Briefs
Court monitor gives N.J. child welfare system positive review
Twenty-two years after advocates filed a sweeping class-action lawsuit to reform New Jersey’s overburdened, mismanaged, and occasionally deadly child welfare system, a court-appointed monitor Wednesday reported that the system has improved so much it’s now regarded as a model nationally. The state Department of Children and Families (DCF) met 44 of its 48 performance targets, […]
Study: N.J. last in nation for getting government help by phone
The human element in some of New Jersey’s government services is difficult to find. A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago found live representatives for New Jersey’s unemployment insurance program and other government services were harder to reach than in any other state. Researchers commissioned 10 assistants to call into unemployment, […]
Murphy orders health care, corrections staff to get vaccinated or tested
All workers in New Jersey’s state and private health care facilities and “high-risk congregate settings” must get fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 7, or undergo testing once to twice a week, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. Murphy attributed the change to the spread of the Delta variant and its widespread impacts. “Almost every day, […]
2022 spending bill included all but one add-on spending request
As lawmakers finalized New Jersey’s budget in June, Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration and legislators submitted 407 requests for additional spending. Just one of those requests was denied outright, according to a review of budget resolutions. The budget add-ons, often referred to as “pork” or “Christmas-tree items,” helped push the final price tag of the state’s budget […]
N.J. courts to fully re-open amid stunning backlogs, broad vacancies
New Jersey’s courthouses will fully re-open to the public today for the first time since the start of the pandemic, acting Administrative Director of the New Jersey Courts Judge Glenn Grant announced Friday. State courts resumed holding in-person trials and some other on-location services in mid-June, but capacity was limited to 50%. Entry to courthouses […]
Lawmakers announce hate crimes registry bill after Mount Laurel man’s racist tirade
A trio of Burlington County lawmakers have proposed a public hate crimes registry in response to a Mount Laurel resident’s racist tirade against Black neighbors, a rant that was part of an apparent rise in confirmed or suspected hate crimes statewide. The proposed registry would be a searchable database that includes the names, street addresses, […]
Post-birth home nurse visits now required under new law
Headaches wracked Sunmisola Adedonkun in the days after she gave birth. She might have written it off as a minor ailment treatable by over-the-counter pain relievers, but a visit from a home nurse identified the potentially life-threatening postpartum preeclampsia she faced. Today, Adedonkun credits that visit with saving her life. “I rushed to the hospital. […]
Murphy’s new mask recommendation unlikely to impact gubernatorial race
New masking recommendations issued by Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration are unlikely to have much of an impact on his re-election race, but worsening conditions could necessitate measures with greater political cost. Murphy and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli on Wednesday urged residents to don masks in crowded indoor spaces or ones where individuals may not be […]
With Legislature in recess, N.J. Supreme Court justice delays retirement
New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Jaynee LaVecchia is delaying her retirement date until the state Legislature returns to approve her replacement, according to a statement released by the courts. She had planned to retire on Aug. 30 in advance of the new court session, which begins Sept. 1. But with the Legislature on an extended […]
Fraction of N.J.’s rental assistance fund has been distributed, state says
The state’s biggest rent relief program aimed at helping New Jersey tenants on the brink of financial crisis has helped just 11% of applicants so far, according to the state agency overseeing the fund. Of the 113,000 struggling renters who applied for the second phase of New Jersey’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program, 13,489 households […]
N.J. Democratic groups maintain fundraising edge in first half of 2021
Democratic county party organizations continued to outraise their Republican counterparts in the first six months of 2021, the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission announced Tuesday. The 21 Democratic county organizations brought in $1.56 million between January and June, while GOP county party committees raised just shy of $870,000. Despite outspending the Republican groups more […]
U.S. Senate advances nomination of Stone-Manning for public lands post
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Tuesday agreed 50-49 to bring to the floor the nomination of Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning to head the Bureau of Land Management, following weeks of GOP attacks over her ties to a 1989 tree-spiking scheme. Due to a deadlocked 10-10 vote out of the U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, Senate […]