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Episodes
Friday May 05, 2023
Friday May 05, 2023
Tonight on NJ Spotlight News: Attorney General Matt Platkin holds a community listening session in Paterson in the wake of the state takeover of the city's police department; One New Jersey representative is introducing bipartisan legislation to fund the country's smallest police departments to help with training and recruitment; The World Health Organization says COVID-19 is no longer a global health emergency three years after the start of the pandemic; New Jersey congressional representatives appeal to New York Governor Kathy Hochul to stop plans for congestion pricing for cars entering lower Manhattan; one of the key players in the infamous Bridgegate scandal talks with Joanna Gagis after securing a legal victory years after the George Washington Bridge controversy.
Thursday May 04, 2023
Thursday May 04, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News the city of Newark is reeling after a shooting overnight that killed three, including and 8-year-old boy, according to authorities; One of the keys to combating police misconduct here in New Jersey is a system for REPORTING police misconduct - put into place by New Jersey’s former Attorney General Gurbir Grewal 3 years ago. But a new report from the State Comptroller found that MOST police departments failed to comply with the internal affairs mandates; Across the country, more than 100 thousand registered nurses left the profession during the pandemic, and another 600-thousand plan to leave in the next 4 years, according to a recent report by National Council of State Boards of Nursing. It’s led to a nursing shortage that’s especially bad here in New Jersey; And only 14% of eighth graders are proficient in U.S. history – and just 22% are proficient in civics. Those statistics come from a report issued by a national school’s assessment called The Nation’s Report Card. What’s even more concerning, this is the lowest score ever recorded since the assessment began in 1994, New Jersey at least mandates middle schoolers to learn to civics.
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Wednesday May 03, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News New Jersey leaders are demanding an apology from the Biden Administration. After Prospect Park Mayor Mohamed Khairullah—the longest serving Muslim Mayor in the state— says he was blocked by the Secret Service from attending a White House celebration on Monday. Khairullah says he was personally invited to attend and tells Anchor Briana Vannozzi that he wants to disband the Terrorist Watch list calling it a racist policy; Today, budget hearings continue at the State House, where all eyes will be on the Department of Transportation and NJ Transit, as well as the MVC; Africana Studies students at Seton Hall staged a walk-out and protest at Seton Hall University in South Orange today, saying the Africana Studies program is “under attack;” And former State Senate leader Steve Sweeney is getting in on the offshore wind debate, hosting a conference today at his Center for Public Policy at Rowan University.
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tuesday May 02, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News a dire warning from the US Treasury Secretary. Janet Yellen telling Congress this week the US could run out of cash to pay its bills by June FIRST. IF Congress doesn’t raise or suspend the debt limit and avert what could become a global financial crisis. New Jersey’s Democratic congressional members, like Frank Pallone, rallied today against the legislation looking to raise the debt limit saying the consequences would be damaging for families and businesses across the our state; Meanwhile critics are blasting Governor Murphy and the Democratic led legislature for the record high number of judicial vacancies. Which stands at 60 today; One of New Jersey’s most popular homegrown music festivals has been canceled. Just a week before its big comeback; And here’s one way to put an end to combative parents on the sidelines of youth sports. If spectators in Deptford Township have an issue with an umpire’s call… they’ll now have to suit up and make the call themselves
Monday May 01, 2023
Monday May 01, 2023
Tonight on NJ Spotlight News another win for the labor movement. Leaders of three Rutgers University unions representing 9 thousand employees have approved tentative contracts with the university. The deal comes after nearly a year of negotiations, and the first faculty strike in the school’s 257-year history; Today marks exactly 3 months since Sayreville councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour was shot and killed outside her home. The case remains unsolved. No arrests have been made. Investigators have shared little information… and the Dwumfour family remains in the dark. Anchor Briana Vannozzi talks to former state assemblyman John Wisniewski who is representing the family; Today is also an important milestone in the city of Camden. 10 years ago, its police department was disbanded…and rebuilt from the ground up. Since then,… the Camden County Police Department has been hailed as a model of police reform; And according to a national study from the University of Virginia… kids experiencing suicidal thoughts or attempts rose more than 30 percent from 2019 to 2021. The issue compelled one Rutgers University professor to develop a free app… to help people of all ages with mental stresses; And Hudson County kids are about to get a first-of-its-kind high school. Leaders in Jersey City this morning held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Liberty Science Center High School. Set to open in the fall of 2025.
