Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner of Temple Emanu-El of Closter recently detailed the three day mission he was a part of to Poland and Ukraine to help refugees fleeing from the Russian invasion. “My eyes sting from some of the sights we witnessed. My heart is full seeing how many people and countries are here to help,” Kirshner wrote. Twelve members from Temple Emanu-El of Closter along with Kaplen JCC on the Palisades leadership, Congregation Ahavath Torah, and Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey brought over 120 bags of supplies to help Ukrainians in Poland as they attempt to relocate while the war continues on. Over the three days, the group visited refugees and organizations helping them in Krakow and Warsaw, on the border in Przemysl and inside of Ukraine itself. North-JerseyNews.com
President Joe Biden is traveling to the Polish border with Ukraine on March 25 to highlight the growing humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war and to underscore the moment of peril for Europe as it confronts Russian aggression. While Ukrainian forces have launched several counteroffensives that appear to have changed the dynamic of the war, Western leaders worry that as Russian forces are stymied on the battlefield could lead to President Vladimir Putin turning to unconventional weapons. Over the past two days, Jens Stoltenberg, the NATO secretary general, has said that there is an urgent need to provide protective gear to Ukrainians. The New York Times
The U.S. is ramping up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe this year as the continent hunts for new supplies around the globe to phase out its reliance on Russian energy after the invasion of Ukraine. The globe-spanning effort to wean Europe off Russian energy supplies was at the center of President Joe Biden’s summit with European Union leaders this week in Brussels. The U.S. aims to ship 50 billion cubic meters of LNG to Europe annually through at least 2030, making up for about a third of the gas the EU receives from Russia. The EU imported a record 22 billion cubic meters of LNG from the U.S. last year. The Wall Street Journal
Virginia Thomas, a conservative activist married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, repeatedly pressed White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to pursue efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in urgent text exchanges in the critical weeks following the vote. Those messages—part of 29 total messages obtained—reveal a pipeline between Virginia Thomas and then-President Donald Trump’s top aide during a period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to subvert the election results. In one message sent in the days after the election, she urged the chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to “release the Kraken and save us from the left taking America down,” invoking a slogan popular on the right that refers to a web of conspiracy theories that Trump supporters believed would overturn the election. In another, she wrote: “I can’t see Americans swallowing the obvious fraud. Just going with one more thing with no frickin consequences.” She added: “We just cave to people wanting Biden to be anointed? Many of us can’t continue the GOP charade.” CBS News
Former President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and more than two dozen other defendants alleging that they conspired before the 2016 election to tarnish the image of the then-Republican presidential candidate and his campaign. “In the run-up to the 2016 Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton and her cohorts orchestrated an unthinkable plot—one that shocks the conscience and is an affront to this nation’s democracy,” alleges the lawsuit by Trump about the Presidential election he won. “Under the guise of ‘opposition research,’ ‘data analytics,’ and other political stratagems, the Defendants nefariously sought to sway the public’s trust. They worked together with a single, self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump.” The Wall Street Journal
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission tabled plans on March 24 to allow existing medical operators to sell recreational marijuana. “It is clear that we are not quite ready to open up the adult use market in New Jersey,” Commissioner Maria Del Cid-Kosso said. “Our medical patients are our priority and we would like to prevent, to the extent possible, any supply of shortages, long wait times and other safety concerns that may impact the municipalities in which these dispensaries are located.” The commission approved 68 conditional licenses for cannabis cultivation and manufacturing businesses, the first recreational licenses to officially be approved by the commission. PoliticoNJ
Rep. Tom Malinowski this week released a report to show where infrastructure funding from the federal government will be used in the 7th Congressional District. “From fully funding the Gateway tunnel, to fortifying local infrastructure to protect against extreme weather events, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will deliver for New Jersey,” said Malinowski. “Many of my constituents are wondering how they will benefit, and this report is a resource for them and for local officials to understand how this funding will work for our towns.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey has received $228 million in federal funds to help rebuild after damages caused by Hurricane Ida. The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds, approved by Congress last September, were held up because the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) didn’t know the extent of the damage. That information was delayed because HUD hadn’t received the data needed from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. NJ.com
