Author: ECCYC

NEWARK — The family of a 7-year-old is planning to file a lawsuit the Newark Public School because the child was allegedly beaten and assaulted by a teacher’s aide.

Mom Ana Diaz Vega told NBC 4 New York her autistic son was shoved onto the floor, into a bookcase, dragged down the stairs and down the hallway at the Quitman Street Community School by a teacher’s aide named Corey Fouchee on April 13.

Vega was called to the school to pick up her son because he was screaming for “no reason.” When he calmed down Vega said her son told her that “Mr. C” had hurt him and described how he was assaulted.

The teacher and two other students were in the classroom at the time and did nothing to stop the attack, Vega told NBC 4 New York.

The April incident was not the first violent encounter Vega’s son had with Fouchee. She told NBC 4 New York her son came home with bruised arms after Fouchee held her son up against a wall in October.

Vega said she is planning to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the school.

Aide arrested

The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told New Jersey 101.5 that Fouchee was arrested and charged with assault and endangering the welfare of a child.

Vega told NBC 4 New York her son has not been back to school since the incident and panics at the mention of returning to school.

A spokeswoman for the school district on Monday afternoon did not respond to a request for more information about Fouchee’s status with the district.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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Gov. Phil Murphy has announced $10 million in federal funding is going to help protect firefighters across the Garden State.

During a stop at the Hackensack Fire Department on Monday, the governor said the American Rescue Plan Firefighter Grant program will provide departments grants of up to $75,000 for protection, cleaning and sanitization.

He said the money will help to cover a host of needs ranging from personal protective equipment to chemical-free clothing and gear.

A benefit for property taxpayers

Murphy also noted the funding going to fire companies across the state will also help taxpayers.

“When you think about it every dollar that we can deploy from either state or federal funds is a dollar that stays in the pockets of local property taxpayers,” he said.

He noted the pandemic was hard on New Jersey’s firefighting community, especially companies that rely on volunteers.

“We know the stress that all of you were under each and every day, not knowing what you might be up against on a call, while simultaneously worrying about the health of your own families,” Murphy said.

Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver, who also serves as Commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs, said the program “is going to help provide them with the essential resources they need to ensure their safety and well-being so they can continue to do their jobs.”

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. 5th District, a member of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus, said “we’re now clawing back even more federal dollars to support our local fire departments and first responders, particularly for our smaller ones where resources are even more stretched.”

Grant awards will prioritize volunteer fire departments, as well as departments in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

David Matthau is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at david.matthau@townsquaremedia.com

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CALDWELL, NJ — Caldwell University celebrated the achievements of its Class of 2022 at its 80th commencement on Sunday, May 15. President Matthew Whelan commended the graduates for being “the best example of perseverance and resilience.” He reminded them that “no one does it alone” and asked them to show appreciation by standing up and giving a round of applause to those who helped them earn their degrees.

The university presented an honorary degree to Louis LaSalle, a longtime executive in New Jersey’s health care industry. He recently retired as senior vice president for corporate external affairs at Barnabas Health. LaSalle is a seasoned professional in community, public and governmental affairs in the health care field, having spent 31 years at RWJBarnabas Health and Saint Barnabas Medical Center. A resident of Roseland, LaSalle has been active in community service on a number of New Jersey boards and committees, including as president of the Essex County Parks Foundation, a member of the Caldwell University President’s Advisory Council and chairperson of the Roseland Planning Board. 

LaSalle thanked RWJBarnabas Health for “allowing me to get where I am today.” He recalled how he had grown up poor in East Orange, one of four children, the son of Italian immigrants. His father died young. His mother, despite the family’s struggles, always stressed the importance of work, education, faith and caring for the less fortunate. LaSalle told the graduates to remember those who are in need, to listen a lot and upon initially meeting someone to remember that person’s name by repeating it three times in a conversation. And he said it is important to live out the message in that morning’s Gospel reading. “Love is what it’s all about.” 

Yaman Thapa, the student speaker for the undergraduate commencement ceremony, spoke about the journey of discovery Caldwell graduates have made during their university careers and how they faced obstacles with resilience and compassion. “These obstacles allowed us to advance in growth. Growth happens when we explore outside our comfort zones,” said Thapa, a native of Nepal who received a chemistry degree with a minor in neuroscience. She spoke of one of her favorite books, “The Little Prince,” which features a geographer who sits on his planet, designs maps, “only studies and doesn’t wander,” and relies on information other people give him. “What I realized is that we were not like that geographer,” Thapa said, “we are explorers, going beyond our studies, to use our knowledge and discover the best versions of ourselves. Thapa has been accepted by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring, N.Y., to pursue a Ph.D. 

