Enjoy the Summer Jazz Room Series from home
For the first time since William Patterson University in Wayne inaugurated its Summer Jazz Series in 1978, the campus will be empty. Instead, due to COVID-19, the free week-long entertainment will be available to listeners from their homes during the third week of July.
The online evening jazz concerts, recorded live in the university’s Shea Center for the Performing Arts, can be watched on your computer, tablet, smart TV or phone.
The artists include the following:
• July 21, 7:30 p.m.: The Tardo Hammer Trio
• July 22, 7:30 p.m.: Alexis Cole and Friends
• July 23,7:30 p.m.: The Akiko Tsuruga Quintet
• July 24, 7:30 p.m.: Steve Turre and Friends
For more information about the performers and to pre-register, visit wppresents.org.
In addition, Meet-the-Artist sessions will be pre-recorded on July 20 and 21. Audience members can submit questions in advance to newmant@wpunj.edu.
Public input sought for New Jersey’s Use of Force Policy
For the first time in 20 years, the New Jersey attorney general’s Use of Force Policy for police will be revised and updated. Residents are invited to share their thoughts about how to make the policy more fair and equitable for all.
A listening session will be held July 23 from 4-6 p.m. at JFK High School, 61-127 Preakness Ave., Patterson. Face masks, temperature checks and social distancing are required. Seating is limited to the first 75 guests due to COVID-19.
Pre-registration is required. Register at https://useofforcerevision.evenbrite.com. To comment on the policy, visit the public comment portal at nj.gov/oag/force.
Jersey company enters public-private partnership to produce needles for COVID-19 vaccine
Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) applauded the establishment of a public-private partnership between a Fifth District medical technology company and the federal government to produce millions of injection devices to prepare the country to deploy a COVID-19 vaccine when ready.
Becton, Dickinson and Co. (BD), based in Franklin Lakes, is entering into a partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for an initial order of 50 million injection devices. The company will also expand its manufacturing infrastructure to be re
This comes following Gottheimer raising alarms in Congress regarding the shortage of needles and syringes that the U.S. needs to adequately deploy a COVID-19 vaccine. Gottheimer led a bipartisan letter signed by 25 members of Congress to House leadership to address the issue.
“We simply cannot afford to be unprepared when a vaccine is ready,” said Gottheimer. “The federal government must move ahead and acquire the hundreds of millions of needles and syringes necessary when a vaccine is ready.”
To produce a single dose of a vaccine for every person in the country, more than 300 million syringes and needles are needed. If a vaccine requires more than one dose for deployment, our country could require much more. It could take more than a year to produce these materials given the nation’s current manufacturing capacity.
Surf Fishing Tournament cancelled
The Oct. 25 New Jersey Surf Fishing Tournament has been cancelled due to the continued uncertainty of COVID-19.
It is also not yet known what social distancing guidelines will be in place in the fall and whether it will be possible to meet those guidelines at the tournament, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Everyone who had mailed in registration forms will be contacted, and refunds will be issued to those whose checks have been deposited.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the health and safety of participants, volunteers and staff is a top priority. We hope you will be able to join us in 2021.
RELEASE: Gottheimer Announces Paycheck Protection Program Helped NJ’s Fifth District Retain 183,000+ Jobs
Calls for second phase of PPP availability now that flexibility is in place
U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) announced that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) helped retain more than 183,000 jobs in New Jersey’s Fifth District thus far, according to new data released this week from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
PPP was created by Congress in the bipartisan CARES Act, to provide aid directly to small businesses and organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic and to keep Americans employed.
“It’s great to see how these resources are helping retain so many Fifth District jobs and ensuring workers can provide for their families, and I will continue fighting for increased transparency into PPP loans and to claw more investment back to North Jersey,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5). “We have been in the eye of the COVID-19 storm and I know times are extremely tough for many businesses and their employees, but I remain committed to helping them access PPP resources and investment so we can retain even more jobs and ensure our communities and businesses can recover.”
Gottheimer continued, “Congress needs to continue to further improve the program, and we must consider expanding PPP to allow our hardest hit businesses to apply for a second round of the forgivable loans, now that we’ve increased flexibility.”
So far, in the entire State of New Jersey, businesses have received more than 147,000 PPP loans, totaling more than $17.2 billion to businesses in the Garden State.
In New Jersey, small businesses are the backbones of each community, with 99.6% of all New Jersey businesses being small businesses and employing half of the state’s entire workforce.