Tag: New Jersey

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images The number of bias incidents reported in New Jersey has been climbing in recent years, and now the state is updating its guidelines for reporting and investigating such crimes. The measures bring the guidelines more in line with state bias laws, which were updated in 2008, the report said. The new guidelines require bias incidents be reported through the State Police’s new Electronic Uniform Crime Reporting system and county prosecutors to notify the attorney general’s office when pursuing bias charges, according to the report. Quote of the Day: “Where are the advocates as members of the riding public? It’s a shame rail advocates aren’t on the list,” — Len Resto, president of the New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers, on Gov. Phil Murphy’s nominees to the NJ Transit Board of Directors. NJ Towns Are Increasingly Becoming ‘Rich’ or ‘Poor.’ Is the Middle Class Disappearing? A well-functioning economy needs to have a range of workers with different skill levels and different incomes. Asbury Park Press Read more Health Officials Urge More Teens to Have HPV Shots as NJ Lags Behind National Rate More than half of New Jersey’s 13- to 15-year-olds aren’t completing vaccinations for HPV, leaving them vulnerable to the very common sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause cancer, according to data from state health officials. NJSpotlight Read more

But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn't have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren't purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize marijuana, but the effort hasn't gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday's planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Pot advocates, meanwhile, say they don't expect it to be easy to change policy about a drug that was illegal in all 50 states for decades, and still is in the federal government's view. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. "I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue," says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado's recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.”

NEW YORK (AP) — To anyone who figured the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use ran along blue state-red state lines, a sudden setback for pot advocates in New Jersey may show the issue isn’t so black-and-white. But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn’t have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren’t purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize, but the effort hasn’t gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday’s planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. “I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue,” says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado’s recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.” ___ Peltz is a member of AP’s marijuana beat team.

NEW YORK (AP) — To anyone who figured the path of legalizing recreational marijuana use ran along blue state-red state lines, a sudden setback for pot advocates in New Jersey may show the issue isn’t so black-and-white. But when a state Senate vote was abruptly put off Monday because it didn’t have enough support, the delay was a reminder that the politics of pot legalization aren’t purely partisan. The key question instead can be whether voters or legislators are making the decision, experts say. Several states where it passed — like Massachusetts, Michigan and Vermont — are less blue than purple, with governors and legislative leaders of different parties. The Democratic governors and legislature leaders of New York and New Jersey have been jostling to make their states next in line to legalize, but the effort hasn’t gone as smoothly as they might have hoped. Those are also among the sticking points that prompted the New Jersey Senate to postpone Monday’s planned vote, which would fulfill a campaign promise from Gov. Nine of the 10 states that have legalized recreational marijuana did so through voter referendums — not through their legislatures. “I actually see this as a populist-movement-vs.-representative (body) issue,” says Andrew Freedman, who helped set up Colorado’s recreational-pot program and now consults governments on doing so. For all that, lawmakers in 21 states at least proposed legalizing marijuana last year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. “States are talking about it in the rainbow of red, blue and purple.” ___ Peltz is a member of AP’s marijuana beat team.

CNN’s Chris Cuomo spoke to former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie about Jared Kushner’s security clearance, Michael Cohen’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and more. #CNN #News

A fractious afternoon hearing of a Ways and Means oversight subcommittee was intended to begin building a case that Mr. Trump’s withholding of his returns was not only flouting modern political norms but also potentially hiding violations of federal tax laws and compromising the interests of the United States. But by the time the gavel fell in the Ways and Means hearing room, the Democrats had already made clear they were undeterred. The statute in question — Section 6103 of the federal tax code — gives the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee extraordinary powers to request that the Treasury Department release to him tax information on any filer, including the president. The provision allows the committee to review the tax information privately, but it would have to vote to disclose any return information or findings to the public. Liberal lawmakers, too, are growing impatient. Nor has he said whether he will request tax information on the Trump Organization or just the president’s personal returns. “This isn’t about the tax returns of presidents and vice presidents but about making sure Congress does not abuse its authority,” he wrote. The current law does not actually require presidents or candidates to release their tax information, they pointed out. Representative Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, the ranking Republican on the oversight subcommittee, said a committee review would be redundant since the I.R.S. is mandated to audit all presidential returns.

What We’re Following Today It’s Friday, February 1. Meanwhile, in foreign-affairs news, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that he’s withdrawing the U.S. from its nuclear-arms-control treaty with Russia. "For years, Russia has violated the terms of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty without remorse," he said. He’s Running: Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey spent Thursday night at a secret church service in Newark, where he was anointed by the church’s reverend. Twelve hours later, he announced his bid for the presidency in 2020. Meanwhile, as Howard Schultz, the billionaire ex-CEO of Starbucks, ponders whether he’ll launch his own presidential campaign, his many similarities to Donald Trump have become clear. Snapshot Ideas From The Atlantic The Covington Story Was a Collective American Nightmare (George Packer) “It seems to act out a drama in which we’re all caught, but in grotesque exaggeration. The White Flight From Football (Alana Semuels) “Football at the high-school level is growing in popularity in states with the highest shares of black people, while it’s declining in majority-white states. But it would be the end of the Super Bowl as we know it.” ? Read on. I’ve Watched Him for 20 Years.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie sits down for a one-on-one interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo to discuss Trump’s presidency. #CNN #News

In an interview with CNN's Erica Hill, author Matt Katz talks about the troubled relationship Chris Christie has with Jared Kushner's father, after PBS aired an interview where Christi said Kushner's father was behind one of the most "loathsome" crimes…

Federal prosecutors in Philadelphia are expected on Wednesday to announce criminal charges against Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the labor union’s leader, John Dougherty, closing a years-long corruption investigation into his business and personal dealings, according to federal law enforcement officials close to the probe. Dougherty has been under investigation for more than two years by federal authorities. In 2016, the FBI raided his home, the union’s headquarters, the South Philly bar he owns, and a number of other locations, including the office of City Councilman Bobby Henon, the union’s former political director. Dougherty’s brother, Kevin, is a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice elected in 2015 with major support from Local 98. When reached by phone, Dougherty, widely known as “Johnny Doc,” said if he is charged on Wednesday, it would be news to him. “I haven’t heard anything,” he said, mentioning that he was watching television with his wife. “Listen, nobody has told any of us as of date. The government’s court documents never mentioned Dougherty, instead referring to Local 98 “Official 1.” It marked the first charges brought by federal prosecutors in its investigation into Dougherty and Local 98, but the court documents suggested Peltz did not provide information to authorities that would have assisted their wider examination of Dougherty and Peltz has not agreed to be used as a government witness in the case against the politically powerful labor union. Prosecutors say Local 98 donated the money to a nonprofit Moylan controlled, but instead of devoting it to charity, Moylan allegedly spent the money on his mortgage and “meals, travel and golf,” authorities say. The paper reported that the payment, discovered in a late-filed statement to the U.S. Department of Labor, occurred just as federal investigators began closing in on questions over whether Dougherty and Local 98 have been improperly using union money.