Underwhelmed by Guadagno’s GOP campaign kickoff

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno – Kim Guadagno  (Aristide Economopoulos photo)

Here’s what New Jersey’s largest newspaper, the Star-Ledger, said in an editorial about Kim Guadagno’s campaign announcement:

After jumping into the race for governor Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno’s first move was the run away from the press.
Which raises this question: Is she trying to look like a lightweight, or does it come naturally?
Guadagno never emerged from her shell during her seven years as Gov. Chris Christie’s loyal lieutenant, other than to cut ribbons. So we don’t know much about her, or what she would bring as governor.
That didn’t change Tuesday. A campaign announcement is usually a time to make a mark, to show voters where you stand.
Donald Trump, for example, used his announcement to slander Mexican immigrants. Immediately, his favorable ratings among Republican voters skyrocketed. It was grotesque and bigoted, but at least he understood the point of the day.
Guadagno’s slogan is “Better” which, granted, is better than “Worse.” She promises vaguely to cut taxes without saying which ones, or how to cover the cost.

Someone tell the LG that 1 million New Jerseyans who would benefit from a $15 wage, it would pump piles of money into our consumer-based economy, and there is no evidence that it would cause faster automation.


She did not vote for Donald Trump, she says. But then why did she produce a robocall during election week that urged Republicans to vote for Trump. It’s the sort of thing reporters might have asked her about, and may help explain why she ran away.
Guadagno, a lawyer, was an assistant federal prosecutor and the sheriff in Monmouth County. Under Christie, she’s been a liaison to the business community, and has worked to cut red tape.
She must have some thoughts that are worth hearing. Let’s hope she doesn’t keep us in suspense much longer.
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New Pa. Attorney General axes Kane’s sister, allies

Josh Shapiro after being sworn in as Pa’s Attorney General – AP
Angela Couloumbis reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s twin sister was ousted late last week from her $105,000 job with the agency, part of a larger personnel sweep by the office’s new top prosecutor, according to sources familiar with the decision.
Ellen Granahan, who ran the office’s child predator unit, was asked to resign Friday by Attorney General Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, a Democrat who was sworn in last week, also asked for the resignations of four other staffers once considered part of Kane’s inner circle: Renee Martin, Kane’s onetime spokeswoman; Chad Ellis, who headed the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility; Louis DeTitto, a onetime member of Kane’s security detail; and Angela Beaverson, the executive secretary in charge of the grand jury.
Separately, Shapiro’s administration also let go a lawyer in the office who had accused Kane’s former chief of staff of sexual harassment, and had later spoken out publicly about the incident. The lawyer, Michele Kluk, was not considered close to Kane.
Kane was convicted last year of abusing her office in a bid to embarrass a former state prosecutor she considered an enemy. She was sentenced to serve up to 23 months in jail, but is free on bail pending the outcome of an appeal.
Reached for comment Saturday, Shapiro’s communications director, Joe Grace, said the office does not discuss “individual personnel decisions.”
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You can’t say we didn’t see this Trump energy plan coming

President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family before formally signing his cabinet nominations into law, in the President’s Room of the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. From left are Vice President Mike Pence, the president's wife Melania Trump, their son Barron Trump, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP PHOTO/POOL
President Donald Trump is joined by the Congressional leadership and his family before formally signing his cabinet nominations into law, in the President’s Room of the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 20, 2017. From left are Vice President Mike Pence, the president’s wife Melania Trump, their son Barron Trump, and Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis.


Susan Phillips and Jon Hurdle for StateImpact:

