North Jersey Democrats vowed to fight for a woman’s right to choose if the Supreme Court overturns abortion rights. The issue moved to the front of the political world after an initial draft majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito circulated inside the court that would strike down what was considered settled law and return the issue back to states to decide. While Gov. Phil Murphy reminded New Jerseyans that the Freedom of Reproductive Choice Act that he signed earlier this year in Teaneck codified a woman’s right to choose into state law, Rep. Tom Malinowski advised New Jersey’s law could be at risk if Republicans retake Congress. I want to issue a warning that our law in not necessarily safe…as the same people who have been pressing the Supreme Court to do this are also at the same time pushing are trying to elect a majority in the United State Congress to enact a nationwide abortion ban,” said Malinowski. “If we allow them to do that, our law becomes mute.” North-JerseyNews.com
Republicans cheered the news that their long battle to get Roe v Wade overturned while expressing outrage the decision was leaked to the media. “The U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to take a powerful step towards empowering elected representatives to protect the weakest and most vulnerable,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-4). “We are at the tipping point.” New Jersey’s other Republican congressman, Jeff Van Drew, had harsh words for the person who leaked the draft opinion, stating “This leak is inexcusable and undermines the sovereignty of our nation’s highest court. Regardless of where an individual falls on the political spectrum, this leak compromises the integrity of the Supreme Court and diminishes the public’s trust in the judiciary’s ability to issue impartial, neutral decisions regarding the most important and controversial issues facing our nation.” NJ.com
North-JerseyNews.com has collected a roundup of statements from federal and state office as well as interested parties in the North Jersey area to the possibility of the U.S. Supreme Court overturn Roe V Wade.
The most bipartisan Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2021 was Rep. Josh Gottheimer, according to a report from the Luger Center at Georgetown University. Gottheimer ranked second in the House overall, and the third consecutive year as the top Democrat on the Lugar Center’s Bipartisan Index. Other North Jerseyans on the Lugar Center Bipartisan Index were Reps. Mikie Sherrill at 40, Tom Malinowski at at 49, Bill Pascrell at 157, Albio Sires at 263, and Donald Payne at 274. Of the 100 United States Senators, Bob Menendez ranked 31st on the list and Cory Booker 70th. New Jersey Globe
Rep. Josh Gottheimer spent the recent Congressional recess crisscrossing his district explaining the federal money returning to North Jersey that will benefit municipalities as well as those living and working here. The Congressman made stops in Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties to promote the resources communities are receiving from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the Bipartisan Instructure Bill (BIB) that were passed in the last year. “There are a ton of benefits for the community, clawing tax money back from Washington to Jersey, and making sure doing what we can to make life more affordable, that includes lowering taxes,” Gottheimer said. “The more we clawback the less the communities and the towns have to carry on their own.” Funding the police is one of the seven legislative priorities Gottheimer has proposed with Problem Solvers Caucus Co-Chair Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) that include supply chain issues, bringing more manufacturing to the U.S., as well as lowering the costs Americans spend on energy and healthcare that should be addressed immediately. North-JerseyNews.com
Some U.S. companies are warning that COVID-19 lockdowns in Shanghai and elsewhere in China are denting sales, disrupting operations and putting added strain on supply chains that could be felt well into the Summer. Since the emergence of the virus, China generally has stuck to a zero-tolerance approach to dealing with flare-ups, using mass testing and travel restrictions along with widespread lockdowns. The latest wave in Shanghai started in early March, closing factories of companies including car and consumer-products makers while freight carrier customers are worried about deliveries scheduled for July. The Wall Street Journal
The European Union on proposed a total Russian oil embargo, banning the import of crude oil in the next six months and refined oil products by the end of 2022, in its biggest and most costly step yet toward supporting Ukraine and weaning itself from its dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The move came as United States and its allies were trying to capitalize on Russia’s slow progress on the battlefield by escalating their efforts to weaken its military and tip the war’s balance toward Ukraine. The United States and Britain have been sending a stream of increasingly powerful arms as Finland and Sweden inch closer to joining NATO. The New York Times
The Federal Reserve is set to ratchet up its efforts to withdraw the unprecedented stimulus it showered on the U.S. economy after the coronavirus pandemic upended global economies two years ago. Fed officials on May 4 are poised to raise their benchmark rate by a half percentage point and approve plans to start shrinking their $9 trillion asset portfolio. The moves are part of a double-barreled effort to slow the economy and ease price pressures that are at a four-decade high. The Wall Street Journal
Certified LGBT+ companies in New Jersey will now have an easier time obtaining work on public projects after an executive order was signed by Gov. Phil Murphy on May 3. The order elevates LGBT+ companies to the same level as minority- and women-owned businesses, meaning certified LGBT+ companies now will count for any projects that provide extra incentives—or flat-out require a certain percentage of awards—for companies from undeserved groups. ROI-NJ.com
