New Jersey is closing the door for the COVID testing opt-out option for certain employees in the state. Gov. Phil Murphy made the announcement on Jan. 19 that all workers in healthcare settings and high-risk congregate living facilities must be fully vaccinated—including a booster shot—while eliminating the test-out option. “We are no longer going to look past those who continue to put their colleagues and perhaps, I think even more importantly, those who are their responsibility, in danger of COVID,” said Murphy. “That has to stop.” Workers in the healthcare community have a deadline of Jan. 27 to get their first vaccine dose and finish to be fully vaccinated by Feb. 28. For those in high-risk congregate living facilities, they are required by Feb. 28 to get the first dose and March 30 for the second. North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden vowed to pursue a scaled-back version of his marquee Build Back Better Act as he mounted a two-hour defense of his first-year accomplishments and repeatedly blamed Republicans for abandoning any serious attempt to govern the country during a press conference Jan. 19. The President refused to accept criticism of how his administration has handled the coronavirus pandemic, saying that “we’ve done remarkably well,” and gave a grim assessment of the likelihood that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would soon send forces into Ukraine. The New York Times
A new COVID-19 vaccine megasite opened in Paramus on Jan. 19, intended to eliminate any barriers for children or adults to get vaccinated or boosted. Hackensack Meridian Health opened the vaccination site at the former Lord & Taylor store off Route 17 in the Fashion Center. ​​It will operate three days a week: Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled and walk-ins are welcomed as well. The Record
Immigrant workers and their advocates are angry that most of the funds intended to assist New Jersey’s undocumented population and others excluded from COVID-related aid will be reallocated to pay for state expenses instead. The Murphy Administration has shifted $34 million of the $50 million federally-funded Excluded NJ Fund toward expenses, likely to payroll and various department costs incurred due to COVID to avert a “use it or lose it” situation. Based on the applications received for the funds, the state calculated that $17 million would be enough. But immigrant advocates said the difficult and confusing process to apply for the funds discouraged many, who would have qualified for the assistance, from filing an application as well as many being excluded due to incomplete applications. The Daily Record
In a rebuff to former President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court in an 8-1 decision is allowing the release of presidential documents sought by the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. The justices on Jan. 19 rejected a bid by Trump to withhold the documents from the committee until the issue is finally resolved by the courts. Following the high court’s action, there is no legal impediment to turning over the documents, which are held by the National Archives and Records Administration. They include presidential diaries, visitor logs, speech drafts and handwritten notes dealing with Jan. 6 from the files of former chief of staff Mark Meadows. The Wall Street Journal
A Kearny man who live-streamed himself is the latest New Jersey resident to be arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol. The Department of Justice was made aware of the broadcast that Julian Gross made in the Capitol rotunda and the Senate gallery as he told his audience he was demanding the Senate gallery doors be opened, stating “We are in the Capitol Building. Power back to America. We are in the Capitol Building. The Capitol Building has been overthrown. It has been overthrown.” Gross was charged with trespassing and disorderly/disruptive conduct in a restricted building. NJ1015.comÂ
Republicans in the State House are urging Gov. Phil Murphy to get back to work, giving New Jersey’s second-term governor a laundry list of issues they want him to address to make the Garden State more affordable. State Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho (R-24) along with North Jersey State Sens. Kristin Corrado (R-40) and Joe Pennacchio (R-26) offered their priorities, including lowering taxes through fixing the school funding formula, challenging New York’s “unfair taxation” of New Jersey workers and supporting small businesses. “Now that the housekeeping is complete, we shouldn’t waste any time getting back to work in Trenton on efforts to make New Jersey more affordable,” said Oroho. North-JerseyNews.comÂ
Assemblyman Erik Peterson (R-23) formally launched his run for New Jersey’s 7th congressional district. Anticipating a primary election battle against former Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean, Jr., Peterson’s announcement video highlighted his staunchly conservative history in the legislature. “I have the best Republican voting record of anybody in this congressional race,” he said. “If you vote for me, I can assure you of one thing: I will never sell you out, I will always vote like a Republican should vote, and I will stand up for you no matter what the consequences.” New Jersey Globe
Democrats failed in their effort to change the U.S. Senate’s filibuster procedures to pass blocked elections legislation, dealing a setback to President Joe Biden and party leaders on what they have termed their top domestic policy priority. Democrats had made the elections bill and changes to the filibuster two parts of a single campaign, arguing that Republicans were trampling voting rights, particularly for lower income and minority voters, by tolerating restrictive new state laws and then using Senate procedures to stop Congress from intervening. Sen. Cory Booker said there was clear evidence that areas with high concentrations of Black and Brown voters were being targeted by states. “Don’t lecture me about Jim Crow,” he said. “I know this isn’t 1965. That’s what makes me feel outrage. It’s 2022, and they’re blatantly removing more polling places from the counties where Blacks and Latinos are overrepresented.” New Jersey Monitor
Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation earlier this month requiring school security drills to be age-appropriate and to prevent the traumatization of schoolchildren. Among other requirements, the legislation prohibits the use of fake blood, real or prop firearms, or the simulations of gunshots or explosions in school security drills. “Unfortunately, school security drills are a reality of the environment that our students are living in,” said Murphy in a press statement signing the bill Jan. 10. “These necessary exercises are proven to save lives but may also traumatize young children if not conducted in an appropriate manner.” North-JerseyNews.com
School districts across Hudson County are stepping up their COVID-19 testing efforts as children make a return to in-person classes after weeks spent remote learning due to the Omicron wave. The Union City school district tested 80% of its students in the preceding weekend by distributing about 11,500 free rapid at-home tests. And the West New York Board of Education will distribute 8,000 at-home tests to its students this week. The Jersey Journal
Teachers who have been retired for six months or more may soon find themselves back inside a New Jersey classroom under a new law designed to help alleviate school staffing shortages brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation Jan. 18 that allows retired teachers and professional school staff members to continue to collect their retirement pensions while also getting a new salary if they temporarily fill “critical need” jobs in New Jersey schools. The new law applies to any retired teacher or professional staff member, including speech language specialists or therapists. They can gets jobs in school districts for the remainder of this current school year and the 2022-2023 school year. NJ.com
The City Council rejected a proposal to move Paterson’s school elections from November to April, an outcome decided after Councilman Alex Mendez changed his mind at the last minute resulting in a 4-4 vote. With the failure of the resolution that would have changed the school election dates, Paterson avoids the likelihood of a legal battle between the City Council and the Board of Education, which previously voted to mount a legal challenge to City Hall’s intervention. Mendez described his decision as a show of cooperation with the school board. The Record
Paterson was one of 15 cities in the world to be awarded a $1 million grant in the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayors Challenge Competition, a contest meant to help cities with innovative and ambitious solutions for major issues. Paterson, which was one of 631 cities worldwide to enter the contest, will use the money to help fund an initiative aimed at improving access to critical opioid treatment, particularly among the homeless. Paterson’s proposed program, RealFix, is described as a safe and rapid way to reach opioid users struggling with addiction. ROI-NJ.com
Montclair has extended its mask mandate for all indoor public places through the end of March, following a township council vote on Jan. 18. ​​The original resolution would have seen Jan. 21 as the end date for the mandate. Montclair now provides “mask up” downloadable flyers on its website for business owners to post at their establishments should they choose to. News12 New Jersey
New Jersey Turnpike and state treasury officials are negotiating details of a plan to have the toll road authority make an annual $81 million payment on loans to fund the state’s share of the Gateway Tunnel project. If details are worked out, payments would begin roughly 10 years after construction starts on the project, according to the agreement. An exact date wasn’t specified for how long the authority would make the payments. NJ.com
NJ Transit’s rollout of its electric bus pilot program has been delayed with new staggered launch dates expected in Spring 2022 and late 2022. The transportation agency said it granted the requests of four potential vendors for additional time to develop their proposals in order to maximize competition, which pushed back the finalization of the contract award and the delivery date. NJT approved the purchase of eight, 40-foot battery-operated buses in October 2021 from New Flyer of America for $9.4 million, most of which will be paid for using $8 million from a settlement with Volkswagen. New Jersey Herald
A coalition of environmental groups sued the Murphy Administration on Jan. 19 over what it views as the state’s failure to take steps to reduce climate pollutants by 50% by the end of this decade, a goal advanced by 14 other states and the Biden Administration. The lawsuit, filed in the appellate division, follows the state Department of Environmental Protection’s denial of a petition in December 2021 seeking to speed up actions to fight climate change and to restrict new fossil fuel projects in New Jersey. Among other demands, the petition wants the DEP to set benchmarks for achieving significant reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030, the so-called 50×30 target. NJ Spotlight News
Nutley has hired an engineering company to identify areas that might be vulnerable to flooding in the next storm. Pennoni Associates of Newark will perform a hydrology and hydraulics study to assess how and where rain runs off and whether the township’s stormwater system has vulnerabilities after two storms in the last years overwhelmed their system. The Record
And finally…Wakefern Food Corp will pilot an autonomous supermarket in New Jersey using checkout technology from Trigo, an Israel-based company. New Jersey Herald
