| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | Presented by OxyChem | Good Tuesday morning! I’m back. First off, the state government buried some news on the Friday before Labor Day, so here it is to start your week: The gas tax is going up one cent next month and the Legislature finally released budget resolutions, two months after passing the budget. With that out of the way, let’s turn to wind power, which has become one of the driving issues of the 2023 state legislative elections. Orsted, one of the companies approved to build windmills off the coast, has run into major financial problems and could delay the project until 2026. I doubt that will lower the intensity around the issue, which Democrats have largely been playing defense on. So it’s interesting to me that along the shore in District 11 — arguably the most competitive district in the state this year — the Republican nominee against state Sen. Vin Gopal did consulting work for a company working in the offshore wind sphere just months ago. Steve Dnistrian, who runs a communications consulting firm, represented LS Power Grid during its bid to build major infrastructure to bring offshore wind power ashore. It’s not a windmill company. But there would be no point to building the transmission infrastructure without windmills. It’s a piece of the same big project. Dnistrian has made criticism of the offshore wind industry arguably his top campaign plank. But he told me there’s nothing hypocritical about being paid by an industry that just months later he would rail against. He said the timing was actually “good luck” for him because “I’m very well-briefed on this issue.” And that appears to be the spin that Republicans are adopting on this one. I think this helps demonstrate how offshore wind was not long ago a largely uncontroversial issue that has recently been thoroughly politicized — whether you believe the recent spate whale deaths have spurred grassroots opposition or are a convenient rallying point for other political interests that oppose them. Read more about it here. TIPS? FEEDBACK? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m a rule breaker!” — An unnamed woman who refused to abide by Ocean Grove’s religious tradition of closing the beach from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Sundays, which the state says is illegal. HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Tom Kean Jr., Brent Johnson, Nick Fixmer, Eric Houghtaling, Ethan Andersen WHERE’S MURPHY? — No public schedule. | | | | A message from OxyChem: OxyChem opposes the EPA’s Passaic River Superfund settlement. Over 100 companies released 8 chemicals into the river, but EPA may settle with most of them for only $150 million total. That leaves handful of other companies and NJ taxpayers to cover the rest of the $1.82 billion clean-up cost. OxyChem is the sole company offering to do the clean-up work. Tell the EPA to make all companies pay their fair share. Learn more at PassaicRiverCleanup.com | | | |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | |
STAYNJ — State still searching for ‘Stay NJ’ executive director at law's first deadline, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: The Stay NJ task force has no executive director yet, according to an update sent from the Murphy administration to legislative leaders Friday. That the job search is still underway carries some irony: Under the law that sets up the Stay NJ senior tax relief program, the executive director was supposed to send the update to legislative leaders. The law requires updates from the Stay NJ executive director to legislative leaders on a quarterly basis starting Sept. 1, providing work updates on the Stay NJ task force. The update, reviewed by POLITICO, was instead sent from the Murphy administration … The Legislature and governor must enact the task force’s recommendations or something “substantially similar” in order for Stay NJ benefits to take effect, or else it will be delayed indefinitely. The task force must send the Legislature and governor its recommendations by May 30, 2024.
—“'Not a victory': Anti-wind farm crowd gathers on Ocean City beach days after Ørsted's delay” THE NEW COLOSS…AL HYPOCRISY — “Governor Murphy flip-flops on aiding immigrants,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Terrence T. McDonald: “Just six years ago, Murphy campaigned to become our governor by drawing a bright line between the kind of America Donald Trump wants and the kind of America Murphy believes in … Asked Thursday about a reported Biden administration proposal that New York City send some of the migrants that have arrived in the city this year to the federally owned Atlantic City airport, Murphy told News 12’s Eric Landskroner he’s opposed. ‘I don’t see any scenario, Eric, where we’re going to be able to take in a program in Atlantic City, or frankly elsewhere in the state. We are already seeing folks in New Jersey that have probably swelled into Jersey from New York City or from other locations. But you need scale, enormous amount of federal support, resources that go beyond anything we can afford. Putting all else aside, I just don’t see it, and I would suspect that that would continue to be the case,’ he said. So, we open up for all to come here … unless it’s inconvenient, then stay where you are.” | | | | DOWNLOAD THE POLITICO APP: Stay in the know with the POLITICO mobile app, featuring timely political news, insights and analysis from the best journalists in the business. The sleek and navigable design offers a convenient way to access POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Don’t miss out on the app you can rely on for the news you need. DOWNLOAD FOR iOS – DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID. | | | | |
LABOR COMMISSIONER DRONES ON — “Raising the stakes. N.J. using drones to find labor violations,” by NJ Advance Media’s Karin Price Mueller: “New Jersey is the first state in the nation to use drones as “eyes in the sky” to help investigate construction sites where it suspects employers are violating state labor laws, according to the state Labor Department. ‘These cameras can zoom in pretty tight to see how many workers there are and what kind of work they are doing so we can see what kind of wages they should be paid,’ Labor Department Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said. NJ Advance Media recently joined a team of Labor Department wage and hour investigators at a Union County public school to see the drones in action … The four investigators stood in a park near the school, all donning sunglasses and looking like a group of friends while flying the drone to capture activity at the site.”
