Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing 9/3/2019 – InsiderNJ
Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing for 9/3/2019:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I don’t have time for the kind of purity that some people want.” – Senator Cory Booker during a Working Families town hall
TOP STORY: Insider NJ’s Legislative Election Guide (from Most to Least Competitive)
Welcome back to the Morning Intelligence Briefing. We hope you enjoyed the Labor Day weekend, as the state gets back into full political swing and the fall election season begins. Take a look at Insider NJ’s legislative election guide (from most to least competitive), read Insider NJ’s 50 most powerful elected officials (right now), and Insider NJ’s Who’s Up And Who’s Down: Crisis Week to see where the players in Jersey politics stand over the past week.
Amid local, county, and statewide power dynamics, Essex Executive Joe DiVincenzo announced that the county will bond $120M through the Improvement Authority for Newark to replace its pipe system (read the announcement here) at a press conference last week with Governor Murphy, Mayor Baraka, and local officials. Murphy, who described the crisis as a ‘public health challenge‘ on MSNBC two Fridays ago, said ‘we are all committed to getting this right’. Prior to the bonding announcement, leaders had huddled up in mid-August, with Murphy and Baraka declining to declare a state emergency, as called for by Assemblyman Holley. Assemblyman Caputo applauded the leaders, saying ‘we can’t point fingers right now’ and urged patience towards the next round of testing. Mayor Baraka said in a statement that Newark had ‘reached a turning point to achieve a permanent solution’. The Essex Freeholders held an emergency meeting last Tuesday to approve the bonding. Protesters, meanwhile, took to the streets (video). At the end of last week, a judge ruled on a motion brought by the NRDC that the city won’t have to provide bottled water to residents; Mayor Baraka said the ‘only permanent solution to eliminate the risks of lead is to replace every remaining lead service line in our city’. On Saturday, Baraka announced that a water test sample from the Wanaque system hasn’t been affected by lead. The NJ League of Municipalities urged federal, state, and local governments to invest in infrastructure improvements. The city has partnered with Uber for discounted rides to bottled water distribution centers, and AT&T launched a text-to-give campaign.
Governor Murphy, legislative leaders, and members of the congressional delegation made the case for federal funding for the Portal Bridge, estimated to cost $1.6B, with the state committing $600M. Senate President Sweeney called the bridge the ‘single biggest bottleneck‘ on the Northeast Corridor. The NJBIA echoed the call for funding.
Former Newark Watershed director Linda Bashear Watkins alleges that campaign fundraising was solicited through agency vendors for then-Mayor Booker’s re-election campaign, according to Politico NJ.
NJ Treasurer Muoio announced the gas tax will remain stable for the coming year.
A Monmouth University poll released last week shows former VP and 2020 Dem primary frontrunner Biden’s favorability dropping amid the volatile contest; polling director Dr. Patrick Murray stood by the poll but acknowledged it as an ‘outlier‘, according to Fox.
A Rutgers Eagleton/FDU poll finds that over 80% of New Jerseyans say their local schools aren’t segregated, and include a good mix of races and ethnicities.
The ACLU-NJ applauded the decision to transfer of a transgender woman from a men’s prison to a women’s prison; Garden State Equality called for ‘significant reforms‘ to protect transgender prisoners.
AG Grewal filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s rule allowing the indefinite detention of children at the border.
The Division of Consumer Affairs brought the first action in enforcing the state’s fantasy sports law.
32BJ launched a contract campaign for 7,000 building cleaners in the state.
Senators Menendez and Booker announced the state will receive a $10M HHS grant for its maternal and infant program.
Senator Menendez expressed opposition to readmitting Russia into the G7.
First Lady Tammy Murphy and Secretary of State Way will co-chair statewide efforts to mark the centennial of women’s suffrage in 2020.
Rep. Sherrill held a town hall last week at which progressive activists urged her to support an impeachment inquiry of President Trump. Sherrill met with local officials and organizations to discuss efforts to combat the opioid crisis.
Rep. Kim held a town hall in battleground CD3, addressing the Oyster Creek decommissioning, while GOP State Senator praised Kim as a ‘great friend’.
Rep. Malinowski chided President Trump’s proposal to purchase Greenland at a town hall last week, saying that foreign leaders are ‘utterly mystified‘ and cracking that he’ll represent it as part of CD7. Malinowski held a town hall in Bridgewater in August, according to TAPinto.
Rep. Van Drew toured the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center.
