The majority of Americans still support COVID-19-related vaccination and masking mandates in the nation’s schools, as New Jersey passed the 1 million mark for booster shots administered. According to the most recent Monmouth University Poll, 61% of the American public supported requirements that students, teachers, and staff wear masks while in school, down from the 66% recorded in September. Regarding vaccine mandates for both teachers and staff, support remained steady at 59% compared to the 60% reported in September. The survey found opinion on vaccine mandates in other settings hasn’t shifted much since September, including the healthcare sector (61%), airplane industry (57%), and general office settings (51%). Only 39% of Americans believed you should need to prove your vaccination to enter a restaurant for a meal, down seven points from two months earlier. North-JerseyNews.com
A scientist suggests that the first known patient sickened with the coronavirus was a vendor in a large Wuhan animal market, not an accountant who lived many miles from it. Dr. Michael Worobey, a leading expert in tracing the evolution of viruses at the University of Arizona, came upon timeline discrepancies by combing through what had already been made public in medical journals, as well as video interviews in a Chinese news outlet with people believed to have the first two documented infections. Dr. Worobey argues that the vendor’s ties to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, as well as a new analysis of the earliest hospitalized patients’ connections to the market, strongly suggest that the pandemic began there. The New York Time
The House of Representatives will vote today on the Build Back Better Act. The $1.75 trillion bill focused on expanding healthcare, childcare, climate change, and tax fairness, including getting rid of the state and local tax deduction cap, was delayed a day after Republicans spoke on the floor for hours in opposition of the bill in hopes to force a vote in the middle of the night. The bill, expected to be approved on a party line vote, then move to the Senate. The Wall Street Journal
New immigrant students with limited English skills missed out on critical education services in New Jersey as a result of coronavirus pandemic school closings, according to a survey by New Jersey Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages/NJ Bilingual Educators. School districts fell short of fulfilling the rights of English learners and meeting their obligations under the state’s rules for bilingual instruction, a situation exacerbated by the pandemic. Poor communications with parents and lack of access to technology and internet connectivity existed in districts long before the pandemic hit but were heightened during a year iof remote learning. The Record
The Bergen County Food Security Task Force will be getting food pantries and organizations prepared for the holiday at Dumont Swim Club. The organizations will serve anyone who needs a little help during the holiday season, especially now with rising prices. County Commissioner Tracy Zur is heading the Bergen County Food Security Task Force, working alongside the Community Food Bank of New Jersey to ensure Bergen County food pantries are stocked up to serve anyone needing a little extra help this Thanksgiving. “We saw 71% food insecurity in the pandemic and those numbers haven’t gone down,” says Zur. “We’re actually seeing increased demand at pantries right now.” News12 New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law a comprehensive legislative package to address food insecurity in New Jersey. The package, comprising six bills, will expand access to New Jersey Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and bolster school meal programs as well as establish a new government office. Under the legislation, the Office of the Food Insecurity Advocate would be established. Additionally, a law would direct the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development to include information on SNAP for any materials connected to unemployment benefits. “It is unacceptable that so many of our most vulnerable people are going without enough food,” said Gov. Murphy. “With today’s bill signings, we are continuing our ongoing commitment to end food insecurity in New Jersey by strengthening food assistance and providing support to communities across the state.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey is providing $45 million in new low-interest loans to repair and upgrade dams to ensure their safety and help them cope with increased flooding caused by climate change. The Department of Environmental Protection is making $40 million available through a state program on dam restoration, and another $5 million through the Inland Waters Loan Program which funds flood-mitigation projects such as dredging and stream restoration. DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said the new funding is part of the state’s plan to become more resilient to the effects of climate change. NJ Spotlight News
