NJ bill would put PA at loggerheads with Trump travel ban


Phil Gregory reports for newsworks:

A bill awaiting final legislative approval in New Jersey’s Assembly would keep employees of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from enforcing President Donald Trump’s order to bar residents of six countries from entering the United States.
The Assembly Transportation Committee voted along party lines to advance the measure.
Trump on Monday signed a revised travel ban that temporarily halts entry to the U.S. for people from six Muslim-majority nations who are seeking new visas and suspends the country’s refugee program.
Assemblywoman Annette Chaparro is among the Democrats supporting the state legislation precluding Port Authority personnel from carrying out the directive. Her son is a Marine, and she said she is well aware of the importance of keeping the nation safe.
“We just want to make sure that it’s not a smokescreen to just grab anybody off the airplanes and just be able to remove them just because of where they’re coming from,” said Chaparro, D-Hudson.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steven Rogers told lawmakers the bill will hinder the ability of law enforcement to protect the state.
“None of us here today want New Jersey to be the place where someone started their journey in our country to unleash hell on our nation because of this bill, and that’s what this bill will do,” said the retired Nutley police detective and former member of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Democrats say the U.S. cannot force the state to use its law-enforcement personnel to enforce federal edicts.
Trump’s new directive aims to address legal issues with the original order, which caused confusion at airports, sparked protests around the country and was ultimately blocked by federal courts.
The revised order is narrower and specifies that a 90-day ban on people from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Yemen does not apply to those who already have valid visas.
The White House also dropped Iraq from the list of banned countries.
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Philadelphia-area figures in Trump’s White House

       Kellyanne Conway (left) and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster are two key Philly figures in the Trump administration .

 Emily Babay writes for Philly.com


President Trump’s administration has a small but significant Philadelphia flavor.

There aren’t many key figures with ties the area, but a few of the most important officials in the nascent administration hail from the greater region.

Here’s a guide to administration figures with links to the Philadelphia region.

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser: McMaster, 54, grew up in Roxborough and graduated from Valley Forge Military Academy and College in 1980. He was named national security adviser in February when Michael Flynn was forced out of the post after it was disclosed that Flynn had misled Vice President Pence about having spoken with the Russian ambassador about sanctions. McMaster is Trump’s top aide on national security issues. Read more about McMaster: 

Trump appoints Philly native, Valley Forge grad as security adviser
Rubin: Strategic thinker McMaster a welcome choice for Trump
Will Philly native be able to influence Trump as security adviser?

Kellyanne Conway, adviser: Conway, 49, grew up in South Jersey. She was born in Camden, then moved to Atco at age 3 and attended schools in Hammonton. Conway managed Trump’s presidential campaign – becoming the first woman to manage a successful presidential campaign – and was an adviser for his transition team before being named a counselor to the president. Her husband, George Conway, is a partner at the New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and has been floated as a potential solicitor general in the Trump administration. Read more about Conway:

S.J. native Kellyanne Conway getting credit for helping steer Trump
‘Blessed to be a Hammontonian’ – Kellyanne Conway comes home
Trump names Kellyanne Conway as his presidential counselor
Q&A with Kellyanne Conway: Trump’s ‘anchor in the storm’

James D. Schultz, associate White House counsel: Schultz, 44, is a Cozen O’Connor partner and former general counsel for Pennsylvania. The Galloway Township native led the Philadelphia law firm’s government-affairs and regulatory practice group before he was named to the White House post in January. Read more about Schultz: Philadelphia power lawyer joins Trump White House

Donald McGahn, White House counsel: McGahn, 48, grew up in Atlantic City. The former member of the Federal Election Commission and attorney for Trump’s presidential campaign comes from a prominent Atlantic City family: One uncle, Patrick “Paddy” McGahn was a legendary lawyer there; another, Joseph McGahn, was a state senator.

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Samson avoids jail time for ‘chairman’s flight’ shakedown

