The groundhog has let us down on this Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. But here are six extra nuggets of New Jersey news worth knowing -- one for every (supposed) additional week of this long and lustrous winter.

Today’s schedule: Gov. Chris Christie is joined by Mayor Eric Jackson for an 11 a.m. roundtable with recovery clients at the Rescue Mission of Trenton. Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno is in Short Hills at 6 p.m. for an investment summit discussion by finance industry leaders, with the proceeds of the event benefiting Teach for America. A special Senate committee holds a hearing on school funding, 11 a.m. in Edison.

Think globally, act locally: Immigration issues were a driver of the gubernatorial race debate. Democratic candidate Phil Murphy rallied with students at Rutgers-Newark against President Donald Trump’s recent executive order. Jack Ciattarelli, a Republican assemblyman, criticized the way New York interprets its sanctuary city policy, calling for Trump and Congress to negotiate a new immigration law.

More careful, please: A surge of deadly crashes at the end of last month, killing at least 12 in eight days, led New Jersey to its most January traffic fatalities in five years, at least 45. (The phrase ‘at least’ is used for a reason: Some reports trickle up to the state from local police after a delay, so the number could go higher.) Considering that such fatalities have already been trending higher, that's an inauspicious beginning.

Bail reform stats: In the first month of bail reform, prosecutors convinced judges to detain 283 defendants without bail until their trials, according to data announced Wednesday by the state judiciary. They tried for pre-trial detention in 223 other cases, but judges ordered those defendants released with supervision conditions. In all, 2,059 defendants are on supervised release. The courts said there has been “minimal use of cash bail” under the changes – a bone of contention for a vocal segment of critics of the reforms.

Survey says: Quinnipiac University released additional details from its latest New Jersey poll. Here’s one question with 2017 election implications: What’s your most important issue in deciding how to vote? Twenty-six percent said taxes – which struck me as low, given that 42 percent called in the state’s most important problem in a Quinnipiac poll in December.

Washington watch: Down in Congress, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez joined Democrats in boycotting votes on President Donald Trump’s nominations of Steven Mnuchin for Treasury secretary and U.S. Rep. Tom Price to head the Department of Health and Human Services. He said he’s “deeply troubled by the set of alternative facts they offered” the committee and seriously doubts they’ll “tell the American public the truth.”

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