News: POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Rizzo gets another shot at matching funds

Wednesday, April 21, 2021

POLITICO New Jersey Playbook: Rizzo gets another shot at matching funds

Apr 21, 2021

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By Matt Friedman

Presented by Ørsted

Good Wednesday morning!

Maybe things aren't so clear for Jack Ciattarelli.

The Election Law Enforcement Commission yesterday announced it would hold an emergency session Thursday. It didn't say the reason. It just said the matter will be discussed in executive session. That means secret.

But that secrecy appears to be causing a problem. Phil Rizzo's gubernatorial campaign confirmed to me that ELEC will once again discuss its application for matching funds , which the agency rejected last week after a lengthy executive session. The campaign appealed in court but it was was denied because it did not "obtain a signed court order, agency decision or other evidence of the ruling before seeking relief from the Appellate Division." (The only record I know of is this letter that cites application "deficiencies").

Jack Carbone, ELEC's attorney , said the court order essentially means the court "has asked ELEC to explain in public what they did or didn't do."

So what's the upshot? It looks like Rizzo may get another chance to argue for matching funds. And maybe ELEC will make its decision in public.

WHERE'S MURPHY?: In Trenton for a 1 p.m. coronavirus press conference

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Former CWA State Director Hetty Rosenstein, Scutari COS Tony Teixeira, SJI's Rich DeRose, Monmouth Democrats Matthew Anderson, former state Treasurer David Rousseau. Missed Tuesday: Former state Sen. Colin Bell

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I did not buy any Coca-Cola products for more than a month. I also tell the server or sales clerk that I no longer buy Coke products. However, they are usually busy, and I am rarely able to start a conversation explaining why. Also, I have no way of making sure that the manager or owner gets the message. These small business cards fix both problems." — Republican state Senate candidate Seth Grossman, who just printed 5,000 business cards addressing his boycott of Coca Cola, sparing workers of having to hold the conversation with him.

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER: 2,393 newly-reported positive PCR tests for a total of 862,811. 40 more deaths for a total of 25,206 confirmed or probable deaths. 2,108 hospitalized, 463 in intensive care. 2,547,397 fully vaccinated, about 28.7 percent of the population.

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WHAT TRENTON MADE

HEALTH — "How the powerful NJ hospital interests beat back stronger health laws during COVID," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi and CHarles Stile: "Long before sick and dying COVID-19 patients inundated New Jersey's hospitals, it was common for nurses in certain units — such as emergency departments — to miss breaks or even skip using the bathroom on their 12-hour shifts. For years, hospital workers have pleaded with state government to set increased staffing levels into law, warning of 'a dangerous environment for New Jersey's patients and health care workers,' as a Newark nurse and union leader testified to a legislative committee in 2015. 'We've had nurses pass out because they haven't eaten," Sheryl Mount, a registered nurse at Virtua Memorial Hospital, in Mount Holly, said this month. 'I can't tell you how many nights I never ate or drank all night long.' Despite the campaign for better staffing, New Jersey's hospital industry has routinely outmaneuvered the frontline workers in the corridors of the statehouse, a review of records and interviews by the USA TODAY Network's Trenton Bureau found."

TURD WAVE — "Is N.J. finally beating back COVID? All signs are trending up," by NJ Advance Media's Spencer Kent: "New cases are dropping. Hospitalizations are declining. And vaccines continue going into arms. Finally, New Jersey appears to be turning a corner. Just a few weeks ago, experts declared that the state had entered a third wave, complete with scary models predicting more carnage. But was the third wave an actual wave? Or was it the pandemic's last stand? Stephanie Silvera, an infectious disease expert and professor at Montclair State University, believes the state might have mitigated the worst of the third wave. Between vaccinations and ongoing social distancing and mask-wearing, it likely will be smaller than the previous two, she said. In fact, she's never been more hopeful. 'I think this is probably the first time in about a year or so where I'm actually feeling very optimistic,' Silvera said."

—"NJ hospitals fill with younger COVID patients as more seniors get vaccinated," by The Record's Scott Fallon: "The scenes in New Jersey's intensive care units were unmistakable last spring — a sea of senior citizens, many of them 75 and older, filling beds, ravaged by COVID-19 and gasping for air. New Jersey hospitals never saw levels like that again. But this spring, as hospitalizations began to steadily increase during another wave, emergency departments filled with a new demographic: working-age adults. 'The overall COVID population in our hospitals is getting significantly younger,' said Dr. Daniel Varga, chief physician executive of Hackensack Meridian, the state's largest hospital network. 'It's very different from what we were seeing this time last year.' The percentage of COVID patients being admitted to hospitals who were under 60 years old jumped to 49% of all COVID admissions last week — a sizable increase from December, when that group represented about 35% of COVID admissions, according to the state Health Department."

