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♪ Briana: Tonight, Senator Cory Booker today attacking the proposed GOP Medicaid cuts, saying they would impact the most vulnerable patients, and the places they receive care.

>> There is no way to do this bill without savage cuts to Medicaid, without destroying the financial balance of hospitals up and down the state.

Briana: Plus, the state maps out its plans for more than $12 billion in school funding,, but all eyes are on the federal government to see the demand for the reductions.

>> After we are still short $22.5 million.

Briana: Also a five-year study looking at the wealth gap in New Jersey reveals startling disparities.

>> In New Jersey we know that if you are a white family, the average net worth is about $350,000.

For Blacks and Latinos, it is about 6000 to $7,000.

Briana: And not one, not through,, but three bald Eagle chicks hatched.

You can watch them grow up and live on the WebCam.

"NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

♪ ANNOUNCER: from NJPBS Studios, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Briana Vannozzi.

♪ Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Monday night.

I'm Briana Vannozzi.

We begin with a few of today's top headlines for first, federal Democrats are warning that cuts proposed in the House GOP budget plan could have dire consequences for New Jersey residents.

U.S.

Senator Cory Booker and Congresswoman McIver today outlined what the cuts could look like during a press conference at University Hospital in Norco.

The federal budget proposal calls for slashing $2 billion, including at least $880 billion over the next decade from the committee that oversees Medicaid.

Economic experts say there is no way to achieve that without the federal health program suffering.

Today lawmakers and advocates it would result in 225 thousand people in the work of losing health care, and many more who would see their S.N.A.P.

benefits take a hit.

Clients of a nonprofit were also in attendance, the organization helps adults with developmental disabilities and would also be among those to lose funding.

The police car it's a level of cruelty that doesn't fit with the American people and our consciousness and that is why now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

Now is the time to tell whoever your representative is, Republican, Democrat or whoever, we are not a cool country -- cru el country.

We should be able to take care of the elderly the disabled.

Briana: Also tonight, a group of advocates rallied today, speaking out against the Trump Administration's mass deportation efforts while calling on New Jersey leaders to block the president's plans to open a detention facility at Delaney Hall in Norco.

Holding spines and speaking in Spanish, organizers led chance to abolish I.C.E.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, that operates along with private companies.

Family members of migrants who've been detained shared stories of their experiences, including lack of access to food, water and proper health care while in I.C.E.

custody.

Recent raids have left of the communities on edge.

In the case of Haddon Township, a husband and wife who came to the U.S. illegally from Turkey, were arrested last week.

The couple who has three children in New Jersey, had visas that had recently expired and they are request for a green card has been in limbo for years.

Advocates say it hits it is an example that the administration is not only going after serious criminals, as it has maintained.

Strong gusty winds helped fuel a series of wildfires in South Jersey over the weekend, with dozens of firefighters still battling the blazesand one still under investigation as suspicious.

According to state officials today, the The fires in Gloucester Township, Hell Township in Mercer County, and Pennsville in Salem County have burned through hundreds of acres but are all now more than 80% to 90% contained.

The fires, amid an ongoing drought in the state and persistent dry conditions.

Leaders from the State Forest Fire Service today said New Jersey didn't get enough rain this winter to make a significant improvement and warned that we'll have a highly active fire season if conditions stay like this.

According to the state, from January 1 to March third last year, New Jersey experienced 69 wildfires that burned just over 21 acres.

But that number shot way up for the same time this year, with 250 wildfires that have burned through more than 500 acres doing the same period.

The state1 peak wildfire season is spring, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns, making fires more likely you, and in places where they have never been seen before.

Democrats took tough questions this weekend during a candidate forum in New Brunswick moderated by Senator Andy Kim sponsored by dozens of, labor and community groups who have signed the build and defend major the challenge, pledging to at least partially based their endorsement decision on candidates' willingness to fight back against the Trump agenda, among other things.

As senior political correspondent David Cruise reports, each of the gubernatorial hopefuls tried to present themselves as the best option to visit the president.

>> personifying change in New Jersey.

