Posted Nov 20, 2020

By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

IAN T. SHEARN, CONTRIBUTING WRITER | NOVEMBER 20, 2020 

NJ Spotlight News

June 24, 2020, Pure Oasis, a Black-owned recreational marijuana dispensary in Boston, Mass., where recreational adult use of the drug is legal.

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The day began in Trenton with great optimism for marijuana legalization believers.

After five years of fits and starts, the movement to legalize recreational marijuana was believed to be at hand. With voters overwhelmingly backing a ballot referendum on Nov. 3, Gov. Phil Murphy and the Legislature had ostensibly worked out some last-minute amendments intended to mollify a host of social justice advocates, who had derailed a vote on a bill needed to define a new marijuana industry last Thursday. Committees from both legislative houses were expected to sign off on the changes, and the legislation would be passed into law on Monday.

But like many times before, the day in the State House would end with no consensus. Instead, New Jersey’s quest for closure in legalizing marijuana grew just a bit longer, and the jury remains out as to which way it is heading.

Posted Nov 18, 2020

By Larry Higgs | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Gov. Phil Murphy, center, greets a Port Newark union leader, right, as Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, left, looks on, before a press conference Tuesday about road projects to help move record amount of cargo from the ports of Newark and Elizabeth.

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Posted Nov 18, 2020

By MATT FRIEDMAN

11/18/2020

Politico

While New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, center, speaks, Senate President Steve Sweeney, right, and Democratic Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin look on in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020.

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A year ago, a task force appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy was digging up dirt on South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross’ use of tax incentives, while Norcross was telling reporters Murphy was “politically incompetent” and in danger of facing a serious primary challenge for reelection in 2021.

Things have changed drastically since then.

The two sides have entered into a kind of détente after years of political schism between the freshman governor’s allies in North Jersey and the South Jersey Democrats, led by Norcross and his childhood friend, Senate President Steve Sweeney.

Posted Nov 17, 2020

By Star-Ledger Editorial Board

Will coronavirus be joining you this year?

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By Insider NJ | November 17, 2020

Between 36 percent and 47 percent of New Jerseyans say they will “probably” or “definitely” not get a  vaccine against COVID-19, with response rates varying depending on how the question is asked, according to the latest Rutgers-Eagleton Poll.

Among individuals reluctant to get vaccinated, 80 percent cite a concern about side effects, and 82 percent cite the need for more information about how the vaccine works as “major reasons” for their resistance. Fewer respondents cite not feeling they need it (a major reason for 25 percent, and minor reason for 23 percent) or the potential cost (a major reason for 15 percent and minor reason for 22 percent).

“With the recent positive news from Pfizer and Moderna, it is likely that public opinion on immunization will continue to shift and evolve,” said Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. “But right now, a large portion of New Jerseyans are still wary, which makes any future messaging encouraging vaccination that much more important.”

By SAM SUTTON

11/16/2020

Politico

Timing is of the essence for pro-cannabis forces.

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Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration and Senate leaders have reached an agreement on the structure of an additional excise tax that could be imposed on recreational cannabis cultivators, according to five sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

Why it matters: Disagreements between Murphy, Senate President Steve Sweeney and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin over an additional excise tax threatened to derail the speedy passage of enabling bill. The recently approved constitutional amendment caps retail taxes at 6.625 percent, the current state sales tax, while local governments can impose an additional 2 percent tax.

Timing is of the essence for pro-cannabis forces. Even though New Jersey voters approved a ballot question on Nov. 3 amending the state’s constitution to allow for the sale and use of recreational cannabis, the drug won't be legal until Murphy signs an enabling bill passed by both houses of the Legislature. Until then, cannabis sales and use will remain illegal.

LILO H. STAINTON, HEALTH CARE WRITER | NOVEMBER 17, 2020

NJ Spotlight News

Carving a turkey to be frozen and packaged into individual meals for seniors in Hawthorne. With a fall surge of  the coronavirus, many Americans are forgoing traditional Thanksgiving celebrations.

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No hugging or handshakes with family. Skip the singing and loud music, which only causes people to raise their voices. And it looks like no crowding on the couch to watch football games with the cousins.

Those were some of the grim recommendations for the Thanksgiving holiday, as state officials unveiled new restrictions on public gatherings Monday in an effort to tamp down the growing rise of COVID-19 statewide.

It was a day of disheartening news in general from Gov. Phil Murphy and his top health officials, who warned of not just rising daily case counts but the possibility of record hospitalizations as well.