NJ Spotlight News: September 9, 2024

Opening major funding for NJ Spotlight news is provided in part by njm Insurance Group serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent lie of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and by the pscg foundation tonight on NJ Spotlight News school shooting threats districts in South Jersey on alert forced to close today after three kids posted shooting threats on social media Plus on the stump Mikey Cheryl and Josh gottheim are holding dueling events today looking to secure their congressional seats but speculation is mounting that both have their sight set on a higher office they can't declare yet they don't want to declare they don't want to get into this situation where um they've got you know expenses for the house race that would come up against their cap in the governor's race also combating the teacher shortage in the state by using virtual instruction the person who come in is an adult to make sure that they're staying on task while the teacher who's certified is teaching from the online platform and selling your water system to private companies communities are grappling with aging infrastructure costs but will it pay off we really want residents to think about this as a permanent sale and a permanent loss of democratic control of their Water Resources because once it's sold it's in the private company's hands NJ Spotlight news begins right now [Music] from NJ PBS Studios this is NJ Spotlight news with Briana vosi good evening and thanks for joining us this Monday night I'm Banna vosi we Multiple South Jersey schools closed after shooting threats begin with a few key stories we're f ing an unnerving start to the week for students in South Jersey multiple schools are closed today throughout Gloucester and camon counties after shooting threats were posted to social media Sunday night naming specific schools to be targeted according to police three kids have been arrested and charged with making the threats officials with the Harrison Township Police Department say one was identified as a 15-year-old from mullika Hill the other two suspects are from Woodbury and Glassboro but names and ages aren't being released in the post believed to have originated on Tik Tok the kids threaten shootings at Woodbury Junior Senior High School Bo Middle School Holy Angels Catholic School Haden Heights Junior Senior High School and Oak Valley School Districts that opted to remain open today added heightened police presence according to their online statements the threat comes of course on the heels of the deadly school shooting in Winder Georgia in which four people were killed also tonight New Jersey has George Helmy sworn in as interim successor to Sen. Menendez a new US senator George helmy is being sworn in as the 81st person to represent the Garden State in the upper chamber the 44-year-old was escorted by the State's new senior senator that's Cory Booker his old boss helmy of course was tapped by Governor Murphy to replace Bob Menendez following his resignation last month and after he was convicted of felony corruption charges helmy will serve in the role until the winner of the November general election is certified Democratic Congressman Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw are the Front Runners in that race and the governor has committed to appointing the winner helmy is taking over menendez's seats on three committees the Senate Foreign Relations the finance committee and the Senate banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in a somewhat stunning turn of events Congressman Rob bendeez the son of the senior recently endorsed Kim in his big for the seat the two even toured small businesses in newark's North Ward on Friday talking to owners about their needs and concerns in the district and while they've managed to reconcile any differences it doesn't appear Governor Murphy has at least not yet anyway Murphy hasn't formally endorsed Kim but has said he'll back the Democratic ticket Kim you'll remember asst did first lady Tammy Murphy's go at running in the US Senate primary and the Nursing shortage in NJ is expected to worsen national nursing shortage were experienced ing is going to get a lot worse before it gets better that's according to a new health Workforce study which Projects New Jersey will have one of the worst nursing shortage problems in the nation an expected 24,000 jobs will be vacant by 2036 according to the survey from the federal health resources and services Administration only Georgia California and Washington are expected to have more severe shortages according to the report the state's largest nurses Union says nearly a third of nurses here left their job since 2020 many others have gone through bitter fights with their Health Care Systems over new contracts healthcare workers across the country have been retiring in large numbers since the pandemic citing the trauma and unsustainable work environments state and federal leaders have been looking for ways to add to the ranks by bringing in more money to train nurses hire more faculty and make it less expensive to get a Nursing degree support for the medical report is provid Ed by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent lensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association well for political Sherrill and Gottheimer: Prepping for governor race? candidates in New Jersey September means locking into their campaigns and kicking the race into high gear all 12 of New Jersey congressional seats are on the ballot this fall but it's a race that's still one year away that's got everyone talking with two highly likely yet Undeclared candidates crisscrossing the state to start clearing a path for the government Governor seat senior correspondent Brenda Flanigan takes a look on the campaign Trail incumbent Josh gimer stood before a mountain of road salt to promote fully restoring a different kind of salt state and local tax deductions we have to bring the fault full salt shaker back and give families a tax cut meanwhile incumbent Mikey Cheryl gathered officials in Woodland Park to discuss her bill aimed at promoting gun storage safety in the wake of last Wednesday's Mash shooting at appalache High School in Georgia just having to unlock a gun safe can be a strong deterrent from actually picking up the gun and pressing the trigger they've been crisscrossing the state they've been around building up chits