New Jersey
Protect the Right to Vote, New Jersey, and Do Something for America – Insider NJ
We take for granted our precious right to vote in this country, an attitude that epitomizes our disconnect from American representative government, that most vital and civilized form of social and political expression in the history of humankind.
Let it not be said that in this moment, we shrank from the task of building on the immense energy and justice of our democratic republic. Let it be said, rather, that we brought our own “full measure of devotion,” to quote our great president, to the maintenance and fortification of our democratic republican franchise.
That is why we wholeheartedly back legislation championed by veteran state Senator Shirley Turner (D-15), primary sponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New Jersey, as that committed first step in the march to securing a guaranteed right to vote for every eligible New Jerseyan and every American.
Revitalizing the voting process here on a legislative model already adopted by New York furthers the cause of empowering voters in other states, especially battlegrounds, in this critical presidential election year – and every critical election going forward, as constitutionally scheduled.
Senator Turner intends to reintroduce the bill on Thursday, at the next quorum call.
“I encountered some resistance to change when I first introduced it in 2022,” Turner told InsiderNJ. “Everybody’s talking about democracy on the ballot, but if you can’t vote, you don’t have a voice. We claim to have these rights, but we need to provide safeguards otherwise it makes no sense to claim a right to vote. We need to pass this bill and show the way to these other states, particularly those states considered swing states. I am hopeful they will take our lead and provide greater access opportunities so that every citizen can enjoy the democratic process.
“History tells us.” Turner added, “that voting should not be the right of a privileged few, particularly in the south where they made it more difficult for blacks to vote. The late great John Lewis risked his life for the vote, and now we need to make some good trouble, as he did.”
The basic skeleton of A4554/S2997:
Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly (D-35) sponsors the Assembly version of the bill.
“The bottom line is it makes the process more open and fairer,” Wimberly told InsiderNJ.
The veteran assemblyman from Paterson pointed to former President Donald J. Trump encouraging a mob to subvert his own vice-president’s constitutional duty to ratify the 2020 presidential election results. Trump faces felony charges in connection with his infamous actions on that day – Jan. 6th, 2021, in addition to other charges connected to his alleged attempt to unlawfully change the outcome of the Georgia election in his favor.
“The last thing you want to infringe on is voter rights, especially when you’re dealing with dictatorship,” said Wimberly. “Especially when you’re looking at someone who led an insurrection, whose numbers are through the roof.”
Wimberly said in addition to supporting the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New Jersey, that he backs a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing every New Jerseyan’s right to vote. Also, he supports a federal constitutional amendment guaranteeing the same.
We agree.

“Unfortunately, the current SCOTUS numbers don’t work in our favor [in the case of an inevitable legal challenge], and that again shows how important it is that people vote, and that they have access to voting,” Wimberly said.
Like Turner, the assemblyman said he intends to make this bill a priority, in hopes not just of securing deeper Garden State protections, but in order to puncture the cocoons of complacency in other states – and nationwide. Despite the wars fought, bodies piled, blood shed, court cases waged, and protections of the 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Jim Crow history-encumbered South in particular, and those stepchildren of every region only too eager to resist justice, continue to enforce bureaucratic restrictions to voting and erode vital protections at the heart of our nation’s history.
Let’s counteract that influence with our best appeal to America, and the reinforcement of our voices here to every American seeking the sacred right to vote. When he thinks about it, Wimberly said, “I picture John Lewis walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with blood on his head. Every voter should look at that as motivation.”
Amen.
Think about John R. Lewis and George Washington, who peacefully transferred power rather than arrogantly persisting in the habits of European despots. Let’s get this done, New Jersey, and do something for our country, which gave us the right to vote, which we all too cavalierly give away to those only too please to indulge despotism, who joke about being dictator for a day.

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New Jersey
Monmouth County hospital among World’s Best Hospitals for 2026
Ranney School student plays music for Monmouth Medical Center patients
Ava Silva Costa, a sophomore at the Ranney School in Tinton Falls, has started Arturo Healing Hearts, bringing her violin music to area hospitals.
