Briana: tonight on "NJ Spotlight News," it trail date is set, this as the state Senate Republican caucus calls for an investigation into the Attorney General's office.

>> We want to get to the bottom of how many meetings were held at Senator Menendez's office with either the Attorney General or members of the office of the Attorney General.

Briana: Also, NJ decides2023.

A deep dive into the hotly contested central rematch in district 16.

>> It is an advantage for Republicans because in a low turnout reaction these votes are magnified.

Briana: extending the subway?

New Jersey Congressman call on New York to extend the seven line, hoping to alleviate the cost associated with the latest congestion pricing plan.

>> The idea of getting from New Jersey to Queens is epic.

Briana: In protecting the disabled community.

Disability rights NJ launches an investigation to why nursing homes are housing people with developmental and intellectual disabilities at all.

"NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

>> Funding for "NJ Spotlight News" provided by the members of the New Jersey Education Association, making public schools great for every child.

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♪ >> From NJ PBS, this is "NJ Spotlight News" with Rihanna Vannozzi.

Briana: Good evening and thank you for joining us on this Tuesday night.

I'm Rihanna Vannozzi -- Rihanna Vannozzi.

There is a trial for Menendez come his wife come at three other codefendants from May 6.

Just week before voters had to the polls for the state primary election, where Menendez's seat is on the ballot.

Political analyst say that will likely hurt is odds if he seeks reelection.

Menendez and his wife are accused of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes from a true of businessmen in exchange for official acts taken by Menendez using his high wrecking Senate position.

He and the four other defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges and Menendez has so far refused to step down from his seat despite mounting pressure from state and national Democrats.

State Senate Republicans are looking to launch an investigation into allegations Menendez used his influence to disrupt a case by the Attorney General's office against one of his codefendants.

Senior political reporter David Cruz says that would be on a collision course with another statewide election.

Reporter: Tying it to Democrats by the fall is a chalice Republicans have accepted.

The angle of the most vigorous effort is the conversations Senator Menendez may have had with either the former Attorney General or a high-ranking member of the AG's office about Menendez's codefendant.

Senator Mike Testa is one of the members of the GOP caucus who signed on to a letter calling for the Senate Judiciary committee to convene with a Special Counsel and subpoena power to look into the AG's office.

>> That is something that is really concerning to me, that either the Attorney General or a member of the office of Attorney General would meet with the United States Senator and even entertain a conversation at an attempt at intervention into a pending criminal investigation or criminal charges.

Reporter: The indictment mentions the meetings, does not suggest a quid pro quo, but notes the meetings were never reported to federal prosecutors and that Uribe took a plea deal, the resolution of which was "more favorable for the New Jersey defendant than the prosecutor's initial plea offer earlier in the case."

>> Typically there are escalating plea offers.

It is odd to me that somehow the plea offer got better as time went on rather than having an escalated plea offer, which sort of is how the modus operandi of most prosecutor's offices in the state of New Jersey and certainly dealing with the feds.

That raises some concerns.

It also what raised concern for me is Senator Menendez alleged take from those meetings come he said it was a good meeting come he thought the meeting went very well.

Reporter: We did not hear back from the Attorney General's office for the story but AG Matt Plotkin was pretty adamant in the hours after the indictment came out, releasing a seemingly preemptive statement that said, "the conduct alleged in the indictment occurred prior to my tenure as Attorney General and involved a matter that was resolved prior to my time in office."

He first came to wide attention for his role in the early days of the Murphy administration.

You remember the who hired him hearings.

Republicans like him as a target for their jobs.

Judiciary member John Bram Nick is not expecting to see an investigation anytime soon, but says the message should be clear.

>> Under no circumstances does an elected official call a prosecutor's office for any reason except to report a crime.

That is unethical.

There is no reason to call.

Because if you are calling about anything except reporting a crime, the inference is you have a stake in the outcome on either side of it.

Reporter: Which state Republicans hope you will think is obvious and blame the other party for not getting it.

No word from the Senate President on whether hearings are on the horizon.

I'm David Cruz, "NJ Spotlight News."

Briana: One of the most-watched legislative races this year is a rematch in district 16 between incumbent Democratic Senator Andrew Zwicker and Mike Pappas, the former Republican Congers men launching a political comeback.

