OPINION: Government Action is Needed at Andover. The owners of Andover/Woodland have one of the most important jobs in our society—taking care of our most vulnerable. They have failed to do this at two key moments during the pandemic. If a private entity has shown it is incapable of providing a facility where residents can be taken care of safely, it is up to our elected lawmakers to ensure they are. While a shutdown would do more harm and move residents away from their families, the sordid history Andover/Woodland leads us to call for either a federal or state takeover to ensure residents are being taken care of properly. North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey passed a total of 30,000 deaths related to the COVID-19 virus over the weekend as key health metrics continued to decline during its latest surge. New Jersey on Jan. 18 reported 10 confirmed COVID-19 deaths—with 27,220 confirmed and 2,869 probable—for an overall count of 30,089 as 14,048 new cases were reported to the state’s database. A total of 5,250 coronavirus patients were hospitalized in the 69 of 71 hospitals reporting statewide. The Garden State’s transmission rate fell to 1.09, down from 1.21 on the two days before that. NJ.com
Educators are preparing to contend with the pandemic on a long-term basis as it continues to take a toll on children, even with schools largely back in session. Students are face learning loss, with studies showing that they are behind in math and reading, and face setbacks in social-emotional development due to disrupted in-person instructional time. Missed milestones for younger children include skills like learning to work in groups, lining up and moving into classrooms and eating lunch in cafeterias, according to educators. The Wall Street Journal
Jersey City schools will return to in-person learning on Jan. 18 after being temporarily remote since the beginning of the new year. About 368 teachers and aides tested positive for COVID, along with others that had to quarantine because of exposure during the holidays. School officials said the positivity rate had decreased “significantly” last week, which will allow the district to resume in-person learning. Hudson Reporter
Companies are bracing for another round of potentially debilitating supply chain disruptions as China imposes sweeping lockdowns in an attempt to keep the Omicron variant at bay. The measures have already confined tens of millions of people to their homes in several Chinese cities, with at least 20 million people, or about 1.5% of China’s population, in lockdown. The country’s zero-tolerance policy has manufacturers—already on edge from spending the past two years dealing with crippling supply chain woes—worried about another round of shutdowns at Chinese factories and ports. Additional disruptions to the global supply chain would come at a particularly fraught moment for companies, which are struggling with rising prices for raw materials and shipping along with extended delivery times and worker shortages. The New York Times
Rep. Josh Gottheimer announced a bipartisan bill to get New Jersey health care workers and families the necessary supplies to fight COVID-19. The Medical and Health Stockpile Accountability Act will create a national tracking system for medical and health supplies. Gottheimer says the bill ensures the United States is prepared for future health crises and pandemics and comes in response to a nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment, ventilators and COVID tests. News12 New Jersey
State Sen. Anthony Bucco (R-25) hit back at Gov. Phil Murphy after he instituted a new Public Health Emergency order related to the Omicron spike of COVID-19. “While Gov. Murphy always talks about moving New Jersey ‘forward,’ he’s taking a giant leap backward by reinstating a new public health emergency,” said Bucco. “Governor Murphy’s decision both circumvents legislative oversight and breaks his deal with his own party’s leadership. We need to give people hope that life is returning to normal, not returning to one man’s rule by executive order.” North-JerseyNews.com
Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25) appears to be headed toward a run for Congress in New Jersey’s 11th district, reportedly going before the Passaic County Republican screening committee on Jan. 15. Dunn has not yet announced if she will take on Rep. Mikie Sherrill but she ended her remarks to the Passaic GOP with “Once again, my name is Aura Dunn, and I am running for Congress.” New Jersey Globe
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will hold a wind energy auction in February for more than 480,000 acres offshore New York and New Jersey. The Feb. 23 auction, the first under the Biden Administration, will be for the land known as the New York Bight. The area extends northeasterly from Cape May Inlet in New Jersey to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island. “Offshore wind holds tremendous promise for our future in terms of climate change, economic growth, strengthening our workforce, and job creation,” said Gov. Phil Murphy. “New Jersey is already committed to creating nearly one-quarter of the nation’s offshore wind-generation market and these transformative projects are proof that climate action can drive investments in infrastructure and manufacturing, while creating good-paying, union jobs.” North-JerseyNews.com
