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School employees must vaccinate by Oct. 18 or submit to weekly tests
School faculty and staff workers must complete a vaccine regiment by Oct. 18 or submit to between one and two COVID-19 tests each week, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday. The new mandate, which will also apply to state workers, may be the most expansive New Jersey has yet seen. Some workers in health care, corrections, […]
Most voters support school mask, vaccine mandates, poll finds
New Jersey voters support requiring masking in schools, and just over half support mandating children over the age of 12 take the vaccine to attend in-person classes, a Monmouth University poll released Monday found. Two-thirds of respondents, 67%, told pollsters they backed the schools mask mandate Gov. Phil Murphy announced in early August. Under those […]
Impact of new prison redistricting law remains unclear
The impact of a new law that will count incarcerated New Jerseyans as living in their home communities — hailed by supporters as an end to “prison gerrymandering” — remains unclear. “It was a long time coming,” said state Sen. Shirley Turner (D-Mercer), a sponsor. “In fact, it’s long past time that we eliminate prison […]
As virus cases rise, vaccinations creep upward
More New Jerseyans are getting vaccinated as the Delta variant drives up New Jersey’s virus case counts. More than 156,000 residents started their vaccine regiment in the first 15 days of August, 43% more than did so during the same period in July. That month, new vaccinations fell to their lowest levels since COVID-19 immunizations […]
116-year-old court ruling is challenge for Rutgers vaccine lawsuit
A lawsuit seeking to overturn Rutgers University’s vaccine mandate faces grim odds and court precedent that dates back more than a century. The federal complaint alleges the school’s mandate violates protections against unwanted medical treatment provided by the 14th Amendment and other constitutional rights. The plaintiffs are Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit headed by anti-vaccine […]
Budget, abortion measures top most-lobbied bills in N.J.
Annual spending bills topped again topped the list of the state’s most-lobbied bills, but five of the 10 bills that have drawn the most attention from lobbyists this legislative session haven’t made it into law, according to analysis released by the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission Wednesday. The bills are wide ranging and are […]
Murphy still holds sizable lead over Ciattarelli, poll finds
Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy continues to lead GOP challenger Jack Ciattarelli, but voters give the Republican the edge on taxes, a Monmouth University poll found. Registered voters prefer Murphy by 16 points, 52% to 36%, and the enthusiasm gap Republicans have relied on does not appear to have materialized. The governor leads among high- and low-turnout […]
Judges rule towns can wait up to 16 months to fill vacancies, in blow to political parties
An appellate panel handed local political parties a stunning loss Tuesday after ruling municipal governing bodies in towns with partisan elections can keep vacant seats open for roughly 16 months. The three judges’ ruling is a reversal from a lower court decision that ordered Paul Coates, the Linden Democratic municipal committee’s pick for the vacant […]
In New Jersey, local lobbying goes undisclosed
Municipal officials in towns across New Jersey are facing a press of lobbying over local marijuana rules, but those influence efforts will largely go undisclosed. New Jersey’s lobbying regulations only cover influence at the state level and toward the general public. Lobbying targeting smaller units of government, like those that exist on the local and […]
Married State Police detectives who lied about bar fight terminated, barred from public jobs
Two married New Jersey State Police detectives will give up their posts and be barred from future public employment after lying about their role in a North Wildwood bar fight, acting state Attorney General Andrew Bruck announced Monday. Sgt. Gregory and Sgt. Dorothy Ogden, both of Hammonton, were accepted into a pretrial intervention program, and […]
Nonprofits sending vote-by-mail applications to 2M+ voters
New Jersey’s mostly-mail 2020 elections shattered turnout records, and two nonprofits are looking to replicate the trend in this year’s races. The Voter Participation Center and its sister organization, the Center for Voter Information, last week announced they would mail more than 2.4 million vote-by-mail applications to New Jersey voters in advance of November. The […]
New Jersey’s Asian population surges past 1 million
New Jersey’s Asian population grew faster than any other large ethnic or racial group, according to figures released by the Census Bureau Thursday. About 1.05 million New Jersey residents identified as Asian, either whole or in part, in the most recent decennial count. That’s a staggering 44% increase from the 725,726 who identified as Asian […]