Hospitals are an important need in the world.
And finding a facility with high-quality medical care that’s reliable is also important.
Newsweek, the premier news magazine and website, has partnered with Statista to release a dependable guidance list of the World’s Best Hospitals – United States for 2026.
In it’s eight year, these ranking highlights the leading hospitals around the globe so readers can find information tailored to their needs and location the report stated.
Each hospital was reviewed and given a score based on four data sources: recommendations from medical experts; hospital quality metrics, existing patient experience data and Statista’s Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Implementation Survey.
In typical New Jersey fashion, the Garden State makes the list among the 2,500 hospitals that were evaluated this year.
Nine hospitals from the Garden State made the list with one representing Monmouth County. With an overall score of 61.79% and the Infection Prevention Award, Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch made the top 9 list for roster in World’s Best Hospitals 2026 from Newsweek.
World’s Best Hospitals 2026 in New Jersey
- No. 53: Atlantic Health Morristown Medical Center in Morristown; overall score: 70.74%
- No. 56: Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack; overall score: 70.07%
- No. 134: The Valley Hospital in Paramus; overall score: 65.36%
- No. 186: Atlantic Health Overlook Medical Center in Summit; overall score: 64.42%
- No. 254: Englewood Hospital and Medical Center in Englewood; overall score: 63.13%
- No. 320: Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick; overall score: 62.26%
- No. 364: Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark; overall score: 61.82%
- No. 366: Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center in Plainsboro; overall score: 61.80%
- No. 367: Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch; overall score: 61.79%
New Jersey
Newly released body cam footage shows response to massive industrial explosion in Gloucester County
LOGAN TWP., N.J. (WPVI) — Newly released body camera footage gives us a first look at the heroic actions of first responders on the scene of a massive industrial explosion in Gloucester County earlier this month.
The explosion happened at an industrial facility in Logan Township, New Jersey, on March 4 and left several workers injured.
The initial blast could be heard miles away.
Now, we are getting a look at the frantic rush to help in the moments after it happened.
New details released after massive explosion at Logan Twp., New Jersey factory
In the footage, you can hear the police officers frantically trying to locate people who were injured by the blast at Savita Naturals.
Large propane tanks burned in the background as rescuers tried to account for any survivors.
At one point, first responders are seen running inside the building to look for people. You can see damaged walls and debris everywhere.
Four people were injured in the blast, with one of them being thrown off the roof and into the woods near the water tower.
Amazingly, the worker was found alive by a fence. He was badly burned, but able to talk.
First responders had to load him in a truck and get him to the road, where a Logan Township officer tried to keep him calm as they waited for an ambulance.
Body cam video shows an officer calling the man’s wife to let her know he was alive.
That officer stayed by his side until he was finally loaded into a police car and rushed to the hospital.
The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.
Copyright © 2026 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.
New Jersey
How hunters are helping to feed those in need throughout New Jersey
How hunters in NJ are helping feed the hungry, food pantries
See how hunters in New Jersey are working with food pantries to help feed the hungry in the state.
For more than 25 years, hunters around the Garden State have been making a difference by working with Hunters Helping the Hungry, a nonprofit organization that raises money and coordinates the efforts of hunters, butchers, and food banks throughout New Jersey to help put food on the table for those in need.
The program began during the 1997/1998 hunting season, a result of the efforts of three Hunterdon County hunters along with help from a butcher named John Person and Kathy Rummel, the director at the time of Norwescap.
“We started out 25 years ago just as hunters, you know, wanting to go out and get some extra deer. New Jersey had very liberal deer quotas and bag limits. You could get unlimited does,” said Lester Giese, one of the founders of Hunters Helping the Hungry. “I was on a trip, and I was going through West Virginia, and I saw at one of the gas stations a brochure for Hunters Helping the Hungry. I picked up the brochure and looked at it and said, ‘What a great idea.’ When I got back, as it turned out, the state legislature just recently passed a law to allow venison donations.”
Five deer were donated during that first season, according to Giese. Today, the organization averages about 1,000 donations per year, which amounts to between 23,000 and 28,000 pounds of venison, he said.
