State Republicans believe that Gov. Phil Murphy should have gone further and moved quicker than March 7 when it comes to ending the school mask mandate. “By every metric, New Jersey’s COVID numbers have plummeted to the point that overbearing mandates and executive orders are completely unnecessary,” said State Sen. Anthony M. Bucco (R-25). “Gov. Murphy should let the Public Health Emergency expire this week and give back the emergency powers and parental rights he has taken from New Jerseyans. There’s no justification to drag this on for another month while children continue to suffer both educationally and emotionally.” North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order Feb. 10 to extend the public health emergency at least one more month, the 17th time he has done so since first declaring it in March 2020. Murphy previously stated this week he would extend the public health emergency for 30 days to allow for the mask mandate in schools and childcare centers to continue until March 7. New Jersey Herald
The chairman of the State Senate’s health committee sharply disagrees with Gov. Phil Murphy’s decision to lift New Jersey’s statewide COVID-19 mask mandate inside schools and childcare facilities next month. State Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-19) said he’s especially irked Murphy is removing the requirement in childcare centers because children under 5 are not eligible to be vaccinated yet and remain “exposed…The world is different for children. And this removal of the mandate should not have happened at all,” Vitale said, who removed his two young children out of daycare at the start of the pandemic and will not bring them back until there is a vaccine for kids their age. NJ.com
A Canadian judge on Feb. 10 delayed a bid by Windsor to obtain a court order to remove demonstrators who for four days have blocked most traffic on a crucial U.S.-Canada trade corridor. The protest against COVID-19 vaccine mandates at the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit with Windsor, forced Ford Motor, General Motors, Honda and Toyota to curtail production at several factories in Michigan and Ontario and temporarily send employees home because parts required for assembly couldn’t be delivered. The Wall Street Journal
Amtrak needs to beef up its plan for managing the Gateway transportation project to keep it from going off the rails and over budget, the company’s inspector general said in a Feb. 8 report. “[T]he plan does not identify or describe the processes the company will use to develop and execute the program so they are repeatable and consistent across projects,” the company’s IG said in the report. “Without such defined processes, the company risks reacting to issues and demands as they arise instead of conducting its work in a disciplined manner to help ensure that it meets its commitments on time, in scope, and in budget.” Amtrak’s IG said the company needs to develop “a thorough program management framework” that describes the processes its departments will follow and the tools they will use to manage the program now and in the future. North-JerseyNews.com
NJ Transit’s board of directors has approved the purchase of 25 additional multilevel rail cars for its fleet. The additions to the original contract for 113 multilevel cars will provide extra capacity on nine existing peak-hour, peak-direction routes, although those routes and when they will run were not specified. Monies for the new cars falls under the umbrella of the Portal North Bridge project, funded in part by a $766.5 million Federal Transit Administration grant. NJ1015.com
New Jersey is getting $15.4 million from Washington this year to help finance a network of electric car charging stations. Through 2026, New Jersey will receive $104.4 million. At a cost per station estimated at $173,000 by Atlas Public Policy, that would pay for around 600 charging stations. The federal government money will cover 80% of the cost with states picking up the remaining 20%. The funds are part of President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and are part of the administration’s efforts to reduce automobile emissions by moving toward electric vehicles. NJ.com
Vice President Kamala Harris is visiting Newark today to highlight an infrastructure project in the city. The Vice President will be talking about a lead pipe replacement program that’s already underway that city leaders say has already replaced 22,000 lead pipes with copper pipes. According to officials, 28,000 homes in the city received new pipes. News12 New Jersey
Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh wants to borrow $9.5 million for various municipal projects, but his potential adversaries in the upcoming mayoral election may stand in his way. The City Council on Feb. 8 gave preliminary approvals to five separate bond ordinances that make up the $9.5 million package. But the two biggest bonds — $4 million for sewer repairs and $2.9 million for equipment for the police and fire departments — passed by 5-4 votes. In order to get final approval, the bond ordinances will require six affirmative votes under New Jersey law. Among those voting “no” are three councilmen running for mayor against Sayegh in May—Michael Jackson, Alex Mendez and Luis Velez. The Record
