Trump rally held In Augusta, New Jersey on Oct. 14. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
HOLMDEL, NJ – Gov. Phil Murphy has two words to describe the convoy of vehicles carrying Trump supporters in Holmdel on Sunday, which caused standstill traffic on the Garden State Parkway yesterday afternoon.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, Murphy said he used two adjectives during an earlier interview to describe the incident: “silly” and “dangerous.”
New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Patrick Callahan also said that video footage of the incident is under review, with “enforcement actions” currently being followed up on by detectives in conjunction with the Department of Transportation.
“I want to be clear that that situation on the parkway yesterday was incredibly irresponsible,” said Callahan.
Videos posted to social media on Sunday showed multiple vehicles parked in GSP express lanes and on the shoulders. Supporters waved Trump flags and honked vehicle horns as one person can be heard saying: “We shut it down, baby. We shut it down.”
Critics say Transportation & Climate Initiative would do little for communities already overburdened by pollution
Environmental groups critical of the pact want state policymakers to focus the proposed initiative on mandatory pollution reductions in overburdened communities.
Tom Johnson reports for NJ Spotlight
One of the most prominent environmental organizations in New Jersey is opposing a regional cap-and-trade program being pushed by Northeastern states to curb global-warming emissions from motor vehicles.
Clean Water Action joined the New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance and Ironbound Community Corporation in urging the Murphy administration to reject joining the Transportation & Climate Initiative, a proposal most clean-energy advocates view as a critical step toward reducing the single largest source of greenhouse gas pollution.
Many environmentalists consider the still emerging climate initiative, modeled after the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative — a program that aims to reduce pollution from power plants — as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to modernize and decarbonize the region’s transportation system.
Not so much though for those who represent environmental justice communities — already overburdened with the cumulative effects of pollution — which have shown a growing voice in the Murphy administration.
Need for ‘bold, visionary solutions’
“TCI to date has been tone deaf at best and racist at worst. The world is on fire and we need bold, visionary solutions that center those most directly impacted to build a just society,’’ said Maria Lopez-Nuñez, deputy director of the Ironbound Community Corporation.
Clean Water Action wants state policymakers to focus the proposed pact on mandatory pollution reductions in overburdened communities, targeted funding and action in those areas.
“We need big bold solutions that the environmental justice communities in New Jersey has been demanding a long time like mandatory pollution reductions in communities of color and low-income communities,’’ said Amy Goldsmith, New Jersey state director of Clean Water Action.
Their concerns include the possibility that a cap-and-trading program is likely to disproportionately impact environmental justice communities and that monies raised by the program would be diverted for other purposes, as has occurred in the past, when more than $ 1 billion in clean-energy funds have been diverted by past administrations in New Jersey.
The Transportation & Climate Initiative envisions funding the programs through a proposal that could boost the price of gasoline at the pump by as much as 5 cents to 17 cents a gallon, according to estimates by the alliance. The alliance is comprised of 12 states, including New Jersey as well as Washington D.C. If implemented, the program could slash tailpipe emissions by 25% over the next decade.
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In other underwater news, scientists have known for years that octopuses can taste what their arms touch. Now we know why: The cells of their suckers are covered with tiny detector proteins that respond to chemical cues to help them determine whether an object is useless, dangerous or would make a good snack.
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STATE COLLEGE – The biggest game that nobody could go to arrived at State College Saturday, and Penn State students were amped.
Near fraternity row, groups of students were spending the afternoon playing “Beer Die,” (Google it, Boomer). Another group of friends, with beverages at the ready, were channeling their inner Lions and running football plays on the first block of East Fairmount Avenue.
In the Holmes-Foster neighborhood, a leafy expanse of single family homes, some rented out to students, it was easy to see, and hear, the outdoor gatherings on a crisp autumn day. Large clutches of students walked the streets, too busy to talk to a reporter because they had places to go and people to see.
