Here is The Jersey Bee’s top news for New Jersey for the week ending Dec. 19, 2025.
TOP NEWS
New Jersey Council for the Humanities is accepting applications to its 2026 community history program until Dec. 23. Open to nonprofits, state and local governments, and community groups. It will provide a free, cohort-based history training and up to $5,000 in funding for a local history project. Each selected group is awarded $1,000 for participating. Applications available online.Add to 📅.
New Jersey Council for the Humanities
New Jersey’s Target Zero Commission recently released a 72-page draft plan to eliminate all traffic deaths in the state by 2040. The Target Zero Commission was formed in January after pedestrian deaths reached a 30-year high in 2024. The commission is comprised of advocates, subject experts, and representatives across 13 agencies. The report identified 140 sections of interstate, state highways, and local roads as high-injury areas that need attention. It recommends to improve driver education, road design, law awareness, speed management, vehicle safety, and post-crash care. The report was released at a public hearing in Newark on Dec. 1. Community members advocated for designated Emergency Medical Services to receive funding to support trauma patients and mandator bike helmet use. The commission will vote on the plan this month at an undetermined date. It is available online for viewing.
New Jersey Department of Transportation
Fourteen people have filed to run in a special election to fill N.J.’s 11th congressional district, which is left vacant by governor-elect Mikie Sherrill. The list of candidates is available online and includes 13 Democrats and one Republican. New Jersey will hold a special primary election on Feb. 5, according to a writ of election. The district includes parts of Morris, Essex, and Passaic counties. The special general election is Apr. 16.
New Jersey Globe
New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill chose Jennifer Davenport as the state’s next attorney general. The attorney general is the state’s top lawyer that oversees legal and law enforcement matters. Davenport is a prosecutor who worked as N.J.’s First Assistant Attorney General under then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. Davenport also worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney and as an attorney for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The state Senate must approve Davenport’s nomination, but she can serve in an acting capacity when Attorney General Matt Platkin’s term ends in January.
CBS News
New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway tolls will increase by 3% stating Jan. 1. The increase will pay for costs of operation, maintenance, and improvement, according to the N.J. Turnpike Authority’s 2026 budget. The percentage increase is equal to the federal rate of inflation, meaning that spending increases are adjusted to keep up with rising costs. The NJTA said it calculates percentage increases using inflation and revenue needed for capital improvements.
Cherry Hill Courier-Post
New Jersey officials held a groundbreaking ceremony for 1888 Studios in Bayonne, a production site with Paramount Skydance. The production space is estimated at 58 acres, and Paramount will lease six acres. That will include 23 soundstages, postproduction suits, and offices. The N.J. Economic Development Authority also designated Paramount a studio partner under the state’s Film and Digital Media Tax Credit program. That makes Paramount eligible for a 40% base tax credit for production expenses on N.J. film and television projects. It is expected to open in 2028.
NJ Advance Media
