State officials said an investigation is underway in regards to the caravan of President Donald Trump supporters that disrupted traffic on the Garden State Parkway Nov. 1. “I just want to be clear that the situation on the Parkway was incredibly irresponsible and dangerous,” said Acting Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police Col. Pat Callahan at a press briefing Nov. 2. “There are plenty of ways for people to have their voices heard but when they endanger the lives of those out there traveling our highways, there really is no excuse for it.” North-JerseyNews.com
U.S. Justice Department officials will station poll monitors in two New Jersey counties on Election Day to protect voting rights. Bergen and Middlesex counties are among 44 jurisdictions in 18 states that will house monitors from the civil rights division. The Justice Department routinely monitors polling places on Election Day to protect voting rights, and staffed 67 localities in 28 states in 2016. NJ.com
The Paterson Regional/Licensing Center closed Nov. 2 after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The Motor Vehicle Commission employee who tested positive was last in the Paterson Center on Oct. 30. That agency is scheduled to reopen on Nov. 14 after it can be cleaned and contact tracers have cleared enough employees to reopen or any required quarantine is completed. Paterson joins three agencies in Rahway, West Deptford and Washington that remain closed for COVID-19 reasons. NJ.com
The New Jersey State Senate passed a bipartisan bill on Oct. 29 to examine the taxation of New Jersey residents who work in New York and what it stands to gain if the income tax revenues were redirected. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly a half million New Jerseyans worked in New York. With many Garden State residents still working from home, New Jersey legislators are looking to change where they pay their income taxes. North-JerseyNews.com
A Sussex County gym owner seeking reparation for Gov. Phil Murphy’s coronavirus lockdown will have her grievance heard by the state’s appeals division, a county judge ruled. In his ruling, the judge agreed with attorneys for the state, who argued in legal documents that the state’s Superior Court does not have jurisdiction over challenges to the governor’s executive orders, which shut down businesses in New Jersey for months. New Jersey Herald
A federal grand jury indicted former Jersey City School Board president Sudhan Thomas on additional counts of money laundering, fraud and embezzlement spanning multiple alleged schemes in a 26-count indictment. The state’s complaint claims Thomas, the former acting executive director of the Jersey City Employment and Training Program, embezzled more than $45,000 from the reentry program’s bank accounts through checks to payable to others, embezzled $8,000 by disguising them as campaign loan repayments from his 2016 School Board bid and illegally moved $6,000 from his 2019 campaign in a similar way. New Jersey Globe
A resolution to hire ten police officers in Paramus was rejected again on Nov. 2, three days after a judge ruled the council must obey and enforce the borough code, including Vincent LaBarbiera, the Mayor’s son. A resolution to offer employment to ten candidates was deadlocked 3-3, with votes split along party lines and the Mayor recusing himself. For eight months, Republican council members have voted against hiring the officers, citing nepotism concerns. In the past, Republican council members have motioned to approve nine officers and exclude LaBarbiera. The Record
The Ridgewood Board of Education filed a lawsuit against five companies it claims installed faulty “smart plugs” that started a fire at one school and others that bore scorch marks. The board is seeking refunds totaling $431,704 paid to two companies for the purchase and installation, seeking compensatory damages for what it termed design, manufacturing and installation defects. The plugs were intended to regulate when appliances such as air conditioners are turned off and on, saving the district on utility fees as part of its Energy Savings Improvement Program. The Record
The Montague Board of Education ran out of food and had to turn away multiple parents on the first day of a CARES Act program offering free meals to financially distressed families. Montague school officials, who had resisted participating in the program due to what they perceived as lack of need, told parents the district had ordered a week’s supply of prepackaged breakfast and lunch meals for 60 students. New Jersey Herald
U.S. Sen. Cory Booker has signed on to shepherd legislation focusing on long-term care facilities that is co-sponsored by Rep. John Gottheimer in the House. The bipartisan Nursing Home Pandemic Protection Act of 2020 was first introduced in the House of Representatives by Gottheimer and GOP Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-4). The proposed law would require long-term care facilities to have a crisis plan in place to manage an outbreak, facilities to keep a stockpile of personal protection equipment on hand, have nursing homes report communicable diseases, infections, and potential outbreaks, and work to ensure that residents and their families be kept informed of infections inside the facilities. North-JerseyNews.com
And finally…If you have not heard, today is Election Day in the U.S. Go vote.
I HOPE THAT MARIJUANA SALES WILL STOP, PEOPLE WILL BE USING VAPING LESS, AND ALL MARIJUANA USAGE WOULD DECREASE. ALL MARIJUANA USE AND CANNABIS, SHOULD BE CRIMINALIZED. VAPING IS ALSO VERY DANGEROUS. TRY TO CURTAIL THE SALE OF VAPING PRODUCTS. VAPING AND MARIJUANA USE CAUSES BAD HEALTH EFFECTS ON OTHER PEOPLE BECAUSE WE BREATHE IT IN.