CNBNEWS.NET

Christie Orders Flags Lowered to Half-Staff in Recognition of NJ Native Whitney Houston

 by cnbnews.net

Trenton, NJ – Yesterday, Governor Chris Christie signed the Executive 
Order No. 87 − Ordering all State buildings to fly flags at half-staff on Friday, February 17, 2012 in recognition and mourning of the passing of Whitney Houston, who was born in Newark and grew up in East Orange. 
 
Houston, 48, was found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammys bash at the Beverly Hills, California, hotel. Speculation has grown over the cause of her death, which has not been determined pending the outcome of toxicology tests that could take weeks.
 
Funeral services will be held on Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. According to skynews (news.sky.com) Whitney Houston's fans will be able to watch her private funeral on the internet after her family agreed to allow a camera into the small church service in Newark, New Jersey. There were also no plans to hold a public memorial service, despite earlier suggestions that Newark's 18,000-seater Prudential Centre could be used for a ceremony.
 
A copy of the Executive Order is below. 
 

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 87

WHEREAS, Whitney Houston was a gifted singer, remarkable performer, and iconic figure who left an indelible mark upon the popular music landscape in the State of New Jersey and across our Nation; and

NJGOP: The Truth About New Jersey’s Achievement Gap

 

press release February 14, 2012

 

The New Jersey Education Association likes to pretend that New Jersey’s achievement gap does not exist. In fact, NJEA President Barbara Keshishian called the achievement gap a “classic straw man” in an attempt to delegitimize Governor Christie’s efforts to bring education reform to New Jersey.

 

But the facts are the facts and they tell a much different story:

Gloucester City Middle School Among 20 Capital School Construction Projects to Advance

 

press release February15, 2012

 

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie today announced the recommendation of twenty new capital school construction projects in eighteen of New Jersey’s municipalities that will meet the needs of students in some of the state’s neediest districts. The announcement of this year’s projects, made at the site of the West New York Memorial High School, continue the comprehensive reform measures implemented by Governor Christie and the Schools Development Authority (SDA) last February to bring responsible and sound financial management to New Jersey’s long-troubled school construction programs that had come to represent some of the worst waste and mismanagement known to state government. These measures further the Administration’s top to bottom assessment and implementation of much needed reforms since taking office and naming Marc Larkins CEO of the Authority in 2010.

John Paff: Mostly a Win in Camden

At 10 a.m. on Friday, February 10, 2012, Jose Delgado and I appeared before Camden County Assignment Judge F. J. Fernandez-Vina to pursue our Sen. Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act case against the Camden City Board of Education.  I appeared in person and Jose, who was on vacation, appeared by way of speakerphone.  Background and case documents are available

Senator Joe Kyrillos on President Obama's Proposed 2013 Federal Budget

press release February 13 2012

Bob Menendez and the Senate have failed to pass a budget for more than 1000 days. That is an incredible leadership failure.  What is worse, today’s budget proposes more of the same—more spending, more taxes and more debt.  And while countries like Greece struggle to pass austerity budgets, the White House says that this is no time for austerity. That is insane.

In New Jersey we have proven that hard decisions and tough measures can turn things around. They haven’t learned that lesson in Washington, but it is time they do.

Related articles

• Senator Joe Kyrillos Statement on the Obama Attack on Religious Freedom (gloucestercitynews.net)
• A "Little" Problem for Senator Kyrillos (savejersey.com)
• It's time to face our country's challenges head on, and fix them" (gloucestercitynews.net)
• Joe Kyrillos: Washington is Failing US (gloucestercitynews.net)

Improvement project at New Jersey Turnpike Interchange 2 in Woolwich

 
New turning lanes and traffic signal will improve Turnpike access from Route 322 

(Trenton) – The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA) and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced a project to reconstruct and upgrade the NJ Turnpike Interchange 2 toll plaza intersection with Route 322 in Woolwich Township, Gloucester County.

Obama Administration Approves Christie’s Education Reforms

New Jersey Leads the Way with Call for Statewide Accountability System to Turn Around Failing Schools

 

Trenton, NJ – Governor Christie today announced that the Obama Administration has approved the state’s New Jersey’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver application for its bold and aggressive education reforms. The approval again demonstrates that Governor Christie’s education reforms are not only comprehensive and ambitious in aiming to turn around failing schools and deliver a quality education to every student, but are part of a national, bipartisan reform movement being pursued by the Obama Administration and states around the country.

