OPINION: A Celebration of Good Government as New Jersey Reaches Its COVID-19 Vaccine Goal. The easiest thing to do is to point out the failures of the government and those that serve the public. Today is not that day as we come to praise the Murphy Administration in achieving its goal of fully vaccinating 4.7 million adult New Jerseyans with the COVID-19 vaccine. As President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Czar recently pointed out, the Garden State is considered a national model when it comes to deploying the vaccine. It is easy to lose perspective on where we are and where we came from. The role of the government in getting 70% of New Jersey residents fully vaccinated is one that should not be overlooked and serve as a blueprint going forward. North-JerseyNews.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Rochelle Walensky expects the delta variant will become the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States. As worrisome as this delta strain, first detected in India, is with regard to its hyper transmissibility, Walensky said ”our vaccines work,” and encouraged Americans to get vaccinated and “you’ll be protected against this delta variant.” News12 New Jersey
On the 185th day since the first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine was administered, New Jersey reached its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of adults in the Garden State. Gov. Phil Murphy at a briefing in Newark June 18, where University Hospital nurse Maritza Beniquez received the first shot on Dec. 15, 2020, announced the state had exceeded its goal of vaccinating 4.7 million residents in New Jersey 12 days before its June 30 self-imposed deadline. “Everyone together owns a piece of this accomplishment,” said Murphy. “We are grateful to the millions who rolled up their sleeves to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from COVID-19, and together, we have exceeded our initial goal.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey lawmakers are expected to introduce a spending plan June 21 as legislators are working against a July 1 deadline to get Gov. Phil Murphy a budget to keep the state running for the next 12 months. Legislative leaders have scheduled two hearings on June 22 which will likely allow testimony on the spending plan, though the hearings could be delayed a day. Votes are expected by both houses on June 24. NJ Spotlight News
Republican lawmakers are continuing their call for New Jersey to return some of the state’s unexpected $10.1 billion windfall back to taxpayers. Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips (R-40) believes using the “bursting budget surplus” to fully fund schools would not only provide property tax relief, but give “above and beyond resources for students’ learning loss…There is no reason to cut funding to a single school district this year. With this large of a surplus, not fully funding the formula and ensuring schools have enough money to combat learning loss is unconscionable.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey’s State Senate will consider a proposal to strengthen union rights and overhaul public-sector collective bargaining statewide. The bill (S3810) would expand the list of items that can be collectively bargained to include those historically left to managerial prerogative. The new definition of terms and conditions of employment would include things like layoffs, transfers and assignments, subcontracting, privatization, criteria for promotions and performance evaluations, disciplinary disputes and disciplinary review. NJ.com
The Hoboken City Council voted down a new budget amendment that would trim the budget enough to lower taxes by 3.1%. Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, who chairs the council’s finance committee, said she doesn’t want the council to rush into any budget amendments before the state is finished reviewing the introduced version of the budget. The Jersey Journal
New York Waterway is resuming its ferry service from Edgewater to midtown and downtown Manhattan. The ferries will run every 40 minutes from the Edgewater ferry landing. Midtown customers will stop at Port Imperial to transfer to the midtown ferry, and for the new downtown commute, the ferries continue downtown. News12 New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy signed the Fair Chance in Housing Act, barring landlords in New Jersey from asking about criminal history on housing applications. Under the law, landlords will only be able to ask about criminal records on applications if the prospective tenants are a registered sex offender or were convicted for making meth in federally-assisted housing. Otherwise, landlords can’t look into criminal history until after making a conditional offer. ROI-NJ.com
Rep. Josh Gottheimer formally introduced the Alyssa’s Legacy Youth in School Safety Alert Act (ALYSSA Act) that will require silent panic alarms in all schools and increased investment in more well-trained School Resource Officers. The bill is named in memory of North Jersey native Alyssa Alhadeff who died in the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. “The ALYSSA Act will help protect students in the one public place they should feel safest: their schools,” Gottheimer explained. “Together, with silent alarms in every school directly connected to local law enforcement agencies and with School Resource Officers at more schools around the country, we are taking concrete steps to help keep students and faculty safe from gun violence and active situations.” North-JerseyNews.com
New body-worn camera footage from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol shows a Sussex County gym owner screaming at officers outside and subsequently punching the police officer. In a video released by the Department of Justice June 18, Scott Fairlamb can be seen on video assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. Authorities had previously attached photos in charging documents of Fairlamb attacking the officer on the West Front of the Capitol, but the recently released video is the most extensive version showing an enraged Fairlamb punching the officer in the face. NJ1015.com
Woodland Park Mayor Keith Kazmark reached a settlement with Elmwood Park where he as that borough’s clerk filed a whistleblower lawsuit. Kazmark claimed he was targeted and forced to resign in 2018 in part because he alerted an election official to alleged irregularities in the 2017 mayoral race. Councilman Daniel Golabek said the settlement was a “business decision….The fact that we went from a several-million-dollar demand to a $35,000 settlement tells you all you need to know about the case.” The Record
The Knowlton Township Committee passed a resolution that will stop the state Department of Transportation rockfall project long enough to conduct an audit. Town officials want to know how a $5 million, nine-month project to prevent rocks from falling on Route 80 turn into one that will cost $60 million and take years to complete. New Jersey Herald
Gov. Phil Murphy has a 15-point lead, 48%-33%, over Republican Jack Ciattarelli in the first post-primary head-to-head matchup in the New Jersey Governor’s race, according to a poll released by Fairleigh Dickinson University. Murphy has a job approval of 50%-39% compared with Ciattarelli 16%-14% split, with 53% of New Jersey voters having no opinion of him. Another 17% have never heard of the former assemblyman from Somerset County. New Jersey Globe
The Democratic State Committee recently filed a complaint with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission accusing Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli of violating campaign finance law by starting to raise money for the general election before the primary was over. In its complaint to the state’s campaign finance watchdog, the Democratic State Committee said Republicans began advertising a June 23 fundraising event for Ciattarelli in Little Falls as early as May 27, before the June 8 primary election. The ad asked for $2,500 contributions. NJ.com
And finally…Hackensack hosted the first Juneteenth festival this past weekend. The Record