with other Democratic candidates um you know supporting them riters mic rasmason says these campaigns are doing double duty while both Congressional incumbent stump for re-election in their relatively safe Democratic districts they're also both eyeing the governor's office it's a delicate political dance they can't declare yet they don't want to declare they don't want to get into this situation where um they've got you know expenses for the house race that would come up against their cap in the governor's race so they are trying to keep that line of separation between their two campaigns Cheryl's bill would require gun shops to offer Secure Storage and safety information and tax credits of up to $500 for those who buy a gun safe it's an issue that Resident well beyond her District my opinion is there's no reason why someone buying a new gun cannot be given a trigger lock at the same time you are making sure that you are helping to avoid mass shootings me as a a Montclair mom telling people to securely store their firearms is not going to cut it that's why I'm trying to do legislation and mandate it but she's made no secret of her grander political Ambitions can we look forward to your candidacy for governor I'm strongly considering that but in the meantime you can look forward to my candidacy for the 11th District of New Jersey Cheryl just released her first campaign video a seven figure TV and digital ad bu that doesn't even mention her opponent Mikey Cheryl her patriotism runs deep her optimism it's Relentless go boldly New Jersey forward with Democrat Mikey Cheryl you'll notice that her TV commercials are geared toward name recognition they're geared toward positive uh Name ID they're not necessarily geared specifically toward the house race it's a sore point with Cheryl's 11th District Republican Challenger Joe belnome a solid Trump supporter who accuses Cheryl of being distracted by a bigger political goal my opponent Mikey Cheryl is busy planning her next political move eyeing the governor's seat while our district is Left Behind gimer meanwhile debuted a new website to solicit taxpayer comments on the salt deductions which Republicans have promised to extend past their expiration date next year it's an issue that carries well beyond the fifth congressional district across New Jersey which has the highest property taxes in the nation the mucher states these ruby red States they're trying to stick it to us again and we're not going to let them they're trying to extend the 2017 tax pke bill and keep our taxes higher that's what the red states are trying to do and we're not going to allow it both candidates would arrive late to a gubinatorial primary contest already crowded with candidates including Jersey city mayor Steve FIP New York mayor Ras baraca Sean Spiller president of the njaa a funer of NJ Spotlight news and former State Senate President Steve Sweeney timing is everything neither gottheimer nor Sherl are likely to announce campaigns for governor before the November election but afterwards the countdown kicks in to the June Primary in 2025 in Woodland Park I'm Brenda Flanigan NJ Spotlight news meanwhile Political analysts preview the Harris-Trump debate vice president kamla Harris and former president Donald Trump are hunkered down tonight as they prepare to go head-to-head tomorrow in their first and likely only debate of the election cycle it's a high stakes moment for the two who have never met in person and is expected to be their most significant single event in the race to the White House for for more on what to expect I'm joined by Democratic strategist Dan Bryan and GOP strategist Chris Russell Dan and Chris good to see you both it feels like uh the political news cycle the election cycle has sort of word and kicked into high gear again now that we're in September um sure does look like Mikey Cheryl is running for governor with the new ad out we're waiting of course for Josh goheer Dan what's the strategy here based on this campaign video it's interesting yeah I think you're going to see a number of Democrats that are running in this cycle and then considering running for governor next year using this uh election as a way to springboard themselves Statewide talking about more than just Federal issues maybe talking about Statewide issues as well I think it's smart you know a lot of these districts used to be swing districts you talk about cd5 cd11 CD3 they're really pretty safe now so using to you know bolster yourself for this cycle but then moving into the next cycle is pretty smart Chris it's pretty much been the worst kept secret at least in political circles for the last year that Mikey Cheryl and Josh gimer would be running yet neither have uh formally put their hat in the ring what do you make of that and and how are Republicans countering that yeah I agree it's a it's a terribly kept secret because we we all know they're running although the campaign Finance laws kind of prevent them from getting out there and way that they probably could um but as Dan said they're going to use the money they have in their Congressional accounts to run campaigns that that broaden their name and their their message to people and it's to be expected I mean there there are campaigns that have just yet to begin really in terms of officially let me switch gears then to what will be happening tomorrow night uh Biden rather har kamla Harris and uh former president Trump are taking the stage this is a pretty consequential moment yeah Dan I mean it's it's some what make or break given what happened to President Biden in that disastrous performance in the summer exactly BR uh bana and I will add one more thing as well I don't think we're getting any more debates I think this is it um especially if uh Kam Harris underperforms I don't think she will I think she's going to do very well tomorrow night um but there's no way that um president Trump would do another debate with her so I think this is a one in done tomorrow um I think she's going to do very well I think she's going to show people why the Democratic party unified behind her so quickly uh and so energetically and why there's been so much energy behind her candidacy but it is uh you know you hate to say so much rides on one night but there's no question that this is a big one yeah Chris I mean the momentum you can't deny it um since Harris took the ticket um and yet we're seeing two very different ways that both candidates