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Forbes put Detroit Mayor Dave Bing on its cover in 2011 for a story with the optimistic headline: “City of Hope.” The premise was that the city had hit rock bottom and was poised for a turnaround. “Right now, it’s all about survival,” Bing told Forbes. Two years later, Detroit’s problems continue to multiply, sadly. It is still dealing with high levels of violent crime and unemployment. Home prices, already at historic lows, plummeted a further 35% during the past three years to a median of $40,000 as net migration out of the city continued. The latest blow was Tuesday’s...

“Think of the children.” I’ve heard that a lot lately, or variations thereof. One woman recently chided me on Twitter with the following: “Imagine if you had kids! Think about others instead of your pocketbook suffering. I don’t have to imagine having kids. I actually have five of them, from a 26-year old daughter to 7-year old twins. Just like every gun-owning parent I know, I love them more than I love my firearms. And I know first hand that gun control laws like a ban on commonly owned firearms, tough restrictions for legal gun purchases, and even mandatory background...

Massive response attributed to Friday's killings in Newtown, ConnecticutThose who showed up at Camden, New Jersey program were given up to $250 per weapon soldCamden is known as one of the most violent American city, with a staggering murder and violent crime rate Deeply affected by the massacre at Sandy Hook, gun owners in Camden, New Jersey, America's deadliest town, turned in a record number of weapons in a buy back scheme over the weekend. 1,137 firearms including an elephant-gun were handed in on Friday and Saturday at two churches in the crime-plagued town as the ramifications of the...

Looks like Camden, New Jersey is ready for a Robocop police force I have seen the future of law enforcement, and recent news suggests that it could be coming to New Jersey. First of all, we are closer to having Robocops than ever. Over at C|Net, Tim Hornyak reports on a new project to deploy remote-controlled robotic police: Researchers at Florida International University's Discovery Lab are working with a member of the U.S. Navy Reserves to build telepresence robots that could patrol while being controlled by disabled police officers and military vets. In a sense, they would be hybrid man-machine...

While the stock market in the US continues to surge (if not so much in China where the composite is back to 2009 lows) as the relentless liquidity tsunami makes its way into stocks, and other Fed frontrunning instruments, and only there, reality for everyone else refuses to wait. Last week we saw reality striking in Greece, where a section of Athens literally shut down after it ran out of all cash. Today, reality comes to the US, and specifically its poorest city, Camden, which is a twofer, doubling down also as America's deadliest city. It turns out Camden...

This city, long among the nation's poorest and most crime-ridden, is on the verge of dismantling its police department and starting anew with a force run by the county government. City officials are making the move to increase the number of officers while keeping the cost the same by averting rules negotiated with a union that city officials have seen as unwilling to compromise. Unless the union - which is skeptical of the stated motivations for the change - reaches a deal with the county, no more than 49 per cent of the city's current officers could join the new...

Crime-ridden Camden, New Jersey - often referred to as the most dangerous city in the United States—is getting rid of its police department. In the latest example of a cash-strapped municipality taking drastic measures to deal with swollen public sector liabilities and shrinking budgets, the city plans to disband its 460-member police department and replace it with a non-union “Metro Division” of the Camden County Police. Backers of the plan say it will save millions of dollars for taxpayers while ensuring public safety, but police unions say it is simply a way to get out of collective bargaining with the...

Christian ministry leader Dawn Martinez was told she could no longer hold the twice-a-week Bible studies she has taught for homeless people for the last two years inside a McDonald's in Camden, N.J. A night manager at the fast food restaurant told her last week that a customer had filed a complaint. Martinez wonders if it could have been because of the topic briefly discussed at one point last Monday – the Muslim faith. The 33-year-old, who began the ministry to transients and drug addicts two years ago, describes the Bible study group's last meeting on Monday. "It was a...

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (CBS) – A mother from Texas was formally charged with two counts of second-degree murder Thursday in the death of her 6-year-old son. Prosecutors say Julianne McCrery “knowingly and recklessly” caused the death of her son Camden Pierce Hughes by asphyxiation. No other details were revealed at her arraignment in Portsmouth District Court. She did not enter a plea and responded “yes, ma’am” when asked if she wanted a court-appointed attorney. It was the second time in a day McCrery appeared before a judge. She was arraigned in Concord, Mass. District Court on a fugitive of justice charge...

CAMDEN, N.J. - April 30, 2011 (WPVI) -- Police in Camden say a gas station clerk killed a man who tried to rob him.

