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Briana: Protesters and counter protesters dual in the Garden State and across the country targeting Elon Musk.

Plus, Attentive Energy is asking the state for a year delay to fund its multimillion-dollar project.

Also, on trans day of visibility, advocates are stepping up efforts to push for the protection of Trent -- have transgender rights in the state.

>> We want protections for those who are currently being attacked or whose rights are being stripped away because of these executive orders.

Briana: And the governor honoring work students are doing at the Holocaust research and genocide Center.

-- Holocaust and genocide research center.

>> This challenge, the tragedy, the behavior remains in our midst today.

Briana: NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

♪ >> From NJPBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Briand of Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Dueling protest popped up at Tesla dealerships around the state this weekend with residents in support of and against Elon Musk growing role in national politics.

In Paramus, hundreds lined Route 17 on Sunday, even spilling out onto the busy highway, holding signs and waving flags at passing drivers.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Spadea worked the pro Trump section of the crowd.

The demonstration was largely peaceful.

There were no arrests or fights but there were 10 shouting matches.

The so-called Tesla takedown protest and counter protest happened outside short -- outside showrooms in Springfield and Lawrenceville.

It is part of a national movement and day of action in hopes of hurting the sales and stock price of the electric car maker.

But this was the first time supporters came out, and many this weekend said it will not be the last.

Also tonight, the New York mayor is suing ice over the federal immigration agency's effort to open Delaney Hall as eight attention center.

The mayor's office says both ice and the private owner of the building are doing work at the facility without following safety protocols, a violation of city and state law.

The complaint lodged with Essex County Superior Court alleges city officials have been denied access to conduct required inspections and that construction is taking place without the required permits.

New York's Department of engineering today issued a stop work order at the site to halt all construction there.

The mayor's office also claims ICE has not requested to change the building's use.

Delaney Hall is crucial to the federal government's plan to expand detention facilities on the East Coast -- detention capacity on the East Coast.

Ice and Geo group did not return comment in time for this broadcast.

Locals are lining up to support a doughnut shop that was the scene of what police are sought Bashar calling a bias crime.

Police arrested a 16 one-year-old after he allegedly stole a pride flag from Main Street doughnuts and then fled wind confronted by the man who runs the shop with his husband.

The suspect ran back to the shop and allegedly threatened to burn it down while making Nazi salutes and suggestion gestures in the streets before fleeing.

Notes of support are now displayed in the front windows.

The suspect has been charged with bias intimidation, terroristic threats, criminal mischief, and Disorderly Conduct .

New Jersey is facing skyrocketing energy prices, and lawmakers are at odds on how to fix it.

During a joint legislative hearing on Friday, Republicans criticize Governor Murphy's energy policies for spending too much of his time in office focusing on offshore wind, which so far has not brought new sources of power to the state.

Democrats blamed the region's grid operator for being too slow approving the connection of energy projects to the state.

All of it resulting in less supply and higher bills for residents.

Joanna Gagis reports.

Joanna: Probably do not think of the energy required to do a quick Google search, but it is driving up the costs of our energy bills.

How it happened exactly as with these sliders dissected on Friday.

-- is what these legislators dissected on Friday.

>> Looking around the room, I can guarantee you that every one of you has at least one cell phone in your pocket.

Joanna: The hearing is in response to recent increases in New Jersey customers' power bills, which will worsen this summer.

And like any good hearing in Trenton, there was plenty of finger-pointing.

>> Demand is increasing due primarily due to the proliferation of data centers, but also due to electrification as well as the on shoring of the U.S. manufacturing industry.

This major uptick in demand, if we are all being very truthful with one another, nobody saw this coming.

Joanna: PJM is a multistate supplier of energy to New Jersey and 12 other states.

He said they did not see those spikes in demand coming.

Much of the blame was laid on the rising costs at PJM's feet.

>> Demand is on the rise.

The projected demand has increased dramatically over the last couple of years, but another dramatic factor is the PJM market rules, which have created an artificial scarcity that has caused prices to skyrocket.

Joanna: Market rates are set through auctions that happen every three years.

>> Last year's capacity auction results cost New Jersey consumers nearly a billion dollars.

Joanna: To make a complicated process simple, demand has match supply.

Publicans blamed the imbalance on Governor Murphy's master plan that would move the state to 100% clean energy by 2025.

New Jersey has seen a number of coal and gas powered plants close over the last decade as well as the oyster Creek nuclear plant.

The administration was planning on getting a wind energy sector off the ground, but that has not happened yet.

>> I don't think you have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that if you are shifting to an area that we do not have 100% completely constructed and have the ability to generate the energy we need, and on The Other Side, you are increasing demand, that is why we are here today.

You are telling the market that we are going to be completely electrified by 2025. Who is coming in here to invest?

Joanna: But Democrats point to PJM's queue, where thousands of projects are waiting to come online, much of it renewable energy.

>> This is accurate.

There are more than 3000 projects currently stalled on the PJM grid.

Does that sound right?

>> It sounds right, but I want to confirm.

>> And of that, it is about 287,000 megawatts of total power, more or less, right?

