(upbeat music) - From NJ PBS Studios, this is NJ Spotlight News with Brianna Vannozzi.

- Good evening and thanks for joining us on this Monday night.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

Tonight a few stories we're digging into later in the broadcast.

Senator Booker is pushing back against President Trump's policies that he says are hurting working class families.

Then the race for governor is a costly one.

We'll tell you what the candidates are spending their money on and where.

And later, did the billion dollar Powerball drawing have an impact on New Jersey's economy?

We take a closer look at the numbers.

First, though, a few of today's top headlines.

A Hunterdon County father's fight over a school transgender policy is heading to federal appeals court, and the decision could have implications for school policies across the state and beyond.

Christian Heaps of Pittstown sued the Delaware Valley Regional High School after it honored his daughter's request to use a male name and pronouns without informing him, arguing the school violated his constitutional rights as a parent.

But attorneys for the state and school district pushed back in new court filings, saying parental rights don't override a student's right to privacy or school policy, including Policy 5756, which is statewide guidance that prevents a school from letting parents know about a student's gender identity without their consent.

Attorneys warn that giving parents veto power over school decisions could create legal chaos on everything from the dress code to even lunch menus.

A federal judge has already ruled twice against HEAPS, and the filings are just the latest in a heated legal battle that began back in January 2024.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to schedule a hearing.

Also tonight, 16 towns are now on notice.

Fix your affordable housing plans or risk losing control over local development.

The Fair Share Housing Center sent a warning to the communities that they could lose immunity from what are called builder's remedy lawsuits.

The city's lawmakers say the city's policies force a town to approve high-density residential projects with affordable housing.

If the local leaders don't comply with state law by the end of the year, developers could override local zoning to build that housing.

The towns range from Franklin Lakes and Lindhurst up north to Tums River and Belmar at the shore, and East Greenwich in Gloucester County.

Fair Share says an overwhelming number of municipalities, though, 423, are on track for approval.

Another roughly 100 have what they say are serious issues, mostly in North Jersey and Washington, often with miscalculating just how much land they need to set aside for affordable units.

Now, if the towns don't act, courts could step in.

The state launched a new program to help sort through disagreements before the deadline hits.

All affordable housing plans need to be adopted by next March.

And soccer fans will get their first chance to score a seat to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but it will not be easy or cheap.

FIFA is launching a lottery-style presale window this Wednesday, September 10th through September 19th.

It's exclusive to fans who have Visa, debit credit and prepaid cards.

But it doesn't mean you're guaranteed a ticket.

The lottery allows you to submit your information for the chance to be randomly selected to buy tickets at a designated time in October.

Fans will be notified at the end of September if they've been chosen to participate and you'll still have to pay full price for a ticket, which according to FIFA will range from around 60 bucks at the low end for group stage matches up to at least six or seven thousand for the World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.

FIFA is facing scrutiny after announcing it'll use a controversial system to set those prices because they'll fluctuate based on demand.

The organization has also reportedly already made millions just by selling fans the right to buy their tickets before they go on sale.

And coming up, Cory Booker is talking affordability in New Jersey with residents who say they're hurting the most.

We hear from the senator about his plans to fight back in Washington.

Major funding for NJ Spotlight News is provided in part by NJM Insurance Group, serving the insurance needs of residents and businesses for more than 100 years.

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With prices on everyday goods still climbing, frustration among New Jersey residents is mounting and U.S.

Senator Cory Booker sat down with some in Newark today to hear it firsthand, hosting a roundtable to learn where they're feeling it the most and to talk about how he plans to tackle it in Washington, laying the blame on President Trump's recent policies involving tariffs and tax reforms that Booker argues favor the wealthy at the expense of the working poor.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagas has the details.

I feel like the services rendered that we used to get are being harder and harder to get.

So say if you're getting Medicaid or you're getting SNAP or those things are being taken away.

New Jersey residents spoke directly to their senior U.S.

Senator Cory Booker today about the cost of living increases they've experienced in the last several months that are having a direct impact on their lives.

With the increase of rent, with the increase of groceries, with the increase of everything that the child need, it's really really hard.

Senator Booker says he's heard countless concerns just like this, and he lays the blame at the feet of the Trump administration's policies, like the one big beautiful bill that cut taxes for the highest earners, while cutting funding for many social supports.

Plus, those tariff policies.

"We are seeing chaotic tariff policy that is raising the cost of household items, of food, and now as we are seeing a back to school moment for Americans all across the country, we are seeing families facing the extreme challenges of being able to afford the basics, whether it's school supplies or school lunches and more."

