Media productions in the Garden State are projected to reach a historic level, as the state's lucrative incentive program has bolstered demand and ramped up the amount of studio, network and independent filming.

The Community Stage Relief Grant Program, which provides grants of up to $300,000 for businesses that have some kind of involvement in the promotion and production of live events and were affected by COVID closures, will award funds to smaller venues that suffered losses during the pandemic.

When the Murphy administration said the state would subsidize some $500 hiring bonuses and offer $10,000 to employers for training new workers, some of the state’s largest business groups hailed the program as a major step toward stemming the months-long labor shortages. But some employers are less optimistic.

While the first 2021 New Jersey gubernatorial debate was light on details about the direction of the state's economy, and the state of its business climate, the event still left business groups somewhat confident and assured because of a key promise made by the incumbent Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy: no new taxes.

“Public and private sector partners have been essential to the state’s COVID recovery efforts, and these partnerships remain critical as we work to assist businesses and nonprofits … recovering from the damage and economic disruption caused by recent severe weather,” reads a statement from NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan.

Filling up at the pump just got a little cheaper as an 8.3 cent decrease comes after the state hit drivers with a 9.3 cent-per-gallon hike last year.

GigXero installed Newark Fiber at The Tech House, which is set to open this fall in the Brick City.

The state is awarding a $109 million tax break to the fintech under NJ Emerge to renovate and open a 428,000-square-foot, four-story office site in Berkeley Heights.

Under the agreement, the firm would keep or create a combined 3,000 new jobs at a Berkeley Heights office and spend $105 million to “improve and relocate to a mostly vacant office building” in the Union County suburb.

The report from Stockton University's William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy marks the incumbent governor's narrowest lead over his Republican challenger, thus far.

The governor and his GOP challenger exchanged barbs over the incumbent's handling of the pandemic, his response to Tropical Storm Ida, LGBTQ rights and law enforcement policies.