| | | | |  | | By Matt Friedman | Good Friday morning! Admit it. Many of you were hoping for a primary between state Sens. Nick Sacco and Brian Stack just to watch the world burn. And now you're disappointed. Sacco announced yesterday that he won't seek reelection to the Senate, instead supporting his sometimes-rival Stack after the two were lumped together in redistricting (a development, it should be noted, that Sacco's people were partly, inadvertently responsible for). So there's peace in Hudson County for now. And with that, there's also one less dual office-holder in the Legislature, 15 years after it banned the practice but grandfathered about 20 dual office-holders at the time in. Of those, only three remain: Stack, Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), the mayor of Wood-Ridge, and Assemblymermber Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), the Passaic council president. Another question to come out of Sacco's retirement is whether the Murphy administration and Legislature can come to an agreement on legislation getting rid of mandatory minimum sentences for most non-violent offenses. Sacco, of course, was the driving force in seeking to get official misconduct — and then all political corruption offenses — exempted as well. But he's got two years left before he retires, so I think it's doubtful. Read more about Sacco's retirement here. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The Russian government and oligarchs who profit off their ties to the Putin regime are known for the way they move their money around to camouflage its sources. Cutting off all avenues of investments and finances in New Jersey and other states will reinforce the international sanctions being led by the United States. I hope to see other states take similar actions." — Senate Budget Chair Paul Sarlo DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE'S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 11 HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Faegre Drinker's Jeffrey Jacobson, gun activist Frank Fiamingo. Saturday for former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, JRS Strategies' Jason Springer, Newark Symphony Hall's Taneshia Nash Laird. Sunday for Assemblymembers Joseph Egan and William Spearman, United Us' Jackie Cornell, former Asia Tree House R.A. Vikram Rupani WHERE'S MURPHY? In Florida for the DGA TIPS? FEEDBACK? HATE MAIL? Email me at mfriedman@politico.com |  | WHAT TRENTON MADE | | CHRIS CHRISTIE'S DISNEY WORLD TRIP WOULD LIKE A WORD — "Gov. Murphy headed to Florida for political trip," by NJ Advance Media's Brent Johnson: "Gov. Phil Murphy will be out of New Jersey this weekend for a political trip. Murphy, the vice-chair of the Democratic Governors Association, will leave for Florida on Thursday afternoon for a meeting hosted by the group, his office confirmed to NJ Advance Media. He will return Sunday. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver will serve as acting governor while he's away. The trip comes as New Jersey is set to be hit by a winter storm overnight bringing snow and ice that could make for a messy Friday morning commute." LAWMAKERS: WHAT THE HELL IS BRACKET CREEP DOING HERE? IT DOESN'T BELONG HERE — "Time to end 'bracket creep'?" by NJ Spotlight News' John Reitmeyer: "A bill to protect New Jersey taxpayers from the effects of rising inflation — at least when it comes to paying state income taxes — is scheduled to get a long-awaited first committee review early next week. The Republican-backed measure is getting a new look from state lawmakers just as the federal government's latest consumer-price statistics indicate inflation is rising at rates not seen in decades in the United States. The legislation to be considered for the first time Monday by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee calls for 'indexing' state income-tax brackets to annual inflationary changes. Doing so, the sponsors argue, would prevent what's known as 'bracket creep,' which occurs when rising wages push taxpayers into higher tax brackets, even though they are no better off financially due to coinciding increases in consumer prices." MASK ASKS — "Murphy offers school mask suggestions, not orders," by NJ Spotlight News' John Mooney and Katie Crist: "When Gov. Phil Murphy announced earlier this month that the state's mask mandate would end for public schools on March 7, the news was met by a range of reactions — from those who said it couldn't happen soon enough to those who worried he was moving too quickly. On Wednesday, two weeks after that announcement, Murphy tried to address all those concerns with the release of new details and guidelines for districts moving forward while returning to what he repeatedly said was 'normalcy.' Murphy gave districts a 19-page guide for making decisions about masks and other precautions, including the state's county-by-county dashboard of local transmission and other health indicators. It was the same data used by districts to determine in-person or remote instruction last year." —"Acting AG to stay out of lawsuit amid disputed claims governor's office ordered corruption probe, records show" —" InsiderNJ's 2022 African American power list in honor of Black History Month" —"Veteran municipal manager joins N.J. Assembly with budget-busting in mind"
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UKRAINE — "Menendez, Booker blast Putin for attacking Ukraine and vow to make him pay," by NJ Advance Media's Jonathan D. Salant: "Senate Foreign Relations Chair Robert Menendez on Thursday welcomed President Joe Biden's announcement of a new round of sanctions against Russia, while calling for even more steps to punish Vladimir Putin and his country for invading Ukraine. Among possible future steps: Excluding Russia from the SWIFT banking system that is used to finance international trade, and targeting Putin personally. 'As we seek to impose maximum costs on Putin, there is more that we can and should do,' the New Jersey Democrat said."
