The FBI is investigating Robert Torricelli’s ties to a Puerto Rico official, Levy is home after spending a week at The Carrier Clinic, Ferriero takes offense at Weinberg reform plan, Obama names state director, Levinson outraises McGettigan, New Jersey loses residents at faster rate.
WHEN DID WE BECOME SUCH AN UNFORGIVING PEOPLE?
“The FBI is probing accusations that former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli and his associates in a medical services business benefited from the lobbying efforts of a Puerto Rican official who received campaign contributions from them, a spokesman said yesterday.
The inquiry focuses on a Medicare benefits-administration program operated by Aveta Inc., a Fort Lee-based company Torricelli runs. It was initiated after a news report detailed political donations to Republican Luis Fortuno, Puerto Rico's non-voting delegate to Congress.”
Harry Rodriguez, a spokesman for the FBI in Puerto Rico, said agents are looking into "alleged illegal campaign contributions to Mr. Fortuno's congressional campaign committee."
Torricelli said the inquiry is simply a part of a nasty gubernatorial campaign between Fortuno and incumbent Gov. Anibal Acevedo-Vila.
"They're charging each other with something every day," Torricelli said. "It's just the political environment down there. It's just ridiculous."
The inquiry comes as Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), is the subject of news reports for using an "anonymous hold" to block the confirmation of Rosa Rodriguez-Velez, President Bush's nominee for U.S. attorney in Puerto Rico………..
The FBI inquiry was first reported by Puerto Rican newspapers last week after Rodriguez-Velez announced she has disqualified her office from the Aveta review because of the politics surrounding her nomination. She forwarded the case to the FBI and Justice Department prosecutors.
Torricelli, a Democrat, is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Aveta, which says it is "one of the largest companies focusing on" the Medicare Advantage program, with more than $1 billion in annual sales.” (Margolin, Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/119199183380960.xml&coll=1
MAYOR LEVY RESIGNATION WATCH
“ATLANTIC CITY – Mayor Bob Levy spent about a week in a Somerset County clinic that specializes in mental health and addiction recovery before returning to the resort Thursday to recuperate at home, his attorney said Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, a judge scheduled a Friday afternoon hearing to decide if Levy's now 13-day disappearance from public life meant the mayor has vacated his office.
Levy checked into the Carrier Clinic on Sept. 26 or 27, attorney Edwin J. Jacobs Jr. said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Levy returned to the resort Thursday, Jacobs said, where he began convalescing with his family in their Venice Park home.
Jacobs would not say what prompted Levy to go to the clinic. He declined comment when asked if it was Levy's first visit.
Jacobs said he planned to issue a statement today with more information about Levy's situation.
"Let's just say I got a lot of balls in the air," Jacobs said. "I got to catch some and let a few drop. And when that's done, you're going to know what I know."
Jacobs' statement marked the first concrete admission of the mayor's whereabouts in almost two weeks, a mystery that brought international attention to the 40,000-resident resort………..
City officials have said that Levy verbally transferred power to Business Administrator Domenic Cappella. City councilmen contested that, saying such a transfer needed written documentation………..
At about noon Saturday, a reporter from The Press of Atlantic City knocked on the door after noticing the family cars had moved. Levy's daughter Wendy answered and said Levy was not there and that she had moved her father's car. She asked the reporter leave…………..
Tuesday's news conference came on the heels of a 40-minute legal conference between Jacobs, City Solicitor Kim Baldwin and City Councilman Bruce Ward in Superior Court Judge Valerie H. Armstrong's chambers.
Ward, an attorney, filed an order Friday asking Armstrong to declare that Levy had vacated the mayoral seat and that City Council President William Marsh was now the resort's acting mayor. Armstrong scheduled a hearing for 2:30 p.m. Friday and may decide the issue then.
Ward said the issue was important and his request would set a good precedent for the state by requiring signed documents transferring power.
