NJ Spotlight News

2 days ago | njspotlightnews.org | Hannah Gross

Two-thirds of some of New Jersey’s highest-need school districts are overcrowded, as proposed funding for school construction remains low. Schools in 19 of the 31 Schools Development Authority districts, where construction is paid for entirely by the state, are over capacity or do not have enough square footage per student, according to a new state report. More than 11,000 seats are needed to address capacity needs, about half of which are in Elizabeth.

3 days ago | njspotlightnews.org | Colleen O'Dea

With four weeks until the primary election, five Democrats running for governor challenged one another aggressively in front of the public Monday for the first time in this race. The candidates tried to distinguish themselves from the pack on a host of issues, which was not always easy, as all hold similar positions in many areas. Sponsored by NJ PBS and WNYC radio, the conversation Monday night among Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5th), Rep.

4 days ago | njspotlightnews.org | Michael Warren |Ted Goldberg

Edan Alexander, the New Jersey native and Israeli soldier held by Hamas for 584 days, was released by the terrorist group on Monday. Alexander, a native of Tenafly, was captured during the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and was the last living American hostage being held by Hamas. The remains of four other Americans have yet to be returned.

4 days ago | njspotlightnews.org | Lilo Stainton

A family of four in Ocean County earning less than $131,400 annually would see their health insurance costs rise by nearly $20,200 a year – 239% increase – if the federal government doesn’t reinstate tax credits for plans purchased through publicly run insurance marketplaces like Get Covered New Jersey.

6 days ago | njspotlightnews.org | Joanna Gagis

Air traffic controllers once again lost radar and communication with planes coming in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport. The outage happened around 3:55 a.m. Friday and lasted about 90 seconds, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. This is the second time that communication went dark for 90 seconds between pilots and air traffic controllers. The first was on April 28, prompting several controllers taking trauma leave, only worsening staffing shortages in the agency.