—" Hudson's Ukrainian community: 'Unspeakable terrifying feeling' for families still in their homeland" —"For North Jersey Ukrainians, anxious hours follow a sleepless night as Russia invades" —"New Jersey officials react to the Russian invasion of Ukraine" —"Malinowski calls for seizure of Putin regime's assets" | | LOCAL | |
BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL — "Accused Edison cops paid to stay home, costing $1M and counting," by NJ Advance Media's Riley Yates: "The indictments against the five Edison police officers were meant to send a message: that the township's long embattled police department was finally being cleaned up. Filed in 2018, the charges alleged that a group of officers made tens of thousands of dollars through no-show work at off-duty jobs, assignments that a prosecutor said were rife with 'nepotism and corruption.' Yet more than three years later, that case has secured just one conviction, amid indictments so flawed that a judge in Middlesex County threw the charges out of court for the four other officers and rapped prosecutors over their handling of the case. Originally suspended without pay, those four have quietly returned to the payroll, costing taxpayers $1 million in salary alone while still barred by the township from returning to work, as prosecutors have dithered on whether to try to indict them again … The officers were accused of cheating contractors who hired them to work security or at road construction projects, though the men's attorneys insist the allegations have been flawed from the start."
YOU'RE SO VAINIERI. YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS PARTY'S ABOUT YOU — " Vainieri emerges as likely candidate for Hudson County Democratic chairman," by New Jersey Globe's David Wildstein: "Hudson County Board of Commissioners Chairman Anthony P. Vainieri, Jr. is in line to become Democratic County Chairman in June, the New Jersey Globe has learned. Vainieri would replace Amy DeGise, who has held the post since 2018 and would instead will focus on the Jersey City Council at-large seat she won in 2021. The move to seat Vainieri, who is also the chief of staff to North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco, is part of a tentative agreement reached on Wednesday after meetings and conversations with party leaders … Moving Vainieri into the chairmanship might set off some protest from Jersey City, who fought to regain the position after Vincent Prieto didn't seek re-election four years ago. But some Hudson leaders argue that Jersey City is now expected to pick up the 32nd district Senate seat — Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji emerged as the strong front runner for the upper house just two hours after the new legislative map was approved — and a congressional seat, with Rob Menendez as the leading candidate to replace Rep. Albio Sires (D-West New York)." —" Vainieri poised to be next HCDO chair, Craig Guy in the mix for Hudson County exec" NOT-SO-TOTAL RECALL — "'This is absolutely not a threat. This is a promise': Three women spearhead recall of South Jersey school board member ," by The Philadelphia Inquirer's Melanie Burney: "Kerri Tillett handily won her election to the Northern Burlington County Regional school board in 2020. Now she's fighting to keep her seat after a petition by three residents seeks to oust her. In the sprawling rural district just south of Trenton, Tillett has been targeted in what petitioners say could be the first of several efforts against the nine-member school board. The petition filed in January by residents Kelly Stobie, Cynthia O'Malley, and Melissa Bearden provided no reason for the recall — and is not required to do so under a 1995 state law. The three have 160 days to gather signatures from 25% of the town's 7,662 registered voters, which legal observers say will likely be an uphill battle … Stobie, a science teacher in the Burlington County Special Services school district, declined to comment for this article. O'Malley and Bearden did not respond to requests for comment. But at a school board meeting last week, Stobie and O'Malley blasted what they described as the district's 'ridiculous quarantine policy,' which required quarantine for in-school close contacts." HEY PRUDE, DON'T MAKE IT BAD — " Belmar St. Patrick's Day Parade bans business that sells sex products from march," by The Asbury Park Press' Susanne Cervenka: "A Neptune-based businesswoman claims the Belmar Lake Como St. Patrick's Day Parade banned her company from marching this year because of one of its sexually focused product lines. Holly Corbella said she was told last week that her business, Parties by Bellas, was no longer welcome at the March 6 parade after a purported rule