Morning News Digest: August 1, 2012
By Missy Rebovich
Moriarty charged with DUI; assemblyman denies he was drunk, charges police abuse of power
A report from the Washington Township Times tonight says Assemblyman Paul Moriarty (D-4) was charged with driving while intoxicated “near the Black Horse Pike in Washington Twp., a characterization the assemblyman disputed in a statement.
The report cites two township sources familiar with the case.
Mayor of Washington Township from 2004 to 2008, Moriarty allegedly refused a breathalyzer test when a township police officer pulled him over, the Times reported.
Moriarty issued a statement after the news report, strenuously denying he drove drunk. (Staff, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/58818/report-moriarty-charged-dui
Christie riffs on guns and the ‘American Dream’
Gov. Chris Christie denounced as “anti New Jersey” a lawsuit filed by the New York Jets and the New York Giants against Triple 5, which wants to expand the so-called American Dream project in the Meadowlands.
The football teams sought an injunction in June to prevent the developer from kickstarting development.
Christie said the teams benefited from a “sweetheart deal” afforded them by then-Gov. Richard J. Codey.
“Because they’ve taken this kind of aggressive action, thousands of people cannot get to work on that property,” said Christie, who expressed his disappointment at the ownership of the sports teams. (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/58809/christie-riffs-guns-and-american-dream
In CD 3, Adler wants six desbates ‘at a minimum’
Shelley Adler, 3rd District candidate for Congress, wants six debeates with incumbent U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan (R-3).
Today, Adler sent a letter to Runyan requesting “a minimum” of six debates in September and October.
“As candidates we have a responsibility to provide the public an opportunity to learn where we stand on issues facing our country,” Adler said. “That’s why I’m proud to have shared time with courageous residents facing difficult challenges from finding a good job, affording to send their child to college, growing their small business or simply making ends meet, which can be so difficult for seniors on a fixed-income. It is imperative that people have an opportunity to learn as much as possible about each of us and where we stand on the issues that impact their respective lives so they can make a truly informed decision.” (Pizarro, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/58806/cd-3-adler-wants-six-debates-minimum
Runyan shows off support from Teamsters
U.S. Rep. Jon Runyan’s (R-3) campaign announced today that he has the support of Teamsters Joint Council 73.
“Joint Council proudly serves 16 Locals and 55,000 members in NJ and the Metro area; we will be encouraging our membership to your candidacy and participate in your campaign efforts,” Council 73 President Alphonse Rispoli, Jr. and PAC Chairman Cliff Nolan wrote in a JUly 24th letter.
The endorsement represented another thumbs up from labor for the Republican freshman congressman. (Staff, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/58807/runyan-shows-support-teamsters
Jewish officials praise Christie’s legislation that ensures people working with N.J. are not involved with Iranian industries
Governor Christie and Jewish officials praised the signing of a bill that makes anyone who wants to do business with New Jersey or its local governments swear that they are not on a list of entities involved in Iranian energy or financial industries.
“I would like to personally thank Governor Christie for signing the Iran sanction bill today,” Ambassador Ido Aharoni, consul general of Israel in New York said in Whippany on Tuesday night.
“I had the privilege to spend a couple of days with the governor and his family in Israel,” Aharoni said. “Let me tell you the kind of support and friendship and dedication that we have from the governor in New Jersey is an inspiration to all of us.” (Linhorst and Hayes, The Record)
Christie defends jobs awarded to rejected court nominees
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie defended the hiring of his two rejected state Supreme Court nominees for government jobs, saying experience, not patronage, got them their new positions.
Bruce Harris, who would have been the state’s first openly gay justice, was named general counsel of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority in a 6-0 board vote today, said Tom Feeney, an agency spokesman. Phillip Kwon, who would have been the first Asian-American to serve, began yesterday as first deputy general counsel for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, said Steve Coleman, a spokesman for the bi-state agency.
“The Port Authority is lucky to have him — the same with Bruce Harris,” Christie, 49, a first-term Republican, told reporters today in Hackensack. (Young and Dopp, Bloomberg)
Christie defends Romney against criticism of trip
Governor Christie heads today to Colorado, where he will meet with other Republican governors — including those also rumored to be vice presidential choices — and raise money for GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney.
In New Jersey on Tuesday, Christie’s support for the presidential candidate came as a vigorous defense of Romney’s troubled overseas trip.
