From NJ Spotlight

• The worrisome rise in COVID measures continued today, with more than 2,000 new positive tests results reported among state residents — a mark that hasn’t been seen since early May and is a little less than half the all-time high for the pandemic.
  • It was also a third straight day when more than 1,000 patients were being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals in New Jersey.
  • Elevated daily case counts were seen across the state, with four northeastern counties reporting more than 200 positive tests results, and five others each seeing in excess of 100.
     
• Gov. Phil Murphy today called the latest statistics “sobering,” and again raised the possibility of statewide restrictions on business and other activities if the current strategy of appealing to residents to take the necessary safety steps and avoid private indoor gatherings is not successful.
  • During a Friday morning interview on CNN, the governor was asked if he would consider a statewide curfew similar to what’s in place in Newark, where all businesses must close at 8 p.m.: “If we had to,” he said. “I just hope we don’t have to.”
  • Murphy said state officials were now relying on a localized, or “scalpel,” approach — deploying team, testing capacity and contact tracers to places like Newark where case numbers were spiking.
  • The governor has repeatedly said that officials don’t believe that the public activities now allowed, like indoor dining, are responsible for the outbreaks. “A lot of the cases are coming from private homes, private

New York Department of Environmental Conservation News Release

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos today announced the completion of wetland habitat enhancements at Perch River Wildlife Management Area in Jefferson County. The announcement marked the completion of a three-year construction project to install water control structures and other critical habitat improvements that will benefit the migratory and resident wildlife and the recreational opportunities they help support.

“Critical improvements like those announced today at Perch River Wildlife Management Area are helping provide quality habitat for wildlife reproduction and survival, as well as new opportunities for wildlife-related recreation that bolsters local economies,” said Commissioner Seggos. “New York State is fortunate to have Perch River WMA and the hunting, trapping, birdwatching, and other outdoor activities it provides and we thank our partners at the State Office of General Services, local partners in Jefferson County, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for helping us improve this significant resource.”

Perch River Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is 7,932 acres of wetland and open water habitats located in the towns of Brownville, Orleans, and Pamelia, renowned for excellent waterfowl hunting. The WMA is a designated Bird Conservation Area that supports a variety of waterfowl species, as well as several species of rare wetland- and grassland-dependent birds. The area is also well known for its furbearer populations and supports deer, upland small game, and a variety of unique non-game species.

“Through the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration grant program, we are pleased to support the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s effort to restore critical waterfowl habitat and provide opportunities for hunting and other wildlife-oriented recreation at the Perch River Wildlife Management Area,” said Colleen Sculley, Chief of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program. “These grant funds come from excise taxes on firearms, ammunition and archery equipment that have sustained a nearly 90-year state/federal/industry partnership to fund conservation and provide public access to wildlife in the United States.”

More information here

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Walmart Removes Guns From Sales Floor Citing Unrest https://nyti.ms/3kIq80A

Walmart said the move was motivated by protests and looting that have roiled Philadelphia this week after police killed Walter Wallace Jr. on Monday.

Citing civil unrest in Philadelphia, Walmart has moved all of its guns and ammunition off the sales floors in its stores as a “precaution for the safety of our associates and customers.”

Walmart, which is the nation’s biggest retailer and sells firearms and guns in about half of its roughly 4,000 stores in the United States, said in a statement on Thursday that the move was motivated by “some isolated civil unrest.”

In an email, a company spokesman said the move was prompted by the protests and looting that have roiled Philadelphia this week after police killed Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man with mental health issues who approached them while carrying a knife.