Joanna: tonight, revocation of migrants with 50,000 asylum-seekers now in New York City, the Biden administration taps Atlantic City as a relocation spot.

>> I do not want anybody to think we do not have compassion.

We certainly do.

But this is a problem we cannot solve.

Joanna: rebuilding after Ida.

It has been two years since hurricane Ida as residents continue to recover.

>> it just seems we are the forgotten ones.

Joanna: and teaching Sikhism.

>> we need it a full chapter, not only a paragraph.

Joanna: residents call on state lawmakers to require lessons in the social studies curriculum.

What is in the water?

The EPA says far more forever chemicals are polluting our drinking water than previously thought.

>> this is likely to raise the costs in New Jersey.

Joanna: "NJ Spotlight News" begins right now.

Announcer: Funding for "NJ Spotlight News" funded by the horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

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

More information is online at NJrealtor.com.

And by the PSEG foundation.

♪ >> this is "NJ Spotlight News."

Joanna: thank you for joining us.

Some of the 60,000 migrants who recently arrived in New York City might call Atlantic City home.

The International Airport is one of 11 facilities owned by the federal government being considered as a location to house they asylum-seekers.

The move is a response to New York City's calls for help in housing a group that at one point numbered 107,000.

They arrived in the city after the Texas Governor flew them to the north in an attempt to spread the border crisis.

But the relocation proposal is dry and the higher of Republicans and Democrats alike.

>> this adjusted to relocate migrants to the Atlantic City airport is not lying with ogle leaders.

>> it seems like somebody looked at where there was Fedor Lyon to property and said Lester that on the list.

>> this senator in a bipartisan group of elected officials protested the possible move in Atlantic City today.

The airport is actually in egg Harbor Township, but people warned moving asylum-seekers here could create chaos.

>> it is 10 miles away from the great city of Atlantic City.

That poses a threat.

In my experience as mayor, this has been a dumping ground.

People continuously drump their less fortunate on our great city.

>> it is a population of 50,000 people into we can get up to 60,000 illegal individuals -- where are the kids going to be educated?

>> we do not have the schoolroom, the infrastructure, the roads or social services programs that can handle this.

We have compassion, all of us -- our wallets are almost empty, so do something about it.

>> where do we find the money?

Do we go back to the taxpayers and say, forget about the tax break.

>> one of the big questions is who will pay to care for some or all of the 60,000 people?

We asked the governor yesterday, and he suggested that New Jersey would need help from the federal government.

>> you need an enormous amount of federal support, resources that go beyond anything we can afford.

And putting thing -- everything else aside, I do not see it.

>> I am not so sure they are getting enough funding.

And I am not sure the state was actually prepared to receive as many migrants as they are receiving.

>> this immigration attorney says leaders have a point, and municipalities could take a hit if they do not get financial assistance.

>> how does this impact homeowners as far as taxes?

The property taxes?

It has a domino effect.

>> this congressman also warned allowing migrants into the Atlantic City airport could pose a threat to national security.

>> we have drug cartels coming across the border into we cannot get them all.

We have people on the federal watch list and we cannot get them all.

Though 60,000 people that they are talking about, I guarantee, I can put my name on it, that there will be individuals who are criminals.

>> our first line of defense for the America -- the United States it's right here with the 177th airborne.

How could you possibly think about bringing people to the most sensitive area that we have for our defense?

>> there is no way this could happen on a federal base that does top-secret work.

>> immigration advocates have not accepted the plan with open arms, are going places like the airport are far from job opportunities, and they may not be suitable to host people.

>> is a equipped?

Do they -- is it equipped?

Do they have showers?

>> where are they going to go?

I do not know.

And I am not positive anyone knows.

But we are not the solution to a problem we did not create.

>> an issue that seems to have United leaders around Atlantic City.

I'm Ted Goldberg.

Joanna: it has been two years since hurricane Ida devastated New Jersey, killing 30 people and destroying homes in its path.

But two years later, residents are still struggling to rebuild, caught in a loop of FEMA and insurance claim denials.

