Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso and Senator Declan O’Scanlon standing with restaurateurs in Sea Bright, May 29, 2020. Photo by Art Gallagher
Senator Declan O’Scanlon and Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso have blasted Governor Phil Murphy’s slow reopening of the New Jersey restaurant industry, calling the governor’s rules a “slow death” for the small businesses.
Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger and Monmouth County Freeholder Director Tom Arnone issued the following statement:
When the State of New Jersey ordered our business community to shut down for a two-week quarantine period, we agreed that it was in the best interest to do so for the safety and well being of our residents, business owners and their employees. Now, ten weeks later, our small businesses remain shut down without any guidance from Trenton as to when they can reopen their doors, bring back employees and attempt to move forward in the wake of a significant loss of revenue.
The murder of George Floyd while in custody by a Minneapolis
police officer demands justice—and an absolute recommitment by law enforcement
and policymakers to always ensure that any person taken into custody is treated
with respect, nonviolence and professionalism.
Ray Cosgrove, owner of Bahrs Landing in Highlands, center, at Woody’s in Sea Bright for the NJRHA press conference on Friday, May 29. Photo by Art Gallagher
Six weeks ago, an unarmed man was needlessly confronted and then killed in Georgia. Last week, a New York City woman became unhinged and reckless in the presence of a harmless man. And this week, America witnessed the murder of a helpless George Floyd. The victims, all black, were our fellow Americans. Fellow citizens who deserved “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
What is happening to us? The passage of time is supposed to make us more tolerant, more respectful, more accepting, more civil, less ignorant.
Chef David Burke speaking during the NJ Restaurant and Hospitality Assoc press conference in Sea Bright, May 29, 2020. Photo by Art Gallagher
Monmouth County has reported a total of 8,253 positive cases on COVID-19, according to an announcement by Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Sue Kiley on May 31. The NJ Department of Health reports that 597 County residents have succumbed to the virus.
A town by town breakdown of positive cases since March is as follows:
Governor Phil Murphy announced school funding cuts in the amounts of $336 million due to the pandemic related revenue shortfall, northjersey.com reports.
New Jersey’s top law enforcement official said Friday the state “will never tolerate the types of police practices” that resulted in the death of George Floyd, the Minnesota man whose death in police custody ignited protests nationwide.
State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement he was “horrified by the footage of Mr. Floyd’s death,” and the recent arrest of the former officer who kneeled on Floyd’s neck was “an important first step in the search for justice.”
The comments came the evening before a planned protest in Newark over Floyd’s death.
New Jersey Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli and senior officials in Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration clashed behind the scenes over the cost of a $500,000 contract for a consultant the state hired to help navigate the deadly coronavirus crisis inside the state’s nursing homes, NJ Advance Media has learned.
Murphy announced May 6 that Persichilli had retained Manatt Health, a national health advisory consulting group, to assess the state’s response to the coronavirus in long-term care facilities, where one in 13 residents have died in the pandemic. And Persichilli seemed in full accord wi… Read the rest of this entry »
Clad is masks and keeping their distance, about 60 restaurant owners from throughout New Jersey gathered in Sea Bright this morning for a press conference during which they pleaded with Governor Phil Murphy to approve their plan to reopen their businesses safely.