Andy Kim, Senator Kim.

[APPLAUSE] Reporter: It's not often that you see a sitting U.S.

Senator hosting gubernatorial candidate forum, but he is not your average U.S. senator.

So much of this political season -- the fall of the party line, the anti-boss added to the voters are feeling, emanate from his court challenge the past year.

Fittingly, he got the warmest reception at the New Jersey citizen build and defend forum at Rutgers in New Brunswick, which was attended by 4 Democrats, Sean Spiller, Mikie Sherrill, Steve Fulop, and Ras Baraka.

Topics included immigration.

Mikie Sherrill promised to maintain the so-called sanctuary state policies and fight against the expansion of detention facilities in the state.

>> my attorney general would take this to court and enter the case in the Third Circuit and fight hard to close these detention facilities in New Jersey.

We also need to make sure that our schools are protected.

That I.C.E.

agents are brought entering our schools.

As Governor I would protect our schools from I.C.E.

agents.

Reporter: Spiller was asked about LGBTQI productions especially for students in schools.

>> We saw from the last election.

There are others who run away from issues.

In the state we saw folks who were worried about the election and they run away from this issue and we stood up and said no.

While they are talking about parental right and trying to frame it that way, we know that it's about safety, trying to make sure every person in the state is safe on the subject.

Reporter: Of recent changes to state ballots Baraka , called on rank-and-file Democrats to organize beyond the political establishment and ultimately, beyond their own comfort zones.

>> These legislators are scared.

They know they will not get reelected.

They know these County buses will tell them what to do, they are going to take money from them.

They don't have their own organization and without their support, they can't win anything.

People in this election without the support of the County buses, they can't win anything.

Reporter: Answering a question on issues on which the candidates may have evolved Fulop , told audiences the story about how he was supporting Tammy Murphy for Senate before he changed his mind, a move which many felt spelled doom for the first lady's candidacy.

>> We have built a very large grassroots campaign, it is in 21 counties and 1400 volunteers it really is something.

And I listened to those people.

I knew Tammy Murphy, so I was early than with a lot of other people.

I thought that it was an opportunity to work with the senator.

I didn't know Andy at the time and I probably should have been more cautious.

It was the volunteers that were involved in my campaign that said to me, "You are in the wrong place.

You're in the wrong place for these reasons."

We had a lot of conversations around that and that is what ultimately drove a chance for me.

Reporter: Ven candidate didn't engage with one another directly the proceedings came to a halt, at one point, as protesters called on the candidates and the Democratic Party, to support Hamas and to condemn Israel for their actions in the current conflict.

kim Quieted the crowd and met with some of the protesters after the event.

It was one note of discord on a day when the candidates, and the audience, seemed to agree on almost everything.

I'm David Cruz, NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Now that the state released school aid figures for the next fiscal year, districts in New Jersey are learning whether they are on the winning or the losing end.

.

The majority, nearly 70%, will see a boost in funding, while about 30% will see a cut.

But there is one notable difference this year, a change to the school funding formula, intended to help distance keep their numbers stable from year to year.

But will it?

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagis takes a look.

>> Next year's whole, we are still 22.5 million dollars moving into next year, which is catastrophic.

Reporter: the Toms River regional district finally found itself in the green for the first time since the S2 school funding bill was passed.

They had been on the losing end of the equalization in state aid per pupil, calculated in part by each municipality's local fair share.

>> I think the most confusing part of the formula is a compilation of the district's local fair share which is, by its nature, confusing and difficult to parse and predict.

Reporter: it's based in part on the property values and tax readable's in the municipality.

This year, South Brunswick Township saw a 15% increase in its local fair share responsibility.

But by law, no district can raise their property taxes past the 2% cap that was put in place under Governor Christie.

>> Last year's local fair share, which was the number that determines how far off you are from what you should be collecting -- in one year, that number went from $142 million to $166 million.

So, just logically, how can a district that was supposed to collect $142 million in year one -- who couldn't collect that because of the 2% cap -- now, with a 2% cap the following year, how could we collect $166 million?

Like, there is no way to do it.

