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New Jersey’s unemployed fret about federal benefits expiring
Life was turning around for NyKia Jackson. After spending months without a stable roof over her head and crashing on a friend’s couch, Jackson rented an apartment in Pemberton perfect for her and her three kids. She had saved up some money from her jobs at Burger King and as a teacher in a preschool. […]
New anti-eviction program launching in three cities
A new anti-eviction initiative is launching in three cities as the state prepares to roll back pandemic-era eviction protections for some families beginning next week. The program — to be launched in Atlantic City, East Orange, and Trenton – has been in the works since before the coronavirus pandemic caused housing advocates to sound the […]
New Jersey abortion access bill remains in limbo
A bill to expand abortion access in New Jersey, once hailed by Democrats as proof of their commitment to reproductive freedom amid a threat to abortion rights nationwide, remains stalled and faces an uncertain future. The Reproductive Freedom Act, S3030, would codify and expand abortion access and pregnancy-related care, while funding state programs for pregnant […]
NYC congestion tax delay gives commuters temporary reprieve
New Jerseysans who commute into Manhattan by car are getting a temporary reprieve from a new congestion tax that will hit motorists with a roughly $13 fee for driving below Central Park. The Metropolitan Transit Authority announced a potential two-year timeline to implement the long-stalled plan on Friday. New York officials blasted the MTA for the […]
Murphy won’t say if N.J. will extend extra unemployment benefits
As the expiration date for pandemic-related unemployment benefits looms for over 500,000 New Jerseyans still relying on the weekly payments, Gov. Phil Murphy won’t say whether the state plans on extending those benefits. “No news on the unemployment extension,” he said during his weekly coronavirus press briefing Monday. The state Department of Labor also declined […]
Future ICE detention contracts banned by N.J. law
Private and public New Jersey facilities are barred from signing contracts to imprison federal immigrant detainees under a new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy Friday. Immigrant organizations, attorneys, and family members have advocated for years to end the lucrative business of immigrant detention in the Garden State. Murphy signed the bill quietly, without the […]
Undocumented residents falling deeper into debt as they await state stimulus
Monica Galindo lost her husband just as the coronavirus pandemic hit New Jersey. After 20 years of marriage, the 44-year-old mother of three became the only breadwinner of her household. That same month, she lost her job cleaning houses as pandemic restrictions took hold, and fell behind on rent and light bills. As an undocumented […]
New Jersey adds 14,600 jobs as state recovers from pandemic
Nearly 18 months since the coronavirus pandemic sent unemployment rates skyrocketing and shuttered businesses for months, New Jersey has recovered 62% of jobs lost, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a monthly jobs report. The state added 14,600 jobs in July, bringing the total number of jobs added since March 2020 to 441,700, […]
Essex County no longer in ICE business, but activists hold their cheers
For 13 years, the Essex County jail that held undocumented immigrants was at the center of fiery protests and confrontations, both from activists protesting in the streets of Newark and the detainees staging hunger strikes inside. Essex County Correctional Facility finally ceded to activists this year and cut its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs […]
Calls grow for N.J. to use federal aid to replenish unemployment fund
A growing, bipartisan chorus of lawmakers and business groups are calling on New Jersey to use federal stimulus dollars to replenish the state’s unemployment trust fund. The pleas for help came as the state wrestles with how to restore the fund, which lost millions as jobless claims skyrocketed during the pandemic. The fund needs a […]
Businesses pray for hiring boom after fed unemployment benefits expire
Nancy Mercurio is looking forward to Sept. 6. Mercurio, who owns a Haddon Heights dog sitting business, brought back most of her employees when appointments resumed in June 2020. A few didn’t want to come back, she said, so she’s had three positions open for months. The responses she’s gotten aren’t encouraging. Some interviewees don’t […]
Progressive activists call for investigation into senator for alleged ‘no-show job’
Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who was the subject of several investigations into his job as Linden’s prosecutor, is facing intensifying criticism, now from a group of progressive Democrat activists who want the state’s Joint Legislative Committee of Ethical Standards to probe Scutari’s actions. One of the activists behind the ethics probe demand, Sue Altman, director of […]