Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 8/5/2020 – InsiderNJ
Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing for 8/5/2020:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Power outages is going to be the big legacy from this storm.” – Governor Murphy
TOP STORY: Emergencies are not the Time for OPRA Darkness
Follow Insider NJ’s COVID-19 Information Update Center and Insider NJ’s County COVID-19 Data Center.
Governor Murphy and state officials held a briefing on Tropical Storm Isias yesterday; 1.4M New Jerseyans were left without power as a result of the storm, according to the Governor. He had declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm.
The statewide COVID-19 count stands at 182,970 cases and 13,982 fatalities (and 1,875 probably fatalities) as of Tuesday.
The state’s travel quarantine advisory was updated to include Rhode Island and remove DC and Delaware, bringing the total to 35 states and territories.
The state only wrote one racial impact study in a two-year period, according to the Bergen Record.
The COVID-19 outbreak among Rutgers football players has expanded, according to MyCentralJersey.
Atlantic County freeholders voted on a resolution opposing an all-VBM election, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Passaic County was awarded $7.5M from the NJDOT for infrastructure improvements.
Somerset County Sheriff Russo launched a Hate Crimes Awareness and Prevention Unit. The county completed the results of the July primary.
Reps. Sherrill and Pascrell demanded answers from FEMA regarding reports of faulty PPE sent to nursing homes.
*Correction: Yesterday’s MIB state that the state’s COVID-19 transmission rate was 1.48%; it is 1.48 – not a percentage*
ICYMI: Murphy cracked down on house parties, acknowledges ‘mad as hell’ atmosphere; face masks req’d for students; Murphy extends public health state of emergency; Murphy sounds alarm bell case increases, gets tough again; Murphy lambasted McConnell; Murphy laments rise in cases from indoor parties, says this is not time to be ‘inducted into the knucklehead hall of fame‘; Salas calls for increased privacy rights; Grewal holds ‘use of force’ policy revisions conference; $12.4B in unemployment claims; Murphy on COVID numbers: ‘mixed bag at best‘; travel quarantine advisory now has 36 states; Murphy defended schools re-opening plan; Menendez, officials demand state/local gov’t aid; Murphy says indoor partygoers are ‘playing with fire‘
In Sparta, a Catholic school leader blasted educators for ‘looking for excuses’ not to return to school in the fall, according to NJ Herald.
In Strathmere, a tornado touched down during Tropical Storm Isias, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In Hamilton (Mercer), the town launched a Small Business Assistance Program.
In Jersey City, the city will open a new skate park tomorrow.
In Trenton, 3 police officers were accused of planting a gun in a newly filed lawsuit, according to the Trentonian.
In Creskill, teens may have spread COVID-19 following parties, according to the Bergen Record.
In Lakewood, the schools are planning full-time in-person instruction, according to NJTV.
In Toms River, the superintendent predicts remote-only learning in the fall for the schools due to logisitical demands, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Old Bridge, the schools reopening plan includes one day of in-person learning, according to MyCentralJersey.
In Barnegat, a woman filed a lawsuit alleging her neighbors tormented her with racially offensive signs, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Flemington, the town is beginning its search for its first borough administrator, according to MyCentralJersey.
ICYMI: In Morristown, AG’s Office ‘involved’ in investigating Kildea hanging death; in Linden, Scutari released unearthed memo; in Bellmawr, gym owners kicked open doors to shuttered business
AROUND THE WEB:
As NJ parties, coronavirus transmission rate spikes
Brenda Flanagan, NJTV
- Alpine Mayor Paul Tomasko says a backyard pool bash at a mansion on Saturday night bused in paid guests from New York and did little to control the spread of the coronavirus as hundreds partied with food and liquor into the night.
If 25 is good for a NJ party, why not insider a restaurant?
Steve Trevelise, NJ1015
- We’ve been bad little boys and girls in New Jersey. We’ve been partying up a storm and Governor Dad, or as I like to refer to him “Our Father who art in Trenton, Murphy be thy name,” is so upset that in the name of COVID-19 he has limited all indoor parties to just 25 people. That’s down from the previous rule: 25 percent of a room’s capacity, but no more than 100 people. Now the capacity limit stays, but the hard limit is 25 people.
Guest Opinion: Mail-in voting must be an option for all
Arlene Taraschi, Burlington County Times
- With the appointment of our new postmaster general, one of the GOP’s top political donors, Louis DeJoy, our election is in jeopardy as never before.
Mayor Baraka: I strongly oppose the ‘merger’ of NJ Medical School, RWJ Medical School | Opinion
Ras Baraka
- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, located in New Brunswick, and the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), located in Newark, plan to become a single medical school. It is insultingly and dishonestly being referred to as a merger by the few that support it.
How Newark promotes women, minority developers
Michael Hill, NJTV
- Developer Eugenia Hamlett’s latest building is a six-family unit on South 18th Street in Newark. She gave NJTV News a tour of the two-bedroom apartments with decks on the back. Hamlett is among eight developers, including women and minorities, chosen to makeover abandoned properties…
Ramapo-Indian Hills hires consulting group for $35,000 to chart district’s future
Marsha A. Stoltz, NorthJersey.com
- The Ramapo-Indian Hills Board of Education has authorized the hiring of a consulting group for $35,000 to provide the district with a three-to-five-year strategic plan.The newly formed group is identified in a press release by board President John Kinney as DST Consulting.
