Lee esta historia en Español aquí. Born and raised in Peru, Daniel Velasquez moved to the United States when he was 10 years old. While that decision was a big transition for his family, it also created many opportunities for him. Now Velasquez is an operations engineer for NASA’s Air Mobility Pathfinders project at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. Velasquez develops flight test plans for electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, specifically testing how they perform during various phases of flight, such as taxi, takeoff, cruise, approach, and landing. He was drawn to NASA Armstrong because of the legacy in advancing flight research and the connection to the Space Shuttle program. “Being part of a center with such a rich history in supporting space missions and cutting-edge aeronautics was a major motivation for me,” Velasquez said. “One of the biggest highlights of my career has been the opportunity to meet (virtually) and collaborate with an astronaut on a possible future NASA project.”
Velasquez is incredibly proud of his Latino background because of its rich culture, strong sense of community and connection to his parents. “My parents are my biggest inspiration. They sacrificed so much to ensure my siblings and I could succeed, leaving behind the comfort of their home and family in Peru to give us better opportunities,” Velasquez said. “Their hard work and dedication motivate me every day. Everything I do is to honor their sacrifices and show them that their efforts weren’t wasted. I owe all my success to them.” Velasquez began his career at NASA in 2021 as an intern through the Pathways Internship Program while he was studying aerospace engineering at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Through that program, he learned about eVTOL modeling software called NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft to create a help guide for other NASA engineers to reference when they worked with the software. At the same time, he is also a staff sergeant in the U.S Army Reserves and responsible for overseeing the training and development of junior soldiers during monthly assemblies. He plans, creates, and presents classes for soldiers to stay up-to-date and refine their skills while supervising practical exercises, after action reviews, and gathering lessons learned during trainings.
“This job is different than what I do day-to-day at NASA, but it has helped me become a more outspoken individual,” he said. “Being able to converse with a variety of people and be able to do it well is a skill that I acquired and refined while serving my country.” Velasquez said he never imagined working for NASA as it was something he had only seen in movies and on television, but he is so proud to be working for the agency after all the hard work and sacrifices he made that lead him to this point. “I am incredibly proud to work every day with some of the most motivated and dedicated individuals in the industry.”
Read this story in English here. Nacido y criado en Perú, Daniel Velásquez se estableció en los Estados Unidos cuando tenía 10 años. Aunque esa decisión fue una gran transición para su familia, también le creó muchas oportunidades. Ahora Velásquez es ingeniero de operaciones del proyecto Pathfinders de Movilidad Aérea de la NASA en el Centro de Investigación de Vuelo Armstrong de la NASA en Edwards, California. Velásquez desarrolla ensayos de vuelo para aeronaves eléctricas de despegue y aterrizaje vertical (eVTOL, por sus siglas en inglés), poniendo a prueba específicamente su rendimiento durante varias fases del vuelo, como el rodaje, el despegue, el crucero, la aproximación y el aterrizaje. Se interesó en el centro Armstrong de la NASA debido a su legado en el avance de la investigación de vuelo y a su contribución al programa del Transbordador Espacial. “Formar parte de un centro con una historia tan rica en el apoyo a las misiones espaciales y la aeronáutica avanzada fue una motivación importante para mí,” dice Velásquez. “Uno de los mayores hitos de mi carrera ha sido la oportunidad de conocer (virtualmente) y colaborar con un astronauta en un posible proyecto de la NASA.”
Velásquez está increíblemente orgulloso de su origen latino por su rica cultura, su fuerte sentido de comunidad y la conexión a sus padres. “Mis padres son mi mayor inspiración. Sacrificaron mucho para asegurarse de que mis hermanos y yo pudiéramos tener éxito, dejando atrás la comodidad de su hogar y su familia en Perú para darnos mejores oportunidades,” dice Velásquez. “Su esfuerzo y dedicación me motivan cada día. Todo lo que hago es para honrar sus sacrificios y demostrarles que sus esfuerzos no fueron un vano. Todo mi éxito se lo debo a ellos.” Velásquez comenzó su carrera en la NASA en 2021 como un pasante en el Programa de Pasantías Pathways mientras estudiaba ingeniería aeroespacial en la Universidad Rutgers en New Brunswick, New Jersey. A través de ese programa, el aprendió sobre un software de modelado eVTOL que se llama Diseño y Análisis de Aeronaves de Alas Giratorias de la NASA y creó una guía de ayuda que otros ingenieros de la NASA pudieran consultar cuando trabajaban con el software. Al mismo tiempo, también es un sargento primero de la Reserva del Ejército de EE. UU. y es responsable de supervisar el entrenamiento y el desarrollo de los soldados subalternos durante las reuniones mensuales. Planifica, crea y presenta clases para que los soldados se mantengan al día y refinen sus habilidades, a la vez que supervisa los ejercicios prácticos, las revisiones posteriores de acción y recopila lecciones aprendidas durante los entrenamientos.
“Este trabajo es diferente de lo que hago día a día en la NASA, pero me ha ayudado a convertirme en una persona más franca,” dice. “Ser capaz de conversar con una variedad de personas y poder hacerlo bien es una habilidad que adquirí y refiné mientras servía a mi país.” Velásquez explica que nunca imaginó trabajar para la NASA, ya que era algo que sólo había visto en las películas y en la televisión, pero está muy orgulloso de trabajar para la agencia después de todo el trabajo duro y los sacrificios que lo llevaron hasta aquí. “Estoy increíblemente orgulloso de trabajar cada día con algunas de las personas más motivadas y dedicadas en la industria.”
Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington
A new co-working space has opened that will see innovative local businesses based at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington.
The shared work space is called Taiawa Wellington Tech Hub and is in Rutherford House on the University’s Pipitea campus. A range of high-growth, innovative companies have moved in to the 51-desk space—tenants include climate tech businesses Cogo and CarbonInvoice, botanical prescription drug developer Evithé Bio, and scientific literature review assistant Litmaps.
Taiawa was launched in early June, with tenant businesses officially welcomed to the new space at an event attended by Wellington mayor Tory Whanau along with leaders from the University and the business and entrepreneurial community.
Professor Stephen Cummings, co-director of the University’s innovation space The Atom—Te Kahu o Te Ao, says Taiawa is an exciting development. “It will allow us to better work with Wellington’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and create opportunities for sharing ideas between innovative businesses and our staff and students,” he explains.
“It comes from a recognition that Rutherford House is the ideal place in the perfect location to host a co-working space like this. Opening up our buildings to the City in this way can create great synergies and value, not just for our students and researchers, but for Wellington’s business community.”
The initiative is a collaboration with WellingtonNZ, the regional economic development agency. Rebekah Campbell, who leads the Technology Sector Group at WellingtonNZ, says the need for a space for co-working, tech sector education and community events became evident when devising a strategy to grow the region’s economy.
“Wellington has a lot of individually successful tech companies, but even though it’s a compact city, we can do a lot better at promoting collaboration and skill-sharing. Wellington needs its tech sector to thrive, and our mission is to create 30,000 new high-value jobs in the next decade,” she says.
“We looked at other cities that have successfully accelerated the growth of their tech sectors, and a key component of every strategy is the creation of a central place where companies can work together, learn from each other and create a shared culture of ambition and collaboration. The kinds of hubs that were most successful were centred around universities.”
Atom co-director Dr Jesse Pirini says the concept of hosting a co-working space at Te Herenga Waka is “the culmination of years of engagement with the entrepreneurial community through The Atom, and hosting events such as Slush’D and TedX”. “So when the opportunity arose to work with WellingtonNZ, we leapt at it. It’s great to be able to collaborate with them on this unique partnership.”
One of the tenants in Taiawa Wellington Tech Hub is Cogo, which partners with large companies to help businesses and consumers measure and improve their carbon impact. CEO Ben Gleisner, who is a Te Herenga Waka alumnus, describes the new space as a “win-win-win” for all parties.
“It will provide unparalleled opportunities for the companies, the wider tech industry, and for business school students that they can’t get at other institutions in Aotearoa—there is the potential to collaborate on research, internships or dedicated projects. Ultimately, as we are supported to grow, there will hopefully be real jobs for students too.”
University Vice Chancellor Nic Smith says it’s vital that universities are front and centre in supporting the wider science, technology and innovation sector. “The development of this hub is a vote of confidence in Wellington’s business community, especially in the face of bad news stories around public sector lay offs. We believe in the technology and innovation industry, and we’re delighted to have the chance to foster its growth.”
About the name
The name Taiawa is a combination of two words, tai (ocean) and awa (river), which reflects the collaborative elements of entities from different sources combining together to operate a shared space, support innovative ideas and create a safe space for creativity. Taiawa is the name of a type of pipi found at low tide just below the surface of a sandy harbour flat—the act of collecting pipi as a community, intergenerational activity signifies the collaboration that will take place in the tech hub, and the interaction between companies, staff and students. The name was endorsed by Kura Moeahu, Rangatira of Te Āti Awa and Taranaki.
A mystery animal has been identified as a species never documented in New Zealand waters.
