>> Major funding for "NJ Spotlight News" is provided in part by NJM Insurance group, serving the needs of residents and businesses for 100 years and by the PSEG foundation.

>> Tonight, trade war.

President Trump adds a 25% tariff on imported cars and parts.

What effect it will have on the auto industry and your wallet.

>> We can see anywhere from a $3000 to $12,000 increase per vehicle.

>> Also, potential school closures in Middletown unleashes fierce pushback from parents.

>> I urge you to find a solution that unites our town.

>> Plus, an historic downward trend in drug overdoses of the state.

>> What we know from preliminary data is that the numbers come down further.

This is good news.

>> And let the madness begin.

The NCAA tournament comes to Newark bringing sweet economic benefits for local businesses.

>> Things progress to the point where the NCAA felt come from coming to New Jersey.

>> "NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

♪ >> from NJ and PBS studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

>> Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Thursday.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few of the top headlines.

First, a crackdown on child predators.

Attorney General Matt Platkin's office announced arrests of people charged with child sex abuse crimes.

The office said there has been an uptick nationally over the last several years in the number of tips reporting suspected online predatory activity leading to more defendants facing charges.

In 2020, about 232 suspects were charged for those crimes.

The Attorney General's office said by last year that figure climbed 74% to more than 400 defendants charged.

According to state officials, the increase in arrests can be attributed in part to more collaboration between local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies.

Working through the New Jersey State police crimes against children task force, with crimes ranging from child human trafficking, attempted aggravated sex assault and possessing sex abuse materials.

Authorities are urging parents to monitor their kids' time online.

Also tonight, the Trump Administration today placed a 25% tariff on all imported cars and car parts.

It will take effect April 3.

The White House argues the move will ramp up domestic manufacturing and the jobs that come with it.

With an expectation the shift will raise about $100 billion in revenue annually.

The tariff supply of finished cars and truck's shipped into the U.S. and two imported parts are assembled into cars at American auto plants.

They will hit foreign brands along with American ones like GM and Ford, which build some of their vehicles in Canada and Mexico.

But it experts say the order will likely raise prices for American consumers and her immediate car sales.

Nearly half of all vehicles sold in U.S. are imported, along with about 60% of the parts used in USA made vehicles.

The United Auto Workers Union praised the move by the White House today saying, it could mean more shifts for workers at plants with extra capacity.

The president of NJ car said the group's focus is on who and what will be affected.

>> Your life in ways revolves on what vehicle you can get in, and we need to make sure everyone has a chance for that economic opportunity of having an independent transportation to be able to get from point A to point B affordably and efficiently and safely.

So, the biggest thing I would say is, we need to be very concerned about affordability right now.

>> And New Jersey population is growing faster than the national average.

And it is mostly fueled by immigration.

That is the finding of a pew research Center analysis of U.S. Census data, showing the number of residents grew by 1.2% last year, topping 9.5 million people.

International immigration accounted for almost all of that growth.

Part of an ongoing trend New Jersey has been experiencing for years now.

Births still outpace deaths in the statement only account for a tiny fraction of New Jersey's overall growth.

Union County is recorded the largest increases.

Cape May County was the only in New Jersey to see a decline.

Pew researchers pointed out the population trends affect the state in different ways.

Typically strengthening the tax base by bringing more labor growth.

Parents and students in Middletown are running out of time and options as the board rustles--wrestles with the $10 million budget deficit and considers drastic options from closing multiple schools to hiking property taxes or mass layoffs.

Now parents are mobilizing to push back against the proposals, arguing they have been left out of the process from the start.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan was at last night's board meeting where parents pleaded with the board to save their schools.

>> I urge you to find a solution that unites our town.

>> Anxious residents pleaded with the local Board of Education not to close any of their local schools in order to fill a projected $10 million funding gap.

Kids, teachers and parents rallied to find alternatives by a looming April 30 budget deadline.

>> You have awoken a sleeping giant that is not paying attention to what's really happening in our town, right?

[applause] And this, this is a town that we lost, and for many of us, we chose to live in because of the very schools you want to close.

>> I am scared that next year my class will be a lot bigger.

Please keep the schools open to keep my class smaller.

>> The hearing proceeded calmly.

School parents felt blindsided by a last-minute menu of drastic options closed two elementary schools, Leonardo -- and Bayshore middle school, layoff teachers or high property taxes by 10%.

