Admonished

Good morning!

I’m heading out to New Jersey Performing Arts Center early this morning to hear what Chris Christie has to say about politics. Yes, I’m going willingly. No, I’m not entirely sure why.

Anyway, I have to jet so let’s get right down to it. 👇

Trenton: New Jersey Supreme Court Justice Stuart Rabner publicly admonished a municipal judge over wearing Palestinian attire to a work conference in 2025. Judge Steven Brister’s hat and keffiyeh violated a rule that requires judges to uphold the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the court, Rabner said. “My failure to recognize the potential impact of my attire fell short of the high standards and expectations of my office,” Brister wrote.

Sherrill: Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Wednesday that her administration has dramatically reduced a permitting backlog that has bedeviled state government. Permitting reform was a key promise Sherrill made on the campaign trail last year, and her effort won plaudits from business leaders who admitted they weren’t sure it could happen. “My members and others here today have heard all the promises before and are naturally skeptical,” Dan Kennedy, CEO of the New Jersey Commercial Real Estate Development Association, said at Wednesday’s press conference. “You have turned a lot of that pessimism into optimism already.”

Halloween: A bit of an update on my favorite story in New Jersey right now, Clifton dentist Wayne Gangi being forced by the town to take down his Halloween decorations and then going on a crusade to out the Karen who ratted him out. He’s been posting emails he received via public records requests from Clifton Councilman Joseph Kolodziej griping about Gangi’s property to Clifton’s city manager. Kolodziej told me he was passing along anonymous complaints about Gangi’s decorations as part of his role as a councilman, citing “items blocking the sidewalk visibility, extension cord use, traffic congestion and double parking.”

Kolodziej, who is on next week’s ballot in Clifton’s crowded council race, says he bets his name is being raised in connection to this issue for political reasons.

“I don’t doubt that 10 days before an election this is being twisted by some in our community in an attempt to somehow smear my name. I continue to question how the Council majority spends money, chooses new vendors that are more expensive and leaves the full Council and the public out of these decisions,” he said.

Health: Hospitals in New Jersey provided $7.8 billion in free care, no-cost screenings, research, and other community benefits in 2024, according to the latest annual report released by their trade group.

Commentary: Charlie Wowkanech, the leader of the New Jersey State AFL-CIO, writes commentary for us today arguing that the state’s ABC test — used to determine whether an employee works for a company or is an independent contractor — is important protection against companies looking to shed their responsibilities as employers: “There is a reason classification matters. Employee status is connected to real responsibilities and real protections — minimum wage and overtime, unemployment insurance, temporary disability, earned sick leave, workers’ compensation, and other safeguards. When companies improperly push those responsibilities off their books, the costs do not disappear. They move. They move onto workers and their families. They move onto responsible employers that continue playing by the rules. And eventually they move onto taxpayers and public programs.”

Transpo: Via Jeff Goldman at NJ Advance Media, a New Jersey man arrested after a United Airlines flight attendant saw him sending a text about hijacking the plane is making an I-was-just-drunk defense. Dante Milne told authorities he had shots and a beer in a Las Vegas airport before getting on the flight bound for Newark. On the flight, he texted a friend sitting elsewhere on the plane, “I’m gonna hijack this b*tch and crash ur row only,” which, sorry, is pretty funny.

D.C.: Civil rights groups alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is unlawfully scrutinizing naturalized U.S. citizens and placing them at risk of disenfranchisement.