Melissa Rose Cooper caught up with one mother that is desperate for support.

>> I looked out and I saw my car was completely surrounded by water.

And I knew that this was really bad.

>> Jones recounting the moments after hurricane Ida destroyed her home two years ago.

Jones, who had just moved in only two months before the storm, says her family was uprooted with no place to live.

>> just completely devastated our new home.

And really traumatized my kids.

They were so upset and they are still to this day, every time it rains, they get concerned it will happen all over again.

>> they are back in their home, but still struggling to put the pieces together.

Even though she had flood insurance, she says the company did not cover a lot of the damage.

>> there were things like the porch, the front brick is cracked and settled.

It was wrecked by the pressure of the water.

That is not covered by insurance.

It is connected to my house, is a structural part of the house.

>> because she had flood insurance, Jones it says she was denied help from FEMA.

>> I took out credit cards, my credit score has gone down.

I applied to heart, and they just got back to me.

I just got back and I have a letter, or email, saying we cannot give you any more federal funds or any federal funds, because you are in a floodway.

We suggest you apply the blue anchors, which is a program that buys you out of your house.

>> a thought that she never dreamed it could become a reality.

Yet it is an outcome that she and other survivors living in areas here are also facing.

>> it is a shock.

>> Cameron is a communications organizer with a project that has been helping survivors get assistance, but he says that residents are continuing to deal with a broken system.

>> what we have heard from the state is Mandeville has been designated a high risk area.

And because of that, residents there could not receive federal funding for elevation or rebuilding.

>> Foster says there's limited funding available to assist in the recovery process, but he believes at the state should do more.

>> New Jersey has had budget surpluses this year, as well as unspent funds, so if the federal funds are not enough the state has the responsibility to fill the gap.

>> but the state Department of community affairs says they are doing everything they can to expedite the process.

According to a spokesperson, they put together a proposal to reallocate $52.4 million in Sandy funds for hurricane Ida recovery.

This let they will submit plans for approval.

And upon approval by HUD, the D CA will have allocated $429 million Friday recovery in total.

>> it seems like we are the forgotten ones with Ida.

There are things that could do.

I have been paying my mortgage throughout.

If I could get mortgage forbearance, that would be a help.

>> she was able to get a federal loan, which she used for some repairs, but she has to pay it back and there is another $100,000 in damages left she cannot afford.

So she is hoping the state will step in to fix what is needed and so she can stay in her home.

Joanna: nurses at RWJ University are starting week five on strike that started in early August.

They are demanding better staffing ratios and increased pay from their employer, part of the RWJ health care system, an underwriter of "NJ Spotlight News".

But they have now lost health insurance coverage through the hospital.

I'm joined by the president of the nurse' union to give us the latest.

Thanks for taking the time to be with us.

As of today, this is the beginning of week five of the strength.

Also today, your health insurance coverage has then stopped in your nurses need to pay for coverage through COBRA.

Explain what is happening.

Judy: the benefits ended on 9-1.

The nurses are now without insurance.

They can take a supplemental plan by the USW, a basic plan, or Lincoln COBRA are benefits, or we can go through the open market and get an Obamacare type of plan.

We can use either of those, but the hospital has cut off our benefits.

Joanna: is that something you knew about going in?

Judy: we did not.

The Hospital is going to say that we did, buy can 100% say we did not know that the benefits would end on September 1.

When we went on strike in 2006, they covered our benefits throughout because they are self-insured and they can do what they want.

They own the policy.

Joanna: the hospital says they have taken steps to avoid getting a strike, including they agreed to some staffing and compensation demands made by the nurses' union.

They say they signed a memorandum of agreement with the union.

They say the union never presented it to the members.

Is that true?

If so, why was it not presented?

Judy: if you see are members, we gave out a tentative agreement to all of them who walked through the door.

It was presented as a tentative agreement.

The members voted it down.

We have guidelines, the hospital has to be penalized for the guidelines if they are not met with that staff ratios, because where they are putting into effect is what we have had for 10 years with no enforcement.

