Most of Puerto Rico back in the dark on New Year’s Eve

Only a fraction of the island’s 1.4 million utility customers had power on Tuesday morning. The electricity provider said it would take 24 to 48 hours to restore power.

By Victor Mather, New York Times, Dec. 31, 2024 Updated 10:38 a.m. ET

A sweeping blackout hit Puerto Rico early Tuesday morning, plunging nearly all of the island into darkness on New Year’s Eve.

As of 10:20 a.m. Eastern, only 13 percent of Puerto Rico’s 1.4 million utility customers had power, according to the tracking page of Luma Energy, which supplies power to the U.S. territory. The company said it was activating emergency operations to restore power and described the blackout as “systemwide.”

Luma said on social media that “preliminary findings point to a fault on an underground line.” It said that it planned to restore power in phases and that “the entire process will take between 24-48 hours, conditions permitting.”

Josué Colón, the director of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, told Telemundo that he believed restoration would take several days.

Read the full story here:

Related news:
Most of Puerto Rico hit by New Year’s Eve power outage (CBS News)
1.3 million left in the dark (The Guardian)

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New Lithium Battery Transport Guide Issued as Fire Risks Grow

By Mike Schuler, gCaptain

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has released a comprehensive guide for lithium battery shipping, addressing growing concerns about maritime transportation of electric vehicles and battery-powered goods.

The guide, released on November 21st, 2024, outlines new regulatory requirements for shipping lithium cells and batteries across all transport modes, including vessel shipments. Shippers must now comply with both domestic regulations and the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code, depending on their shipment route.

Lithium-ion battery cell explosions are commonly caused by thermal runaway, a chemical reaction that can lead to the cell igniting and exploding. Thermal runaway can occur spontaneously if the battery is damaged, shorted, overheated, defective, or overcharged.

Read the full story here

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Army Corps cutting Jersey Shore flood control projects in half

Expensive flood gate plans give way to raising home elevations

By Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News

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The giant, Route I-80 sinkhole in NJ has been plugged

An aerial photo taken Friday shows progress the state Department of Transportation crews made filling in a sinkhole that closed the shoulder and part of the right lane on I-80 east in Wharton.SL

By Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

UPDATE: I-80 eastbound reopened following the completion of emergency sinkhole repairs, the state Department of Transportation announced around 8 a.m. Monday.

Four days after a giant sinkhole took out the right lane of Interstate 80 in Morris County, resulting in massive traffic jams and winding detours, the heavily-traveled route is reopened.

The 40-foot-by-40-foot crater on the highway in Wharton was repaired and reopened to traffic around 8 a.m. Monday, the state Department of Transportation said. Officials previously said the reopening depended on whether the rainy weather delayed repairs.

Repair crews worked around the clock through the weekend to stabilize and repair the sinkhole despite wet weather, officials said. Aerial photos taken Friday showed the sinkhole filled and the road surface milled down to soil in preparation for repaving.

“I want to commend the outstanding efforts of the NJDOT and contractor crews that worked tirelessly to get Interstate 80 reopened quickly and safely for the motoring public,” state Transportation Commissioner Fran O’Connor said. “Given the extensive nature of the damage, it is truly remarkable the amount of work that was done in such a short amount of time.”

Read the full story here

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A look at the huge tax deal Kushner company got to save a N.J. mall

*The Kushner Companies is investing more than $500 million ito create the new Monmouth Square — an open-air destination with a mix of stores, restaurants, apartments and medical office space.*

By Jackie Roman | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

One of New Jersey’s largest malls is getting a massive makeover thanks to one of the state’s biggest real estate developers.

Kushner Companies, run by the prominent family with ties to President-elect Donald Trump, negotiated a huge tax break that allows the company to avoid paying regular local property taxes in exchange for redeveloping Monmouth Mall. The 65-year-old shopping destination is the largest taxed property in Eatontown.

Kushner Companies is one of the state’s most high-profile real estate firms. It was founded by the family of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law.

Records show the lots included in the tax break brought in $5 million in total net property taxes for the borough in 2022, the year before the deal was brokered. That included about $4.7 million from the Kushner-owned portion of the property, with the remainder coming from a portion owned by Macy’s.

Under a PILOT agreement — or a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal — Kushner companies paid Eatontown $4.5 million in 2023 between taxes and other payments, according to town officials. The company will pay another $4.5 million this year and $4.3 million next year, officials said. The annual payments will drop to $4.1 million in 2026 and $3.8 million in 2027, under the agreement.

Kushner executives said the 30-year tax break is necessary to ensure the plan to transform the mall is financially feasible and mutually beneficial.

Read the full story here

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Media and world leaders recall former president Jimmy Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter – Damon Winter/The New York Times

Remembering Jimmy Carter

By Ian Prasad Philbrick and Lauren Jackson in the New York Times’ The Morning

We’re devoting today’s newsletter to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, who died yesterday at age 100 at his home in Plains, Ga.

Carter lived to be the oldest former president in American history, and the only one to reach 100. He rose from Georgia farmland to the presidency in 1976, elected on a promise of healing the country after Watergate and the Vietnam War. He served only one term and left office with dismal approval ratings. Ronald Reagan defeated him in 1980 during a period of high inflation and a hostage crisis in Iran. Carter was the only Democrat to occupy the White House between 1969 and 1993.

During his long post-presidency, Carter’s reputation improved. He received praise for his humanitarian work and diplomacy, sometimes on behalf of his successors. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Carter grew up with no electricity or running water. He taught Sunday school in Plains and was married to his wife, Rosalynn, for more than 77 years — longer than any other presidential couple. Theirs was one of America’s great love stories: They spent most of their adult lives in a simple house in Plains, where they returned after leaving Washington and weathered the pandemic together. Rosalynn died there last year at age 96.

Carter also had a long goodbye, spending the final 22 months of his life in hospice care. During that time, he voted for Kamala Harris, watched Atlanta Braves games, traveled 164 miles to attend Rosalynn’s service in Atlanta and celebrated his 100th birthday with his family. When Carter appeared in public, he looked frail and reclined in a wheelchair, a blanket covering his legs.

The Times has much more about his life, including:

Carter’s obituary

“With his peanut farmer’s blue jeans, his broad, toothy grin and his promise never to tell a lie, Mr. Carter was a self-professed outsider intent on reforming a broken Washington in an era of lost faith in government,” The Times’s Peter Baker and Roy Reed wrote in his obituary.

“While his presidency was remembered more for its failures than for its successes, his post-presidency was seen by many as a model for future chief executives.”

Read Carter’s obituary here.

See photos from Carter’s life, including his rise from Navy submariner to Georgia governor.

Read the full story here

Associated Press story reporting President Carter’s death at 100

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