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A legislative committee held a hearing this week to reimagine the state’s only public television station, so it can stay operational and continue to provide local news, sports and arts programming for New Jerseyans. NJ PBS announced in September that it will cease operations next summer because of drastic state and federal funding cuts, 

NJ PBS, which airs local and national news as well as community and educational programming, used to be known as New Jersey Network. After lawmakers ended public funding for the media company that was run by the state in 2011, WNET in New York City reached an agreement with New Jersey to operate the network, which was renamed NJ PBS.

Bipartisan support

During the 90-minute session, organized by the Senate legislative oversight committee, legislators from both sides of the aisle spoke in support of maintaining public television in the state. Republican Assemblywoman Aura Dunn, who served as the director of federal policy at the Association for America’s Public Television Stations for almost a decade, said for many children and new American citizens, PBS is their first classroom.

“For families that can’t afford private pre-school or expensive streaming service, public television is the only consistent source of educational content in the home,” she said.

Dunn said many parents have told her that Sesame Street was more than just a show.

“It was a trusted partner in their child’s early development, and a critical educational lifeline,” she said.

Democratic Assembly majority leader Lou Greenwald said the power of local news informs and inspires.

“When we invest in honest, reliable, community-based information, we empower people, we bring them into the process and we start to build something that we’ve lost far too much of in recent years, trust,” Greenwald said.

He told the panel that as news organizations have become smaller, with fewer reporters in New Jersey and other states, residents have fewer options to learn what’s going on in their towns.

“It’s about democracy,” said Greenwald. “It’s about community and it’s about a shared truth, in an age when truth is increasingly up for grabs.”

EVESHAM, N.J. (WPVI) — More than eight years after a horrific murder of a Burlington County mother and son, authorities have announced charges against Nazeer Hameed.

“We call upon the United States government and the government of India to take swift and decisive action to ensure that this individual is extradited without delay,” said Burlington County Prosecutor LaChia Bradshaw.

In March of 2017, police were called to the Fox Meadow Apartments in Maple Shade. There, they found 38-year-old Sasikala Narra and her son, 6-year-old Anish Narra, stabbed to death, discovered by husband and father Hanu Narra.

“Multiple blood stain samples were collected by detectives. In analyzing the blood one droplet collected did not belong to either victim or Hanu Narra,” said Lt. Brian Cunningham of the Burlington County Prosecutor’s office.

Nazeer Hameed became a person of interest when it was discovered that he was accused of stalking Hanu Narra – with whom he worked.

Police say the suspect lived in the same apartment complex, but returned to India six months after the murders. He’s still believed to be in India now.

After years of trying to get a DNA sample from Hameed, detectives say his employer, Cognizant Technology Solutions, turned over his laptop – and that provided a DNA sample confirming that blood found at the scene was his.

An attorney for the victim’s family spoke after the announcement.

“It was shocking more than anything else. The family is very appreciative of all the authorities. That they didn’t give up. That they kept fighting,” said attorney Donald Browne.

The announcement was held here at the Indian Cultural Center of South Jersey, authorities thanking the local Indian organization for their support, including help with translating documents during the investigation.

All questions about the extradition process and what comes next were referred to the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

Authorities say they still do not have a clear motive for the killings.

A hospital serving Jersey City for more than 150 years has closed, stunning area residents and leaving New Jersey state regulators frustrated.

Hudson Regional Health closed Heights University Hospital over the weekend. The facility was formerly known as Christ Hospital. Hudson Regional Health took over the hospital after its previous owner, CarePoint Health, went into bankruptcy.

While the hospital is closed, Hudson Regional says it will maintain an emergency department at the facility. Hudson Regional also says patients will be able to get care at the system’s three other hospitals in northern New Jersey.

“The Heights University Hospital Emergency Department remains open and fully operational for all emergency needs. We are committed to continue providing safe, reliable, and timely care to our community,” the system said in a post on Facebook.

In another message posted on Facebook Monday, the system said the emergency department would be open around the clock and supporting services would ensure care.

Hudson Regional also pointed to an inability to secure needed funding from state officials.

“Despite the best efforts of HRH leadership and advocacy from a number of elected officials, the governor’s office declined to provide the necessary funding to continue operations at Heights University Hospital as an acute care hospital,” the system said on Facebook.

About 700 employees are affected by the closure, but Hudson Regional says the “majority” of those employees have been, or will be, offered positions at the system’s other three hospitals. “All earned wages and benefits will be provided,” the system said.

Hudson Regional cited “unanticipated setbacks” in the decision to close the hospital, including losses in charity care and the challenges of caring for a patient population that has lower incomes. The system said nearly two-thirds of its patients have little or no insurance.

The health system said it recognizes the need for a strong healthcare facility in the Jersey City community and says it will work with local officials to bring that to fruition. The system also points to the investment of over $300 million in its facilities and other efforts to improve the facilities.

The New Jersey Department of Health indicated its dissatisfaction over the closing of the hospital.

In an email to Chief Healthcare Executive Monday, a department spokesperson said the department said it was notified last week that Hudson Regional “failed to fund their payroll and started transferring its patients to surrounding hospitals.”

The health department said it advanced nearly $2 million to the hospital to avoid a disruption in services, and another $2 million grant last month to help make payroll and avoid an abrupt closure. The state also gave over $10 million to the former CarePoint system to support it through bankruptcy.

The department also said Hudson Regional didn’t follow a restructuring plan approved by a federal bankruptcy court.

“And it has not followed through on its commitments to the community it serves and to the State to turn things around after taking over the hospital,” the department said.

Hudson Regional had filed an application with state regulators to close the hospital. The department said it was still reviewing the petition, “yet Heights University Hospital has closed acute care services without the Department’s approval.” The department said it will continue to ensure the emergency department remains functioning.

“We will continue to hold Heights University Medical Center and Hudson Regional Hospital accountable through this closure with patient health and safety as our top priority,” the health department spokesperson said.

CBS New York reports the swift closure of the hospital stunned neighbors. “This is beyond devastating,” a nurse said.

Hudson County Executive Craig Guy said in a post on X that he was “deeply disappointed” by the closure of the hospital.

“This acute care facility has been a lifeline for Jersey City and Hudson County residents for generations, and its loss will have a real and immediate impact on residents who rely on timely, accessible emergency and inpatient care,” Guy said.