Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 9/29/2021 – InsiderNJ
Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You claim to be Mr. Law and Order. You have no endorsements from law enforcement.” – Governor Murphy to Jack Ciattarelli at last night’s first gubernatorial debate
TOP STORY: Murphy and Ciattarelli Go After Each Other – Jersey Style – in Hard-Hitting First Debate
The statewide cumulative COVID-19 count stands at 1,000,067 cases and 24,593 confirmed fatalities (and 170,79 probable cases and 2,787 probable fatalities) as of Tuesday (an increase of 1,857 confirmed cases, 465 probable cases, and 37 lab-confirmed fatalities from the previous day). The viral transmission rate is .99. There have been 12,058,352 COVID-19 vaccinations administered (with 5,840,821 people fully vaccinated).
Governor Murphy and GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli clashed last night in their first debate (watch here), a hard-hitting,at-time raucous, but mostly civil debate moderated by ABC News. Both candidates attempted to depict the other as extremist, with Ciattarelli taking aim at the Murphy Administration’s record on several issues, and Murphy referencing the Christie and Trump tenures as points of attack on Ciattarelli. Following the debate, NJDSC Chairman Jones praised Murphy, saying he ‘made all New Jersey Democrats proud’, while NJGOP Chairman Hugin said Ciattarelli ‘proved beyond a reasonable doubt’ to be the winner. The DGA said the Governor ‘dominated‘ the debate, while the RGA praised Ciattarelli for forcing Murphy to ‘reckon with his record’.
See Insider NJ’s Fred Snowflack’s debate wins and losses between Murphy and Ciattarelli.
Burlington County added an additional 15 secure ballot drop boxes. The county unveiled a map of Hispanic and Latino businesses.
Essex County Commissioner Director Richardson called on the federal government to end discriminatory treatment of Haitian migrants at the border.
Senators Menendez and Booker raised concerns with proposed changes to the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center.
ICYMI: Murphy rolled out ‘Return and Earn’ program; Payne says bills are unique chance to bridge divide; Pascrell confident of passage of bills; Gottheimer central figure in ongoing debate; Murphy gets generally positive reviews for COVID handling; Murphy says child mask mandates ‘brings us no joy‘; Gottheimer: ‘hectic few days ahead‘; NJDOL paid out over $35B; Murphy signed executive order requiring masks in child care settings; Watson Colemans’ in-depth interview; protesters rallied Gottheimer’s office; Pascrell on SALT: ‘we’re taking gloves off‘
In Asbury Park, a grand jury declined to charge a police officer involved in a fatal police-involved encounter.
In Absecon, the town is joining Atlantic County’s library system, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Blairstown, residents are worried that an unauthorized fill has hurt their water wells, according to NJ Herald.
In Brick, hot issues in the mayoral race include marijuana, crime, and Trenton mandates, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Camden, a new effort was announced to support youth sports, according to the Courier Post.
In Hillsborough, Mayor Lipani won a bet against Bridgewater Mayor Moench, according to TAPinto.
In Hoboken, councilmembers are beginning to offer endorsements in the council and mayoral races, according to TAPinto.
In Fairfield Township, the schools superintendent was charged with raping a family friend, according to the Trentonian.
In Long Hill, an ordinance banning running bamboo was introduced, according to NJ Hills.
In Madison, the town hired a consultant for the $2M emergency radio project, according to NJ Hills.
In Mahwah, testimony concluded on a warehouse proposal, according to the Bergen Record.
In Margate, residents whose homes were damaged filed suit against the city and city engineer, according to Downbeach.
In Paterson, BOE Trustee Teague was warned of an ethics conflict due to his advocacy for special education, according to Paterson Press.
In Peapack-Gladstone, Bretzger was named administrator, according to NJ Hills.
In Raritan, the town released an app to allow residents to communicate with municipal employees, according to TAPinto.
In Ridgewood, the village has ‘unprecedented difficulty‘ in hiring crossing guards, according to the Bergen Record.
In Weehawken, Ward 3 Councilman Gonzalez is resigning on Friday, according to Hudson County View.
In Wenonah, voters will consider a bond referendum to fund elementary school renovations, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
ICYMI: In Paterson, Mendez running for mayor next year, Davila says she’ll remain neutral; in Newark, Amador won’t seek re-election, confirming recent speculation; in Bayonne, Davis and Dems preparing to get into trenches for election; in Jersey City, LSP advocates rallied against privatization efforts; in Newark, city unveiled a statue of history-making former Mayor Kenneth Gibson; in Newark, no clear alternative to Baraka; in Newark, James considers impact of troop extraction; in North Arlington, former Mayor Kaiser passed away; in Paterson, officials toured Ida shelter
AROUND THE WEB:
Was your NJ weed conviction expunged? The state’s court system wants you to find outgate incident during Ida, legislators say
- Kenneth Burns, WHYY News
- The New Jersey court system has expunged more than 362,000 marijuana and hashish cases since the state’s new decriminalization laws took effect on July 1. Now, officials are trying to alert people who benefited from the automatic expungement. The New Jersey courts launched an awareness campaign last week to notify people if they had prior convictions for low-level offenses involving marijuana or hashish that those convictions were wiped from their records.