Thousands of specimens were collected during NIWA’sthree-week Ocean Census voyageto the unexplored Bounty Trough earlier this year, done as part of a 10-year planetary census to discover life in our ocean.
Amongst the brilliant selection of fish and invertebrates collected from 3,500m deep, an unusual specimen stumped the experts. NIWA marine biologist and voyage leader Sadie Mills says she and her colleagues resulted to calling it ‘The Thing’.
“It looked kind of like a sea star, but we thought it could also be a sea anemone or octocoral. We had several world-leading experts onboard and none of us could place it, and initial DNA sequencing resulted in no close relationship with any known organism. So, it became known as ‘The Thing’,” said Sadie.
However, after further DNA sequencing, Sadie’s team got a positive result – a 98.9% match to Oligotrema lyra – an abyssal ascidian, or sea squirt. Identification was then morphologically confirmed by taxonomic expert, Dr Mike Page.
“It’s amazing that genetics could help us solve the mystery. We actually had two specimens, but it turned out they were both only parts of the whole creature, which is what threw us because we weren’t seeing the full picture. Our resident ascidian expert Mike thinks part of the body was buried in the sediment, and what we collected were the siphons that they use to feed and filter water, which protruded above the sand,” said Sadie.
While this species is already known to science, it is the first time it has been documented in New Zealand waters and expands our knowledge on the huge diversity of species that fall under our protection.
Ascidians are common in New Zealand’s coastal waters and in the deeper waters on our continental shelf. They are amongst the more colourful marine invertebrates that inhabit our coasts, harbours, and oceans.
When disturbed, sea squirts contract their siphons, expelling streams of water-hence their name.
The Ocean Census is a global alliance to accelerate the discovery and protection of life in the ocean founded byThe Nippon Foundationand UK ocean exploration foundationNekton, and endorsed as a Programme of theUN Ocean Decade.
The contributions of some of Wellington’s most prominent businesspeople were celebrated last night at the 2024 Wellington Address, hosted at Pipitea Marae.
The event recognised the mahi and relentless energy of three individuals and one business who have made outstanding contributions to our city. They are people who inspire others and help Wellington’s business community prosper and thrive.
The Address was jointly hosted Wellington Chamber of Commerce, Te Awe Māori Business Network and the Wellington Pasifika Business Network, together known as the Power of Three.
More than 240 people attended last night’s sold-out event, where Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters addressed honourees and guests.
The gala dinner was headlined by the Wellington Address, an ode to the city and a vision for its future. This year’s Address was delivered by John-Daniel Trask of tech company Raygun, who highlighted the importance of innovation, contribution and the role of business in the city’s success.
The event was made possible with the help of our sponsors and partners, including Mercury IT, Pōneke Bakery and principal sponsor 2degrees.
“These awards are a celebration of the very best of our business community – hard work, dedication, innovation and a commitment to improving our city,” said Wellington Chamber of Commerce CEO Simon Arcus.
“This year’s honourees all embody that spirit. We all better off for their work, and I extend my thanks to all the honourees. At times like these, it’s a powerful reminder of Wellington’s character and its potential in years to come,” he said.
The honourees for the 2024 Wellington Address were:
Nominated by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, sponsored by Mercury IT
Brian McGuinness
Nominated by Te Awe Māori Business Network, sponsored by Pōneke Bakery
Doug Hauraki
Nominated by the Wellington Pasifika Business Network
Adrian Orr
Company award, sponsored by 2degrees
The Wellington Company – Erskine Restoration
“The Wellington Chamber is delighted to recognise Brian McGuinness as an honouree of the 2024 Wellington Address,” said Simon Arcus.
“With over 50 years of commitment to the family business, LT McGuinness, Brian has shown exceptional leadership and made enduring contributions to the Wellington urban landscape. An award for Brian is, in a very real sense, a recognition of the contribution of the McGuiness family.
“The Wellington Address serves to recognise those who serve us beyond the call of their professional duty. We are humbled to be recognising such an outstanding contribution from more than 50 years of dedication to the capital; nobody else has literally built a legacy on Wellington’s footprint quite like Brian McGuinness,” Arcus said.
More information on the outstanding contributions of last night’s honourees is available below.
Brian McGuinness:With over 50 years of commitment to the family-founded construction company, LT McGuinness, Brian has shown exceptional leadership and made enduring contributions to the Wellington urban landscape.
Brian’s dedication to building excellence, his ability to develop long-standing local relationships, and his commitment to his word have contributed to the success of many of Wellington’s iconic buildings.
Doug Hauraki:Generations of Māori students, public servants and business owners will be delighted to know Doug Hauraki is this year’s Te Awe Wellington Māori Business Network honouree.
In bestowing this honour on Doug, Te Awe acknowledges his more than 55 years of service to Māori in both the private and public sectors and his lifelong devotion to better education and employment opportunities for Māori and Pasifika people.
Adrian Orr:The Wellington Pasifika Business Network us proud to recognise Adrian Orr as the Pasifika honouree for this year’s Wellington Address. The award celebrates Adrian’s 40 years of outstanding service to the banking and financial services sector, most recently as Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and its role of ensuring the stability of our financial system.
Of Cook Island and Irish descent, Adrian has been a trailblazer in his chosen profession, with a strong intergenerational view of economic and social issues and solutions.
The Wellington Company – Erskine Restoration:
After undertaking a painstaking 23-year journey to develop a hilly, heritage-listed site in Island Bay, The Wellington Company delivered a premium medium-density housing development which restored and retained a unique part of our architectural history.
Many others would have shied away from the challenge of restoring the Category-1 listed Erskine Chapel. The 1929 landmark had been neglected, vandalised and red-stickered for many years, as well as being subject to a lengthy legal challenge, despite the desire to protect it. But rather than walking away from the project, The Wellington Company took the step many would not, privately funding the vast bulk of the $7 million restoration and strengthening project to preserve it for generations to come.
Note:
The Power of Three is a joint agreement between the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, the Wellington Pasifika Business Network, and Te Awe Māori Business Network. The three business membership organisations share knowledge, services and cultural expertise to help grow businesses in the Wellington region.
ASB has today announced adjustments to its mortgage rates, following the bank’s reductions across fixed and floating mortgage rates last week. ASB’s latest changes include a 36-basis point reduction to its 6-month term, down to a market-leading rate of 6.39%.
ASB’s Executive General Manager Personal Banking Adam Boyd says “We know there’s strong appetite for shorter-term mortgages at the moment. Our drops to 6-month, one year and 18-month terms in response to movement in wholesale rates should appeal to our customers refixing, as well as those looking to buy a property.”
ASB has also reduced some of its shorter-term term deposit rates by between 10 and 35 basis points, and increased its 4-and-5 year term deposits by 10 basis points each.
All rate adjustments are effective immediately for new and current customers.
Greenpeace Aotearoa ishosting a public meeting in Rangiora this Saturdayto mobilise efforts to protect water quality in the region, just two weeks after the Government’s fast-track project list was revealed to include significant irrigation schemes.
The organisation will also be running two free nitrate contamination drinking water testing events: one in Amberley on October 18th, and one in Oxford on October 20th.
Greenpeace’s Canterbury-based freshwater campaigner, Will Appelbe, says, “Everyone should be able to take a dip in their local river or drink the water coming out of their tap without getting sick. But for many rural communities, particularly in Canterbury, that’s becoming less and less possible.
“Now, the Christopher Luxon Government is actively pushing through legislation that will worsen water quality in Canterbury, such as the fast-track bill. The irrigation schemes included in the fast-track schedule would suck the life out of already-fragile rivers and return polluted water back into the environment through further dairy intensification in the region.”
Greenpeace has been running free drinking water testing events across the country, as well as a free mail-in water testing service, for the last three years, to raise awareness of increasing levels of nitrate in drinking water.
The organisation says that many rural communities in Canterbury are seeing levels of nitrate in drinking water increasing, while a growing body of science has linked prolonged exposure to elevated levels of nitrate, to increased health risks including risks of bowel cancer and preterm birth.
“More irrigation means more intensive dairying, which is polluting lakes, rivers, and drinking water with high levels of nitrate,” says Appelbe.
“We’re hosting this public meeting to discuss the increasing threats to water quality in Canterbury and to provide a way for local communities to engage with efforts to prevent water pollution at the source.
“Greenpeace will continue to stand with communities and fight to end pollution of lakes, rivers, and drinking water. Ultimately, we need to reduce the dairy herd, end the use of synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, and stop big new irrigation schemes.”
The Greenpeace public meeting will be held at The Skurr Centre, Rangiora Showgrounds, on Saturday 19th October, from 6:30pm. The organisation is also running free drinking water testing inAmberley on the 18th Octoberfrom 1-5pm at the Holy Innocents Anglican Church, and inOxford on the 20th Octoberfrom 9:30am-3pm in the Oxford Town Hall A&P Room.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released its latestWorld Energy Outlookreport today, and Greenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says it’s damning for Christopher Luxon and his ludicrous plans to restart oil and gas exploration and increase coal mining. (ref. https://www.iea.org/reports/world-energy-outlook-2024 )
“The IEA report affirms that global demand for oil, gas, and coal is on track to peak by the end of this decade and warns that failure to accelerate the end of fossil fuels now will put the world on course for a catastrophic global average temperature rise of 2.4oC by the end of the century.