are going at their uh debate prep uh is there concern concerned that President Trump won't be able to restrain himself on stage there's a lot of talk about his debates with uh Hillary Clinton um and whether or not we'll see some of that version of trump revived listen I thought his debates whether they might not have been Artful for some but his debates against Hillary Clinton were effective I I think his his bad debate was the first one against Biden in 2020 and he learned that lesson that appeared in in the first debate with Biden he let Biden implode in front of him and didn't get in his way for the most part I think I don't think either candidate will have that kind of performance uh that that President Biden had but both of them have clear objectives in this her honeymoon period is wearing off the polling nationally is basically a dead heat in the national uh uh popular vote and also in these swing States so I think and she has to prove that she is more than just um you know the pump and Circumstance of a of a of a convention and and kind of the honeymoon she had coming in and president Trump needs to focus on policy he can't be baited into fights with her on personality and other things and I'm sure she's going to try like heck to get him to do that if he focuses on the policies of taxes immigration energy uh he can win this debate because he is frankly and a lot of people have argument with this too he is more moderate than Kamala Harris she is far left he can occupy the center and do a good job for himself in this debate If he if he can just be disciplined enough to do that which I think he will all due respect to my good friend Chris there I think calling her more extreme call calling Donald Trump more moderate than K Harris is uh a little I'm not sure I fully agree with that I think Donald Trump is Extreme a danger to the party damage to the country Etc listen she just put out a big issues uh page today on her website I'm sure she's gonna be talking through a lot of her policies and issues uh in the debate tomorrow night and listen the polls are going to go up they're going to go down uh early voting is starting pretty soon I don't think we can you know you can't celebrate when you get a good poll You Can't Sweat the bad ones this is going to be a roller coaster and I think Chris and I both the Bri this is going to be razor thin going into November Dan Bryan Chris Russell good to talk to you both you too Bri thank you so much the school To fill teacher shortages, some districts go virtual year is well underway here but some districts are still facing large teacher shortages in some cases that's translated to bigger class sizes or courses being cut from the curriculum in Patterson and Jersey City two of the state's largest districts the vacancies are so high officials have turned to Virtual teachers to fill the gaps Sen correspondent Joanna gagas reports our preference hands down is to have inperson teachers this is a Band-Aid Jersey City superintendent Norma Fernandez says her school district was left with no other choice than to use a virtual teaching model to fill the 45 or so teacher vacancies they have this year explaining how it works she says they able to uh sit through a virtual class um in their building for a period where there will be a par professional with the students assisting as the teacher is on the monitor remotely interacting with the students and these are certified teachers in the content area Jersey City is just a few days into using this virtual teaching company called edmentum as a substitute for classroom teachers they partnered with them last year to bring high-intensity tutoring into the school and expanded the partnership when they learned that ad menum had teachers with New Jersey certifications Patterson is starting its third year using a similar program called proximity we have right now over 2,000 teachers what we're missing is about 149 teachers we have those vacancies the contract with proximity to fill about 75 of those vacancies comes at the cost of $2 million for this year Patterson schools paid the same amount last year as well what I believe is that we should have a certified teacher in every single classroom teaching in person um the next best is well if we have a certified teacher who can work with our students virtually then we will take that too without having that as an option I would literally have almost 150 vacancies just filled with substitutes and so you know I'm grateful for the Innovative thinking that we have this online platform how are you going to measure the success of this program this virtual teach teaching option are you are you parsing out any of that data specifically to make sure that it's working so we have um the leadership team working very closely with the principles you know we are able to look at each and every classroom to see the effectiveness of everything not just the program but to see how we're working with all of our teachers leaders in education including the njaa the largest teachers union in the state and an underwriter of NJ Spotlight news says this has to be a last resort even though they're hearing of more and more districts utilizing the option it's problematic though on on a number of fronts number one we're all you know as we come out of Co here um we're all you know cogent of the fact that virtual learning uh while important to keep someone safe is not the best way to to engage in instruction right um and that being said we're also saying uhoh you know we can't fill positions so we're going virtual here Patterson is using proximity across upper and lower grade levels in the district where Jersey City is using it only in high schools part of the reason for that says Fernandez is that it's simply easier to find teachers for the lower grades but chair of the Senate education committee Senator Vino pal is not a big fan of the solution I get Patterson situation very very difficult um but the district needs to show that they really work to try to find uh those teachers and they haven't been able to could you envision districts continuing in this way because it just becomes a convenient option and is it a good option no uh it can't be it needs to be you know after they have tried everything possible and I have had districts that say listen we've done signup bonuses we've done everything we still can't get them for temporary solutions I understand you we have to do it but gopal and the