Shelby County Board of Education to host Superintendent candidates’ forum
The Greater Shelby County, South Shelby County, Montevallo Chamber’s of Commerce and Shelby County Newspapers, Inc. will join forces to co-host a candidate forum for the Shelby County Board of Education Superintendent candidates on Thursday, May, 31. “On behalf of our partners for this Forum we’re looking forward to hosting this program,” said Kirk Mancer, President and CEO of the Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce. “All three of our chambers work collaboratively with schools throughout Shelby County, so having the opportunity to hear from the two candidates seeking this important leadership position was something we all wanted to do.” The forum will take place from at Jefferson State Community College’s Shelby-Hoover campus from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.. Three-term current Superintendent, Randy Fuller, announced his retirement, effective in December in January of this year. Looking to fill his shoes is Assistant Superintendent of Administration Shelby County Schools, Dr. Lewis Brooks along with Oak Mountain High School Principal Kristi Sayer. Each of the candidates will have time to respond to questions determined by the three chambers. “The Superintendent for the Shelby County Board of Education oversees programming for 20,950+ students throughout all of our communities,” Keyla Handley, Acting Director for the South Shelby Chamber of Commerce said. “As the unified voice for Shelby County businesses — who will employ and work with these students in the future — it’s vital we hear from these individuals on career readiness efforts we’ll need moving forward.” “Our schools are the foundation of our communities,”Executive Director of the Montevallo Chamber of Commerce, Steve Gilbert commented. “This forum will allow everyone the opportunity to learn more about the platform the two candidates seeking to serve as Superintendent for the Shelby County Board of Education want to implement.” The candidates Dr. Lewis Brooks, current assistant superintendent of administration and pupil services for Shelby County Schools, Brooks has been a resident of Shelby County for the past 26 years. A graduate of the University of Montevallo, he also received his doctorate of education degree in 2010 at Samford University. “I decided to run for the position of superintendent of Shelby County Schools because, after many years of working in the district, I know the parents, educators and the staff here have such a high level of commitment to excellence in education for the students we serve,” Brooks told 280 Reporter. “I love that about this district and I share that same commitment.” Kristi Sayers, current Oak Mountain High School Principal has been an educator for 23 years. She received her master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from the University of Montevallo and a doctorate degree in educational leadership from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “For too long, we’ve just kind of left the family out, and we all have to work together,” she told the 280 Reporter. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all. I think I have good ideas, and I’m not afraid to act on those ideas. My goal is always to move things forward.” The event is free to the public.
Jim Zeigler hosts tribute to Lurleen Wallace; continues fight to put portrait back in Rotunda
Monday marks the the 50th anniversary of the of death in-office of Alabama’s first female governor, Gov. Lurleen Wallace, the wife of her predecessor and notorious fellow Gov. George Wallace. Elected in 1966 after defeating a large field without a runoff, she served from January 1967 until her death May 7, 1968. State Auditor Jim Zeigler has planned a commemoration, at no expense to taxpayers, for Monday at 1:15 p.m. to honor her. The 30-minute ceremony will be attended by members of the Wallace family. “[I was] shocked to learn that no one had planned a ceremony on the 50th anniversary of Gov. Lurleen Wallace’s death, so my office and I stepped up and put one together. We must never forget,” said Zeigler. For nearly three years the state auditor has been on a mission to return the portrait of Wallace to the capitol rotunda. Her portrait, along with her husband’s, was removed from the rotunda in January 2015 by then-Gov. Robert Bentley in a move the auditor called re-write to Alabama’s history. To this day, Zeigler blames Bentley for their “premature” removal. “The mistreatment of the Lurleen Wallace portrait by the Bentley administration was a shameful example of historical revision,” Zeigler said. “With no notice, officials of the Bentley administration hurriedly removed the two Wallace portraits from the capitol rotunda. In their place, they erected a new portrait of Gov. Robert Bentley, in the final days of his first term. Shortly after she assumed office, Zeigler asked Gov. Kay Ivey in May 2017, to restore the portraits to the rotunda. “The Alabama Legislature passed joint resolutions in 1983 mandating that the Wallace portraits remain in the rotunda in perpetuity. It was clearly the legislative intent that this be done,” Zeigler wrote Ivey. “Your action in restoring the Wallace portraits to their rightful place would be a bold statement that we in Alabama respect our heritage and reject historical revision.”