Rep. Gottheimer praised a $85k security grant awarded to Coach USA.
The Burlington County Freeholders announced the return of municipal park grants.
LG Oliver announced DeForest Soaries Jr. as the keynote speaker at the Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development.
Vote in the Insider NJ Poll: Who Do You Support for the United States Senate in 2020?
Insider NJ’s Pic of the Week: Assemblyman Schaer in gear at Citizens Bank Park.
A sports betting site gives Senator Booker a 28-1 chance of winning the presidency.
Diehard Biden supporter June Fischer had buttons created with the image of a sunglasses-sporting Biden, and is ready to distribute them if the former VP comes to Jersey.
Veteran pollster Adam Geller is joining the pro-Trump America First Action PAC, according to the Washington Examiner.
Mercer County GOP Chairwoman Richford is facing a removal petition, according to the Trentonian. MCRC genreal counsel George Dougherty admitted to signing the petition.
The NJEA PAC endorsed 59 candidates in the fall legislative elections; there has been frustration amongst members regarding endorsements.
NJEA and CWA leaders are helping fundraise for CD1 Rep. Norcross, according to Politico NJ.
CD3 GOP primary candidate Brian Fitzherbert was endorsed by Absecon Councilman Seher.
CD7 GOP primary candidate Rosemary Becchi was endorsed by FreedomWorks for America.
CD10 Democratic primary candidate John Flora released his first campaign ad.
The Camden County GOP blasted the continued county employment (and raise) of former Assemblyman Barclay, who resigned last year amid domestic violence allegations.
The Atlantic County Young Democrats announced Charity Jeffries as the new president and Frank Mahoney (former president) as vice president.
The NJDSC announced Speaker Pelosi will be a special guest at their upcoming annual conference.
NJGOP Chairman Steinhardt blasted Malinowski’s ‘mowing lawns‘ comment, saying it shows the Congressman to be ‘out of touch’ and called on him to issue an apology.
The late Senator Lautenberg’s widow hosted a fundraiser for former VP Biden, according to NJ.com.
GOP Senate candidate Tricia Flanagan released a statement ‘welcoming’ attorney Stuart Meissner to the primary, calling him ‘Democrat-lite’; Meissner, who announced an exploratory committee in August, blasted Booker over the Newark lead contamination crisis last week.
GOP Senate candidate Hirsh Singh released a statement supporting Senate Majority Leader McConnell’s interpretation of the ‘Biden rule’, precluding Supreme Court appointments in an election year only when the presidency and Senate are controlled by different parties.
Middlesex GOP Sheriff candidate Tony Gallo was endorsed by former gubernatorial candidate and Nutley Commissioner Steve Rogers.
The NJ High School Democrats released a statement thanking the DNC for adding the High School Democrats to its representation.
The DNC nixed a climate change forum for presidential candidates.
ICYMI: Insider NJ’s Who’s Up And Who’s Down: Week of Silk City’s West Side Story; Bucco/Bergen held a fundraiser; Millennials For NJ held launch event; GOP’s Dakin sizes up CD11
Here’s what happened under the Gold Dome on Friday August 23rd and here’s what happened on Monday August 26th and Tuesday August 27th.
The Senate passed Senate President Sweeney’s VBM bill last week, and the Assembly passed it a day later, despite criticism from Assemblywoman DiMaso and Assemblyman Bucco; calling for a special session on property taxes, Bucco said that ‘we essentially came down here to make the beds while the house is on fire‘. Governor Murphy signed the bill last week.
Governor Murphy defended the slowdown of NJEDA tax incentive payments, saying ‘we are absolutely scrutinizing these payments given what’s unfolded over the past year. Who could blame us?’, according to NJ Biz. In the same editorial interview, Murphy said that the proposed changes to the marijuana expungement bill is ‘de facto decriminalization‘.
Governor Murphy took action on legislation on August 23rd, including conditionally vetoing the NJEDA tax incentive programs re-extension, sending it back to the Legislature with recommendations, including capping the total amount for each program at $400M. Senate President Sweeney said the Legislature is in ‘no rush‘ to override him, according to the Burlington County Times. The NJBIA urged policymakers to work together on a tax incentive program to give the state ‘a chance to compete’. Working Families NJ applauded the veto, saying they are ‘stunned the Legislature willfully ignored the ongoing independent investigation of the program’. NJ Citizen Action said they appreciate the Governor’s ‘swift action‘ on the bill.
