Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 8/18/2023

Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Public opinion of Sen. Menendez has ranged from positive to evenly divided to negative at different points over the past eight years. The current poll results suggest news of a new federal probe is having an impact on that opinion, perhaps even more so than the last time he faced similar scrutiny.” – Monmouth Polling Director Patrick Murray

TOP STORY: Sources: Gill to Get Assembly Seat

In Kearny, Ferreira launched his mayoral bid.

In Atlantic City, the city is getting a second cannabis dispensary, according to NJ Spotlight. The Housing Authority is returning to court, according to the Press of Atlantic City.

In Bayonne, the Navy Secretary visited the Dry Dock, according to Hudson County View.

In Bernardsville, the law on rentals of cottages was delayed, according to NJ Hills.

In Clifton, drivers may now have to pay for parking, according to NorthJersey.com.

In East Orange, residents are suing over poor conditions at an apartment building, according to NJ Spotlight.

In Freehold, the regional school district’s busing policy was changed, according to the Asbury Park Press.

In Jersey City, the council finally approved a budget, according to Hudson County View.

In Madison, a police contract was ratified, according to NJ Hills.

In Manville, the sewer system sale will be put on the ballot, according to MyCentralJersey.

In Mendham Township, the committee held off on approving Mosle Field lighting, according to NJ Hills.

In Middlesex, the borough inked a shared services deal with Somerset County, according to MyCentralJersey.

In Montclair, the Lackawanna Plaza redevelopment is moving forward, according to NorthJersey.com.

In Morris Plains, parents expressed concern with school transportation, according to NJ Hills.

In New Brunswick, a mayoral pay raise is being considered, according to TAPinto.

In Old Tappan, a developer is suing over the council’s reversal of an approval, according to the Bergen Record.

In Paterson, the council rejected proposed cannabis ordinance amendments, according to TAPinto.

In Randolph, a teacher is suing the district alleging discrimination, according to NJ Hills.

In Toms River, the BASF deal was approved by the state, according to the Asbury Park Press.

In West Milford, the fire commissioner passed away, according to NorthJersey.com.

In Woodland Park, the council will vote on a ‘filmmaking’ ordinance, according to TAPinto.

ICYMI: In White, a four-year warehouse war; in Mountain Lakes, federal suit dismissed; in Summit, Councilwoman Hairston will resign; in Oakland, mental health programs saved from chopping block; in Edison, Bimal Joshi defeated Sam Joshi for Dems chair; in Mount Holley, former Mayor Stafford passed away

AROUND THE WEB:

The New Jersey Supreme Court sided with a Catholic school that fired a pregnant teacher for having premarital sex 

Emily Bloch, Philadelphia Inquirer

• The court unanimously ruled that the firing was justified since the teacher “knowingly” violated Catholic law, and New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law offers exceptions to religious organizations.

The absurdly long list of approved NJ school holidays 

Eric Scott, NJ1015

• New Jersey schools are required to provide at least 180 days of instruction, under state law. Students must attend school at least 163 days or risk being held back. Missing nine days in a semester or five absences from any course could also make a student ineligible to participate in sports or extracurricular activities. However, New Jersey also requires schools to make exceptions for more than 120 days recognized as religious holidays.

Revealing new Hudson Tunnel details, Kolluri vows ‘we will build this vital project’ 

Matthew Fazelpoor, NJBIZ

• If you’ve been paying attention to NJBIZ headlines in recent months, you know that the long-stalled, once-left-for-dead Hudson Tunnel Project is seriously gaining steam. After years of starts and stops, a lack of funding and support as well as other obstacles, the project that will bring two new, 4.5-mile-long tubes – and the rehabilitation of the 113-year-old existing North River Tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York along with the rest of the Northeast Corridor rail line – is transitioning from pipedream to reality.

N.J. reporters debate whether public has a right to know Sheila Oliver’s cause of death

Matt Rooney, Save Jersey

• Sheila Oliver’s death was announced on August 1st, Save Jerseyans. Two days later, yours truly was the first (in print, anyway) to question the stunning lack of disclosure concerning the late lieutenant governor’s death AND the establishment media’s lack of interest in hunting down an answer. Two weeks went by. The funeral happened. The LG is already fading into memory, and Murphy is reiterating his refusal to disclose anything. In the interim, yours truly called out the media for once again failing to do its job:

U.S. Reps. Menendez & Sherrill express doubts over Fulop’s N.J. transportation plan 

John Heinis, Hudson County View

• U.S. Reps. Rob Menendez (D-8) and Mikie Sherrill (D-11) expressed doubts over a statewide transportation plan revealed by Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, the only declared candidate for governor, yesterday.

He needs $25K for service dog, but insurers won’t pay. So NJ man is appealing for help 

Gene Myers, NorthJersey.com

• Service dogs — specially trained to provide physical assistance and emotional support — can help to foster independence and improve quality of life. But they also cost tens of thousands of dollars. That’s the challenge facing Belleville’s Albie Nieves, a 23-year-old man with multiple medical challenges, who says his life could be dramatically transformed by the addition of one.

A Long Time Coming: New Clock Shines in Downtown Hawthorne

John Van Vliet, TAPinto Hawthorne

• A gathering of local officials from the Borough of Hawthorne and Passaic County were joined by members of the Lion’s Club, the Neighborhood Preservation Program, and others to dedicate a new clock which was erected in the Lions Club Pocket Park Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

Sadaf Jaffer is quitting NJ politics. And the reasons should alarm all of us: Kelly 

Mike Kelly, NorthJersey.com

• Sadaf Jaffer was once a rising star in New Jersey politics. But now she’s quitting. And her reasons are alarming. The political world that Jaffer entered just seven years ago — first as a member of the Township Committee in the sedate central New Jersey town of Montgomery and then as its mayor — has become too toxic.

Conclusion of Cantor’s contract at Rutgers-Newark ‘would be a grave error’ 

Jessica Perry, NJBIZ

• Nancy Cantor will exit her role as chancellor of Rutgers University-Newark at the end of her second term in June 2024, Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway announced in an Aug. 16 message to the school community. And while the correspondence was delivered “[w]ith enduring admiration and gratitude” for the woman who has led RU-N for what will be more than a decade, it was met with opposition from the community the institution helps to anchor, led by Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

Smith critiques Democrats’ “jarring” celebration of disastrous “Inflation Reduction Act”

Matt Rooney, Save Jersey

• I doubt most Americans could tell you what the “Inflation Reduction Act” is, what it does, or who it belongs to, Save Jerseyans, but in state capitals and social media spaces across the country this week, Democrats are celebrating the one-year anniversary of its passage as if it was the Civil Rights Act. It’s strange.

Our View: A middle path on pay raises for Ocean City officials 

Press of Atlantic City

• The Ocean City Council has proposed dramatic pay increases for its members and for the city’s mayor. Under an ordinance introduced last week, their annual salaries would about double — to $40,000 for the mayor and $20,000 each for council members.

(Visited 448,099 times, 4 visits today)