Here’s everyone who the BCA has endorsed in the 2018 election cycle
The Business Council of Alabama (BCA), considers itself Alabama’s foremost voice for business. It is a non-partisan, statewide, business association representing the interests and concerns of nearly 1 million working Alabamians. The BCA works with the Alabama Legislature to promote “pro-business” reforms such as: Tax credits for small business Job creation Incentives for economic development Ethics reform Positive changes in our public education system Here are the candidates who the BCA has endorsed, who they believe will bring the best changes and initiatives for Alabama’s businesses: Statewide Races: Governor: Kay Ivey Lieutenant Governor: Twinkle Cavanaugh Attorney General: Steve Marshall Secretary of State: John Merrill State Treasurer: John McMillan Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries: Rick Pate Judicial Races: Chief Justice: Lyn Stuart Associate Justice Place 1: Sarah Stewart and Brad Mendheim Associate Justice Place 2: Tommy Bryan Associate Justice Place 3: Will Sellers Associate Justice Place 4: Jay Mitchell Court Of Civil Appeals Place 1: Christy Edwards Court Of Civil Appeals Place 2: Judge Terri Thomas Court Of Civil Appeals Place 3: Judge Terry Moore Court Of Criminal Appeals Place 1: Richard Minor Court Of Criminal Appeals Place 2: Chris McCool Court Of Criminal Appeals Place 3: Judge Bill Cole State Senate Races Senate District 2: Tom Butler Senate District 3: Arthur Orr Senate District 5: Greg Reed Senate District 7: Mary Scott Hunter Senate District 12: Del Marsh Senate District 13: Randy Price Senate District 14: Cam Ward Senate District 16: Jabo Waggoner Senate District 17: Shay Shelnutt Senate District 18: Rodger Smitherman Senate District 32: Chirs Elliott State House Races House District 3: Humphrey Lee House District 6: Andy Whitt House District 8: Terri Collins House District 9: Scott Stadthagen House District 13: Connie Rowe House District 14: Richard “Bull” Corry House District 27: Wes Kitchens House District 30: Craig Lipscomb House District 36: Randy Wood House District 39: TJ Maloney House District 40: K.L. Brown House District 41: Corley Ellis House District 42: Jimmy Martin House District 43: Arnold Mooney House District 44: Danny Garrett House District 45: Dickie Drake House District 46: David Faulkner House District 47: David Wheeler House District 48: Jim Carns House District 49: April Weaver House District 50: Jim Hill House District 55: Rod Scott House District 73: Matt Fridy House District 87: Jeff Sorrells House District 88: Jeremy Arthur House District 89: Marcus Paramore House District 96: Matt Simpson House District 102: Willie Gray
Alabama, 6 other states sue to end DACA
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, along with AGs from six other states, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which was implemented by an Obama administration memo without the legal consent of Congress and protects hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants nationwide from deportation. On Wednesday, Marshall joined the same multi-state coalition in filing a preliminary injunction against DACA. Since the Obama administration’s unilateral creation of the DACA program in 2012, nearly one million unlawful aliens have been given legal presence and work eligibility in the United States. “The U.S. Constitution is quite clear that Congress alone has the legal authority to write U.S. immigration law, not the President through an executive branch memo, said Marshall. “We are a nation of laws and when those laws are ignored by a branch of the federal government, as we have witnessed with the creation of DACA without Congressional approval, the proper response is to take legal action as our coalition of seven states has done. This purpose of this pursuit has never been to steer immigration policy, but to rightfully return policymaking to the legislative branch of government.” The suit follows a months old threat to sue the federal government to end the DACA program, which the Trump administration agreed to phase it out by March 2018. Since then, activist judges in at least three separate federal courts have issued rulings blocking the dismantling of DACA. The multi-state lawsuit asks a federal court to declare DACA unlawful and prevent the federal government from issuing or reviewing any additional DACA permits in the future. The suit however, does not call on the federal government to deport any unlawful aliens presently protected by DACA or rescind DACA permits already issued. Alabama is joined by Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and West Virginia in filing the suit.