Morristown lawyer rejects state plea offer in corruption case
Kevin Coughlin, Morristown Green
- A Morristown attorney accused of sidestepping campaign finance laws to secure hefty municipal contracts rejected a plea offer on Tuesday that would have sent her to jail for three years.
Former Trump National Golf Club Bedminster housekeeper seeks asylum
Michael Hill, NJTV
- Victorina Morales worked at Donald Trump’s National Golf Club in Bedminster as a housekeeper. Undocumented from Guatemala, she now faces deportation. Her attorney, Anibal Romero, joins Michael Hill to talk about Morales’ status and quest to have a judge approve her claim for asylum.
We’re getting sicker. Time for tougher restrictions. | Moran
Tom Moran, Star-Ledger
- The coronavirus is expanding its reach into New Jersey at a rate we have not seen since the dark days of this crisis in early April. The data pouring in over the last week is definitive and alarming. It tells us that we must tighten our vigilance fast if we hope to avoid falling into the abyss with states like Florida and Texas.
Paul Mulshine, Star-Ledger
- Thanks to Tropical Storm Isaias, the New Jersey Supreme Court could face an unprecedented question on Wednesday: Will an argument over the legal impact of the term “act of God” be delayed because of an actual act of God?
Lack of Trained Staff Slows Resolution of Unemployment Problems
Charles Stile, NorthJersey.com
- The governor needs to provide an anxious New Jersey public with a clear and identifiable plan for a return to lockdown. As South Jersey spikes, should reopening look different in stable North Jersey?
What’s in a name? Freeholders about to find out | Quigley
Joan Quigley, For The Jersey Journal
- Freeholders! It’s always seemed to be a title made for snickering. People have wanted to eliminate it for decades. Now, finally New Jersey will change it. Not because of the snickering but bending over backwards to avoid even the most obscure or trivial hint of racism or sexism.
What’s in a name? Freeholders about to find out | Quigley
Joan Quigley, For The Jersey Journal
- Freeholders! It’s always seemed to be a title made for snickering. People have wanted to eliminate it for decades. Now, finally New Jersey will change it. Not because of the snickering but bending over backwards to avoid even the most obscure or trivial hint of racism or sexism.
Murphy Push to Borrow Up to $9.9 Billion Gets Its Day in Court
John Reitmeyer, NJ Spotlight
- Supreme Court set to hear case that could decide if taxes must rise or programs get cut.
Bill Spadea, NJ1015
- Since Gov. Phil Murphy got elected, our state has continued to get weaker and more fearful of normal life. The pandemic, which peaked in April, continues to be the driver of dangerous and inconsistent policy from Trenton elites. The same virus that is unlikely to get a child sick, let alone be life-threatening, is being used to create false benchmarks to control behavior. The new mantra of the far Left and their complicit counterparts in the feckless Republican Party is “safety.”
Restaurants want indoor dining, but Murphy isn’t budging
Dino Flammia, NJ1015
- Hours before Gov. Phil Murphy tightened rules related to indoor gatherings, and reminded eateries that open-air storefronts alone do not permit them to serve diners under their roofs, New Jersey’s restaurant industry held a virtual press conference urging Murphy to green-light indoor dining throughout the state.
Jayed Rahman, Paterson Times
- Former councilman Juan Torres’ recycling was not picked up by the city last week. Instead of leaving the cardboard boxes and other materials on the sidewalk, he took them to the public works headquarters at Eastside Park. “Since they didn’t come to me, I took it to DPW on Broadway,” said Torres, a two-term former 5th Ward councilman.
‘Chronic disobedience’ over wearing a face mask outside could lead to $250 fine in Hoboken
John Heinis, Hudson County View
- “Chronic disobedience” over wearing a face mask outside could lead to a $250 fine in Hoboken, pending approval from the city council later this month.
TV came to NYSE 25 years ago today: The N.J. man who brought it there tells the tale
Bob Zito, Zito Partners and IPZ
- I had only been back at the New York Stock Exchange as an executive vice president and member of the management committee responsible for marketing communications for a few months when the NYSE announced its then-president, Dick Grasso, was going to assume the role of chairman and CEO, replacing Bill Donaldson.
Let’s fly away. Next year. Maybe?
Daniel J. Munoz, njbiz.com
- Despite the pandemic and dramatically reduced travel volumes, Newark airport’s latest terminal is on schedule to take off with few delays .
Study finds Mt. Olive, Sparta, Vernon among nation’s 25 safest towns
Eric Obernauer, NJ Herald
- Mount Olive, Sparta, and Vernon ranked among the top 25 of the 100 safest communities in America last year, shows a study by home security company SafeWise.
17 nuns from Sisters of Charity in Convent Station have died during coronavirus outbreak
Terrence T. McDonald, NorthJersey.com
- Sister Margaret Ellen’s death in Cedar Grove on Wednesday represented a grim milestone for the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. She was the 17th sister from the order to die since New Jersey’s coronavirus outbreak began in March.
Bad court news for Vineland police chief facing civil service hearing
Joseph P. Smith, Vineland Daily Journal
- A New Jersey court has reversed itself to allow Vineland to pursue two disciplinary charges against its police chief, despite prior Cumberland County Prosecutor’s Office investigations that found no merit in either allegation.
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