"Bananas used to be what, 49 cents a pound?

Now you're paying what, about 5 and 6 dollars for bananas?"

"Because the tariffs are driving up the costs."

Chantal Rivers-Jayce is a representative for the New Jersey Education Association, the state's largest teachers union and an underwriter of NJ Spotlight News.

She's hearing from teachers who are feeling the pain just as much as the families they serve.

"What a lot of educators tell me is, 'Chantal, I'm out every day trying to figure out how I'm going to make it the next day in the classroom when I don't have adequate supplies.'

They're facing insecurity.

They don't have rent money."

"I find this all the time.

Yes, their groceries are going up, their health care costs are going up, their energy costs are going up.

That teacher still in that environment are making extraordinary sacrifices out of their own pocket to buy supplies that should be for every child already provided.

Some residents spoke about the challenges of fighting for Medicaid coverage under the new rules that require more frequent applications and more stipulations to qualify.

I see over and over again they're making it harder and harder.

The applications are harder.

Just to talk to a representative is harder.

So it's like at a point in time you just like where can we get help from and the people that are being affected are the elderly and the children most of the time.

Increasing rent before you used to pay probably $900 right here now you have to pay $2,500 and it's a lot.

I was on a Sunday news show this yesterday and the Secretary of Treasury was on and said oh the economy is doing great look at the stock market look at corporate profits how does that make you feel as an American who's just has trying to make a family's ends meet?

I'm gonna be completely honest angry but reality is the pressure is on the people who have to work every day.

Some of the panelists work for nonprofits that help to fill the financial gaps for struggling families but now they too are feeling the pain of federal funding cuts.

We are exhausting our funding between one and three months of receiving the funding.

So the remainder of the community has nowhere to turn for support, for rental assistance, for LIHEAP many times.

And it's very frustrating because now providers are being stretched thin.

Now President Trump argues it'll take another one to two years before Americans see the positive impact of the tariffs as well as bringing jobs back to the U.S. Brianna.

Yeah, Joanne, I know the administration has really been harping on that, that it's going to take some time for this to play out.

But what did Booker say today about how he'll use his levers of power in Washington, especially, you know, Democrats are in the minority?

Yeah, well, the point that he made today when he was speaking to the panelists is, look, they're entering another budget season right now.

They have until October 1st to pass another federal budget.

And so he says they're going to need Democrats' votes.

Look, Democrats don't have much power right now in Washington, but there is some divide within the Republican Party when it comes to certain budgeting issues.

And so he says they will need every one of those 60 Democratic votes.

He says that he will be fighting.

He will use his leverage to restore much of these funding cuts that we heard folks saying are really impacting them today.

He says, if you want my vote, we need to restore these cuts and we need to reduce the pain that Americans are feeling.

And I know he has said, yes, that he's willing to withhold his vote unless he sees some of that.

Is that where he still stands today?

He does, yes, and he did say that.

And by the way, he said, look, this is not a red state, blue state issue.

He said that folks in red states are feeling the pain.

Families are feeling the pain just as much as in blue states.

But yes, he did say that he would withhold his vote if it came to that, if he didn't see some major changes that he believes are causing these families.

Yeah.

And of course, Senator Andy Kim has echoed the same sentiment.

All right.

The power struggle plays out in Washington.

Joanna Gagos for us.

Joanna, thanks so much.

We're continuing to look at spending in this year's highly competitive race for governor, now with just eight weeks to go.

The general election isn't expected to match the record-breaking $145 million spent during the primary, but political analysts still say we could see well over $60 million poured into the raise between Democrat Mikey Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciatarelli.

And a growing share of that money isn't coming from the candidates themselves, but from powerful outside groups both here in the state and at the national level.

Our senior writer Colleen O'Day has been following the money and joins us now to help make sense of it all, if you can, if any of us can, Colleen.

So what's driving this type of spending that we're seeing, not just in this cycle, but generally?

So there are a couple of things.

One is the idea that New Jersey and Virginia are the only states in the nation that have governor's races, have statewide races this year.

And having this come off of last year's presidential campaign, it is also something that the parties seem particularly interested in trying to capture these seats because they want to either show it as a repudiation of the current administration or as a continuation of the MAGA movement.

OK, a referendum and maybe something to pretend for the 2026 midterms.

Absolutely.

Right.

