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IT chief warns about dangers of state’s archaic technology
New Jersey’s technology infrastructure is in desperate need of repairs, with critical state agencies that oversee unemployment insurance and motor vehicle services relying on archaic systems that are at risk of failing at any point and sending the state into disarray for weeks, according to a new report released by the state. “All these legacy […]
After N.Y. fund for immigrant workers is nearly depleted, advocates say N.J. fund is too small
Across the Hudson River, immigrant advocacy groups celebrated the $2.1 billion New York allocated for a long-awaited Excluded Workers Fund, available to struggling undocumented residents who were ineligible for federal stimulus checks and jobless benefits. Now that pool of money, claimed by over 300,000 people in the two months since applications opened, is almost gone, […]
Democratic socialist seeking Jersey City council seat
A Jersey City council candidate is hoping to bring a touch of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Hudson County’s Democratic machine with his bid to become the first democratic socialist elected in New Jersey in a century. Joel Brooks, a union representative with Health and Allied Professionals Employees, is in a two-person race to […]
Kamala Harris greeted by pro-immigrant protests in Newark, Montclair
Vice President Kamala Harris visited the Garden State Friday, touring an Essex County COVID-19 vaccination site and chatting with preschoolers in Montclair while making a push for increased child care funding. Harris was also greeted by dozens of activists who rallied outside both sites and urged the nation’s second in command to demand Democrats approve […]
Don’t bring Amazon to Newark airport, protesters plead
To a soundtrack of screeching brakes and honking trucks, a group of environmental advocates, Newark residents, and working immigrants held a rally Wednesday to protest an impending deal for an Amazon cargo hub at Newark’s airport. “Every package you order to arrive in just minutes, every click you make — it has a cost. And […]
N.J.’s last publicly run ICE facility will no longer hold migrant detainees
After years of hunger strikes and fiery protests, Bergen County’s controversial, indefinite contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hold undocumented immigrants at its jail has come to an end. Bergen County Commissioners approved the move at their Wednesday meeting, giving federal authorities 45 days to transfer the 23 remaining detainees — 22 men […]
Employees over 70 can’t be forced to retire under new N.J. law
Workers who are 70 and older can no longer be forced out of a job just because of their age under a bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law Tuesday. The new law (A681) expands New Jersey’s existing anti-discrimination statute to protect older employees and closes what Murphy called a loophole that pushed some workers […]
ACLU fights restraining order Hudson County officials filed against anti-ICE protestors
The temporary restraining order a Hudson County official filed against a group of anti-ICE activists who protested outside his Jersey City home violates the constitutional rights of protestors, the American Civil Liberties Union’s New Jersey chapter said in a brief filed Friday. The ACLU-NJ argues the restraining order should be dissolved because it limits the […]
‘What am I going to do?’: When a signing bonus can’t help the jobless
Nicole Squitieri needs the $500 signing bonus New Jersey is using to lure the unemployed back to work. She said she has no choice but to turn it down. Squitieri is a mom with three kids — two of them have already had to stay home from school after coming into close contact with a […]
New Jersey City University faculty signals ‘no confidence’ vote in school’s president
Faculty members at New Jersey City University signaled they want to oust the state school’s president after a tense, two-hour Zoom meeting Monday. University senators — the school’s faculty leaders — voted 30 to 23 to cast a vote of “no confidence” in NJCU President Sue Henderson, who has been at the helm of the Jersey […]
Forming a new group, N.J.’s immigrant advocates fight for release of migrant detainees
A Bergen County detainee who was woken up in the middle of the night to be flown to Arizona. A Haitian migrant who was transferred from detention center to detention center seven times over four years. An Essex County resident who was detained while his wife was pregnant, and didn’t meet his child for two […]
N.J. needs a say in congestion pricing plan, commuters tell MTA
The MTA got an earful from New Jersey commuters during a virtual public meeting on New York City’s proposed congestion toll Friday, with residents saying the Garden State needs to benefit from the billions of dollars in expected revenue. It was the first of two virtual hearings for New Jersey residents to weigh in on […]