More than 1,100 Bergen County residents, officials and doctors packed a hearing in Washington Township on Wednesday night to support Hackensack University Medical Center's plans to reopen Westwood's Pascack Valley Hospital, which went bankrupt and shut down in 2007.

The back-and-forth between affordable-housing advocates and the Chris Christie administration continued in the courts Tuesday, when the Appellate Division of Superior Court blocked the "interim procedures" set forth by the Department of Community Affairs.

A rebuke of Gov. Chris Christie's pension and benefits reform law has left some bystanders wondering if it will be the first of many blows to an effort that won considerable praise from the state's business community.

Business owners have until Oct. 31 to apply for Small Business Administration disaster assistance loans for property damage sustained as a result of Hurricane Irene, but agency spokeswoman Kathy Cook said few in New Jersey have filled out the forms.

While promoting loans is a major part of state efforts to aid small businesses, the Chris Christie administration has an entire office, the Business Action Center, devoted to advocating for businesses in a variety of ways.

A public watchdog has fired back at the state Economic Development Authority after the agency lashed out at the group over a report that said the state was at risk of abusing economic development incentive programs.

One of the state's leading business-affiliated political action committees said it has seen a surge in donations, and expects to spend a record total this year.

The state of New Jersey's power generation capacity and its cost competitiveness will take center stage Friday as the Board of Public Utilities hears new testimony on generation capacity procurement and transmission planning during a "legislative-style" hearing in Trenton.

Through the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative, 27 New Jersey nonprofits will receive up to $75,000 to increase security and preparedness.

Congress is expected to vote on the approval of three free-trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea on Wednesday, and New Jersey business advocates say the agreements would be a boon to manufacturers and service providers.