Latest news with #DaniellaHeminghaus
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Jersey issues new guidance on national opioid settlement spending
A Reach NJ poster along Pacific Ave. in Atlantic City on Feb. 13, 2023. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor) A state panel on Thursday issued a five-year strategic plan advising New Jersey communities how to spend over $1 billion in national opioid settlement funds they're expected to receive over the next decade and a half. The plan comes as an escalating court fight over two 'opioid awareness concerts' in Irvington shows such guidance may be overdue. Investigators from the state comptroller's office have raised concerns about fraud, misuse of money and contract and ethical improprieties after Irvington paid nearly $370,000 in opioid settlement funds in 2023 and 2024 to two entertainment companies — both tied to a township employee — that ran the concerts, according to a defamation lawsuit Irvington filed in April. The comptroller's office was set to release a report on investigators' findings when the township sued to block its release. The state's strategic plan announced Thursday — drafted by an advisory council convened in 2023 — offered no definitive answers on whether drug awareness concerts are an acceptable use of settlement funds. Instead, the council said spending should be evaluated on an array of metrics to ensure it is 'data-driven and equity-focused.' The settlement funds come from pharmaceutical companies and others that helped fuel the opioid crisis, and the settlement agreements arose from separate claims by states and local governments. The state of New Jersey and its local governments will each get about half of the more than $1.1 billion in funding expected to flow to New Jersey through 2038. Thursday's plan is intended to guide the disbursement of the state's share of settlement funds, 'though hopefully it will prove a helpful tool for subdivision decision-making,' said Tom Hester, a state Department of Human Services spokesman. 'The state does not provide legal advice nor approve or deny local proposals related to subdivision settlement funds. Subdivisions are encouraged to review the national and state subdivision agreements for guidance on how these funds may be used,' he said. County and municipal officials must publicly report each year how they spend settlement funds, which began disbursing in 2022. Some reported that they haven't started spending yet. But those that have invested in things like direct services to people struggling with addiction, drug-awareness school assemblies and community events, and Narcan training and supplies for government employees. The reports give a snapshot of the various ways officials have spent funds, including: Union County paid for transportation to treatment centers, with the goal of removing that barrier to recovery. Salem County used some funds to build up its overdose fatality review team. Paterson spent part of its distribution on medication-assisted treatment. Middlesex County spent some on 'go bags' — filled with Narcan, drug-testing strips, addiction treatment information, and more — to give people discharged from the county jail. Irvington was the only municipality that used its funds to host concerts, according to the filings. Berkeley Township reported that it shared educational materials on safe medication disposal and drug drop box locations at an annual scheduled summer concert series — but did not spend settlement funds to do so. In Irvington's 2024 filing, township officials reported that Irvington has received almost $1.1 million in settlement funds since 2022. They reported that they opted to host the opioid awareness concerts after doing 'internal research on the benefits and effectiveness of concerts and festivals in making the community and stakeholders (aware of) the impact of opioid use and misuse.' They did not engage the public to help decide how to use the funds, have a strategic plan, complete a risk assessment for demographic or geographic impact or measure key performance indicators to track the success or impact of the spending, according to their filings. Local officials unsure what would be sanctioned uses of opioid settlement funds 'should seek legal advice from their own counsel and/or guidance from their respective County Advisory Council,' said Allison Inserro, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. The strategic plan recommends that officials plotting how to spend settlement funds should prioritize harm reduction services, addiction treatment and social services that fix problems, like housing insecurity, that can impede recovery. Its overarching goals are to reduce overdose deaths, remove barriers to treatment and build 'a robust monitoring and evaluation framework' to track the funds' impact and ensure accountability, according to a Department of Human Services announcement. Overdose deaths have fallen in New Jersey since an epidemic high of 3,171 in 2022, with 2,816 overdose fatalities reported in 2023, 1,813 in 2024, and 490 so far this year, state data shows. Health officials largely have credited harm reduction efforts for the decline. The state already has allocated at least $120 million of the funds it has received. State officials announced last year that $95 million would support housing, harm reduction and mobile units to deliver medication-assisted treatment and $25 million would go toward free legal services for people struggling with addiction, an initiative to reduce teenage addiction and emergency response needs like xylazine-testing kits to reduce misuse of a horse sedative known as 'tranq' or 'zombie drugs.' Human Services Commissioner Sarah Adelman chairs the advisory council that issued the strategic plan Thursday. 'While no amount of settlement payments can undo the harm and human toll of the opioid crisis, we can and must ensure New Jersey uses the funding wisely to help our residents and communities recover,' Adelman said in a statement. Hundreds of people who have struggled with addiction shared their thoughts with the advisory council, resulting in a 'strong plan that prioritizes evidence-based harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services,' she said. Late last month, a state appeals judge granted Irvington's request to block the comptroller's office from releasing its findings on the drug awareness concerts. The office already had given early copies, as is its practice, to Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Nick Scutari, and Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin. So last week, Judge Mark K. Chase made an unusual move — he extended the injunction to them, forbidding 'any government entity or official' from distributing the comptroller's report on Irvington any further. Irvington's attorneys have complained that state investigators did not let them adequately respond to their findings. In a brief filed last week, they wrote that the report 'reads like a ham-handed and overly-broad Drew Pearson serial with an accusatory purpose.' They warned that it threatens to irreparably harm the township's reputation, endanger vendor contracts, hurt the township's ability to carry out public health initiatives, and erode the trust of state and federal officials who interact with the township. 