One of the most intensely debated unemployment benefits - the $300 weekly bonus from the federal government - is set to expire soon, along with a handful of other benefits. Business owners and conservative lawmakers argue that the lapse in added money could alleviate labor shortages, especially in the restaurant industry.

“At a time when New Jersey’s hospitals, doctors and nurses are still on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, the injection of millions of dollars in annual federal funding into our hospitals will help them attract and retain the best talent as well continue to provide high-quality care for New Jerseyans,” U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez said.

Construction of the Transitway, a rail loop between Secaucus Junction and the Meadowlands Sports and Entertainment Complex, would stretch 7 miles and take into account things such as utlizing zero-emissions vehicles.

Catherine Brennan has been named New Jersey Institute of Technology's senior vice president/chief financial officer, the school announced Aug. 26. 

One sets aside $180 million of American Rescue Plan aid for schools and small businesses to upgrade their ventilation and water systems. Another makes New Jersey the 27th state to offer C-PACE financing, according to Environment New Jersey head Doug O'Malley, "the most popular energy efficiency program you haven't heard of,” to commercial property owners.

Officials estimate the initiative has enabled nonprofits to use the previous $14 million of grants to buy over 3.5 million meals from more than 350 pandemic-hit restaurants across the state during some of the worst times of the COVID-19 pandemic for its neediest residents.

There's still no update out of Trenton as to what's to become of the soon-to-be expiring job benefits expansion. So far, the state has paid out a combined $33 billion in both federal and state programs, while half a million New Jerseyans currently depend on the aid.

“Because actual consumption in Fiscal Year 2021 was so closely in line with our projections made last August, coupled with the fact that consumption in the current fiscal year is projected to be above last fiscal year’s levels, our analysis of the formula dictates an 8.3 cent decrease this coming October,” State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio said.

Yet to be announced is when applications to run businesses - including dispensaries, grow facilities, manufacturing and processing facilities, delivery operations, and wholesalers - can be submitted for consideration.

To be eligible for funding through the program, organizations must demonstrate that they comply with the regulatory requirements outlined by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the department’s requirements in the Request for Applications.

Wesley McWhite III will lead the Cannabis Regulatory Commission’s office in charge of establishing and administering practices and procedures to bring socially and economically disadvantaged New Jerseyans into the state's medical and adult use cannabis industries.

After an hour of delays attributed to technical difficulties, the group convened in a public meeting in front of nearly 1,000 New Jerseyans to lay out the groundwork paving the way for the state's adult use industry, which included the prioritization of social equity, diversely owned and impact zone businesses; easing access to the market for entrepreneurs; working with municipal partners; and laying a foundation of safety.