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On Wed, Oct 1, 2008 at 8:15 AM, RG in Arizona wrote: While walking the dog this morning, side arm open carry, I noticed a car tracking me and the man driving the car was on a cell phone looking all upset. I tried not to make eye contact with the man and just kept walking. I turned into the floodway park and let the dog run free for about ten minutes and noticed the car was still there and the man was still on the phone. I came out of the floodway and on the way back to the...

Anyone following the print media will know that newspapers are falling on hard times everywhere in the country. The Internet has damaged newspaper's once dominant position as the source for daily local and national news. In this day when papers are folding everywhere and many more are firing people right and left (well, just "left" because there are few on the right in that business!) one would think that everyone involved with any particular paper would be bending over backwards to help keep the doors open and the printing presses rolling. Well, apparently, unions would rather see everyone lose their...

As you can imagine, there are many questions about what the effect of this crisis will be, but some aspect of our economic future are already set is stone. So I’d like to take a moment to tell you about some of the more certain consequences of our current circumstance, and how they will change the economic condition of New Jersey in future weeks and months.

That's right. New Jersey now requires flu vaccines for preschoolers and children attending licensed child care centers. Now parents will have an additional item to cross off their checklists once the school bells ring in September. The flu vaccine requirement, along with three additional immunizations, was approved last December. According to the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, studies suggest that young children are "particularly efficient in transmitting influenza to their close contacts," including other children, adults and the elderly. "This new requirement addresses the need to stop flu transmission at a potential source," the department said in...

New Jersey has lost population in recent decades because low-income residents are fleeing to states with a reduced cost of living, while those moving into the Garden State are generally better educated and earn higher salaries, according to a Princeton University study released today.

New Jersey is now, according to recent polls, tantalizingly close in the Presidential race. While I do not suggest McCain/Palin expend resources for a NJ victory, this suddenly competitive state could cause more headaches for rejected (by Obama) Harry Reid. Pulled from the Web:In [a] poll, conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson University, Lautenberg was leading Zimmer by 45 percent to 28 percent. The poll of 589 registered voters was conducted between June 17 and 22 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.Here25 Jul 08:The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll released yesterday found Lautenberg leading Dick...

NEWARK, N.J. — Three men and three teenagers were indicted Monday on murder and other charges for the execution-style slayings that shocked New Jersey's largest city more than a year ago. The grand jury charged all six suspects, who have reputed links to the MS-13 street gang, with murder, attempted murder, robbery and weapons offenses related to the Aug. 4, 2007 killings. Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow said the indictments took a year because charges against the three teens were upgraded from juvenile to adult court, and because multiple agencies worked together to make sure the case was airtight Those...

For the weekend, here's a gallery of pics from a book signing I did in New Jersey this past week. I started the day doing some radio interviews, which incidentally seem to me so much easier to do than televised ones. I've been so grateful for all the supportive fans of the site, and for my Dad and family who have come out to these events. I enjoy meeting the kids and teenagers who have turned out to meet us, along with their families, including some very sweet grandmothers!

New Jersey Rejects Electoral College Two States Have Now Joined Compact To Give Their Votes To Winner Of The Popular Vote =============== (AP) New Jersey on Sunday became the second state to enter a compact that would eliminate the Electoral College's power to choose a president if enough states endorse the idea. Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed legislation that approves delivering the state's 15 electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The Assembly approved the bill last month and the Senate followed suit earlier this month. Maryland - with 10 electoral votes - had been the only...

A Fairleigh Dickinson-PublicMind poll out Tuesday shows Sen. Barack Obama apparently leading by 6 points in New Jersey, 47-41 percent. That's down from the 16-point lead Obama enjoyed here in an FDU poll taken in June.

New Jersey taxpayers will have to shell out more than $36 million in coming years to cover school administrator retirement payments as more than 30 school administrators are due six-figure retirement packages, according to a new state analysis. The state initiated the study, and new rules on retirement packages, after it was reported that retired Keansburg Superintendent Barbara Trzeszkowski was due $740,876 in unused sick time and other buybacks. That led to lawmakers to place caps on new contracts. The state Attorney General's Office is trying to get a judge to nullify the payment to Trzeszkowski. Meanwhile, the new numbers...

