If you’re a fan of baseball and the history of the minor leagues then you may be familiar with the historic Chattanooga Lookouts. The Tennessee Double-A team dates back to the early 1900s and is sometimes known for baseball trivia relating to Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig.

Back in 1931, the New York Yankees played the Lookouts at Chattanooga’s Historic Engel Stadium. The Lookouts roster included a 17-year-old girl named Jackie Mitchell who struck out both Gehrig and Ruth. The Lookouts have since moved to a new stadium but Engel Stadium is still in use and has become a filming location.

In the movie 42, the True Story of an American Legend Engel Stadium was used as the setting for much of the live baseball scenes filmed for the movie. It doubled for historic ballparks such as Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn which was torn down in 1960.

Lookout for Looie!

At the end of March 2021, the Lookouts front office reported to police that the offices at the new home of the lookouts since 2000, AT&T Field, were broken into. Among the items listed as stolen was the head for the mascot costume for Looie the Lookout. It is valued at $3,000 by the team.

Rich Mozingo, President for the Lookouts, stated that Looie was not just sitting around for somebody to pick up.

“He was behind locked doors,” Mozingo said during an interview. “And, they beat those doors in.”

BREAKING: Looie Found Safe and Sound!

After being mascot-napped, Looie the Lookout has been returned home safe. The Lovable Lookout would like to thank the Chattanooga community and his friends @ChattanoogaPD for their support and assistance.

https://t.co/yfHvboaCKd pic.twitter.com/QRRDHJMjaw

— Chattanooga Lookouts (@ChattLookouts) March 31, 2021

Other items stolen included team sports memorabilia and equipment. But Looie is what captured the attention of area residents and sports fans from across the nation. Social media posts from the Chattanooga Police department and the Lookouts started a small “Lookout for Looie” neighborhood watch campaign.

It didn’t take long for the effort to knock one out of the park! Pun intended.

Looie Returns

Enter Brian Hunter who is an electrician for the nearby Tennessee Aquarium. Both AT&T Field and the Aquarium are located in downtown Chattanooga.

“I saw something red on the side of the road back there on Powerhouse Alley,” Hunter said about his drive on the road that home run and foul balls often land on. “I heard the story yesterday and I knew to stop,” said the electrician for the Aquarium. “I looked at it and I kind of knew what it was… it was Looie.”

Mozingo said that he and others in the office were worried about the outcome.. but at the same time hoping for the best. Here’s the reason – there’s not much a thief can do with a stolen professional sports team mascot! Post one selfie on social media with a big stolen mascot head and the police will soon be paying a visit.

“Once you’ve stolen Looie’s head… what do you do with him?” Mozingo stated in an interview with local NBC news affiliate WRCB Channel 3. “There’s not a real great market for it.”

As with any good crime story, pictures of the soggy Looie head laying on the side of the road were taken. But, the Lookouts front office didn’t want to release them out of respect for Looie’s many young fans.

Looie is back in the hands of Mozingo and his staff and getting ready for home games. The question now is who took him? According to police the dollar amount of the theft could lead to felony charges. Hopefully, that mystery will be solved. And, hopefully, Lookout fans will get to see Mr. Hunter throw out the first pitch during a game this upcoming season!

The post Stolen Mascot Returns to Historic Minor League Baseball Team appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

The $100/kWh price was registered on e-bus batteries for the Chinese market. Although this was the lowest reported price, the volume-weighted average price did not strand too high either, setting at $105/kWh.

The recorded drop in price has been consistent, as the electric vehicle battery pack prices revolve around the $126/kWh mark for volume-weighted averages. However, when considering prices reported at cell-level, battery electric vehicle (BEV) prices were down to $100/kWh. Consequently, this show that 21% of the total price of a BEV is drawn by the battery pack.

BloombergNEF (BNEF) results on the 2020 Battery Price Survey is predicting an average battery pack price of $101/kWh by 2023 for all electric vehicle categories. This includes electric passenger vehicles, e-buses, commercial electric vehicles such as trucks, as well as stationary batteries.

The importance of $100/kWh batteries

It is obvious that as battery pack prices drop, electric vehicles will follow suit, becoming cheaper and  more affordable for the public. However, the $100/kWh marks a turning point for the electric automotive industry. It is by this point that automakers should be able to break even between combustion and electric vehicles.

In other words, by 2023 automakers should be able to build and sell both combustion and electric vehicles at the same price and with the same margin, allowing for a more balanced market.

