Gov. Phil Murphy warned of the economic realities facing the Garden State in a speech last week that “what’s around the corner is what we have to be concerned about.” Murphy predicted the likelihood of rising interest rates along with the potential of a recession in 2023. “I’m in the camp of a shallow — real but meaningful — but a shallow, fairly short-lived recession,” he said. “We all have to accept the fact when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates at the clip that they’re raising them, and (when) we’re dealing with real inflation and affordability challenges that we haven’t seen in 40 years…the economy is going to slow down.” North-JerseyNews.com
Retail sales fell 1.1% in December, a weak finish to the holiday shopping season as consumers spent less on vehicles, gasoline and furniture. High inflation and rising borrowing costs caused some households to pull back late last year, and retailers said the recently completed holiday shopping season turned out to be weaker than expected. The Wall Street Journal
A lack of workers is the biggest threat to the U.S. economy in the long term—and immigration and apprenticeships are key to addressing the shortfall, according to Labor Secretary Martin Walsh. “We need immigration reform in America,” Walsh said during a panel session on the future of jobs at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “America has always been a country that has depended on immigration. Right now we don’t have a good immigration policy…There are jobs available right now in the U.S. that we don’t have enough people for. The threat to the American economy long-term is not inflation, it’s [about] immigration. It’s not having enough workers.” The Wall Street Journal
Although New Jerseyans believe the Garden State’s diversity is good for overall quality of life, more and more residents are feeling pessimistic about the state of race relations, a new Monmouth University poll found. Released ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the survey found that a large majority think Blacks and Whites are not treated equally and nearly half are doubtful they’ll see such equality in their lifetime. Sixty four percent of residents said they believe racial and ethnic discrimination is a problem in New Jersey, up from 47% in 2010, according to the poll. Among those who say it is problematic are 86% Black residents, 67% of Hispanics and Asians and 59% of whites. North-JerseyNews.com
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission has awarded over 72% of all cannabis licenses to diversely-owned businesses, including more than two-thirds of all “annual” licenses.” But only about one-quarter of all licenses went to social equity applicants, and just 16% went specifically to applicants with prior marijuana convictions — including less than 14% of all dispensary licenses. “This is great work, but we want to see these numbers rise,” said Wesley McWhite III, the CRC’s diversity and inclusion director. “Our process is working. With time, these numbers will grow.” New Jersey Herald
The U.S. Justice Department considered having FBI agents monitor a search by President Joe Biden’s lawyers for classified documents at his homes but decided against it, both to avoid complicating later stages of the investigation and because President Biden’s attorneys had quickly turned over a first batch and were cooperating. Biden’s legal team prepared to search his other properties for any similar documents, and discussed with the Justice Department the prospect of having FBI agents present while lawyers conducted the additional searches. Instead, the two sides agreed that Biden’s personal attorneys would inspect the homes, notify the Justice Department as soon as they identified any other potentially classified records, and arrange for law-enforcement authorities to take them. The Wall Street Journal
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will close the New Jersey-bound north tube of the Holland Tunnel six nights a week, starting Feb. 5 to carry out extensive repairs to components that were damaged by flooding caused by Superstorm Sandy. The overnight shutdowns will extend through 2025, the Port Authority said. Drivers will have to choose other routes out of Manhattan from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Thursday nights and from 11:59 p.m. on Fridays until 9 a.m. on Saturdays. A similar schedule of overnight shutdowns has been in place for New York-bound traffic at the 95-year-old tunnel since April 2020 work scheduled to end on Feb. 4. The New York Times
The approval of a lease deal of the newly acquired Union Dry Dock site to its former owner was pulled from Jan. 18’s Hoboken City Council meeting because a deal hasn’t been finalized, the ordinance’s sponsor said. The lease agreement for the site would allow the city to lease the property to ferry company New York Waterway, who previously owned the site, up until June 30, 2027. New York Waterway would use the site as a ferry maintenance center. The Jersey Journal
A helicopter carrying senior Ukrainian officials crashed Jan. 18 in a Kyiv suburb, killing at least 17 people, according to emergency officials. The dead included Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs and other pivotal figures in the wartime leadership. The minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was the highest-ranking government official to die since Russia’s invasion began in February last year. The cause of the crash, which involved a State Emergency Service helicopter, was not immediately clear, but there was no initial information that the aircraft had been shot down. The New York Times
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Jan. 17 added uterine cancer to the list of health conditions covered by a 9/11 health program. In August, lawmakers including Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer, asked HHS to add uterine cancer to the list of 9/11-linked diseases as it was the only major cancer not covered by the program. Federal officials said they initially did not include uterine cancer because they didn’t have enough data linking the illness to exposure to chemicals after 9/11. But the Fuller Project reported that health care researchers said the program overlooked women and focused primarily on conditions more likely to affect men. NJ.com
New Jersey is expanding a pilot program that pairs mental health specialists with police officers, aimed at minimizing the use of force by police when they’re called to incidents of mental or behavioral health crisis. Attorney General Matt Platkin said the ARRIVE Together program, launched over a year ago in Cumberland County, has been promising so far with more than 250 people assisted and with no officer or civilian injuries. The attorney general’s office is working toward a statewide expansion of the program, according to Platkin. The timing for expansion is unclear and the program has yet to be extended to some of the state’s largest cities and advocates in those locations are in a wait-and-see mode. NJ Spotlight News
Middletown Mayor Tony Perry announced that a lawsuit would be filed against the state for costs incurred while trying to keep residents safe from vehicle thefts. Perry claimed bail reform policies enacted in 2017 are to blame for the ongoing threat of residents’ vehicles being stolen right out of their driveways. Bail reform shifted from one based mainly on one’s ability to post cash, to a risk-based assessment that allows more offenders to go free. Perry said the town has been boosting patrols—for an issue that appears to be a threat around the clock—and re-arresting the same individuals for the same offenses. “It’s costing us the ability to pave roadways, to maintain our parks, to preserve open space,” Perry said. NJ1015.com
A possible malfunction of the vote tabulation system in Monmouth County led to the double counting of votes in six voting districts in four municipalities and appears to change the outcome of a school board race in Ocean Township. Election Systems and Software, Monmouth County’s voting machine vendor, has acknowledged an error in their vote tabulation system that caused irregularities that were not discovered until an unrelated issue caused the Board of Elections to launch an internal investigation. Steve Clayton defeated Jeffrey Weinstein by 20 votes, 3,523 to 3,503 and took office this month. A new tally conducted today shows Weinstein ahead by one vote. The final results are unlikely to change in the other three municipalities — Belmar, Fair Haven and Tinton Falls — where elections were not close, but the final numbers could be changed. New Jersey Globe
Assemblyman Pedro Mejia (D-32) officially announced that he will not seek re-election in the upcoming June Democratic Primary. “Serving the people of the 32nd District in the State Assembly has been a wonderful honor and I am so proud of the difference we have made in the lives of the people of New Jersey,” said Mejia. “Due to the changes in the district lines, I will not be running for re-election this year.” Mejia endorsed the candidates for the area of his former district—State Sen. Brian Stack and Assembly candidates West New York Mayor Gabriel Rodriguez and North Bergen Revenue and Finance Commissioner Julio Marenco. Hudson Reporter
Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D-16) will not seek re-election to a second term this year, citing personal reasons for her unexpected departure. “At this time, I would like to focus on my work in higher education and spend more time with my family, especially my young daughter,” said Jaffer. InsiderNJ.com
And finally…Statistics show this is shaping up to be one of the least-snowy Januarys on record—although there are some signals that colder air and threats of snow could be looming later this month. NJ.com
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