>> Tonight on NJ Spotlight News, the first day of school detour Patterson school students are relocated to a new school after their 124-year-old building was deemed unsafe.

>> I thought I was going to have all my children at one school for the first time, and now that will not be the case.

They are being separated again.

>> Parental rights becomes the hot button issue for Republicans who look to pick up seats in November's statewide election.

>> The Republicans are exploiting the topic.

They seem to have a coherent narrative that parents rights are being stripped away.

>> now, a book and sanctuary, as the city Council declares a new resolution making any book available regardless of its content.

>> We believe that everyone should have access to the information they want.

They should make the choice of what they want to read or not read.

>> Justice for Drew.

More than a week after the fatal shooting in Jersey City, residents demand for the release of body camera footage.

>> He was also a suffer of bipolar disorder, a condition that needed medical attention, not the barrel of a gun.

>> NJ Spotlight News begins right now.

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From NJPBS this is NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: Good evening and thanks for joining us.

Hundreds of students in Patterson are starting off the school year being forced to relocate to different buildings, after a ceiling collapsed in public school three earlier this summer, forcing the 124-year-old building to be shut down over safety concerns that more large pieces of plaster could fall.

This is not the first time the school district has been confronted with the consequences of its crumbling infrastructure.

Its effect on students and their learning is becoming more dire.

For those at PS3, it means being split up from classmates and in many cases even bust across town -- bussed across town.

>> I thought I was going to have all three of my children in one school for the first time.

Now that will not be the case.

REPORTER: Stephanie Martinez, like other families with kids at Patterson PS3 anticipated the first day of classes at the iconic neighborhood elementary school.

PS3 closed for repairs last month after a plaster ceiling collapsed in the 124-year-old building.

The district is divvying up its 300 students, directing younger kids a few blocks over to the Dale Avenue school, and loading grades three through eight onto buses for a trip to Monmouth or King.

Some folks really struggled.

>> It is frustrating.

They should have done something about this years ago.

REPORTER: Others guided kids through a revised routine and hoped for the best.

>> One day at a time.

I dropped off my two oldest year, they will take the bus.

Then I will have to drop my son off to Dale Avenue.

>> I am trying to handle it as best as I can.

One could has to go on the bus.

The other has to go to Dale Avenue.

REPORTER: you have kids going into different directions?

>> Correct.

>> We decided to split the groups, to make sure, especially the schools receiving our students, that we did not inconvenience them for being good hosts.

REPORTER: The superintendents are trying to prevent overcrowding in a district dealing with a significant teacher shortage, and 17 buildings over a century old.

As buses crowded over to the curb and kids climbed aboard, busy rush hour traffic backed up on Main Street.

Cars haplessly parked in bus pickup zones got towed, latecomers who missed the bus had to drive their kids.

Observers gave this transition process a decent grade.

>> C plus.

It will be working better as soon as the day can come along.

It's only about 10 to 15 minutes behind schedule.

>> First day of school, I was crossing my fingers, racing over to see.

So far so good.

Went off without a hitch.

REPORTER: Now comes the hard part.

The district estimates it will cost $2 million and take five months to fix PS3 which leaves them with an old substandard building.

Taking $2 million out of its operating budget would stress already strained resources.

One school board commissioners.

>> I will vote for fixing up PS3, because I can't put that money into a 124-year-old structure.

I can't see the value.

So, we need a new building.

We can't live like this.

Our kids can't subsist in these substandard facilities.

REPORTER: The district wants funding from New Jersey's school development Authority.

>> What we have is an inadequate facility that is now falling apart at the seams.

We cannot look to the local school budget to do this work that they Supreme Court said was a responsibility of the state of New Jersey.

REPORTER: A new building would take years to construct.

PS3 parents will cope with the situation.

>> It will be farther.

If any emergency situation happens it will take me longer to get there.

He is excited.

As long as he is excited I am OK. REPORTER: As for the new routine, it will get wrenched around this afternoon and tomorrow, when Patterson schools close early due to the sweltering heat.

In Patterson, I am Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight News.

Briana: The power of parents appears to be the top issue facing candidates running in this fall's legislative elections, with battles over parental rights taking center stage and inflaming campaign talk.

