June 30, 2021

Taylor Swift is a DUer...

or someone on her production crew. Look at the spelling of the sign at 2:08 and a few more times in the video. I've only seen that spelling here and DailyKos -- it dates back to Cindy's Gold Star protest at the Bush Ranch.

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June 29, 2021

Supreme Court Lets PennEast Pipeline Sue for Land Rights (Eminent Domain)

Source: Bloomberg Law

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that PennEast Pipeline Co. can sue New Jersey to secure key land-use rights for its 116-mile natural-gas project in a decision that gives the industry new leverage in dealings with state officials.

The justices, voting 5-4, said New Jersey wasn’t protected by sovereign immunity given the federal approval for the PennEast project.

The ruling is a boost for a pipeline that would carry as much as 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day from northern Pennsylvania to New Jersey. PennEast, a joint venture of five companies including Southern Co. and Enbridge Inc., still must secure state-level permits, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Brandon Barnes.

At issue at the Supreme Court was a provision in the U.S. Natural Gas Act that lets pipeline companies use the federal government’s eminent domain power. After the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pipeline in 2018, PennEast sued to gain access to more than 40 parcels that are either owned or partially controlled by New Jersey.



From Scotusblog: https://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/penneast-pipeline-co-v-new-jersey/

Holding: A certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to Section 717f(h) of the Natural Gas Act authorizes a private company to condemn all necessary rights-of-way, whether owned by private parties or states.



Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/supreme-court-clears-penneast-pipeline-to-sue-for-land-rights

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Weird lineup of Judges on this one as well.

June 28, 2021

Possible Failure Point Emerges in Miami Building Collapse

Source: NYTimes via MSN

The investigation into what may be the deadliest accidental building collapse in American history has just begun, but experts who have examined video footage of the disaster outside Miami are focusing on a spot in the lowest part of the condominium complex — possibly in or below the underground parking garage — where an initial failure could have set off a structural avalanche.

Called “progressive collapse,” the gradual spread of failures could have occurred for a variety of reasons, including design flaws or the less robust construction allowed under the building codes of four decades ago, when the complex was built. But that progression could not have occurred without some critical first failure, and close inspections of a grainy surveillance video that emerged in the initial hours after the disaster have given the first hints of where that might have been.

“It does appear to start either at or very near the bottom of the structure,” said Donald O. Dusenberry, a consulting engineer who has investigated many structural collapses. “It’s not like there’s a failure high and it pancaked down.”



Explanations for an initial failure at the bottom of the building could include a problem with the deep, reinforced concrete pilings on which the building sits — perhaps set off by an unknown void or a sinkhole below — which then compromised the lower columns. Or the steel reinforcing the columns in the parking garage or first few floors could have been so corroded that they somehow gave way on their own. Or the building itself could have been poorly designed, built with substandard concrete or steel — or simply with insufficient steel at critical points.



Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/possible-failure-point-emerges-in-miami-building-collapse/ar-AALvJr3?ocid=entnewsntp

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Interviews and reviews with a large number of engineers all saying cause can't be determined yet -- and that the issues identified in the 2018 report may or may not be that important to the failure.

June 17, 2021

Cond Nast Agrees to Contract With New Yorker Union, Averting Strike (includes Ars Technica & Pitch)

Source: WSJ

Condé Nast has agreed to its first contract with unionized employees at the New Yorker and two other publications, marking the media company’s first labor agreement in its history and averting a threatened strike after 2½ years of negotiations.

The three-year deal, which also covers staffers at music website Pitchfork and technology publication Ars Technica, raises the salary floor to $60,000 in the final year of the contract, places a cap on healthcare cost increases and establishes a defined 40-hour workweek. It also includes stipulations that employees can be fired only for cause, an issue that had been a sticking point in the contract talks.

“Thanks to our members’ hard work, the era of at-will employment and wage stagnation at the New Yorker is finally over,” said Natalie Meade, unit chair of the New Yorker Union. “Throughout two and half years of negotiations, our union remained steadfast in our commitment to improve the quality of life for ourselves and for future employees.”


The deal comes amid a continuing wave of labor organizing in media companies around the country over the past several years, from digital startups to legacy news organizations like Condé Nast that had never before had unions. Editorial employees at The Wall Street Journal have been unionized since 1937.



Read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/conde-nast-agrees-to-contract-with-new-yorker-union-averting-strike-11623889643?mod=hp_lista_pos5

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Congrats to the new union, and I'm glad to see more knowledge workers unionized and fighting for a real 40 hour work week.