Gov. Phil Murphy announced a examination of sex education school curriculum set to go into effect this Fall as GOP lawmakers pressed the issue in the last week. Murphy is directing the Department of Education to review the standards and provide further clarification on what age-appropriate guidelines look like for our students. “We have seen a handful of sample lesson plans being circulated that have not been adopted in our school districts and do not accurately reflect the spirit of the standards,” he said. “Any proposed educational content that is not age-appropriate should be immediately revised by local officials.” But while ordering the review, Murphy blasted critics for what he sees as “our learning standards (being) intentionally misrepresented by some politicians seeking to divide and score political points.” North-JerseyNews.com
An executive order was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy April 13 clarifying that the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and those who work in high-risk congregate settings does not include the recently approved second COVID-19 booster. A covered worker is considered up to date with their COVID-19 vaccinations if they have received a primary series, which consists of either a 2-dose series of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine or a single dose COVID-19 vaccine, and the first booster dose when they are eligible. NJ.com
New Jersey business leaders and Gov. Phil Murphy gave contrasting views of the state’s economy at the Chamber of Commerce’s Business Summit in Atlantic City. Murphy argued that New Jersey’s state’s economy and finances are on the upswing, touting gains made in wind energy, film and television production, adult-use cannabis and its credit upgrade from Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. “These upgrades are an endorsement of our fiscal strategies and practices,” the governor said. “They are also an impetus for us to keep at it, which we will.” But a panels of business insiders throughout the summit complained of high taxes, stalled subsidies for day care and Murphy’s decision not to use more federal aid to relieve local tax burdens. The Daily Record
Frank James, the man New York City police suspect of committing the gun attack on a subway train, was arrested April 13. James phoned the NYPD to tell them he was at a McDonald’s in the city’s East Village and taken into custody nearby shortly thereafter. He faces a federal terrorism charge of targeting a mass transit system. James had been charged in four separate incidents in New Jersey over the years, including making terroristic threats during an incident in Fairfield. The Record
Russia suffered a blow to its forces when its flagship in the Black Sea was “seriously damaged” and its crew was forced to abandon it. The head of Ukrainian military forces in the nearby city of Odessa announced that two anti-ship missiles had hit the Moskva, which would mark the first time Ukraine had struck a Russian vessel at sea in the seven-week war. But Russia’s Defense Ministry said that a fire had caused ammunition on the ship to explode and reported no casualties among its approximately 500 sailors. The New York Times
The Biden Administration is moving to significantly expand the intelligence it is providing to Ukraine’s forces, part of a shift in U.S. support that includes a new security assistance package with heavier weaponry. The new intelligence guidance comes as the White House said that it will send $800 million in additional weapons to Kyiv, including artillery, armored personnel carriers and helicopters, to help Ukrainian forces hold off a major Russian offensive in the eastern part of the country that is expected to unfold in coming days. The Wall Street Journal
White House economists argue that vulnerabilities recently exposed in the supply chain will not go away when the pandemic ends. “Though modern supply chains have driven down consumer prices for many goods, they can also easily break,” the Council of Economic Advisers wrote. Climate change, and the increasing frequency of natural disasters that comes with it, will make future disruptions inevitable. The New York Times
Compared to March 2021, the consumer price index increased by 6.1% in March 2022 in the New York Metropolitan area. The area, which includes North Jersey, reported food prices in the region are up 8% compared to a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since June 1987. At the top of that list is meats, poultry, fish and eggs as prices are up about 14% over the year. NJ1015.com