New Jersey on May 3 reported 11 new COVID-19 deaths and 1,923 new confirmed positive tests. There were 544 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases across 70 of the state’s 71 hospitals and of those hospitalized, 68 were in intensive care and 32 were on ventilators. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate was 1.18 with the positivity rate for tests conducted on April 27 was 7.6%, both increasing from the day before. North-JerseyNews.com
The Newark school district is still requiring students and school personnel to wear masks indoors to combat the spread of COVID-19, nearly two months after the statewide mandate ended. The mandate was set to expire May 2 but the school district has not made any indication when a decision will be made. “If the city believes we’re not ready, and it’s not safe, and they’re acting out of an abundance of caution—we’re teachers, they’re health care professionals, we’ll follow their direction,” said Newark teachers’ union president John Abeigon. NJ.com
Montclair school district will temporarily require masks to be worn at the high school for a 10-day period beginning May 4 in light of an uptick in COVID-19 cases among students, staff and faculty. Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jonathan Ponds announced the move in an email to parents May 3, saying the decision was made in consultation with the township Health Department after an email two hours earlier informed parents there were 24 positive cases of COVID-19 at the school. The requirement is set to be lifted after Friday, May 13. The Record
The Montague School Superintendent is suing the board members who placed him on leave last Spring, claiming they had a vendetta against him after he pointed out their violations of the law. Superintendent Timothy Capone says the board acted with malice when he refused to abide by what he called illegal actions they made to move board elections and non-renew tenured staff members, according to the lawsuit filed in Sussex County Superior Court. Board members at an April 2021 school meeting voted 5-2 to place Capone on paid administrative leave, but did not disclose the reason for the decision other than to bar him from “doing work for or on behalf” of the board. He remains on leave pending a decision by the board. New Jersey Herald
Between 35% to 40% of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) employees remain absent from work on any given day, better than the 55% at the height of COVID, but still much higher than the 20% before the pandemic. The agency reported 82% of its staff members are vaccinated as compared with most state departments reporting rates over 90%. “We still have people who are out on leave,” said Sue Fulton, the MVC’s chief administrator. “We’ve been hiring aggressively to try to increase the numbers. It’s kind of gradually increasing.” NJ1015.com
High schoolers have finally been moved from pencil and paper knowledge test given in school driver’s education classes to a modern computer exam, state MVC officials announced. The changeover completes what was started last year, at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year, migrating the paper test to an all-digital web-based test administered in public and private high schools. “Administering knowledge tests on a web-based application in proctored settings allows us to maintain the integrity of the test, while improving security, speeding processing, and providing flexibility in how and where they are taken,” Sue Fulton, the MVC’s chief administrator, said in a statement a day after coming under for her departments delay in issuing new permits and licenses. NJ.com
The Murphy administration is targeting $50 million in federal aid to buy out properties flooded out last fall by Tropical Storm Ida. The $50 million investment in the Blue Acres Buyout Program is the initial phase of Murphy’s recovery strategy that aims to maximize all federal Ida disaster recovery into several programs that will launch over the coming months. In addition, new community stormwater assistance grants totaling $10 million are available. Runoff from storms is one of the major problems degrading water quality around the state. NJ Spotlight News
A state appellate court has ruled that the Leonia cannot ban non-residents from using its local streets to commute during rush hour, the latest ruling in a four-year legal battle over cut-through streets. The commissioner of the Department of Transportation disapproved of the ordinances because they were “not in the interest of safety and the expedition of traffic on the public highways,” and in 2020, a state Superior Court judge in Hudson County effectively struck down the measures. The appellate judges in a ruling issued April 29 stated that Leonia’s contentions “lack sufficient merit to warrant much discussion in a written opinion.” The Record
Jersey City did not make the required double pay to city union employees for work during a 2018 state of emergency. Per an April 1 court order, Jersey City was required to start paying that back pay by April 30 but union members said they have not received any of the money due to them as of May 3. In February 2022, the state Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Jersey City. A spokeswoman for the city said the city does not comment on litigation. The Jersey Journal
The Jersey City Board of Education has voted down a contract renewal for the school district’s business administrator, while approving three percent salary raises for the superintendent and other top staff members. The salary raises will apply to top school officials such as Acting Superintendent Dr. Norma Fernandez, Assistant Superintendents Ellen Ruane, Gerald Crisonino and Magda Savino. Hudson Reporter
And finally…The state’s plastic bag ban goes into effect today. North-JerseyNews.com
