EnviroPolitics Blog

Edwina Davis, beloved gatekeeper in the NJ Statehouse, dies at 81

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

In his post yesterday breaking the sad news of her death, NJ Globe‘s David Wildstein called Edwina Davis “a beloved fixture in the New Jersey statehouse for nearly 30 years.” So true.

Edwina was the person who met generations of legislators, staffers, news people and lobbyists when they visited the governor’s counsel’s office to book or attend an appointment or just to say hello and catch up on a little gossip. She was perpetually pleasant and appeared to be honestly interested in everyone she met. I refuse to believe it was feigned.

The first time I met Edwina, I was a green-as-grass young lobbyist, looking to book an appointment with one of the governor’s lawyers to discuss a piece of legislation. I likely was struggling to look relaxed and Edwina must have guessed it. She asked me my name, offered a seat opposite her (and some candy) and immediately treated me like a statehouse veteran.

Whenever I called in the future, she always remembered my name (what a gift for anyone involved in politics) and inquired about things we discussed in the past. Beloved statehouse figure indeed. Like many others, I’m sure, I often poked my head in just to say hello and win one of her warm greetings.

There must be times when David Wildstein has to struggle to get a quote from those he interviews. Not so in this case. Check out his story here,

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With Bateman not running again, former congressman Mike Pappas will seek New Jersey Senate’s 16th district seat

Former NJ Congressman Mike Pappas

Update: Somerset County Republicans awarded the organization line for State Senate in the 16th district to former Rep. Michael Pappas. The Assembly candidates on the line will be Manville Councilman Joe Lukac and Hunterdon Central Regional Board of Education President Vincent Panico.

By David Wildstein, New Jersey Globe

Michael Pappas, a former one-term congressman from Somerset County, will be the Republican candidate for State Senate in the 16th legislative district.

Pappas has decided to run for the open seat of Republican State Sen. Christopher Bateman, who announced last month that he would not seek re-election to a fifth term.

He is now the presumptive nominee after two other candidates, former Rep. Dick Zimmer and former Montgomery Mayor Ted Maciag, withdrew from the race today, party officials told the New Jersey Globe.

Pappas will run with the endorsement of Tim Howes, the Somerset County Republican chairman.

The 60-year-old Pappas was a political boy wonder in the early 1980s.

He was elected to the Franklin Township Council at age 21, became mayor at 22, and a Somerset County freeholder at age 24.

His time in Congress ended abruptly in 1998 after he went on the House floor and sang “Twinkle, Twinkle, Kenneth Starr” in support of a special prosecutor investigating Bill and Hillary Clinton. The stunt backfired on Pappas, who lost 50%-47% to a virtually unknown Democrat, Rush Holt.

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Planting a green future, Longwood Gardens prepares for a $250 million makeover

Longwood Gardens is planning a $250 million makeover that will be its biggest ever

By Stephan Salisbury, Philadelphia Inquirer

Longwood Gardens, the 1,000-acre botanical garden and former du Pont estate that sprawls over meadows, woodlands, and rolling Chester County countryside in Kennett Square, has announced it is embarking on the largest makeover of grounds and buildings in its history, a $250 million project that will stretch through 2024 and transform the visitor experience.

The project, dubbed “Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience,” focuses on 17 acres at the heart of Longwood and involves, among other things, construction of a new West Conservatory near the popular East and Main Conservatories.

The new conservatory will consist of a 32,000-square-foot glass house rising in a series of asymmetrical peaks and seeming to float on a shimmering pool of water. The architect is Weiss/Manfredi, with gardens and pools designed by Reed Hilderbrand.

A Bonsai courtyard along the West Conservatory and a new restaurant and private event space are also part of the plan. Other elements include construction of a new education and administration building, renewal of the Waterlily Court, and preservation of six historic Lord & Burnham glass houses from the early 20th century, to be relocated at a later date and used for year-round garden displays.

The project will require demolition of the current West Conservatory and the Cascade Garden building. The Cascade Garden itself will be moved to a more central location in a new glass house of its own. The administration building next to the West Conservatory will be rebuilt from the foundation up.

A new West Conservatory — the glass-roofed building in the center of the rendering — is the centerpiece of Longwood Gardens’ construction and renovation project. WEISS/MANFRED

All structures are designed by Weiss/Manfredi, a New York firm perhaps best known for its design work for the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park and the Visitor Center at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. In Philadelphia the firm’s work can be seen at the Singh Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania.

