A former New Jersey Transit official admitted May 13 that she agreed to accept an $8,000 bribe and power washing services in connection with a snow removal contract, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Donna Schiereck, 56, of Jackson, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William H. Walls in Newark federal court to an information charging her with one count of agreeing to accept a bribe.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Schiereck was a supervisor at NJ Transit from September 2012 to December 2012. Schiereck agreed to accept $8,000 in exchange for her assistance with maintaining snow removal work for a Lakewood company. She also sought and received free power washing services from the company in return for her official assistance.

The bribery count to which Schiereck pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9.

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Former NJ Transit official to be sentenced

The severe weather has now mostly died away, with Civil Defence and local councils left to assess the damage and continue with the cleanup. While thousands of homes still remain without power, crews are working hard to repair the lines.

Do you have any information,photos or video of the storm? Send them tonews@tvnz.co.nz

1.32pm A tree rests on a house in Arkles Bay, Auckland, after it was brought down in last night's storm:

(Images will not display if you are viewing on ONE News apps.)

12.43pm Slips have trapped residents at Okiwi on Great Barrier Island:

12.40pm AA Insurance says it has already received over 100 claims for home, contents and car damage following the storm. Most are from Auckland but some have come from Canterbury following yesterday's floods. The AA expects this number to rise over the next few days as the storm heads to central and eastern parts of the North Island.

12.30pmA car is trapped by fallen trees in Herne Bay:

The rest is here:
Wild weather hammers parts of North Island

The severe weather has now mostly died away, with Civil Defence and local councils left to assess the damage and continue with the cleanup. While thousands of homes still remain without power, crews are working hard to repair the lines.

Do you have any information,photos or video of the storm? Send them tonews@tvnz.co.nz

1.32pm A tree rests on a house in Arkles Bay, Auckland, after it was brought down in last night's storm:

(Images will not display if you are viewing on ONE News apps.)

12.43pm Slips have trapped residents at Okiwi on Great Barrier Island:

12.40pm AA Insurance says it has already received over 100 claims for home, contents and car damage following the storm. Most are from Auckland but some have come from Canterbury following yesterday's floods. The AA expects this number to rise over the next few days as the storm heads to central and eastern parts of the North Island.

12.30pmA car is trapped by fallen trees in Herne Bay:

See the article here:
As it happened: Damage across North Island following severe storm

The severe weather has now mostly died away, with Civil Defence and local councils left to assess the damage and continue with the cleanup. While thousands of homes still remain without power, crews are working hard to repair the lines.

Do you have any information,photos or video of the storm? Send them tonews@tvnz.co.nz

1.32pm A tree rests on a house in Arkles Bay, Auckland, after it was brought down in last night's storm:

(Images will not display if you are viewing on ONE News apps.)

12.43pm Slips have trapped residents at Okiwi on Great Barrier Island:

12.40pm AA Insurance says it has already received over 100 claims for home, contents and car damage following the storm. Most are from Auckland but some have come from Canterbury following yesterday's floods. The AA expects this number to rise over the next few days as the storm heads to central and eastern parts of the North Island.

12.30pmA car is trapped by fallen trees in Herne Bay:

Continued here:
Live Updates: Damage across North Island following severe storm

The severe weather has now mostly died away, with Civil Defence and local councils left to assess the damage and continue with the cleanup. While thousands of homes still remain without power, crews are working hard to repair the lines.

Do you have any information,photos or video of the storm? Send them tonews@tvnz.co.nz

1.32pm A tree rests on a house in Arkles Bay, Auckland, after it was brought down in last night's storm:

(Images will not display if you are viewing on ONE News apps.)

12.43pm Slips have trapped residents at Okiwi on Great Barrier Island:

12.40pm AA Insurance says it has already received over 100 claims for home, contents and car damage following the storm. Most are from Auckland but some have come from Canterbury following yesterday's floods. The AA expects this number to rise over the next few days as the storm heads to central and eastern parts of the North Island.

12.30pmA car is trapped by fallen trees in Herne Bay:

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Live Updates: Wild weather hammers parts of North Island

Originally published June 17, 2014 at 5:20 PM | Page modified June 18, 2014 at 6:16 AM

In the middle of the night, when most Americans are sound asleep, their lights and appliances off, a power hog is wide-awake and running at nearly full throttle: the boxes that operate their cable or satellite television service.

The seemingly innocuous appliances all 224 million of them across the nation together consume as much electricity as produced by four giant nuclear reactors, running around the clock. They have become the biggest single energy user in many homes, apart from air conditioning.

Cheryl Williamsen, a Los Alamitos, Calif., architect, has three of the boxes leased from her cable provider in her home, but she had no idea how much power they consumed until recently, when she saw a rating on the back for as much as 500 watts about the same as a washing machine.

A set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer. The devices use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on.

I could yank the power supply cord, Williamsen said, but thats not a very consumer-friendly way to reduce energy consumption.

The boxes have been at the center of a battle between the cable industry and conservationists who believe the devices could be far more efficient.

It is a classic case of market failure, said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. The consumers have zero information and zero control over the devices they get.

The industry agreed recently to voluntarily reduce the power consumption of new devices, which it said would save consumers $1 billion annually. But experts say the deal will provide only a fraction of the potential gains and take years to realize.

The fight over set-top boxes is a stark illustration of the difficulty of wringing energy efficiency improvements even in an era when Americans are trying to reduce their energy footprint over concerns about global warming and family budgets are strained by rising electricity prices. The recent announcement by the Obama administration of plans to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent and reduce electricity costs to the nation by 8 percent will require unprecedented improvements in efficiency.

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Cable TV boxes a huge drain on home energy bills

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In the middle of the night, when most Americans are sound asleep, their lights and appliances off, a power hog is wide awake and running at nearly full throttle: the boxes that operate their cable or satellite television service.

The seemingly innocuous appliances _ all 224 million of them across the nation _ together consume as much electricity as produced by four giant nuclear reactors, running around the clock. They have become the biggest single energy user in many homes, apart from air conditioning.

Cheryl Williamsen, a Los Alamitos, Calif., architect, has three of the boxes leased from her cable provider in her home, but she had no idea how much power they consumed until recently, when she saw a rating on the back for as much as 500 watts _ about the same as a washing machine.

A set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer. The devices use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on.

"I could yank the power supply cord," Williamsen said, "but that's not a very consumer-friendly way to reduce energy consumption."

The boxes have been at the center of a battle between the cable industry and conservationists who believe the devices could be far more efficient.

"It is a classic case of market failure," said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. "The consumers have zero information and zero control over the devices they get."

The industry agreed recently to voluntarily reduce the power consumption of new devices, which it said would save consumers $1 billion annually. But experts say the deal will provide only a fraction of the potential gains and take years to realize.

The fight over set-top boxes is a stark illustration of the difficulty of wringing energy efficiency improvements even in an era when Americans are trying to reduce their energy footprint over concerns about global warming and family budgets are strained by rising electricity prices. The recent announcement by the Obama administration of plans to reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30 percent and reduce electricity costs to the nation by 8 percent will require unprecedented improvements in efficiency.

Electricity demand is growing far more slowly today, thanks to conservation over the last decade. But total use is still projected to grow 29 percent by 2040, according to the Energy Department. Slower growth could reduce the pressure to build new gas-fired power plants as the nation retires low-cost coal-fired generators that cannot meet pollution standards.

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Cable TV boxes become 2nd biggest energy users in many homes