Staff Report| Gonzales Weekly Citizen

The Gonzales City Council adopted the 2023-24 budget during the May 8 meeting.

Sales taxes account for nearly 70 percent of the revenues in the general fund and a substantial portion of revenues in the capital outlay fund, according to minutes from the meeting.

Administrators project the city will collect $18,075,000 in sales taxes in the fiscal year compared to $17,380,000 in the previous year.

The increase was based on consistent sales tax activity showing month over month increases during the current year and promising permitting of new sales tax generating facilities in recent months.

Gonzales has seen increases from every prior year since 2020.

The city has continued to have a healthy retail sector and has found success in the last year in new business creation.

In addition, Gonzales has benefitted from the state's Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers in recapturing some previously lost online sales revenue.

Other significant sources of revenue for the general fund include: property taxes (1.7 million), license and permit fees (1.74 million), and franchise fees (1.25 million).

The Municipal Employees Retirement System employer portion of the retirement premium will remain the same at 29.5 percent.

The administration has included a three percent cost of living increase to assist employees in maintaining their standard of living. It will be effective in the payroll period beginning June 7.

The administration also asked for one position: Project and Contract Management Clerk. The position manages document and reporting requirements for utilities, among other duties.

The Gonzales Fire Department requested a new training officer due to increasing demands to meet state and federal requirements.

Additionally, call volume has increased as the city has grown and added support is needed.

Also reported in the minutes, the city's health insurance budget is expected to moderately decrease from $1,996,000 to $1,760,000.

The city projects to spend around $1,080,000 purchasing natural gas in the fiscal year.

Sewer rates will increase five percent and water rates will go up three percent to keep up with inflation and increased costs of operation.

The city has a loan from 2020 with the DEQ State Revolving Loan Fund for Wastewater Improvements. The current balance is $9,090,472.

Gonzales also has an outstanding loan with LDH from this year which was used to replace and relocated the main water line on Roddy Road. The balance is $1,693,702.

Additionally, the city has a loan with Hancock Whitney Bank for construction related to the Price LeBlanc PACE Center, which has been in progress. The balance is $88,392.

The city is proposing a capital outlay budget of $27,812,651.

A highlight of the budget is the $7.3 million for the PACE performing arts, conference, and events center. A loan will finance $4.5 million of the work. The Price LeBlanc family will donate $1.5 million. The Tanger Mall Economic Development Fund will provide $3,323,000. Hotel tax collections will fund $1,810,000.

The city has budgeted $8.2 million for various road improvements, including $2.8 million for the St. Francis Pkwy. Extension project, $2,940,000 for various road rehabilitation projects, $1 million for the Airline Highway Superstreet Improvement project, and $500,000 for Purpera Road drainage improvements.

The city plans to construct a $6.2 million community center on Darla Avenue. Around $3 million is expected to be spent in this budget year with completion of the project coming in the next budget year.

The fire department is in need of a new engine ($800,000) and new ambulance (300,000). Administrators are requesting permission to place orders now, though it is expected to take around 30 to 36 months to take delivery.

Gonzales Weekly Citizen and Donaldsonville Chief, part of the USA Today Network of Louisiana, cover Ascension Parish and the greater Baton Rouge area. Follow atfacebook.com/WeeklyCitizenandfacebook.com/DonaldsonvilleChief.

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City of Gonzales adopts 2023-24 fiscal year budget. See the figures ... - Weekly Citizen

Its really scary how easy it is [to be licensed to sell seg funds], said Meagan Balaneski, associate portfolio manager with Aligned Capital Partners Inc. in Vermilion, Alta. And then you just manage peoples life savings and they trust you.

Said David Benamron, executive vice-president of insurance with Botica Financial Group in Montreal: Its a little bit weird that we are actually allowed to sell these funds with the amount of training we receive. And that argument can be made for universal life products as well. Our insurance licence does not give us enough training on the investment side.

Still, insurance advisors continue to make hefty seg fund sales. Life insurers recorded gross seg fund sales of $14.1 billion in Canada in 2022, down from $19.6 billion in 2021, although 2021 sales were higher than the normal annual range of $12 billion$14 billion, according to ISS Market Intelligence, said Carlos Cardone, senior managing director with Investor Economics, a unit of ISS.

New seg fund content could be coming to the Life Licence Qualification Program (LLQP) curriculum. The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) and the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations(CISRO) are drafting new seg fund guidance and, on the basis of that guidance, may consider updating the LLQP material, CCIR policy manager Tony Toy stated in an email to Investment Executive.

Toy added that the organizations are considering know-your-product requirements similar to those governing securities reps as part of broader work on the design, distribution, issuance, sale and administration of seg funds. But in public consultations on seg fund guidance, CCIR and CISRO have not received any comments on the seg funds portion of LLQP training, Toy said.

As it stands, topics in the LLQP curriculum include the advantages of seg funds, seg fund types (e.g., money market, equities, dividend, fixed income), and, on the client side, investment objectives, financial goals, time horizons and risk tolerances. The material also covers topics such as financial statements, taxation, fund facts, guarantees, reset rules and taxes. Limitations (such as age restrictions and penalties) and advantages (such as reset options, creditor protection and Assuris coverage) also are included.

The amount of training is wildly insufficient, Balaneski said, adding there is no mandatory mentoring for seg fund reps similar to the concept of articling at a law firm. Balaneski relies heavily on her training as a securities rep and chartered investment manager when advising on seg funds. She voluntarily advises clients on seg funds as if advising them on mutual funds, but a life insurance agent does not have to do so, she said.

