Taxpayers to Fund $4 Billion Panasonic Electric Vehicle Battery Plant coming to De Soto Kansas

by Staff

Comments from Charlotte O'Hara; Panasonic: "$1 billion from Kansas, $400 million from DeSoto just isn't enough

Panasonic has come begging to the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners for an additional $15 million in public welfare for the DeSoto battery plant project and we gave it to them yesterday on a vote of 5-2.

This ask was made because there is no property tax base to pay for fire protection and other infrastructure needs due to the TIF, so the taxpayers of JoCo are now footing the bill.  Never mind that all other fire protection in the county is paid for either by the cities or fire districts within the county, we are ALL being asked to shoulder the cost to provide protection against Panasonic's extremely flammable and toxic lithium battery production plant.  Why couldn’t Panasonic fund this cost through the $1.4 billion already promised to them?

The lesson is clear: once the trough is open, the hogs will never stop coming for more.
Please come to the BOCC meeting next Thursday, August 4th at 9:30 a.m. (111 S. Cherry, Olathe) and demand that your elected Johnson County Board of County Commissioners revisit this vote for corporate welfare (those in the majority have the right to bring the issue back for reconsideration). It's your money."

Read the Press Hype from Lynne.


by Lynne Hermansen4 Billion Panasonic Electric Vehicle Battery Plant coming to De Soto

The Sunflower Ammunition Plant has been closed since the 1990s. It will now be the site of the county’s new largest economic development with Panasonic. Photo courtesy of Johnson County

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced Wednesday, July 13 Japan’s Panasonic Corp selected Kansas for a multimillion dollar mega-factory to produce electric vehicle batteries for Tesla and other carmakers.

It is the largest economic development package of taxpayer-funded incentives that the state has offered a private business worth $829 million over 10 years.

State officials expect the new plant to provide 4,000 jobs for a median $50,000 year income and 16,500 temporary construction jobs. “A new facility of this size is transformational not only for Johnson County but also for the surrounding area and actually the entire state,” Kelly said.David Toland, Kansas Commerce Secretary, said it would make Panasonic a “Top 20” private employer for the State of Kansas [Carried on the backs of Kansas taxpayers for years to come.- ED]

Kelly’s administration said they estimated the project will have a $2.5 billion annual economic impact for the state.
“Kansas is no longer an aw shucks, humble, sort of flyover state,”Toland said. “We can compete with anyone and we can say loudly and proudly that Kansas is the best state in the nation for business investment.” [Really? Tessla is the biggest EV manufacturer with its biggest market in China. Looks like KS taxpayer are going to wind up subsidizing China as well. And when this project goes bust there will be a toxic battery plant to clean up as well - ED..

Kris Takamoto, executive Vice President of Panasonic Energy, said they would be providing critical production capacity to one of the fastest growing and most exciting industries in the world. Another costly and worthless Green Energy plan..Taxpayers have are forced to pay for this project through another dubious Taxpayer Incremental Financing plan, Panasonic risks nothing. - ED]

“Kansas has an impressive history of being home to a skilled manufacturing workforce,” he said. “We appreciate Kansas’s dedication to sustainability and its commitment to and growth in the clean and renewable energy space.” [The real 'thanks' go to the corrupt politicians who force financing of these boondoggles. -Ed]

The state had created a new program to offer incentives that could reach $1 billion or more for five months for large development projects with a refundable 15 percent tax credit on the entire investment a company makes in Kansas. [We will be paying their salaries and other feebies as well for at least 10 years. - ED]

Between 7.5 and 10 percent of payroll costs may be refunded for the first decade of the project and a company can also set an amount for training and relocation expenses reimbursed per year for five years.

Officials believe the deal’s impact will benefit suppliers and the entire state. [Everybody but the citizens who pay for it. - ED]

Incentives will also be available for five suppliers who can make $10 million in sales in a year and will be handpicked by Panasonic. It is unique to the deal and intended to build a self-contained supply chain for the battery manufacturing, officials said.
[How many US electric cars will be sold?]

