Northeast
Three groups are suing New Jersey to block an offshore wind farm
Three anti-wind power groups are suing New Jersey to overturn a key environmental approval for a wind energy farm planned off the coast of Long Beach Island.
Save Long Beach Island, Defend Brigantine Beach and Protect Our Coast NJ filed suit in appellate court on April 26 challenging a determination by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection that the Atlantic Shores wind farm project meets the requirements of a federal coastal protection law.
NEW JERSEY ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP PLUCKS ‘BIZARRE’ FINDS FROM STATE BEACH SHORES
Atlantic Shores is one of three proposed wind farms off New Jersey’s coast that have preliminary approval.
Bruce Afran, an attorney for the groups, said the state’s “approval flies in the face of the federal regulator’s environmental impact statement that says the Atlantic Shores project will damage marine habitat, compress and harden the seafloor, damage marine communities, compromise migration corridors for endangered species, and cause commercial fishing stocks to decline.”
Land-based wind turbines spin in Atlantic City. N.J., on Nov. 3, 2023. On Tuesday, April 30, 2024, New Jersey utility regulators opened a fourth round of solicitations for new offshore wind farm proposals to join the three that already have preliminary approval. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
The same three groups challenged a wind farm proposed by the Danish wind energy company Orsted, which scrapped the project in October.
The lawsuit was the latest obstacle facing New Jersey’s quest to become the East Coast leader in offshore wind. These three groups are among the most vocal and litigious opponents of offshore wind projects.
The New Jersey attorney general’s office declined comment on the pending litigation, and Atlantic Shores did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
But Joshua Henne, a political strategist advising several groups fighting climate change, accused the anti-wind groups of acting in league with the fossil fuel industry.
“There ain’t nothing grassroots about this effort,” he said. “It’s astroturf, seeded by the fossil fuel industry.”
Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast, rejected that claim.
“We have never taken one penny from any entity linked to the fossil fuel industry,” he said. “Not one.”
Up until a year ago, the group used the Caesar Rodney Institute to hold its money. The Delaware-based group is part of a group of think tanks supporting and funded by fossil fuel interests, according to the Energy and Policy Institute.
Caesar Rodney charged Protect Our Coast a 12% fee to hold its money, Shaffer said, adding his group currently has no relationship with the institute.
He also noted that one of the owners of Atlantic Shores is an affiliate of Shell, the global oil and gas company.
Shaffer said state and federal officials are racing to approve offshore wind projects without adequately considering potential negative impacts.
“It’s as if they are building an airplane while it’s in the air, only they have no idea where the plane is headed, or if it can be landed safely,” he said.
Jason Ryan, a spokesman for the American Clean Power Association, said the current slate of offshore wind projects is “among the most carefully planned and analyzed infrastructure projects in U.S. history; we are confident their permits will withstand legal scrutiny.”
Earlier this week, New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities opened a fourth round of solicitations for additional offshore wind projects.
The state has set a goal of generating 100% of its power from clean sources by 2035.
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Connecticut is taking a step to make sure workers are paid fairly.
On June 30, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-17, which enables the State Comptroller to issue a stop work order and withhold state funds to contractors that are not properly paying their employees.
The bill was signed on the construction site for Greeneville Elementary School, which is one of the four new elementary schools being built in Norwich. The State of Connecticut is reimbursing the city for 80% of the project, and the law applies to “any place where the state is making a payment,” Lamont said.
Wage theft can take many forms
It matters because wage theft can take many forms, from money taken from base pay, to money not given in benefits, Kimberly Glassman, director of compliance and government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, said.
Local 478 also has a presence in the Norwich school building project, with 10 to 20 union members working at each site daily, Glassman said.
What do state leaders think of the Greeneville site’s progress?
Lamont is impressed with how quickly the work is going.
“They told me that the walls went up in the last two weeks, so a lot of progress is happening,” he said.
During the bill signing, Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh touted the importance of using union labor and the value of project labor agreements.
“We are on time and on budget,” he said.
After the bill signing, Singh said its possible the Greeneville School building could be complete as soon as the first quarter of 2027, he said.
“They’re not wasting any time,” Singh said.
State Rep. Derrel Wilson attended the original Greeneville School as a kid, and still lives in Greeneville. He was credited as being one of the driving forces for getting the workers bill passed.
“It’s exciting seeing this revitalization for our neighborhood, seeing active construction and watching individuals rebuild our community,” Wilson said.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts dad on ‘adventure of a lifetime’ left fighting for his life in Fiji after noticing bug bite
A trip of a lifetime quickly turned into an unimaginable nightmare for a Massachusetts father who is fighting for his life halfway across the world after being bitten by a bug.
Scott and Claire Winslow always dreamt of sailing across the South Pacific with their family — and in April, they were finally able to turn their dream into a reality when they embarked on an “adventure of a lifetime” to enjoy their retirement, according to an online fundraiser.
But just weeks into the three-month sailing voyage, Scott noticed what appeared to be a bug bite and his health rapidly deteriorated, WBZ-TV reported.
His condition worsened for nearly two weeks while at sea alongside his nephew, and by the time their ship made it to land in Fiji, he was so weak that he was unable to walk.
The father-of-three was rushed to a local hospital, where doctors discovered the severity of his infection.
“By the time they got to a doctor, he was so sick,” Scott’s daughter Lisa Babbin told the outlet.
Scott was then transferred from a private hospital to the Intensive Care Unit at Lautoka Hospital on Vitu Levu, the main island of Fiji, where his wife Claire was heartbreakingly told to “prepare for the worst.”
The retiree remains critically ill on a ventilator, battling septic shock and organ failure.
The infection has spread to Scott’s lungs and gallbladder and his kidneys are functioning at “a fraction of their normal capacity,” the GoFundMe page says.
It’s still unclear how the infection started — whether by the insect bite, an infected wound or something else, according to the dad’s family.
While doctors are doing everything they can, Scott’s critical condition requires greater care than the local hospital can manage, according to his daughter.
“Every hour counts for my father,” Babbin said.
The family has secured a bed for the critically ill father at the Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Mass., but doesn’t know if they will be able to afford to fly him back to the United States for better care.
“All we need is a medflight, that’s the only thing we need to get him home,” Babbin said. “Medflights are not cheap.”
A special medical flight from Fiji to Boston — which is over 8,000 miles in distance — could set the family back a staggering $250,000, according to the outlet.
In addition to the fundraiser, the Winslow family has applied for a US government loan to help with the astronomical costs of flying Scott home as well as the foreign medical bills that are adding up without medical insurance coverage.
Scott is a “hardworking, loyal, generous” man, “always willing to lend a hand,” relatives wrote on the fundraising page.
“He has spent a lifetime helping others, supporting his family, and being there whenever someone needed him.”
While Scott’s family “remain hopeful and continue to pray” for his recovery, “they are also facing the overwhelming financial burden that comes with a catastrophic medical emergency overseas,” the fundraiser says.
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