NJ Spotlight News: February 20, 2024

for NJ Spotlight news provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association making public schools great for every child and RWJ Barnabas Health let's be healthy together tonight on NJ Spotlight News nework Mayor RZ Baraka tosses his hat into the ring for New Jersey governor making a surprising announcement you too can stand here at the Triton war memorial and say I want to be the governor of the of New Jersey plus US Senate candidate Tammy Murphy takes her stand now a staunch critic of a proposed gas power plant and challenging her husband's wavering support of the plan I stand strongly uh together with you and I oppose the pbsc uh plant also a Hoboken councilman hits the streets making deliveries calling for for increased ebike safety regulations the problem we have is with unfortunately our e delivery are on the sidewalks and it's an accident waiting to happen and the change project our new digital series that shines a spotlight on the state's social and economic challenges more than half of the maternal deaths um are after a woman gives birth and a lot of them come in those first six weeks NJ Spotlight news begins right now from NJ PBS Studios this is NJ Spotlight news with bana vosi good evening and thanks for joining us this Tuesday night I'm Banna ven noi Newark mayor RZ Baraka is putting the rumors to rest in the middle of a fiery speech honoring Black History Month at the Trenton war memorial on Monday Baraka told a cheering crowd he wants to be the next governor of New Jersey there's been talk among political circles for years that baraca was eyeing Iran that part was expected what no one anticipated was that he dropped the bombshell midp speech without a formal campaign launch that you too can stand here at the Triton war memorial and say I want to be the governor of the state of catching even his most fervent supporters off guard there including congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman who joined him on stage Baraka is a former High School principal who served as mayor of the state's largest city for a decade if elected he'll be the first black governor in New Jersey history but before voters cast their ballot in the 2025 go liberatori election they'll first have to decide if they want to put another Murphy in office first lady Tammy Murphy's bid for a US senate seat is kicking it up a notch as she looks to set herself apart from her husband most recently putting her at odds with the governor on a long debated natural gas power plant a proposal the Administration has allowed to move forward but Tammy Murphy now opposes senior political correspondent David Cruz reports first lady Tammy Murphy wanted to make a couple of things clear today one she was here in the Ironbound not as first lady but as a candidate for US Senate highlighting a policy position and two to say I stand strongly uh together with you and I oppose the pbsc uh plant an additional one in this space the proposed P Valley sewage commission power plant in newark's Ironbound Community is a controversial proposal to build a backup for facility to the existing structure here as a way to protect against Power failures like the one that created an environmental mess in Newark during superstorm Sandy residents here and others have been fighting the plan for years we've had hope and Hope's a stubborn thing that maybe just maybe a small neighborhood a small well the largest city right with a mighty heart can defeat a fourth power plant against all the powers that be especially in the times of climate change as a matter of politics though today's event was intended to put some distance between the first lady and the governor who's been dragging his heels on the issue and giving more reasons to be for it than against it despite her reminding us that she was here as a US Senate candidate and not as a first lady reporters wanted to know how the Senate candidate with the most access to the man with the most influence on the issue was using it or not using it you have to admit though that you do have extraordinary access to the governor who has an important role to play here is it your contention that you're purposely not speaking to him about it or you just don't want to share those conversations with us now you know I listen I am again I'm going to say this this is one person an independent thinker who is coming to you today and saying from my vantage point we have to reassess this I am not speaking for the governor and have you talked to him about it uh I am I've been talking to other people about this this is not a this is not something that that I would uh you know I'm I'm I'm not here to stand up and speak for the administration that's not my role here today and if that's the essence of your questions with all due respect that's the end of the the pvsc had no comment on Murphy's event the first lady is the highest profile opponent of The Proposal an environmentalist here were applauding her joining the fight but the fact is says the assembly woman who represents the Ironbound Tammy Murphy was here as a candidate for office not as a policy maker right exactly and it's helpful right um it's helpful when there's a political capacity that is also married um to the governor of the state of New Jersey um and I think that the governor will end up doing the right thing which could be seen as a good thing for a Senate candidate who so far has been getting criticized for her proximity to the governor even if she's still working on how best to articulate how fine the line is that she's trying to walk I'm David Cruz NJ Spotlight news the public got their first shot today to weigh in on a multi-billion dollar plan to replace the Port Authorities Midtown bus terminal the 73-year-old Manhattan facility is slated to get a total overhaul that's expected to give the 200,000 thousand commuters who travel through it each weekday better access to mass transit as Ted Goldberg reports the first and only inperson hearing wasn't without detractors especially those who'll be living next door to the construction today's facility is Antiquated uh Beyond again it save good repair even Port Authority employees argue that its main bus terminal