“From my perspective, I think his trip has been a useful one,” Christie said during a media availability following an event in Hackensack. “I think it’s always important for someone who may be president of the United States to go and visit Israel. I think the trip to Poland is an excellent idea.” (Hayes, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/164544096_Christie_defends_Romney_against_criticism_of_trip.html
Christie heads to Colorado to meet with GOP governors, raise money for Romney
As he scolds New Jersey Democrats for “sitting on the beach” instead of cutting taxes, Gov. Chris Christie will spend the next few days preserving his status in the Republican Party and raising money for Mitt Romney.
For the second time in a matter of weeks, Christie will join fellow governors today for closed-door meetings and wooing of donors — this time in tiny Aspen, Colo. He’ll also participate in two public events with other GOP chief executives: one sponsored by the nonprofit Aspen Institute, the other by the Romney campaign. (Portnoy, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/gov_christie_heads_to_colorado.html
Gov. Christie praises merger of Jewish groups
Gov. Chris Christie and more than a dozen state and local officials paid tribute tonight to the recent merger of two Jewish philanthropies and emphasized their support for Israel.
On July 1, United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ and the Jewish Federation of Central Jersey merged, making it the eighth largest organization of its kind in the nation, officials said.
The renamed Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ federation represents 126,000 people in Essex, Morris, Sussex and Union counties and portions of Somerset County with a mission of “taking care of Jews in need here, in Israel and overseas,” said Steve Klinghoffer, who chaired the merger committee. (Livio, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/gov_christie_praises_merger_of.html
Poll: Chris Christie still well liked in N.J., but is it for personality or policies?
Gov. Chris Christie continues to harness strong support among New Jersey voters, who still aren’t sure, though, whether they like him for his personal appeal or his policies, according to a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll released this morning.
Slipping one percentage point from the last poll in May, Christie enjoys 55-percent approval rating among voters, according to the survey. That figure has remained steady since the beginning of the year.
However, the governor isn’t as popular among women (49 percent approval of him) as he is among men (61 percent are in favor of him). (Spoto, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/08/poll_chris_christie_still_well.html
N.J. trailing U.S. in job growth, but recent gain an encouraging sign, economist says
New Jersey lagged behind its neighbors throughout the economic recovery in regaining private-sector jobs lost from the recession, but its recent employment growth has begun to outpace other states, according to a Rutgers University economist.
According to a report today released by Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School, between February 2010 and June 2012, New Jersey has recovered 89,700 of the 248,200 private-sector jobs lost during the recession, while Pennsylvania has recovered 174,300 of 262,100 jobs it lost. New York has completely recovered the 248,200 jobs it shed, and added an additional 18,000 jobs. (Eder, NJBIZ)
http://www.njbiz.com/article/20120731/NJBIZ01/120739965/NJ-trailing-US-in-job-growth-but-recent-gains-an-encouraging-sign-economist-says
Will governor sign hospital financial disclosure rules?
A coalition of community and consumer advocates, labor unions and health insurers is calling on Gov. Chris Christie to sign legislation requiring all hospitals in the state to disclose their finances as a condition for receiving charity-care payments from the state, a bill the hospital association says will prevent for-profit firms from buying failing hospitals.
Advocates say the legislation, S782/A2143, would level the playing field for non-profit and for-profit hospitals by making profit-making hospitals play by the same financial disclosure rules already in place for the non-profits. The Health and Allied Employee union, which represents hospital workers, is asking people to sign a petition showing their support for the bill. (Kalet, NJ Spotlight)
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0731/2327/
Weinberg questions EDA moves
A week after Governor Christie appointed his long-time colleague and close family friend Michele Brown to head the Economic Development Authority, which has power over millions of dollars in annual financial help for businesses, a senior Democratic lawmaker is asking why.
Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Teaneck, took aim Tuesday at Christie’s choice of Brown, a former federal prosecutor and his current appointments counsel, to head the authority. She said the move deserved “looking into” because of Brown’s sparse resume on economic development and because Brown’s role, described by the EDA as a strategist alongside a separate chief operating officer, will cost the agency $205,000 in new salary for top posts. (Fletcher, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/164510786_Weinberg_questions_EDA_moves.html
N.J. attorney general fills four top positions
New Jersey’s attorney general filled four top positions in his office Tuesday, including the spot for his second-in-command.
Thomas Calcagni will replace Phil Kwon as first assistant attorney general, the second-highest job in the Attorney General office.