Senate President Sweeney introduced legislation to prevent false and misleading statements from witnesses offering testimony before legislative committees. Sweeney said it was ‘personally frustrating’ to introduce it, but ‘when we have a legislative committee conclude that witnesses who testified under oath provided contradictory, self-serving or evasive testimony, we need to act’.
Assembly Minority Leader Bramnick mourned the passing of Assemblyman David Wolfe’s wife, Carol Wolfe, calling her a ‘true visionary’.
Chamber of Commerce President Bracken applauded the appointments.
Governor Murphy announced three nominations to the Highlands Council.
LD1 GOP Senate candidate Mike Testa blasted Governor Murphy’s CV of funding for the Greater Wildwoods Tourism and Development Authority, saying the Governor would ‘rather Fund Planned Parenthood Than Create Economic Development for Cape May County’. Senator Andrzejczak said he was ‘furious‘ at Murphy’s ‘shortsightedness’, according to NJ.com. The Wildwood mayor said he’s ‘disappointed beyond words‘ with the veto, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Senate President Sweeney and Senator Weinberg introduced legislation to appropriate $9.5M to health providers opting out of Title X funding. Assemblymembers Greenwald, Downey, and Johnson introduced the bill in the Assembly.
Senator Weinberg lauded the $11.6B Gateway Tunnel plan that doesn’t rely on NJ Transit tolls.
Senator Cunningham expressed frustration with Governor Murphy’s conditional veto of expungement legislation.
Senator Ruiz and Assemblywoman Lopez expressed disappointment with the Governor’s veto of legislation requiring eye exams for students.
Senator Vitale applauded the Governor’s signing of legislation improving the tracking of Medicaid applications.
Senator O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman DiMaso released a statement calling for COAH reform.
Senator Pennacchio urged the Assembly to pass ‘Mallory’s Law’.
Senator Gopal called for federal debt forgiveness for disabled veterans. Gopal introduced ‘Braeden’s Law’.
Assemblyman Rooney introduced legislation permanently eliminating online convenience fees for motorists.
Assemblyman Moriarty introduced legislation banning binary triggers.
The Visiting Nurse Association Health Group will join Bayada Home Health Care.
In South Plainfield, the police department shut down the Labor Day Parade due to ‘small explosive devices’ being found on the property of a resident; the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office released a statement saying the man was arrested, while Senator Diegnan referred to it as an ‘isolated incident‘ and that law enforcement ‘erred on the side of caution’.
In Rutherford, local and legislative candidates made their cases at the annual Labor Day Street Festival yesterday.
In Jersey City, Governor Murphy vowed to continue fighting President Trump at the LGBTQ celebration, according to Hudson County View. The BOE tapped Lekendrick Shaw to replace former BOE member Schapiro, according to HVC. A RentCafe study finds that the city is building as much as Manhattan this year.
In Montclair, Mayor Jackson appointed Sergio Gonzalez to serve on the BOE. Six teachers are alleging discrimination by the BOE, according to the Bergen Record.
In Paterson, the rehab center Straight and Narrow will be demolished following a fire in late August, according to Paterson Press. Rep. Pascrell announced a $290k federal grant for city firefighters. Steven Spielberg, filming a West Side Story reboot, received the key to the city from Mayor Sayegh, according to Paterson Times.
In Hoboken, Mayor Bhalla signed an executive order launching the Vision Zero safety campaign. Stevens Institute of Technology alleges it was targeted by the city to ‘extract’ $4M for their University Center project, according to Hudson County View.
In Eatontown, two councilwomen resigned citing a ‘toxic atmosphere’, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In River Edge, Mayor Mignone officially resigned, according to the Bergen Record.
In Parsippany, Mayor Soriano released a statement blasting councilmembers over the motion to approve $500k in accrued leave payments to former Police Chief Carifi.
In Ridgefield, the town is seeking the dissolution of the Sports and Exp Authority over its tax share, according to the Bergen Record.
In Hillsborough, Rep. Malinowski will headline the local Democrats’ picnic on Sept. 7th.
In Phillipsburg, a Catholic priest was sentenced to four years in prison for sexually abusing a boy in the 1990s. The GOP tapped Randy Piazza Jr. as a new council candidate to replace Rob Case.
In Newark, a WalletHub analysis ranks the city at 300 on a list of worst real estate markets.
In Atlantic City, a legal battle is brewing between the city and the Hansen Foundation over a sober living home, according to the Press of Atlantic City. The city’s property tax task force will hold its first meeting on September 9th, according to the Press of AC.
