Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing: 5/17/2024
Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You can ask the Senate president, because he was none too pleased when I told him I wasn’t voting for it earlier in the day. I put my no vote in immediately.” – Senator McKeon on his OPRA bill vote
TOP STORY: Hennelly: Trump’s Wildwood Mirage
Senator Menendez has twin identities: that of senior senator, and criminal defendant, according to Politico NJ. Senator Menendez disclosed that his wife Nadine is suffering from breast cancer. Businesspeople don’t dispute giving gold and cash to the Menendezes, but say they were ‘gifts’, according to Politico NJ.
State outreach and ‘housing first’ are seen as key steps to ending homelessness in the state, according to NJ Spotlight.
Princeton University protesters ended their hunger strike, according to NJ Spotlight.
Actor Danny DeVito shared his memories growing up on the Shore, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
Somerset County approved the budget, according to TAPinto.
ICYMI: Thousands gathered for Trump rally, Van Drew welcomed Trump, who said ‘we’re going to win’ NJ, will ‘shut down deadly sanctuary cities‘ made endorsement of Serrano Glassner; Fulop celebrates reservoir trail
In CD3, a shared Murphy name mailer is at the center of a dispute, according to NJ Globe.
In CD10, Lamonica McIver’s petitions are under scrutiny for sharing one circulator, according to NJ Globe.
Paterson Councilman Mendez endorsed Chief Adamo for Passaic County Sheriff.
ICYMI: Durr looks to recapture magic; in CD3, Dems debated; Crispi’s star rising; Dem Senate candidates debated; Ocean GOP backing Bashaw; Sherrill took aggressive approach to Trump rally; in CD10, contenders filed to run; CD10 names, Armstead collecting signatures; Vainieri endorsed Guy for HCDO chair; Fulop held town hall; Glassner looking to pull Bashaw into fight; as Passaic intensifies, Speziale endorsed by Fulop; Murphy addressed campus unrest; Malinowski eying chair of Hunterdon Dems; Fulop launching down-ballot effort
Governor Murphy’s DCA pick met with the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to the Bergen Record.
The state’s voting age would be lowered to 16 for some elections under proposed legislation, according to NJ.com.
Democratic lawmakers keep talking about raising the sales tax, according to NJ Spotlight.
Gregg Hilzer joined Stevens and Lee’s Cannabis Law Group.
Advocates urged Governor Murphy to veto the OPRA bill, according to the Bergen Record.
Altered votes on the OPRA bill drew criticism, according to NJ Monitor.
ICYMI: Senate passed OPRA legislation, boos and jeers greeted vote
An Insider NJ movie review of ‘Civil War’.
Veteran defense attorney Joe Hayden shared his personal recounting of the Bill Musto trial.
Download and read Insider NJ’s 2024 Advance and Insider NJ’s 2024 African-American List
In White Township, the five-year fight over a warehouse is over.
In Hoboken, several councilmembers called for an investigation into Mayor Bhalla’s alleged quid pro quo arrangements. Councilman Russo released his transportation and parking proposal. The council approved the preliminary HBA budget, according to Hudson County View.
In Raritan Borough, Councilman Armhizer proposed a rent stabilization ordinance.
In Aberdeen, students are rallying for their favorite teacher as jobs are slashed, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Allenhurst, a probe was opened into the election, according to NJ Globe.
In Atlantic City, the DCA nominee is open to discussing the extension of the state takeover and public housing woes, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Edison, residents are facing a tax hike, according to MyCentralJersey.
In Hammonton, patients paid the price as public money flowed to embattled nursing home owners, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Jackson, a civil rights group is upset over the reaction to a Palestine rally, according to NJ101.5.
In Lakewood, the town is looking to put an end to a decade-long battle with a banquet hall, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Maplewood, the budget was adopted, according to TAPinto.
In Monroe, the town is paying $1.25M to settle a lawsuit exposing perks for part-timers, according to NJ.com.
In New Providence, the borough stepped in to pay the mortgage and fix Elizabeth Barabash Manor, according to TAPinto.
In Newton, neighborhood improvements highlighted a council meeting, according to NJ Herald.
In Peapack-Gladstone, the town will try repellent before euthanization for Liberty Park geese, according to NJ Hills.
In Phillipsburg, residents in a ‘food swamp’ struggle to find grocery staples amid a brief Wawa closure, according to Lehigh Valley Live.
In Prospect Park, enrollment at Manchester shifted the tax burden, according to NorthJersey.com.
