the political career of Sheila Oliver as hundreds pay their respects at the state house.

>> She did not have to yell or scream.

She was a powerhouse.

>> Buyout or move out.

I changed in policy for Tropical Storm Ida survivors in Mandeville.

>> Why didn't they just say no?

We are not humans -- we are humans.

>> Ocean County confronts its homeless crisis by establishing its first family shelter.

>> Many of them are being housed in motel rooms that are very small without the ability to cook dinners.

>> It is back to school.

Dozens of retirees are headed back to the classroom as the state struggles with a teacher shortage.

NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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♪ This is NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Good evening.

Tonight, New Jersey is paying tribute to late lieutenant governor Sheila Oliver with the start of a three-day celebration of honoring the 71-year-old Trail Blazer.

She died unexpectedly August 1 after a brief hospitalization.

Hundreds of mourners lined up today at the Statehouse to pay their respects at a historic Memorial, where her casket late in state -- lay in state inside the final goodbye for a political leader whose work touched countless lives.

She was the most senior black legislative leader in state history.

David Cruz spent the day at the Statehouse as loved ones poured in from far and wide.

Reporter: The line of mourners stretches from the Rotunda all the way down the hall and ends here at the chamber's in the first day of what will be an unprecedented display of love and respect for a woman we are now just coming to realize had a tremendous impact on the state.

It began this morning with a private viewing for Emily, the governor and others who worked most closely with the lieutenant governor.

Tears for the loss of a giant and celebration for her and for the life she impacted.

>> She was us and we were her.

When we saw her walk in a room, to see a black woman in power as the Immoral Compass sitting around a table -- as the moral compass sitting around a table with mostly men is priceless.

It was always magical.

By now you know her resume.

Reporter: Sheila Oliver not only survived the political world's Essex County and the Statehouse, she thrived and brought her caucus along with her, inspiring a new generation of new black and brown lawmakers.

>> She was an assembly woman and I heard her debate a bill, there is a picture in her voice.

She would start monotone and then when that passion comes, that pitch commanded all of us to be mesmerized and listen to the authority over her voice.

>> Today we are considering a bill that would ensure constitutional rights and equal protection under the law for all New Jersey citizens.

>> She was that person.

She personified leadership, mentorship.

Compassionate yet stern.

>> She was always empowering.

She always had a compassionate side of her.

When I talk to her about my family, she was always making sure that my family was OK. >> She fought.

She was a fierce advocate for justice and equality.

She was so humble and down to earth.

Reporter: Alla Verbal Ladin state tomorrow and Essex County where she grew up and started her career in public service.

A home, and from the girl from Newark who went on to impact the county and the state like few others in its history.

Briana: The final service will be held privately Saturday morning in Newark at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

It will be attended by political heavyweights, civil rights leaders and even celebrities.

Governor Murphy has ordered state and U.S. flags to fly at half staff for August in her honor.

It is the longest length of time someone in the state has ever been given that gesture.

For more on her legacy, I am joined by our senior writer.

This is a very historical day for a number of reasons.

What do we know about the last elected official to Ladin state.

>> As far as we know, Sheila Oliver will be the first statewide elected official to lie in state in New Jersey.

We have not had one die in office since the governor in 1790.

This is not something that happens often.

Briana: This is an elective executive who died while in office.

Another real significant moment in New Jersey to lose an official in that way.

>> It is not something we are use to.

We have lost Congressman, Senators.

We have not lost the governor in office.

Briana: Where does this leave the Murphy administration?

The governor has said choosing her was very important to his ticket, knowing her legacy of public service, where does this put him?

>> He is going to have to find someone kind of in the same mold because some of the things she did really set her apart in terms of being the head of the Department of community affairs, she was pushing for low income housing and homelessness prevention, which is different from the prior lieutenant governor.

She was also had of the wealth disparity task force which is another area Murphy will want to continue to push forward.

There were pretty significant recommendations coming out of that.

Briana: Is that where her legacy will remain?

The fact that she really looked at these disadvantaged communities?

A lot of her work before landing in the front office had to do with that.

Would you said that is how she will be remembered?

>> I think so.

Back in Newark, she had cofounded an organization that fought to stop the demolition of publicly subsidized housing and led to a federal consent decree that required the Housing Authority to replace any units it demolished.

So housing has been a big factor.

