Former New Jersey Governor Brendan Byrne dies at 93

Ted Sherman reports for NJ.com:

Former Gov. Brendan T. Byrne, who left an enduring legacy in New Jersey that ranged from enacting the state’s first income tax and the legalization of casino gambling to the development of the Meadowlands sports complex and preservation of the environmentally fragile Pine Barrens, died today.
He was 93 years old.
The announcement of his death was made by Gov. Chris Christie, paying homage to “an extraordinary career of public service.”
Christie said he considered the late governor a mentor and a friend.
“My life is richer for having known him as I am sure are the lives of every person who had the privilege to meet him,” said Christie.
A Democrat and two-term governor from 1974 to 1982, Byrne weathered periods of extreme unpopularity, was criticized as stubborn, stiff, and was widely seen as lacking in charisma.
Yet his reputation as an party elder and statesman grew, and he became warmly regarded; beloved even, in the decades after leaving office. He remained an instantly recognizable public figure, relishing appearances, telling funny stories, and giving advice.
In many ways, he was unusual for a New Jersey politician. He couldn’t remember names and greeted most with a wave and a “Hi ya!” A former prosecutor and Superior Court judge, his best character witness might have been Angelo “Gyp” DeCarlo, an underworld crime boss secretly recorded on an FBI wiretap complaining that in a state where everything seemed to be for sale, Byrne couldn’t be bought. It became a defining message for his campaign for governor.

New Jersey Gov. Brendan Byrne, right, sits beside President Jimmy Carter, center, at a 1977 White House meeting. (Charles Bennett/AP)


Related stories:
A timeline of former governor Brendan Byrne’s life (NJ.com)
Brendan Byrne, Former NJ Governor, Is Dead at 93 (New York Times)
Brendan Byrne, two-term New Jersey governor in 1970s, at 93 (WaPost)
Former New Jersey governor Brendan Byrne dies (USA Today)

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Trump to Big Oil: Drill, Baby Drill!

Deepwater Horizon oil rig burning off Louisiana coast in 2010 (Coast Guard/Reuters photo)

Darryl Fears reports for The Washington Post:

The Trump administration unveiled a controversial proposal Thursday to permit drilling in most U.S. continental-shelf waters, including protected areas of the Arctic and the Atlantic, where oil and gas exploration is opposed by governors from New Jersey to Florida, nearly a dozen attorneys general, more than 100 U.S. lawmakers and the Defense Department.
 ________________________________________________
Editor’s Note:

New Jersey activist group Clean Ocean Action, responding to the Trump administration announcement, declared:

“Trump’s ocean drilling plan is reckless and offensive.  It is indifferent to the thousands of communities and millions of citizens along the coast that depend on a clean ocean economy.  It will be met with the united forces of citizens, businesses, fishermen, boaters, divers, surfers, tourists, swimmers, and their elected leaders who depend upon a clean ocean.

“The next step is a 60-day comment period. Clean Ocean Action is calling for Secretary Zinke to extend the comment period to at least 120 days and  to hold  public hearings in various locations in NJ and NY to ensure President Trump understands and faces the wrath of those who will be harmed by this rash and harmful proposal. “

______________________________________________

Under the proposal, only one of 26 planning areas in the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean would be off limits to oil and gas exploration, according to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. He said the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management has identified 47 potential areas where industry companies can buy leases between 2019 and 2024, when the proposed open period would begin and end.
The Draft Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program was embraced by oil and gas industry groups but is expected to face withering opposition from a wide range of state officials and conservationists. “Nothing is final,” Zinke said in remarks at a news conference. “This is a draft program. The states, local communities and congressional delegations will all have a say” before the proposal becomes final in the coming months.
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PADEP suspends construction on Mariner East 2 pipeline

Mariner 2 construction site in rural Pennsylvania. Jon Hurdle photo for StateImpact

Susan Phillips and Jon Hurdle report for StateImpact:


Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection on Wednesday suspended all construction on Sunoco’s Mariner East 2 pipeline, saying it has violated the conditions of two kinds of permits.


“Sunoco must cease all construction activity on the pipeline project, except for maintenance of erosion controls and limited maintenance of horizontal directional drilling equipment,” the DEP said in a statement.


“Until Sunoco can demonstrate that the permit conditions can and will be followed, DEP has no alternative but to suspend the permits,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “We are living up to our promise to hold this project accountable to the strong protections in the permits.”


DEP directed the company to submit details on how it plans to prevent drilling mud spills – or “inadvertent returns” – that have challenged the project in their dozens since construction began last February.


It also instructed the company to address impacts to private water wells in Silver Spring Township, Cumberland County, and to identify all “in progress and upcoming construction activities.”


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One year in, Philadelphia soda tax still controversial

Associated Press photo

Laura McCrystal reports for Philly.com:


Soda prices have gone up in Philadelphia. And so has the number of children attending pre-K.


While those are among the things that have changed in the first year of Philadelphia’s tax on soda and other sweetened beverages, there has been one constant: The tax remains controversial, and advocates on both sides are working hard and spending money to support or fight it.


The 1.5 cents-an-ounce tax went into effect Jan. 1, 2017, and raised $72.3 million in its first 11 months. But is the tax successful? And is it here to stay? The answers to those questions depend on whom you ask.


City officials have defended the tax as a means of funding pre-K, community schools, and improvements to parks, libraries, and recreation centers. But the beverage industry has poured resources into opposing the tax through advertisements and legal challenges, and business owners say the tax has hurt them and led to layoffs.


Both sides are still waiting to hear whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will consider the legality of the tax. And because Philadelphia is the first major U.S. city to pass the tax, others are watching. Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago, passed and then repealed its own version of the tax last year. Seattle passed a tax that takes effect New Year’s Day. Other cities, including Oakland, Calif., and Boulder, Colo., have also imposed taxes on soda.


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What movie, movies will you be seeing in early 2018?

There appears to be a decent crop of new and recent films
to see, assuming you can summon up the courage to brave
the temperatures in the northeast.


Films that appeal to us, in no particular order, are:

Darkest Hour
Blade Runner 2049
Lady Bird
Star Wars – The Last Jedi
An Inconvenient Sequel
Wind River
Murder on the Orient Express
Wonder
The Star
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
The Foreigner
1945
American Assassin
The Shape of Water

The Post (coming
soon)


And you? What have we missed that you have seen or might see?
Ones you’d recommend? Stinkers we should avoid?


Let us know in the comment section or on our Facebook page.

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Still warming up your car on cold days? Don’t bother

Alexander Negron brushes snow from his car in Susquehanna Twp. Pa.  (Dan Gleiter photo)





Steve Marroni reports for PennLive:

It’s a frigid, bone-chilling January morning. The coffee is brewed, you’re bundled up and ready to go. But first, that awful winter task — trekking outside to warm up your car.
That is an all-too-common part of the morning routine for many, and the good news is that, unless you’re driving a car that’s old enough to be an antique, it’s totally unnecessary.
Letting your car idle for more than five minutes, in fact, can be harmful to your engine. 
If you start your winter day that way, don’t feel bad. You’re not the only one out there holding on to this commonly-held myth.
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