Below is Insider NJ’s Morning Intelligence Briefing:
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We think this rule is really the first step in trying to force people to retreat from the Jersey Shore.” – NJBIA Government Affairs VP Ray Cantor on new DEP rules concerning land use in flood-prone areas
TOP STORY: Gottheimer Nudges the GOP on Gun Bill
Former state Supreme Court Justice Coleman, the state’s first black justice, passed away, according to the Bergen Record.
The state gained 22,000 voters in July, according to the Bergen Record.
The state, specifically Bergen County, suffers from ‘boroughitis’, according to the Bergen Record.
A Mark Cuban-backed startup is coming to the state as a new way to fight opioids, according to NJ.com.
Stinging jellyfish are invading the Shore, according to NJ.com.
Mercer County hired Maria Connolly as the new Planning Director.
Ocean County restarted foreclosure sales, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Rep. Gottheimer wants congressional action on gun legislation.
ICYMI: Menendez plans to resign, Governor will appoint placeholder; Biden withdrawing, and endorsed Harris, Dems scrambling to advance potential VP picks; Menendez saga still unfolding, Senator says there ‘seems to be an effort to force me into a statement‘, Murphy in position to appoint, Booker would lead expulsion effort; Menendez found guilty and faces a reckoning; Trump injured in assassination attempt; Norcross pleaded not guilty; Sherrill doesn’t want President Biden to run; Menendez verdict will come soon; Murphy signed budget; courts shaping political developments; Critchley, Marino statement on Norcross
Download and read Insider NJ’s 2024 Insider 100: Policymakers publication.
Details of $600M in last-minute budget add-ons still haven’t been made public, according to NJ Spotlight.
Proposed DEP rules sparked debate on resiliency and development, according to NJ Spotlight.
The ABC-NJ promoted Derek DeLuca to Director of Government Affairs.
Kyle England joined the UTCA as Director of Environmental and Utility Operations.
The HealthCare Institute of NJ elected new board leadership.
ICYMI: Lawmakers heard calls to restrict pornography access
In Jersey City, 1199J endorsed Bill O’Dea for mayor. An aide to the mayor resigned from the city’s LGBTQ task force after donating to his sister, who is running a hate-filled campaign for Missouri Secretary of State, according to Hudson County View. Hudson Pride Center staff resigned from the task force, according to TAPinto.
In Bridgewater, court shared services were approved with Raritan, according to TAPinto.
In Caldwell, a senior rent increase reduction ordinance was tabled, according to NJ Hills.
In Fairfield, the budget was introduced, according to NJ Hills.
In Hanover, a pool upgrade bond ordinance was approved, according to NJ Hills.
In Hillsborough, the town invested $9M in road repairs, according to TAPinto.
In Hoboken, Mayor Bhalla says he will veto the rent control ordinance if the council passes it, according to Hudson County View.
In Keyport, beach debris contains high levels of arsenic, according to the Asbury Park Press.
In Lawrence, a judge who fraternized with cops agreed to leave the bench, according to NJ.com.
In Mays Landing, Rep. Van Drew toured the Lenape Dams, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Newark, a senior building may get a tax reduction despite a claim of $1.5M owed, according to TAPinto.
In Prospect Park, expert planners are helping the town transform its main road, according to NorthJersey.com.
In South Plainfield, Durham Plaza is eyed for redevelopment, according to MyCentralJersey.
In Southampton, traffic is troubling a warehouse project, according to Burlington County Times.
In Sparta, the council didn’t approve the master plan funding ordinance, according to TAPinto.
In Upper, the township detailed parking rules in an ordinance, according to the Press of Atlantic City.
In Vineland, the tax collector is retiring, according to Burlington County Times.
ICYMI: In Union City, an ongoing battle; in Union City, residents reacted to Menendez conviction; in Newark, Speight announced candidacy for Central Ward; in Wayne, debate popped up
AROUND THE WEB:
The dead bear cub is not the worst part of the RFK Jr. story | Moran
Tom Moran, Star-Ledger
- Which part of New Yorker magazine’s new piece on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the most unnerving? His decision to stash a dead bear cub in Central Park a decade ago is getting all the attention today. And we’ll explore that. But how about his allegedly groping the babysitter in his kitchen pantry, running his hands along her hips and breasts when she was 23-year-old, and he was a married 45-year-old with five children? That’s an unwanted advance that might qualify as sexual assault if the statute of limitation hadn’t run out, according to a former prosecutor quoted in the piece.
The case against N.J. rabbi was tossed. Now his lawyers want probe into why it was started.
Ted Sherman, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
- The trial was thrown out before it ended. “The evidence presented in the state’s case,” said Superior Court Judge Joseph Paone in New Brunswick, “is insufficient to warrant a conviction.”
NJ mayor blocks flag honoring dead police officers, lawsuit says
Rick Rickman, NJ1015
- The police union for the seat of Hudson County and families of fallen local police officers have accused Mayor Steven Fulop’s office of blocking them from flying a flag to honor the dead. The accusations that center on the Thin Blue Line flag are outlined in a new lawsuit against Jersey City filed last week by attorneys Charles Sciarra and Jeffrey Catrambone. Both lawyers have represented numerous police officers in New Jersey.
State introduces new rules that would increase building elevations at the shore
Access News Network
- The Department of Environmental Protection in today’s edition of the New Jersey Register proposes formal rulemaking that will make New Jersey the first state to modernize land-resource protection regulations to address the current and future impacts of a changing climate. The rulemaking focuses on the long-term economic viability of communities while protecting current landscapes and developments for future generations.
