Americans are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 but are ready to accept it as part of a new normal in their life. Those are the sentiments gleaned from the national Monmouth University Poll released Jan. 31. A majority of respondents continue to support some preventative measures, such as face masks and social distancing guidelines, but not others, notably workplace vaccine mandates. But faith in the ability of President Joe Biden and the federal government to get a handle on the pandemic is declining amid persistent opposition from anti-vaxxers. “Americans’ worries about COVID haven’t gone away. It seems more to be a realization that we are not going to get this virus under control in a way that we thought was possible just last year,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. North-JerseyNews.com
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says the U.S. is on the path to getting back to somewhat of normalcy in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, stressing that being vaccinated and boosted will help the nation get there quicker. “We are getting smarter about how to do that with each day that passes, and that’s why I feel more confident than ever, that we have more normal days ahead of us and our path back to a normal life is getting shorter and shorter and that’s what we all want,” said Dr. Murthy. News12 New Jersey
Morris County small businesses, entrepreneurs and nonprofits are eligible for grants up to $15,000 to help with pandemic recovery expenses. Starting on Feb. 14, businesses can apply for the Morris County small business grant program online. The county committed $5 million in American Rescue Plan dollars to help small businesses recover from expenses during the pandemic. Interested applicants must have a business in Morris County with 25 or fewer full-time employees and have less than $5 million in sales and revenue. Eligible businesses must have been in operation since Jan. 1, 2019 and must provide proof of a decline in sales or increased expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Daily Record
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has extended both that city’s indoor mask mandate as well as a vaccine proof to enter many businesses to March 4. Individuals will have to demonstrate proof of vaccination to enter bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, public office buildings, gyms, bowling alleys, conference centers and most other establishments. The mandate applies to anyone five years old and older. “We need to continue wearing our masks and getting vaccinated, as another form of protection, to remain on this path of progress,” said Baraka. NJ1015.com
A state judge rejected former State Senate President Steve Sweeney’s attempt to be reinstated as a member of the commission redrawing New Jersey’s legislative districts after being removed by State Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy Jones. State Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy said in his ruling Feb. 1 that Jones, as the head of the state party, has “the right” under the state Constitution to appoint members to the panel “with no restrictions on organization, procedure, or duration of appointments.” New Jersey Globe
New Jersey prosecutors previously investigated several super political action committees (PACs) and nonprofits run by Sean Caddle, the political consultant who has admitted hiring two men to kill an associate. A state grand jury was empanelled that issued related subpoenas to government entities and prosecutors asked questions about super PACs and nonprofits designed to hide the source of money they channeled into local races around the state. PoliticoNJ
The U.S. national debt exceeded $30 trillion for the first time, reflecting increased federal borrowing during the coronavirus pandemic. Total public debt outstanding was $30.01 trillion as of Jan. 31, according to Treasury Department data released Tuesday. That was a nearly $7 trillion increase from late January 2020, just before the pandemic hit the U.S. economy. The total debt comprises debt held by the public and intragovernmental debt. The Wall Street Journal
Sen. Bob Menendez and Rep. Bill Pascrell are urging the Internal Revenue Service to provide penalty relief for millions of taxpayers amid ongoing IRS backlogs in processing tax returns for both individuals and small businesses. “In many cases, the delayed processing of amended returns has been devastating to small businesses in our communities whose applications for emergency loans from the Small Business Administration have been caught in limbo nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began,” the U.S. Senate and House lawmakers wrote in their Jan. 26 letters. As of late December 2021, the IRS continued to have a backlog of more than 6 million individual income tax returns and 2.3 million amended individual tax returns, lawmakers said. North-JerseyNews.com
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troop buildup designed to shift Ukrainian loyalties to east from west are having the opposite effect, according to Reps. Tom Malinowski and Mikie Sherrill who were part of a congressional delegation that met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv as well as European Union officials in Brussels. Russian threats of an invasion are solidifying Ukraine’s ties with western European democracies while strengthening the post-World War II alliance between the U.S. and Europe, according to North Jersey lawmakers. “Putin could go down in history as the great unifier. He’s unified Ukrainians. He’s unified NATO and the European Union. He’s even unified Democrats and Republicans in Congress,” said Malinowski. NJ.com
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. is seeking full funding from the Army Corps of Engineers for a Tenakill Brook restoration and flood prevention project that would benefit Cresskill schools. In September 2021, remnants of Hurricane Ida wreaked havoc on flood-prone areas that caused Tenakill Brook to become clogged with sediment and debris. It overflowed and caused $20 million in damage to the middle and high school building, which sits in a flood zone on Lincoln Drive. The Record
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recently released a $1 billion Water Infrastructure Investment Plan which lawmakers said will resolve issues plaguing New Jersey communities while creating good jobs at the same time. The program would focus on both short- and long-term investments to deliver safe, reliable drinking water. Additionally, it would reduce flooding and improve the quality of New Jersey’s waterways. “This once-in-a-generation opportunity allows New Jerseyans to participate in the planning process to shape and better their communities through these investments,” said Gov. Phil Murphy in a press statement. North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden said that once he announces a nominee to replace Justice Stephen Breyer by the end of the month, he’s hoping for a 40-day confirmation process similar to previous timelines for other nominees. That would put the final Senate vote sometime this Spring, since Biden has said he will make an announcement by the end of February for a nominee expected to be a Black woman. Justices Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas have been the only Black members of the court while one woman of color, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, has served. The last Supreme Court nominee, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, took 27 days to confirm in a Senate controlled by Republicans in 2020. New Jersey Monitor
The New York Giants are one of three teams named by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores in a lawsuit against the National Football League alleging that Black coaches such as himself are discriminated against in pursuing coaching opportunities. The lawsuit accuses teams of giving him perfunctory interviews in order to satisfy the Rooney Rule and that he recently interviewed for the New York Giants opening—although he had already found out the team had planned to hire Brian Daboll, the Buffalo Bills’ offensive coordinator, in text messages with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Wall Street Journal
Whoopi Goldberg was suspended for two weeks from ABC’s “The View” for her comments that the Holocaust was not about race, comments that come at a time of rising antisemitism globally. Goldberg said on a Jan. 31 episode that the Holocaust was about “man’s inhumanity to man” and “not about race.” When one of her co-hosts challenged that assertion, saying the Holocaust was driven by White supremacy, Goldberg said, “But these are two White groups of people. This is White people doing it to White people, so y’all going to fight amongst yourselves.” She later apologized for her comments. The New York Times
Woodcliff Lake is exploring its options for exiting the Pascack Valley Regional High School District. A new law encouraging regionalization is the inspiration for Woodcliff Lake restarting talk of severing ties with the four-town high school district with town officials looking to explore a regionalized district between Woodcliff Lake and Montvale that incorporates the elementary-level school districts. The Record
A new community partnership is providing students in one of Sussex County’s largest school districts digital access to any of six public libraries in the county. Vernon Township students in pre-K through 12th grade, as well as all district faculty members, now have a library card that allows them to check out online resources from the Sussex County Library System. The system includes the main library in Frankford and five branch libraries—including the Dorothy Henry Branch in Vernon. New Jersey Herald
The Weehawken council has introduced an ordinance that would issue bonds for $2.6 million for various municipal projects, including recreation facility upgrades and new police equipment. Approximately $1.6 million would go toward improvements to the municipal waterfront pool complex, including $800,000 for the resurfacing of Weehawken Stadium and $600,000 for the installation of the “bubble” over the pool, as well as $980,000 toward communications upgrades to the Weehawken Police Department. Hudson Reporter
And finally…The stupid groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicts six more weeks of Winter. USA Today
