Trenton NJ, With many states delaying the later phases of their reopening or even bringing back restrictions they already lifted due to spikes in COVID-19, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released updated rankings for the States with the Fewest Coronavirus Restrictions, as well as accompanying videos and audio files.
Trenton NJ, According to a new statewide survey released today, 57% of New Jersey voters want gyms and fitness centers to reopen, with strict safety protocols in place. In fact, after voters hear the specific safety precautions that those venues will follow, as well as other factors, support for reopening gyms grew to 69%.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey, found that the most compelling argument to reopen gyms is when comparing them to other establishments that have already reopened. More than seven-in-ten (71%) are more likely to support reopening gyms after learning that New Jersey has already allowed casinos, amusement parks, and museums to reopen, and that gyms have five times more square footage per person than establishments like cycling studios and hair salons that have also been allowed to reopen.
Morristown NJ, The popular Market Taverne restaurant in Morristown is the latest causality due to New Jersey’s prohibition on indoor dining.
The decision to shut this restaurant down forever leaves 30 employees without jobs, and became public only days after another popular restaurant in the town, La Campagna announced they were going out of business.
LINWOOD NJ, Hirsh Singh, the conservative candidate seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate is pitted in a tug-of-war with Governor Phil Murphy’s Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal over the failed vote-by-mail election held on July 7th.
“Tens of thousands of ballots remain uncounted, rejected or lost, disenfranchising tens of thousands of New Jersey voters,” Singh said. “But Phil Murphy’s Attorney General couldn’t care less because he’s more interested in representing the interests of Phil Murphy than the interests of the people.”
Trenton NJ, Senator Michael Testa today said the massive power outages resulting from Tropical Storm Isaias prove there is much work remaining to make New Jersey’s power grid more robust.
“Every time a storm hits, the results are the same. Trees come down, wires come down, people go without power for days,” said Testa. “Trees growing too close to electrical lines is a recipe for trouble in storms, and as long as there’s resistance when the utility companies plan to cut back vegetation that jeopardizes power delivery to residents, we’re going to continue to suffer massive outages like the ones this week.
Trenton NJ, Two New Jersey men have been charged with attempting to set fire to a marked police vehicle following the May 2020 protests in Trenton, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.
Killian F. Melecio, 20, of Columbus, New Jersey, and Kadeem A. Dockery, 29, of Trenton, were arrested Aug. 5, 2020, by special agents of the FBI and charged by complaint with one count of attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle owned or possessed by an institution receiving federal financial assistance, and one count of attempting to damage or destroy by fire a vehicle used in and affecting interstate commerce. Melecio and Dockery appeared by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni. Dockery was released; Melecio was detained pending a bail hearing.
Edison NJ, Dr. Rik Mehta says it is time to fire Senator Cory Booker for a record of failure, destruction, and absenteeism – missing 65% of his Senate votes during his failed Presidential run.
“New Jersey has been hit extremely hard during this COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses are being crushed, prescription drug prices are rising, property taxes are increasing, and Cory Booker thinks defunding the police should be the focus of his office. This out-of-touch politician shows just how little he actually cares about his communities and explains why he shows up for work only 35% of the time. If you or I missed 65% of our work days we’d be fired in an instant! Why does Cory get to collect over $200,000 a year of taxpayer’s hard earned dollars to barely show up for work? It must end now, New Jersey deserves better.”
Trenton NJ, Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso at Wednesday’s post Isaias press conference : Thank you, Governor. Just as a matter of some comparison here, as the Governor mentioned, at the peak, we had 1.4 million people approximately without power, or customers. Sandy, Super Storm Sandy, at its peak, we had 1.7 million customers without power. Here’s a storm that just came through the entire state of New Jersey thank goodness at a more rapid pace than Sandy, but we still had devastating damage. And New Jersey was probably one of the hardest hit states from this particular storm. We are now down to, as the Governor mentioned, approximately 977,000 people without power. So we have – excuse me – almost 500,000 people who have been restored. Regionally, 3.5 million were without power in 14 states. New Jersey got literally whacked, and it really left its mark throughout the entire state. If you were to ask me what region of New Jersey was hit the hardest, I would have difficulty explaining or recognizing any particular area. The entire state was ravaged by this quick-moving storm.