On everything from book bands to school gender policies.

Republicans have been eager to engage on the culture war topic.

Bergen record clinical, missed says -- political columnist says the GOP says the debate is a wedge issue that could rally the core base.

Good to talk to you as always.

It's interesting, it seems like political analysts disagree on just how much parental rights issues are going to play a role in the upcoming election.

They seem to agree that Republicans are owning the topic.

Is that the case here?

Have Democrats dropped the ball?

Charlie: Well the Republicans are exploiting the topic.

They seem to have had a coherent narrative that parents rights are being stripped away from them by the big Phil Murphy liberal state.

The Democrats, particularly, in sensitive swing districts, don't seem to have any kind of coherent pushback.

It's going to be a problem for them.

Briana: There were, obviously a number of issues that have played out in a number of days.

We had the state Board of Education meeting yesterday, over some language in policies adopted.

You've got national right wing groups joining in the course, here in New Jersey, on what would otherwise seem like local issues.

Why is it that they are biting on this issue in particular?

Charlie: I think this is part of a national movement to infiltrate on the grassroots school board level, and to begin an ongoing crusade to push back what they consider the LGBTQ woke agenda.

But I think there are broader targets here.

This is also -- it is related, it is a tangent to a power struggle over public employee unions and the school choice movement.

I think some of this is also being fueled by some of the residual anger over the school masking and the vaccination mandates.

It is a big combustible mix that the Republicans are fueling.

Briana: how are Democrats responding?

You wrote that Republicans are spinning this into political gold?

What is the response?

Charlie: I don't see much of one at all.

I think what you will see from the Democrats, I am seeing bits of this, they will try to put the focus on issues that work for them.

One is, you will see in certain districts, they will be painting the Republicans as supporting antiabortion measures and try to link them with the national right wing push to have a national abortion ban.

They will play on that fear with some of the Republican candidates.

Even though that is not an issue really in this race at all.

I think you also see a big emphasis on affordability.

They will say, we are the ones that are really delivering rebates and other affordable measures on health care, education, that people really want, and have some practical real-world value.

They will try to change the narrative.

Briana: Charlie style, thanks so much as always.

Charlie: You are more than welcome.

Briana: City leaders in Hoboken are responding to the rise in book bands across New Jersey a nationally, becoming the state's first ever book sanctuary city.

Thanks to a vote last night from the Hoboken Council, making it a place where no book can be banned and endangered books are protected.

Our Senior correspondent reports.

>> We don't segregate these books, we integrate them with the rest of our collection.

It's information.

We want people to have access to the stories.

REPORTER: On display right now in the public library, you will find a section dedicated to banned books, titles that have been challenged across all parts of the country.

>> Some people may be surprised that "Harry Potter", is one of the topmost challenged books.

This is the number two most challenge book, an autobiography about someone dealing and coming out with their identity.

Books have been challenged for years.

"Catcher in the Rye", "1984".

REPORTER: Hoboken held a band book upon -- bookathon.

The board voted to dedicate itself as a book sanctuary, meaning no books could be banned or removed from their shelves.

Now, a new ordinance passed last night by Hoboken city Council, ensuring the entire city will follow suit.

>> Last night the city Council voted unanimously in support of designating Hoboken to be a books ensure city.

So, places like our little free libraries, and our networks in parks, that will be the same.

We want to embrace diverse books, tell the stories of people who are marginalized, and make sure we celebrate that in all places.

REPORTER: Are you concerned this opens up the door to the proliferation of other kinds of books that may include white nationalist messaging or antisemitic propaganda?

>> If you start banning one thing, that comes at the expense of another.

It is a slippery slope.

This is about access.

Once you start that slippery slope of censorship and what people think is objectionable, that is when you really start to undermine the tenants of democracy, which is free and open access to information.

>> We believe that everyone should have access to information they want.

They should make the choice of what they want to read or not read.

REPORTER: this move comes as New Jersey's legislature is considering a bill proposed by the senator, that will prohibit any library or school district from banning any books.

Further compliance would mean a loss of state funding -- failure to comply would mean a loss of state funding.

