Briefs
SCOTUS won’t hear Waterfront Commission’s appeal of N.J. withdrawal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case lodged by the Waterfront Commission of the New York Harbor in an attempt to keep New Jersey in the bistate compact. The body was tasked with combatting organized crime and ensuring fair hiring practices in ports on both sides of the Hudson River, […]
Murphy announces $75M funding for schools, with most helping poorest districts
Each of New Jersey’s 686 school districts will receive some funding for building maintenance and construction projects, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Friday. The state Schools Development Authority (SDA) will distribute $75 million to school districts across the state, with $50 million going to the 31 SDA districts, known as Abbott districts, that are home to […]
Grand jury clears cops in shooting that ended deadly anti-Semitic attack in Jersey City
A state grand jury has cleared 13 police officers who fatally shot the armed couple responsible for a 2019 killing spree at a kosher deli in Jersey City, the state Attorney General’s office announced Wednesday. David N. Anderson and Francine Graham gunned down a Jersey City detective at the Bayview Cemetery on Dec 10, 2019, […]
Tenants seeking N.J. rental relief have until Dec. 15 to apply
A program providing rental relief for struggling New Jersey tenants during the coronavirus pandemic will close applications on Dec. 15, the Department of Community Affairs announced. Since the COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program launched in July 2020, more than $500 million has been distributed to residents: $92 million to 15,000 families during the first phase […]
New Jersey to spend $400M to improve college and university buildings
New Jersey will borrow $400 million to build and improve facilities at colleges and universities around the state, the first new state funding for higher education infrastructure since 2015, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Tuesday. Public officials hope the funding will help persuade more students to attend college in New Jersey — and stay here after […]
More than 3,000 people apply for N.J.’s excluded workers fund
Just two weeks after it launched, the state’s excluded workers fund has received nearly 3,600 applications, according to the Department of Human Services. The $40 million fund was long anticipated by the state’s undocumented residents and others who were excluded from pandemic relief like stimulus checks and unemployment benefits. Announced by Gov. Phil Murphy in […]
Senate panel to consider letting overseas residents vote in state, local races
State senators will consider a bill Monday that would allow New Jerseyans living abroad to cast ballots in certain elections. The measure, which cleared the Assembly in party-line votes in June, would allow U.S. citizens living overseas to vote in state and federal elections if they lived and were last eligible to vote in New […]
Scutari, Cryan election law reform bills get Assembly counterparts
Two separate Senate bills that would radically alter how candidates report campaign contributions each saw Assembly counterparts introduced Monday. The measures, sponsored separately in the upper chamber by Sens. Joe Cryan (D-Union) and Nicholas Scutari (D-Union), would each require political candidates and committees to report campaign donations on a rolling basis. Existing law requires candidates […]
N.J. lawmakers pick leaders, but Senate presidency still in flux
New Jersey has a new batch of legislative leaders. Much of the top leadership in the Assembly remains unchanged: Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-Middlesex), Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald (D-Camden), and Assembly Majority Conference Leader Annette Quijano will stay on in their current roles. “I’m proud that we’re going to return the majority that we […]
Murphy claims win as lead over Ciattarelli grows
Gov. Phil Murphy took a victory lap Wednesday night after late-counted ballots that gave him a slim lead over GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli led the Associated Press to project Murphy as the race’s winner. Murphy addressed supporters in Asbury Park, the same Jersey Shore city he had planned to give a victory speech Tuesday night […]
Judge denies bid to extend voting by 90 minutes
A Mercer County Superior Court Judge denied an emergency application to extend polling hours by 90 minutes Tuesday evening. The application, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey and the New Jersey League of Women Voters, sought to delay the closing of polls to 9:30 p.m. to account for reported technological issues […]
Some in-person unemployment services might start in 2022
By the end of November, all state offices are scheduled to be open, including New Jersey’s One-Stop Career Centers. But those centers still won’t offer services for people seeking help with unemployment — until some point in 2022 at least. Gov. Phil Murphy said there’s no timeline for when those services begin, or what they […]