Kwon was nominated to the state Supreme Court by Governor Christie earlier this year, only to be rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee. He recently accepted a high-paying job at the Port Authority, the agency announced last week.
Calcagni spent nine years as an assistant United States attorney, working in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the entirety of Governor Christie’s tenure while he headed that office. (Linhorst, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/NJ_attorney_general_fills_four_top_positions.html
Review finds nearly 1 in 5 wrongly got Irene food aid in N.J.
Nearly 1 in 5 New Jersey households that received emergency food stamps after Hurricane Irene crashed into the state last year were ineligible for the benefits, a review found, the result of a mix of mistakes, confusion and fraud as some rushed to cash in what was a new program for the state.
The emergency Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, now known as D-SNAP, has been around for nearly 40 years as one of the federal government’s ways to provide food in disasters. While other states have used it before, New Jersey activated D-SNAP for the first time as a result of the scope of Irene, which caused widespread wind damage, power outages affecting nearly 2 million homes and massive flooding after it hit the state just barely below a hurricane level last August. (Mulvihill, Associated Press)
Use Congress for reelection, Pascrell tells Obama
U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. offered some advice Tuesday about how President Obama could run up a big win: Stop relying so much on TV and start working with members of Congress to build a coordinated get-out-the-vote effort.
“I just feel this has to be more of a bottom-up campaign, rather than network television and ads that are ad nauseam on both sides,” said Pascrell, D-Paterson. “Do we think we’ll convert independents through the television? It might help. But I think we’ve got to be out there. Our forces have to be in the street.”
Pascrell’s comments came in an interview with The Record, which was carried live on the Internet and posted to northjersey.com (Jackson, The Record)
http://www.northjersey.com/news/164543686_Use_Congress_for_reelection__Pascrell_tells_Obama.html
Agenda: State Board of Education
What they are doing: The State Board of Education hosts a busy meeting where some big policy will be up for discussion, including charter schools, teacher quality and school “turnarounds.” Little final action is on agenda, but the board will have a chance to air its support and/or reservations for some of the Christie administration’s major initiatives.
No longer ‘acting’: More than 18 months after he took the office, the board’s meeting will be the first for Chris Cerf as New Jersey’s full-fledged education commissioner. On Monday, he was finally confirmed by the state Senate after a lengthy political dispute, removing his tag as “acting” commissioner. Still, the new status doesn’t change his powers or role much, as he always had the same legislative and regulatory authority. (Mooney, NJ Spotlight)
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0731/2206/
PSE&G to build new solar farm on Hackensack brownfield
Public Service Electric & Gas is hoping to remain a big player in helping New Jersey achieve its ambitious solar energy goals.
In a groundbreaking for a new solar farm at a brownfield next to the Hackensack River, the company announced yesterday it wants to invest $883 million over the next five years to build an additional 233 megawatts (mw) of solar capacity in New Jersey.
The event in Hackensack meshed well with a top priority of the Christie administration — trying to reclaim abandoned industrial properties and landfills and converting them into facilities producing clean solar power to help meet the state’s electricity needs and creating well-paying jobs in the process. (Johnson, NJ Spotlight)
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/12/0731/2218/
State awards $15.7M to more than 200 N.J. arts groups
It was Groundhog Day in Trenton today, as the New Jersey State Council on the Arts rubber-stamped the same $15.7 million in grants it awarded at its annual meeting last year.
With a few exceptions, the council unanimously approved last year’s funds to more than 200 theaters, orchestras, dance troupes and museums around the state. The votes were the centerpiece of the 90-minute event held in the ballroom of the War Memorial.
Every summer, the council’s annual meeting features the same hallmarks – standing ovations (this year two), presentations of gifts (two) and announcements of recent awards (one: the Governor’s Award for Lifetime Contribution to Arts Education to council member Arthur Factor). But it is unusual for the distribution of funds – the reason most of the 200 arts administrators and board members attend – to be a carbon copy of the previous year. (McGlone, The Star-Ledger)
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/07/157m_is_awarded_to_more_than_n.html
N.J. court puts lid on value of pets
A loving pet may be worth more than the cost of replacing it, but seeing a dog suffer a violent death is not the same as witnessing a close human relative being killed, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The ruling set a legal limit on the value of pets in a society where they are often considered part of the family.
