NJ cracking down (again) on coronavirus spread

Local officials are granted the authority to institute 8 p.m. curfews on businesses.
Newark announces new restrictions on gatherings, sports and religious services.
N.J. among the first states to get new rapid COVID-19 tests with 99% accuracy.

From the NJ State Chamber

The State Gives Local Officials the Right to Institute 8 p.m. Curfews on Businesses – New Jersey counties and municipalities now have the authority to order nonessential businesses to close at 8 p.m. to help slow the spread of the coronavirus under a new rule Gov. Murphy signed Thursday as the state deals with increasing cases of COVID-19. (nj.com) 

The Fine Print – Here are the details on Gov. Murphy’s executive order permitting municipalities and counties to impose additional restrictions. (The Governor’s Office) 

With its Cases Skyrocketing, Newark Institutes New Restrictions on Gatherings, Sports and Religious Services – Mayor Ras Baraka is limiting gatherings, banning sports and visits to senior housing for two weeks; increasing curfews in some areas; and restricting attendance at religious services. (ROI-NJ) 

New Jersey Will Be One of the First States to Get a New Rapid COVID-19 Test with 99% Accuracy – It’s a molecular test that uses a nasal swab and is more reliable than the rapid antigen testing the state has been using, the state health commissioner said. The state plans to deploy the new testing systems to its most vulnerable communities, including long-term care facilities and veterans homes, as soon as the state receives them, Gov. Murphy said. (nj.com) 

40,000 N.J. Students Still Lack a Computer or Internet Access for Virtual Learning – That’s 3% of the public school population, Gov. Murphy said. In the spring, more than 300,000 students lacked access, but New Jersey is still struggling to close its digital divide. (nj.com) 

The Ivy League is the First Division I Conference to Cancel Winter Sports Amid the Pandemic – “This is heartbreaking, this isn’t the decision any of us want to make,” Ivy League Executive Director Robin Harris told NJ Advance Media Thursday evening in a phone interview. “I’ve been through this now twice, and I didn’t want to have to go through this again, and if you had told me in March I’d be doing this again, I wouldn’t have believed you. And same thing in July. I can’t believe we’re here again.” (nj.com) 

Related news stories:
New York City schools may close again as Covid-19 cases surge (CNN)
Cuomo COVID Curfew Takes Effect Friday; NYC Prepares to Close Schools (NBC 4)
Philly officials anticipate new restrictions as COVID-19 cases keep climbing (Inquirer)

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Covid leads NY judge to shut down jury trials

Story photo for New York judge shuts down jury trials, grand juries
From the Times Union
New York’s chief administrative judge, Lawrence K. Marks, on Friday issued an order suspending any new jury trials across the state as COVID-19 has surged in many communities.

The notification by Marks will also suspend grand juries from impaneling.The court shutdown comes a week after criminal jury trials had resumed in New York City. One of those trials was adjourned when several employees at a Bronx courthouse tested positive for COVID-19.
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Biden carries Arizona, flipping a longtime Republican stronghold

Joe Biden Just Won Barack Obama's Fake Endorsement
Joe Biden

 By Dan Merica, CNN

(CNN) For just the second time in more than seven decades, a Democrat will carry Arizona in a presidential election, a monumental shift for a state that was once a Republican stronghold.

CNN projected on Thursday that President-elect Joe Biden will carry Arizona, defeating President Donald Trump and providing Democrats in Arizona and the universe of allied grassroots organizations in the state with a crowning achievement a decade in the making.

Biden’s win in the state that propelled Republican leaders like Barry Goldwater and John McCain to national prominence could foretell problems for the party going forward. Three key shifts in the state helped Democrats this year: a growing Latino population that leans Democratic, a surge in voters moving to Arizona from more liberal states like California and Illinois, and the way suburban voters have starkly broken with a Republican Party led by someone like Trump.

Arizona, by going blue, is moving closer to its neighbor to the northwest — Nevada, where Democrats have taken control of almost all aspects of government — and away from the state’s traditional rightward bent.

The Democratic victory — declared days after CNN projected Biden’s win in the presidential race — was anchored by Maricopa County, home to Phoenix and nearly 60% of all people in the state. Maricopa is the fastest-growing county in the country, transforming over the last two decades into a sprawling mass of metropolitan hubs, sun-scorched planned communities and bustling strip malls.

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Cuomo announces $11M for e-vehicle charging stations

Walmart adds more than 120 electric vehicle charging stations to US stores | Fox Business

From NY Governor news release

New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the availability of $11 million to build out the state’s network of fast charging stations to support wider adoption of electric vehicles. 

The Direct Current Fast Charger program will be administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to scale up electric vehicle infrastructure in areas of the state where access to fast charging stations is limited, and will also prioritize improving the availability of charging infrastructure in disadvantaged communities. Increased use of clean transportation supports Governor Cuomo’s goal for an 85 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 under the nation-leading Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.

“New York continues to serve as a national model for reducing greenhouse emissions. As part of our efforts, we must ensure all New Yorkers, no matter where they live or their economic status, have access to the infrastructure required for using electric vehicles,” Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said. “This investment will build the infrastructure necessary for empowering more consumers to choose clean, electric transportation options, while making electric vehicles an accessible option for all New Yorkers.”

“We are continuing to reimagine New York’s future fueled by clean, renewable energy,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. “This settlement with Volkswagen will allow us to further expand electric vehicle fast charging stations across the state. This helps to advance our commitment to reduce carbon emissions and achieve significant savings in fuel cost. We encourage New Yorkers to buy electric vehicles as we establish more charging stations across the state. We want to ensure New York State continues to lead in building back better, cleaner and greener now and in the future.” 

As part of the State’s $127.7 million allocation of the federal Volkswagen Settlement funds, the Direct Current Fast Charger program will provide up to 80 percent of the cost to build publicly available charging stations for electric vehicles. Funding will be made available in specific REDC regions through two initial rounds, through which charging station developers will be selected to install at least four DCFC stations per site, at four or more site locations. Only one proposal per developer will be awarded for each eligible REDC region under each round, and if funding remains after these two rounds are complete, the program will continue to a third round. 

The program requires that at least 25 percent of the stations be located within half a mile of a disadvantaged community in support of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act goal of increasing access to clean energy and sustainable infrastructure to all end-users. In addition, developers installing charging stations in rural areas may be eligible to submit proposals under this program that include two different sites, which would support simultaneous charging for two vehicles at each site.

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This pandemic is once again headed in a very scary direction.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are at an all-time high

By Caroline Mimbs Nyce , Senior Associate Editor, The Atlantic

This pandemic never stopped being serious. But the situation just got more so.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are up to an all-time high, and with them, fears that America’s hospitals could be overwhelmed. Unlike in the spring, the hot spots aren’t contained to a region, my colleagues at the COVID Tracking Project write: 17 states are reporting peaks.

That could make it “harder to mobilize surges of frontline workers to areas where health-care systems are at risk of failure.”

The U.S. records more than 140,000 new coronavirus cases, the latest all-time high as numbers march higher (Washington Post)

In better news, a vaccine looks more promising than ever. Until then, Americans must once again assume the role assigned to them in March: Taking precautions to alleviate the strain on the country’s health-care system.

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