The Civitas Institute did a hilarious writeup on House Bill 1623. The state, remember, has no money and must raise $1.5 billion or so in taxes and lay off teachers.
And yet, there is enough for what Civitas is calling a Star Trek facility. $1.7 million will be spent, but it is as yet unclear whether the funds will pay for anything but land acquisition and master planning for the Star Fleet Academy Complex.
Of course to accomplish these great things the state will be partnering with a corporation formed in December 2008 and headquartered in an architectural office in Greensboro, NC that advertises its vision as “. . . to become the international leader in the development of Science Fiction based Educational mixed-use urban renewal and regional redevelopment projects.”
The argument, of course, is that the center will create 1000 jobs. It is also unknown whether these are day-labor jobs for construction or fulltime positions for researchers.
The sad thing is, Civitas is not the entity responsible for the hilarity. The bill, which is less than a page long, additionally states:
The Star Fleet Academy Complex is predicated on the Star Trek concept subject to the approval of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) of the Star Trek Brand. CBS has granted to the project organizers, Scientific and Economic Development, Inc., the rights to market and develop a public/private partnership to support the project using the Star Trek Brand.