Governor Kelly said it will help Kansas be the production epicenter for batteries powering the increasing demand for electric vehicles. [What demand? It's anticipated to be 2025 before any real demand hits: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/u-s-electric-vehicle-market-106396. Meanwhile we'll just carry Panasonic on our backs until real markets develop. - ]ED

“Innovations happening right here in Kansas will accelerate the future of electric vehicles on a global scale,” she said.
Companies must agree to repay benefits if their performance merits aren’t met and the state can take back a percentage of benefits if a company relocates to another state within the first 15 years of their agreement. [Oh bullshit! Who's going to pay for all the electric vehicle charging stations and extra fossil fuel power plants to be built because green energy can't produce sufficient power?. Also the vehicle owner better hope the wind is blowing hard enough and it isn't freezing cold outside or the turbine doesn't get hit by lightening. Remember don't stay in your car because the blades fall when the turbine catches fire.- ED]

Kelly and eight top Kansas Legislature leaders  called the State Finance Council unanimously signed off on the package after 45 minutes of closed door discussions before the announcement.

Media members objected to the closed door meeting because no firm details of the agreement had been made public. The incentive framework passed earlier this year to lure Panasonic and legislators also complained at the time details weren’t public.
The site will be at the former Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in DeSoto. It had long been rumored that cleanup of the site and turning the area into a TIF District was in anticipation for the Panasonic plant. City officials approved relaxing zoning restrictions earlier in the week.

Johnson County Commissioners Shirley Allenbrand and Charlotte O’Hara, who are both running for county commision chair in the August primary, both addressed the deal at a forum at Johnson County College held that evening. O’Hara said the problem was the state is given one billion in tax incentives and DeSoto is given one billion for an incremental finance district creating two billion in industrial revenue bonds.

“It seems we have given up on the free market,”she said. “And we don’t have to. The engine of our economy is small business. It’s fool’s gold. You run thinking this is the answer. Building one step at a time—that is where the economic future is.”
Allenbrand said it was a proactive plan by the county to provide jobs for everyone everywhere, but they also needed to take a look at the roads as they are terrible in the 6th District.  “I’m excited to see it happen and see Sunflower cleaned up,”she said.

Mike Kelly, Roeland Park Mayor who is also running for county chair, said it was a huge win for Johnson County. “It shows what can happen when we get rid of rhetoric and work together,”he said. [And it's especially sweet when you have the citizens all harnessed up to pay for your pipe dream - right?]

“It is a great opportunity for innovative new careers and to be able to provide jobs for the future. We need to focus on building infrastructure for world class destination careers.”

Ken Selzer, former Kansas Insurance Commissioner who is also running for county chair, said the project is going to change the complexion of Western Johnson County. “We need to think about roads and support services,”he said. “We need to be at the table earlier for conversations vital to Johnson County involving workforce and housing issues. We need to stop reacting and lead the growth spurt.”

O’Hara said a 2013 post audit performance report for the county proved why she did not support the project. “Which tools are most effective,” she said. “It is a scathing report of ineffectiveness of tax incentives. We are a trough open to big developers. The market works. Stop picking winners and losers.”

In February, Johnson County Board of Commissioners approved the City of DeSoto’s request for creating a TIF District on the property 5 to 2 with commissioners Michael Ashcraft and Charlotte O’Hara dissenting. O’Hara said at the time it was a very extensive, deep issue and the problem was asking to divert property taxes to help with clean up of the site.

“There are many, many, many issues,” she said. [Looks like the JoCo Commisars ahve dumped the old Sunflower Ammunition plant cleanup on the taxpayers as well. Ed] O’Hara had said it was the U.S. Department of Defense’s responsibility and far beyond their grasp to be prudent with the money and she had many questions. Eilert, county chair, had said he appreciated what the City of DeSoto was going through.

“This area if any area has been blighted—this is it,” he said. “Even with the U.S. Army helping to remove the toxic chemicals there is still work to be done to clean up to the standards.” [That's neither the problen of JoCo tapayers or their responsibility. - ED]

Eilert said it was a good step forward and bringing businesses in would attract revenue for the region.

Allenbrand had said she supported the creation of the TIF district as the area was in the district she serves for the county and she was excited to see something happening with the land. “There is not a property where this is needed more,” she said.