In Hasbrouck Heights, the police chief was suspended with pay, according to the Bergen Record.
In Hamilton, the town filed a lawsuit against Robbinsville seeking $2.8M for a rate study.
In Roselle, Senator Cryan and Secretary of State Way held a town hall, according to TAPinto.
In Rockaway, a judge ruled that the council’s appointment is valid, according to the Daily Record. A judge also ruled that the council president obfuscated municipal business.
In Bayonne, the BOE hired a new business administrator, according to Hudson County View.
In Westfield, the BOE may ask voters to approve a $11.8M bond for full day kindergarten, according to TAPinto.
In Trenton, the Housing Authority is suing the council over an appointment, according to the Trentonian.
In Evesham, the superintendent of schools announced his retirement in 2020, according to the Burlington County Times.
In Edison, LD18 GOP Assembly candidate Jeffrey Brown urged residents to support the sewer ballot question.
In Clifton, Rep. Pascrell toured the Center For Family Resources.
In Secaucus, Rep. Pascrell and local officials unveiled a new fire rescue boat.
In Perth Amboy, Hackensack Meridian Health Raritan Bay Center received its first donation of human breast milk.
AROUND THE WEB:
John Wisniewski & Jack Ciattarelli, TAPinto
- The Newark Water crisis is the latest example of what happens when we ignore infrastructure needs for too long. This is a national problem. A 2016 article in Scientific American noted “nearly 3,000 areas with … recorded lead poisoning rates at least double those in Flint.”
Lakewood courtesy school busing survives, with more than $1M from township
Gustavo Martínez Contreras, Asbury Park Press
- After months of uncertainty, the Lakewood school district has figured out a way to continue busing almost 40,000 students when the new school year begins next week.
She hoped for death on her own terms. Then NJ’s aid-in-dying law was challenged
Stacey Barchenger and Lindy Washburn, North Jersey Record
- For a few days in early August, the woman’s husband saw a brightness return to her eyes, the brightness of hope. It was hope that her suffering — the words she could not say and thoughts she could not express, the many stumbles and falls, the headaches — would finally end.
OPRA suit claims state has documentation that proves Rubino shouldn’t have held previous title
Corey McDonald, Hudson County View
- A lawsuit has been filed against the New Jersey State Division of Criminal Justice and its Open Public Records Act custodian, claiming it illegally denied a man’s records request pertaining to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Director of Investigations Gene Rubino.
Newark land bank effort: A plan to rebuild the Brick City
Briana Vannozzi, NJTV
- A series of forums is underway in Newark to get community buy-in for the city’s new “land bank” initiative, which proponents say will be a powerful tool in combating the abandoned properties and blight that afflict many of the city’s neighborhoods.
How leaders poisoned the well in Newark
Rik S. Mehta, roi-nj.com
- The source of contaminated water in Newark isn’t just in reservoirs or service lines. It’s in the policies of the ten poorest and sickest cities in America. Newark’s drinking water crisis now threatens to cast a longer shadow than Flint’s cascade of corruption which has deprived residents of a resolution even now, nearly four years later. Despite hindsight from Flint, the outcome in Newark was starkly the same: toxic water supply, thousands of children potentially facing irreversible lead poisoning and long-term health effects, and shattered trust in government officials.
Art Gallagher, More Monmouth Musings
- What’s tackier than Christmas decorations before Halloween? Political signs before Labor Day.
Andrew Seidman, Philadelphia Inquirer
- More than a week ago, amid threats of violence made purportedly by antifascists and criticism among progressive activists, a South Jersey theater canceled a planned event that had been billed as a daylong conversation about how to end racism and authoritarianism.
New Jersey is the Garden State. But in Atlantic City, it’s a food desert
Claire Lowe, Press of Atlantic City
- Every year, New Jersey produces hundreds of millions of pounds of produce from blueberries and eggplant to spinach and squash. The state is known for it’s agriculture contributions, but for residents of Atlantic City, finding fresh food can be difficult.
Short on board members and funds, soil agency could merge with Warren’s
Bruce A. Scruton, New Jersey Herald
- Sussex County could be losing its own Soil Conservation District with a pending proposal to merge with the Warren County district. Already, the Sussex district’s office has been shuttered and operations moved to the Hackettstown location of the Warren County district. While it still has a separate phone number and a separate budget, the Warren County office supplies the office staff and Sussex County pays part of the Warren County director’s salary.
