Daily Archives: January 19, 2025

Massachusetts offshore wind project that Biden visited is no more as Trump retakes office

A $300 million offshore wind cable plant development project in Somerset that President Biden visited in July 2022, ushering in the country’s transition to clean energy, is off the table after its Italian developer walked away from it. The Prysmian Group backed out of its nearly three-year endeavor of gaining necessary local and state permits on Friday, days before President-elect Trump retakes office, saying it wouldn’t purchase the land needed for the effort. Massachusetts Congressman Jake Auchincloss called Prysmian’s decision to walk away from its submarine cables factory at Brayton Point “disappointing and discouraging.” “Donald Trump has unraveled (the) promise of good jobs by threatening a moratorium on offshore wind,” Auchincloss said in a statement Friday night, “generating so much uncertainty that companies pull back investment.” The Prysmian Group did not explicitly connect its withdrawal from the project to Trump’s cutdown threat. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:32

Multiple agencies are searching for two fishermen who went missing in Northern Maine

Maine Marine Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard are searching for two commercial fishermen who were reported missing after they did not return to port. Chester Barret and his son Aaron Barrett were on board their fishing vessel F/V Sudden Impact. They planned to travel from Edmunds to South Addition. The 34-foot scallop vessel left Cobscook Bay State Park around 5 a.m. EST Saturday. After encountering rough conditions, they planned to seek refuge in Cutler but became unreachable, according to authorities. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:51

‘The only winner here is China.’ How DFO invested in and then killed Canadian eel aquaculture

An aquaculture project that would have seen elvers grown to adulthood in Atlantic Canada rather than China has been thrown into disarray by DFO’s quota reallocation. Despite millions in investment, over a decade of research and the potential to increase profits for all involved ten-fold, federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier won’t even respond to NovaEel’s letters. “The undermining of NovaEel means for the foreseeable future, or forever, there will be no domestic capacity to exploit our natural resource, and we will be 100 per cent beholden to foreign entities to realize value,” said Mitchell Feigenbaum, a commercial elver licence holder and investor in NovaEel. “Those entities are not going to invest in eel farms in North America and they have demonstrated the willingness and ability to support the trade of unlawfully caught eels without any hesitation.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:07

Marine Patrol Searching for South Addison Fishermen

The Maine Marine Patrol is searching for Chester Barrett and his son Aaron Barrett, commercial fishermen from South Addison, who were reported missing yesterday evening by a family member when they failed to return as expected after transiting from Edmunds to South Addison. The two were on board Chester’s fishing vessel “Sudden Impact.” Marine Patrol launched a search on the water and shoreline between Lubec and South Addison last night at approximately 7 p.m. Marine Patrol was joined in last night’s search by the US Coast Guard and local fishermen. Last night’s search was postponed due to poor visibility but will resume this morning, focusing again on the coastline between Lubec and South Addison. link 09:34

TikTok goes dark as US ban takes effect

Millions of TikTok users in the United States are no longer able to watch videos on the social media platform as a federal ban on the immensely popular app takes effect. The company’s app was removed Saturday evening from prominent app stores, including the ones operated by Apple and Google, while its website told users that the short-form video platform was no longer available. The blackout began just hours before the law took effect. Users opening the TikTok app on Saturday encountered a pop-up message preventing them from scrolling videos that read, “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” “We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office,” the notice continued, in a reference to President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to “save” the platform. The company told its users to stay tuned. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:15

Dozens protest wind farms and impact on whales in New Bedford

Dozens of protesters gathered in New Bedford Saturday, demanding an end to offshore wind projects immediately. The protest came one day after final federal approval for the Southcoast Wind Project, 26 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Protesters said they were outraged over potential impacts on the environment, coastal neighborhoods, and the commercial fishing industry. Video, Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:48