The mask mandates for New Jersey students, school personnel, school visitors and childcare settings will be dropped starting March 7. At his weekly COVID-19 press briefing Feb. 7, Murphy said the rescinding of the requirement of wearing a face mask comes as key health metrics continue to move to better places after a Winter surge. “Given the continued drop in new cases and hospitalizations, projections indicating a continued decline over the coming weeks, and the continued growth of vaccinations for our school-aged population, we believe that we can responsibly end the universal mask mandate,” said Murphy. “Thankfully, we have reached a point where we feel confident that we can take another step toward normalcy for our kids.” North-JerseyNews.com
Newark Public Schools, the largest district in New Jersey, will continue to require students to wear face masks even after the state mandate ends March 7. North Bergen Superintendent George Solter said the district will consult with the community and the township’s health department before deciding on next steps. NJ.com
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is lifting an executive order that required anyone in a public indoor facility to wear a face-covering, effective Feb. 9. Weehawken plans to make its township hall mask mandate optional for employees who are vaccinated and to reopen the building fully to the public, while North Bergen is reviewing its COVID-19 requirements, including masking policies. The Jersey Journal
Hospitals and lawmakers are pressing the Biden Administration to review federal pandemic-relief programs that they say have distorted pay rates for travel nurses. Many nurses are making twice what they did before the pandemic or more on assignments at hospitals paying top dollar to fill big holes in their workforces. Some hospitals are using federal COVID-19 relief funds to cover part of the difference between rates for travel nurses and staff salaries. Health-industry trade groups and some members of Congress say staffing agencies matching workers with hospitals are capitalizing on a tight labor market, as many nurses have left during the pandemic, often because of burnout and fatigue. The Wall Street Journal
Eligible New Jersey homeowners whose finances were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply starting Feb. 8 for up to $35,000 in state assistance to cover housing-related expenses. The $325 million Emergency Rescue Mortgage Assistance program can cover up to four mortgage payments, delinquent property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, mortgage reinstatement assistance, escrow shortages or payments to lienholders, according to the Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, which is administering the program. The Daily Record
New Jersey has retired more than $3 billion in combined debt principal and interest with Gov. Phil Murphy touting the development as “about making New Jersey more affordable for this generation and beyond. Paying down debt will relieve some of the pressure on taxpayers and free up funding to invest in the things that matter, proving that we can place a premium on fiscal responsibility without sacrificing our values.” The state Department of the Treasury said $2.5 billion was earmarked for retiring existing debt while $1.2 billion has been allocated to support capital construction to avoid taking on new debt. North-JerseyNews.com
Bipartisan legislation was reintroduced for the 2022-2023 legislative that would end automatic toll increases for the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway and rolling back the amount of the Sept. 13, 2020 toll increase session by sponsors State Sens. Nia Gill (D-34) and Jim Holzapfel (R-10). Turnpike Authority officials have defended the toll increases as necessary to support the agency’s $24 billion long-range capital plan. That plan includes several highway widenings, two major bridge replacements over the Delaware River and Newark Bay, along with replacing numerous other highway bridges and the implementation of all-electronic, cashless toll collection on both highways. NJ.com
Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife and a top administration staffer are launching two groups that suggest the governor is keeping his national political options open. The groups will be a political action committee and a nonprofit 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, both called Stronger Fairer Forward. Both groups will have New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy as chair and Dan Bryan, the governor’s senior adviser for strategic communications, will leave the administration to become executive director. The nonprofit will “support policies that aim to strengthen and expand the middle class and provide opportunity for everyone,” and will combat “the ongoing nationwide assault on election officials and state election laws.” PoliticoNJ