In Ridgefield Park, municipal election results are too close to call, according to the Bergen Record.
In Ringwood, the town is buying 16 acres of land to end a battle with a developer, according to NorthJersey.com.
In South River, a council vacancy was filled, according to MyCentralJersey.
In Wayne, the town is planning for a new master plan, according to TAPinto.
In West Orange, the town approved a 30-day lift of the moratorium for cannabis cultivators and manufacturers, according to TAPinto.
ICYMI: In Paterson, Mendez declared victory; Velez won; Abdelaziz won; in Montclair, Baskerville won mayoralty; in Orange, Mayor Warren secured re-election; in Irvington, Vauss’ allies swept; guide to municipal elections; in Annandale, ongoing book battle; in New Brunswick, freedom of press case may go to state SC; in Roxbury, BOE decision to rescind transgender protections
Insider NJ columnist Bob Hennelly writes ‘Afghani Family Who Helped U.S. Uplifted by FDU’s Global Reach‘ and ‘Wildwood Proves Trump Maga Fever Still Raging‘ and ‘Gaza’s Fate Looms Large in NJ Dems June Primary Debate‘
Insider NJ columnist Carl Golden writes ‘‘Can’t Anybody Here Play This Game!?’‘
Insider NJ columnist former Senator Bernard Kenny writes ‘America 2024: A Matter of Life and Death‘
AROUND THE WEB:
$14M settlement reached in lawsuit over contaminated water at Montvale facility
Kyle Morel, NorthJersey.com
- New Jersey officials agreed to a $14 million settlement in a 2019 lawsuit involving groundwater contamination at a Montvale facility, the attorney general’s office stated Thursday.
Westwood school lockdowns were false alarms. Now the district is tackling the root cause
Stephanie Noda, NorthJersey.com
- Twice in the last two months, police have rushed to Westwood Regional High School after a security alert triggered a lockdown. Both times, it was a false alarm.
Senate panel approves changes to tax incentive program
Nikita Biryukov, NJ Monitor
- A Senate panel has unanimously approved a bill that would require some recipients of certain state tax incentives to temporarily cede their awards if occupancy falls too low and allow the Economic Development Authority to extend loans meant to fill funding gaps that tax credits do not. The bill, which the Senate Economic Growth Committee approved in a unanimous vote Thursday, would be the latest update to the voluminous Aspire tax incentive program signed into law in 2021, one meant to encourage development, including in some of the state’s most beleaguered cities.
More risk for NJ? Canada’s massive wildfires are spreading
Mike Brant, NJ1015
- It was one for the record books in New Jersey. In June 2023, New Jersey’s skies became choked with smoke billowing in from Canadian wildfires. And it wasn’t just hazy, milky skies we dealt with. This time, we dealt with the smoke settling on the surface creating an ominous and eerie scene all throughout the Garden State. Nothing but orange everywhere, with air quality so poor it was practically off the charts.
Cargo conundrum: Port of NY/NJ is capable of handling huge increase in volume — but is New Jersey?
Tom Bergeron, roi-nj.com
- In the early morning hours of March 26, just minutes after a cargo ship leaving the Port of Baltimore slammed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, knocking down the bridge and halting traffic in and out of the port, Beth Rooney’s phone started blowing up.
A decade has passed since Trenton Mayor Tony Mack was sentenced to prison
LA Parker, The Trentonian
- May 15, 2014. The 10-year anniversary of former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack being sentenced to 58 months in federal prison came and went with minimal acknowledgment. A decade back, Mack headed off to incarceration for his decision to accept $119,000 in bribes for the development of a parking garage on city-owned land in exchange for his influence. The bogus FBI sting trapped Mack along with several others.
‘Gold Bar Bob’ Menendez faces Jersey music in new federal corruption trial | Stile
Charles Stile, NorthJersey.com
- Once again, Sen. Bob Menendez is on trial on a raft of stranger-than-fiction accusations that he enriched himself, in collaboration with his wife, Nadine, as an under-the-table fixer for the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
Bob Menendez needs to explain himself to NJ voters. He has to testify | Mike Kelly
Mike Kelly, NorthJersey.com
- The Bob Menendez trial needs to call a special witness. This witness can clear up the mysteries in the case — most of them, anyway. He might even save himself and his fractured legacy. His name is Bob Menendez. It’s time New Jersey’s senior U.S. senator explained himself.