“As floods, fires and storms ravage the world, and climate scientists run out of adjectives to describe how urgent the situation is, we have Christopher Luxon’s Government forging ahead with reckless plans to search for new oil and gas, dig up more coal and shelve every initiative to reduce emissions that they can.
“We have an incredible opportunity right now in Aotearoa to move away from fossil fuels to a clean energy future powered by wind and solar that would mean more affordable energy and cleaner, safer towns and cities for New Zealanders, but the Luxon Government is threatening to take us back to to the dark ages.”
The IEA report states that avoiding the worst impacts of the climate crisis will require at least doubling the global rate of energy efficiency improvements to provide larger emissions reductions by 2030, doubling current investment levels in renewable power, grids and battery storage, as well as implementing a fast and fair fossil fuel phaseout.
“A recent report by the Ministry of Business and Innovation confirms that there is no need for new fossil fuels to ‘keep the lights on’ in New Zealand. Wind and solar are the cheapest sources of new electricity generation, and New Zealand has an abundance of both.
“It’s time for the Government to step up and make the choice to lead Aotearoa into a clean energy future.”
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Young Kim (CA-39)
Silverado, CA – Yesterday, U.S. Representative Young Kim (CA-40) hosted House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman (AR-04) in California’s 40th District to hear from local first responders and canyon community leaders and see the burn areas firsthand following the Airport Fire, which started in Trabuco Canyon and burned over 23,000 acres in Orange and Riverside counties.
The roundtable included officials from U.S. Forest Service, Orange County Fire Authority, Anaheim Fire and Rescue, Orange Fire Department, and Brea Fire Department, and canyon community leaders.
“Our communities across California’s 40th District – especially in the canyons – know firsthand the devastation wildfires can cause. That’s why I brought House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Westerman here to learn from first responders and residents on the ground,” said Rep. Kim. “I appreciate his leadership and am hopeful that our roundtable discussion and tour can help us educate our colleagues and work on commonsense solutions. Fighting for my district is my top priority, always.”
“No one knows more about the crisis facing America’s forests than our brave first responders and local residents who live under the constant threat of wildfire. The fact remains that decades of mismanagement have turned far too many of our forests into unhealthy, overgrown tinderboxes. It is crucial that we pass legislation like the Fix Our Forests Act, which includes key proposals from Rep. Kim like the Wildfire Technology DEMO Act, to help mitigate catastrophic wildfires in the future. She is a true champion of this issue for her constituents, and I’d like to thank her for inviting me to her district to see these issues firsthand,” said Chairman Westerman.
Pictures from the visit courtesy of the office of Congresswoman Young Kim are available HERE.
News that 173 roles are being cut at Police will only put more pressure on the frontline.
“I am concerned about the lack of awareness the National Party has about the job police have to do,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said.
“Cutting 173 roles will mean police officers spend more time behind a desk and less time on the beat.
“There is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes for a person to be found, charged and punished for a crime. Arresting someone is only one part of the job.
“Police Minister Mark Mitchell should front up, support the frontline and stop the cuts at Police,” Ginny Andersen said.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
1 day ago
Courtney Roff is currently studying for the NZ Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3) at EIT.
After leaving school early, Courtney Roff spent some time working in the wine industry, where she realised that the career for her was mechanical engineering, so she enrolled in EIT.
Courtney, 21, grew up in Hawke’s Bay and attended Napier Girls’ High, but decided to leave school midway through Year 12.
Not sure what she wanted to do, she worked for a time in hospitality, but soon found herself drawn to the wine industry.
She has spent the last three years working at the Hawke’s Bay Wine Company in Pandora and says that she has learnt a lot from the experience.
“I started not knowing anything and then worked my way up to being second in charge and running a night shift for all my last vintage.”
She considered studying Wine Science and Viticulture at EIT, but says she did not really want to be a winemaker. However, she received a wonderful opportunity when she was awarded a Woman in Winemaking Mentorship from the New Zealand Wine Association for six months.
“That paired me up with a lady who works at Wineworks in Hastings and I was catching up with her once a month for six months. I was in there to figure out what I wanted to do, and Sophie, my mentor, was really awesome.
“It was there that I decided that I wanted to do engineering, so Sophie got me into Wineworks for eight weeks, to see if I liked it. I did so I signed up for the programme at EIT in July.”
That programme is the NZ Certificate in Mechanical Engineering (Level 3) and it will set Courtney up to still work in the wine industry, where engineering is required in tank building, presses or working on machines.
She knows she is now in the right place and is enjoying the mechanical engineering programme.
She says that while she realises that mechanical engineering is still male-dominated, she is enjoying her classmates and says her tutors are “awesome”.
“You never will get stuck as there is always someone to help you.”
Courtney particularly enjoys the fabrication course and says she is looking forward to completing the second year of her apprenticeship next year.
She is currently working part-time as a petrol attendant in Greenmeadows while she studies, but she is looking forward to beginning her new career.
EIT Engineering Tutor Patrick Doohan said: “As Courtney’s tutor, I’m proud of her positive start in the mechanical engineering program at EIT.”
“Her transition from the wine industry to engineering shows her determination. She excels in her courses, especially fabrication, and she always bring a positive attitude to her work. Courtney’s initiative in seeking mentorship and hands-on experience reflects her commitment to her future.”
Aerial operations continued through the night, launching from NAS Whidbey Island and searching in the area 30 miles west of Yakima, Wash. Responders are facing mountainous terrain, cloudy weather, and low visibility as the search is ongoing.
As of 11 a.m. on Oct. 16, neither the crew nor wreckage has been located.
Additional units supporting search and rescue include: U.S. Navy Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One (VQ-1), Patrol Squadron (VP-46), NAS Whidbey Island Search and Rescue, and U.S. Army 4-6 Air Cavalry Squadron out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
More information will be released as it becomes available.
Alabama is Required to Stop Removals Between Now and Election Day and Must Return Unlawfully Deactivated Voters to Active Voter List
A federal court in the Northern District of Alabama has entered an order requiring the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State to cease a recently-implemented program to remove voters from Alabama’s voting rolls between now and the Nov. 5 general election. The court further ordered the State to issue guidance to all counties in Alabama to immediately restore deactivated voters unless those voters requested removal or are subject to removal for other reasons.
“This action sends a clear message that the Justice Department will work to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The National Voter Registration Act’s 90 day Quiet Period Provision is an important safeguard to prevent erroneous eleventh-hour efforts that stand to disenfranchise eligible voters. The Justice Department remains steadfast in our resolve to protect voters from unlawful removal from the registration rolls and to ensure that states comply with the mandate of federal law.”
The department filed a lawsuit against the State of Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State on Sept. 27 alleging that the Alabama Secretary of State’s voter list maintenance program announced on Aug. 13 violated Section 8(c)(2) of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) by conducting a program intending to systematically remove voters within 90 days of a federal election. The court’s order requires the State of Alabama to facilitate a remedial mailing to each registrant inactivated as part of the voter removal process who has not submitted a request to be removed from the voter rolls and alert these voters that their voter status has since been reactivated.
The injunction also requires the state to work with country registrars to ensure that affected voters are notified that their inclusion in the state’s wayward removal program does not establish their ineligibility to vote or subject them to criminal prosecution for registering to vote or for voting. The injunction further requires the State to facilitate a remedial mailing to each registrant inactivated as part of the voter removal process who did submit a voter removal request advising them that if they are a U.S. citizen and otherwise meet voter qualifications, they have the right to vote. Finally, the court ordered the State to inform the Alabama Attorney General in writing that voters were inaccurately referred to the Attorney General for criminal investigation.
Individuals who are eligible voters and believe that they may have been wrongly removed from the voter rolls as a result of Alabama’s – or any other state’s – systematic removal process should contact the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section through the internet reporting portal at http://www.civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931. More information about voting and elections, including guidance documents on the NVRA and other statutes, is available at http://www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the NVRA and other federal voting laws at http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section. Complaints about possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be submitted at http://www.civilrights.justice.gov or by telephone at 1-800-253-3931.
When Canada legalized recreational cannabis use on Oct. 17, 2018, there were concerns about the potential impacts. Would it trigger greater cannabis use, boost economic growth or otherwise affect the country’s health, safety and finances?
Patients already using cannabis legally for medical purposes were especially concerned. They worried that recreational legalization might prompt physicians to stop authorizing cannabis treatments. Or that cannabis producers would abandon the small medical market to pursue the larger recreational one.
As someone who studies the business aspects of cannabis legalization, I wondered about these issues, too. It wasn’t clear how patients, producers or health-care providers would react to recreational legalization. Legal medical use itself had only become accessible a few years earlier.
Accessing medical cannabis
Canada began allowing medical use of cannabis in 1999. But it remained difficult to get until regulations changed during 2014-15.
