Friday Morning News Roundup

By • Sep 25th, 2009 • Category: Blog

- Former Parking Authority head and 2009 candidate for the Ward C seat on the City Council Jimmy King pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting up to $10,000 in bribes from a purported developer in exchange for potential political favors. King is the fifth person thus far to plead guilty in the federal corruption probe; he faces 10-16 months in prison and will be sentenced Jan. 5.

- Carl Czaplicki has been reappointed executive director of the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce. Czaplicki has acknowledged he is “JC Official 3″ named in the federal corruption complaint against political operative Joseph Cardwell, but he has not been charged with a crime and maintains his innocence.

- As part of a fund-raiser to honor slain cop Marc DiNardo, police chief Tom Comey and fire chief Michael O’Reilly will be two of the chefs grilling hot dogs, hamburgers and chicken at Edward’s Steakhouse this Sunday.

- The Journal takes a look at the fall theater season around Hudson County.

In statewide news:

- Environmental activists say that an influential coalition of developers and their allies are hiding behind smart growth, economic recovery, and the election, to push a series of bills though the Legislature that the activists see as proposals that would undermine environmental protections, local zoning and planning, the rights of citizens, and the government’s authority to protect the environment.

- The state has paid 5,407 residents a total of $5.1 million in paid family leave benefits since the program began on July 1.

- NJ Transit officials say they will add cars to the new Meadowlands rail service to prevent a repeat of the massive backup that forced thousands of U2 concert-goers to wait more than an hour to board trains after the concert on Wednesday.

- New Jersey’s major police and fire unions say they will endorse Gov. Corzine’s re-election bid despite Republican Chris Christie’s background in law enforcement. Meanwhile, the AP takes a look at the 2.4 million independent voters who will likely play a crucial role in the race for governor.

- Officials with the Union of Rutgers Administrators are calling for a boycott of Rutgers University President Richard McCormick’s annual address Friday.

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is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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  • http://onejerseycity.org Dan Levin

    Carl Czaplicki is our city’s highest ranking building, development and planning official. In the charges against Cardwell, Czaplicki is alleged to have refused the cash bribe and offered an alternative acceptable way of support.

    if the charges are proved accurate, this man with his trigger on billions of dollars of building and development failed to report an attempted bribe.

    during Mr. Czaplicki’s tenure as Mayor Healy’s Chief of Staff there were also incidents of failing to report wrong doing and illegal activity which led to appointment to his current position.

  • bert thomas

    Dan Levin is a reformer, Councilman Fulop abstained from the Czaplicki vote due to conflict of interest – his political ties to Carl Czaplicki and Joe Cardwell.

  • http://www.jerseycityindependent.com Jon Whiten

    Dan -

    Good point re: Czaplicki; but as we’ve seen since July, this administration is clearly sticking to its guns even as fires rage all around it.