‘Where’s Bob?’ Meet the cast of New Jersey senator’s corruption trial. From gold bars to Waldo.
S.P. Sullivan, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
- Federal prosecutors say U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife Nadine were “motivated by greed” when they took money, gold bars and a Mercedes convertible from their wealthy friends in exchange for doing their bidding in Washington.
Montclair’s costly dysfunction under Sean Spiller | Editorial
Star-Ledger Editorial Board
- After a whistleblower alleged that Sean Spiller and other Montclair officials took thousands of dollars in health benefits that they weren’t legally entitled to, they have yet to face any real consequences.
Matt Rooney, Save Jersey
- The OPRA “reform” bill which passed both chamber of the state legislature earlier this week didn’t pull 40+ Democrat votes – at least initially, before they let members change their votes after the fact? – but a bloc of Republicans supplied the votes required for passage.
Book-banning advocates seek elected power as book challenges near fever pitch
Virginia Annable, Press of Atlantic City
- n 2022, a grandmother in Catawba County, North Carolina, asked the county’s school board to remove 24 books from the district’s libraries. Her request was part of a wave of book challenges across the country. Michelle Teague said she wanted the books removed for explicit content to which she felt children should not be exposed. Four months after instigating the book challenges and an ensuing debate, Teague filed for election to the Catawba County School Board. By the end of the year, she was sitting on the board that would vote on whether the school should ban the very books she challenged — or change the process by which those books were reviewed.
Murphy celebrates “a full week of declining numbers” then says “status quo of lockdown will remain until new cases and fatalities decrease.” So, which of Murphy’s statements is accurate? He said 2 opposite things in a single paragraph of speaking.
He;s “vacationing” at his villa in Italy, while Covid surges and the state is paralyzed by “remote work”…………translation: NO WORK
That is what happens in practicality when they are “suspending their disbelief” (HR Clinton) in real numbers and going on predictive models to make decisions. And then after doing that, they vote with “feelings.”
lmao imagine supporting lockdowns after the largest mass death event in american history and calling that a feeling driven conclusion? maga chuds never fail to disappoint
keeping up with the news
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keeping up with the news
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So….about those 56 machines in Bergen… <<>>
Murphy running for President is LAUGHABLE. Nased on what??
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Increasing Use of Cosmetic Products & Their Side Effects
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Murphy doesn’t want to be the president, he wants to be a state trooper.
Nice article! thanks for sharing the post!
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lETS NOT FORGET that during the pandemic Donald Trump sent the MERCY, a fully equipped, COVID prepared Hospital ship to save lives of victims and healthcare workers . But Murphy in his wisdom would rather send Patients back to nursing homes that were ill-equipped to treat these patients so they could die , rather than utilize a life-saving gift and be like NY governor Cuomo, another anti-Trump
tool.
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Gun owners don’t have to talk about guns because they know that they have to come out and vote to protect their constitutional right to bear arms. The Supreme court decision has affirmed that right and somehow our “leaders” haven’t learned how to read.
NJ is one of the most corrupt and racist places to live. There’s “0” accountability for the criminal acts, corruption, and unfair treatment of the people of this state. It starts with our governor who cares less for truth and honesty. Continue to ruin the lives of the citizens of this state.
How about those unintended consequences.
New Jersey mandating that all cars being sold by 2035 be electric is telling us what we can or cannot buy with our own money. There will always be gasoline powered vehicles because of the power produced by internal combustion compared to the power produced by batteries; which is to say the more power the bigger the battery to the point of rediculousness. My thought is that if the state wants fewer gas powered vehicles on the road it should create a mass transit electric powered system that would emphasize convenience for commuters and everyday shoppers. Of course that would mean vehicles weighing tons more because of the size of batteries and that creates a whole other question of where to dispose of them (also for elelectric car batteries), since they are composed of highly toxic materials that can’t be burnt or buried. These are unintended consequences no- one is willing to grapple with until its too late. I think by 2035 th he electric car fantasy will go the same way the offshore wind farm has gone.
Stephen Brickman
206 Stonehenge Dr
Phillipsburg,NJ 08865
Stephen.Brickman@gmail.com
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The military serving in the Middle East represents every state in the Union. Those are our sons and daughters, Moms and Dads and yet we are very little to protect them, or REALLY retaliate when they’re attacked. Governor Murphy is the Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, and past chair of the National Governors Association and yet you never hear him mention about any requests either organization makes to Biden to be more aggressive about protecting our kids in harms way. It’s as though it doesn’t seem to matter to them. No wonder we look so weak to the rest of the world.