Here’s everyone who BamaCarry has endorsed in the 2018 election cycle
BamaCarry, a Second Amendment gun rights group who prides itself on being “Alabama’s only ‘No Compromise’ gun rights group” has endorsed five candidates in the 2018 election cycle. The groups believes gun rights should be protected and preserved in the way that the founding fathers stated, and that “that Every Citizen has the right to bear arms in defense of self and state.” The goal of the organization is to return to those principles and they are currently working to bring Constitutional carry forward in the State of Alabama. Below are their endorsements: Governor: Scott Dawson BamaCarry, INC is proud to endorse Scott Dawson for Governor of the Great State of Alabama. We believe that Scott has the conviction to champion our Second Amendment rights, the courage to stand against liberal elites who constantly seek to chip away at those rights, and the character—built over a lifetime—to follow through on his promises. Every year in Montgomery, BamaCarry has to combat establishment politicians who infringe upon our freedoms—one small compromise at a time. We believe that Montgomery’s systemic problems can’t be corrected by electing yet another career politician who wants to establish another worthless task force. Alabama needs an outsider who has the passion and the vision to lead this state towards a more bold and conservative future. Scott Dawson is the only candidate in the race who fits this bill. Therefore, BamaCarry urges all Alabamians who care about respecting our constitutional liberties—and especially preserving our sacred “right to keep and bear arms”—to elect Scott Dawson as the next Governor of Alabama. Lt. Governor: Will Ainsworth “Throughout his time in the Alabama Legislature and in every vote he has cast, Will Ainsworth has proven to be a staunch defender of the Second Amendment and a strong supporter of gun rights for citizens across the state,” said BamaCarry organizer Bruce Wade. “Will Ainsworth understands that gun free zones put law-abiding citizens in danger, and his plan allowing teachers to voluntarily carry firearms is the only proposal that will defend our classrooms and protect our children.” Attorney General: Alice Martin “Alice Martin is the only Attorney General candidate for those who care about protecting their second amendment rights here in Alabama,” said BamaCarry President Eddie Fulmer. “She is a fighter who will not bow down to the pressures from liberals in and outside of Alabama. She has removed more corrupt elected officials than any other AG! We believe she will do all that’s possible to “clean up” our Statehouse. She is also a firm believer in the Constitution. BamaCarry, INC is proud to endorse her in this race, and our full support is behind her.” State Auditor: Jim Zeigler Jim Zeigler is a man with convictions who cares about protecting our Second Amendment rights in Alabama! He has fought against gun-free zones and no-gun signs on public property and supports Constitutional carry. Jim believes we should have NO conditions on Constitutional rights. Jim has been a member of BamaCarry since we first formed and has participated in every one of our BamaCarry Firearm Freedom Conferences. We believe Jim Ziegler is a fighter who will not end to pressure from liberals in and outside of Alabama. Fighting corruption, He filed the initial ethics complaint against former governor Robert Bentley and has worked to clean up our state government. BamaCarry Inc. is proud to endorse Jim Zeigler in the race for State Auditor, and our full support is behind him. Court of Criminal Appeals: Chris McCool Chris currently serves as District Attorney for the 25th Judicial Circuit of Alabama (Fayette, Lamar, and Pickens Counties), and has been a trial court prosecutor for more than two decades. He has a proven record of 25 years of trial-level experience that is needed on the Court of Criminal Appeals. He has a history of vigorously prosecuting violent crimes, property crimes, sexual assaults, and public corruption case in his circuit. Chris is a farmer who grew up working hard and understands our Alabama values when it comes to gun ownership and gun rights. He is a husband, a father of four, and a pastor, who approaches decisions from the basis of common sense and fairness. We believe he will take his practical courtroom experience and common sense to the appellate courts of this State, and will seek to do justice and to apply the rule of law as a judge. Chris is also a firm believer in the Constitution. BamaCarry, INC is proud to endorse Chris McCool for Place 2, Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals, and our full support is behind him.
