Friday Morning News Roundup
By Jon Whiten • Aug 6th, 2010 • Category: Blog- New Assemblyman: Jason O’Donnell talks to the Journal about his new jobs as Bayonne’s director of Public Safety and the Assemblyman representing the 31st District, which covers Bayonne and part of Jersey City. O’Donnell is replacing former Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone, who pleaded guilty this summer to campaign finance fraud.
- Cammarano Sentenced: One of the bigger fish to be reeled in during last summer’s federal corruption probe in Hudson County — ex-Hoboken mayor Peter Cammarano — has been sentenced to 24 months in prison.
- Jersey City Youth Chorus: The newly formed youth music program has 19 members, 16 of whom live in the Marion Gardens public housing complex. “We need to get them out of the projects,” says Beth Cohen, who is running the two-week program. “Our saying is more music, less gangs.” The group be performing this Saturday in Lincoln Park.
- Healy — Journal Editors Misinformed: Responding to the Journal‘s editorial this week once again calling on Healy to step down, the mayor writes that the paper “does the residents of this city a great disservice by printing repeated fabrications,” and that he continues to be “outspoken on the issues of crime and gun violence.”
- Extra Patrols Due at JC-Owned Reservoir: State Conservation Officers and State Park Police are launching expanded patrols of the Splitrock Reservoir in Rockaway Township, which Jersey City owns, to assist local police in combating swimming, diving, littering and other illegal activities in the area.
- Public Defender Arrested: A 35-year-old Jersey City public defender — who allegedly boasted he “knew people” — was arrested on charges he assaulted city police officers after brawling outside O’Connell’s Bar yesterday morning.
- Bridges, Tunnels and Names: Ever wonder who the Holland Tunnel is named after? Or any of Jersey City and the state’s other notable bridges and tunnels? Eric Model has the answers in his New Jersey Newsroom piece.
In Statewide News:
- Dems Wary of Pension Reform Without Paying In: Assembly Budget Chairman Louis Greenwald says Gov. Christie will have to raise payments into the state’s pension system if he wants to win lawmakers’ approval of his proposal to overhaul the plan.
- Controversial Scanners Coming to EWR: Full-body scanners, the controversial imaging technology that displays virtually naked images of airline passengers, are coming to Newark Liberty International Airport next month.
- Court Rules Gym Not Liable: The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that a liability waiver protects a gym from a lawsuit filed by a customer who was injured by a faulty bike.
- Mr. Schundler Goes to Washington: Education commissioner Bret Schundler will lead a team of five to Washington, D.C., next week to try to sell a panel of judges on New Jersey’s Race to the Top application for $399 million in federal reform grants.
- Gaming Summit: Atlantic City casino developers, vendors, labor union leaders and industry analysts will be among the speakers at a “gaming summit” Friday at the Atlantic City Convention Center. The discussion will focus on a report issued last month by the Christie administration that aims to overhaul the city’s casino district as well as its image.
- PSE&G Affiliates Accused of Manipulating Electricity Market: Three affiliates of the Public Service Enterprise Group are accused of manipulating the wholesale electricity market, a practice that discriminated against competitors and resulted in higher prices for consumers, according to a complaint filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
- Court Rules Against Nazi-Naming Parents: A New Jersey couple who gave their children Nazi-inspired names should not regain custody of them, a state appeals court ruled Thursday, citing the parents’ own disabilities and the risk of serious injury to their children.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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