'All of those harms would be especially pernicious in Irvington, a predominantly Black and minority community, which has historically faced discrimination in oversight and in governance,' the attorneys wrote. But Friday afternoon, the comptroller's office snagged a win. Chase denied Irvington's injunction request, calling the matter moot because the report had already been released to Murphy and top legislative leaders. Besides, the comptroller's office had given the township 15 days to respond to its draft report, Chase added. Officials 'failed to do so. They now complain of the contents of the report,' the judge wrote. He gave Irvington until 4 p.m. Monday to ask the state Supreme Court for relief, saying his stay on the report's release should remain in place until then. But, the judge added, 'any further suppression of OSC's report hinders its statutory mandate and oversight role, and directly harms the public interest.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Early in-person voting begins in New Jersey
New Jersey's primary early voting period will run from Tuesday to Sunday this year. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor) Early in-person voting in this year's gubernatorial and Assembly primaries began Tuesday morning, one week ahead of the June 10 primary. For the first time, this year's primary early voting period will run for six days. Early polling centers are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. Eligible voters can cast ballots at any early polling station in their county. New Jersey's 21 counties will stand up 168 early voting stations this year, up from 159 in last fall's general election. The state reimburses counties' early voting expenses for up to three, five, or 10 early polling sites, depending on county population. Only two counties, Union and Hudson, are standing up early polling stations at their own expense. Union is set to launch 11 early voting locations, while Hudson is erecting a staggering 31. It remains to be seen whether this year's governor's race — featuring 11 candidates across the two major parties — will draw the level of early in-person turnout observed during last year's presidential races. Nearly 1.2 million residents cast early in-person ballots during the state's nine-day early voting period last November, shattering previous turnout records for the voting method and eclipsing the 841,138 mail ballots returned in that race. About 65% of registered voters cast ballots in that election, with early votes accounting for a little more than a quarter of total turnout. Until 2024, mail ballots were the main method of pre-Election Day voting. Before then, in-person early voting struggled to attract large numbers of voters. The state first allowed the practice in November 2021. This year's early voting period will be longer than in previous years due to a bill Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law in March. That law extends the primary early voting period to six days, from three days in most years and five days in years with a presidential election. Gubernatorial primaries will top this year's ballots. On the Democratic side, six candidates — Reps. Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, former Senate President Steve Sweeney, and New Jersey Education Association President Sean Spiller — are vying for the chance to succeed Murphy. Five Republicans — former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, Sen. Jon Bramnick, radio host Bill Spadea, former Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac, and contractor Justin Barbera — are competing for their party's nod. All 80 of the state's Assembly seats are also up for election this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge sides with Rutgers international students who sued over revoked status
The students sued after the federal government terminated their records in an immigration database, jeopardizing their legal status and academic careers. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor) A federal judge said Thursday that federal immigration officials likely acted unlawfully when they terminated the records of five international Rutgers University students and one recent graduate. The students — all from China or India — sued the federal government in April after their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, were abruptly terminated, placing their academic and professional careers in jeopardy. The database hosts information colleges use to track students' compliance with their immigration status, and deleting students' records effectively ends their protected status and any benefits that come with it, like the ability to work. U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden on Thursday granted the students a preliminary injunction barring the government from enforcing or implementing any legal consequences as a result of the deleted records. Hayden's order also requires the government to restore the records and give the students at least 20 days' notice if the records are terminated again. Her 33-page decision came after the two sides met in court in Newark Wednesday. Attorneys for the students applauded the judge's order, which they say will allow them to safely return to research, work, and their public lives. 'The government not only failed to provide notice or explanation when it terminated our clients' records, but then gave shifting rationale for doing so, underscoring how arbitrarily this administration is treating students,' said Molly Linhorst, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey. 