The superintendent last night asked forgiveness for causing an uproar.

>> I apologized but please know that no decision we ever make is -- and myself and my administrative team, we really do try and act in the best interest of every single student in the district.

>> By not being transparent, you have created this monster.

Of parents that are really upset because we did not -- you did not involve us in the process.

That is what we want.

We want to be involved in the process.

And we don't want April 30th hanging over our heads.

>> School parents quickly mobilized forming a save our schools group with its own website, blue shirts printed with logos and a change.org petition.

They face a structural budget deficit caused in part by rising costs and declining enrollment but just a small bump in state aid.

Angry teachers refused to agree to a wage freeze even as some face losing their jobs if schools close.

>> There is no better example of this in Bayshore middle school but due to the past mismanagement of funding, it means that we are going to be hung as sacrificial lambs.

>> I ask you seriously consider working with us to find a lasting -- the mandate we need to keep these schools open and that immediately reopen a proper strategic plan that involves the community voices.

>> Residence on fixed incomes took to the podium to argue they cannot afford a 10% tax like.

>> I did my part.

It is getting to the point where I cannot live here anymore.

I got friends that have gone to South Carolina.

>> I don't want to hurt the students but you have to understand there is a lot of retired people in this town, too.

That have been here for years.

And I want to stay here.

>> Milltown has already closed one school in 2020, -- Middletown has already closed one school in 2020.

Many speakers urge the void to route -- to avoid doing this again.

>> Please let us know when the option to close any school is off the table, we would feel like we could breathe.

Even if you do not know the answer.

>> I'd love for all schools to stay open.

Realistically the middle school can shutdown.

If we to live, if we have to lose an elementary school, nobody wants it, but that will be a conversation.

>> One potential answer, Hail Mary pass could come from a special one-shot infusion of state aid.

Local lawmakers met with the Murphy administration this week and asked for $10 million.

They are awaiting an answer.

>> I would like that $10 million, but right now what we are really trying to push for which realistically is another $2 million but I do not know if that is going to really save the day and save from keeping the schools open and keeping these jobs in place.

>> Republican Victoria Flynn says that New Jersey school funding framework needs reform as other districts confront the same dilemma.

In Middletown, the public will get three more hearings before the board's final budget vote.

I am Brenda Flanagan, "NJ Spotlight News."

>> New Jersey's political parties are seeing a huge uptick in campaign contributions from public contractors that do business with the government.

To the tune of millions.

A new investigation from NJ advanced media find the shift as a direct result of the state gutting pay-to-play laws through the new election transparency act that dramatically increase how much donors can give to candidates and political parties, essentially opening the floodgates on what was once a good government measure to prevent contractors from buying their business.

Riley Yates is the lead data reporter and uncovered the numbers.

He joins me now.

It is good to talk to you.

First question off the bat is, why are we seeing these pay-to-play laws relaxed, what has changed?

>> Well, it is a lot.

I think part of it is just the reality that folks in power recognize that we have had a lot of change in the political landscape and this is a way to pump more money into the system.

But I think it is also relates to the fact that it is a lot harder to regulate without -- campaign finance anymore.

There have been a lot of Supreme Court rulings that have challenged the ability to keep money out of politics, so the argument you hear a changing these laws if you cannot keep money out of politics you might as well make it transparent.

If you pour money into the political parties, even if it is coming from contractors, at least the public knows that and they can vote accordingly.

>> So their argument then is this is happening anyway.

At least we can shed some light on who it is and how much it is and where it is going.

>> Exactly.

>> I'm curious then, which political parties then from your research received the most from these contractors?

>> Well New Jersey, is a democratic state.

And as you can imagine, the only way that you can have a contract is if you're doing business with the government in power.

And so, because New Jersey, most governments are controlled by Democrats, the money is flowing to the Democratic party.

Middlesex County seems to have the most robust machine there.

And in last year from what I found they raised almost $700,000 from contractors that do business with the government.

And that was more than half the money they raised.

>> Which, remind us, how much previously before these rules were changed were these contractors, companies able to contribute to a political party?

>> In some cases only $300.

>> So that is a significant difference.

>> There were a lot of loopholes and workarounds they found ways to get around, but the rules if you sort of live by the book, it was 300 bucks.

And I found contributions of as much as $65,000 last year.

>> Wow, to a single party.

