The Assembly is set to pass a series of bills to help domestic violence victims get protection quicker and easier through the courts. Over the last month at various committee meetings, advocates and victims of domestic violence have told their stories of the hardships of getting a protection order, being told by police and judges to just not listen to the verbal abuse or delays from police departments that results in a judge ruling against them in attempting to obtain a protection order. One proposed law would require courts to consider evidence of coercive control when overseeing domestic violence proceedings, along with emotional, physical, and mental abuse. North-JerseyNews.com
The mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville this week has generated a broad shrugging of the shoulders in Washington. “We’re not going to fix it,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) told reporters on the steps of the Capitol just hours after the shooting that killed three children and three adults in his home state. “Criminals are going to be criminals.” President Joe Biden said he could do no more on his own to tackle the issue and put the burden on Congress to send him legislation, like the ban on assault weapons he has repeatedly championed, point to Republicans’ expressions of helplessness reflected an unwillingness, rather than an inability, to act. The New York Times
New Jersey’s top law enforcement officials said they are committed to rooting out bias and hate among the State Police after pictures of a trooper’s tattoos featuring images associated with White Supremacist groups spread online. The trooper, Det. Jason Dare, disappeared from a medical facility last week, sparking a search that led authorities to post his pictures online. Some of those included his tattoos on his hands and torso that contained imagery associated with Nazi Germany and modern skinhead groups, including a “Blood Honor” neck tattoo. “While I cannot comment on a matter that is currently under investigation, I can say —in no uncertain terms—that there is no place for hate in the New Jersey State Police,” said New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin. NJ.com
A federal “Parental Bill of Rights” for education was passed by the U.S. House last week, but three North Jersey legislators voiced their opposition to a bill they see as leading to book banning in public schools. The legislation, which passed on a 213-208 vote, would codify federal education law to give parents and legal guardians access to school curricula and library books, among other teaching material. Most of the debate regarding the bill from Democrats surrounded whether or not it would lead to more bans on books, particularly those about the LGBTQ+ community and people of color. “They call it the Parents Bill of Rights Act, but it should be called the Politics over Parents Act because it makes parents decide what schools should teach instead of trained educators,” said Rep. Donald Payne. North-JerseyNews.com
Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the GOP budget would push past the deadline for Congress to act on raising the debt ceiling and avoid a U.S. default on debt payments and other government obligations. Instead, Arrington and other top Republicans want to start talks immediately on a shorter list of demands for this year, without a formal budget in hand. “The more urgent matter is to address the debt ceiling and negotiate spending limitations and broader fiscal reforms in the process,” Arrington said. The Wall Street Journal
U.S. Senators revoked their approval for the Gulf and Iraq wars on March 29, taking a broadly bipartisan vote to repeal the Authorizations for Use of Military Force that have stayed on the books years after the two wars ended. The 66-30 vote sends the measure to the U.S. House, where Speaker Kevin McCarthy remains lukewarm on the repeal effort. The Senate vote to sunset the two Iraq War military authorizations doesn’t repeal a third and separate 2001 AUMF that Congress passed following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. That military authorization, originally used for the war in Afghanistan, has since been used by several presidents to justify counterterrorism military operations around the world. New Jersey Monitor
U.S. Supreme Court justices will be required to disclose more of their activities, including some free trips, air travel and other types of gifts, according to rules adopted earlier this month. Under the new rules, justices and other federal judges must report travel by private jet, as well as stays at commercial properties, such as hotels, resorts or hunting lodges. The move comes as members of Congress have called for the justices, who have long faced less stringent reporting requirements, to be held to ethics standards similar to those for the executive and legislative branches. The New York Times
Starbucks Corp. leader Howard Schultz defended the company against accusations it has retaliated against pro-union workers who say they are seeking better pay and benefits in testimony before a U.S. Senate committee. Schultz said the company has attempted to bargain with representatives of the Starbucks Workers United union in good faith. Any unionized employee disciplined by Starbucks was a result of violating company policies, not advocating for a union. “We have not broken the law. We have simply tried to defend ourselves and tell our employees, all of them, what we stand for,” said Schultz. The Wall Street Journal
