Announcer: Major funding for NJ Spotlight news is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group.

Serving the insurance needs Of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.

And by the PSEG foundation.

Briana: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News" -- Battle lines over the county line continued to be drawn.

Gubernatorial candidate Steve Fullop throwing his support behind the decision to abolish the line.

>> I'm comfortable ultimately what will prevail is a fair election for both sides.

Briana: Plus as Muslims here in New Jersey gather to celebrate the end of Ramadan and mourn the thousands of lives lost in Gaza.

>> Please protect our mothers and fathers and children and elders and brothers and sisters.

Briana: Some are taking their calls for a cease-fire to the ballot box.

>> What we are trying to do now is to keep the pressure on to bring the policy and actions in line with the rhetoric.

I'm going to be urging people to vote uncommitted as a protest vote.

Briana: And expanding access.

Newark's new partnership brings -- looks to bring high-speed Internet to the city's housing complexes.

>> When we were at the height of COVID, our children were stuck in the house, many had no access to broadband Internet.

Briana: "NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

♪ Announcer: From NJ PBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight news" with Briana Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and Thank you for joining us.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

The partyline battle that dominated the U.S. Senate primary may be shifting to the next governor's race.

This week, Jersey City Mayor and gubernatorial hopeful Steve Fullop through his support behind a federal judge's recent decision to abolish use of the county line ballot system in the upcoming Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

His campaign filed an amicus brief pushing back on arguments made by the Middlesex County Democratic organization, one of just two county committees who are appealing the judge's ruling which temporarily halts the use of the line just for the Democratic race.

Fullop has long opposed bracketing party endorsed candidates together on ballots.

In making the announcement, he took to social media platforms X, writing he wants to see fair elections in New Jersey this year and every year into the future.

Mayor Fullop joins me now.

Thank you so much for joining me.

What are the arguments you are laying out in the brief?

>> The arguments are fundamentally what some have -- what others argued with the sort of lines and beyond that it is a response to the Middlesex brief which is the only political organization which responded similar to what we are doing.

Basically they outlined a lot of reasons why they think the line should exist, and we are pushing back saying a lot of the arguments are not truthful.

Briana: What's false about them?

>> First they start by saying it promotes democracy and you just look at their delegation, the state Senate delegation, the largest in New Jersey, they have one of the most diverse counties yet 100% of the state senators are white, 80% of them are white males.

It doesn't speak to the varsity, promoting any sort of other opportunities for people -- diverse city -- diversity, promoting any sort of other opportunities for people.

We outline all those things for the courts and hopefully they continue down the path that New Jersey should be like the rest of the country.

Briana: You were drawing on personal experience from past races that you highlighted, what specifically did you experience you feel is relevant here?

>> And 2013, I ran for mayor -- In 2013, I ran for mayor.

President Obama endorsed my opponent.

The entire state apparatus was against me.

Because it was block voting, ideas is what was relevant to the voters and that was successful.

2017 when I looked at running for governor for the first time, I quickly realized that the lines were not going to be supportive of me.

I chose not to follow through in running because there was no path to winning.

If you look at the day after and the week after I decided not to run, everybody surrounded Phil Murphy publicly, the public narrative was that there is no longer a need for a primary and Phil Murphy will be the governor and that speaks to the importance of the lines which definitely does not promote democracy.

Briana: The Middlesex County brief notes that other federal appellate courts have supported keeping systems like this in place.

And they obviously hired a powerhouse attorney to represent them.

Why do you think it is in their interest to keep this?

>> A lot of people who control the lines throughout New Jersey make a lot of money.

Who often control the lines.

Whether they are lobbyists, special interests.

Briana: Public contracts.

>> Public contracts, and in the county level and municipal level where there is less scrutiny and you can control people, you have elected officials beholden to the political boss that controls the line as opposed to the voter, and that is the fundamental problem here.

If you are looking for more accountability to the voter, you should be in support of block ballots.

Briana: Are you filing this now for lack of a better word to get it out of the way?

>> My hope is that we operate like the rest of the country.

49 other states do block ballots.

I don't want to deal with this next year so I want to make sure that we have a fair open election next year.

There is no lines, block ballots is the way to insert ourselves.

Briana: For both parties.

Pointed to see where this primary goes beyond that.

It's really only affecting Democrats >> Because Democrats filed but a reasonable person would say of it is unconstitutional for Democrats, it is also unconstitutional for Republicans.

I am comfortable that ultimately what will prevail is a fair election for both sides.