It didn’t take long for President Donald Trump to deliver on his energy campaign promises. Within minutes of being sworn in Friday, links to Obama’s Climate Action Plan were replaced by a smiling picture of the new president and vice president. The White House website then published “An America First Energy Plan,” which emphasizes use of domestic fossil fuels and shunning foreign oil. The plan takes aim at “burdensome regulations on our energy industry,” while embracing “the shale oil and gas revolution.”
“President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule. Lifting these restrictions will greatly help American workers, increasing wages by more than $30 billion over the next 7 years.”
Obama’s Climate Action Plan included the Clean Power Plan, the requirement that states reduce carbon emissions from power plants. The Waters of the U.S. rule outlined clarity on the smaller waterways that would be regulated under the Clean Water Act. That rule has been tied up in the courts. Response from environmentalists was quick. The climate action group 350.org said it would do everything to resist the plan.
“Trump’s energy plan is par for the course of the President’s climate denial, but it’s nonetheless alarming for the movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground,” said 350.org executive director May Boeve in a statement. “Fulfilling this plan would not only set back years of progress we’ve made towards protecting the climate, but would undoubtedly worsen the devastating impacts of the climate crisis, from rising sea levels to extreme weather.”
A spokesman for Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said the state is still reviewing the impact on state residents.
“At this point, the administration, including DEP and DCNR, is closely tracking the flurry of policy changes expected in Washington,” wrote Wolf spokesman J.J. Abbott in an email. “Our focus is on evaluating the impact on Pennsylvania’s residents and communities, and examining how to most effectively respond if Pennsylvanians and their communities will be harmed. As this is all just happening, we are still in the review process.”
Pennsylvania’s Clean Power Plan had been on hold while the new regulations were being challenged in court by a number of states.

Michael Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at Penn State University, and a frequent commentator on climate issues, said the Trump statement seems to confirm the new President’s campaign promises to pull out of the Paris climate accord.
“Trump has now clearly telegraphed, with his public comments, and his disastrous nominees for key posts, his total disdain for efforts to avert catastrophic climate change,” Mann wrote in an email.  ”We are now, under Trump, a rogue nation.”
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Climate change eliminated with a single tap of the key


At 11:59 am eastern, the official White House website had a lengthy information page about the threat of climate change and the steps the federal government had taken to fight it. At noon, at the instant Donald Trump took office, the page was gone, as well as any mention of climate change or global warming.
–Motherboard


Wow. the new president didn’t take long to deliver. Global warming wiped out with a single tap on the delete key. Donald Trump is a genius.


The Chinese, who had been blamed for concocting the climate change hoax, must be relieved.

Or was it some 500-pound guy in his parents’ basement?  


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New life for McKeesport Pa’s closed U.S. Steel plant


Deana Carpenter reports for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Officials in McKeesport, Pa., which has seen a downturn in jobs in recent years, are excited about a new owner’s plans to reopen the closed U.S. Steel Corp. plant in the city.
“We are talking about bringing around 200 jobs into McKeesport, including 100 new hires,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said. 
“There’s an obvious boost to the local economy when we have more people working in our town,” he said.
Dura-Bond Industries of Export announced last week that it plans to reactivate the closed tubular operations plant in McKeesport, turning it into a modern pipe-manufacturing plant. U.S. Steel closed the plant nearly three years ago.
The property where the 317,000-square-foot plant is located is owned by the Regional Industrial Development Corp. Dura-Bond is expected to purchase the real estate after an environmental study is completed.
The company hopes to begin production at the facility within six to nine months, producing tubular products to be used primarily for the energy industry.
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Baroni adds three attorneys for his Bridgegate appeal

Bill Baroni with members of his original legal team in September

Todd South reports for North Jersey.com:

Three new attorneys have joined the criminal defense team for Governor Christie’s former deputy chief of staff Bill Baroni, who was convicted in November along with another of the governor’s top officials on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and civil rights violations in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.

Attorneys Mayling C. Blanco, Carlos Francisco Ortiz and Stephen M. Orlofsky, of the Princeton office of Blank Rome law firm, filed paperwork in federal court Thursday to represent Baroni.

Bridgegate prosecutors ask judge to deny new trial
Judge calls for new hearing on Christie Bridgegate complaint
Bridgegate defense cites ruling for new trial request

Trial attorney Michael Baldassare will continue as co-counsel. He declined to comment on the case. The newly listed attorneys did not reply to requests for comment.

The three new attorneys includes Orlofsky, a former federal judge, and are from one of the largest law firms in the United States with more than 500 offices.

Baroni and co-defendant Bridget Anne Kelly face sentencing for their convictions on Feb. 21. Both have asked U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton for a new trial. Their attorneys have claimed that improper jury instructions and other issues should result in a new trial.

But federal prosecutors this week responded to the defense team’s claims, saying none rise to the level needed to grant a new trial.

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