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Sept. 30 to Oct. 6
FEMA Needs Funds
The Federal Emergency Management Agency does not have enough funds to finish out the hurricane season, which extends to Nov. 30. Hurricane Helene stretched the agency’s funding to the point where Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has said the agency will need a new infusion of funds.
The need for more funding arises at a particularly difficult time for the agency. Congress is not in session, with most members concentrating on the upcoming November election. It is also a problem for FEMA that the issue of disaster funds has been caught up in the election rhetoric.
During a rally in Michigan, former President Donald Trump claimed that the Biden administration had diverted FEMA funds for use for undocumented migrants. FEMA has launched a webpage to counter the claims, but they create another pre-election barrier to resolving FEMA funding issues. House Speaker Mike Johnson is not prepared to call the House back into session, so a funding struggle is possible.
According to FEMA officials, Hurricane Helene “is going to be a very expensive disaster.” AccuWeather has increased its estimate of the total damage and economic loss from the hurricane to between $225 billion and $250 billion. This estimate if true would make Helene one of the most damaging storms in U.S. history.
So what happens if FEMA is low on funds?
When the Disaster Relief Fund is projected to be insufficient to meet requirements, FEMA says it must enact Immediate Needs Funding to “prioritize lifesaving and life-sustaining activities.” New obligations “not necessary for lifesaving and life-sustaining activities will be paused.”
It has happened before as recently as 2017. That year, Immediate Needs Funding was implemented on Aug. 28 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and lifted on Oct. 2, 2017, with the passage of the fiscal year 2018 short-term continuing resolution.
With the hurricane season still very active, FEMA has posted assurances to Hurricane Helene victims that the agency “has enough money for immediate response and recovery needs.”
Keeping AM Radio
Several automakers, including Tesla and Ford, had decided to eliminate AM radios in their new electric vehicles because the car’s electric motors interfere with the audio quality of the signal. Ford even used data collected from many of its cars to show that drivers did not use the AM radio option enough to warrant continuing it. Ford’s plan went even further, with the expected removal of AM radios from all of its vehicles, electric and gas-powered.
There are more than 4,000 AM radio stations broadcasting in the United States, and the industry is fighting back, seeking legislation to compel automakers to maintain the service. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act is currently under debate in both houses of Congress.
Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) is a sponsor of the bill in the Senate. He says AM radio is “an essential tool in emergencies, a crucial part of our diverse media ecosystem and an irreplaceable source of news, weather, sports and entertainment for tens of millions of Americans.” The National Association of Broadcasters has launched “Depend on AM Radio Campaign.”
AM (amplitude modulation) radio dates to the turn of the twentieth century. Technology advances and an end to unlicensed broadcasting led to the first licensed commercial station, KDAK in Pittsburgh, in 1920. Radio began to be considered a public utility, which led to the Communications Act of 1934 and the creation of the Federal Communications Commission.
By 1940 20% of cars had built-in radios with AM. By the 1950s FM (frequency modulation) radio provided an alternative experience. As music migrated to FM, AM radio became home to many talk shows of all types.
Meanwhile, the hullabaloo over removing AM radio from motor vehicles has caused Ford to reverse course. CEO James Farley posted comments a vehicle forum saying: “We’ve decided to include it [AM radio] on all 2024 Ford and Lincoln vehicles.” He added that “for any owners of Ford’s EVs without AM broadcast capability, we’ll offer a software update.”
Restarting Three Mile Island
If you are of a certain age, you remember the drama surrounding the partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor at the Three Mile Island plant in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania, in 1979. It was the worst nuclear accident in United States history and contributed to a public distrust of nuclear energy.
Now Microsoft, trying to find sufficient power for a new data center, has struck a 20-year deal to purchase energy from that defunct plant, which will be brought back online. No greater symbol exists of the rapidly growing need for technology companies to find power for expanding artificial intelligence data center efforts.