The insurance industry has a multi-faceted approach to ensuring advisors are knowledgeable about the sale of seg funds, with the LLQP being a strong component, stated Kevin Dorse, assistant vice-president of strategic communications and public affairs with the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc., in an email to Investment Executive.

Dorse added that the LLQP requires prospective agents to pass four exams administered by regulators including one dedicated to seg funds. Agents also are subject to ongoing oversight by insurers, managing general agents and regulators. Further, agents receive product-specific training and must complete subsequent continuing education (CE).

In Ontario, life insurance agents must earn 30 CE credits every two years. These credits must be related to the technical aspects of life insurance, such as legal, legislative and regulatory matters, risk management principles, client needs analysis, and accounting and actuarial considerations, among other topics. Sales techniques and company-specific training, for example, would not apply.

A life insurance agent seeking to improve their qualifications could get additional training by pursuing designations such as chartered life underwriter, professional financial advisor or certified financial planner, said Laurent Munier, partner with Safe Pacific Financial Inc. in Vancouver: You should definitely try to upgrade your education past the minimum entry.

While agents selling seg funds should not necessarily have to be registered to sell mutual funds, they should have to receive training beyond the LLQP to understand how investments work, said Sunny Kochar, founder and CEO of Hexavision Enterprise in Guelph, Ont. This training could take the form of an additional module in the LLQP or a mini-investment course.

Balaneski suggested the insurance industry could run a portfolio planning course for seg funds. Another solution could be offering a basic LLQP licence that would not allow the sale of seg funds, and an optional supplement that would be required to sell them.

A self-regulatory organization (SRO) that merges insurance regulators with mutual funds and securities regulators would be super cool, but not necessarily practical, Balaneski said. She added that she is not necessarily in favour of a rule requiring advisors who only sell seg funds to be licensed to sell mutual funds.

The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario stated that it continues to work with other members of the CCIR and the CISRO to create seg fund guidance that will support a consistent standard of care for insurers and those who advise customers about these products that reflects current industry best practices, in support of fair outcomes for customers.

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Are rules governing seg fund sales adequate? - Investment Executive

TWIN FALLS Janeale Dean is here to help.

Janeale Dean was recently honored as the 2023 Boise District Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year.

Upon launching her marketing agency Desert Creative Group in 2017, she has that goal in mind, as one of the assisting business owners. And she has expanded her offerings beyond marketing and creative services.

Its become business development consulting, helping people scale their business, Dean said. Its sales training and marketing training.

Its gotten to the point where were just here to be helpful, she said, and if we can either offer insight and experience, that is great, and if we cant, we are more than happy to find someone who can and bring them in and facilitate that.

Her entrepreneur spirit hasnt gone unnoticed, as she was recently named by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the 2023 Boise District Woman-Owned Small Business Person of the Year, and was honored Wednesday at her downtown Twin Falls location.

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Dean told the Times-News that she has a job that never gets old and never gets boring.

If I look at my week, one day it could be helping a client meet with an attorney to explore expansion opportunities they have and the next day I could be helping someone figure out their email campaigns, and the next day it could be secret shopping at somebodys location to grade their customer service, she said.

Susie Rios, statewide outreach director of the Idaho Womens Business Center, nominated Dean for the award.

I have to tell you that she is unstoppable, Rios said at Wednesdays award ceremony.

When you want to grow a business, you have to be responsible, and committed, Rios said, and everything we asked her to do, she would follow through.

The award, for which Dean gives much of the credit to her seven employees and the support of family and friends, came during National Small Business Week, which recognizes the contributions of Americas entrepreneurs and small business owners. The week wrapped up Saturday.

Dean is involved in the community and has partnered with the South Central Small Business Development Center at the College of Southern Idaho to form the Downtown Wheelhouse down the hall from her office.

It will offer training workshops and be the home of a group of entrepreneurs incubating their startups to become launch-ready, receiving mentorship to fine-tune their strategy, product, business model, branding, and investor pitch, with the SBDC office providing support.

Its a great community partnership, Dean said.

Since starting her job, she has assisted a wide variety of businesses and groups, from bicycle shops to economic development organizations.

Its been really rewarding, Dean said, because when we help build something very strong that performs really well, not only are they excited about it but we are equally excited.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, May 10, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The last time Luxury Institute published its luxury myths was 2019; a lifetime ago. In 2023, luxury is going through another transformational phase. The global economy remains volatile, and technology threatens to disrupt as much as it enhances. In times of change, there is so much noise in the system that it is very difficult to focus on the true signal. Myths abound with respect to the definition of luxury and luxurys best customers. A great deal of mythology is making the rounds in luxury media and events from experts who have no empirical basis for their statements. To disprove these myths, the Luxury Institute continuously conducts insight-generating interviews with its global network of executives and expert members and HNW and UHNW consumers across the world. Myths are the greatest obstacle to high-performance. By keeping a finger on the pulse, the Luxury Institute delivers unique HNW and UHNW insights through research, consulting, and education that deliver leading-edge business solutions. Here are the 7 currently prevalent luxury myths directly from the voice of HNW and UHNW clients:

Myth #1: Time is the ultimate luxury

Return on invested time (ROIT) is the ultimate luxury. This was true in 2019, and remains true today, yet many luxury brands are still not acting on this reality. When HNW clients invest their precious time, they not only expect, but require, an extraordinary experience with optimized functional and emotional elements. Soulless grandeur and opulence are not enough. Sometimes simplicity rules. Whether online, in a resort, a store, on a yacht, or restaurant, luxury brands need to make clients feel superbly special and loved. Extraordinary client experiences require great venues, and the highest level of expertise in the brands product or service category, but those are table stakes. If luxury experiences do not deliver pure, unmistakable human joy from precious time invested in the brand, HNWs call it a failure.

