Here is a listing of what the school districts would receive in the new proposed NJ budget. Many districts will see an increase in aid; Jersey City’s funding is flat.
Archive for New Jersey
2022/23 NJ School Performance Reports Released
Commonly called “school report cards“, these reports highlight numerous metrics to ascertain the quality of education in the state’s school districts and individual schools. There is an overall state report, as well as school/district details.
How New Jerseyans Can Stay Informed During Emergencies
Please go to ready.nj.gov that lists multiple media sites for staying up-to-date on emergencies, such as impending storms, etc.
Where To Vote in New Jersey
Type in your address here to find your polling location.
When Will Peak Fall Foliage Arrive in New Jersey?
According to this interactive fall foliage prediction map for the contiguous United States, New Jersey’s peak season will be around October 16. You can also see where the colors will be most vibrant in other states as well. Scroll down in the above site for more interesting facts about fall foliage.
What Happened to the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail System?
Plenty of nothing. What was once envisioned as a mass transit project that would greatly relieve congestion and pollution in the two most heavily populated counties in New Jersey (and this was thirty years ago), has slowly but surely ground to a halt over the years. (On a personal note, I have been waiting for over two decades for this project to become a reality as commuting by car is a real pain, and the bus system is inadequate for intra-state transportation.) This informative article from NorthJersey.com – Three decades later, the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail line still has no Bergen spur. How come? – is replete with interviews and photos detailing the maddeningly unhurried pace of development of the Northern Corridor.
New Jersey Death Index (1904-2017), and Marriage Index (1901-2016) Now Freely Available Online
From the good folks at Reclaim the Records, the New Jersey Death Index and the New Jersey Marriage Index have been retrieved and digitized for public consumption. Previously sequestered in hard-to-access repositories and behind paywalls, these important resources are now online. Additional New Jersey registers can be found here as well.
New Jersey State Symbols
Did you know that the square dance is the official state dance of New Jersey? Or that the bog turtle is the state reptile? These and many other state symbols are explained here.
State Symbols USA provides a list of other states’ symbols/icons.
Online Primary Sources: Digital Historic New Jersey Newspapers
Consult this list, arranged by county, to find what newspapers are available electronically, and whether they are freely available or available via a paid subscription. This compilation from the Chronicling America site of the Library of Congress, contains freely accessible historic New Jersey newspapers; there are currently 37 papers with over 20,000,000 pages online. This latter enumeration continues to add titles.
2021/22 NJ School “Report Cards” Released
Data are arranged by school or district, and are available in a summarized format as well as a detailed report; a state overview is also included. See how the Jersey City school district fared.
Newest Census Population Estimates for Counties and States
This dataset examines the decreases/increases in county populations from 2020 to 2022, highlighting the counties that have gained the most or lost the most. These other numbers lists all population shifts within individual states; New Jersey has declined in population as can be seen in Hudson County’s large decrease.
New Jersey Legislature: Special Meeting on Higher Education
This meeting, held on March 16, 2023, is the first of what may be three or four sessions examining the plight of smaller colleges in New Jersey as they face financial exigencies. NJCU’s interim president, Andy Acebo, testified, along with other education leaders. NJCU is not the only higher education institution in New Jersey experiencing problems – Bloomfield College, Rider University, and William Paterson University, among others, are also trying to cope with the myriad problems that have beset higher education in this state. But New Jersey is not an outlier, other states are also coming to grips with the decline in higher education enrollment (come here for the statistics).
Here is an article on the parlous state of higher education among some smaller colleges in New Jersey; another one as well.
The Underground Railroad in New Jersey
This brief pamphlet – New Jersey’s Underground Heritage -provides places, biographies of operatives, and a timeline and can be read in conjunction with – Freedom’s Path: The Underground Railroad in NJ.
This New Jersey state document – New Jersey Underground Railroad Project.
Report to the State Legislature – makes for fascinating reading as it lists in its appendices all the New Jersey sites that claim to have been part of the underground railroad, Jerey City among them. As to Jersey City’s claim, this well-researched piece – The Underground Railroad in Jersey City – says it all. This latter piece is part of the well-regarded Jersey City Past and Present Project.
Documents in the News: The Child Care Crisis in America
The inability to provide for safe, well-regulated child care is having a devastating impact on the U.S. economy to the tune of $122B a year. This brief report – $122 Billion: The Growing, Annual Cost of the Infant-Toddler Child Care Crisis -provides the grim details. It is costing New Jersey alone $3.6B in loss revenue.(11)
New Jersey 2022 Election Results
The numbers are here for state, county, and local elections.
Superstorm Sandy Ten Years After
As with many live-changing events in our lives, those in the New York City environs well remember Sandy, its power, and its aftermath. The destruction overwhelmed communities and some have yet to fully recover. This CBS News special Sandy:10 Years Later provises a launching pad for extensive coverage and archival features.
Other sites that should be consulted:
Ten Years After Sandy: Barrier to Resilience (NYC Comptroller);
When the Ocean Met the Bay: 10 Years Later, an Oral History of Superstorm Sandy (Philadelphia Magazine);
the Weather Channel’s Superstorm Sandy By The Numbers 10 Years Later;
Sandy Graphics Archive (National Hurricane Center);
Photos (thousands courtesy of Getty Images);
Reducing Coastal Risk on the East and Gulf Coasts and Making U.S. Ports Resilient as Part of Extended Intermodal Supply Chains and Framing the Challenge of Urban Flooding in the United States (all National Academies Press);
Congressional Record; and
Remembering Superstorm Sandy(NJ101.5).
College Enrollment Still Declining
As this report shows, enrollment is still down though not as drastically as in previous years; community colleges are seeing a slight rebound. In the state figures, New Jersey is not represented due to a lack of sufficient data.
Where Do People in New Jersey Come From?
According to the 2021 American Community Survey, everywhere; a more specific account of Hispanic or Latino groups can be found with this Census table.
2022 Fortune 500
How did companies fare during COVID, supply chain issues, and The Great Resignation? Actually, many did quite well, thank you. This newest iteration of the list allows numerous filters to be employed to ascertain how specific businesses prospored, or not.
Here are the New Jersey entities that made the cut.
Are We Finally Done with Snow in New Jersey?
You might think that we would have put snow behind us, but this informative article from n.j.com, replete with documented evidence, will quickly disabuse you of that thought. New Jersey has seen snow as late as May 10!
Congressman Frank J. Guarini Library Blog 