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

>> Good evening, and thanks for joining us on this Tuesday night.

I'm Brianna Vannozzi.

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

Skyrocketing energy bills are leaving residents frustrated.

So do either of the gubernatorial candidates have a plan to lower costs?

Later, we look at the fierce debate between parents and schools over their right to opt kids out of classroom lessons.

And finally, a controversial pipeline project back in the spotlight.

We talk about the potential impact on our state.

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

The Trump administration is doubling down on efforts to overturn sanctuary policies in the state.

In a new court filing, the Justice Department is asking federal judges to reconsider previous rulings that have upheld the 2018 Immigrant Trust Directive, which put limits on how state and local law enforcement can assist immigration agents.

As first reported by NJ Monitor, the court filings argue that the quote "current crisis" of illegal immigration in the U.S. warrants another look at the policy.

The Trump administration has sued Patterson, Hoboken, Jersey City, and Newark over local policies it argues are even more restrictive than the state's.

Meanwhile, more ICE arrests were reported in Maplewood Monday morning.

Video from a witness shows a heated confrontation between the man recording and agents on a quiet neighborhood street.

The mayor says ICE arrived in unmarked cars and arrested two men around 11 a.m.

Meanwhile, Monday's decision from the U.S. Supreme Court could lead to even more arrests around the country as it allows ICE agents, for now, to stop and question people about their immigration status based solely on factors like their ethnicity.

Also tonight, a major ruling.

A state appeals court on Monday rejected a challenge brought by Lakewood District parents to the school funding formula.

In the ruling, the judges said the real problem in Lakewood isn't the formula but how the district manages its money.

Public schools there serve fewer than 5,000 students, but the town spends heavily on transportation and special education services for more than 50,000 private school students, mostly from the town's large Orthodox Jewish community.

Now, the court says those costs are draining resources from public classrooms.

Judges pointed to years of low local taxes, fiscal mismanagement, and ignored recommendations from the state.

But lawyers for the parents say the ruling misses the mark, arguing the system can't support both public and private school needs on a public school budget, with plans to take the case to the state Supreme Court, adding to what's already been a more than decade-long fight over the issue.

And coming up, as your utility bills spike, what are the gubernatorial candidates saying they'll do to lower your energy costs?

We'll take a look at their plans.

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.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and by the PSCG Foundation.

With affordability front and center in the governor's race, rising utility costs have become a political lightning rod.

Both leading candidates say they have a fix in place that's ready for day one on the job, but their plans couldn't be more different.

Senior correspondent Joanna Gagas takes a look at what's really driving up your energy bill in New Jersey and New Zealand, whose plan has the most potential to bring it back down.

The cost of turning on your lights could just be a deciding factor in New Jersey's race for governor.

Ratepayers are already angry at rising electricity bills, which will only get worse this year.

Both candidates, Democratic Congresswoman Mikey Sherrill and Republican Jack Cittarelli, will rile up voters, and they're using it in their campaigns.

We all know it.

New Jersey's a mess.

And all Mikey Sherrill wants to talk about is President Trump.

Come on.

What does the president have to do with rising property taxes and higher electricity bills?

Day one as governor, I'm declaring a state of emergency on utility costs.

Using emergency powers to end these rate hikes and drive down your bills.

Both candidates have taken to finger-pointing.

Cittarelli blames Governor Murphy.

When the current administration took office, New Jersey was an electricity exporter.

Today we have to import it through the exchanges.

And that's because they've shut down six different electricity generation plants, didn't expand our nuclear capabilities in South Jersey, and didn't accelerate solar.

And so here we are today having to import electricity and pay it through the nose.

Cheryl blames PJM, the regional grid operator that helped set electricity market rates.

It's because largely of PJM.

That's this little known entity that controls the grid or electric grid, our power supply, and they've really screwed up the market for that.

So we saw prices go up about 20% in the recent market.

And now they've just on Tuesday, they've just gone up another 5% or another $140 per family.

She also faults PJM for delaying clean energy projects from coming online that would provide more power sources to the grid.

PJM denies that.

Both candidates have laid out their day one plans for cutting electricity costs with some specificity and some overlap.

On day one, I'm going to declare a state of emergency on utility costs, freezing utility rates on day one.

When I take office, the average New Jersey family won't see an increase in utility rates for an entire year.

I'll massively expand cheaper, cleaner power generation and building an energy arsenal in our state.

We're going to cut through red tape and eliminate permitting delays to get that done right now.

It means immediately breaking new ground on solar.

with the Murphy adminis with Cheryl's campaign ab the state's energy plan s freezing rates.

We're real do you go through each el and say, what can we do t the very short term?