TRENTON, NJ - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama will be in New Jersey on Friday for a fundraiser at the home of one of New Jersey's biggest celebrities. But the event at Jon Bon Jovi's Jersey Shore home is just one of two fundraisers being held for Obama on Friday. The other is at the home of Democratic National Committee Chairman Philip Murphy. Tickets for the Murphy event will be $2,300 a person. The price jumps to $30,800 per person for the event at Bon Jovi's home. The money from both events is slated to go a joint fundraising committee...

They haven't had much to celebrate in recent years, the once-proud Republicans of New Jersey. The Garden State GOP, which less than a decade ago controlled both the governor's office and the state Legislature, has taken on second-class status as Democrats have consolidated their power in state politics. The governor, the Legislature, both U.S. senators and most of the state's members of Congress are Democrats. But as the state's Republicans arrived here for the convention that will nominate John McCain and Sarah Palin, they made clear their enthusiasm for the ticket and the future of their party. "There's definitely a...

A Pennsylvania man was injured in an accident in Westampton Tuesday and then charged with unlawful possession of a loaded handgun, police said. According to investigators, Gary Jones, 30, of Glenside, Pa. was the driver of a vehicle that collided with another car yesterday afternoon at the intersection of Springside and Valley Farm Roads. Following the 4:21 p.m. accident, officers located a 10 mm handgun in the console of Jones car, police said. The gun was loaded with hollow-point bullets, police said. Jones had a permit to carry the weapon in Pennsylvania, but New Jersey law does not permit him...

Tania Hollander, 36, became the fourth and likely last person to plead guilty in the sex scandal that exposed Ashley Alexandra Dupré as former New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer’s high-priced call girl. The scandal led to Spitzer’s resignation and launched Dupre to national prominence. Hollander's lawyer described her as a minor character in the scandal, but she could face up to five years in jail. Hollander, 36, of Rhinebeck, N.Y worked as a booker for the Emperors Club VIP, the high-priced New Jersey-based call girl ring that eventually hired Dupre. Hollander told the court she began looking for work early...

BEIJING (Reuters) - American Rebecca Soni broke the world record to win the women's 200 meters breaststroke final on Friday to collect her first gold medal of the Beijing Olympics. Soni surged to victory in two minutes 20.22 seconds, wiping 0.32 off the previous world record set by Australia's Leisel Jones at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Jones, who won the 100 earlier in the week, faded on the last lap to finish second in 2:22.05 while Norway's Sara Nordenstam was third in 2:23.02. Soni became just the second American female swimmer to win gold in Beijing after Natalie Coughlin won...

ANN ARBOR, MI — Today, July 31st at 10:00AM EST, a New Jersey Federal Court heard oral arguments in a legal challenge to a public school district’s policy totally banning Christmas music, including simple instrumentals without words, during year-end celebrations in its schools. The Thomas More Law Center, a national public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan filed the federal lawsuit on the grounds that the school district’s ban on religious music conveys a government-sponsored message of disapproval and hostility toward religion in violation of the Establishment Clause. Richard Thompson, President and Chief Counsel of the Law Center,...

(What makes someone a "decorated combat veteran?" Thurman Hart puts the question to us framed within the drama of a New Jersey Congressional race. From the diaries - promoted by Brandon Friedman) I don't usually make a huge deal out of my six years of service in the US Navy. I went in when I was eighteen, spent four years as an electrician on the USS Saipan, and got out. I have a box on a shelf where I keep some spare bits of cloth and metal that the Navy gave me for various things, but it's really not a...

Businessman Michael Yun remembers what Jersey City, New Jersey, was like in the 1980s. "Like the wild, wild West," he said. The "streets weren't safe" and government was "out of control." Public services failed, businesses left, and corruption was rampant. Abandoned by the outdated railroad industry, it was the anemic neighbor of Manhattan, where feral dogs ran wild in the tall grass by the collapsed railway arteries and hypodermic needles, like seeds, littered the ground just west of the Hudson River. But all that changed in 1992 when Republican Bret Schundler did the impossible. After Mayor Gerald McCann was arrested...

Another Democrat resigning office on porn related allegations. New Jersey Assemblyman Neil Cohen resigned admitting that he needed Psychiatric help. A common excuse for Democrats.