Myth #2: Our compelling brand purpose and story are differentiators

Simon Sinek has inspired luxury brands to discover their why. In turn, luxury brands hired agencies to create and communicate their why, whether authentic or not. Today, brand why and purpose have achieved commodity status. While a nice touch, they no longer differentiate a luxury brand with highly discerning HNWs. Even the goods or services brands that deliver cheap commodities, suboptimal products, and poor service, can tell a story that may bring a customer to tears. HNWs tell Luxury Institute that luxury brands can no longer use the brand story to tug at their heartstrings unless they also deliver extraordinary, high-value, 360-degree experiences. HNWs are willing to entertain a brands why, but they care far more about what and how a luxury brand delivers.

Myth #3: We maintain deep relationships with our HNW clients

When luxury goods or services brands are, at best, a premium commodity in disguise, HNWs dont care to build long-term bonds. Many luxury brands today are simply not differentiated enough to earn relationship status. HNWs may purchase, but they are not committed. Only luxury brands with an elevated, unique value-proposition combined with highly skilled, emotionally intelligent human beings who make clients feel special will cultivate a desire for a lasting relationship. Brands need to continuously innovate to stay vibrant and compelling. And they need to attract, select, educate, reward, and retain people who love to inspire genuine, deep positive emotions in others. Brands need to run a reality check on their HNW client relationships.

Myth #4: The HNW are not willing to share detailed behavioral data

At any age, HNWs are the most educated, discerning, and technology-aware individuals on the planet. They are fully aware luxury brands have their demographic data, and they also know not much personalization can be done with demographic data. With behavioral data such as location data and trip trajectory data, among other critical real-time data points, personalization and customization can scale. HNWs are very willing to share behavioral data to receive personalization, and even customization. But only if they fully trust the brand. They dont just trust; they verify. They want iron-clad guarantees. Cybersecurity is table stakes. First, they insist luxury brands only access the insights needed to personalize, and only when needed. Second, they want luxury brands to guarantee their data will never be disclosed, sold, or provided to any third parties. Finally, they expect luxury brands to reward them for access to the data with truly personalized, unique, extraordinary, real-time experiences and other perks. Otherwise, they say, what is the point?

Myth #5: Our Customer Lifetime Value metrics are accurate

Sadly, even in 2023, most luxury brands, if they even measure such a critical metric, still use frequency, recency, and monetary value (RFM) to define clients, and extrapolate from there. Luxury brands tend to leave out a huge part of the equation. First, luxury brands assume HNWs will stop buying as they age. HNWs, who are living, working, and staying healthier longer say, only when you ignore me and become irrelevant. Thats a controllable factor. Second, Lifetime Value (LTV) calculations never add high-value customer referrals to the equation. They fail to measure and connect the most critical driver of luxury goods or services results with the right customer. Third, behavioral proxies have high predictive power and accurately measure LTV based on behaviors such as granular engagement on a website and other brand engagement behaviors. Measuring LTV in todays dynamic world involves rapidly evolving science and data access. Sadly, most luxury brands live in the LTV Stone Age.

Myth #6: Generative AI delivers a competitive advantage

There is so much hype surrounding Generative AI and ChatGPT that misled executives can be forgiven for being delusional. But it is still a luxury brand teams job to ultimately separate myth from reality. GAI in its latest and greatest form will be available to everyone, everywhere, all at once. Just like the movie. It will be a commodity. Now that it is becoming available as open source, it promises to be even more ubiquitous. The real drivers of competitive advantage are access to the most relevant customer data, the ability to use it creatively, and the innovation of extraordinary experiences. For luxury brands, building direct, ethical and legal, key-insights-sharing relationships with their HNW and UHNW clients is critical. She who has best data access and uses it creatively wins, big, says Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. The myth of AI competitive advantage is a heavy sell right now from every tech company that wants its stock market value to rise on hype. A luxury brands job is to protect, enhance, and promote the best interests of its clients and shareholders; not those of the mythologists.

Myth #7: Our training programs educate our teams to build HNW relationship mastery

Most luxury goods and services brands are excellent at product knowledge and sales training. But luxury brands are failing dismally to educate their people for the longest yard consistent and creative long-term relationship building skills that deliver joy, make clients feel cared for, and engender genuine, lasting emotional connections. The luxury industry, given its high value goods and services, should be leading the way for all other industries in emotional intelligence skills that build HNW customer lifetime value. Instead, it lags even B2B firms in investing in the critically required human skills of emotional intelligence. Great luxury products and services can generate short-term transactions. In sharp contrast, relationships can generate human connections, treasured memories and lasting joy that build lifetime loyalty, word of mouth, and referrals.

