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Local ballot questions pit neighbor against neighbor across N.J.
In every community across New Jersey on Tuesday, elected officials — and people who want to be elected officials — will ask for your vote. Depending on where you live, you also may be asked your opinion on all sorts of other things, from overnight parking and pot sales to fire trucks and turf fields. […]
In Jersey City, frustration flares up over a controversial affordable housing program
Luisa Reyes Mantilla was a young single mother in 1994 when she spotted an advertisement for low-income, first-time homebuyers in Jersey City. To qualify, you had to have good credit, a few thousand dollars in the bank, and a willingness to rent the other half of your duplex to someone similarly in need. She called […]
Social and racial justice activists form new coalition to push for police reform statewide
Keilan Scott knows all too well about police violence. In 2018, relatives called for help when Scott’s brother-in-law died at the family’s Fort Lee home. “But they didn’t come as if they were assisting,” Scott said. “They came as if a crime was in progress. They approached as if they were raiding the house.” After […]
Reformers call for end to discriminatory pricing in N.J. car insurance
Most drivers might assume their car insurance rates are based on their driving history and safety record. Instead, many insurers use education, occupation, and consumer credit scores to determine rates, charging higher premiums for those least likely to afford them: poor and minority drivers. But a bill now before the Legislature could provide relief. The […]
22K new jobs in New Jersey in September, unemployment at 7.1%
New Jersey added 21,500 jobs in September, the ninth consecutive month of gains, according to the latest job gains report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The latest gains mean New Jersey has recovered 68.1%, or 488,100, of the total 717,200 jobs lost statewide during the pandemic, the data shows. While that lags behind […]
Workers prepare for Gateway project as infrastructure bill remains stalled
Across a 61-acre expanse of dirt and weeds beside the New Jersey Turnpike in South Brunswick, workers toil on construction projects that will never be finished. Crane operators delicately drop hooks from 140 feet overhead into metal barrels. Bulldozer drivers plot proper water runoff by shaping slopes too subtle to see with a glance. Trucks […]
Ciattarelli bashes Murphy, urges supporters to lure voters to polls
GOP gubernatorial hopeful Jack Ciattarelli called on supporters to help get out the vote at a packed Republican rally Tuesday in Medford, where he was joined by Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel. “We can win this race. Do not let anybody stay home because they think it’s rigged,” urged Ciattarelli, who has trailed Gov. Phil […]
State doesn’t have to pay for pandemic-related business failure, court rules
A Sussex County business owner who blamed the closure of her kickboxing gym on state-ordered pandemic regulations lost her bid for compensation from the state after an appellate court ruled against her Monday. Superior Court Judge Garry S. Rothstadt, writing for the three-judge appellate panel that heard the case, sided with Gov. Phil Murphy in […]
New federal legislation aims to hold social media platforms liable for misinformation
Four federal Democratic lawmakers will introduce legislation in the House on Friday that would hold websites and social media platforms liable for spreading misinformation and harmful content. The focus of the bill is the use of algorithms that drive third-party content to people’s feeds based on their personal information and browsing history. The Justice Against […]
Community investment would protect public more than over-policing, report says
New Jersey communities spend far more on policing than on health and human services, an imbalance that has increased rates of police use of force and incarceration while widening racial disparities in the criminal justice system, according to a new report by New Jersey Policy Perspective (NJPP), a progressive think tank. Community-based crisis-response and prevention strategies […]
State board expands access to abortion in N.J. through regulation changes
The New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners unanimously agreed Wednesday to repeal several restrictions on abortion, effectively expanding access by allowing medical providers other than physicians to terminate pregnancies. The move comes six weeks after Texas lawmakers enacted a controversial abortion ban that drove abortion-rights advocates across the country to rally to preserve women’s […]
Activists demand lawmakers act to curb police brutality on ‘Long March for Justice’
Cecille Hepburn marched for her grandson, Kashad Ashford, who police gunned down in 2014 after a car chase. Steven Young marched for change, a year after he quit Atlantic City’s civilian review board, which is tasked with police oversight, in protest over its powerlessness. And Larry Hamm marched because marching is what Larry Hamm does. An […]