The decision came in a lawsuit over damages when a bigger mixed-breed dog mauled Joyce McDougall’s 9-year-old Maltese-poodle mix during a walk through their Morris Plains, Morris County, neighborhood in 2007. (Mulvihill, Associated Press)
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20120801_N_J__court_puts_lid_on_value_of_pets.html
N.J. agriculture secretary taste tests as chefs prepare for sustainable seafood competition
New Jersey’s agriculture secretary got to taste-test some beer-battered crab this afternoon as the dish’s creator prepared for a national cooking competition.
Atlantic City chef Demetrios Haronis, was practicing Tuesday for the Great American Seafood Cook-Off, which will be held in New Orleans next month and televised on the Food Network.
The competition requires contestants to use local, sustainable seafood. The crabs in Haronis’ dish are sourced just miles from his Atlantic City restaurant, he said, and every other ingredient also came from New Jersey.
“It represents what we do all the time,” he said of his dish, Jersey Beer-Battered Soft-Shelled Crab. No matter what kind of food he is looking for, he said he has found that “somebody in New Jersey is making it.” (Linhorst, The Record)
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Cryan wants all bicyclists to wear helmets
Every bicyclist in New Jersey would have to wear a helmet if a new bill becomes law.
A3217, sponsored by Assemblyman Joe Cryan, (D-20), Union, would mandate that every cyclist wear a helmet. Cryan’s bill says that under current law, only those 16 years old or younger are required to wear these helmets. (Staff, State Street Wire)
http://www.politickernj.com/58815/cryan-wants-all-bicyclists-wear-helmets
GOP pursues income tax reduction
Republicans introduced a bill this week to cut the income tax.
Continuing the drumbeat the governor began earlier this year for a 10 percent income tax reduction, A3184 would reduce the income tax by 10 percent over three years. (Mooney, State Street Wire)
http://www.politickernj.com/58814/gop-pursues-income-tax-reduction
On tap for Sales Tax commission: UEZ addition, pet med sales, more
A possible addition to the Urban Enterprise Zone program, and tax breaks for artists and pet medication sales are among the bills that will be considered Wednesday by the Sales and Use Tax Review Commission.
The commission examines proposed legislation that seeks tax breaks for various goods or services, and makes recommendations to the Legislature whether it feels the bills should be passed. (Mooney, State Street Wire)
http://www.politickernj.com/58811/tap-sales-tax-commission-uez-addition-pet-med-sales-more
From the Back Room
Pucker up
Apparently GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s less than successful trip overseas has made his staff a little surly.
According to a Politico report, Romney was in Poland visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier when reporters traveling with the former Massachusetts governor began shouting questions at the Republican from behind the rope line. The reporters wanted to know about a series of perceived “gaffes” made by Romney during the trip and another asked if the Republican nominee had a statement for the Palestinians. (Isherwood, PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/back_room/pucker
Opinion
Income inequality
What is the primary reason for the growing income inequality in New Jersey and around the country? My letter to the Record answers that.
Regarding “Gap between rich and poor grows wider” (Page A-3, July 29): There is no mystery why income inequality has widened in the past few decades: The Federal Reserve has the power to create money, better known as inflation or easy money, and the supply of money has increased by trillions of dollars for more than three decades. (Sabrin for PolitickerNJ)
http://www.politickernj.com/murraysabrin/58787/income-inequality
Transparency now: Gov’t agency opens up
The curtains have been pulled open at the Government Records Council.
Last month, I wrote two articles about the GRC, which is in charge of adjudicating complaints after requests for government records are rejected. I detailed my Kafka-esque experience appealing a denied records request and attending GRC meetings.
The meetings were unusual in their lack of transparency: Votes were held in public, for example, but the GRC wouldn’t say which way it was voting. (Katz, The Philadelphia Inquirer)
Christie pick shows mettle in ruling on pensions
When state Supreme Court Justice Anne Patterson was confirmed by the Senate, she was praised by nearly all as measured, intelligent and fully qualified to sit on the court.
Gov. Chris Christie’s first choice to sit on the high court, Patterson made her champion proud on Tuesday when she wrote the dissent to a majority decision to forbid the state from imposing increased payments for judges for their own pensions and health benefits.
In that dissent, Patterson methodically tore apart the decision reached by three of her colleagues. They said the state constitution, by stating no one could reduce the salary of a judge during his or her term, was reason to stop New Jersey’s pension reforms as they pertain to sitting members of the bench. (Schoonejongen, Asbury Park Press)