McKoy is leaving NJPP, but his influence on issues in N.J. (and now, around U.S.) will remain strong
Tom Bergeron, roi-nj.com
- Brandon McKoy always has been good at turning a phrase. And doing it with facts. So, we’ll give him the best line about the announcement that he is leaving New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive think tank that provided straight talk on issues — straight talk with an honesty that sometimes bothered even progressives.
Rally for abortion justice Saturday in Morristown
New Jersey Hills
- Women’sMarch.com will hold a rally for abortion justice at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2.
Judge declines to block Rutgers vaccine mandate
Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor
- A federal judge declined to block Rutgers University’s vaccine mandate Monday, ruling the anti-vaccine group that lodged the suit failed to demonstrate the action was likely to succeed or that the plaintiffs would face irreparable harm. U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi denied the bid for an injunction to block the mandate sought by Children’s Health Defense — an anti-vaccine group with ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and 12 current or future university students.
NJCU trustees come to President Henderson’s defense after faculty vote of ‘no confidence’
John Heinis, Hudson County View
- The New Jersey City University Board of Trustees are coming to President Sue Henderson’s defense after the university senators, comprised of faculty leaders, approved a vote of “no confidence” last night.
Murders in NJ up around 25% last year, but overall crime down
Michael Symons, NJ1015
- Murders increased last year in New Jersey at the fastest pace per capita since 2003, though not as much as they did nationally, according to data in an annual FBI crime report issued Monday. The murder rate in New Jersey climbed from 3 per 100,000 residents in 2019 to 3.7 per 100,000 in 2020, up 23%, reaching the highest it has been since 2016. But the national murder rate rose faster, from 5.1 to 6.5 between those two years, reaching a level last seen in 1997.
Oddsmakers: Murphy’s reelection odds are trending downward
Matt Rooney, Save Jersey
- The Biden-led Democrats had a brutal summer and it’s not over yet even as the fall season gets underway. A leading betting aggregator reports that Phil Murphy is no exception to the rule. According to US-Bookies.com, Murphy’s odds of winning reelection stood at 1/10 (or a 90.9% “implied probability”) in June 2021, but they’ve dropped to 2/9 (81.8%) as of September.
Where does Jack Ciattarelli stand on NJ transportation issues? Here’s what he told us
Colleen Wilson, NorthJersey.com
- As tolls go up, NJ Transit commuters return to trains and buses and big projects loom, NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY Network New Jersey met up with Republican candidate for governor Jack Ciattarelli to discuss the region’s transportation issues.
TAP’ed Into Hudson: Mike Harper of the Hudson County Board of Elections Discusses Decision 2021
TAPinto.net
- It’s officially Autumn, and with the season comes an increased focus on Elections—particularly here in New Jersey, where the Gubernatorial campaign and many Municipal decisions will be made after the vote on Tuesday, November 2.
New Jersey City University faculty signals ‘no confidence’ vote in school’s president
Sophie Nieto-Munoz, New Jersey Monitor
- Faculty members at New Jersey City University signaled they want to oust the state school’s president after a tense, two-hour Zoom meeting Monday. University senators — the school’s faculty leaders — voted 30 to 23 to cast a vote of “no confidence” in NJCU President Sue Henderson, who has been at the helm of the Jersey City school since August 2012. Faculty and students cited swelling financial debt and a lack of transparency in the school’s real estate projects as major factors in their decision.
Countdown to the election: Mail-in-ballots sent, new machines delivered
Michelle Brunetti-Post, Press of Atlantic City
- As election season heats up, vote-by-mail ballots have been sent out and new machines for early voting are being delivered. This week is time to make sure you are registered to vote for the Nov. 2 General Election, and to fill out the paperwork to get registered, election officials said. You can also register in person at your county’s Registrar’s Office or Superintendent of Elections Office.
Man claims Monmouth County jail officers broke his teeth, made him wear pink jumpsuit
Ken Serrano, Asbury Park Press
- An 18-year-old Ocean Township man is suing the Monmouth County Jail, five corrections officers and others, contending he was beaten twice by them without provocation, getting a tooth knocked out each time, and was forced to wear a pink jumpsuit.
(Visited 353,467 times, 41 visits today)