Good Thursday morning!

Gov. Murphy is considering a $40 million pandemic aid package for undocumented immigrants — a figure that doesn't seem to please anybody. Immigration advocates say it’s not nearly enough, and certainly nowhere near New York’s $2.1 billion in aid. But it’s a significant enough amount that Republicans will seize on it. Well, really, any figure would significant enough for that.

Why the $40 million figure? According to reporting from our own Daniel Han and Katherine Landergan, this would be done through executive action, which limits the types of funds that would be available to distribute. Democratic legislative leaders have demonstrated through stalled legislation that they don’t really want to touch this issue in an election year. Gov. Murphy is obviously up for reelection as well, but a statewide race is different than competitive districts. Still, it could be a politically difficult issue that will likely be used against him by his eventual Republican opponent, who’s probably going to be Jack Ciattarelli. The aid would mainly be available to undocumented immigrants who file taxes with the IRS, but those nuances have a way of getting lost in campaign literature.

WHERE’S MURPHY — In Newark to announce new “gun safety reforms and legislation” at 11 a.m. Media: “Ask Governor Murphy” on News 12 at 5:30 p.m.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY — Former CamCo GOP Chair Rick DeMichele, former Statehouse reporter Juliet Fletcher, 2020 election conspiracy theorist lawyer Howard Kleinhendler

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Let us begin in the beginning. Science teaches us that Prometheus sculpted the first humans from clay and the sacred spit of Zeus. He so loved his creations that he stole fire from the gods to give to people so that they could thrive. The gods were angry, and frightened, because suddenly here were puny but oddly powerful creatures who were terrified of the Olympian deities but who could, if they chose, take this collective fear and love and respect away, rendering the gods impotent, pointless, irrelevant. To the gods went the glory, but only so long as the humans gave a shit. Eventually, the humans stopped worshipping them, and their powers faded. What I’m saying is the people of New Jersey are made of Boardwalk zeppoli and asphalt, and New York only exists because we say it does.” — Author Sara Beinincasa in her essay “New Jersey is Perfect”

CORONAVIRUS TRACKER — 2,828 newly-reported PCR tests for a total of 845,201. 43 more deaths for a total of 25,006 confirmed or probable deaths. 2,281 hospitalized, 457 in intensive care. 2,292,316 fully vaccinated, or aout 25.8 percent of the population.

RECOVERY LAB: The latest issue of Recovery Lab, POLITICO’s new project surfacing the smartest ideas for speeding recovery from the pandemic, launches today with a focus on Education. The Covid-19 pandemic has forever changed teaching and learning in America… and it has also changed how we think about schools. Employers quickly learned how much they and their employees rely on schools to provide childcare. Communities learned just how dependent their families were on other supports provided through schools, such as healthy meals and medical checkups. And if the learning loss that occurred this year persists, it will become a long-term drag on those students’ lives and incomes. Read all the stories here.

... "Policy Hackathon: How to get schoolkids back on track"

ENVIRONMENT — Shawn LaTourette tapped as New Jersey DEP commissioner, by POLITICO’s Carly Sitrin: Gov. Phil Murphy announced plans Wednesday to pick Shawn LaTourette as permanent commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection. “I promise to treat the office I am nominated for with the reverence it deserves,” LaTourette said at an event in Trenton with the governor. “Our air, our land, our water, our wildlife, they don’t belong to the governor or to me ... these natural resources belong to the people — all of the people. You have my word that I will take good care of them for you.” LaTourette has been serving as acting DEP commissioner since Catherine McCabe retired in January … When LaTourette took over for McCabe, the Murphy administration celebrated him as the first openly LGBTQ person to lead a state or federal environmental protection department in the nation.

VACLANTIC CITY — “‘Shot Dots’ and ‘Blue Martini Special’: Vaccine site races time,” by Bloomberg’s Emma Court: “It’s early morning in Atlantic City. In the back of a cavernous, windowless convention hall, the eyes of a dozen pharmacists are locked on syringes filled with coronavirus vaccines that soon will course through the bodies of thousands of people. Time is everything as the workers prepare the world’s most valuable substance … Minute by minute, vaccine by vaccine, what’s unfolding in these brick walls in Atlantic City is just one leg of a race to vaccinate enough Americans before coronavirus variants spread further. New Jersey, where hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 have been rising, has some of the highest rates of the more-contagious B.1.1.7 strain, adding to the pressure on officials. It has vaccinated about 43% of its residents, above the U.S. average but still leaving millions to go. The task is complex: The state of nearly 9 million sandwiched between New York City and Philadelphia contains decaying industrial centers, wealthy suburbs and rural pockets — home to people from dozens of ethnic and language groups.”

