Category: Trenton

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Pressure Mounts to Limit Governor’s Emergency Powers

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, In response to months of mandatory shutdown across the state, 10th District Legislators Senator Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Greg McGuckin and John Catalano have sponsored a resolution which would prevent the overreaching of the Governor’s executive powers.  SCR-117 and ACR-181 proposes a constitutional amendment to limit effective period of certain emergency orders, rules, or regulations issued by Governor to 14 days.

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Taxpayer-Funded Manatt Health Study of Nursing Home COVID Deaths a Complete Whitewash

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, While the state is lifting some of its coronavirus restrictions today and opening restaurants for limited outdoor dining, Senator Joe Pennacchio raised concerns that the 6,000 nursing home residents who died from COVID-19 are being forgotten.

“If the state doesn’t learn from our mistakes, we will repeat them,” said Pennacchio (R-26). “We know things in our nursing homes went bad in a hurry, and we know that 6,000 vulnerable seniors died in forced isolation, unable to see their families for one last time. We know costly errors were committed, the Administration has been anything but forthcoming, and New Jersey residents have a long laundry list of questions that demand answers.”

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NJDOH Whistleblower files lawsuit for Wrongful Termination

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Holmdel NJ, Former Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health’s Division of Public Health, Infrastructure, Laboratories and Emergency Preparedness, Christopher Neuwirth, who was terminated on May 28, 2020, has filed a whistle-blower lawsuit today in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County against the State of New Jersey.

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NJ Attorney General Outlines Process for Revising Police Use of Force Policy

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

TRENTON NJ,  Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal outlined plans for revising New Jersey’s “Use of Force Policy,” which governs when the state’s 36,000 law enforcement officers may—and may not—use force against civilians. As part of that process, Attorney General Grewal announced that his office has launched an online portal for public comments and will be organizing community listening sessions in all 21 counties.

On June 2, 2020, Attorney General Grewal first announced his intention to revise the Use of Force Policy, the first update in two decades. The initiative is part of the Attorney General’s Excellence in Policing initiative, a sweeping set of policing reforms launched in December 2019 to promote the culture of professionalism, accountability, and transparency that is the hallmark of New Jersey’s best law enforcement agencies.

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State PBA Balks Statewide Order Requiring Law Enforcement Agencies to Identify Officers Who Commit Serious Disciplinary Violations

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, NJ Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal  ordered all law enforcement agencies in New Jersey to begin publicly identifying officers who commit serious disciplinary violations. Under the order, going forward every state, county, and local law enforcement agency in New Jersey will be required to annually publish a list of officers who were fired, demoted, or suspended for more than five days due to a disciplinary violation, with the first list to be published no later than December 31, 2020.

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Proposed Constitutional Amendment To Require Legislative Approval Every 15 days for Governors Emergency Powers

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon issued the following statement on the need to curtail Governor Phil Murphy’s emergency powers:

“Today, I signed onto a resolution that just strike me as peculiar. Peculiar in the sense that I never would have imagined the need for this to exist in a democracy. SCR-117 is intended to curtail the Governor’s power to issue emergency executive orders without reapproval by the legislature every 15 days. It’s a proposed constitutional amendment that if passed, would create a ballot question potentially altering our State’s constitution and let the public decide whether a Governor needs to have their power more frequently checked by the Legislature.

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Top 5 Best Activities When You Visit New Jersey

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New Jersey in an unfairly underrated state where anyone can enjoy a fantastic vacation. Visitors can choose from a broad range of world-class activities. Whether you’re interested in nature, the arts, history, or sports, you can find something exciting to do. Here are 5 activities you can enjoy in New Jersey.

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Governor Murphy has placed himself above and beyond his own law, sabotaging his own moral authority

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, Assemblyman Jay Webber is imploring Governor Phil Murphy to uphold the precedent of prior state leaders who have violated the law and demanded they be held accountable for their actions.

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Former Owner of NJ Construction Company Admits Embezzlement of Employee Retirement Funds

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

CAMDEN NJ, The former owner of a construction company today admitted his role in defrauding a retirement plan set up by the company, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Joshua Ferrell, 34, of Chatsworth, New Jersey, the former owner of Indian Mills Contracting Services Inc. (Indian Mills), pleaded guilty plea by videoconference before U.S. District Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez to an information charging him with one count of embezzlement and theft from an employee pension or welfare benefit plan or a fund connected with such plan established for the company’s employees.

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Monmouth County Assemblymen Denounces Talks of Defunding and Disbanding Police

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Middletown, N.J. – Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth) denounces recent discussions and proposals of defunding and/or disbanding police departments by elected officials across the United States. The idea of decreasing or dismantling of police departments has been a topic for decades, but has grown in attractiveness within some political circles in the wake of the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis and the ensuing protests:

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Governor Murphy must use Clemency powers after violating his Own Executive Orders

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ,  Assemblyman Jay Webber called upon Gov. Phil Murphy to exercise his gubernatorial power to pardon those cited for violating his executive orders after twice violating his own order that limits the size of gatherings amid the pandemic.

At the same time people who organized protests of Murphy’s orders have been ticketed for convening gatherings larger than allowed. His administration also had businesses that opened in defiance of his orders ticketed and closed.

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It is time to make the Trenton bridge mean something again: ‘Trenton Makes, The World Takes’

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, The state’s bipartisan legislative manufacturing caucus held a virtual round table discussion today on the impact of the coronavirus on business, and challenges manufacturers face as the economy opens up.

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Governor Murphy Signs Off On Toll Hikes and Goes on Massive Borrowing and Spending Binge

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Governor Murphy has officially approved the NJ Turnpike and Garden State expansion plan and the Atlantic City Expressway expansion in the Pinelands. He signed the meeting minutes on May 27 and sent confirmation letters to the NJ Turnpike Authority and South Jersey Transportation Authority. Earlier that day, the boards of both agencies held public hearings and approved the toll increases.

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Religious Liberty Attorneys, ” Our lawsuit seeks to be the catalyst that will end New Jersey’s experiment in absolute monarchy.”

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, The Thomas More Society, currently engaged in a federal religious liberty lawsuit against New Jersey Governor Philip Murphy, issued a response to today’s news that he is claiming to lift the stay-home orders that have been in place since mid-March. He is still limiting indoor gatherings to 25% of a building’s capacity or 50 people total.

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Constitutional Amendment Proposed to Curtail Governor’s Emergency Powers

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Trenton NJ, During times of emergency like the current COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Joe Pennacchio and Senator Steve Oroho have a plan to restore policy-making balance to the state.

Governor Phil Murphy, who today announced he was lifting the months-long stay-at-home order, has utilized his pen and executive orders to circumvent the elected Legislature and avoid public scrutiny during his time in office. He plans to sign another executive order raising limits on the size of indoor and outdoor gatherings in the state.

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