And like talking about how mu earn on their investments how do we change rules at the federal and regional level to bring prices down?

In a statement to us today, Sheryl's campaign took aim at her opponent and the utility companies, saying there's no time for timidity or for weak leaders like Jack Cittarelli who refuse to take on Trump, PJM, or the utility companies to lower costs for New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Cittarelli says he'll take an all-of-the-above approach to getting more energy online after he pulls New Jersey out of RGGI, an agreement with 10 other eastern seaboard states to limit carbon emissions.

On day one by executive order, I can pull out of the regional greenhouse gas initiative known to many people as RGGI.

That will save anywhere from 300 million to 600 million dollars a year in rate payer fees, so we can get the monthly electric bills down immediately.

The other thing I'm going to do is expand our natural gas fire electricity generation plants, lifting the unofficial moratorium on those that already exist, building three or four more new ones.

We can get them online within two years.

I want to put a shovel in the ground on day one for a fourth nuclear reactor.

And I certainly will look to accelerate solar wherever I can, particularly on commercial rooftops.

Eric Ford with the New Jersey Energy Policy Coalition says whoever becomes governor needs to keep all options open.

What other energy innovations are out there like fuel cells, small turbines, is hydrogen part of that solution to which it probably is battery storage that was that was just passed by legislation I think is a good start.

As for wind turbines off our shores, Jack says that one's a hard no for him.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Joanna Gaggis.

A recent US Supreme Court decision is stirring up fresh debate over what students are learning in the classroom and who gets to decide.

The ruling expanded parental rights to opt their children out of certain lessons for religious reasons.

And some districts say more New Jersey parents are now choosing to pull their kids from class.

The court's decision centered on the use of LGBTQ+ storybooks, but it could reshape how many other sensitive topics are taught.

For more on this, I'm joined by our education and child welfare writer, Hannah Gross.

Hannah, good to see you as always.

So what do we know about how this ruling is affecting school districts on the ground?

Is there a surge?

Are things pretty much status quo?

What's happening?

So far, based on conversations with school board attorneys, it seems like things are pretty status quo.

There have been a few opt-out requests that have come in so far, and they're expecting an increase as the school year goes on.

But so far, it's not overwhelming for districts.

And maybe as more parents learn that they have this option now, or that it's available, more broadly available.

Exactly.

What do they have to do, a parent, in order to be granted that opt-out?

Is there paperwork?

Do they need to provide some type of detailed reasoning?

What does it look like?

So they would need to reach out to the school district and explain which specific parts of the curriculum goes against their religious upbringing of their children.

So you can't say I broadly object to being taught about gender in schools.

You have to be a little bit more specific than that is what the attorneys I spoke to have said.

And so some districts are coming up with protocols or forms that families can submit, especially if they're in an area where they know there's a big religious community and they're expecting a lot of people to opt out.

Yeah, so I imagine that the attorneys, school attorneys, are working with those districts now pretty closely.

Do we have any example of what that looks like, the forms or what type of information proof they have to submit?

There's not an across-the-board requirement, so it's going to depend on the district, how they handle it.

But the attorneys are advising that some higher up administrators are the ones making these decisions, who have some sort of legal background and are in touch with the school board attorneys.

So it's not just classroom teachers who are deciding when is a valid time to opt out and when is not.

- Okay, I do want to clarify though, this ruling does not ban the teaching of LGBTQ inclusive curriculum.

Is that right?

That's still required under New Jersey state law.

- That's correct.

So the ruling has no influence on what's taught in schools.

It really only relates to a parent's right to opt their kid out of certain lessons.

But the lessons can continue to be taught.

And in New Jersey, we're actually required to have an LGBTQ inclusive curriculum under a 2019 law that requires information about LGBTQ people to be taught across different classes and subjects.

I'm curious though, whether or not there could be other implications.

Of course, as you said, it doesn't affect what's being taught, but is there a factor here where teachers could maybe scale back some of the teachings in order to avoid backlash or maybe school districts make that decision, particularly in communities where they know it's a hot button issue?

It's possible and some advocates I spoke to did express that concern.

It's something we've seen with recent challenges to books where some districts might decide just, "Oh, we don't want to include this book as a required reading," or, "We're going to pull this from the library on our own."

So there is a concern that teachers or districts might scale back or at least limit this information to certain class periods or units to make the opt-out process more seamless and less disruptive to the school day.

But it sounds like overall it's still a bit of a hurdle that a family would need to go through in order for their child to get this opt-out permission, which maybe depends on the district as well.

Uh-huh.

All right, let me switch gears quickly because we've been talking a lot about the 5756 policy.

This all plays together in terms of the broader parental rights movement.

And who exactly has jurisdiction?

