These NJ towns aren’t waiting for Gov. Murphy to decide whether to sign bill charging fee for plastic shopping bags
Microsoft roots out Russian hackers targeting U.S. politics
SAN FRANCISCO — A group affiliated with the Russian government created phony versions of six websites — including some related to public policy and to the U.S. Senate — with the apparent goal of hacking into the computers of people who were tricked into visiting, according to Microsoft, which said Monday night that it discovered and disabled the fake sites.
The effort by the notorious APT28 hacking group, which has been publicly linked to a Russian intelligence agency and actively interfered in the 2016 presidential election, underscores the aggressive role Russian operatives are playing ahead of the midterm congressional elections in the United States. U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that the November vote is a major focus for interference efforts. Microsoft said the sites were created over the past several months but did not go into more specifics.
Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit took the lead role in finding and disabling the sites, and the company is launching an effort to provide expanded cybersecurity protection for campaigns and election agencies that use Microsoft products.
Among those targeted were the Hudson Institute, a conservative Washington think tank active in investigations of corruption in Russia, and the International Republican Institute (IRI), a nonprofit group that promotes democracy worldwide. Three other fake sites were crafted to appear as though they were affiliated with the Senate, and one nonpolitical site spoofed Microsoft’s own online products.
The Senate did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Monday.
Microsoft said Monday that it had found no evidence that the fake sites it recently discovered were used in attacks, but fake sites can carry malware that automatically loads onto the computers of unsuspecting visitors. Hackers often send out deceptive “spear-phishing” emails to trick people into visiting sites that appear to be authentic but in fact allow the attackers to penetrate and gain control of computers that log on, allowing the theft of emails, documents, contact lists and other information.
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A Great Way to Explore the Environmental Field
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is seeking candidates to apply to its AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors program marking 19 years of continuous stewardship protecting water quality in NJ. Twenty members are selected each year to raise public awareness about water and watershed issues and to promote stewardship through direct community involvement.
Ambassadors are placed with host agencies in each of New Jersey’s twenty Watershed Management Areas and work with local non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools, utilities authorities, and citizens to improve water quality through education and restoration projects such as stream cleanups, invasive species removal, rain barrel workshops etc.
The NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program was recognized as an honoree at the 2018 NJ State Governor’s Jefferson Awards for their service to the public through their Green the Scene 2018! Regional Tree Planting Project.
The Department is actively recruiting for the 2018-2019 term which runs September through July. To apply, visit the Department’s web page at https://www.state.nj.us/dep/wms/bears/recruitment.htm
Application review process is currently underway. Candidates are especially needed in Watershed Management Areas (WMA) 9 Lower Raritan/Lawrence Brook and 10 Millstone River Watershed both of which are within the Raritan Water Region.
The WMA 9 ambassador will serve out of dual host agencies, the New Jersey Water Supply Authority office in Clinton and Duke Farms Hillsborough Township and the WMA 10 ambassador will serve out of The Watershed Institute in Pennington.
The program will review all potential candidates and reach out to those who are best qualified to serve. For questions regarding the application process, please call Amanda Lotto, Program Manager, Trish Ingelido, Program Supervisor or Kim Cenno, Bureau Chief at 609-633-1441.
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New Jersey wind power: How big, how soon?
New report suggests Garden State is uniquely placed to make hay with wind, but critics have doubts and developers say state must push the process
Tom Johnson reports for
NJ Spotlight:
NJ Spotlight:
Offshore wind could provide four times as much electricity as states along the Atlantic coast currently use, according to a new report touting the technology as a key to the region’s clean-energy future.
The 32-page report, Wind Power to Spare: The Enormous Energy Potential of Atlantic Offshore Wind, suggests New Jersey is uniquely positioned to harness that promise with the most aggressive goals in the nation.
But with only one offshore-wind farm now operating in the U.S., achieving that goal will require policymakers at the state and federal levels do much more to ensure a spate of current projects move forward, the report said.
Thirteen offshore projects, including two in New Jersey, have secured leases to build wind farms in coastal waters with enough projected capacity to provide power to 3 million homes.
“The winds of the Atlantic Ocean contain immense, abundant energy and the time is right to begin harnessing that energy to power the region,’’ the report said. The goal is ambitious, given that states along the Eastern Seaboard account for more than 25 percent of the nation’s energy consumption — more than that of all but four countries.
“The building blocks were put in place by the Obama administration,’’ said Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey Research & Policy Center, which released the report.
“It’s good for the environment and good for the economy,’’ said O’Malley, citing why there is new momentum on offshore wind. “States are recognizing it as a huge opportunity. It’s the path forward on clean energy.’’
Credit: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Pink shading represents currently leased areas for planned offshore-wind development
Until recently, New Jersey had done little to achieve its own goal of building 1,100 megawatts of offshore-wind capacity by 2021, a target it will not achieve because of eight years of inaction during the administration of former Gov. Chris Christie.
With the administration of Gov. Phil Murphy establishing a target of 3,500 mw of offshore wind by 2030, state officials recently have taken steps to advance those goals. Last week, the state Board of Public Utilities posted draft regulations designed to help offshore-wind developers finance their projects, a proposal crucial to lining up financing.
“Offshore wind is the ideal resource for states like New Jersey — it’s clean, it’s renewable, and it’s conveniently located near our biggest cities,’’ said Gideon Weissman of Frontier Group, a co-author of the report.
