Preventing school districts from notifying parents of a student's gender identity without the child's permission.

>> My believe is they want to bring it into the federal courts and possibly bring it all the way up to the Supreme Court.

>> Also forced to vacate.

>> Imagine coming home from work one day and someone tells you if you have 24 hours to evacuate your home.

>> Tenants forced to flee their homes have no idea when they can return.

And another raging wildfire.

A battle to contain a raging blaze in the Wharton State Forest.

>> Funding for "NJ Spotlight News" provided by the members of the New Jersey education Association, making public schools great for every child, RWJ and Barnabas health, let us be healthy together.

And committed to the creation of a long-term, sustainable, clean energy future for New Jersey.

From NJPBS, this is "NJ Spotlight News."

>> Hello and thanks for joining us this Monday night.

Abortion rights advocates joint with Congressman Bill Pascrell and other state leaders today to continue the cry for national laws that protect a woman's right to reproductive health care.

The event held as 13 states so far have limited access to abortion, but as Melissa Rose Cooper reports, the New Jersey advocates do not plan to give up the state's status as an abortion safe haven.

>> We have no right to patrol a woman's health, and that woman has every right with her doctor to make that final decision.

>> A belief Congressman Bill Pascrell strongly stands behind and that's why he's making a push to stand behind reproductive rights.

>>'s report has chipped away at a woman's rights culminating in the revocation of Roe v. Wade in June of last year.

Since then, 13 states in the union have completely eliminated woman's access to choice and more than a dozen have enacted onerous restrictions women's freedom, endangering the health and safety of tens of millions.

>> Today, my granddaughter, who is only 16 years old, has less rights today than what I had when I was her age.

That is going backwards.

It is not going forward.

>> Advocates say the need to protect reproductive rights continues to grow as members of the Republican Party increasingly attempt to restrict care.

Last week, a federal appeals court ruled the FDA's approval to make the abortion medication pill mifepristone widely available 20 years ago was illegal.

If upheld by the Supreme Court, the pill would be prohibited from being obtained through telemedicine appointments and mailed.

>> States across the country are rushing to ban abortion and push reproductive health care out of reach.

>> The director of public affair and advocacy for Planned Parenthood in metropolitan New Jersey says antiabortion bands and reproductive care restrictions are increasingly putting health at risk with people in black and brown communities often bearing the brunt of disparities.

>> In attempting to push extremist ideologies into legislation, with the antiabortion majority is doing is actually depriving folks of their right to privacy, to health care, and to making the best decisions for their bodies, themselves, and their families and forcing many into unthinkable situations.

>> The acting health Commissioner saying New Jersey is committed to being a leader in reproductive health rights.

>> In Wendy two, Governor Murphy codified the right to reproductive choice interstate law through the freedom of reproductive choice act -- in 2022.

Since it signing, and supported health care providers by making grants and zero interest loans for people for security upgrades, and acting protections for reproductive health care providers, protecting access to reproductive health care on behalf of residents from New Jersey and other states, initiating lawmaking to acquire coverage without exceptions.

Under the health benefits plans regulated by the Department of banking and insurance, creating and implementing New Jersey reproductive training and education initiatives and expanding funding for state family planning programs through the New Jersey Department of Health, which includes clinics in every county.

>> Advocates say they are grateful New Jersey is a safe haven for reproductive rights, and they plan to continue fighting until all women are protected everywhere.

>> Support for "the medical report" is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

>> A Superior Court judge has blocked a policy that would require educators to inform parents when a student comes out as transgender or gay.

Several among the County school districts have taken on similar policies recently but were immediately met with legal action from the state.

The Attorney General saying the policies violate the state's antidiscrimination laws.

The judge's decision is not a final one, but rather a halt on the policies for now, a ruling that leaves some districts without an approved policy to start the school year.

I'm joint by the founder of the New Jersey public education coalition who has been battling these policies in a school board meetings around the state.

So great to have you with us today.

What can you tell us about what school boards now can and cannot do following the Superior Court judge's ruling late on Friday?

>> The important thing to realize is that the ruling is a procedural ruling.

The state had applied for preliminary restraining orders, and that's basically what the judge was ruling on.