I see you are nodding your head.

How many power plants is that?

If you take an average power plant.

>> If an average power plant is at thousand megawatts, then 287.

Joanna: Some accused PJM of approving fossil fuel projects while ignoring renewable energy projects.

Some recommendations from the hearing, have the BP you require data centers coming through the state to pay for their own energy so it does not fall on rate payers.

>> You heard what happened in Pennsylvania.

Three mile Island is being bought by Microsoft, building their own energy supply, and it is not going to the ratepayers in Pennsylvania.

Why are we allowing this to go on the ratepayers in New Jersey?

>> And to give the BP you authority for new projects that come into the queue to ensure they are the most cost effective solutions to meet needs, a process experts say is not happening now.

In Trenton, I'm Joanna Gagis.

Briana: Offshore wind has faced a number of setbacks.

Latest from the company Attentive energy, which had Polin Neri approval for a wind farm off the shore of Seaside Heights that would be able to power up to 650,000 homes.

But least last week, Attentive as for them when you're in stiction and making $37 million worth of payments, all required as part of the approval for the project.

It comes as other offshore wind plants have either died or hit delays when just a year ago, New Jersey was looking to become the East Coast capital of the industry.

For more, I am joined by a reporter for the press of Atlantic City.

Thanks for coming on the show.

As it relates to Attentive, what reasons do we know or did they give for needing more time to make these payments?

>> As you know, it has been a tough year, year and a half.

I mean, this industry as a whole is on its back foot right now.

It is in a position it did not expect to be in less than two years ago.

Attentive was saying they were still running into supply chain issues, but also exterior issues affecting offshore wind as a whole, and that obviously relates to financial pressures on the industry, and the elephant in the room, which was the Executive Order President Trump sign on his very first day back in office to halt all new wind programs, both on and offshore, and directing the government to look for ways to cancel existing programs.

Briana: You talk to these folks who operate within the industry.

Was that really the death knell, as they see it, the presidents Executive Order?

>> Certainly opponents of offshore wind think this is the death knell.

They have helped several rhetorical funerals for this industry already.

Look, there is no denying that this industry is facing some real challenges.

Just as recently as last month, the federal government revoked a key environmental permit that Atlantic Shores was given just last fall by the Biden administration.

Atlantic Shores was farthest along of all the New Jersey projects.

Now they do not have everything they need to operate.

And Atlantic Shores is still reeling from the departure of its joint venture partner, shell, after Shell exited the project in January, the lone remaining company in Atlantic Shores is EDF.

They took nearly a billion dollar write-off on the project.

That is how serious this is getting.

Briana: Now with this delay for Attentive, are there any other projects moving along that are left in New Jersey?

Is there anything left for this industry now?

Wayne: there is the three that had preliminary approval.

Atlantic Shores was the farthest along, and they are in what can only be described as an existential crisis.

We are waiting to see if the company is going to stick with its pledge to continue and see this project to fruition.

Attentive is looking for a one-year delay in making $37.3 million in payments it is required to make on its approval for the state.

And Leading Light is also asking for a second delay in its project because it is having a hard time finding someone to manufacture its turbine blades.

That is where the industry is right now.

When you think about this, just two years ago, New Jersey was poised to be the East Coast epicenter of offshore wind.

They really wanted to be the capital on the East Coast of what at the time was a rapidly growing and promising industry.

Boy, has that gone sideways in two years.

Briana: You can say that again.

The BP center, do you have any sense of what it might do?

We just came off a contentious hearing on Friday, six hours long over the spike in energy prices for consumers.

It is their next move?

-- what is their next move?

>> They were going to vote for -- consider Attentive's delay request at the last meeting.

That got moved at the last minute.

I asked whether this was going to be considered in the future, and they said they just don't know.

Briana: Wayne Perry, thank you for your time.

Wayne: Thank you.

Briana: As the war in Gaza rages on and reports of rising anti-Semitism continue in New Jersey and across the U.S., many are looking to the past to help with our future.

Avner Murphy today met with high school students involved with the Holocaust and genocide research Center, a first of its kind resource for students and that community guided by one of the few remaining Holocaust survivors who want to ensure the lessons of our history are not forgotten.

>> In the media and pop culture, there is a lot of anti-Semitism that is left at work rushed off that is then spread and almost made to seem OK. Reporter: She studies the issue here at Kittatinny Regional High School.

Governor Murphy toward the displays, including shoes simplifying those -- symbolizing those murdered and the 10 steps of genocide.

The center is the first for any New Jersey high school.

>> One of the things I impressed about -- I am impressed about is challenge, the tragedy, the behavior remains in our midst today.

>> I want to teach them about these things because it is also going on currently, but I want them to feel empowered, like there is something they can do about it, which is the genesis for these rooms.

Reporter: Teacher Mary Huff was inspired to create this collection as she worked for her Master's degree over the past five years, with collaboration from Stockton State University, Holocaust scholars, and survivors, like one who spoke to students about her experience being hid from the Nazis as a child in Holland.

>> People hid us, my sister and I.

