With restaurants set to open for outdoor dining next week, you’d think that restaurant owners would be excited. But some owners told a Senate panel Monday that outdoor dining alone won’t provide them with enough revenue. A restaurant industry spokeswoman told the panel that 15 to 18% of the state’s restaurants may not ever reopen.

It’s not yet known when colleges and universities will reopen, but ahead of that, community colleges are dealing with unprecedented financial challenges. They’re facing a loss of operating aid from the state, and money allocated from the federal CARES Act has not been enough to cover revenue losses for some schools.

Thousands of New Jersey businesses have already applied for new grants from the Economic Development Authority. The EDA began accepting applications Tuesday morning for its $45 million program. CEO Tim Sullivan says the program is close to being fully subscribed after nearly 20,000 applied in less than four hours. Also Tuesday, the EDA board approved a $10 million expansion to its micro-business loan program to support sole proprietorships.