But the other thing, too, that we see all the time is just the idea that New Jersey is here, this relatively small, geographically speaking state, between New York and Pennsylvania.

We don't have a major media market of our own here.

We're between New York and Pennsylvania.

New York is the most expensive media market in the nation.

Philadelphia is the fourth most expensive.

So if you are running a statewide campaign, you need to be advertising in both.

Because you'll only reach 75% of the people if you're only on New York airwaves.

Now we know that a lot of advertising has moved off of broadcast television because fewer people are watching it.

But then you've got internet ads.

So it only just also then compounds the amount of spending you have to do.

You've got internet ads, you've got radio ads, you've got really highly targeted direct mail ads.

So it's quite costly.

In the primary, 78% of the money that was spent this year was spent on media, ads, billboards, all kinds of ways to reach people.

Which is typically where we would see it, right?

Right.

And that's generally where the money goes.

But what I find interesting and what you really reported on are these outside groups, these independent expenditures.

What are they?

Who's behind them?

Right.

So, you know, we saw dozens in the primary election.

Any group that wants to get involved in the general election has to refile.

So far, we've only seen about a dozen that have filed.

They're roughly split between Democrats and Republicans and independent groups.

Some of them have discussed money, $8.2 million so far, is all that they're saying they plan to spend.

But we haven't seen some of the bigger guns that we expect to come in.

For instance, the Democratic Governors Association has announced that it will spend $20 million in New Jersey, which would be almost the amount in total spent by the Democratic and Republican Governors Associations since the start of the century.

So I asked Ben Dworkin of Rowan University about that spending in particular, and here's what he said.

- We should remember that Phil Murphy, as with any governor who is leaving office, wants to retain his legacy, wants to enshrine his legacy in the work that he's doing.

So he has a strong stake in trying to ensure that Mikey Sherrill, the Democratic nominee, is able to succeed him in the office of governor.

What's also interesting here is that Bill Murphy is the finance chair of the Democratic Governors Association.

So not only does he have a personal interest, he has a professional and partisan one as well.

We should be clear, however, that it is still early in the process.

Every day we're seeing new independent expenditure groups come forward and register themselves.

We'll have to see how much money comes in.

So as Ben is saying, you know, I first looked at these committees on Friday and there were eight committees.

Over the weekend, four more committees were formed and registered with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.

That's our campaign finance watchdog.

So, I mean, who knows how many more of these we can see, since as you note, there's eight weeks until the election.

- Yeah, and we will expect to see more, but what's the interest here?

I mean, I know you touched on a couple of them, but obviously having your person in this potentially highest office wields a lot of power.

No?

So what type of transparency is there for voters so that they can understand who's driving these campaigns and which money is driving it?

So we did pass legislation a couple years ago now that for the first time is in effect this year and it is requiring these independent groups for the first time in state history to file reports.

The first time we will see any reports will be in early October.

There are reports that have to be filed 29 days before the election.

So what's happened since the primary in June and now is anybody's guess.

We don't know, but at least fairly significantly before the election we'll be able to see how much money they're spending and also how much they're raising because those reports do have to indicate, you know, if you've raised a couple, if anyone who's given a couple hundred dollars has to report.

Yeah, that's important too.

Very quickly, I know that you did a voter guide for folks.

They can find that on our website.

Yes.

What type of information will they be able to look at there?

So it's more than just the governor's race.

It's also every assembly race.

And there is one Senate seat up in the 35th District in the Passaic County area.

We've got background information on every candidate.

Asked them why they're running.

Asked, you know, so what is their top issue?

And then we asked about some key issues that are impacting New Jerseyans.

And all of their responses are there, the ones who responded.

And for the ones who didn't respond, there's still time to do so.

All right.

They can check it out on our website along with Colleen's reporting on this campaign spending and all of your political reporting on our website, njspotlightnews.org.

Colleen, thank you as always.

Thank you, Bree.

In our Spotlight on Business report tonight, tough luck in New Jersey for the massive Powerball jackpot, but the state wasn't left out entirely.

The monster $1.787 billion jackpot was claimed by winners in Missouri and Texas, but a $1 million second prize was sold right here in the Garden State at the Express Food Mart in Woodland, Camden County.

The jackpot was the second largest in U.S. history, going through 42 draws without a winner.

That may have spiked sales temporarily, but according to state data, lottery sales overall are lagging, a troubling trend that could have an outsized impact on the budget.

Our budget and finance writer, John Reitmeyer, joins us now to help explain.

Hey, John.

