Irvington NJ, Democratic Assemblyman Jamel Holley said Gov. Phil Murphy’s been asleep at the switch on the Newarks lead crisis.
Holley is a member of the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 20th Legislative District. He was appointed to the seat on January 21, 2015, by the elected members of the Union County Democratic Committee from the 20th district municipalities of Elizabeth, Hillside, Roselle, and Union Township making him the first African American to represent the district. He is serving out the unexpired term of former Assemblyman and now State Senator Joseph Cryan.
Newark NJ, after spending the better part of the last 2 years attacking everything that is “Trump”, New Jersey officials failed to take any action to fix Newark’s water problems . Several other New Jersey cities are currently facing a similar fate.
But in a joint statement issued Sunday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy and Mayor Ras Baraka said safe drinking water was critically important and called on the federal government to help.
The EPA tested and found high levels of lead with filters in two residences in Newark. The agency strongly encouraged the city of Newark to take immediate action. DEP Commissioner McCabe responded to EPA that, “EPA has not offered any support in providing bottled water to the city or in distributing that bottled water. Given the concerns EPA has here, we hope that EPA will offer assistance promptly.”
2016-2017 School Budget Presentation is Set for April 19
Residents are invited to hear from Board of Education members, the superintendent and the district business administrator about the proposed 2016-17 school budget. They will be at Benjamin Franklin Middle School auditorium on Tuesday, April 19, from 7:30 – 9 p.m. to review the proposed budget and answer questions.
Click here to view the latest information on the budget, updated on April 6, 2016.
Superintendent and Board Host Coffee and Conversation on May 24
The Board of Education and Superintendent will host residents for Coffee and Conversation on Tuesday, May 24. The public is invited to drop in at the Education Center at 49 Cottage Place, floor 3 between 7 and 8:30 p.m. to ask questions and share suggestions and concerns.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — In New Jersey’s biggest city, fears are growing over lead in the school district’s water after a lab found elevated levels in nearly half its schools. The Newark district quickly shut off sinks and fountains in 30 buildings and has offered to test as many as 17,000 kids for contamination.
But the problem isn’t new for the state’s largest school district. Testing has shown elevated levels in some buildings over the last few years. And the district has been addressing issues of lead in the water since at least 2003.
The highest lead levels found in the water in Newark’s schools, however, are far lower than those found in homes in Flint, Michigan, which is experiencing a crisis after the city changed its water supply.
Water also poses a relatively small risk of lead poisoning compared to more common sources, such as lead paint.
“One square centimeter of lead paint, about the size of your pinkie nail, has two times what you’d get from drinking a quart or water from highest level of lead in one the schools,” said Dr. Steven Marcus, executive director of the New Jersey Poison Information & Education System at Rutgers University.
Nevertheless, parents are concerned, with dozens submitting their kids for blood tests when the district first offered them on Thursday.
“My first thing was, Flint, Michigan,” said Dionne Bradshaw, whose daughter was tested. “That’s the first thing I thought about. Ok, here we go again.”