Overall, since the program’s inception, Hunters Helping the Hungry has facilitated the donation of nearly 2.5 million servings of venison.
While the program originally started as a way to assist hunters who could harvest more deer than they could use, the organization’s mission has expanded. According to its website, Hunters Helping the Hungry currently aims to:
- Continue paying butchering costs for hunters who are able to take more deer than they can use;
- Support municipal and private property owners that pay for the butchering process directly while they attempt to reduce the deer population on their property;
- And set aside a portion of grants from the state Department of Agriculture to support and pay for the butchering of deer taken by farmers and their agents during depredation hunts.
These efforts ultimately help New Jersey’s food bank system and provide a source of protein to those in need, while also keeping the state’s deer herd in check
“So, kind of a nutshell, we started out just a small group of us with a small focus,” Giese said. “And now we’re trying to do a lot of things for a lot of people.”
The process: From forest to food pantry
In New Jersey the deer hunting season runs from the second week of September through the second week of February. According to Hunters Helping the Hungry board member Mark Charbonneau, this is one of the longest hunting seasons in the United States.
Hunters who want to make a donation bring their legally harvested deer to one of the state-inspected butchers that partner with the organization. Processing fees are paid to the butcher by Hunters Helping the Hungry from a fund consisting of donations and grants.
The butcher processes the deer at no cost to the hunter and gives it to one of the participating food banks, such as Norwescap, which partners with pantries in Warren, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties.
Venison issued to the food banks is distributed to over 400 charities around the state.
Although New Jersey’s deer hunting season starts in the fall, Charbonneau, a board member of about 20 years and a hunter of about 40, says that the process starts well beforehand.
“The process actually starts before hunting season starts. What I mean by that is hunters will start scouting certain locations to be able to know where deer are, to be able to prepare to harvest them legally and as ethically and quickly as possible,” said Charbonneau, adding that less than 2% of the New Jersey population are deer hunters.
Charbonneau continued, “So when you start that process of scouting areas, setting up your locations, then going afield, then harvesting your game, then removing your game from the field, then field dressing it properly, then bringing it to a butcher, then making that donation, there’s a lot of steps involved and there’s a lot of time involved.”
JB Person, an Hunters Helping the Hungry board member and the owner of GameButcher in Lebanon, is one of several participating butchers that process the donated deer.
“What the hunters do is come here, they have to fill out some paperwork, and along with the paperwork we request they also fill out a donation slip. They donate the whole deer,” Person said. “What we do is skin it and process it into various cuts – roast, steak, chops, and ground meat. Everything is cut, wrapped, and frozen and then when we have a bunch ready to go, I get in touch with Norwescap and then they come and pick it up.”
Game Butchers averages between 150 and 200 donated deer per year, according to Person, who added that Hunters Helping the hungry is “in desperate need of butchers.”
How to donate deer to Hunters Helping the Hungry
Hunters looking to make a donation can take their legally harvested deer to any of the participating butchers listed on the Hunters Helping the Hungry website.
Once the required forms have been filled out, the butcher will process the deer. The food bank will then pick up the processed deer from the butcher and distribute the frozen venison to various food pantries, emergency shelters, churches, etc.
If the dressed weight of the deer is more than 50 pounds, Hunters Helping the Hungry will pay the entire processing fee, according to the organization’s website. If the dressed weight of the deer is less than 50 pounds, the hunter will be required to pay the first $50 of the processing fee.
Throughout the 2025/2026 hunting season, a total of 802 deer were donated to Hunters Helping the Hungry. This amounts to 26,846 pounds of venison which yields 107,384 servings.
“The number one thing that people need to know about our organization is that the hunters of the great state of New Jersey are the reason for our success,” Charbonneau said. “The hunters have taken it upon themselves in the great state of New Jersey to go afield every year and harvest game to help those not as fortunate as most.”
For additional information about Hunters Helping the Hungry and how you can donate and/or get involved as a hunter or a butcher, visit the organization’s website at https://www.huntershelpingthehungry.org/.
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