DUI attorney matthews bark of wintersprings - Legal Challenge to Jessup Power Plant Ends

Source    :  W NEP
By           : Dave Bohman
Category :  DUI attorney matthews bark of wintersprings

Legal Challenge to Jessup Power Plant Ends

The group fighting plans for a natural gas power plant in Jessup announced it is giving up its legal battle. That appears to clear the way for the plant to be built sometime in 2018. Activists filed suit to challenge last year's zoning change that would allow the plant to be built in Jessup. On Wednesday, the group Citizens for a Healthy Jessup reversed course, claiming the reality of taking on a multimillion dollar corporation was just too much. Signs opposing the proposed gas-fired electric plant still dot some front lawns in Jessup, but the fight now appears to be over. Citizens for a Healthy Jessup posted on Facebook that it made a very tough decision, dropping its legal battle against Invenergy, the Chicago company planning to build and operate the 1,500-megawatt plant.

"I feel sad for the organization that is trying to stop the plant from being put into the area," said Lee Galovic of Peckville. Galovic has friends and family in Jessup who worry the plant's emissions and noise could outweigh any benefits. "I know they need the money, and I know it means jobs, but it just seems like it's ruining little neighborhoods." Plant opponents say Invenergy was in the position of placing what is called a frivolous lawsuit bond against them.

According to the message on its Facebook page, Citizens for a Healthy Jessup faced, "having to pay sanctions and attorney's fees if a judge found their appeals without merit." Such a ruling could cost members hundreds of thousands of dollars each. The end of the legal battle means the zoning change for the land near an industrial park in Jessup will stand, as will the environmental permit awarded by the state late last year. Bakery owner Ginger Adams was featured in an Invenergy commercial lobbying for the plant. She hopes the end of the legal fight begins some healing in the borough, which was divided by plans for the plant. "It's wonderful news," said Adams. "I understand their concerns, but as a businesswoman, my concerns are to bring more money into the community." "I don't know how they're going to heal because you're going to be looking up on this mountain and you're going to be seeing that plant," Galovic added. Citizens for a Healthy Jessup still believe the natural gas power plant is bad for the community and the environment but adds the fight is too potentially expensive. Invenergy still needs to more environmental and building permits before it can begin construction, but company officials say they expect to get them soon.

Read more : wnep.com/2016/01/20/legal-challenge-to-jessup-power-plant-ends/

DUI Attorney Matthews Bark of Wintersprings | How to avoid a DUI as holiday patrols increase

Source    : bellinghamherald
By        : Doug Dahl
Category  :   Attorney Matthews Bark of Orlando

I know every month is national something-or-other month, but this one is legit: The president even signed a proclamation. December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. All year long, and especially in December, DUI prevention organizations work hard to educate people about the consequences of impaired driving.

Around here, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission goes a big step further and hires extra officers all over the state, and their entire job is to arrest impaired drivers.

But that doesn’t have to be you. It’s easier than ever to not get a DUI. There are so many options besides driving impaired: bus, taxi, ride-share apps, designated driver, your friend’s couch for the night.

I’ll give you another tool to avoid getting a DUI. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a free app called SaferRide. And it’s designed for drunk people to use. Once you get it set up (do that before drinking) the app has three big red buttons, all labeled in large font.

I think of the top button as designed for the person who is too impaired to drive but can still handle a conversation with a stranger. It’s labeled “Get Taxi.” If you press it, you’ll get list of taxi services, with phone numbers ready to dial, in another big red button.

I like to think the middle button is for the person who is either out of cash or drunk enough to need a good friend for a ride — someone who won’t get too mad if you ruin the upholstery. It’s labeled “Call Friend.”

The bottom button is handy for someone new to the area or someone so drunk that direction and location has lost all meaning. It’s labeled, “Where Am I?” It’ll give you a map and an address, which you can in turn give to your friend (middle button) or the taxi (top button).

Even though I find a bit of humor in the app, it makes a serious, even if unintentional, point. The designers felt that the appropriate tool for an impaired person consists entirely of three big red buttons with large font. Compare that to the complexities of driving a car. Coordination and decision-making skills can deteriorate after only a couple drinks. It just doesn’t make sense to pull out the car keys when you’re in a condition to only manage three red buttons.


(Read More : bellinghamherald.com/news/traffic/rules-of-the-road/article47998285.html)