Camden will lay off nearly half of its police officers and a third of its firefighters while eliminating positions in every city office, according to a layoff plan approved Tuesday by the state. The 383 total layoffs represent about a quarter of the city's work force, and touch all corners of city government, from 15 positions in the municipal court to 20 police dispatchers.

Deep layoffs of city workers go into effect on Tuesday - cutting up to 383 jobs, or one-fourth of the city's employees. The exact number depends on whether public workers' unions make last-minute concessions... Three of Camden's past seven mayors have been sent to prison for corruption, including one who was convicted while he was still running the city.

Two months after Camden, NJ, laid off 160 police officers, city prosecutors have released a sobering report showing a dramatic rise in violent crime in the drug-and-crime-ridden city of 80,000 residents. Aggravated assaults with firearms jumped 259 percent in January and February compared to last year, and violent crime over all is up 19 percent, the Camden County Prosecutor's Office told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Murders and robberies, however, were down for the period.

The second most violent city in America just approved plans to layoff half its police force, according to NBC New York. Camden, N.J. will fire one in four city workers on Jan. 18, including half of police. This comes just days after Newark, N.J. fired 167 police officers, which marked the biggest force reduction in 32 years. Camden was named the second most violent city based FBI crime data that came out last week. Newark was named the 23 most violent city in America.

The City of Philadelphia will receive nearly $44 million in stimulus funds, with the city of Camden raking in another $26 million for job creation and housing programs, the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday. The grants were part of the $2 billion in Recovery Act funding detailed by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan that went directly to cities, states and non-profit housing development organizations. "Philadelphia is famous as a city of neighborhoods and today’s announcement is a huge boost for communities across this city,” Mayor Nutter said in a press release. “We have fought for every dollar...

Bad news for Oakland today. CQ Press has released their annual City crime rankings, and Oakland is even closer to the top of the list than usual. The rankings are based on the incidence of murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary, and vehicle theft in all US cities with more than 75,000 residents. Out of 393 cities considered, Oakland clocked in as the 3rd most crime ridden, topped only by Camden, NJ and St. Louis, MO. Other cities joining Oakland in the top 10 include Detroit, MI, Flint, MI, New Orleans, LA, Birmingham, AL, Cleveland, OH, Jackson, MS and Memphis,...

(CNN) -- Venezuela will give a 300-acre island in the Delaware River to the state of New Jersey, the governor's office announced. The Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum Corp. had bought Petty's Island -- between Camden, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -- to use as a fuel storage facility. The island is home to a pair of American bald eagles as well as several great blue herons and state-endangered black-crowned night herons, New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine said in a news release Wednesday. Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez announced the island's transfer as part of Wednesday's Earth Day celebrations. Plans are being...

As a little boy, Bishop George V. Murry was raised as an African Methodist Episcopal, but was so impressed by his experience at his Catholic school that he convinced his parents to allow him to convert. Eventually, they too, became Catholic. In the Diocese of Youngstown, 406 converts have joined the Church just in time for Easter. On Saturday, 169 people received the Sacrament of Baptism, and 237 who were baptized in another denomination received the sacraments of confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. Adults who want to become Catholic must enter a months-long education process known as RCIA, the Rite...

Judging by Dayna Neumann's pantry, the latest U.S. recession may become a boon for the Campbell Soup Co., just as the last two economic contractions did. Neumann's family, in Louisville, Ky., is bracing "for a rough road ahead," says the 32-year-old working mother. After her 30-year-old husband, Nick, substituted $1.75 Campbell Chunky soup for restaurant lunches in September, she started buying as many as 15 cans at a time. The appeal of a cheap meal may be good news for sales at the world's largest soup maker, which says it sells to 85 percent of U.S. households. Its shares have...

Excerpt - EAST CAMDEN, Ark. (AP) - A rocket motor at the Aerojet plant in south Arkansas exploded and caught fire today, and one worker was missing. Company spokesman Glenn Mahone says workers were involved in routine work at the 1,200-acre company compound when a large motor caught fire. He said the company was investigating, but did not know what caused the explosion. ~ snip ~

Gov. Jon Corzine enacted the first phase of New Jersey's universal health care plan yesterday by mandating coverage for all children within three years and offering affordable, subsidized policies to needy parents. The goal is to cover 1.3 million uninsured state residents by 2011 through a state program administered by private insurers at a lower cost. "For those who are cynical about government and say we don't move and we don't change, I assure you when you look back 10 years from today, you will say we made a great stride forward," Cor zine said before signing the legislation at...

ith its lace curtain bungalows and steepled Anglican church, the once tranquil town of Camden in New South Wales seems the most improbable of settings for a row that combines race and religion. Proud of its rich history, the town promotes itself as "the birthplace of the nation's wealth", for it was here, in the early 19th Century, that the sheep and dairy industries first began to flourish. Now the town, which lies on south-west fringes of Sydney, is confronting a very 21st Century issue: the proposal to construct an Islamic school for some 1,200 Muslim pupils. Behind the proposal...