"You can't get married or buy a house without someone signing something," Ward said. "How can you transfer power of a $192 million corporation without signing anything?"” (Harper, Press of Atlantic City)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/top_story/story/7508141p-7405959c.html
IS THE PEACE OFFICIALLY OVER?
“Four weeks before Election Day, the intra-party battle between State Sen. Loretta Weinberg and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Joseph Ferriero heated up today after three Democratic state legislators held a press conference to allege abuses by Democrat-controlled “shadow governments” – local authorities that they say have little or no oversight from Trenton.
The main target of the legislators was the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority, where Ferriero serves as Chief Counsel. She says that the PVSA has spent over $3.2 million on government relations consultants and $12 million on legal fees since 2001 – with about $4.5 million going to Ferriero’s law firm.
Ferriero says that since Democrats have controlled the authority, legal bills have gone down., noting that combined fees for all law firms has dropped from $2.9 million in 2004 to a projected $1.2 million this year……….
Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission spokesman Rich Ambrosino said that the $3.2 million paid to government relations consultants was not wasted. Vision Media, for instance, did grant writing work and helped organize events – far more than just producing a news letter.
Ambrosino added that the commission paid $739,000 to Ferriero in 2006, not the $1.89 million claimed in the legislators’ press release. While the number may look high, Ambrosino said it’s not much considering the size and scope of the PVSC…………
Weinberg also criticized a $105,000 expenditure on coloring books and newsletters designed by a Democratic political consultant who has a contract with the authority.
“The Messy Marvin Coloring Book” was one of the prime examples Weinberg and her running mates, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson, used to show wasteful spending by the so-called shadow governments.
“That is the only body of work that was turned over to us,” said Weinberg. “$105,000 for a coloring book for school children who might want to learn more about being messy and one newsletter, also for school kids.”
And while the specter of Ferriero loomed at the press conference, Weinberg insisted that this would be a concerted effort for reform — not another volley in her long-running feud with the chairman.
”There’s no personal vendetta at all,” said Weinberg. “Democrats happen to control Bergen County, and (Ferriero) happens to be here.”
The District 37 Democrats also listed six other areas that they say are in dire need of reform – many of which already have bills pending, like a stricter dual office-holding ban, closing loopholes in the pay-to-play laws and requiring all local government officers to file financial disclosure statements within 30 days of taking office.
The call to ban dual officeholding especially annoyed Ferriero, who noted that Johnson serves as both an Assemblyman and as an Englewood Councilman.
“I think they should start with let’s clean up 37 first,” said Ferriero. “I expect Johnson will be resigning from either his council seat or his Assembly seat immediately. And let’s not forget that Valerie Huttle was a dual office-holder, and so was Loretta at one point.”
Also proposed was the renewal and expansion of Clean Elections program. The program, the legislators said, had worked well for them, though the paper work was a little too complicated.” (Friedman, PoliticsNJ.com)
http://www.politicsnj.com/weinberg-and-ferriero-blast-each-other-over-government-reform-12512
"We'd like to return to the days when public service was a mission and not a way to make money," Weinberg said at a press conference Tuesday, alongside her District 37 running mates, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Assemblyman Gordon Johnson.
The Democratic trio, running for reelection in November, said the Legislature should aspire to pass a comprehensive set of reforms aimed at curbing the intersection between public service to New Jersey and private gain.
That intersection, they argue, is well-documented. And they offered up reams of public billing records from the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, where politically connected law firms, lobbyists and consultants have billed millions in recent years.” (Carmiel, Bergen Record)
HE’S GOT A TOUGH HILL TO CLIMB
“A senior adviser to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama was named state director of his New Jersey campaign on Tuesday.
Mark Alexander of Montclair will remain a key figure in the Illinois senator's national campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination while focusing on New Jersey, which will hold its primary on Feb. 5.
"The thousands of New Jersey residents who have joined our grass-roots campaign know that to truly turn the page on the Bush years it's not enough to change parties, we've got to transform our politics," Alexander said in a statement.
