EnviroPolitics Blog

Licensing snags delays Showboat Atlantic City’s waterpark opening

062423-pac-nws-waterpark — It was all waterslides and mermaids on June 22, 2023, in Atlantic City, at the private-invitaion opening of the Showboat Island Water Park. But the expected public opening was halted by a permit snafu. Matthew Strabuk photo

By Eric Conklin, Atlantic City Press

Showboat’s highly anticipated waterpark, which was set to open on Friday, will remain closed due to a licensing issue, a spokesperson for the resort said on Friday.

The $100 million waterpark was built by Showboat owner Bart Blatstein as a part of improvements he’s made to the former casino hotel, which his company, Tower Investments, purchased from Stockton University in 2015.

The waterpark was unable to obtain a state license in time for Friday’s opening, said Lisa Johnson, who handles public relations for Bartstein’s business endeavors.

Blatstein later annonced that the The 120,000-square-foot attraction attached to the Showboat Hotel will open to the public June 30. Day passes are priced at $89

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Trenton neighbors will be happy to see this toxic site cleaned up

The former New Methods Cleaners site has been vacant since 2015

By TED GOLDBERG, NJ Spotlight, JUNE 29, 2023

A notorious polluted site in East Trenton is set for renewal, thanks to a federal grant of almost $2 million. The Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday the money would go toward remediating the former New Methods Cleaners site on Clinton Avenue. The property has been vacant since 2015. Local, state and federal leaders said they hope the remediation work will allow for new development at the site and a revitalization of the neighborhood.

“We want to bring new homes here. We want to bring new people to live in this community. We want to be able to have the people that live here live in a safe environment,” said Octavia Sutphin, president of the Neighborhood Improvement Association.

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Oh yum…Lab grown meat approved for sale in the U.S.

‘A new era’: US regulator allows first sales of lab-grown meat

Upside Foods’ cultured chicken.

By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN

Two companies, Upside Foods, and Good Meat, say they have received final U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to sell lab-grown meat, paving the way for the nation’s first-ever sales of the product.

With the approvals, the United States will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of so-called cultivated meat, derived from a sample of livestock cells that are fed and grown in steel vats.

The companies are the first to complete the multi-step U.S. approval process for cultivated meat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already determined that the meat is safe to eat.

“It is a dream come true,” said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside, in an interview. “It marks a new era.”

The companies, which both make cultivated chicken, plan to first serve their product at high-end restaurants before scaling production to reach a lower cost for grocery stores.

Upside chicken will first be served at Bar Crenn, a restaurant in San Francisco owned by chef Dominique Crenn, the company said. Good Meat will sell its first batch of chicken to the Jos?ndr?Group, owned by the humanitarian and chef, Good Meat said.

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New York Power Grid Upgrade Plans Unveiled

Spain-based Iberdrola has announced that it will help deliver renewable offshore wind power from the Long Island grid to New York City and Westchester County.

By by Adnan Memija, OffshoreWINDbiz

The company said it will add approximately 90 miles (about 150 kilometres) of new high-voltage transmission lines that will run the distance underground and underwater.

The project will be developed by Iberdrola, through Avangrid, together with Edison Transmission, National Grid Ventures, and Central Hudson Electric Transmission.

New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act calls for the procurement of 9 GW of offshore wind energy by 2035.

A significant portion of this offshore wind generation will be connected to the Long Island grid, but in order to supply clean, local power to the rest of the state’s consumers, additional grid connections are needed, Iberdrola said.

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Avangrid is currently developing Vineyard Wind in Massachusetts waters, which with 806 MW of capacity, is the largest commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the country.

The wind farm is expected to generate electricity for more than 400,000 homes and businesses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, create 3,600 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) job years, save customers USD 1.4 billion over the first 20 years of operation, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 1.6 million metric tons per year, the equivalent of taking 325,000 cars off the road annually.

Iberdrola said that the United States is the company’s main destination for investments, allocating USD 21.5 billion up to 2025, a figure that will lead to a renewable capacity of approximately 10,000 MW, with a 70 per cent growth in a decade, according to the press release.

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Breweries in New Jersey face reimpositon of restrictions

By TENNYSON DONYÉA, WHYY NEWS | JUNE 27, 2023

Breweries across New Jersey are bracing for another year of regulations that some argue are detrimental to their businesses. Last year, new rules were implemented that banned breweries from serving food and limited the number of events they can host to 25 per year.

Chuck Garrity, owner of Death of the Fox Brewery in Clarksboro, said the rules go beyond what is necessary. He said hosting events could generate significant revenue for breweries to help some stay in business.

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Poll: Overwhelming support for reforming NJ’s liquor license rules

“There’s already been nine breweries that have gone out of business just over the last year. And so, my guess is that if something isn’t done, that number might double,” Garrity said.

The restrictions are set to be reinstated on July 1 unless lawmakers pass new legislation. The state Senate was scheduled to address the bill on Monday.

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Maine Governor Opposes Labor Standards for Offshore Wind Energy

Labor groups fear offshore wind could go the same way as solar: low wages and temp workers.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills speaks at a news conference, Jan. 17, 2023, in Augusta, Maine.AP PHOTO/ROBERT F. BUKATY

BY LEE HARRIS, The American Prosect

Maine Gov. Janet Mills is threatening to veto legislation governing how the state builds and operates offshore wind projects, citing concerns over pro-union labor provisions.

The Democratic governor championed an earlier version of the bill, but said this past week that she opposes a commitment to use project labor agreements (PLAs), pre-hire deals that set a floor for wages and can help build union power.

Mills argued that mandating a PLA would create a “chilling effect” for non-union companies, discouraging them from bidding on construction.

Supporters of the PLA provision say that is a far-fetched objection, since the agreements do not ban non-union contractors from vying for jobs. (In fact, that’s one reason some more radical unionists say PLAs do too little to advance labor’s cause.)

On Friday, state lawmakers wrote to Mills with a proposed compromise, suggesting new bill text to meet her concerns about potential workforce shortages.

Read the full story here

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