“In New Jersey, we have a single way of raising money, which is property taxes,” Pfeiffer said of municipal budgets. “Atlantic City has always been an exception to that because you have the hotels and then the casinos. You’ve always had a policy of state engagement to support Atlantic City’s municipal budget in particular.”
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In the News
Stamato Commentary: In the Crosshairs: The Nation’s Civil Service
By Linda Stamato While President Trump’s efforts to force out tens of thousands of civilian federal workers and to dismantle entire agencies have hit legal challenges, and generating some resistance from agency heads, those efforts remain front and center on the Trump...
Stamato Commentary: A functioning democracy requires knowledge
By Linda Stamato The question arises frequently enough as to what constitutes local news that I thought I’d address it. Sometimes, it’s abundantly clear what is local—mayoral elections, housing and parking authorities. But other times, it’s less obvious. What is...
In NJ, Trump economic ally pushes idea of raising SALT deduction to $20K or higher
With negotiations fast tracked over a Republican plan to pass a $4.5 trillion tax cut, a top economic official in President Donald Trump’s orbit — former economic adviser Stephen Moore — doubled down Thursday on doubling or even tripling the current $10,000 cap...
New Jersey’s ballot design that gave party bosses big influence is officially dead
A study by Rutgers public policy professor Julia Sass Rubin, looked at ballots where voters either voted twice or didn’t vote for certain offices, likely because of the way the line creates confusing ballots.
Jagannathan Receives Chancellor Award for Global Impact
Bloustein School Professor Radha Jagannathan was recently named the recipient of the Rutgers Chancellor Award for Global Impact.
The award honors a faculty member whose research, teaching, or service has catalyzed global partnerships or generated global impacts and exceptional public engagement.
Do Party Chairmen Still Hold Power in New Jersey Now That the Party Line Is Gone?
Political analyst Julia Sass Rubin, a professor at Rutgers University who has studied the county line’s effects, argues that while the change is a step toward fairness, party chairmen retain significant sway. “The line’s removal weakens their ability to directly control ballot placement, but these leaders still command loyalty, fundraising networks, and grassroots operations,” Rubin said. “They’ve lost a tool, not their toolbox.”
County conventions were all the rage in NJ. Now candidates are skipping out.
“The fact that so many people are choosing not to go through the process really highlights just how powerful the county line itself is in determining who wins the primary, putting aside all that other stuff,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor whose research was cited in overturning the line. “The candidates feel like they can afford to do this now. They don’t have to drop out if they’re not the favorite daughter or son, and they don’t have to go through the process of getting endorsed.”
Parsippany office building, part of a ‘dying breed,’ sells for $10.2 million
James Hughes, an economist at Rutgers University, told NorthJersey.com that white-collar jobs in banking and finance have become saturated after a two-year hiring spree that followed the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Crowley discusses the benefits of divorce after the age of 50 for women in Woman’s World Magazine in March 2025
“When I spoke to the women, they pinpointed three areas where they thought their divorces benefited them,” she reveals. “The first was independence—freedom to make their own decisions—while the next biggest positive was their ability to get away from their ex’s toxic behaviors.” The third key benefit is something we can all take inspiration from: feeling happier with life overall.