CIATTA-REALLY? — Ciattarelli, but not Murphy, will have to debate in the primary, by POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: Just two candidates for New Jersey governor will participate in publicly sanctioned debates during the gubernatorial primary, and Gov. Phil Murphy isn’t one of them. Jack Ciattarelli, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, is required to take part in two primary debates because he qualified for two-for-one matching funds from the state and has an opponent who also qualified for the debate. That opponent, Hirsh Singh, is an engineer who is not receiving matching funds but raised at least $490,000 by the April 5 deadline. Clearing that threshold allowed him to qualify for the debate, commissioners of the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission said during a Tuesday meeting. How did Singh qualify: It’s not yet clear. Singh, who has run for office unsuccessfully four times in the last four years, did not respond to a phone call seeking comment, and his campaign finance reports have not yet been disclosed. But when Singh first ran for governor in 2017, he received $950,000 from his father.

— Phil Rizzo plans to appeal ELEC’s decision to deny him matching funds, according to a statement his campaign issued Wednesday. “The Rizzo Campaign has met both the statutory threshold, and the statutory deadline to raise the necessary funds, and can prove that well over $490K of donations were in the campaign’s account prior to the deadline on April 5th but experienced technical difficulties uploading the documentation.” The campaign plans to file an emergency appeal with the appellate division to force ELEC to reconsider.

MADE OFF — “A Madoff victim, NJ Senate leader Weinberg 'didn’t need him to die for a sense of closure,'" by The Record’s Dustin Racioppi: “The death of the disgraced financier Bernie Madoff on Wednesday didn't stir much emotion in his most well-known victim in New Jersey. 'I'm not saying kaddish,' said Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, referring to the Jewish mourning prayer. 'That's my reaction.' Weinberg, of Teaneck, had her life savings wiped out in Madoff's infamous Ponzi scheme in 2008. Like millions of Americans at the time, she hadn't even known who Madoff was until his multibillion-dollar scheme, the largest in history, became public … His death didn't provide any sense of closure, she said. ‘I haven’t thought about him very much over the last number of years unless someone from the media called me,’ Weinberg said. ‘I didn’t need him to die for a sense of closure.’”

MISTER CONGENIALITY — “Murphy says DGA chair ‘doing a great job’ despite genital grabbing settlement,” by New Jersey Globe’s Nikita Biryukov: “Gov. Phil Murphy demurred when asked if Democratic Governor Association Chairwoman Michelle Lujan Grisham should resign over a settlement to a suit brought by a former campaign staffer who accused the New Mexico governor of grabbing his genitals. ‘I think Gov. Lujan Grisham is doing a great job running the DGA,’ Murphy said. “‘’m its finance chair, so I don’t make the jurisdictional decisions any longer as I did when I was chair, but I think she’s doing a great job, and New Mexico, I think, is doing a very good job in the pandemic more generally.’ Lujan Grisham reportedly entered into a settlement worth at least $62,500 to close out a suit brought by James Hallinan, who served as her campaign’s communications director.”

— Secretary of state refers McCormick petition to AG for fraud investigation

— Lawmakers back University Hospital funding for facility upgrades amid improvements

— “Amid big drop in deaths, vaccinations to continue at nursing homes”

— “New marijuana and alcohol law handcuffs police | Opinion”

— "Nia Gill ineligible to practice law for failure to pay fee"

SALT IS CORROSIVE — “Don’t endanger the infrastructure bill in fight over SALT deduction,” opinion by The Star-Ledger’s Tom Moran: “Let’s hope that they are members of Congress are bluffing when they put the infrastructure bill in their crosshairs. That bill is critical to lifting the American economy and engaging the fight against climate change. Killing it would also undercut another top priority of our delegation, funding for a new tunnel under the Hudson River. Drawing hard lines could kill the bill, especially if members from other states take the same absolutist positions to protect their top priorities. Democrats have only a few votes to spare, so Tea Party tactics coming from the left could doom the entire project.”

— HAPPENING TODAY: Blue state lawmakers are upping their game when it comes to demanding full restoration of the state and local tax deduction — moving beyond letter-writing to a full caucus. Just short of a dozen House members from California, New Jersey and New York will be holding a news conference this morning to launch the SALT caucus — which is a bipartisan affair, though Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) have so far been the most aggressive voices seeking to repeal the 2017 tax law’s $10,000 cap on state and local deductions. — POLITICO's Bernie Becker

INTO THE CAPITOL LIKE A LION, TRYING TO GET OUT OF JAIL LIKE A FAIRLAMB — “Sussex County man pleads not guilty to charges he stormed the Capitol, assaulted officer,” by The New Jersey Herald’s Lori Comstock: “A Sussex County man who federal authorities described as a violent far-right conspiracy theorist pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riots and assaulted a police officer. Scott Fairlamb, 43, of the Stockholm section of Hardyston, was arrested at his home in January after four people tipped off the FBI to videos that purportedly showed the former Butler resident punching an officer's helmet and breaching the Capitol doors. Fairlamb's attorney, Harley Breite, entered his client's plea via telephone Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth, of the District of Columbia. The question of whether Fairlamb should remain in custody in a district jail was put off until a hearing later this month. Fairlamb, who also owned a Pompton Lakes gym that shut down during the coronavirus pandemic, attended by telephone as well, but said little during the hearing.”

