Gov. Murphy Unveils New Budget Plan and Opens Metlife Stadium With Limited Capacity

By Anthony Covino

Sports Editor

Gov. Phil Murphy announced a new budget plan called the “FY2022” budget which will create more jobs, boost the economy and help support small businesses, according to nj.gov.

The plan also includes investing in companies that will build new road and rail services in the state, according to Newsbreak.

$8.5 million will be used to expand medicaid coverage for one full year after postpartum. $19 million will be used to support new productive health care for women, $20 million to ensure every child in New Jersey has healthcare and $700 million invested into public schools, nj.gov continues.

$200 million will be going to support main street businesses. $50 million will go to students to cover their first two years of study at a four-year public college and/or university, nj.gov also said.

Murphy also announced that Metlife Stadium will be able to hold 10% of its capacity in March for fans to see the New York Giants and New York Jets prepare for the upcoming 2021-2022 NFL season, Newsbreak continues.

FDU Sports Update

The women’s bowling team had a successful weekend at a meet against three schools Duquesne, Wagner, and Saint Francis (PA) in a total of nine matches.

The Knights went 8-1 over the weekend where they faced their only loss against Duquesne in their first match. This makes the Knights record to 17-2 overall and 8-1 in NEC conference play. A few bowlers had strong performances throughout the meet being redshirt freshman Julianna Spina, sophomore Cameron Spring and senior Amanda Chrzanowski, senior Jenna Henderson, and senior Aimee Sherman.

Lastly, with the success of the Knights, Head Coach Mike LoPresti hit a milestone receiving his 1500th NCAA career win. The Knights get back in action on Friday, Feb. 26 where they will start off the weekend facing Mount St. Mary’s, on Saturday they will face LIU, and close out the weekend with St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday.

The women’s volleyball team opened up the season on Feb. 19 with a five-set win against Georgian Court. The win was led by a strong performance by seniors Victoria Demmene, Magdalena Maksimovic and Allison Koester. Demmene had a career high of 19 kills, while Maksimovic had 17 kills and 12 digs. Koester helped contribute with 36 assists and 15 digs of her own. With the win, the Knights Head Coach Kevin Rodgers received his first win with the Knights after joining the team as head coach last season.

The women’s volleyball team faced the first loss of the season on Feb. 23 against the Seton Hall Pirates. The Knights still put up a fight with junior libero Jaelyn Young leading the backline with ten digs, and senior Victoria Demmene having seven kills after coming off a career high 19 kills against Georgian Court. The Knights head back to the court on March 9 with a doubleheader home opener against the St. Francis Brooklyn Terriers.The first game at 4 p.m. and the second game being at 7 p.m.

The women’s soccer team was set to play on Feb. 22 against Seton Hall but the game was cancelled due to field conditions being deemed unplayable due to snow. The Knights next game is scheduled for Feb.25 against Hofstra in Hempstead, NY.

COVID-19 Numbers

	2/24/2021	2/17/2021
Metro Residents	12	11
Florham Residents	17	17
Faculty & Staff	6	4
Commuters	8	6

There were 2,516 new positive COVID-19 tests in New Jersey bringing the total cases in New Jersey to 772,000 in New Jersey with 75,478 total cases in Bergen County.