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As Tax Day nears, undocumented immigrants again call for $1 billion in state aid
Undocumented immigrants are calling again for more financial aid from the state, saying they deserve more for the billions they contribute in state and local taxes. Timed for the April 18 deadline to file federal taxes, Latino activists and undocumented immigrants rallied in Paterson to demand $1 billion to help people who were excluded from […]
Bill would require unemployment claims to be processed in two weeks
Unemployment claims would have to be processed within two weeks under a new bill introduced in the Legislature. The bill (A3436) comes two years after the Department of Labor was suddenly flooded with hundreds of thousands of unemployment claims during the early months of the pandemic, creating an enormous backlog and leading to complaints from […]
New sex education standards become target in N.J.
Last year, Scott Shields hired a painter for his house who was a transgender man. When his two children unknowingly misgendered the painter, Shields pulled them aside to explain pronouns. His children, who are in kindergarten and third grade, had already been introduced to different genders, so they grasped the concept easily, he said. “Once […]
Governor Murphy says state will clarify sex education standards that riled GOP
As the uproar surrounding the state’s new sex education standards intensifies among some parents, Republican lawmakers, and conservative media, Gov. Phil Murphy defended the standards Wednesday but said the state will clarify what children will be learning in public schools starting in the fall. Murphy blamed the controversy on partisan actors attempting to divide parents. […]
N.J. medical cannabis patients fear state won’t have enough supply soon
Amy Marie Keller dislocates up to 100 joints each day. The 46-year-old, who suffers from the connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, is nearly homebound, in constant pain, and uses a cane to walk on the few days she goes out. Her body doesn’t produce collagen correctly, which causes her fingers to bend backward when she […]
N.J. medical centers given green light to sell recreational weed
It’s been 1,619 days since Gov. Phil Murphy took office promising legal weed in the Garden State and we may be just weeks away from the start of sales. Thirteen medical marijuana dispensaries will soon be able to sell marijuana to any adult 21 years and older after the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission voted Monday […]
In some N.J. towns, groups attempt to block legal weed sales
When New Jersey voters approved a 2020 referendum to make recreational marijuana legal, the residents of Princeton emerged as some of legalization’s biggest champions. Seventy-five percent of voters in this progressive college town gave legal weed a thumbs-up, compared to 68% of voters statewide. But nearly two years later, as talk turns to where to […]
Thousands still waiting for money from immigrant workers fund
On December 10, Josè Martinez sat with an organizer at the American Friends Service Committee to apply to the state’s Excluded New Jerseyans Fund. It’s been nearly four months, and Martinez still hasn’t received his money, he said. He was notified in mid-March the state had accepted his and his wife’s applications, but they haven’t […]
Extended unemployment benefits will end for 20K N.J. workers
Tens of thousands of people will lose their weekly unemployment benefits starting next week. The Department of Labor announced the federal unemployment program known as Extended Benefits will end for about 20,000 New Jerseyans on April 9. The program provided up to 13 weeks of additional jobless benefits for people who exhausted their 26 weeks […]
Bill would require state documents to be translated into 15 languages
More than 150 languages are spoken in homes across New Jersey, one of the most diverse states in the country. Yet, important state documents and forms are usually required to be printed in only one language: English. A new bill seeks to increase that number to 15 languages, a move its supporters say would encourage […]
New division in U.S. Attorney’s Office will focus on civil rights cases
The U.S. Attorney’s Office is creating a new division dedicated to enforcing federal civil rights law in New Jersey, one that will double the number of its prosecutors handling civil rights enforcement. The new division will have the “sole focus” of enforcing both civil and federal civil rights laws, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said […]
Lawmakers want N.J. high schools to start classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
Dan Cassino starts getting his son ready for school around 7 a.m., and they leave their Glen Ridge home at 8 to get to school before the bell rings at 8:30. But next year, Cassino’s son is starting high school, where the first classes begin at 8 a.m., meaning they’ll have to get started even […]