MORRIS COUNTY — Looking for that magical puff to appear with everything you’ve wanted in life and more? Look no further, Puff will bring it all.

Puff is a ten-year old Maltese Chihuahua mix. He is a lovable, loyal companion once you break open his shell.

He was surrendered to a municipal shelter and was found shaking in his kennel. He is scared at first greetings but quickly warms up once you gain his trust.

One of the fastest ways to Puff’s heart is through food! This little senior will do anything if treats are involved! He also enjoys taking peaceful strolls in the grass and sunbathing.

Puff is a softie who enjoys being held and pet. He will quickly bond with you this way. Once he does, he will become your little shadow and want to go everywhere with you!

Puff needs a quiet home where he feels safe and comfortable. He prefers not to be around children since he becomes stressed. He enjoys the company of dogs who are relaxed and independent. He would be fine in a home with cats.

With patience and time, Puff will provide someone with an abundance of love. He needs a family who will understand his rough past and work towards bringing out his amazing qualities!

If you are interested in adopting Puff, please fill out an application by clicking here.

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MORRIS COUNTY — “School districts shouldn’t have to choose between funding special education programs or providing services to other students,” Pennacchio said. “With extraordinary special education costing enormous amount of dollars, we must ensure every child has an equal educational opportunity without negatively impacting a school’s budget. My proposal would make certain that our most vulnerable students, regardless of their zip code, are provided with the resources they need to succeed.”

Pennacchio’s bipartisan legislation, S-3758, would shift special education costs away from school districts and to the State.

If a school district anticipates that the cost of providing special education and related services included in a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) will exceed $55,000, that student would be considered to require a high needs placement. A school district would forward the IEP to the newly created Office of High Needs Placement Funding within the Department of Education. That office would be responsible for entering into contracts with, and making payments to, providers of the special education and related services for these students.

The bill establishes a High Needs Placement Committee in the Office of High Needs Placement Funding. The committee members will include the commissioner and State Treasurer, or their designees, and 15 public members.

Under current law, extraordinary special education costs aid is awarded to school districts as a reimbursement of costs incurred in the prior school year in educating individual special education students whose costs exceed certain thresholds. Unfortunately, the State has not been reliable in fulfilling this important responsibility, and the program is only 65% funded in the current fiscal year. This bill eliminates this category of State aid, instead making the State responsible for 100% of these extraordinary special education costs and making it impossible to shirk their responsibility.

According to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, more than half of a New Jersey homeowner’s property tax bill supports their local school districts. Senator Pennacchio believes that this legislation will provide providing significant relief to property taxpayers.

“The property tax crisis that many rural and suburban homeowners face is the result of a flawed school aid formula that provides little state aid to many of those school districts,” Pennacchio added. “Enacting this reform will lower property taxes, improve the quality of education, and protect New Jersey’s special education children. It truly begins the process of funding all of our children the same regardless of their zip code.”

This legislation is also part of a comprehensive and bipartisan “Path to Progress” bill package aimed at implementing essential fiscal reforms that will help to hold the line on spending and taxes. This Legislature took a first step in in this year’s budget by appropriating an additional $55 million dollars to reimburse a greater portion of the extraordinary special education costs incurred by school districts.

“I want to thank Senate President Sweeney for his commitment to help our most vulnerable students,” Pennacchio added. “I look forward to this bill passing the Legislature and becoming law this fall, and towards that, I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues, the Assembly, the Murphy Administration, and special education advocates to ensure that this bill is done right – truly protecting our most vulnerable children.”

MORRIS COUNTY — Senator Joe Pennacchio (R-26) has been honored with the prestigious “Award for Conservative Achievement” by the American Conservative Union in recognition of his legislative voting record in 2018.

“I am honored to receive this recognition by the oldest grassroots conservative organization in the United States,” Pennacchio said. “I’ve always believed that overtaxed and vulnerable New Jerseyans deserve to have a fighting voice in Trenton. This award proves it is possible to be fiscally conservative and maintain a social conscience at the same time.”

The American Conservative Union Foundation is the nation’s largest and oldest grassroots conservative organization. Pennacchio received the “Award for Conservative Achievement” for his votes on key legislation during the 2018 legislative session. To obtain this designation, a legislator must score an 80% or higher on the ACU’s scorecard. Pennacchio has a lifetime average of 92%. In order to determine who receives this award, the ACU Foundation researches voting records and compiles a rating list for every state legislature in the country.

While Senator Pennacchio has been recognized as a strong fiscal conservative, throughout his tenure in the New Jersey Legislature, Pennacchio has also been a strong advocate for homeowners, families, and the state’s most vulnerable residents.

Earlier this year, Pennacchio introduced “Mallory’s Law,” legislation that strengthens and standardizes New Jersey’s anti-bullying laws. “Mallory’s Law” is named in honor of Mallory Rose Grossman, a 12-year-old Rockaway student who committed suicide after being the victim of relentless bullying.