A look at Camden and the pros and cons of shared services
Joanna Gagis, NJTV
- Shared services has been a hot topic in New Jersey. It’s been touted as the solution to spiking property taxes, while also bring rejected by some towns who want to maintain their independence. But some municipalities that have entered into shared services agreements have seen some major benefits, like Camden County and the City of Camden.
LD8: Trenton lobbyist accuses Navy SEAL of “un-democratic” vote, “running scared”
Save Jersey Staff
- New Jersey Democrats enshrined their voter-rigging scheme into law before the Labor Day holiday, one which forces the state’s already over-stretched county governments to aid the ruling party’s get-out-the-vote efforts.
Booker Allies Ruined NJ Water Agency In Scandal On His Watch
Ryan J. Foley, AP, Black America Web
- Months after Cory Booker took office as mayor of Newark, New Jersey, he cleared the way for his former campaign treasurer and law partner Elnardo Webster to wield influence at the nonprofit that supplied water to the city. Over the next seven years, Booker’s allies wasted and stole millions of dollars in public money at the nonprofit through kickbacks and outright embezzlement, bogus contracts, risky investments and excessive pay.
Paul Mulshine, Star-Ledger
- There’s a reason they call those things that football players practice tackling on “dummies.” Only a dummy would let himself get hit constantly by people running at high speed. Last week this paper carried a front-page story about how the state has restricted tackling drills for high-school football players to 15 minutes per week.
Baraka sees racial animus, but Newark’s denials on lead echo those in Flint | Moran
Tom Moran, Star-Ledger
- Newark Mayor Ras Baraka insists that he’s doing everything possible to combat the lead poisoning crisis in the state’s largest city, and that comparing it to the crisis in Flint, Mich., is a grand slander, one pushed by the environmental group that forced reforms in Flint.
Mikie Sherrill Is Not Feeling the Pressure
Michael Kruse, Politico
- Schraft invoked the name of an ill-fated congressman from this area who won in 1972, defended Richard Nixon in 1973 and lost in 1974. “And President Trump, I believe, and a lot of people believe, is 10 times worse than President Nixon,” Schraft told Sherrill. “That’s why we really would like you to support—like many other members of Congress—an impeachment inquiry.”
Branchburg: Township zones for 1,873 homes to meet affordable housing quota
Mike Deak, Bridgewater Courier News
- In what is called “the least worst of the alternatives,” the township committee on Monday approved a plan to zone for 1,873 housing units so Branchburg can meet its court-mandated 1,000-unit affordable housing requirement.
Atlantic freeholders guarantee $5.75 million for airport hangar
Michelle Brunetti Post, Press of Atlantic City
- Atlantic County freeholders passed an ordinance Tuesday to back $5.75 million in bonds to build a hangar at Atlantic City International Airport, potentially bringing 125 jobs in aviation maintenance and repair to the area.
Housing at N.J. blueberry farms was approved despite fire safety and sewage violations
Claudia Vargas, Philadelphia Inquirer
- Early this spring, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs told township officials in the self-proclaimed “Blueberry Capital of the World” to make sure the farms they had cited for illegally housing workers in converted storage sheds came into compliance before the season started. That meant installing sprinklers and meeting other fire safety rules by June.
How do you say that? Some North Jersey towns you may be pronouncing wrong
Kaitlyn Kanzler, North Jersey Record
- New Jersey is no stranger to tough-to-pronounce town names. Some make no sense at all. People from such towns are forever schooling those from out of state and even residents who live in the state on the correct pronunciation. If the sheer number of letters in names like Pequannock, Moonachie and Frelinghuysen don’t give you pause, trying to figure out how to say them might.
Newark mayor grades his administration’s handling of lead crisis
Michael Hill, NJTV
- NJTV News Correspondent Michael Hill continues his conversation with Newark Mayor Ras Baraka. In part two, Baraka refutes a New York Times report that his administration “played down” warnings about unsafe drinking water in Newark, defends his acting water department director, who has a criminal record, and addresses claims that he hasn’t been transparent with the public.
CNN’s April Ryan shuts down a reporter: freedom of the press goes one way at the network | Mulshine
Paul Mulshine, Star-Ledger
- You gotta hand it to CNN’s April Ryan. She sure knows how to turn an otherwise routine, boring speech into some gripping television. Unfortunately for Ryan, however, the guy doing the gripping was her bodyguard. The victim was Ryan’s fellow journalist Charlie Kratovil.
