New Jersey Weekly: May 30, 2025

TOP NEWS

New Jersey’s in-person early voting period for the primary election begins Jun. 3. Early voting hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Essex County early polling locations are located in Bloomfield, East Orange, Fairfield, Irvington, Verona, West Orange, and Newark. A list of address of polling locations is available online. Early voting ends Jun. 8. Election day for the N.J. primary is Jun. 10.
West Orange Patch

New Jersey Department of Transportation reopened two of three lanes on Interstate 80 eastbound in Wharton, and expects to reopen two westbound lanes by the end of this week, officials said. The highway’s eastbound lanes closed earlier this year for sinkhole repairs. NJDOT plans to reopen all lanes by Jun. 25. Until then, NJ Transit will continue to offer a 50% discount on roundtrip travel from Hackettstown, Mount Olive, Netcong, Lake Hopatcong, and Mount Arlington.
NorthJersey.com

Rep. LaMonica McIver will remain released while awaiting her court hearing for assault charges stemming from the day of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest earlier this month, a N.J. federal judge ordered on May 21. McIver, Baraka, and Reps. Rob Menendez and Bonnie Watson Coleman were trying to gain access to Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark, to conduct an oversight inspection. According to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, members of Congress are authorized to enter federal immigration facilities for oversight duties, even without notice. Video footage released from the U.S. Homeland Security Department shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers, and pushing past federal officers and pushing another on his shoulder. Magistrate Judge Stacey Adams ordered a hearing for Jun. 11. Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced the charges against McIver the same day she dropped charges of trespassing against Baraka. Those charges were dismissed by federal Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa last week.
The Associated Press

New Jersey Bookstore Crawl is a statewide independent bookstore event planned with Jersey Collective on Jun. 7-8. Each visit to one of the listed bookstores is considered one raffle entry for a chance to win prizes. A guide to the crawl and list of participating bookstores are available online. Add to 📅.
New Jersey Bookstore Crawl

New Jersey schools will screen students in grades K-3 twice per year for reading comprehension beginning this fall, according to the state’s Literacy Framework report released in May 2025. It requires schools to notify parents and guardians of their child’s reading levels and provide instruction training to staff, including library media specialists, and reading and early learning specialists among others. The new requirements attempt to identify and target literacy gaps based on recommendations made by The Working Group on Student Literacy, a group of teachers and reading experts, following a nationwide and statewide decline in early-grade reading proficiency. A N.J. Graduation Proficiency Assessment report from 2024 shows that 44% of students in grade 3 met or exceeded reading expectations in state testing. Education experts say that additional frameworks are necessary to ensure the success of these laws. Paula White, executive director of JerseyCAN, a K-12 advocacy group, recommended that the state hires literacy coaches to work with students in classrooms and requires teachers to make in-class and at-home reading plans for students.
NorthJersey.com