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TODAY'S FORECAST (7/26)
93°

Partly sunny.

Good morning, Jersey—

  • NJ will replace all lead water pipes in the next decade. What the new law will require (NorthJersey)
  • State environmental officials take first steps to clean up 23-mile stretch of water leading to Newark Bay (TAPinto Newark)
  • NJ Governor Murphy signs bill requiring civic education in middle school (WHYY)
PLUS: Mask mandate for schools this fall? Assembly Education chair hints at need (ROI-NJ)

COVID'S IMPACT ON NJ: 1,033,712 CASES & 26,575 DEATHS


Yesterday, state officials reported COVID-19 has spread to 902,280 PCR-confirmed cases, and 131,432 probable cases. It has killed a confirmed 23,857 people. 2,718 people likely died from the virus, though it hasn't been confirmed.

The statewide transmission rate is 1.44, which is more than yesterday (1.40). Unfortunately, this isn't a good sign. Anything above 1.0 means the outbreak is growing: every infected person is spreading it to at least one other person.

NJ WILL REPLACE ALL LEAD WATER PIPES IN NEXT DECADE

 
On Thursday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed three bills that aim to replace every single lead water pipe in the state within the next decade. The $2.65 billion effort will be paid for via water companies and perhaps federal funding. This makes New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a "hard target" to get rid of lead pipes, an expert at New Jersey Policy Perspective says. (NorthJersey)
  • "[The project to rid the state of lead water service lines is] not going to just be wishful thinking. It's going to be an achievable and an affordable reality," Gov. Phil Murphy said. "We're going to ensure that every water service line that contains lead is properly catalogued and then removed."

NJ TAKES 1ST STEPS TO CLEAN UP 23-MI. STRETCH OF WATER


The state's Department of Environmental Protection will begin work on a proposal to establish the Lower Hackensack River as a federal Superfund site, DPA Commissioner Shawn LaTourette said on Friday. If it is recognized as such, the state would receive federal funding and support to clean up the area and potentially pursue action against the site's polluters. (TAPinto Newark)

MURPHY SIGNS BILL REQUIRING CIVIC ED IN MIDDLE SCHOOL


Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Laura Wooten’s Law, which will make a civics curriculum mandatory in middle and high schools. The law is named in honor of the nation's longest-serving poll worker, who worked the polls for 79 years. “The lack of civics knowledge creates a challenge to maintaining a perfect union, establishing justice, and ensuring domestic tranquility," said Democratic state Senator Shirley Turner, the bill's primary sponsor. (WHYY)

ASSEMBLY ED. CHAIR HINTS AT NEED FOR NJ MASK MANDATE

 
State Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Pam Lampitt appears to be the first politician in New Jersey to side with both the American Academy of Pediatrics and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who recently said that schools should require masks for adults and children above the age of two. Here's what she said:

"The most recent guidance from the [CDC] states that masks should be worn indoors in schools by all individuals over the age of 2 who are not fully vaccinated. The American Academy of Pediatrics has gone one step further in recommending that all staff and students over the age of 2 wear masks, regardless of their vaccination status. In light of these recommendations, New Jersey schools should, at the very least, consider implementing a mask mandate for all unvaccinated individuals in our school buildings." (ROI-NJ)

😷 Coronavirus—

  • Where to buy N95, KN95 masks to protect against Delta variant (NJ.com)
  • CDC considers reinstating mask recommendations, Dr. Fauci says (AP)
  • Camden barbers talk importance of vaccine with customers (NJ Spotlight)
  • Lambda variant: What are the symptoms of this strain? (NJ.com)
  • This is where NJ has among the lowest vaccination rates (NJ Spotlight)
  • Senate committee ponders: Should insurers have to pay business interruption claims caused by pandemic? (ROI-NJ)

☝️ Lastly—

  • State watchdog worries about patient care: nursing homes (NJ Spotlight)
  • Kim Guadagno, who served as Christie’s Lt. Gov., leaves GOP (Politico)
  • Jersey City looks to suspend controversial ‘garbage tax’ (Jersey Journal)
  • Community policing: What works — and what doesn’t (NJ Spotlight)
  • Murphy won’t block AC’s decision to close needle exchange (Politico)
  • Trenton honors native daughter on her way to the Olympics (WHYY)
  • Bergen County Jail: ‘deplorable’ conditions, detainees claim (NJ.com)
  • New law will give veterans more access to higher education (ROI-NJ)
  • Another racist attack in Mt. Laurel goes viral (WHYY)
  • GOP candidate who said Rep. Andy Kim is ’not one of us’ doesn’t live in the district (Politico)
PLUS — not everything is terrible:
  • Sam Mattis leads NJ, US in discuss events at the Olympics (TAPinto)
  • Adventure, seduction, murder in Age of Exploration (Morristown Green)
  • New mural debuted at Cramer Hill pizza shop (TAPinto Camden)
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YOUR DAILY NEWS CURATOR:

Jeanette Beebe (@jeanettebeebe)

Jeanette's coverage of tech, medicine, and health care has appeared in TIME, Fast Company, The Daily BeastScientific American, Mental Floss, Next Avenue, and NPR member station WHYY. She supported The COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic for a year. Born and raised in Iowa, she got her start in journalism at The Daily Princetonian. www.jeanettebeebe.com
Copyright © 2021 Center for Cooperative Media c/o Joe Amditis, All rights reserved.


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