Why Electric Car prices are dropping

Lower prices on battery packs are definitely a good sign. The main reasons for which battery packs are being sold at lower prices per kWh have to do with newer manufacturing technologies, but rather with demand.

Thus, lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide batteries and their cobalt aluminum oxide counterparts are cheaper to the obsolete Li-Ion relatives. Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are expected to pull prices even lower, down to $80/kWh.

On the other hand, the constant increase of demand for battery packs also helps prices to keep on going on their descending slope.

Long-term expectations

If the $101/kWh by 2023 looks certain, even though some ups and downs may arise on the way, estimates show that by 2030 battery packs should reach a historical $58/kWh minimum. Compared to 2013, that is an 11.5-fold drop in price.

The post Electric Car Prices may Equal Gas Cars by 2023 appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

On Sunday 7 December, a large part of the countryside and villages around Modena (Nonantola the most affected village), was completely flooded. The rupture of an embankment of the Panaro river is now causing many families to pass moments of fear and despair.

Houses full of water, impassable roads, 364 people evacuated with the help of rubber boats, and a lack of electricity in many areas.

The people of Modena are used to difficulties. Earthquakes and other floods have shaken this land several times in the past. Solidarity and hard work are repaying the suffering.

The 150 firefighters and almost 300 civil protection volunteers are working for hours without end, in the rain that never stops. The leak in the embankment was promptly repaired, but many people are still away from home or intent on saving what can be saved inside their houses.

Researchers and teachers from the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia immediately made themselves available to help Civil Protection in the technical-scientific field.

Fortunately, the leak has been closed and sealed. Additionally, the river is being constantly monitored to avoid further problems.

A step was also taken by the President of Emilia Romagna Stefano Bonaccini who promptly requested the State for the Recovery Fund in order to secure the territory, bearing in mind the enormous changes that occur due to climatic effects.

On 7 December, the residents of the affected municipalities awoke in the “yellow zone,” an area where travel would finally be granted. They could have gone to visit relatives or to shop in the city, but the tragedy struck them.

The anger is high and justified. Citizens have wondered why the alert came only when the water was already inside the houses and why public money has not been used in recent years to prevent these types of disasters.

Fortunately, thanks to all the people involved in the rescue, the safety rules for Covid were implemented and ad hoc shelters were created.Surely the Modena population will rise again to continue filling the world with its wonders.

The post Modena Residents Resilient Amid Flooding appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

In a press release, the company indicated that it had completed the Preliminary Product Specification gateway with help from its affiliate – Magna International Inc. Fisker touts this PPS gateway as a key engineering and purchasing milestone for completion of the Ocean SUV.

As part of this achievement, the company was able to confirm preliminary design specifications as well as key components and subsystems. It also confirms the planned timing for future gateways leading up to the launch of actual production – just over a year from now.

“Today’s announcements demonstrate our team’s ability to set aggressive targets and achieve them on time,” commented Fisker Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henrik Fisker.

“Completing these important engineering and purchasing milestones demonstrates how well the Fisker and Magna teams are working together and keeping our rapid, capital-light product development program on-track towards the delivery of the all-electric Fisker Ocean SUV, expected to commence in Q4 2022.”

Under the terms of an agreement reached last month, the Fisker Ocean SUV will initially be manufactured exclusively by Magna in Europe.

The post Fisker Moves Closer to Delivery of its Ocean SUV appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Nigeria is among the 5 most populous countries in the sub-region and currently leads the board. Yet, barely 50% of her population has access to electricity. Those who do, experience power supply outages 60% of the time.

According to a report released by World Bank Indicators, by 2030, there will still be about 650 million people without access to electricity. Nine out of ten of them will live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Additionally, in a report by one of the country’s most-read newspapers, PUNCH said that there has been no significant improvement in the electricity generated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria since 2015.

ANED (Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors) is a body dedicated to Advocacy on issues of common interest and relevance for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. Recently it released a briefing blaming the lack of improvement for the year 2020 on the impact of the COVID-19, and partially on the increasing number of electricity users.

Due to this ever-decreasing production of electrical energy, it is a norm and has become almost compulsory for every family and business owner to procure a power generating machine to substitute for lack of power.

The costs of owning a standard generating set ranges anywhere from $100 to thousands of dollars. That, of course, is excluding the cost of purchasing the fuel needed to power it regularly.

