Newark rolls out universal basic income
Announced by Mayor Ras Baraka on May 10, the program will be funded by $2.2 million from private donors with The Victoria Foundation overseeing the funds and the pilot, and city-based financial tech firm MoCaFi distributing the checks.
Will we see full football stadiums this fall? It’s possible, Murphy says
MetLife Stadium may be able to seat a full house after the season starts on Sept. 9 if the federal Centers for Disease Control shrinks its social distancing recommendations and New Jersey follows suit, as the governor has said it would.
NJ looking to roll out Pfizer vaccine to teens under 15 right after fed approval
“This approval would be a big step for the health not just of our state broadly, but for our school communities,” Gov. Phil Murphy said during a daily COVID-19 press briefing.
Lawmakers respond to NY congestion pricing with plan to tax out-of-state drivers (updated)
“We simply cannot expect a robust recovery and return to in-person work to be successful while workers needed in New York City are being penalized simply for going to their jobs,” Sen. Joe Lagana, D-38th District said. “New Jersey is not New York’s piggy bank.”
Murphy seeks $235M in new COVID relief for businesses
Under the proposal, the NJEDA would allocate $120 million for microbusinesses, $20 million for bars and restaurants, $10 million for child care facilities, $25 million for new businesses and start-ups, $10 million for the “Sustain and Serve” program which pays restaurants to prepare meals for residents in need, and $50 million in other business grants.
NJ unemployment ticks up slightly as national number goes down
For the week ending May 1, a total of 14,073 new claims were received as compared to 12,322 filed the week prior, the DOL said. Nationally, unemployment trended down, with 498,000 claims filed for the week ending May 1, a decrease of 92,000 from the previous week.
NJEDA accepting applications for 2021 Net Operating Loss Program
The initiative enables early-stage technology and life sciences companies to sell their New Jersey net operating losses and unused research and development tax credits to unrelated profitable corporations for cash.
We’re open! NJ loosens restrictions
A number of immediate steps are going into effect May 7, ahead of the much broader reopenings which take effect on May 19. Gov. Phil Murphy states the current pace of the state’s vaccination efforts, and the downward trend in the virus, all justify these reopening measures.
Bill requires businesses to provide sick time for getting COVID vaccine
“We want to get New Jersey on the right track to a new normal and to do that we need to ensure that all New Jerseyans who want to receive the COVID-19 [vaccination] have access to it,” reads a statement from the sponsor of the legislation, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle, D-37th District.
NJ Chamber poll: Two-thirds of execs ready to return to in-person events
"There is no doubt business people want to bring human interaction back to the workplace, so you can say that Gov. Murphy's lifting of restrictions has come at the right time,” said Tom Bracken, the organization's president and chief executive officer.
Poll: NJ’s impending reopenings see strong support from residents
A new Monmouth University Poll shows 73% of New Jerseyans support the governor's recent policies regarding a return for outdoor businesses and gatherings, and 60% for indoor businesses.
Lawmakers want to revamp funding formula for state colleges
The proposal, which has bipartisan support, would create an 11-member commission to look at how other states send aid to universities and the needs of institutes of higher education in New Jersey, and develop further legislation based on its recommendations.