President Joe Biden delivered a message that building back to what was damaged by Hurricane Ida in New Jersey is no longer sustainable before he toured the devastation in Manville. “The losses we are looking at today are profound,” said President Joe Biden at the Somerset County Emergency Operations Center Sept. 7. “Dozens of lost lives, homes destroyed, gas leaks causing fires, damaged infrastructure including the rail system…I am here to see first hand what the damage is and find out from you what is most needed.” North-JerseyNews.com
Hurricane Ida’s lethal destruction was the sure sign of a nation and world “in peril” from climate change and drastic action would be needed to prevent extreme weather patterns from worsening during said President Joe Biden during his tour of Hurricane Ida damage in New Jersey and New York. “They all tell us this is code red,” President Biden said from a neighborhood in Queens, referencing scientific research that suggests a growing number of Americans are vulnerable to extreme weather events. “The nation and the world are in peril…Climate change poses an existential threat to our lives, our economy, and the threat is here. It’s not going to get any better. The question is: Can it get worse?” The New York Times
The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion for disaster relief costs to be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires during the last 18 months, prior to the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana and the Northeast. Biden administration officials expect at least another $10 billion will be needed to address the destruction from Ida, and that they will work with Congress on a firmer cost after further damage assessments are completed. New Jersey Monitor
Thank you for relying on North-JerseyNews.com to provide you the stories from Washington and Trenton that affect us. Please consider supporting North-JerseyNews.com with a voluntary donation.
North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco added his voice urging the federal government and Gov. Phil Murphy to include Hudson County to the list of New Jersey counties declared a major disaster area. Sacco, who is also a State Senator, said he expects a visit from FEMA officials in the coming days to assess the damage from the 11 inches of rain reported by the township’s Department of Public Works. The Jersey Journal
The Fair Lawn School District has set up 32 tents at its 10 schools for outdoor lunch to allow students to get mask-free fresh air during the day. Two additional tents are available for outdoor classes, with principals working with the teachers to determine a schedule for outdoor classrooms so that everyone can get a chance to use them. The Record
Newark Public Schools will be offering COVID-19 vaccinations to students and staff members on site at all of the city’s public schools. The state’s largest school district, Newark will partner with the city, the county, and the city’s health department to administer doses to the unvaccinated. Parents must sign a consent form for their children to be vaccinated on site and there is no limit on the number of people who can be vaccinated at the school sites. NJ.com
The first COVID-19 vaccine mandate in New Jersey went into effect Sept. 7. Employees in certain state and private healthcare facilities and high-risk congregate settings contracted with the state are now required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or be subjected to testing at minimum one to two times per week. Impacted state settings include Ancora Psychiatric Hospital, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, Paramus, Menlo Park and Vineland Veterans Memorial Home, developmental centers, University Hospital in Newark, state correctional facilities and juvenile justice commission facilities. North-JerseyNews.com
University Hospital recently fired a “handful” of workers after discovering they submitted fake vaccination cards to comply with the hospital’s requirement. The state-run hospital required all hospital staff to provide proof of vaccination by Aug. 3 or face termination from their job. Hospital officials said they were able to spot “noticeable differences” between valid cards and some phony ones. NJ1015.com
Unvaccinated people are nearly six times more likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than those who have received their full complement of shots, according to an analysis of acute care data from late August by the New Jersey Hospital Association. Nearly three out of four COVID-19 patients treated during those two weeks were not inoculated against the virus, the association found. For COVID-19 hospitalizations, figures showed immunized New Jerseyans comprised just 1.8% of the patients treated during the first week of August and 4% of all COVID-19–related admissions since mid-January. NJ Spotlight News
The Ramapo Indian Hills Education Association has issued a no-confidence vote against its Board of Education president due to her failing to follow the state mask mandate at indoor school gatherings. The teachers’ union cited board President Filomena Laforgia for her “blatant disregard of Gov. (Phil) Murphy’s mask mandate,” which went into effect Aug. 9, citing Laforgia for “allowing those in attendance at board meetings to keep their masks off,” “preventing security from enforcing said mandate,” and instructing speakers at meetings “to remove their masks when they speak.” The Record
The New Jersey business community’s willingness to return to in-person networking events remains high, according to a recent New Jersey Chamber of Commerce/ROI-NJ poll. The survey, conducted during the last week of August, found that more than 57% of respondents were either “highly likely” or “somewhat likely” to attend an event being held that day. Only slightly more than one in four (29%) said they would be “highly unlikely” or “somewhat unlikely” to attend. Of those responding, 13% said they were “not sure.” ROI-NJ.com
Job openings in the U.S. plateaued in late Summer at records as the Delta variant of COVID-19 curtailed previously strong demand for restaurant, salon and other in-person service positions. Postings on job-search site Indeed.com were up about 39% at the end of August from February 2020, ahead of the pandemic. That marked a modest gain from the comparable week of July, when postings were up 37% from February 2020. The August gain was largely driven by increased demand for jobs that can be done from home, such as software development. Postings for childcare fell and openings in construction and at restaurants rose only slightly. The Wall Street Journal
The House Ethics Committee will continue to probe Rep. Tom Malinowski for possible violation of a federal law that requires congressmen to disclose stock transactions within 45 days. “The Committee’s statement extending Rep. Malinowski’s review period reflects their standard practice when handling matters from (the Office of Congressional Ethics),” the congressman’s office said in a press statement. “Rep. Malinowski continues to participate in this routine process in good faith, and remains committed to complete transparency with the public; going beyond the requirements for Members of Congress by placing his holdings in an Ethics Committee approved qualified blind trust.” New Jersey Globe
President Joe Biden recently signed an executive order directing a declassification review of key 9/11-related documents to help families finally identify and bring to justice all of the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks 20 years ago. “When I ran for President, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding the declassification of documents on the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America,” said President Biden on Sept. 3, the day he signed the executive order. “As we approach the 20th anniversary of that tragic day, I am honoring that commitment.” Family members and politicians have sought to make the information public to fully reveal the role the Saudi government had in the terrorist attack. North-JerseyNews.com
Two candidates have filed to run for a Ridgewood Village seat vacated by Councilwoman Bernadette Walsh. Planning Board member Melanie Hooban and “It’s Greek to Me” restaurant owner Paul Vagianos are seeking to fill the term ending December 2024. The Record
Republicans are calling for Vince Polistina to be sworn in as a New Jersey State Senator from the 2nd Legislative District. It has now been more than a month since Atlantic County Republicans chose Polistina Aug. 4 to complete the remainder of Chris Brown’s Senate term, which ends in January, as he runs for the seat against Democratic Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo. But State Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-3) gaveled the Senate out of recess in June and lawmakers aren’t slated to return to the chamber until after the November elections. North-JerseyNews.com
And finally…Chris Christie’s notorious beach photo has inspired a new N.J. beer. NJ.com
Comments 1