Alexander was general counsel to Cory Booker during his 2006 campaign for mayor of Newark, and for the transition team after Booker won. He is currently on leave from his job as a law professor at Seton Hall University School of Law.
Obama has been running a distant second to New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, according to recent polls of New Jersey voters. A Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll taken this month had Clinton with 42 percent and Obama with 23 percent. A Fairleigh Dickinson University/PublicMind poll taken last month had Clinton at 46 percent and Obama at 19 percent.” (AP)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS03/710100351/1007
LEVINSON’S GOT THE BENJAMINS
“The first state-mandated financial reports of the general election campaign season show Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, a Republican, with significantly more campaign cash than his Democratic challenger, Atlantic County Sheriff James McGettigan.
Reports filed with the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, or ELEC, show Levinson with $514,231 to the $28,720 that McGettigan has to spend on his bid.
The report shows the Atlantic County Republican Committee to be Levinson's biggest contributor, donating more than $18,000 of in-kind contributions for a fundraiser at the Linwood Country Club, campaign consulting and postage expenses. In-kind contributions are contributions made by a person or organization on behalf of a candidate or organization.
According to the ELEC reports, Levinson took in $132,727 for the reporting period that ended Tuesday.
Most of Levinson's reported contributions were for $500.
The largest contributions from single donors were for $2,600. They were from Robert Capoferri and Ken Messino of Asphalt Paving Systems in Hammonton, Port Republic Mayor Gary Giberson, and LoBiondo for Congress, the campaign fund of U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd.
The ELEC report shows McGettigan raised $47,849 during the reporting period.” (Barlas, Press of Atlantic City)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/campaign/story/7508130p-7405944c.html
AND TRAFFIC IS STILL TERRIBLE
“Residents are leaving New Jersey at three times the rate they were just five years ago, a trend that is already doing real damage to the state's economy and budget coffers, a new Rutgers University report shows.
The exodus is so bad, the study says, it could lead to an overall drop in the state's population as soon as next year.
"The population outflow is real, is approaching worrisome dimensions, and is exerting a small but increasingly negative impact on the New Jersey economy," said the study by Rutgers economists James Hughes and Joseph Seneca.
Last year alone, the loss of people cost the state economy about $10 billion in income, and about $680 million in state budget revenue.
While the economists said they are certain the exodus is growing, they are less sure of why. Possible reasons include high housing costs and the state's generally high cost of living. Society in general also is increasingly mobile, they said.
Seneca said state leaders need a broad agenda to reverse the slide. The solutions, he said, should include a further reduction in the highest-in-the-nation property tax burden, more investments in infrastructure, science and technology and new policies to restore business confidence.
"These trends are not going to be reversed overnight," Seneca said.
In their study, Seneca and Hughes reviewed Census and Internal Revenue Service data between 2002 and 2006. They found the gap between the number of people leaving the state and new arrivals has more than tripled. In 2002, the gap was 23,759. By last year, it had jumped to 72,547. ” (Donohue, Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/119199187480960.xml&coll=1
THE DEFICIT
“Gov. Corzine yesterday said the state could be facing a budget deficit as large as $3.5 billion next year.
A deficit that large could require the state to either increase taxes or cut services to balance next year's budget, but Corzine noted that state tax collections remain ahead of projections.
The deficit has been projected at $2.5 billion.
"It sort of depends what the economic conditions are, and they're pretty broadly in dispute among a lot of the prognosticators," Corzine said. "Revenues are coming in pretty well, as far as I know, at this stage."
The state Treasury Department said tax collections are 1.4 percent ahead of projections, with income and sales tax collections doing better than expected.
"While we are pleased that collections are tracking close to targets, we also know that it's early and the revenue picture doesn't come into real focus until later in the fiscal year," acting state Treasurer Michellene Davis said.