In 1942 during WWII and after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the federal government uprooted 150 farms in the cities of DeSoto and Eudora region to build an ammunition plant. Construction began May, 8, 1942 and the plant became operational March 24, 1943. It would become the world’s largest smokeless operational powder plant.

2022 marks the 80th Anniversary of the Sunflower Ammunition Plant. The land has stood dormant for 30 years since 1992.
Operated by the Hercules Powder Plant it produced more than 200 million pounds of propellants and employed more than 12,000 people.

DeSoto annexed 2/3 of the land—6,000 acres November 2021 to form the TIF District for new development. DeSoto has a current approximate population 6,118 residents and sits along Highway K-10 in western Johnson County. Their annexation of 6,376 acres approximately 10 square miles is one of the biggest annexations of land for Johnson County.

Rick Walker, DeSoto City Mayor, had said taking the step of annexing the land is something the DeSoto community has wanted for years.  [ Then you pay for it yourself  Mr. Mayor. - ED]

“I’m honored to be delivering on the decades long vision of reviving the land into something more prosperous,” he said.
Walker had said the former army ammunition plant is historically and culturally tied to the City of DeSoto. “While in operation it drew people from around the country and truly made DeSoto prosper,” he said.

DeSoto City Council signed the predevelopment agreement with Sunflower Redevelopment Group. The U.S. Army had transferred the former plant site to them in 2005.

Sunflower Redevelopment’s managing members are Kessinger/Hunter and Co. LC of Kansas City, RESIGHT Holdings LLC of Littleton, Colorado and Midland Properties, Inc of Mission Woods.

Mike Brungardt, DeSoto city administrator, joined that commission meeting and said there was no better example of a blighted roperty.  “It is critical for productive use,” he said. “It is an enormous opportunity for a job creator and economic prosperity.”
Brungardt had said the creation of the TIF district alone doesn’t set the incentive level for each project and the planning phase was still next.

“The general intent is to generate economic activity $3 to $1 of private to public investment,” he said.
Brungardt said four project plans are initially for 1,000 acres. “We are starting to understand the property and the work needed to be done,” he said.

Ashcraft had said he had a lot of reservations about TIFs statutes for TIFs to go after properties. O’Hara had said the TIF was set at 100 percent tax finance with 80 percent of the proceeds for the cleanup operations and 20 percent to the city of DeSoto for TIF expenses.

“The federal government has an obligation to clean this up,” she said. “Why are we diverting taxes? Why are we changing the rules in the middle of the game? Where did all the money go,” she said.

Becky Fast, commissioner, had said she had been involved since the first initiative to repurpose the site in 1998. “It took federal legislation to work together and the army has worked on it for years,” she said. “They didn’t understand the depth of the chemical damage.”

Fast had said the Army temporarily halted cleanup in 2012 and the Federal government committed another $200 million.
“It’s more than any project nationwide,” she said. Brungardt said federal legislation was required in 2004 for cleanup and the current owner of the site took responsibility for the cleanup. Fast said the Kansas Department of Health and Education will require one of the parties to clean up and Brungardt said the EPA had given most of it to KDHE.

Allenbrand said DeSoto had agreed to be a team together and distribute money to schools, fire station, emergency medical services, park land and more.  “It’s important to realize not all 100 percent is going directly to the city,” she said. “The property has been sitting there before I was born and it is nice to see action.”

O’Hara said she supported the cleanup, but didn’t support the $160 million being used from the county. “We need to talk to our delegation in D.C.,” she said. “Why are we diverting from public coffers when the Public Department of Defense is responsible.”
O’Hara had said developers walked in fully knowing what was expected of them, and it was a loss of services to the community.
Ashcraft had said it was the first time they were offered a vote in affirmation of the TIF development. “I support the community in
addressing the ongoing needs of the plant,” he said. “But I’m unable to support.”

Ashcraft had said he needed to fully understand the impact on the county and the additional 3,000 acres on the county even though it was probably a justifiable use for the land.