Briana: Mayor Steve Fulop, thank you for your time.

The removal of the county line is giving a progressive movement in the state a real shot.

Democrats are planning to vote uncommitted for the ballot for the Democratic Presidential primary, a warning signal of sorts for President Biden urging his administration to take a stronger stance on the war in Gaza.

The protest vote has been used successfully across the country in places like Michigan and Missouri.

Our senior correspondent, Brenda Flanagan, reports, New Jersey appears to be next.

>> We are desperate to be heard.

Reporter: Carissa Cunningham says New Jersey Democratic-Socialist's pushing to end the violence in Gaza followed the example of states like Michigan where 100,000 Democrats voted uncommitted as a protest vote against incumbent President Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

In Jersey, they worked hard to get the issue on June's Democratic primary ballot under the slogan "justice for Palestine, permanent cease-fire now."

>> Elected officials have really been ignoring every day working people who care about this issue.

The only message that we feel that they will respond to is our votes.

And we also want to be able to send our delegates -- send our voices to the Democratic national convention to push Biden even more directly.

>> I'm going to be urging people to vote uncommitted as a protest vote.

Reporter: U.S. Senate candidate Larry H. believes ongoing protests demanding President Biden call for a cease-fire have begun to move the political needle.

The UN Security Council finally approved a cease-fire resolution after the U.S. abstained.

If Israel invades Rafa, the administration warns that it will impose conditions on military aid.

He sees this uncommitted primary vote for a cease-fire as a lever.

>> What we are trying to do now is to keep the pressure on to bring the policy and actions in line with the rhetoric.

>> Given New Jersey's large population of Muslim Americans, it would not be a surprise to see some folks for this sleep here in New Jersey -- slate here in New Jersey.

Reporter: A federal judge abolished Jersey's county line and ordered block ballots for the primary and it gave the justice for Palestine's movement a real shot.

>> This is the first primary in which there is no line and therefore no visual cue to the organization backed candidates for those delegate positions.

This is now going to be -- you will have a slogan that says New Jersey Democrats, justice for Palestine, and it will be up to voters to sort out which delegates they are voting for.

Reporter: Democratic-Socialists that 126 national convention delegates and they are on most of the ballots in New Jersey.

But they have ended up at the bottom of the presidential block.

The bottom left corner on Bergen County's newly designed block to ballot -- block ballot.

They demanded County clerks redraw the ballot.

>> What they are doing is marginalizing us by keeping us in this small print, in this small box.

>> And getting letters from this group.

I'm not going to redraw the ballot.

The ballot is in process to meet the state deadlines and make sure the vote by mail ballots get out on time.

Reporter: The Bergen County clerk says most clerks opted for this design, putting the justice for Palestine group last, because while they do have delegates, they don't have an actual candidate, it is primarily a protest vote.

Delegate font sizes are all the same.

He is scrabbling to educate voters about the new ballots and says this has not been easy.

>> Hurricane Sandy I thought would be my toughest challenge for the election.

This one definitely beats it.

I'm not satisfied by the direction we are getting from the state.

Clerks are on their own.

And it is very difficult to abide by deadlines when there is complete unknown of what is happening next on the court case.

>> There's no rules for this.

It is wild West because we are just making this up -- we are literally making it up as we go along here in New Jersey.

Reporter: Dan Casino says it is unlikely that County clerks would redraw ballot at this point -- ballots at this point.

The deadline is April 20.

I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: The intense pushback over the Biden administration's support for Andre Sayegh comes as Muslims -- support for Israel comes as they begin celebrations signifying the end of Ramadan.

But the typically joyous celebration is being overshadowed by the ongoing violence in Gaza where more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Muslims in New Jersey are instead marking the holiday by mourning those lives and standing in solidarity with Palestinians across the globe.

Senior correspondent Joana Gagis has their story.

>> It is a holiday celebration that marks the end of Ramadan.

A month of fasting from dawn to sunset.

Palestinians in Patterson do not feel the joy they usually feel.

>> It is a time of unity and compassion and gratitude.

A moment when we come together as a community.

With loved ones.

This year we must pause and reflect and acknowledge the pain and injustice faced by our brothers and sisters.

How are we supposed to come together as families and enjoy meals when we know that 2 million Gazans are being starred by the Israel regime?

>> Dozens of Palestinians and supporters gathered in little Palestine in Patterson last night to share their grief and pain, as they watch the continued devastation of Gaza.

They shared stories of those killed since the start of the war with Israel.

