State officials warned that a COVID-19 boost is needed for those who are fully vaccinated on the one-year anniversary of the first vaccinations in New Jersey. Gov. Phil Murphy and health officials returned to Newark University Hospital where the first vaccine shot was administered Dec. 15, 2020, coming together to deliver the message that the fight against coronavirus continues, with new variants and rising hospitals driven mainly by those unvaccianted. “There is much work to do…but we are in a much stronger place than where we were a year ago,” said Murphy. “But we need more New Jerseyans to step back into that queue to get boosted. The booster is not a bonus, it is a necessity.” North-JerseyNews.com
The return of a large-scale COVID-19 vaccination site to Passaic County is being pursued by local and state officials. Passaic County closed its version of a megasite in Woodland Park early in the Summer as roughly half the population had completed a full vaccination course and demand for additional vaccines began to wane. However, demand for vaccinations at county clinics thus far in December has reached levels not seen since May, when the megasite was open. “We are in conversation with the state of New Jersey Department of Health,” Anthony DeNova, county administrator. “They are interested in opening a megasite for vaccines and boosters. We’ve been working with them…trying to locate a facility.” The Record
The Middletown School District voted to change its COVID-19 quarantine protocols in its school district. In school, close contacts of a COVID-19 positive individual shall be notified of their status as a close contact. Such individuals shall not be excluded from schoolwork but may voluntarily be excused from self-quarantine. Designed close contacts shall monitor for COVID-19 symptoms daily and shall not appear for school should symptoms be present. The protocol is limited to in-school close contacts and does not affect contacts outside of school. News12 New Jersey
Small businesses in Sussex County are concerned about how they will financially recover from the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, but don’t plan to go out of business in the near future, according to survey results from the Sussex County Economic Development Partnership working with the county’s Chamber of Commerce. Thirty-three of the 50 businesses that responded said they would like to see loans or grants to “mitigate financial hardship” in areas such as payroll, costs to retain employees and help with mortgage, rent and utilities. Twenty business owners suggested back to work incentives, while 12 businesses said they’d like to see money go toward implementing “prevention or mitigation tactics” for items such as social distancing, enhanced cleaning as well as vaccination, testing or contact tracing programs. The county will use the information to determine how it will spend some of the $27 million in COVID-19 relief funds it will receive from the federal government. New Jersey Herald
The owners of Atilis Gym, who defied COVID-19 pandemic state mandates on businesses last year, had their lawsuit to reinstate their municipal business license dismissed. The judge said that the Bellmawr Borough Council’s decision to revoke the gym’s mercantile license was not unreasonable or arbitrary, as it was based on the gym’s failure to comply with a trio of orders invoking public safety, over a several month span. Those included the executive order issued by Gov. Phil Murphy on restricted businesses during the public health crisis, a Department of Health order and a previous judge’s order. NJ1015.com
Google told employees they must follow vaccination rules or face losing their pay and eventually losing their job. A memo from leadership circulating around the company said employees had until Dec. 3 to state their vaccination status and upload documentation showing proof of vaccination or starting an application to apply for a religious or medical exemption. After that date, Google said it would start contacting employees who had not updated their status, were unvaccinated or whose exemption requests were denied. The document stated that employees who did not comply with the vaccination rules by Jan. 18, 2022 would be placed on “paid administrative leave” for 30 days. CNBC
The Biden administration unveiled a plan aimed at boosting the number of commercial truck drivers as part of a broader push to unclog supply-chain bottlenecks. The plan aims to get more drivers on the road in the coming months by making it easier and faster for them to get certified and by jump-starting or expanding apprenticeship programs through carriers and other employers with trucking fleets. Additionally, the Transportation and Labor departments will examine how drivers are paid and investigate truck-leasing programs that administration officials said prey on drivers. The Wall Street Journal
Democrats are reportedly conceding that they were all but certain to delay consideration of President Joe Biden’s $2.2 trillion Build Back Better Act in the Senate until 2022, missing a self-imposed Christmas deadline as negotiations with a key centrist holdout, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), sputtered. Private talks this week between the President and Manchin, who is pushing to curtail the scope of the package and shrink its price tag, have failed to resolve crucial differences. The most notable dispute allegedly remains for a proposal to extend an expanded $300 monthly children tax credit for another year. The New York Times
Rep. Josh Gottheimer recently spoke at Rutgers University on the need to protect Jewish students from antisemitism on campus. The congressman cited an April incident in which a Jewish fraternity at Rutgers was vandalized and argued that efforts to get the school to boycott and divest from Israeli companies are rooted in antisemitism. “We cannot shy away from that demand for justice. We must support Jewish students and the Jewish community here at Rutgers, across New Jersey, and across our great country,” said Gottheimer. “If we stand together, support one another against hatred, I believe that our best days will always, always be ahead of us.” NJ Spotlight News
