Free Republic

Two New Jersey gyms owners who have repeatedly reopened in defiance of the state’s coronavirus lockdown have been arrested, police said Monday. Atilis Gym owners in Bellmawr— Ian Smith, 33, of Delanco Township, and Frank Trumbetti, 51, of Williamstown — were charged with contempt and violation of a disaster control act, according to the Camden Couty Prosecutor’s Office. The two owners have continually railed against Gov. Phil Murphy’s executive order amid the pandemic COVID-19 and even sued lawmakers claiming their constitutional rights were violated when they were forced to close their South Jersey gym.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – A Trump 2020 flag was attached to a telephone pole this week on a residential street in Jackson and some residents were upset about it. Jackson has been fighting right of way and utility pole usage battles with First Energy and local Jewish Orthodox residents for years, as they sought to attach eruv wires to the poles. This time, it’s an oversized Trump flag that has residents up in arms. Township code says no objects can be placed in the streetside right of way, but the township has found that the utility company owns the poles...

New Jersey added 10 states and removed one from its coronavirus quarantine travel advisory on Tuesday, bringing the list to 31 states that qualify as COVID-19 hotspots. People traveling from those states — including New Jersey residents returning home — are being asked to voluntarily self-quarantine for two weeks and to seek a coronavirus test in an effort to prevent a resurgence in New Jersey, which was among the hardest hit states at the onset of the U.S. outbreak in March and April. Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington were added this week, while...

People flying into New Jersey will be asked to fill out an electronic survey starting Monday as the Garden State continues to call for travelers arriving from 22 states that qualify as coronavirus hotspots to voluntarily self-quarantine for 14 days. Airlines will announce both the quarantine advisory and information about the survey before travelers depart and while theyÂ’re on their flight, state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said Friday as she announced the new initiative. The survey will ask people information about where theyÂ’re traveling from, their residence, and their destination. The information will then be sent to county health departments,...

I recently testified before the House Select Coronavirus Subcommittee on the meltdown in nursing homes, which excluding New York (which deliberately underreports) now account for over 55 percent of deaths with COVID. The House Democrats' goal was to blame these high death rates on President Trump - but the blame should belong squarely to the handful of governors who presided over these disasters. More than 60 percent of both nursing home deaths and total COVID-19 deaths occurred in just seven blue states with about 20 percent of the U.S. population: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Illinois, and Michigan....

Nearly half of all deaths from the coronavirus in the United States have occurred at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to new reports. The rate of cases to deaths from such facilities has been disproportionate: while only 11 percent of positive cases – around 282,000 – have occurred at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, about 43 percent of deaths – or 54,000 deaths – have come from the same, the New York Times reported. The Times cited its database for the numbers, arguing that some states and the federal government have not provided comprehensive data. The...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Sunday there should be a “national requirement” that everyone wear face masks amid the coronavirus. “It’s become almost not even debatable,” the governor told NBC TV’s “Meet the Press.” “Certainly when you’re going out and absolutely indoors. As I mentioned, this virus is a lot more lethal inside than outside. But if you’re leaving your house, put on a mask. I think it ought to be a national, a national requirement.”

New Jersey is holding its primary today, in which the default is to vote by mail. Anyone voting in person must fill out a provisional ballot. And the provisional ballot requires your drivers license number. So voting in person now requires Voter ID, you fill out a lengthy form, and vote with a paper ballot. Normal voting in person does not exist. I've heard for years that Voter ID is a republican plot which suppresses minority Voters. But now it's required if you want to vote in person. I'm hearing numerous reports of people voting in person and telling the...

New Jersey’s governor tried to be understanding Tuesday when the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission offices reopened – with long lines and arguments among customers following a long coronavirus-related shutdown. But many New Jerseyans posting on social media seemed to think Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, could have done more to prevent the problems.

Gov. Phil Murphy says he has no patience for critics who say he’s acting like a dictator as he orders sweeping restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic — a charge that renewed with his recent order to wear masks outdoors. “People claiming that power’s gone to my head, that I find some joy in making everyone put a face covering on is ludicrous,” Murphy said Thursday night on NJTV. “It’s also irresponsible.” “Let’s cut that crap out,” he added. “Let’s stick to the basics and the facts, and we’ll be a lot better for it.” Murphy made the comments a day...

