The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that New Jersey can withdraw from the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, calling New York’s arguments against the move “unpersuasive.” In the 9-0 ruling handed down April 18, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that “The question presented is straightforward: Does the Waterfront Commission Compact allow New Jersey to unilaterally withdraw from the Compact notwithstanding New York’s opposition? The answer is yes.” The high court’s ruling ends a five year battle between the two states. New Jersey legislators voted to withdraw from the Waterfront Commission in 2018, arguing it was “over-regulating businesses” as a way to justify its existence and the state’s economic interests were being hurt. North-JerseyNews.com
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected on April 19 to decide the fate of a pill that is used in more than half of abortions across the United States while an appeal moves forward. The court is weighing an emergency application by the Biden Administration to maintain the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug after an appeals court said it would place limitations on the medication, mifepristone. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. had issued a stay in the case that is set to expire at midnight. The New York Times
Fox News parent Fox Corp. agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle its legal battle with Dominion Voting Systems. Dominion alleged that Fox hosts and guests amplified false claims that its voting technology helped rig the election for Joe Biden. Superior Court Judge Eric Davis had already concluded that Fox News and Fox Business did in fact broadcast false claims about Dominion, voiced by both network hosts and Trump associates. Fox in a statement acknowledged the judge’s findings. The Wall Street Journal
GOP lawmakers are speaking out on what they considered an extravagant expenditure of nearly a half million dollars was spent on furnishings for the Statehouse offices of Gov. Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy. Over the weekend, NJ.com reported that as part of the $283 million renovation of the 231 year old Statehouse, $486,000 was spent on the offices for the Murphys. “I understand the Statehouse is a historic building, but did the Murphy Administration really have to spend nearly a quarter-million dollars on antique rugs?” asked State Sen. Ed Durr (R-3). “It sends the wrong message to taxpayers for Governor Murphy to spend lavishly on decorating his office while he’s simultaneously proposing to slash state aid to schools and towns across New Jersey.” North-JerseyNews.com
Gov. Phil Murphy defended his decision to spend nearly $500,000 for furniture and furnishings for his office in the renovated New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, saying the items will be used by future governors for as long as a century. “I’m not walking out of the Statehouse in January of ‘26 with the rugs. They’re there for the next 50 to 100 years,” Murphy said “We want to do this with some amount of majesty. This is New Jersey, for Christ’s sake. This is the second-oldest in-use Statehouse in America. And you want this thing to reek of pride. We said, ‘Let’s do all of this in a first-class way’. The furnishing budget (is) less than 3/10ths of 1% of the total cost of this project.” NJ.com
State Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz (D-29) said the state is “failing” children, pressing for action on learning loss and what can be done to help students during budget hearings April 18. Ruiz noted that “58% of kids not reading at grade level” that will have negative long-term outcomes. “The percentages are deplorable… I don’t know what’s working and what’s not working,” Ruiz said. “Nobody wants to talk about the alarming truths that are facing our constituencies or the remedies that are not going to be so great in certain circumstances…This is about this country not putting significance toward education.” The Daily Record
The Food and Drug Administration authorized an additional round of bivalent booster shots for adults who are 65 and over as well as people with compromised immune systems. The bivalent shots target Omicron variants of the coronavirus. The agency said people who are 65 and older who have not had a bivalent booster shot in at least four months may get another one. For those who are immunocompromised, additional doses of the bivalent vaccine can be given two months after the last shot. Those who are unvaccinated can get a single dose of the bivalent booster. The New York Times
The New Jersey Department of Health is looking to expand mission-critical teams statewide officials credit with reforming operations at the Veterans Memorial Home at Menlo Park last Fall. Gov. Phil Murphy’s $53.1 billion budget proposal for next fiscal year includes $1.2 million to hire additional professionals to staff three separate teams to respond to facilities in North, Central and South Jersey. “We know some of these long-term care facilities have peaks and valleys,” health commissioner Judy Persichilli said during testimony April 17, but Menlo Park employees “not only accepted the mission-critical team but they worked very diligently with them to make a difference in the care that the vets received.” NJ Spotlight News