'But like all other people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, our clients are entitled to the Constitutional guarantee of due process of law.' Since President Donald Trump took office in January, his administration has purged thousands of SEVIS records. Affected students had no ability to appeal the termination, and were told their visas had been revoked for 'failing to maintain status.' Two weeks ago, the Trump administration reversed course and reinstated students' status following a flurry of lawsuits around the country. But the Rutgers students and graduate continued their legal challenge, contending that the notations left in their records would continue to cause them harm and serious legal consequences. At least two of them already faced some fall-out — one student was fired after their status was terminated, and another lost their research assistant position, along with their annual $40,000 stipend. All of them expressed concerns that they still fear being picked up by federal agents, and that they'll likely run out of money after losing employment. Hayden said the plaintiffs would likely succeed in their claim that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security violated administrative procedures when terminating the students' records. She said the law requires agencies to make reasoned decisions and that 'actions be set aside if they are arbitrary or capricious.' Hayden said the government supplied no reason for the termination of the students' records, nor for their reinstatement. The Rutgers students, here on F-1 visas, said they were in good standing, compliant with the law, and had not been charged with any crimes. Some had minor or dismissed charges, like a driver's license violation, which would not have jeopardized their protected status. 'Plaintiffs' visas were not revoked, so the remaining ground would be the criminal records check – but the so-called 'criminal records' of plaintiffs involved incidents that did not meet the requirements for termination of status under' the law, Hayden wrote. 'Defendants do not contend otherwise.' In his second term, Trump has been executing his campaign promise to detain and deport immigrants, including those with legal status. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also confirmed plans to revoke visas for students, particularly those who participate in pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. More than 23,000 international students attended New Jersey colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Institute of International Education. New Jersey ranks 17th in the country for accepting international students, who spent nearly $1 billion last year, the group says. Rutgers University officials did not immediately return a request for comment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senators decry Governor Murphy's proposed higher ed cuts
Senators decried proposed cuts to higher education at a May 1 Budget Committee meeting, signaling they could move to restore some funding. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor) Senate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle signaled Thursday they would seek a reversal of cuts Gov. Phil Murphy's proposed budget would make to universities, colleges, and the financial assistance to attend them. The governor's proposal would cut operational aid to the state's four-year public universities by $126 million, roll back a $20 million increase in operating aid for community colleges approved last year, and reduce or eliminate tuition assistance for certain students, among numerous other cuts. 'We understand that difficult decisions need to be made in the state budget each year, but we are truly concerned that each year higher education seems to bear a great brunt of these reductions,' said Michael Avaltroni, president of Fairleigh Dickinson University. Outcomes-based allocation funding, another source of aid for public four-year universities, would fall by $70 million under Murphy's proposal, which would also cut $19.6 million in grants for community colleges and reduce aid to private and independent universities by $23.6 million. Cuts at the Higher Education Student Assistance Authority would eliminate awards through College Opportunity Grants or the Garden State Guarantee for those with income greater than $65,000, though those in that income band who had previously received an award under either program could still receive assistance if they otherwise remained eligible. The proposal would entirely eliminate a $20 million appropriation for summer tuition aid grants that would fund courses for students in the summer of 2026. Overall, financial aid grants for students would fall by $50.4 million under Murphy's proposal. University and community college presidents called to testify before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Thursday decried the cuts, cautioning they would make higher education less affordable or lead to programmatic cuts as universities face inflation, rising benefit and utility costs, and widespread uncertainty at the federal level. 'The cut is real to us in pretty significant ways. Having that cut restored eases pressure on tuition,' said Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway. 'Tuition is over a quarter of our revenue stream at Rutgers, and we don't have much wiggle room in other places, to be quite honest, so having that assistance does go a long way.' Officials warned community colleges, which are meant to be more accessible than their four-year peers, faced particular risks. Community colleges account for about half of the state's undergraduate students and on average charge roughly a third of the tuition at public four-year universities, said Margaret McMenamin, president of Union County College. That could make them especially vulnerable to changes in enrollment spurred by higher costs. 'We're not asking you for new investments. We're just asking you not to go backward,' she said. Higher Education Secretary Brian Bridges, at times, appeared to support lawmakers' call for greater investment in higher education, noting that a recommendation to zero out $12 million in funding for a new veterinary school at Rowan University did not originate in his office. 'This is a difficult budget year, as I've mentioned before, and at this time, the budget is with you,' he said. 'As the secretary of higher education, I endorse supporting the investment in the sector that is needed to allow it to thrive, so I stand ready to provide any support that you might need in advocating for the reinstatement of those reductions.' The proposed cuts reflect current fiscal circumstances more than a shift in priorities, Bridges added. We understand that difficult decisions need to be made in the state budget each year, but we are truly concerned that each year higher education seems to bear a great brunt of these reductions. – Michael Avaltroni, Fairleigh Dickinson University president Strong performance in April revenues could help defray some cuts Murphy has proffered in his $58.1 billion budget proposal. Sen. Declan O'Scanlon (R-Monmouth) on Thursday said the Treasury had indicated April collections would come in strong, bringing as much as $1 billion more revenue than the agency's earlier projections. 