Senator Declan O’Scanlon followed his call for insurrection by moon gazing with a serious framework for New Jersey to contain COVID-19 while unleashing our economic engines.
Sen Declan O’Scanlon and Governor Phil Murphy discuss the micro management of sports betting at Monmouth Park, January 2019
By
Senator Declan O’Scanlon
Under the leadership of Governor
Phil Murphy, New Jersey residents have responded remarkably well given the
unprecedented and deadly invisible enemy we have faced. We have flattened
the curve and reversed the trends of COVID-19. We have changed our behavior,
likely forever. I credit the Governor with making some tough calls and
sympathize with the difficulty of challenges he’s faced, and will face going
forward.
Suzanne Brennan, left, and her son Andrew, June 2019
By Suzanne Brennan
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on every New Jersey resident. As such, I fully support all responsible measures necessary to protect our residents during the pandemic. That being said, we simply must advance solutions that allow for the safe re-opening of our state on a clear and more accelerated basis. Governor Murphy’s actions to date have been slow and ineffective; we lack crucial details about how and when we will get NJ back online. Among the many more disappointing aspects of the Governor’s response has been his decision to prohibit high school graduations. While we must protect against unmanaged large gatherings, there is no question we that can design safe and efficient solutions to allow for graduation ceremonies. Our high school seniors deserve this.
Toward that end, I am calling on the Governor to set up a state-wide task force of education and school business leaders to design Guidelines for Safe Graduation Ceremonies (“Guidelines”). While we have been given a glimmer of hope that there “may” be graduations in late July, we need to work hard now to ensure that this will become a reality and not an empty promise. Below is a suggested preliminary outline for the task force and certain items for consideration:
Monmouth County Freeholder Patrick Impreveduto, a retired high school educator, is calling upon Governor Phil Murphy to allow New Jersey’s high schools to commemorate the accomplishments of their graduating seniors with modified commencement ceremonies.
There were 83 new COVID-19 cases reported in Monmouth County on May 10, for a total of 6,938, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley announced.
The New Jersey Department of Health reports that 443 Monmouth residents have succumbed to the virus, an increase of 4 from the May 9 report.
There were 74 new COVID-19 cases in the May 9 report for Monmouth County, bringing the total to 6,885, according to Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley.
The NJ Department of Health reports 439 COVID-19 deaths in the County, up from 429 on May 8.
Amanda and Johnny Ho at CentraState with donated medical masks
There are 87 new COVID-19 cases as of May 5 in Monmouth County, bring the total to 6,521, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley announce. 398 County residents have succumbed to the virus, according to the NJ Department of Health.
I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather this
weekend at one of our County parks or golf courses while continuing to practice
strict social distancing!
I am glad that the authority over the
decision of whether or not the Monmouth County parks are open was put back in
the hands of the Freeholders. My fellow Freeholders and I have always felt,
throughout this pandemic, that our parks are essential for the mental health
and wellbeing of our residents. We vowed to open them as soon as we were able
to, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Devon Harley, 30, of Neptune City faces two federal charges of possession an Glock 26 9mm which had been altered to shoot automatically while being a convicted felon, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito .
Monmouth County has 70 new positive COVID-19 cases, for a total of 6,266 as of May 2, according to Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley. The NJ Department of Health reports that 372 County residents have succumbed to the virus.
The town by town breakdown of positive cases is as follows:
Mary Pahira was proactive when the coronaviruspandemic began sweeping through New Jersey.
The 29-year-old owner of the Colts Neck General Store closed her business after Gov. Phil Murphy restricted restaurants to take-out and delivery service with an executive order on March 21. She laid off her staff, in the interest of their safety.
But Pahira, who is expecting her first child, said her savings are now on life support. Like many small-business owners in New Jersey, she did not receive any money through the first round of funding in the Paycheck Protection Program. Her employees’ attempts to obtai… Read the rest of this entry »
