New Jersey Monitor provides fair and tough reporting on the issues affecting New Jersey, from political corruption to education to criminal and social justice. We strive to hold powerful people accountable and explain how their actions affect New Jerseyans from Montague to Cape May. Material from New Jersey Monitor is used by Montclair Local with permission.
New Jersey Monitor
Bill would let NJ parents use public assistance to buy diapers
Babies need up to 12 diapers a day, and one in three families struggle with diaper need, according to the National Diaper Bank Network.
Study: Low-income NJ families were least likely to claim expanded child tax credit in 2021
More than 1 million New Jersey families benefited from the expansion. But 60% of those with incomes under $25,000 reported they didn't, the study finds.
Growing concerns Black businesses will be left out of NJ’s recreational marijuana market
In New Jersey, legislators wrote into the law a requirement that 30% of recreational marijuana licenses be awarded to businesses owned by women, minorities, or disabled veterans.
NJ program to help homeowners avoid foreclosures gets a $10M boost
Murphy said the law “protects communities from being negatively impacted by the presence of an abandoned home.”
Montclair’s Nia Gill wants investigation into NJ nursing home COVID deaths
Republicans have long sought to investigate Gov. Phil Murphy’s handling of COVID-19 in long-term care centers.
Recreational marijuana in NJ hits a snag — regulators want proof towns are on board
Montclair is among those municipalities allowing legal recreational marijuana, setting rules for establishments last summer.
Republicans want NJ Supreme Court to toss tiebreaker’s new explanation for redistricting
The new map leaves most of Montclair's the Fourth Ward in Donald Payne's 10th District, and moves more of the township into Mikie Sherrill's 11th.
As expected, Scutari defeats Montclair’s Gill for senate president
Democrats had already chosen Scutari in closed-door proceedings several weeks ago.
Bill to require lessons on AAPI history in schools awaits Murphy’s signature
New Jersey is one of several states around the country mandating curriculum as a way to fight anti-Asian hate and increase cultural sensitivity
As districts go remote, group wants court to keep NJ special education kids in classrooms
No state officials showed up for a hearing on the matter.