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.

And by the PSEG foundation.

♪ BRIANA: Tonight on "NJ Spotlight News," , but there is even more for customers heading to head to Manhattan.

The congestion pricing public hearings have begun.

KAI: for many of us working hard to make ends meet, an additional fee will represent a burden that will force sacrifices in other areas such as food.

BRIANA: Plus, reducing violence.

Nearly a year after the tragic death of Najee Seabrooks in Paterson community groups in Trenton are expanding efforts to curb the rising balance.

Also, Governor Murphy toting two of Sherwin projects that I expect to create over 4000 jobs here.

>> Offshore represent the biggest opportunity for New Jersey's economic future, but surely for South Jersey.

BRIANA: BRIANA: And breaking news, New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe pleads guilty in the sleeping federal bribery case against a Senator Bob Menendez.

"NJSpotlightNews" begins right now.

♪ ANNOUNCER: from NJPBS Studios, this is "NJSpotlightNews" with Briana Vannozzi.

BRIANA: Good evening and thanks for joining us this Friday night.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

Just in time for the weekend, drivers will use the Turnpike and Garden State Parkway so their tools go up today by 3%, the third price increase in three years, and it means the average tool for the joy of writing on the New Jersey Turnpike for a passenger vehicle is now over five dollars, an increase of $.15.

According to a transportation state official, the average commuter will pay an extra five cents on their trip.

It's not going to break the bank, but drivers say all the increases adults, especially as New Jersey pushes back against another looming fee for commuters driving into midtown Manhattan.

That New York City transit agency this week held the first of public hearings on a proposed congestion pricing plan.

And as Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports, commuters on both sides of the issues were ready to sound off.

>> I own a vehicle.

I had to buy one because if you think transit sucks in New York, moved to New Jersey.

She testified during the four hour long public hearing on congestion pricing.

Reporter: Reporter: Speakers from the five boroughs and New Jersey weighed in.

Dennis just moved to Essex County and supports the plan as a way to not just reduce traffic and pollution, but also to improve mass transit for folks who depend on it.

>> If you have waited long wait times at a bus stop, it is for you.

If you had to get up extra early and you are still delayed to get to work, congestion pricing is for you.

>> For any of us struggling to make ends meet, the additional fee will represent a substantial burden that will force sacrifices in other areas such as food.

Many Reporter: Speakers expressed similar concerns over the tool that congestion pricing will take on their wallets.

It will charge $15 for cars, up to $36 for trucks heading south of State Street and entering from bridges and tunnels into Manhattan's's congestion pricing zone during the day.

One paramedic complained, working full scant afforded.

>> All these people don't live in the city because it is way too expensive, so we import them another will not work here because we are taxing them outrageously.

[APPLAUSE] It's the Cops, the fireMEN, myself, the paramedics commit myself, and construction workers.

I am not going to work here, you kiddingly?

>> You may not like what I say, but it is a fact.

You are BS-ING New Yorkers!

>> Is asking people to pay for something that is free.

So it is going to be controversial.

But what we have seen in other cities is that once the fee is put in place, people see the benefits and public support goes up.

Reporter: The MTA has already built congestion pricing scanners, and says the system could launch this June, but it is worried about some half-dozen or so losses filed by groups including government Murphy, North Jersey politicians, and workers unions.

MTA Officials claim that is stifling their spending plans.

>> This is what it is all the more concerning that we need to share with the board the impacts of the delays and congestion pricing, due to the current litigation.

Reporter: The agency's Capital Projects plan relies on billions of dollars from congestion pricing tolls.

This week the MTA hit the brakes.

>> With any lawsuit or lawsuits comes risk, especially of delay.

And we can't award contracts until the funding is assured.

So as a result, the MTA capital program must be placed mostly on hold while litigation is pending.

We will not be issuing any new construction contract solicitations.

>> The idea that they want to blame this on anyone but themselves is offensive.

Reporter: Congressman Josh Gottheimer is among the officials who sued the MTA, claiming congestion pricing will simply shift traffic and pollution away from Manhattan.

>>.

>> They may have less traffic, but you are totally hosing people in their outer borrows and New Jersey.

They are being sued by businesses in New York, by families in the boroughS.

Reporter: He urged the MTA to improve its financial management.

The legal roadblock remains leverage in this BI-state debate.

Two more hearings will be held on Monday and a final on congestion pricing in the spring.

Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: Raven Santana continues the conversation around congestion pricing on NJ Business Beat this weekend.

She digs deeper into how New York's's plan will impact New Jersey's business community from small businesses to the construction industry.

Watch Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. on NJPBS.