Ridgewood NJ, NJ CAN 2020, a ballot campaign with the mission of getting to a “yes” vote on adult use cannabis legalization in New Jersey, has started the next phase of campaigning with the launch of NJCAN2020.org, an online clearinghouse for the ballot question and a portal for building grassroots momentum.
Trenton NJ, Senator Anthony M. Bucco, Senator Kristin Corrado, and Senator Joe Pennacchio said the Murphy Administration’s massive failures in protecting nursing homes, processing unemployment claims, and reopening Motor Vehicle Commission agencies must be investigated by the Legislature to ensure that fixes can be implemented as quickly as possible.
“It’s clear to everyone in New Jersey that the Murphy Administration has failed to properly protect nursing home residents, help unemployed workers, or plan for the MVC’s reopening,” said Bucco (R-25). “What’s not clear, however, is why the governor didn’t listen to the warnings raised by so many people or why he continues to refuse to enact the common-sense solutions we’ve proposed. It’s also not clear why Senate Democrats continue to delay the bipartisan investigation we were promised to help guide our efforts to fix lingering problems and prevent a recurrence of these critical failures.”
Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 171. The Order extends the Public Health Emergency that was declared on March 9, 2020 through Executive Order No. 103, which was previously extended on April 7, May 6, June 4, and July 2. Under the Emergency Health Powers Act, a declared public health emergency expires after 30 days unless renewed.
Trenton NJ, NJBIA Chief Government Affairs Officer Chrissy Buteas issued the following statement on today’s passage of bill S-2676/A-4389, which levies a 2.5% tax on health insurance plans, increasing costs for businesses and nonprofits.
“I pray that not one penny gets sent to New Jersey. Murphy did not take any steps whatsoever to stop the State’s hemorrhaging of money; in fact, he has done just the opposite: giving illegal immigrants free healthcare, free education, free everything, while giving the actual citizens of New Jersey nothing but the bills for such generosity. To pay for his $10 billion loan, he is already going to have to raise sales taxes and even create a NEW state property tax. It is finally time for spending cuts and they must be DEEP! our budgets must be pared down to the bare minimums, we have no right to be giving away free things when we have no money to pay for them.”
Ciattarelli Legal Team to Argue Before Court on August 5th
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Ciattarelli announced today that the New Jersey Supreme Court has accepted his campaign’s filing in the court challenge of Governor Phil Murphy’s plan to borrow nearly $10 billion.
“Last week, my campaign filed to challenge Governor Murphy’s reckless ‘borrow & tax’ scheme,” Ciattarelli stated.
“You Can’t ask for money for a problem you created murphy. Shouldn’t have kept small businesses closed for so long. You destroyed lives to save lives. Now alot of us will have to move because even with any federal aid you will raise taxes. You put all your hopes into federal money and on top of that the people you keep asking for money you paint them as villains. Money doesn’t grow on trees; we are already heading towards hyperinflation. You’ve already proven you can’t manage a state budget. You spend money like water and refuse to make the necessary cuts needed to balance the budget. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. From the republican side we blame your leaders for their decisions for their irresponsible spending. You can scream, cry, threaten, complain but at the end of the day you’ll be held accountable for NJ’s suffering. Obviously democratic leadership has created more poverty like it does in every democratic run state. Learn how to manage your funds and stop playing victim. You shut down NJ and then locked up, fined, & threatened to revoke license to any small business that tried to reopen to survive this pandemic. Those were your executive orders nobody else’s. You will be held accountable. NJ needs new leadership, republican leadership but since that wont ever happen NJs economy will never get better because all democrats do is spend & raise taxes. Someone take Murphy’s checkbook away already.”