State Sen. Kristin Corrado (R-40) wants to carve out an exemption of the single-use plastic bag ban for online grocery orders. Corrado argued “shoppers are the ones who will be left holding the bag” after the law goes into effect May 4, and offered legislation that would exempt online orders for home delivery or pickup from the ban. The North Jersey lawmaker cited increasing food costs and inflation generally as her constituents had a rising level of concern for increased costs. “Right now, my constituents are telling me they are worried that extra charges will be applied to their orders to compensate for the cost of reusable bags that they won’t be able to utilize,” she said. North-JerseyNews.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has extended its mask mandate on public transit and airplanes through May 3. The CDC says it needs more time to assess the BA.2 variant of COVID-19, such as how severe the disease and hospitalizations are associated with it as cases have risen weeks. Currently, the variant makes up for a majority of the COVID-19 cases seen right now. News12 New Jersey
NJ Transit’s board of directors approved a $32 million contract to rebuild a tunnel that will provide rail service to Northwest Jersey and could pave the way for Amtrak trains to run to Scranton, PA. The tunnel, the Roseville Tunnel in Byram, is part of the larger $62 million Lackawanna Cutoff project to extend the Morris & Essex rail line to Andover. Work to be done by contractor Schiavone Construction Co. LLC includes stabilizing rock slopes, constructing 8,000 feet of track bed, improving drainage building lighting and communication in the tunnel, and replacement of two culverts—the Hudson Farm culvert and Junction Brook culvert. New Jersey Herald
At the same meeting, NJ Transit is moving ahead with plans to establish a “safe haven” storage facility rail yard for locomotives and rail cars to protect them from floodwaters during extreme weather events. The agency’s board of directors authorized construction to begin at a site in New Brunswick identified as being both above flood plains and near several key commuter lines, such as the Northeast Corridor connecting Trenton with New York. The move comes nearly a decade after hundreds of cars were damaged after being stored at a low-lying maintenance yard in Kearny that was inundated with floodwaters during 2012’s Superstorm Sandy. NJ Spotlight News
A recent Stockton University Poll found Black, multiracial, and Hispanic voters in New Jersey were more moderate on a host of issues when compared to the Democratic platform. While 70% of Democrats overall supported the recreational use of marijuana, only 64% of Black and multiracial respondents supported legalizing marijuana in that capacity, according to the poll. Only 65% of Black and multiracial voters wanted to make it harder to buy guns, with 73% of Democrats saying so; conversely, only 5% of Democrats would make it easier to acquire guns, with 14% of minority voters wanting that outcome. Minority voters (47%) were less likely than Democrats (55%) to support abortion’s legality in all cases, and 21% of Black and multiracial voters saw abortion as morally wrong. That’s in comparison to 16% of Democrats. North-JerseyNews.com
National Democratic Party officials approved a resolution allowing up to five states to hold presidential nomination contests before the first Tuesday in March 2024 that could strip Iowa of its first-in-the-nation status for one of the two major parties. The resolution approved by the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the Democratic National Committee calls for an early calendar schedule that stresses racial, ethnic and geographic diversity, as well as union representation, competitiveness in general elections and ability to run a “fair, transparent and inclusive nominating process.” The committee will hold listening sessions this Spring and Summer on the proposed changes and hear presentations from states that want to win an early slot. The deadline for application is June 3. The Wall Street Journal
Former councilman Aslan Goow has fended off an attempt by Mayor Andre Sayegh’s allies to keep him out of the May 10 Paterson mayoral election. New Jersey Superior Court Judge Thomas Brogan ruled in Goow’s favor April 13 in a lawsuit that questioned the former councilman’s Paterson residency. The judge issued his decision after attorney Scott Salmon called three witnesses to try to prove Goow actually lives in West Milford. The Record
Rob Menendez raised $839,257 for his bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 8th district, after just three months in the race for the seat of retiring Rep. Albio Sires. Menendez has $692,709 cash-on-hand heading into the June 7 primary election in a district where the Democratic nomination is tantamount to election. New Jersey Globe
The Bayonne Planning Board has approved a major subdivision of a large lot relating to the former Military Ocean Terminal at Bayonne. The redeveloper, Bayonne Partners Urban Renewal, LLC, is proposing five residential buildings with a total of 1,250 multi-family dwelling units, 10,000 square feet of retail space, two parking structures, a park, and other amenities. However, only the subdivision of the property was approved by the board due to time constraints. Hudson Reporter
And finally…American Dream’s new ‘Dream Wheel’ opened April 13. The Record
