A North Jersey lawmaker wants assurances from Gov. Phil Murphy that government offices will be open the day the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state workers goes into effect. State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40) urged Murphy to keep his word to fully reopen state government offices that have been closed since the start of the pandemic. “Important state offices, including unemployment walk-in centers, have been closed for nearly 19 months and completely inaccessible to New Jerseyans,” said Corrado in a press statement Oct. 13. “Given the long wait, I hope the rumors aren’t true that some offices may have their reopenings pushed back beyond the date the governor set for his administration to get back to work.” North-JerseyNews.com
The Bayonne School District has issued guidance for regular testing for unvaccinated employees who are choosing not to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Unvaccinated staff must start submitting negative test results every Friday starting on Oct. 22 and every Friday thereafter. Failure to do so will result in a follow up from the Board of Education or Department of Health as well as the staff member potentially being removed from the position until they provide a negative COVID-19 test result. Vaccinated staff do not need to submit to a weekly COVID-19 test. Hudson Reporter
A coronavirus exposure linked to a homecoming dance held at Spotswood High School in Middlesex County has forced approximately 200 students into quarantine. The school district first learned that a student in attendance at the dance subsequently tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 13. Parents of students in attendance at the dance were notified that same night of the exposure and informed their children would be required to quarantine. “Given our inability to contact trace this event, as indicated in our permission form, there is a need for your child, as a close contact, to quarantine from school for 10 days, with a return date of October 19,” a letter from the superintendent states. NJ1015.com
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U.S. health advisors approved some Americans who received Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine at least six months ago should get a half-dose booster to rev up protection against the coronavirus. The panel of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously to recommend a booster shot for seniors, as well as younger adults with other health problems, jobs or living situations that put them at increased risk from COVID-19. The move follows the approval of those who had received the Pfizer vaccine at least six months ago getting a booster after the FDA authorized their use last month. News12 New Jersey
New Jersey will spend more than $700 million in federal coronavirus pandemic funds to try to reduce the cost of childcare in the state, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Oct. 13. Eligible families could have the amount they may owe for fees or the difference between what the state pays and the provider charges covered up to $300 for full-time care, or $150 for part-time care and co-payments in the state’s childcare subsidy could be waived. Also, $1,000 bonuses will be provided beginning this Winter to help providers recruit new childcare employees and retain current child care staff. Licensed childcare centers grant availability will range from $20,000 to $80,000 in the first round, depending on the number of children they serve. The money is coming from the American Rescue Plan. NJ Spotlight News
Gov. Phil Murphy holds a 25-point lead over GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli among voters aged 50 and older, according to survey numbers from Fairleigh Dickinson University and AARP. Some 56% of registered voters in the age cohort said they will support incumbent Gov. Murphy in the Nov. 2 election. Just 31% said they would back Ciattarelli. “If he wants this race to be competitive, Ciattarelli has to run up numbers along the coast, and stay competitive in the Northern suburbs,” Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University and the Executive Director of the poll. “So far, he’s just not doing it.” North-JerseyNews.com
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is hitting the campaign trail in his home state, but at private events. Christie has a fundraiser scheduled for later this month with Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick, who’s running for State Senate. On Wednesday night, he headlined a fundraiser in Parsippany for the State Senate Republicans’ fundraising arm, and he’s recently been featured at fundraisers for State Sens. Michael Testa (R-1), Anthony Bucco (R-25) and 2nd Legislative District Republican Senate candidate Vince Polistina. The former governor has not made any fundraising appearances for Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli. PoliticoNJ
The biggest names in Democratic politics are hitting the campaign trail for Gov. Phil Murphy in the final days before the Nov. 2 election. First Lady Jill Biden is the first to stump for Murphy, with a scheduled visit to Edison on Friday. Her visit will be followed by a Tuesday trip to Newark by Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff. Then former President Barack Obama plans to headline an early-voting rally in Newark on the day it begins, Oct. 23. New Jersey Herald