O’Hara said they were being asked to do an agreement from 2004. “The public understands there are no repercussions on TIF districts,” she said. “The tax incentives are a huge issue.”

Ashcraft had said he was struggling with concerns that they were offering an appearance of being eager to approve without an opportunity to look at how the the TIF impacts the county, especially the 3,000 acres not annexed into DeSoto.  “I’m troubled we
are not willing to take time for understanding,” he said.

Janee Hanzlick, commissioner, said she wanted thank DeSoto City Administrator Brungardt. “It’s been such an issue for the county for years,” she said. “It’s been a huge barrier for economic development. How many years of property and sales tax being generated.”

Brungardt said the property had been taxed as largely vacant or agricultural.  “It hasn’t been a lot,” he said.
Hanzlick said very little had been generated by the property. [Cry me a river. ED}

“DeSoto and the County has the opportunity to promote economic development and generate more income,” she said. “It’s going to take some investment and initial money to be reinvested.” [But don't think to use the people's money. We have more than enough idiots in Washington with Biden and company. - ED]

Fast said the property had been discussed extensively over the last 25 years.“I don’t see this as something DeSoto has just sprang on us,” she said. “It’s the largest continuous tract of land and key to growth on K-10.”

Fast said the U.S. Army had kept the property as a whole, they should celebrate the work before them and wanted to know about the vision of the park land.

Brungardt said the parks would remain but the world and economic landscape had changed over the years and land use plan had deviated from the original.“The highest and best use of the land is to not be residential,” he said. “The vision is for non-residential use, and it is good for industrial and commercial use.”

Jeff Meyers, commissioner, had said he had been involved with other TIF projects with extremely positive results and felt the same effect would occur for DeSoto and the county as a whole with the Sunflower Plant plan.

O’Hara said the new plan didn’t adhere to the 2004 plan and would change Western Johnson County substantially.
“Instead of residential we will have massive Industrial,” she said. “This blue print going forward of warehouses will set the theme for Western Johnson County.”

Ashcraft said DeSoto was stepping up to do a Herculean task but wanted to be cautious as he was concerned about the impact on the county.

Allenbrand said DeSoto had been very transparent.

O’Hara said the general public is not aware of what is happening in DeSoto.“We can do a better job reaching out to regular folk who will be bearing the burden,” she said.




The Global War on Economy and Free Thought

by the Patriots


We incessantly hear how desirable it is to have a global economy. But why? Well, the answer is simple.  So a select few companies can control everything you buy. Henry Kissinger has said: Whoever controls the food supply controls the People and this will be implemented to the fullest in the Great Reset. Hungry people are easier to control but in order to realize it some societal re-education is required.

Public education exists not to prepare its students to compete for good jobs but to condition them to be tools of the state, to hate freedom, democracy, truth and to conform and obey.  Parents have no right to question the state education system concerning their children.  Parents who choose not to conform will have their children removed as in CPS Seizes 7-Year-Old After Parents Dispute ADHD Diagnosis.

Education leaders teach students sedition and violence as in ANTIFA GOONS PANIC After Masked Professor Who Bludgeoned Trump Supporter with Bike Lock Is IDENTIFIED & EXPOSED Education is intended for its charges to become part of the system and nothing more because Truth and Free speech are only practiced by homophobes, racists and bigots.  This educational philosophy isn’t left to the successes or failures of the free market; it’s being forced by lobbyists, treaties and backroom deals. But by whom, you might ask? 

The billionaires of the new world order will determine when you must be vaccinated, what your personal health plan will contain and what you will be allowed to purchase.

Education’s psychological conditioning will indoctrinate in all aspects of the new order including approved ecological products as in the EPA’s Energy Star program; “ The ENERGY STAR mandate served as a Pay To Play toll-booth for all government contracting and services for decades…Built entirely on myth, fraudulent scientific research and bogus technical reports promoted by the media, this secretive program has been mired in scandal and controversy since day one…EPA’s ENERGY STAR brand is mandated for use in the USA, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the European Union, but not in communist China where the bulk of ENERGY STAR products are produced.”

