“Tinfoil hat stuff” is what Gov. Phil Murphy labeled the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor’s recent claims the spike of coronavirus cases is due to illegal immigrants gaining access to the U.S. from open borders. “I mean right now, look at all these people with COVID who are coming across the border, and it scares me,” said Diane Allen, the Republican running mate of Jack Ciattarelli, in a recent radio interview. “They’re put on buses, I’d expect some of them are coming up to New Jersey.” Murphy at his weekly press briefing labeled Allen as one of the public figures or elected officials who are contributing to COVID-19 misinformation. “The people I’m running against started repeating this ridiculous Fox News narrative that the reason why COVID is raging in Texas and other places is because illegal immigrants are coming over the border, encouraged by this President, with COVID and then being put on buses and sent to states,” said Murphy. “That’s like tinfoil hat stuff.” North-JerseyNews.com
Newark is the latest municipality to require all city workers, including police and firefighters, to have the COVID-19 vaccine or face termination. Newark city workers have to show their CDC vaccination card, or face disciplinary action including termination. There is no provision that would allow workers to refuse the vaccine, and instead be subject to regular COVID testing. NJ1015.com
Families of residents who died from COVID-19 at the Menlo Park and Paramus veterans homes have begun to be interviewed by federal prosecutors as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into the high death toll at the state-run facilities. The interviews come as the Justice Department confirmed in a July 23 letter that the probe into the two homes was still active despite the agency’s decision to drop a wider investigation launched under the Trump administration into public nursing home deaths in New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Families have been interviewed in a separate investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office. The Daily Record
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized COVID-19 booster shots for certain people with weakened immune systems, likely the launch of broader efforts to better protect against evasive variants like Delta. The agency on Aug. 12 cleared giving a third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine to immunocompromised people who had received a solid organ transplant or individuals who have been diagnosed with conditions that are considered to have an equivalent level of immunocompromise. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said other people who are fully vaccinated are adequately protected and don’t need an additional dose at this time, but the agency is reviewing whether an additional dose may be needed in the future. The Wall Street Journal
Essex and Hudson counties are two of the 13 latest counties in New Jersey considered to have a high risk of COVID-19 transmission. The CDC recommends that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear masks indoors in areas with a substantial or high risk. News12 New Jersey
Fitch Ratings upgraded the outlook for New Jersey’s general obligation bonds to “positive” from “negative” Aug. 12. Fitch Ratings stated its outlook upgrade reflects the rapid turnaround in the state’s fiscal condition as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. “A solid economic rebound, state balancing actions during the pandemic and multiple rounds of federal assistance are now providing the state with both a solid financial cushion and extra capacity to accelerate progress on its high liabilities,” Fitch Ratings said in its report. It’s the third agency to approve New Jersey’s financial outlook in the last month. ROI-NJ.com
Nine moderate House Democrats, led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, have told Speaker Nancy Pelosi they will not vote for a budget resolution for the $3.5 trillion social infrastructure package until a Senate-approved infrastructure bill passes the House and is signed into law. The nine House members are more than enough to block consideration of the budget blueprint in a House where Democrats hold a three-seat majority. “With the livelihoods of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this one-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package,” reads the letter, with Gottheimer, as its lead author. “It’s time to get shovels in the ground and people to work.” The New York Times
Rep. Josh Gottheimer rolled out his new bipartisan federal legislation to fight the proposed New York congestion tax in order to protect the North Jersey commuters and families who drive into Manhattan from his district. Under New York’s proposed plan, after commuters pay $16 to go across the George Washington Bridge, they would have to pay an additional $15 dollars when they drive south of 60th Street. Gottheimer said it is “more galling” that unlike the shared Port Authority resources from the tolls on the bridge that help both New York and New Jersey, all of the monies for the Midtown congestion tax will go to New York to help fix their subways. “That’s a joke,” stated the 5th Congressional District Representative. “Even more, under this proposed clown show, New York City drivers, and those going over or in via intra-state crossings like the Henry Hudson Bridge and Midtown Tunnel, will likely be exempted from the congestion tax..What a bunch of hypocrites.” North-JerseyNews.com
Newark remains New Jersey’s largest city, with its population measured at more than 300,000 for the first time since 1980, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Newark‘s population stands at 311,549, followed by Jersey City at 292,449. New Jersey’s population grew by 5.7% over the past decade—below the national average but higher than estimated and among the highest in the region. PoliticoNJ
The growth in New Jersey’s population over the last decade was fueled by increases in diverse populations. The number of people identifying as Latino rose by almost 29% to almost 22% of New Jersey residents, while the ranks of Asians rose by 31% to approximately 11%. Whites remained the majority of the state’s 9.29 million residents — 52% in 2020. NJ Spotlight News
A Fairfield woman, charged for her role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol in January after she documented it on Facebook, is set to plead guilty to federal charges, according to online court records. Rasha Abual-Ragheb, also known as Rasha Abu, was facing four charges accusing her of violently entering the government building on Jan. 6 and being disruptive once inside. She is set to plead guilty in federal court on Aug. 23, according to court records, though it is unclear what charges she is admitting to as part of a guilty plea. NJ.com
A total of 43 law enforments officers in the North-JerseyNews.com coverage area were subject to major discipline according to information released for the first time by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office on Aug. 9. The information was released in compliance with Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive after the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled for the state authorizing the public release of certain police disciplinary information on a going-forward basis. Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck noted 203 officers of the state’s more than 38,000 police representing a fraction of those who protect and serve their communities were reprimanded for the time period between June 15, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020. Further driving home the the point, a total of 87 law enforcement agencies reported at least one case of major discipline, out of approximately 500 departments total. North-JerseyNews.com
A proposal that would remove trees to create sports fields at the Palisades Interstate Park in Fort Lee has some residents pushing back. Preliminary plans show changes to three wooded park areas around Lemoine and New York Avenues, Wall Street, and Hudson Terrace and Central Avenue that could include building a multi-purpose athletic field, 100 parking spaces, restrooms, and a playground, and replacing asphalt with a lawn. An unspecified amount of trees would be cut down in wooded areas along Hudson Terrace and North Central Avenue to make two turf fields and other recreational space. The Record
West Milford approved a deal with Tennessee Gas Pipeline regarding the company’s plan to build a new compressor station near the Monksville Reservoir. Mayor Michele Dale said the goal of the agreement is to best position the township in the likelihood that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the project later this year. The federally regulated project would install a 19,000-horsepower turbine to push more gas through Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s North Jersey infrastructure. New Jersey Herald
Bayonne Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski wants an investigation of the separation agreement between the city and former Assistant Business Administrator Mark Bonamo. Bonamo resigned from his city role in January, but signed a separation agreement that allowed him to receive payments until April for vacation, personal and sick days he would have accrued in 2021, an agreement that may violate a law that after July 1, 2017, newly accrued sick days would not be paid out upon separation. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Feels-like temps will remain above 100 today as excessive heat warnings remain in effect. News12 New Jersey
