Posts Tagged ‘Chris Christie’

Friday Morning News Roundup

By Jon Whiten • Mar 19th, 2010 • Category: Blog

- No Teacher Contract: The school board failed last night to ratify a teachers union contract that had been negotiated over a 15-month period and agreed to by the administration. Meawhile, the New Jersey School Boards Association is pushing to skip the customary public votes on local school budgets this year, as one way of [...]



Tuesday Morning News Roundup

By Jon Whiten • Mar 16th, 2010 • Category: Blog

- Paying Millions to Retirees: A total of 58 city employees have retired since July 1 of last year, to a tune of $5.36 million before taxes. Many of the employees are retiring before pending state legislation caps payouts for accrued sick leave.
- Manzo: Corruption Sweep a Political Tool: Former Assemblyman and five-time mayoral candidate [...]



The Soliloquy of the Slain Lou Manzo

By John R. Bohrer • Mar 16th, 2010 • Category: Featured, News, Politics

It’s the Ides of March — the hour of Caesar’s reckoning. The perfect day to believe there are knives under the togas, to allege plots of political assassination. Some eight months after his arrest in a bribery sting, this is the date that former Assemblyman/political journeyman Lou Manzo has chosen to confront his assailants.



Jersey City’s UEZ Programs Dealt a Blow as Christie Freezes State Funds

By Chris Neidenberg • Mar 9th, 2010 • Category: Featured, News, Politics

Advocates of the Urban Enterprise Zone program are warning of dire consequences to urban business areas already struggling with the nation’s severe recession if Jersey City loses the $10.6 million that Gov. Christie has frozen.



Monday Morning News Roundup

By Jon Whiten • Mar 7th, 2010 • Category: Blog

- Help for Transit? U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and other elected officials are set to announce this morning plans for a federal recovery act that would help offset the massive cuts that have come recently to NJ Transit, resulting in worker layoffs, fare hikes and service cuts.
- Cuts to UEZ Funds Hurting Cities: More than [...]



State Dems Launch Website Tracking Christie’s ‘Hidden Taxes’

By Jon Whiten • Mar 3rd, 2010 • Category: Blog, News, Politics

Last week the state Democratic Committee launched a new website, NJTaxWatch.com, which it says is aimed at “keeping taxpayers throughout the state informed of the hidden consequences (taxes) of government actions that are supposedly cutting costs.”
The site allows you to pull up your municipality and see how some of Gov. Christie’s proposed cuts will affect [...]



NJ Transit Cuts Workers, Freezes Spending; Fare Hikes Likely

By Jon Whiten • Mar 2nd, 2010 • Category: Blog, News

NJ Transit says it is implementing more than $30 million in budget cuts as part of its efforts to bridge a projected $300 million budget gap for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011. The cuts include laying off more than 200 workers, freezing spending, cutting executive pay and contributing less to employees’ retirement accounts. The agency [...]



Thursday Morning News Roundup

By Jon Whiten • Feb 25th, 2010 • Category: Blog

- At Budget Hearing, Council Hears It From Residents: Last night’s public hearing on the city’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget brought a huge crowd to City Hall. The crowd packed council chambers while speaker after speaker got up to protest the proposed budget, which would result in a property tax hike. Douglas Carlucci has a [...]



Wednesday Morning News Roundup

By Jon Whiten • Feb 17th, 2010 • Category: Blog

- A NJ Transit union leader says that Gov. Christie’s decision to cut state funding for the transit agency will lead to fare hikes of up to 30 percent, service cuts and potential worker furloughs. Transit leaders are set to discuss the ramifications of the cuts today. For more, check out today’s Guest Opinion piece [...]



Guest Opinion: Budget Ax Falls on Transit, Spares Roads

By Jay Corbalis • Feb 17th, 2010 • Category: Blog, News, Politics

In his address to the legislature last Thursday, Gov. Chris Christie proposed a number of cost-cutting measures designed to balance the state budget. Among those cuts was a $32 million reduction in the state’s payment to NJ Transit.