NJ legislative elections: Public financing needed to amplify voices of average voters
Malini Guha
- It’s late summer and it’s unlikely that many New Jersey residents are thinking about the state legislative elections coming up this November as they lounge by the poolside or enjoy some of their last beach days at the Jersey Shore. Come Election Day, however, it is still likely that few will be thinking about voting, and turnout is expected to be shamefully low. In 2015, the last time the New Jersey Assembly topped the ticket, just 22% of eligible voters cast ballots.
Atlantic City taking lessons from Newark on violence prevention
David Danzis & Amanda Auble, Press of Atlantic City
- Guests are coming in hot at the Jade East Motel’s lobby, hours before the official check-in time, hoping their room is ready on this Friday morning. Workers in green shirts are moving up and down the stairs, toward the rooms like honeybees, in with cleaning supplies and out with bundles of bedsheets in both arms.
NJ teacher pay: People who educate your kids make wildly different amounts town to town
Susanne Cervenka, Asbury Park Press
- While you’re preparing for your children to head back to school, so, too, are their teachers. And how much do these brave souls who educate our children earn? The colloquial answer is, generally, either not enough or way too much. But the actual salaries of our teachers can vary as wildly as the public perception of what they make.
Brent Johnson, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
- Walk into the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City or sign on to its sports betting website right now, and you can place wagers on pretty much every major sport. Just not the NBA.
Tom Bergeron, roi-nj.com
- In a decision that likely will have far-reaching impact throughout the country and on New Brunswick-based Johnson & Johnson, an Oklahoma judge ruled the company was responsible for helping to fuel the opioid epidemic in that state, fining the global health care company $572 million.
Nearly 3 weeks later, Hoboken mayor, council members still brawling over new ethics law
John Heinis, Hudson County View
- While it has been 19 days since the Hoboken City Council passed a measure banning campaigning and politicking while on city time, members of the governing body and Mayor Ravi Bhalla are still slugging it out over the recent legislation.
New Jersey spends the nation’s most on roads, doesn’t get results, report finds
Associated Press
- New Jersey spends more per mile on its highway system than any other state in the country but isn’t getting its money’s worth, according to a report released Thursday by a nonpartisan public policy group.
Politically connected lawyers cashing in under Murphy. Just like when Christie was here.
Matt Arco, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
- Gov. Phil Murphy has often criticized former Gov. Chris Christie over the way he ran the state for eight years. But one thing hasn’t changed: Spending tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to pay for work by politically connected law firms.
Asbury Park scooters are a hit in the city, but new safety measures are coming
Austin Bogues, Asbury Park Press
- By now you’ve probably seen the new electric scooters zipping up and down city streets. They’ve been the big hit since a pilot program began earlier this month. They’ve also generated some backlash over safety concerns, city officials said. So revisions and new safety measures are being implemented. Effective Wednesday, the maximum speed for the e-scooters was lowered from 15 mph to 12 mph.
Pallone says ‘living shorelines’ can help protect coastal towns from flooding
Brenda Flanagan, NJTV
- In the battle against rising ocean levels, so-called living shorelines are a less expensive — and some say better — alternative to jetties, seawalls and other man-made barriers, a natural remedy that can be especially effective in helping bayside communities deal with coastal flooding.
Climate change: NJ is warming faster than most of the country
Andrew Ford and Scott Fallon, Asbury Park Press
- The New Jersey lobster boom has passed. Tom Fote, legislative chairman for The Jersey Coast Anglers Association, recalls a time in the 1990s when warming waters off the Jersey Shore prompted the tasty crustaceans to reproduce more, attracting more boats to fish for them. But then the water got too hot. The lobsters stopped reproducing as they had been.
Bridgewater-Raritan school district can’t fire teacher for kissing students on the cheek
Mike Deak, Bridgewater Courier News
- Saying that he has already been punished by being suspended for a full school year, an arbitrator has ruled that the school district cannot fire a “much beloved” tenured high school business teacher for kissing students on the cheek and making inappropriate comments to female students about their appearance.
Montclair anti-gun violence mural near school faces community backlash
Julia Martin, North Jersey Record
- A new mural in Montclair protesting gun violence, painted by students, is provoking a debate about whether it is too disturbing. Titled “Never Again,” the rallying cry of gun control advocates after a gunman killed 17 students, including Woodcliff Lake native Alyssa Alhadeff, in Parkland, Florida, last year, the mural depicts the backs of six silhouetted students with arms raised.
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