New Jersey is officially closed.
As of 9:30am EDT, the governor of the state closed all government offices and halted all government-funded projects. That includes parks, beaches, historic sites, road construction, etc.
Although I’d hate to be on vacation there– expecting to enjoy a nice Saturday afternoon at the beach– it seems the people most upset about this are… the casino owners! Apparently each casino is required by law to have at least one state monitor on the premises at all times, and those people have been asked to go home today. Frantic about losing their weekend revenue, the casinos have requested that all of the monitors be declared “essential employees” who will continue working even if the government has stopped.
Casinos. Essential employees. Nice.