In East Orange, Bowser builds team around hallowed office
EAST ORANGE – Mayor Bob Bowser puts considerable stock in being a mayor, an office he has held for 16 years in this Essex County town where the main, broad boulevard rumbling with buses, cabs and cop cars runs into Newark to eastward and into the mountains west. Politicker
http://www.politickernj.com/64298/east-orange-bowser-builds-his-team-around-hallowed-office
Levesque calls Dem robo call plan against Inverso ‘despicable’
Irritated at Democrats for preparing strikes against former state Sen. Peter Inverso (R-14), Mercer County Republican Committee Chairman Rich Levesque this afternoon retaliated. Politicker
http://www.politickernj.com/64294/levesque-dem-robocalls-against-inverso-despicable
Latest from State Street Wire
Christie signs Sandy oversight bill
TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie signed into law the bill establishing oversight of rebuilding from Superstorm Sandy. State Street Wire
http://www.politickernj.com/64297/sandy-oversight-bill-signed
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Grassley writing own gun control bill
Sen. Chuck Grassley is crafting an alternative Republican gun control bill, a move that could further complicate what will already be a difficult lift for Democrats and the White House. Politico
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/grassley-writing-alternative-senate-gun-bill-89410.html?hp=l2
Cash-strapped states eye pot tax
Now that voters in Colorado and Washington have legalized recreational marijuana use, dope smokers there can light up without the usual paranoid fear that the cops are at the door. Politico
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/03/buzzkill-cash-strapped-states-eye-pot-tax-89412.html?hp=t2_3
John Roberts’ DOMA skepticism
WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Wednesday reacted incredulously to the notion that members of the Senate or the U.S. president may have been motivated to pass the Defense of Marriage Act by animus or moral objection to gay and lesbian couples. It was a window into his apparent belief that the U.S. is simply not a place burdened by such things as bigotry or racism. Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/john-robert-doma_n_2966757.html
Shore towns on the clock
Mayors of several of Ocean County’s Northern Barrier Island communities are in a race against time to get their beaches and tourism hot spots ready for this summer season, but is it realistic given the devastation of Sandy? 101.5FM
http://nj1015.com/jersey-shore-tourism-season-remains-on-track-audio/
Newark-based Sandy demolition firm ran up big fines
A Newark demolition company that owes New Jersey and the federal government more than $100,000 — including unpaid fines stemming from the 2011 death of a teenage worker — was among the many subcontractors hired with taxpayer dollars to haul debris after superstorm Sandy. Record
http://www.northjersey.com/news/environment/Sandy_cleanup_subcontractor_ran_up_big_fines.html
Cutbacks at Bergen Regional Medical Center leave patients scrambling
Cutbacks in outpatient clinic hours at Bergen Regional Medical Center, long considered the safety net for Bergen County’s poor and uninsured, are forcing some patients to wait months for an appointment or to travel to a state-run hospital in Newark for medical attention, doctors and patients say. Record
Christie letter praising Princeton consolidation inaccurate, council members say
Princeton Council members have reacted strongly to a letter Gov. Chris Christie sent to town residents March 1 praising them for consolidating the former Princetons but misstating facts and making it appear as though the potential tax savings are much higher. Trenton Times
http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2013/03/gov_chris_christie_letter_prai.html
Mandela hospitalized with lung infection
Nelson Mandela suffered a recurrence of his lung infection and was taken to a hospital late Wednesday. NBC News
N.J. to probe police response in boy-with-gun photo
TRENTON, N.J. – Gov. Chris Christie has asked his attorney general to investigate the state’s visit to the home of a man who had posted online a photo of his son holding a military-style rifle, saying news reports raised “troubling questions” about how the case was handled. Associated Press
Right-to-die debated at law school
If a doctor tells a patient that he has six months to live, should that patient be legally permitted to end his life with pills? Inquirer
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/new_jersey/20130328_N_J__holds_forum_on_self-_euthanasia.html
OSHA fines Bayonne rifle manufacturer for violations
A Bayonne business still recovering from damages inflicted by Hurricane Sandy has been cited with four repeat and four serious safety and health violations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Tuesday. Jersey Journal
http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index.ssf/2013/03/osha_penalizes_bayonne_rifle_m.html
Lance video fuels debate on ammo stockpiling by feds
A Central Jersey congressman wants federal Homeland Security officials to explain why the agency wants to stockpile nearly 2 billion rounds of ammunition. Home News Tribune
World stocks fall as Cyprus reopens banks
BANGKOK (AP) — Renewed jitters about Europe’s debt crisis sent world stock markets lower Thursday.
Cypriot banks will open Thursday after being shut for nearly two weeks as an emergency loan was being pieced together to prevent the nation’s financial sector from collapsing. Associated Press
Christie re-election path goes through New Jersey’s cities
Cities have become a central front in Governor Chris Christie’s drive to win a second term inNew Jersey, where shopping malls and leafy subdivisions have been the seat of political power for 50 years. Bloomberg
Opinion
Cell phone penalties worth a try
Can anything be done to stop people from using cellphones while they drive? The evidence – gathered by looking around New Jersey’s roadways – is not encouraging. Atlantic City Press
Medical pot delays only causing pain
One of the major failings of Gov. Chris Christie’s administration has been the inability to roll out the state’s medical marijuana program in a timely fashion. Asbury Park Press
http://www.app.com/article/20130328/NJOPINION01/303280006/Medical-pot-delays-only-causing-pain
Buying contracts
ENACTING LAWS banning pay-to-play, the practice of securing government contracts by making campaign contributions, is only part of the challenge. The harder part is enforcing them. Record
http://www.northjersey.com/news/opinions/200374301_The_Record__Buying_contracts.html