David Rousseau, a fiscal-policy adviser to the governor, said that any better-than-expected revenue is critical with next year's fiscal woes looming.
"We will continue to watch performance of our revenues closely," Rousseau said.
Sen. Tom Kean Jr. said Corzine should begin cutting state spending now, citing the cooled real estate market and subprime-mortgage troubles, which could hurt sales-tax collections. Kean also cited hedge-fund losses and possible cuts in Wall Street bonuses, which could curtail state income-tax collections. ” (Hester, AP)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20071010_N_J__deficit_higher_than_projected.html
TICKET-GATE INVOLVES ALMOST HALF OF JERSEY CITY’S MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES
“JERSEY CITY, Oct. 9 — Four of the city’s 10 municipal court judges — including the former chief judge — are being investigated by the New Jersey attorney general’s office on suspicion of fixing parking tickets for friends or family, and in at least one case for a colleague on the bench, officials here say.
During the past month, the chief judge has resigned and the three other judges have taken leaves of absence. In addition, the chief justice of the State Supreme Court, Stuart J. Rabner, has assigned the day-to-day operations of the court to a Superior Court judge from Hudson County.
n a state regularly buffeted by the indictments and convictions of public officials, the trial court administrator here, Joseph F. Davis, added an ominous note.
“People are concerned with what they’re seeing,” Mr. Davis, whose position is part of the state court system, said in a recent telephone interview, “and others may be concerned with our ongoing investigation.
Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy — a former Jersey City municipal court judge himself who appointed the recently-resigned chief judge to her $109,265-a-year position — said he was shocked and saddened.
“People have a right to be disappointed and somewhat angered,” Mr. Healy said in a recent interview. “I was certainly surprised.”
In this growing and gentrifying city, the disclosure has resonated with many over what is a perennially volatile subject: the scarcity of parking spaces and the price paid for violations.” (Miller, New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/nyregion/10traffic.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin
NEW BAYONNE MAYOR LOOKS 30 DAYS TO THE FUTURE
“Vincent Lo Re Jr. wasted little time yesterday in getting down to the business of leading the city of Bayonne.
In remarks delivered after his swearing-in as Bayonne's acting mayor yesterday morning, Lo Re warned of tough times ahead.
"Some of the things that are going to be initiated in the coming weeks are not going to be easy, but they must be done," said Lo Re, who will continue to serve as council president.
Later, he referred to more than 70 city employees who will be laid off Nov. 9, saying their loss will impact city services. He also said that in his 30 days as acting mayor, he will look into cutting city programs, including summer activities.
Before a small crowd that included many City Hall insiders – but not former Mayor Joseph V. Doria Jr., who vacated his seat effective midnight Monday to become commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs – Lo Re and other city councilmen stressed the importance of working together on Bayonne's long list of financial problems.
The remarks seemed to emphasize a possible difference in leadership styles between the current and former mayor. One city official who didn't want to be named told The Jersey Journal that compared to Doria, Lo Re "may seem less of a bully."
One of Doria's staunchest political opponents, Councilman Anthony Chiappone, applauded Lo Re.
"It will be nice during City Council meetings to have the mayor sitting right next to me," Chiappone quipped. ” (Judd, Jersey Journal)
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1191997861285170.xml&coll=3
THE CLAWS COME OUT IN 39
“There were a few jabs in the 39th district Assembly debate this evening at Bergen County Community College, but it was positively civil compared to what turned out to be a row between Democratic State Senate candidate Joe Ariyan and incumbent Sen. Gerald Cardindale.
The two Senate candidates sparred about what it means to be friends with Dick Codey, corruption, stem cell research, wheeling of campaign funds, and accepting trips to Florida paid for by the banking industry.
In his opening statement, Ariyan said that the 39th district had gone too long without proper representation in Trenton, and promised to work with Codey to relieve property taxes, set aside open space, and pledged his support for the stem cell research initiative.
“All of these goals can be achieved without mindless sniping and partisan personal attacks,” said Ariyan in his opening statement.
