When elementary and middle school students sit down next month for the annual state testing, they will get their first taste of new national academic standards coming to New Jersey –- even if they may not know it. The Christie administration will begin to “field test” questions derived from the new Common Core State Standards into the next NJASK tests, given to every student Grades 3-8. New Jersey is one of 45 states moving toward the Common Core standards, along with new testing that is being developed through a national consortium, advertised as providing more depth and rigor to existing state standards that vary across the country. http://bit.ly/Hk9LzY

A New Jersey healthcare program known as Global Options, which helps seniors age in place rather than nursing homes, is earmarked for a big boost in funding under Gov. Chris Christie’s proposed 2013 budget. New Jersey is moving forward with its push to help seniors remain in their homes and communities and avoid nursing homes for as long as possible. While the majority of the state’s Medicaid long-term care spending still pays for nursing home care, the shift to home and community-based services is evidenced by the growth of Global Options, a major state program that provides nursing-home eligible Medicaid recipients with home-based support services like visiting nurses and housekeeping aides. http://bit.ly/HiIzO4

A plan to hike New Jersey's minimum wage by $1.25 to $8.50 an hour is a step closer to approval after the Senate Labor Committee passed it, 3-1, Thursday. The bill, which would peg the wage rate to inflation, passed an Assembly committee last month. Leaders in both Democratically controlled chambers in Trenton

Located in the heart of Trenton, the New Jersey State House is history come alive. Our State House is the second oldest still in use. (Maryland has the oldest.) For more than 200 years, New Jersey Senators, Assemblymen, and Governors have been making the laws of the state in this building. In 1999, the restoration of the State House dome was completed. The project began in October, 1996. The dome is covered with 48,000 pieces of gold leaf. Each piece of gold leaf cost $1.00 and was paid for with money raised by New Jersey school kids through the "Dimes for the Dome" program. As a thank you for their contributions, the dome stands in honor of New Jersey children. The State House is open for tours on Saturday, February 16, 2019, hourly from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The entrance is the State House Annex at 145 West State Street. Call the Tour Office for more information, 609-847-3150.

A plan to hike New Jersey's minimum wage by $1.25 to $8.50 an hour is a step closer to approval after the Senate Labor Committee passed it, 3-1, Thursday. The bill, which would peg the wage rate to inflation, passed an Assembly committee last month. Leaders in both Democratically controlled chambers in Trenton

Gov. Christie told William Brown, 34, a former Navy SEAL and second-year Rutgers-Camden law student on Thursday that his school will definitely merge with Rowan University, sparking a yelling match that led the governor to dismiss him as an “idiot.” Brown, a former candidate for state Assembly who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, was removed from the firehouse by Florence police officers. Brown worries that veterans and other non-traditional students won’t get the same kind of educational opportunities once the merger goes through. http://bit.ly/zqMTqk

The Legislature's Democratic leaders unveiled their counterproposals Tuesday to Christie's plan to cut income taxes 10 percent across the board, an idea he included in his budget proposal in February. Sweeney wants to offer taxpayers the equivalent of a 10 percent property-tax cut: Those who earn $250,000 or less a year can take an income-tax credit of up to $1,000 based on their property-tax bill. http://bit.ly/xmEn8u

A bipartisan agreement has been reached to fix the state's anti-bullying law - considered the toughest in the nation - following complaints by school districts that it was financially burdensome. Gov. Christie announced support Tuesday for an amended bill backed by both parties that will be fast-tracked through the Legislature. It will add $1 million to the Bullying Prevention Fund to help districts meet the law's requirements, and will create a task force to assist with implementation of the measure. http://bit.ly/zWVp9e

To reduce traffic congestion and ease commutes from South Jersey to Philadelphia, transit planners want a $46 million "bus rapid transit" system on the heavily traveled corridor that includes Routes 55 and 42, and I-676. The proposed NJ Transit system would allow