New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin announced March 27 that his office is taking over the Paterson Police Department (PPD) effective immediately due to a “decimated” trust between the PPD and the residents of the city, a move he said is needed as the “status quo is not working.” Command of the department, assuming control of all police functions, including internal affairs investigations, will be assumed by members of the Attorney General’s staff and leaders from within the New Jersey State Police. The takeover includes Platkin naming Isa Abbassi, a twenty-five-year veteran of the New York City Police Department (NYPD), to lead the department in May. “Due to a number of events and concerns relating to the Paterson Police Department, there is a crisis of confidence in law enforcement in Paterson,” said Platkin. “People throughout Paterson deserve a public safety system that protects and serves all members of its community, just as the members of the Paterson Police Department deserve adequate resources, support, and innovation from their leadership…we will get there and we will not leave until we do.” North-JerseyNews.com
A 28-year-old from Nashville fatally shot three children and three adults March 27 at a private Christian elementary school, leaving behind writings and detailed maps of the school and its security protocols. The shooter entered the building by firing through a side door, armed with two assault-style weapons and a handgun, and went to the second floor, firing shots before being killed by the police. The assailant was “at one point a student” at the school. The New York Times
Officials say more than 100 guns that were stolen last week from a freight train were found in a Hudson County storage facility. The guns and 200 large capacity ammunition magazines were stolen in transit between a Vermont firearm importer and a Louisiana weapons wholesaler, one of the largest weapons seizures in New Jersey in recent years, according to a statement from Attorney General Matthew Platkin. New Jersey State Police and New York City Police Department searched the storage unit and recovered 97 Canik TP9 Elite SC 9 mm semi-automatic handguns and 194 LCMs packed in their shipping boxes and loaded in cardboard crates. News12 New Jersey
The fields are set for the June 6 primary for the 40 legislative districts in New Jersey. This year’s elections will bring the greatest turnover to the New Jersey Legislature since 2017 as 18 lawmakers have decided to not seek another term—that total will be increased by one as State Sen. Richard Codey and Nia Gill face off against each other in Democratic primary in the 27th because of redrawn district lines. North-JerseyNews.com
Two former football players convicted of assaulting women headlined a fundraiser for Tom Mastrangelo, a Morris County commissioner seeking a State Senate seat in the 26th District. Christian Peter and Luke Petitgout, who have histories of violence against women, were on the invitation for Mastrangelo’s event last week to boost his bid to unseat State Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-26) in the June primary. Pennacchio commented on Facebook that it was “a shameful insensitive event” hosted by Mastrangelo. InsiderNJ.com
Steve Lonegan said he dropped his bid for State Senate in the 24th district because the “New Jersey Republican Party is unprincipled and morally corrupt” that needs to be torn down and rebuilt as a principled conservative party. Lonegan opined that “the NJGOP ‘Leadership’ and the bureaucrats who run the Republican offices in Trenton would rather govern alongside liberal, Woke Democrats than Conservative Republicans….I realized and decided that I would be alone as a principled conservative in the State Senate. I would have no allies – not one. I can be more valuable running my business, which is getting harder in this state, and working from the outside to expose the political and moral corruption that infects the New Jersey Republican Party.” New Jersey Globe
Chris Christie, visiting New Hampshire as he tests the waters for a 2024 Presidential Campaign, sharply criticized Donald Trump and waxed nostalgic for his own short-lived primary campaign seven years ago. Christie said that his support of the former President ended on election night in 2020 when Trump signaled his intent to subvert the democratic results. The former New Jersey governor offered that Trump’s extreme divisiveness and vindictive style, along with his embrace of election falsehoods, resulted in Republican losses in three straight cycles: the House majority in 2018, the White House in 2020 and key Senate and governors’ races in 2022. “Particularly suburban women abandoned (the GOP) because they had enough,” Christie said, adding it’s naive to “think they’re coming back for more in 2024.” The New York Times
Calm returned to Israeli cities as protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul dispersed after the premier agreed to suspend the controversial plan and Israeli President Isaac Herzog offered to host compromise talks between the two sides. Netanyahu said that he would halt the overhaul’s progress through Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, for at least a month. He stated his coalition still intended to pass the legislation when the Knesset returns from its recess in late April, but that the delay was necessary to prevent political violence. The Wall Street Journal
Nearly $1.5 billion in planned supplemental spending covering everything from additional gun-violence research to a voter-education initiative is set to occur before the end of June. If the supplemental spending occurs as planned, it would push total spending well above the $50.7 billion initially authorized by Murphy and lawmakers late last June. NJ Spotlight News