Reporter: Superintendent Scott Federer says even if they went beyond the 2%, they still couldn't close that gap, and it means a loss of 3% in their overall state aid this year.

Last year, some districts were allowed to increase property taxes beyond the 2% to help close massive gaps in state aid.

Toms River was one of them.

>> last year we went into the school year with a $26.4 million hole, which was filled with the state raising the taxes in Toms River by 10% because our board did not pass a budget, and then us having to come up with $12.4 million by liquidating assets in this district just to survive this fiscal year.

Reporter: Last year, many districts that lost funding were given supplemental aid, but it wasn't counted toward their allocation this year -- meaning they lost that funding.

But this year, guardrails were added to the school funding allocation by Governor Murphy and the Department of Education capping the losses a district , could face at 3% and the gains at 6%, with a few exceptions for specific funding allocations above that 6%.

And they have changed how tax rate doubles are considered.

>> There has been some changes to that formula that will make things a bit more stable for school districts.

Instead of using just one year of income and one year of properties to determine how much of the adequacy budget should be funded with local taxes, they are using a three year average.

Reporter: Senate Education Committee Chair Vin Gopal supports these changes but says there is more work to do.

>> I think they're waiting on a bit more clarity.

We should also be in a place where the arm swings anymore in the formula, and we are still seeing swings.

>> rather than increasing property taxes, is it a matter of recalculating what is the fair share?

>> minimum, we should be doing a five year average.

There should be a more accurate formula.

To do it year by year is why we have these swings.

A five year average would help a lot and it is something we're going to look to put back into our bill.

Reporter: The formula this year did increase aid for mental health programs, special education, and transportation.

Gopal has introduced a bill that would also include a change to the funding calendar and show a dollar-for-dollar funding calculation for each district on the DOE website.

And he says the state should absolutely count the supplemental aid that districts received towards their total state aid amount.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Gagas.

Briana: To cap off Black History Month, the Murphy administration on Friday released a long-awaited report looking into wealth disparity, outlining the root causes of economic gaps affecting black and Latino residents, along with recommended strategies to address them.

The report comes roughly five years after Governor Murphy first called for creating a wealth disparity task force, and found many of the factors that have led to generational wealth gaps can be traced back to the rules and laws during slavery.

For more I am Wilson, a member of the task force, and President and CEO of the Hispanic Association in corporate responsibility.

Wilson, massive report.

Obviously the work of a few years of looking into this.

What did that task force wind is driving not just wealth disparities, but also poverty?

Guest: Thank you.

This work.

Briana: It seems to come back a lot to things like lack of access to capital, the inability to buy a home.

And also, health care practices.

And outcomes.

Why those three things in particular, why do they play such a large role here in creating these gaps and allowing for them to persist?

Guest: When we look at one of the major, the biggest investments everyone makes, is buying a home.

There were practices that were in place that were supposed to ability for black families to buy a home.

And I really thank Governor Murphy for supporting the initiative for first-time homebuyers for down payment assistance, something that, in his 2023 budget proposals.

But there were other practices ranging from disclosing your down payment before someone accepting an offer for you.

And also the challenges of not only having credit scores that k about the importance of how we can make sure that rent is being factored in to help strengthen credit scores.

But also, when we look at the challenges ranging from procurement in the state and health care, whereby For example, and Medicaid, there is a practice where they will try to claw back, as part of estate planning, when someone is deceased.

That leads to the challenge for wealth transfer.

Briana: Yeah, I know there were a couple of recommendations.

Can you talk to us quickly about what tangible recommendations may be that legislature should pay attention to?

Guest: They should definitely pay attention to baby bonds.

Connecticut does that.

When we look at the challenges for social justice in New Jersey, which we know has not been equitable for people of color.

That can play an impact not only for those trying to seek jobs, but also what this means for families.

And then the fact that many Blacks and Latinos are part of the sandwich generation, taking care of both elderly parents and children, and initiatives that the state can do to address those disparities.

BRIANA: cid wilson, good to talk to you.

Thanks so much.