So the goodness of people, I try to bring the message across and to be caring.

I am here today because people risk your lives and cared to hide us and -- risked their lives and cared to hide us and take care of us.

Reporter: She and others pointed to conflict raging not just around the world but here at home in the U.S., where college campuses erupted in protest over the war in Gaza and the Trump Administration launch its own version of antisemitism crackdowns including controversial deportations of perceived political enemies.

>> It is very scary to most of us survivors to see what is happening in the world, in this country as well as so many other countries.

That really scares us.

It reminds us of the 1930's, of how things started.

Reporter: The anti-definite -- the Anti-Defamation League reported anti-cement -- anti-Semitic incidents in New Jersey more than doubled in 2023, another record high, with the trend only getting worse.

About 30 seniors study texts and travel to museums, but the material, the history, offers unavoidable context.

>> It definitely sheds light that things are going on today that people cannot really be silent about, because people are dying, and I do not think being silent on an issue and just because you do not know about it is OK anymore, and I think that this class kind of makes you understand that.

>> I am very gentle with them.

It is never a case of I am wrong, you are right, because that is not how teaching works.

Reporter: The teacher of the year in Sussex County understands that kid at any -- that Kittatinny sits in a deeply conservative region of New Jersey.

>> I do not chastise them for thinking the way they do or feeling the way they do, and we sort of come around together.

Reporter: The governor announced he will visit Poland for a march commemorating Holocaust victims.

There is a lot of fear and trauma in the world right now, so the notion of forget is not just never forget the Holocaust, but never forget in the bigger sense.

Reporter: Murphy signed the wall of hope "never forget."

Briana: Finally tonight, each year on March 31, the world observes transgender Day of visibility to raise awareness about transgender and not binary people and call attention to their contributions, but it is also a day focused on the high levels of discrimination, poverty, and violence the community faces globally.

In New Jersey, the day is set against the backdrop of an ongoing fight in Trenton over a bill that would codify gender affirming care into state law as trans rights are being threatened at the federal level.

For more, I am being joined by the director of Trans Resiliency for Garden State Equality.

I wonder what type of tone and tenor this visibility day is taking on this year in particular.

>> That is a wonderful question.

This year, visibility is extremely imperative for the well-being and mental health are folks who are trans and gender diverse.

It is more a statement of resilience that we are still here and still advocating for ourselves as well as still having the courage and strength for ourselves as well, even with our own community, to fight for our rights and well-being.

Briana: It is interesting, you look at census data, population data from the Associated Press, transgender people make up about 1% of the population.

Why do you think that they are such a part of the national conversation?

>> I do feel like those who are unfamiliar with their history are doomed to repeat it, but also they may be compelled to attack something they are unaware of.

We live authentically as ourselves, and sometimes that can be scary for folks when they are encountering something so authentic and so unapologetic about who we are.

I feel like those who are unfortunately not necessarily too key to our existence once you not uplift and support marginalized communities.

Briana: A new poll found voters essentially are split, but a little more than half, 53%, said they believe transgender students in K-12 schools should participate in team sports that align with their sex assigned at birth, not with their gender identity.

What is your reaction to that?

>> I think those who are paving the way with regards to having those policies implement and previously, so the New Jersey interscholastic Association already had those policies that protect trans youth and trans athletes to play on the team that aligns with their gender identity.

It has not been a problem the last few years we have had it lamented -- implemented.

I think by listening to the experts, we are arriving at a place where we are uplifting most trans youth and athletes who are able to do that.

Briana: There were polls taken around the time of the November presidential election that found about half of women voters were split, but a little over half like -- felt like transgender rights have gone too far.

Put that into context for us when we are talking about civil rights, and if the American people, as the president often says, have given him a mandate to issue these types of executive orders.

How do you find your footing, both as an individual and also within your organization?

>> So, there are a few different things that come up in this topic when I hear of those things.

One, it is not a piece of a pie.

Rights are not a piece of a pie.

You get a slice, no, you're not going to get less of or less than your own.

It is ours to have, to thrive and understand that yes, I can marry who I want to marry, yes, I can have something that affirms my gender identity on my passport.

That means a lot to me.

Briana: Governor Murphy signed an executive order for protecting gender affirming care in the state.

There is a bill in Trenton that would codify that.

What have you heard from lawmakers as to why they are not taking up that bill?

Damien: As of right now, we are really advocating for that bill to be passed, because we believe in bodily autonomy and the rate for individuals to have confident trans health care.

With regards to legislators, we are listening to those who are listening to us.

We have a lot of folks who would like to support that.

Right now, because of the scope of the world, they are treading lightly with what is going to happen, I guess, but I think it is also important to see that in New Jersey we have the rights and we have the support that is garnering behind these things.

Briana: Damien is the director of Trans Resiliency for Garden State Equality.

Thank you for your time.

Damien: Thank you for having me.

Briana: That is going to do it for us tonight.

A reminder, you can download our podcast wherever you listen, and watch us any time by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

Plus you can follow us on Instagram and bluesky to stay up-to-date on the latest headlines.

Thank you for being with us.

Have a great evening.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

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