OPINION: Shopping List for the North Jersey Primary Voter. If you are a Republican or Democrat still debating who to support in the Congressional primary, let us offer a checklist of issues you should know where North Jersey candidates stand before you cast your vote. Know where your candidates stands on such issues as federal funding returning to New Jersey, removal of the state and local tax deduction, who they will support for Speaker of the House, and cultural war issues such as abortion, gun control and COVID. It is up to voters who make up their parties to decide who is the best candidate to represent them. As we look towards November, these are the issues that we will be judging candidates on. We believe that each party should do the same in choosing their nominees. North-JerseyNews.com
Five mass shooting events in the U.S. left at least nine dead and 48 injured over the weekend. Philadelphia authorities reported three people were dead and 12 more were hurt after a gun was discharged following a brawl between Saturday night. Hours later, three people died and 14 were injured outside a Chattanooga, TN, bar from a gun that was discharged. And at parties in Phoenix, AZ, Chester, VA, and Summerton, S.C., celebrations turned tragic in mass shootings that resulted in a total of at least three deaths and 22 people who were injured, many of them children. The New York Times
New Jersey schools acting as polling places for this Tuesday’s primary election will have the option to have a remote learning day. Several districts have informed their communities that students and teachers will not be in the building on June 7, a direct result of the shooting in Uvalde. Among the school districts confirming they will be remote for the day include Nutley, Old Bridge, Trenton, Hamilton, and Piscataway. NJ1015.com
When it comes to the budget, Republicans have laid down their cards and now want to see the hand Democrats in the State Senate and Assembly intend to play. The desire to see what Dems have planned in the budget is a GOP measure to ensure budget items are not slipped in at the last minute that can not be fully vetted. “We’re calling on legislative Democrats to be transparent and publicly disclose the changes they’ve proposed to the state budget as Republicans have already done,” said State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon (R-13), the Senate Republican Budget Officer. “There should be open discussions in our budget committees on all of the proposed changes so the public has an opportunity to weigh in when it matters.” North-JerseyNews.com
New Jersey’s bonded debt climbed $3.8 billion in fiscal year 2021 to a record $48.2 billion, according to a comprehensive financial audit completed by the Office of the State Auditor. The state’s long-term debt, which includes pension costs, rose to $248.6 billion, largely driven by emergency borrowing to address a projected shortfall in state revenue during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the report. NJ.com
The latest COVID-19 wave in the U.S. has shifted westward, while pressure eases in recent Northeast hot spots. The Western U.S. region, which includes mountain and coastal states, has recently eclipsed the Northeast to have the nation’s highest rate of known cases per 100,000 people. The U.S. has recently averaged around 100,000 newly reported COVID-19 cases a day, CDC data show, about four times the level seen two months ago. Epidemiologists believe this number vastly understates the true number of cases as more people use at-home tests that public-health departments generally can’t track. The Wall Street Journal
New Jersey on June 5 reported four new COVID-19 deaths and 2,736 new confirmed cases. There were 820 patients with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases in 68 of the 71 state’s hospitals that reported. Of those hospitalized, 100 were in intensive care and 42 were on ventilators. New Jersey’s statewide transmission rate was 0.88 with the positivity rate at 17.3% for tests conducted on May 29. NJ.com
The United States has warned that Russia is trying to profit from selling stolen wheat from Ukraine to drought-stricken countries in Africa, some facing possible famine. In mid-May, the United States sent an alert to 14 countries, mostly in Africa, that Russian cargo vessels were leaving ports near Ukraine laden with what a State Department cable described as “stolen Ukrainian grain.” The cable identified by name three Russian cargo vessels it said were suspected of transporting it. The New York Times
Americans are deeply pessimistic about the U.S. economy and view the nation as sharply divided over its most important values, according to a new Wall Street Journal-NORC Poll. Among the poll’s results were 83% described the state of the economy as poor or not so good, 86% of respondents said Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most important values, and over half said they expect those divisions to worsen five years from now, up from just a third of respondents who were asked the question last year. The Wall Street Journal