Former Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy today was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by a judge who said Levy continues to exaggerate his military service in Vietnam. Levy, 61, had pleaded guilty in federal court in Camden in November to one count of falsifying his service record when he applied for increased veterans benefits in January 2003. During today's hearing, Judge Jerome B. Simandle asked Levy to explain more about the dangerous missions behind enemy lines he told probation officers he participated in. "I just picked up my M-16 and my radio and...

Deputy Assembly Speaker Neil Cohen is being investigated for alleged possession of child pornography, according to two of his Democratic colleagues who said they brought the matter to the attention of law enforcement. In a joint statement, Sen. Raymond Lesniak and Assemblyman Joseph Cryan (both D-Union) confirmed they alerted authorities to the possibility Cohen (D-Union) had child pornography on his computers. "As the facts became apparent in our office, we notified the appropriate agency and will continue to assist in any way possible," Lesniak and Cryan said. "While it was our proactive steps that led to the investigation to this...

It was supposed to be a nice bonus for people who paid $1,500 to attend a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) -- a ticket to the Bruce Springsteen concert Sunday at Giants Stadium. But the Lautenberg campaign canceled its order for 40 tickets yesterday after it came under review by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority, which is promoting the concert, and drew fire from Republicans.

Federal authorities have launched an investigation into New Jersey's largest state worker union, and of Gov. John Corzine's ex-girlfriend, Carla Katz, who until recently was its head, ABC News has learned. As first reported by the Star-Ledger, investigators served document and record subpoenas yesterday on the Communications Workers of America in Washington, D.C. The investigators are looking into allegations that Katz misappropriated union funds, sources confirmed for ABC News. These allegations were first raised in the union's own probe into Katz' management of Local 1034, sources confirmed to ABC News. They were made public last week when the organization's governing...

But what's this, tucked in at the bottom? If leaners are included, Obama leads McCain by an even narrower 47% to 44%. Three points? In New Jersey? Put Rudy on the ticket and the GOP picks up 15 electoral votes in the Garden State.

"I believe we are witnessing the beginning of a new race of men" Anonymous British Officer after the Battle of Saratoga, 1777 This comment, made by a soldier now forgotten by history, was more prophetic and more significant than he probably realized at the time Here is the link to the rest Or click The Bulletin link: http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19842763&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

One signed all three bulwarks of the Republic. The other was second only to James Madison as the architect of the Constitution. Robert Morris and James Wilson were two of the most important, yet least publicized, of the Founding Fathers. Why has Philadelphia not commemorated some of its most important citizens? Wilson was according to American Heritage magazine, one of the most underrated Americans in history. Historian Gary Wills wrote, "A signer of the Declaration, a principal drafter of the Federal Constitution, the principal ratifier, and the profoundest theorist of it, Wilson is the least known of the Founding Fathers."...

ERMA — Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue announced that the Department of Homeland Security will provide the Lower Township police with a Real Time Video Surveillance System through the U.S. Army’s Commercial Equipment Direct Assistance Program, or CEDAP. Donohue stated that the police department applied to the Army’s CEDAP Program last year for the system. The system consists of several cameras that can feedback live video to police headquarters or vehicles from several miles away. Donohue states the system will be utilized for police surveillance operations, tactical operations, and to monitor critical infrastructure as needed. For security reasons, Donohue...

Washington is poised to make driving while talking on hand-held cell phones illegal. New Jersey has already been down this road. The cell-phone ban for Washington will start Tuesday and will be similar to a New Jersey law that went into effect in 2003. Washington's law makes it a secondary offense. That means police must find a driver committing another violation such as speeding before stopping drivers for holding a cell phone up to their ear. New Jersey's law also began as a secondary offense. State officials there found the law toothless and difficult to enforce, said William Cicchetti,...

He sued after his high school held the ceremony in a Baptist church TRENTON, N.J. - A Muslim student who sued because his public high school graduation ceremony was held in a Baptist church has received an apology from the largest school district in New Jersey and assurances that it will not hold future events in houses of worship. Bilal Shareef said he had to skip his 2006 graduation from West Side High School because his religious beliefs prohibit him from entering buildings containing icons of God. "I was forced to choose between honoring my education and my faith, and...