violation three years ago. Corbella, however, suspects another reason for rejection that parade organizers' won't say: Parties by Bellas' inventory includes a line of adult sex products." BRIDGEWATER — " Bridgewater police chief, mayor to meet with Black community leaders," by The Courier-Post's Mike Deak: "Mayor Matthew Moench and Police Chief Paul Payne will participate this week in a private roundtable discussion with local Black community leaders to discuss officers' response to a fight at Bridgewater Commons earlier this month. Participants will be invited by the Rev. David Hobbs of the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, which will host the discussion …'On behalf of the entire township, I would like to extend my deep gratitude to Pastor Hobbs for opening his doors and bringing us together to have this conversation,' Moench said in a statement. 'The Bridgewater we strive for is as diverse as it is unified, and that is something we can only achieve if all of our residents feel heard, respected and secure in our township.'" —"Camden County Jail gets hiring change to address 'dire need' for officers" —"Ex-firefighter — whose murder charges were dismissed — asks Paterson for his job back " —"Deadly highway intersection in Mahwah may finally get some fixes. Will they be enough?" —" Morristown rejects airport's request for federal funds, requests a meeting" —"Freehold Township school board meeting canceled by unmasked, even though mandate is ending"
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NURSING HOMES — "It's called one of the worst in N.J. The feds are threatening. Should this nursing home be closed?" by NJ Advance Media's Ted Sherman: "The owners of the long-term care facility in what is a remote and still rural part of New Jersey soon changed its name to Woodland Behavioral Health and Nursing Center at Andover, as if to erase the memory of its handling of the COVID crisis. Yet little seems to have changed since the nursing home was hit with $220,235 in federal fines and penalties by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, just a month after the April 2020 discovery of bodies. It has garnered the lowest ratings a nursing home can earn for staffing and quality of care. On any given day, there are not enough people to care for its residents, state inspectors say … Now state and federal regulators have slammed the nursing home over shocking new allegations of widespread abuse and neglect, issuing a declaration of 'imminent jeopardy' over health care failures they say threaten the lives and safety of the more than 450 residents who live there ... In a Feb. 9 letter to nursing home administrators, CMS officials said the facility was not in compliance with federal requirements to continue to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid program. Woodland was given until March 3 to correct what has become a critical situation, or CMS said it may pull all its federal funding. If that were to happen, it could effectively shut down the facility, which is heavily dependent on Medicaid as well as Medicare reimbursement. Closing any long-term care facility is a fraught decision that is never a first option. For most residents, other than those receiving rehabilitation or post-operative care, a nursing home is not like a hospital where a stay may be temporary. It is their home."
CHILD PORN — "Online child porn, already increasing in NJ, has spiked during COVID ," by The Record's Dustin Racioppi: "Reports of online child pornography increased 21% in New Jersey last year, according to the state Attorney General's Office, following a broader pattern of explosive growth in sexual images circulating on the internet. The amount of abusive material found online has steadily increased for years, but the growth has been drastic during the COVID-19 pandemic. And law enforcement has been chronically underfunded by the federal government, leaving few investigators and resources to adequately respond to the threat against children, experts have said." NO, I WOULD NOT — "Would you pay $6 for one strawberry? This N.J. farm is banking on it," by NJ Advance Media's Pete Genovese: "The country's most expensive strawberries, grown at a vertical farm in Kearny, cost $6 each. Not $6 a pint — $6 each. They're made by a company called Oishii (it means 'delicious' or 'tasty' in Japanese) and they've become a cult fruit, prized by chefs, praised by food writers and bought by those who can afford the hefty price tag … they can be ordered online only and then picked up at five shops in North Jersey, or delivered to select locations in Hudson County." —" More than eight deaths a day: Drug overdoses continue to rise in N.J."
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