New Jersey employers added 25,900 jobs in February, the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported March 24, continuing the job market’s recovery from the early days of the pandemic. The job growth helped the unemployment rate drop to 4.6% from 5.1% in January. Employers that once offered minimum wage now are offering upwards of $17 an hour, according to the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly unemployment report. The Record
The state labor department has started scheduling in-person appointments that will begin being held March 28 to help people having trouble with their unemployment claims. The appointments will be conducted at 12 of the state’s One-Stop Career Center locations. No walk-ins will be served. The state is scheduling appointments after prescreening claims and identifying workers most likely to be helped by an in-person appointment. The state says claimants with in-person appointments may be referred to unemployment staff with specialized training in their particular issues, leaving the appointment with a resolution in hand or concrete next steps to getting their claim resolved. NJ1015.com
New Jersey has allocated $15 million of the billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief aid it received to improve its bid to host the 2026 World Cup. The governor’s office defended the move, arguing getting the soccer tournament to MetLife Stadium would give a jolt to New Jersey’s tourism and hospitality industries, which were battered by the pandemic. “Revitalizing and investing in industries that were negatively impacted by COVID-19 is an important part of the State Fiscal Recovery Fund,” said Murphy spokeswoman Alyana Alfaro. “The World Cup would bring millions of dollars to New Jersey’s tourism and hospitality industries, two sectors that have faced significant impacts from the pandemic.” NJ.com
The state Legislature on March 24 voted unanimously in favor of a bill to close a loophole that effectively allows candidates who do not hold public office to accept a bribe. Courts have ruled in two separate cases that former Assembly members couldn’t have been convicted of bribery because they technically didn’t have the power to come through with their end of the deal when they accepted the cash. New Jersey Globe
George Bratsenis plead guilty in federal court to the contract killing of Hudson County political operative Michael Galdieri paid for in cash by Democratic consultant Sean Caddle more than seven years ago. No new information was revealed during the videoconference pleading before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark, other than the fact that Bratsenis had actually entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors in August. News12 New Jersey
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a halt March 24 to New Jersey’s planned exit from a bi-state watchdog agency that regulates the ports and piers of New York Harbor, just four days before the Murphy Administration was set to withdrawal. Granting a motion by New York to stop the state from terminating the nearly 70-year-old compact ratified by Congress that created the Waterfront Commission, the high court in a brief written declared that the state could not simply walk away from its responsibilities to fund the commission. New Jersey Monitor
Gov. Phil Murphy named five new candidates for the NJ Transit board and chose not to renominate one current member who has served for two years. The governor nominated Carlos A. Medina, Kiabi Carson and Evan Weiss, who will be subject to Senate approval. Murphy also directly appointed Rashonda Brown and Karen Thomas. James D. Adams, who has served on the NJ Transit board since February 2020, with the first wave of new members, was not reappointed by Murphy. The Daily Record
The looming end of Hoboken’s moratorium on rent increases in rent-controlled buildings was delayed by at least another two weeks at the City Council meeting March 23. Questions from residents prompted officials to add clarifying language to the legislation, including there cannot be any retroactive rent increases and that landlords must provide a 30-day notice of any post-moratorium rent increases. Increases based on the Consumer Price Increase can progress as if the moratorium never occurred, but may not include increases that would have occurred from the start of the moratorium on April 1, 2020 through the end of 2020. The Jersey Journal
The Jersey City Council has adopted ordinances for restaurant parklet fees. The fees are meant to cover the cost of utilizing space on the street and offset the loss of parking revenue and overnight parking space that would be available if the space were to remain a typical parking space. Under the new structure, an eight-month parklet fee from March 15 to Nov. 30 will cost $1,917, while a full year fee up until March 14 of next year will cost $2,682. There are also additional fees of at least $1,348-$1,576 for sidewalk cafe licenses, and inspections and reviews for permits. Hudson Reporter
Both houses of the New Jersey legislature unanimously passed a bill raising the pay for poll workers to $300 a day, a change that has been implemented on a temporary basis in several recent elections but which would be made permanent under the legislation. The legislature previously increased poll worker pay to $400 for the 2021 primary election, and Gov. Phil Murphy raised 2021 general election pay to $300 via executive order, but both changes were only temporary. The bipartisan bill was sponsored in the Assembly by Kevin Rooney (R-40) and Raj Mukherji (D-33). New Jersey Globe
And finally…We are all Peacocks tonight as St. Peter’s College takes on Purdue in the men’s NCAA Basketball tournament in Philadelphia. News12 New Jersey
