New Jersey
N.J. lawmaker pushing a plan to help homeowners save money on their mortgages
Rutgers University economist James Hughes, dean emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, said allowing homeowners to set up this kind of payment schedule does make sense for them financially.
“They’ll be building up equity faster than if it were a monthly payment, but it’s not a silver bullet that’s going to change the world,” Hughes said.
He said depending on the length of someone’s mortgage, it can take several years to see the benefit.
McCoy said as a homeowner’s mortgage balance decreases, equity, which she described as the cornerstone of financial stability, increases, and that gives people options.
“If you’ve got kids going off to college, you want to get the kitchen and the bathroom done, home improvements, if there are some crazy emergencies, these are the things pulling that equity out of your home [can cover] to help you with those particular expenses,” she said.
“It’s sort of a painless way of saving,” Hughes said. “Very few of us have the discipline to religiously put away a portion of our salary to build up equity.”
The legislation would also prohibit financial companies from imposing penalties on borrowers who want to pay additional amounts toward their principal.
“By offering this flexibility it really is a measure that helps homeowners manage their cash flow more effectively,” McCoy said.
New Jersey
NJ elementary teacher Laura Caron sexually assaulted, had child with former student, 13, who lived with her: prosecutors
A New Jersey elementary teacher allegedly had a child with one of her former students, 13, who lived with her for several years — and was caught when the teen’s father noticed a similarity between his son and the child on social media.
Laura Caron, a fifth-grade teacher, is accused of sexually assaulting her ex-pupil when they lived together in her home between 2016 and 2020, the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office revealed Wednesday.
Caron, 34, first met her victim when she taught him and his brother fifth grade at Middle Township Elementary School in southern New Jersey.
The boy, born in 2005, and his family remained close with their former teacher and his parents allowed their sons and daughter to sleep over at Caron’s house a couple nights a week, according to ABC6.
The three siblings lived permanently with Caron between 2016 and 2020, sharing a bedroom.
During that time, Caron allegedly had “inappropriate sexual relations” with her former pupil and later became pregnant.
She gave birth to the child in 2019.
The student’s father pointed out the uncanny similarity between Caron’s child, himself, and his son on a Facebook post in Dec. 2024.
The boy’s sister told prosecutors that she remembered going to sleep with her brother in the same room, but woke up to find him sleeping in Caron’s bed, the outlet reported.
The unidentified girl claimed Caron began sleeping with her brother when he was 11 years old.
Investigators found that the teen’s brother had once seen Caron sexually assaulting his sleeping brother.
The unidentified teen victim, who is now between 19- and 20-years-old, revealed to investigators the sexual relationship with Caron and that he fathered his former teacher’s child.
The two had remained in contact until his father made the December Facebook post.
Police arrested Caron at her home on Wednesday and charged her with Aggravated Sexual Assault, Sexual Assault, and Endangering the Welfare of a Child.
She is being held at the Cape May County Correctional Facility without bond until her initial court appearance, according to the prosecutors and court records viewed by The Post.
“This arrest underscores the unwavering commitment of our office and law enforcement partners to protect the children in our community,” Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffery Sutherland said.
“Teachers hold a position of great trust, and the allegations in this case represent a deeply troubling breach of that trust. We will work tirelessly to ensure justice is served and to support the victim and their family throughout this process.”
The Middle Township School District placed Caron on paid administrative leave, CBS Philadelphia reported.
The school district is said to be cooperating with investigators, the prosecutors’ office said.
New Jersey
After State of the State, N.J. Democrats and Republicans argue over state budget
Tina Zappile, the director of the Public Policy Center at Stockton University, said the debate between Democrats and Republicans over spending in Jersey has been going on for decades, and members of the minority political party,currently the Republicans, will frequently protest their exclusion from important policy decisions made in Trenton.
“That does appeal to the public when we’re in an election year, regardless of how much that is true or not true on all issues or particular issues, ” she said.
She said during the State of the State address, Murphy articulated a clear vision and a set of values that Democrats are expected to embrace moving forward.
“He came out with a pretty strong agenda, but that agenda included a lot of easy wins that people on both sides of the aisle can get around,” she said.
Zappile noted that includes Murphy’s support of a proposal to ban cell phones in school classrooms to improve student mental health, and revisions to the state’s tax system to make it more fair.
Dworkin agreed, but said as the race for governor starts to heat up in the coming weeks, so too will the rhetoric.
“It’s an effort to try and continue, you can’t just do it in one day, it’s an effort to try and make it a more hospitable environment for their candidates down the road,” he said.
Zappile said regardless of what’s happening nationally or even at the local level, Jersey voters tend to go back and forth in different elections on how much the state should be spending on different programs and services to help lower-wage earners.
“We just can’t seem to make up our minds, and are open to appeals on the big issues, whatever each party brings to the table for the next governor’s race,” she said.
New Jersey
N.J. Gov. Murphy pledges to help families struggling to make ends meet
Murphy announced a continued effort to expand full-day pre-K for all kids, updated driver education programs to make the roads safer and voiced support for a new proposal to ban cell phones in public school classrooms.
“If you ask just about any educator, they will tell you that mobile devices are a distraction in the classroom, they are fueling a rise in cyberbullying,” he said.
Murphy said cell phones are making it difficult for kids not only to learn, but to retain the substance of what they learn.
“Honestly, is it any surprise that the rise in smartphone usage has coincided with a growing youth mental health crisis?” the governor asked.
“Every parent knows the damage that these devices can cause. Enough is enough. It is time for action,” he said.
The governor called on legislators to pass a measure to expand public contracting opportunities for minority businesses, to support a proposed measure that will scrap out-of-pocket costs for abortion procedures, to green-light a bill to allow same-day voter registration and to pass legislation to allow New Jerseyans to obtain mobile driver’s licenses on their smartphones.
Murphy also voiced support for pending legislation that will reform penalties for technical parole violations. He said many other states, including deep red states like Louisiana and South Carolina, have already done this.
“By enacting these reforms, we can uphold our responsibility to restore trust in our criminal justice system — and our system of government, more broadly,” he said.
During his speech he also called on Republicans and Democrats to support a wide range of policies designed to help working families.
“This is about paying what we promised, supporting our most vulnerable, and lifting up our families,” he said.
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