SCHNALL WONDER — Democrats make last-minute Assembly switch in GOP district to run Lakewood rabbi, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: An influential rabbi from Lakewood is running for Assembly as a Democrat in a heavily-Republican district. Rabbi Alexander “Avi” Schnall, who heads the New Jersey office of the advocacy organization Agudath Israel, took over as one of the Democratic Assembly candidates in the 30th District Thursday afternoon following a hastily-organized convention, Ocean County Democratic Chair Wyatt Earp confirmed … Democratic committee members, in a meeting held primarily over Zoom, chose Schnall to replace former Lakewood Mayor Marta Harrison. The meeting, held in the early afternoon, was just hours before the 4 p.m. state deadline to fill primary nominee vacancies for the general election. Earp said Harrison dropped out on Aug. 29, which was also the deadline for primary nominee vacancies to occur. —State gas tax to go up a penny, the first increase in three years —Moran: “School’s open in Jersey! Get to your segregated corners and stay there!” | | | | A message from OxyChem:   | | | | | BIDEN TIME | |
DEM’S THE BREAKS — Chris Christie is actually gaining support for president. From Democrats, by POLITICO’s Mia McCarthy and Lisa Kashinky: The former New Jersey governor has seen his popularity soar with Democrats. Whereas Democrats once considered him a bully, a threat and an opportunistic apologist for Donald Trump, they now can’t get enough of his new Trump-bashing persona. “He’s probably the only Republican I would vote for,” said Joe Daly, a Democrat from Warner, N.H., who voted for Biden in 2020 but isn’t sold on a second term … A July New York Times and Siena College poll found 14 percent of Democrats would be most likely to vote for Christie as the Republican nominee — support that soared to 24 percent with Democratic “leaners” included. That’s higher than Christie’s polled in any survey of likely GOP primary voters since he entered the race in June. And Christie ranked third-highest among Democrats following the first Republican presidential debate, with 12 percent who watched it saying he won, according to a New York Post poll.
PREVAILING RAGE — “Christie fundraiser being hosted by man he pardoned,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “A contractor pardoned by Gov. Chris Christie in 2017 is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser for Christie’s presidential campaign at his home this month. Joseph Longo, an electrical contractor from Morristown, pleaded guilty to falsifying payroll records in 2016 and was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $300,000. He had been charged with not paying prevailing wages to Longo Electrical-Mechanical, Inc. employees on public works projects connected to Montclair and the Middlesex County Utilities Authority. POLITICO reported in 2017 that Longo’s company faked the certification that he paid employees the statutorily required prevailing wage. Christie pardoned Longo, a contributor to his 2009 gubernatorial campaign, on December 22, 2017, during his final month in office. Longo’s attorney was former U.S. Senator Jeff Chiesa, who had served as Christie’s attorney general and chief counsel. Christie’s office declined to comment on the pardon at the time.” —“Ex-Christie aide charged with child sex crimes” — “Will New Jersey be ready for the nation's 250th birthday? It missed the boat at 200” —“Here’s what Cory Booker has to say about American politics, Chris Christie, and Tim Scott” | | | | A message from OxyChem: Since the 1890s, the tremendous industrial and economic growth on the Passaic River has come at a great environmental cost. For decades, companies regularly used disposal practices on the Passaic’s shoreline that are no longer acceptable. The EPA declared a 17-mile stretch of the Passaic part of a federal Superfund site, selected a remedy, and identified more than 100 companies as potentially responsible for the clean-up. OxyChem, which EPA acknowledges did not pollute the river, is leading the clean-up.
The EPA identified eight chemicals of concern in the river – Lead, DDT, Dioxin, Mercury, PCBs, Copper, Dieldrin, and PAHs – six of which are not associated with OxyChem or its predecessors. Nevertheless, OxyChem is dedicated to cleaning up the Passaic. But if the other responsible companies don’t step up, New Jersey taxpayers could end up footing the bill. Tell the EPA to hold all 100+ polluting companies accountable.
Learn more at PassaicRiverCleanup.com | | | | | LOCAL | |
OCEAN PRAY — “Protestors encounter chain closing N.J. beach. They called police — then jumped it,” by NJ Advance Media’s Katie Kausch: “In Ocean Grove, unlike any other beach along New Jersey’s coastline, beachgoers are not welcome on the sand between 9 a.m. and noon on Sundays, a longstanding rule put in place by the Christian group that has controlled the beach for over 150 years. Some residents say the practice needs to end. [Shane] Martins is one of the founders of Neptune United, a local advocacy group that has been vocal about what they say is the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association’s refusal to separate church and state. The chain was no matter. It was swiftly unclipped, and members of Neptune United streamed onto the beach … Members of Neptune United say the policy is discriminatory and violates state laws governing access and use of open spaces. The group has organized Sunday morning beach trips the entire summer, hopping over the chain and setting up camp on the sand in defiance of the association’s rules. But recently, the state Department of Environmental Protection sent a letter to the association saying the closures violate New Jersey’s Coastal Area Facilities Review Act.”