As it turns out, Three Mile Island isn’t alone. The Palisade Nuclear Plant in Covert, Michigan, which closed in 2022, has plans to reopen. Supporting that decision is a $1.5 billion loan commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy, which is desperate to meet its climate goals while at the same time relying on power generation that has low-carbon emissions. The reopening is scheduled for 2025.
As of 2017, 10 commercial nuclear power plants were shut down, with more in the pipeline for decommissioning. As of August 2023, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said 22 nuclear power reactors at 18 sites were in the process of being decommissioned. As of June 2024, some sources cite 41 nuclear reactor sites that have been permanently closed down. Of course that depends on how you define permanently.
Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Station was shut down in September 2018 even though it had a license to operate until 2029. At the time of its closure Oyster Creek was owned by Exelon Corp., and it was one of four nuclear power reactors in New Jersey.
In 2003, nuclear power generated over 50% of the electricity in the state.
As renewable energy sources are contributing to the aggregate demand for electricity at a pace slower than hoped, artificial intelligence centers may represent a new start for nuclear power. But bringing those old plants back online will not be cheap.
Happenings
Stockton University will host a debate between the two major-party candidates for the House seat from the 2nd District, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew and Democrat Joe Salerno, at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24.
Towns that send their sewage to the Cape May County Municipal Utilities Authority’s facilities for treatment and disposal are in a race for last place. That’s because fees for the MUA’s services are largely based on metered flow from town wastewater systems, with the towns that contribute the largest percentages of the total sewage flow charged the most.
Former Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron pleaded guilty on Sept. 27 to charges that he misused the State Health Benefits Plan, in an agreement that will have him cooperating in the prosecution of his former co-defendants, current Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. and Deputy Mayor Steve Mikulski.
The Cape May County Bridge Commission aims to convert its spans to a 100% E-ZPass system of toll-taking by next April 1, even as some county residents raise questions about aspects of the changeover.
Leilani Castillo Guzman, a fourth grader in Ocean City, was honored with a donation from the Sunshine Foundation that will provide her with a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
A municipal court appearance for the owners of a High Dunes property in Avalon who were cited by the borough for interfering with the dunes has been postponed for a fourth time.
Jim Silvestri and Larry Graber are both in their 60s and have had an interest in music since they were kids. Their appreciation for music has culminated in a recently formed band – Eclipse – and in its first studio album.
Cape May County has posted the official results of the special elections Sept. 17 in Middle and Dennis townships in which voters resoundingly turned down requests by the school districts for additional funding for their budgets.
A state Assembly committee hearing on soaring electricity bills and constituent complaints about them keyed on Atlantic City Electric, which has the highest rates per kilowatt hour in the state.
A motorcyclist from Villas was killed and his passenger critically injured when the motorcycle collided with an SUV making a left turn into the Bayway Marina on Route 47 on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
Diane Wieland, Cape May County’s tourism department director, says she has been saying since 2005 that the county is not getting a good return on the tourism tax dollars the county sends to Trenton. “I tell our legislators, ‘Do you know how you are being cheated?’” she said.
Patrons of the Peter Shields Inn and Restaurant in Cape May City, which has long been a fine dining location in the city, now can enjoy alcoholic beverages to enhance their dining experience thanks to a liquor license transfer that was approved by the City Council.
A bill that would make it illegal to modify a car’s muffler to make it louder has been approved by the state Senate Transportation Committee.
A former detective sergeant with the county Prosecutor’s Office agreed to sign a consent order for a lifetime ban on public employment, resolving a criminal prosecution in which he was charged with undertaking an unauthorized investigation of an accident involving his mother-in-law.
Cape May City is setting limits on its collection of recyclables under an ordinance that targets commercial establishments and multifamily homes that have put out excessive amounts of recycling for pickup.
Spout Off of the Week
Red October was the name given to the Communist revolution in Russia. Phillies fans may want to think of a new slogan.
Cape May Court House