Higher mortgage rates and the pain of inflation are slowing the rise in home prices in North Jersey, as increased costs prompt buyers to tighten their budgets. The 30-year fixed interest mortgage rate jumped from 3.11% at the start of the year to a high of 5.1% as of last week. Additionally, more homes are coming onto the market two years of tight inventory during the COVID crisis. Active listings rose 5% in the week that ended May 14, compared with the same period a year earlier, for the biggest jump in more than three years. New Jersey Herald
Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s “Invest to Protect Act” recently passed unanimously through the Senate Judiciary Committee, taking it one step closer to enactment. The bill, which hosts bipartisan support with 67 sponsors in the House of Representatives and 10 in the Senate, would make targeted investments in local police departments. Specifically, it would seek to ensure police officers in smaller communities had the necessary resources and training to keep their communities safe. “Every day, our brave law enforcement wake up, put on a bulletproof vest, kiss their spouses and children goodbye, and put their lives on the line to look out for us. That’s why we must always get the backs of our first responders, and all those who serve our nation,” said Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
The Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee advanced a bill last week that would require licensure for New Jersey’s police officers in a near-unanimous vote to plaudits from police unions, the state attorney general, and civil rights advocates. The licensure program would require officers to undergo psychological evaluations and continual training to obtain or renew their licenses, which they would need to work as law enforcement in New Jersey. A Police Training Commission would oversee the committee responsible for licensing officers, and the state would be able to suspend someone’s police license after a disciplinary process. New Jersey Monitor
Two shore towns are investigating pop-up parties set for Father’s Day weekend. Long Branch and Point Pleasant authorities say they are investigating the rumors and taking steps to prepare a law enforcement response, if necessary. Telling people to “bring your own weed” and “bring your own liquor,” the pop-up parties have dates of June 18 in Point Pleasant Beach and June 19 in Long Branch. NJ1015.com
Rep. Albio Sires is expected to run for mayor of West New York next year, marking a return to the job he held for eleven years before his election to Congress in 2006. The current mayor, Gabe Rodriguez, will instead seek the Democratic nomination for State Assembly in a newly-drawn Hudson County legislative district next year. Rodriguez would replace Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez (D-32). North Bergen will get the other Assembly seat in the new 33rd district, with Commissioner Julio Marenco, a U.S. Navy submarine veteran and State Parole Board member, the leading candidate. That means Assemblyman Pedro Mejia (D-32) will lose his seat. New Jersey Globe
A committee has formed in Hoboken seeking to remove Councilman Phil Cohen in a recall attempt, saying that the councilman “has not represented us as his constituents” and that he has “prioritized special interests before our own.” Cohen, whose seat is up in 2023, was elected to represent the northwest-based 5th Ward in 2019 with the support of Mayor Ravi Bhalla, succeeding retiring Councilman Peter Cunningham. The committee reportedly consists of Perry Belfiore—one of the most vocal critics against Bhalla and former Mayor Dawn Zimmer—Rebecca Cohen and Barry Grossman. Hudson Reporter
Real estate appraisers in New Jersey would face penalties for discriminating against a homeowner, buyer, or their agents because of their race or nationality under a proposal state lawmakers began advancing this week. A bill was passed that if an appraiser who is found to lower a home’s appraisal because of race, color, creed, or national origin, they could have their licenses, certifications, or registrations revoked or suspended or be subject to fines. Passed 4-0 by the State Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, State Sen. Holly Schepisi (R-39) abstained, saying she was bothered the bill was amended to make suspension mandatory with no discretion and removed language that the discrimination was knowing. NJ.com
New Jersey is relaxing teacher certification requirements and implementing laws to make it easier for public schools to hire teachers, but that will not fix an ongoing teacher shortage in the state, a new report warns. Fueling the shortage is a steep decline in the number of people entering the field, coupled with an aging population of teachers and pandemic-related burnout and retirements, according to the New Jersey Policy Perspective report. The Daily Record
And finally…A 285-year-old deed granting land use to members of the Sloat family was returned by its descendants to the Ramapough tribe in a symbolic ceremony at Ramapo College. The Record
