Northeast
NJ Gov. Murphy greenlights $33K pay hike for lawmakers, other raises
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has signed legislation to boost lawmakers’ salaries from $49,000 to $82,000 along with raises for his successor and other top officials.
Murphy signed the bill on Tuesday, according to a news release from his office. He made no comment on the measure, which passed the Democrat-led Legislature on the final day of the previous legislative session earlier this month.
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The bill doesn’t take effect until 2026, so Murphy, who leaves office in January 2026, won’t benefit. The two-term incumbent cannot run for a third straight stint as governor. The Assembly will face voters in the regular 2025 general election before the raise takes effect.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks to reporters after signing a bill in Paulsboro, N.J., Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry, File)
Lawmakers haven’t voted themselves a pay increase since 2002, and some argued that the 67% increase is needed to keep up with rising costs. They also said they sometimes had to dip into their own pockets to perform the duties the job requires.
Republicans questioned the soundness of a pay raise, and many opposed it.
The legislation increases the governor’s salary from $175,000 to $210,000 annually and boosts the top rate for Cabinet and other top officials to $210,000 from $175,000 as well. It also boosts the amount lawmakers get specifically to pay their staff, from $135,000 to $150,000. Legislators, unlike in some other states, don’t get a per diem rate or car mileage reimbursements.
Just how much the measure would cost taxpayers wasn’t clear. Simple math suggests the increase for lawmakers’ salaries would come with a nearly $4 million price tag.
New Jersey’s Legislature is considered part-time, meeting regularly from January to June and typically taking time off over the summer and in the lead-up to elections before returning for a lame-duck session.
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A fire tore through the historic Old Port waterfront in Portland, Maine, on Friday night, damaging aging buildings and several boats along Custom House Wharf, authorities said
A fire tore through the historic Old Port waterfront in Portland, Maine, the day after Christmas, damaging aging buildings and several boats.
Flames and smoke spread easily through structures along the Custom House Wharf, a 19th- and 20th-century hub for Portland’s fishing industry that now includes seafood restaurants, authorities said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. One firefighter sustained minor injuries.
The Portland Fire Department posted an “incident notification” on Facebook just before 6 p.m. on Friday warning residents to use caution and avoid the area. First responders deployed a fire boat to spray water from the harbor to help douse the flames due to issues caused by frozen fire hydrants, according to news reports. Several boats were damaged, and at least one sank along the wharf.
The Porthole Restaurant posted on Facebook Friday thanking the community for its prayers: “Mainers are truly the best kind of people,” it read.
“WE ARE SAFE. We want everyone to know that all of our staff, fishermen, and owners are safe,” the Porthole posted.
The second of three $1 million top prizes was claimed on a scratch ticket Friday, with the winner getting $50,000 a year for 20 years.
The prize was won on a $1,000,000 BONUS WINS ticket that was sold at Neighborhood Convenience Store in Hyde Park, according to Massachusetts State Lottery.
The $5 ticket, which came out in July, offers 12 chances to match four winning numbers on the front of the ticket, and there are four more bonus plays to scratch on the back of the ticket. There is one more $1 million prize still to be claimed, with 1 in 3,360,000 odds of winning the top prize.
Overall, at least 865 prizes worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Friday, Dec. 26, including 20 in Springfield, 23 in Worcester and 57 in Boston.
The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.
The largest lottery prize won so far this year was worth $1 million a year for life, from a winning “Lifetime Millions” scratch ticket sold in Springfield and claimed in July.
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