Day: August 6, 2018

Former Wrigley CEO Moves From Chewing Gum to Medical Marijuana

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Bloomberg/Roussakis

❝ The scion of a family that made a fortune in chewing gum is moving into pot…William Wrigley Jr. II, who helped orchestrate the sale of his family’s business to Mars Inc. in 2008, led a $65 million investment round for Surterra Wellness, a medical cannabis startup in Georgia with licenses to operate in Florida and Texas. The funding brings the total raised so far to $100 million, according to Surterra.

Wrigley, 54, who left the gum and candy business after the sale, backs companies through a personal investment arm based in West Palm Beach, Florida. After an initial investment in Surterra in September, Wrigley is boosting his stake and assuming the role of chairman…

❝ Wrigley…said he got into the industry mainly because of marijuana’s medical benefits. He said he’s tapping his experience with product distribution and brand-building to drive growth at Surterra. The cannabis company operates 10 medical dispensaries in Florida, including one in Miami Beach, and has a license to operate in the nascent Texas market.

Too bad there aren’t more than a handful of folks in that intellectual desert known as Congress who might support businesses like this nationwide. Much less lose the archaic regulation of personal cannabis consumption as if it was the Devil’s own candy.

Massachusetts Wind Farm Will Save Customers $1.4 Billion

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First and only offshore wind farm in the GOUSA

❝ Massachusetts electricity users will save about $1.4 billion over 20 years from the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S.

Avangrid Inc. and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, joint developers of the 800-megawatt project south of Martha’s Vineyard, expect to provide power and renewable energy credits for 6.5 cents a kilowatt-hour according to a letter Wednesday from the state Department of Energy Resources.

❝ That’s a levelized price in 2017 dollars over the term of the contracts, and makes the Vineyard Wind project about 18 percent cheaper than other alternatives, according to the letter. It’s also lower than the wind industry expected and shows that offshore wind can be a competitive source of clean energy as costs continue to come down.

Between Congress and the Two Old Parties, the United States probably would be late to our own funeral. We not only fail to get anything done on time. We blather around playing spin the bottle with all the failing old corporations afraid to build for the future. Our future.