The underlying case will go before the office of administrative law, so basically, the judge ruled the following, that there was sufficient proof of detrimental impact and sufficient proof of detrimental treatment.

The judge that there is a reasonable probability that the state will be successful in pursuing those claims, and that's one of the reasons why he issued the preliminary restraining order.

>> Essentially saying these policies do violate the rights of transgender/LGBTQ+ youth within the school district.

They basically have to resort to what was the status quo, the policies they had in place before these proposed changes.

What does that now mean for those districts in terms of what they are able to do?

>> The revised policies that they passed are effectively frozen, as you said.

We are keeping the status quo, so it basically reverts back to the original policies that they had.

Understand again the judge did not rule that those policies were illegal.

He ruled that there is a reasonable probability that the state is going to be successful in proving that those were illegal, but the important things -- the judge made a very important point.

He said, we are not talking about dismissing parents' rights.

We all recognize that there are parents' rights.

But what we have to alter -- also recognize, in the judge's words, they are not immutable.

There are certain government interests which control and take precedent over parents' rights.

>> When we talk about parents' rights versus students' rights, the judge did kind of put the onus on the district and the state to work together to find consensus, and yet, this is a matter that can play out in the courts for the next several years.

Do you anticipate that this districts are going to take this fight all the way to the end or do you envision some sort of consensus happening here?

>> We have a situation in New Jersey where national groups have entered into the conversation, and questions like these, which are really local questions, questions that should be determined by the residents of the school district, are now being made national issues, and they are bringing in the false narrative of parents' rights.

So we have to anticipate that groups like mom's for liberty, which are very, very involved in our state right now, have that intention.

They are trying to bring these cases through the courts of New Jersey, and ultimately, my believe is they want to bring it into the federal courts and possibly bring it all the way up to the Supreme Court.

The school district will have to fight the school districts will have to pay for those appeals.

Unfortunately, it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that will come directly out of a budget designed to teach kids.

Instead, it will be paying attorneys.

We will have higher property taxes and lower property values as a result of these things happening in the individual school districts.

>> We could certainly talk about this a lot longer, we just don't have the time.

Thank you so much.

>> My pleasure.

Have a good evening.

>> Former President Trump has canceled a press conference in Bedminster tonight where he planned to release what he calls "irrefutable and overwhelming evidence" of election fraud, claiming it is proof that charges against him should be dropped.

Instead, his lawyers are preparing to present the evidence in legal filings.

The former president will also participate in the first Republican primary debate this Wednesday in Wisconsin, choosing instead to sit down with Tucker Carlson for an interview rather than face any of his challengers like former Governor Chris Christie who is on the debate states to take on the Former President, but it will take a whole lot to take on Trump, who maintains an overwhelming lead over any GOP rival.

Former governor and state senator did Cody's retirement announcement has spiraled into a demonstration of backroom politics at its worst.

After Cody defeated Senator kill in a primary in June, he now leads a vacancy that will be determined by the party machine rather than voters.

>> it is a mockery of democracy.

We can and deserve better.

The voters of the 20 seventh District deserve better.

>> voting rights advocates are outraged as some voters in New Jersey's district might do a double take in November, especially folks who showed up to cast ballots in the June primary.

The line of Democrats running for state legislature will look very different than the primary results here and with good reason, says Hannah Patel.

>> We had voters who slated for a slate of -- we had voters who voted for a slate of candidates just two months ago, and all of them are being replaced.

Not a single candidate that was elected for the position they were supposed to be running in is on the ballot for that role.

>> Primary voters elected this slate of Democrats to run for legislative seats.

Incumbent to Cody for Senate and incumbent John McCann for assembly.

But then Cody decided to resign after 50 years in public service, so the Democratic machine reshuffled the ballot.

Here is how it will probably look in November.

John McKeon for Senate, Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill replaced his wife for assembly, probably alongside Livingston councilwoman, sources say.

>> The outcome will not be in doubt, but they did not play by the rules to get on the ballot.

>> He says the question of how this happened is not easy to answer.

Cody defeated his opponent.

Why did Cody not simply resign before the primary?

