OPINION: Time for a Federal Takeover of Paterson Police. The death of Najee Seabrooks is a tragedy, no two ways about it. We will be honest—our opinion about the Paterson Police Department actions on that day is more muted after watching the videos. You see in real time the split second decision an officer has to make as well as their work for a peaceful ending, getting Seabrooks the mental health help he needed. But the death of Seabrooks does raise the issue of the city’s police department and the community it is supposed to serve. Truthfully, you would be hard pressed to convince the public to have confidence in police and city leadership to fix the fractured relationship as it now stands. It is past time for outside forces to clean up Paterson as it appears too big of a problem to be handled by local and state politicians, who have had their chance. Action by the U.S. Department of Justice is justified and needed. North-JerseyNews.com
Stating that a Manhattan grand jury indictment likely but its timing unclear, Donald J. Trump sought to rally supporters to his side, declaring he expects to be arrested on March 21 and called for protests. Trump made the declaration on his site, Truth Social, at 7:26 a.m. on March 18 in a post that ended with, “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE AND FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” The New York Times
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office released audio and video footage from the Paterson Police Department (PPD) interaction with Najee Seabrooks before he was fatally shot on March 3. Released after meeting with representatives of Seabrooks’ family on March 16, authorities offered a timeline for the event that started at 7:43 a.m. when the PPD responded to Mill Street apartment in response to a 911 call from an individual in distress. The standoff in the apartment took place in a tight hallway, with officers and family attempting to have Seabrook give up his weapons and offering him help. North-JerseyNews.com
Rep. Josh Gottheimer is calling for a bipartisan investigation into financial regulators’ failure to properly oversee Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank. Gottheimer, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said the purpose would be why the Federal Reserve did not use the tools to identify the conditions that led to SVB’s collapse. “We need to learn why the federal and state officials did not step in sooner, and instead let SVB grow rapidly while bank management made egregious failures to manage what should have been obvious risks,” said Gottheimer. North-JerseyNews.com
Many economists expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates a quarter-point, to just above 4.75%, on March 22, continuing their fight against rapid price increases. A range of investors and analysts had expected the Fed to make an even bigger rate move until a series of high-profile bank closures and government rescues raised concerns about both the economic outlook and financial stability. Over the weekend, the Fed pumped up its program that keeps dollar financing flowing around the world, its second move in a week to shore up the financial system. The previous Sunday, it unveiled an emergency lending program meant to serve as a relief valve for banks that need to raise cash. The New York Times
UBS Group AG agreed to take over its longtime rival Credit Suisse Group AG for more than $3 billion, pushed into the biggest banking deal in years by regulators eager to halt a dangerous decline in confidence in the global banking system. The Swiss government said it would provide more than $9 billion to backstop some losses that UBS may incur by taking over Credit Suisse. The Swiss National Bank also provided more than $100 billion of liquidity to UBS to help facilitate the deal. The Wall Street Journal
The New Jersey Department of Treasury reported February revenue collections from the major taxes totaled $2.9 billion, representing a 5.6% decrease from February 2022 as it coincides with revised revenue forecasts included in Gov. Phil Murphy’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget. February collections for the Gross Income Tax (GIT) totaled $1.4 billion, falling 3.1% from the prior year, a decrease was primarily attributable to weaker estimated payments against an unusually high level from the prior year. North-JerseyNews.com
Gas prices in New Jersey held steady or even dropped slightly over the weekend as AAA reported the average cost for a gallon of regular gasoline at $3.26. There has been a continued drop in oil prices, as an average, and AAA spokesman Andrew Gross expects drivers to benefit. “Given that the cost of oil accounts for 55% of what we pay for gas, its fair to wonder how soon prices will drop at the pump,” Gross said. “But gas stations paid for the fuel that is in their underground tanks weeks ago, when oil was nearly $15 more a barrel. So it will take time for any savings due to cheaper oil to be seen at the pump. And that is assuming the oil price does not rise again.” NJ1015.com
