WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis issued the following Beige Book for Nov. 30, 2022: * * * Summary of Economic Activity Economic conditions have remained unchanged since our previous report. Firms reported softening consumer demand, but labor shortages for high-skilled jobs remained a key issue. However, a rising share of firms reported being able to find and retain low-skilled workers. Upward pressure on wages remained strong in industries dealing with labor shortag  more

BROWNSVILLE, Texas, Dec. 3 (TNSgov) -- The Sierra Club posted the following news release: Weeks after NextDecade started clear-cutting land for its fracked gas export terminal, Rio Grande LNG, in the Rio Grande Valley, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) made steps towards speeding through its review of the proposed Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project. Despite being an unproven technology for LNG projects, FERC announced that it will draft an insufficient Environmental Assessme  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-New York, issued the following news release and letter: Congressman Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY-02) joins a group of bipartisan Members of Congress in sending a letter to President Biden warning of potential heating issues in the Northeast this winter due to a shortage in heating oil supplies. The letter, led by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY-11) and signed by Rep. Garbarino, along with Reps. Jared Golden (D-ME-02) and Chris Pappas (D-NH-01),  more

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, Dec. 3 (TNSgov) -- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation issued the following news release on Dec. 2, 2022: The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) announced today $33.8 million in grant awards to support the restoration and conservation of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. NFWF and EPA representatives joined local leaders and community members at Truxtun Park in Annapolis, MD to announce the awards. The 104 grants will leverage more than $30 million in matching co  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (TNStalk) -- The Ocean Conservancy issued the following statement on Dec. 2, 2022: * * * Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) ), together with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), introduced the Protecting Communities From Plastics Act. This bill would strengthen protections for communities most harmed by petrochemical production and pollution; create new nationwide targets for single-use plastics reduction; and   more

SANTA MONICA, California, Dec. 2 (TNStalk) -- Rand issued the following commentary to The Hill on Dec. 1, 2022: * * * How COVID-19 Transformed the Jobs Market By Brian Michael Jenkins While it may seem a distant memory now, the COVID-19 pandemic initially devastated the U.S. economy. It also exposed and exacerbated existing inequities in society. The wealthy could escape to safer retreats-ranches in Montana or doomsday getaways in New Zealand. Stuck where they were, workers had fewer options  more

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, issued the following Q&A: Q: What's the outlook for this holiday shopping season? A: Inflation is top of mind for consumers during this holiday season. Rising interest rates are pinching household budgets and high energy costs will force Americans to pay more to heat their homes this winter. Whereas shipping bottlenecks and disrupted supply chains caused headaches for shoppers and retailers the last two years, yet another cloud loomed ove  more

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin, Dec. 3 (TNSgov) -- The Sierra Club issued the following news release on Dec. 2, 2022: Yesterday the Public Service Commission (PSC) approved We Energies' request for a rate increase of 10.9% for electric and 9% for gas for its customers. This rate increase is significantly larger than We Energies' initial request in this rate case, which was a 6% increase for electricity. The utility increased its request throughout the course of the rate case. We Energies claimed the req  more