Bipartisan Bill Would Promote Medical Research

Capitol Comments

Senator Cory Booker

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an updated version of the Breakthrough Therapies Act. This legislation will remove regulatory hurdles that inhibit research and compassionate use access to potentially lifesaving treatments that are heavily restricted by Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. U.S. Representatives Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

In recent years, two substances currently classified as Schedule I drugs - MDMA and psilocybin - have shown exceptional promise in treating an array of mental health conditions, including treatment-resistant suicidal depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use disorders. The initial research has been so promising that the FDA has designated MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapies as “breakthrough therapies,” meaning that they demonstrate substantial improvement over any currently available treatments.

However, due to the Schedule I status of MDMA and psilocybin, unnecessary red tape hinders critical research and access to treatment even for patients with terminal or life-threatening conditions.

The Breakthrough Therapies Act would resolve these problems by expediting the transfer of substances that receive breakthrough therapy designation from Schedule I to Schedule II, which – with DEA oversight – will enable patient access and reduce the burden on further clinical investigation.

“According to recent studies, certain Schedule I substances such as MDMA and psilocybin could offer major advancements in the treatment of depression, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and addiction,” said Senator Booker. “This bill will eliminate unreasonably burdensome rules and regulations that delay or prevent researchers from studying these breakthrough mental health treatments, and will provide access to these promising therapies for eligible patients who urgently need care.”

“As a physician, I’m proud to co-lead this legislation with Senator Booker to get the government out of the way and expand compassionate medical use for patients in need of care,” said Dr. Paul.

“We urge Congress to swiftly pass the Breakthrough Therapies Act, which responsibly reduces the barriers to research and limited access of potentially life-saving treatments like MDMA- and psilocybin-assisted therapy,” said Martin R. Steele, a retired Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps., and President of Veteran Mental Health Leadership Coalition. “Veterans should not be forced (nor should anyone else) to leave the country - at great expense - to access breakthrough therapies that can be safely provided and further studied in real-world settings here at home.”

State And Local Tax Deduction Needs To Return

Capitol Comments

Senator Robert Menendez

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, questioned witnesses during a hearing entitled, “Tax Policy’s Role in Increasing Affordable Housing Supply for Working Families” about the impact the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) cap has on middle class families.

“The 2017 Republican Tax Law gutted this essential deduction, not for large corporations, but for families - forcing them to be double-taxed and punishing states with progressive tax codes that choose to invest in their communities,” said Sen. Menendez. “New Jersey has some of the best schools in the nation, it has a vast infrastructure system in terms of transportation – these are all elements that make it a desirable state to live in.”

“Historians like Andrew Kahrl at the University of Virginia have found Black and Hispanic households have been subject to higher property tax assessments than their White counterparts,” said Sen. Menendez.

“The SALT deduction has been vital in providing relief from unjust tax assessments, which is why the NAACP passed a resolution in support of lifting the cap. I’m going to continue to revisit this issue until we get it right.”

Sen. Menendez also questioned witnesses about what it would mean for the development of new multifamily buildings if Congress increased Low Income Housing Tax Credit’s (LIHTC) value and total amount of credits as outlined in the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act, of which he has previously cosponsored.

“So as a nation we have to fi nd ways to build more affordable homes, and part of that solution should come from our new investments, but we also need to make maximally effective use of existing tools, such as the bipartisan Low Income Housing Tax Credit which subsidizes the creation of 100,000 units of affordable housing a year, but I think it has the potential to do even more,” added Sen. Menendez.

The Senator highlighted the proven track record Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) have of delivering fi nancing for the development of affordable housing in underserved communities. This is the reason Sen. Menendez led the effort to establish the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program, which enables the CDFIs to execute large scale development programs.

Sen. Menendez urged his colleagues to join in strongly supporting funding for CDFIs as the deal with the FY2024 appropriations.

How Many Self Storage Facilities Are Needed?

By Chris Lundy

BERKELEY

– Several self storage facilities are currently under construction in the area, joining ones that are already in operation. This begs the question how much demand is there for these establishments?

There’s a proposal to turn the driving range and parking lot area of Blackbeard’s Cave on Route 9 into a public storage facility. The land is 8.71 acres and the facility would be 91,260 square feet. The applicant was Marble Arch Homes of Lakewood, which also constructed the nearby Hickory Farms neighborhood. This is only one plan and it wouldn’t impact the rest of the land that’s currently undeveloped.

When the Blackbeard’s plan was before the Zoning Board, the daughter of one of Blackbeard’s former owners said there were already seven storage facilities in Berkeley, and three in Lacey, and 19 in Toms River. She didn’t see the need for more.

There are several on Route 37, and another large one is being built on the westbound side near the Wawa at Northampton Boulevard. Although these are in Toms River, they most likely serve the senior communities of Berkeley and Manchester.

Many offer military discounts, which shows that they cater to soldiers living at the base.