Alabama officers investigating inmate’s death in county jail
Alabama law officers are investigating the death of an inmate at the Walker County Jail. Al.com reports that 37-year-old Bryan Michael Freeman died at the jail Tuesday afternoon. Authorities said he’d been booked into the jail April 23, after Jasper police arrested him on two warrants for failing to appear in court. The sheriff’s office asked the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency to investigate the death Tuesday. Officials said details from the investigation will be sent to a grand jury. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Ceremony marks opening of Alabama computer forensics lab
A new lab specializing in digital forensics is operating in Huntsville, Alabama. The FBI and local leaders held a ceremony Wednesday to mark the opening of the Tennessee Valley Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory. The center is one of 17 such facilities in nationwide specializing in training and the analysis of digital evidence. The FBI will provide the facility, equipment and training for the lab. Local agencies will provide staffing for the center including the city of Huntsville police; sheriff’s departments in Etowah and Madison counties; and the Alabama National Guard Counterdrug program. The U.S. attorney’s office for north Alabama will help as a prosecuting agency. The lab is located at Redstone Arsenal. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Kay Ivey stands up for Mobile teacher who was to change ‘just pray’ t-shirt
On Wednesday Gov. Kay Ivey stood up in defense of a Mobile, Ala. teacher who was asked to change shirts after showing up to school with a “just pray” t-shirt last Monday. Last week Chris Burrell picked out a shirt to wear to teacher to class that had “just pray” on it. She had bought the shirt to help raise funds for Aubreigh Nicholes — a young girl from Semmes, Ala. who was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a rare and inoperable brain tumor, in September of 2017. Burrell said she chose to wear the shirt because her students were testing that day and it was her “Monday feel good shirt.” Nevertheless the school’s principal didn’t approve of the shirt and asked Burrell to change it. Ivey says she doesn’t agree with the decision. “Religious liberty is a cornerstone of the freedoms we enjoy in our country,” Ivey said in a statement. “For a teacher to be disallowed from wearing a shirt that exhorts others to pray, especially for a child suffering from terminal cancer, is simply unacceptable.” She continued, “The right to express one’s religious beliefs, including prayer which was often invoked by George Washington himself, is not lost when one enters the schoolhouse door. I am committed to protecting religious freedom for everyone, including our teachers and school children.”
Second racial discrimination lawsuit filed against Auburn University in a month
A second employee with Auburn University’s Office of Campus Safety and Security has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the university. Cameron Boozer — who’s worked in the department since October 2008 and and another ten years at Troy University in public safety prior to that — is an African American with an exemplary performance record. He found out that he was passed up for a promotion to a white employee from Faulkner University who had never worked at Auburn and lacked the background Boozer had in law enforcement. The suit filed Monday in the Eastern Division of the Middle District of Alabama claims the acting director of the department who took over back in 2016, Chance Corbett, is “much more comfortable with Caucasian employees around him than black employees in higher level positions.” Corbett also happens to be white. “I was denied due to my race a promotion to associate director,” Boozer said in a statement at a news conference at McPhillips’ law office in Montgomery, according to the Montgomery Advertiser. “Nothing more. I find it unbelievable that I’m good enough to run the department for all these years but not good enough to receive the pay and promotion.” Boozer’s complaint follows his colleague’s Regina Hutchinson‘s, who filed her complaint against Corbett last month.
Joseph Emerson: A local perspective on ALDOT, Pleasure Island and the Bridge to Nowhere
Dearest Residents of the Great State of Alabama, please allow me to introduce myself and tell y’all a story about a bridge to nowhere. My name is Joseph Emerson, but most everybody calls me Joe. I am a 25 year resident of the City of Gulf Shores, Ala. My folks relocated to our family home in south Baldwin County in 1995; a mere 36 hours ahead of Hurricane Opal. Most of you know of this beach community or have at least heard of it. Gulf Shores is a small town situated on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. To our west, the historic Fort Morgan peninsula. To our east, the beautiful city of Orange Beach. With their numerous, towering condominiums and inland waterways leading to the Gulf, Orange Beach has become a first-class resort town for the everyone in the United States and farther. Both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach are independent municipalities, but the two are very much tied together historically, socially and economically. Little known fact, we are actually a small community down here with less than 18,000 full time residents living in the entire Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area. We locals sometimes fondly refer to this place as “Pleasure Island.” 