Sweeping changes are afoot for Roman Catholics in South Jersey, as the bishop of the Diocese of Camden announces a plan to consolidate parishes and probably close dozens of churches.Half a million Catholics from Camden, NJ to Cape May, NJ were hoping to discern the fate of their individual houses of worship as Bishop Joseph Galante announced his plans for parish consolidations.But the plan was being presented as a "work in progress" for change within the Catholic Church in South Jersey.Bishop Joseph Galante (above) made the announcement on Thursday afternoon that the 124 parishes across the southern part of New Jersey were being consolidated into 66,...

CAMDEN, N.J. — Talk about lying down on the job! A recent audit of cash-strapped Camden, N.J. school district's finances found it was paying an employee $130,000 annually — and he's been dead for more than three decades. City officials were shocked by the discovery. The independent audit of Camden schools found fiscal mismanagement and lax controls for payroll, purchasing, and accounts payable, reported WPVI-TV in Philadelphia. Camden has been plagued with scandal and is known as the nation's poorest city.

“Snitching, telling on people, isn’t something that I personally would involve myself with,” she said in an interview last week. “People don’t want to talk to you if they think you’re a snitch. If they were your friends, they’re not your friends anymore. You’re left totally all alone.” As the most violent neighborhood in one of the nation’s most dangerous cities, the Whitman Park section of Camden is on the front lines of the struggle with witness intimidation. An array of powerful forces converge here to discourage people from cooperating with the investigation of crimes — crimes committed against their...

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070930/NEWS01/709300370/1006/news01 link only per posting rules.

Anthony Giacchino had just started as a producer at The History Channel in 1996 and was looking for a topic for his first documentary film. During a chance meeting at a church service, his former high school history teacher told him about a group of anti-war activists who, 25 years earlier, were caught red-handed breaking into a draft board office in Camden. Remarkably, they won a rare and momentous legal victory for the anti-war movement. The teacher brought up the story because the pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Camden, where Giacchino's parents worshiped, was the Rev. Michael Doyle,...

A 12-year-old Camden boy, shot dead in a fusillade of gunfire on the Fourth of July, was described by police yesterday as "a temporarily lost soul," left to find his own way on the streets. James "Pee Wee" Coleman, whose birthday was three weeks ago, was hit in the head and left leg. Police arrived shortly after 11 p.m. to find the boy slumped in the back seat of a beat-up Oldsmobile, which was riddled with bullet holes and parked at the Branch Village housing project. More than 20 shell casings, most likely fired from an AK-47 assault rifle, were...

Federal officials say they've taken a large bite out of Camden's illegal cocaine trade. Authorities say tackling crime in the city will have an impact on most of south Jersey. Prosecutors were able to arrest a total of 58 people thanks to information obtained from Raymond Morales, a man who ran a large cocaine ring and ordered the murders of six people. Officials compare the 35 year old to a "capo" in a typical crime family, who was feared and respected by other criminals in the city. U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Chris Christie says tackling the city's drug trade...

CAMDEN Citing a declining number of priests available for ministry, Bishop Joseph A. Galante said a reduction in the number of parishes that serve more than 500,000 people in the six-county Camden Diocese is inevitable. In 10 years, half of the 172 priests in the area could be retired, Galante said. This coupled with population shifts has created a financial burden and "compromised" the ability of certain perishes to meet the demands of the future, Galante said. "We, like most Northeast dioceses, have churches and facilities that were established decades ago in areas where the Catholic population is substantially diminished,"...

New Jersey has the fifth highest number of AIDS cases in America, and yesterday became the last state to allow intravenous drug users to get clean needles, hoping it will slow the spread of the deadly virus. Gov. Jon Corzine ended a 13-year stalemate by signing a law to permit six communities to host needle exchange sites, where clean syringes and referrals to drug treatment will be available. The bill includes $10 million for drug treatment and counseling programs. "This is an historic day for public health," Corzine said, calling the law "a potential bridge to hope for addicts." After...

JUST A REMINDER FOR FREEPERS IN THE SC AREA. WE WILL HAVE OUR MONTHLY COUNTER PROTEST AT THE CAPITOL IN COLUMBIA. FREEPMAIL ME IF YOU NEED DETAILS.