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Friday Apr 28, 2023
Tonight on NJ Spotlight News It’s been weeks of negotiations and walk-outs, but even as SOME Rutgers University unions are close to reaching a deal, others say they’ve been left out of the conversation; In a narrow margin, the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, a bill that would raise the national debt ceiling ONLY in exchange for massive spending cuts. President Biden has already said raising the debt level is NONnegotiable, but what are Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman thoughts? She weighs in; They call it the Hudson River Rivalry - a showdown between the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers in the playoffs. The Devils now lead the series 3 games to 2 in the series. But the Devils aren’t the only winners in the rivalry; And the latest film in our 21 film series introduces us to Mary-Beth and Scott Thompson – their commitment to keeping the coastline in Monmouth County clean - runs deep. The two south Jersey natives have been making waves as volunteers with Clean Ocean Action for decades and have now recruited their kids and their grandkids to help keep the Ocean safe. Briana Vannozzi talked to them about their mission to make their passion a family affair…
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Thursday Apr 27, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News zeroing in on the opioid crisis… Roughly one month after the FDA approved an over-the-counter version of naloxone… Advocates are hopeful about the future of the public health crisis and are offering OPEN HOUSES to teach recovery specialist how to administer it; The state Attorney General’s office is launching a corruption investigation into development deals in Camden. And it appears the records being sought are related to companies, individuals and transactions publicly tied to South Jersey Democratic power broker George Norcross; Tenants at a Newark housing complex say their desperate pleas for help are being neglected. After an Essex County superior court judge gave landlords a SECOND extension this week… to fix major repairs at Georgia King Village. A low-income housing community where renters say they’ve been living with mold, leaky pipes, and rats; And when it comes to saving the Jersey coastline—COCONUTS could be the answer. Scientists in shore towns are turning to the humble fruit to help fight against beach erosion.
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Wednesday Apr 26, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News New Jersey’s largest city has a new way to go after gun violence. Newark is launching a detailed strategy for its Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery. By shifting resources to community groups and the people they serve ;Buried beneath President Biden’s re-election announcement Tuesday— were any White House dreams for Governor Murphy and US Senator Cory Booker. The two top democrats endorsed the President just minutes after he launched his campaign video. Touting Biden’s track record and successes; In Perth Amboy— the future and past are colliding. A push to explore a historical site once home to the first Black man to vote in the U.S. is at a standstill. Because the land is now owned by the well-known and ultra wealthy Kushner development company, yes, that Kushner; And what a month for Jersey City native Danny Hurley. The UConn men’s head basketball coach is still riding the high of leading his team to a national title in the NCAA tournament. His love for the city that raised him was on full display throughout the tournament… And especially Tuesday night when he received a key to Jersey City.
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tuesday Apr 25, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News President Biden is diving back in. Formally announcing he’ll seek a second term in the 2024 election. In a campaign video released early this morning…the President asked voters to give him more time to “finish the job.” Could we see another 2020 matchup with Donald Trump? Meanwhile the national debate over guns is on the minds of the public. Following a recent string of violent shootings across the country, former Senate Majority leader Loretta Weinberg is calling on federal lawmakers from New Jersey to take a stand and use their power to pass more gun reform today at a rally dubbed “Grandparents against Gun Violence;” THREE Rutgers University unions are keeping their strike on hold for now… a FOURTH union could be jumping into the fray; And a toxic cleanup is underway in Monmouth County. Where hundreds of chemical waste drums were found leaking and abandoned at a former industrial site. Schools and homeowners in the area have been given evacuation plans in case of emergency.
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Monday Apr 24, 2023
Tonight, on NJ Spotlight News amid turmoil in Paterson… the police department swears in one of its largest classes in city history. The 29 new recruits are entering the academy in the midst of a state takeover of the force. Their shields carrying the added weight of restoring trust within the community; In honor of Earth Day celebrated over the weekend…some of the state’s top federal lawmakers are renewing an effort to permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling. The legislation is part of a larger move to protect marine habitats from oil spills and other effects of climate change; A new state program is aiming to get more mental health professionals at school districts with high levels of poverty thanks to a $14 million New Jersey Department of Education; And redlining has been outlawed for decades… but the problem hasn’t disappeared. The illegal practice just exists in new forms. Lenders are finding modern-day ways to deny loans or other services needed for homeownership… based on race and ethnicity.
NJ PBS, New Jersey’s public television network, brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to all 21 counties in New Jersey and its tri-state neighbors.
The network’s flagship weeknight newscast, NJ Spotlight News with Briana Vannozzi, provides multiplatform reporting from across the Garden State.