Murphy Administration officials questioned about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic led to a before unknown third investigation into the operations of New Jersey Veterans Homes being confirmed during budget hearings. Adjutant General Lisa Hou told members of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee April 26 that her department is cooperating with the state Commission of Investigation as they probe the actions that claimed the lives of more than 200 residents at the Veterans Memorial Home in Menlo Park and the Veterans Memorial Home in Paramus. That investigation is parallel to ones by the U.S. Justice Department and the New Jersey Attorney General’s office. In an Assembly budget hearing the day before, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli defended her department’s efforts during the pandemic. North-JerseyNews.com
Moderna asked U.S. regulators to authorize low doses of its COVID-19 vaccine for children younger than 6, a move toward potentially opening shots for millions of tots by Summer. Moderna on April 28 submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration that it hopes will prove two low-dose shots can protect babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Pfizer is expected to announce soon if three of its even smaller-dose shots work for the littlest kids, months after the disappointing discovery that two doses weren’t quite strong enough. News12 New Jersey
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci walked back his comments that the United States was “out of the pandemic phase.” Fauci had said that the country had entered a new phase of the pandemic, because daily counts of confirmed new cases, hospitalizations and deaths were far lower than during the Omicron surge over the Winter. Fauci clarified his comments by stating “I probably should have said the acute component of the pandemic phase. And I understand how that can lead to some misinterpretation.” The New York Times
Rep. Josh Gottheimer says residents of Warren and Sussex counties are thirsty for faster internet speeds, but the state of New Jersey isn’t releasing the federal funds he secured to quench their thirst fast enough. Gottheimer noted it has been nearly a year since he stood with Gov. Phil Murphy to highlight the $190 million that he helped New Jersey secure from the American Rescue Plan to expand and improve broadband access for more rural areas of New Jersey. “It seems like those dollars are wrapped up in red tape. I think we’d all like to get them to work to help get quality, high-speed broadband out to folks,” stated Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
North Bergen laid out its plans to spend approximately $2.4 million of its remaining American Rescue Plan funds. The municipality plans to allocate $2.25 million for a broadband and fiber optic network infrastructure improvement project, the largest expenditure for North Bergen in its history, and $143,805 for an additional ambulance “necessary to provide emergency medical service and treatment, related to the COVID-19 pandemic and other medical conditions.” Hudson Reporter
New Jersey’s public worker pension fund lost nearly $3 billion in the first quarter of 2022 as mounting economic headwinds and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine roiled global markets. That amounted to a loss of nearly 3% on investments and brought the fund’s market value down to $94.7 billion as of March 31, according to a Division of Investment report released April 27. Geopolitical tensions and increased volatility in both domestic and international markets caused the reduction, including a surge in inflation, rising interest rates and ongoing supply chain issues. NJ.com
The U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, was in Ukraine on April 28 as part of his efforts to broker peace and the evacuation of civilians, after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and agreeing “in principle” on relief for civilians trapped in the port city of Mariupol. While a U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange on a day earlier offered a flicker of hope for diplomatic relations, Putin warned that he would order more “lightning fast” counterstrikes against any adversaries that “create threats of a strategic nature unacceptable to Russia.” The New York Times
Corn and soybeans prices have risen nearly to record highs, signaling higher food inflation to come due to Russia invading Ukraine, poor harvests in South America, inclement planting weather in the U.S. and rising biofuel demand threatening to stretch inventories even thinner and push prices higher. The price of soybeans, which are fed to cows, chicken and salmon and crushed into oils, has gained 27% so far this year with futures trading above $17 a bushel for the first time since 2012. Corn futures, up 37% this year, settled at $8.15, about 24 cents shy of the all-time high. The Wall Street Journal
The U.S. economy contracted in the first three months of the year, but strong consumer spending and continued business investment suggested that the recovery remained resilient. Consumer spending, the engine of the U.S. economy, grew 0.7 percent in the first quarter despite the Omicron wave of the coronavirus, which restrained spending on restaurants, travel and similar services in January. Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, declined 0.4 percent in the first quarter, or 1.4 percent on an annualized basis, down sharply from the 1.7 percent growth (6.9 percent annualized) in the final three months of 2021. The New York Times
The state’s 12 participating dispensaries sold cannabis and cannabis products to 12,438 recreational cannabis customers for a total gross sale of nearly $1.9 million, according to the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. There commission stated there have not been any substantiated reports of supply problems for medicinal cannabis patients—which had been a chief concern prior to the commission’s signing off on adult use sales. NJ.com
