Category: Trenton

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Criminal Corruption Charges Filed Against Five Public Officials including a School Board President and a Political Candidate

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,  Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that five current and former public officials and political candidates in New Jersey – including Jersey City School Board President Sudhan Thomas and former State Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell – have been charged with taking bribes in a major investigation of political corruption in Hudson and Morris counties conducted by the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA).

The five defendants are charged with taking thousands of dollars in bribes from a cooperating witness in the form of campaign contributions. In return, the defendants allegedly promised the cooperating witness, who is a tax attorney, that they would vote or use their official authority or influence to hire or continue to hire his law firm for lucrative government legal work. Envelopes and paper bags filled with cash – and even a coffee cup stuffed with cash – were delivered to the defendants by the cooperating witness at restaurants, parking lots, a political fundraiser, and a campaign headquarters. Other times the cooperating witness offered checks from illegal “straw donors” – individuals reimbursed to write checks to the defendant’s campaign in amounts that complied with the legal limit on individual donations.

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Governor Phil Murphy Restores Voting Rights to People on Probation and Parole

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy Signs Restoration of Voting Rights to People on Probation and Parole.With the stroke of Gov. Phil Murphy’s pen,  New Jersey restored the right to vote to people on probation or parole.

The bill, A-5823, was passed on November 25 by the Assembly and on December 16 by the Senate. It restores voting rights upon a person’s release from prison, and to those on parole or probation. The law will go into effect 90 days from signing, or March 17, 2020.

Once implemented, this law will restore the right to vote for an estimated 83,000 New Jerseyans on probation or parole.

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Democrats Vote NO on Background Checks for Illegal Immigrant Drivers Licenses

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

TRENTON NJ, Citing safety and security concerns, Assemblyman Hal Wirths proposed an amendment to the illegal immigrant driver’s license bill (A4743) that would require all applicants to undergo a wanted person check to determine whether they had an outstanding arrest warrant or pending charges.

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U.S. Senate hopeful Dr. Rik Mehta Says Democrats Make NJ unsafe issuing Driver’s Licenses to Undocumented

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

CHESTER NJ, As Democrats in New Jersey seem all but certain to have a lock on legislation that will give driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants, Republican U.S. Senate candidate from NJ Rik Mehta speaks out against it.

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Majority of CPAs Do Not Favor a State-Run Bank in New Jersey

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

ROSELAND NJ, The majority of certified public accountants (CPAs) in a New Jersey Society of CPAs (NJCPA) survey in November, or 85 percent of the 489 members who responded, do not like the idea of having a public bank in New Jersey. The survey was conducted in response to Governor Murphy setting up a 14-member Public Bank Implementation Board (Executive Order No. 91) to develop a plan for such an endeavor within one year.

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Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal Issues the “LGBTQ Equality Directive,”

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, In conjunction with the release of a report by the Transgender Equality Task Force, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced three major new steps to protect residents from discrimination or harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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Governor Phil Murphy Continues Charging at Windmills

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Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order to Increase Offshore Wind Goal to 7,500 Megawatts by 2035

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

JERSEY CITY NJ, the Murphy administration continues to promote ideology over reality and like Don Quixote continues to change at imaginary windmills and chase strawman arguments in order to tax every aspect of life in New Jersey .

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NJ GOP Senator Recreational Marijuana Legalization Should Be Decided by Voters

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) today released the following statement regarding his position on a lame duck vote on marijuana legalization:

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Murphy’s Poor Fiscal Policies Leaves NJ Ill-Prepared for Next Recession

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

TRENTON NJ, Just as New Jersey was not prepared to weather the Great Recession, the state is once again vulnerable to a future economic downturn, according to a new report released today by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP). Authored by a practicum of graduate students from the Rutgers University Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, the report compares New Jersey’s preparation for and response to the Great Recession with that of five other states: Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina.