The U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 7 reinstated an Alabama congressional map in a 5-4 vote that a lower court had said diluted the power of Black voters, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. joining the court’s three liberal members in dissent. Both the stay and the decision to hear the case indicated that the court is open to weakening the role race may play in drawing voting districts for federal elections, setting up a major new test of the Voting Rights Act in a court that has gradually limited the reach of the law in other contexts. The New York Times
The initial map submissions from Republicans and Democrats were released by the Legislative Apportionment Commission on Feb. 7. In North Jersey, Democrats are suggesting dividing Jersey City into parts of three Hudson County districts, pitting Jay Webber (R-26) into a possible Assembly primary fight with Brian Bergen (R-25) and Aura Dunn (R-25), and freshman Christian Barranco (R-26) into a potential primary with Assemblymen Parker Space (R-24) and Hal Wirths (R-24). The Republican map makes Bergen County’s 38th district more competitive, but pushes Bergenfield, the hometown of Assemblyman Christopher Tully, into the Republican-held 39th district. That could set up a matchup between Tully and State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39), or an Assembly fight for Tully against two GOP incumbents, Bob Auth (R-39) and DeAnne DeFuccio (R-39). Additionally, Republicans are proposing a more competitive 40th district by adding Clifton, Woodland Park and Glen Rock. New Jersey Globe
Election workers may see a permanent pay raise to $300 a day from the present $200 if a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Kevin Rooney (R-40) becomes state law. Counties receive $125 from the state towards election workers’ $200 payment and then making up the balance of $75. This would not change under the new law: counties would continue to pay $75, but the state would reimburse them $225. For election workers covering a school election “held at a time other than the general election,” their hourly rate would rise from $14.29 to $19.64. InsiderNJ
Two of North Jersey’s most powerful State Senators from opposite parties were sponsors of legislation allowing the hiring of out of state teachers. Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz (D-29) and Senate Republican Leader Steve Oroho (R-24) both backed the bill that passed the upper chamber’s Education Committee Feb. 3 that eliminates the state residency requirement for all public school employees for a three-year period. “Teacher shortages have been a growing issue in New Jersey and around the country for the past several years, an issue which has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Ruiz. “While we have enacted various measures to try and address it, it is clear more needs to be done to ensure our schools have adequate staff to meet the needs of our students.” North-JerseyNews.com
Lawmakers who oversee New Jersey’s transportation systems were told by advocates the state’s transit networks still have a long way to go to meet all the needs of residents. At a hearing Feb. 7 called to help set the Assembly Transportation and Independent Authorities Committee agenda for this legislative session, activists pointed to a dearth of last-mile services, vacant customer advocacy positions at NJ Transit, and disproportionate impacts on the state’s most vulnerable residents that need to be addressed. New Jersey Monitor
The Biden Administration will send hundreds of thousands of free COVID-19 tests to five school districts in New Jersey, including Union City, as part of its “Test-to-Stay” program. Under the initiative, unvaccinated students who have a close contact with COVID-19 will now be tested by a school nurse up to three times. Provided that they test negative and are asymptomatic, the student will be able to remain in school. Hudson Reporter
Former Newark Mayor Sharpe James struck another vehicle and then a pedestrian on Feb. 5 night in a crash that sent the 85-year-old, the other driver and the pedestrian to the hospital. James, who was mayor from 1986 to 2006 before declining to seek a sixth term ahead of a 2008 federal fraud conviction, acknowledged having been involved in a crash but said he was unaware that he hit anyone. Public Safety Director Brian O’Hara said James was not driving drunk and the accident remained under investigation. The former mayor recently announced that he was considering a run for city council in 2022. NJ.com
According to Mayor Andre Sayegh, city lawyers found no wrongdoing in a confidential investigation into a complaint against Paterson Fire Chief Brian McDermott. Sayegh’s statement was in response to allegations made by Councilman Michael Jackson against the fire chief during the City Council’s Feb. 1 public meeting that a mechanic at the Paterson Fire Department’s motor vehicle garage did repairs on a vehicle owned by McDermott’s father at the city facility. The Record
And finally…Valentine’s Day spending is expected to reach $23.9 billion this year. News12 New Jersey