Cody said he did not wanted to look like that he did not want it to look like he was walking away from the fight but belatedly realized four years in Trenton did not make sense anymore.

>> It winds up serving their interest and nobody else's.

When the interest between the public and the machine diverge and the machine gets served first, that is when the public gets behind.

>> There are a handful of people deciding these things, and the rest of us only know because the media is reporting it from leaks from the inner circle.

>> Cody is fine with McKeon in the Senate race but instead of the Gill swapping out, it did not look good because the wife coming off and him coming on, but it is what it is.

He said his decision is based on what he believes this in the best interest of the community and his family and that the replacement would represent the rich diversity of the district.

The goalie was born in the Dominican Republic, but what critics see -- >> It is a missed opportunity once again to diversify the state legislature, which is woefully behind, and it looks like we will have backsliding in this election.

It will be less female, less Hispanic, less African-American.

>> We see these types of shenanigans, if you will, not just in New Jersey and across the country, that often really suppress and undermine the votes of people of color.

>> Brendan Gill was not available before our deadline for comment.

A final committee vote on the new slate of candidates is expected Thursday.

>> Earlier this year, residents in several Plainfield apartment buildings were given less than a day to evacuate their homes after the city condemned their buildings.

Now months later, many are still awaiting any word that they can return home.

Ted Goldberg has been following the story and spoke to some of those desperate residents.

>> this was our piece.

This was tranquility here.

That ended when they had to come and tell us that we had to leave.

>> Marla Korea has waited more than two months to move back into her apartment in Plainfield.

This building on Arlington Avenue was condemned in gym, and residents got 24 hours to pack and leave.

>> one of the most heartbreaking things we have to go through since we have been here.

This was our home, and it felt like we've been robbed.

Imagine coming home and someone tells you you have 24 hours to evacuate your home.

>> He says even though he did not notice major problems in his apartment, he was forced out, too.

He says there is no update on when he can move back.

He says he was given five free days in a hotel, but that was it.

>> [Speaking Spanish] >> He said he never got notice.

He said they posted the 24-hour eviction notice.

>> they locked the building up, but it was not really secure.

These boards were from this past week.

People broke in and all the apartments are basically breached.

>> Leaders from Plainfield have criticized the city's response to several recent building condemnations.

501 West seventh was condemned earlier this month, leaving hundreds without a home.

New Jersey's Department of community affairs tells us those folks are eligible for temporary housing assistance and that more than $1 million in state and federal funds is now available for them.

The Plainfield City Councilman says people from both buildings were told to go to the Plainfield performing arts Center.

>> It is on the other side of the break think.

They were turned away on Friday because, oh, no, we are just doing 501 West Seventh.

Quick they are putting out the story that everyone who needs assistance has received it, but when you come out and speak to the people, you realize that is not the case.

>> A planning board member has also been condemned for racist comments she made during a protest yesterday.

She said if people in the apartments do not have documentation, they would be sent back to their country.

She also joked that a truck from Immigration and Customs Enforcement would make everyone run.

She apologized over Facebook today, saying her comments " demand and defended the Latinx and Hispanic members of the community.

For this, I am truly sorry and sincerely apologize."

Last week, I actively supported and participated in the delivery of social services to displaced residents.

In watching protest around the perceived inadequacy of these efforts, I felt the efforts were overshadowed and took actions that were out of my character and were deeply regretted."

>> I served on the board a plane for the education with her with the population is 75% Latino and Hispanic.

We are -- we are supposed to be advocating for these students when it comes to equity.

>> Plainfield's next step is filing a lean against the owner of the condemned buildings and other closed off apartments in Plainfield.

>> The problem is I'm not seeing people getting housing.

I'm not seeing people getting hotels, even temporary.

I'm seeing people sleeping in their cars.

>> We reach back out to the mayor and cyclone West to respond to the story and heard nothing, forcing residents to continue to wait for any updates about when they can return home.

>> Activists this week rallied outside the Elizabeth detention center, which is New Jersey's last remaining immigrant detention facility.

They are pushing for it to close in less than two weeks.

The date set by a state law that prevents facilities from renewing or entering into new contracts with ice, but the Biden administration has joined with core civic, which operates the center, and have's suit the state, saying the state law violates the Constitution.