It's a response to the growing movement to remove LGBTQ books from school and public library bookshelves in New Jersey, lead by the group moms for liberty, who argue that access to these books poses harm to their children.

>> Book bands have been around forever.

They have come and gone.

This is nothing new.

This is the latest iteration of the forces of intolerance, of exclusion, of otherizing marginalized people in the community.

>> You don't have to agree with everything.

But you don't have to like what you're reading.

I think what is important, and what is so fundamental, and so special about America, is that you have that right.

It's guaranteed in the Constitution.

REPORTER: Jenny encourages anyone concerned about a book to read it.

Read all the banned books.

Perhaps let it spark a conversation with someone in your community.

Briana: The U.S. Justice Department is slamming New Jersey for failing veterans at its two state run nursing homes.

In a scathing 43 page report, the department said the facility's violated the 14th amendment rights of residents, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The violations continue, with residents still at high risk for serious infections and illness.

The report concludes a sweeping three year investigation into the facilities, where more than 200 residents died.

One of the highest death tolls nationally among long-term care centers during the first wave of the coronavirus.

The report cites poor communication and a lack of staff competency, saying they were unprepared to keep residents safe during the outbreak.

One worker in the report described the situation as pure hell, while another described it as a battlefield during the pandemic.

Governor Murphy's office acknowledged the findings, saying it is clear we have significantly more work to do, and where open to exploring all options to deliver a high level of care for our veterans.

Tonight, we continue to follow the fallout in Jersey City after the fatal police shooting of a man experiencing a mental health crisis last month.

The family wants justice for Drew, the 52-year-old Andrew Jerome Washington who was killed in the incident.

Accusing his death of being brushed aside because of the mayor's political ambitions.

The senior political correspondent reports.

>> We do feel the use of force yesterday was justified based on the circumstances and in line with training.

REPORTER: It is 10 years as mayor, he has tried to project an image of dispassionate leadership.

In public he keeps it cool, aloof.

He says it is about keeping an even keel when emotions are heated.

In the case of the police shooting of Andrew Washington last week, the mayor stone as he declared the shooting justified, was another example of Philip failing to read the room.

As evidenced by the raw emotion at a recent vigil for Washington, whose friends and family called Drew.

>> Justice!

Justice!

>> for Drew!

>> justice!

REPORTER: Do you feel like this mayor does not feel this community's loss?

>> No.

I don't think so.

I think he spoke out of turn.

The way he made the comment about Drew.

It made me feel as his aunt that he did not care.

We just called to get help for someone with a mental health crisis.

You're telling me my nephew did not deserve to see a medical health professional, that helped with mental illness?

REPORTER: That is not what the mayor was thinking.

He says the actual first response to the scene was for mental health professionals, who deemed the situation dangerous enough to call in police.

The facts in this case is going to the state Attorney General's office, which says it is investigating, and could release the bodycam footage of the incident as early as next week.

The mayor is running for governor, and that is a prism through which everything he does for the next year, plus, will be colored.

>> This kind of thing projects an image of you across the state.

>> Look.

I am aware of that.

Look.

The politically easy thing to do in many circles within the Democratic Party is to criticize the police, and to be in that camp.

My job as mayor is to call balls and strikes.

REPORTER: It is one thing to be seen as a competent crisis manager.

But right now, in this neighborhood, residents want fewer baseball metaphors and a little more empathy, at least.

>> Drew was more than a statistic.

He was a son, a cousin, a brother, a friend.

He was also a sufferer of bipolar disorder, a condition that needed medical attention, not the barrel of a gun.

>> Imagine they did not try to enter the room.

We would have a different conversation today about how the police could sit outside, when they are aware somebody could harm themselves in that situation, and how could they let someone bleed out and die when they are five feet away from the room?

REPORTER: There is a discussion to be had about how these strategies -- tragedies could be avoided or if they could be avoided at all.

With the mayor and police on one wavelength, and the family and community on another, it is difficult to see where they may ever come into sync.

Briana: There's a new nominee to serve on the federal bench in New Jersey.

President Biden on Wednesday cap Jamal, to serve on the District Court, he is the deputy chief of the criminal division.