Whose rights supersede others?

You've been covering and we've been following a case out of Hunterdon County, a father who sued the Delaware Valley Regional High School about his daughter who chose to use male pronouns in the school.

The school did not notify him.

Is this the type of ruling from the Supreme Court that could have any play there when it comes to parental rights overall?

Walk us through that.

So the Supreme Court ruling really deals specifically with parents' rights to opt out of classroom materials.

It wouldn't influence whether a parent can opt their child out of referring to a student with their chosen pronouns or referring to them by a name or using a certain bathroom or even including Pride Month messaging during the school year.

That's all outside of the scope of the Supreme Court ruling.

What about in terms of just what the state law is in terms of an individual's rights, a parent's rights?

I mean, what do we know based off of what's played out from this lawsuit?

And there are others.

I mean, both of these cases are dealing with kind of the same question about when do parental rights or the rights of a parent over their child's upbringing supersede or how do they interact with school district policies and the education of all of the kids in school?

What are you hearing as you talk to superintendents, advocates, parents?

You know, this is a new school year.

And a lot of cases, it's going to be a very different school year for some of those reasons that we mentioned.

But what are they saying about all this?

Because last year you covered a lot of board board of education meetings where things were just flying off the handle.

Is that what we expect moving forward?

And what are you hearing?

Even with all of the changes at the federal level, the superintendents I've spoken to say their commitment to students remains the same.

They have to follow the New Jersey law against discrimination and look out for all students and make sure they get the education that they're entitled to under the law.

So none of that should be changing.

Of course, we have a governor's race coming up in November.

A new governor who will be taking the helm.

Room there for any of this to change?

Anything's possible.

I mean, we don't know what November holds.

We have two candidates with different stances on education and parental rights, and it will definitely be interesting to see how that plays out in terms of the state school board and the Department of Education at the state level.

All right.

You can read all of Hannah's reporting, including on this topic, on our website, njspotlightnews.org.

Hannah, thanks as always for coming in.

Good to see you.

In our Spotlight on Business report tonight, Camden-based Campbell's company is the latest to make a pledge around synthetic food dyes and products.

The food giant says it'll remove all artificial colors from both food and beverages by August 2026.

Some of the affected brands include Goldfish, V8 Splash, Stelladoro Cookies, and Lance Crackers.

But Campbell says the move is nothing new for the company.

It already uses natural dyes in a vast majority of products.

Goldfish crackers, for example, have used colors sourced from plants for about 15 years now.

The redfish, those are made using a combo of beet juice and paprika.

The manufacturer pointed to the fact though that people are increasingly looking for healthier options with simpler recognizable ingredients and joins other companies like Kraft, General Mills and Nestle who made similar pledges under pressure from the White House and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Any products with synthetic dyes will be moved off the shelves as inventory clears.

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.

A controversial natural gas pipeline once thought to be off the table is back in the mix.

The Northeast Supply Enhancement Project is aimed at boosting gas supply to the New York City area by way of New Jersey and it recently secured a key federal approval from regulators.

Now supporters argue the pipeline is essential to meet energy demands, but opponents warn of environmental risks.

Now all eyes are on the Garden State, which gets the final say on whether the project moves forward or dies again.

Senior Correspondent Brenda Flanagan is here with us now for the latest.

Hey, Brenda, good to see you.

Hey, Brianna.

So opponents call this project the zombie pipeline because after they'd killed it twice with legal challenges and permit denials that spanned almost a decade, it's come back to life again.

And that means another pitched battle between environmental advocates and fossil fuel operators over NESSI, the Northeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline, a natural gas project pushed by the Oklahoma company Williams-Transco.

This pipeline would carry natural gas from Pennsylvania for a combined 36 miles from connections in Sayerville and Porthamboy, along the seabed in Raritan Bay, over to Queens, where it would generate energy only for New York, none for New Jersey.

It would also require a new compressor station in Franklin Township, Somerset County.

Opponents here claim constructing it would expose New Jersey to all of the risk and pollution of building an underwater pipeline with zero benefits.

New York, New Jersey, Baykeeper Greg Ramode believes it would irreparably harm the Bay.

>> I'm going to start with >> Raritan Bay.

It's just incredible recreational and ecological treasure.

I mean there's boating sailing crabbing.

>> World-class fishing for bluefish, striped bass, fluke.

It supports bunker, which are what whales feed on, and support lots of other fish.

There's a commercial crabbing industry here.

So to run a needless pipeline across 23 miles of rarity in Bay going through wetlands and then slicing through marine habitat and clam bags, it makes no sense to us.

