Good Friday morning! 

Gov. Murphy yesterday signed New Jersey’s new concealed carry legislation, something made necessary by the Supreme Court’s recent decision against New York. It's already being challenged in court.

The law is just about as restrictive as New Jersey Democrats dare to be, with a long list of “sensitive” places guns won’t be allowed and an insurance requirement. I’m not a lawyer, so I won’t try to forecast the chances for the lawsuit by a gun rights group, but given the composition of the Supreme Court and its recent trend on firearm decisions, you have to believe it’s got a good chance of being considered.

New Jersey is going to be tied up in court for quite a while. But that’s of little political consequence for our state’s Democratic politicians, who know that on this issue, public opinion is firmly on their side.

DAYS SINCE MURPHY REFUSED TO SAY WHETHER HIS WIFE’S NON-PROFIT SHOULD DISCLOSE DONORS: 320

TIPS? FEEDBACK? HATE MAIL? Email me at [email protected]

WHERE’S MURPHY? — Nothing public.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY —Rohan Mascarenhas. Sunday for Reginal Atkins, Jesus Christ, Thomas Little

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “I’m f***ed … 'I am completely indebted to these people,’ and I was like, ‘And they will ruin my life, Mom, if I do anything they don’t want me to do.’” — New Jersey native Cassidy Hutchinson recalling a conversation with her mother about feeling pressured to be represented by a Trump-aligned attorney, recalled during her testimony before the Jan. 6 committee.

PROGRAMMING NOTE — New Jersey Playbook will be off next week, but I’ll still be working. I’ll be back in your inbox in the new year

RAISING EYEBROWS AND CONSCIOUSNESS — “Lawmaker’s involvement in controversial cannabis shop plan raises eyebrows,” by New Jersey Monitor’s Sophie Nieto-Munoz: “Assemblyman Raj Mukherji’s involvement in a cannabis dispensary plan in Hoboken is leading to allegations of unfair political influence by critics of the plan who are intent on keeping the dispensary from opening. Mukherji, a Hudson County Democrat who represents Hoboken in the state Assembly, helped connect the people who want to run the dispensary with the owners of the building where it’s slated to open, just weeks before the dispensary plan went before a local review board. The building’s owners are Jaclyn Fulop — wife of Steve Fulop, mayor of neighboring Jersey City — and Drew Nussbaum, who chairs a super PAC linked to Mayor Fulop. Mukherji’s involvement in the dispensary plan comes as he is seeking to be elevated to the state Senate next year — Steve Fulop has endorsed him — and as the Jersey City mayor is eyeing a gubernatorial run in 2025.”

#VINNING — “Arnone won’t run for senate against Gopal in 2023,” by New Jersey Globe’s David Wildstein: “Monmouth County Commissioner Director Tom Arnone, one of the county’s most popular vote-getters, has decided not to challenge State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) next year, leaving Republicans without the candidate at the top of their wish list in one of the state’ most competitive legislative districts. ‘I am not going to be running,’ Arnone told the New Jersey Globe. ‘I love my commissioner job. We do great things in Monmouth County and I think we make a difference.’”

—Stile: “These are the New Jersey politicos to watch in 2023. This is why” 

—Steinberg: “Gen Z and Millennial voters can move New Jersey politics in a more progressive direction” 

—“Lawmakers join call for civil rights probe of anti-Latino bias claim in N.J. municipal court” 

—“Insider NJ’s 2022 Retrospective publication” 

—“NJ legal weed brings in millions in tax revenue” 

—Murphy eliminated edTPA requirement, but schools still telling prospective teachers to take it

—“Little Egg Harbor library closed after car crashes into building” 

SANDY — “Sandy victims might get indefinite reprieve on federal disaster clawback repayments,” by The Asbury Park Press’ Jean Mikle: “Federal efforts to recoup money from Superstorm Sandy victims would be halted indefinitely under a provision included in the $1.7 trillion spending package Congress is expected to vote on before the end of this week. Passage of the bill, which funds federal agencies through 2023, could provide a reprieve for more than 1,700 homeowners, who would not be forced to repay about $70 million in funds the federal government claims they were overpaid. ‘New Jersey families were decimated by Superstorm Sandy and are still on the hook for millions of dollars in federal clawbacks through no fault of their own,’ said U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., in a prepared statement”

NINE PLACES TO LOSE YOUR LIFE SAVINGS BUT YOU CAN'T BUY A CARROT — “Atlantic City to seek new proposals for supermarket after year of inaction,” by The Press of Atlantic City’s Bill Barlow: “The ShopRite deal is dead. Officials hope to salvage a new grocery store deal from the ashes. After more than a year of behind-the-scenes talks with Village Super Market, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority notified the company Tuesday afternoon that it was suspending negotiations. Both the CRDA and the state still hope to open a full-service grocery store in the city. There was no response from a spokesperson for Village Super Market on Wednesday. In previous statements, the company has said it remained committed to the Atlantic City project, even as months slipped by with no sign of construction starting.”