Luxury myths are rampant today, and most of the pundits who deliver these myths have zero empathy because they have never experienced luxury from the HNW and UHNW client perspective, says Milton Pedraza, Luxury Institute CEO. Luxury is, and always will be, one of the greatest opportunities for innovative brands to deliver the best of something, with humanity and joy, to human beings. If you are not serving the rapidly evolving stated and unstated needs and desires of your HNW and UHNW clients who account for 70-80% of your sales, you are destined for commodity status and irrelevance, especially in the Age of Generative AI.

For assistance conquering these myths, please contact Luxury Institute.

About Luxury Institute

Luxury Institute is the world's most trusted research, training, consulting, and elite business solutions partner for luxury and premium goods and services brands. With the largest global network of luxury executives, experts, HNW and UHNW consumers, Luxury Institute provides its clients with high-performance, leading-edge solutions developed by the best, most successful minds in the industry. In the last 20 years, Luxury Institute has served over 1,100 luxury and premium goods and services brands.

The Institute has conducted more quantitative and qualitative research with affluent, HNW, and UHNW consumers than any other entity. This expertise has led to Luxury Institutes high-performance relationship building education system, Luxcelerate, and its online education programs, The Mastery of HNW Relationship Building and the Private Client Professional (PCP). Each dramatically improves the emotional intelligence skills and self-mastery skills that drive high-performance HNW relationship building and results.

Luxury Institute has also innovated the Advanced Personalization Xchange (APX), powered by DataLucent, to empower affluent consumers to license their digital platform data to premium and luxury brands they trust legally, securely and privately in exchange for fair value rewards and benefits. To download a copy of this paper or learn more about Luxury Institute and our offerings, please visit Luxury Institute.

Milton PedrazaLuxury Institute, LLCmpedraza@luxuryinstitute.comVisit us on social media:LinkedIn

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Luxury Institute: The 7 Luxury Myths Killing Brand Performance - EIN News

Optimizely is proud to have this relationship with a world-class partner like Thinkmax. Together we are delivering exceptional projects to customers on a first-class platform that optimizes the end-to-end digital experience."

MONTREAL (PRWEB) May 07, 2023

Thinkmax, a partner for transformative growth through strategic consulting and digital innovation leveraging cloud technology, today announced that it has been certified as a Platinum Partner of Optimizely, the leading digital experience platform (DXP) provider.

To achieve Platinum Partner status, Thinkmax completed a thorough certification processes including participating in Optimizely Education training and having at least 10 Optimizely Certified Professionals. Through this accomplishment, Thinkmax joins Optimizelys Solution Partner Success Program as a qualified, value-add seller of the Optimizely Digital Experience Platform. As a Platinum Partner, Thinkmax has comprehensive competency, implementation experience, an extensive product expertise.

Optimizelys Digital Experience Platform provides content management (CMS), content marketing (CMP), orchestration, commerce, experimentation, analytics and personalization on one screen. A recently commissioned Total Economic Impact study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Optimizely found that over three years, a composite organization realized 370% return on investment (ROI), $9.84 million net present value (NPV). Optimizely also generated $1.1 million in savings due to increased developer productivity as a result of deploying the companys DXP. To help arrive at the ROI and subsequent financial analysis, Forrester Consulting interviewed five decision-makers who are Optimizely DXP customers and designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees organizations.

Along with low total cost of ownership, Optimizely gives teams greater agility to respond to trends and market conditions as well as provides smarter customer intelligence to reach the right potential customers and provide more relevant content that engages and converts.

Our clients come to us seeking guidance and technology expertise. Whether it be retailers or manufacturers, B2X digital commerce is everywhere, so its become a huge priority to deliver frictionless experiences. Optimizely DXP proves time and time again to be a powerful tool that perfectly suits our clients needs, and we are proud to be recognized as a Platinum Partner. We look forward to many new success stories in 2023!, explained Marc Belliveau, President of Thinkmax.

With a network of over 700 partner companies in 30 countries, Optimizely seeks to connect with qualified partners whose firms possess a wealth of experience, team members with a creative outlook, global reach, and a collective eye toward future opportunities to ensure mutual customers are successful in the short and long term.

Optimizely is proud to have this relationship with a world-class partner like Thinkmax. Together we are delivering exceptional projects to customers on a first-class platform that optimizes the end-to-end digital experience, said Jessica Dannemann, Chief Worldwide Partner Ecosystem for Optimizely. Thinkmax has risen to the occasion to earn Platinum status and identify as a partner that is experienced in leveraging the Optimizely product portfolio to help growing companies unleash their digital potential."

About Thinkmax Leveraging advanced industry and technical expertise with leading-edge technologies, Thinkmax implements efficient and innovative solutions, streamlining business processes, unifying digital experiences, and accelerating transformative change. With offices in Canada and the US and partnerships with world-leading organizations, Thinkmaxs human-centric, hands-on approach, and proven methodology build sustainable solutions and enduring relationships for ongoing success.

About Optimizely At Optimizely, we're on a mission to help people unlock their digital potential. We do that by reinventing how marketing and product teams work to create and optimize digital experiences across all channels. With our leading digital experience platform (DXP), we help companies around the world orchestrate their entire content lifecycle, monetize every digital experience and experiment across all customer touchpoints. Optimizely has 700+ partners and nearly 1500 employees across our 21 global offices. We are proud to help more than 10,000 businesses, including H&M, PayPal, Zoom, Toyota and Vodafone, enrich their customer lifetime value, increase revenue and grow their brands. At Optimizely, we live each day with a simple philosophy: large enough to serve, small enough to care. Learn more at optimizely.com.