War imitating life is topic of inaugural lecture at Elizabethtown College

ELIZABETHTOWN, PA (02/11/2012)(readMedia)--The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President continues to host the Inaugural Scholarship Series, commemorating the inaugural year of the College's 14th president. The second lecture of 2012, slated for 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, features Dr. Carmine Sarracino, professor of English, who will present "Life, Point Blank: War as a Metaphor for Ordinary Life." The lecture takes place in Room 212 of the James B. Hoover Center for Business. A reception follows. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public.

Saving Our Neighborhoods from Foreclosure

 

by Phyllis Salowe-Kaye*

 

Fears are mounting among housing advocates that the Dodd Frank Act, the most significant piece of financial regulatory legislation passed since the Great Depression, is about to be eviscerated.  We are being asked to believe that the Attorneys General Mortgage Servicing Settlement (AG’s settlement) is the biggest and the best multi-state settlement since the tobacco deal in 1998, when in fact, the settlement will likely only help a relatively small portion of the millions of borrowers across the country who are delinquent and facing foreclosure.

Local residents, experts gather in support of anti-pollution program

Feb. 8, 2012

Rally for Our Kids’ Future

(Westfield)  -- Local residents, environmental leaders, women’s groups, public health officials, economists, and other concerned citizens gathered today in Westfield to voice support for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and call for a cleaner future for New Jersey.  The program reduces harmful pollution from power plants and helps grow the state’s clean energy economy.  Governor Christie has announced that he hopes to abandon the program, letting polluters off the hook for their global warming pollution.  The groups gathered as the governor hosted a town hall meeting just down the street.

Tell Gov. Christie to STOP NJ’s $100M Offshore Wind Boondoggle!

Why the Offshore Wind Economic Development Act (OWED) must be STOPPED:

The OWED is a $100M taxpayer boondoggle to set up unproven and untested wind farms off of New Jersey’s coast. The bill mandates “1,100 megawatts of generation from qualified offshore wind projects.” In part, the project is funded with monies from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Cap-and-Trade program, which New Jersey will be pulling out of in 2012. OWED was enacted in 2010, despite not knowing the costs to ratepayers.

New Jersey's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 17th Annual National Awards Program

 

Montville and Montclair Students Earn $1,000 Awards, Engraved Medallions and Trip to Nation's Capital

 

TRENTON, N.J., Feb 07, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --Honors Also Bestowed on Youth Volunteers in Neptune, Pitman, Clinton, Randolph, Brigantine and Ridgewood.

GREENWALD HAILS SUCCESS OF NOVEMBER SCHOOL ELECTION LAW

 Nearly 42 percent of Elected School Districts Have Already Made Move

 

(TRENTON) – Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald on Tuesday hailed the success of the new law he sponsored to allow school districts to move their elections from April to November, noting that 225 of the state’s 538 elected school boards have already made the move.

The Jersey Comeback Continues

PRESS RELEASE

 

Trenton, NJ – Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today joined executives from Pearson Education to announce the company’s new Hoboken headquarters and commitment to locate over 900 jobs in the city, and maintain more than 1,600 jobs statewide.

 

The company planned to move its Upper Saddle River and Old Tappan operations to New York, but the Christie Administration successfully intervened with Pearson’s senior vice president, William Brooks, to keep Pearson in New Jersey.

NJ and NY Legislators Call for Roll Back of Toll Hikes

Vainieri Huttle and Lanza Also Ask Christie & Cuomo to Support Their Port Authority Reform Legislation

         

(TRENTON-February 8, 2012) – Following yesterday’s Interim Consultant's Report on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen) on Wednesday joined with New York State Senator Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) in calling for a roll back of the Port Authority’s most recent round of toll hikes and asked Governors Christie and Cuomo to support their Port Authority reform legislation.

CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION INTERVENES IN FEDERAL COURT CHALLENGE TO NEW JERSEY CLEAN AIR ACT PETITION

(12/P10) TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection has filed a motion today in federal court to intervene in a Pennsylvania power plant's challenge to a federal Clean Air Act permit that requires it to substantially reduce air emissions that are harming New Jersey's air quality. The power plant, located in Portland, Pa., releases thousands of tons of pollutants a day into several North Jersey counties, said Commissioner Bob Martin.

Report Labels NJ/NY Port Authority Dysfunctional, Mismanaged; Billions of Dollars in Debt

press release                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Trenton, NJ – New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie today released the following statement regarding the Phase 1 Interim Consultant’s Report on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey:

SIDE BAR CIVICS: Local Government Contracts

Last month the New Jersey State Comptroller Matthew Bower issued a report showing that nearly 1 in 5 multi-million dollar contracts are let out improperly. (read the article here) In response to the Comptroller's findings, Governor Christie has ordered an investigation by the State Treasury Department. 

