May 26, 2020

All Pa. counties will be in 'yellow' coronavirus reopening phase by June 5 under Wolf administration

All Pa. counties will be in ‘yellow’ coronavirus reopening phase by June 5 under Wolf administration plan


HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania counties still under strict coronavirus restrictions — including hard-hit Philadelphia, its suburbs, and the Lehigh Valley — will move to the “yellow” reopening phase on June 5, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday.

“My stay-at-home order did exactly what it was intended to do: It saved lives,” Wolf said during a news conference, as he touted the state’s progress containing COVID-19. “Over the past two weeks, we have seen sustained reductions in hospitalizations. … Our new case rate has been shrinking.”

The announcement comes as the governor faces increasing political pressure to ease shutdown measures that have decimated local economies and resulted in more than two million residents seeking jobless benefits.

By June 5, Wolf said all counties will at least be in the yellow phase of his tiered reopening plan. The last to go will be Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Northampton, Montgomery, and Philadelphia — counties that have yet to meet a case-decline standard Wolf’s administration established to determine when areas can safely begin loosening lockdown orders.

Read more: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2020/05/pennsylvania-yellow-phase-counties-june-5/

May 26, 2020

What's going on in Trenton? Mayor, 2 on council face recall in midst of coronavirus pandemic.

It was the call heard 'round the world.

A May 2 virtual meeting meant for Trenton officials to discuss fighting the devastating coronavirus in the Capital City devolved into a mudslinging free-for-all of homophobic slurs and insults.

Of course, someone leaked the audio, and the next day the mayor released it to the media.

Now three weeks later, after sheepish explanations were offered and apologies uttered, the city’s government is still inching towards a political meltdown.

Trenton’s mayor and two of its city council members now face the threat of recall.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/news/2020/05/whats-going-on-in-trenton-mayor-2-on-council-face-recall-in-midst-of-coronavirus-pandemic.html

May 26, 2020

COVID-19 'outbreak' declared after 88 inmates infected at Mercer County jail

An "outbreak" of COVID-19 has infected nearly 30 percent of the Mercer County Correction Center's 302 inmates, county officials acknowledged.

Positive cases of the deadly virus jumped from five as of May 12 to 88 nine days later, county officials said, with results of least another 50 tests pending.

Officials insisted "nearly all" the inmates who are positive for the virus were asymptomatic, which is contradicted by what dozens of inmates and their loved ones told The Trentonian in interviews over the past week.

Some of the inmates exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms were allowed to remain in general population for weeks until positive test results returned, increasing the chances that they'd infect other inmates, attorneys and inmates said.

Read more: https://www.trentonian.com/news/covid-19-outbreak-declared-after-88-inmates-infected-at-mercer-county-jail/article_540d6056-9e94-11ea-9650-17bb006764d9.html

May 26, 2020

Lawmakers join call for N.J. to reopen at rally that brought hundreds to Jersey Shore

New Jersey lawmakers appearing at rally in Point Pleasant Beach on Monday called on Gov. Phil Murphy to reopen houses of worship and nonessential business that have been shuttered for more than two months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to several hundred protestors at the Freedom March of New Jersey near the town’s mostly closed boardwalk, state Sen. Joe Pennacchio, R-Morris, addressed a Memorial Day gathering of hundreds of people waving American flags and chanting “Open New Jersey now!.”

“Your freedoms were brought to you by the men and women who fought for them," Pennacchio said. "These freedoms are being denied under the guise of public health. There’s very little science involved and certainly no common sense.”

Pennachio also hit on a talking point common repeated by those who want nonessential businesses to again welcome customers in their store.

Read more: https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/05/lawmakers-join-call-for-nj-to-reopen-at-rally-that-brought-hundreds-to-jersey-shore.html

May 26, 2020

NJ Treasury: Projected revenues drop by more than $9 billion

Treasury officials are proposing massive budget cuts to make up for tumbling revenues amid the COVID-19 crisis.

To make up for projected declines in sales, income and business taxes this year and next that total more than $9 billion, officials are preparing to pull more than $5 billion from next year’s budget.

The state government has already instituted a hiring freeze, tapped the entirety of its $421 million rainy day fund and placed almost $1 billion of this fiscal year’s appropriations into reserves.

On top of $1.3 billion in planned cuts Treasurer Elizabeth Muoio announced Friday Morning, the Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration is urging $3.2 billion in cuts or delays to first-quarter appropriations and the withdrawal of Nearly $850 million in funding for priorities the governor announced in his February budget address.

Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/governor/treasury-projected-revenues-drop-by-more-than-9-billion/

May 26, 2020

Trump's struggles to stand still didn't go unnoticed during Memorial Day visit to Arlington

Oh sway can you see.

President Trump’s struggles to stand still during a Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery lit up social media Monday, prompting users to recall past incidents in which the commander in chief, who turns 74 next month, struggled to find a balance.

“Is the President having trouble standing up straight as the National Anthem begins at Arlington Cemetary (sic) or am I seeing things?” Joshua Potash from Queens asked on Twitter.

The Trump critic posted that video, along with another clearly showing the president swaying in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

https://twitter.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1264934299071123457

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-trump-stand-sway-arlington-national-cemetery-sway-stand-20200525-t7pawpfeybejlc3sabh6zjqa6q-story.html

May 26, 2020

Andrew Yang says it's time to supersize America's weekend

Like your long weekend? Andrew Yang wants you to get used to it.

The surprisingly successful Democratic presidential candidate says America “should seriously look” into switching to a four-day work week.

“3-Day weekends are better than 2-Day weekends,” Yang tweeted in a timely message as Americans mark the beginning of summer with a long weekend.

https://twitter.com/AndrewYang/status/1264998501471092736

Yang claims that studies show workers would be more productive and healthier if they only worked Monday to Thursday (or. Tuesday to Friday).

Read more: https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-andrew-yang-three-day-weekend-20200525-3bshuddeebhwrjvkfpf4emgrwy-story.html

May 26, 2020

Common Cause calls on Legislature to take pay cut or resume session

ALBANY — Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan organization that lobbies for good government, is calling on New York legislators to give up half their salaries "for doing half their job" since they approved a budget in April amid the coronavirus pandemic — and then largely shut down their session.

"Why should New Yorkers pay lawmakers $110,000 — in the middle of a budget deficit — to do only half their jobs?" said Susan Lerner, executive director of New York's 68,000-member Common Cause. "Voters elect our representatives to legislate for six months out of the year and handle constituent services, not one or the other. If they are so intent on shirking their responsibilities and not resuming session remotely, then their paycheck should reflect that."

The group noted that the New York City Council, operating in the nation's hardest-hit city from COVID-19 infections and deaths, have conducted 20 hearings and passed five bills using remote legislating. The state Legislature, despite have the ability to resume its legislative session using remote technology, has conducted two hearings in the past two months.

For weeks, legislators declined to provide a firm timeline for resuming their session remotely, but a Senate source said Tuesday afternoon that the chamber will return to session on May 26 and 27 to take up coronavirus-related legislation, as first reported by Newsday. Spokespeople for Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie did not immediately respond to a request seeking the Assembly's plans.

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Common-Cause-calls-on-Legislature-to-take-pay-cut-15280318.php
(Albany Times Union)

May 26, 2020

Cuomo says state will pay death benefits for front-line COVID-19 victims

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday said the state and local governments will pay for the death benefits of families of front-line workers in the state who died from COVID-19 and asked the federal government to pay hazard pay to those who cared for the ill.

In a Memorial Day news conference at the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan, the governor said local or state pension funds will pay the benefits for any public employees who worked in the state at the local, county or state level and lost their lives to the pandemic.

Those covered include families of front-line public health care workers, police, fire and emergency service workers and others who "showed up" amid the crisis, Cuomo said.

"There's not a transit worker who drove a bus or conducted a train or a nurse who didn't walk into an emergency room who wasn't scared to death. They knew what we were talking about. It was enough to shut down society," Cuomo told reporters. "I have such respect and esteem for what they did and I want to make sure that we repay that."

Read more: https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Cuomo-says-state-will-pay-death-benefits-for-15293284.php
(Albany Times Union)

May 25, 2020

Texas GOP chair candidate Lt. Col. Allen West in stable condition after motorcycle wreck

Former Lt. Col. and congressman Allen West is in stable condition and being treated at a hospital after a motorcycle wreck Saturday.

West, a candidate for the Texas Republican Party chair, was involved in the wreck near Waco between a vehicle and two motorcycles, according to a Facebook post from West's team.

On social media, his team reported that law enforcement on the scene of the wreck said a car cut West off, which resulted in West's motorcycle colliding with another motorcycle. West was transported to a hospital and is undergoing assessment.

"Family and members of Team West are at the hospital, and we will continue to provide updates," the post said. "We appreciate the support and kind notes and solicit your continued prayers."

Read more: https://tylerpaper.com/news/local/texas-republican-party-chair-candidate-lt-col-allen-west-in-stable-condition-after-motorcycle-wreck/article_7df97e5c-9d5b-11ea-869e-975b42237908.html