'The good news that I think we can make this morning is that we've heard from treasury that it appears as if our revenues are going to pretty dramatically overperform,' O'Scanlon said. 'This should be music to all our ears given these cuts and things that need to absolutely be restored.' How much of that money might be used to undo higher education cuts remains to be seen. Murphy's proposed budget includes a $1.2 billion deficit, meaning a $1 billion April surprise would still leave the state spending more than it takes in. Other lawmakers signaled different priorities could take precedence. 'I warn all not to get giddy over the revenue projections of incoming revenue because one of the charges of this committee that we feel strongly about is to do away with over a billion dollars-worth of new taxes in the budget, so any new revenue is spoken for three times over,' said Sen. John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester). Officials from Treasury and the Office of Legislative Services are due to deliver updated budget projections on May 14. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rutgers international students sue feds over revoked status
The students say the changed status immediately makes them vulnerable to arrest, detention, and deportation. (Daniella Heminghaus for New Jersey Monitor) Five international Rutgers University students and a recent graduate of the state school are suing the federal government for abruptly terminating their records in student visa status database, saying it has upended their lives and left in doubt whether they can remain in the United States. In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday, the students say the effective termination of their F-1 student status bars them from working, stops them from continuing their studies and immediately makes them vulnerable to arrest, detention and deportation. 'I am afraid to leave my home out of fear that I will be detained. I feel that I am in a home prison,' one of the students said, according to Tuesday's filing (it does not identify them by name). At the center of the dispute is the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, or SEVIS, a federal database that colleges and universities use to track students' compliance with their immigration status and share that information, like address and educational progress, with federal officials. The 42-page complaint claims the federal government purged more than 1,000 SEVIS records since Jan. 20 — the day President Donald Trump took office for his second term — effectively putting an end to the student status and the benefits that come with it. The complaint names U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials as defendants. The students are seeking a temporary restraining order that would prohibit the government from arresting, detaining or deporting them while the case is active. The risk these students face of detention is 'currently very serious,' the attorneys wrote, pointing to others whose F-1 visas were revoked and were subsequently arrested by ICE. Jessica Rofé, director of the Constitutional Rights Clinic at Rutgers and an assistant law professor, is one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. 'The abrupt termination of their SEVIS records and status without meaningful process or justification in an attempt to coerce them to hastily depart upends their academic and career trajectories, disrupts our communities, and is an affront to due process,' Rofé said in a statement. More than 23,000 international students attended New Jersey colleges in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Institute of International Education. New Jersey ranks 17th in the country for accepting international students, who spent nearly $1 billion last year. Getting a visa or protected status is a complicated process, with confusing forms to fill out and several requirements to fulfill to remain in good standing. An F-1 visa grants a student the status to remain in the United States as long as they're studying or on a temporary work assignment, and are compliant with the law. Students can lose their status by failing classes or doing unauthorized work. When ICE terminates a record in the system, that student is no longer protected. People can apply for reinstatement, but there is no way to appeal the SEVIS status change. Rutgers, Rowan, and Montclair State universities have seen roughly two dozen students notified of their visa status termination, according to NJ Spotlight News. Inside Higher Ed reported that more than 1,680 students nationwide have been notified of their SEVIS termination. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that he began revoking the visas of students and visitors if 'they're taking activities that are counter to our foreign, to our national interest, to our foreign policy.' He said visa holders charged with a crime should automatically lose their status. It's part of the Trump administration's overarching plan to mass detain and deport undocumented residents and some people with legal status, particularly going after those connected to pro-Palestinian protests at universities. The attorneys representing the Rutgers plaintiffs — the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey Foundation, the Rutgers Immigrant Community Assistance Project and Gibbons P.C. —noted they haven't been charged with crimes or done anything to fall out of standing when ICE closed their records. They charge that the misuse of SEVIS is key to the Trump administration's plan to circumvent the law and 'drive international students out of the country without due process and in violation of DHS regulations.' And if the government believes that students are deportable, the proceedings should take place in immigration court, the complaint states. The lawsuit describes a sweeping task force created within the Department of Homeland Security using data-mining tools to analyze the social media of 1.5 million students in attempts to deport them on charges that ordinarily would not be justified. It also alleges that students from China and India are being disproportionately targeted. Without work authorization, the plaintiffs say they are unable to pay their expenses and face losing their homes. One student said they'd run out of money within two months, and another said they have a family abroad that relies on them for financial support. Tuesday's filing is the latest in a flood of lawsuits from students fighting the termination of their status. In New Hampshire, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order to reverse the status of a Dartmouth student from China whose status was revoked. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