The graduate ceremony speaker was Patricia Valerio, who received an MBA. She shared one of her favorite quotes from Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one most adaptable to change.” Valerio pointed out that the words were not Darwin’s, but those of business professor Leon Megginson, who interpreted Darwin’s writings. Both men, Valerio said, “understood that the concept and the need to adapt to change transcended their respective fields.” A resident of Lincroft, Valerio is an assistant manager for Medforce, where she does event planning for pharmaceutical companies.  “I think one of the most powerful qualities about the Caldwell University Class of 2022 graduates is that this is a group that is not only not apprehensive of change but also one that has made efforts to welcome those challenges into our lives,” she said.

  Caldwell University, RWJBarnabas Health

Have you heard the one about the CDC scientist who walked into a bar? “Why the long face?” asks the bartender. Scientist says, “Because nine counties in New Jersey should start masking again.”

Only it’s not a joke. But it will be regarded as one.

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended going back to masking due to nine counties falling back into the high transmission category for the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Those counties are Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean and Sussex.

Considering four of those counties make up Jersey Shore tourism and we are days away from the unofficial kickoff to the summer season, this of course will not be welcomed. And I would be stunned if it happened.

Remember the battle in “Jaws” between the mayor who wanted to keep the beaches open and Chief Brody who wanted them shut down? In this case, the shark is the BA.2 variant.

But there’s a problem here. Yes, people can (and do) still die from COVID-19 caused by the latest variant, but the death rates have been far lower even though the variant is more contagious than ones past.

At some point, as I’ve said from the beginning, society has to decide what’s an acceptable number of dead.

If that sounds cold, consider we do it all the time.

We do it in past flu seasons when no masks were required.

We do it in automotive safety engineering weighing cost against lives.

We do it when setting speed limits. (In other words, if the “if it saves just one life it’s worth it” mentality had its way, all speed limits would be 10 mph, right?)

Also, while masks were proven early on by credible science to somewhat slow the spread of the early variants, this latest one is a challenge. Consider what emergency physician and professor of health policy and management at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Dr. Leana Wen, told CNN.

“A simple cloth mask is much less effective, especially against a variant as contagious as BA.2,” said Dr. Wen. And while she says the heavy-duty N95 masks would do some good, those aren’t what most people have used.

So you could make the most gallant effort to try to force people back into masks in those nine New Jersey counties and do an all-out public relations blitz brilliantly designed by “Mad Men”’s Don Draper to get them all to use N95s, and it won’t work.

Not to mention the pushback after pandemic fatigue long ago set in. Remember the acts of violence? They’d be child’s play compared to what would happen now.

No one is stopping you from wearing a mask if you want to. To force it on those who don’t at this point in the game is far more trouble than it’s worth.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

You can now listen to Deminski & Doyle — On Demand! Hear New Jersey’s favorite afternoon radio show any day of the week. Download the Deminski & Doyle show wherever you get podcasts, on our free app, or listen right now.

NJ Diners that are open 24/7

TAP Into Another Town’s News:

TAP Into Another Town’s News:

BLAIRSTOWN — The pilot of a glider that struck trees on the approach to Blairstown Airport died when the plane crashed while trying to land Sunday afternoon.

The FAA said the Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider quickly lost altitude after hitting the trees. Only the pilot was on board. FAA records show the glider is registered to Jersey Ridge Soaring, a company based at the airport that offers flights in one-and-two passenger gliders.

The FAA referred questions about the identity of the pilot to Blairstown police. The department on Monday morning did not respond to New Jersey 101.5’s request for more information.

The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash.

A Schweizer SGS 2-33A glider is a two-seater craft commonly used for training purposes. It was last manufactured in 1981.

Another small aircraft crash in New Jersey

It was the fifth small airplane or glider to crash at a New Jersey airport since the end of March. The crash was the first resulting in death.

A Cessna 172 that left Old Bridge Airport in Englishtown on an instructional flight on May 1 crashed at Ocean County Airport on May 2. Pictures of the plane show it standing upright on its nose against a perimeter fence that runs along Route 530. The FAA’s incident notification said the plane experienced “engine issues” and crashed into the fence.

A Citation CJ3 jet that was landing on Runway 22 at Essex County Airport on April 18 was not able to touch down at the correct moment due to strong crosswinds. When the plane did land on the runway it went off the pavement into a drainage brook.

A single-engine M20M  crashed on the front lawn of a house on South Main Street in Manville while trying to land at Central Jersey Airport. The pilot got out of the plane and was hospitalized for a facial injury on April 4.