Guest: Thank you.

Briana: In our Spotlight on Business Report tonight, the impact of AI on our energy bills.

Turns out every time you type a question into ChatGPT, or ask AI to write an email, the process uses a ton of energy.

A recent M.I.T.

Sloan report notes, creating just one image using generative AI is the equivalent of fully charging a smartphone.

As Governor Murphy pushes to make New Jersey an AI hub, more questions are emerging about our grid's ability to take on the weight of those new technologies.

Raven Santana reports on a hearing in Trenton today, where experts laid out what it could mean for the state's energy needs and goals.

>> They already used 2% of the world's electricity, but their demand is rising so fast that it could double by 2026, and this level of growth would make AI related energy demand equal to the total electricity consumption of the entire country of data Japan.

That is the challenge that is in front of us.

Reporter: It's no secret that AI is rapidly reshaping our economy, workforce, and daily lives.

But it is also driving an unprecedented surge in energy consumption.

As capabilities demand so, too, does its demand for electricity, which is why the Senate committee held a meeting where members including chair, Senator Andrew Zwicker, post questions about our state's energy infrastructure and its ability to meet the demands of AI.

>> Can the power grid sustained a surge in energy use without overburdening the grid, our residents and our energy infrastructure itself?

Will the electricity demand drive up energy costs for New Jersey ratepayers, particularly low-income households.

Reporter: He and fellow committee members heard testimony from electric company leaders including Jason Stanek, the Executive Director of the largest power grid in North America that serves over 5 million residents in New Jersey.

He stretched during his testimony how critical it is to begin construction now to avoid.

>> A blackout.

>> over.

>> The next five years, the demand for electricity to serve data centers will triple from 4% today, to 12% in five years.

>> met we do remain open to additional solutions, as long as they will help us keep the lights on.

Reporter: Governor Murphy remains committed to making New Jersey and AI hub, but a lingering question remains, is the state and its residents prepared for the financial burden of building the large-scale data centers?

>> We have the responsibility of letting us know the problem is,.

If we have the power and we can't get it to the site, what good is it?

So it's very lovely to say this is the future, we will need more power, but right now the state cannot deliver the power to the site.

>> And to have a major problem.

If we will see 30% rate increases come July 1, there is going to be thousands of people with pitchforks and tar looking to tar and feather whoever they think is responsible for this.

So we have some problems.

>> If your bill is $100 a month, right, we all wish we had $100 a month and that was it, now it would be $130.

If it was $200 a month, it will be $260, right, it's going to go higher and higher and higher.

People are struggling to make ends meet right now and given a warming earth, given the fact of a summers get so hot, given the fact air conditioning has become a basic necessity, ensuring we are putting public policies in place to control the price of electricity, is critically important and that is what we are highlighting today.

Reporter: Zwicker says the committee has already begun working.

He says the committee will take all information and testimony from the hearing and introduce that legislation in the weeks ahead.

For NJSpotlightNews, I'm Raven Santana.

Briana: Some new friends have settled into the garden state.

Over at Duke Farms in Somerset County the last of three baby bald eagles hatched this weekend, all of it, live on the farm Eagle cam.

The third chick hopped its head out of the shell, covered in gray, fluffy feathers, so cute, joining two siblings who hatched last week, also caught on the life cam and of course, mama eagle who quickly got to work feeding them with fish carcasses that were visible in the next likely caught in the nearby Raritan River Bridge.

The first baby hatched around 6:30 Tuesday morning, while the second popped out of its shell overnight Thursday, February 27.

Two adult eagles can be seen on the life cam taking turns warming and feeding the checks.

Farmworkers say eagles normally hatched two eggs a year so this year's trio is the first since 2014 if all three survive, they will be bounded by researchers to track their survival and migration.

For now though, we recommend getting sucked into the live feed to watch them That's going to do it for us tonight, but grow.

to do it for us tonight, but before you go, a reminder to download the "NJ Spotlight News" podcast so you can listen to us anytime.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi, for the entire team at "NJ Spotlight News," thanks for being with us.

Have a great night.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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