New Jersey
New Jersey Water bottle ban — NJ Top News
Here are the top New Jersey news stories for Tuesday:
The federal government has been saving tens of billions of dollars per year thanks to a limit on the amount of local and state taxes you can deduct from your federal tax liability.
But business leaders and officials say New Jerseyans can no longer afford to help with taking on the financial burden, and they want to make sure that the end of 2025 truly marks the end of the SALT cap that was enacted as part of a package of bills in 2017.
On Sep. 16, 2019, then 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez vanished while playing with her brother at a park in Bridgeton, New Jersey, while her mother and young aunt were in their car nearby.
Despite the efforts and theories of many, her disappearance remains a mystery.
Authorities believe she was abducted from the playground area of the park, though not much has been ascertained beyond that.
Meredith Gaudreau delivers a eulogy at her husband’s funeral 9/9/24
At the funeral of hockey player Johnny Gaudreau on Monday, his wife revealed that she is pregnant with their third child.
Johnny and his brother Matthew were laid to rest Monday during a funeral at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Media, Pennsylvania. The service was live-streamed by Johnny’s team, the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Buses brought players and others to the church and a crowd of hundreds walked in for the service, including several children wearing Johnny’s No. 13 jerseys. Known to fans as “Johnny Hockey.”
There is no Ethan memoir, NJ doctor mentioned in memoir is still practicing (via Amazon.com, RWJBarnabas Health via Youtube)
A New Jersey doctor has been “outed” by the New York Post as the real-life antagonist of a best-selling memoir, in which women said they were catfished online by a sneaky love interest.
“There is No Ethan” debuted in June to acclaim from the New York Times, People Magazine and Spotify, among others.
The author and sociologist chronicles her own experience and that of two other women who developed separate digital relationships in 2011 with “Ethan Schuman” – who turned out to be Dr. Emily Slutsky.
Portrait older woman drinking water from a plastic bottle
Is your place constantly stocked with single-use plastic water bottles? Do you constantly make water bottle purchases at convenience stores?
The future could look a lot different in New Jersey.
Assemblyman Joe Danielsen, D-Somerset, told Politico he’s “looking into” a single-use plastic water bottle ban. There’s no bill at the moment, but their reporting said he got inspiration after visiting areas in Cape Cod with a similar measure, which bans single-serve bottles but not larger containers available at supermarkets.
The best outdoor beer gardens at NJ breweries
There are more options than ever for enjoying a Garden State crafted beer in an outdoor setting.
The following is a roundup of breweries around the state with scenic, dedicated outdoor seating as weather allows.
Action Park ‘survivors’ share their photos and stories
We asked NJ101.5 listeners to share photos and stories from the times they visited the old Action Park, here are some of the pics we received.
Gallery Credit: Kylie Moore
New Jersey Diners that are open 24/7
Hours as of September 2024
Gallery Credit: Jordan Jansson, Mike Brant
Start your day with up-to-the-minute news, traffic and weather for the Garden State.
New Jersey’s First News with Eric Scott is the longest running news program in New Jersey. Eric Scott began hosting the program in 1991.
It airs live on New Jersey 101.5 each weekday morning from 5:30 – 6 a.m.
New Jersey’s First News with Eric Scott is the winner of the prestigious National Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast.
Eric Scott is the senior political director and anchor for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at eric.scott@townsquaremedia.com
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3-minute read
Gov. Mikie Sherrill addresses affordability crisis in NJ: video
Watch new Gov. Mikie Sherrill on state affordability: “Too many people are working too hard and still falling behind.” Jan. 20, 2026 at NJPAC, Newark
Gov. Mikie Sherrill is set to present her first state budget proposal in a Tuesday, March 10, address to the New Jersey Legislature. It’s clear the proposal will make some hard choices as state finances face major headwinds.
Late last month, Sherrill said her budget plan will include some “tough choices” because of the looming uncertainty of a structural deficit for state finances.
The governor explained that if projections stay on the current path, the state would have a structural deficit of about $3 billion by the end of June, when her proposed budget would be in the final stages of negotiations with the Legislature.
Uncertainty due to federal funding cuts, along with the end of pandemic relief funding, has already forced Sherrill to consider all of her options when crafting her plan for New Jersey’s fiscal year 2027.
The governor wouldn’t give particulars about what to expect in her upcoming fiscal plan but instead said she is “setting the table so people can anticipate that this is going to be a tough budget season.”
What does a structural deficit mean for New Jersey taxpayers?
A structural deficit, simply put, means New Jersey spends more than it earns.
Among the costliest tax relief programs in the state’s history, Stay NJ was introduced legislatively in the run-up to the fiscal year 2024 budget and received funding for three years without paying anything out.
The first Stay NJ checks are being sent out to qualifying New Jersey seniors, but the accumulated $1.2 billion covers only the first six months of the program for this year. Roughly $900 million will need to be added to the line item in Sherrill’s first fiscal plan to maintain the program.
The law that created Stay NJ requires full pension payments, full school funding payments and a surplus of at least 12% to be built into the budget as prerequisites for funding the program. The surplus was not 12% when the budget was signed during the last two years, but budget language allowed for a work-around.
Sherrill would not commit to requiring the prerequisites before she would be willing to sign a budget bill in late June.
Increasing costs for the State Health Benefits Program, which is already a contentious topic, could also be a concern for the new governor, as payments are about $2 billion annually and the 10% increase needed in this year’s budget added more than $180 million.
How does New Jersey’s budget process work?
New Jersey’s $58.8 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 is the largest in history and is set to expire at the end of June.
The plan for fiscal year 2027 — which will run from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027 — is a major factor in how New Jersey state government will function by dictating which state departments and programs are funded.
After Sherrill’s address in March, her proposed spending and revenue plan will be analyzed and shaped in the Legislature through the spring. Negotiations will heat up as the current fiscal year winds to a close in June. If the budget cycle is normal, a final budget bill will land on Sherrill’s desk hours before the current fiscal year ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 30.
Though it would be unlikely — given Democratic control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office — in the event the budget bill does not get signed, state government shuts down. There have been two shutdowns in state history: for 10 days in 2006 and three days in 2017.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com
Phil Murphy on NJ Transit future during State of State address
Gov. Phil Murphy discussed the future of NJ Transit during his final State of the State address.
A woman was fatally struck by a train in Ramsey on the morning of March 8.
The unidentified woman was hit by the train at 10:49 a.m., just west of the Main Street crossing near the main Ramsey station, said John Chartier, director of media relations for NJ Transit.
Rail service was suspended in both directions between Allendale and Port Jervis but has since resumed, with delays of up to 30 minutes.
The train came from Port Jervis and was heading to Hoboken, and 150 people were on board at the time, Chartier said.
NJ Transit police are leading the investigation. No additional information about the circumstances of the death was available.
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