We want enforcement.

Therefore, the enforcement is where the members voted it down and they continue to penalize the nurses.

Joanna: you are talking about enforcement, if the hospital does not meet state required staffing ratios?

Judy: correct.

Nurses get sick of being a bedside nurse, so they want to penalize the nurses for that.

Joanna: how do you move forward?

What needs to happen for a resolution and get back to work, back to having health insurance and salaries?

Judy: the mediator has to call both sides together and we have to come through with a serious proposal.

We gave a proposal on August 16, the hospital rejected it.

We are waiting on them to come back with a counter proposal.

It seems like they will not come back with a counter proposal.

That is where we stand.

Joanna: what are they sticking points for you that need to happen right now to get nurses back to work?

Judy: remove the sick hold penalty.

And, um, let's look at the deficit.

And that would solve the problem quickly.

Joanna: Judy, thank you so much.

A group of New Jersey residents are pushing for more education around Sikhism in schools.

At the end of June, they passed a resolution urging the stateboard to require Sikhism instruction into the social studies curriculum.

Our Senior correspondent spoke with leaders in the secret community about their efforts to improve education that they hope will stop discrimination and persecution in their community.

>> we are the only people on the planet where the turbine is -- turban is religiously mandated.

>> but he says it is misunderstood into recalls when Osama bin Laden flooded news reports and people noticed he wore a white turban, and it drove attacks against the Sikh community.

It is how Hollywood often stereotype surveillance, he says -- often stereotypes villains.

>> it is a man with a beard and a turban.

Guess what he has in his hands?

An AK-47.

He is the bad guy.

Who is the hero?

A white guy.

>> anti-Sikh hate crimes are on the rise again from 89 incidents in 2020 to 214 in 2021, a 140% increase in one year.

And Jersey is home to over 100,000 Sikhs.

This man believes that xenophobia is escalating across the U.S..

In 2018, the Attorney General of New Jersey was targeted with a slur turban man by a talkshow host.

>> after the election of President Trump, there was a spike, unfortunately, in cases of assaults or biased crimes.

I think that the community got caught in the crossfire.

>> he tries to dispel misperceptions.

He tot classmates how to tie a turban and repeated it record staffers.

He says that helps people understand that they are not Muslim, and that a turban is part of their faith that was born in India more than 500 years ago.

>> it was well received, appreciated.

And it opened a lot of peoples eyes.

And I got a lot of, wow, that is pretty cool.

Those types of things and that were really kind of, you know, bringing the temperature down.

>> we see education as an important component, education and awareness as an important component, which has the power to heal.

And it relaxes of the hate.

>> he says that they are trying to persuade local school boards to offer more education about the religion, even though the New Jersey state board of education in 2009 required schools to do that as part of their curriculum.

But it is not happening according to a survey of 523 Sikh students.

>> the majority of them responded that they have learned very little about Sikhism.

>> hey, we need this in our social studies book as a full chapter, if possible.

Not a little paragraph.

A paragraph does not explain somebody's heritage and what they are all about.

>> that is why the community supports a resolution approved by the New Jersey assembly that urges the stateboard to require a complete public school curriculum about Sikhs.

it has notPassed the Senate.

>> it boils down to education.

When somebody asks where I am from, I say New Jersey.

>> he says it should not surprise people.

I'm Brenda Flanagan.

Joanna: the federal government is cracking down on PFAS, forever chemicals that end up in our drinking water n pos, -- and a threat to our health.

But it could mean many water utilities are no longer in compliance.

An issue that are contributing writer recently dove into.

He joins me now.

It is great to talk with you.

Tell us about the new data and what forever chemicals are found to be in our drinking water that exceed the new guidelines.

John: what the EPA has done is in the course of a very extensive, or the beginning of extensive testing, they are testing for 29 types of PFAS chemicals, so-called forever chemicals.

And that is, that is significant because that number significantly exceeds what the number of PFAS chemicals that the state regulates.