While Republican Jack Ciattarelli outraised Gov. Phil Murphy for the fourth consecutive week, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, it has not be enough to erase a nearly $2 million money advantage. Murphy has received a total of $10,239,277 in matching funds so far, 98% of the $10.5 million maximum amount. He needs to raise another $86,907 to qualify for the full match. Public financing has netted Ciattarelli $8,296,763 so far, representing 79% of the total available to him. He needs to raise another $734,412 to max out on matching funds. New Jersey Globe
Former President Bill Clinton has been hospitalized after he had a urological infection that developed into sepsis. An aide to Clinton said his sepsis was not considered to be acute. The former president was admitted on Tuesday evening to UCI Medical Center in Orange, CA with what he described as a “non-Covid-related infection….He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care.” The New York Times
Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Donald Payne are urging steps to move goods from stalled container ships to store shelves in time for the holiday season. Gottheimer and Payne held an Oct. 12 press conference at the Port of Newark to highlight what Gottheimer described as “a shipping and supply chain crisis…We need to fix this shipping crisis now—before the holidays because the last thing we need is a giant piece of coal in America’s Christmas stocking.” Payne said he was “outraged” to hear that the cost to move a shipping container has risen from $1,000 before the pandemic to more than $22,000 today. “We will not tolerate any arbitrary price increases that are not directly related to legitimate market forces,” he said. North-JerseyNews.com
U.S. consumers continue to spend, despite supply constraints causing a shortage of vehicles and other goods. Economists estimate that September retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in September from the previous month, with car purchases declining as few vehicles were on dealer lots. Excluding autos, sales are estimated to have risen 0.5% as households shrugged off the end of enhanced unemployment benefits and high COVID-19 case levels caused by the Delta variant. Higher spending in part reflects rising costs. Consumer prices advanced 0.4% in September from August and 5.4% from a year earlier, the Labor Department said this week. Retail sales have risen more than 10% from a year earlier in recent months. The Wall Street Journal
New Jersey’s technology infrastructure is in desperate need of repairs, with unemployment insurance and motor vehicle services relying on archaic systems that are at risk of failing at any point and sending the state into disarray for weeks, according to a report recently released by the state. Among the top concerns is that state’s massive data center in West Trenton, where core IT and computing services are stored, has not been substantially updated since it was constructed. If the power and cooling systems there fail, “residents and state operations would be impacted with timelines to recover likely stretching into weeks,” the report says. New Jersey Monitor
Gov. Phil Murphy broke ground on Oct. 14 for the New Jersey Innovation and Technology Hub, a 550,000 square foot development that will be a center of innovation, research, and medical education in New Brunswick. At the event , it was announced that the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School would relocate to the site and the inclusion of the Rutgers Translational Research facility. In addition, the County of Middlesex announced that it will become a new Core Partner in the NJ Innovation & Technology HUB, joining the RWJBarnabas Health, Hackensack Meridian Health, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and New Brunswick Development Corporation (Devco), as well as the first tenants, Princeton University and Choose NJ. The project will be built across from the New Brunswick train station with a price tag of $665 million. NJ.com
The Passaic Valley Water Commission is expected to lift a boil water advisory that has been in effect for more than 250,000 people since remnants of Hurricane Ida brought torrential rainfall that overflowed and contaminated the New Street Reservoir. The water utility provides tap water to people in Passaic, Paterson, Woodland Park, and Clifton. News12 New Jersey
Paterson education officials revealed they have been struggling with a shortage of security guards and will use off-duty police officers to fill the gap. The district did not provide any details on the extent of the shortage of security guards, who are hired through a private company, how many off-duty police officers they would deploy, or which schools would get the cops. The Record
Jersey City is moving one step closer to the creation of its Highline park on the Sixth Street Embankment. The City Council voted on two resolutions that would potentially smooth over the process of acquiring the land – between Sixth and Fifth streets to the north and south, and Division Street and Marin Boulevard to the west and east – that the city hopes to see become an open green space.The two resolutions together would merge several different lots into one single redevelopment plan. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Public School No. 28 in Paterson ranks first on U.S. News and World Report’s Best New Jersey Elementary and Middle Schools. News12 New Jersey
