Here's the stories you'll be talking about on the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show with Eric Scott on Monday:

⬛ Off-shore wind projects dead in the water

☑️ The Empire Wind Project was the last wind project off the Jersey Shore
☑️ Feds investigate if approval was rushed
☑️ NY Gov. Hochul calls the order an 'overreach' by the Trump administration

Supporters of wind energy are digging in after the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management stopped all construction on the Empire Wind Project, effectively ending all wind projects off the New Jersey coast.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgam said Wednesday a review must first be completed of information that "suggests the Biden administration rushed through its approval without sufficient analysis." The wind energy project located 20 miles east of Long Branch and 14 miles south of Long Island would have created 47 wind turbines and up to two offshore substations. Two cable routes would have sent the power generated to Manhattan.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defended the project as making energy more affordable, reliable and abundant and accused the federal government of undermining those efforts. The project already employs 1,000 workers, according to Hochul.

“As governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future," Hochul said in a statement.

⬛ New Jersey is one of the most expensive states to raise a child

👶 It's very expensive to raise a kid in NJ
👶 Infant daycare costs are off the charts
👶 It's not likely to get better anytime soon

Raising children is not only hard, it’s expensive.

How expensive?

New Jersey is the 11th most expensive state in the U.S. to raise a child, according to a study by LendingTree, which found the 18-year cost to raise a child in the Garden State has surged to $279,862. (This does not include the cost of college, either).

Nationally, families are spending nearly 23% of their yearly income on child-related expenses, up from 19%.

In New Jersey, families are spending 18% of their annual income to raise a child.

"That’s a really big chunk given just how much everything else in life costs,” said LendingTree Analyst Matt Schulz. .

He says it’s not likely to get better anytime soon because everything has gone up at an alarming rate of the past few years.

⬛ Another NJ official in DWI with bottle of alcohol and kids in car

🚨Megan Fackler collided with a tractor-trailer in Ewing
🚨She failed a field sobriety test
🚨The latest public official charged with DWI

EWING — A New Jersey Department of Transportation executive was charged with DWI after her SUV hit a tractor-trailer while her three young daughters were in the car.

The police video posted by Transparency Bodycam, and first reported by the New York Post, shows the trailer with damage to its rear axle after being hit at the intersection of Grand and Summit avenues on Oct. 5 by an SUV.

Megan Fackler, the director of statewide planning, was behind the wheel.

This is the second report this year of a New Jersey official getting busted on DWI charges involving their children in the car. While Fackler's arrest happened in October, it came to light weeks after the mayor of Lumberton was caught with a water bottle filled with vodka while driving her toddler.

⬛ The 3 biggest mistakes to getting a Real ID as deadline looms

✅ A Real ID will be needed to fly or enter a federal building after May 7
✅ Three problems could stop you from getting a Real ID
✅ A Real ID is not mandatory but you'll still need to show certain documents

As the clock ticks towards May 7, when Real ID licenses will be required to fly and enter government facilities, there are three issues applicants are running into that hold up the process at MVC offices.

Demand for Real ID licenses is "extraordinarily high" ahead of May 7, not only in New Jersey but around the country, according to MVC spokesman William Connolly.

The agency says it has been processing record numbers of applications and added "hundreds of thousands" of new appointments, during "Real ID Thursdays" at its licensing centers and by sending its mobile unit on Saturday.

Every morning, 3,500 new appointments for Real ID upgrades for people whose licenses are not up for renewal in the next three months are released on a “rolling basis.” On Thursdays, 4,600 appointments are added. Appointments are also added as customers cancel or change their appointments.

⬛ NJ refuses Trump order to remove DEI in schools

🍎 State education department rebukes order to eliminate DEI
🍎 Sets up battle over federal funding for New Jersey schools
🍎 Harvard University had $2.2 billion in funding frozen

The head of the New Jersey Department of Education is pushing back on the Trump administration's pressure to axe diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

New Jersey Education Commissioner Kevin Dehmer said the state would not certify that it was following antidiscrimination laws.

Instead, Dehmer sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education that was released late Thursday afternoon. It was a response to a demand earlier this month to follow the Trump administration's policies.

He wrote that New Jersey was already in compliance with federal laws, including a section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, and national origin to receive federal financial assistance.

Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.

Eric Scott hosts the New Jersey 101.5 Morning Show from 6 - 10 a.m. on New Jersey 101.5.

Join the conversation by calling 1-800-283-1015 or download the NJ101.5 app.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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