POLITICO
As China revs up battery production, Dem lawmakers see another Middle East nightmare
Washington is racing for money to build batteries for cars and the electric grid, but despite the bipartisan “Buy American” rhetoric, not enough may be done to counter China’s lead.
This July 26, 2016, photo shows an overall view of the Tesla Gigafactory in Sparks, Nev. The U.S. only has three major battery factories operating today, including Tesla’s. | Rich Pedroncelli/AP Photo
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The clean energy economy is being made in China. Washington Democrats are launching a late-stage rush to lure it back home.
Ask Naomi Newman what it’s like to hit the big 9-0, and she gives a straight answer. “It feels similar to 89,” she says dryly. “The experience is quite ordinary.”
“Ordinary” is not a term normally associated with Naomi Newman. As an actor, director, playwright and especially as a co-founder of the pioneering Traveling Jewish Theater, she secured a spot in the Bay Area pantheon of performance art. So when her 90th birthday loomed last Dec. 24, her family, friends and colleagues couldn’t pass up the opportunity to throw a party.
It was a Zoomunion for the ages — “joyous and affirming and beautiful” according to the birthday gal. “It was like I needed to be in touch with everyone in my life.” The festivities included kind words from colleagues past and present, and plenty of music, even a reworking of Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne” with the name changed to Naomi.