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NJ Environment & Solid Waste Committee posts four bills for Feb. 22

The Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee will meet remotely at 3:15 P.M on Monday, Feb 22, 2021

Bills to be considered:

A-1976 Stanley/Pinkin/Benson	Authorizes NJ Infrastructure Bank to issue up to $20 million in bonds to finance cost-effective energy efficiency improvements in State, local, and school district buildings.
A-2863 Moen/Swain/Tully S-968 Singleton/Lagana	Requires public water systems to provide notice of elevated lead levels in drinking water to customers and local officials; requires landlords to notify tenants of elevated lead levels.
A-3352 Pinkin	Requires all newly constructed warehouses to be solar-ready buildings.
A-4899 Benson/Verrelli	Extends existing plug-in electric vehicle incentives to plug-in electric motorcycles.

Due to the public health emergency, the State House Annex remains closed to visitors. The public may not attend the Committee meeting in person but may view and participate in the meeting via the New Jersey Legislature home page at https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/.

The Committee will take oral testimony on bills, by telephone and video. If you are interested in registering your position with the Committee, please fill out the Registration Form located on the New Jersey Legislature Home Page under the applicable Committee heading.

For those individuals who wish to testify, please check the box “Do you wish to testify?” on the Registration Form. Instructions for testifying before the Committee will be forwarded to you after you submit your Registration Form. The form must be submitted by 3:00 PM on February 19, 2021.

The public may also submit written testimony electronically in lieu of oral testimony. Written testimony will be included in the Committee record and distributed to all the Committee members. Written testimony should be submitted to OLSAideAEN@njleg.org.

If you liked this post you’ll love our daily newsletter, EnviroPolitics. It’s packed with the latest news, commentary and legislative updates from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, Delaware…and beyond. Try it free for an entire month.

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Long-serving NJ Assembly Environment Chairman, Harry A. McEnroe, dies at age 90.

Sponsor of ‘The McEnroe Act,’ his landmark legislation provided legal and financial direction to the state’s 21 counties at a time when solid waste disposal in New Jersey was transforming from reliance on landfills to incorporate resource recovery incinerator facilities.

Former NJ Assemblyman Harry A. McEnroe

By Frank Brill, EnviroPolitics Editor

Harry A. McEnroe had a successful history in Essex County Democratic politics before entering the state legislature. He was Chairman of the South Orange Democratic Party for many years and was an Essex County Freeholder from 1973 to 1979. The following year he began a 16-year career in the New Jersey State Assembly, serving from 1980 to 1996.

As chairman of the Assembly Environment Committee, McEnroe was called upon to referee a struggle between competing interests as the solid waste industry, New Jersey’ 21 counties, and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) were caught up in dynamic changes initiated with the DEP’s desire to shut down landfills and force all solid waste to yet-unbuilt resource recovery facilities (waste incinerators).

When the courts ruled that counties could no longer direct where waste was sent (waste flow), McEnroe’s legislation sought to provide stability by requiring long-term contracts between counties and resource recovery developers and by instituting new taxes to support their construction and operation.

McEnroe was respected as a gentleman who listened to all sides of issues and tried to fashion equitable solutions. He was ably served by a cadre of young lawyers and researchers in the state’s Office of Legislative Services

For more, read:
Harry McEnroe, 8-term Essex assemblyman, dies at 90 (New Jersey Globe)
Harry A. McEnroe, Longtime Assemblyman (Star-Ledger obituary)

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All new Maersk ships will be able to run on carbon-neutral fuels

By Jack Wittels, Bloomberg Green

A century after the global shipping fleet ran largely on coal, the world’s largest shipping line is taking a historic step toward not using fossil fuels for propulsion.

All newly constructed vessels owned by A.P. Moller-Maersk will have to be able to use carbon-neutral fuels, such as clean methanol and ammonia, as well as traditional oil-based products, the company said in a statement. The shift comes just three months after the industry’s main regulator set new decarbonization rules that were criticized for their lack of ambition.

“If you don’t do this, ten years from now we risk becoming irrelevant,” said Morten Bo Christiansen, vice president and head of decarbonization at Maersk. “Our customers need us to do this.”

Alongside ammonia and clean forms of methanol, Maersk said so-called alcohol lignin blends were another primary candidate for future fuels.

Liquefied natural gas, or LNG, which has been embraced by some other shipping lines, is not part of Maersk’s strategy: “We don’t need another fossil fuel,” Christiansen said.

About half of Maersk’s 200 biggest customers have set science-based or zero-carbon carbon targets for their supply chains, or are in the process of doing so. The firm wants to have net-zero emissions from its operations by 2050, and helped found a research center focused on decarbonizing the industry.

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