Pennacchio has also led the effort to create a pathway to justice for those wrongfully convicted. His bipartisan legislation would create the “New Jersey Innocence Study and Review Commission,” which would review all aspects of criminal cases involving wrongful conviction in New Jersey and recommend reforms to reduce the likelihood of wrongful conviction occurring in the future.

“While I am humbled to earn this honor from the ACU, representing and serving the great people of New Jersey continues to be the greatest privilege bestowed upon me,” Pennacchio added. “No matter if I am fighting the good fight to lower taxes, or sponsoring landmark legislation to give a voice to the vulnerable, I always have the best interest of New Jerseyans at heart.”

MORRIS COUNTY — County College of Morris (CCM), recognized as a leader in the education of employees for advanced manufacturing, has been awarded a $4 million grant from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to expand apprenticeship programs for the industry.

The USDOL’s Scaling Apprenticeship Through Sector-Based Strategies grant program focuses on advancing the development of apprenticeship programs in three areas: advanced manufacturing, information technology and health care. The program supports partnerships among educational institutions and the private and public sectors. These partnerships will create apprenticeship models to close the skills gap by providing key training and job placement opportunities and strengthening pathways into the workforce.

As a grant recipient, CCM will lead a consortium of New Jersey community colleges to build a network of apprenticeship programs in advanced manufacturing as part of a project called Career Advance USA. CCM was one of only 23 academic institutions nationwide to receive the USDOL grant.

“With more than 7,000 manufacturers in New Jersey, the apprenticeship program will help bridge the gap to create a skilled workforce in entering a critically important industry in New Jersey,” said CCM President Anthony J. Iacono. “The USDOL grant further supports and strengthens our mission to be one of New Jersey’s major economic engines.”

“This grant award to support manufacturing apprenticeships is a great step forward for New Jersey’s knowledge economy,” said New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis. “The apprenticeship model offers a unique opportunity to blend classroom learning with direct workplace experience in a mutually reinforcing fashion, and we are excited about the possibilities of the consortium of community colleges led by County College of Morris in partnership with the leading manufacturing firms convened by the German American Chamber of Commerce.”

The German American Chamber of Commerce is a central partner in the CCM grant and will bring extensive experience and expertise with the German model of apprenticeship training to the consortium’s efforts.

Last year, Iacono, along with 11 other education and workforce officials from across the country, toured Germany to examine its apprenticeship programs. Funded by the Transatlantic Outreach Program, the tour focused on how the United States might make use of the German model to expand experiential leaning opportunities for students with the support of industry.

The CCM consortium includes Bergen Community College, Camden County College, Hudson County College, Mercer County Community College, Middlesex County College, Raritan Valley Community College and Rowan College at Gloucester. Together, they will work with national industry partners including Arconic, Glenbrook Technologies, Norwalt Design, Rosenberger, Siemens, UPS and other leading firms in New Jersey.

Enrollment for the apprenticeship program will target both traditional and underrepresented populations, including the unemployed, veterans, transitioning military, women and people of color. At least 1,600 individuals are to be trained through the program.

The USDOL grant is perfectly timed with CCM’s construction of a 31,500-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Center slated to open in 2020 to meet the needs of those key industries.

Additionally, CCM will be receiving approximately $500,000 as a consortium partner in the same USDOL grant program to develop apprenticeship programs in health care. That project is being led by Bergen Community College.

“Not only are these grants an historic occasion for CCM but also for New Jersey and the New Jersey Council of County Colleges, which also is partnering in the apprenticeship programs,” said Iacono.

TRENTON — Tech startups in the state will see increased support thanks to a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Christopher P. DePhillips and signed into law by Governor Murphy. The bipartisan legislation, A5604, increases the angel-investor tax credit from 10 percent to 20 percent.

“Emerging technology businesses and angel investors are creating jobs and opportunities. It’s important we work to keep these innovative companies in our state,” said DePhillips (R-Bergen). “New Jersey is in a tough battle with Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and California. We have to fight to keep innovation jobs right here in New Jersey.”

The tax credit program is intended to encourage investment in advanced computing, biotechnology, life sciences, electronic and medical device technology, and information, mobile communications and renewable energy technology businesses.

“This legislation will give us a chance to be true leaders in innovation,” said DePhillips, who served on the state’s Biotechnology Task Force and currently sits on the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. “The entrepreneurs I’ve spoken to have said they need private investment. This will help meet that need.”

A 2017 economic report by McKinsey & Co., an international management consulting firm, showed the lack of fast-growing young firms and higher proportion of older corporations is contributing to the state’s sluggish economy. Young companies can quickly double in size and add jobs for many years while mature businesses generate few new jobs.

To qualify for the tax credit, the emerging technology business must employ fewer than 225 employees and at least 75 percent must work in the state. If the start-up is located in an opportunity zone, low-income community, or is a minority or women-owned business, the tax credit is increased to 25 percent. The maximum allowed credit is $500,000 for each qualified investment and the program is capped at $25 million annually.