Also, breaking news tonight, a key figure in the sleeping bribery case against U.S.

Senator Bob Menendez has pleaded guilty.

North Jersey businessman Jose Uribe pleaded guilty in a Manhattan court today to seven accounts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, tax evasion and obstruction of justice.

He is a former insurance broker who lost his license for fraud.

Today he admitted to prosecutors' allegations he bought a mercedesbenz from Senator Menendez's wife, quote, "with the intent to influence an official act."

Specifically the Senator's help in disrupting a state investigation into Uribe and his associates.

Menendez has been charged with accepting bribes including the car cash and gold bars in exchange for lucrative political favors.

Menendez, his wife and the rest of the codefendants, have pleaded not guilty.

A judge has set Mr. Uribe's sentencing date for June 14th just after the U.S. Senate primary.

In the wake of police involved fatal shooting's.

Today a group known as the New Jersey violence intervention and prevention statewide coalition, joined with leaders in Trenton to take a harder look at how the model which removes law enforcement from responding to certain crises, is working, as cities work to combat crime.

Melissa Rose Cooper has the story.

>> The -- when you ensure the wellness of our community, you ensure the wellness of all communities.

Reporter: Members of the coalition uploading community-based organizations for their work in helping to reduce crime across the state.

>> These are private members of the community respond to other time to highly charged and incredibly sensitive situations armed with nothing more than their expertise, their emotional aptitude, contextual understanding, and above all else, their humanity, which allows them to feel submissions and honors the work and the lives of all individuals involved.

Their work has contributed to a 45% reduction in homicide, it has contributed to a 60 year low in violence, and a 50% reduction in homicides by more than a third intern 20.

Their work has caused violence to drop by 35%, murder is 30 &, shooting victims down 25%.

Reporter: This comes nearly a year after violence intervention activist, Najee Seabrooks was shot and killed by Paterson police during the mental health crisis.

>> I would be lying if I said that this wasn't a bittersweet moment for us.

It has been a very tough year for our team and we are still working through it.

But with your support, we have been able to persevere and I assume -- I can take this with a grain of salt that it is a silver lining.

Reporter: State lawmakers have since passed legislation aimed at helping communities respond to crisis incidents.

It is named after Najee Seabrooks and Andrew Washington who, were both killed by police during mental health calls.

>> We heard about the success of the bills.

.

It is why we have these bills.

People lost their lives to get us this.

It should have had to happen.

Drew Washington and Najee Seabrooks, we need to say their names.

IGC Brooks and Andrew Washington, they lost their lives so that nobody else has to.

Our community steps in and feels that gap that we know was not filled before.

Reporter: While community leaders say they are grateful for the state's support, they say it is the work of the people on the ground that really make the impact in crime reduction.

>> It is amazing when you realize that that coincides also when we start to actually receive the funding.

We are one of those organizations that have been in place for almost 10 years, but when we actually were able to get the funding, you can actually start to see the results, not that we are not occupying corners, not that we aren't in the streets talking to the youth, but when we are actually able to put some kind of money towards programming to get these kids into places they need to be, to make sure these adults have the resources for violence prevention techniques and things like that, we can see change.

>> We still got a ways to go.

But we are not unreasonable people.

.

We believe in giving credit where it is due.

We commend the administration and the legislature for their leadership in ensuring that the investments have been made into violence interruption programs throughout the state.

But let's be clear, this was not done because of altruism.

Right?

This was done because they understand what we all understand, because we understand that these programs workO social advocates also say that they hope funding for community violence prevention programs becomes permanent in the budget so they, can continue to do the work that is necessary to keep their neighborhoods safe.

For NJ Spotlight News, I am Melissa Rose Cooper.

BRIANA: Big changes are coming to veterans Healthcare starting this month in what's being called the largest-ever expansion.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will allow any veteran exposed to toxins and other hazards during military service to be eligible for VA healthcare .

Without first having to apply for V.A.

benefits.

That is whether they served at home or abroad.

The expansion takes effect on March 5, which the V.A.

says is years earlier than originally called for in the PACT Act.

For the latest details, I am joined by a Dr., New Jersey's former Health Commissioner and currently the under Secretary for health at Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr.

Undersecretary, it is excellent to have you on the show.

It has been a while since you were the Commissioner of health in New Jersey.

Tackling big challenges.

What are the changes in how veterans will now be able to access this type of health care?

Guest: we are really excited about this because we are talking about the largest health care eligibility expansion in V.A.

history, literally millions of additional veterans will qualify for direct involvement in V.A.

health care as of March 5 including any veteran deployed to serve in the go for.

