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Reformers call for end to discriminatory pricing in N.J. car insurance
Most drivers might assume their car insurance rates are based on their driving history and safety record. Instead, many insurers use education, occupation, and consumer credit scores to determine rates, charging higher premiums for those least likely to afford them: poor and minority drivers. But a bill now before the Legislature could provide relief. The […]
22K new jobs in New Jersey in September, unemployment at 7.1%
New Jersey added 21,500 jobs in September, the ninth consecutive month of gains, according to the latest job gains report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest gains mean New Jersey has recovered 68.1%, or 488,100, of the total 717,200 jobs lost statewide during the pandemic, the data shows. While that lags behind […]
Workers prepare for Gateway project as infrastructure bill remains stalled
Across a 61-acre expanse of dirt and weeds beside the New Jersey Turnpike in South Brunswick, workers toil on construction projects that will never be finished. Crane operators delicately drop hooks from 140 feet overhead into metal barrels. Bulldozer drivers plot proper water runoff by shaping slopes too subtle to see with a glance. Trucks […]
Ciattarelli bashes Murphy, urges supporters to lure voters to polls
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli called on supporters to help get out the vote at a packed Republican rally Tuesday in Medford, where he was joined by Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. “We can win this race. Do not let anybody stay home because they think it’s rigged,” urged Ciattarelli, who has trailed Gov. Phil […]
State doesn’t have to pay for pandemic-related business failure, court rules
A Sussex County business owner who blamed the closure of her kickboxing gym on state-ordered pandemic regulations lost her bid for compensation from the state after an appellate court ruled against her Monday. Superior Court Judge Garry S. Rothstadt, writing for the three-judge appellate panel that heard the case, sided with Gov. Phil Murphy in […]
New federal legislation aims to hold social media platforms liable for misinformation
Four federal Democratic lawmakers will introduce legislation in the House on Friday that would hold websites and social media platforms liable for spreading misinformation and harmful content. The focus of the bill is the use of algorithms that drive third-party content to people’s feeds based on their personal information and browsing history. The Justice Against […]
Community investment would protect public more than over-policing, report says
New Jersey communities spend far more on policing than on health and human services, an imbalance that has increased rates of police use of force and incarceration while widening racial disparities in the criminal justice system, according to a new report by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), a progressive think tank. Community-based crisis-response and prevention strategies […]
State board expands access to abortion in N.J. through regulation changes
The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners unanimously agreed Wednesday to repeal several restrictions on abortion, effectively expanding access by allowing medical providers other than physicians to terminate pregnancies. The move comes six weeks after Texas lawmakers enacted a controversial abortion ban that drove abortion-rights advocates across the country to rally to preserve women’s […]
Activists demand lawmakers act to curb police brutality on ‘Long March for Justice’
Cecille Hepburn marched for her grandson, Kashad Ashford, who police gunned down in 2014 after a car chase. Steven Young marched for change, a year after he quit Atlantic City’s civilian review board, which is tasked with police oversight, in protest over its powerlessness. And Larry Hamm marched because marching is what Larry Hamm does. An […]
New Jersey lawmakers routinely skip votes, driving demands for reform
Voting on bills is one of the most impactful actions a state legislator can take, but dozens of New Jersey lawmakers skipped more than 10,000 votes in the current legislative session, a New Jersey Monitor analysis has found. Twelve of the Legislature’s 120 lawmakers failed to vote more than 250 times each, representing almost 40% […]
Report: N.J. Parole Board too often refuses to release inmates, needs oversight
The New Jersey State Parole Board routinely refuses to release parole-eligible inmates from prison, leaving many people languishing behind bars far longer than sentencing judges intended, the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender says in a recent report calling for more oversight. The 1979 Parole Act requires inmates to be paroled as soon as they’re […]
Acting A.G. takes aim at law criminalizing sexual activity by people with HIV
Acting New Jersey Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck told county prosecutors Wednesday they should exercise caution before using a decades-old state law that criminalizes certain sexual activity by people living with HIV. The 1997 law makes it a third-degree crime for someone living with HIV to engage in an “act of sexual penetration” without the informed […]