An industry publication, Storable, suggests that businesses looking to open a facility should take a look at car traffic at a location, expected residential development in the area, and current population (anywhere from about 20,000 people in a rural setting to 100,000 or more in an urban setting, as a general guideline).

Census figures in 2021 show almost 650,000 residents in Ocean County. Toms River has about 100,000. Manchester and Berkeley both have about 45,000. Residential development has been increasing throughout the county.

According to SpareFoot Storage Beat, a website that regularly collects statistics, storage facilities are a $29 billion annual industry. There are more than 51,200 facilities nationwide amounting to more than 2 billion square feet. Six large companies (Public Storage, Extra Space Storage, CubeSmart, Life Storage, National Storage Affiliates Trust, and U-Haul) own a third of them. An interesting detail is that when considering the U.S. population of 330 million, there is roughly 6 square feet of storage available per person.

Of all households in the country, 11.1% rent a storage space, they said.

Profitable Business

According to Storable’s records, the typical profit margin of a self storage facility is 11%, compared to a restaurant that’s 3-5%.

They also said that the business is fairly resistant to recession. Personnel is often one of the most expensive parts of running a business, and the number of employees needed per square foot is much less than a store of the same size. Additionally, the overhead is less because unlike a retail establishment, they are not buying products, shipping them in, and selling them. All the items inside the facilities are brought there by customers.

For decades, towns have wanted big box stores in town. They are a profitable business

(Storage - See Page 14)

Student:

Continued From Page 1 academic award for grade 3-5 from the National Association of Gifted Children and is a high achieving student at his school. He has a passion for baseball, travel, studying and learning as much as possible.

Blake has shown excellence in coding and robotics through the gifted and talented program and created a motorized LEGO robot coded to communicate, solve mathematic equations, recognize colors and other functions.

Mayor Arace read his proclamation noting his “bright future in engineering and entrepreneurship and his strong creativity and stellar engineering skills which have been recognized through his academic award from the National Association of Gifted Children.”

Financial Business

In other news, two ordinances were introduced during the session. They included amending the salary ranges and positions of bargaining unit employees and a capital ordinance providing for upgrades to the police locker rooms and showers appropriating $53,000. Both ordinances will have their public hearing at a March 23 Council meeting.

The council voted to apply for the SAFER (Staffi ng for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant for a paid fi re unit.

Township Attorney Lauren Staiger ex-

Joseph M. Maneri, DMD

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plained the second SAFER grant was for “the Manchester Fire Company, for them to put in for a grant and it also recommends them as a volunteer entity within the township so they can move forward with the grant process.”

Councilwoman Michele Zolezi brought up a second state grant (resolution 23170) as an add-on to the agenda later in the meeting. This resolution was also approved.

Resident Edward Lynch asked what the grants were about.

Council President Roxy Conniff explained that “the grants that we are adding on needs an ordinance that will allow department heads to apply for grants and because the way the grants are structured we have a paid and volunteer fi re companies so we are submitting two separate grant applications in for both.”

“We had to add on to let the volunteer company to apply for the grant as well,” she added.

“Didn’t they apply for them before?” Lynch asked.

Business Administrator Carl Block said “this is for this year’s (grant) cycle.”

Also approved were the authorization of required disclosure awards to Fireflow Services for Emergency Response training, awarding a chemical supply contract to Miracle Chemical company and authorizing the sale of obsolete equipment for an auction.

The Council also awarded a contract authorizing the appointment of attorney E. David Millard, for special legal counsel.

Under contracts and agreements, the township also was authorized for several shared service agreements for municipal court facilities and personnel with Lakehurst, an employment agreement addendum with Tracy Barcus, a side letter agreement with Local 32 Supervisory Unit and Local 32 White Collar Unit regarding municipal court shared services.

Shifting Seats

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Lynch said, “I understand the grant process but I thought they all did this themselves, before?”

“That I can’t speak to, and they probably have however for this particular grant we had to recognize them as a volunteer entity in order for them to apply,” Staiger answered.

Resolutions And Contracts

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Other resolutions included authorizing a contract between the township and D&M works LLC; authorizing the disbursement between Manchester and FirstEnergy Corporation; authorizing purchase orders for Camp Adventure Trips execution of contracts; and the authorizing purchase orders for Day Camp Trips and execution of contracts.

During a recent council session residents and officials noted a change in the seating arrangement which had the mayor move from the front row of the audience to the table where the township attorney and administrator sat. The mayor replaced the administrator who moved to the outside of the table formerly occupied by the attorney who now sits beside the council president on the dais.

Councilwoman Zolezi voiced strong objection to the new arrangement noting past history of the governing body and that the attorney was not an elected position. She asked for the original seating arrangement to be restored.

Council President Conniff said this was done in line with other Faulkner Act governing bodies and was also more professional.

One resident voiced objection to the shift in seating during the public comment period but another resident voiced from the audience that she liked the new arrangement. The new seating arrangement remains in place.

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