Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (R-25) is calling for an investigation over the allegation that New Jersey’s First Lady refused to accommodate a breastfeeding state trooper who was assigned for personal security. The claim is part of a lawsuit filed earlier this month by four troopers against the State Police claiming they were discriminated against because of their gender. “Working moms should never be subject to discrimination for breastfeeding their child. The First Lady runs on a platform of maternal health, yet denies a state trooper the ability to safely express and store breastmilk while on duty because of ‘optics’?”, stated Dunn. “If this accusation is true, Mrs. Murphy just set us back.” North-JerseyNews.com
The South Carolina House of Representatives approved a ban on most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy in a rare special session called by the governor May 16. Because the SC House amended a bill passed earlier by the State Senate, the bill now goes back to the upper chamber for another vote. The State Senate considered and rejected that bill three times this year, blocked by the five women of the chamber — three Republicans, a Democrat and an Independent — who call themselves the “Sister Senators” and have said that they will filibuster again, which could block a final vote on the bill. The New York Times
A federal appeals court expressed skepticism of Biden Administration arguments that judges shouldn’t second-guess the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a widely used abortion pill. “Why not focus on the facts of this case rather than have this FDA-can-do-no-wrong theme?” Judge James Ho said. In recent weeks, a legal challenge to the pill’s approval moved rapidly from a courthouse in Amarillo, Texas, to the U.S. Supreme Court, which allowed mifepristone to remain on the market indefinitely while litigation proceeds. The Wall Street Journal
Rep. Bill Pascrell was elated to hear recently that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) would begin the next phase of offshore wind farm development along New Jersey’s coastline. According to BOEM, the next step is drafting the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for two offshore wind energy projects that would help meet the administration’s goal in providing nearly 30 giga-watts of offshore wind energy to Garden States residents by the year 2030. “All told, fighting climate change and giving our nation clean energy and more union jobs depends on us expanding wind energy projects far, wide, and fast,” said Pascrell. North-JerseyNews.com
Lawmakers in Trenton will hear from a panel of experts May 18 over the recent whale and dolphin deaths along the Jersey Shore that are alleged to be connected to the work to bring offshore wind farms to New Jersey. The Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee is set to to listen to and ask questions from a panel of science-based experts as Democrats say they want facts not driven by emotions and some answers to what is causing the increase in deaths. News12 New Jersey
The state Attorney General’s Office has filed a civil rights complaint against the Hanover Township school district and requested an emergency court order to stop the district from implementing a policy adopted May 16 that would require teachers to disclose to parents the gender identity and sexual orientation of LGBTQIA+ students. The school district has, in turn, challenged the state, saying it will “vigorously defend” this policy which it says “protects parental rights and ensures the safety of all school children.” The Daily Record
Newark School Superintendent Roger León backpedaled on a promise and rejected the teachers union request to extend the upcoming Memorial Day break by using two extra in-session days that were built into the 2022-2023 academic calendar. León declined as he pointed to concerns about students’ low performance in reading and math standardized tests and a rise in chronic absenteeism. Additionally, state standardized testing will be ongoing through the end of the month, which would make it “humanly not possible at this time” to take days off before or after Memorial Day on May 29. NJ Spotlight News
A man was arrested May 17 after investigators accused him of selling a gun to a teen who was caught with it a few months ago at Morris Knolls High School. Dwayne E. Allen, 21, of Palmyra, was charged with multiple weapons-related offenses, including unlawful sale of a firearm to a juvenile. On March 23, Denville Police responded to Morris Knolls High School, after staff members discovered two students were in possession of a gun, the office said. The teens had already been secured by staff by the time officers arrived. NJ.com
The U.S. Supreme Court on May 17 refused to block two Illinois laws prohibiting the sale of high-powered guns and high-capacity magazines while challenges to them move forward. The court’s brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the court acts on requests for emergency relief. There were no noted dissents. The case that reached the Supreme Court was a challenge to a city ordinance in Naperville, Ill., enacted in August and a state law enacted in January. The ordinance prohibited “the commercial sale of assault rifles,” listing 26 categories of weapons, including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles. The state law covered similar weapons along with high-capacity magazines. The New York Times
A meeting in Kyiv between Ukraine’s foreign minister and a Chinese envoy brought no sign of a breakthrough for Beijing’s most-concrete effort yet to insert itself into diplomacy aimed at ending the war. During the meeting with Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba “emphasized that Ukraine does not accept any proposals that would involve the loss of its territories or the freezing of the conflict,” his ministry said in a statement. The Wall Street Journal
Explosions and the whooshing noises of air defense missiles being launched rattled Kyiv early May 18 in the latest of a series of Russian aerial assaults on the Ukrainian capital this month. The early morning duel in the sky over Kyiv between air defenses and missiles was the ninth attack on Kyiv this month. The city was targeted with several cruise missiles, all of which were shot down by air defenses, local officials said. The New York Times
Murphy Administration officials confirmed New Jersey will collect roughly $2 billion less in taxes in the current and coming fiscal years during budget hearings May 17. State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said the funding shortfall would do little more than cut the state’s surplus from $10 billion to a still healthy $8 billion. “We are well prepared to handle this April surprise,” said Muoio. New Jersey Monitor
State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-36) and State Senate Minority Leader Steve Oroho (R-24) said there is a need to modernize the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). Sarlo said his office has been working on a “positive and transparent overhaul” of the law, calling his efforts a “transformational update. It’s something that’s clearly needed. There are a lot of cottage industries that have been created that utilize our hardworking, understaffed small municipal offices for research to help them with their legal cases or to help them with their projects.” The Record
In an attempt to combat homelessness, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill recently permitting mental and behavioral health care providers to operate within emergency shelters that serve people experiencing homelessness. The new law authorizes licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, marriage/family therapists, and substance use disorder treatment providers to provide mental or behavioral health care in homeless shelters. “Making behavioral health care accessible for unhoused individuals will make a meaningful difference in their lives and in our communities—and will help build better futures,”said Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman. North-JerseyNews.com
House Republicans blocked a vote to remove embattled Rep. George Santos from Congress May 17, and instead voted along party lines to send an expulsion resolution to the Ethics Committee. A spokesman for Rep. Tom Kean Jr. said that the North Jersey lawmaker “has been clear that Rep. Santos has violated the public’s trust and does not deserve to serve in the Congress.” New Jersey Globe
Jersey City plans to bring back commuter ferry service to Port Liberte permanently. Mayor Steve Fulop, Councilwoman Denise Ridley and the Department of Infrastructure announced May 17 that the city council will consider a resolution next week to award a contract for five-days-a-week service to New York Waterway, the company that handles ferry service between Hudson County and Manhattan. Officials are hopeful that ferry service there could start as soon as this summer. The Jersey Journal
And finally…Historic Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson finally reopened. The Record