So, I guess, what is the main conflict here?

Is it that we risk company is essentially paying for these municipalities to keep their businesses in business?

Are they saying, here is the money, keep us and work -- in work?

>> So, it is difficult to talk about quid pro quo because that is obviously a legal thing, right?

But you certainly can say that the reason why these pay-to-play laws were passed were based on the perception that was corrupting to have people that were doing business with the government then turn around and fund the campaigns.

And that probably led to a lot of mischief that maybe wasn't in the public interest.

>> So, once you started looking through this, what stood out to you the most?

Was it just the shear amount being donated in comparison to previous years?

Was it where it is going?

What really stood out?

>> To give an example, I, my story focused on a really small local race that nobody paid attention to at the time.

In that case, you had, it was a really, really close race, it was decided by 48 votes.

In that case, you had the Democrats who were in power were able to raise nearly all of their money from contractors.

They raised 21,000 out of the $26,000 they raised came from their engineers, their lawyers, their insurance brokers and all that.

And, you know, whether that sways the race or not, who knows, right?

But it certainly shows that, it certainly is something that, you know, is happening that probably very.

few people are Aware of.

>> The lead data reporter for NJ advanced media.

Great reporting.

Thanks for sharing it with us.

>> Thank you so much for having me.

>> For the first time in a decade, overdose deaths are down in New Jersey across all racial and ethnic groups.

State data released Wednesday attributes the trend to New Jersey's investment and harm reduction services and other high-quality treatment.

Still, more than 2800 people die from drug use during that time, averaging out to more than seven deaths a day.

And overdose remains the overall leading cause of maternal mortality in the state.

Health care writer Lolo joins us with a deeper look at the numbers.

So, let's start with the good news.

There has been a decline in overdose deaths, and not just in general but in every ethnic category, which we have not seen in quite some time.

>> Correct.

And this is good news, because the number started trending downward in New Jersey, you know, I guess in 2022.

It's hard because the state in particular is a year or so old.

But the numbers overall were trending down, and that is because, you know, the largest group number wise of overdoses among white people.

But the numbers among black men and black people and black and Hispanic people were still going up and this was a real concern for officials because we have been putting a lot of money and effort in New Jersey into addressing this issue, but and it was having an effect but it was not having an effect everywhere.

>> And what do they attribute that to in terms of the rates still being double that for black men and it looks like overall?

>> Yeah, I mean, I think it is largely, you know, this becomes an issue of how do we reach people?

I can tell you what I'm told is that the things that are working, for example, are, you know, last fall I talked with Martha at the Camden Area Health Education Center, which does the syringe exchange program in Camden, and her team said this is really about creating trust so that people who are on the edges, you know, people who may still be using drugs but they keep coming back.

If you treat them with respect, if you show them some grace, if your mission is to save lives, you know, they are distributing Narcan, distributing clean needles, which means you are reducing HIV and hepatitis rates which is saving lives.

But the Narcan and Naloxone is reducing--reversing overdoses.

Someone told me and we talked about this at the time but someone told me that you can literally find Narcan in the bushes in Camden.

People will leave it in areas where they know there are hotspots, so that people who need it can get it.

>> I'm thinking about the areas where we typically know these overdose deaths happen.

How did the data fan that out?

What parts of the state are we still seeing this concentrating?

>> Right, so there are still a couple of counties that are hotspots.

Camden being one of them.

Hudson and Essex are also a concern.

But, even there, the numbers are going down.

I mean, Camden went from, you know, and again, this is 2022 to 2023, so they went from 328 deaths for 286, a 13% reduction.

For those people that survived, this means everything.

They are doing more to reach the people in need, and keep them coming back.

>> So then what are the plans then moving forward?

Is the state looking to keep investing in the same type of tactics so that this trend continues, or where are they setting their sights?

>> Yes, I mean, it seems like this is something they are really leaning into under Dr. Baston at the Department of Health, she worked in addiction in Camden and has seen this up close.

You know, I keep thinking that the data that we are looking at today does not really even take into account some of the programs like last in 2024, I visited a program in Newark run by Integrity House that has a mobile facility on the street in Newark and they also have a brick-and-mortar facility downtown.

Those are just getting started.

And what we know from preliminary 2020 for data is that the numbers come down even further.

So this is good news.

The sort of bad news, if you will, is that we are still dealing with too many deaths, still 2800 people and 2000 last year.

