A Bank for New Jersey
Phil Murphy who used to work for Goldman Sachs talked a lot about forming a state-run bank when he was campaigning for Governor, but hasn’t talked about it much since, the valuable Spotlight reports, apropos a report by the Citizen Action Education Fund, which you can read here.
One key concern about a bank, the story notes, “is whether the state has the ability and expertise to make sound lending decisions free from political influence.”
I’m being told that’s not a problem we experience presently.
Health Insurance
The percentage of adults without health insurance fell from 18% in 2011 to 11% in 2017, the super valuable Spotlight also reports. I think that’s a good thing. That’s a good thing, right?
Elephant Questions
Margate’s throwing open the books on 2015 discussions over Lucy the Elephant, in response to an OPRA request filed by Nanette LoBiondo and Downbeach.com.
There’s concern now over Lucy’s lease, or something, but back in 2015, the concerns had to do with “spending on a Lucy business credit card” among other things.
What did the elephant know and when did she know it?
For more feats of journalism from across your region, see below:
We heard from N.J.’s heavy hitters on weed. Here are the 6 biggest takeaways.–An assemblyman, two senators and a former attorney general walked into a Rahway theater on Wednesday, along with several other members of New Jersey's marijuana brain trust, to discuss cannabis legalization. www.nj.com
Seneca High Reopening Comes Amid News Blackout, Failure To Inform Health Officials Of Mold–TABERNACLE—Members of the public and news media have not been the only ones kept in the dark, it turns out, about a surface mold issue at Seneca High School that forced the cancellation of classes there on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week. pinebarrenstribune.com
Theft charge against jail officer tossed. Says he was targeted for being a whistleblower–A judge has dismissed charges against a corrections officer accused of stealing from his union. www.nj.com
Summer is over at the Shore. Dogs on the beach, blinking lights are the sad reminders–Another summer has come and gone at the Jersey Shore. What was once a daily, ocean adjacent block party filled with people has become a less bustling, less congested place, which could be good or bad, depending on where you live. www.nj.com