Will this end the fight over beach badges

Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Thursday:

⬛ NJ pauses offshore wind farm that can't find turbine blades

Land-based wind turbines spin in Atlantic City (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)(Canva)

TRENTON — New Jersey hit the pause button Wednesday on an offshore wind energy project that is having a hard time finding someone to manufacture blades for its turbines.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities granted Leading Light Wind a pause on its project through Dec. 20 while its developers seek a source for the crucial components.

The project, from Chicago-based Invenergy and New York-based energyRE, would be built 40 miles off Long Beach Island and would consist of up to 100 turbines, enough to power 1 million homes.

Leading Light was one of two projects that the state utilities board chose in January. But just three weeks after that approval, one of three major turbine manufacturers, GE Vernova, said it would not announce the kind of turbine Invenergy planned to use in the Leading Light Project, according to the filing with the utilities board.

⬛ Groups: Rent in New Jersey is 'unsustainable' for many

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Affording the monthly rent bill is an out-of-reach goal for a growing number of New Jersey residents.

Industry observers say the main issue is a lack of inventory, which gives landlords the power to jack up prices. But groups note that profits aren't the only reason for rising rents.

"According to recent Census data, 51.1% of renters in New Jersey are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent," said Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, D-Middlesex.

The Assembly Housing Committee, chaired by Lopez, held a hearing on Monday to discuss the impact of rising rental costs.

⬛ Dining solo at New Jersey restaurants is becoming more popular

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Do you enjoy dining alone?

More people are going solo at restaurants, squashing the stigma of single dining of years past where it was considered lonely, sad, and even pathetic.

According to restaurant booking platform OpenTable, online reservations for parties of one at sit-down restaurants increased 8% for the 12 months ending on May 31, compared with the same time the year prior, CNN reported.

⬛ These NJ movers were each fined $5K for being unlicensed

NJ moving companies fined for no licenses (Canva, Townsquare Media Illustration)

TRENTON – About two dozen moving companies in New Jersey — and three based in New York — have been fined thousands of dollars for doing business without being licensed.

Officials with the state’s Division of Consumer Affairs carried out a three-day undercover operation in June.

Unlicensed companies were contacted online for a job, to start at a storage unit in Monroe.

When they showed up, state officials were waiting to confirm their lack of a license, while State Police also did a safety inspection of their truck.

⬛ Bill to clarify need for NJ beach badges for surfers, fishermen

Austin Downs via Facebook/Township of Belmar
Townsquare Media illustration

A proposed bill from a Jersey Shore assemblywoman would settle the issue of whether or not a surfer or fisherman needs to have a beach tag to gain access to Jersey Shore beach.

The issue was pushed into the spotlight in August by a viral video of a surfer being handcuffed by a Belmar police officer on a beach. The initial video showed surfer Liam Mahoney, of Junction City, California, handcuffed on the beach with Belmar police officers. He scuffles with the officers and winds up face down in the sand as a woman screams at the officers about Mahoney having a beach badge.