 

One realm of government contracting that can be rife with abuses is the selection of no-bid professional services.  

The Court That Broke Jersey by Steven Malanga, City Journal

For half a century now, New Jersey has been home to the most activist state appellate court in America. Lauded by proponents of “living” constitutions who urge courts to make policy instead of interpret the law as written, the New Jersey Supreme Court has profoundly transformed the Garden State by seizing control of school funding, hijacking zoning powers from towns and cities to increase subsidized housing, and nullifying taxpayer protections in the state constitution. Its undemocratic actions have blown apart the state’s finances and led to ill-conceived and ineffective policies. If you want to understand what rule by liberal judges looks like on the state level, you need only look at New Jersey, which is teetering on bankruptcy though it remains one of America’s wealthiest states.

In January, Christie nominated two new members to the court, appointments that have the capacity to reshape the seven-member panel. But taming the court won’t be easy, even for the pugnacious Christie, whose initial efforts to reform it met ferocious resistance. “I don’t think the supreme court has any business being involved in setting the budget of the state government,” Christie complained last year. Yet it is involved, extensively—and that must change if Jersey taxpayers are ever to find relief.

READ via www.city-journal.org

New Jersey Legislature Advances Key Anti-Pollution Bill

Assembly Committee Takes First Vote to Keep the State in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

(TRENTON) – New Jersey’s Assembly Environment Committee has voted to advanced a bill (A1998) that would continue New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).  RGGI is a multi-state program designed to cap global warming pollution from power plants, make polluters pay for their emissions, and invest those payments in clean energy projects that deliver additional pollution reductions.

DVRPC SEEKING APPLICANTS FOR PUBLIC PARTICIPATION TASK FORCE

(Philadelphia, PA) – The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), as part of its ongoing efforts to engage citizens of the Delaware Valley, is establishing a new Public Participation Task Force to ensure the involvement of a diverse range of our region’s residents in the planning process. 

Monmouth County Health Advocates to Attend Conference

 

Washington, D.C. - Health advocates from Monmouth County, New Jersey are headed to Washington, D.C. Feb. 6-9, 2012 to join nearly 3,000 substance abuse prevention and treatment specialists and advocates from throughout the country for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America's (CADCA) 22nd annual National Leadership Forum. CADCA's National Leadership Forum is the nation's largest training for substance abuse prevention and treatment professionals and researchers.

Become a Volunteer - Your Talents Can Change Lives

 

The Seeing Eye is fortunate to have a talented corps of hundreds of volunteers who welcome our guests, fill dog food dishes, walk dogs, provide clerical assistance, socialize small puppies, and perform a multitude of other tasks. We are also seeking volunteers who can assist in event planning, videography, and other professional services.

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please email volunteers@seeingeye.org to receive a volunteer application form.

---

Current Volunteer Opportunities

 

The Seeing Eye Needs Your Support | cnbnews.net

The Path to Independence 
Building Memories... One Brick at a Time

We celebrated a new pathway leading to our front entrance with a moving dedication held on September 23, 2011. We call it our "Path to Independence". The path pays tribute to the more than 15,000 Seeing Eye teams who have passed through our doors, our dedicated puppy raisers, volunteers and staff and of course the generosity of donors who make what we do a reality.

There is still plenty of room on the path for an engraved brick with your personalized message. It is a unique way to commemorate a special person, a beloved dog, or an event while showing your support for The Seeing Eye’s mission. This will be an ongoing campaign and we will be installing etched bricks on an annual basis until all bricks have been engraved.

Construction of 250,000 Square Foot New Facility Secures 950 Jobs for New Jerseyans

press release February 1, 2012

 

Trenton, NJ – Governor Chris Christie and Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno today joined officials from Realogy Corporation, a leading provider of real estate and relocation services, to break ground on the company’s new state-of-the-art corporate headquarters in Madison. The company’s decision to remain in New Jersey and retain 950 jobs further illustrates how the Administration’s commitment to improve the state’s business climate is fueling New Jersey’s economic comeback.