She also set up a civic association and I think that will be her legacy going forward that works to help young women of color who are interested in politics, community organizing, activism.

Briana: Thank you.

For more of our coverage on the memorial gatherings for lieutenant all of her, had to njspotlightnews.org.

Chris Christie's bid for the White House is gaining steam.

A new poll released today finds his presidential campaign is doing well within certain groups of GOP voters, specifically the not -- the small number who are anti-Trump.

Among those voters, he leads with 25% of the support.

GOP voters who know the most about politics are also more likely to support Christie come about 12%.

According to the pole, there just are not enough of them to win.

He has 5% support overall and Donald Trump is still question his GOP rivals.

He holds a wide lead among all the other candidates with 58 percent of support among Republican candidate voters.

Homeowners in Mandeville were caught off guard this week after the state issued a seven policy change for property owners in some flood prone areas.

Many of them are stoles -- still trying to rebuild after Hurricane Ida.

The new rules will force them to take a state buyout and move or pay to rebuild out of their own pocket.

Our Senior correspondent has the story.

>> I feel terrible.

It is 23 years of my life here.

We have nowhere to go.

Reporter: She lives in Manville's infamous lost family.

Like other Hurricane Ida victims , she has been waiting two years for federal money to elevate her home, but Monday she got a state letter offering her one option -- take a buy out move.

>> You are liable on your own if you do not take the buyout.

There will not be any elevation money.

Reporter: She is one of about 2000 residents living in a risk reduction area, which includes 70% of the housing stock located in flood prone areas between the reverse.

New Jersey wants to buy and raise these houses instead of paying to elevate them.

She cannot afford to pay for elevating her home.

>> That is not the way.

We are humans, we are not animals.

Reporter: They will not even negotiate with us to come back and give us any input.

The mayor claims he got no warning or input.

There were homes bought out following prior severe floods.

>> I am favor in buy in certain areas, but I am also in favor of allowing people to elevate their home.

If you keep knocking out homes, we will be in distress for a long time.

Reporter: The new policy comes from the Department of community affairs.

The decision is based on climate change and lack of funding for disaster recovery.

The letter to homeowners explains buyouts are the most cost-effective alternative for protecting human lives and private property against future flood events.

So far the policy is only for Manville.

>> This date is steadily revoking options that were previously available.

This is unacceptable because the buyout process is dysfunctional and slow moving and does not guarantee a fair payout.

>> There were agencies who came here into the valley and said we were going to help you.

Reporter: She says President Biden walked past her house when he turned the devastation.

She got six feet of water.

Alone help to fix -- an SBA loan helped fix some of it.

>> They raised it may be $20,000 more.

That would leave me and my daughter homeless.

Reporter: She says her daughter is terrified when it rains.

She has asked the state to reconsider its analysis of buying her out.

The form says every homeowner will get a benefit cost analysis.

>> Lost Valley.

That is how we feel, like we are lost.

Reporter: In Ocean County, leaders are struggling to address the complex situation of homelessness.

Ocean remains one of the few counties in the state without a permanent shelter.

This month, an organization that offered the only Emergency youth shelter service closed.

It will instead serve on house families.

The community is seen more demand from parents searching for a safe place to stay with their kids.

Ted Goldberg reports.

Reporter: Oceans Harbor House closed its Emergency youth shelter.

The executive director says there were two main factors.

>> We do not have funding.

We served 100 kids in 2018.

In this past year, we only served 20.

This is not a sustainable model.

It is a decision that is unfortunate but necessary.

Reporter: The lack of funding has been ongoing.

>> The shelter has been a challenge for years.

The shelter has operated at a deficit for a long time.

In the past two years we have tried everything to bridge the gap.

I have worked with Ocean County, other partner agencies, to see if we can secure funding.

Reporter: As a result, oceans Harbor House is reorganizing and shifting resources.

She says there has been a larger demand for family services, so that is where the focus will go.

>> There are hundreds of families in need of shelter, of a place to live.

Many of them are being housed in motel rooms without the ability to cook dinner was have services, so we feel like we are uniquely poised with the shelter facility to open the first family shelter in Ocean County.

>> I feel like what we do is a good fit.

It will help bring it all together.

Reporter: This family crisis counselor says young people are not out of luck.

Oceans Harbor House will still have its hotline in the group home is not going anywhere.