It’s not hard to see How a Club of Billionaires and Their Foundations Control the Environmental Movement.  This club is better known as the Committee of 300, a consortium of financial elites involving the Club of Rome, Bilderburg, the CFR, media  and others who benefit by using government to mandate authorization and manufacture of products. The ‘official energy brand’ is one such item required for electronic manufacturers with the exception of the Chinese who make them.  It’s a great con. Use the threat of climate change to de-industrialize North America, manufacture your product in countries with slave labor, then force the people from whom you took the jobs to buy your merchandize. Electronic voting machines will insure that only the globalist hierarchy may be ‘elected’. There will be NO manufacturing allowed in the United States.

Drugs and sex trafficking are big business and necessary to subjugate and manage a population. Exposes of abuses are managed: “.. news anchors begin the story by explaining that the station had to go to court just to get permission to air their investigative report, because the State of Kentucky attempted to censor their report from the public.” 

The CIA managing the Drug trade is a good example of how the global war on the economy operates.  If you whistle blow on the CIA, expose the money cartel corruption or are in a position to derail their agenda, expect to be murdered as was Dorothy Kilgallen, Gary Webb, Seth Rich, Senator Nancy Schaefer, Terrance Yeakey. Phil Haney and others.

Globalism promotes tyranny that destroys democracy, laws, individuality, gender and free thought.  Its adherents seize new powers by acting as all three branches of government to impose its will as in Sent to Prison by a Software Program’s Secret Algorithms.

Remember only 6 corporations control 90% of America's news outlets, so don’t think they’re going to reveal anything meaningful or that you’ll get justice in their writings.  Reality is manufactured to manipulate thoughts and emotions. The CIA and media exchange personnel to build the false narratives that drive the world. The media’s job is to control what you have access to, think or speak as in “MEDIA: Our Job is control Exactly What people Think”

Now you know the true role that media and its allies play in mind shaping. The CIA and news media work in consort to discredit and destroy populist political opponents with fake news labeling objectors as ‘conspiracy theorists ‘and lies disguised as news. The big business of globalism manipulates and demeans people, facts, countries and resources for profit for the chosen. “The CIA, which neither anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union or the “terrorist attack” of 9/11 all-too-often gets things wrong. Its operations around the world have gone far beyond the scope of its charter. The agency exists to protect the secrets of the global money masters and their quest for one world government which of course places them in charge’. Doubt that?  Then ask yourself what reason is there for the CIA building tunnels for ISIS to hide in?  Might it be that we need global threats like climate change and terror to convince the general populace that there is a need for global government to combat them? The CIA doesn’t exist to protect America from foreign threats; it exists to protect the elite and their money cartel from the public and those who threaten their monopolies.  

Historically world governance ultimately descends to a fascist dictatorship where there are no rights for anyone except the state.



Big Developer's Get Property Tax Subsidiies while Johnson County Homeowners pay For it

by Staff

Is America great or what? Look how well county government works for their corporate development friends through Industrial Revenue Bonds and Tax Increment Finance Districts paid for by the state's homeowners. ‌ ‌

Maybe you've asked or even thought about how Biden inflation will effect your neighborhood? Well how about yet another $1 million dollar giveaway scheme to be voted on by the Johnson County Commission this Thursday, May 26th, 9:30 a.m.  While gasoline, milk and food are experiencing double digit inflation, the Johnson County commissioners are subsidiing their development buddies using your tax dollars. After all, somebody has to finance their re-election so it might as well be you whether you want to or not. Paying more by providing a Tax Incremental Finance (TIF) district for the benefit of area developers is a way to help re-election!! 

There are plenty of ways to disguise project cost by dividing the burden between Tifs and Bonds to swing it, so the homeowner doesn't realize what it will really cost but remember you'll be paying for it over your lifetime.  Isn't that a small price to pay for projects like another Apartment Complex, or light rail down Metcalf or some other boondoggle ventures? Remember that's how we got traffic cameras in Overland Park that monitors your every nove.

The national inflation rate according to Inflation Calculator is conservatively stated at 8.3% but food and gasoline are averaging double digits. Can we really afford to fund another questionable county development project and inflation, too?

