In The News
Christie orders funding for emergency N.J. road projects as gas tax fight continues
With the state's Transportation Trust Fund "days away from exhausting all of its available funds," Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday ordered officials to free money in the state budget to pay for any emergency road or rail work.
N.J. avoids credit rating downgrade despite pension, road funding woes
Two Wall Street rating agencies on Monday left New Jersey's credit ratings unchanged despite concerns about the ability of state tax collections to keep up with rising benefit costs.
Residents in Pa., N.J., and Del. are way behind on their mortgages
The percentages of "seriously underwater" mortgages in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware all exceeded the national average in the second quarter of 2016,according to new data.
Willingboro Jazz Festival Weekend starts Friday
The 33rd Annual Willingboro Jazz Festival weekend will kick off on Friday night with bowling and continue on Saturday with music and food trucks. On Sunday, the main event will include more than nine hours of festival fun that will culminate with what is promised to be a spectacular fireworks show.
NEW REPORTS ON PFCS IN DRINKING WATER RAISE PRESSURE ON REGULATORS
The Garden State’s water supplies have one the highest levels of PFC contamination in the United States two national reports on drinking-water contamination by the toxic PFC family of chemicals are adding to pressure for more detection and cleanup at affected sites, including those in New Jersey, and for tougher regulation by state and federal governments, amid growing concern about the chemicals’ effects on public health.
EDITORIAL: Stop censorship of student journalists
Censorship must be resisted on all fronts, at all times, wherever conflict occurs. Nowhere is that message more important than in our schools, and that’s why we applaud a newly reintroduced bill aimed at preventing administrative censorship of student newspapers in New Jersey high schools and public colleges and universities.
AGENDA: STATE BOARD TO FINALIZE HS GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS
Busy August: The August meeting of the State Board of Education is often among the sleepiest of the year, but not this year. The board will take its final vote on new high school graduation requirements, starting with the Class of 2021, and also act on new rules for the teacher performance tests as well. In addition, it has slipped in a resolution to shift additional powers to the Newark public schools, an incremental step but significant in its own right.
PUBLIC-EMPLOYEE PENSION SYSTEM WON’T INVEST SO HEAVILY IN HEDGE FUNDS
Unions score big victory as investment managers decide to scale back allocations by more than half New Jersey’s public-employee pension system will significantly scale back its stakes in hedge funds over the next several months, a big victory for worker unions who’ve been lobbying hard against such investments because of pricey fees.