A new report has shown several instances of barbaric and negligent conditions in these facilities with 11 residents dying in ice custody during the Biden administration.

Immigration advocates have alleged abuse and neglect at the Elizabeth detention center as well.

The presiding judge has stated that closure of the facility would be catastrophic but has not yet ruled on the case.

As of today, 198 detainees are leading deportation trials -- are awaiting deportation trials.

New Jersey was once known as the medicine chest of the nation because of all its Pharma companies, but in recent years, that moniker shifted to the warehouse state as countless warehouse facilities popped up in every corner of the state, but a recent report on the warehouse industry shows the numbers are declining.

I'm joined now by our contributing writer who explains what is happening.

What can you tell us about the amount of decline we have seen recently in warehouse spaces in New Jersey?

>> The latest data we are seeing is that the vacancy rate in the second quarter actually edged up a little bit in North and central New Jersey to about 3.1% from 2.8% at the end of last year.

The reason that is interesting is because many opponents of the warehouse blue that we hear so much about this week -- the warehouse boom that we hear so much about this week is we are looking for any sign the market is oversupplied, and this vacancy rate would suggest It is moving in that direction.

>> Does that tell us this recent warehouse boom we just saw might have been a bubble that is just bursting?

>> We really don't know very much yet.

One thing we should mention is that the construction pipeline, the amount of warehouses still being built is still rising very rapidly in that north and central Jersey area.

In the latest quarter, about 13 million square feet of housing was under construction, the highest for about a year.

>> do you foresee a future in which New Jersey is left with all of these empty warehouse spaces?

>> It is very hard to say at the moment.

The other countervailing force if you like is that rents are continuing to rise, and what the industry tells me is that is because there is an increase in sustained demand for cervical -- so-called class a warehouse space.

Many logistics companies will be looking for a top grade space, and that apparently is continuing to burden the market.

>> What do we know about the feeling of residents about warehouse spaces?

We have seen battles play out in spaces where warehouses were planned.

Do you see that having any impact on the slight shift we are seeing?

>> The report we have just seen does note the growing resistance from some municipalities as a result of a lot of concern by their residents to warehouse proposals.

They also note there are a number of bills in the state legislature which are seeking to curb the expansion of warehouses in certain ways.

There continues to be a lot of disquiet, and a lot of concern amongst some communities about this warehouse boom, but there's no sign yet that the boom is either really slowing or that these opponents are getting their way.

>> ER.

Great reporting as always.

Contributing writer for us right here at "NJ Spotlight News."

Thank you.

>> you are welcome.

>> Here's a look at how markets closed at the start of the week.

>> Support for "the business report" provided by the Chamber of Commerce southern New Jersey, looking for economic prosperity by uniting business and community leaders for 150 years.

Membership and event information online at chambersnj.com.

♪ >> Firefighters are working to contain a wildfire that broke out last night in the Morton State forest that stretches across Camden and Burlington counties.

As of this afternoon, the fire had spread to 1200 acres, double what it was this morning, although the fire is now 40% contained.

Some hopeful news -- no structures are currently at risk and there have been no evacuations ordered.

Forest fire service crews have been running an operation ahead of the day with a burn -- where they burn ahead of the arrival of the fire to minimize its growth.

Thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We will see you back here tomorrow.

>> NJM Insurance group, serving the insurance needs of residents and business groups were more than 100 years.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

New Jersey realtors, the invoice for real estate in New Jersey.

More information is available online at NJrealtor.com and by the PSEG foundation.

>> NJM Insurance group has been serving New Jersey businesses for over a century as part of the Garden State, we help companies keep their vehicles on the road, employees on the job, and projects on track, working to protect employees from illness and injury, to keep goods answer is moving across the state.

We are proud to be part of New Jersey.

NJM, we've got New Jersey covered.

>> if you need to see a doctor, RWJ Barnabas health has two easy ways to do it.

You can see an urgent care provider 24/7 on any device with our telemedicine app or use our website to book a visit with an RWJ Barnabas health provider or specialist, even as a new patient.

You have taken every precaution and so have we, so don't delay your care any longer.

Let's be healthy together.

♪