BILL SCHLUTER dies — NJ TRANSIT gives riders more hell — VAN DREW raises money for Ohio special election …

By Matt Friedman (mfriedman@politico.com; @mattfriedmannj):

Former state Sen. Bill Schluter — arguably New Jersey’s foremost ethics champion — died yesterday. He was 90.

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You can read his obit here. Few lawmakers will have as lasting a legacy as Schluter, even though there weren’t very many statements yesterday mourning his death — just three that I saw in my inbox, from U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, Senate President Stephen Sweeney and Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean.

Schluter angered a lot of people. He didn’t make excuses for people. He believed that money has a deeply corrupting influence in politics, and he recognized the shortcomings of even the campaign finance laws that he championed. He got redistricted out of his state Senate seat in 2001 because, he said, his colleagues didn’t want him there. That was probably true. He was a pain in the ass in the best way possible.

New Jersey will miss Schluter, even if most New Jerseyans won’t know it.

WHERE’S MURPHY? Italy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — DeAngelo chief of staff Liz Meyers

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “If you’re the guy on the street, a Jersey guy in the diner, looking at Bob Menendez, you see someone who had a jury of Jerseyans look at this, all these charges, and you say ‘he already dealt with that.’ Average New Jerseyans felt like this was real government overreach.” — Sen. Cory Booker with a sentiment that has not been reflected in the polls every time reminders of Menendez’s ethics troubles make the news

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

SUMMER OF HELL II — “Long delays, standing-room only, no air. Why NJ Transit riders say it’s been a hellish summer,” by NJ Advance Media’s Larry Higgs: “Last year was dubbed the ‘summer of hell’ for NJ Transit riders due to track work in Penn Station New York. But riders say the commute last year was almost heavenly, compared to the almost daily purgatory of canceled trains and severe overcrowding that has plagued NJ Transit this summer. For rail commuters, the new work week started as badly as the old one ended with a rash of canceled trains that caused standing room only overcrowding and delays getting to the office. At least 12 trains were canceled during the morning rush, approaching the 20 plus trains axed on Friday. It’s led commuters to call this ‘summer of hell 2,’ referring to the name given to last year’s Penn Station track work that wasn’t as hellish as predicted. Riders are dreading what comes this afternoon and the rest of the week.” Read the report

HAPPY TUESDAY! — “NJ Transit nightmare spills into second week,” by Bloomberg’s Elise Young: “New Jersey Transit canceled at least 16 morning-rush trains as mechanical trouble and an ongoing emergency-braking project again upended the New York City-commute. The delays and crowding, while the National Weather Service warned about dangerously high temperatures and poor air quality, was an extension of last week’s nightmare commute that the operator attributed to crew absences, extra service for concert-goers and safety software installations on some cars. “Happy Monday NJ. The social team is signed on today until 8pm,” NJ Transit, the nation’s largest statewide mass-transportation provider, wrote on Twitter at 7 a.m. Commuters bombarded the account asking why their trains were late or not running and complained about conflicting information. NJ Transit said several trains had unspecified mechanical issues.” Read the report

REMEMBER WHEN THEY THREW A FIT ABOUT CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION NJ TRANSIT OFFICIALS REFUSING TO TESTIFY AT LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS? NEITHER DO I — Republican lawmakers call for hearings on NJ Transit delays, cancellations, by POLITICO’s Linh Tat: Two Republican lawmakers are calling for legislative hearings in the wake of a rash of service cancellations and reports of severe overcrowding that have plagued NJ Transit trains in recent weeks. The agency canceled 17 trains on six lines Monday morning, after canceling an average of 20 trains a day during the first three days of last week, according to media reports. It also announced last week that it would temporarily halt one-seat service to and from New York on the Raritan Valley Line, and suspend service on the Atlantic City Line for four months. All Raritan Valley Line trains will stop in Newark, where passengers will have to transfer. NJ Transit has attributed the cancellations and delays in large part to staffing shortages and work to install a safety system known as positive train control. But Assemblyman Anthony Bucco (R-Morris) and Assemblywoman Nancy Muñoz (R-Union) are demanding accountability. Read the report

INANITY TO CONTINUE WITH SLIGHTLY LESS RACISM — ”Radio hosts suspended for racist comments about N.J.’s AG back on the air, say they ‘learned a lot’,” by NJ Advance Media’s Matt Arco: “The NJ101.5 radio hosts who were suspended from their jobs last month after they mocked New Jersey’s Sikh attorney general and referred to him as “turban man” returned to the airwaves Monday. Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco said they learned a lot for their remarks about Gurbir Grewal, the nation’s first Sikh attorney general, who they referred to as ‘turban man’ and ‘the guy with the turban’ late last month. ‘We had a tough week but I do want to say that we learned a lot this week,’ Franco said. Franco and Malloy thanked their listeners and the show’s advertisers, who they said both sent encouraging messages of support during their suspension. ‘Unbelievable,’ Malloy said. ‘Humbling.’ Franco added: ‘We want to get back right away to doing what we do.’” Read the report

