Free Republic

New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) officials have announced the section of what is now I-95 in New Jersey from the Scudder Falls Bridge over the Delaware River to the Route 1 Interchange in Mercer County will be redesignated as I-295 in early 2018.This change is part of a larger project in which a new interchange is being constructed to connect I-95 to I-276/Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bristol Township, Pa. The Pennsylvania Turnpike connects to the New Jersey Turnpike at Interchange 6 via the New Jersey Turnpike Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike Extension in Florence, N.J. When the new I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike interchange...

On this day in 1776, General George Washington wins the Battle of Trenton. 1776 had been a difficult year! The victory provided a much-needed morale boost. As discussed in yesterday’s post, the first weeks in December found Washington and British General William Howe on opposite sides of the Delaware River. As the weather deteriorated, Howe had decided to go into winter quarters. Washington, instead, decided to make a difficult crossing across the Delaware. His plan was to arrive at Trenton at 5 a.m., well before sunrise, so he could launch a surprise attack. Instead, Washington’s men arrived at Trenton at...

During the American Revolution, Patriot General George Washington crosses the Delaware River with 5,400 troops, hoping to surprise a Hessian force celebrating Christmas at their winter quarters in Trenton, New Jersey. The unconventional attack came after several months of substantial defeats for Washington’s army that had resulted in the loss of New York City and other strategic points in the region. At about 11 p.m. on Christmas, Washington’s army commenced its crossing of the half-frozen river at three locations. The 2,400 soldiers led by Washington successfully braved the icy and freezing river and reached the New Jersey side of the...

A 32-year-old undocumented immigrant was charged with sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl after her father found the stranger in bed with her in the middle of the night, police say. Edgar Mendoza, a citizen of Guatemala, allegedly broke into a home early Tuesday morning on Bayard Street in the Chambersburg section of Trenton, New Jersey

Welcome to Independence Day weekend, New Jersey. It's a time to cast aside all the aspersions brought on by the Turnpike's industrial corridor and celebrate our proud Revolutionary War history. Simply put, New Jersey, more than any other state, was the place where the battle was fought, nearly lost, and ultimately won. With a four-day holiday weekend, it's a chance to make a historic scavenger hunt to put New Jersey's legacy in perspective. That is, if the state lawmakers can play nice on the budget impasse and get the parks they're supposed to run reopen. Here are some stops along...

TRENTON >> A city man who molested a teenage family member has been sentenced to five years of probation and must register as a Megan's Law sex offender, among other court-imposed requirements. Mateo Alavez, 40, formally received his non-incarceration punishment on Friday, but that may be the least of his worries. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE, has placed a detainer on Alavez requesting local authorities to hold him for an additional 48 hours at the Mercer County Correction Center. ICE wants to assume custody of Alavez to carry out immigration court proceedings, and that process could...

TRENTON -- A tech company is choosing to relocate to Trenton over Wilmington, Delaware, after securing more than $17 million in state tax credits. The state Economic Development Authority on Thursday approved the Grow New Jersey tax credits for Maestro Technologies, a technology consulting and data management systems firm. Now headquartered in Edison, Maestro has a small office in Watchung and several employees who work remotely or at client sites across the country. CEO Kamal Bathla says the company wanted to centrally locate the staff into a new headquarters to better facilitate training, efficiency and product development. Maestro was deciding...

TRENTON, New Jersey — Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday touted an anti-tax crusader's endorsement of a proposed 23-cent- per-gallon gasoline tax hike along with a sales tax cut, sweeping aside objections raised by Democratic leaders in the state Senate and voicing confidence that the measure would be passed in that chamber. Christie all but dared lawmakers not to act on his plan during a statehouse news conference, a day after the Assembly passed the plan to pay for a $2 billion a year transportation trust fund for eight years. The fund runs out of borrowing authority Friday, and Christie's...

RENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — More smart guns would be sold in New Jersey under a measure that cleared the state Assembly Monday. As WCBS 880’s Kelly Waldron reported, the measure would create a roster of so-called smart guns, which can only be fired by authorized users, available for sale. The bill would also require most New Jersey gun retailers to carry a couple of smart guns in their stores.

In 2012 the Daily Caller Ran this article http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/11/america%E2%80%99s-most-dangerous-cities-are-run-by-democrats/ which showed that 8 out of 10 of the most dangerous cities in America were run by democrats. (other 2 independents) So I looked into and found the current ten cities with the highest murder rates. http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/top-lists/highest-murder-rate-cities/ And found the results are quite similar with at least 8 out of 10 of the most dangerous cities (ones with highest murder rates) still being run by democrats. 1 East St. Louis, IL (Emeka-Jackson Hicks,Democrat) 2 Camden, NJ (Donna Red, Democrat) 3 Gary, IN (Karen Freeman Wilson, Democrat) 4 Chester, PA (John A...

