Twelve individuals who are not residents of the 5th Congressional District were arrested at Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s home for trespassing while protesting on Oct. 18. The protest was organized by an affiliate of the Sunrise Movement, a far left group that advocates political action on climate change including the Green New Deal and is supported by Gottheimer’s primary challenger from the left in 2020. The 12 were arrested at the house of the Congressman who was not home at the time. A Gottheimer spokesperson thanked the timely action of the Wyckoff police department in arresting “several individuals for trespassing and refusing to leave Josh’s home. Occupying a Congressman’s property crosses a line of basic decency and, in this case, left his family concerned for their safety.” North-JerseyNews.com
Gasoline prices in New Jersey rose to an average of $3.39 a gallon this week, their highest level in seven years, in a sign that the global supply of oil isn’t keeping up with demand in an economy rebooting from a pandemic. Experts say the rise is a result of a number of factors, including China wrestling with a record-low level of coal and is turning to oil and natural gas to make up for the shortage, Hurricane Ida in late August temporarily shutting down 96% of oil production in the Gulf of Mexico, OPEC slowing down production, and investors hesitant to pump money into oil and gas production as the U.S. and other countries debate new limits on fossil fuels to try to get a handle on climate change. The Daily Record
U.S. Senate Democrats hope to reach a compromise on President Joe Biden’s domestic policy plan by the end of the week. The President reportedly reiterated that the overall price tag would be about $2 trillion and suggested that it could be as low as $1.75 trillion in talks with different factions of the Democratic party and that a plan to provide two years of free community college would most likely have to be jettisoned. The concession came days after negotiators began preparing to drop a clean electricity program intended to help rapidly replace coal- and gas-fired power plants, which is opposed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV). The New York Times
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.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisers will meet today and maybe tomorrow to discuss the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 booster shots and who should get them. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to grant emergency use authorization to both this week and people may be able to get one as soon as this week. News12 New Jersey
One hundred and twenty staffers at Virtua Health refused the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were let go at five South Jersey hospitals and other centers. The former employees held a variety of roles throughout the system and represented about 1% of those employed by the company. New Jersey Herald
With the news that former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell died from COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, state health officials stressed his case as an example of why it is so important to be fully vaccinated and receive a booster shot for those eligible. “The vaccine we’ve always said is not perfect. It’s extremely good, but it is not armor that never lets anything in, and the way that you help protect those people who are most vulnerable is by not letting the virus get to them in the first place,” said Dr. Ed Lifshitz, the director of communicable disease services for the New Jersey Department of Health. North-JerseyNews.com
The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously Oct. 19 to recommend holding Stephen Bannon in criminal contempt for defying a Congressional subpoena. An attorney for Bannon, a onetime adviser to former President Donald Trump, contends that he can’t respond to the committee’s subpoena because of executive privilege asserted by the former President. On Oct. 21, the full House is expected to vote on certifying the contempt resolution, referring the matter to the Justice Department for potential prosecution. The Wall Street Journal
Over the last decade, dozens of current and former law enforcement officers, military personnel, and government officials in New Jersey joined the Oath Keepers, according to an analysis of what appear to be membership rolls obtained by an anonymous hacker. Roughly 20 people in the records matched the names, phone area codes, and address locations of police and corrections officers who were listed as active within the last two years. These included officers in two of the state’s largest and most diverse cities, Jersey City and Paterson, along with a swath of rural and suburban communities. WNYC/Gothamist
Fifteen of New Jersey’s 21 counties are planning to open fewer early polling places than the state is willing to pay for. A new law signed in March said counties with fewer than 150,000 registered voters must open at least three early voting sites, counties with between 150,000 and 300,000 voters must have at least five, and the state’s most populous counties must stand up at least seven. The reasons for the shortfalls are varied, including some counties still reporting poll worker shortages that have become common amid the pandemic, and others worry about the administrative strain additional early voting could load on election boards already dealing with a slew of election reforms enacted since March 2020. New Jersey Monitor
Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli told a South Jersey crowd on Oct. 19 that the upcoming New Jersey election is not “rigged.” “Don’t let anybody stay home because they think we can’t win or because it’s rigged,” said Ciattarelli, who’s challenging Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, at a GOP event in Burlington County. “It’s not rigged here in New Jersey. We can win this race.” Ciattarelli’s comments came as he campaigned with Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel and said he would institute a voter ID requirement if elected. PoliticoNJ
The issue in one way or another has been the central theme for GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli: taxes are too high for the average New Jersey resident and that blame rests squarely on the shoulders of Gov. Phil Murphy. Among the specific proposals the Somerset County resident has offered during the campaign are cutting the corporate business tax of 11.5% in half over five years, including making the first $50,000 of income for small businesses tax free; reducing the capital gains tax on the sale of “mom and pop” shops as well as first and second homes; and freezing property tax rates for homeowners when they reach age 65. Murphy has countered that the state has become more affordable for the average New Jersey resident and Ciattarelli policies are rehashed ones that lead to the financial mess he inherited from Gov. Chris Christie. North-JerseyNews.com
The GOP nominee for Bergen County Sheriff claims the misconduct and corruption charged he was indicted on this year was a result of politics. Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler alleges that Gurbir Grewal, the state’s former attorney general and a Democrat, of bringing the charges against him to help Grewal’s cousin, who is the vice chair of Bergen’s Democratic committee. Kugler was recently indicted by a grand jury for ordering on-duty officers under his command to provide police escorts for processions leaving his private business, a township funeral home. The Record
Conservative are making a play to pull back votes from a coalition to make Nancy Muñoz (R-21) the new Assembly Minority Leader. After after a deal with two other candidates—John DiMaio (R-23) and Ned Thomson (R-30)—and the addition of additional supporters appeared to give her enough votes to clinch the slot, pro-life leaders, Second Amendment advocates, and medical freedom activists have reportedly applied pressure to derail her candidacy. “You can’t horse trade votes. Backroom deals don’t work,” said Assemblyman Brian Bergen (R-25), the only remaining GOP lawmaker pursuing the leadership position. “It’s no surprise that a handful of people are trying to make decisions for the entire caucus. It’s become standard procedure. If I am leader, leadership will work for them, not the other way around.” New Jersey Globe
The continuing legal battle over the fate of the bi-state Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor is not a case for the nation’s highest court, the U.S. Solicitor General argued on Oct. 19. In a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, the Office of the Solicitor General concluded the commission may not have had the authority to file a petition seeking to overturn efforts by the New Jersey Legislature to unilaterally withdraw from its interstate agreement with New York to establish the agency, which would effectively kill it. That might not end the matter, however, even if the court refuses to hear the case. The state of New York, the other party to the compact, could still opt to take action. NJ.com
The Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce is lobbying about the potential economic benefits of a proposed convention center at the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The 461,000-square-foot center would include a 300,000-square-foot exhibition center, 100,000 square feet of meeting rooms, 60,000 square feet of event space to host large association dinners and a 1,000-square-foot ballroom. The facility would accommodate multiple and concurrent youth sports, trade shows, gaming conferences, and other large events. It would be built between Rt. 120 and the sports complex where the old Izod Center still stands. ROI-NJ.com
Atlantic City is getting its first, fully operated supermarket since 2006. The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority approved an $18.7 million plan for a ShopRite in the city. Local officials say the grocery store will give residents more access to much-needed healthy food in the food desert. NJ Spotlight News
New Jersey records the highest rate of incarceration disparity in the country. According to a new report from The Sentencing Project, for every White prisoner in the Garden State, there are another 12 or so who are Black. New Jersey’s Black incarceration rate—1 in 99—is 19% below the national average. But the wide disparity exists because New Jersey posts a particularly low incarceration rate for White individuals, 81 per 100,000 (nearly one-third the national average). NJ1015.com
And finally…The New York Yankees have re-signed manager Aaron Boone for three more years. The Record
