Winners and Losers: Week of St. Patrick’s Day
WINNERS
http://politickernj.com/2015/03/winners-and-losers-week-of-st-patricks-day/
Wilson done in the Fifth District, to run for Camden Sheriff
Veteran lawmaker Wilson wants the seat currently occupied by retiring Sheriff Chuck Billingham, who last year announced his intention not to run again. Wilson has represented the Fifth Legislative District in the Assembly for five years. A Camden police officer for over 26 years, and an Air Force veteran of the Vietnam War, he previously served two terms as a member of the Camden City Council. (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
Sarlo testified this morning in Ferriero corruption trial
NEWARK – State Senator Paul Sarlo (D-36) testified today in the ongoing corruption trial of former Bergen County Democratic Organization (BCDO) Chairman Joe Ferriero.
Sarlo did not receive a subpoena. He appeared at the invitation of the court to address his knowledge of Ferriero’s activities in his capacity as mayor of Wood-Ridge, not state senator. (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
Ridley out of LD31 amid deepening rancor between Cunningham and Fulop camps
Jersey City Democratic Committeewoman Denise Ridley, who two weeks ago formally received the support of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), today formally withdrew her candidacy in a letter to supporters. (Pizarro/PolitickerNJ)
Port Authority reform — or political football?
Democrats say they’re committed to preventing legislation to reform an embattled Port Authority from becoming a political football — that is, if it hasn’t become one already.
On Monday, lawmakers in Trenton clashed publicly over the legislature’s latest push to set down some guidelines for reigning in the bi-state agency, failing once again to override a veto by Gov. Chris Christie of legislation that Democrats argue would do just that. It was not the first time the body failed to buck the front office’s decree, but it was a bitter loss for those seeking swift action against the agency, especially because of just how close the vote was: Democrats, who had spent the last several weeks going behind closed doors with potential Republican sympathizers to secure the support need for a successful override, found themselves just two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed oppose Christie. (Brush/PolitickerNJ)
Port Authority reform — or political football? | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis
Will Pauls wins Republican nomination for Assembly
Conventions can be stressful.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/will-pauls-wins-republican-nomination-for-assembly/article_ed4ffccc-d001-11e4-9576-8be1c120e6aa.html
Bill Would Let Municipalities Require Cops, Firefighters to Live Where They Work
It used to be your neighborhood cop or firefighter actually lived in your neighborhood, providing an additional layer of protection, for sure, but they also played another important role in the lives of neighborhood kids.
“They were role models for the children who were growing up in the neighborhoods. I wanna be a fireman, I wanna be a police officer, a teacher, I wan to be a whatever. That was upwardly mobile,” said Newark City Council President Mildred Crump. (Cruz/NJTV)
Controversy Over South Plainfield Superfund Cleanup Site
The muddy alphabet soup of carcinogens — also known as the Bound Brook — meanders past the former Cornell-Dubilier Electronics plant in South Plainfield. The EPA razed buildings at the 26-acre Superfund toxic waste site, treated and capped contaminants beneath scabs of asphalt. (Flanagan/NJTV)
http://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/controversy-over-south-plainfield-superfund-site-cleanup/
Former DuPont dynamite plant to become Delaware River port
A shuttered DuPont-owned dynamite plant in Gloucester County will become a new Delaware River port, state officials announced Friday.
The 1,800-acre DuPont Repaupo site — a federal Superfund site closed for a decade — will be purchased by “funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group,” according to county spokeswoman Debra Sellitto. (Romalino/Courier Post)
http://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/2015/03/20/dupont-site-sold-to-investment-firm/25096651/
Chris Christie Warns GOP Against Flip-Floppers
BOCA RATON, FLA. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie warned the Republican Party’s top donors Saturday against backing a candidate who flip-flops on important issues.
Addressing a harbor-side reception Saturday at an exclusive retreat for donors to the Republican National Committee, the Garden State governor appeared to criticize Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, without mentioning him by name, for adjusting his positions to curry favor with early state voters. (Miller/TIME)
http://time.com/3753426/chris-christie-scott-walker/
Chris Christie’s Fair Housing Problem
The Supreme Court of New Jersey has finally run out of patience with Gov. Chris Christie’s attempts to nullify its groundbreaking, three-decades-old decision in the Mount Laurel fair housing case, which prohibits wealthy towns from excluding affordable housing and requires them to write zoning laws that allow such housing to be built.
In a unanimous ruling last week, the court took responsibility for administering the long-delayed program out of the state’s hands and gave it to the lower courts, with instructions to get the program back on track. (The New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/21/opinion/chris-christies-fair-housing-problem.html?_r=0
West Atlantic City redevelopment plan languishes without funding
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — A redevelopment plan was compiled for the revitalization of West Atlantic City in 2009, but there has been barely any progress — and officials blame the state and a lack of funding.
Mayor James “Sonny” McCullough said funding for redevelopment of the area historically has been held up by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority with delays and empty promises. (Weaver/Press of Atlantic City)
How an ‘expensive’ N.J. community might handle town-by-town minimum wage proposal
MONTCLAIR — A township official says an Assembly proposal that would allow municipalities in New Jersey to set their own minimum wages would be plausible, and likely passable, in Montclair. But, he says he’s not convinced that it’s the most effective way to increase the minimum wage in New Jersey. (Mazolla/NJ.com)
Christie orders flags flown at half-staff for fallen Marine
TRENTON – Gov. Chris Christie has ordered all state flags to fly at half-staff on Monday to honor a New Jersey Marine killed in a Black Hawk helicopter crash last week.
Capt. Stanford Henry Shaw III was from Basking Ridge, and attended Ridge High School. The 31-year-old was student government president and captain of the varsity lacrosse team. (Courier Post)
ISIS in New Jersey: How big a threat?
Is there an ISIS wannabe living near you?
On some level, the answer is immaterial to the Islamic State and other terror groups like them, terrorism experts say.
Fear is the coin of their realm. So regardless of the reality, the mere perception that there are many other Americans like former Neptune resident Tairod Nathan Webster Pugh lurking in the shadows helps further their cause.
“You know that expression, ‘There’s no such thing as bad publicity,’ ” said Robert J. Louden, director of the homeland security program at Georgian Court University, Lakewood. “Because even bad publicity brings your name to someone’s attention.” (Mullen/Asbury Park Press)
http://www.app.com/story/news/local/2015/03/20/tairod-pugh-isis-recruting-westerners/25110621/
New Jersey Squeezes Funding for Open Space
As New Jersey farmer Carl Race advanced into his 80s, he faced a common question for those who till the land in the state: keep his 80 acres or sell.
Mr. Race decided to keep his land, helped by a state grant that paid him $7,700 an acre. In return, his property will have to be maintained as farmland long after he dies.
“If I were to pass away, this area would go into development,” said Mr. Race, a fourth-generation fruit and vegetable farmer in Warren County in northwest New Jersey. “I wanted to keep the farm in agriculture, and that was a sure way to do it.” (Haddon/Wall Street Journal)
http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-jersey-squeezes-funding-for-open-space-1427075942
Charles Epps of Jersey City has died
TRENTON – School leaders may be reading students’ Tweets about the new standardized Charles Epps, the former Assemblyman and schools superintendent, has died of a heart attack.
According to a report in the Jersey Journal, Dr. Epps was found in his Society Hill home this morning.
Read the full story here. (PolitickerNJ)
Charles Epps of Jersey City has died | New Jersey News, Politics, Opinion, and Analysis