NJ SEED

New Council Will Oversee NJ’s Offshore Wind Industry

August 16, 2019 |njbiz.com 

Gov. Phil Murphy’s Friday morning (8/16/19) executive order – his 79th since taking office – establishes the Wind Innovation and New Development Institute to create and handle the plan for education, research and job-training of the growing industry.
At stake is a statewide clean energy industry valued in the billions of dollars. In June, the Board of Public Utilities approved Ørsted’s bid to construct facilities for 1,100 megawatts of wind energy off the coast of Atlantic City – a move expected to generate $1.17 billion in economic benefits and power 500,000 New Jersey homes.

NJ SEED  applauds the creation of the Wind Innovation and New Development Institute as an important addition to provide research, education and job training for this major addition to the energy sector.

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Are States Taking Cybersecurity Seriously Enough?

August 18, 2019 | innovationnj.net 

Washington DC – According Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, “A spike in cyberattacks in recent months has left state and local governments reeling. Baltimore faces more than $18 million in losses following a May ransomware attack. Several Florida cities were hit in June. And Los Angeles police data was hacked in late July. A 2018 report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) found one unidentified state undergoing 300 million attacks a day — up from 150 million two years before. Cybersecurity and risk management is at the top of CIOs’ list of 10 priorities for 2019, according to an annual NASCIO survey.

NJ SEED: According to Pentagon sources, cybersecurity is perhaps the greatest external threat our nation faces. From ransomware hackers to international aggressors such as China, they have the ability to bring city and state governments as well as transportation and utility grids to a standstill.  NJ along with other states needs to elevate cybersecurity to a high priority status. The Center for Internet Security is a good resource to begin safeguarding public and private organizations against cyber threats.

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Claim That NJ Could Save $2 Billion Annually on Road Work

August 13, 2019 |njspotlight.com 

New Jersey spends more maintaining and building its roads than any other state in the region, according to the Garden State Initiative

While NJ likes to be number 1 in many areas this is not one in which the state should be proud. The report suggests NJ might benefit by adopting some of the money saving techniques in use in states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

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Lead Concerns Spread to Towns That Share Newark’s Water Supply

August 16, 2019 |njspotlight.com 

Fears about water safety have spread beyond Newark, where federal officials have ordered the city to supply bottled water to residents after tests showed filters installed to remove lead from tap water were not working.
Newark’s Pequannock Water System serves all of Bloomfield and Belleville, some 430 homes in Nutley and all of Pequannock Township, in addition to the western part of the city — a half-million people in all.

NJ SEED: It’s not just polyfluoroalkylsubstances (PFAS) in our drinking water supplies that are a threat to public health, the lingering problem of replacing old lead water service lines continues.  The citizens of New Jersey have a right to expect that government controlled water utilities deliver safe drinking water.

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Hospital Housing Initiative Grows Beyond Expectations, Funding Too

 August 2, 2019 | njspotlight.com 

At least six partnerships bringing housing to neighborhoods surrounding hospitals are expected to be underway by this time next year

A fledgling initiative to encourage New Jersey hospitals to build affordable housing in their neighborhoods is not only likely to result in the construction of more homes than initially anticipated, but it is also expanding to provide funds to improve the neighborhoods themselves.

NJ SEED: This initiative by NJ Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency in cooperation with some half dozen hospitals is a creative and imaginative way to address affordable housing and community improvement. 

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