Providing more insight into this issue is the following taken from a report on npr.org:

“Jonathan Phillips, director of the Energy Access Project at Duke University… says Nigeria’s power problems date back decades to the country’s early days of independence, when the government set up a heavily subsidized electrical grid.

The energy system was often a prime target for corruption, he says, and has never been able to generate enough profit to offset the massive cost needed to build enough new power plants and distribution lines to keep up with the country’s rapidly growing population.

As a result, he says, Nigeria has one-fifth the total power supply of North Carolina, with a population of 200 million people, 20 times the state’s — and blows through up to $8 billion per year on diesel fuel for generators.”

While Nigeria is a land of opportunities, the issue of an unstable power supply continues to crumble start-ups. As a result, many never make it through their first 3 years of business.

While it is uncertain whether the root cause is from corruption, a misappropriation of funds, or rapid overpopulation, the fact still remains that it must be solved.

The post Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Crisis appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

On October 10 in Milan, in front of the Cathedral, 1300 show business workers all dressed in black took to the square and occupied it with 500 empty trunks. These trunks called Flight cases generally contain all the tools necessary for setting up a show, electrical cables, microphones, amplifiers …

As new Covid-19 lockdowns force the closure of theaters and and other cultural locations, protests erupt in Italy.

Their protest called “Bauli in Piazza”, joins the American movement known as “We make events”, created to support workers in the music field. The protests highlight the profession as being the last to reopen after the spring lockdown and the first to close with the new decree.

There was silence in the square, interspersed with drumming on trunks and applause.

Due to Covid-19 in March, the whole of Italy stopped. Everything closed – from the small shop under the house, to non-essential factories, cinemas and theaters. As restrictions slowly lifted, the places of culture were the last to reopen.

Savoring the luxury of dreaming in a theater stalls or in a cinema, or walking admiring works of art, filled the hearts of citizens with joy.

Italy is a people of culture who love opera. A people who on Christmas does not miss the latest releases at the cinema. And, as a cutlure, Italy boasts a large number of exhibitions and museums.

Entertainment workers have worked hard to ensure safety and to restore the people’s confidence to buy tickets and attend small concerts or plays.

The number of infections that occurred in cinemas and theaters is almost zero, but the government decided that they would be the first to close their doors.

The hustle and bustle of workers and artists was immediately felt with appeals and petitions.

The state is not providing an financial help to artists, theater and cinema directors, the staff behind concerts, film crews, costume designers, sound engineers, screenwriters and others in the industry. All of which is very disheartening.

In a world that, now more than ever, needs to dream and to escape from everyday stress, culture must not be allowed to die.

More than ten thousand employees signed a letter addressed to the Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and the Minister of Cultural Heritage citing the importance of these places. Stressing how they are vital to keeping the spirit of citizens alive, and pointing out the hard work done to ensure distances and safety.

With the new decree of November 3, museums will also close their doors, leaving an unbridgeable void.

People will find themselves more satiated with all the supermarkets always open, however with closed museums, theaters, cinemas, show halls and schools, the heart and soul always more empty.

The post COVID: The Death of Culture in Italy appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to wear masks in densely industrialized because of the poor air quality.

To achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2060, China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers believe that conventional internal combustion cars must be replaced by environmentally friendly alternatives no later than 2035.

Deputy secretary-general of China’s Association of Automobile Manufacturers Shi Jianhua stated that hybrid powertrains are the optimal choice. Jianhua stating that improvements in automotive electrification will help the transition to hybrid vehicles.

China hasn’t yet established a proper plan to ban fossil-fuel cars and switch entirely to hybrids and NEVs (new energy vehicles). However, there is still a decade and a half left to work towards the goal.

Shi Jianhua estimates that new-energy vehicles such as hybrids, electric cars and fuel-cell vehicles would account for half of the Chinese automotive market by 2035. This would in turn have a strong impact on reducing China’s carbon footprint.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Production in China

Currently, China is the largest emerging electric vehicle market in the world. EV manufacturers such as Tesla are already establishing production points and showrooms all around the country.

The Geely owned Polestar division of Volvo is also developing two models in the Middle Kingdom. They also have plans on starting production for a 3^rd type. Founded in 1997, Geely Auto Group is a leading automobile manufacturer based in Hangzhou.

The Percept Concept is expected to be built at a brand-new facility in China, a Polestar spokesperson declared.