The new rules allowed any physician to authorize patients to use cannabis. Those patients could then register to buy products online from licensed cannabis producers. Online orders could not exceed a 30-day supply.
(Instead of buying cannabis products, some patients grew their own plants instead. My research hasn’t examined that.)
Under this new procedure, the number of patients registering to buy cannabis soared. They grew from 7,914 in June 2014 to 330,344 in June 2018, nearly one per cent of Canada’s population.
However, registration levels differed greatly between provinces. In June 2018, registrations represented almost three per cent of Alberta’s population, versus only 0.1 per cent of Québec’s.
Interestingly, less than half of registrants bought medical cannabis in any given month. Perhaps they simply didn’t need the full dose. Or maybe they found it too expensive, inconvenient or ineffective.
June 2018 was also when the federal government passed its new cannabis legislation. The law took effect in October 2018, when recreational sales of dried cannabis and cannabis oils began. After initial product shortages were overcome, recreational cannabis sales grew rapidly as more stores opened, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumer choice expanded in December 2019 when edibles and vapes became available.
This is where my new study came in. I analyzed government data on patients’ use of Canada’s medical cannabis system between 2017 and 2022. This included how many patients registered, how often they placed orders, and how much cannabis they bought.
Evolving system usage
I found that as soon as parliament passed the new cannabis law, medical registrations began slowing down, despite recreational legalization still being four months away.
But the response differed noticeably between provinces. For example, registrations kept growing steadily in Québec but plummeted rapidly in Alberta. Other provinces were in between.
My data doesn’t say why those changes occurred. Perhaps Alberta, with its copious cannabis clinics, had many patients only mildly interested in using cannabis medically. Conversely, maybe Québec was still catching up with other provinces on medical use.
When recreational sales started in October 2018, patient registrations seemed unaffected. Their average purchase sizes didn’t change either. But they bought medical cannabis slightly less often.
This might have been due to retail convenience. At that time, medical producers and recreational stores were selling similar products: dried cannabis and cannabis oils. So, perhaps some patients started topping up their supplies occasionally at recreational stores but saw no reason to leave the online medical system completely.
When edibles and other processed products began selling in December 2019, registrations dropped further. But the patients who remained bought medical cannabis slightly more often and in increasingly larger quantities.
Product selections might explain this patient split. Perhaps producers with good edible products retained their customers and received larger orders from them. Conversely, maybe medical producers offering few edibles lost their patients to the recreational shops and their vast product assortments.
In summary, Canada’s medical cannabis system experienced big changes after recreational legalization. But it didn’t disappear.
Will other countries see similar outcomes if they allow recreational cannabis?
A changing world
In Europe, for example, The Netherlands is experimenting with recreational sales. Meanwhile, Germany has legalized recreational use but not retail sales. Will those countries experience medical cannabis changes like Canada did?
Other countries, like Australia and New Zealand, are somewhere in between. They’re seeing rapid growth in legal medical use and illegal recreational use, but haven’t legalized recreationally. That’s roughly where Canada was 10 years ago.
Will Canada’s medical and recreational cannabis experiences make these other countries more interested in legalization, or less? Either way, I hope they can learn from our experiences as they chart their own cannabis paths.
Michael J. Armstrong does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Four award-winning National Film Board of Canada (NFB) produced and co-produced documentaries will be featured at DOC NYC in New York City, from November 13 to December 1, 2024.
October 10, 2024 – Toronto – National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Four award-winningNational Film Board of Canada (NFB) produced and co-produced documentaries will be featured at DOC NYC in New York City, from November 13 to December 1, 2024.
America’s largest documentary film festival, DOC NYC will host the NYC premieres of twoNFB co-produced feature docs:
A Mother Apart (Oya Media Group/NFB) by Laurie Townshend accompaniesBrooklyn-based Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother;
40 years after vanishing from public view, a trailblazing trans soul singer finally gets her second act in Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story (Banger Films/NFB) by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee, executive produced by Elliot Page.
The festival will also present the US premieres of two NFB shorts:
Directors will be in attendance at the festival. All four films will be streaming at DOC NYC following their in-person premieres, with online screenings geo-restricted to the United States.
More about the films
Come As You Are section November 18, 2024, 6:00 p.m., Village East by Angelika November 19, 2024, 12:30 p.m., Village East by Angelika
A Mother Apart by Laurie Townshend (89 min) Producers: Alison Duke and Ngardy Conteh George (Oya Media Group); Justine Pimlott (NFB) Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/a-mother-apart
How do you raise a child when your own mother abandoned you? In a remarkable story of healing and forgiveness, Staceyann Chin, renowned for performances in Def Poetry Slam and hit solo shows like MotherStruck!, radically re-imagines the essential art of mothering. In seeking her elusive mother—a trail that leads to Brooklyn, Montreal, Cologne and, finally, Jamaica—Staceyann and her daughter forge a new sense of home.
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary, Best First Feature Award and Best Canadian Feature Award at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, Toronto.
Laurie Townshend is a Toronto-based filmmaker, writer and educator. Her films centre on the human capacity to transform small acts of courage into quiet revolutions, as seen in the dramatic short The Railpath Hero (2013, TIFF Black Star Series), the unscripted series Human Frequency Streetdocs (2014) and the award-winning short doc Charley (2016).
Sonic Cinema section November 19, 2024, 6:45 p.m., Village East by Angelika November 20, 2024, 4:00 p.m., Village East by Angelika
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee (99 min) Produced by Amanda Burt, Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen (Banger Films); Michael Mabbott; Justine Pimlott (NFB) Executive produced by Scot McFadyen, Sam Dunn, Chanda Chevannes (NFB), Anita Lee (NFB), Elliot Page and Matt Jordan Smith (PAGEBOY Productions), Martin Katz, Nia Long and CJ Mac Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/any-other-way-jackie-shane
A star is reborn. With an outsize stage presence that eclipsed R&B greats like Etta James and Little Richard, soul singer Jackie Shane was the real deal. Jackie boldly carved a new path as one of music’s trailblazing Black trans performers—but on the edge of stardom, why did she suddenly leave the spotlight?
Any Other Way won the Out in the Silence Award at the Frameline International LGBTQ+ Film Festival in San Francisco, the Audience Award for Best Music Documentary at the Nashville Film Festival, and the DGC Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature Documentary at Hot Docs, where it was also a Top 10 Audience Favourite.
Toronto filmmaker Michael Mabbott’s features The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico (Best Canadian First Feature Award) and Citizen Duane both premiered at TIFF. His first documentary, Music Lessons, premiered at Hot Docs.
Lucah Rosenberg-Lee is a Toronto speaker, entrepreneur and filmmaker specializing in documentary and LGBTQ+ content. He has produced and directed a variety of projects including Passing and For Nonna Anna, which have screened at TIFF, Inside Out and Sundance.
Shorts: Our Bodies section November 16, 2024, 11:15 a.m., Village East by Angelika November 17, 2024, 9:30 p.m., Village East by Angelika
“Hey, let’s go on a diet together.” As kids in a small Quebec town, Eisha and Seema were more than sisters, they were soul mates, and a joint diet offered a shared sense of purpose. But their carefree project would take a dark turn, pushing Eisha to the very brink of death. Consumed by anorexia, she found herself battling her own fragile body—stranded between childhood and adulthood. Decades later, Eisha revisits her past in an exquisitely crafted work of auto-ethnography, evoking her unusual youth with aching lyricism.
Montreal filmmaker Eisha Marjara has made several award-winning films, including Locarno’s Prix de la Semaine de Critique winner Desperately Seeking Helen. Venus (2017), a dramatic comedy, won the EDA Award for Best Feature at the Whistler Film Festival and Best Feature Film at Cinequest, among other accolades. Eisha also authored the acclaimed young adult novel Faerie and is in post-production on her next feature, Calorie.
At the age of 13, deciding not to shave her legs led Andrea Dorfman to question and ultimately defy society’s expectations. With charm, warmth and humour, Dorfman’s film Hairy Legs captures the universality of girls exploring gender, curiosity and freedom as they evolve from spending exuberant, carefree days on their bicycles to facing and challenging stereotypes.
Winner of the Diversity Award (Film) at the Spark Animation Festival in Vancouver and an Honourable Mention – DGC Award for Best Canadian Animation at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
Halifax filmmaker Andrea Dorfman has written and directed many award-winning documentaries, features and animated films, including the NFB-produced Flawed (2010), Big Mouth (2012) and feature doc The Girls of Meru (2018). Dorfman’s video collaborations with poet-musician Tanya Davis, How to Be Alone (2010) and How to Be at Home (2020), became YouTube sensations.
ATLANTA (October 16, 2024)— Today,Sen. Donzella James (D–Atlanta), Chairwoman of the Senate Standing Committee on Urban Affairs, praised Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney’s ruling to stop the State Election Board’s hand-count requirement. The ruling declared the Election Board’s Hand Count Rule to be “too much, too late,” while the Court continues to consider the matter.
On October 1, Sen. James and fellow Democratic colleagues held a Senate Committee on Urban Affairs meeting to discuss election infrastructure. The committee specifically focused on the Election Board’s hand-count requirement and heard concerns from various Georgia voters and subject experts alike.