As Brenda Flanagan reports, the race appears to hinge on a polarizing issue with each candidate's base.

Reporter: Pick your issue from the list of topics, like abortion, and pops up in New Jersey's 16th legislative district race.

The pro-choice incumbent entry Zwicker cast his own daughter in a campaign ad and attacks Mike Pappas.

>> Pappas wants to end all abortions, including rape and incest.

>> Completely out of touch with the vast majority of New Jerseyians.

And many Republican issues, crosses into an extreme case.

Reporter: What is your position plainly on abortion?

>> My position has been established many years ago and has not changed.

His position is among the most radical of any legislative -- legislators in New Jersey.

He voted for a measure to permit abortion right up until birth.

Reporter: In off year elections, both sides need to galvanize the base and get the voters to the polls when no big names top the ballot.

For many Democrats this fall it means rallying around abortion rights, even though that is already protected by New Jersey statute.

Funding and access are, says Planned Parenthood, which endorsed 97 legislative candidates including Zwicker.

>> There is still a ton that can be done to dismantle access to abortion.

The legality of abortion is protected in New Jersey, but access can still very much sit in the hands of the legislature and the governor.

>> The problem for Congress to go back to numbers is simply that this district and the state are so overwhelmingly pro-choice, and his position is going to be out of step with a large majority of his voters in his district.

>> Certainly abortion is an issue, and I'm not surprised Democrats are going there.

They are going there because they don't want to talk of the other issues facing the state right now, rental rights, what's happening in schools about keeping secrets from parents.

Reporter: Republican strategist Chris Russell says Pappas is connecting on the per rental rights issues, and with school board seats on the ballot this November that may draw voters who would not ordinarily have turned up for legislative races.

>> Absolutely it is an advantage for replicants.

In a low turnout election, these foes are magnified.

Reporter: The 16th may look like a swing district with 36% registered Democrats, 26% Republicans, the rest unaffiliated, but it's demographics have shifted.

They are worried about taxes and Trump.

>> If we know anybody is going to vote in New Jersey, it will be the voters in this district who have been voting Democratic.

Reporter: Pappas will not say whether he would back the Former President.

>> I have not endorsed a candidate and my focus right now is the state legislative election.

Reporter: Pappas has been outspent by the incumbent in the campaign.

He challenged Zwicker for the senate seat in 2021 and lost by some 5200 votes.

This is the rematch.

Briana: We are starting to get a more clear picture of how New York City's congestion pricing plan will affect New Jersey drivers.

The city board tasked with creating the new toll system met Monday to consider distant counts -- discuss between four dollars and seven dollars for motorists who use the Holland and Lincoln tunnels along with drivers using the Queens Midtown Tunnel and Brooklyn battery Tunnel heading into Manhattan.

We still don't know what the base told to enter Midtown Manhattan will cost.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is considering the congestion pricing plan to reduce traffic and air pollution, but also to help raise funds for transportation projects.

It will charge motorists who drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan as much as $23 during peak hours.

Governor Murphy and other high-ranking officials are fighting the plan, which is slated to go into effect in spring 2024 at the earliest.

That battle is also reviving a 10-year-old proposal to extend the New York City subway system's seven train to Secaucus.

A boom for roughly 20,000 riders.

As Ted Goldberg reports, the price tag for the project may make it dead on arrival.

Reporter: Secaucus Junction handles more than 16,000 riders a month.

Some passengers would be pretty happy if the New York subway system found a way to end up here.

>> I have to wait one hour for my train if I miss the 8:41 train.

The transfer is not easy.

Reporter: A long shelved plan would extend the seven line into Secaucus and could be a big bonus for commuters and Mets fans.

>> That would be a big plus because it would take you right to Citi Field.

That would probably save 30 minutes.

>> The idea of getting from New Jersey to Queens on A1c ride, it is epic.

Reporter: Felicia Rogers works for the tri-state campaign.

>> Anything we can do to plan for the long-term regional access is a great thing to do.

Reporter: She says the ambitious plan could be done if New Jersey and New York cooperate.

A feasibility study done 10 years ago says it is doable, but expensive.

