Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 11/19/2020 – InsiderNJ

Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing for 12/4/2020:

SPONSORED MESSAGE (NJ CITIZEN ACTION): Horizon is attempting to rush a bill through the Legislature that would allow the company to circumvent its obligations to the New Jersey public when restructuring, robbing the people of New Jersey of billions of dollars that would be spent on public health initiatives. In an orchestrated process with hearings closed to the public, monied healthcare industry reps have been given priority to present half-truths and obvious spin, while consumer advocates have been sidelined. All in the middle of an historic pandemic that has led to a loss of thousands of New Jersey lives, when public health investment is needed more than ever. Lawmakers should slow down, hold multiple hearings that the public and advocates can meaningfully participate in, and understand what these special interests are really asking for and how NJ will suffer as a result. Contact your legislator and demand a thorough process to get at the truth of this bill. Protect New Jersey health from corporate greed.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “No governmental entity in New Jersey should be accepting money from ICE to detain individuals, particularly when the agency continues to pursue inhumane, xenophobic policies designed to terrorize and rip apart immigrant families; it has to stop.” – Senator Bob Menendez

TOP STORY: Toward a Hudson Aesthetic: Fulop’s Landfill Vision

AROUND THE WEB:

Happy New Year for New Jersey marijuana smokers? That all depends | Mulshine

Paul Mulshine, Star-Ledger

• I paid a visit the other day to Ed Forchion at the coffee shop in Trenton where he openly sells an evil weed that causes premature death in one of five people who smoke it. And he also sells marijuana.

Feds blocking sale of N.J. hospital to Hackensack Meridian, saying it would drive up consumer prices

Susan K. Livio, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

• The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday it intends to block the proposed the sale of Englewood Hospital and Medical Center to Hackensack Meridian Health because the hospital chain would monopolize the Bergen County market and drive up prices.

NJ medical marijuana: What’s next after judge rules dispensary licensing was flawed?

Mike Davis, Asbury Park Press

• The supply-and-demand issues hindering the state’s 12 medical marijuana dispensaries and 100,000 medical marijuana patients could worsen after a judge ruled that the process for issuing state dispensary licenses was rife with flaws.

Hockey coaches react to new COVID-19 restrictions

Leah Mishkin, NJ Spotlight

• Indoor youth sports have officially been benched as part of Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to try to hold back the spread of COVID-19. In particular, hockey has been in the administration’s crosshairs.

Stay open, go remote or in between? Murphy argues for in-person instruction

John Mooney, NJ Spotlight

• Schools may prove Gov. Phil Murphy’s trickiest balancing act of the pandemic. While the governor has been a forceful voice for restrictions on businesses and other activities, Murphy has pressed hard for schools to reopen as much as possible. But in a strategy that some have contested, Murphy has left it to local districts to decide, and that has drawn a very mixed response from the state’s education leaders.

Cape May-Lewes Ferry suspends foot, bicycle travel due to COVID-19

Molly Bilinski, Press of Atlantic City

• Starting Monday, the Cape May-Lewes Ferry is open only to vehicles and their passengers, officials said Thursday, barring foot and bicycle travel. “We are once again taking proactive steps to protect the health and well-being of our passengers and crew,” said Heath Gehrke, Director of Ferry Operations. “At this time, we are not reducing our public sailing schedule. These restrictions will be in place until further notice.”

Somerset County Sheriff’s Officer Ahmed Mackey posthumously promoted

My Central Jersey Staff Reports

• Somerset County Sheriff’s Officer Ahmed Mackey, who died last month after reporting for duty, was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant Thursday during an outdoor memorial service in front of the Historic Courthouse.

Hearing on Trump’s Bedminster golf club renovations postponed. What’s next?

Mike Deak, Bridgewater Courier News

• A hearing on a proposal to expand one of the “cottages” and build more of them at Trump National Golf Club has been postponed until January. The township’s land use board had been scheduled to review the proposal Thursday evening, but the golf club requested a postponement until January, according to the township.

For these Trump supporters primed to disbelieve defeat, challenging the election was a civic duty

Dennis Wagner, Ryan W. Miller, Nick Penzenstadler, Kevin McCoy, and Donovan Slack, USA TODAY

• Alexandra Seely, a 27-year-old dental hygienist, had never been in court except to deal with a traffic ticket. Yet days after the presidential election, her name was near the top of a lawsuit alleging widespread vote fraud in Michigan – a lawsuit designed to alter the result of a presidential election.

Paterson school board extends Hinchliffe Stadium lease to 75 years

Jayed Rahman, Paterson Times

• The school board amended an agreement this week extending the lease for the historic Hinchliffe Stadium from 30 to 75 years. Under the agreement, the lease begins in 2009 and runs for 75 years, said the district’s general counsel Khalifah Shabazz on Monday. The school district owns Hinchliffe Stadium. It leases the stadium and some land to the city of Paterson and the developers working to renovate the stadium and build housing on a nearby vacant lot.

Remember the ballot tracker? N.J. residents are now starting to see whether their votes were counted.

Karin Price Mueller, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

• Weeks before Election Day, voters started to return their mail-in ballots and then turned to the state’s ballot tracking system to see if their vote was counted. But before the election the system was set up so that the tracker would only say a vote was “received.” It did not track a ballot as “accepted” or “rejected,” even days after the election.

N.J. affordable housing is among nation’s most vulnerable to climate-change flooding, study finds

Frank Kummer, Philadelphia Inquirer

• Affordable housing in Camden and Atlantic City is among the most vulnerable in the United States to the impact of rising sea levels and flooding due to climate change, according to a new analysis by scientists at Climate Central.

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