PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia region could see tornadoes as remnants of Tropical Storm Fred spread throughout the state, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, Fred’s remnants will bring heavy rain as it moves across the state and up the Appalachian Mountains.
As for the tornado potential, the National Weather Service said the potential for tornadoes is especially high in Southeastern Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service said most of the storm’s impacts will be late Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night.
Chances of showers and thunderstorms begin mostly after 5 p.m.
The Murphy administration has some new staff members on its (now all-women) Legislative Affairs team. They will join Acting Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs (who stepped into her role when Justin Braz left for the campaign) and senior legislative aide Awilda Pomales-Diaz (who started at the Governor’s Office in March 2020).
Here are bios for the whole Leg affairs team:
Paulina Banasiak serves as Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative Affairs. Paulina previously served as the Director of Legislative Affairs. Prior to joining the Murphy Administration in 2018, she was Assemblyman Mukherji’s Chief of Staff and the Director of Legislation for Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle. Paulina is an immigrant from Poland who currently resides in Burlington County. She received her bachelor’s in psychology from Montclair State University and her master’s in social work from Rutgers University.
Awilda Pomales-Diaz serves as a Senior Legislative Aide in the Legislative Affairs Department within the Office of Governor Phil Murphy, she started with the Governor in March 2020. She is also the liaison for the Legislative Latino Caucus. Previously, she served as the Legislative Director for Assemblyman Chiaravalloti in Hudson County. Prior to working in Hudson County, she began her professional career within the Office of Senator Lagana, Assemblywoman Swain, and Assemblyman Tully in Bergen County and as an intern for U.S. Senator Cory Booker. She received her B.A. from Saint Peter’s University in Communications and Political Science and currently resides in her hometown Jersey City.
Sam Bender is originally from Cape May but currently resides in Maple Shade. Bender most recently served as the Legislative Director for Assemblyman Bill Moen. Previously she was a Legislative Aide to Assemblywoman Carol Murphy and a Deputy Chief of Staff in the First Legislative District. She is currently the President of South Jersey Young Democrats. Samantha will serve as a Senior Legislative Aide and be the South Jersey Liaison for the Governor on the Legislative Affairs team.
Medinah Muhammad, a lifelong resident of Essex County, Medinah Muhammad holds a Bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rutgers University–Newark with a Master’s degree in Political Science. She formerly served as Chief of Staff for Assemblywoman Britnee N. Timberlake of the 34th legislative district where she helped to author policies like The People’s Bill, landmark legislation to create policing accountability, $15 per hour minimum wage bill, and the marijuana legalization and decriminalization bill, just to name a few. Prior to serving in this role, Medinah served as the Public Information Officer for the Essex County Board of Commissioners. She has been named to InsiderNJ’s “100 Millennials 2020” and “100 Policymakers 2021” lists. ” She will serve as a Senior Legislative Aide for the Governor’s office handling social justice issues and serve as the liaison for the legislative black caucus.
Sophia Dolashewich born and raised in Marlboro graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with a focus on Environmental Studies from Towson University. Her political and environmental career started with the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters as a policy intern where she dealt with stormwater and water quality issues. From there, Sophia started as a policy intern and worked up to become Legislative Director to Assemblyman Robert Karabinchak of the 18th Legislative District where she worked on key issues regarding New Jersey’s aging water infrastructure and climate resiliency. Now, taking on the role of Legislative Aide to the Governor, Sophia handles the environmental portfolio and hopes to continue working on issues regarding climate change, land use, and community resilience.
Climate change and its devastating impact are accelerating faster than ever, according to a new report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Hurricanes are becoming stronger, rainfall heavier and flood risk higher. Yet, America’s National Flood Insurance Program hasn’t changed at all since its inception.
But it is about to.
Under the current program, the Federal Emergency Management Agency provides $1.3 trillion in coverage for more than 5 million policyholders in 23,500 communities nationwide. Homeowners in FEMA-designated flood zones are required to purchase flood insurance, but others do so voluntarily. Nearly one-third of NFIP policyholders are not mandated to carry it.
Starting on Oct. 1, the program will undergo a complete overhaul to make insurance pricing more accurately reflect each property’s unique flood risk. Finally, climate change will be factored in.
“No question that this is the most substantive change to the program going back to 1968,” said David Maurstad, deputy associate administrator for federal insurance and mitigation and senior executive of the flood insurance program.
On Tuesday, Aug. 10, the U.S. Senate passed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The $1.2 trillion Act includes the funds needed to fix and upgrade our nation’s roads and bridges, freight and passenger railways, ports & waterways, broadband, and invest in environmentally sustainable energy. Importantly, it also includes the RECYCLE Act, of which ISRI (Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries) was a lead architect.
Robin Wiener
Recycling is an essential part of the infrastructure of the United States. It is becoming more essential as we move as a nation – and a global community – towards a circular economy in an effort to preserve our planet’s finite natural resources and address climate change through reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
It is for this reason that ISRI supports these investments to rebuild our country’s aging infrastructure and provide for a modern 21st-century transportation system that will allow us to efficiently transport raw materials and feedstocks to manufacturers throughout the nation and the globe, using all modes of transportation, covering rail, surface, and waterways.
The death toll rose to 1,297 on Sunday after a devastating earthquake struck Haiti a day earlier, civil authorities said.
Haiti’s Civil Protection service said the number of injured people also rose to 5,700. Hospitals were struggling to cope with those who had arrived for care.
Officials continued to search for survivors in the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that struck Saturday morning. The quake was centered near the town of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, about 125 kilometers west of the capital, Port-au-Prince, at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake, which damaged houses, roads and bridges on the country’s southwest peninsula, displaced thousands of people.
Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry said on Sunday, “We must work together to provide rapid and effective responses to this extremely serious situation.” He had flown to Les Cayes on Saturday to survey the damage.
Compounding the difficulties facing the country, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the entire coast of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Tropical Depression Grace is expected to bring heavy rain to the island Monday, leading to flash flooding and mudslides.
Many residents in Les Cayes, the country’s third-largest city with a population of 90,000, stayed outdoors overnight, as aftershocks continued to rock the area into Sunday.
The U.S. Geological Survey said on Saturday that the earthquake increased the risk of landslides in the area, which is a major concern as Tropical Depression Grace, downgraded from a tropical storm on Sunday, bears down on the island of Hispaniola.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center forecast the storm is likely to reach Hispaniola by Monday and will drop from 10-20 centimeters of rain on Haiti and the Dominican Republic, the western and eastern sides of the island, respectively.
The heavy rain could trigger landslides, hampering search and rescue efforts and stalling aid reaching affected areas.
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