New Jersey’s sports betting industry smashed its own national record in October for the highest amount of bets taken in a single month, topping $1.3 billion. That figure easily surpassed the $1.01 billion worth of bets that Atlantic City’s nine casinos and the three horse tracks that offer sports betting took in September. Nearly $1.2 billion of the $1.3 billion New Jersey outlets handled in October was wagered online. News12 New Jersey
The Jersey City Council has introduced an ordinance to move about $170 million in bonds to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency as they work on the Bayfront Project. The ordinance states that the city and the agency have determined that in order to obtain the most advantageous interest rates, both parties would enter into a subsidy agreement. The Bayfront is a massive development plan to transform a contaminated site near the Hackensack Riverfront to a 100-acre revitalization project with residential units, retail space, park land, and a school, with the first phase consisting of 1,092 units, and 35 percent dedicated as affordable and workforce housing. Hudson Reporter
A bipartisan bill designed to reduce costs for New Jersey’s Medicaid program was recently signed into law. The bill, which was sponsored by Assemblywomen BettyLou DeCroce (R-26), and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37) along with Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-36), would require pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) to disclose certain information to enhance transparencies in the Medicaid program. “Without transparency in our state regarding PBM pricing, health insurance plans like Medicaid may be charged far more than necessary to provide residents with the prescriptions they need,” said Vainieri Huttle and Schaer in a joint statement. North-JerseyNews.com
Women who worked in full-time salaried positions in New Jersey in 2020 earned more than the year before, but they still earned significantly less than men. According to a new report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women in 2020 had median weekly earnings of $1,041, or 82.2% of the median men earned, which was $1,267. That’s an increase over 2019 data, when women earned 79.3% of what men earned, but still lower than previous highs. New Jersey women earned only slightly more than the national average of $891 per week, or 82.3% of the $1,082 median for men. NJ.com
The Gateway Development commissioners received an update on engineering and other aspects of the Gateway Tunnel Project during a meeting Nov. 16. In preparation for the start of construction on the Hudson Tunnel Project in 2023, critical supplemental subsurface geotechnical investigations have begun on the West Side of Manhattan to analyze soil and rock characteristics and provide information to engineers about underground conditions. The geotechnical borings are being drilled more than 100 feet underground at 13 locations on recently acquired property at 260 12th Ave. in Manhattan. Data from the program will inform the geotechnical baseline report, a key input into the Hudson Tunnel Project’s request to enter the engineering phase of the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grant Program. ROI-NJ.com
Thirteen Jersey City and Newark police officers won’t be charged for a 2019 incident in which they shot and killed two assailants who had themselves murdered four people. On Dec. 10, 2019, David Anderson and Francine Graham shot and killed a Jersey City police detective, Joseph Seals, before heading inside a kosher supermarket and killing three further people. The police arrived shortly afterwards and engaged in a three-hour firefight with Anderson and Graham that left both assailants dead. New Jersey Globe
The three members of the Middletown Veterans Affairs Committee became the first in the state to get a permit to display the flags on a New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway overpass, under a new Turnpike Authority policy that was born from controversy. A policy and application to display an American flag from Parkway or Turnpike overpasses went live in June. Turnpike Authority officials expressed concern about the proliferation of “all kinds of flags” displayed on overpasses supporting causes and cited safety and legal concerns. Officials also were concerned that some flags had become tattered and were not being maintained properly. NJ.com
An attack ad following Mayor James Davis around Bayonne popped on an Atlantic City billboard during the League of Municipalities convention. The ad on the billboard reads: “Dirty streets. Dirty behavior. Dirty politics. Had enough? Call Mayor Davis at 201-858-6010 and tell him to stop making Bayonne dirty. Learn more at dirtydavis.com.” Davis’s face is superimposed on the screen, as well as a newspaper headline regarding the gender discrimination lawsuit filed by Business Administrator Melissa Mathews. Hudson Reporter
Someone could be starting 2022 $2 million richer, however, thanks to the New Jersey Lottery New Year’s Day Raffle, the first raffle-type contest the Lottery Commission is offering since 2008. Starting Nov. 22, an allocation of 500,000 tickets will go on sale at a price of $20 each. They will continue to be sold until Dec. 31, or until there are no more remaining. NJ1015.com
And finally…The Wallington Fire Department’s holiday parade will be returning Nov. 27. The Record