We are pretty sure.

And the drugs are getting stronger and stronger.

Fentanyl is predominant now.

It is in everything including what you think our party drugs, and that's a problem.

>> You can take a look at Lilo's full reporting and the data on our website, njSpotlight.org.

Finally, it has been more than a decade by the Magness is back in Newark.

-- the madness is back in Newark.

The Prudential Center is hosting the Sweet 16 end of the elite eight starting tonight and into this we can bring in thousands of college basketball fans to town.

New Jersey has been left off the list for hosting games for years now due to legalized gambling, but times have changed, and that is great news for Newark's businesses who stand to break in the profits from increased tourism.

Ted Goldberg got a sneak peek at the setup inside the Rock and talked to local businesses about how they will take advantage of the crowds.

>> The Prudential Center is expecting big crowds for its three NCAA tournament games.

>> Just under 20,000 counting everyone in suites.

>> He says the Rock needed a little refund before hosting the sweet sixteen and the elite eight.

>> The NCAA does have this down to a science.

They will hand any venue booking an event at 300 page manual that you have to follow meticulously, but it is great.

Everything you need to know is in the manual.

So that is unique to our business.

You do not normally get that level of detail.

>> That Detail includes the court itself.

>> The NCAA brings in a brand-new basketball court that is never news before.

Our Seton Hall Court has been used for many years and is a great court but getting that loaded in properly and ready to go was new for us.

>> Big events are nothing new for the Prudential Center.

Even hosted a regional final in 2011, but was practically ineligible for a while because the NCAA did not want to host events in New Jersey after the state tried to legalize sports gambling the next year.

>> Things progressed to a point where the NCAA felt comfortable coming to New Jersey and we are eternally grateful for that.

The aspect of the sports world has changed quite a bit over the past 10 years.

We feel well-positioned to book future NCAA events.

>> It is great, it was validation.

It is great to see, it come back.

>> Jeff Vanderbeek owing to the Prudential Center the last time and the devils.

>> When we had the devils event, we talked it was the first thing suburbanites would see when they came in here but this was different.

This was going to be certainly nationwide, even worldwide.

>> The folks at Hobby's Delicatessen says the 2011 tournament was more than a moneymaker for small business, it was a showcase for Newark as a whole, showing out-of-towners that the brick city was on the rise.

>> To get people from all over the country coming here, blonde haired, blue-eyed groups, it was awesome, because I think people at that point were a little concerned about coming to Newark.

And they got a great greeting.

They had a wonderful time.

>> Mark and Michael Brummer said they served a lot of sandwiches during the last tournament, and customers got a good look at Newark.

>> It taught people that Newark was just like any other city.

And, you know, it was not all about -- the headlines.

>> As for the next generation of Newark entrepreneurs.

>> I was a freshman in high school.

>> They might've been too young to remember but folks like Justise at the atelier are making a sales pitch for new customers.

>> It is so diverse and offerings from business to engagement to entertainment aspects of things.

A lot of these small businesses, you know, are recruited from scratch, they are not chains.

Tournaments like these really make a difference in a good sales day.

>> There will be a good DJ Saturday night at Sihana Bistro.

>> Gabriel hopes basketball fans will grab food and coffee at Sihana Bistro and noticed Newark continuing to rebound.

>> Something is changed and Newark has grown development wise, population wise.

>> Newark is not done with its comeback but certainly they are taken great steps in that direction and absolutely is a city, we are better off than we were in 2011 for that matter.

And, you know, there will be more to come.

>> The state's economic development authority says "Governor Murphy has been laser focused on bringing large-scale events to the Garden State which not only bring national attention but help support local restaurants, hotels and venues.

As we continue elevating New Jersey's reputation as a key destination for major events, it will help solidify our position as a hub for tourism and commerce."

The next chance for Newark to host a tournament is in 2029.

I'm, Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight News.

>> Before you go, a reminder to tune into Reporters Roundtable tomorrow with David Cruz.

David talks with Christopher Shields the Director of the Eagleton Center on the American Governor at Rutgers University.

About major developments in the race for the governor's seat, including how President Trump will play a role.

Plus, a panel of local journalists talk about all of the week's political headlines.

That is it for us here.

And streaming is available on the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

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

Have a great night.

See you right back here tomorrow.

>> New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

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More information is online at NJrealtor.gov.

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