Cardinale began his opening statement with the call for a new school funding formula to bring more tax money to the suburbs.
“District 39 needs a Senator with the courage and stature to stand up to the Democrats, not a hand-picked puppet bought and paid for with pay-to-play legal fees.”
Though not in the room, Dick Codey (who Ariyan holds up as his political mentor) was very present in the conversation. However, Cardinale seemed un-phased by Ariyan’s ties to the most popular politician in New Jersey.” (Friedman, PoliticsNJ.com)
A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN HOBOKEN RACE… ASIDE FROM POOP TOMATOES
“HOBOKEN – A campaign worker who helped build a case to challenge Dawn Zimmer's City Council runoff election victory was ticketed early Saturday morning after putting up anti-Zimmer posters, and was then arrested for outstanding warrants, according to police reports.
Arnold Williams, 44, of Prescott Street in Jersey City, was arrested on warrants out of Jersey City, and was issued a summons under a Hoboken municipal ordinance for posting bills, police said.
Police found Williams putting posters that read "Zimmer Lies" on telephone poles at 4:45 a.m. at 614 Second St., reports said.
e told police that no one had asked him or hired him to put them up, reports said.
When police ran his name, they found outstanding warrants out of Jersey City. He was arrested and taken to Jersey City for processing, police said.
Williams helped former Jersey City Mayor Gerald McCann serve subpoenas in support of Chris Campos' challenge of Zimmer, who stepped down and agreed to a new election next month. Zimmer won the runoff election by eight votes.
Williams has appeared in Hoboken municipal court over allegations by Zimmer supporters that he harassed them. Those cases are waiting a new venue because Judge Kimberly Glatt said they should not be tried in Hoboken or in Jersey City.
The Campos camp moved to distance itself from Williams' actions, saying that tensions are running high in this race.
"Acting entirely on his own, (Williams) put up some stickers in anger," said Joshua Henne, a spokesman for Campos. "Campos had absolutely no knowledge of this whatsoever." ” (Hack, Jersey Journal)
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1191997693285170.xml&coll=3
HEALY’S OBAMA PREDICAMENT
“Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is one of the chief coordinators of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's New Jersey campaign to win the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. And this is the big invisible albatross around his neck.
It is also one of the reasons why Carl Czaplicki is a former chief of staff to Healy and was sentenced to be head of the city's Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce. Carl is no longer the consigliere he thinks he is, because the mayor believes his loyalty is more with Joe Cardwell, a political operative in the camp of 31st District Senate candidate Sandra Bolden Cunningham, than to City Hall.
Healy's problem is that he has little chance of winning his own city for Obama. As chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, he will have very little luck in getting campaign donations and help for Obama from HCDO members, including those from Jersey City. Most of the county, including the county Dems, are for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York. They will not deliver for Obama.
How did Healy get in this predicament?
Political observers and members of his own entourage say Healy jumped on the Obama wagon too soon. He did so at the urging of Czaplicki, say City Hall and county administration Democrats.
At the time, it made sense to support Obama because it would curry favor with Cunningham (Cardwell), and Healy believed that he would get black support, including Cunningham's, for his 2009 mayoral campaign. Every decision the mayor has made over the past year has been with his re-election in mind.
The vision of Obama walking down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive with Healy and Cunningham is fading – or at least the Healy image is disappearing.
Good-bye, Carl. For Healy, it is about loyalty. ” (Torres, Jersey Journal)
http://www.nj.com/columns/jjournal/insider/index.ssf?/base/columns-0/1191997890285170.xml&coll=3
BETTER, BUT NOT GREAT
“Federal spending increased faster in New Jersey than in the nation as a whole in 2005, but the Garden State continues to lag behind other states in dollars received, a Census Bureau report released Tuesday shows.
Federal spending grew by 6 percent in New Jersey compared with 4.8 percent nationally. But spending per capita in New Jersey was $6,735 compared with $7,568 per capita nationally.