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Bell has delivered seven of its 407GXi turbine single-engine helicopters to Australian customers in the last 12 months.Five were purchased byNautilus Aviation for tourism and utility flights, with the remaining two going to a utility company and a corporate customer. There are now more than 20 Bell 407 helicopters operating inAustralia.

Worldwide, Bell has delivered more than1,600 model 407s, logging six million flight hours across the fleet on flight training, military, tourism, para-public, and other operations. The 407GXi is equipped with the Garmin G1000H NXi flight deck and its three-axis autopilot recently received certification from the UK CAA. The system is equipped with a stability augmentation system to automatically recover the aircraft to near-level flight attitude at all speeds in the event of adverse roll or pitch; stability engagement throughout all phases of flight; and envelope protection to prevent over- and underspeed.

Bell recently announced its intention to offer an armed version of the 407. The 407Mcan be fitted with a range of armaments and equipment to carry out reconnaissance, special operations, light-attack, anti-piracy, medical evacuation, combat search and rescue, and humanitarian aid disaster relief missions. Various levels of capability are available through the U.S. governments foreign military sales program or direct commercial sales, depending on country requirements.

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Bell 407 Increases Australian Presence | Business Aviation News - Aviation International News

SaabandEmbraerhave taken a significant step forward in their technology transfer program by inaugurating the final assembly line for the Gripen E fighter jet at Embraers plant in Gavio Peixoto, So Paulo State.

The event was attended by high-ranking officials, including the President of Brazil, Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, marking a milestone in the companies commitment to working together on new business opportunities.

It was announced last month thatSaab and Embraer would collaborate on the C-390 and Gripen fighter, where they will both share technology and expertise for the aircraft and fighters.

This marks a significant step forward in their technology transfer program, which has been ongoing since theBrazilian Air Forcecontracted Saab to supply 36 Gripen fighters in 2014.

Today, we celebrate not only the inauguration of the Gripen fighter production line but also the success of the collaboration between Saab and Embraer, which grows stronger every day with the common goal of serving our client, the Brazilian Air Force.

Since the beginning, Embraer has played a relevant role in the Gripen programme, participating, for instance, in the development of the Brazilian version of the twin-seater aircraft. said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security.

According to GlobalDatas Sweden Defence Market 2023-2028 report, the Gripen E is the latest variation of the Swedish-made fighter jet, costing $85m per unit, considerably more than the previous D and C variants.

The President of Brazil, Luiz Incio Lula da Silva, participated in the ceremony with the Minister of Defense, Jos Mucio Monteiro Filho, and the Brazilian Air Force Commander, Air Force General Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, among other essential guests.

The Embraer plant in Gavio Peixoto, home to the Gripen Design and Development Network (GDDN) and the Gripen Flight Test Center (GFTC), will also be responsible for the production stage of the aircraft.

Since signing the contract in 2014, Saab and Embraer have worked together on the countrys most significant ongoing technology transfer project. The production line has also become an opportunity for new business following the signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies.

The production line at Embraer will receive aerostructures produced at the Saab plants in Linkping, Sweden, and So Bernardo do Campo, So Paulo State. Once a Gripen is completed, functional tests and production flights are carried out to prepare the aircraft for final delivery.

The Embraer plant will produce 15 Gripen E fighters, with units assembled in Brazil to be delivered in 2025.

The start of operations of the Gripen production line marks our commitment to transfer technology and knowledge to Brazilian industry. Here, we will produce 15 of the 36 aircraft currently contracted to the Brazilian Air Force.

The aim is also to produce any future Gripen orders from Brazil and other countries here. We want Brazil to become an export hub to Latin America and potentially other regions, said Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab.

In July, the Saab company and the Brazilian Air Forcewill exhibit a Gripen E-type aircraft to the Colombian Air Forceat F-Air 2023.

To acquire the necessary skills to produce supersonic fighter jets in Brazil, Embraer technicians carried out theoretical and practical training, including on-the-job training, at Saabs facilities in Linkping. There, they worked with Swedish employees to produce the aircraft that had already been shipped to Brazil.

The inauguration of the final assembly line for the Gripen E fighter jet marks a significant achievement for Saab and Embraer and a substantial contribution to the Gripen fighter ecosystem in Brazil.

The event represents the companies commitment to working together on new business opportunities and is a testament to the ongoing success of the largest technology transfer project in the country.

InSaabs Q1 report, they recorded substantial order intakes. The Swedish defence and security company reported a total order intake of Skr17bn ($16.4bn), a 110% increase from Q1 2022.

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Saab and Embraer inaugurate Gripen E production line in Brazil ... - Airforce Technology

BAMBLE, Norway About 110 miles south of Oslo, along a highway lined with pine and birch trees, a shiny fueling station offers a glimpse of a future where electric vehicles rule.

Chargers far outnumber gasoline pumps at the service area operated by Circle K, a retail chain that got its start in Texas. During summer weekends, when Oslo residents flee to country cottages, the line to recharge sometimes backs up down the off-ramp.

Marit Bergsland, who works at the store, has had to learn how to help frustrated customers connect to chargers in addition to her regular duties flipping burgers and ringing up purchases of salty licorice, a popular treat.

Sometimes we have to give them a coffee to calm down, she said.

Last year, 80 percent of new-car sales in Norway were electric, putting the country at the vanguard of the shift to battery-powered mobility. It has also turned Norway into an observatory for figuring out what the electric vehicle revolution might mean for the environment, workers and life in general. The country will end the sales of internal combustion engine cars in 2025.

