Ukrainians greeted the anniversary of Russia’s invasion with a mix of anxiety and resolve on Feb. 24, as tens of thousands have been killed on both sides, millions of Ukrainians have been made homeless, and the country has sustained tens of billions of dollars worth of damage that has left cities flattened and people around the country grappling with dark and cold. “We were not defeated,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech to the Ukrainian people hours. “And we will do everything to gain victory this year.” The New York Times
China made a fresh call for a ceasefire and peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, seeking to cast itself as a neutral mediator in a one-year-old conflict during which Beijing has struggled to maintain its close partnership with Moscow while not further inflaming tensions with the West. The paper summarized a range of public positions that Chinese leader Xi Jinping and other officials have long taken on the war in Ukraine. Though it was short on details, it appeared to offer a veiled warning to Moscow not to escalate the conflict with nuclear weapons. The Wall Street Journal
New Jersey’s public-worker pension fund is still working to sever all financial ties with Russia a year after the military invasion of Ukraine brought on a flurry of economic sanctions, including a ban on investments. According to Department of Treasury officials, New Jersey’s $85 billion pension fund continues to hold some securities that were flagged by a divestment law enacted by Gov. Phil Murphy last year in response to the military invasion that began on Feb. 24, 2022. The divestment law covers all securities with links to the Russian government, as well as with Russia’s military ally Belarus. NJ Spotlight News
Ahead of Gov. Phil Murphy’s annual budget speech, New Jersey Republicans are calling for sensible and fair spending. Led by State Senate Minority Leader Steven Oroho (R-24), GOP members of the State Senate Budget Committee noted that spending needed to be restrained in case of a recession, arguing a more balanced approach would require tax reforms that grow the economy. The lawmakers said allocating all tax over-collections, which could reach $2 billion this year, should be utilized for tax relief, including a stop to payroll tax increases and toll hikes that will take place in the next year. “New Jerseyans are the most highly taxed people in the country and it’s hurting our families and businesses,” said Oroho. “Reforms that make us more competitive will help our economy grow.” North-JerseyNews.com
Finding ways to address the mental health crisis among school aged youth—including measures to address bullying—would be a priority for the remainder of the year, State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11), chair of the state Senate Education Committee, said during a meeting Feb. 23. A law proposed by Gopal could require students to be removed from school if they present an “immediate physical danger” to themselves or others. To be used in emergencies, students removed in this way could only return if they get clearance from a medical professional. Two other laws would require school districts to give students five excused absences for mental health needs, and would allow schools to expand excused absences to include mental health needs. The Record
A State Senate panel advanced four new judicial nominees Feb. 23, slightly shrinking the statewide number of judicial vacancies that drove officials earlier this month to suspend civil and divorce cases in six counties. The courts now have 70 vacancies, which are barely lower than the record-high 75 empty seats that drove Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner last May to demand the governor and Legislature act faster to fill the bench. State Sen. Brian Stack (D-33), chairs of the Senate’s judiciary committee that is tasked with vetting and advancing judicial nominees, called the persistent vacancies “disappointing” and said he stands ready to schedule additional committee meetings to advance more judges. “I think we (have) got to get these filled, and we got to get them filled this year, no doubt about it,” said Stack. New Jersey Monitor
The Meadowlands Chamber of Commerce recently released the results of a feasibility survey that found a convention center on the site of the former Izod Arena would be a “transformative asset to the Meadowlands Sports Complex.” In order for the project to be completed, the Meadowlands 2040 Foundation said between $1 billion and $1.6 billion would be needed in financing—in line with the price tag on MetLife Stadium, which was built in 2010. The event space could host between 250 and 300 events annually that would attract conferences, trade shows, conventions, large banquets, corporate meetings and sports competitions, including high school tournaments, according to chamber officials. “We are on the precipice of providing the Meadowlands Sports Complex with an asset that will propel economic growth in the region the same way the ‘Big M’ and Giants Stadium did in the 1970s,” according to Meadowlands 2040 Foundation CEO and president Jim Kirkos. North-JerseyNews.com
Rep. Josh Gottheimer warned that tolls on the Hudson River crossing could go up as much as $2 per trip if New York City proceeds with it’s congestion pricing plan. New York’s MTA has forecast a 19.5% reduction in traffic from New Jersey. If that happens, Gottheimer says, it would mean a drop in revenue for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey of $125 million per year. In order to make up that revenue, he says, toll hikes would be likely. “Find another solution that does not squeeze more blood out of the Jersey stone,” Gottheimer said. NJ1015.com