ENERGY — Environmentalists pressure DEP to scuttle pipeline expansion proposal, by POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio: A proposed pipeline expansion project that’s pending before the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and will be the focus of a hearing on Tuesday is facing fierce opposition from environmentalists and local officials who fear efforts to increase New Jersey’s reliance on fossil fuels. The Williams Companies filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission late last year to expand its Transco natural gas pipeline so it can increase the amount of natural gas it transports to New Jersey and New York. To do that, Williams wants to double capacity of its gas compressor station in Roseland, Essex County, and make additional upgrades to two of its meter stations that measure the flow of gas. Both components require state approval…. The $84.6 million Gateway Expansion project is one of several pipeline proposals before the DEP that environmentalists say could jeopardize Gov. Phil Murphy’s stated goal to transition the state to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. At Tuesday’s public hearing in North Caldwell, opponents will urge the DEP to deny the two permit requests Williams has submitted, an action they say would prove the Murphy administration is serious about moving away from fossil fuels. Read the report

BAIL REFORM — “Local cop: Heroin dealers arrested, released with alarming regularity,” by The Trentonian’s Jeff Edelstein: “As the heroin epidemic continues its deadly march through Mercer County and beyond, one local police officer told me law enforcement is “spinning its wheels” in the battle to get the drug off the streets. Why? Bail reform. “If you arrest someone for dealing heroin, unless their risk assessment comes back a three or above, they’re walking,” this anonymous cop told me. ‘Are people going to jail for three, four, five months for first or second drug offense? They’re not. If they have a gun, or if it’s their fifth time or something, or they have a kilo, then it’s different. But your run of the mill drug dealer? We arrest them, lock them up, they get their risk assessment, and and nine times out of 10 they’re walking out the next morning.’ Brilliant. Just brilliant. Clearly, the state legislature needs to act, and needs to act immediately. Heroin dealers should exist outside the new bail reform laws.” Read the column

—Thomas Healey: “N.J.’s bleak fiscal outlook is about to get worse. Are more taxes the solution?” Read the op-ed

—Amy Wilson: “The aesthetics of a gold rush: Cannabis and branding in the age of legalization” Read the column

—“Minority leader talks gerrymandering, free community college, Trump” Read the report

TRUMP ERA

GROSSMAN’S GOT VAN DREW RUNNING SO SCARED HE’S RAISING MONEY FOR CANDIDATES IN OTHER STATES — Van Drew raising money for Democrat in special Ohio election, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: “Democratic congressional candidate Jeff Van Drew — way ahead of his Republican opponent in fundraising — is now helping raise money for another candidate in another state. Van Drew, a Democrat who has long represented a conservative-leaning South Jersey district in the state Senate and Assembly, sent out an email to his supporters Saturday urging them to donate money to Danny O‘Connor, who’s running in Tuesday’s special election for Ohio’s 12th District. ‘Tuesday is another huge special election,’ the Van Drew campaign wrote in the email, which directs readers to an Act Blue fundraising page. ‘It brings the opportunity to elect a strong Democrat who stands with working men and women, and who is committed to supporting our veterans, our seniors and our families. In Congress, Democrats Danny O’Connor and Jeff Van Drew will fight for common-sense solutions to the biggest problems facing Americans … O’Connor eschews many of the ideas energizing the liberal wing of the party like Medicare for all and tuition-free college. Van Drew came under fire during the Democratic primary for being too conservative, especially based on his gun rights-friendly voting record in the state Legislature. Both have said they won’t support House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for speaker if Democrats retake the House.” Read the report

HUNTING THE BOUNTY HUNTER — “Senators take aim at bail industry backers,” by The Marshall Project’s Joseph Neff: “The mention of ‘bails bonds’ can conjure familiar images: red neon signs glowing near a county jail, or the leather vest, dark sunglasses and blond mane of reality show star Dog the Bounty Hunter. Usually not a skyscraper or office building. But insurance companies form the quiet backbone of the industry, underwriting the vast majority of the millions of bail bonds written each year while undergoing little public scrutiny. Two senators want to shine some light on the business. On Friday, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, sent a letter to 22 insurance companies requesting details of their finances and their relationships with the bail bond agents they underwrite. Booker and Brown are among critics who charge that the bail system unfairly jails poor people who cannot afford to purchase their pretrial freedom.” Read the report

—“Booker Campaigns with Mikie Sherrill in CD-11” Read the report

—“Webber wants to debate Sherrill on ICE” Read the report

—“Menendez tweets that Trump’s attack on LeBron is part of a ‘disgusting’ racist pattern” Read the report