in New York City needs to be replaced they say the new facility projected a cost 10 billion dollars will make life easier for New Jersey's commuters and travelers into the city we are unable to allow for charging stations or double-decker buses which reduces congestion so all of these shortcomings will be addressed and provided for in the new bus facility buses come in from the Lincoln Tunnel and they circulate along local city streets that creates a lack of dependency for the commuter it creates congestion in the local neighborhood and we will be remediating that through a new ramp structure today the Port Authority held its only in-person public hearing for anyone who wants to share their opinions on the ambitious new project there are three more virtual hearings between now and the end of the public comment period City resident Nancy Sharon praised the plan facility saying it looks easier to get around than the current 73y old station I was glad to see that there's an attention to the accessibility I'm a senior citizen now and my husband is also a senior citizen 91 years old he has difficulty walking and walks with a cane she also had suggestions for the port authority and she wasn't alone terminals without seating is a real difficulty for people who can't stand for long periods of time um so please think about and my there's no way my husband could sit on the floor the way a younger person could do it if he sat on the flooor he wouldn't be able to get up it would be nice if there were a website for this process that let us know what kind of disruption we can expect and for how long it's a modern facility that's just being shoehorned into um into the Midtown Area Regional planner Zoe Baldwin doesn't see it that way we really see this as a kind of a big beautiful ambitious proposal that really represents a lot of what this region needs she says the 10 billion project will only get more expensive with time and the current plan doesn't exactly encourage people to use mass transit getting through the station the way finding as we call it is terrible at Port Authority Bus Terminal Baldwin says a crucial part of the plan is the direct ramp from the bus terminal to the Lincoln Tunnel you get stuck in traffic in the tunnel normal traffic but then you get stuck in traffic that is literally because the buses are backing up in the terminal the traffic that backs up in the terminal itself is it's maddening because you're so close it makes you want to just hop off the bus when you're a rider and you can't do that for a number of reasons right if you want to share your thoughts on this project the Port Authority is taking public comment until March 18th in Manhattan I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news this time of year prospective college students are typically awaiting financial aid offers from their schools of choice but colleges and universities across New Jersey and Nationwide are facing delays in receiving students financial information from the US Department of Ed's free application for federal student aid it's better known as FAFSA due to complications of course with the roll out of a new form which opened in December the delays and glitches are so widespread many colleges are now postponing enrollment deadlines to reign in the chaos education and Welfare writer Hannah gross is with me now to explain what it means for New Jersey's students Hannah so good to talk to you so walk me through first what this new faasa application is and why the US Department of Ed chose to roll it out this year yes so the US Department of Education just released the better FAFSA which is supposed to be a more streamlined form with fewer questions that will hopefully allow people to get through the form faster they were actually supposed to release it a year ago um but needed a bit more time and it seems like there's still some delays even with that extra buffer so what kind of glitches were they coming up against I mean are students able to apply at all what's happening yeah so typically the form is available beginning in October but this year it was not released until the very end of December and that was a soft launch that had some glitches so it really wasn't until in January later in the winter when people were really able to fill out the form and there are still some students who can't fill out the online form at all such as students whose parents don't have a Social Security number is this affecting freshman only is it affecting students who are heading into their second third last year and have typically relied on that financial aid package the concerns are primarily surrounding freshmen who need to make this college decision and might not have their financial aid offers in front of them when they have to decide which school they want to go to if right now is the right time for them to pursue college at all so what schools have you spoken to in the state who are now saying hey you know what we're going to pump the brakes on enrollment yes so I reached out to some of the largest schools in New Jersey Ruckers which is the largest they're going to be postponing when their financial aid applications are due and also when the enrollment deadline is to June 1st Montclair State University and Kain and Georg and Court are also delaying to June 1st and NJIT said they're monitoring the situation and may delay Del which might be true of other schools as well yeah I'm sure that there will be okay so I mean how many students are we talking about who typically use this and realistically what does it mean when there's a month taken off of that timeline yes so nationally about 17 million students fill this out every year and so far the most recent data from the US Department of Education has a sitting at around 4 million that's a significant drop yeah yeah so it's much lower in previous years and the whole process has kind of been delayed at every point and then as a student I mean you get those offers and you've got to really take a fine tooth comb to them to look through the different packages and what's going to be best for you that window now is a lot shorter for kids to make these decisions yeah so regular decision acceptances normally come out March early