President Joe Biden will start to clear a legal path for certain relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to pursue $3.5 billion from assets that Afghanistan’s central bank had deposited in New York before the Taliban takeover. At the same time, President Biden will issue an executive order invoking emergency powers to consolidate and freeze all $7 billion of the total assets the Afghan central bank kept in New York and ask a judge for permission to move the other $3.5 billion to a trust fund to pay for immediate humanitarian relief efforts and other needs in Afghanistan. The New York Times
New Jersey would expand the state’s free breakfast and lunch program for students from lower-income families under the latest set of proposals from Assembly Democrats. Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin (D-19) said the 10-bill package is the fourth batch of measures Democrats who lead the lower house of the state Legislature have sponsored to tackle food insecurity. The central measure is called the Working Class Families’ Anti-Hunger Act, which makes more than 26,000 additional students from working-class and middle-class families in New Jersey eligible for the state’s free or reduced-cost breakfast and lunch program. Currently, families who are at 200% of the federal poverty level qualify. This would increase eligibility to those at 185% of the level. NJ.com
Trenton lawmakers are considering giving school districts the option to switch to remote learning instead of taking a traditional snow day. The bill, known as S464, would allow public schools or approved private schools for students with disabilities to count remote instruction days called due to inclement weather, hazardous transportation conditions or another emergency that closes the school building toward the 180-day school year requirement. Currently, schools can count remote learning days toward the requirement only if they are closed for three or more days because of a state of emergency, a public health emergency, or a directive by the appropriate health agency or officer to institute a public-health-related closure. The Daily Record
State Senate lawmakers advanced a bill legislators proclaim would make some prescription drugs more affordable, requiring insurance carriers to pass onto consumers the financial benefits they receive from drug price negotiators. The proposed law focuses on cost savings negotiated by pharmacy benefit managers, who act as middlemen between drug manufacturers and insurance companies, winning discounts and rebates off list prices of pharmaceuticals. Under the bill, discounts and rebates would be passed on to the consumer as well as mandating carriers to submit an annual report to the Department of Banking and Insurance detailing their compliance. New Jersey Monitor
Morris County Surrogate Heather Darling has decided not to challenge Rep. Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey’s 11th district. That leaves six candidates in the race to take on Sherrill: former assistant Passaic County Prosecutor Paul DeGroot, who recently secured the organization line in Passaic; Morris County Commissioner Tayfun Selen; former Kinnelon Council President Larry Casha; Robert Kovic, a former Ridgefield Park councilman who now lives in Sussex County; attorney Larry Friscia; and Iraq War veteran Toby Anderson. Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25) is still considering a run against Sherrill. New Jersey Globe
West New York is supporting a cannabis company seeking to open a recreational dispensary in town, as town officials said they are open to possibly endorsing another entity. The resolution only allows Nile Cannabis to seek a necessary operating license from the state, and subsequently a municipal license from the town. While the board has approved this resolution supporting Nile Cannabis, it is still accepting letters of interest from potential cannabis establishments. Hudson Reporter
Although U.S. relationship satisfaction remains high overall as Valentine’s Day approaches, it receded to pre-pandemic levels following a bump in 2021, according to the latest Monmouth University Poll. Despite the increase in those looking to celebrate the holidays out of the home, only 25% of those surveyed said a night out would make them happiest if they had to choose just one Valentine’s Day gift. Spending time together at home doing a favorite activity (37%) was the most desired type of Valentine’s Day gift overall, up from 26% in 2014. Flowers or candy (17%), a new activity like taking a class (12%), or an expensive gift like jewelry or electronics (4%) remained close to 2014 levels. North-JerseyNews.com
And finally…Sunday is the last day of football with Super Bowl LVI featuring the matchup of the Los Angeles Rams playing in their home stadium against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Record