Op-Ed: NJ corporate leaders could learn from Olympics’ achievement of gender parity
- Courtney McCormick, NJ Spotlight
- Billions of viewers around the globe are tuning in to watch fan-favorite athletes like Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Sha’Carri Richardson push the limits of human potential in their quests to make Olympic history. But the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have already made history, becoming the first since the global sporting event’s inception to see as many women vying for gold as men.
Summer resurfacing and activities make traffic nightmares in Trenton
LA Parker, The Trentonian
- A confluence of street projects wreaked havoc for motorists and businesses last Thursday then continued on Monday. The corner of Chambers St. and Hamilton Ave. served as ground zero for confusion and angst as PSE&G continued a gas pipe replacement initiative and Mercer County Department of Transportation started a paving project.
Ryan Blatstein, son of Showboat developer Bart Blatstein, dies
Michelle Brunetti Post, Press of Atlantic City
- Ryan Blatstein, the son of Atlantic City and Philadelphia developer Bart Blatstein and his wife, Jil, died last week at home, according to people familiar with the family. Ryan, 39, and his father had traveled to Israel to show their support for the country in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, and was known along with his father to be a great supporter of the police.
Asbury Park Press Time Machine: ‘The Guns of August’
Erik Larsen, Asbury Park Press
- Little did anyone know in the summer of 1914 that the world was coming apart. Three weeks before the publication of this edition, Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been assassinated on a visit to Sarajevo, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. That led to a rapid escalation of international tensions and political miscalculations, as various European empires were made to adhere to treaty obligations to protect their offended allies and frenemies abroad.
If N.J. wants to avert electoral chaos, here’s our best move | Editorial
Star-Ledger Editorial Board
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is not going to win the 2024 presidential election, but he is perfectly positioned to have a profound influence on its outcome – or ruin it terribly, depending on your perspective. The independent candidate consistently polls as high as 10% in many swing states, and depending on which major party he pulls more votes away from, he could easily tip the balance in favor of either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump – just by being the least unappealing choice for a small minority of voters who probably know that Kennedy can’t win.
Grow a spine! Don’t be bullied into harming tenants, city | Jersey Journal editorial
Jersey Journal Editorial
- Hoboken’s rent control law is peppered with references to the mid-1980s, and for good reason. It was during those few years that the city was flipped on its head, moving rapidly from a solid working-class town to a chichi luxury-rental boomtown.
Brownstone banquet hall $137K behind on Paterson property tax payments for parking lot
Joe Malinconico, Paterson Press
- The Brownstone’s owners are 15 months behind — or an estimated $136,969 in arrears — in payments to the city for a tax appeal settlement involving a small parking lot next to the banquet hall, municipal officials say. That information was brought to light by Councilman Luis Velez, who did some research about The Brownstone’s property taxes after he recently paid the banquet hall for an overdue bill from his August 2023 wedding reception.
Report: 1,800 cats, dogs killed at NJ animal shelters in 1 year
Dino Flammia, NJ1015
- Across the country, hundreds of thousands of pets are unnecessarily killed at animal shelters each year. A new report from Best Friends Animal Society suggests that shelters in New Jersey do a better job than many other states when it comes to keeping their animals alive and delivering them to new families. But in a one-year period, still more than 1,800 cats and dogs were killed at shelters across the Garden State.
Starkweather named dean of Rutgers School of Nursing
ROI-NJ Staff
- Angela Starkweather, an accomplished nurse-scientist and clinician with extensive higher education experience, has been named dean of the Rutgers School of Nursing. Starkweather, who will join Rutgers Health on Aug. 19, assumes the leadership role from Linda Flynn, who is retiring after serving as dean since June 2020.
Jersey Shore professor seeks clues for alien life in the crushing dark of the ocean floor
Dan Radel, Asbury Park Press
- Besides the scholars of the astrobiology world, Stockton University professor Lauren Seyler, a mom of two young kids, also has to answer her eldest daughter’s questions about life on earth and aliens.
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Insider NJ’s Daily Briefing for August 6, 2024
On August 6, 2024, Insider NJ’s daily briefing covered a wide range of topics that are important to residents of New Jersey. From political news to updates on local events, the briefing provided readers with a comprehensive overview of what was happening in the state.
One of the key highlights of the briefing was the announcement of a new initiative by Governor Smith to improve public transportation in the state. The governor unveiled a plan to invest in new infrastructure and technology to make it easier for residents to get around New Jersey. This initiative was met with praise from both Democrats and Republicans, who saw it as a much-needed improvement to the state’s transportation system.
In addition to the transportation news, the briefing also covered updates on the upcoming midterm elections. Several key races were highlighted, including the race for U.S. Senate and various congressional seats. Political analysts weighed in on the potential outcomes of these races, providing readers with valuable insights into the political landscape of New Jersey.
On a lighter note, the briefing also included information about upcoming events in the state. From music festivals to food fairs, there was something for everyone to look forward to in the coming weeks. Readers were encouraged to get out and explore all that New Jersey has to offer, whether they were long-time residents or just visiting for the first time.
Overall, Insider NJ’s daily briefing for August 6, 2024, provided readers with a well-rounded view of what was happening in the state. From political news to updates on local events, the briefing covered a wide range of topics that were relevant and informative to residents of New Jersey. Readers were left feeling informed and engaged, ready to take on whatever the day had in store for them.