She says having more family services is a better use of resources in Ocean County.

It is one of the few counties without a homeless shelter.

>> Bridging the gap, instead of having the kids come here, why not have them stay with their family and have the family come in and work with us and do that counseling piece.

Reporter: She says there is a lot of false accusations about the decision to close.

She says the three kids living here were relocated without issues.

To return to their families and one was moved to another shelter.

>> We worked with their guardians and parents and case managers to transition them out like we would anybody else.

Reporter: Oceans Harbor House is expected to be one of many groups fighting for money for the homeless's trust fund.

Money will come from a surcharge on most documents processed.

Briana: The states latest class of medical students kicked off the start of their careers amid ongoing strike with more than 1000 nurses at one of New Jersey's largest hospital systems.

Rutgers New Jersey medical school held its annual White coat ceremony, welcoming 174 medical students.

The ceremony is considered a rite of passage where each student receives their white coat and besides the Hippocratic oath.

It comes as a nurse is prepared to enter their second week on strike.

More than 1700 workers walked off the job last Friday after contract negotiations stalled.

The union president told us the nurses offered a counter proposal and they are awaiting a response from the hospital.

Fast food chain Taco Bell is opening a $5 million TAB to give away free tacos.

Except in New Jersey, where a restaurant still owns the trademark for the phrase taco Tuesday.

The fight has been playing out in ads and commercials for years, even drawn big names like Lebron James to help Taco Bell liberate the phrase.

But family owned Gregory's restaurant and bar and Somers Point did not back down.

The local eatery has owned New Jersey's trademark for taco Tuesday since 1982 and the owner said they are not given it up.

You can still grab the free tacos on September 12 by hopping across the border to New York or Pennsylvania.

After more than a year of steady declines, the inflation rate is up slightly.

Prices rose 3.2 percent in July compared to a year ago.

It is just above June's inflation rate of 3%, but economists say it is a temporary blip because prices are being compared with rates of increase from the same time last year, which was the first time prices began to fall after a long climb.

Here is how the markets reacted today.

♪ Public school districts preparing for the new school year will have their work cut out for them address and teacher shortage that is plaguing New Jersey.

The issue spurred a number of ideas from the legislature to ease the problem, including sending retired teachers back to the classroom.

But is it working?

Raven Santana reports.

>> The kids need us.

They need a good education and the date does not go smoothly for kids when they do not have teachers to teach them.

Reporter: This man has been in the field for 40 years and just when he he was retired, he says his heart brought amount of retirement.

This time, he is a substitute teacher.

>> It is just a time to give of yourself and give to the kids.

Reporter: At school districts grapple with teacher shortages, retirees are filling the gaps.

The trend is because of the low Governor Phil Murphy signed that allows retired teachers to go back to work without losing their pension benefits.

It allows retirees to come back and about 120 positions have been filled across the state.

>> I was needed.

There were so many days classes were canceled because of a lack of substitutes.

They were hiring a lot of the substitutes as paraprofessionals instead of teachers.

So the substitute pool was not there.

Reporter: After 35 years of teaching, he was enjoying his retirement and told the teacher shortage hit close to home.

>> My wife and daughter are preschool teachers.

In our home, my wife was working out of our office.

My daughter was on our front porch.

We converted it into a classroom for her.

I realized this is what, this is who I am.

>> There is a lot of reasons hiring retired teaches is a benefit.

They know how schools operate.

They know their content.

That is an important piece of instruction.

They had a career where they have been successful, succumbing back in, they quickly get back into the routines of the school.

Reporter: Bringing back retirees is one of the many tool superintendents are using to staff their classrooms.

Hamilton Township superintendent says pay has been the biggest hurdle.

>> We have seen that teachers go to other districts for additional funding, additional salaries.

What you have a teaching staff that has the ability to seek out other employment and increase salaries.

>> We are in the danger zone.

We have to want them to stay from the start, to not get out early and retire.

Reporter: He says the goal is to figure out ways to eliminate barriers to becoming teachers without lowering standards.

Briana: That is going to do it for us tonight.

A reminder to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast so you can listen any.

For the entire NJ Spotlight News news team, thanks for being with us.

Have a great evening.

We will see you tomorrow.

♪ >> NJM insurance group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

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More information online at NJrealtor.com.

♪