Panasonic Rebuffs Oklahoma Again, Won't Build EV Battery Plant In Pryor
Panasonic has once again passed over Oklahoma. A planned EV battery plant will no longer be built in Pryor.
Oklahoma worked hard to attract Panasonic to build an electric vehicle battery plant in Pryor's MidAmerica Industrial Park, offering hundreds of millions of dollars in incentives and funding improvements at the site as requested by Panasonic.
Despite these efforts, Panasonic has decided not to move forward with the development of the site.
Nonprofit news outlet Oklahoma Voice reports a company spokesperson says the company came to the decision after quote “careful deliberations.”
Panasonic had initially announced plans to build a $4 billion electric vehicle plant in Kansas and then explored the possibility of a second plant in Pryor, which could have generated thousands of jobs.
Oklahoma officials expressed disappointment but also conveyed optimism about potential future partnerships with the company.
U.S. Senate Approves Sara Hill
Former Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill will be the first Native American woman to serve as a federal judge in Oklahoma.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Hill on the floor Tuesday afternoon by a vote of 52 to 14.
Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford voted in favor of her nomination, while Sen. Markwayne Mullin was absent.
Hill will be just the eighth Native American federal judge in U.S. History and will work out of the Northern District of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma ACLU, Partners Say University Of Oklahoma Misinterpreted New DEI Policy
After Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a recent executive order to prohibit funding for certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the University of Oklahoma said the new policy eliminates its DEI department. But the ACLU of Oklahoma says that reaction is overblown.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the ACLU of Oklahoma and other legal counsel say despite OU President Joseph Harroz’s interpretation, the order does not eliminate DEI offices. It says Harroz’s leap to the worst possible outcome is a misreading of the order.
As the ACLU interprets it, only one of the two prohibition sections in the order applies to universities - the section that requires a review of DEI offices and potentially restructuring or eliminating programs “if deemed necessary.” That section specifies it applies to “executive state agencies, including institutions of higher education.”
But, the section with more sweeping prohibitions is prescribed to just “executive state agencies.” The ACLU says the narrow scope of the order leaves universities “ample room” to continue DEI work, “if they have the will to do so.”
It implores OU to “change course, resist this Executive Order, and fight to preserve its DEI programs.”
OU did not return a request for response to the ACLU’s statement.
Unpredictable Weather Made 2023 Tough For Farmers As They Look Toward A Wetter 2024
Oklahoma farmers are looking forward to a new year after much weather variability. Many are hoping for the wetter conditions El Niño typically brings.
Timely rains helped wheat, cotton, soybeans and corn crops this year. Kim Anderson is an Oklahoma State University Extension crop marketing specialist. He says wheat and cotton farmers struggled, while soybeans had a relatively low yield.
“Looking at our major crops, on every one of them is the weather variability that was the big thing," Anderson said.
Because of weather timing, corn crops actually did pretty well.
In Oklahoma, there is a wide range of weather during the growing season, especially for wheat because it is planted in the winter and harvested in the summer.
Anderson says hopefully, wetter weather could help alleviate years long drought conditions and provide moisture deeper in the soil.
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