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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...

A former aide to James E. McGreevey said today that he had three-way sexual trysts with the former governor and his wife before he took office, challenging Dina Matos McGreevey's assertion that she was naive about her husband's sexual exploits.

If you buy a lawful product that is later banned, should you go to jail for 10 years, even though you didn't know it was banned, and the government that banned it now criminalizes any method to dispose of it? In the world of gun ban extremist Bryan Miller of CeaseFire NJ, the answer to this question is yes. Miller sees no distinction between violent criminals with guns (who should go to jail) and otherwise law-abiding citizens who were turned into "criminals" by the State with the stroke of a pen, when New Jersey banned an entire class of commonly...

Petraeus: Al Qaida Trying to 'Come Back In' U.S. military officials said there will be no significant reduction in coalition troops in the Baghdad area as part of an effort to stop the Al Qaida offensive in northern Iraq. They said Al Qaida was trying to reenter Baghdad and reverse its losses in 2007. "Al Qaida is trying to come back in," U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said. "We can feel it and see it, and what we're trying to do is rip out any roots before they can get deeply into the ground." Read More Militants Assert...

A New Jersey Senate leader said he will push legislation to punish businesses who knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney said his decision comes after a federal judge upheld an Arizona law that prohibits businesses from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants and yanks the business licenses of those that do.

Two veteran reporters, Bob Ingle and Sandy McClure of Gannett, have teamed up for a scathing, insightful look at New Jersey politics in “The Soprano State.” (St. Martin’s Press, $24.95, available Feb. 19) In the introduction, reprinted below, the pair set the tone for a fast-paced recounting of Garden State scandals past and present with an eye for the ironic and absurd in our state’s political behavior. Ingle is the Trenton bureau chief for Gannett Newspapers, and Sandy McClure has written for Gannett, The Trentonian and Pennsylvania newspapers. By BOB INGLE and SANDY McCLURE The legendary comedy team of Bob...

The governor never tires of telling us that he grew up on a farm. Gee, who'da thunk it? Well, me for one. Over the course of these "town meetings" on his multibillion-dollar toll-and- spend scheme, our governor has undergone a personality change. The first few sessions featured docile crowds that were willing to sit back and absorb the wisdom of a Wall Street whiz who spoke with great authority on matters of high finance. But once the crowds wised up, Gov. Jon Corzine started to look like the bumbler he was when he first entered politics eight years ago. The...

"It was not Groundhog Day at Gov. Jon S. Corzine's latest town hall meeting in Ocean County - it was Flying Pig Day. While not forced to endlessly repeat the events of last month's town-hall meeting in Cape May County - no protesters were arrested this time - the governor received plenty of heckles and catcalls at Saturday's event at the Toms River North High School in Toms River Township, including one protest by a group calling itself the Ocean County Flying Pigs Club. Just like in his other stops, Corzine tried to ramp up support for his Financial Restructuring...

NEW YORK, NY January 31, 2008 —Several New Jersey Republican officials are following the lead of their former favorite, Rudy Giuliani, and endorsing John McCain for president. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more. Leading the pack of Rudy supporters crossing over to McCain is Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Junior. The younger Kean joins the ranks of the McCain campaign, of which his father, former governor Tom Kean Senior was a member. McCain's high profile split with the Bush presidency and his own Republican party on a wide range of issues including immigration and the war in Iraq was a good...

January 19, 2008 -- MARLTON, NJ - A high-ranking executive of a collapsed subprime-mortgage lender jumped to his death from the Delaware Memorial Bridge yesterday, shortly after his wife's body was found inside their Burlington County home, authorities said. The deaths of Walter Buczynski, 59, and his wife, Marci, 37 - the parents of two boys - were being investigated as a murder-suicide, according to the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office. Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said Evesham Township police went to the couple's home in the Marlton section of the township at around noon after a male caller asked them to check...

Learn about this strange relic of a bygone era!

...New Jersey is drowning in $32 billion in debt, a legacy in large part of previous governors and legislators who approved generous public-employee contracts, and other costly programs, without paying for them. The state also faces critically important transportation needs, including widening the traffic-clogged New Jersey Turnpike. In a high-tax state like New Jersey, coming up with additional revenue is never easy. ...he is proposing to turn the highways over to a highly regulated public corporation. It would sell $38 billion in bonds, which would be paid off by toll revenue. Almost half the money would pay down the state’s...