“This court ruling is an important first step toward eliminating an unfunded mandate that would gravely inconvenience Georgia voters, overburden our state’s poll workers, and add an unnecessary expense while we continue to prioritize balancing our state’s budget,” said Sen. Donzella James. “Our committee worked hard to highlight the problems with this last-minute requirement, and I am confident our discussion and the public comment that we held earlier this month were instrumental in starting the conversation that ultimately led to the court’s decision to put the hand-count on hold.”
More information on the full court case is available here.
# # # #
Sen. Donzella James serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Urban Affairs. She represents the 35th Senate District, which includes portions of Douglas and Fulton counties. She may be reached by phone at 404.463.1379 or by email atdonzella.james@senate.ga.gov
Written by Bonnie Ewart-Fisher, a Strategic Communications Intern from the United States of America serving with the Department of Peace Operations. She has a background in public affairs and advocacy on gender-related issues. She is working to advance the women, peace, and security agenda in UN Peacekeeping.
Women account for less than 10% of the military and police personnel deployed in missions. This is a huge increase from the 1% deployed in 1993, thanks to efforts from UN Peacekeeping and Member States who provide uniformed personnel to peace operations across the world. However, further improving gender parity in peacekeeping operations is a matter of both human rights and effectiveness.
Women have the right to full, equal and meaningful participation in all areas of peacekeeping’s work, including those that have historically been male-dominated. The presence of women in all aspects of peacekeeping is also essential to establishing sustained peace: it makes UN peacekeeping missions more approachable to the communities they serve, equips them to better support survivors of gender-based violence, and improves decision-making by broadening the mission’s skillsets and perspectives.
The Network for Uniformed Women Peacekeepers is one initiative launched by the UN Department of Peace Operations to increase the number of women peacekeepers on the ground, as well as the conditions of their deployment. Piloted in the mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), it is already showing results.
The Network has brought together more than 400 uniformed women peacekeepers since its launch in 2023. It has empowered them to share their experiences, elevate the challenges they face to UNMISS leadership, and propose solutions that create a more respectful and supportive environment for women to thrive in. The Network will be expanded to the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) and the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in the coming months.
“It’s important to ensure gender perspectives are built into planning, policy and decision-making processes. […] Leadership [must] be gender-responsive to be effective,” said Lieutenant General Mohan Subramanian, Force Commander of UNMISS, during a recent meeting with the Network’s members. “I encourage all uniformed women to speak up and use this Network,” he added.
Leaders in the mission have played an important role in championing gender equity across UN Peacekeeping — including by implementing targeted actions identified by the members of the Network. For example, as a result of feedback provided by Network participants, patrolling kits now include private, mobile toilet facilities that allow women to participate more easily in long-range patrols that are key to the mission’s protection of civilians work. Other issues being raised are how to create respectful working environments, break gender barriers and address women’s health in the field.
Sergeant Epiphania Makaza, a police officer serving with UNMISS, noted that as the network helps more women to engage with challenges and take on leadership roles, it will improve conditions for all women peacekeepers: “women who become leaders can facilitate policies, guidelines, rules and regulations to support other female counterparts.”
The Network is just one way that UN Peacekeeping and its partners are working hard to adjust facilities, services, and practices to address the unique barriers faced by women peacekeepers. Continued support from Member States, mission leadership, and all UN peacekeepers will help empower more women to play critical roles in advancing peace worldwide.
This story is part of the “Action for Peacekeeping” (A4P) story series, which reports on efforts by the UN, its Member States, and other partners to strengthen peacekeeping operations, and the impact they have for people living in conflict areas.
Women, Peace and Security is a key area of the A4P agenda and its implementation strategy A4P+, which seeks to enhance accountability to our peacekeepers. Supporting women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in peace and political processes is central to enhancing operational effectiveness in peacekeeping and sustaining peace.
HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Targa Resources Corp. (NYSE: TRGP) (“Targa” or the “Company”) announced today that its Sustainability Report for 2023 is now available on the Company’s website at https://www.targaresources.com/sustainability. The report advances Targa’s sustainability disclosures and provides a review of Targa’s performance for calendar year 2023 against various environmental, social, and governance topics that we believe are important to our industry and our business.
Highlights of Targa’s Sustainability Report for the 2023 calendar year include the following:
Decreased Gathering & Boosting (G&B) sector methane intensity by 19%;
Exceeded the original methane intensity goals established through the ONE Future participation;
Conducted aerial methane surveys at all gathering and processing assets;
Increased handheld camera methane monitoring to quarterly at all compressor stations and bi-monthly to all gas plants;
Exported approximately 5.6 billion gallons of liquefied petroleum gas (“LPG”) globally that can displace higher GHG-emitting fuels;
Realized continued safety performance with a 25% decrease in Employee Total Recordable Incident Rate since 2021;
Received nine (9) midstream safety recognition awards for exceptional safety records;
95% of our new hires resided in the communities in which we operate;
91% of Board of Directors are independent; 100% independent Audit, Compensation, Nominating and Governance, Risk Management, and Sustainability Committees;(1)
36% of Board of Directors are women;(1) and
Board-level Sustainability Committee continues to oversee management’s implementation of strategy to integrate sustainability into various business activities to create long-term stakeholder benefits.
Please refer to the full sustainability report for additional context regarding these highlights as well as other sustainability matters. The report references the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) Standards, International Financial Reporting Standards’ (“IFRS”), Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (“SASB”) Oil & Gas Midstream Standard, and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”). In addition, Targa engaged an external third party to perform an attest review engagement for certain greenhouse gas emissions and employee safety data metrics disclosed in Targa’s 2023 Sustainability Report for the year ended December 31, 2023.
(1) As of May 17, 2024.
About Targa Resources Corp.
Targa Resources Corp. is a leading provider of midstream services and is one of the largest independent midstream infrastructure companies in North America. The Company owns, operates, acquires and develops a diversified portfolio of complementary domestic midstream infrastructure assets and its operations are critical to the efficient, safe and reliable delivery of energy across the United States and increasingly to the world. The Company’s assets connect natural gas and NGLs to domestic and international markets with growing demand for cleaner fuels and feedstocks. The Company is primarily engaged in the business of: gathering, compressing, treating, processing, transporting, and purchasing and selling natural gas; transporting, storing, fractionating, treating, and purchasing and selling NGLs and NGL products, including services to LPG exporters; and gathering, storing, terminaling, and purchasing and selling crude oil.
Targa is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in the S&P 500.
Certain statements in this release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this release that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our projected financial performance and capital spending. These forward-looking statements rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, factors and risks, many of which are outside the Company’s control, which could cause results to differ materially from those expected by management of the Company. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, weather, political, economic and market conditions, including a decline in the price and market demand for natural gas, natural gas liquids and crude oil, the impact of pandemics or any other public health crises, commodity price volatility due to ongoing or new global conflicts, actions by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) and non-OPEC oil producing countries, the impact of disruptions in the bank and capital markets, including those resulting from lack of access to liquidity for banking and financial services firms, the timing and success of business development efforts and other uncertainties. These and other applicable uncertainties, factors and risks are described more fully in the Company’s Sustainability Report for 2023 and its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and any subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The Company does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
Participants Discussed the Barriers to Building Housing Quickly and More Affordably in Vermont
VERGENNES, VT – Today, Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) brought together housing developers, construction industry experts, and local and State leaders in Vergennes to discuss barriers to building housing quickly and more affordably in Vermont. They also discussed ways the State and federal governments can ease the housing shortage crisis, and what has been done to speed housing development for working families.
“With half of Vermonters spending more than a third of their income on housing, it’s clear why housing costs are an issue that is top of mind for folks in Vergennes and across the State. This is a great place to start a family, grow a business, and be part of an extraordinary community—but too many people, from young families to seniors, have been priced out of making that dream a reality,” said Sen. Welch. “This rural housing crisis cuts our state deep—it hurts our local economy, makes it harder to attract and retain workers, and it’s threatening the success of our hospitals. Vermont is modeling the changes necessary to solve this crisis, and we need to keep working together to break through the barriers to build faster and more affordably.”
Attendees discussed the programs and positive steps Vermont has taken to make it easier to build housing, and how to improve current programs or institute new programs to build more manufactured and modular housing. They also discussed ways to cut through red tape in the permitting process and lower the price of building and development.
Senator Welch was joined by Nate Formalarie, Deputy Commissioner, Vermont Department of Housing and Community Development; State Representative Matt Birong — Addison 3; Elise Shanbacker, Executive Director of Addison Housing Works; Maura Collins, Executive Director of Vermont Housing Finance Committee; Li Ling Young of Efficiency Vermont; Zeke Davisson from Summit Properties; and Aaron Stewart from Stewart Construction. The event was hosted at the Armory Lane Senior Housing, affordable apartments and community spaces for seniors owned and operated by Addison Housing Works.
A recent report from Vermont’s Department of Housing and Community Development found the State is “likely to need an additional 24,000 to 36,000 additional homes by 2029.” The same report found that between 2019 and 2023, single family homes increased in price by 38% and mobile homes with land increased in price by 37%.
