Strictly speaking, the show is somewhat based on a series of novels. There’s an awful lot of story in those that is simply not present t in the musical, but could possibly have been included in the movie. I don’t know if that’s actually what happened, but there’s certainly a canon source for substantially more content.
I’m actually shocked at the inefficiency of the electric powertrain tbh. An F-150 Lightning gets twice the distance per wh, a Model Y is quadruple. I’m not entirely sure if it’s just simply the size, but the lightning has a comparable gvwr. Just seems weird to me
As OP mentioned, it’s not relevant since he retired, but the seat becomes vacant for a period, meaning one fewer member votes, and results may be affected. There’s generally some mechanism for filling the vacant seat, which can vary on timing (and state law). Generally a replacement can be appointed by the state governor, special elections are held if there is still a substantial term remaining, or the position is held by the appointee if an election is already imminent.
Cool, but tricky. It’d have the effect of simply contracting out loads of positions to sketchy labor companies
In fact, in a few certain situations you can actually purchase higher-end hardware than the pros use. UCI has restrictions on shape and weight that need not apply to non sanctioned riders, and there are improvements that are available in both aero and weight. Notably, Triathlon specific bikes are often markedly faster than UCI compliant bikes due to the aggressive aerodynamic optimization.
As with nearly everything in astronomic optics, it’s named after people associated with its creation. Robert Jones and Thomas Bird are the two in this case. Here’s a thread on Cloudy nights with good info.