THE ANTI-GARDEN STATE —- "'It's about us!': NJ legal weed activists demand marijuana home grow at 420 protest," by The Asbury Park Press' Mike Davis : "They lit joints. They cheered in between puffs. And as the clock struck 4:20 p.m. on April 20, New Jersey marijuana activists celebrated the first 4:20 on 4/20 of the state's new era of legal weed … The most glaring omission, activists argue, is that growing cannabis without a license remains a felony, a third-degree crime with a maximum five-year prison sentence for growing just one plant … A quarter-ounce of medical marijuana was selling for $90 at Zen Leaf Neptune, the state's newest dispensary, as of Tuesday morning. 'Right now, someone is dying out in pain because they don't have the medicine they need because they can't afford it,' said Jim Miller, a Toms River activist who pushed for medical marijuana in the 1990s and 2000s and now advocates for home grow. 'There's more to be done.'"

222.2 MASTROS — "NJ Turnpike could send $2B to NJ Transit if this agreement passes," by NJ Advance Media's Larry Higgs : "As NJ Transit officials are hoping for more people to return to the workplace to boost revenues, the agency could get a cash infusion totaling $2 billion from the NJ Turnpike Authority, under a funding agreement commissioners are scheduled to vote on next Tuesday. The authority's board is scheduled to vote April 27 on a new agreement with the state treasury department to allow the authority to provide a subsidy totaling about $1.22 billion over three years."

—" N.J. will 'definitely continue to open up' if COVID numbers keep improving, Murphy says"

—"Grewal guidance bars police from seizing reporters' equipment, notes"

—" Were Lisa McCormick's petitions fraudulent last year too?"

—"Fundraising up so far for New Jersey's 'Big Six' political committees"

—" NJ to truck fleets: Time to go all green"

—Mulshine: "In November, Phil Murphy may get Byrned on property taxes"

—Pennacchio: " Murphy should still be held accountable for the unnecessary harm he caused"

—"NJ lawmaker calls Murphy's push for stricter gun laws a distraction"

—" Testa introduces legislation to stop vaccine passports"

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BIDEN TIME

GEORGE FLOYD — "Why the verdict in the George Floyd case matters in New Jersey," by NJ Advance Media's Robin Wilson-Glover: "Long before the jury came back Tuesday afternoon it was clear to many in New Jersey, especially those in communities of color, that George Floyd was murdered and former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was guilty. What was also clear is that this trial was not just about Chauvin, and not just about the man he killed. Policing itself was on trial. The verdict, said former Newark Police Department lieutenant Ronald Glover, 'sounds an alarm that will wake up every New Jerseyan to the fact that traditional policing is dead.' … Now, New Jersey, and other communities, would have to rebuild trust among those in the community and those assigned to protect it. Others said that the even harder work of overhauling how public safety is handled in this country is just beginning."

CONTAMINATED WITH PALLONIUM — "N.J. has the most Superfund sites. Tax industry to clean them up, top Democrat says," by NJ Advance Media's Jonathan D. Salant: "Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. on Tuesday introduced legislation to renew a federal tax on the oil and chemical industries to fund the cleanup of Superfund sites, of which New Jersey has more than any other state … Pallone, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee with jurisdiction over the issue, said he was proposing the legislation in response to President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure proposal. The Biden plan, which requires congressional approval, calls for paying for Superfund cleanups through new industry taxes to replace the ones that expired a quarter-century ago. 'We have a real opportunity for Congress to weigh in and say, 'This is something we want to do,' Pallone said."

TRUMP PARADE TO SEEK BOATER RIGHTS — Inside the Democratic strategy to expand voting rights state by state, by POLITICO's Liz Crampton: Who can vote in the next election — and how easily — will depend on where Americans live more than at any point in recent decades. Red and blue states are on opposite tracks in shaping the electoral process: As Republicans pass some of the most restrictive voting laws of modern times, Democrats are ramping up a strategy to expand voting rights by passing bill after bill to make it easier for more Americans to access the ballot box. Democrat-led states like New York, New Jersey and Virginia have been busy chipping away at electoral guardrails, approving automatic voter registration and other measures designed to increase turnout, as GOP-helmed Georgia, Florida and Texas are trying to make voting harder under the guise of voter integrity.

