Joe Cury
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Joseph H. Cury (born November 6, 1928, in
Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...
– January 11, 1977) was the owner of the Mandarin Super Market and a resident of Mandarin, Florida. He was known as the founder of POWER, an advocacy group on utility rates, and as an opponent of the
Dames Point Bridge The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, United States on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. Construction began in 1985 and was complet ...
and nuclear power plants.


Founding of POWER

Cury received an electrical bill from the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA) which was double the cost of the month before. He called the company to inquire and they said it was because of the high cost of oil. Cury then founded People Outraged With Electric Rates (POWER), a local advocacy group. The treasurer was Harry Shorstein, former State Attorney for the city of Jacksonville, Florida. Ralph Nader became involved with the protests for a short time. Inspired by Nader's brief involvement, Cury changed P.O.W.E.R. to Consumer P.O.W.E.R. Cury strongly opposed the construction of the
Dames Point Bridge The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, United States on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. Construction began in 1985 and was complet ...
, and was a vocal leader of the opposition to the project. He was also opposed to the movement to bring an Offshore Power Systems (O.P.S.) assembly facility to the Jacksonville area. In 1975, Cury considered running for mayor of Jacksonville and realizing that he would have to borrow too much money, he considered city council instead. He received a letter threatening to reveal his conspiracy to robbery conviction from Pennsylvania. Cury had been convicted of the attempted theft of $1200.00 (the equivalent of approximately $13,000 with inflation) and reported the letter to the authorities, where it was found to contain only the fingerprints of Cury and the investigating officer. Cury was also part of the opposition of the
Dames Point Bridge The Dames Point Bridge (officially the Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Bridge) is a cable-stayed bridge over the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, United States on the Interstate 295 East Beltway. Construction began in 1985 and was complet ...
movement. His main opposition in this project was Wesley Paxson, the chairman of the
Jacksonville Transportation Authority The Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) is the independent agency responsible for public transit in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and roadway infrastructure that connects northeast Florida. However, they do not maintain any roadways ...
(JTA). He was also opposed by George Truett Ewton, the chairman of the JEA. At his store, he sold a copy of Ralph Nader's newsletter, ''
Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, critical mass is the minimum mass of the fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction in a particular setup. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specific ...
''.


Opposing nuclear power plants

Cury opposed the Offshore Power Systems (OPS) project, a 1970 joint venture between
Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includ ...
, which constructed nuclear generating plants, and
Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...
, which had recently merged with
Tenneco Tenneco, Inc. (formerly Tenneco Automotive and originally Tennessee Gas Transmission Company) is an American automotive components original equipment manufacturer and an aftermarket ride control and emissions products manufacturer. It is a ''F ...
, to create floating nuclear power plants at
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...
. Opposition to the project was both local and national because many people questioned the safety of nuclear power. OPS ultimately was not successful due to the
1973 oil crisis In October 1973, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced that it was implementing a total oil embargo against countries that had supported Israel at any point during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, which began after Eg ...
. By the end of the embargo in March 1974, the price of oil had risen nearly 300%, from US$3 per barrel to nearly $12 globally; US prices were significantly higher. The embargo caused an oil crisis, or "shock", with many short- and long-term effects on global politics and the global economy. Less oil available resulted in higher oil prices, which encouraged conservation and less demand for electricity. PSE&G did not need the additional capacity from the nuclear generators they had ordered, so PSE&G requested a two-year delay, culminating in a canceled contract. Cury became known to the community through his public interest work and was frequently in the local press. After his death, the local Southside Business Men's Club awarded him their Outspoken Citizens Award.


Death

He died from heart disease in 1977 at age 48.


Personal life

Joseph and his wife Betty had two children, Charles (deceased) and Pamela.''Florida Times Union'', January 12, 1977.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cury, Joe 1928 births 1977 deaths American grocers Businesspeople from Florida United States Marines American anti–nuclear power activists 20th-century American businesspeople