JERSEY CITY: MAKE IT ACCESSIBLE — “Jersey City Municipal Court discriminated against deaf man seeking interpreter: federal judge,” by The Jersey Journal’s Mark Koosau: “It all started with a Jersey City parking ticket that shouldn’t have been issued in the first place. On the night of Aug. 22, 2019, Ryan Cuevas was cited for parking his car in a bus lane, even though he was allowed to do so at that time of night. Just days before his January 2020 hearing in Jersey City Municipal Court on the parking ticket, he then ran into another roadblock when his driver’s license and registration were suspended from a separate infraction, and he needed to have his parking ticket resolved to get his license back. Cuevas, who is deaf, had requested a sign-language interpreter at his hearing at the municipal court on Summit Avenue in Journal Square. It was denied, and the hearing was delayed until the court’s March ‘interpreter day,’ when one would be available, he was told. He came back two months later, but an interpreter never showed up .. it would take until August 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic to finally get an interpreter and be declared not guilty. By then, it had taken a year to have his parking ticket resolved and have his license restored. A federal judge decided in Cuevas’ favor Wednesday in a ruling that may force Jersey City to change the way it operates its municipal court. ELDERCARE — “Princeton Care Center nursing home closes abruptly, leaving families scrambling to move loved ones,” by PlanetPrinceton’s Krystal Knapp: “The only long-term care facility in the municipality of Princeton abruptly closed its doors on Friday, leaving distressed families scrambling to find new nursing homes for their loved ones on the same day. Starting at about 8:30 a.m. on Friday, some families who had loved ones living at the Princeton Care Center started to receive calls informing them that the facility was closing that same day and their parents would need to be relocated by the end of the day. Some families said they didn’t receive calls from the facility itself, but instead learned when their loved ones living in the facility called to tell them the news. People had to take the day off or cancel holiday travel plans to rush over to the facility and figure out where their loved ones could go.”
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R.I.P. — “Stanley Iacono, former Weehawken mayor, dies at 90”
—“ACLU wants ‘transformation of policing wholesale’ after mentally ill Jersey City man killed” —“Manalapan cop charged with stalking teenage girl, illegally detaining her in handcuffs” —“Vineland agrees to Millville Municipal Court deal amid staffing woes, bias claims” —“1 dead in plane crash believed to have ignited a wildfire in Ocean County, officials said” | | EVERYTHING ELSE | |
AUTHORITIES: CHISELING ‘HERE LIES’ WAS ACTUALLY A CONFESSION — “N.J. gravestone company owner wanted for allegedly bilking mourners,” by Bill Duhart for NJ.com: “Authorities are asking for help locating a New Jersey gravestone company owner charged with theft by deception. Police are looking for Gregory John Stefan Jr., 53, according to the Vineland Police Department. He allegedly took money to create a headstone and then did not deliver for his customer, the police department noted in a flier issued about the case. Stefan allegedly has ‘multiple companies based in PA and NJ that are used for these thefts and has been under investigation by the PA AG’s Office,’ Vineland police said.”
ALIENS DECIDED NOT TO VISIT EARTH AFTER RECEIVING 101.5 TRANSMISSION — “Back to New Jersey, where the universe began,” by The New York Times’ Dennis Overbye: “On a field just below the summit of Crawford Hill, the highest point in Monmouth County, N.J., almost within sight of the skyscrapers of Manhattan, sits a cluster of shacks and sheds. Next to them is the Holmdel Horn Antenna, a radio telescope somewhat resembling the scoop of a giant steam shovel: an aluminum box 20 feet square at the mouth and tapering to an eight-inch opening, through which the radio waves are funneled into the ‘cab,’ a wooden hut on stilts … While listening with the antenna in May 1964, two young radio astronomers, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, picked up an eerie and persistent hum from the heavens. For a long time, they thought it was caused by pigeon droppings that had accumulated in the horn. Instead, they eventually learned, they had detected the beginnings of space and time … In June, Holmdel’s township committee voted to take the first step toward invoking eminent domain and claiming at least part of the 43 acres, including the antenna, as a park, citing “a ground swelling of public support for preservation of the Crawford Hill property.” SHOPWRONG — “Robot worker could be coming to an NJ ShopRite near you,” by The Record’s Daniel Munoz: “Remember Marty, the googly-eyed store assistant at Stop & Shop? Now say hello to Tally. The robot was piloted at 20 ShopRite grocery stores across New Jersey by Woodbridge-based Wakefern Food Corporation, the parent company of ShopRite.” —“How Holocaust survivors flocked to NJ to start a thriving poultry farming industry” —“The short, sweet summer of Sammy and the Shadow Stalker homemade roller coaster” —I foraged and fished the Jersey Shore. Here’s what I ate in an epic meal
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