other education leaders feel there's so much more that needs to be done to attract teachers into the profession in Patterson I'm Joanna gagas andj Spotlight news Joanna will have more on the teacher shortage tomorrow night when talk to those on the front lines leaders in education offering up their own Solutions turning Mayors sue to overturn affordable housing law now to our Spotlight on Business Report the mayors of nine towns are suing the state over a new affordable housing law Governor Murphy signed back in March calling the law an unconstitutional unfunded mandate saying it'll Place unnecessary strain on our towns without providing any resources to make it work the lawsuit which is led by Montvale in Bergen County also challenges the formula used to determine how many affordable units the towns have to build over the next decade it argues that cities should build more affordable housing instead in response fair share housing center says New Jersey has a shortage of over 200,000 affordable units and cause the lawsuit a quote smoke screen to undermine And Delay the implementation of New Jersey's landmark new affordable housing law Suburban towns have long fought affordable housing mandates and argued they plac a larger strain on resources nine towns have signed on to the suit so far but the Coalition expects more will sign on and they will pay for what's expected to be costly litigation finally tonight residents in NJ municipalities debate privatizing water supplies a handful of towns this November will have to make a critical Choice whether their municipality should sell their public water and sewer systems to private companies it's become an increasingly enticing offer for Town leaders who are trying to balance their book while keeping up with Rising costs for infrastructure upgrades but as opponents tell Ted Goldberg it's a risky gamble for our most precious resource the South Orange Village Water Utility is starting to show its age much of the system was built in the early 1900s the Crest Drive storage tank and the Brentwood water sphere need maintenance work and it will take time and money to find and replace hundreds of lead service lines the estimate is going to be somewhere between 5 and 15% of the lines Douglas Newman led a task force to outline South Orange's options in how to handle the water utility going forward the village might sell the whole thing to New Jersey American Water a private company that does maintenance for South Orange and supplies many municipalities Statewide because of the capital uh infrastructure costs that are on the horizon because of the leadline replacement and because and pasas as an example you know while South Orange doesn't have to deal with that directly the bulk water supply pricing we think will go up we remain uh just slightly more than a penny a gallon and so as we look at across the board of what people pay for in their lives for the opportunity to have clean SL safe reliable dependable uh affordable water we think uh is a very Sound Investment it's very small amount of money president Mark McDon is trying to buy the water utilities for South Orange and Gloucester Township and he'll be successful if voters approve to referenda this November he argues that a private company is better suited to clean and deliver drinking water than some places as communities pull the cost of expensive upgrades they just operate better if you have a better base to work from um the time time of small town Water and Wastewater systems is really challenging now and a lot of Mayors have realized that this is not a business that they necessarily want to be in one of those mayors is jod Val they've changed out the water meters they're changing out any lead pipes you know so they they came into the community uh you know when they hit the ground running she leads Salem City where voters approved a sale to New Jersey American Water last November we're not carrying the insurances and the staffing issues with the uh you know the water and sewer that will help us be able to hopefully bring on Staffing in other areas she says there were minor bugs in transitioning to a private company but that had Salem held on to its water the city would have had to jack up rates New Jersey American water has promised multi-year rate freezes in communities they've joined and that will be true as long as American water has control over those rates but once it goes to the port of Board of Public Utilities as part of a rate case the Board of Public Utilities is going to set a new rate for all rate payers and they're not going to to honor an agreement that American Water had with a town their motives are profits um not consumer um affordability some groups have argued against private ownership of utilities fearing price hikes and loss of control food and water watch organizer Sam DeFalco says communities like South Orange should think long and hard before voting we really want residents to think about this as a permanent sale and a permanent loss of democratic control of their Water Resources because once it's so it's in the private company's hands which could be a good thing or a bad thing all depending on your perspective in South Orange I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news support for the business report is provided by Riverview Jazz presenting the first annual Jersey City Latin jazz festival on Saturday September 14th at Exchange Place Plaza in Jersey City performance schedule and further details for this open to all event can be found online at Riverview jazz.org Closing that's going to do it for us tonight before you go a reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen to us anytime I'm Banna vosi for the entire team here at NJ Spotlight news thanks for being with us have a great night we'll see you right back here tomorrow New Jersey Education Association making public schools great for every child RWJ Barnabas heal let's be healthy together and New Jersey Realtors the voice of real EST state in New Jersey more information is online at NJ realtor.com njm Insurance Group has been part of New Jersey for over a century we support our communities through njm's corporate giving program supporting arts and cultur related and nonprofit organizations that serve to improve the lives of children rebuild communities and help to create a new generation of safe drivers we're proud to be part of New Jersey and n JM we've got New Jersey covered [Music]