Gov. Phil Murphy and 16 other Democratic governors are urging the U.S. Senate to pass two bills that aim to protect voting rights. One bill, known as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021, would restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and require states and localities with a systemic history of crafting discriminatory voting laws to get special pre-clearance by the Justice Department before enacting those laws. The second bill, known as the Freedom to Vote Act, was introduced in the Senate, and it would prevent gerrymandering, protect poll workers and require all states to offer at least two weeks of early voting, as well as establish a national voting day, among other provisions. New Jersey Monitor
An Assembly bill that would increase election worker pay to $300 per day was cleared by both the Appropriations Committee and the State and Local Government Committee. A State Senate version of the bill would raise the pay to $400. “We want to ensure that workers are receiving the proper pay for the rigorous work they do. This measure will allow us to hire more poll workers and keep our elections more efficient with no added cost to our counties,” said Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37). The bipartisan measures featured support from Assemblyman Kevin Rooney (R-40), who stated “poll workers are important to the integrity of our elections. We need to attract good people with competitive wages. It is well past time for them to be more fairly compensated.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jerseyans cast 594,840 votes-by-mail ballots for the Nov. 2 election, representing 22.5% of all votes cast in this year’s contest for governor, state legislature, and county and local offices. Camden County had the highest percentage in the state, with 45.4% of all general election votes cast this year being done by mail-in ballots. A total of 68,783 votes were cast through VBMs. The smallest percentage of voters in the state using mail-in ballots was Sussex, where just 13.9% voted by mail. New Jersey Globe
New Jersey will be a pilot state to test new initiatives in an effort to modernize and improve the federal unemployment insurance system. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced the partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Digital Service, housed within the Office of the President. The program is expected to start in early 2022, with a focus on creating a user-friendly entry to the system. Arkansas was the other state chosen for the pilot. “The pandemic shed a light on the challenges and shortcomings of the federal unemployment system. With this announcement, New Jersey will be at the forefront of modernization, and permanent, meaningful reform,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. North-JerseyNews.com
The Murphy Administration began accepting applications from cannabis growers, product manufacturers and testing labs on Dec. 15, the first step that will usher in the legitimate marijuana industry. On the first day the application portal went live, 635 people had established accounts with the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. The commission will start accepting applications for dispensary owners, the retail shops that will sell the cannabis products, on March 15, 2020. The Daily Record
The top-ranking official at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women on the night a group of officers violently extracted a handful of women from their cells has been criminally charged for his role in the brutal assault. The state Attorney General’s office charged Sean St. Paul, the former associate administrator of the prison, with official misconduct, conspiracy and tampering with public records or information. Additionally, the AG charged four others Dec. 15, bringing the total to 15 Edna Mahan employees who are facing criminal charges for their roles in the attack. NJ.com
Bergen and Passaic county officials formally agreed this week to send hundreds of inmates from Passaic County Jail in Paterson to Bergen’s lockup in Hackensack, emptying the Marshall Street facility. Officials said in a joint statement the 10-year deal would be worth at least $195 million — Passaic will pay Bergen about $104 a day for a minimum of 500 inmates, according to the shared services agreement. It could be worth significantly more if Passaic sends up to 700 inmates, as the contract allows. The Record
Doctors, patients and company leaders fully supportive of a Bayonne Medical Center operated by CarePoint Health’s chosen successor dominated a state Department of Health public hearing Dec. 13 in the city’s library. The hearing is the latest step in New Jersey’s Certificate of Need process for healthcare facilities, in this case for BMC Hospital LLC’s desired increase from 9.9% ownership of the hospital operations to 49% to continue gradually taking over CarePoint’s operations. The Jersey Journal
Hoboken has announced the search for a qualified consultant to engage in an open public process for the design of the city’s newest resiliency park planned for 800 Monroe St. The selected consultant will work with the city, community stakeholders, and the public at large to create design alternatives for the site incorporating innovative active recreation, passive recreation, cultural amenities, landscapes, resiliency components, and urban design. Hudson Reporter
And finally…Bruce Springsteen has sold his music rights to Sony Music Entertainment in a deal whose value may exceed $500 million. The New York Times