The 41-year-old joined at the office in 2018 after working as a prosecutor in Essex and Union counties.

He had been on a short list as the candidate for U.S. attorney and was a finalist for the state Attorney General post.

In a statement, Governor Murphy called him ideally suited for the bench.

The U.S.

Senator Cory Booker says he is confident in his ability to preside over case is fairly and impartially.

His nomination now goes for a confirmation before the U.S. Senate.

His nomination will help fill a hole in the federal courts.

But it does nothing to help the judicial vacancy crisis at the state level.

Senate President pledged to call a special session this summer to consider judicial nominees.

This summer came and went with no meeting.

About 60 empty judge ships remaining.

Why is the crisis not being met with more urgency?

Ted: legislators have long known that New Jersey is in the middle of a judicial vacant crisis.

Senator John Bram Nick acknowledged it.

>> We need to fill more of these vacancies.

Ted: There was a lack of urgency than, even as the judiciary suspended some trials.

There has been little movement since May, when the retire Supreme Court Justice vented about the crisis.

>> Houston, we do have a problem.

>> We are not landing people on the moon.

Get everybody in the room, get it done.

Ted: Getting judges confirmed to Superior Court is not rocket science.

But there's politics involved, which is led to frustration among legal mines.

>> That is really intolerable.

>> Vacancies have been gone on -- going on for more than four years.

Ted: There are around 60 vacancies statewide.

If you live in these four counties, you can't get a divorce, you can't have custody hearings, and you can't go into civil court.

>> It is in crises at this point.

We need to get judges appointed to help serve the public.

Ted: This family attorney practices out of Wayne in Passaic County, one of the affected areas.

She said most of her cases cannot go forward, unless her clients pay for a retired judge to serve as a mediator.

>> There is not -- there's just not those sort of resources.

Most of the families here are simply just at the mercy of the court system.

Ted: In June, the Senate President said there could be an emergency Senate session to confirm judges over the summer.

That did not happen.

It's unclear when Governor Phil Murphy's nominees could get a hearing.

>> There are 18 judicial nominations.

Why are they not being heard?

Why aren't those judicial candidates receiving hearings?

It's not an emergency.

>> The fact that the Senate did not reconvene in July or August, as it was hoped, and there was speculation from the Senators that that may happen, it did not happen.

They are just not taking it seriously.

Ted: The senator says a special session is not a magic bullet for this problem, and that Governor Murphy has not named enough nominees.

>> A special session would be great if you had the nominees.

You could have the session then guess what?

You have not worked out who was coming before the judiciary committee.

Ted: he says the answer is simple.

>> Governor Murphy says bring in 2, 3, four Senators represent a district that has courtesy.

Everybody bring a name, next Tuesday.

Ted: Courtesy meetings.

New Jersey's unwritten rule that allows a senator to single-handedly block a nominee from his or heard's district -- her's district.

>> There are many decisions that are being made in the shadows, in the dark, and this senatorial courtesy is antithetical to the democratic process.

Ted: Election Day is two months from today, giving Senators little time to confirm judges before getting ready to campaign.

Briana: In our spotlight on business report, Newark is looking to jumpstart downtown business growth by offering new incentives.

The retail reactivation initiative will give nonprofits and businesses up to $650,000 in aid to open up shop in what is known as the city's downtown core, the area bordered by Brodd and Washington streets, that have seen a lot of activity.

The program will focus on businesses looking to bring more retail, cultural and food experiences there.

And turn long vacant storefronts into amenities for new workers.

Vaped shops, liquor stores, and those that sell adult activities and services will not be eligible to apply.

The program is being led by invest Newark, the leading economic development Corporation for the city.

Grant applications are available online now.

Wall Street is reacting to renewed concerns the Fed may opt for another interest rate hike this year.

Here's how the markets closed today.

Announcer: Support for the business report provided by Newark alliance venting the Halsey Festival September 14 in downtown Newark.

Event details online at HalseyFestival.com.

Briana: Don't forget to download the NJ Spotlight News podcast, so you can listen anytime.

I'm in for the entire NJ Spotlight News team.

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

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