Norways experience suggests that electric vehicles bring benefits without the dire consequences predicted by some critics. There are problems, of course, including unreliable chargers and long waits during periods of high demand. Auto dealers and retailers have had to adapt. The switch has reordered the auto industry, making Tesla the best-selling brand and marginalizing established carmakers like Renault and Fiat.

But the air in Oslo, Norways capital, is measurably cleaner. The city is also quieter as noisier gasoline and diesel vehicles are scrapped. Oslos greenhouse gas emissions have fallen 30 percent since 2009, yet there has not been mass unemployment among gas station workers and the electrical grid has not collapsed.

Some lawmakers and corporate executives portray the fight against climate change as requiring grim sacrifice. With E.V.s, its not like that, said Christina Bu, secretary general of the Norwegian E.V. Association, which represents owners. Its actually something that people embrace.

Norway began promoting electric vehicles in the 1990s to support Think, a homegrown electric vehicle start-up that Ford Motor owned for a few years. Battery-powered vehicles were exempted from value-added and import taxes and from highway tolls.

The government also subsidized the construction of fast charging stations, crucial in a country nearly as big as California with just 5.5 million people. The combination of incentives and ubiquitous charging took away all the friction factors, said Jim Rowan, the chief executive of Volvo Cars, based in neighboring Sweden.

The policies put Norway more than a decade ahead of the United States. The Biden administration aims for 50 percent of new-vehicle sales to be electric by 2030, a milestone Norway passed in 2019.

A few feet from a six-lane highway that skirts Oslos waterfront, metal pipes jut from the roof of a prefabricated shed. The building measures pollution from the traffic zooming by, a stone's throw from a bicycle path and a marina.

Levels of nitrogen oxides, byproducts of burning gasoline and diesel that cause smog, asthma and other ailments, have fallen sharply as electric vehicle ownership has risen. We are on the verge of solving the NOx problem, said Tobias Wolf, Oslos chief engineer for air quality, referring to nitrogen oxides.

But there is still a problem where the rubber meets the road. Oslos air has unhealthy levels of microscopic particles generated partly by the abrasion of tires and asphalt. Electric vehicles, which account for about one-third of the registered vehicles in the city but a higher proportion of traffic, may even aggravate that problem.

Theyre really a lot heavier than internal combustion engine cars, and that means that they are causing more abrasion, said Mr. Wolf, who, like many Oslo residents, prefers to get around by bicycle.

Another persistent problem: Apartment residents say finding a place to plug in their cars remains a challenge. In the basement of an Oslo restaurant recently, local lawmakers and residents gathered to discuss the issue.

Sirin Hellvin Stav, Oslos vice mayor for environment and transport, said at the event that the city wants to install more public chargers but also reduce the number of cars by a third to make streets safer and free space for walking and cycling.

The goal is to cut emissions, which is why E.V.s are so important, but also to make the city better to live in, Ms. Stav, a member of the Green Party, said in an interview later.

Electric vehicles are part of a broader plan by Oslo to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions to almost zero by 2030. All city buses will be electric by the end of the year.

Oslo is also targeting construction, the source of more than a quarter of its greenhouse gas emissions. Contractors bidding on public projects have a better chance of winning if they use equipment that runs on electricity or biofuels.

At a park in a working-class Oslo neighborhood last month, an excavator scooped out earth for a decorative pond. A thick cable connected the excavator to a power source, driving its electric motor. Later, an electric dump truck hauled away the soil.

Normally, the crew would have been required to stop working when the children in a nearby kindergarten napped. But the electric equipment was quiet enough that work could continue. (Children in Norway nap outdoors, weather permitting.)

Espen Hauge, who manages city construction projects, said he was surprised at how quickly contractors substituted hard-to-find electric equipment for diesel machinery. Some projects that we thought were impossible or very difficult to do zero emission, we still got the tender for zero emission, he said.

Ms. Stav acknowledged what she called the hypocrisy of Norways drive to reduce greenhouse gases while producing lots of oil and gas. Fossil-fuel exports generated revenue of $180 billion last year. Were exporting that pollution, Ms. Stav said, noting that her party has called for oil and gas production to be phased out by 2035.

But Norways government has not pulled back on oil and gas production. We have several fields in production, or under development, providing energy security to Europe, Amund Vik, state secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, said in a statement.

Elsewhere, Norways power grid has held up fine even with more demand for electricity. It helps that the country has abundant hydropower. Even so, electric vehicles have increased the demand for electricity modestly, according to calculations by the E.V. Association, and most owners are charging cars at night, when demand is lower and power is cheaper.

Elvia, which supplies electricity to Oslo and the surrounding area, has had to install new substations and transformers in some places, said Anne Nysther, the companys managing director. But, she added, we havent seen any issue of the grid collapsing.

Nor has there been a rise in unemployment among auto mechanics. Electric vehicles don't need oil changes and require less maintenance than gasoline cars, but they still break down. And there are plenty of gasoline cars that will need maintenance for years.

Sindre Dranberg, who has worked at a Volkswagen dealership in Oslo since the 1980s, underwent training to service electric-vehicle batteries. Was it difficult to make the switch? No, he said, as he replaced defective cells in a Volkswagen e-Golf.