Any Post-09/11 veteran deployed to any of the areas of conflict in the global war on terror to include a permission enduring freedom, Iraqi freedom, new dawn and more, Iraq, Afghanistan and the entirety of Central Command.

On top of that, any veteran who was exposed to a toxin during their service regardless of whether they were deployed is also eligible to enroll for V.A.

health care and that includes toxins we know about like burn pits, agent orange, contaminated water at company June, but also other types of substances like jet fuel, nuclear materials and others that veterans could have been exposed to during your service domestically.

So that, again, amounts to an additional millions of veterans who may be able to qualify for V.A.

health care and we encourage you to apply as of Tuesday, March 5.

BRIANA: Do you have a sense of how many veterans will be part of this new pool, in New Jersey?

?

Guest: We anticipate tens of thousands of veterans in states like New Jersey will qualify.

We will not know until we get that demand signal as of Tuesday.

So this BRIANA: Ends the phasing in of folks, which was how this was initially set out.

Does it change the process that your department is using to determine if, in fact, these were folks who participated in these activities that put them at risk?

Guest: Yes to both.

Originally the law called for a phase-in approach every two years for veterans deployed to specific locations within Central command at specific times.

But the president saw that we enrolled more than half a million veterans into healthcare just in the first year and a half after he sent the legislation, and we wanted to make that many more veterans qualified and eligible to enroll in V.A.

Healthcare.

And so what that means is, when they apply, they no longer have to prove that they even had an exposure.

If they are Post-9/11 veteran deployed the Central Command or a Gulf War that deployed to the Middle East, or a Vietnam vet, this benefit has been in place since the fall of 2022, no longer have to prove an exposure or condition associated with that exposure.

It is a direct opportunity to enroll in V.A.

Healthcare.

BRIANA: Is there any priority given to folks who are more senior, who have been veterans for quite a while and weren't aware they could access these benefits?

How will you prioritize the folks who will now be applying?

Guest: The good news is the application turnaround time for health care in the V.A.

is quite fast.

It is between three to six days before you get an answer.

We, of course, take in applications as they come.

If you apply for Veterans Benefits Administration benefits, we prioritize based on the urgency of the condition that you might have, et cetera.

But we really do have a fast turnaround for a lot of these health care applications, so that is why we are encouraging all of the veterans who originally going to be phased in over the next 10 years to apply as of Tuesday, March 5.

BRIANA: Dr. Shereef Elnahal is the Under Secretary for Health at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Good to see you.

Good to talk with you.

Thanks so much.

Guest: thanks again.

BRIANA: In our Spotlight on Business Report, it is all about the jobs when it comes to New Jersey's budding offshore wind industry.

At an event in South Jersey today, members of Governor Murphy's administration met with the winners of two new offshore wind projects to share details of their plans with the public, and show off the kind of skilled jobs it will generate.

Ted Goldberg reports.

♪ Reporter: The EAS commercial dive center has already produced 12 full-time divers, just in time to help create New Jersey's offshore wind farms.

>> We opened just a little bit over two years ago, knowing that the growing offshore wind industry would require a skilled and highly trained workforce.

Reporter: William works for the EIS Carpenters' Union, and says this facility is the only American diving school owned and operated by a union.

It's also the only training facility in the country to earn global offshore certifications.

He welcomed state leaders today, Tou Thao the next generation of energy employees helping offshore wind got off the ground.

>> The commercial dive school is ahead of its time, with these accreditations, with the state-of-the-art training facility, and the superior dive instructors, the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council carpenters has proven its commitment to preparing our professional tradesmen and women for the construction of offshore wind.

>> this portfolio of projects collectively represent what offshore wind offers -- clean energy that will yield environmental benefits for generations to come, economic benefits to boost New Jersey's economy for decades, and thousands of good paying family sustaining jobs.

>> At the end of the day this is about jobs here that facilities like this than for members of the building and construction trades, it's about jobs in Paulsboro, jobs in Lawrence County where we are going to make towers.

Reporter: The divers trained here will be hired by projects like this company which recently won a bid to build offshore wind farms off of New Jersey's shoreline.

>> with a 1.34 gigabyte project and potentially powering 650 5000 homes, these are small numbers.

These are game changers.

>> While there may be challenges, this is New Jersey, and we don't back down summer challenge.

Reporter: Challenges let cord instead bailing on a project last Halloween.

Leaders remain optimistic that they will meet the clean energy goals set by Governor Murphy.

>> I will assure represents -- offshore represents the biggest opportunity for New Jersey's economic future, but surely for New Jersey.

Thousands of jobs and careers over the next 30, 50, 100 years.