WASHINGTON — Seven freshman members of Congress unveiled Task Force Sentry, a bipartisan group of lawmakers who have been, for the past eight weeks, working together behind closed doors to protect the U.S. political system from attack by foreign adversaries. The task force is led by Reps. Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Lauren Underwood (IL-14), Mikie Sherill (NJ-11), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Xochitl Torres Small (NM-02).

This group of freshmen from a variety of backgrounds, including national security, technology and law, has adopted a unique mission: to introduce legislation that closes holes in our laws that allow for foreign interference and financial influence in the U.S. political process. In short, their mission is to protect our system for the 2020 elections.

Task Force Sentry members have long held a commitment to securing the U.S. political process against foreign adversaries. However, upon the release of the Mueller report –– which detailed Russia’s robust, concerted effort to wage information warfare on the U.S. political system –– the bipartisan group assembled with a shared mission of addressing the issues that were not receiving due attention: preventing this type of attack from foreign adversaries.

“We believe that protecting our country from foreign adversaries should never be partisan,” Task Force Sentry members said. “We come from different backgrounds, but agree it is our duty to understand and respond to threats when we see them –– and that is what we have been doing for the last eight weeks, to develop new legislation and concrete recommendations on how to prevent any foreign adversary from attempting to influence the U.S. political system again.”

Through briefings and meetings with issue experts over the course of the last eight weeks, members have identified vulnerabilities in our political system, and are currently working to finalize legislation to address them by:

1) Deterring the originator — making it more difficult for foreign entities to influence Americans;
2) Requiring enhanced disclosure — mandating that individuals or entities receiving foreign funds disclose where those funds come from;
3) Preventing foreign financing from supporting campaigns;
4) Defining the roles and responsibilities of social media companies to prevent foreign government entities from using their platforms to interfere in U.S. political processes;
5) Establishing ongoing monitoring, analysis and enforcement mechanisms to identify threats and tools to prevent foreign interference through information operations.

“Even well before the Mueller report was released, we have known that a foreign adversary attempted to attack our political system and has continued to try to do so again,” Rep. Slotkin said. “As a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who represents a state that was disproportionately targeted by Russian information warfare in 2016, I am proud that Task Force Sentry has taken up the critical mission of preventing attacks on our political system by a foreign adversary. This is not a partisan issue. It is a national security issue, it’s an American issue, and it is our responsibility to take action.”

“Coming from a background in the tech industry, I am struck by the vulnerabilities exposed in social media platforms through the disinformation campaign propagated by Russia over the years. There is a real threat that this could be replicated by any group or hostile nation with a mind to influence our public discourse, and I firmly believe that we as a Congress need to come together in a bipartisan manner to produce new ideas that will protect our nation now and into the future,” said Rep. Gonzalez.

“During a time marked by massive disinformation campaigns and hostile attacks against election systems across the globe—including potentially from adversarial actors like Iran, North Korea, and China—it’s critical that the American people have accurate and up-to-date information about the threats we face,” Rep. Spanberger said. “This Task Force is focused on gathering information from experts, working together across the partisan divide to advance effective policy, and helping to protect the public from disinformation. As a former CIA officer, I recognize the critical threats across the cyber landscape, and I’m proud to stand alongside my fellow Task Force members as we look to prevent future attacks, including those that could compromise the integrity of our elections.”

“A foreign adversary attacked our democracy in 2016 and is working to do it again—yet, almost nothing has been done to protect our future elections,” Rep. Underwood said. “When I took office, I swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Every person who took that oath has the patriotic duty to put politics aside and get to work to ensure that Americans can participate in our democracy free from foreign interference. Election security is national security and the next election is just around the corner, we do not have time to wait.”

“Protecting our country from foreign interference is never a partisan issue. I worked to do so as a Russian Policy Officer in the U.S. Navy and I am continuing that work with members in Congress on both sides of the aisle,” Rep. Sherrill said. “Our democracy rests on fair elections. That is why the members of Task Force Sentry have worked so hard to study the implications of the Russians’ attempts to influence our elections, and the methods they used to do so. We are now working on legislation to protect the 2020 elections and to provide national security leadership on this critical issue.”

“The Mueller report was explicit in its investigation and revelation of a foreign adversary intervening in our democratic processes and electoral systems,” Rep. Houlahan said. “A threat to our elections is and should be treated as a threat to our country. I am proud to have helped launch the bipartisan Task Force Sentry to work to prevent such interference from happening again. This is not partisan; it’s about protecting the democracy for all of us.”

“Maintaining the integrity of our elections should never be a partisan issue. Foreign governments attempted to interfere in our elections in the past and they will try to do it again,” Rep. Torres Small said. “More than ever, we must focus on protecting the security and integrity of our elections by addressing the weaknesses within our elections systems while adapting to changing tactics of our foreign adversaries who wish to compromise our democracy.”