Electric vehicles are creating jobs in other industries. In Fredrikstad, 55 miles south of Oslo, a former steel plant has become a battery recycling center. Workers, including some who worked at the steel plant, dismantle battery packs. A machine then shreds the packs to separate plastic, aluminum and copper from a black mass that contains crucial ingredients such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite.

The factory, owned by Hydrovolt, is the first of several the company plans to build in Europe and the United States. So far, there is not much to recycle, but eventually recycled batteries could greatly reduce the need for mining.

If we can take the active material that already is within the product and create new ones, then we create a shortcut, said Peter Qvarfordt, the chief executive of Hydrovolt, a joint venture of the aluminum producer Norsk Hydro and Northvolt, a battery maker.

If anyone has to worry about their jobs, its car dealers. The almost complete disappearance of gasoline and diesel vehicles from showrooms has reordered the industry.

The Moller Mobility Group has long been Norways biggest auto retailer, with sales last year of $3.7 billion and dealerships in Sweden and the Baltic countries. Mollers Oslo outlet is filled with electric Volkswagens like the ID.4 and the ID.Buzz. There are only a few internal combustion cars.

Yet, Tesla is greatly outselling Volkswagen in Norway, grabbing 30 percent of the market compared to 19 percent for Volkswagen and its Skoda and Audi brands, according to the Road Information Council.

Sales of electric cars from Chinese companies like BYD and Xpeng are also growing. If that pattern repeats itself elsewhere in Europe and in the United States, some established carmakers might not survive.

Petter Hellman, the chief executive of Moller Mobility, predicted that traditional brands would regain ground because customers trust them and they have extensive service networks. But clearly, he added, Tesla has shaken the industry.

Circle K, which bought gas stations that had belonged to a Norwegian government-owned oil company, is using the country to learn how to serve electric car owners in the United States and Europe. The chain, now owned by Alimentation Couche-Tard, a company based near Montreal, has more than 9,000 stores in North America.

Guro Stordal, a Circle K executive, has the difficult task of developing charging infrastructure that works with dozens of vehicle brands, each with its own software.

Electric vehicle owners tend to spend more time at Circle K because charging takes longer than filling a gasoline tank. Thats good for food sales. But gasoline remains an important source of revenue.

We do see it as an opportunity, Hakon Stiksrud, Circle K's head of global e-mobility, said of electric vehicles. But if we are not capable of grasping those opportunities, it quickly becomes a threat.

Audio produced by Tally Abecassis.

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In Norway, the Electric Vehicle Future Has Already Arrived - The New York Times

After General Motors abandoned its revival of the battery-electric vehicle when it ended production of the GM EV1, Tesla Motors was the next to take up the challenge. After a faltering start, it has succeeded in designing, manufacturing, and marketing BEVs that consumers want.

For more than a decade, Tesla had the startup portion of the EV market to itself. At the same time, Nissan took a leadership position in EVs from the legacy automaker side. Despite naysayers, Tesla stayed the course through several lean years to become not only the dominant EV supplier to the US market but also the top-selling U.S. luxury brand. At the same time, Nissan has not profited nearly as much from its early entry into the battery-electric vehicle space.

Editor's Note:Author, Elizabeth Krear, is the vice president of the electric vehicle practice at J.D. Power.

Co-Author, Kristen Lanzavecchia, is the director of ALG Industry Solutions at J.D. Power.

Now, the game is changing at a serious pace. Tesla's remarkable rise has spawned additional EV startups. And beyond that, it has prompted luxury and mass-market brands to develop their own BEVs. Worry over climate change and the resulting laws, regulations, and government pressures have also played their part in persuading both established automakers and venture capitalists to invest in new BEV models.

This led to an unprecedented number of BEV launches in the past two years, with an equal or greater number still to come. Now, with both legacy and startup automakers deep in the fray, it begs the question, will the established auto manufacturers fight off the challenge from the upstarts?

Many think they have the answers to these multi-billion-dollar questions, but what do we learn from the data? The J.D. Power EV Index monitors six key factors enabling us to track the progress of the transition from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. While this index looks at conventional vehicles versus those powered by electricity, it also gives us a window into legacy automakers and startups' relative strengths and weaknesses in the EV space.

One of the six factors is Experience, a compilation of the measures of ownership experience offered by specific EVs compared with their ICE segment average. Experience is derived from data captured and quantified regarding initial quality, vehicle dependability, appeal, sales satisfaction, customer service, and vehicle range. As of February, the Experience factor score was 87. Since a score of 100 indicates EV parity with ICE vehicles, one could say EVs are approaching parity.

More telling in helping answer the question of whether established automakers or startups will succeed in the EV market are areas where there are separations between startups and legacy makers. We note two areas of obvious separation: vehicle sales experience and initial quality.

The startups perform on average better than legacy makers in sales satisfaction. At the same time, established carmakers perform better than startups in initial quality. While some could view this as an indictment of the dealer franchise system, it might be more a reflection of the ability of startup EV makers to be single-focused in their sales training. And the latter might be explained as "teething problems" that will end when the startups' manufacturing processes mature.

Startups have an advantage over legacy companies selling EVs because they can focus 100% of their efforts on the EV sales experience. Salespeople at the majority of dealers representing legacy carmakers must be conversant with both EVs and ICE vehicles. Since the EV ownership experience is quite different from the ICE ownership experience, the opportunity to build an entire sales staff trained and focused on selling EVs and only EVs is a distinct advantage for startups.