BY ‘FAMILY’, BRILL MITTLER MEANS LONG LOST COUSIN BETTE MIDDLER — “Highland Park mayor resigns to spend more time with family,” by MyCentralJersey’s Suzanne Russell: “Mayor Gayle Brill Mittler is resigning effective at midnight Dec. 31, with a year remaining on her term. The mayor announced her resignation during Tuesday's Borough Council meeting. ‘I have had the unique privilege these last 13 years, since 2009, of serving on the Borough Council for five years and as mayor for another eight years,’ Brill Mittler said during the meeting. ‘Over the past few weeks I made the difficult decision to resign from my position of mayor.’ Brill Mittler said she wants to spend more time with her family.”

CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS TO BE REPLACED BY PERSISTENT HOMELESSNESS — “Newark mayor announces collaborative plan ‘to end chronic homelessness’,” by NJ Advance Media’s Steve Strunsky: “Newark Mayor Ras Baraka on Wednesday announced a plan ‘to end chronic homelessness’ in the state’s largest city, incorporating existing and new initiatives at all levels of government, with the participation of local businesses and non-profit organizations … The plan, titled ‘The Path Home: Collaborating Across Our Community’ and posted on the city’s website, takes a three-pronged approach aimed at accounting for and sheltering the city’s unhoused residents living on the street; making better use of homeless shelters as entry points to support services for mental health, employment, permanent housing; and prevention of homelessness through the development of more affordable housing and services to help people stay in the homes they already have.”

2006 HONOREE FOR EXCELLENCE IN RECYCLING PAUL GUALTIERI COULD NOT BE REACHED FOR COMMENT —  “'Borderline on illegal': Local NJ officials fed up with apparent waste-hauler monopolies,” by The Record’s Philip DeVencentis: “The mayor of one North Jersey suburb is calling on state officials to investigate how waste haulers appear to be monopolizing the business, saying most towns are at their mercy to accept outrageous prices. Wayne Mayor Christopher Vergano is not alone in his frustration, but he may be taking the boldest stand against a decades-old problem: a lack of competition in the trash-collection industry. In just the past few months, at least four local governments in Bergen and Passaic counties have wrestled with exorbitant hikes when renewing contracts for collection of recyclables or solid waste after receiving only a single bid for those services. It has caused some municipalities to reevaluate how they handle the work by reducing the number of pickups, rerouting garbage trucks or, in the case of one town, possibly bringing the job in-house.”

WHO CARES? IT’S JUST CHILDREN’S SAFETY — “The student bus company in a new criminal case worked for at least five NJ districts,” by The Paterson Press’ Joe Malinconico and Colleen WiIson: “At least five North Jersey school districts — Paterson, Jersey City, Franklin Lakes, River Edge and Mahwah — have recent student busing contracts with a transportation company accused of using drivers with criminal convictions, suspended licenses and inadequate credentials. Neither the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office nor the New Jersey State Police has revealed how many unqualified drivers were operating buses for the company or how many children were riding on the routes in question … Shelim Khalique, who allegedly guided his brother in the American Star scheme, previously had a pending criminal indictment accusing him of similar crimes involving a bus company he owns, A-1 Elegant … Shelim and Jwel are brothers of Paterson City Council President Shahin Khalique, who also owns a bus company”

—“Suit says Newark school officials ignored bullying of special ed student before sex assault” 

R.I.P. — “John Holt, son-in-law of U.S. Senator, councilman in two N.J. municipalities, dies at 91,” by New Jersey lobe’s David Wildstein: “John C. Holt, the father of former Hunterdon County Commissioner Matthew Holt and the son-in-law of former U.S. Clifford P. Case, died on December 18. He as 91. A U.S. Navy veteran, Holt served as a councilman in Rahway and then in Clinton Township. He also served on the Zoning Board in three New Jersey municipalities: Rahway, Clinton Township and Clinton. Holt married Ann Case in 1957. Her father was a Rahway councilman from 1938 to 1942, a assemblyman from 1943 to 1945, a congressman from 1945 to 1953, and a United States Senator from 1955 to 1979. While Clifford Case grew up in Poughkeepsie (the second most famous New Jersey political personality to be raised there), his family had long times to New Jersey politics” (Playbook author’s note: Wildstein here is cheekily referring to me as the more famous New Jersey political personality who grew up in Poughkeepsie. Even if this is currently true, in 50 years I’ll be forgotten and perhaps dead, while Clifford Case will still be known as the last New Jersey Republican elected to the U.S. Senate).