A crowd of revelers inside a warehouse at 23 Meadow Street in East Williamsburg. NYC SHERIFF’S OFFICE
The New York City Sheriff’s Office busted up an illegal Halloween party at a warehouse in Brooklyn packed with nearly 400 revelers and three walk up bars, and issuing a slew of summonses to eight organizers linked to the party. The latest roundup adds to the string of parties that have been deemed illegal because of the pandemic.
Some of the partygoers were dressed in costumes when deputies stormed 23 Meadow Street in Williamsburg at around 1 a.m. on Saturday. Sheriff Joseph Fucito said his office received of a “potential nonessential gathering” at the location, with deputies soon conducting surveillance. Fucito said deputies heard loud music coming from the warehouse and spotted security guards controlling crowds outside the warehouse. Roughly 150 of those guests were seen wearing costumes, according to Fucito.
After raiding the warehouse adorned in Halloween-themed decorations, they found 387 people inside dancing to the tune of a live DJ, not social distancing, and wearing no masks that protect them from contracting COVID-19
Governor Murphy’s Executive Order 192, issued on October 28, 2020 (the “Order”), requires every business, nonprofit, and governmental or educational entity in the State “that requires or permits its workforce…to be physically present at a worksite” to follow a uniform set of public health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The Order, that becomes effective at 6 a.m. on November 5, 2020, mandates these 10 actions:
Enable employees to remain at least six feet apart at all times. When employees cannot maintain this distance, businesses must require employees to wear face masks and shall install physical barriers between workstations wherever possible.
Require that employees, customers, visitors, and other people entering the worksite wear cloth or disposable face masks while on the premises, in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations. The only exceptions to this directive are for individuals under two years of age or where it is impracticable for a person to wear a face mask, such as when the individual is eating or drinking or where a service being provided by the employer cannot be performed on someone wearing a mask. Businesses must make face masks available, at the businesses’ expense, to their employees. Businesses may permit employees to remove face masks when the employees are situated at their workstations and are more than six feet from others at the workplace, or when individuals are alone in walled offices. Businesses may deny entry to any employees, customers, or visitors who decline to wear face masks, except when doing so would violate State or federal law.
Provide sanitization materials, such as hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol and sanitizing wipes that are approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the COVID-19 virus, to employees, customers, and visitors at no cost to those individuals.
Ensure that employees practice regular hand hygiene, particularly when they are interacting with the public, and provide employees break time for repeated handwashing throughout the workday, as well as access to adequate hand washing facilities. Businesses may adopt policies that require employees to wear gloves in addition to regular hand hygiene. If a business requires its employees to wear gloves while at the worksite, the business must provide gloves to its employees.
Routinely clean and disinfect all high-touch areas in accordance with the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) and CDC guidelines, particularly in spaces that are accessible to employees, customers, or other persons, including, but not limited to, restrooms, hand rails, door knobs, other common surfaces, safety equipment, and other frequently touched surfaces, and ensure cleaning procedures following a known or potential exposure (discussed below) are in compliance with CDC recommendations.
Prior to each shift, conduct daily health checks of employees. This includes temperature screenings, visual symptom checking, self-assessment checklists, and/or health questionnaires, consistent with the CDC’s guidance. This information must be collected in a manner consistent with the confidentiality requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), and any other applicable laws, including any guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights.
Immediately separate and send home employees who appear to have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 illness, as defined by the CDC, upon arrival at work or who become sick during the day. Businesses must continue to follow all applicable State and federal laws regarding sick leave.
Promptly notify all employees of any known exposure to COVID-19 at the worksite, consistent with the confidentiality requirements of the ADA, other applicable laws, and guidance from the EEOC.
Clean and disinfect the worksite in accordance with CDC guidelines when an employee at the site has been diagnosed with COVID-19 infection.
Follow all guidelines and directives issued by the NJDOH, CDC, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), as applicable, for maintaining a clean, safe, and healthy work environment.
