Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 7/16/2019 – InsiderNJ
Below is the Insider NJ Morning Intelligence Briefing for 7/16/2019:
SPONSOR MESSAGE (NJEA):
Governor Murphy announced he will lead a six-day economic mission trip to India in September, the first-ever for a sitting New Jersey governor. Indian-American state leaders praised the trip’s announcement.
A July poll by St. Anselm College finds former VP Biden maintaining a lead of 21% in the Democratic presidential primary among New Hampshire voters, followed by Senators Harris and Warren at 18% and 17%, while Senator Booker’s support has seen his support ‘virtually disappear’ in the Granite State, falling from 4.4% in April to 1.2% in July. Booker raised $4.5M over the past three months, bring his total to $12.4M since entering the race, according to NJ.com.
Senators Menendez and Booker and Reps. Gottheimer and Pascrell announced legislation to stop New Jersey’s doctor shortage by increasing graduation medical slots in hospitals.
Rep. Sherrill introduced legislation to stop colleges from withholding school transcripts due to student loan payments.
Rep. Van Drew denounced ‘bullying behavior’ of elected officials on both sides of the aisle, saying ‘we have major issues to tackle and we keep blocking our own path to solving them’.
Registered nurses at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital Visiting Nurses Inc. filed with the NLRB to hold a union election to organize their union with the HPAE.
ICYMI: Progressives attended national conference; Ruotolo named Union acting prosecutor
President Trump is hosting a fundraiser for his re-election campaign at his Bedminster golf club on Friday.
Fatima Heyward was elected president of the New Jersey Young Democrats, succeeding Marshall Spevak, at their reorganization last night; the NJYD also elected their executive board officers.
CD2 GOP candidate Brian Fitzherbert announced his congressional campaign team.
CD11 Rep. Sherrill raised $590k in the second quarter, with $1.1M COH.
Essex County Freeholder Board President Gill released a statement on ICE raids, saying ‘we should be welcoming, not targeting, asylum seekers’.
Atlantic County Freeholders Levinson and Formica were dropped from a sex discrimination lawsuit against the county prosecutor, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
ICYMI: Diaz endorsed Sanders; LWVNJ elected leadership; Bergen GOP uses ‘Murphy midterms‘ to chip away at Bergen Dems dominance; Becchi announced candidacy for CD7 GOP, vying against candidate Kean; Fitzherbert will run for CD2 GOP nom; NJDSC hired Olasanoye as ED; Juliano notes support for Murphy, who cozied up; Morris prosecutor names in the game
Acting Governor Oliver signed legislation modifying the procedure for changes to how certain municipal elections are held.
The Teamsters, along with NFI workers, called on the NJEDA board to suspend NFI’s tax incentives in light of allegations they neglected to disclosure prior convictions on its EDA application.
Senator Doherty slammed tax incentives for Camden, citing a Philadelphia Inquirer report, saying the incentives haven’t helped the people in the city; Doherty added that ‘New Jersey’s crony capitalism tax breaks continue to yield a horrible return on investment’.
Speaker Coughlin released a statement on the passing of 32BJ President Figueroa.
Assembly Majority Leader Greenwald released a statement criticizing Governor Murphy’s budget freeze of re-entry funding.
Assemblywoman McKnight called for the removal of Judges Troiano and Silva from the bench.
The NJBIA will hold its annual Good Neighbor Awards today.
ICYMI: Rice, Adubato discuss marijuana legalization; NJDHS announced Jacobs as Medicaid Director; NJDOH announced Hayes as Dental Director; Murphy denied that budget freeze items are targeted, Sweeney fired back, says Guv is ‘child who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar’ and ‘Bridgegate on steroids‘
In Atlantic City, Governor Murphy, LG Oliver, Mayor Gilliam, and others held a conference call to discuss the city’s youth.
In Brick, an ELEC complaint was filed against five Democrats who ran on the ‘Clean Slate Team’ in 2015, according to the Shore News Network.
In Old Bridge, AG Grewal announced an investigation into the death of a man in policy custody.
In Hamilton (Atlantic), the council tabled a vote to allow MTV’s ‘Jersey Shore’ to film, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Jersey City, the NAACP announced its support for the short-term housing community’s referendum campaign. Mayor Fulop was selected for an Aspen Institute fellowship, according to the Jersey Journal.
In Newark, a WalletHub study ranks the city the third most-stressed in the nation.
In Bergenfield, Council President Amatorio urged veterans to take advantage of the state’s income tax exemption for veterans.
In Hoboken, Councilman DeFusco will hold an event for seniors with renowned cellist Daniel Lelchuk.
AROUND THE WEB:
Tom Bergeron, roi-nj.com
- There was the incredible number: The country is expected to have a shortage of 120,000 doctors by the year 2030. And the incredible local number: New Jersey is expected to be short 2,500 doctors next year.
Tweet, outrage, double-down: Will the furor over Trump’s tweets be any different?
Susan Page, USA TODAY
- We’ve seen this movie before: A controversy rages but is overtaken by a provocative presidential tweet, sparking a new round of outrage from Democrats – which draws an unrepentant response from the White House. Will this time end any differently?
‘Listen, we got your son,’ kidnappers told father of Curtis Jenkins III, he said in 911 call
Melanie Burney, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Curtis Jenkins Jr. reported his son — the grandson of Camden City Council President Curtis Jenkins Sr. — missing shortly after 2 a.m. on July 1 to Camden County Metro police. He appeared to maintain his composure during an audio recording of a second call two hours later to report that his son had been kidnapped. The Inquirer obtained an audio recording of the call through New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act.