Police may have found the smoking gun — literally — that could ensure convictions for six suspects in the gruesome, execution-style murders of three college-bound New Jersey youths. The gun, a .357-caliber revolver, was recovered from the Long Island, N.Y., house of a reputed MS-13 gang member, and it may have been used in several other killings, authorities said Thursday.

Another New Jersey school principal -- the third educator in a month -- has been indicted on car arson charges in Essex County as prosecutors crack down on suspected insurance fraud. The charges against Amanda Wright-Stafford, principal of the Lincoln Avenue Elementary School in Orange, come as cases of auto insurance fraud are growing nationally, according to experts who blame the souring economy. Wright-Stafford, 51, faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted on charges she faked the theft of her 2000 Honda Passport, which was found burning in East Orange in 2006. An indictment handed up in Superior...

DanburyNewsTimesArticle Last Updated: 05/12/2008 04:14:20 AM EDT Lyme disease care under fire Medical groups differ on courses of treatmentConnecticutBy Robert Miller Staff Writer In the battle over how best to treat Lyme disease, a new settlement between Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and a major medical group might seem to offer at least a little hope of expanded treatment for those with the tick-borne disease. That, however, would involve a change in the lines of debate over the disease, and it's not clear there will be any yielding. The settlement, reached this month between Blumenthal and the Infectious Diseases Society of...

NEWARK, N.J. - A rare international alert seeking a man shown in dozens of raw child porn images quickly led to the arrest of a small-time actor, who painted faces at children's parties and performed as "the best Santa Claus anyone has ever seen." Wayne Nelson Corliss told authorities he had sex with three boys in Thailand six years ago, an experience he described as "euphoria," a prosecutor said Thursday at Corliss' first court appearance. The arrest of the bespectacled, gray-haired 58-year-old at his Union City apartment late Wednesday capped a two-day global manhunt, just the second time Interpol has...

New Jersey's gay ex-governor Jim McGreevey and his estranged wife Dina Matos McGreevey showed up for court Tuesday morning to begin the process of ending their marriage. The first three days of the trial will be closed to the media as Union County Superior Court Judge Karen Cassidy considers custody issues surrounding the couple's 6-year-old daughter. The issues to be decided in the divorce settlement involve custody, alimony and child support, and whether McGreevey, now openly gay, committed fraud by marrying a woman. Matos McGreevey, 41, is seeking $600,000 for time she would have spent at the governor's mansion had...

Christie clarifies: 'Illegal' immigrants are in civil violation by Brian Donohue/ Star-Ledger staff Tuesday April 29, 2008, 12:03 PM The office of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie on Monday issued a statement addressing criticism of remarks he made regarding illegal immigration at a church forum in Dover Sunday. In response to a question from an audience member, Christie said that immigrants are not committing a crime by being in the country illegally.Monday, Christie said that while entering the country illegally is considered a federal misdemeanor, simply lacking legal immigration status is a civil violation.

BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. - In South Jersey, the discovery of unexploded artillery shells from World War II has stalled plans to develop a new expo center. The sheer number of artillery shells staggered the mayor. It was found at the now closed Palmyra Drive-In Theater on Route 73. "We were hoping, hoping to only find one or two or three maybe. We're now up to nearly 200, or 181 as reported to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, but there's since been another 20," Palmyra Mayor John Gural, Jr. said. The Army was anxious to develop new anti-tank rounds...

DOVER, N.J. - New Jersey's top federal prosecutor told a Latino group that it is a civil offense — not a crime — for immigrants to live in the country without proper documentation. In response to a question on illegal immigration at an open forum Sunday that grew heated, U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie said living in the United States without immigration paperwork is "an administrative matter" that federal immigration officials are supposed to address. "Don't let people make you believe that that's a crime that the U.S. Attorney's Office should be doing something about," Christie was quoted as saying in...

More legal trouble for Burlington County policeman charged with sexually assaulting three girls. Authorities have charged Moorestown Officer Robert Melia Jr. with cruelty to animals. Authorities say Melia engaged in sex acts involving cows in 2006. (snip)

Murphy Campaign levels severe criticism at Chris Myers for his $500 donation to liberal Senator Frank Lautenberg “My first comments in criticizing one of my opponents in this race were, ‘Chris Myers has some explaining to do for his retention of Tom Blakely (rest his soul) and Jamestown Associates.’ This for the involvement of Jamestown with Allen Raymond and his infamous book titled, “How to Rig an Election.” Today, I ask Chris Myers again to explain his judgment and decision making skills, or lack thereof, to the voters of the 3rd district. There has to be a reason why Mr....

