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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 […]
N.J. commission says state isn’t ready to start sales of recreational weed
The commission overseeing the state’s cannabis industry on Thursday gave conditional approval to dozens of potential weed growers and labs, but did not set dates for the start of recreational marijuana sales. The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission also halted a move to allow the existing eight medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling recreational weed […]
Advocates call on Legislature to desegregate N.J. schools
It could be months before a Superior Court judge decides whether New Jersey schools are unconstitutionally segregated, but state lawmakers are already hearing potential solutions to the problem from activists who want to revamp how the state educates its children. The Joint Commission on the Public Schools convened Wednesday to hear from school officials and […]
First budget hearing sees push for more child care funding, help for businesses
During the nearly four hours that represented the first round of hearings on Gov. Phil Murphy’s proposed $48.9 billion state budget plan, state lawmakers heard calls from advocates, business leaders, and constituents urging them to boost funding further. In testimony before legislators, witnesses asked for everything from increased wages for child care and nursing home workers […]