Gov. Phil Murphy painted a picture the coronavirus pandemic would be over that does not include a health metric or time date. “I would measure it in a non-medical matter as the level of normalcy of our lives,” said Murphy. The normalcy the governor forecasts includes students and teachers going back to school for in-person instruction five days a week without masks, state and private sector offices populated with workers, and the ability to resume activities indoors without a mask. North-JerseyNews.com
Adult day care centers in New Jersey will be allowed to reopen due to a sharp decline in COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases. Safety guidance on how to return to operations such as requiring screenings for staff was to be sent out to the 38 centers June 14, and mandated staff must wear masks regardless of vaccination status, participants can engage in close group activities if everyone is vaccinated, an isolation room is needed for a sick participant and windows and doors should remain open to promote better ventilation. The Record
Two new studies found the Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines are effective against the Delta coronavirus strain. A study conducted by Public Health England found Pfizer’s vaccine was “96% effective against hospitalization” after both doses, and AstraZeneca’s vaccine was 92%. The other study, published by The Lancet medical journal, found that the Pfizer vaccine offered 79% protection against the Delta variant of the coronavirus after both doses, while the AstraZeneca vaccine offered 60% protection against the strain after two doses. NJ.com
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sought medical care post-Covid for new health problems, according to the largest study to date of long-term symptoms in coronavirus patients. The study, tracking the health insurance records of nearly 2 million people in the United States who contracted the coronavirus last year, found that one month or more after their infection, 23% sought medical treatment for new conditions with the most common new health problems were pain, including in nerves and muscles; breathing difficulties; high cholesterol; malaise and fatigue; and high blood pressure. The New York Times
New Jerseyans who haven’t been paying their gas, electric or water bills during the coronavirus pandemic will have to enroll in a payment plan by the end of the year or face shut-offs. Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order June 14 that ends the 15-month moratorium on utility shut-offs on July 1, but creates a grace period through Dec. 31 for residents to sign up for a payment plan. The Daily Record
Republican lawmakers believe New Jersey should return some of the state’s unexpected $5.2 billion tax revenue windfall to taxpayers by increasing the public pension payment, replenishing the depleted unemployment insurance trust fund or giving some other tax cut. “We believe that money should be returned directly to taxpayers, which has proven to be the most effective way to support our economic recovery,” said State Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24). Assemblyman Hal Wirths (R-24), the Republican Budget Officer, added “The surplus should be used to cut taxes, whether by increasing school aid, decreasing payroll taxes, increasing the earned income tax credit, cutting taxes for small businesses struggling to recover or any other way that puts money in people’s pockets.” North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy hasn’t divulged plans for spending any of New Jersey’s more than $10 billion surplus, but said he is open to expanding a popular property tax relief program as he prepares to negotiate a final state budget with legislative leaders this week. “No news to report here, but if we can find a way, for instance, to plus up the Homestead rebate, count me all in for things like that,” he said. “But again, to be determined exactly where we come out.” NJ.com
State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) said New Jersey should not be frivolous with its unexpected surplus of more than $10 billion. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sweeney said at a virtual town hall hosted by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “We need to fix things, and not create programs that you can’t support years later and have to add additional costs to.” Sweeney said it is important for the state to pay down its debt and is not opposed to spending as long as it is targeted spending that will benefit workers and the economy. ROI-NJ
Rep. Josh Gottheimer proposed a $500 bonus for New Jerseyans returning to work rather than continuing to receive enhanced unemployment insurance benefits. The congressman suggested the money come from $6.4 billion in federal funding the state received under President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus law. NJ.com
Delays for New Jersey’s unemployment claimants could last through the week after the state made upgrades to the mainframe. The state Office of Information Technology made the technological upgrades, including migrating the mainframe processing “to a new, much faster platform,” over the weekend, which led to delays in payments. New Jersey Herald
Over the past month, state legislators have introduced several pieces of legislation designed to encourage the use of electric vehicles (EVs) that are more environmentally-friendly than traditional vehicles that run on gas or diesel. The legislative moves coincide with NJ Transit announced plans to move toward a zero-emission bus fleet. North-JerseyNews.com
A Paterson police officer was arrested on criminal charges that cite as evidence video from a city police officer wearing a body camera. Officer Spencer Finch did not activate his own body camera but another officer at the scene activated a body-worn camera that produced video cited by the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office as evidence against Finch hitting a man who was keeping his distance from the police with “an overhead, open palmed strike to the face and then hit with a flashlight. The Record
The Assembly Homeland Security Committee unanimously advanced a bill allowing police officers to review footage from body-worn cameras before drafting initial reports. Existing law allows police officers to review body camera footage only after drafting their initial reports. Supporters of the change argued the practice would allow officers to draft more accurate reports, especially when they filed such reports hours or days after a given incident. New Jersey Globe
An Assembly panel advanced proposals June 14 to root out any police officers involved with anti-government or hate groups in New Jersey. The bills would require the Attorney General’s office to establish and maintain a domestic extremist organization database, including whether the organization is known to recruit current or former members of law enforcement agencies or the military. The second bill mandates law enforcement agencies to establish a review council in their internal affairs unit to investigate law enforcement officers who participate in hate groups or make public expressions of hate, while on or off duty. NJ1015.com
And finally…Fewer than three out of 10 white-collar employees have returned to working at the office on average in 10 major U.S. cities, including New York. The Wall Street Journal
