OPINION: Time for a Coherent Economic Plan from President Joe Biden. The President stood for two hours last week in front of the press, putting forward a defense of his first year in office. But straight talk with a concrete plan to reign in runaway inflation was hard to decipher. It is time to put an economic agenda first and foremost for the good of the country. Inflation and supply chain issues are not going away; businesses are still experiencing high prices to get their goods shipped from overseas as well as continuing delays in getting goods from docks to warehouses to stores. Solutions and answers are needed to impact Americans now, not down the road. North-JerseyNews.com
Montclair Bread Company has been experiencing worker and supply shortages due to Omicron. The company had to close for a week recently due to a worker shortage. Several factors like transportation shortages and extreme weather events continue to impact the movement of food through the supply chain. News12 New Jersey
President Joe Biden is considering a military buildup of several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, an expansion of American military involvement amid mounting fears of a Russian incursion into Ukraine. Senior Pentagon officials reportedly presented President Biden with several options that would shift American military assets much closer to Russia, including sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops to Eastern European countries, with the potential to increase that number tenfold if things deteriorate. The New York Times
The State Department instructed the families of U.S. diplomats in Ukraine to leave the country and authorized some embassy staff members to depart. As part of its announcement, the State Department is also recommending that all U.S. citizens in Ukraine consider leaving now. The U.S. Embassy won’t be in a position to help Americans depart the country if a Russian attack is underway, senior State Department officials said. The Wall Street Journal
First Lady Jill Biden returned to Bergen County to promote the release of more resources for students and institutions impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The First Lady, joined by U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, announced an additional $198 million in American Rescue Plan funds to support students’ basic needs, including providing access to childcare on campus for student parents, discharging unpaid student balances so students can remain enrolled, and bolstering mental health counseling programs. “You know, it’s hard to express what it’s like to have a bright, engaged student—someone who has so much passion and potential—fade out of my class because they can’t find a babysitter. It breaks my heart,” said Biden, who attended elementary school in Mahwah for two years. “For parents, especially moms, childcare makes graduation possible.” North-JerseyNews.com
Classes and employees will be able resume their duties in person at Rutgers University starting on Jan. 31. The return to student housing will take place on Jan. 29 and 30. Rutgers continues to require all employees and students to be vaccinated and to obtain and upload proof of a vaccine booster by Jan. 31, or when otherwise eligible, unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption. The decision was prompted by the continued drop in the number of COVID hospitalizations and cases during the current wave of the pandemic. New Jersey Herald
New Jersey reported another 13 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 8,816 confirmed positive tests as the state tracked encouraging declines as of Jan. 23. There were 4,167 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across 69 of New Jersey’s 71 hospitals. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate fell again to 0.68 on Sunday, down from 0.72 on Saturday. Rate for tests conducted on Jan. 18, the most recent day available, was 15.86%. NJ.com
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their membership and a shortage in time has led the Newton Fire Department to cancel the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. “Due to the amount of planning and funding needed to organize this event due to numerous members of our department falling ill to our current pandemic, it has made it rather difficult to hold our meetings and seek funding, while maintaining adequate fire and safety for the Town of Newton residents,” the department posted on Facebook. The parade was on the verge of collapse when its longtime chairpersons retired in 2019 before the volunteer department came to the rescue, vowing to keep the tradition going. New Jersey Herald
Warning of severe staff shortages, advocates for New Jerseyans with disabilities are urging Gov. Phil Murphy to revoke the vaccine mandate he issued last week for group home workers. “There’s no staff. Day programs are closed. People have to stay at home,” said Valerie Sellers, CEO of the New Jersey Association of Community Providers, one of three trade groups that represent more than 150 agencies in the state. “Families are mad at the agencies because they have to work. But if they don’t have staff, they can’t open programs.” The Record
