Bye-bye Heinz field. Hello, Acrisure?

By Mark Belko, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Acrisure, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based fintech company with ties to Steelers minority owner Thomas Tull, has secured the naming rights for the North Shore stadium for the next 15 years. The Steelers confirmed the arrangement in a statement released Monday afternoon. A press conference is planned for Tuesday.

The deal will end the two-decades-long relationship between two of Pittsburgh’s iconic franchises — the Steelers and Heinz, whose name has been synonymous with the football venue since it opened in 2001. A statement from Kraft Heinz on Monday indicated it had been interested in retaining the name.

Acrisure, headed by co-founder and CEO Greg Williams, will take over the naming rights immediately, in time for the 2022 season, the Steelers stated. 

“We are excited to partner with Acrisure for the naming rights to our stadium,” Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. “Acrisure provided us with an opportunity to ensure our stadium continues to be a valuable asset for our fans as well as keeping up with the market value of NFL stadiums. We are very appreciative to partner with Greg Williams and his company, and we look forward to a long, beneficial relationship for years to come.”

Acrisure, a fast-growing global insurance brokerage, may not be well known to fans in Steel City but it does have a connection.

Read the full story here

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Ramez Ziadeh Takes Over As Acting Secretary at PA Department of Environmental Protection

Acting PADEP Secretary Ramez Ziadeh

From the PA Environment Digest Blog

On July 2, Ramez Ziadeh took over as Acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, replacing Patrick McDonnell who held the post for the last six years.

Ramez Ziadeh, P.E., served as the Executive Deputy Secretary of Programs at the Department of Environmental Protection since June 2017 and previously served as Director of the Bureau of Waterways Engineering and Wetlands. 

Ziadeh is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Pennsylvania and California.  He received his B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993. 

Ziadeh started his career in DEP in 1994. He has over 28 years of extensive experience in environmental permitting, compliance, policy, and regulatory rule making.

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve with Secretary McDonnell, and I am committed to upholding the high standards he set for the office and for the department,” Ziadeh said. “I look forward to working with Governor Wolf to ensure that Pennsylvanians have clear air, clean water, and healthy communities.”

[Note: Unfortunately, it is unlikely Ziadeh will go through the Senate confirmation process because Senate Republicans have refused to take action on any of Gov. Wolf’s agency nominees until he withdraws his executive order and regulations reducing carbon pollution from power plants in Pennsylvania.  Read more here.]

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Massive warehouse project approved in West Windsor, NJ but faces more scrutiny

Mercer County set to review as pleas continue for regional oversight

The site of the proposed warehouse complex in West Windsor, Mercer County

By Jon Hurdle, Contributing Writer, NJ Spotlight

A bitterly contested plan to build one of New Jersey’s biggest warehouse complexes now goes before Mercer County officials who are already echoing community concerns that the project will generate too much truck traffic.

West Windsor’s planning board approved the project on June 29. But now, it needs approval from the county planning board, which would review any impact on stormwater and traffic. And those issues are being flagged by the county executive, Brian Hughes, as problematic.

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“I think the project is far too large for the state and county roads that it appears to be planning on using,” Hughes told NJ Spotlight News. “I wish West Windsor had come to us before and said, ‘What do you think?’ I would have told them there’s too much traffic on Clarksville Road, there’s going to be too much traffic on Route 1.”

Hughes said the proposed seven warehouses totaling 5.5 million square feet would be much bigger than an existing warehouse complex in Robbinsville and would lack that complex’s easy access to Interstate 295. “This, unfortunately, does not have that same sort of access, and so that’s what worries me a little bit,” Hughes said.

Read the full story here

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Goodbye to cash tolls, and some notorious history, at the GW bridge

wiltonbulletin logo
Cars pass through toll booths to use the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, N.J., Friday, July 8, 2022. The busy bridge connecting New Jersey and New York City is moving to cashless tolls. Beginning July 10, drivers paying cash tolls will have their license plates scanned and will be billed by mail. Seth Wenig/AP

From The Wilton Bulletin

FORT LEE, N.J. (AP) — Attention drivers at the George Washington Bridge: Your cash is no good here.

Starting Sunday, drivers looking to cross the Hudson River from New Jersey into New York will go through an electronic tolling system.

Drivers without E-ZPass who would otherwise be paying cash will instead have their license plates photographed by overhead cameras and bills sent to them by mail.

The move from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey comes as a way to help ease congestion at the bridge, the busiest of the three Hudson River crossings that the agency oversees.

With the instituting of the new system, the toll booths currently in place will be taken out, removing a link to a memorable chapter in New Jersey’s political history known as “Bridgegate.”

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“Many advocates have been calling for this for a long time and it’s a welcome move,” said Tom Wright, president of the Regional Plan Association.

Chris Christie

In 2013, traffic in Fort Lee, New Jersey, was snarled for several days when a group of Republican political operatives had some of the access lanes leading into the toll booths blocked in retaliation for a Democratic mayor not endorsing then-Gov. Chris Christie for reelection.

Read the full story here

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$80 million mixed paper recycling facility under construction in Chesapeake, Va.

Total Fiber Recovery of Chesapeake (TFRC) is a joint venture between Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery, and Swedish company CellMark Inc.

Total Fiber Recovery of Chesapeake (TFRC) is a joint venture between Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery, and Swedish company CellMark Inc.

By Recycling Product News Staff

Total Fiber Recovery of Chesapeake (TFRC) has started construction of its $80 million recycled pulp production facility in the City of Chesapeake, Virginia. This will be the first of several such pulp facilities by Total Fiber Recovery. The Virginia Small Business Financing Authority authorized the issuance of $65 million of Green Bonds for the facility that was sold earlier this month to Alliance Bernstein. 

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TFRC is a joint venture between Oregon-based Total Fiber Recovery, and Swedish company CellMark Inc. The project will be supplied by CellMark’s recycled fibre division and all pulp produced will be marketed by CellMark’s Pulp Division. Bulk Handling Systems, an affiliate of Total Fiber Recovery, is furnishing the equipment for the facility. Crowder Industrial Construction of Charlotte, North Carolina, is the EPC.

“Total Fiber Recovery’s innovative operation will produce in-demand recycled fibre that reduces our environmental footprint and positions Chesapeake as a major participant in this important sector,” says Governor Youngkin. “This project helps demonstrate that clean air, clean water, and a strong economy do not have to be mutually exclusive. We thank the company for investing in our Commonwealth, creating new jobs, and supporting Virginia’s conservation efforts.”

TFR will begin operations in Q4 of 2023 and annually process up to 300,000 tons of mixed paper and old corrugated containers (OCC) from the region’s materials recovery facilities (MRFs). The company will increase the region’s capacity to process recycled fibre and produce clean recycled pulp for consumption in paper mills. With domestic and international offtake agreements in place, the pulp product created by TFR in Chesapeake will be transported to paper plants to become new products.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily environmental newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary, and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Don’t take our word for it, try it free for an entire month. No obligation.

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