2010-11 NJ ASK AND HSPA Overall School Performance Assessments Show Slight Improvement

Trenton, NJ - The Department of Education today presented results on the
New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJ ASK) and the High
School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA) for the 2010-11 school year.  While
overall performance continued to hold steady or improve slightly in
nearly all grades and subjects, a persistent achievement gap remains for
economically disadvantaged, African American, and Hispanic students.
These results demonstrate the need to fully enact Governor Christie's
bold reform agenda to ensure that every student receives a quality
education and the opportunity to succeed regardless of zip code.

CNBNews Op-Ed: Hey Chris Christie, Get On The Treadmill --- You May Be President

FREINDLY FIRE

 

by Chris Freind

cnbnews.net

 

Don’t Be Surprised If Romney and Gingrich Bow Out At The End

 

About the only job better than weatherman --- where you can get it wrong half the time and still

remain employed --- is political pundit.  These guys make an art out of looking dumb, and doing so with authority.
 

In the last few years alone, we have been told that Obama had zero chance of beating Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney was sure to be the GOP nominee in 2008, and now, the President can’t win re-election because Romney will beat him.  That last prediction, of course, is predicated upon Romney winning the Republican nomination, which the pundit brain trust is now telling us is a done deal after Mitt’s victory in Florida. 

CCF Launches Third Television Ad to Promote New Jersey's Reform Movement

 

Ad Highlights Efforts by Governor Christie and Reformers to Strengthen Economy, Improve Education and Cut Income Taxes

 
Washington, DC - Committee for Our Children's Future (CCF), a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, launched a third ad as part of its $1.5 million-dollar television campaign to highlight Governor Christie and bipartisan reformers' efforts to strengthen the economy, improve education and cut income taxes in New Jersey. The new ads are airing on New York and Philadelphia broadcast and New Jersey statewide cable stations over the next four weeks. The television ads will be accompanied by a sophisticated statewide online advertising campaign.

NJ gov fires a zinger in feud over gay marriage - Houston Chronicle

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The verbal feud over gay marriage in New Jersey got more personal Monday with Gov. Chris Christie firing a slang term at a lawmaker, and a hero of the Civil Rights movement chastising the governor for a separate remark.

Christie called openly gay Assemblyman Reed Gusciora "numb nuts" during a Statehouse news conference — his response to the lawmaker comparing him to former segregationist governors in the South.

The comment culminated more than a week of back and forth over gay marriage, which the Democratic majority in the Legislature is trying to achieve through legislation and Christie, a Republican who opposes same-sex nuptials, wants decided by a public vote.

The issue also brought U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia to Trenton on Monday to take Christie to task for comments linking gay marriage to the civil rights struggle of the 1960s.

READ via www.chron.com

by ANGELA DELLI SANTA, ASSOCIATED PRESS
chron.com

link submitted by John Branin

Kyrillos to Officially Launch Senator Campaign Wednesday, February 1st | cnbnews.net

 

Five-term State Senator Joe Kyrillos (R-Middletown) will formally kick-off his U.S. Senate campaign on  Wednesday, February 1st at two events: the first in his home county of Monmouth at 11:00 AM followed by a second South Jersey swing at 3:00 PM. Click here for the Lincroft (Monmouth County) Facebook event invite or here for the Marlton (Burlington County) rally page. Come join him and friends and supporters as he shares his story, why he is inspired to run and his strong vision for a better New Jersey.

 

Wednesday, February 1st
11:00 AM

Lincroft Inn

700 New Spring Road, Lincroft NJ 07738

3:00 pm
Gibson House- Evesham Community Center
535 E. Main St.
Marlton, NJ 08053 

For more information please contact Scot DeCristofaro at: 856-858-4411.

 

 

Related articles

• Kyrillos Camp Preps for Two Stage Campaign Kick-Off (savejersey.com)
• South Jersey Reporter Fired for Being Active in the Republican Party-cnbnews. (gloucestercitynews.net)
• Rams Athletic Fields, The Lost Decade, GC History in Photos, Show Me The Money, Girls Scouts, Stripe Bass Bonaza (gloucestercitynews.net)
• New Coach, The Winner, Congratulations Mr. Holt, Dream Reflections, Another Example, Tough Times for Catholic Parishes-cnbnews.net (gloucestercitynews.net)
• Cnbnews- November Cheers and Jeers (gloucestercitynews.net)
• CNBNEWS | December 2011 CHEERS AND JEERS (gloucestercitynews.net)
• FORT NASSAU SHOULD BE DEMOLISHED; THE PLAYGROUND HAS TOO MANY SAFETY ISSUES ...includes video (gloucestercitynews.net)
• Joe Kyrillos: Washington is Failing US (gloucestercitynews.net)