David Samson, center, leaves court today after his sentencing

Ted Sherman reports for NJ.com

Facing two years in prison for the shakedown of United Airlines in a bizarre scheme to get a more convenient direct flight to his South Carolina getaway home, former Port Authority chairman David Samson found a soft landing Monday.
U.S. District Judge Jose Linares stunned federal prosecutors by sentencing Samson to a year of home confinement, four years of probation and 3,600 hours of community service in his admitted strong-arming of the airline.
The 77-year-old former New Jersey attorney general will also be required to pay a $100,000 fine and wear a location-monitoring device.
“I did something wrong. I violated the law. I deeply regret it. I am trying to live my life to the highest moral standards,” Samson said in court, apologizing to his family his friends and the public. “I violated the law. I deeply regret it.”
Linares did not minimize Samson’s guilt.
“This crime was ridiculous. It was a complete abuse of power. It was corruption that is not to be tolerated,” said the judge.
But at the same time, he said he took into account Samson’s lifetime of public service and good deeds, his age and poor health, as well as more than 40 letters of support from friends, colleagues, family members and public officials –including former Gov. James McGreevey, three former state attorneys general and a retired federal judge.
The judge also cited the punitive nature of Samson losing his law license and seeing his name stripped from the law firm he founded. He said the loss of reputation was not insubstantial.
“He was someone who knew the law and knew the consequences of what he was doing,” Linares told the court. “But we don’t look at one factor and ignore all the others.”
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, whose office had urged the judge to impose a 24-month sentence, noted the incongruity of a man who pleaded guilty to a scheme that allowed him to get home quicker to his country estate, and then being sentenced to spend a year in that very house.
“It is a less severe sanction than we wanted,” Fishman remarked following the sentencing in federal court in Newark.
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Delaware still concerned by lower-price transmission line


Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight:


First PJM grid upgrade to be competitively bid out still too rich for Delaware’s blood

transmission

The regional operator of the power grid is reviving a controversial transmission project involving the complex of nuclear plants operated by PSEG Power in South Jersey.
The staff of PJM Interconnection is recommending a slimmed-down version of the project, which has generated heated debate because costs have increased significantly since it was initially announced back in 2015. That led to the project being put on hold and a new review undertaken this past August.
Most of the dispute has revolved around allocation of costs among ratepayers in the region, a particular concern in Delaware — and one apparently not allayed by changes detailed by the staff on Friday. The project is viewed as upgrading the reliability of the power grid by PJM.
In a statement issued late Friday, Delaware Gov. John Carney said the project, as currently financed, would place an unjust burden on residential and industrial ratepayers in the state. “Delaware businesses and families would see higher monthly electric bills and receive next to nothing in return in the way of direct benefit,’’ the governor said.
The proposal is being closely watched by the industry and energy analysts because it is the first transmission project to be bid out competitively, instead of being awarded automatically to the incumbent utility (in this case, Atlantic City Electric).
The latest recommendation, which goes to the full PJM board, trims the total project cost that had escalated to $418 million to a cap of $278 million. The staff recommended a new transmission line from the nuclear power plant be built by LS Power, instead of one proposed by Public Service Electric & Gas, which, like PSEG Power, is a subsidiary of Newark- based Public Service Enterprise Group.
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In the latest version, the interconnection point would change from the Salem unit to Hope Creek plant. It also determined that previously suggested upgrades were unnecessary, and an alternative transmission route proposed by PSE&G would provide less cost certainty than the one proposed by LS Power.
The abandonment of the PSE&G route also eliminates the line going through the Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in South Jersey, a route that raised concerns among regulators at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities. PSE&G had sought to address those concerns by altering its original route on a new right-of-way outside of Supawna.
In its comments, PSE&G insisted its route provided more stability for the power grid and greater reliability than the proposal submitted by LS Power.
Transmission work is increasingly lucrative for electric utilities. In this instance, if the recommendation is adopted, PSE&G’s project slice would be $132 million. The utility now gets 44 percent of its rate base from transmission, according to a disclosure during its earnings call last week.
The recommendations are scheduled to be taken up by the PJM Board at a meeting on April 6. The issue of cost allocations remains to be determined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which currently lacks a quorum.
The PJM staff recommendation revised the project in-service date to June 1, 2020.

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Changes needed to keep Cape May, NJ safe for surfers?

Cape May surf – Phil Gregory photo

Diane Stopyra writes for newsworks:


The beaches in Cape May — at the tip of New Jersey’s tide-washed peninsula — are pretty and clean. They’re dotted with pastel cabanas and frequented by migrating shore birds. And they’re guarded by a diligent lifeguard patrol, one that hasn’t had a single drowning in its 106-year history. By all vacation standards, the beaches here are an excellent place to plant a canvas chair or take in a sunset.
But recently, Cape May’s beaches have come under fire. Beneath the breaking waves, critics say, is a seafloor that drops off too severely, creating dangerous conditions for surfers and bodysurfers.
I love Cape May so much, I moved here six years ago. But I understand the concern. In the nearly two decades I’ve been a surfer, I’ve paddled into many waves, from Desperations break in Fiji (which lives up to its name) to Snapper Rocks in Australia. I’ve suffered a concussion in the water, and I’ve wiped out into beds of coral reef and sea urchin. But it’s the swell in Cape May that has spooked me out of the ocean and left me driving up the parkway in search of gentler conditions. It’s not wave size that’s the problem — it’s that these waves break into shallow water, sometimes ankle deep, heightening the risk of cervical spine injury.
Addressing the problem has been tricky for the city, a place whose economy depends on not scaring tourists away. But with a new mayor who ran on a platform of beach safety — things could be changing for Cape May’s seascape.

























Read the full story here

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