Furthermore, the concept follows the Chinese carbon reduction purpose, aiming to be the lowest carbon footprint vehicle in China.

As of 2020, China accounted for half of the electric vehicle sales worldwide, and the percentage is expected to go up in years to come.

The post China Considers Ban of Gasoline Cars by 2035 appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

The 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show will run from May 21-31 at the LA Convention Center.

In addition to being the company’s first electric SUV, this launch of the Fisker Ocean represents the company’s first production vehicle. According to Fisker, Ocean will deliver class-leading range and performance, along with functional interior space which includes third-row seating.

“It’s with great excitement that we’re making the global debut of the Fisker Ocean here in our home city of Los Angeles,” said Henrik Fisker, Chairman and CEO of Fisker.

“As befits the world’s first digital car company, we are also planning to showcase several Fisker-unique technologies that will support our differentiated ownership experience and vehicle functionality.”

While Fisker is based in California, the company has developed a partnership in Europe with Magna International. Magna will assemble the Ocean in Europe, with production scheduled to being in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Despite the fact that production has not yet begun, Fisker has already inked a deal for 300 vehicles. These Oceans will be delivered to Viggo, a Danish ride-hailing service.

Viggo, plans to use the Fisker vehicles to build its all-electric fleet. With it the company hopes to set a new standard for urban transportation.

Some see Fisker as a company which could eventually become a rival to Elon Musk’s Tesla Motors. But with production of its first electric vehicle still over a year away, that could take some doing.

To learn more about Fisker and the company’s vision for eco-friendly electric vehicles, visit www.FiskerInc.com.

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A recent report in Nature describes a Room-Temperature Superconductivity breakthrough by a team at the University of Rochester and the University of Las Vegas, Nevada.

A superconductive material is one in which there is basically no resistance flow of electric current. This means that there is no power loss as a current travels through a circuit.

Until now, achieving superconductivity in materials was only possible at extremely low temperatures. This has made them impractical for use in today’s tech. This breakthrough however, could change everything.

The research team is led by physicists Ranga Dias and Ashkan Salamat of  the University of Rochester and UNLV respectively. Their research is being funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

“It’s a game changer,” said Salamat.

“The discovery is new, and the technology is in its infancy and a vision of tomorrow, but the possibilities are endless. This could revolutionize the energy grid and change every device that’s electronically driven.”

Instead of using ultra low temperatures (close to -273 Celsius) to achieve superconductivity, the teams did it with pressure. Extremely high pressure – similar to the crushing pressure near the Earth’s core.  

The researchers are still at an early stage in their work. But if they can continue to see success as they try to use less or no pressure, a whole new wave of technological advances lies ahead.

The post Room Temperature Superconductivity Breakthrough appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

According to the company, “This marks the first time Impossible Beef Made from Plants has been available for home chefs outside of the United States.” This comes on the heels of 70X retail growth in the US in the last six months.

Impossible Foods is based in Silicon Valley, and has been on a rapid growth path since its founding in 2011. The company makes delicious, nutritious meat and dairy products from plants. According to the company, this also much smaller environmental footprint than meat from animals.

Patrick O. Brown, M.D., Ph.D., is the creative genius behind the creation of Impossible Beef. He is Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry at Stanford University and a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

For many who have tried it, the Impossible Beef (known as Impossible Burger in North America) rivals ground beef from cows for taste. The plant-based meat is kosher, halal and gluten-free certified.

Nutritional Information for Plant Based Meat

In addition to its nutritional benefits, it can be used as a substitute in all ground beef recipes. This includes everything from stews, chili and sauces to minces, meatballs, meat pies, etc.

Unlike many other plant-based diet foods, this one is packed with plenty of protein. 4 ounces of Impossible Beef contains 19 g of protein but has 0 mg of artery clogging cholesterol. A source of iron, it also has 14 g of total fat, 8 g of saturated fat and 240 calories.

In contrast, a conventional 4-ounce “80/20” patty from cows has 80 mg cholesterol, 23 g of total fat, 9 g of saturated fat and 290 calories.

Another benefit of the Impossible Beef is sustainability. Compared to raising cows for beef, creating this food source requires 96% less land and 87% less water. Additionally, creation produces 89% fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Bill Gates and Google Ventures are among a number of investors who see value in the company and its future impact on the global food supply.

The post Impossible Foods goes Global with Plant-Based ‘Impossible Burger’ Meat appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.