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Thank Phil Murphy For New Jersey’s Pathetic Economic Growth Rate

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ , according to the Garden State Initiative New Jersey GDP growth is dismal ranking 48th in the US. New Jersey’s economic growth fell by more than half to .7% in the 2nd quarter of 2019. New Jersey is growing at less than half the rate of New York, Pennsylvania or Delaware.

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New Jersey Ranked At Bottom of Barrel in Business Tax Climate for Sixth Year in a Row

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

TRENTON NJ, the Tax Foundation released its annual State Business Tax Climate Index, and New Jersey is in 50th place for the sixth year in a row. The authors say the ten states in the lowest rankings “have a number of afflictions in common, complex, nonneutral taxes with comparatively high rates.”

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STATE PARKS, FORESTS AND HISTORIC SITES IN NEW JERSEY PROVIDE TREATS, SOME FRIGHTS FOR VISITORS IN CELEBRATION OF HALLOWEEN

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 TRENTON NJ, From mummy duck races to multiple trick-or-treating events and spooky Jersey Devil stories, a frightfully diverse array of Halloween-themed events for children and adults is available this month at state parks, forests and historic sites, the Department of Environmental Protection announced.

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Oh look. ?. One “SANE” NJ Democratic Lawmaker., Van Drew Breaks With House Democrats

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Democrat Breaks Ranks, Van Drew Opposes Impeachment

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Trenton NJ, This lawmaker is one of the few House Democrats against the impeachment inquiry. He says he’s on the ‘right side of history.’

Freshman Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., is one of only a handful of House Democrats to oppose the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump and he’s not shy about explaining why.

His opinion has won public praise from Trump, angered progressive groups and sparked an effort to recruit a primary challenger to take him on. “Everybody says, ‘Be on the right side of history’ — I think the right side of history is not to impeach,” Van Drew said.

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Governor Murphy Tells Residents to Leave if They Don’t Like the High Taxes

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon said the governor showed his true colors when he suggested to business leaders at Rowan College that New Jersey may not be their state if they are concerned about tax rates.

“It’s outrageous that Gov. Murphy is telling families and employers they can ‘take it or leave it’ if they have a problem with New Jersey’s high taxes,” said O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth). “He should be working with the Republican caucus to make New Jersey more affordable. He should be listening to everyone who is telling him they can’t pay more and the many analysts and independent ratings agencies sounding the alarm that New Jersey is headed for disaster if we don’t get our fiscal house in order.  Suggesting our highest earning – and the top-taxpaying – residents might be better off leaving is exactly the wrong message.”

In a report for KYW Newsradio, Murphy was quoted: “If you’re a one issue voter and tax rate is your issue … if that’s the only basis upon which you’re going to make a decision, we’re probably not your state.”

“If you don’t like it, get out? That’s no way to treat the employers who are providing jobs and benefits for New Jersey families,” said O’Scanlon. “Murphy is so obsessed with spending money on his leftist priorities that he is daring employers to load up the trucks and leave. That’s a dangerous message that may cost people their jobs.”

Last year, twice as many people moved out of the state than moved in. Once again, New Jersey lost more people than any other state as the population slumped to pre-2013 levels. And it’s high-net-worth and high earners – who already have houses in Florida – that have the lowest barriers to moving and have the most to gain by doing so.

New Jersey is ranked No. 5 in Kipplinger’s list of “The 10 Least Tax-Friendly States in the U.S.” The publication said the state “brings the hammer down” on residents when they buy a home with property taxes that are the highest in the nation. “The state-wide average property tax on a $400,000 home in New Jersey comes to a whopping $10,120,” the report said.

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New Jersey Business & Industry Association : “New Jersey’s taxes are exorbitant”

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NJBIA Statement on First Anniversary of Murphy Administration Economic Plan

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, NJBIA President & CEO Michele Siekerka, Esq., made the following statement on Tuesday regarding the one-year anniversary of the release of Gov. Phil Murphy’s economic plan.

“Through the first year of the plan, the administration has taken some much needed steps to put New Jersey on the path to regain its stature as the Innovation State. This is a vision shared by NJBIA, recognizing New Jersey’s location, workforce and infrastructure.

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