Teaneck property taxes pays for the school budget. Teaneck High School students walk out. Is a Hamas military shuffle march property tax bill included?
I’m a conservative and I do believe life begins at conception but the problem is that each mother is responsible for that life and it is in the realm of her mental and physical health that she will either bring it to term or abort it. This should not be a political decision and should not be be dictated by thousand of strangers. The Supreme Court turned it over to the states but it still remains personal for the mother and her family.
I don’t think it should be an “agenda item” for any political party. A state medical society may want to impose a time frame within which an abortion can occur but even that may be subject to the mother’s doctor’s discretion.
I say just quit discussing it and leave it up to the mother a father.
Voting should be based on understanding what’s actually happening and knowing who would make life safer and more livable. The only way to do that is to get both sides of the information remembering there are always two sides to a story. Mainstream media in my area includes the Star Ledger and the Easton Express. If you look at the bylines of the opinions you will find writers from the Washington Post and Bloomberg, both notoriously on the left. Even the political cartoons are a dead giveaway. CNN and CNBC are also left leaning. So what are the options for getting opinions and news from the right? Fortunately cable news has Fox, which is near center, and Newsmax, and NewsNation which are full right. Watching these even just occasionally will show a much broader picture and give the reader more information with which to make an informed voting decision. And remember you DONT have to vote party if you feel there’s a wiser choice.
The governor signed off on having Narcan available in all schools grades 9 through 12. But what about the idea
of having Narcan available in ALL SCHOOLS in New Jersey?
How’s his for an idea? Uncover the identities of the un-elected advisors to Pres. Biden, and publish their names. That way there is actually someone to blame when we lose valuable lives from unanswered attacks by terrorist organizations. We know Biden isn’t making these decisions on his own. My guess is that these advisors will quit the team rather than take the heat for poor decisions, revealing a big weakness in this administration. It might lead to improvements to the decision-making process.
Note to Concealed Carry permit holders: make sure you subscribe to one of the insurance companies that specialize in CCP, ie: US LAW SHIELD. If you ever have to fire your weapon , that has to be the first phone call you make. The second is 911, the third is your family. With so many new permit holders there will probably be an increase in discharges until word gets out that it’s actually unsafe for criminals to be in New Jersey and crime will take a nosedive.
Now unless you have a conviction in your background you can get that CCP and really defend yourself and your family. And more women are applying which is great for family defense. The stats that record gun violence will have to be re-organized into guns used for crime and guns used to prevent crime. A lot of get-always here because sometimes just brandishing a firearm is enough to stop a crime. But it should be reported anyway..
The liability limits for taxi cabs are extreme starting July 1. It was a plan in place through the insurance banking committee and it was abruptly changed with an amendment. The guys are barely making a living today and you’ve increased their insurance. What’s fair is fair and this is not it was an incremental increase, which was fair, and was removed by the governor please refer back to the original plan
Iowa gets it right. What better school security is there than trained, armed teachers with concealed carry permits. You wonder what parents and local government officials when they oppose this idea. Apparently they would rather wait for some demented individual, either a student or maybe an ex student pulls out a handgun of his backpack , or a long gun out of a duffel and starts firing do they can call it in and wait for help to show up. This move would save many lives and I would heartily endorse this idea nationwide. Of course I’m just an average gun owner who believes that our kids are our most valuable asset and need real protection.
The problem with the Line is that there is no vetting process. Whoever pays the most and/or is specifically unqualified and therefore relegated to the status of puppet is who the county bosses support and threaten the committee members to support. My opponent said on-air that he will do whatever they tell him. What kind of leadership is that. I have 8-10 organizations endorsing me to his zero. I have served many statewide for almost 4 years while he has never helped anyone but himself. No-brainer who is qualified, and they know it. That’s why they are getting nasty and vile while I continue to take the high road.
With the mainstream media touting the current president and suddenly discovers he’s been lying to us all about how supportive he is of Israel when it is reported he is receiving BIG donations from Soros and Rockefellers , both proven anti-American donors, to become pro Palestinian and Pro Hamas and Anti Israel by holding up ammunition shipments to Israel. And solidly answering the question of why he never goes directly against Iran. Is the MSM party to this also. How can the general public now know who and what to trust. They warn us how terrible a trump administration will be as if they have totally forgotten how good we had it under Trump. All I can say is put on your big boy pants and tell us how it really is.