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Seminarians to share a home with pope. 4A
NYC, Phila. sites host saintly relics. 4A
Pontiffs day in Washington, D.C. 1B

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Coast opened
to wind turbines

THURSDAY 09.24.15

Feds to sell leases for waters off south N.J.

DAN RADEL @DANIELRADELAPP

Imagine the New Jersey coastline dotted with

hundreds of wind turbines taller than a football
field and generating enough wind energy to power more than a million homes.
This vision moved a step forward Wednesday
when the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it will
auction 344,000 acres offshore of New Jersey for
wind energy development.

The lease site is about the length of the

southern half of the states coastline.
Theyre not going to be plunked down in
the water in the next year. Theres going to be
a four- or five-year environmental review period before they go in, said Paul J. Gallagher
Sr., the chief operating officer for Fishermens Energy.
Fishermens Energy, founded by New JerSee WIND, Page 12A

DEP issues
drought
watch for
part of state
Area includes Monmouth, northern
Ocean; residents urged to conserve
TODD B. BATES @TODDBBATESAPP

tion.
And the wheels were turning by themselves.
In a best-case scenario, this could potentially
change the world, Colella said in an interview before
the test run.
The Cockroach is DriveAIs first prototype of its
self-driving car, a project nearly two years in the making including a summer of 12-hour days programming software and designing the mechanics to make it
work.

With New Jerseys dry spell growing, state officials

issued a drought watch Wednesday and called on residents to conserve water.
The drought watch covers all but Upper Freehold
and Allentown in Monmouth County; northern Ocean
County down through Manchester, Berkeley and Seaside Park; other parts of Central Jersey; and all of northeastern New Jersey.
It is prudent, said David A. Robinson, the New Jersey state climatologist. I think the timing is right. Its
always a tricky call because these generally are somewhat subjective decisions, mind you underlaid by factual data.
The drought watch came as the National Weather
Service forecast called for little rain in the next week.
Residents in the drought watch area should voluntarily conserve water, especially when it comes to watering lawns and other nonessential uses, state Environmental Commissioner Bob Martin said in a statement.
Residents in the rest of the Garden State should use water wisely in the wake of ongoing dry weather and
above-average temperatures.
If it remains warm and dry and water use does not
drop, the state Department of Environmental Protection will consider taking further action, such as declaring a drought warning. Under a warning, the DEP may
order water purveyors to develop alternative sources of
water or transfer water from areas with relatively more
water to those with less, according to the DEP statement.
The drought watch, which covers the states Northeast, Central, and Coastal North water supply regions,
was prompted by rainfall deficits that have decreased
reservoir, groundwater and stream flow levels, the
statement says.
With water use still high, the watch is aimed at rais-

See CARS, Page 12A

See DROUGHT, Page 12A

CHRIS LAURENS/ELSAM

This wind-turbine farm sits off the coast of England; its 30 turbines can generate a total of up to 90 megawatts. The New
Jersey Wind Energy Area, if fully developed, could support at least 3,400 megawatts, federal officials say.

No driver, no problem for N.J. techies

MIKE DAVIS @BYMIKEDAVIS

FRANKLIN Its turning! Its turning, said Jonathan

Colella, his eyes fixed at the wheels on the Cockroach.
To the naked eye, the Cockroach looks like a MacGyver experiment: a piece of wood, some heavy-duty
wheels, a car battery and a tiny gasoline motor. The only
reason it was actually going forward was because of a
push from a homemade go-cart behind it.
But, for a few seconds last weekend, its small tires
were slowly turning through a makeshift course at
Franklin High School in the townships Somerset sec-

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Beloved Yankees
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 229
SINCE 1879