State Sens. Anthony Bucco and Holly Schepisi said the declaration from the governor will only increase the staffing issues group homes and long-term care facilities are facing. “Nursing homes, group homes, and veterans homes are already struggling to find enough skilled staff to care for New Jersey’s most vulnerable residents,” said Bucco (R-25). “By eliminating the testing alternative to vaccination for workers in these settings, Gov. Murphy is virtually guaranteeing that residents will face a shortage of caregivers.” Schepisi added. “The governor’s executive orders stopped being about science long ago. There’s absolutely no data in support of this new executive vaccine mandate on health care workers.” North-JerseyNews.com
Former Assemblywoman BettyLou DeCroce harbors resentment for Morris County Republican Committee leaders she alleges tried to discredit her after losing the Republican nomination last year. DeCroce said committee chair Laura Ali actively attempted to discredit her after she would not support the committee’s new county line proposal to top the primary ballot’s top line with its endorsed candidates. Additionally, she claims Ali, committee vice-chair Louis Valori and attorney Peter King were “angry” after her son, Paul, declined an invitation to run for Parsippany council last year on a ticket with Valori, who was running for mayor. The Daily Record
The long-delayed Gateway Tunnel project took a big step forward after the federal government raised its rating for the $12.3 billion plan to build two new rail tubes under the Hudson River. On Jan. 20, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) increased its rating for the Hudson Tunnel to “medium-high,” meaning that project is eligible to access federal funding through the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. Previously, the project was rated “medium low,” a ranking that prevented it from pursuing federal grants. Rep. Mikie Sherrill said the recent Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) approval, combined with additional funding for Gateway from the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, puts New Jersey “in a strong position to make this project a reality for our region. The Gateway Project, with the Hudson River Tunnels at its core, is the nation’s most critical infrastructure project. It will significantly improve commuting times and cut travel costs for New Jersey families, create thousands of good-paying jobs, and provide a return on investment to our communities of over 3-to-1.” North-JerseyNews.com
The state Labor Department says it has stopped more than a half million potentially fraudulent unemployment claims since the start of the pandemic, an amount that would represent more than $5.4 billion in losses. The department credited ID.me—a company specializing in identity proofing that is used by more than 25 other states—with catching the fraudulent filings. More than 183,000 New Jersey claimants have confirmed their identities using the tool since it launched in March 2021. That’s less than a third of all claimants who were asked to verify through ID.me, leaving 529,000 flagged claims as potential fraud. New Jersey Monitor
A new law is offering school districts money to explore the idea of merging with their neighbors. Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill, S3488, that will give districts incentives to study consolidation—including county-wide and regional school districts. The law creates a new program in the state Department of Community Affairs that will use state funds to give school districts money to hire consultants to do consolidation studies. The studies would explore how districts could merge and how much a plan would cost or save taxpayers. School districts that apply for the grants are not obliged to go through with a merger, only to study it. NJ.com
The Jersey City Ward Commission voted to approve a new map for the city’s six wards despite nearly unanimous opposition from members of the public at Jan. 22’s public meeting. The boundaries of the city’s wards—there’s Greenville (Ward A), Bergen-Lafayette (Ward F), Downtown (Ward E), Heights (Ward D), West Side (Ward B) and Journal Square (Ward C)—are adjusted every 10 years, after the Census results are announced, to make the districts equal in population. The transparency of the process and significant changes to the boundaries of Ward F, including removing Liberty State Park from it, were major areas of concern from a majority of speakers. The Jersey Journal
Morris County Surrogate Heather Darling is considering a run to be the GOP nominee for Congress against Rep. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th district. “We’re at war for our nation right now,” said Darling. “When someone calls me and asks me to fight for our country, it’s hard for me not to think about it.” Seven other Republicans have already declared they are running and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25) is mulling getting into the race as well. New Jersey Globe
Jersey City resident David Ocampo Grajales has entered the race to be the Democratic nominee for the 8th Congressional District, joining Roberts Menendez Jr. and Ricardo Rojas. Grajales rolled out a progressive platform such as Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, housing and education as he attempts to replace the retiring Rep. Albio Sires. Hudson Reporter
And finally…The 30,000-sq.-ft. Stone Mansion, located on the famous Frick Estate in Alpine, was purchased for $27.5 million after being on the market for 10 years. The Record
