Tag Archives: Governor Phil Murphy

Hudson County Community College to Host First-Ever Literacy Forum Featuring Panel Discussions with Experts

Hudson County Community College students enjoy a sharing a book together in the College’s Culinary Arts Park on the Journal Square Campus.

  Literacy is the cornerstone for lifelong learning and success, but New Jersey has fallen behind. Despite being fifth in the United States for adults with bachelor’s degrees or higher, New Jersey has the fifth lowest literacy rate in the nation. According to World Population Review, 17% of Garden State adults lack basic prose literacy skills, and only 42% of third graders met or exceeded reading proficiency standards in 2023.

Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation to mandate literacy screenings in grades K-3 beginning next year. He established the Office of Learning Equity and Academic Recovery to provide online resources and free training that address post-pandemic literacy issues that disproportionately affect multilingual learners, and Black, Latino, and disabled students.To explore this crisis and determine solutions, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will hold a Literacy Forum on Thursday, November 14, 2024, beginning at 9 a.m. Panels of literacy experts and community leaders will discuss how to improve literacy for better outcomes in primary and secondary education, employment, and other aspects of life. The event will be held at the HCCC Culinary Conference Center, 161 Newkirk Street in Jersey City, NJ. Those interested in attending are asked to RSVP at https://tinyurl.com/HCCC-LITFORUM. More information may be obtained by contacting Dolly Bacal at DBacal@hccc.edu.

The panels are:
Early Childhood Literacy” with Peggy Kaye, author and early childhood education teacher; Sharon Benjamin, HCCC Adjunct Professor, Speech, Composition, and Reading; Dr. M. Jawaad Hussain, Reach Out and Read NJ Co-Medical Director; Mark Hill-Lloyd, Trinity Faith Church in Jersey City; Jackie Anderson, Early Literacy Program Manager, Jersey City Public Library Learning Center; Cherese T. Bracey, author and CEO of Reading Reaps Rewards Early Childhood Enrichment Program; and Amanda Jacobs, Director of Academic Planning and Solutions, Early Learning, Scholastic. The discussion will be moderated by James McGreevey, former New Jersey Governor and Executive Director and Chairman of New Jersey Reentry Corporation.

“Facilitating Language Literacy Success for Allan HCCC Student Panel” will be moderated by Dr. Angela Pack, HCCC Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education, and will include HCCC students Daniel Sherman, Diana Valdez, Vanessa Gil, Cristal Perez, John Acosta, and Marcelo Laboriel.

“Providing foundational reading skills prepares individuals for academic success, college readiness, and economic prosperity,” said HCCC President Dr. Christopher Reber. “We are excited to welcome our panelists and learn about opportunities that help instill reading habits and enable the people of our community to thrive in their academic endeavors and careers.”
#   #   #Caption: Hudson County Community College students enjoy sharing a book in the College’s Culinary Arts Park on the Journal Square Campus.


About Hudson County Community College

Hudson County Community College serves more than 20,000 credit and non-credit students annually. The College offers more than 90 degree and certificate programs, including award-winning English as a Second Language; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management; Nursing and Health Professions; and Humanities and Social Sciences. The HCCC Culinary/Hospitality Management program was ranked number six in the U.S. by Best Choice Schools. The College’s School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development offers cutting-edge, industry-recognized, stackable credentials in alignment with high-priority workforce needs.

HCCC has partnerships with four-year colleges and universities in the greater New Jersey-New York area and beyond, accommodating seamless transfer of credits for further undergraduate and graduate education.

The College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been recognized with the 2021 Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) Northeast Region Equity Award; the “INSIGHT Into Diversity” 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award; the “INSIGHT Into Diversity” 2022 and 2023 Inspiring Programs in STEM Award, and 2024 Inspiring Programs in Business and Health Professions Awards. The College received the 2023 Outstanding Member Institution Award from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). HCCC was a finalist in seven categories of this year’s American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) national “Awards of Excellence” and earned CEO of the Year, Faculty of the Year, and Student Success Awards.  

For the third consecutive year, HCCC was selected as one of 18 community colleges in the United States to be named the “2024 Most Promising Places to Work in Community Colleges” by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) in collaboration with “Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.” HCCC was one of 22 community colleges in the nation, and the only college in New Jersey, to be recognized by ModernThink LLC and the “Chronicle of Higher Education” as a 2022, 2023, and 2024 “Great College to Work For®.” HCCC is one of two colleges in the United States to be named a Top Ten Finalist in all three program categories for the nationally recognized 2023 Bellwether Awards, and received the 2023 Bellwether Award for the College’s cutting-edge “Hudson Scholars” program, which also won the 2024 Bellwether Legacy Award. 

The College’s exemplary work in advancing student success has been recognized with 2023 “Leader College of Distinction” designation by Achieving the Dream, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing community colleges as catalysts for equity and mobility in their communities. HCCC was also presented the Campus Prevention Network Seal of Prevention in 2023 and 2024 for demonstrating leadership in digital prevention programming focused on student safety, well-being, and inclusion.