More than 800,000 direct deposits to New Jersey residents from the ANCHOR property-tax relief program began today. The first batch of payments will go out via direct deposit on Tuesday and paper checks won’t start going out until the first week in April. The majority of payments will be issued before May 3. NJ.com
Consumers are not being offered enough protection from the growing threat of change of address fraud, said Rep. Josh Gottheimer. Gottheimer called for a two-step verification for address changes to prevent the form of identity theft that occurs when a criminal fraudulently changes a victim’s address with the Postal Service and redirects the mail to a new location. The Congressman said the current system to verify address changes is “far too lax. It’s a complete scam. It’s a real magnet and a hotbed of activity. It’s widespread and it’s growing like a fungus. We could take simple steps to fix it. This vital service must be corrected.” The Record
The U.S. and Japan reached a trade agreement for minerals used in clean-energy technologies, a deal aimed at allowing Japan to meet sourcing requirements for new electric-vehicle subsidies in the U.S. and shifting energy supply chains away from China. Under the deal, the U.S. and Japan agreed not to levy export duties on critical minerals they trade and coordinate labor standards in producing minerals, among other steps, according to a U.S. announcement. The pact builds on a limited trade accord the two countries reached in 2019, and they will review the minerals deal every two years to see if they should end or change it. The Wall Street Journal
Mark Schwarz, superintendent of Madison school district in Morris County, has been named superintendent of the Ridgewood school district, the largest in Bergen County. Schwarz will succeed Thomas Gorman, who announced his resignation from the district in March 2022 to become superintendent of the Montville school district, ironically in Morris County. Leonard Fitts was named interim superintendent in Ridgewood in May 2022 and has been serving in that capacity since July. The Record
A recent poll conducted by the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy at Stockton University uncovered a variety of pressing school issues confronting parents today. The survey showed that two-thirds of New Jersey adults believe that parents should be more involved in the decision-making process concerning school curriculum, with only 5% of those interviewed stating parents should be less involved in deciding what their children are taught; 26% believe that the level of involvement by parents should remain about the same. A sizeable number of participants (24%) identified curriculum as the number one issue, followed by bullying (9%), along with students failing core subjects at 8%. North-JerseyNews.com
Kids and teens will have to head home early this summer if a Jersey Shore town’s city council votes to impose a curfew that would bar anyone under 18 from being out unsupervised after 10 p.m. Sea Isle City’s council are set to adopt an ordinance March 28 that would put the curfew in place between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., every day between May 15 and Sept. 15, according to the text of the proposed rule. Anyone under the age of 18 would not be allowed on any public street or place. The exceptions would include minors who are with their parent or guardian, coming back from a summer job, participating in a recreation program or in an emergency situation. NJ.com
Three state lawmakers want to spend $3 million to expand mental health treatment for law enforcement officers in New Jersey. Under a bill introduced last week, mental health providers would apply to the state Department of Human Services for grants to cover the cost of treating officers or their immediate family members who are suicidal or otherwise in mental health crisis. New Jersey Monitor
All police and firefighters enrolled in New Jersey’s pension system would get the option to retire early with a reduced pension after 20 years of service under a proposed law moving through the state Legislature. Supporters of the proposal — dubbed the “burnout bill” — say it’s designed to help a small number of public safety workers who find it difficult to keep doing the job because of mental or physical exhaustion. Opponents warn it would burden taxpayers by further straining New Jersey’s notoriously underfunded pension system and raising costs for local governments at a time of economic uncertainty. NJ.com
Nichelle Luster has been appointed to the newly created position of training director at the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office at $118,817 annually. Luster, who retired last August and who made county history when she took charge of the Union City Police Department in 2018, is receiving more than $148,000 annually in pension benefits for her 28 years in the Union City Police Department. She served four years as chief. The Jersey Journal
Hoboken officials indicated there are no immediate plans to merge their fire department with Jersey City. Public Safety Director Kenneth Ferrante acknowledged that there were conservations with Jersey City around this time last year and two possibilities were discussed. Ferrante said a “metropolis” planned to be built over NJ Transit train tracks in Hoboken could lead to an influx of 5,000 to 10,000 new residents in the next five to 10 years and that development led to the initial conversations with Jersey City. HudsonCountyView.com
And finally…Wordle fans are stumped by this foul-smelling word, causing controversy. NJ.com