Two of those, called PFOA and PFOS, which are commonly found in New Jersey, would be subject to stricter levels in drinking water, more so than what is required by the state.

Joanna: the state requires no more than 14 parts per trillion right now, but the new guidelines would shift that down to four parts per trillion.

In the data, we saw 28 utilities in New Jersey would be outside of that.

Talk about the timing and when they changes might take effect.

Jon: the expectation is the changes will either be finalized at the end of this year or beginning of next year.

At that point, New Jersey utilities would have to comply with these new federal levels.

And that would mean they would -- they would have to install a lot more filtration, which is capable of removing these chemicals, but it is significantly expensive.

That raises the prospect that at least some of those costs would be passed on to ratepayers.

Joanna: at least one utility in New Jersey is considering a lawsuit against these PFAS manufacturers.

Is that a path that some of these companies will go or should go in order to defray the costs?

Jon: yes, that one utility you referred to, Bridgewood -- yes, they filed suit against 3M and other PFAS manufacturers in 2020.

That case is still pending.

They are saying that they are faced with the cost of millions of dollars of additional costs as a result of having to comply with even the state regulations.

Now of course,, as we know the federal regulations, if and when they are finalized, will be even stricter, the state regulations.

So, this is likely to add furthe r to the cost of utilities in New Jersey.

Joanna: cost is key.

Jon, thank you so much.

Good to talk with you.

If you are planning to travel this weekend, you are not alone.

6.5 million people are expected to hit the roads, rails and skies.

About a third of them coming through Newark Liberty International, JFK, LaGuardia and New York steward international airports, about 3% more than the same time last year.

Port authority expects more than 4 million vehicles to cross bridges and tunnels this week and, on pace with 2019 records.

So if you are one of those going out, get on the roads early and give yourself plenty of time, and maybe a little extra patience.

Tonight, the New Jersey gas tax will be increasing by just shy of a penny on October 1, bringing the total that drivers will pay to 42.3 cents a gallon.

The governor signed that gas tax into law in 2016, to pay for repairs of the crumbling roads and bridges.

It funneled right into the transportation trust fund, required to provide about $16 billion over 18 years, or roughly $2 billion a year for road repairs.

It fluctuates each year to hit that number.

Last year, the tax went down by a bout about -- by about a penny.

Yesterday there was a rally outside of the airport, part of a nationwide day of action that saw 19 United rallies across the country.

The union representing them says that they are calling for a long overdue contract that addresses chronic problems.

Things like consistent understaffing that has led the passengers and flight crews being stranded across the country this summer.

In a statement, United airlines said "we are continuing to work with the Association of flight attendants to an agreement."

Adding not all flights would operate as planned.

Starting today, federal student loans that were on hold since the start of the pandemic are reactivated.

If you have a loan, the first payment will not be due for another month, but interest starts accruing today for the first time since March of 2020.

President Biden had attempted to forgive $440 billion in debt nationwide come in and move it struck down by the Supreme Court this year.

But borrowers will have some leniency as they start making payments again, like forgiveness if you miss a bill or two.

There is an interest forgiveness plan that will not allow interest to accrue beyond what you can afford each month.

And there are a new payment programs available that could be more affordable.

And the latest jobs report says 180,000 jobs were added in August, a stronger showing than projected.

The market is responding well to the labor growth.

Here is how they closed for the week.

♪ ♪ That will do it for us, but do not forget to down light the podcast so you can listen at any time.

We want to let you know about a change beginning this Monday, September 4.

We will start airing at 6:30 p.m. on NJ PBS.

Same dependable coverage, just a new time to watch.

From the entire team, thank you for being with us.

Have a great weekend.

We will see you back here on Monday.

♪ >> the members of the New Jersey education Association making , public schools great for every child.

RWJBarnabas Health, let's be healthy together.

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

>> our future relies on more than clean energy.

It relies on empowered communities, the health and safety of our friends and neighbors, of our schools and streets.

We are committed to sustainability, equity, and economic empowerment.

Investing in parts, helping towns go green, supporting scholarships into workforce development that strengthen our community.

♪