A repeal for the authority to use military force in Iraq 20 years after U.S. forces entered the country is expected to clear the U.S. Senate soon. The bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) would revoke the October 2002 authorization along with an even older one from the 1991 Gulf War. The measure easily passed an initial procedural hurdle on March 16, with 19 Republicans joining with Democrats to open debate. A final Senate vote could come this week, but its fate in the GOP-led House is uncertain. The Wall Street Journal
State attorneys defending New Jersey’s new gun law squared off in court March 17 with gun-rights advocates urging a federal judge to issue an order blocking its enforcement on constitutional grounds. After a four-hour, wide-ranging hearing, Judge Renée Marie Bumb made no decision and set a new deadline—March 27—for both sides to file further briefs responding to unresolved questions as Bumb pushed back on arguments from both sides. New Jersey Monitor
COVID-19 tests that were distributed to both individual homes and clinics run by municipalities, delivered more than 1 million tests at a cost of nearly $110 million, paid from federal COVID funding. Nearly $75 million of those funds were for tests sent to residents’ homes. But of the more than 675,000 tests ordered by individual residents, only 113,000, or 16.8%, were taken and returned to the lab for results. That left more than $62 million spent on more than 557,000 tests that were never taken. NJ.com
A bill recently cleared the Assembly Education Committee to bolster the number of school personnel who would be trained in suicide prevention to spot the signs of a crisis before it occurs. Under this new bill, the state would be responsible for identifying suicide prevention training programs for local school officials. The legislation specifies that a person who completes the training has “a duty to warn and protect” when a student has told them of an intent to hurt themselves. School personnel trained in suicide prevention would not be held liable if they take steps to protect the student from self-harm and warn others about the incident. NJ Spotlight News
Social media ‘fight pages’ have been discovered at the New Jersey high school in the spotlight after bullying suicide of 14 year old Adriana Kuch. In one video, a student approaches a classmate from behind and pushes her to the ground before repeatedly punching her in the head in a hallway at Central Regional High School in Ocean County. In another video, two boys trade punches in a school bathroom while students crowd into the stalls around them to watch, holding up cell phones to record the fight. NJ.com
A deal between Gov. Phil Murphy and Democrats will restore $102 million, or about two-thirds of the $157 million of state aid education cuts statewide. The cuts would be restored through legislation that could be considered as early as March 20. “Every district that lost funding, they’re just going to get 65% back, whether they lost $10 or they lost $10 million, 65% will be restored,” said State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-11), who serves as chairman of the State Senate Education Committee. “Even though these districts have lost enrollment over the years, they still have a lot of other increased costs that have gone up so that’s why we’re doing this.” The Record
The Sparta School District may soon include another school as officials work to address a lack of space for proper instruction in one building. The district is considering moving students in pre-K and kindergarten out of the Alpine Elementary School and into another school yet to be constructed. Alpine holds Sparta students in pre-K through second grade but has recently faced crowding issues that concerned parents have raised to the administration. New Jersey Herald
West New York officials revealed their plans for a new middle school at a vacant lot on 65th Street and Broadway. Back in September, the New Jersey Schools Development Authority announced the approval of 16 new schools throughout the state, including one in West New York. At the time, it was listed as a pre-k through 8th grade facility, though local officials said yesterday that it would be a new middle school. HudsonCountyView.com
As he mulls a second bid for the presidency, Chris Christie will hold a town hall meeting at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College on March 27. It’s unclear what Christie’s timetable is for deciding if he’ll run for president in 2024 but recent reports indicated that Christie will make a announcement within the “next 45 to 60 days.” NJ.com
Morris County Democrats held their convention on March 18 without picking candidates to run for county clerk or for the legislature in the 26th district. Democrats still have a week to recruit someone to run against Republican County Clerk Ann Grossi, or in the heavily Republican 26th, where State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R-26), and Assemblymen Jay Webber (R-26) and Brian Bergen (R-25) have GOP primary opponents. The deadline to submit to be on the June 6 primary ballot is March 27. New Jersey Globe
And finally…Princeton advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament while FDU’s run ended Sunday.