Murphy Administration Awards Bayonne $133,677 State Recycling Grant

City of Bayonne Logo

            The Murphy Administration is awarding nearly $16.2 million in grants to communities across the state to help them enhance waste reduction and recycling programs, the same amount as the previous year’s total, Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette announced. The DEP is awarding Bayonne a recycling grant of $133,677, up from $115,257 in 2022.  Mayor Jimmy Davis said, “I would like to thank the residents and businesses in Bayonne for taking part in our recycling programs.  Their support for recycling helped generate this grant.”  Mayor Davis continued, “I would also like to thank Public Works Director Tom Cotter and Recycling Coordinator Mike Tassone for providing successful leadership of our recycling programs.  Their steady efforts have led to this 2023 state grant that will help maintain Bayonne’s recycling and waste collection efforts.”

            The Bayonne Department of Public Works will use the state grant to support its waste management and recycling programs.   The specific uses of the grant will be announced at a later date.

            The annual awards are based on 2020 recycling performance, the most recent year for which data is available.  Municipalities must use their funds for various recycling initiatives.  These may include sponsoring household hazardous waste collection events, providing recycling receptacles in public places, or maintaining leaf composting operations.

            Commissioner LaTourette said, “New Jersey has long set a national example for recycling, starting with being the first state to enact a recycling law in 1987.”  He continued, “This annual grant program provides incentive for communities to strengthen their municipal recycling initiatives, encourage children and adults to keep our environment clean, and provide assistance in helping to reduce the local tax burden while also improving quality of life.” The grants are awarded through the state’s Recycling Enhancement Act and are funded through a $3 per-ton surcharge on trash disposed statewide at solid waste facilities.  As required under the Recycling Enhancement Act, the DEP returns 60% of that money to municipalities based on how much recycling each community reports accomplishing during the calendar year.  The remaining funds are divided, with 30% going to counties, 5% to colleges and universities, and 5% for administrative costs.

            According to the DEP, “For calendar year 2020, New Jersey generated 20,997,099 tons of solid waste, which represents disposal (9,474,871 tons) and recycling (11,522,228 tons) reported by municipalities and, in limited instances, counties.”  The DEP continued, “The overall tonnage of materials reported as recycled and as disposed both decreased slightly in 2020 from 2019, leading to a slight decrease in the overall recycling rate, to 55% in 2020 from 56% in 2019. Solid waste includes municipal waste plus construction debris and other types of non-municipal waste.”

Jersey City and Liberty Science Center Groundbreaking ceremony on SciTech Scity today, Oct. 22, 2021

 

NJ Governor Murphy, Jersey City Mayor Fulop, Hudson County Executive DeGise, and LSC President & CEO Hoffman to Headline Groundbreaking Ceremony for 30-Acre Innovation Campus Dedicated to Creating a Brighter Future through Science 

 Mayor Steven M. Fulop joins Governor Phil Murphy, Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, and Liberty Science Center President and CEO Paul Hoffman to broke ground on the 30-acre “City of Tomorrow” innovation campus called SciTech Scity, which will launch and grow world-changing science and technology companies and reimagine public school STEM education. SciTech Scity will bring together scientists, community leaders, teachers, students, innovators, and entrepreneurs in a one-of-a-kind setting that will become a sought-after destination for inspiration and innovation. 

NEW 5/23/2020 UPDATE COVID-19 BAYONNE

COVID-19 UPDATE 5/23/2020

Mayor Davis has directed OEM to keep residents informed on all the latest information related to this health emergency.

Mayor Davis has informed us a 64yr old female Bayonne resident passed away due to Coronavirus-related illness.  This passing marks the 69th since the beginning of the health emergency.  Mayor Davis expresses his deepest sympathy, on behalf of all Bayonne, to the family of the deceased.

Bayonne Residents CURRENTLY Positive – 723*

  • The number above reflects only the Bayonne residents that are CURRENTLY COVID-19 Positive.  We have 300 Bayonne residents that are considered recovered.  Recovered patients, according to the CDC, no longer have to isolate or be reported.   

TESTING:  The Bayonne Medical Center continues to perform testing for COVID-19 at Veterans Stadium each weekday.  Your physician can make you an appointment for this testing.  Rite-Aid at 1097 Broadway is also performing COVID-19 testing.  This testing is free and is open to anyone (regardless if you have symptoms or not).  Go to riteaid.com to make an appointment.  CityMD is doing Antibody testing.

RECYCLING:  Alternating Recycling will continue this coming week beginning on 5/25.  On your normal recycle pick up day, please put out only CARDBOARD/PAPER this week.  This will be last week of alternating recycling, as we return to normal pickups on the week of June 1st.

PARKING REGULATIONS: ALL parking regulations that have been suspended for the last two months, will come back this week.  Summonses will be issued for meters, pay lots on Tuesday 5/26/20. UPDATE: RESIDENTIAL ZONE PARKING WILL NOT BE ENFORCED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

GOVERNOR DIRECTIVES: There have been many updates to the Governor’s directives, as they relate to the RE-OPENING of New Jersey.  ALL non-essential businesses are reopened (with restrictions), as well as numerous other changes.  Please go to covid19.nj.gov for full information.

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Governor Murphy Signs off on VOTE BY MAIL FOR TUESDAY july 7, 2020 election

According to a recent email sent out by AARP due to the Coronavirus outbreak and its effect on older Americans AARP New Jersey urged New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to issue and Executive Order significantly expanding New Jersey’s vote-by mail program for the upcoming July 7, 2020 Primary Election. That order went into effect on May 15, 2020