Gov. Phil Murphy blasted town officials in New Jersey defying executive orders related to the COVID-19 virus. “We have gone through hell, please let’s not do that again,” said Murphy during his daily briefing June 11. “My job is not to worry about the next headline or the next election. It’s about saving every single life that we can save.” North-JerseyNews.com
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka labeled ongoing efforts to defund or abolish police departments a “bourgeois liberal” solution for addressing systemic problems that extend far beyond city police departments. Baraka’s is supporting an ordinance passed by the City Council calling for reallocating 5% of Newark‘s annual public safety budget to create a dedicated Office for Violence Prevention. PoliticoNJ
In the week ending June 6, another 23,166 people filed unemployment claims in New Jersey. The pandemic crisis that put more than 1.2 million New Jersey workers out of work in 12 weeks and state officials stated 94% of people who have filed eligible unemployment claims are receiving benefits. A quarter of all unemployment claims filed were from food service employees. NJ.com
The American Dream megamall in the Meadowlands has laid off about 100 employees. The company said in preparing for post-COVID-19 opening requirements, it restructured their property management and operations team, eliminating approximately 7% of its workforce. The Record
A new unemployment benefits call center to aid people seeking help will be online early next week. The call center will allow the department’s agents to focus on the more complex claims, including where an employer contests a worker’s separation, claims where insufficient wages are reported, claims for which income information must be obtained from another state and when there is a question about the worker’s Social Security number, work status or employment history. NJ.com
U.S. stock futures recovered some ground June 12, following the biggest fall in the stock market since mid-March. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.8%, suggesting that the blue-chips index will recover some of its losses from June 11’s 6.9% decline. The Wall Street Journal
As New Jersey businesses will have to comply with standards to keep workers and customers safe as they reopen. The standards will be known as One Jersey Pledge, which Gov. Phil Murphy called “a pact between businesses and consumers on the hand, and employers and their employees on the other.” NJ.com
Seniors and low- and middle-income New Jersey residents would pay more on their property tax bills in the coming months under Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to cut two aid programs to balance the coronavirus’ blow to state revenues. If approved by the Legislature, Murphy’s plan means checks that go out to Senior Freeze participants typically in July won’t arrive in mailboxes this summer, and people eligible for the Homestead Benefit tax credit would see increases on their upcoming tax bills. The Daily Record
Jersey City and Hoboken are working together for a combined bike share program. Both cities committed to selecting the same bike-share company and will release a request for proposal from interested companies. Officials expect to roll out a bike-share program together later this year. The cities had discussed joining Hudson BikeShare and CitiBike into each other’s respective towns in 2018. Hudson Reporter
The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline in New Jersey is $2.08—the same as the national average—up five cents from a week earlier, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. The current price is 73 cents lower than at the same time a year ago. NJ1015.com
Gov. Phil Murphy nominated Bergen County Democratic Chairman Paul Juliano to the board of directors of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield. Juliano would replace Michele Brown, a former top aide to Gov. Chris Christie. New Jersey Globe
And finally…A Morris County man’s attic yields treasure trove of signed vintage baseball cards potentially worth millions NJ.com