Polls are now open in New Jersey and Delaware, where voters are largely expected to vote by mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In New Jersey, the nearly all-mail primary is emerging as a test of the state’s ability to deliver a drama-free election in the face of critical tweets from President Donald Trump and state Republicans seeking federal election monitors. The COVID-19 outbreak has forced lawmakers and state officials to prepare state and county election organizations for a surge in remote voting and it also delayed the usual June primary by a month. While the deadline has passed for...

The owners of gym that made national headlines after it opened in defiance of Gov. Phil Murphy COVID-19 lockdown were dealt a blow in their legal fight to convince the courts that shuttering their place of business was unconstitutional. In a decision reached during hearing held over Zoom Friday, U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler denied the request of the owners of Atilis Gym of Bellmawr to open via a temporary restraining order as they continued litigation with the state. In a federal lawsuit filed last month, attorneys for the gym claimed Gov. Phil Murphy “arbitrarily” deemed some businesses essential...

After photos circulated on social media and a local Monmouth County news site claiming to show Gov. Phil Murphy dining indoors at Jersey Shore restaurant in violation of his own coronavirus shutdown orders, the governor offered some sharp criticism Monday of those who were quick to call him a hypocrite without all the facts. “If someone out there implies that, ‘Hey, even he’s doing this, so that means you could do it.’ If one person gets infected as a result of that or if one person goes to the hospital as a result of that or, God forbid, ... someone’s...

a chart worth looking at before listening to cuomo preach to florida about how to "flatten the curve" NY has had 24,830 COV deaths vs 3,489 in FL. FL has a 10% larger population than NY. pop adj, NY has 7.8X the COV deaths of FL. median age in FL is 8% higher. pic.twitter.com/KzAWqVShqA— el gato malo (@boriquagato) June 28, 2020

After years of debate, Princeton University announced on Saturday that it would remove President Woodrow Wilson’s name from the university’s revered school of public policy. The school, known as the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs since taking the former President’s name since 1948, will now be called The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. The decision, as well as a decision to remove Wilson’s name from one of the university’s residence halls, was made Princeton’s Board of Trustees at a meeting on Friday. “We have taken this extraordinary step because we believe that Wilson’s racist thinking...

Following accusations of widespread fraud, voter intimidation, and ballot theft in the May 12 municipal elections in Paterson, N.J., state Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal (pictured) announced Thursday he is charging four men with voter fraud – including the vice president of the City Council and a candidate for that body. With races still undecided, control of the council hangs in the balance. Paterson is New Jersey’s third largest city and the election will decide the fate of a municipal budget in excess of $300 million, in addition to hundreds of millions more in education spending and state aid. In...

The sports teams at two New Jersey high schools in Bergen County will no longer be named the Indians and Cowboys. At their two-hour virtual meeting on Monday night, the Pascack Valley Regional High School District Board of Education voted unanimously to remove the nickname of Pascack Hills, the Cowboy, and the mascot of Pascack Valley, the Indian, reported Pascack Hills Trailblazer.

The Asbury Park City Council voted Wednesday evening to allow indoor dining beginning on June 15, a move in direct violation of New Jersey executive orders related to COVID-19. On June 3, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 150, which allows outdoor dining on June 15, subject to health and safety protocols. But Asbury Park went a major step forward by allowing diners to eat inside. Reached on Twitter, Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn confirmed a report by The Coaster breaking the city’s decision. Quinn said the governing body passed a resolution allowing indoor dining in accordance with the issuance of...

TRENTON, N.J. – It’s still unclear whether New Jersey schools will be physically open in the fall. Remote or not? Your kids will have some decidely far-Left new mandatory topics to learn about, and you won’t have the ability to opt out. As first reported by the education blog NJ Left Behind, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted new curriculum standards on Wednesday which include, among other revised items, for the instruction of 8th graders in “vaginal, oral, and anal sex.” On the same day, the Murphy Admistration announced that compulsory climate change would be a part of...

Camden dissolved its police department to root out corruption. The city's crime rate was among the worst in the US. Within nine square miles and among nearly 75,000 residents, there were over 170 open-air drug markets reported in 2013, county officials told CNN. Violent crime abounded. Police corruption was at the core. Lawsuits filed against the department uncovered that officers routinely planted evidence on suspects, fabricated reports and committed perjury. After the corruption was exposed, courts overturned the convictions of 88 people, the ACLU reported in 2013. So in 2012, officials voted to completely disband the department -- it was...