New Jerseyan Dr. Oz is running in Pa Senate race, but first he has to run away from Donald Trump

oz-mccormick
Dr. Mehmet Oz (right) and former hedge fund executive David McCormick . McCormick is a Pennsylvania native who would have been a shoo-in in the general election, but thanks to Donald Trump he lost to Oz, who has a palatial home in Bergen County.

By Paul Mulshine | Star-Ledger Columnist

It seems like every time I open my email I see a new pitch for money from the Republican Pennsylvania U.S. Senate candidate who calls himself Dr. Oz.

A recent one read,” Fellow Conservative: Dr. Oz is officially LOSING in the polls to Radical Socialist John Fetterman. And I’m frightened.”

I’m frightened, too. I’m afraid the Republican Party is missing yet another chance to take control of the Senate thanks to the stupidity and incompetence of Donald Trump.

It was The Donald who decided to tell his acolytes to vote for Oz in the Pennsylvania Republican primary – despite the fact the TV doctor is from New Jersey, Cliffside Park to be specific.

With Trump’s support, Oz won the GOP primary over David McCormick, a solid conservative who was born and grew up in the heartland of Pennsylvania. But even with Trump’s backing, Oz won by a mere 951 votes.

Fetterman, the sitting lieutenant governor who is known for his sense of humor, immediately went on the attack.

“Do want someone who’s all about North Jersey? He’s not one of us” he asks in one attack ad.

Another ad shows footage of an Oz campaign ad in which the celebrity doctor stands in front of a bookcase as he calls for the Philadelphia mayor to resign amid a crime wave there. Other footage shows the bookcase is in Oz’s Cliffside Park crib.

Read the full opinion piece here

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New Jersey’s Union Beach to start new coastal-defense project 27 years in the works

Town official says planned measures changed little despite Sandy’s devastation

File photo: A bayfront house in Union Beach that was cut in half by Superstorm Sandy became one of the most photographed damage sites from the storm until it was torn down several weeks later.

By JON HURDLE, NJ Spotlight

Twenty-seven years after state and federal officials started planning coastal flood defenses for Union Beach, a contract was signed this week to build a berm and other flood-control measures in the devastated Monmouth County town.

Although the project was finally funded after Superstorm Sandy famously pummeled the borough in October 2012, the measures that are due to begin this fall are little different from what was planned in 1995 when the process began, said Robert Howard, administrator for the town of some 5,600 people on the shore of Raritan Bay. He said the project was first approved in 2007 but didn’t attract federal funding until 2013 in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Howard said it was “hypothetical” whether the town would have fared better during Sandy if the new measures had been in place then, but he hoped it would have been completed. “I believe the project would have assisted with dealing with Sandy,” he said in an interview.

The new contract, worth $50 million, was announced Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Pallone said the project will help to protect the town’s homes and businesses from the bigger and more frequent storms resulting from climate change and rising seas.

“Coastal states like New Jersey are on the frontlines of rising sea levels and stronger storms due to climate change,” Pallone said in a statement. “With this funding, the Army Corps will replenish beaches with a dune, build pedestrian crossovers and repair existing decking that will help protect residents from future storm damage and flooding events.”

Read the full story here

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The U.S. will lift tariffs on solar products imported from Canada

As part of the agreement signed on July 8, the U.S. and Canada also committed to prohibiting imports of solar products produced with forced labor.

By John Engel, Renewable Energy World

The Trump administration implemented the solar safeguard measure in 2018 to support domestic solar manufacturing. While largely aimed at China, the safeguard extended to all solar imports.

In February, a panel found that Canada’s inclusion in the solar safeguard was inconsistent with rules within the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

That same month, President Biden extended the solar safeguard measure for an additional four years, but excluded bifacial cells and doubled the import quota on solar cells to 5 GW. Biden also directed the United States trade representative to conclude agreements with Canada and Mexico on trade in solar products.

“Reaching this settlement with Canada will promote the greater deployment of solar energy in the United States using products from one of our closest allies, and foster a more resilient North American supply chain for clean energy products made without forced labor,” United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.

Read the full story here

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Fecal bacteria tests lead to swimming advisories at four Jersey Shore beaches 

By Chris Sheldon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection placed four New Jersey beaches under swimming advisories Tuesday afternoon after water samples taken at them showed high levels of fecal bacteria.

The beaches placed under swimming advisories were:

• Forget-Me-Not Road beach in Wildwood Crest (ocean)

• Miami Avenue beach in Wildwood Crest (ocean)

• Lavender Road beach in Wildwood Crest (ocean)

• Orchid Road beach in Wildwood Crest (ocean)

Read the full story here

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Republicans push back against Wall Street firms with left-leaning climate positions

BlackRock headquarters in New York. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg News)

By Steven Mufson, Washington Post

Republican officials across the country, tearing a page from the ongoing culture wars, are launching a broad assault on the movement by big financial firms to use their economic power to curb climate change and address other politically sensitive national issues.

In recent years, big finance companies have used their clout to advance causes that are popular among liberals. The giant asset manager BlackRock, for instance, has voted against the candidacies of hundreds of corporate board members over their lackluster records on climate issues and called climate change “a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects.” JPMorgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank, has stopped lending to new coal mines or coal-fired power plants.

Even though the positions don’t satisfy many left-leaning activists, GOP officials are intensifying their counteroffensive, attacking the campaigns — often referred to as “environmental-social-governance,” or ESG — by threatening to retaliate against financial firms for their positions on the climate and other issues, including firearms sales.

Read the full story here

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Turn Delaware Water Gap area into a national park? Opponents lining up against the idea

Delaware Water Gap

By Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight

Click to view NJ Spotlight video

The Delaware Water Gap Recreation Area offers gorgeous views and adventure for millions of visitors every year. While it’s a part of the National Park Service system, it’s not designated as a national park. John Donahue, who worked for the National Park Service for nearly 40 years and spent 14 years in charge of the area, wants to change that. He’s partnering with the Sierra Club on a proposal to make the Delaware Water Gap New Jersey’s first national park.

“The spectacular resources here should be recognized as being nationally and internationally significant on a greater level … It’s a matter of recognition and elevation and prestige for the people and for the resources,” said Donahue.

Some people don’t see it that way. Sandy Hull, who lives in Layton near the Delaware Water Gap, said she has a lot of questions that are not answered by the Sierra Club’s proposal.

“There’s no environmental impact statement. No agricultural, economic impact statement. The visitation — we don’t know how they figured that. As far as economics, I don’t know how they figure how much spending every person’s going to do when they come up here, when basically there’s nothing here to spend their money on,” said Hull.

Opponents are also concerned about the consequences of more visitors and whether private land could be taken by eminent domain.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th) has also come out against the proposed redesignation.

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