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Pricey prison phone calls prohibitive for incarcerated people, study finds
People who make phone calls from state prisons and local jails often get price-gouged, with recent reforms falling short in preventing telephone companies from exploiting incarcerated people, a new national study found. As the cost of calls approaches zero outside the prison walls, incarcerated people are forced to pay charges few can afford, threatening their […]
Senator wants to force utilities to offer federal aid for residents behind on water bills
Almost 150,000 households in New Jersey owe nearly $45 million in unpaid water bills, but they can’t access federal aid that absolves arrearages because most of the state’s utilities don’t participate in the assistance program. So a Democratic state lawmaker from Camden County aims to fix that by setting new rules and penalties for utilities […]
A decade after Hurricane Sandy, fight to reform disaster relief continues
After Hurricane Sandy flooded Robert Lukasiewicz’s home a block from the bay in Atlantic City, the problems piled up. Contractors pocketed his money but never finished their work. He couldn’t afford flood insurance, making him ineligible for some relief funds. Caring for terminally ill relatives kept him from rebuilding for several years. Then the pandemic […]
Addiction recovery industry rife with abuse, state investigators say
TRENTON, New Jersey – While most new businesses take up to two years to become profitable, and a quarter fail their first year, Nicholas DeSimone bucked those trends, big-time. The Mullica Hill businessman made $15 million in three years after opening his first addiction recovery center, according to the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation. […]
Anti-hate experts call on feds to step up against rising antisemitism
TEANECK, New Jersey – Last week, Scott Richman did something unusual as he prepared for Rosh Hashana services at his synagogue. He draped a device with a panic button around his neck to alert authorities in case the unimaginable happened. “Like so many worshippers, I spent the service distracted by the fear that our synagogue […]
Inflation hits wallets of people in prison, even as their wages have flatlined
The first time Paul Whittaker was incarcerated in New Jersey, he worked behind bars as a teacher’s assistant. He made $2 a day. Last year, when a parole violation landed him back in prison, he was assigned the “job” of staying in his locked cell all day and keeping it clean. Daily pay: $1.20. If […]
‘It’s cannabis Christmas!’ N.J. celebrates the first day of legal recreational marijuana
At 13 medical dispensaries authorized to sell recreational cannabis on the first day New Jersey’s recreational marijuana market opened, sales started as early at 6 a.m. in some locations, and lines continued to wrap around storefronts past noon.