The crew of a freight train that derailed in Ohio this month received an alert about an overheated wheel bearing only shortly before dozens of the train’s cars left the tracks, federal investigators said on Feb. 23, raising questions about the adequacy of safety measures used by the train’s operator. An initial report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that while the wheel bearing had been heating up as the train carried toxic chemicals and other cargo through Ohio, an alarm did not sound to alert the crew to check a hot axle until the train passed a sensor not far from where it ultimately derailed. The sensor registered that the wheel bearing was 253 degrees above the ambient temperature. The New York Times
Federal prosecutors charged Sam Bankman-Fried with several additional financial crimes and offered expansive new details about the FTX founder’s alleged conduct before the collapse of his cryptocurrency exchange. The new charges, from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, allege the former crypto star conspired to commit bank fraud and operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business. He also faces new securities and commodities fraud counts. The Wall Street Journal
New Jersey police will increase visibility, patrol and security this weekend around Jewish institutions in the state as Feb. 25 has been deemed a National Day of Hate by some groups on social media. Police say the Day of Hate is geared toward Jewish populations. Law enforcement and leaders in Jewish communities say they’re taking the threat seriously, especially in the wake of recent threats and incidents at synagogues in New Jersey, including the attack last month of the attempted firebombing of Temple Ner Tamid’s in Bloomfield. News12 New Jersey
Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Menendez are “disappointed” with the Biden Administration’s decision to enact a Trump era immigration policy this Spring. The proposed rule on Feb. 21, known as a transit ban, would presume that migrants are ineligible for asylum if they entered the country unlawfully. Many migrants do not apply for asylum in Mexico, preferring to try their luck in the United States. The two New Jersey Senators said the new policy was expected to erect a formidable barrier to those hoping to submit U.S. applications. “We are deeply disappointed that the administration has chosen to move forward with publishing this proposed rule, which only perpetuates the harmful myth that asylum seekers are a threat to this nation,” said Booker and Menendez. North-JerseyNews.com
House Majority Forward, a Democratic group affiliated with the House Majority PAC, launched a new digital ad targeting Rep. Tom Kean Jr. and 15 other House Republicans on proposals to cut Social Security and Medicare. The ad states that “The new majority in Congress is holding the economy hostage in order to destroy Social Security and Medicare. And Tom Kean Jr. is helping them do it. They’d let America default on our debts for the first time in history. Veterans’ benefits will stop; the stock market will crash; and your retirement savings: gone. All so they can force extreme cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Tell Tom Kean Jr.: Don’t destroy Social Security and Medicare. Americans don’t negotiate with hostage-takers.” New Jersey Globe
Calling it “one of the most heinous crimes” he had ever seen, a judge sentenced one of the men at the center of a politically connected murder-for-hire scheme to 20 years in prison. U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez rejected recommendations by the U.S. Attorney’s office for a substantial reduction in how much time Bomani Africa should spend behind bars following his cooperation in the investigation of the slaying of a Hudson County Democratic operative, but stopped short of a life sentence. The judge said he found no remorse on the defendant’s part. Prosecutors had asked for a term of between 15 and 18 years after Africa, 62, who admitted to his role in the brutal killing of Jersey City politico Michael Galdieri in May of 2014 and told them what he knew of the deadly plot orchestrated by New Jersey political consultant Sean Caddle. NJ.com
Four months after the Mount Olive Board of Education suspended Superintendent Rob Zywicki with no public explanation, details of a bitter conflict have surfaced in updated court filings of what is now a whistleblower lawsuit he brought against multiple board members. The updated lawsuit, filed Feb. 21, names board members Antoine Gayles and William Robinson and two more board members, Anthony Strillacci and Anthony Giordano, as defendants in a suit seeking “compensation for multi-million dollar damages” incurred by Zywicki as a result of an “orchestrated scheme” by the defendants “to punish him and destroy his reputation” after he reported “ongoing violations of policy, code and good practices” by some board members to the entire board. The Daily Record
Steve Clayton will abide by a judge’s ruling to allow incumbent Jeff Weinstein to reclaim his seat on the Ocean Township School Board. Superior Court Judge David Bauman instructed the Monmouth County Board of Canvassers to issue an election certificate to Weinstein, signing an order revoking Clayton’s certificate of election. The move is a result of an Election Systems & Software voting machines that double-counted votes in four Monmouth County municipalities in the November 2022 general election resulted in Clayton winning a seat on the Ocean Township Board of Elections by 20 votes against Weinstein; a court-ordered recount made Weinstein the winner by four votes. New Jersey Globe
The City of Paterson is seeking payback from six former police officers who were members of the so-called “robbery squad” who routinely stopped, searched and stole from residents until they were taken down by federal authorities. In a lawsuit filed on Feb. 23, the city is demanding reimbursement for wages and benefits that the six cops collected while they were suspended and awaiting trial. That compensation became a form of “unjust enrichment” once the wheels of justice turned on them, the city says. NJ.com
And finally…Bruce Springsteen tickets for Summer New Jersey concerts go on sale today. NJ.com
