With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey’s top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.
African-American GOP support begins to grow
When Tanya Freeman went to vote in the presidential primary, she asked a West Orange poll worker where the Republican polling station was.
The elderly woman leaned into Freeman, an African-American, and whispered: “My God. I just assumed all of your people were Democrats,” Freeman recalled. (Jeffrey C. Mays, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1216614911100070.xml&coll=1
Room for political movement grows
Nothing’s ever rock solid in politics, but the top of the Trenton power heap may contain more potential for movement than usual in the lead-up to Statehouse reorganization come January. (PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/max/21640/amid-denials-trenton-potential-movement-summit
Offshore drilling rift grows
WASHINGTON — The debate over offshore drilling has exposed a partisan rift among New Jersey’s congressional lawmakers, who used to be nearly unanimous in opposing efforts to explore for oil or natural gas along the mid-Atlantic Coast. (Raju Chebium, Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/NEWS03/807200393
Ex-Vernon official gets five years in jail
Vernon’s former manager was sentenced yesterday to five years in state prison for bilking the township of nearly $14,000 by submitting bogus vouchers for personal junkets with his mistress and other phony work-related expenses. (Joe Moszczynski, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/sussex/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1216442131299750.xml&coll=1
Schultz intended to take sex tape to the council presidency
ATLANTIC CITY – Councilman John Schultz’s involvement might have appeared peripheral when he was charged in a conspiracy to blackmail Councilman Eugene Robinson with a sex tape. He was accused of referring conspirators to a friend who could edit the video before threatening Robinson and releasing it to the public. (Michael Clark, Press of Atlantic City)
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/186/story/210389.html
Corzine meets with Israeli leaders
JERUSALEM — New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine today turns his attention to politics after his first day here blended science, religion and government. (Claire Heininger, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/07/corzine_turns_to_political_mee.html
Camden teens rock the vote
As the boys in homemade “rock the vote” shirts walked through the Camden bus stop, a woman cried: “Oh, they’re rocking the vote! No, they’re just looking to get paid.” (Karen Langley, Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080721_Camden_teens_rock_-_the_vote.html
Education battle continues in Washington Township
Eight years after Washington Township High School expelled a freshman with a learning disorder who twice tested positive for marijuana, the legal battle continues. (Pete McCarthy, Gloucester County Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-3/121645772667480.xml&coll=8
Megan’s Law ruling causes controversy
Now that a state appeals court has struck down ordinances restricting where sex offenders can live in two South Jersey towns, legislators on both sides of the aisle are pressing for state action. (Trish G. Graber, Gloucester County Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1216543225181670.xml&coll=8
GOP can’t keep up with Democratic fundraising pace
TRENTON – When it comes to raising campaign cash in New Jersey, Republicans are no match for Democrats. (Associated Press)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080719_N_J__Democrats_outpace_GOP_in_Congress_races.html
Corzine’s economic woes
TRENTON — Now that the people of New Jersey have told Gov. Corzine what he can do with his 800 percent toll hike scheme, he’s decided to take his act on the road in search of a more receptive, and possibly less informed audience. (Bob Ingle, Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/NEWS0301/807200328/1008
Terrorism case all depends on tapes
The tapes tell the story. And the story is about an al-Qaeda-inspired, although not directed, plot to attack Fort Dix and murder American soldiers (George Anastasia, Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080719_A_look_at_plans_for_Ft__Dix_5_trial.html
Zimmer wants back in action
Dick Zimmer may have left Congress in 1997, but in the last few years he has been a regular on Capitol Hill.
Now he wants to take the unusual step of leaving lobbying to return to Congress. (Cynthia Burton, Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080720_Zimmer_wants_a_seat_after_years_in_the_lobby.html
Caught between country lines
WASHINGTON — Robert Menendez has never been known to shy away from a political brawl, even one that is thousands of miles from New Jersey, has its roots in antiquity and touches the raw nerves of two sovereign nations. (Robert Cohen, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/1216528572288450.xml&coll=1
Sex-offender ordinances face challenges
When he was 15 and in foster care, G.H. was accused of wrongly touching a 13-year-old girl. He denied it but was judged a juvenile delinquent and given two years’ probation. (Jan Hefler, Philadelphia Inquirer)
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080721_Sex-offender_ordinances_face_challenges.html
Councilwoman Holloway dies
Former Jersey City Councilwoman Melissa Holloway, 46, died early yesterday morning of a stroke while in the intensive care unit of Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, according to a family member. (Agustin C. Torres, The Jersey Journal)
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/jerseycity/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1216448761183670.xml&coll=3
A hands-off approach
TRENTON — City politicians took a hands-off approach yesterday to a report on West Ward Councilwoman Annette Lartigue’s handling of a traffic stop involving her daughter, saying it’s a matter for law enforcement to decide. (Andrew Kitchenman, The Trenton Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1216440349244230.xml&coll=5
Jersey home rule is on the decline
There’s reason to hope that New Jersey is losing some of its passion for home rule, which has left the state with the highest number of local-government units per square mile in the nation. (The Trenton Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/121661314151100.xml&coll=5
Ex-governors still getting a free ride
New Jersey’s ex-governors still get free lifts to the Shore, Atlantic City, New York and elsewhere despite calls to limit their access to State Police drivers and bodyguards. (Elise Young, The Bergen Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/politics/Ex-govs_still_getting_free_rides_on_publics_dime.html
Bad economy blamed on outdoor eating drop
Bayonne’s efforts to encourage outdoor dining have, so far, lost steam. With about two months to go in the summer season, four eateries have been cleared for dining alfresco, according to Mary Divock, executive director of the Bayonne Town Center. (Ronald Leir, The Jersey Journal)
http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/bayonne/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1216621521274460.xml&coll=3
Zoning lawsuit dismisssed
A judge recently dismissed the latest lawsuit brought by a West Windsor couple over how their property is zoned and once again ordered the residents to pay the township’s legal fees. (Linda Stein, The Trenton Times)
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/1216526741234010.xml&coll=5
Downe Township subpoeaned by attorney general
The township has been handed a subpoena from the state Attorney GeneralÕs Office for agendas and meeting minutes of the township committee and combined planning and zoning board from 2004 to present. (Jean Jones, Bridgeton News)
http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1216385705143270.xml&coll=10
Millville group: Power is with the people
MILLVILLE — If the timing was right for those passing by Riverfront Park on Saturday afternoon, they heard songs of praise and worship. More importantly, though, they may have heard the firm and spirited words of a man who has seen both extremes in a life now dedicated to spreading a message. (Robert Press, The Daily Journal)
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/NEWS01/807210316/1002
The fight over government-owned sand
HARVEY CEDARS — Take a wealthy New Jersey beach town that desperately wants wider beaches, add one relentless ocean that washes away the sand, mix in a handful of property owners who don’t want to lose their million-dollar ocean views and breezes, and you have Harvey Cedars — parts of which are literally falling into the sea. (Associated Press)
http://www.thedailyjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/NEWS01/807210333/1002
Lautenberg looks to Springsteen for help
The CEO-Candidate has turned to The Boss for help.
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg’s campaign has planned a fund-raiser for the Bruce Springsteen concert at Giants Stadium next Sunday. Donors are being charged $1,500, which includes a ground-level ticket near the 40-yard line and a dinner reception in Secaucus before the show. (Charles Stile, The Bergen Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/25658624.html
With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey’s top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.