A plane rolled off the runway on April 2 at Morristown Airpot in Hanover with four people on board. It came to a stop in the grass with significant damage. Both wings had separated from the small plane, according to Morristown Green.

Dan Alexander is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dan.alexander@townsquaremedia.com

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TRENTON – New Jersey’s judiciary is short on judges but could get a lifeline through longer life expectancy.

An Assembly committee last week advanced a bill (A3165) that would raise the mandatory retirement age for judges and county prosecutors by two years, from age 70 to age 72. The idea still faces a number of hurdles and would need to be approved by voters in a referendum for it to apply to the state’s judiciary.

Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Essex, said the idea isn’t really about vacancies, though around 16% of judicial seats are currently unfilled.

It’s about life expectancy, McKeon said. When the retirement age of 70 was set in the 1947 state constitution, most judges were men and their average life expectancy was 64. It’s now 77 for the average American.

“Usually, people don’t get on the bench until they’re maybe in their 50s, so they’re really kind of warming up and coming up with that thing that we all know we learn from, and that’s experience and, adding to that, wisdom,” McKeon said.

McKeon said he’d be fine with a retirement age of 75 and has in a proposal at that level but thought the Senate – which gets to approve judges and is reluctant to yield its influence over those appointments – would be more likely to agree with a smaller jump.

Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, D-Hudson, said “72 is young these days” and supports the possible change.

“Between the vacancies and life expectancy and advances in medical science and the idea that we like our attorneys who are appointed to judgeships to have experience,” Mukherji said.

“Just a couple of more years would allow also to make sure that we are retaining the highest-qualified judges and the quality of our bench,” he said.

Even if the bill were to pass, the retirement age for Supreme Court justices and Superior Court judges couldn’t increase until voters agree to amend the state constitution. But it could go up immediately for administrative law judges, workers’ compensation judges and county prosecutors.

Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn, R-Monmouth, isn’t sure it’s a good idea, saying that while there’s a need to address a vacancy rate approaching one in six seats, there’s value to turnover.

“There needs to be, and I think that’s what makes our judicial system better than a lot of the other ones, there is a fresh perspective given because we do have this mandatory retirement age,” Flynn said.

Flynn says if current judges stay in their posts longer, it would limit the opportunities that open up for women to break into the judicial branch.

McKeon said 17 states have no judicial retirement age, 17 use age 70 and the remainder are between ages 72 and 90.

The change might have a limited impact on the number of judicial vacancies, as many judges retire before reaching age 70 anyway, able to make more money in the private sector after completing their 10 years on the job that qualifies them for a state pension.

The most direct way to address judicial vacancies is for Gov. Phil Murphy and the Senate to agree on appointments. The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up the nominations of 11 judges at its meeting Thursday, and they could get confirmed at the Senate session on May 26.

Michael Symons is the Statehouse bureau chief for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at michael.symons@townsquaremedia.com

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending universal masking in nine New Jersey counties.

COVID transmission rates are increasing in all 21 counties, but transmission levels have reached the CDC’s highest tier in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Gloucester, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean and Sussex counties.

According to the CDC, in areas where transmission is high, individuals should, “Wear a well-fitting mask indoors in public, regardless of vaccination status or individual risk (including in K-12 schools and other community settings.)”

New Jersey is seeing an average of 3,701 new positive COVID tests per day, which is a 37% increase from a week ago. The rate of transmission is 1.25, indicating an active spread of the coronavirus.

Gov. Phil Murphy has largely been silent on the increases and reluctant to impose any new statewide mask mandates. He has allowed school districts to decide the issue on their own.

Some local school districts have been reimplementing mask requirements for students and staff as they see community transmission rates rise.

In Metuchen, students and staff must wear a mask on school busses and inside all school buildings until further notice. Metuchen Schools Superintendent Vincent Caputo says the policy will be reviewed weekly.

The South Orange-Maplewood School district is requiring masks at the Clinton and South Mountain Elementary schools, and strongly encouraging them for other schools.

However, with the rise in outbreaks in our District over the past two weeks and the new information from the state, we are strongly recommending that all students/staff consider masking while indoors and on the bus.   Based on the information we’ve provided, we are leaving it at the discretion of parents/staff to determine the best decision for themselves and their families and will respect the choices made by our students and staff. – South Orange & Maplewood School District

The mask mandate remains suspended on mass transit systems, including New Jersey Transit, but commuter groups are still urging a mask-only car on every train.

NJT officials have rejected that, saying it would not logistically be possible and enforcement would be difficult.

Advocates for the mask-only cars are now intensifying their efforts after the Washington, DC, Metro system is considering the accommodation.

A petition to try and force NJT to create mask-only cars has gathered over 500 signatures.

Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com

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