Sited in Princeton on the land that witnessed the 1777 Princeton battle for American independence, Drumthwacket is the stately home that is today the official residence of the Governor of New Jersey. Photo credit: Andrew Wilkinson at drumthwacket.org Drumthwacket is one of the most fabled and elegant of America’s executive residences, and in its history lies the stories for three unique families that made immense contributions to New Jersey’s and America’s history. The property upon which Drumthwacket stands was once owned by William Penn, the Quaker who founded the colony of Pennsylvania. I ..read more

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) approved two new programs, the Urban Preservation Program (UPP) and Workforce Housing Program (WHP), while committing funding to 15 new Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) developments at its Oct. 19 Board meeting. “The HMFA Board advanced resolutions committing funds to a broad variety of new developments, each of which will bring safe, high-quality, long-lasting, and affordable housing to communities across our State,” said Executive Director Melanie R. Walter. “Governor Murphy and the Le ..read more

Most Mercer County government offices and facilities will be closed Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023, in observance of Election Day. The Mercer County Clerk’s Office, 209 South Broad St., will be closed for regular business on Election Day but will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. to perform election duties. Completed mail-in ballots can be delivered to the Mercer County Board of Elections, 930 Spruce St. in Lawrence (next to Trenton Farmers Market), until 8 p.m. on Election Day. The following County facilities will remain open on Election Day: Trenton-Mercer Airport (except administrative offices), Corre ..read more

—  One journalist has added more than 12 million followers.  The work highlights some of the challenges and dangers of covering the conflict.     NBC News:   Before early October, Motaz Azaiza’s Instagram account documented life in Gaza to about 25,000 followers with a mix of daily life and the ongoing hostilities between Israel and Hamas.   That began to change in the days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and the retaliation on Gaza. Since then, more than 12.5 million people have begun following Azaiza’s feed, which has become a daily chronicle of Israel ..read more

TRENTON, N.J. — As we near the 2023 General Election, which will be held on Nov. 7, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello reminds voters that in-person early voting locations will be open Oct. 28 – Nov. 5. Early voting allows an individual to vote on a voting machine at any of the locations listed below during this nine-day period. Early voting hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.  Accommodations will be made for voters with disabilities. Early Voting Locations, Mercer County Mercer County Library, Hickory Corner Branch – 138 Hickory Co ..read more

TRENTON, N.J. — With the vote by mail ballots now mailed to the voters in Mercer County, Mercer County’s Election Officials, Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello, Mercer County Superintendent of Elections, Walker M. Worthy, Jr., and Mercer Board of Elections Commissioners, are now preparing voters for Election Day and announcing new processes and features being offered on Election Day, Nov. 7, 2023. They announced on Friday that Mercer County will be using new voting machines with a verifiable paper trail in every voting district in Mercer County on Election Day.  These voting machi ..read more

Largest awards of WANTO grants target underrepresentation of women in high-wage industries   WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $5 million to organizations in seven states to increase the numbers of women in Registered Apprenticeship programs and help connect them with good-paying careers in nontraditional occupations where the Biden-Harris administration’s historic infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy investments are creating sharp job increases.   The announcement of the Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations gran ..read more

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello reminds Mercer County voters that sample ballots for the upcoming General Election on Nov. 7, 2023 are now available for online viewing. The sample ballots for Mercer County’s 12 municipalities can be accessed by visiting the Mercer County Clerk’s website at https://www.mercercounty.org/government/county-clerk/election-sample-ballots and are listed by municipality. “As your County Clerk, I urge voters to go to our website and read their sample ballots carefully, so that they can familiarize themselves with the candidates and questions, as well as oth ..read more

– Self-identified liberals (21%) were nearly twice as likely to say they have used generative AI for work or education than moderates (11%) or conservatives (12%).     Ryan Heath / Axios:   Half of Americans expect misinformation spread by AI to impact who wins the 2024 election — and one-third say they’ll be less trusting of the results because of artificial intelligence, according to a new Axios-Morning Consult AI Poll.   Why it matters: Such sentiments may fuel more doubt and anger around the first presidential race since the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capit ..read more

Mercer County Clerk Paula Sollami Covello is very proud to report, on behalf of the three election offices representing Mercer County, that there are new voting machines for November General Elections. She said,  “our Mercer County Administration and Board of Commissioners have purchased new voting machines for use in the 2023 General Election and beyond.” Covello said, that the voting machines are Dominion ICX Touchscreen machines, which allow voters to vote, print out their ballot, and then scan the ballot into the scanners for improved accuracy and accountability in the voting process ..read more