Moody’s says Faraday project ‘credit positive’ for Nevada
Faraday Future's plans to build a $1 billion electric car manufacturing plant in North Las Vegas is viewed as positive by a national credit reporting firm.
Moody's said the project is a "credit positive" for the state, North Las Vegas and the region as a whole.
"The project will provide high-wage jobs, diversify the state's economic base and result in additional state and local tax revenues," Moody's said in a statement last week.
Nevada lawmakers in December approved $215 million in tax abatements as well as other incentives to ink the deal to bring Faraday to the Apex industrial site.
Part of the agreement involves state authorized bonds to help finance bringing critical infrastructure to the industrial site. Tax increments and special taxing districts around the Apex site will help pay the bond costs.
Moody's noted the project is not without some risk, including "non-completion or failure of the project, plus competition from other established manufacturers including Tesla Motors."
The law approved by the Legislature requires Faraday to meet investment benchmarks before receiving tax breaks.
— Sandra Chereb
Titus fights dog leather imports
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., has joined other members of Congress in urging a federal agency to ensure dog leather does not end up in U.S. stores.
In a recent letter to U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske, Titus, Tennessee Democrat Steve Cohen and Florida Democrat Alcee Hastings stated evidence has surfaced that Chinese manufacturers are surreptitiously substituting canine leather for cow or pig leather and illegally exporting products to the United States. That evidence comes 15 years after the U.S. banned the importation of dog fur and skin, they wrote.
"In American culture, dogs are cherished pets and are considered a member of the family. Our laws reflect this status by prohibiting the consumption of dogs and killing dogs for the purpose of making products out of their body parts," they stated.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, they stated, do not investigate the composition of leather products entering the U.S. to determine whether the manufacturer has labeled the animal-base correctly.
"I want to ensure that law enforcement is doing everything in its power to keep such products from entering the country," Titus said in a written comment to the Review-Journal. "No American wants to hold his or her dog's leash with a dog-leather glove."
The agency did not respond to a request for a comment on the trio's letter, which was provided in a press release from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA.
"PETA Asia has documented that American consumers are being duped into buying leather that comes from dogs who were rounded up, bludgeoned to death, and skinned for cheap Chinese leather imports," PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in a press release.
— Jim Myers
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb
Contact Bethany Barnes at bbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Find her on Twitter: @betsbarnes
Contact Jim Myers at jmyers@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @myers_dc