New Jersey ranked 37th in federal per-capita spending and in the bottom 10 in three of the five categories used to chart spending.
The only category where spending in New Jersey exceeded the national average per person was in payments for benefits such as Medicare.
Overall, Social Security and Medicare benefits for New Jersey residents totaled nearly $29 billion and accounted for 50 cents out of every federal dollar spent in the state.
Compared with 2004, the state's biggest gains came from a 30 percent increase in federal procurement, or contracts going to companies in the state to supply the federal government.” (Jackson, Bergen Record)
GAY MARRIAGE
“Is anyone in New Jersey against extending full marriage rights to gay couples?
If you attended the first hearing of the state Civil Union Review Commission last month, you might think the answer is no.
The reason? The most active and vocal opponents of expanded gay rights held their tongues, believing the commission is stacked against them and designed to recommend gay marriage.
"Everyone pretty well knows this is a preconcluded study," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt, a Morris County Republican. "There's no point in voicing opposition when the game is rigged.
They might be silent again when the commission meets today at Camden County College. But some of the state's social conservatives say they're bracing for a legislative battle over the issue.
The state Supreme Court ruled in October 2006 that gay couples had to be given the same legal benefits and protections that married couples get. Two months later, the state Legislature passed a law to create civil unions which offer the rights, but not the title, of marriage.
In the United States, gay marriage is legal only in Massachusetts. A handful of states have civil unions.
In the haggling over the details of the civil union law, Steven Goldstein, the executive director of the gay rights group Garden State Equality, persuaded lawmakers to add a provision creating a commission to study how well civil unions worked." (AP)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS03/710100350/1007
MORE POWER PLANTS
“The Corzine administration wants to create a state-run authority that would develop additional power plants in New Jersey, a step that officials believe would boost the supply of electricity in the state and lead to lower electric bills for consumers and businesses.
The concept of creating a public power authority, similar to one that has long been in place in New York, is emerging as one of the key — and potentially most controversial — recommendations in an energy master plan being developed by the administration. The master plan, including the proposal for a state power authority, is expected to be completed next month.
The proposed agency would have the authority to acquire development sites, including mothballed former power plants, and work in partnership with private industry to build large generating stations, according to a draft of a portion of the master plan obtained by The Star-Ledger.
"The arguments for a New Jersey power authority are compelling," the draft document says. Such an authority could help resolve the state's shortage of power plants, introduce competition to existing power generators, and develop renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power as well as conservation projects, according to the plan.
If adopted by the administration, the power authority would tackle two critical problems that arose from the break-up of New Jersey's electric monopolies nearly a decade ago: the steady rise in power prices, which has led to double-digit increases in electric bills the past few years, and the lack of new power plants in a state where demand for electricity is growing at three times the rate of population growth. ” (Johnson, Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-12/119199169980960.xml&coll=1
STEM CELLS
“New Jersey has taken the first steps toward building its third stem cell research center.
The state Economic Development Authority yesterday approved hiring the architect and project manager for a $50 million research facility in Camden.
The proposed Integrated Biology and Genomic Medicine Institute in Camden becomes the third stem cell lab under way in New Jersey. Earlier, the authority approved spending millions on predevelopment work on stem cell facilities in New Brunswick and in Belleville.
At yesterday's monthly meeting, the authority unanimously approved hiring the Ballinger architect firm of Philadelphia and the Skanska construction management firm of Parsippany to coordinate design and budgeting for the proposed Camden research center.
The $50 million project is scheduled to be owned by Rutgers University-Camden, and will coordinate research by the university, the Coriell Institute, Cooper Hospital and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Camden. ” (McNichol, Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-8/119199178480960.xml&coll=1
HOW ABOUT A HOLDING PEN IN THE STATE HOUSE?
“Citing New Jersey's soaring prison population and violent-crime upswing, Gov. Corzine yesterday unveiled the first elements of a major crime-fighting policy that takes aim at gang activity and gun crimes.
