Has Gov. Sherrill turning the NJDEP into the Department of Expedited Permits?

By Jeff Tittel in The Jersey Vindicator
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.”

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Energy storage system incentives bill moves ahead in NJ Senate


By John Harrington, ROI

 

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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NJ Governor moves to replace state utilities board chief

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Lawmakers: Vote to save our valuable NJ Spotlight News

 

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.

Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

 

Read the details here

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The mysteriously missing New Jersey congressman

Tom Kean stands at a lectern on which a sign reads, “Tom Kean for Congress.” Two women stand on either side of him.
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


By Christopher Maag, The New York Times, June 2, 2026

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.

He last voted in Congress on March 5.

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.

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Curfew imposed at ICE detention center, Delaney Hall

Police pass over a barricade as they clash with protesters near the Delaney Hall detention center during a protest against the transfer of detainees and federal immigration policies on Saturday in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Police pass over a barricade as they clash with protesters near the Delaney Hall detention center during a protest against the transfer of detainees and federal immigration policies on Saturday in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)

By Michelle Myers and Vinny Vella, Philadelphia Inquirer

Newark officials instituted a mandatory curfew on Sunday around Delaney Hall after ongoing protests led to clashes between protesters and police officers late Saturday, even as Gov. Mikie Sherrill announced that family members will again be able to visit loved ones at the immigration detention center.

Three people were arrested after the skirmish, according to Sherrill.

Protests have roiled Delaney Hall since last week over conditions inside the facility. Family visitation had been suspended after protesters blocked entry to the facility on May 24, but Sherrill said Sunday that the Department of Homeland Security agreed to restart it.

The curfew announced by Mayor Ras Baraka came after continued clashes between police and protesters outside the jail, including a Friday night confrontation that led police to temporarily clear the area.

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New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Sunday that protesters were “collecting wooden poles and other blunt-force objects for use as weapons.” According to one group taking part in the protests, law enforcement fired rubber bullets at protesters.

Baraka’s curfew, which began Sunday at midnight, will be enforced between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. in all areas within a half mile of Delaney Hall.

Doremus Avenue will be closed to all pedestrians, and only vehicles with “verified official business” will be allowed in the area.

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