Good to see you.

So unfortunately, the big winner was not in New Jersey.

But overall, I know you've been following lottery sales here in the state.

What's contributing or what factors are contributing to what appears to be a slowdown in sales?

Yeah, and it's a couple different things, according to state lottery officials.

So you're right, the big jackpot that we saw over the weekend, the winners were splitting from tickets sold in Texas and Missouri.

So not a New Jersey ticket sale.

But what lottery officials have said is when there are big jackpots like the one that we just saw amassing among the multi-state games, so we're talking about Powerball and Mega Millions, that that generates more interest in the locations across the nation where these types of games, tickets can be sold and bought legally.

And so in New Jersey, just since May, when this latest Powerball jackpot was amassing, New Jersey retailers, according to our state lottery officials, have earned more than $4 million.

And we should say lesser prizes can be paid out, even if you don't win the big jackpot.

For example, just this last week, while no one from New Jersey scored the big jackpot, three different tickets sold in New Jersey in Hunterdon, Ocean and Camden counties were worth $1 million prizes.

And so the retailers earned commissions and those have totaled more than $4 million since May.

And the state itself gets contributions from ticket sales.

And just since May, as this Powerball jackpot was amassing, the state has reported more than $30 million in contributions from ticket sales from the Powerball.

And so we didn't for sure have a big jackpot winner in New Jersey this time, but that doesn't mean New Jersey hasn't won something as sort of this frenzy over a near-record jackpot was building over the last several months.

So if we know then the data shows us that these bigger jackpots drive ticket sales, what does it mean for the state budget and how do they sort of account for that for the programs that rely on this revenue?

That's a really good question because there is a big nexus now between the budget and lottery sales, believe it or not.

And that all goes back to a 2017 law that dedicated a portion of lottery proceeds in New Jersey to funding public worker pensions.

So, the pensions that are earned by retirees, like police officers and teachers and other public workers.

At the time of this reform, New Jersey was in the midst of a more than two what became a more than two decades stint of not funding its pension liabilities out of the annual budget.

And that built up a huge pension debt.

And it's going to take decades to get on top of that liability.

The current budget allocates more than $7 billion for the pension contribution just for this current fiscal year.

And $1 billion of that is expected to come from this dedicated portion of lottery proceeds.

And so, if you think about it, even if we don't win the lottery in New Jersey, every dollar that's contributed through ticket sales eases pressure on the amount that has to come out of the state budget, which we all pay for through our individual tax liabilities.

So then, is there discussion going on right now, either at the legislative level, at the executive level, to do something to boost these sales or just to diversify this type of, you know, gaming revenue?

Well, if you think about it, in recent years, activities like online gambling, and mobile sports betting are growing in popularity and also generating tax revenue for the state because these activities have been legalized.

So what we're seeing at the high level really is sort of rooting for these big jackpots to amass because the year prior to this most recent fiscal year and really the one before that, we saw higher levels of overall sales than we saw in just this most recent year.

And the difference was there were numerous jackpots that had grown above that attention-grabbing $1 billion threshold.

Whereas during the 2025 fiscal year when sales lagged a little bit, there was only one of those more than $1 billion jackpot.

Very quickly, while we have a little bit of time left, any indication though that the lagging sales are a short-term dip, you know, a one-off, or are we sort of looking at a longer trend?

Yeah, I think maybe we should keep it in perspective because even the, like, we dropped off to $3.3 billion, and the prior two fiscal years hit $3.7 billion and $3.6 billion.

So those are still big, big numbers, a big part of the economy, although not quite at the level during the last fiscal year than had been experienced the two prior.

All right.

You can find all of John Reitmeier's reporting on our website, njspotlightnews.org.

You can also, of course, follow him on social.

- John, thanks so much.

- You're welcome.

- Support for The Business Report is provided by the Newark Alliance Presents the 2025 Halsey Fest, featuring the vibrancy of Newark's Arts and Education District and Halsey Street.

Halsey, a neighborhood built on hustle and heart.

The 2025 Halsey Fest schedule is available at halseynwk.com.

- That's gonna do it for us tonight.

A reminder though, you can download our podcast wherever you listen and watch us anytime by subscribing to the NJ Spotlight News YouTube channel.

Plus, you can always follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky to stay up to date on all the state's big headlines.

And if you wanna help support the programming public media brings you and keep stations like this one thriving, head to njspotlightnews.org/donate.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi for the entire team at NJ Spotlight News.

Thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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