—“Lawmakers seek to establish marijuana banking protocols” Read the report

LOCAL

ONLY COALITION FOR PROGRESS DONORS TO BE ELIGIBLE — “Fulop on incentives: Why they aren’t healthy long term — and how he’d re-do Amazon bid,” by ROI-NJ’s Tom Bergeron and Anjalee Khemlani: “Jersey City has been a poster child for how incentives can spur massive revitalization of a city. Mayor Steve Fulop, however, hopes that era is over. ‘Five years ago, I made a concerted effort to kind of change that in two distinct ways,’ he said. ‘One was to incentivize businesses away from the waterfront into areas like Journal Square in the south side of the city, and that’s largely been successful. The other part of it was to curtail or eliminate, which we’re working toward, some of the incentives that the city could grant downtown over here.’ Fulop was speaking last week at the business school at New Jersey City University, located in Exchange Place. It was during an invitation-only event of key business leaders from companies listed in the NJCU New Jersey 50 Index, a fund based on the 50 top public companies headquartered in the state. ‘The reason I’m trying to do that, and we’ve been moving in that direction fairly aggressively, is because I don’t necessarily believe that it is a sustainable long-term model to be chasing business purely based on incentives,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it’s healthy for the city and I don’t think it’s healthy, long term, for businesses that want to be here.’” Read the report

JERSEY JOE PENNACCHIO HOPES TO HAVE A STATUE IN MONTVILLE SOMEDAY — “A statue of Jersey Joe Walcott, Camden’s real-life ‘Rocky,’ to rise in the city he championed,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan: “A statue of Jersey Joe Walcott, Camden’s real-life ‘Rocky,’ to rise in the city he championed,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan: “A larger-than-life bronze likeness of Jersey Joe Walcott, the beloved boxer who won the World Heavyweight Championship in 1951, is being envisioned as a centerpiece of a proposed sculpture garden in Camden.’“It will be a symbol of a city that’s fighting back,’ said Vincent Cream, the oldest grandson of Walcott, whose given name was Arnold Cream. The esteemed fighter died in 1994 at age 80 and is still remembered by many in the city and beyond as a formidable force in the ring, as well as in the community. In my estimation, this honor not only is due Jersey Joe — it’s overdue.” Read the report

FOUL LAWN — “Fair Lawn to upgrade treatment of drinking water to target dangerous chemicals,” by The Record’s Scott Fallon and Sarah Nolan: “A cleanup system that filters contaminated well water before it reaches residents’ taps will be upgraded to clean up more dangerous chemicals under a plan unveiled Monday by federal environmental officials. The $19.5 million plan by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would expand three existing pump and treat systems at the Westmoreland Well Field to remove the contaminant 1,4- dioxane, a potentially dangerous solvent that has been found in many New Jersey drinking water systems. It will also remove the contaminants PFOA and PFOS that were also found in recent years. 1,4,-dioxane – a likely carcinogen that can also cause liver and kidney damage – has been found in Fair Lawn, Garfield, Pompton Lakes and several other towns that rely heavily on wells. It has also been found in almost 80 other water systems in every part of the state, from Shore towns to Highlands communities, according to federal data.” Read the report

—“Hoboken zoning rules at center of new claims of ethical violations” Read the report

—“On heels of NBC reports, ex-North Bergen Housing Authority employee sues agency” Read the report

—“Montgomery Mayor Mark Conforti resigns” Read the report

EVERYTHING ELSE

MURPHY TRANSITION TEAM IN GOOD COMPANY WITH USE OF NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENTS — ”Secrecy pact keeps ex-‘doomsday cult’ members from talking about controversial church,” by NJ Advance Media’s Craig McCarthy: “Arranged marriages. Pushing marriage to divorce. Tax fraud. Forced abortions. And lying to immigration officials. These are just some of the accusations against what former parishioners have called a ‘doomsday cult’ based in North Jersey, but the details of which have been kept quiet by the church’s confidentiality agreements, according to a lawsuit. The former member of the World Mission Society Church of God, Raymond Gonzalez, filed the suit late last year in Bergen County Superior Court seeking to get out of the agreement so he could be deposed in other lawsuits against the church. The church, led by pastor Dong II Lee, has denied all the allegations in court filings but could not be reached for comment. Gary D. Nissenbaum — who is on the board of trustees for the New Jersey chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, a national group that has been a vocal opponent of President Donald Trump’s use of non-disclosure agreements — is representing the church. Calls to Nissenbaum were not returned. The ACLU also did not return calls for comment. Gonzalez’s attorney Peter Skolnik said the scope of the agreement was unheard of and so broad that Gonzalez couldn’t even hire an attorney at first because the church argued he would break the agreement in telling his lawyer about the case.” Read the report

KEITH SUBURBAN — “Keith Urban pops up at NJ Wawa, Jersey woman spots him some cash,” by NJ 101.5’s Erin Vogt: “Not even Keith Urban can resist a Wawa run while in Jersey. On Friday, the country superstar (who’s married to Nicole Kidman) stopped into a Burlington County location of the beloved convenience store, around his Camden concert. Before Urban borrowed some cash from one of his tour members, a South Jersey customer seized the chance to pay it forward. Substitute teacher Ruth Reed now has a summer story she’s bound to be sharing for years … Olivia Prouse also shared the story on Twitter, noting ‘My favorite story of the day is how my 3rd grade teacher thought Keith Urban was down on his luck and couldn’t pay for his Wawa snacks so she bought them for him. What an angel.’ Urban and Kelsea Ballerini played at the BB&T Pavilion on Friday night.” Read the report

—“Alleged MS-13 leader asks officials to ease his jail restrictions” Read the report

—“N.J. mall with empty space isn’t opening a Gap or Macy’s. It’s trying something different” Read the report

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