April and the aid offers are normally around that same time but right now it's seeming like those Aid offers might not be able to to get to students until a bit later which is why some schools are delaying the deadlines very quickly is there anywhere that students can go for help yeah so they can go to the US Department of education's website um the federal student aid office they can also in New Jersey go to the higher education Student Assistance Authority and they're offering some personalized support as well as students guidance counselors that's probably the best bet where you know you can talk to someone oneon-one and get that individual help all right Hannah gross for us thanks so much thanks for having me Bri a Hoboken city councilman is taking to Heart A Promise he made on the campaign trail that he'd keep pedestrians safe from The Surge of ebikes that have been zipping up and down sidewalks to find a solution councilman Paul presen Zano took a part-time gig delivering for Uber Eats getting a firsthand look at what it's really like as a delivery worker in the mil Square City Senior correspondent Joanna gagas has the story the problem we have is with unfortunately our e delivery are on the sidewalks and it's an accident waiting to happen Hoboken councilman Paul Prenos traded in a suit and tie for a bike and riding vest he's taken a part-time job as an e delivery Rider with Uber Eats to better understand the challenges that delivery Riders face a move he says is meant to inform an ordinance he's recently proposed we tout Vision zero in this town and we're very proud of it that we've had zero deaths in seven years I do not want to have a statistic where we have one death on the sidewalk and none on the street he was just elected in November and campaigned on the promise to prioritize pedestrian safety his ordinance would require all ebike delivery Riders pass a one-page test to prove they understand the rules of the road or rather the sidewalk and they'd need to purchase a safety vest that would be required when they ride not only am I really protecting the people on the sidewalk CU we can see them in a distance and we could kind of situate ourselves but also making it safer on them for when they're on the street streets but several local groups opposed the ordinance saying it doesn't get to the root of the infrastructure problem in Hoboken double parked cars that Force cyclists onto sidewalks if there was more loading zones for cars for drivers then and there was a protected bike lane then each one would have its own space and it would be safer for everyone bike Hoboken chrisad says it creates unnecessary barriers to e delivery which has impacts Beyond Hoboken we don't want like create barriers and de incentivize that because that's going to help New Jersey and Hoboken get to carbon neutrality their carbon neutrality goals and while Hoboken grapples with this ordinance there's a bill making its way through the legislature right now that would require drivers of any motorized bikes or scooters that go up to 20 or 25 M an hour to be licensed and carry Insurance there's really no current insurance on the market that could cover this so that is a big obstacle in and of itself and that's where these Hoboken opponents find themselves on the same side I really want to know how they're going to do this with the DMV we're struggling with real IDs and we can't even get in there to do that and then we're going to add a percentage of more people coming in for ebikes how do we do that we have to think about what it cost to train our police force because we need to do that for liability sake we need to think about how certain towns are set up for this in a transportation Committee hearing last week Senator Raj mcgie said he doesn't love the bill and does expect amendments to be made on the current version and while it's not clear what enforcement of any of this would look like we did speak with one delivery Rider who said ticketing would have a big impact on his fellow Riders I feel like enforcement is a big one because here's the thing I get a ticket I'm going to tell all my friends another guy gets a ticket he's going to tell all his friends next thing you know nobody's on the sidewalks but to really get to the heart of the issue Ron Bautista says you have to look at why these Riders operate the way they do in the first place he blames the delivery companies their payment methods for for workers uh they encourage unsafe riding and they say because they the way they they get paid is based on how much they ride what I would like to see is uh for our local governments to push delivery companies to one pay them the right amount and he'd like to see them pay fees to the city they're calling for all stakeholders to create a more comprehensive plan together in Hoboken I'm Joe gagas NJ Spotlight news in our Spotlight on Business Report a massive credit card company merger is on the horizon Capital One is buying discover Financial for $35 billion analysts expect the deal to take a big piece of the market currently dominated by visa and MasterCard the pair have come under Fire in recent years for the fees they charge to process payments it'll also make a formidable rival for American Express according to Capital 1's CEO the acquisition of discover allows both companies to improve their technology and expand their payment networks the deal gives the bank access to another roughly 305 million card holders that's on top of its existing base of about a 100 million people but consumer Advocates they're pushing back on the sale saying it poses antitrust concerns because Federal Regulations require a merger of this size to show how it would benefit the public as well as shareholders turning to Wall Street stocks fell to start this shortened holiday week led by a decline in Tech earnings here's where the markets closed today we leave you tonight with the first in a new series NJ Spotlight news is launching called the change project it takes a deeper look at the state's social and economic challenges and the inequalities residents are facing from birth through school to finding an affordable place to live the change project focuses on possible remedies including the steps