Ramones worried pipeline construction would dig up toxic heavy metals like copper and mercury that currently lie buried away in the Bay sediments, a relic of New Jersey's industrial past.

In fact, there's a Superfund site nearby contaminated with lead scheduled for cleanup.

Now, one hundred and seventy five million dollars are going to clean up the Raritan Bay slag superfund site, which is right adjacent to where the Nessie pipeline would be going in.

So all this money is being spent to remove lead, but copper and mercury and other contaminants are being re-suspended into the water column.

So it it really makes no sense.

And the stakes are even higher because we're undoing really good environmental work on the Raritan Bayshore.

Now, that pipeline traverses more than the seabed.

It'll also pass through several New Jersey towns, and many around the bay have recently passed resolutions opposing the project.

The Sierra Club has launched an information campaign.

It's planning a rally in Monmouth Beach, according to Sierra New Jersey director Taylor McFarland.

And the residents there, too, they came up to me in South Amboy and they said, you know, we had no idea this was happening.

If you do look at if you do look at the route where the pipeline is, there's a housing development where the pipeline is going to go underneath the road, underneath the housing development.

And some of the residents don't even know.

So, it's absolutely incredible.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission just last month quietly reissued its approval for the pipeline.

But the project still needs water quality permits from New York and New Jersey.

Both states have denied those permits in the past.

But there's been a shift in the political landscape since then.

KATHLEEN RAY, Executive Director, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: The landscape has changed a little bit.

I mean, there's a different administration in New York, and the president is different than last time.

But it's the same project.

And back when it was first introduced in 2017, it was denied two times, both by the New York Department of Conservation and New Jersey DEP.

And then, you know, fast forward five years later, Transco is back with the exact same proposal.

According to published reports, New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering a deal with the Trump administration to approve the Nessie pipeline in exchange for Trump lifting a stop work order on New York's Empire offshore wind project.

The pipeline also needs a federal permit to potentially harm or even kill marine mammals, including critically endangered right whales during construction.

NJ Spotlight News correspondent Ben Hulot points to the contradictions.

A lot of anti-wind groups along the state coast said, um, that was the rallying cry, right?

We can't build these offshore wind farms because we have to protect the right whale.

Uh, this would also affect porpoises, seals.

Um, but yeah, to your point, there is not a lot of brouhaha over this pipeline, which, um, it's also fossil fuels, right?

Now that federal permit from NOAA is still pending.

A Williams Transco spokesman stated, "We will work closely with regulators to ensure all facilities will meet rigorous environmental and safety standards.

NSEE, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2027, is designed to address natural gas supply constraints in the Northeast, helping further advance this clean energy infrastructure project responsibly."

As for Governor Murphy, we asked for his opinion and the reply was, "No comment."

That was the same response, Brianna, that we got from Governor Hogel.

Yeah, so the jury's out there, but what happens next, Brianna?

Well, what comes next in New Jersey?

The DEP is conducting a virtual public hearing on the proposed pipeline tomorrow night.

That's going to be from 6 to 9 p.m. You can dial in, basically click on, get the link, and you can express your opinion.

Folks can comment there or send a written comment.

The deadline is September 24th.

Brianna.

Any chance, Bren, that we could see this punted, at least on the New Jersey side, to the next administration or what are the constraints on the timing?

Do we know?

It's certainly a political hot potato.

The actual deadline, I'm not sure, for a permit being granted by the DEP or by New York.

We're going to wait and see.

I think what each governor decides to do, I think that will telegraph when our respective DEP and the New York organization issues a ruling on the situation.

And of course, as you mentioned, New York sort of using some leverage there that New Jersey doesn't necessarily have.

Exactly.

That's because New York has this wind farm that's ready to go.

The stop order got put in place and now that's on hold.

Jersey doesn't have an offshore wind facility that's even remotely ready to start producing power.

All right, Brenda Flanagan, great reporting as always.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Finally tonight, some of Patterson's unsung heroes are getting some well-deserved recognition.

Volunteers who assisted during the city's massive water main break this summer were honored by the mayor at a city hall event on Monday.

Seven community members were given awards, including Sharonda Roberts and her son, Richard Clark, who together run a nonprofit called Mature Sisters that provides showers to unsheltered people.

Well, during the water main break, which left more than 200,000 people in Patterson and surrounding towns without water or too low of pressure to use it, Mature Sisters stepped up, offering portable showers at a comfort station by City Hall with the help of another honoree.

Others in the group included a retired firefighter and a member of the local Black Lives Matter.

And perhaps not surprising at all, the honoree said they will be there for the next crisis if they're needed.

That's going to do it for us tonight.

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

And if you want to 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 Thanks for being with us.

We'll see you right back here tomorrow.

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Have some water.

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