See photos from the event below:
Recently, Senator Welch joined Senators Heinrich and Wyden in introducing the New Homes Tax Credit Act, which would provide tax credits to incentivize new investments and additional resources for home construction and renovations for working families. He also recently helped introduce the bicameral Homes Act, legislation that would help build and preserve as many as 1.3 million homes in small towns, big cities, and rural communities. This summer, he introduced a bill to help more working families in rural communities purchase a home through the USDA’s home loan program.
17 October 2024 – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) has released its first voluntary Climate-related Disclosure – Ngā Whakapuaki e Pā ana ki te Āhuarangi for FY2023/24, outlining our progress in understanding, monitoring, and managing climate-related risks.
Assistant Governor Simone Robbers says climate change has the potential to present significant risks to both the financial system and the real economy, particularly during downturns.
“This disclosure details the steps we are taking to enhance RBNZ’s resilience to risks while supporting the transition to a climate-resilient, low-emissions economy,” Ms Robbers says.
Disclosing climate-related risks and opportunities is becoming a mainstream practice among private and public sector organisations globally, and we are committed to keep pace with industry best practice.
“We are kaitiaki (guardians) of New Zealand’s financial ecosystem,” says Ms Robbers.
“Anything that challenges the stability of the financial system and our economy, such as climate-related risks, is our core business. We will continue to demonstrate transparency in future disclosures, playing our part in building a climate resilient financial system.”
Our disclosures are guided by the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which provides a framework tailored to meet the needs of central banks and supervisors. While the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards (NZ CS) are well-suited for private sector entities, the NGFS approach allows us to address the distinct challenges we face.
Ms Robbers has co-chaired the NGFS workstream ‘Net Zero for Central Banks’ alongside Paolo Angelini, Deputy Director General for Financial Supervision and Regulation for Banca D’Italia since 2022, which includes the subgroup on disclosures for central banks that we now co-lead alongside the Bank of England.
Our inaugural disclosure is focused primarily on ‘baseline’ disclosures — the foundational information that the NGFS recommend central banks should provide. Going forward, we aim to incorporate more of the NGFS ‘building block’ disclosures, which relate to advanced components of central bank climate-related risk identification and management.
Two accountants were each sentenced today to 20 months in prison for their roles in the promotion and sale of abusive syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Victor Smith was a CPA and founding partner of an Atlanta-based accounting firm. Beginning at least in 2014 and through at least 2019, Smith promoted and sold tax deductions to his wealthy clients in the form of units in illegal syndicated conservation easement tax shelters organized and created by co-defendants Jack Fisher, James Sinnott and others. Smith, along with his firm, sold approximately $14 million in false tax deductions to their clients, causing a tax loss to the IRS of about $4.8 million. He earned $491,400 in commissions from Fisher and Sinnott for his role in the scheme.
William Tomasello was a CPA at another accounting firm who, at least in 2015 and through at least 2019, also promoted and sold units to his wealthy clients in these same syndicated conservation easement tax shelters. Tomasello sold approximately $8.5 million in false deductions, causing a tax loss of about $2.3 million. He earned approximately $525,072 in commissions.
The scheme entailed the creation of partnerships that would purchase land and land-owning companies and then donate conservation easements over that land or the land itself. Appraisers would value the land and the partnerships would then claim a charitable contribution tax deduction based on the appraised value of the conservation easement, resulting in tax deductions flowing to the wealthy clients who purchased units in the partnership. Many of these clients joined the tax shelters after the donation of the interest in land and after the close of the relevant tax year.
Smith and Tomasello both knew that, contrary to law, these syndicated conservation easement tax shelters lacked economic substance and that their wealthy clients participated in these sham investments only to obtain a tax deduction and received only a tax benefit for their participation in the tax shelters. For example, a client who purchased units in a partnership had to “vote” ostensibly on what to do with the partnership’s land. However, Smith and Tomasello knew that the “vote” held by the partnerships each year was just optics and that the land invariably would be donated largely as a conservation easement. Smith and Tomasello also knowingly instructed and caused their clients to falsely backdate documents — such as subscription agreements and checks — related to the illegal tax shelters.
In addition to their prison sentences, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Smith to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $4,878,990.90 in restitution. Judge Batten ordered Tomasello to serve three years of supervised release, to perform 120 hours of community service and to pay $2,386,816.04 in restitution.
Seven additional defendants have previously pleaded guilty to criminal conduct related to the syndicated conservation easement tax shelter scheme of Fisher and Sinnott (who were convicted after trial). These other defendants include appraiser Walter Douglas “Terry” Roberts, accountant Stein Agee, CPA Corey Agee, CPA Ralph Anderson, CPA James Benkoil, CPA Herbert Lewis and CPA and Attorney Randall Lenz.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia and IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco made the announcement. They also thanked U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina for her office’s assistance.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Parker Tobin, Jessica Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr. of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
The Government’s relentless focus on welfare that works and holding job seekers accountable through sanctions saw a year-on-year increase in the number of people moving from benefits into work in the September quarter, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says.
“Despite the economic gloom the Government inherited, 16,071 people cancelled their Jobseeker Support benefits because they found work between July and September, an increase of 2457 people, or 18 per cent, on a year ago.
“This coincided with a 133.3 per cent increase in the number of benefit sanctions being issued. It’s clear that returning consequences for job seekers who don’t fulfil their obligations to prepare for or find work is having an impact.
“All up, 18,516 people cancelled a main benefit because they found workin the September quarter, an increase of 12.7 per cent, and I congratulate all of them.
“There is more to do as the lingering effects of the cost-of-living crisis continue to increase overall benefit numbers. But I’m pleased the greater focus on frontline case management, community job coaching, and more regular work seminars that our Welfare that Works reforms have delivered is helping job seekers.
“It is encouraging to see the amount of hardship assistance handed out by MSD reduce by 10.4 per cent, saving taxpayers $55.2 million, with fewer grants for food and emergency housing the main reason.
“The Government has worked hard to get inflation under control, return discipline to public spending, and get families out of emergency housing. Coupled with tax relief, falling interest rates and our FamilyBoost childcare payments, large numbers of New Zealanders are better off than they were a year ago.
“More work is needed to fix the damage that years of low growth has had on our employment market, but there are green shoots of change in these latest figures.”
Benefit Fact Sheets for the September 2024 quarter can be found here
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand – Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) has released its first voluntary Climate-related Disclosure – Ngā Whakapuaki e Pā ana ki te Āhuarangi for FY2023/24, outlining our progress in understanding, monitoring, and managing climate-related risks.
Source: Eastern Institute of Technology – Tairāwhiti
4 mins ago
James McKinley-Blake is currently in his second year of the Bachelor of Business Studies (Marketing and Management).
James McKinley-Blake always had a dream of starting his own business, so he decided to act on it by enrolling in a business programme at EIT.
James, who was born in Australia and grew up in Hawke’s Bay, decided to take a gap year to work in retail and ponder his future after completing his final year at Napier Boys’ High.
“I was really interested in the arts and science and thought that’s what I wanted to do, but when I got to the end of my final year at school, I was a bit unsure of where I wanted to go to.”
“I took a gap year to think about what I actually wanted to do before I hopped into making this decision. But during that time, I always had the passion to start up or eventually manage my own business.”
“I thought business studies would be perfect. I saw that it was advertised at EIT and I thought, why not? Let’s do it, see what happens and I’m really enjoying it.”
James, 20, is currently in his second year of the Bachelor of Business Studies (Marketing and Management) at EIT Hawke’s Bay and he is loving it.
However his time at EIT got off to a tough start because the programme started the day before Cyclone Gabrielle struck, and the campus had been closed as a precaution. The classes were moved online and then moved off campus.
“The lecturers were great. They handled it well and just got into it. But when we ended up getting back to campus, you could tell a significant difference with that interaction because, personally, I prefer that face-to-face interaction.”
“Personally, I didn’t know what to expect with the business studies. I did go to an open day and heard about it for a bit, but when I got into it, it was a lot more than what I thought.”
James says that he would have no hesitation in recommending the Bachelor of Business at EIT.
“I may explore the sciences or arts a bit later in life, but at the moment just to build a steady foundation for my business, the business studies course is really enjoyable.”
He says that he is interested in starting his own business within horticulture or agriculture, but is keeping his options open.
He says he is also open to continuing studying and may look to do the Postgraduate Diploma in Business at EIT after he finishes his degree.
“James has already proven himself to be a conscientious student who is focused on his goals and impressed his lecturers with a positive and mature attitude,” says Russell Booth, Programme Co-ordinator for the Bachelor of Business Studies at EIT.
“He has also been discussing with me ways he can expand his experience whilst at EIT through applying for the Prime Minister’s Scholarship and has volunteered his time to help other students as a valued peer mentor. James is already making his intentions clear that he intends on taking advantage of every opportunity he can whilst studying at EIT and for someone like James, we are more than happy to help in whatever way we can!” says Russell.
