NewsBreak Original

The Murphy Administration will hold a public webinar this Thursday, 6/9, to gather public input on the Three-Year Plan for Spending Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Auction Proceeds.

Philadelphia makes a massive investment in education. The budget for the School District of Philadelphia will rise by $175 million dollars in the next fiscal year. This investment comes even as the school board projects another decline in enrollment. The Philadelphia Board of Education approved the “highest level of investment in our schools and students since fiscal year 2011.” Some of the places the funding will go include Improving counselor-to-student ratios; adding special education teachers, teachers for English language learners; improvements that move the district closer to goal to certify all schools lead safe by 2024; and supporting the addition of 800 hydration stations in schools by 2025, or sooner.

On May 17 Florida's Governor Ron DeSantis was joined at a press conference by his wife Casey, to announce that $100 million of state funding is to be directed towards cancer research and treatment in the 2022-23 financial year. This is $37 million more than was previously allocated in the state budget, and represents the significance of this cause to the Governor, his wife and to Floridians more generally.

[DOUGLAS COUNTY, COLO.] Douglas County's new public health department will provide 33 public health services after approval by the county board of health Thursday. In 2020, the county decided to drop out of the Tri-County Health Department over opposition to the department's mask mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elon Musk has in recent days distributed a pitch deck to investors outlining his grand plans for Twitter.Joe Skipper/Reuters. In a move that has the internet reeling, Elon Musk has taken over Twitter. Well, in paper. The deal might take close to 6 months to go through.

Unvaccinated police officers to be placed on leave, fired. The disagreement between the City of Philadelphia and the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5, the city's police union, was laid to rest after an arbitration panel decided that unvaccinated police officers needed to get vaccinated or an exemption or face termination. The enforcement of the mandate would potentially lead to the firing of a handful of officers. The fight against vaccines by police seemingly went against data that showed COVID-19 was the leading killer of active-duty law enforcement last year.

Philadelphia high school named top 10 in the country. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Philadelphia was named the 10th best high school in the country according to U.S. News & World Report. The list is determined by ranking criteria like college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.

[DOUGLAS COUNTY, CO] The first look at how a Douglas County Health Department would be staffed calls for potentially hiring more than 40 employees and spending up to $4 million.

The New Jersey Evergreen Fund will raise and invest funds in NJ-based companies and aid state entrepreneurs in venture capital funding. The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) Board approved the creation of the New Jersey Innovation Evergreen Fund (NJIEF) on April 13, 2022.

500-Plus Shop Owners Apply for Morris County Small Business Grants. Nearly 150 Being Approved While Program Remains Open to Applications. The Morris County Small Business Grant Program, launched on Valentine's Day, has garnered 518 applications to date from shop owners, service providers, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs, while nearly 150 of those small businesses are in the process of having their grants approved.

A traffic sign guides commuters with downtown Buffalo, New York in the background.Photo by J.M. Lesinski. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently made available $62.4 million in funding to assist county-level endeavors that will be strengthening emergency communications and interoperability features of infrastructure utilized by first responders.

37% of roads in New Jersey are in poor condition costing each motorist $713 per year. An in-depth look at NJ roads and our countries infrastructure. According to the 2021 Report Card For America’s Infrastructure, 37 % of roads in New Jersey are in poor condition. Each NJ motorist pays an average of $713 per year in costs due to driving on roads in poor condition.

The four Philadelphia police officers involved in the shooting of 12-year-old Thomas Siderio are being sued by the boy's family. The officers said that they were investigating reports of a gun when they saw Siderio and another boy on bicycles and they noticed Siderio had a gun. The police say that somebody fired on them first and when they returned fire they shot and killed Siderio. A semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the scene.

Gov. Murphy, NJDOT, and NJ Transit officials announced the fifth consecutive year without an NJ Transit Fare Hike and a plan to install Wi-Fi on all NJT busses. Governor Phil Murphy, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, NJDOT Commissioner, and NJ TRANSIT Board Chair Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, and NJ TRANSIT President & CEO Kevin S. Corbett today (2/28) announced the fifth consecutive year of no fare increases for NJ TRANSIT.

MPA filed a suit against NJ Transit (2/22/2022) over an “unreasonable demand” of $1million to redevelop the back parking lot of Morristown Train Station into a mixed-use housing and commercial building.

Gov. Murphy announced on 2/16/2022 that $10 million will be allocated to support New Jersey’s Foreclosure Prevention Act program. Governor Murphy announce on 2/16/2022 that $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will be allocated to support New Jersey’s Foreclosure and Prevention Act (2021) program managed by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).

Profi’s holistic platform helps professional service providers scale and grow their businesses so they can help more people. Los Angeles-based startup Profi has just been seeded with a fresh round of funding. Totaling $6 million, the funds will be used to help the company grow its team and scale its innovative software platform for coaches, trainers, consultants, therapists and other professional service providers (aka “profis”). The company also announced the launch of its corporate solution: Profi Team. The solution supports teams of profis working together in both small businesses and larger organizations.

A shot of a local neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.Photo by J.M. Lesinski. With the COVID-19 pandemic came a new wave of unexpected domestic violence that blindsided many and left countless in bad situations. New York State Governor Kathy Hochul recently revealed the allocation of over $64 million in federal funding for the aid of domestic violence and abuse survivors, children, and households in New York state.

$3.8 million to redevelop 14 NJ communities into public transit-orient "developments that reduce the reliance on vehicles." Governor Murphy and Department of Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti announced on January 31st a $3.8 million investment in "Transit Village grants" for the fiscal year 2022.

Welcome to The Philly Four, a daily recap of four of the top stories from the Philadelphia area, covering everything from local government to the Phillies bullpen. A one-stop shop for the most important news bites in the City of Brotherly Love.