The fish bite is picking up with the warmer summer weather arriving just in time for the largemouth bass and smallmouth bass season opener on June 15. From the beginner to novice angler, bass are a fun and exciting fish to pursue and can be caught in numerous waters across New York State.
There are some things you see online that make you laugh because they are obviously satire. Then there are things so bizarre that you assume they must be from The Onion.
Recently, one of those moments came from an official social media post featuring New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Ed Potosnak recruiting people to help implement Governor Sherrill’s permitting agenda.
The message might as well have said: “Uncle Ed Wants You! Help Turn the Department of Environmental Protection into the Department of Expedited Permits.”
Or perhaps more accurately: “Join the Department of Excess Pollution, Overdevelopment, and Rubber-Stamp Approvals.”
The irony is almost too much to believe.
Many people thought the post was a joke. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
What makes it even more troubling is that Commissioner Potosnak previously served as executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, an organization that historically opposed permit fast-tracking, environmental rollbacks, and weakening public oversight.
Today, he is implementing many of the very policies environmental advocates spent years fighting against.
As the old song from The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas goes: “Ooh, I love to dance a little sidestep. Now they see me, now they don’t, I’ve come and gone and…”
That lyric increasingly sounds like the theme song of New Jersey environmental policy or “the act of an environmental contortionist.”
The Senate Environment and Energy Committee advanced legislation sponsored by state Sens. Bob Smith and Linda Greenstein that would require the Board of Public Utilities to establish a program offering incentives to owners of energy storage systems.
While energy storage systems benefit all consumers, there are currently no mechanisms to compensate distribution-scale owners for the costs of their systems and the benefits they provide. The proposed incentives will make the adoption of energy storage systems more economically favorable.
“This program will ideally offset the costs of building energy storage systems and encourage others to take on this initiative,” said Sen. Smith (Middlesex/Somerset). “Not only will this save current and potential owners money, but the overall increase in storage will also lower energy costs for all consumers over time.”
Under the bill, S-631, systems owned by both customers and public utilities that meet the BPU’s performance requirements will be eligible for incentives that can cover up to 40% of each project’s total cost. The BPU is required to reserve at least 25% of these incentives for those that face greater economic hurdles to adopting energy storage systems.
“As New Jersey moves towards our goal of a sustainable energy future, we will need more energy storage systems to handle the load,” said Sen. Greenstein (Middlesex/Mercer). “This program will help create an easy and safe transition from the old energy grid to a more dynamic system.”
Expanding storage reduces fluctuations in electricity supplied by renewable energy sources, which will help minimize our reliance on fossil-fuel power plants during periods of peak energy demand and, in turn, drive down electricity prices. These systems also facilitate greater energy independence and energy security.
Finally, sponsors of the bill said this program would help New Jersey achieve the state’s energy storage goals outlined in the 2018 Clean Energy Act, which aims to have 2,000 megawatts of storage capacity on the grid by 2030.
In March, Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed into law legislation sponsored by state Sens. Bob Smith and John Burzichelli that would relax certain requirements for transmission-scale energy storage procurement to expand the number of projects that are eligible under the Garden State Energy Storage Program and, in turn, increase New Jersey’s energy capacity and output.
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New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has nominated energy executive Ben Hertz-Shargel to the Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) with plans to elevate him to agency president following State Senate confirmation.
He will succeed Christine Guhl-Sadovy, who will remain on the five-member regulatory board as a commissioner.
Hertz-Shargel was chosen to steer the state’s energy agenda as New Jersey battles a utility crisis marked by rising regional grid costs and power rate increases.
Here are the key details about the leadership transition and his background:
Current Background: Hertz-Shargel most recently served as the global head of grid edge at energy research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Energy Expertise: He specializes in power system planning, demand management, and grid modernization. He has previously held leadership roles at tech-driven energy companies like EnergyHub and Rhythm.
Policy Mandate: Under Governor Sherrill’s Executive Order No. 1, the incoming NJBPU president is tasked with driving an affordability agenda, freezing rate hikes, and reforming utility business models to protect ratepayers.
Senate Confirmation: The nomination now heads to the New Jersey Senate for confirmation.
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I’ve been a fan of NJ Spotlight News from its early days as New Jersey Nightly News. Although it covers a wide array of Garden State topics, my personal interest has always focused on politics and the environment. Spotlight introduces its viewers to the most important daily news, presenting it through skilled, unbiased editing. Its news anchor and beat reporters are knowledgeable and professional.
What more could you want?
The New Jersey Legislature has a brief opportunity to save Spotlight News–and NJ Network, too. Please, don’t blow it.
Representative Tom Kean has not been seen for nearly three months but is on the ballot in Tuesday’s New Jersey primary.Credit…Andrew Seng for The New York Times
Representative Tom Kean Jr. has not been seen in public for nearly three months. The mystery of his disappearance grew gradually, beginning with a news update in March by a political website noting that the New Jersey congressman had missed a week’s worth of votes in Washington.
Missing a few votes isn’t necessarily cause for alarm. But after the Easter recess, two of Mr. Kean’s Republican colleagues in Congress from New Jersey told reporters they had been told nothing about Mr. Kean’s whereabouts. Soon, other Republican leaders said they were upset that their texts to Mr. Kean had gone unanswered. The story eventually gained traction when Dan Scharfenberger, Mr. Kean’s chief of staff, told The New York Times in May, “There’s no cameras where Tom is.”
Ahead of a congressional primary Tuesday, in which he faces no Republican opposition, Mr. Kean’s only known campaign events involved making phone calls to a New Jersey political journalist and to Republican leaders in his district, one of whom asked if the missing congressman needed anything.
“Just your prayers,” Mr. Kean replied, according to the official, Joe LaBarbera, chairman of the Republican Party in Sussex County.
