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Gov. Greg Abbott after throwing the first pitch for the Texas Rangers in 2019. (Greg Abbott/Twitter)
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will not be throwing the first pitch for the Texas Rangers for their first home opener at their brand new stadium this evening, and he won't encourage the state to host any more special MLB events this season. Abbott's decision comes after the league pulled its 2021 All-Star Game and Draft from Atlanta due to Georgia's newest voting bill.
In a letter written to the team, Abbott said he was "looking forward" to throwing the first pitch but could not support the league after they adopted a "false narrative" on Georgia's election law reform.
"It is shameful that America's pastime is being influenced by partisan politics," Abbott said in a tweet.
I was looking forward to throwing out the first pitch at the Texas Rangers' home opening game until @MLB adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about Georgia's election law reforms.
It is shameful that America's pastime is being influenced by partisan politics. pic.twitter.com/pNJApYBHpw
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) April 5, 2021
Supporters of the new bill is crucial to upholding "election integrity", but many others feel differently, labeling the bill "Jim Crow 2.0."
The "Election Integrity Act of 2021" is a response to the GOP's widespread, but unfounded, claims of voter-by-mail fraud in the 2020 election and will change the way Georgians vote. Changes to mail-in ballots include requiring IDs to apply for absentee ballots, cutting the number of days that absentee ballots are available in half and limiting the amount of absentee ballot drop boxes. The state will also expand early voting hours and allow counties to start processing votes two weeks before Election Day.
While GOP leaders have embraced the bill, dissenters including President Joe Biden and MLB league commissioner Rob Manfred said that the law could disproportionately affect communities of color.
"Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box," Manfred said. "Fair access to voting continues to have our game's unwavering support."
Abbott, who is working on orders in Texas that would limit mail-in voting procedures, said he was disappointed in the league for not only bringing politics in the game but also for pushing what he described as a false narrative around the bill.
"Major League Baseball adopted what has turned out to be a false narrative about the election law reforms in Georgia, and, based on that false narrative, moved the MLB All-Star game from Atlanta," Abbott said. "It is shameful that America's pastime is not only being influenced by partisan political politics, but also perpetuating false political narratives."
Abbott may have boycotted the league, but he's still in support of the Rangers, a program he said is "outstanding from top to bottom." Abbott last threw the first pitch for the team in 2019.
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Popular
(Tesla)
Giga Texas, the massive Tesla factory in southeast Travis County is getting even bigger.
The company filed with the city of Austin this week to expand its headquarters with a new 500,000-square-foot building. The permit application notes “GA 2 and 3 expansion,” which indicates the company will make two general assembly lines in the building.
More details about the plans for the building are unclear. The gigafactory has been focused on Model Y production since it opened in April, but the company is also aiming for Cybertruck production to kick off in mid-2023.
While there is room for expansion on the 3.3 square miles of land Tesla has, this move comes after CEO Elon Musk’s recent comments about the state of the economy and its impact on Tesla.
In a May interview with Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, Musk said the gigafactories in Berlin and Austin are “gigantic money furnaces” and said Giga Texas had manufactured only a small number of cars.
And in June, Musk sent a company wide email saying Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10%, then later tweeted salaried headcount should be fairly flat.
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(Dullnig Ranch Sales)
You’ll have to leave city limits if you’re looking for a proper ranch property like 417 Acres Shipp Lake Ranch, aptly named for its acreage. The property comes built out with three farmhouses, one of which has bedrooms and two bathrooms and two of which have two bedrooms and one bathroom. The nearly untouched property, which surrounds the 100-plus-acre Shipp Lake, has remained in the same family since the early 1900s and gives you picturesque views for the making of a dream home. In fact, the previous owners ran a water ski camp on the property.
Sitting waterside on Lake Austin, this home gives you the unique opportunity to own a piece of the lush Hill Country with views of Mount Bonnell. The 2,750-square foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom house allows you to integrate indoor and outdoor life with large windows opening to an outdoor living area. The crown jewel is the .76-acre parcel of land that tapers off to your own lakeside resort, featuring an covered outdoor kitchen, fire pit, stone boat house to store your water sports supplies and veranda sitting at the mouth of the water, perfect for an entertainer.
Got dreams of becoming a real Texas rancher? 7814 Brown Cemetery Rd. is the perfect place to start with 40 rolling acres of land and its very own swimming hole. Just east of Austin in Manor, the modest-on-the-outside home clocks at 4,412 square feet with five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms, but there are an additional two living structures on the property. The horseshoe-shaped pond sits in the heart of the property and comes equipped with a water slide, diving board and a fishing dock.