To support his insane interpretation of the post-Civil War amendments as granting citizenship to the kids of illegal aliens, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly is now taking job applications for the nonexistent -- but dearly hoped-for -- Jeb! administration, live, during his show. (Apparently my debate with O'Reilly will be conducted in my column, Twitter feed and current bestselling book, Adios, America, against the highest-rated show on cable news.) Republicans have been out of the White House for seven long years, and GOP lawyers are getting impatient. So now they're popping up on Fox News' airwaves, competing to see who can...

A New Jersey councilman apologized Wednesday after receiving criticism for a post he made on Facebook that called Chattanooga gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez “Muslim scum.” “Murdering bastard. Rot in hell Muslim scum,” Hamilton Councilman Ed Gore, a Republican, wrote hours after Abdulazeez shot and killed five U.S. military service members July 16, The Trentonian reported. When someone responded by telling Mr. Gore not to hold back, he added, “Oh I never hold back on domestic terrorists.” Imam Qareeb Bashir, president of the Islamic Council of Greater Trenton, said he was “appalled and really disappointed” in Mr. Gore’s comments.

Former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison on his six counts of corruption Thursday by Judge Michael Shipp in federal court. Mack also got a $3,000 fine, $500 for each count of corruption. Before the sentence was handed down, Judge Shipp denied a motion that had been filed by the Macks to throw out the original trial. Stay with The Trentonian today for more details on this story.

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie’s administration wants to increase taxes on electronic cigarettes for the sake of the public’s health, state Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff said today. “Our goal is to achieve rough parity with the tax burden on conventional cigarettes. Why? Our main concern is public health,” Sidamon-Eristoff said at an Assembly Budget Committee hearing today. “Contrary to the claims of some users, e-cigarettes have not been shown to be a ‘safe’ alternative to regular cigarettes. Nor are they a proven path to smoking cessation.” Christie’s budget anticipates $35 million in revenue by applying the $2.70 per pack regular state...

Has Nancy Pelosi seen a newspaper lately? (Pro tip, hon: Like the Obamacare monstrosity, you have to read it to find out what's in it.) I'd love to see her face in the wake of the veritable epidemic of Democratic corruption now sweeping the country. Pelosi's blink count must be off the charts. I'm going to make it easy on Pelosi and put all of the latest cases in one handy rogue's gallery reference list. But let's not be naive. It's clear to me that the Barack Obama/Eric Holder DOJ is clearing the decks before the midterms. Prediction: The FBI's...

On April 1, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray was denied a second term, defeated in the primary by upstart city councilwoman Muriel Bowser. The beginning of the end came on March 10, when U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen struck a plea bargain with a wealthy businessman who confessed he'd spent $668,000 on an illegal "shadow campaign" to fund get-out-the-vote efforts that helped Gray win the mayoral office in 2010. So the corrupt mayor of America's most important city is thrown out. A political scandal? The same networks that were utterly breathless over the local story of Gov. Chris Christie's aides slowing traffic...

Could a White House spell-off be in the works between President Obama and former Vice President Dan Quayle? In a throwback to the latter's infamous misspelling of the word "potato," Obama accidentally misspelled "respect" while introducing singer Aretha Franklin during a tribute to "Women of Soul" at the White House Thursday. “When Aretha first told us what … R-S-P-E-C-T meant to her,” Obama said, pausing briefly before the audience began laughing, apparently realizing his mistake. “She had no idea it would become a rallying cry for African Americans and women and anyone else who felt marginalized because of what they...

The state Attorney General’s Office is asking a Superior Court judge to remove Mack as mayor, but the hearing is not scheduled until Feb. 26. Even then, Mack could conceivably drag out the process for weeks with a court fight and appeals.

In the gloom of this holy Christmas night, a cold sleet fell. It was not a night for man nor beast but yet here they were. Huddled upon the banks of this frigid river, 2000 men contemplated their bleak fate. The past few months had gone very, very badly. Their hopes had been crushed time and again. The noble experiment in Liberty which had begun with such promise, had by this time deteriorated to the point where every day was a battle just to survive. Defeat after defeat, at places like Long Island, Harlem Heights, Fort Washington and White Plains...

This is part three of a 6-part 1997 PBS documentary on the Revolutionary War. The episode is titled "The Times That Try Men's Souls" (1776-1777). In addition to the Delaware River crossing and Hessian camp attack it also covers the British invasion of New York and subsequent Battle of Brooklyn, aka, The Battle of Long Island. "Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, a British force arrives in New York harbor. Washington and his troops are driven to New Jersey. With only a few days of enlistment left for many of his volunteers, a desperate Washington leads his army...