A message from Ørsted:

LOCAL

PERTH AMBULATE — "Perth Amboy cops seized bikes from 'unlicensed' Black and Latino teens, and a social media backlash is raging," by NJ Advance Media's Rodrigo Torrejon: "A video circulating on social media Tuesday morning shows Perth Amboy police officers stopping a group of primarily Black and Latino teenagers riding their bicycles through the city, confiscating several bikes after they said they wouldn't and ultimately handcuffing one of the teens. Portions of the video were posted on several social media channels including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and caused 'Perth Amboy' to be trending on Twitter on Tuesday morning. The videos show a group of teenagers riding BMX-style bicycles through the streets of Perth Amboy, at a few points weaving into the wrong side of the road and riding against traffic. Throughout the more than 17-minute version of the video shared on Youtube, the teenagers are seen popping wheelies with their bikes as they ride through Perth Amboy's streets. The group of cyclists grew to more than a dozen, but the group split up after police cars began trying to stop the bikes, which ultimately led to one of the riders being handcuffed and his bike seized. The incident comes amid a national conversation about policing targeting young people of color and relying on outdated ordinances to justify stops and harassment, as well as discussions about the role of community policing."

—"Perth Amboy bike arrest: Prosecutor's office investigating after teen detained"

FLASHBACK — "N.J. lawmaker proposes mandatory license plates for bicycles"

DEEP SCHI — "Lakewood SCHI founder could head to the slammer after this court decision," by The Asbury Park Press' Kathleen Hopkins: "Rabbi Osher Eisemann, founder of Lakewood's School for Children with Hidden Intelligence, is likely heading to prison for misconduct and money laundering, now that the state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a ruling rejecting his lenient treatment by a judge in Middlesex County. In December, a panel of two appellate judges said in a scathing opinion that the judge who sentenced Eisemann to probation, 60 days in county jail and a $250,000 fine ignored a jury's verdict and state law calling for prison for the crimes the rabbi was convicted of. The appellate judges, in a rare move, took the case out of the hands of the sentencing judge, Benjamin Bucca, and ordered that Eisemann be re-sentenced by a different judge. Eisemann's attorney, Lee Vartan, filed a petition asking the state Supreme Court to hear an appeal of the decision. The Supreme Court last week denied the petition, meaning the ruling of the appellate judges stands … Eisemann, now 64, of Lakewood, stood trial before Bucca in 2019. Prosecutors alleged that Eisemann diverted $979,000 in public money intended for the school to his own purposes. The jury rejected that, but concluded that he moved $200,000 of school money through private accounts, including his own, before funneling it back to the school through a third-party religious organization to make it appear he was repaying a debt."

GET OFF MY FAIR LAWN — "Fair Lawn residents blame Paterson for 'really loud' music that disturbs their sleep," by The Record's Shayla Brown: "Around this time of year, the complaints start popping up on social media and at council meetings. They slide into the mayor's inbox and populate the chat box on his weekly Facebook Live sessions. It's noise — loud music that seems to originate on the other side of the Passaic River in Paterson, and disturbs Fair Lawn residents in the northwest part of town. Sometimes even Glen Rock residents hear it. A few Fair Lawn residents blame a restaurant and nightclub just across the river called Mamajuana Café; others point to a regular gathering of car owners who play music through speakers in a Paterson parking lot. But all agree that it's too much."

TRAMSYLVANIA — "Watch out for the tram car, Boardwalk merchants say," by The Press of Atlantic City's Michelle Brunetti Post: "The tram cars that can move 20 to 30 people at a time down the Boardwalk are popular with visitors, but not so much with merchants on the historic oceanfront strip. Merchants say the tram cars' weight is damaging an already fragile Boardwalk, which has been estimated to need about $50 million in rebuilding and structural support. Some of the damage has led to visitor trip-and-fall injuries, one said. 'The Boardwalk is important for business. People like to come enjoy the Boardwalk, not trip and fall and make lawsuits," said Asad Chowdhury of the Boardwalk Merchants Association. 'We don't want the tram on the Boardwalk,' said Boardwalk Merchants Association President Amer Kashmeri, who added he does not see a way to mitigate the harm it does to the structure and to people trying to make a living through the historic rolling chairs."

—"[South Brunswick] cop who accused police chief of fixing tickets was wrongly suspended, lawsuit says"

—" This Keyport dump closed decades ago; its trash still pollutes Raritan Bay, suit claims"

—"National Park sues chemical plant operators over tainted water"

—" Palisades Park teachers and school board reach agreement, but anger lingers"

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EVERYTHING ELSE

—"Classroom catchup: Why Overdeck hopes tutoring program is just start of new ways of learning"

—" Princeton joins growing list of colleges requiring COVID vaccine for students"

—"Will COVID dash NJ proms, graduations? Vaccinations could help decide"

—" Firm plans line to bring future wind energy ashore in N.J."

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