead of caving in to these assholes.

I, for one, have decided not to drink any Coca Cola products ever again...  but, the fact of the matter is that I stopped drinking coke years ago because of the taste...  and, ever since then I have been drink PEPSI which in my opinion is a much better soft drink...  although, I prefer unsweetened tea.

As far as Delta is concerned...  it pisses me off that they have allowed themselves to be DOPED by the cancel culture, especially since Delta is the only airlines on which I like to fly.  I have a Delta American Express credit card and will continue to rack up points by using it, but do not plan to fly Delta ever again.

I am not much for the cancel culture nor do I support anyone who supports the cancel culture.  It is sad that the cancel culture is an off shoot of the BLM movement because that is a movement that I would have supported had they not turned into assholes also.

While I personally detest GOLF, I am supportive of the golfers who have decided to play through the controversy.

ALSO...  MLB is a sport that I grew tired of, the minute I entered high school and have not cared much for that sport ever since.  I much prefer basketball and football and might have liked soccer if I had ever known how to play the damn game.

In the future, I will SUPPORT GEORGIA anyway that I can...  and, I say this because the cancel culture has DIVIDED AMERICA and I will always be on the side against THEM...

The Devil Came Out of Georgia

You would need to be half BRAIN DEAD if you do not know that Baseball's All Star Game was pulled out of Atlanta because the WOKE Mob believes that these new VOTING LAWS that the Georgia Legislature just recently passed are RACISTS...

Even President Biden said he supported moving the baseball game out of Georgia and along with President Biden Delta Airlines decided that they would use their corporate power to make Georgia regret what they did.

HOWEVER...

no one

not even the President of the United States

must have read the actual law because

everything that President Biden said on National TV about the law was a LIE...

What bothers me more than anything else is not so much that President Biden relied on advisors and still put his foot in his mouth but the CEO of Delta made his decision on something that was not true...  How many decisions has this CEO made during his tenure that was based upon data that was NOT TRUE...

It makes one wonder how the hell he got to be a CEO in the first place.

Atlanta may lose 100 million because of that game being moved...  but I am sure that Delta will be paying for it because the Governor is going to remove all of Delta's TAX BREAKS...  and, it is not going to be that easy to move Delta's HUB out of Atlanta and if they did...  where would they go?

Two things here are going to happen...  at least for me...

1.  I am going to stop flying on Delta

2.  I am going to stop watching MLB

Back in the USSR

 

In the decades after it was established, the Russian-dominated Soviet Union grew into one of the world’s most powerful and influential states and eventually encompassed 15 republics:

1. Russia
2.  Ukraine
3.  Georgia
4.  Belorussia
5.  Uzbekistan
6.  Armenia
7.  Azerbaijan
8.  Kazakhstan
9.  Kyrgyzstan
10.  Moldova
11.  Turkmenistan
12.  Tajikistan
13.  Latvia
14.  Lithuania
15.  Estonia

In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following the collapse of its communist government. 

The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union,  the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad , are the 15 sovereign states that emerged and re-emerged from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics following its breakup in 1991, with Russia being the primary de facto internationally recognized successor state to the Soviet Union after the Cold War while Ukraine, by law, proclaimed that it is a state-successor of both the Ukrainian SSR and the Soviet Union which remained under dispute over formerly Soviet-owned properties. 

The three Baltic states were the first to declare their independence, between March and May 1990, claiming continuity from the original states that existed prior to their annexation by the Soviet Union in 1940.The remaining 12 republics all subsequently seceded. 12 of the 15 states, excluding the Baltic states, initially formed the CIS and most joined CSTO, while the Baltic states focused on European Union and NATO membership.