Traditional automakers who want to increase their EV sales are well-advised to understand that they have a hurdle to jump. They need to ensure that the salespeople representing their EV products are well-versed in the nuances of EV ownership. The data also show positive levels of sales satisfaction for startups that use a direct-to-consumer sales model because that method eliminates price negotiation from the process.

While startup EV makers appear to have an advantage in the sales process, the established automakers demonstrate an edge in their ability to build high-quality vehicles. The data shows that startups struggle with fit-and-finish issues like panel gaps and paint coverage versus their traditional competitors. The decades legacy carmakers have spent developing and tuning process controls for manufacturing give them a leg up in initial quality.

One thing startups and legacy carmakers have in common is their customers' overall enthusiasm for the EV offerings versus the enthusiasm customers have for ICE vehicles. Whether they purchased an EV from a startup or a traditional carmaker, EV owners love their vehicle's quiet ride, strong acceleration, distinctive exterior styling, and interior roominess. On the other hand, EV owners are decidedly less enthusiastic about their vehicle's range. Even though we don't hear the term "range anxiety" as much anymore, range remains an issue.

Any EV with a range above 275 miles gets a residual value credit. Any vehicle with a range below 275 miles suffers a deduction in residual values. But there is a diminishing return beyond 300 miles of range. Further, as the charging infrastructure improves and the time to charge drops, a higher range will be less influential to residual values. Still, whether it comes from a startup or a legacy automaker, any breakthrough offering significantly expanded range or significantly diminished charging time could have a meaningful effect on winning the EV market.

Based on what we've seen, neither startups nor established automakers have such an edge in the EV space that it would preempt the other from success. At the same time, the legacy automakers, with their established supply chains, development processes, manufacturing skills, and marketing expertise, have demonstrated expertise in critical areas. They also can change their techniques and improve performance in areas like sales, where the startups currently have an advantage. Meanwhile, startups claim they have a clearer path to innovation since they are not burdened by tradition and conventional thinking.

This example might say it all. During the past few months, Chevrolet and Tesla have been neck and neck for EV consideration. One brand is about as traditional as you can imagine. The other is leading the startup vanguard. That they are so closely competing for the EV customer just demonstrates that the American consumer has a very open mind when it comes to their choice of electric vehicles.

Lede Image Photo Credit: electricfelix

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Startup EVs Vs Legacy EVs: Who Will Win? A J.D. Power Exclusive - InsideEVs

Harbor Custom Development, Inc.

Mills Crossing will provide affordable housing to Kitsap County area residents.

TACOMA, Wash, May 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harbor Custom Development, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCDI, HCDIP, HCDIW, HCDIZ) ("Harbor," "Harbor Custom Homes," or the "Company"), a real estate company involved in all aspects of the land development cycle, today announced Kitsap Community Resources waived all contingencies in the sale of Mills Crossing townhomes in Bremerton, Washington and has released their $400,0000 of non-refundable earnest money to Harbor. Kitsap Community Resources contracted to purchase Mills Crossing for $14,250,000 and anticipates closing on or before June 16, 2023.

We are pleased to partner with Kitsap Community Resources on the sale of Mills Crossing, and excited about the chance to provide high-quality, affordable housing to families in Kitsap County, stated Sterling Griffin, President and CEO of Harbor Custom Development, Inc.

Mills Crossing is a 36-unit townhome project located at 1003 Little Haven Lane, Bremerton, Washington, and one block from the Kitsap Transit Center on Highway 303 in East Bremerton. Tenants have convenient access to the downtown Bremerton amenities, including local shopping, farmers markets, waterfront parks, community restaurants, Olympic College, and convenient ferry service to Seattle. The two-bedroom, two-bathroom townhome rentals average 1,425 square feet.

About Kitsap Community ResourcesKCR is a dynamic partner in the Kitsap County Community. KCR touches ten percent of the 277,000 residents of Kitsap Countys population through a variety of programs. The organizations services and programs include Housing and Homelessness services; Veterans assistance; WIC (Women Infant Children) nutritional food program; Early Head Start and Head Start; WIOA (Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act); BEST (Business Education Support Training); GED instruction and testing; job training and placement services; food services for Meals on Wheels Kitsap and early learning centers; Weatherization; Energy assistance; and other community support services. KCR operates 11 sites throughout Kitsap County. For more information about KCR, please visit http://www.kcr.org for all KCR services and locations.

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About Harbor Custom Development, Inc.Harbor Custom Development, Inc. is a real estate development company involved in all aspects of the land development cycle including land acquisition, entitlements, construction of project infrastructure, home and apartment building, marketing, and sales of various residential projects in Western Washington's Puget Sound region; Sacramento, California; Austin, Texas and Punta Gorda, Florida. As a land developer and builder of apartments, and single-family luxury homes, Harbor Custom Development's business strategy is to acquire and develop land strategically based on an understanding of population growth patterns, entitlement restrictions, infrastructure development, and geo-economic forces. Harbor focuses on acquiring land with scenic views or convenient access to freeways and public transportation to develop and sell residential lots, new home communities, and multi-story apartment properties within a 20 to 60-minute commute of the nation's fastest-growing metro employment corridors.

Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

Investor RelationsHanover InternationalIR@harborcustomdev.com 866-744-0974

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Harbor Custom Development, Inc. Announces Buyer Waives All Contingencies on $14,250,000 Sale of Townhomes - Yahoo Finance