Corzine outlined the "enforcement" aspects of a three-part "Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods" during a midday news conference on the front steps of the State House.
Standing amid dozens of police officers, mayors and state officials, Corzine outlined a wish list of tougher laws and improved police computer and data systems that he deems essential to the goal of attacking a sinister trio in New Jersey:
Gangs. Guns. And violent crime.
Framed by a silent cohort of uniformed police behind him, Corzine calmly uttered a warning:
"The bad guys should know," he said, "if you're a violent gang member, we're going to arrest you. If you carry illegal guns, sell or use those guns, you're going to go to jail. And you're going to stay there.” (Panataris, Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20071010_Warning_for_the_bad_guys.html
IN HAMILTON
“HAMILTON — Frustrated with what they say is the administration's refusal to hand over the annual budget and other financial documents, the township council last night decided to turn to the law.
The council voted 4-1 in favor of issuing a subpoena to consultant Bowman and Co., demanding that the accounting firm turn over the township's annual financial statement, which it completed for the administration in August.
"We shouldn't have to issue a subpoena to get documents that taxpayers have paid for, but unfortunately, the administration has left us no choice," said Council President Dave Kenny after last night's special meeting.
The township has already paid $10,000 for Bowman's work, Kenny said, which entitles taxpayers to the document.
Kenny said the council will use its powers under the Faulkner Act, which defines the roles and powers of the council and the mayor, to issue the subpoena. Kenny said the council has no choice but to get the documents from Bowman because several requests for the statement have gone unanswered by the administration.
According to state statute, the deadline for issuing the annual financial statement is Aug. 10.
Last month, Kenny filed a request for the statement under the Open Public Records Act, which was denied by the township attorney, who said the statement was still under review and so fell under the act's exception for "deliberative" documents. ” (Isherwood, Trenton Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1191989121250560.xml&coll=5
IN MONMOUTH COUNTY
“The importance of ethics and integrity was stressed Tuesday by both the Democratic and Republican candidates for Monmouth County sheriff, as they tussled over the decision by county Republicans to create a Web site centered on Democratic candidate Jack Hill's depositions in an ongoing sexual harassment case.
Appearing before the editorial board of the Asbury Park Press in Neptune, Hill, the Belmar police chief, and his GOP opponent, former federal prosecutor Kim Guadagno, exchanged barbs over the Web site, www.jackhilllied.com.
The site includes the depositions given by Hill in the sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the borough of Belmar by former Patrolwoman Kara Ketcham. Hill has admitted he lied when questioning the officer Ketcham had accused, but said again Tuesday that he did it to protect Ketcham from potential retaliation by fellow officers.
In his deposition, Hill testified that in the process of questioning the officer who Ketcham had accused, he told the officer that he had learned of the harassment from multiple sources. In his own report of the incident, Hill said: "I explained this was not based on a complaint by just Officer Ketcham but other information as well."
In fact, Hill testified in his deposition, he was questioning the male officer on the basis of Ketcham's accusation alone. Hill said he lied to the accused officer in an effort to protect Ketcham from being perceived in the department as a "rat or a whiner" among her fellow officers.
"Did I lie to that officer? You bet. I would do it again in a minute," Hill said during Tuesday's editorial board meeting.
Guadagno said that Hill also lied in his police report on the incident. "That admission is, to a police officer, devastating," she said.” (Mikle, Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS/710100345
PROPERTY TAX REBATES
“New Jersey may have just delivered the largest amount of property tax relief ever to beleaguered homeowners, but that won't stop the taxman from coming next spring to snag some of it back.
Property tax rebates averaging $1,051 were recently mailed to 2 million homeowners as part of an enhanced New Jersey program to help homeowners with America's highest property taxes. The rebates are nearly five times more than ones sent last year.
But taxpayers who filed itemized returns and took a deduction for property taxes must report the rebates as income on federal tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service said.”