that have already led to positive change we begin with a topic that's been front and center lately maternal Health outcomes I recently spoke with Healthcare writer Lilo stainton about her piece examining a home Nurse Program for new moms so Lilo uh through your reporting New Jersey has really embraced this new program to help maternal Health outcomes what is it uh and what did you find in looking into it right so basically this the model is called family connects it's in place in 19 States and communities and across the country um it it has been Pro it involves a nursing home visit and it's Universal so that means that every new mom who is who gives birth in the counties that are now in play is eligible for a visit um doesn't matter if you have insurance doesn't matter your immigration status it doesn't matter how much you earn is that what sets it apart very quickly from other programs yes and the fact that it's a nurse making the visit is another unique feature but together that um the nurse will go to your home um assess the mom and the baby's health and connect identify things that they may be missing it may be lactation Services it may be they need a crib it may be you know they don't have a bus pass but it may also be you know a referral for um postpartum depression treatment so they will then connect the family with the services they need and there's another person on the backend who works to make sure that the gaps in the services are filled and so that you're not you don't have people who are calling in line where nobody's answering and things like that so that it's it's together it's really meant to sort of wrap around these families and lift them up why is that important because so babies when they're born they have checkups right away one week and and every week after moms though they don't typically check in with their OB until about six weeks and a lot happens in those first six exactly so it turns out that um more than half of the maternal deaths um are after a woman gives birth and a lot of them come in those first six weeks I think about a quarter of them so what we've what you know these experts are saying is that if we can and get into the home then we can talk to Mom and say you know that weird headache you're having that's actually a blood pressure problem we should go to the hospital or you should see a doctor it's not urgent but get there um you know and those are the kinds of things where you know mom's not being a mom myself I I feel like a fraud saying this but you know I hear they're very busy when they get home from the hospital with this new baby and stuff and it's like overwhelming right so um so I think it's easy for people to say you know my priority is my child right now and you know whatever it is that I'm about there's an itch there's an infection going to get that checked out it will go what are the results show us uh from this program so the the results largely come from the first program which was implemented in the 2000s in Durham and in the surrounding communities in North Carolina and one thing they found is that it cut emergency room visits for mom and baby in half in the first year not just in the first few weeks but that lasted over the first year um it also uh significantly decreased reports of postpartum depression for Mom which is a huge issue um and it also cut in half complaints of child abuse which was a big issue in the community so um It's s it's Pro and there there are other metrics as well but it has proven to sort of make this difference it has not been assessed for maternal mortality impacts but it's pretty clear from people you talk to that they're they're sort of these anecdotes where nurses are saving lives so um the data will is still to come on that and certainly a ripple effect if they have that connection with a medical provider so uh it's fairly new in being rolled out how's it going are there challenges and I'm thinking money which is always an issue in getting these programs to last right so this is what's particularly unique about this is I mean we talk all the time to to new programs that are coming online in in communities that are interesting and have promise this is going to be Statewide and it is backed by law which makes it only the second in the country to be this way um New Jersey started with five counties uh Cumberland Gloucester middle sex Mercer and Essex it will by 2027 it will be in place in all 21 counties or start to be in place in all 21 counties um yeah challenges funding they've got $35 million up front for the first few years um or for the first installment um but you know challenging is hiring nurses nurses are in huge demand they're going to need 250 by the time the program is Statewide that's many times over what they have so far um so there there are and particularly black and bilingual nurses which is so critical if if the program is going to connect with families you know people need to feel like they can trust the person coming into your home it's extremely private to have a nurse coming into your home especially you think you if you're there with a baby I mean at your most vulnerable yeah so um so they've got some challenges but the nurses one of the stories I wrote is about the nurses and they are just the best advertisement for the program they are so enthusiastic about this work and everybody can check out uh your full report plus that sidebar on those nurses the great work that they do on our website NJ spotlight news.org lelos saon thank you so much thank you Bri and that does it for us tonight but don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime I'm Banna vosi for the entire NJ Spotlight news team thanks for being with us have a great evening we'll see you back here tomorrow night njm Insurance Group serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years and by the pscg foundation have some Waters look at these kids how are you what do you see I see myself I became an ESL teacher to give my students what I wanted when I came to this country the opportunity to learn to dream to achieve a chance to belong and to be an American my name is Julia toriani Crompton and I'm Proud To Be 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