Ngoc Le heard his wife’s screams and ran from the back of the wireless store he owns in Camden, New Jersey. His wife was behind the counter, as was a masked man wielding a knife. The man brandished the blade, herding the couple into a back room. Once there, he tied the 28-year old businessman to a chair, then proceeded to rape 22-year old Kelly Le. Once the brutal rape had finished, he slit the couple’s throats, then ran away. There was no 2nd Amendment, no right to own a gun, and Antonio Diaz Reyes got away with murder. That...

On the Feast of the Assumption, Tuesday, August 15, 2006, we will celebrate our sixth annual Mass of Thanksgiving at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Broadway and Market Streets in Camden, NJ. The Solemn High Tridentine Mass will begin at 7:pm and will once again feature the Ars Laudis Festival Chorus & Orchestra. The Mass setting chosen for this wonderful day will be the Missa Dolorosa, by Antonio Caldara (c. 1670-1736), a composer of the Baroque era. Our Cantor, Mr. Nicholas Beck, a graduate of Westminster Choir College will direct the singing of the Gregorian Propers and Dr....

Every Wednesday evening in Columbia, SC a group of "peace activists" (traiterous cowards) protest US involvement in Iraq. They hold up signs that denegrate the efforts of our troops. Calling it a "war for oil" and demanding that we "end the occupation" ( They obviously never looked up the definition of that word.) They do this near the foot of the capital steps 5-6 pm. Columbia is home of Fort Jackson which is one of the largest initial entry training posts in the army. It is also located near Sumter -home of Shaw Air Force Base. As a military wife,...

CAMDEN, N.J. - Four teenagers accused of plotting to kill about 25 people in a lunch-period massacre at a high school were charged Thursday under a terrorism law created after the Sept. 11 attacks. The boys, ages 14 to 16, were arrested Wednesday after police heard about the alleged plot from administrators at the school, where three of the teens are students. Their names were not released because of their ages. Authorities said the teens planned to attack students, teachers and others at Winslow Township High. The four boys appeared in family court, and a judge ordered them held for...

Former Governor and current State Senate President Dick Codey sponsors the legislation. He says, "We would be the first in the country to build a building dedicated solely to stem cell research." He adds, "We would be using existing tobacco bond monies so, we're not spending new money." $150 million dollars would be needed leading many critics to ask, "What else could that money be used for?" Codey says, "This is about saving lives in the future." He asks, "If the cure for diabetes or something else came out of this New Jersey facility, wouldn't that be a great legacy…it...

CAMDEN -- Two city police officers were charged with official misconduct on Friday, accused of beating and prodding a 15-year-old male with blunt objects after the juvenile was arrested and handcuffed here in October 2005. George Ingram, 34, a patrolman, and Lawrence Norman, age unavailable, a detective, were suspended Friday from the Camden Police Department without pay. They had been on desk duty since shortly after the alleged offenses occurred on Oct. 19. In addition to official misconduct, a second-degree charge carrying a maximum 10 years in prison upon conviction, Ingram is charged with fourth-degree aggravated assault, accused of placing...

Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times by H. W. Brands. Published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, New York. 2005, 560 pages. Part of gaining a deeper understanding of American history is reading presidential biographies. Each biography is not only a look at the person who occupied America's highest office but is a window on the events, individuals and decisions that shaped America's destiny and character. H. W. Brands is a history professor at the University of Texas at Austin and is best known for his biography of Benjamin Franklin "The First American," that was a finalist for the...

ROME (CNS) -- Msgr. James F. Checchio, a priest of the Diocese of Camden, N.J., has been named rector of the North American College, the U.S. seminary in Rome. Msgr. Checchio, 39, has been vice rector for administration at the seminary since 2003. He will succeed Msgr. Kevin C. McCoy, who will move to Washington to direct the college's $25 million capital campaign after more than four years as rector. The appointments, announced Dec. 12, were made by the college's board of governors, and Msgr. Checchio's nomination as rector was approved by the Vatican Congregation for Catholic Education. The rector...

  MSNBC.com Most dangerous city? Ranking says Camden N.J. city's mayor blasts report; "We're doing so many nice things now" The Associated Press Updated: 9:24 a.m. ET Nov. 21, 2005 CAMDEN, N.J. - For the second year in a row, this destitute city has been named the nation's most dangerous, according to a company's annual ranking based on crime statistics. Last year, the distinction seemed to hurt city boosters' feelings more than it harmed revitalization efforts. This time, city leaders are offended by the ranking, calling it unfair. "We're doing so many nice things now. It's unfortunate that somebody always wants...