New Jersey no longer has a statewide universal directive requiring people in all healthcare facilities such as hospitals and doctor’s offices wear masks to fight COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy confirmed April 17. “We have lifted these mandates,” Murphy noted during his call-in TV show when a caller said he was “deeply concerned” about the move. “It was a very important decision. We did not take it lightly. The fact of the matter: It’s where the world is headed. We are merely in sync with the broader trends. If anything, New Jersey has been more stringent than other states.” NJ.com
Transit advocates are warning of big fare hikes coming for New Jersey Transit as the agency faces a looming budget deficit in 2025. NJT is spending the last of its federal COVID relief money that was designed to supplement revenue lost due to a decline in ridership as many workers remain on a remote or hybrid schedule. A four year budget forecast delivered to Gov. Phil Murphy warns when the COVID money runs out, NJT will be facing a potential funding need of $119.4 million and growing to $957 million in just two years. NJ1015.com
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he was pushing to begin writing the text of legislation raising the debt ceiling as Republicans said they expected to see the bill soon and vote on it next week. Republicans earlier left a morning meeting April 18 saying that important details of the plan were still unclear. Among their questions: whether the plan would increase the debt limit by a specific amount or suspend it until a particular date; which policy components would hitch a ride on the plan; and whether it would move through legislative committees or be devised by Republican leadership and brought directly to the House floor. The Wall Street Journal
The Garden State is launching two programs to aid LGBTQ+ residents. Gov. Phil Murphy on April 4 signed an executive order directed at protecting gender-affirming healthcare in New Jersey that addresses a person’s physical, mental, and/or social health needs. The order calls for allowing surgery, hormone replacement therapy, and other nonsurgical treatments intended to align aspects of a person’s life with their gender identity Meanwhile, the Murphy Administration will launch a LGBTQ+-owned business program to aid in growth and to allow these companies to pursue contracting opportunities at the local, state, and federal level. “As leaders, our greatest responsibility is ensuring that every person we represent, regardless of their gender identity or gender expression, is entitled to respect, fairness, and freedom,” said Murphy. North-JerseyNews.com
Essex County Democrats elected Jacqueline S. Yustein to serve as the new Assemblywoman from the 28th legislative district. Yustein, a longtime party leader and former Glen Ridge councilwoman, was elected without opposition in a special election convention April 18 to fill the seat vacated last month when Assemblyman Ralph Caputo resigned to join the Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield board of directors. Yustein will fill the remainder of Caputo’s term, which expires on Jan. 9, 2024, and will not be a candidate for a full term. New Jersey Globe
Progressive groups are calling on Rep. Tom Kean Jr. to host a town hall for constituents, so they can directly ask the GOP lawmaker questions about his votes in Congress. “This is his job. He was elected to represent this district here in CD-7. And if he’s not even going to bother to hold a town hall, how is he even doing his job?” said Sue Altman, executive director of New Jersey Working Families Alliance who led the demonstration. NJ Spotlight News
A 13-year-old boy from New York has been charged with calling in bomb threats to Kearny High School on consecutive days last week. The juvenile apparently has no connection to Kearny or the school system, according to the preliminary investigation, and picked the town at random, Kearny police said. The threats were made Tuesday and Wednesday last week. He was charged as a juvenile with one count of false public alarms and two counts of terroristic threats. The Jersey Journal
The Nabisco factory implosion in Fair Lawn was delayed this month to allow for more cleanup of asbestos and other contaminants in the building. Hawthorne Mayor John Lane said he was told by Mayor Kristine Morieko of Glen Rock, which borders the Nabisco property, that the implosion was canceled “due to the fact that there are contaminants in the building that still have to be removed, which is mostly asbestos.” The Record
New Jersey is in peak wildfire season, and areas along the coast are especially at high risk of fires as the weather remains dry and mild this week. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly issued a red flag warning for Wednesday and is in effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. that includes parts of North Jersey. News12 New Jersey
And finally…The Devils’ power play crumbles in jittery Game 1 loss to the Rangers. NJ.com