Park Rogers estimates it would cost well over $10 billion.

>> I thick it would have to be entirely reevaluated under the new Hudson tunnel plan, and if -- there are already a lot of competition in those tunnels for tracks and trains.

New Jersey transit desperately needs more tunnel space to be able to increase its capacity of trains into New York.

Reporter: Congressman sent a letter to the New York MTA hoping to revive the plan.

In the letter they say, "while we disagree with the MTA's decision to move forward with congestion pricing, we look forward to engaging in a productive dialogue that will both benefit New Jersey residents and further the plan's stated goals of getting cars off the road."

>> If it is currently being pursued as a poke in the eye around congestion pricing, this is a long term big project.

Let's revive it, let's look at it.

Congestion pricing is not an endless pot of money.

It is estimated to raise $15 million by statute.

That is slotted towards MTA capital projects and the capital project posit.

Reporter: The MTA review board met last night to discuss some of the particulars with congestion pricing.

>> We have consistently added service.

We cannot discount that at all.

Additional service across eight lines, and then by next year the additional four lines will have additional service.

Reporter: Those additional lines do not includes expanding the seven train.

And the letters signed by the Congressman was not mentioned.

>> It is an admirable goal, but I don't think it is one that can be achieved in a short-term small timeframe.

Reporter: Even over a long time frame and a multibillion dollar price tag is a tough task to bridge Secaucus Junction to New York subway's, even if it would benefit thousands in the progress -- in the process.

Briana: Another investigation into New Jersey's veterans homes backs up the same scathing findings in previous reports.

The state commission of investigation today released its analysis showing the COVID-19 pandemic exposed at times deadly flaws with management and operations at the Paramus and Menlo Park veterans homes, where nearly 200 people died from Covid-related causes.

The investigation found the homes were unprepared for massive absenteeism from frontline staff, had a major communication breakdowns, and no clear plan to isolate sick patients.

Many of those issues persist today, according to the report.

The report also backs calls to remove the nursing homes from under the Department of military and Veterans Affairs.

Meantime, disability rights NJ, the states protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities, is releasing its own investigation into nursing homes.

It found among those who died from the coronavirus living in one of those facilities were a large number of people with intellectual and develop mental disabilities.

People the organization argue should not have been there in the first place.

To dig into the investigation, I'm joined now by the Executive Director and the managing attorney for disability rights NJ.

It is great to have you both here with me.

Why did the organization launch this investigation, and what did you find?

Because of the report you wrote these hospital-like environments were dismal places for anyone to live.

>> Before COVID we had a presence in nursing homes and we started to notice an increased number of people with intellectual and develop metal disabilities there, and that is not the right setting for those do visuals in most cases.

Then at the beginning of Covid it was clearly a crisis in nursing homes all across the state of New Jersey and quickly came to our attention that people with disabilities in general, in particular with intellectual and develop mental disabilities, were at high risk and this needed our attention.

And so once we were able to get back into nursing homes, that is what helped us make the decision to launch this into a systemic investigation.

Briana: What were the key findings once you launched it?

>> Estate doesn't really know how many people with intellectual and development disabilities are in New Jersey nursing homes.

Briana: there is no official count?

>> no.

And our second finding was the federal rules that talk about people going into nursing homes with intellectual and have a limited disabilities that are really meant to protect those individuals and have the opportunity to be in the least restrictive setting and the most to graded setting and the community, it was not working.

Then the third thing we found is the entire system just does not recognize the right of people with developmental disabilities to make our own decisions about where they live and to be supported in a very person-centered way in those decisions and the services and supports they get.

Briana: You were involved with wing site visits -- with doing site visits and in-person visits.

What did that look like and what did people tell you?

>> As part of the investigation we thought it was important to see as many of those individuals as possible and speak to them.

So we visited over 70 nursing homes.

These nursing homes really are -- I think sometimes there is a misconception, I think home is a misconception, that we use that word.

These are institutions, these are hospital-like settings and a lot of them are abysmal.

A lot of cases that I walked into and thought I would never want to live here, I would not want anybody in my family to live here.

We thought it was important to speak to as many people as possible and really get a sense from them about what it was like living in these institutional settings and if they wanted to even do that.