Defendants Helped Clients File Tax Returns Claiming Millions in False Charitable Deductions
Two accountants were each sentenced today to 20 months in prison for their roles in the promotion and sale of abusive syndicated conservation easement tax shelters.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Victor Smith was a CPA and founding partner of an Atlanta-based accounting firm. Beginning at least in 2014 and through at least 2019, Smith promoted and sold tax deductions to his wealthy clients in the form of units in illegal syndicated conservation easement tax shelters organized and created by co-defendants Jack Fisher, James Sinnott and others. Smith, along with his firm, sold approximately $14 million in false tax deductions to their clients, causing a tax loss to the IRS of about $4.8 million. He earned $491,400 in commissions from Fisher and Sinnott for his role in the scheme.
William Tomasello was a CPA at another accounting firm who, at least in 2015 and through at least 2019, also promoted and sold units to his wealthy clients in these same syndicated conservation easement tax shelters. Tomasello sold approximately $8.5 million in false deductions, causing a tax loss of about $2.3 million. He earned approximately $525,072 in commissions.
The scheme entailed the creation of partnerships that would purchase land and land-owning companies and then donate conservation easements over that land or the land itself. Appraisers would value the land and the partnerships would then claim a charitable contribution tax deduction based on the appraised value of the conservation easement, resulting in tax deductions flowing to the wealthy clients who purchased units in the partnership. Many of these clients joined the tax shelters after the donation of the interest in land and after the close of the relevant tax year.
Smith and Tomasello both knew that, contrary to law, these syndicated conservation easement tax shelters lacked economic substance and that their wealthy clients participated in these sham investments only to obtain a tax deduction and received only a tax benefit for their participation in the tax shelters. For example, a client who purchased units in a partnership had to “vote” ostensibly on what to do with the partnership’s land. However, Smith and Tomasello knew that the “vote” held by the partnerships each year was just optics and that the land invariably would be donated largely as a conservation easement. Smith and Tomasello also knowingly instructed and caused their clients to falsely backdate documents — such as subscription agreements and checks — related to the illegal tax shelters.
In addition to their prison sentences, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr. for the Northern District of Georgia ordered Smith to serve two years of supervised release and to pay $4,878,990.90 in restitution. Judge Batten ordered Tomasello to serve three years of supervised release, to perform 120 hours of community service and to pay $2,386,816.04 in restitution.
Seven additional defendants have previously pleaded guilty to criminal conduct related to the syndicated conservation easement tax shelter scheme of Fisher and Sinnott (who were convicted after trial). These other defendants include appraiser Walter Douglas “Terry” Roberts, accountant Stein Agee, CPA Corey Agee, CPA Ralph Anderson, CPA James Benkoil, CPA Herbert Lewis and CPA and Attorney Randall Lenz.
Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia and IRS Criminal Investigation Chief Guy Ficco made the announcement. They also thanked U.S. Attorney Dena J. King for the Western District of North Carolina for her office’s assistance.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Richard M. Rolwing, Parker Tobin, Jessica Kraft and Nicholas J. Schilling Jr. of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Huber, Deputy Chief of the Complex Frauds Section, for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
Griffith Announces $1,319,443 ARC Grant to LENOWISCO Planning District Commission
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded LENOWISCO Planning District Commission a $1,319,443 grant. The funding will support the development of new broadband networks in Central Appalachia. U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:
“This ARC grant for more than $1.3 million helps LENOWISCO Planning District Commission potentially develop data centers in Central Appalachia and improve access to broadband for local communities.”
BACKGROUND
Funding for this project is provided through ARC’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, which directs federal resources to economic diversification projects in Appalachian communities affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries.
The name of this project is entitled the Central Appalachia Broadband Transport Infrastructure Improvements Project.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA)
Griffith Announces $750,000 ARC Grant to Friends of Southwest Virginia
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has awarded Friends of Southwest Virginia a $750,000 grant. The funding will support the evaluation of economic impacts of projects undertaken by Friends of Southwest Virginia. U.S. Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) issued the following statement:
“This ARC grant for $750,000 helps Friends of Southwest Virginia hire a team of consultants to identify strengths in key projects and build a blueprint for future projects.”
BACKGROUND
Funding for this project is provided through ARC’s Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization (POWER) Initiative, which directs federal resources to economic diversification projects in Appalachian communities affected by job losses in coal mining, coal power plant operations, and coal-related supply chain industries.
The name of this project is entitled the Southwest Virginia Creative Economy Assessment and Development Initiative.
Headline: Governor Cooper Issues Executive Order Increasing Unemployment Payments for North Carolinians in the Wake of Hurricane Helene
Governor Cooper Issues Executive Order Increasing Unemployment Payments for North Carolinians in the Wake of Hurricane Helene bconroy
Today, Governor Roy Cooper issued an emergency Executive Order authorizing the North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security, to increase the amount of weekly unemployment payments available to North Carolinians in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
“As I’ve traveled for days around western North Carolina I’ve heard concern from many small business owners about their employees who are unemployed because their businesses are temporarily closed,” said Governor Cooper. “This Executive Order will increase unemployment benefits and help ease the financial burden for impacted North Carolinians as they work to recover from the storm.”
As a result of this Order, weekly unemployment benefits will increase from a maximum of $350 a week to a maximum of $600 a week. Prior to the executive order, many low-income and part-time workers would have received less than the $350 weekly maximum. To ensure that these workers receive necessary benefits in the wake of Helene, the order will also increase benefits by $250 a week (up to the $600 cap) for all eligible workers. This order is tied to the State of Emergency for Hurricane Helene, and will remain in effect until the end of the Emergency or until it is rescinded.
State unemployment benefits will still be capped at 12 weeks, but workers who lived or worked in the impacted North Carolina counties and are out of work due to the disaster will qualify for up to 26 weeks of federal benefits, to be paid through March 29, 2025 under the federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance program. To provide relief to employers impacted by Helene, and due to the extraordinary size of the trust fund balance, employers would not see any increase in unemployment taxes due to the increased benefit.
While federal law requires the elevated state payment to apply statewide, the increased benefits would largely go to workers from counties impacted by Helene, with unemployment data through October 13th showing that workers from those counties make up 79% of new claims — 19,735 — since the disaster. This percentage is likely to increase as more counties are added to the disaster declaration.
Only eight states have a lower weekly maximum unemployment benefit than North Carolina. The $350 cap was set in 2013 and has not been changed since, even as rising wages in the state continue to grow North Carolina’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund from which benefits are paid. Meanwhile, the balance in North Carolina’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund now stands at over $4.8 billion, the second-largest such fund in the United States.
The Division of Employment Security, which administers both the traditional state unemployment benefits and federal disaster unemployment assistance benefits, estimates that, for every 10,000 North Carolinians who receive elevated state benefits, the additional cost to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund would be $2.5 million per week. If 50,000 North Carolinians from impacted counties received the full additional state benefit for all 12 weeks, the additional cost to the Trust Fund is estimated to be $150 million. Those same 50,000 workers would then be eligible for an additional 14 weeks of federal benefits, totaling an additional $175 million paid by the federal government.
Many currently unemployed workers will likely return to work before receiving the full benefit they are entitled to claim, so the actual fiscal impact of the increased benefits is expected to be lower.
The Division of Employment Security estimates that it may take between two and three weeks for impacted individuals to see the impact in their weekly benefit checks. The benefits for eligible claimants will be retroactive to September 29, 2024 and adjustment payments will be issued for benefit weeks going back to that date.
The North Carolina Council of State unanimously concurred with this executive order, consistent with the North Carolina Emergency Management Act.
Oscar winner Torill Kove’s new Mikrofilm/National Film Board of Canada animated short Maybe Elephants makes its much-anticipated US debut this month at three southern California film fests: the Newport Beach Film Festival (Oct. 17–24), Animation Is Film (Oct. 18–20) and AFI FEST in Los Angeles (Oct. 23–27).
October 15, 2024 – Montreal – National Film Board of Canada
Maybe Elephants marks the fourth collaboration of the NFB and Norway’s Mikrofilm AS with Montreal-based animator Torill Kove—a stellar run ofanimation excellence over two decades, encompassing threeAcademy Award-nominated shorts, including her 2007 Oscar winner, The Danish Poet.
A playful and loving autobiographical homage to family, adolescence and the therapeutic power of memories, however unreliable, Maybe Elephantsreunites thecast of Kove’s previous Oscar nominee, Me and My Moulton.
“I see this film as a sequel to my 2015 short Me and My Moulton, which was a semi-biographical snapshot of my family in the 1960s, when my sisters and I were under 10 years old and my parents were young and hip. In Maybe Elephants, I’m revisiting the same family. I think everybody has at least one important story. It can be catastrophic, like a war, or romantic. Maybe Elephants is my story, and it goes like this: we were a happy family and then our parents left us,” says Torill Kove.
Maybe Elephants arrives in theUS after a world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in France and its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, which was followed by an Official Selection in the Narrative Short Film Competition at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.
The Spark Animation festival in Vancouver, British Columbia (Oct. 31–Nov. 3), is presenting its Lifetime Achievement Award to Torill Kove in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of animation, and honouring Maybe Elephants with its Canadian Film Prize.