A township man is facing a felony firearms charge for allegedly holding a male friend of his daughter's at gunpoint after finding the teenager hiding in a closet in his Richardson Lane home, police said. Glenn S. Johnson, 42, called police to his own home at about 3:30 p.m. Monday and told a dispatcher that he had found an intruder in his home after getting home from work and was holding the subject at gunpoint, officials said Wednesday. (snip) Johnston's gun was actually a pellet gun replica of a .44 Magnum that was not loaded at the time, police said....

In a media conference call this afternoon with Gov. Jon Corzine and Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Sen. Hillary Clinton said the country needs a president who holds the American economy accountable. "I'm hearing from people who lost their jobs in construction or even in the casinos," said Clinton, in a double nod to Nevada - where she's campaigning in advance of the Jan. 19th primary there - and New Jersey. Corzine hailed Clinton's economic stimulus package as a strong reason, in his view, to support the Democratic presidential candidate. "The program you have put down makes sense for someone...

A highly emotional, intense political campaign is being kicked off in Jersey - with a "candidate" who isn't even human. The campaign is to convince Jersey residents to go along- at least somewhat - with Governor Corzine's plan to dramatically increase tolls in order to save the State from financial ruin. Dr. Brigid Harrison, a professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University, says when you're trying to sell this kind of an unappealing idea, "you attempt to convince voters to at least be neutral on this issue, or have some kind of benign, non-resistance to it…I don't...

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, in explaining his state's abolition of the death penalty, announced that he knew "from my heart and from my soul" that no murderer should be put to death. As it happens, I know from my heart and from my soul that not putting any murderer to death is a cosmic injustice; it cheapens the worth of human life and greatly diminishes the revulsion society feels toward murder. So, what does this mean? Does it mean two intelligent and decent people have very different hearts and souls? (This question assumes that pro-capital punishment readers will acknowledge...

A second state has approved a plan that would bypass the U.S. electoral college, giving the presidency to the winner of a national popular vote

TRENTON, N.J. (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 state to pass the compact into law. The measure could result in the electoral votes going to a candidate...

Just got back from the Middlesex County GOP Convention where the featured event was a Presidential Preference poll. Dan Gallic covered the Congressional and Senate candidate speeches that were made. This is my District, so I wasn’t there as a blogger, but as a participant in the poll and the Congressional race to replace Mike Ferguson affects me as well. I thought Marty Marks did a great job and gave a fantastic speech, very conservative on the issues. Of the two “bigger name” candidates and probably least conservative of them all, Leonard Lance and Kate Whitman, Whitman surprised me by...

New Jersey has the most millionaire households in the country, according to a marketing company's fifth annual ranking. The Garden State moved up from No. 2 in 2005 and 2006 to No. 1 last year on the index, compiled by Phoenix Affluent Marketing Service, which does research for companies that sell luxury products, investments and the like to the wealthy. According to the service, in 2007, 7.12 percent of New Jersey's 3.2 million households had a total of $1 million or more liquid or investable assets. That includes items such as savings, stocks and bonds, precious metals, the cash value...

The Rev. Al Sharpton failed to win the surrender of an escaped New Jersey inmate today - and a prosecutor blasted the activist for interfering with authorities' hunt for the fugitive. "I wish we were in the loop," said Union County Prosecutor Ted Romankow. The prosecutor said Sharpton never even informed him that escapee Otis Blunt might have fled to Mexico, allowing him precious time on the run.Romankow only learned about the south-of-the-border stunt when he read about it in today's Daily News.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey announced Friday it will prohibit state pension money from being invested in companies that do business in Iran. Most American companies are already barred from doing business in the country, but Democratic Gov. Jon S. Corzine signed a measure restricting the state from buying stock in international companies that do business with Iran. Florida and California have similar laws. The move is designed to protest the country's links to terrorism and its nuclear ambitions. 'I continue to support using economic means, not military means, to bring about policy changes in Iran,' Corzine said recently...

Gov. Jon Corzine signed a bill yesterday that prohibits the sale of a children’s toy called “Yo-Yo Waterballs” in New Jersey. The toy has been blamed for injuring hundreds of children nationwide and has already been banned in Canada, Britain, France, Switzerland and Australia. Violators of the New Jersey ban, which goes into effect in three months, face a fine of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for all subsequent offenses. Yo-Yo Waterballs, which also are sold under various other names, are squishy toy balls on a bungee-cord string with a finger loop at one...