A Protect Our Coast NJ rally is set to take place at the State Capitol in Trenton Thursday March 30. A petition with a half million signatures from New Jersey residents will be handed to state lawmakers and Gov. Phil Murphy, asking for a pause of all offshore wind related activities to allow for more testing to be done. Since the middle of February, 16 dolphins have washed up on the Jersey Shore while more than a dozen whales have been found dead along New Jersey and New York beaches since December. News12 New Jersey
Mexican officials are investigating a fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez as a homicide case, saying that government workers and private security employees had not allowed detainees to escape from the blaze that killed at least 39 people. The announcement came after a video emerged appearing to show that the migrants had been trapped when the fire broke out on March 26. Uniformed figures at the center can be seen walking away from the blaze while people remain behind bars as the area fills with smoke. The New York Times
The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office confirmed it is reviewing a mid-February encounter between Paterson police officers and teenagers in which social justice activists say a cop used excessive force against one of the juveniles. It was not clear whether state authorities had been investigating the incident before Attorney General Matthew Platkin announced that his office was taking control of the day-to-day operations of the Paterson Police Department. A video of the incident from Feb. 15 shows one of the officers assaulting a juvenile, who already had been tackled to the ground, by striking the teen in the head three times with his knee. The Record
Three local officials in Wildwood have been indicted for defrauding the state of nearly $1 million in health benefits. A state grand jury indictment on March 29 recommended 12 counts for Wildwood Mayor Pete Byron, Commissioner Steve Mikulski, and former Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. as the three officials took benefits from the State Health Benefits Program when they didn’t qualify. The fraud started in 2011 when Byron, a Democrat, and Troiano, a Republican, were first elected as commissioners and passed a resolution declaring themselves full-time state employees who worked at least 35 hours per week, which they did not. All three have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. NJ1015.com
George Bratsenis, one of the two hit men who pleaded guilty to a New Jersey political murder-for-hire plot, was sentenced to 16 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in federal court in Newark. Bratsenis, was the first to alert authorities to the details behind the mysterious killing of political operative Michael Galdieri, who was stabbed to death and whose apartment was set on fire on May 22, 2014. Bratsenis and his partner in a string of armed robberies, Bomani Africa, were paid $15,000 by political consultant Sean Caddle to kill Galdieri. New Jersey Globe
Members of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) decided they would not discipline their executive director Jeff Brindle over an email that is at the center of a lawsuit to remove the director and revamps the commission. After deliberating for 20 minutes behind closed doors, Commissioners Steve Holden and Marguerite Simon found each of the four counts unsustained and that Brindle would not face disciplinary action. On the accusation of homophobia in his emails, Holden conceded it “has an edge to it that had the capacity to insult, hurt, make someone feel bad” and Simon agreed one characterized as homophobic “could look damning…I think there’s no way we can impose any discipline upon someone who’s been an outstanding individual in the field.” North-JerseyNews.com
Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio is scheduled to appear on March 30 before the State Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee to provide an update on tax revenue, her first appearance before lawmakers since Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled a $53.1 billion spending plan for the 2024 fiscal year . The committee will hear from fiscal experts from the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services as well who are preparing to present their own revenue projections, including for the remaining months of the current fiscal year and the full fiscal year that begins July 1. NJ Spotlight News
Homeowners near the Fair Lawn Nabisco factory are continuing to raise concerns about an upcoming implosion at the site and have created an online petition to ask for additional testing. The petition calls on Fair Lawn or the site’s developer to conduct and pay for independent environmental testing—including air monitoring and regular soil and water sampling— before, during and after the implosion. The implosion is slated for April 15. The Record
Woodcliff Lake Mayor Carlos Rendo, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor in 2017, will mount a write-in campaign in the GOP primary after his nominating petitions came up 11 short of the 25 signatures needed to get on the ballot. Rendo will now need to secure a majority of write-in votes – and a minimum of 25 of them – to secure the nomination for a third term. New Jersey Globe
And finally…Its Opening Day as the Yankees play at home against the San Francisco Giants while the Mets face off against the Miami Marlins.
Comments 1