Come to this meeting and ask for your million dollar interest free loan.  Arrive by 9:15 at 111 South Cherry St., Olathe to sign in to speak at the public comment time, or sign up to make your comments via zoom by completing the registration form below.

Attend the meeting with skype and express your opinion at the meeting virtually by signing the Registration Form ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Haven't we all about had enough of politicians spending money we don't have? Listen to Charlotte O'Hara's radio message about this latest incursion into your wallet.






Pennsylvania Proves Our Elections Are Corrupt

by Emerald Robinson


The 2022 Pennsylvania Primary has exposed the utter delusion of Republicans who thought the stolen 2020 election could be safely ignored. Once Trump was off the ballot — they told us — all of these “election abnormalities” would disappear. Our normal election system would “return to normal.” I heard this countless times in 2020 and 2021 from educated people who turned out to be complete fools.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The 2020 election was simply the most obvious example of how brazenly fraudulent our election process had become — and since no meaningful reforms have been enacted, the same cheating is happening again. This time, the mail ballot vendor printed the wrong ID code on 22,000 ballots — if you can believe it.

The thing is: I can believe it. They’re not even trying to hide the corruption anymore.

Let’s repeat the worst four words in the English language for liberals: President Trump was right.



But let’s begin at the beginning of this farce — with the polling.

The Trafalgar Group has been the only polling firm (other than Rasmussen) to make accurate calls the last few years. Trafalgar released the following poll just before the primary.



To summarize: Kathy Barnette and Dr. Oz were in a dead heat, and the GOP establishment choice Dave McCormick was third. That’s how the race looked not just to Trafalgar but to every other pollster as well: McCormick was a distant third.



On the day of the primary, Kathy Barnette supposedly runs a distant third — though four polls showed her tied for the lead with Oz! —while Dave McCormick runs neck and neck with Dr. Oz. Here’s the problem with that scenario: I was unable to locate anyone living in Pennsylvania who was voting for Dave McCormick. All the talk in conservative media, and conservative radio, was Kathy Barnette surging against Dr. Oz.

Nobody had Dave McCormick pulling out a victory — probably because it never happened. Instead, the electronic voting machines in Pennsylvania did their thing for the uniparty in Washington. Like I said: they’re not even trying to hide it now. The GOP establishment didn’t want Kathy Barnette or Dr. Oz as the GOP candidate because those two would answer to President Trump and not to Mitch McConnell.

So they flipped the switch again.

And that’s how we ended up with the 2022 Pennsylvania Primary repeating the 2020 Presidential election.


Let’s review the basics of election theft. When you steal a primary, certain things have to happen in a certain order — and that’s one of the giveaways. For example, mail-in ballots have to be counted at the very end of the process because you don’t know how many ballots you will need to win until the very end. If your state counted those ballots first, for example, it would be much harder to cheat — and that’s why our two political parties insist that states don’t do it!

Look at Pennsylvania right now: Dave McCormick is suing to force undated mail-in ballots to be counted. Why do they have no dates? How could they have no dates? They’re obviously fraudulent ballots — and they’ve suddenly appeared out of nowhere because Dave McCormick needs them.

Notice too that the entire electoral process has to be slowed down in order to accomplish the cheating. Pennsylvania’s primary race was on May 17th. It’s May 23rd and they still can’t count a few thousand ballots because — well, you know — they’re cheating.


It’s so blatant that even the Pennsylvania GOP wants nothing to do with it.

As I said, there’s a particular order to a bogus election. For example, there’s always one candidate who demands that all ballots be counted — and that’s the candidate to watch because he seems to know that mail-in ballots will break heavily for him for some strange and never-explained reason.

For example: Dr. Oz was leading by a few thousand votes on Primary Day, but Dave McCormick’s people are oddly confident that undated mail-in ballots will overcome Oz’s lead.

That’s too clever by half.

Substitute the name “Joe Biden” for “Dave McCormick” and you’ve seen this movie before — in November 2020. You’re not dreaming. You know how it ends. You’re just watching another rigged election.

You’re just watching your nation turn into a banana republic.

Source: https://emeralddb3.substack.com/p/pennsylvania-proves-our-elections?s=r