Reporter: The training courses here are 16 weeks long and cost $20,000 if you are not an existing union member.

But once you wrap up training and finishing apprenticeship, drivers start at 100,000 euros a year, with divers making more than that, and play a large role in New Jersey's energy future.

I am Ted Goldberg, NJ Spotlight News.

BRIANA: On Wall Street, stocks are building on a record-setting rally following a blowout month.

Here is how the markets closed for the week.

♪ BRIANA: They are abused and treated as subhuman.

If they try to escape, they will be killed without a trace.

In a rare look inside the global seafood industry, North Korean workers went to Chinese factories are sharing what life is like part of a forced labor operation that has long been used in China at companies that run the gamut.

Their stories are detailed but a Pulitzer Prize and the reporter who runs the journalism nonprofit "the Outlaw ocean project process investigating crimes at sea.

We first spoke with him in November about his work covering the human cost behind the seafood beat.

He joins me now to share his latest on the investigation.

Ian, thanks for coming back on the show.

Let me ask you how these workers from North Korea end up in China in this labor program, this forced labor program.

Guest: we are doing with about 100,000 workers that are transferred in the relationship between the Chinese government and the North Korean government, a heavily regulated transfer.

These are mostly women when it comes to the seafood industry that are being sent from North Korea to China.

They apply for these jobs, pretty sought-after jobs because they pay better than what they could ever earn in North Korea, and they are transferred in this very regulated fashion and held in these facilities and they are not allowed to leave.

BRIANA: the conditions seem to be dire.

How did they describe them to you?

Guest: pretty dire.

We are dealing with normally, before COVID, these women were stuck in these plants, which are walled, patrolled compounds, for two-year stints.

Because of Covid, a lot of them got stuck for three to four years and they're not allowed to leave, listen to local TV or radio, they aren't allowed to interact with the locals.

When they leave the plant in the rare occasion, they always have a minder with them.

A large portion of their pay is confiscated by the government and the most striking thing is that the women were counted 20-24 specifically recounted sexual violence.

BRIANA: We spoke and looked at you piece as you titled it, "the crimes behind the seafood we eat."

Much of the seafood ended up here in the U.S. and New Jersey is being produced through either forced labor or at a high human cost.

Is that the case here?

These decks being imported into the U.S. and New Jersey specifically, were you able to trace it?

Guest: In this day and age, in the globalized economy, everything comes to these long supply chains -- by these long supply chains.

Seafood is especially Tangled and Nope.

We were able to connect the crimes to the consumers including the grocery stores and brands in New Jersey.

This means they are coming off of vessels, going to processing labs in China where these North Korean women are kept, then they are shipped to the U.S. restaurants or grocery stores and in some cases food companies like Cisco that serviced military bases and cafeterias and public institutions, they are also getting seafood from the very same factories.

BRIANA: How were these abuses commit these labor violations able to fall through the cracks?

There are sections on using North Korean labor and those products making it here.

You work with our Congressman Chris Smith about it, why is it that they are not being enforced?

Guest: I think there is a reckoning that is happening right now for the global seafood industry.

Textile and electronics had their moment of reckoning before, which is to say that these are industries with many companies, including U.S. companies that previously could look the other way and be comfortable with what they didn't know about their own supply chain, especially in places like China.

I think seafood is now realizing that they can no longer benefit from that willful ignorance and they will have to know exactly what is happening in the factories that they are partnering with.

And that is hopefully what will happen next with this reporting.

BRIANA: ENR bound is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and director of the journalism nonprofit, "The Outlaw Ocean Project."

Thank you so much.

Guest: Thank you for heavily.

BRIANA: That will do it for us.

But make sure to tune into Reporters Roundtable this weekend.

David Cruz speaks with the CEO of a business Association.

Then a panel of reporters break down this week's political headlines.

What Saturday at 6:00 p.m., and Sunday morning at 10:00 fun NJPBS.

Then on ChatBox, Pico today -- -- he continues his analysis breaking down the proposed Corporate transit fee.

That is Saturday night at 6:30, and Sunday morning at 10:30 here on NJPBS.

I am Briana Vannozzi.

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

Enjoy the weekend.

We will be back here on Monday.

Announcer: New Jersey Education Association.

Making public schools great for every child.

And, -- RWJ Barnabas health.

Let's be healthy together.

♪ >> Our future relies on more than clean energy.

Our future relies on empowered communities, the health and safety of our families and neighbors, of our schools and streets.

The PSEG foundation is committed to sustainability, equity, and economic empowerment, investing in parks, helping towns go green, supporting civic centers, scholarships and workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