50 years ago, that name came about because of the the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) running though the City of Gulf Shores and along the Northern shoreline of Orange Beach. We have always tried to maintain a small town atmosphere here, but these days we annually host upwards of 6 million visitors to our beaches. Those visitors end up spending over $4 billion dollars each year while on vacation here and the tax dollars generated on this 40 miles of sand help to power the state in the form of usable tax revenue. As you can imagine, it takes a lot to keep this place going. Infrastructure is a major concern to the folks that live and work here. In fact, improvement of roadways and evacuation routes (in case of hurricanes) is the top priority that residents of the area want our elected officials to address. Traffic is constantly bumper to bumper in certain parts of the island, with drive times being as much as 15 minutes per mile in certain areas of Orange Beach during the dog days of summer. Frustrating is the nicest way to describe the feeling most of us have in regards to Canal Rd. east to Orange Beach Blvd. As our popularity as a resort destination grows year after years, so must our infrastructure to accommodate that growth. Being that we are an “island” it is extremely important to develop our lands with intelligent, long-term planning practices while paying extra attention to the potential environmental impact of any projects in order to protect the fragile ecosystem that makes this place so special. Unfortunately, not all folks share this sentiment. In November of 2015, the local news announced a bridge project to be built near the Gulf Shores/Orange Beach city limits. The creators of this project boasted that it would create a way to move traffic more efficiently on and off of Pleasure Island. Instantly, folks were excited to have a potential solution to the traffic problems on Canal Rd in Orange Beach and Highway 59 in Gulf Shores. Unfortunately, after a review of the plans, it became quite clear that the proposed bridge (located 1.1 miles west of the toll bridge and 4 miles east of the Highway 59 Holmes bridge) would do little to relieve traffic. In fact, with no viable option to connect this bridge (Intracoastal Waterway Bridge) to the beach highway, it would do exactly the opposite of help. It would literally increase the amount of traffic on Canal Rd. The questions came to me quickly. How does this project help our dire infrastructure problems especially on Canal Rd? Why would ALDOT suggest this particular spot for a bridge? Who would even think that was a good idea?I started digging into the planning and funding of this project in the same week of its announcement only to find huge gaps in funding and a suspicious trail of land acquisition and proposed route maps. I felt I had to make this information more prevalent to the public eye to help create transparency about where the then proposed $30 million in tax dollars were being spent.I created a grassroots social media campaign and named it “End the #Bridge2Nowhere.” To date, our Facebook based group has over 2,000 (and growing daily) members sharing information with each other and the world concerning the building of this bridge and its associated projects. Traffic flow from Highway 59 to Orange Beach has been a constant talking point for ALDOT and the City of Gulf Shores when explaining their “necessity” for the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge and Roadway project. The head of ALDOT, John Cooper, is quoted as saying, “over 60% of the traffic over the bridge (Holmes) makes a left turn”. Thats indicating that said traffic is going to Orange Beach. The Gulf Shores City Administrator Steve Griffin is quoted as saying, ” In talking with State Park officials and ALDOT about the Holmes Bridge, we’ve found that 24% of all traffic going across the Holmes Bridge is actually going to Orange Beach or the State Park”. In yet another meeting, City of Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft said that; of 50,000 cars over the Holmes Bridge daily, 20% of them are heading to the East (toward Orange Beach). Wait a minute… 60%? 24%? 20%? What’s the correct amount? What is the real number? I attended multiple meetings from city council to regional planning committees. At every meeting I asked to see the (public record) traffic studies that justified the necessity of the ICWW Bridge. At every meeting I was told, “we dont have those numbers” or “those studies are not readily available.” But now I have found out that as of 4/24/18, ALDOTs John Cooper has testified in court under oath that NONE of those traffic studies were
Paul Ryan: Democratic takeover would mean subpoenas and chaos
House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that a Democratic takeover of the House or Senate in November would lead to a stalemate in Congress while opening the way for partisan investigations of the Trump White House. If either the House or the Senate flips party control, “what you’ll have is absolute gridlock,” said Ryan, R-Wis. “You’ll have subpoenas, you’ll have just the system shutting down.” Ryan’s prediction of a potentially deeper partisan divide on Capitol Hill came during remarks at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, where he also said the federal tax overhaul, regulatory rollbacks and job gains would be a selling point with voters. In the House, Democrats would need to gain at least 23 seats to retake control. Republicans hold a 51-49 edge in the Senate. Democrats have harshly criticized the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee, which concluded it found no evidence that Donald Trump’s Republican campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential race. Ryan said that a president’s party typically loses seats in midterm elections but that party data shows the GOP would hold the House if the election were now. But he acknowledged that “there’s a great amount of enthusiasm on the other side of the aisle.” He is retiring and not seeking re-election in in November. He spoke favorably of Trump, calling him relentless and crediting him with shaking up the status quo in Washington. However, he added: “I definitely could do with a few less tweets.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
U.S.-China trade talks center on rivalry over technology