New Jersey State Police Benevolent Association President Pat Colligan is urging officers to refrain from using legalized marijuana products until a statewide policy is ironed out. “The most important issue is that the attorney general’s office hasn’t come out with its new guidelines for drug testing so technically if I was to test positive for cannabis tomorrow I would still be placed on the national drug registry and still have the probability of termination in my department,” stated Colligan. “So we’re just saying if you want to partake in cannabis, we suggest you hold off until safeguards are put into place.” NJ1015.com
A federal judge in Louisiana has issued a temporary restraining order against the Biden administration forbidding it from moving ahead with its plan to end Title 42, the pandemic-era immigration border policy. The order prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from taking steps to begin its wind-down of Title 42, such as opting to process more migrants using normal immigration channels ahead of May 23. The order doesn’t prohibit the administration from ending Title 42 on that date, though the judge, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, has set a hearing for a longer-lasting prohibition known as an injunction. The Wall Street Journal
The District of New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s office has been chosen as one of three offices to participate in an outreach program to combat hate. “United Against Hate” program will seek to end hate crime by reaching out and uniting the law enforcement agencies with the local communities to build trust and create a culture of reporting such incidents and crimes, focusing on repairing the strained relationship between traditionally marginalized communities and law enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. North-JerseyNews.com
The state filed a civil rights complaint against the Pine Valley Golf Club on April 27, alleging “a pattern of gender-based discrimination” by the historically male-dominated club in its membership, its public accommodations, its employment and restricted housing opportunities to live on the course offered only to members. According to the eight-page administrative complaint, the state Attorney General’s office alleged that the Camden County golf club violated New Jersey’s Law Against Discrimination by banning women from becoming members and restricting their ability to golf and to access club facilities. InsiderNJ
Families in Ramsey received an anonymous message challenging the school district’s book choices that was emailed to students’ families. Signed by Ramsey Parents Union, the email questioned the inclusion of the book “Lawn Boy” in a school library, and expressed opposition to state-mandated sex education. Speakers’ comments at a Board of Education meeting April 26 indicated the email was not distributed community-wide and sent only to Republicans in the borough. The Record
Louis Weber, a retired Newark police detective and candidate for City Council in next month’s municipal election, was accused of a 2009 sexual assault by a fellow detective. The allegation surfaced after the woman filed for accidental disability retirement benefits in 2011, saying mental health experts had determined the alleged incident two years prior had left her unfit for duty. Weber is running on Mayor Ras Baraka’s slate. PoliticoNJ
Amalia Duarte has announced her leadership slate in her bid for Morris County Democratic Chair. Mike DeLamater, Murphy’s former deputy chief of staff and campaign political director, will run for vice chairman on Duarte’s ticket, along with Darcy Draeger for secretary, Mike Thompson for treasurer and Cara Parmigiani for sergeant-at-arms. The election to replace Morris County Democratic Chairman Chip Robinson set for the week of May 9. New Jersey Globe
The Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office confiscated a computer from the Palisades Park’s Police Department on April 26, the borough administrator and mayor confirmed, though they were unaware of the circumstances. The Prosecutor’s Office said it couldn’t provide any information and could not comment on whether an investigation is being conducted. The seizure comes after the mayor and Borough Council severed ties with three police consultants, a prisoner escaped and multiple lawsuits were filed against the officer-in-charge. The Record
The Passaic Valley Water Commission has revealed that it violated state drinking water standards last year because of errors made involving a system designed to prevent lead and copper contamination in pipes. The commission earlier this month sent a notice about the violation to its 800,000 customers in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Passaic counties. Almost all the problems happened at a pumping station that serves part of Prospect Park. The Daily Record
Over 60 people spoke during a three-hour virtual meeting to convince the Passaic Valley Sewage Commission to change their plans to approve a new power plant in Newark. Commission officials explained environmental changes it would make to the power plant proposal in regards to concerns about emissions from the facility and wants to be a good neighbor to the community during the April 26 meeting. The plant would run about 12 days a year and for maintenance, unless one of the other three plants shuts down, with solar panels in 59 locations on the plant to offset more emissions than it would create. Residents have called on Gov. Phil Murphy to step in to halt the proposal. New Jersey Monitor
And finally…New Jersey native Carli Lloyd joined the NJ/NY Gotham FC soccer team as a minority owner. ROI-NJ.com