Including doctors, professors, aid workers and innocent families and children.

>> Sama was a daughter of a photographer.

He recalls attempting to flee to Gaza city December 5 with his family one history four-year-old daughter -- when his three-year-old daughter was hit and died from her wounds later.

>> The 10-year-old was loved by everyone.

Her teacher shared she was the class' favorite.

She was always happy and had a loving personality.

Her family fled home to a safe spot.

When the area they were and was heavily bombed by the IOF, and she was killed instantly November 30, 2023.

>> Some shared personal stories of grief over loved ones still suffering in Gaza.

>> My father like that millions of Gazans does not know if he is going to make it and this is one of the most difficult Ramadans of my life.

Knowing what's going on in Gaza and having my father over there.

They are being targeted and starved to death.

They don't have food.

To know my father is starving and we have food on our table is an unbearable thought.

>> September 18th, 2023, I gave birth to two beautiful twin girls.

My husband was forced to miss out on the birth of his daughters.

His first-born child.

My husband has still not been able to meet his daughters and I do not know if he ever will.

>> Black Lives Matter leaders in Patterson committed their support of the Palestinians and their cries for a permanent cease-fire.

>> We want a liberated and free Palestine.

Every human deserves safety.

Every human deserves justice.

>> Those who gathered were given T-shirts to wear in a show of solidarity.

>> Typically you buy new clothes and you are festive and you got together with family.

We want to send out a message that this is going to be different, with the ongoing genocide happening in Palestine.

>> Attendees painted rocks with special messages of support that were turned into this rock memorial at the end of the night.

And they joined together in prayer.

>> Please protect our mothers and our fathers and our children and our elders and our brothers and sisters.

>> Many who gathered your recorded messages of hope and support for their brothers and sisters in Gaza.

Those messages will reach them today.

I'm Joanna G., NJ Spotlight News .

Briana: We have more details tonight on the state takeover of the Warren County prosecutor's office after a lengthy probe, the Attorney General's office is alleging top staff there lied about caseloads to inflate the budget with grant money meant for insurance fraud investigations.

In a 22 page report released last night, the Attorney General's office outlined an inquiry that began in 2022 after whistleblowers claimed the prosecutor's office was misusing the money and fudging timesheets to cover their tracks.

The report also accuses the office of impeding the investigation and potentially retaliating against and intimidating witnesses.

The report cites several secret recordings of a staffer who handled insurance fraud cases for the prosecutor's office with multiple witness accounts stating there was actually little to no work being done.

On Friday, Attorney General Matt Platkin removed the top prosecutor James Pfeiffer and replaced him with a deputy from the state office of public integrity and accountability.

Pfeiffer has reportedly called the report and accurate.

The state forest fire service is not taking any chances after last year's especially active season.

The department's officials are preparing for even more intense fires and a longer wildfire season, which typically runs from mid-March through May, when the temperatures go up and humidity goes down and wins get stronger -- winds get stronger.

The state is doubling down on an age old in preventing wildfires.

You.

Melissa rules Cooper reports.

-- Rose Cooper reports.

>> Residents should not be complacent due to the rainfall we've had.

It only takes a wind blowing and temperatures like we had today.

No matter how wet it was yesterday.

Reporter: A strong message from the fire Warden and chief of the forest fire service, Bill Donnelly, in the midst of the peak wildfire season.

>> New Jersey's wildfire was in -- runs from mid-March through May.

Relative humidity is relatively low and winds dry out forest lands quickly.

When they dry out quickly, we have fires.

Reporter: The forest fire service, hosting this webinar providing the public with the tools and resources they need to mitigate the risk of wildfires which officials say is higher due to climate change.

>> We increasingly see dry conditions between heavy rainfalls and what we have come to know as flash droughts.

Last year the research conducted a nationwide analysis of weather conditions during the past 50 years and found the annual number of fire weather days has risen by 10 days in northern New Jersey and four days in southern New Jersey.

Reporter: John Cecil says the findings mirror the DEP's scientific reports stating longer fire seasons as well as an increase in larger fires.

Last year, nearly 1200 wildfires burned roughly 18,000 acres across the state, making it the most active fire year in New Jersey and more than a decade.

14 of them were considered major.

Running more than 100 acres.

>> The Murphy administration responded to the busy fire year and the challenging conditions we have been facing by supporting the forest fire service with a $3 million budget boost to enhance protection of lives and property through investments in new equipment and stuff.

