What’s Important to Know About NJ This Week –06/15/2024

Jun 15, 2024

Murphy Fails Big on Lead Exposure, NJ Spotlighted in War On Transparency, Police Powers Expand, Teachers Union Makes Move on Governor Seat, Bayer Develops New Treatment for Menopause Symptoms, NJ Home Prices Continue to Rise

More than 250,000 NJ Students Exposed to Lead

The Jersey Vindicator

On Sept. 25, 2019, the Bergen Record/USA Today dropped a bombshell: Hundreds of thousands of students exposed to lead in NJ schools. Here’s why officials failed to stop it.

More than 250,000 New Jersey students — and likely many more in recent years — were at risk of drinking water tainted with dangerous levels of lead at their schools. An investigation by the Trenton bureau of the USA Today Network found lead-tainted water was detected in nearly a third of the state’s 673 public school districts and charter schools.

A week earlier, a Monmouth University Poll showed that only 10 percent of New Jersey residents approved of the way Murphy had handled the Newark lead situation, and his overall unfavorable ratings were climbing Read More

Freedom of The Press Foundation Spotlights NJ OPRA Law in War Against Transparency

Freedom of the Press Foundation

“While the law’s proponents initially claimed the changes were intended to cut down on commercial records requests, the final law does nothing of the sort. In fact, it actually allows commercial requesters to pay to have their records requests expedited.

Instead, the law discourages public records requests and lawsuits by journalists and concerned citizens. Among other things, it eliminates automatic awards of attorneys fees to winning requesters and makes it easier for the government to sue people for requesting records that belong to the public. Read More

Police Can Search Locked Glove Boxes Without Warrant

New Jersey Monitor

A legal exception that allows police to search vehicles without first obtaining a warrant in some circumstances extends to locked glove boxes and other secured compartments within a vehicle’s interior, a state appellate panel ruled Wednesday.

The three-judge panel’s decision overturns a trial court ruling that found police exceeded the authority afforded them under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement for searches when they opened a locked glove box during a November 2018 traffic stop search initiated after an officer smelled marijuana. Read More

Teachers Union Makes Move on Governor Seat

NJ Education Report

Earlier this week NJ Education Report reported that NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson has been visiting school districts and speaking to NJEA members about “pension justice,” the proper financing of the retirement benefits system called the Teachers Pension and Annuity Fund. On Monday she spoke at Montclair High School where she is the president of the local teachers union and, according to one teacher, used the occasion to “drum up support from teachers and staff, for Spiller for governor.” State law and school policy prohibits campaigning on public property.

NJEA members are already funding Spiller’s campaign through NJEA’s Super PAC called Garden State Forward, which has contributed $2 million to Spiller’s own Super PAC, Protecting Our Democracy. Read More

Bayer Develops New Drug that May Significant Reduce Symptoms of Menopause

Bayer

Both studies also achieved for all three key secondary endpoints a statistically significant reduction in the frequency of VMS from baseline to week 1 (p<0.0001 and p=0.0013, respectively), as well as statistically significant improvements in sleep disturbances (p<0.0001 in both studies) and menopause-related quality of life (p<0.0001 and p=0.0059, respectively) compared to placebo.

“The robust efficacy and favorable safety profile of elinzanetant reinforces its potential as a non-hormonal treatment for women experiencing menopause,” said Dr. Christian Rommel, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer AG’s Pharmaceutical Division and Global Head of Research and Development. “We look forward to submitting applications to health authorities for marketing authorizations of elinzanetant to treat moderate to severe VMS associated with menopause, building upon our extensive legacy and commitment to women’s healthcare.” Read More

NJ Home Prices Move Further Away for Working Class & Middle Class Families

Patch

Eleven New Jersey counties saw home prices jump by nearly 10 percent or more this May compared to the same month last year, according to new data that revealed where in the Garden State buying a home could cost you more.

The list was created using Zillow data from May 2024, which showed that the typical home value in New Jersey is $527,599 — significantly higher than the nationwide value of $360,681. Read More

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