A federal appeals court has ruled a New Jersey high-school football coach who bowed his head while students on his team led prayer was actually breaking the law. The decision, though, will be appealed, said John Whitehead, president of the Virginia-based civil-liberties group the Rutherford Institute.

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Jefferson Township, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- A piece of artillery that was apparently misfired by the military crashed through the roof of a home miles away Friday and injured a young girl's cat, which had to be euthanized, officials said. No people were injured when the 2-pound piece hit the Jefferson Township home about 2 1/2 miles from the Picatinny Arsenal and landed in the girl's bed, said Peter Rowland, arsenal spokesman. She wasn't home, but her cat was sleeping on the bed. Excerpt

What is good for the goose evidently isn't so good for the gander when it's New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine doing the honking about New York City's congestion-pricing plan. Leading up to yesterday's deadline for New York state lawmakers to vote on the proposal, Corzine weighed in last week by saying that he was dismayed by the scheme and would bring suit against New York if it went ahead with the proposal to charge motorists $8 and truckers $21 to drive into the most heavily trafficked parts of Manhattan; the N.J. governor was angry as well that the fees...

The state Senate today gave final legislative approval to a bill to allow workers to take paid leaves of absence to care for family members. The measure passed by a vote of 21-15 despite the objections of opponents who said it will hurt the state's economy and make New Jersey less competitive. The paid family leave act (A873) would allow workers to apply for up to six weeks off to care for a newborn or newly adopted child, or a sick parent, spouse or child, and collect up to two-thirds of their pay, up to a maximum of $524 a...

GOP lands top-tier recruit against Lautenberg Biotech executive John Crowley is expected to enter the New Jersey Senate race against Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg, according to a source familiar with his thinking. It would give Republicans a candidate with a compelling personal narrative who also has deep pockets to self-finance a campaign. His pending announcement, which could come as soon as this weekend, will set up a high-profile election year in the Garden State, where Lautenberg is already facing a primary challenge from Democratic Rep. Robert Andrews. But Crowley has the potential to capture as much of the media spotlight...

Crowley will make a decision soon By Matt Friedman Tags: U.S. Senate, Murray Sabrin, John McCain, John Ensign, John Crowley, Joe Pennacchio, Bill Spadea Princeton biotech executive John Crowley, who had declined to run for Senate, is reconsidering and will make a decision soon, according to friend and advisor Bill Spadea. “John is tremendously impressed by the outpouring of support and encouragement that has come from his colleagues, his friends and his family. People of all political beliefs have come forward to offer their good wishes for a potential U.S>Senate run, and they sense what a special opportunity a Crowley...

TRENTON -- Only days after deciding not to run for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate, biotech millionaire John Crowley is reconsidering entering the primary. Crowley, 40, of Princeton, is reconsidering entering the race for the GOP nomination after receiving phone calls from several national and state Republican Party figures urging Crowley to jump in. Political adviser and close friend Bill Spadea confirmed Crowley is reconsidering. "John is tremendously impressed by the outpouring of support and encouragement that has come from his colleagues, his friends, and his family," said Spadea. "People of all political beliefs have come forward to offer...

Tuesday Morning, 10:00am - 12:00pm, there will be a statehouse rally in Trenton by New Jersey farmers and their supporters to save the Agricultural Department. Background: Governor Corzine's budget proposal includes the elimination of the Department of Agriculture. The rally will represent the farming set's loudest and most visible offensive. Essential functions of the Depart of Agri: - The NJDA oversees the hugely popular Jersey Fresh program that promotes locally grown produce and serves as a model that other states are copying to promote their own produce. The current budget for that program is $800,000. The governor proposes to slash...

The number of cops in North Jersey schools is rising as parents demand that officials do everything possible to keep their children safe.  Police were once considered a luxury in schools or even a distraction, but now school patrols are being beefed up even as municipalities cut other services.  Municipal officials point to the same events to explain the shift: the Columbine massacre, 9/11, Virginia Tech. The trauma and intense media focus that followed each tragedy have overridden questions about the impact of having armed officers patrolling the hallways."In the beginning, it was this concern that this was going...