A high-powered U.S. delegation arrived in Beijing on Thursday for talks with Chinese officials on defusing tensions that are propelling the world’s two largest economies toward a trade war. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is leading the group, which includes Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Liu He, President Xi Jinping’s top economic adviser, was heading the Chinese side in the talks, which analysts say appear unlikely to yield a breakthrough given the two sides’ intensifying rivalry in strategic technologies. President Donald Trump said he expected relations with Beijing to stay on an even keel. “Our great financial team is in China trying to negotiate a level playing field on trade!” he said on Twitter late Wednesday. “I look forward to being with President Xi in the not too distant future. We will always have a good (great) relationship!” Trump is seeking to cut the chronic U.S. trade deficit by $100 billion and gain concessions over policies that foreign companies say force them to share technology with Chinese partners in order to gain market access. His administration has threatened to impose new tariffs on roughly $150 billion in Chinese goods — prompting China to announce its own tariffs on U.S. goods. The dispute has deepened as China stepped up efforts to overtake western industry leaders in advanced technologies, especially for semiconductors, the silicon brains required to run smartphones, connected cars, cloud computing and artificial intelligence. Under Xi, a program known as “Made in China 2025” aims to make China a tech superpower by advancing development of industries that in addition to semiconductors includes artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals and electric vehicles. The plan mostly involves subsidizing Chinese firms. But it also does require foreign companies to provide key details about their technologies to Chinese partners. Beijing looks unlikely to cede any ground on that strategic blueprint. “The Made in China 2025 industrial policy concerns China’s long-term development plan, so the overall direction won’t change at all,” said Yu Miaojie, professor at Peking University’s National School of Development. Yu says China would rather cut the trade deficit by importing high-tech products from the U.S. that are currently tightly restricted. Striking an adamant tone, the state-run Global Times newspaper said Thursday in a commentary that it’s “our sovereign right to develop high-tech industry and it is connected to the quality of rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It will not be abandoned due to external pressure.” Both sides have shown a diversity of opinions, with China recently moving to loosen a restriction on foreign ownership of automakers to minority stakes. But the rival views in Washington, reflected in the makeup of the U.S. team, could undermine the U.S. negotiating stance, the consulting firm Eurasia Group said in a research note. “The U.S. delegation headed to Beijing is too large and unwieldy to accomplish much; it is a reflection of inter-agency rivalry on the U.S. side and this will produce more posturing than actual negotiations with the Chinese,” the firm said. “The trip will produce few results and increases the risk that tariffs are adopted in the near future,” it added. Washington’s recent decision to ban Chinese telecom gear maker ZTE from importing U.S. components in a sanctions-related case drove home to Beijing its costly vulnerability to foreign sources for advanced microchips. The “Made in China 2025” plan calls for domestic producers to supply 70 percent of the country’s chip demand. The Trump administration’s efforts may actually spur China to ramp up efforts to develop its domestic industry as it strives to fulfill Xi’s vision, said Jian-Hong Lin, an analyst at research firm TrendForce. China now consumes nearly 60 percent of the world’s semiconductors but supplies only about 16 percent, according to PWC. The country spends more than $200 billion a year on foreign-made semiconductors, which in 2015 surpassed crude oil as the country’s biggest import. Experts say Chinese chipmakers are five years behind their U.S. and Asian rivals and that increasingly high technological hurdles and a meager talent pool are hindering the effort to catch up with dominant U.S., Japanese, South Korean and Taiwanese manufacturers. As Chinese researchers and chipmakers strive to catch up, the technology is evolving, with new materials transforming the future landscape of the electronics industry. The latest advanced chips are highly complex to make because of their increasingly tiny “nodes,” measured in nanometers, that make them faster and more power-efficient. Beijing has been backing up its towering ambitions in the semiconductor sector with money and tax breaks. The government set up the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund in 2014, seeded with 140 billion yuan ($22 billion) in capital to invest in chip companies. A second round of fundraising for as much as 200 billion yuan is underway, Chinese media report. The state-controlled Tsinghua Unigroup project, associated with Tsinghua University — China’s equivalent of MIT — has emerged as a national champion. It’s building two massive memory chip factories, including a $30 billion facility in Nanjing that will churn out 100,000 wafers a month and is expected to exert a “siphon effect,” drawing microchip industry suppliers and experts to the area. It’s unclear how successful those efforts will be as foreign regulators push back against Beijing’s strategy of acquiring overseas chipmaking-related firms. Washington has scuppered multiple China-linked bids for semiconductor-related firms following a call from a White House advisory panel to do more to protect the U.S. industry because of China’s industrial policies. Market leaders like Samsung, Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing are investing aggressively as they fight for market share. “Even though they’ve (the Chinese) committed a lot of money to the investment fund, the reality has sunk in that it’s harder than just throwing money at the problem. The Samsungs of the world, the TSMCs have a large head start,” said Alexander Wolf, an economist at Aberdeen Standard Investments. “Certain products, you can’t really reverse engineer.” Companies like Huawei and ZTE are avidly pursuing advanced semiconductor technology, but experts say overall Chinese research and development