But taxpayers who filed itemized returns and took a deduction for property taxes must report the rebates as income on federal tax returns, the Internal Revenue Service said.
The rebate money is designed to alleviate the property tax burden, though taxpayers can do whatever they want with it since it comes by a check.
Property tax reimbursement payments aren't taxable by New Jersey and shouldn't be reported on the New Jersey income tax return, the state Treasury Department said.
But IRS spokesman Gregg Semanick said property tax reimbursements must be reported on federal tax returns if taxpayers deducted their property taxes.
Taxpayers can report the rebate on Line 21 of Form 1040, or reduce their property tax deduction by the amount of the rebate, according to IRS guidelines.” (Hester, AP)
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS01/710100311/1002
A BAD MAN IS A BAD MAN, WHETHER FROM PERU OR OHIO
“The fatal execution-style shootings of three college students in Newark this summer sparked a nationwide debate on immigration after police said the prime suspect was an illegal alien free on bail for a child sex assault charge.
But New Jersey's attitude toward illegal immigrants barely budged after the August shooting, according to a Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Newspapers poll. More than half of the respondents say illegal immigrants are about as likely as legal ones to commit crimes.
New Jersey residents "don't see the types of people who are trying to come to this country illegally as part of a criminal element," said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. "The actions of one individual are seen as the actions of one individual."
Newark Mayor Cory A. Booker typified that position following the Aug. 4 shootings when he focused on the availability of illegal weapons rather than the presence of illegal aliens. But state Attorney General Anne Milgram ordered local police to begin to check the status of immigrants arrested for drunken driving and felony charges.” (Prado Roberts, Gannett)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS01/710100371/1006/NEWS01
IN ONE OF THE WASHINGTON TOWNSHIPS
“A whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former township public works director Ken Patrone is scheduled for trial March 17.
On Friday, a Superior Court judge dismissed the township's motion to have the charges dropped.
Patrone, who lives in the township, claims in the lawsuit that he was retaliated against for reporting possible illegal activity. The alleged illegal activity involved the misrepresentation of the sales price and financing on a 2005 liquor license application for a company co-owned by a former aide to Mayor Paul Moriarty.” (Huelsman, Courier-Post)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/NEWS01/710100375/1006/NEWS01
IN MADISON
“MADISON — The borough's economic development was the discussion focus for the three candidates for mayor during a Tuesday night forum at the YMCA. The three are Republican Mary-Anna Holden, Democrat candidate John Elias and write-in candidate Sam Cerciello.
Holden and Elias are on borough council; Elias is council president. The trio are vying to replace Republican Mayor Ellwood "Woody" Kerkeslager, who is not seeking re-election.
During brief introductions, Elias said his background as an attorney who runs his own practice and represents business owners has helped him understand the needs of business. Holden talked about how her extensive experience on borough council has prepared her to be mayor, while Cerciello stressed his background as a hard-working contractor. (Scholl, Daily Record)
http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071010/COMMUNITIES26/710100369/1203/NEWS01
IN KENILWORTH
“Kenilworth Democrats considering a debate challenge from Republicans have said they are apprehensive about their opponents' motives, a notion the GOP rejected yesterday.
Carmela Colosimo, chairwoman of the Kenilworth Democratic Committee, questioned the sincerity of the GOP request to debate in advance of the Nov. 6 election.
"As the chair, I never received anything from the Republican chair indicating they wanted to debate," she said Thursday. "No one received anything until (Wednesday) night. They went to the papers first. That shows their real in tent."
Last week she said Democratic candidates are willing to debate, noting the party has participated in candidate forums in past years at the senior center.
"What turned us off," she said, "was how they conducted themselves at last year's debate. It was not a debate but an attack. We did not go there to be attacked, and I won't put our candidates back in that position." ” (Jett, Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/union/index.ssf?/base/news-3/119199181280960.xml&coll=1