Briana: Does it appear these nursing homes have replaced what have typically been the homes, the group settings, other better-fitted facilities for folks with intellectual, develop metal disabilities?

>> I would simply say no, it is not something that is happening.

Briana: Quickly, what do you recommend?

>> Sure, first and foremost people that has to know who these people are, where they are, and what these people want and need in their lives.

We need to re-create that federal system I was talking about to ensure that people have the opportunity when they are at risk in a nursing home placement to have community-based options and services and supports they need, and all of that is really to further their constitutional right New Jersey to make decisions about where they live and how they live those lives.

We want the state to really be aggressive moving the system towards that.

Briana: Thank you both so much for sharing this investigation with us.

>> Thank you.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, the state is combating criticism over lack of diversity in the recreational weed markets write new grant program.

Today it unveiled its new winners of the grant initiative, aimed at helping startups in the cannabis industry with operation cost during the early years of business.

>> We are a family, minority run business.

We are passionate about having a diverse cannabis industry.

Reporter: And by the end of the year the doors will be open to the public.

The cannabis dismiss rate in Bloomfield is one of 48 businesses awarded the cannabis equity grant through the New Jersey economic development Authority.

>> In a world where women founders received just 2% of all venture-capital, with similarly dismal numbers for minority entrepreneurs, the New Jersey economic develop authority grant provides a much-needed lifeline to independent, diversely owned and social equity businesses.

With this grant we will be able to pay our bills, open faster, better market the business, and hire talented employees from the local community.

Reporter: The recipients are part of the first phase of the program awarded $250,000 to equitably businesses in the cannabis industry.

>> One is economic diversification.

The other is small business with equity.

Reporter: Tim Sullivan says the grants will ensure fair representation in the markets.

>> Particularly minority owned businesses.

In some cases the solution has to be a grant.

When people of means want to start a new business, they go to friends and family.

Nobody has that kind of money to spot a new business.

It is risky, it might not make money.

But Governor Murphy and the legislature and the people of New Jersey will be your friends and family.

Reporter: Members of the regulatory commission say the grants are proof of the state's commitment to provide meaningful opportunities to all cannabis businesses.

>> As of today more than 300 cultivators, manufactures, dispensaries and testing laboratories have received approval to move towards becoming operational.

And that number is growing fast.

As of our last public meeting, more than 1500 conditional and annual licenses have been awarded and many more are waking -- are making their way through the process.

>> We write laws, we do legislation, but you know what actually warms my heart?

When I see that it is being implemented, when I see it is actually working.

And to have 48 recipients receive a grant, oh, my gosh, that is amazing.

Reporter: Applications for the second phase of the grant program will open next month.

Briana: Another offshore wind developer is jumping into the mix of companies looking to bring the renewable energy source to New Jersey.

New York-based attentive energy plans to build an offshore wind farm about 42 miles off the Jersey shore in the area near Seaside Heights, making it one of the far those from land of any of the East Coast window projects to date.

That could make it an attractive proposal for those who were the site of wind turbines will deter tourism and bring down property values.

The company says its wind turbines will not be visible from the coastline and will bring enough energy to power 600,000 homes.

Attentive is now one of four wind developers assigned to build project since the state started collecting proposals in August.

But the industry has struggled to make progress because of supply chain issues, higher interest rates, and even public pushback.

The state is expected to decide what projects if any will move forward by early next year.

You can read more about the plan on njspotlightnews.org.

On Wall Street, traders are keeping an eye on rising treasury yields.

Here is how the markets closed today.

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

But don't forget to download the "NJ Spotlight News" podcaster you can listen anytime.

For the entire "NJ Spotlight News" news team, thank you for being with us.

Have a great evening and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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

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And by the PSEG Foundation.

>> Have some water.

>> Look at these kids.

What do you say?

I see myself.

I became an ASL teacher to give my students what I want it when I came to this country.

The opportunity to learn, to dream, to achieve, a chance to be young and to be an American.

My name is Julia and I'm proud to be an NJEA member.

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See an urgent care provider 24/7 anywhere with our tele-app, or use the website to book a virtual visit with a medical group provider or specialist even as a new patient .

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