New Jersey

Protect the Right to Vote, New Jersey, and Do Something for America – Insider NJ

Published

2 years ago

January 22, 2024

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:

Launches a “preclearance” program that puts the burden on local governments with records of discrimination to prove that certain voting changes won’t harm voters of color before they can go into effect.
Provides new legal tools to fight discriminatory voting rules in court.
Expands language assistance for voters with limited English proficiency.
Creates strong protections against voter intimidation, deception, or obstruction.
Instructs state judges to interpret election laws in a pro-voter way whenever possible.

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.

Assemblyman Wimberly.

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.

Lewis with Pascrell — **John Lewis with Bill Pascrell.**

“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.

John Lewis on the Edmunc Pettus Bridge — **John Lewis on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.**

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New Jersey

Heavy police presence prompts concern in South Jersey neighborhood

Published

2 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Heavy police presence prompts concern in South Jersey neighborhood

MILLVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) — Residents in a Millville, New Jersey, neighborhood spent hours trying to understand what was happening after a New Jersey State Police helicopter circled overhead, and troopers eventually entered a home while searching for a suspect.

Video from a Ring camera shows state police and officers in tactical gear taking over the front porch of a home on the 100 block of Third Street.

Officers are heard speaking into a doorbell camera moments before entering the residence.

A woman who lives in the home and did not want to be identified said she was at work at the time of the incident, but her son was inside when police surrounded the house. She said her son later described the encounter to her.

“My son was here, he was a little freaking out, they actually made him come out with his hands up and guns were drawn,” she said.

The woman said her son told her troopers explained they were pursuing someone on foot in the area.

“They just said they were on a foot pursuit and the guy was jumping the fences behind my house. A construction worker saw him go down my steps, but didn’t know where he went from there. That’s why they need to make sure everything is safe,” she said.

Nearby residents also noticed the heavy police activity.

Michele Brown of Bridgeton said she was walking her dogs when she saw officers in the area.

“It was a lot I didn’t understand what was going on,” Brown said.

Brown said the scene was alarming for people nearby.

“Definitely startling cause you see all these cops with their guns out, and you’re just looking like, ‘Whoa’,” she said.

Action News reached out to New Jersey State Police for more information, but we did not receive a response.

In a statement, Millville police say the suspect was not apprehended after fleeing state police on foot.

There is no suspected threat to the community, the department added.

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New Jersey

Chemistry Class | DEVILS NOW | New Jersey Devils

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14 hours ago

March 10, 2026

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Chemistry Class | DEVILS NOW | New Jersey Devils

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New Jersey

The first of Paramus’ three big mall makeovers is nearly complete

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

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The first of Paramus’ three big mall makeovers is nearly complete

One of three massive redevelopment projects at Paramus’ biggest shopping malls will finish construction this summer. Another will have to wait until 2027.

The two projects will bring hundreds of apartments and thousands of feet of additional retail space to Bergen Town Center and Paramus Park Mall, two of Bergen County’s biggest retail destinations. Both projects are the work of Carlstadt-based Russo Development LLC, which is also building a new headquarters in the borough.

The biggest mall redevelopment in town — a multiyear plan that could bring as many as 1,400 homes to Westfield Garden State Plaza — is also underway under the direction of a different developer. That project is expected to hold an official groundbreaking in the coming weeks.

The construction is “an opportunity for affordable housing to get built, which is certainly a big priority for almost every municipality in New Jersey right now,” Russo Development CEO Ed Russo said in a recent interview. He credited borough officials for making sure “there was additional investment and vibrance that was being added” to Paramus’ commercial center.

Paramus Park housing almost done

First in line for completion is Vermella Paramus, two mixed-use buildings with 360 one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments under construction next to the Paramus Park Mall, west of the Garden State Parkway.

The project will also have 8,000 square feet of onsite retail space. It will be built adjacent to the mall and the new Valley Hospital, according to a description on the company’s website.

One of the buildings will be finished next month, while the second is scheduled to finish construction in June, Russo said last week.

Bergen Town Center project has new name, timeline

The developer, alongside KRE Group, also plans to build two five-story buildings with 426 units and 5,000 square feet of retail at Bergen Town Center, off of Route 4. The project will be called Bergen Chapters, Russo said.

The housing will include 147 one-bedroom apartments to be sold at market rate and another 12 reserved as affordable. The project will also have 1,572 parking spaces, including lots from other areas of the mall property and two parking garages.

A building on the east side of the Bergen Town Center property that currently contains a former Kirkland’s, Red Robin and Recreational Equipment Inc will be knocked down for the project. Recreational Equipment Inc. closed in late January, so the property has only become vacant in the last month, said Russo. He expects the work to finish in late 2027.

Story continues after gallery.

Living at the mall

Paramus’ three big projects fueled speculation that other shopping centers in North Jersey would follow the example, as mall owners looked for ways to survive the rise of online retail.

But there hasn’t been a tremendous amount of mall redevelopment in New Jersey, Russo said.

Paramus’ situation is unique, he noted, with “three good size malls” all within the same town. Spurred in part by state affordable housing mandates, the borough council adopted zoning in 2016 that allowed for mixed-use development along its highway corridor. That was the impetus for the three mall makeovers, Russo said.

Other factors also made the borough’s commercial corridor especially suited for this type of hybrid development, he added.

“Paramus has always been considered, for many decades, as a shopping mecca between the malls, Route 17, Route 4 and the proximity to New York City,” said Russo. “It’s really been a vibrant retail community for many years.”

In addition to fulfilling affordable housing obligations, the zoning helped the borough attract new investment around the malls, boosting their long-term success, he added.

“The retail market has been affected in a larger part of New Jersey over the last number of years,” said Russo. “I think Paramus was very forward-thinking in the zoning that they did years ago.”

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