CAMDEN, New Jersey (AP) -- For the second year in a row this destitute city of Camden, New Jersey, has been named the nation's most dangerous, according to a company's annual ranking based on crime statistics. Last year, the distinction seemed to hurt city boosters' feelings more than it harmed revitalization efforts. This time, city leaders are offended by the ranking, calling it unfair. "We're doing so many nice things now. It's unfortunate that somebody always wants to bad-mouth Camden," Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said. The city took the top spot last year from Detroit, which remained No. 2 in the...

CAMDEN, N.J., Nov. 21 (UPI) -- City officials in Camden, N.J., are taking the offensive against a Kansas statistical firm that ranks Camden as the most dangerous city in the United States. Monday, the Morgan Quitno firm released its annual ranking of dangerous cities based on six types of crime, and for the second year, Camden was first in the country among 354 cities. The study analyzed the occurrence rates of murder, rape, aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and motor vehicle theft. However, local officials told the Camden Courier-Post the latest rankings use figures from 2004, and overlook improvements made in...

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) -- For the second year in a row, this destitute city has been named the nation's most dangerous, according to a company's annual ranking based on crime statistics. Last year, the distinction seemed to hurt city boosters' feelings more than it harmed revitalization efforts. This time, city leaders are offended by the ranking, calling it unfair. "We're doing so many nice things now. It's unfortunate that somebody always wants to bad-mouth Camden," Mayor Gwendolyn Faison said. The city took the top spot last year from Detroit, which remained No. 2 in the most dangerous city rankings, to...

PHILADELPHIA - A former Philadelphia-area priest accused of abusing more than a dozen girls and taking an 11-year-old he had raped for an abortion performed a baptism this summer weeks after he was defrocked. Nicholas V. Cudemo performed the baptism at Christ the King Church in Haddonfield, N.J., on July 10, Camden diocese officials confirmed. A recent Philadelphia grand jury report found that Cudemo had sexual relationships with girls from Catholic schools where he taught from the 1960s to the 1980s, molesting one girl in the confessional and invoking God to seduce the youngsters. The report focused on abusive priests...

BREMERTON, Wash. (NNS) -- The fast combat support ship USS Camden (AOE 2) was decommissioned Sept. 29 at Pier Delta at Naval Base Kitsap, ending 38 years of naval service. More than 300 people attended the pierside ceremony held under a large ceremonial tent due to inclement weather conditions. Capt. Kenneth Norton, the ship's commanding officer, welcomed the audience that also included more than a half dozen former Camden commanding officers and approximately 100 former crew members who served aboard throughout the ship's career. "Today we are not only going to honor the decommissioning of the USS Camden, but we...

The New Jersey courts had rarely seen a hero quite like Judge Stephen Thompson. A decorated Army veteran who lost a leg after being shot 20 times in the Vietnamese jungle, he came home to earn a law degree. He rose to the state bench, where he presided over Megan's Law cases, earned a reputation for fairness and balance and later helped make the state's first drug court an unqualified success. Yesterday, that same Stephen Thompson went on trial, accused of going to Russia in 2002 to perform sex acts with a teenage boy. He is accused of videotaping that...

Stem Cell Research in Leech Underway at Rutgers-Camden For Immediate Release CAMDEN – Research underway at Rutgers University—Camden may provide an opportunity for medical and scientific advancements of stem cell knowledge without the current controversy. Stem cell research in human embryos is highly controversial and isolating a human stem cell from hundreds of microscopically developing cells is extremely difficult. The aquatic leech offers an effective alternative to human stem cells, suggests Daniel Shain, an associate professor of biology at Rutgers-Camden. A newly awarded $149,265 grant from the National Institutes of Health is allowing Shain and a team of Rutgers-Camden student...

An inquiry into the June deaths of three boys who suffocated while playing in the trunk of a broken-down car even as the police undertook a wide search concluded today with a finding that had long been suspected: No one thought to look inside the family car. Despite the failure of police officers to check the Toyota Camry - a place where at least one of the boys had been known to play - authorities said today that no one would be disciplined in the case. "I don't think any purpose would be served to have heads roll," Vincent P....

CAMDEN, N.J. — Three boys who suffocated in a car trunk last month were alive for at least 17 hours, slowly succumbing while police searched their neighborhood, a lawyer for the family of one of the boys says. Lawyer Peter M. Villari told The New York Times that officials of the Camden County prosecutor's office went over details of an autopsy report with him, the newspaper reported Tuesday. The boys, ages 5, 6 and 11, disappeared from the yard where they were playing a little after 5 p.m. on June 22. Their deaths were ruled accidental. Relatives searched for the...