Concerns about the cost
But critics say it is not cheap, a huge concern in a state typically ranking as among the ten most expensive for energy costs in the country.
The report, however, noted advances in technology and declining costs, coupled with growing concerns about the environmental impacts of fossil fuels, have generated new momentum for offshore wind.
Between 2012 and 2017, the overall cost of offshore wind dropped by 27 percent, according to the asset-management firm Lazard. The price is in line with new coal plants and cheaper than new nuclear units, according to the firm.
Credit: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
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Feds approve $128M gas pipeline plan in Meadowlands
Williams’ gas tanks in the Meadowlands as seen from the Hackensack River in 2012.
(Photo: Mitsu YASUKAWA/ Staff Photographer)
Scott Fallon reports for the North Jersey Record:Christopher Stockton, a Williams spokesman, said Thursday that the company has obtained all the permits it needs to move forward. Construction is slated to begin early next year and be finished by late 2019 for the winter heating season.“The demand for clean, reliable and low-cost natural gas continues to climb, particularly in northeastern markets like New Jersey and New York City,” said Michael Dunn, chief operating officer of Williams.The new project, called Rivervale South to Market, would upgrade more than 10 miles of pipeline through Bergen County to allow about 10 percent more gas to be pumped to northeastern customers for heat and electricity generation. With the increased capacity, the pipeline would provide enough natural gas to meet the daily needs of about 1 million homes, Williams said.Like this? Click to receive free updatesIn the Meadowlands, the new 42-inch pipeline, called a loop, would be built on property the Oklahoma-based company owns along Metro Road near its two large gas storage tanks in Carlstadt. It would be placed parallel to two existing pipelines east of Williams’ tanks to relieve pressure on them from the increased flow of gas.In its certificate issued on Aug. 10, FERC said the project’s direct impacts to wetlands, water and other environmentally sensitive areas would be “minimal and would not contribute to adverse cumulative impacts.”Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, criticized the approval, saying FERC did not address a plan to build a gas-fired power plant in North Bergen near the Williams facility.The proposed North Bergen Liberty Generating plant, which is still being reviewed by state environmental regulators, would need to hook into Williams’ Transco pipeline and use the gas as fuel to generate 1,200 megawatts of electricity that would be sent via underground cable to New York. A decades-long effort to rehabilitate the Meadowlands has succeeded in making the more than 5,000 acres of wetlands cleaner, attracting fish and birds back to what was once a wasteland but remains a key stop on the Atlantic bird migration route. 
Williams’s gas tank in the Meadowlands. (Photo: File photo)Bill Sheehan, director of Hackensack Riverkeeper, said the pipeline proposal is a step back for the region. “FERC isn’t on the ground here,” he said. “They don’t see what we see, and so the deck is stacked against us.”Read the full storyLike this? Click to receive free updates
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A 28-year-old takes on the Lambertville machine and wins
Julia Fahl, 28, a first-time candidate for elected office, defeated an incumbent in the primary race for mayor of Lambertville, N.J., who had been in office since the year Mrs. Fahl was born. She is running unopposed in November. Credit Michelle Gustafson for The New York Times
Nick Corasanti reports
for the New York Times:
for the New York Times:
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. — The welcome mat at the entryway to the home of this town’s likely next mayor reads, “The Patriarchy.”
“So you have to step on it before you come into our home,” said Julia Fahl, 28. “We had that custom-made,’’ added Kari Osmond, 31, Mrs. Fahl’s wife and campaign manager.
It is a fitting symbol of what Mrs. Fahl managed to pull off in this bucolic city along the Delaware River that draws visitors for its blend of antique shops, eclectic galleries and trendy restaurants. Mrs. Fahl, who had never run for office, upset a 61-year-old incumbent in June, Dave DelVecchio, who had been in office since Mrs. Fahl was born and is known to residents simply as “Mayor Dave.”
Mrs. Fahl mounted the first challenge in Mr. DelVecchio’s 27 years as mayor, a contentious race that for 97 days after her announcement to run engrossed this heavily Democratic community.
As a young, energetic female candidate campaigning on a message of change, Mrs. Fahl has drawn some comparisons to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the upstart 28-year-old Democratic candidate in New York who also upset an entrenched incumbent with a grass-roots campaign.
Like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mrs. Fahl had to overcome the support of the county political machine, which had endorsed and thrown its operation behind Mr. DelVecchio, including, she said, blocking her from accessing voter data. And the same energy for a fresh direction among an energized Democratic base was palpable in her victory here, evidence that the desire to upend the establishment extends down to the local level.
“I think people are thinking they should have done more in the presidential election, so they’re getting a lot more active now,” Mr. DelVecchio said. “But it’s definitely a good time to be a woman running for office and it has been for some time, but now more than ever.”
Still, the similarities to Ms. Ocasio-Cortez only go so far.
For one, Mrs. Fahl counts herself more in what she calls “the Clinton wing’’ of the Democratic Party and her calls for change are rooted in municipal business rather than the national issues animating the Democratic Party (on those, Mrs. Fahl and Mr. DelVecchio share similar views). But when it comes to shade trees, trash and City Hall hours, Mrs. Fahl seized on a growing unrest with how the town was run.
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