HOW WILL THEY LIVE WITH JUST HALF A DOZEN WAWAS?’ — “Wawa’s Cherry Hill plans scrapped after community outcry,” by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Kevin Riordan: “A controversial proposal to build a Wawa with gas pumps at the Barclay Farms Shopping Center on Route 70 in Cherry Hill is dead. ‘A lot of us are very happy tonight,’ Anne Einhorn, a member of the grassroots group Preserve Barclay, said Wednesday. The group took its name from the tree-lined neighborhood that abuts the center, both of which were built in the 1960s.”

NEW 501C4 GROUP ‘MAHWAHIANS FOR A MAHWAH WAWA’ PURCHASES 10,000 SIGNS. DONOR IS ANONYMOUS —  “Mahwah withdraws ordinance banning non-commercial signs on municipal sites,” by The Record’s Marsha A. Stoltz: “The Township Council agreed unanimously to withdraw an ordinance proposing a ban on non-commercial signs on municipal property at its public hearing on Wednesday. Council members indicated they would prefer to regulate the signs rather than ban them altogether, but said the regulation points needed more discussion and more time to develop. ‘We need specifics on what locations are acceptable, the number of signs, the number of days those signs can be displayed,’ said Councilman Robert Ferguson.”

WEEHOKEN — “Weehawken is challenging Hoboken’s Union Dry Dock land grab, mayor says,” by The Jersey Journal’s Teri West: “Hey Hoboken, Weehawken would like a word. Weehawken officials told The Jersey Journal Thursday they plan to challenge Hoboken’s eminent domain grab of the Union Dry Dock property and have hired an attorney to kick off the process. The decision puts a snag into what Hoboken had recently declared as the end of a multi-year fight for the property, a sometimes bitter battle that included intervention from NJ Transit and the governor … Ferry company New York Waterway had envisioned a new maintenance and fueling facility … Now, Weehawken fears plans for a modernized maintenance facility could shift fully to its own waterfront, where Waterway already has a smaller maintenance operation, if it does not intervene, said Mayor Richard Turner. ‘Weehawken can’t take the full burden of this,’ the Weehawken mayor said.”

—“Alex Mendez says he’s ready to go to trial in election fraud case. Here's why” 

—“Former employee sues Alpine Country Club claiming harassment, discrimination” 

—“Bridgewater wants to know why school busing bill has doubled” 

—“Camden City School District joins list of those reviving mask mandates amid illness upticks” 

—Snowflack: “Boonton stirs the pot” 

HEALTH — University Hospital names new president and CEO, by POLITICO’s Daniel Han: University Hospital in Newark, the only state-owned public hospital in New Jersey and North Jersey’s only level-one trauma center, has named Ed Jimenez as its next president and CEO. Jimenez was chosen unanimously by the hospital’s board of directors during a virtual meeting Thursday. He was most recently the CEO of University of Florida Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, Fla., and previously worked in New Jersey as system vice president at St. Joseph’s Healthcare System.

NEEDLES — RWJBarnabas suggests opioid settlement funds be used to set up safe injection sites, by POLITICO's Daniel Han: RWJBarnabas Health is weighing in on how New Jersey should spend its opioid settlement funds, suggesting some of the money be used to establish safe injection sites. Support for the sites, which are also known as supervised drug consumption facilities or overdose prevention centers, is a notable step in the harm reduction space from one of the largest players in New Jersey health care.

CHICKEN WOMAN HOPES TO AVOID FATE OF CHICKEN MAN — “South Jersey’s ‘Chicken Lady’ aims to bring chickens to backyards, one town at a time,” by New Jesey Monitor’s Dana DiFilippo: “New Jersey loves eggs. A lawmaker tried to make pork roll, egg, and cheese the state sandwich. There’s an Egg Harbor city, township, school district, lake, bay, and café. The egg lobby attempted decades ago to declare New Jersey the ‘Egg State.’ There’s even a Twitter account devoted to New Jersey eggs. It uses the hashtag #NJEggsRule. All that egg affection delights Gwenne Baile, who’s known as the ‘Chicken Lady of South Jersey.’ Baile is on a crusade to persuade towns from Montague to Cape May to let residents have backyard chickens.”

—“An $1,800 electric bill? Here’s how much those crazy holiday light displays really cost N.J. families”

—“'You don’t have to be big': Allentown couple built Congo school, now orphanage”  

—“'I Wanna Dance with Somebody' review: Whitney Houston biopic sings a frustratingly familiar tune”