Maybe Elephants by Torill Kove(Mikrofilm/NFB, 16 min 43 s) Producers: Lise Fearnley (Mikrofilm), Maral Mohammadian (NFB), Tonje Skar Reiersen (Mikrofilm) Press kit: mediaspace.nfb.ca/epk/maybe-elephants
In the ’70s, three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes, and maybe some elephants, find themselves in bustling Nairobi—and the family will never be the same.
Narrated by Torill Kove, the film wraps rich nostalgia around memories of eventful family trips, timeless teen antics and those inevitable moments of adolescent epiphany—bursting with wit, a joyful colour palette and an energetic soundscape.
Maybe Elephants was made with the collaboration of several Kenyan Canadians who played the roles of Kenyan characters and with whom Kove consulted on Swahili language and Kenyan culture.
Torill Kove is a Norwegian-born filmmaker and animator living in Canada. Three of her films (including My Grandmother Ironed the King’s Shirts and Me and My Moulton) have been nominated for Academy Awards, with The Danish Poet, narrated by Liv Ullmann, winning the coveted golden statue in 2007. Kove’s films are known for her expressive designs and playful and poignant autobiographical themes.
A Sweeping Research Platform Can Now Mimic Steady, Predictable Water Power (and More)
NREL’s energy simulator can mimic the grids of the future—and now, this massive, virtual and real-world research platform can simulate water power, too. Photo by Werner Slocum, NREL
Say you want to study something big—like a community power grid, a massive pipe system, or roadways crisscrossing the entire United States—but none of it exists, at least not yet. How do you study these invisible labyrinths to make sure they will be safe and efficient?
Good question, and here is the answer: You do that at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) on a platform called the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (or ARIES, for short).
NREL’s experts have built a research platform that can create 3D simulations of entire power grids—either existing or theoretical—that contain thousands or even millions of different energy technologies. For example, researchers can populate an existing grid with wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, nuclear facilities, electric vehicles, or even smart devices, like our cell phones, to see how they could impact our future grid.
But until recently, one grid puzzle piece has not been well represented.
“The part that has been missing is: How can we simulate or represent water power devices?” said Rob Hovsapian, a mechanical engineer at NREL and an ARIES research advisor who helped introduce hydropower into the platform.
With ARIES, researchers can play out and plan for almost any future grid scenario. For example: How could huge amounts of renewable energy impact different community grids? And how could hydropower help our power system weather hurricanes, cold snaps, cyberattacks, and other disruptions?
“It allows us to do those ‘what if’ scenarios,” Hovsapian said. “In the real world, you’re limited to what’s there.”
Now that ARIES has integrated water power into its grid simulations, researchers can explore even more “what if” scenarios to prepare for the grid to come. Photo by Bryan Bechtold, NREL
Now, we can ask “what ifs” about water power technologies, like hydropower and the more nascent marine energy (sometimes called ocean energy because it often comes from powerful ocean waves, currents, and tides, but it can refer to energy from river currents as well). Though very different, both water power technologies generate predictable energy, making them a dependable partner for more variable energy sources, like wind energy and solar power. Those renewables, along with energy storage (like batteries), have been part of ARIES for a good while now. It was time to sprinkle a little water into the mix.
“Now that we can use ARIES to simulate hydropower, we can study more scenarios in more locations and even potential future energy systems,” said Jerry Davis, the laboratory program manager for ARIES. “We want to represent as many renewable generation sources as we can.”
But that is harder than it might sound.
A Hydropower Simulator Helps a Remote Alaskan Village
When fishers return to the harbor in the remote village of Cordova, Alaska, they enter a cove full of mast spikes resembling hundreds of mini-church spires. Those fishers—and there are a lot in Cordova—bring in salmon, halibut, rockfish, and trout but also something less desirable: a 400% increase in energy demand, which can strain the small village’s microgrid, a standalone power system that depends on just two hydropower plants and diesel generators (and diesel must be flown or boated in, often at great expense).
And that is a problem.
Cordova’s microgrid—and everything it powers, including hospitals and homes—is vulnerable to spikes in energy demand from the summer fish bonanza and Alaska’s dangerously cold winters as well as extreme weather events, like avalanches and droughts. The village needed solutions—novel ways for their microgrid to bob and weave with all these changes, so they can match energy supply to demand, especially when their economy or lives depend on it.
But you cannot simply tinker with such a critical system, hoping your manipulations do not cause a blackout or irreparable damage. Nor can you study something that does not exist, like batteries or solar panels that have yet to be installed.
That is where NREL and ARIES come in.
The ARIES platform uses data from real-world wind turbines, solar panels, hydropower generators, and more to create a highly accurate virtual simulation of different grid scenarios and how they might react to changes in energy demand, weather, and higher levels of renewable energy. Graphic by Josh Bauer, NREL; photo by Joe DelNero, NREL
The village was one of the first communities to directly benefit from ARIES’ hydropower emulation platform, which, like the rest of ARIES, relies on hardware and software to accurately simulate the town’s spiderweb of energy devices. ARIES’ software programs, which are built on real-world data, can mimic actual grids (like Cordova’s microgrid), so researchers can manipulate the Cordova system in the safety of a computer simulation. Soon, ARIES will also be able to connect actual hardware, like a hydropower generator, to these virtual simulations so the system can receive live feedback from real tech and learn from it.
For hydropower, ARIES’ simulation capability is especially valuable. Although researchers can install experimental solar panels and wind turbines at a laboratory field site, they cannot replicate hydropower plants—they are simply too big and too specific to certain river sites or geography.
Instead, Mayank Panwar, a senior research engineer at NREL, and Hovsapian built what they call a Real-Time Hydropower Emulation Platform, which can mimic real-world hydropower facilities in real time—one second in the hydropower simulator equates to one second in the real world. As of today, their 2.5-megawatt emulator uses data from actual hydropower plants (including those in Cordova) to inform its simulations.
“As we add more and more technologies to ARIES and there’s more and more variability and uncertainty with the grid, such as wind and solar, hydro will play a key role in providing stability to the grid,” Hovsapian said. “But how would we quantify that? ARIES will be an ideal environment for us to do that.”
With ARIES, Hovsapian can ask more “what if” questions, like what if this hydropower plant in Cordova is paired with a 10-megawatt battery or 3 megawatts of solar panels instead of 1? And how do these changes impact the grid’s reliability? Thanks to ARIES, Cordova has their answers—and a more resilient grid, too.
No other system in the world can accomplish this kind of plug-and-play simulation, Hovsapian said.
And it is not just hydropower that benefits.
Getting Marine Energy to Communities Quickly
Marine energy is still in the early stages of development, but these technologies can be valuable sources of clean energy for communities that have ample flowing water and little else. Like Cordova, the Alaskan village of Igiugig also relies on expensive shipments of diesel fuel. Many island communities off the coast of Maine struggle to maintain stable power when weather whips through. Communities in Hawaii, where energy costs are typically higher than in the rest of the country, also often depend on costly imported fuels.
And yet, all three of these areas have one powerful thing in common: hefty amounts of water. With energy from river currents, waves, and tides, each community could improve its energy resilience and potentially achieve its clean energy goals, too.
There is just one problem: Before communities opt to install one of these nascent devices, they need greater confidence that the technologies can deliver on their promise—and that is exactly what ARIES can provide.
Prabakar (right) uses the ARIES research platform to simulate how marine energy technologies, like river current devices, could slot into existing grids and improve a community’s energy resilience. Photo by Joe DelNero, NREL
“A big part of our mission is de-risking energy technologies, so communities are comfortable deploying them,” Davis said.
At NREL, researchers are studying marine energy technologies “to make sure that things don’t fail in the field,” said Kumaraguru Prabakar, a research engineer at the laboratory. “Even if a small river generator is powering a small house, it is powering the grid, so you have to make sure it’s safe.”
And for that—and more complicated analyses—he needs ARIES.
Right now, Prabakar is examining how marine energy technologies slot into preexisting grids. Currents tend to be consistent, but rivers are still subject to freezes and droughts. Waves and tides are predictable but do not always churn out the same amount of power throughout the day or year. With ARIES, Prabakar can assess how these variations might impact different power systems and whether other solutions, like energy stored as green hydrogen, could balance out these fluctuations.
ARIES’ biggest gift might be time. In the last decade, researchers used to take years to validate new energy technologies, Prabakar said. But now, with ARIES, experts can significantly speed up that process (ARIES can even pair up with similar simulators at other national laboratories to pull in even more data, capabilities, and answers). Speed is especially critical to accelerate the development of marine energy technologies so they can help fight climate change sooner rather than later.
“If somebody comes up with an idea to add water power, they should be able to deploy it in less than 12 months,” Prabakar said.
“It’s exciting,” Hovsapian added. “There are a lot of changes coming, and ARIES can help us prepare.”
Learn more about the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES), the nation’s most advanced platform for energy system integration research and validation at scale. And subscribe to the NREL water power newsletter,The Current, to make sure you do not miss a water power update.