Is Bon Jovi leaving New Jersey (and its property taxes) behind?
Save Jersey Staff
- He campaigned for future Governor Phil Murphy. He also hosted a fundraiser for Cory Booker. He runs a restaurant where you donate or volunteer for your food. Jon Bon Jovi’s reputation as a liberal activist is well-established. But is he unwilling to keep paying the taxes that go along with living in a Leftist paradise?
Ex-Trenton firefighter wins again as state Supreme Court nixes appeal, ending saga
Isaac Avilucea, The Trentonian
- In a stroke of poetic justice, Jesse Diaz tattooed his Engine 7 fire helmet on his arm as a reminder of what he says the department “stole” from him when they made him a pariah for insisting upper brass discipline a colleague for using a racial slur against a fellow fireman.
Is a Margate Boardwalk now a ‘no-brainer’?
Amy S. Rosenberg, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Advocates of building a boardwalk in Margate advanced their cause over the weekend with a 26-page report that outlines three different ways to bring back a boardwalk in this affluent beach town “for the 21st century.”
Trenton Engine 8 firehouse allegedly ‘condemned,’ administration cites ‘safety reasons’
Isaac Avilucea, The Trentonian
- Engine 8 firehouse is a ghost town. The back fence was locked up, the parking lot was empty, and the building appeared dark and unoccupied when The Trentonian stopped by Monday afternoon. Why? That’s the burning question for council members who said they’re still awaiting answers from the administration about the sudden shuttering of the firehouse, which is located on the 600 block of Stuyvesant Avenue.
New Jersey now accepting more applications to grow and sell marijuana
Sam Wood, Philadelphia Inquirer
- The New Jersey Department of Health is planning on expanding the state’s medical marijuana program.
How Booker would address long-term care
Adriel Bettelheim, Politico
- Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J) is addressing access to long-term health care and the workers who provide such services in his latest policy proposal — an issue of growing concern with the 65-and-older population projected to nearly double, to 88 million, by 2050.
An old firehouse, not tax breaks, brought this company to Camden | Inga Saffron
Inga Saffron, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Any major building in Camden that survives with its integrity intact is a miracle. Over the last 50 years, much of the downtown has been cruelly erased, leaving an archipelago of disconnected structures. Those losses have increased since powerbroker George Norcross and his brothers helped revise New Jersey’s economic development law in 2014 to offer huge tax incentives to suburban companies that move to the city — a law now being scrutinized by a state task force and a grand jury.
A sneak peek inside Invertase, Phillipsburg’s up-and-coming science-based brewery
Steve Novak, For lehighvalleylive.com
- A piece of paper taped to the door blocks the view inside. “No peeking!!” it says. There are smiley faces inside the O and under the two exclamation points. Inside is where Stephen and Karen Zolnay are hard at work turning a family hobby of 15 years into a business.
Newark officer charged with murder, attempted murder in Jefferson shooting
Lori Comstock, New Jersey Herald
- A 49-year-old Newark police lieutenant has been charged with murder and attempted murder after police say he opened fire at a Jefferson home late Sunday evening, killing his estranged wife and seriously injuring her boyfriend.
Property taxes on average NJ home? Anywhere from $1.5K to $24K
Susanne Cervenka, Asbury Park Press
- Forget the mansions. And the shoebox-sized studio condos, while you’re at it. Say you just want to buy a typical house in New Jersey. How much will that set you back? That answer is simple: The average home value in New Jersey was $323,179 last year, according to state data.
Could a Jersey lab be the key to unlocking the sun’s energy on Earth?
Leah Mishkin, NJTV
- What if there was a way to recreate the process that powers the sun and the stars, a way to bottle it on earth as a new source of energy for the world? It sounds impossible, but scientists have been working to achieve fusion energy for nearly 70 years.
Historic preservation in Atlantic City could be key to economic growth
David Danzis, Press of Atlantic City
- Scattered throughout the city’s 48 blocks are monuments and structures that speak to the rich and varied history of the seaside resort.
$1M in State Funding for Local News Consortium Is Up in the Air
John Reitmeyer, NJ Spotlight
- The launch of an innovative, state-funded media consortium whose goal it is to improve local news coverage in New Jersey is stalled for the second straight year due to budgeting hiccups in Trenton.
Grape escape: Grassroots organization hopes to revamp N.J. laws on shipping wine to consumers
Brett Johnson, roi-nj.com
- It sounds clandestine, but wine enthusiast Jeremy Benson says people always find a way to get their drink of choice. In New Jersey, sometimes that means coming to an agreement to ship wine to a friend in New York, and transporting bottles in some way across state borders back into the Garden State — not necessarily under the cover of darkness, but still discreetly.
TAPinto Summit Staff
- The Union County Board of Elections has scheduled five local opportunities for Hilltop City voters to check out the new voting machines that will be used in Summit beginning with the November 5 general election.
Westwood couple visit every president’s home
Stephanie Noda, North Jersey Record
- It took 10 years for Linda and Tom Morrison to visit the home of every American president — except two. The Westwood couple will visit the homes of former President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump when they become registered with the National Park Service, become official museums or libraries, or at least get presidential plaques.
Flood water fix accused of trashing lagoon, polluting inlet
Michelle Brunetti Post, Press of Atlantic City
- In the lagoon outside of Fisherman’s Park, trash piles up in the corners formed by the bulkheads. It also collects along the decks and bulkheads in front of waterfront homes, and floats in the boat channel, visible across the water to visitors at restaurants at Gardner’s Basin.
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