The Ridgewood Blog Brings a Free Market Laissez-faire Point of View to Local, New Jersey State and National Issues.
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced that a Cumberland County man was indicted for allegedly stealing a total of $96,437 from New Jersey’s unemployment insurance trust fund.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Kristin Corrado voiced her strong support for a resolution of impeachment to remove Marcus Hicks from his post as commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Corrections.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced today that New Jersey has entered into a settlement with global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, resolving an investigation into the company’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic by designing aggressive marketing strategies used by some of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers, including Purdue Pharma.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today announced criminal charges against three suspended correctional police officers for their alleged roles in an incident in which inmates were assaulted and seriously injured at the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in the early morning of Jan. 12, 2021.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Kristin Corrado said the success of New York investigators in holding Governor Andrew Cuomo accountable and forcing his administration to be more transparent should serve as motivation for legislators to act in New Jersey.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Joe Pennacchio called on Governor Murphy to bring the New Jersey National Guard home from Washington, D.C. after reports that military personnel deployed in the capital to provide security for the inauguration of President Joe Biden had been relegated to sleeping on the floors of parking garages.
Continue reading Outrage Grows Over Treatment of Nation Guard in Washington DC
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, apparently the media is caught in another big lie , after weeks of non stop hyperbolic propaganda about supposed “pro-trump protests ” at the states capitol, all is quiet .
A heavy police presence guarded Trenton’s downtown , with state troopers wearing body shields stationed inside and outside of the Statehouse with Department of Corrections buses parked nearby.
Police, community leaders and many others spent the last week or so preparing for possible protests, as the “FBI warned” of possible assaults on all state capitols nationwide.
Aside from law enforcement a clueless cadre of reporters and photographers assembled to document the “planned protest”.
The fact is there was no plan by pro-Trump supporters to march on capitol buildings nationwide, the whole thing was and is media hype. Anyone could have Googled it or looked it up on Facebook.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today issued additional guidance to prosecutors concerning the prosecution of low-level marijuana cases, supplementing his August 29, 2018 and November 4, 2020 guidance.
Continue reading New Jersey Marijuana Possession-related Offenses Adjourned Till January 25, 2021
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order No. 195, which permits municipalities and counties to impose additional restrictions on the hours of operation of non-essential retail businesses, food and beverage establishments, and recreation and entertainment businesses after 8:00 p.m. The Order prohibits municipalities and counties from imposing restrictions that prevent dining establishments from arranging for the pickup or delivery of goods or otherwise limiting their scope of operations. The Order will take effect immediately.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
TRENTON NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal announced that a California man was sentenced to state prison today for traveling to New Jersey in an attempt to sexually assault an underage girl. He communicated online with a man he believed was offering him an opportunity to sexually assault a girl, age 11, but that man was really an undercover detective of the New Jersey State Police.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, New Jersey Business & Industry Association President and CEO Michele Siekerka issued the following statement regarding the announcement of an executive order by Gov. Phil Murphy today mandating workplace safety protections on New Jersey businesses.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Wyckoff NJ, Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips’s bill to permit corporations to use blockchain for certain recordkeeping requirements passed the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee Wednesday. The bill (A1178) clarifies that New Jersey corporations may use blockchain to simplify recordkeeping requirements.
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal today issued guidance to New Jersey’s law enforcement leaders to ensure that voters can cast their ballot in the upcoming election safely and without fear of intimidation. The guidance marks the latest step by the Attorney General’s Office to bolster public confidence in New Jersey’s election process.
Since New Jersey is a vote-by-mail state we are not sure were the voter intimidation is going to come from?
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) today criticized the Murphy administration’s continued blockade of New Jersey’s reopening and cited numerous metrics from surrounding states’ successful reopening.
“That the Governor, with a straight face, can cite a debunked study of an incident that happened over 8,000 miles away involving a restaurant in China with a wheezy, inadequate ventilation system that doesn’t conform to standards used in this country…to justify continuing to kill businesses here in New Jersey is outrageous and demoralizing for anyone trying to hold out hope that there’s any real, scientific focus on our safety and the health of our economy,” said O’Scanlon. “That the Governor, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, continues to suggest that we have to continue to destroy thousands of businesses and jobs and livelihoods is simply unconscionable. What we can see across the board – with the undeniable metrics and results from surrounding states in the Northeast – is that our draconian, timid, most-stringent economy, business-and-job killing restrictions in the region – if not the country – is providing tremendous, needless economic & mental health pain, with zero health benefit.” said O’Scanlon. “New Jersey is months behind other states in reopening indoor dining and gyms–even at a limited capacity–and yet our rate of transmission, deaths & cases is no better than our surrounding states. On virtually every metric we see no benefit to these polices. But the damage is evident. On virtually every economic metric we are underperforming our Northeast neighbors, dramatically on many fronts. If you don’t think these numbers are a big deal, think again. Our taxes and budget decisions will be tortured. Unemployment, mortgage defaults and bankruptcies will impact us all. Our children and grandchildren will be stuck with the bills and consequences. The very survival of New Jersey as we know and love it hangs in the balance.”
Continue reading NJ’s Draconian Restrictions Are Proven Unnecessary, Economically Devastating
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Trenton NJ, Senator Michael Doherty said the New Jersey Constitution doesn’t authorize Governor Phil Murphy to issue an Executive Order that unilaterally changes the manner in which voters will cast their ballots this November.
Doherty pointed to Article II, Section I of the New Jersey Constitution, which says: “General elections shall be held annually on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; but the time of holding such elections may be altered by law.”