— “Cory Booker wants ag to be a (much) bigger part of Democrats’ infrastructure push”

JOKER BRINGS THOUSANDS INTO THE STREETS OF GOTHAM WITH FREE MONEY PARADE — “Paterson guaranteed income program draws 2,000 applicants vying to get $400 per month,” by The Paterson Press’ Ed Rumley and Joe Malinconico: “Fred Harris last year lost his job cleaning debris from highways, he sometimes sleeps in abandoned buildings and he recently had to get a skin graft. But on Monday, the 60-year-old Paterson resident said he hopes things are looking up for him. He decided to submit an application for the mayor’s $400-per-month, no-strings-attached, guaranteed income initiative. Harris didn’t realize that the 110 Paterson recipients for the one-year-program would be picked through a lottery. But that did not deter him. ‘I’m a pretty lucky person,’ he said. ‘I think I can win.’ Harris was one of more than 2,000 people who submitted online applications Monday in a national program funded through a $15 million donation by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. Harris doesn’t have his own online electronic device, so he was among about a dozen people who used the computers that Passaic County Community College is making available to people who want to sign up for the program.”

BRICK WEED SUCKS ANYWAY — “Brick Council proposes blocking weed businesses, despite legalization,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Amanda Oglesby: “The Township Council introduced an ordinance Tuesday that would block cannabis businesses of all types from operating within Brick. In response to recreational marijuana's legalization across New Jersey, the Council's proposed ordinance would prohibit cannabis establishments, cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and delivery services from operating in Brick for the next five years. The council's prohibition is permitted under New Jersey's new Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement, Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act. If approved, the prohibition would last five years, though the governing body could amend the ordinance before its expiration.”

HACK DAYS NOW MORE COMMON THAN SNOW DAYS — “Two Somerset County school districts report cyber attacks,” by MyCentralJersey’s Mike Deak: “Two Somerset County school districts were the targets of suspected cyber attacks in the past week. Schools in both Hillsborough and Bernards were closed for a day after cyber attacks were suspected. Hillsborough schools were closed on Monday and Bernards schools were closed April 7. Schools in both districts were open the following day … A school board meeting scheduled for Monday in Hillsborough also was canceled. In an email to parents, Antunes apologized for closing school. ‘In an effort to minimize damage to the organization, we believe this is the best course of action,’ Antunes wrote, adding that the nature of the incident and the "instability" of the system would not allow the schools to operate virtually.”

GUSWEARA — “Trenton councilman demands apology after being 'cursed out' by Gusciora on phone call,” by The Trentonian’s Isaac Avilucea: “You mad, bro? Councilman Santiago Rodriguez demanded an apology from alleged potty-mouthed Mayor Reed Gusciora after the two city officials clashed over housing enforcement during a phone call Tuesday … Rodriguez accused the mayor at the council meeting of cursing him out during the phone call as he tried to ensure the families weren't left homeless when officials 'condemned' the building. The councilman claimed he's always respected Gusciora's ‘position’ as chief executive of the city but not anymore. 'We have a lot of differences, but I have always answered to your call,' Rodriguez said. ‘I was very upset when the mayor told me he wasn’t doing anything. He cursed at me.’ Gusciora didn't recall the interaction the same way, but admitted growing testy when Rodriguez allegedly attacked two city workers who were "going the extra mile" to ensure the families received three rooms at the Element Ewing Princeton.”

49 MASTROS — “$441M Passaic River cleanup plan unveiled for Bergen, Passaic, Essex towns,” by The Record’s Scott Fallon: “Some cancer-causing waste that lies for 9 miles along the bottom of the Passaic River in Essex, Bergen and Passaic counties would be removed while some contaminated sediment would be left and capped beneath a barrier according to a $441 million cleanup plan unveiled by federal environmental officials Wednesday. The plan, which still needs final approval, would dredge 387,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment laced with cancer-causing dioxin, PCBs and heavy metals from North Arlington to the Dundee Dam, which lies across the river between Clifton and Garfield.”

— “Camden County vaccinations slow as use of J&J vaccine paused”

— “Police sergeant in viral arrest video sues Dover for 'mislabeling' him as racist”

— “This N.J. school district [Hillside] is staying remote, even as Murphy pushes for more students in classrooms”

— “Candlelight vigil marks one year since start of COVID deaths at Andover Subacute”

— “Off-shore wind project will put cables under 2 of NJ’s hottest beaches”

— “Rutgers Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity vandalized during 24-hour reading for Holocaust Remembrance Day”

— “Life lessons from a South Jersey WW II veteran celebrating his 100th birthday: ‘Make the most out of every moment’”

— “Rutgers picks poet, ‘The Wire’ actor for commencement speeches”

— “Kevin Smith auctioning new horror movie, 'Killroy Was Here,' as NFT”