Briefs
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 […]
207k N.J. voters cast in-person, early ballots
The nine days of early in-person voting in New Jersey attracted about 207,000 people across 139 polling locations, representing 3% of the state’s roughly 6.6 million registered voters, according to New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way. This was the first year voters had the option to vote early on a machine in the Garden […]
Migrant detainees in Bergen County ask Menendez, Booker to support their release
In a four-page letter sent to Democratic U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez, 15 former and current migrant detainees held in the Bergen County Jail pleaded with the senators to support the detainees’ pleas for release. The Bergen County Jail is depopulating after severing its lucrative contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The […]
Workers urge lawmakers to ban smoking in casinos
A group of Atlantic City casino workers urged legislative leaders to advance a bill that would bar indoor smoking at the gambling mecca Thursday, and asked Gov. Phil Murphy to exert pressure to get the stalled bill moving. Smoking was already disallowed at workplaces and indoor public spaces in the state under the 2006 Smoke […]
Sussex County asks voters to OK potential legal fight with Murphy over nursing home docs
The Sussex County Board of Commissioners could be forced into a legal battle with the state over information on COVID-19 deaths in the state’s long-term care centers, but only if voters decide that’s a good idea. The lone county referendum on the ballot in Sussex this year would, if approved, require the commissioners to “consider […]
Activists troubled that N.J. cities sought DEA surveillance of 2020 protests
Activists are concerned about reports showing three New Jersey law enforcement agencies requested the federal government provide surveillance operations during Black Lives Matter protests last summer. The Asbury Park Police Department, Newark Police Department and Essex County Sheriff’s Office all reached out to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in hopes of collecting intelligence on “radical […]
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 […]
Groups blanket two legislative districts with millions in outside funds
Outside groups have blanketed New Jersey’s two most competitive legislative races with millions in spending on television ads and mailers this fall, and two groups that have often found themselves opposed to one another appear to have split up the load. American Democratic Majority, a super PAC with ties to Democratic South Jersey power broker […]
Judge reprimanded for making sexual comments to woman defendant
A former judge who alluded to sexual acts while speaking to a woman defendant has been publicly reprimanded by the state’s highest court. Hector L. Rodriguez, a former Franklin Township judge, violated three tenets of state judicial ethics rules during a Dec. 5, 2017 hearing involving an unnamed woman who was charged with multiple drug offenses, […]
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 […]
N.J. finalizes expanded protections under paid-leave law
More New Jersey workers will be protected for taking time off for family leave due to COVID-19 under new rules related to the state’s Family Leave Act, the state Attorney General’s Office announced Monday. The rules expand the law’s job protections to people who, during a state of emergency, need to care for a family […]