Reporter: One of the ways the forest fire service is working to mitigate wildfires with its network of 21 fire towers and observers.

>> What their job is is to take weather readings and maintain what is outside and look for smoke.

Once they see smoke, they will triangulate it and pinpoint the location of the fire, and we will send resources right away.

Depending on the fire, we will dispatch aircraft or fire trucks, bulldozers.

Typically the fire towers see the smoke before anyone reports them.

Having the towers up has been beneficial as far as early detection and quick responses made by folks out in the field.

>> our equipment that we use, the brush trucks are constructed in house.

They are very special.

Particularly on the southern part of the state.

They are designed to go off-road.

Push down trees and brush, get to a fire even if it is in a remote location.

And suppress the fire quickly.

Reporter: Force officials say they are successful keeping 75% or more of all fires under five acres.

But they warned residents and visitors to know the importance of everyone working together.

That includes avoiding leaving smoking materials like cigarettes and matches on the ground, keeping letters away from children and never leaving fires unattended.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, seeing access to the Internet as a basic necessity, not a luxury.

The mayor recently announced high-speed Internet service has been installed in 12 no work Housing Authority Bil -- 12 Newark Housing Authority buildings.

It can prevent some getting ahead in school or securing higher pay and work.

Pravin Santana has the story -- Raven Santana has the story.

Reporter: Nearly one in five New work households -- Newark households do not have Internet connection at home.

.

That as a result of residents not being able to afford it.

>> The reality is if you cannot afford the Internet in your city, then you might as well not have it anyway, because it is close to you, you just can't touch it.

You can't use it because it's not cost-effective for your family to pay the rent and put food on the table and pay $180 or $80 or $200 for the Internet.

Reporter: Today that reality has changed after the city announced high-speed Internet service has been installed in at least 12 Housing Authority buildings as part of the city's new partnership between newark fiber and telecom provider and Trina -- andrena.

>> We did it in Rec centers around covert so kids could be able to distance learning.

We did it in parks and the Housing Authority building.

From there we will move on to the rest of the city.

Reporter: Andrena offers residential users access to high-speed Internet service for just $20 a month per month, saving families nearly $700 a year.

>> We studied this citywide.

It's about Senate B five -- It's about $75 a month for the package.

>> We had to go out and find people to do the work.

We solicited bids.

We went with Andrena, doing a fantastic job.

We have local people helping us get people trained.

Reporter: Councilman Patrick counsel says the new affordable access to Wi-Fi has eliminated barriers for both younger and older generations.

>> This is a game changer because when we were at the height of COVID, our children were stuck in a house, many with no access to broadband Internet.

We noticed the digital divide was not just hurting young people but are seniors that didn't have access to telehealth and access to family members, to have conversations and be able to reach out to people who love them and cared about them.

Reporter: Mr. Meyerson says despite the Internet service being available to all 1600 units, since the launch, only about 150 households have signed up.

Meyerson hopes that changes with today's announcement, promotion of social media, and word-of-mouth.

Briana: It looks like demand for electric vehicles in New Jersey is finally taking off.

According to new data from the Department of Environmental Protection, registrations for plug-in electric vehicles surged in 2023, growing roughly 66%.

The report points to more than 154,000 new registrations in the last year.

Compare that to just over 91,000 electric vehicles registered at the close of 2022.

That's a record-setting number according to the nonprofit Charge EVC, which estimates New Jersey is within reach of the Murphy administration's goal to have 330,000 electric vehicles on the road by the end of next year.

The group argues reaching that target will take more work, calling out Governor Murphy for signing legislation last week, putting an annual registration fee on for electric cars bought starting this July.

The president of charge EVC New Jersey says the ball is now in the policymakers' court.

>> We can hit this goal if we continue with the policies that got us here in the first lease -- in the first place.

We have seen expensive growth because New Jersey has some of the strongest incentives in the nation for electric vehicles.

What we've seen the last few months has been a step backward.

We should not have an EV tax more than $4000 for the right to drive an electric vehicle and then the sales tax exemption has been critical in making the numbers add up.

Especially for people buying electric vehicles that are lower on the sales price.

Briana: Turning to Wall Street, stocks turned lower today while traders wait for a key inflation report to land.

Here's how the markets closed.

♪ That will do it for us tonight.

Don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen anytime.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great evening.

See you right back here tomorrow night.

>> New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child.

RWJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.

And New Jersey realtors.

The voice of real estate in New Jersey.

More information online at NJrealtor.com.

♪