Property taxes in New Jersey climbed by nearly 2% in 2021. The tax bill on the average home unofficially rose to $9,266, a $154 increase from a year earlier. For the average home in the state, which is now assessed at about $335,000, the bill jumped 1.7% last year. The $154 increase exactly equaled the average increase over the prior decade and was about half the $315 yearly increase recorded in the decade before that. NJ1015.com
Democratic members of the Congressional Redistricting Commission asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to dismiss a Republican challenge to a map approved redrawing the state’s 12 House districts, alleging the challenge was politically motivated. “Chairman Wallace’s amplification statement explained that the map presented by the Democratic Commissioners beat the Republican map in every objective and subjective category, making the foundational arguments behind the Republicans’ lawsuit completely invalid and moot,” said Janice Fuller, the Democratic commission chair. New Jersey Globe
The Jersey City Ward Commission meeting to discuss the redistricting of wards A through F ended before it could begin Jan. 14 after struggling to allow everyone into the virtual Zoom meeting room. The Ward Commission is responsible for redrawing the boundaries of the city’s six wards to make them relatively equal in population, with the city’s West Side, Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette areas could see some of the largest changes if the proposed new map is approved by the commission. The Jersey Journal
Several hundred firefighters battled soaring flames, frigid temperatures and iced equipment to knock down a massive fire at a site in Passaic packed with hazardous substances over the weekend, helping avert a larger disaster. While the flames engulfed about 100,000 pounds of chlorine in one building and an official put damages to the facilities of Majestic Industries and Qualco Inc.—which makes pool treatment supplies—at more than $15 million, firefighters managed to keep the inferno from spreading to an area where far larger amounts of chlorine and other materials were stored. The Record
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36) called on the entire Wall Board of Education and superintendent to resign and for the state Department of Education to install a monitor in the district until a new superintendent and board can be elected after learning the board offered at least two students now facing criminal charges related to allegations of ongoing hazing in the football locker room thousands of dollars toward school tuition to leave the district. “The entire board of education and superintendent should all resign effective immediately,” stated Sarlo. “The allegations at the onset of this have been very troubling, and these latest allegations are disturbing…situations like this cannot happen in our public-school districts in New Jersey.” NJ.com
Rockaway Township Mayor Michael Puzio is expected to step down from the office on Jan. 17. “My journey started in 2000 when I ran for the board of education and ultimately I ended up as mayor in Rockaway Township, a position that I had no intention of pursuing,” Puzio wrote on his Facebook page. “I did my best to step up to the plate and give it my all. I met so many wonderful people along the way who made the effort worthwhile.” Council President Joe Jackson said he expects Puzio to turn in his letter of resignation on Monday, elevating Jackson to the position of acting mayor. The Daily Record
The Franklin Borough Council gave the go-ahead to add an additional officer to the Police Department as it faces rising overtime costs. During a recent council meeting, it was explained that the overtime being spent to keep each shift up to strength was more than the approximately $42,000 annual salary of a new officer. The department is currently down two officers because of disciplinary action and three out on disability with two officers likely to retire in the near future. New Jersey Herald
For four consecutive months now, New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks attracted more than $1 billion in wagers and online casinos shattered their revenue record with $133 million in December 2021. New Jersey’s online and retail sportsbooks handled $1.23 billion in wagers in December, falling just short of the record $1.3 billion in betting reached in October, according to official reporting released Jan, 14. Betting volume rose 23.4% from the $996.3 million generated in December 2020, and was nearly level with the $1.26 million bet in November. ROI-NJ.com
And finally…“I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” the final speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. YouTube
