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

State Employee Charged for Demanding a Bribe from Washington Township Store Owner

press release, February 13, 2012

TRENTON – Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that an auditor employed by the New Jersey Division of Taxation has been charged with demanding a bribe from the owner of a convenience store in Gloucester County in return for not initiating an audit of the store.

 Jerry L. Moore, 33, of Mays Landing, was arrested on Friday, Feb. 10, at the store in Washington Township, Gloucester County, by detectives of the Division of Criminal Justice after he allegedly accepted a $900 bribe from the owner. Moore was charged by summons with second-degree bribery. He faces a sentence of five to 10 years in prison if convicted, including a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison without possibility of parole under New Jersey’s penalty enhancements for public corruption.

MEET THE BIGGEST ‘TRIPLE-DIPPER’ IN THE NEW JERSEY STATEHOUSE | newjersey.watchdog.org

 

by Mark Lagerkvist

Posted On February 9, 2012

 

For state Sen. Frederick Madden Jr., the path of public service also has been a road to personal wealth.

Madden collects more than $241,000 a year in public salaries plus retirement pay. He gets $49,000 as a legislator, a $106,983 as a police academy dean and an $85,272 annual pension as a State Police retiree. 

Since he “retired” at age 48 nearly a decade ago, Madden has cashed $770,156 in New Jersey retirement checks. Among the 15 legislators who draw state pensions, no one pockets more than the senator from the state’s 4th Legislative District, which includes parts of Gloucester and Camden counties.  (See chart below.)

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

Legal notice bill a sneak attack on N.J. newspapers | NJ.com

STAR LEDGER OPINION

The bosses don’t care about the costs, though, because saving money is not the real purpose. And they don’t care that many poor and elderly people don’t use computers, either.

The real purpose is to give them a tool to bully newspapers. Under this bill, a local mayor or county executive could retaliate against newspapers by pulling these advertisements. The bill is an attempt to turn watchdogs into lapdogs.

Who is behind it? Several legislators say it is George Norcross, the boss from South Jersey who hates the press for exposing the crude way he plays politics with big money and backroom threats. Oliver is likely doing the dirty work of her boss, Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo, though neither would admit that. Gov. Chris Christie’s unquestioning lieutenants in the Legislature were also pushing this.

Friday’s move came as a surprise even to the sponsors of the bill. And that, too, is typical of the bosses. No discussion, no public scrutiny and no fingerprints.

The Star-Ledger gets 2.5 percent of its revenues from these ads, but smaller papers are more dependent and may have to shut down. So this bill would cost jobs as well.

It’s a bad bill from any angle. Let’s hope this is one case in which legislators have the nerve to push back against the bosses.

Related: Experts: Legal-ads bill won't help N.J. town

via blog.nj.com

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CNBNEWS | December 2011 CHEERS AND JEERS

By Bill Cleary

(cnbnews.net)JEER-There was a shooting outside of the D’Place nightclub, Rt. 130 and Market Street on December 21. A 24-year-old male from Willingboro suffered multiple gunshot wounds. There have been numerous crime incidents that have occurred at this establishment since it first opened in 2009. D’Place has become a nuisance bar, as such, the City is looking to place sanctions against the owners. The bar is located near the entrance of Meadow Brook, a $200,000 plus single family home complex. It is also a few feet away from the city-owned housing project, Meadow Mews formerly Chatham Square. The City has spent $5 million of our tax dollars on that project. No doubt this bar is one of the reasons the City is having trouble selling those properties.  With people getting shot who would want to live in that neighborhood?

 

Donahue: BIGOT NOMINATED TO NJ HALL OF FAME

December 21, 2011

 

Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments as follows:

OP-ED: The Jackson School Board Wants to Black Ball Some Reporters

 by Heather Taylor

(special to CNBNews.net)

It seems a little sunshine in Jackson, NJ has scared the local school board. 

On December 20^th, the Jackson School Board is scheduled to vote on a resolution authorizing the school board to bar reporters, and possibly their news agencies, if the school board deems they violated the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. 

Jon Corzine’s Perjury Problem - HUMAN EVENTS

Image via Wikipedia

Former Democrat governor of New Jersey, Democrat senator, top Obama campaign donation “bundler,” and Obama Administration economic guru Jon Corzine​ really knocked ‘em dead in the House of Representatives with his astounding ability to know absolutely nothing about the workings of the huge investment company he ran into the dirt, or the whereabouts of $1.2 billion in investor funds. 

He turned up in the Senate last week to repeat this performance, saying nothing of much interest… until he was confronted with certain other testimony.  As related by the Washington Post:

The head of the private exchange tasked with overseeing MF Global said Tuesday that Jon Corzine may have been aware of a transfer of client funds from the firm he formerly led, possibly contradicting the former governor and senator’s statements under oath that he had no knowledge of the events that resulted in the disappearance of $1.2 billion in customer funds.

read via www.humanevents.com

by John Hayward
12/16/2011

TUESDAYS WITH JASON MATTERA-Toll Taker Makes $90,000

“I’m blessed.  I have a great job, and in this economy it’s great that I can cover everything with my eight hours a day and over.”
 
In this Obama economy we should feel blessed to be employed, so we salute the individual who made the comments above, in recognizing her own good fortune.  But that’s before you know about what this person does for a living.  The people she should really be thanking are you and me, the taxpayers, for allowing her to pull in nearly $100,000 a year for… collecting tolls at the booths of New York-New Jersey crossings.
 
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Princesella Smith, who raked in $89,599 while operating the toll lanes at the George Washington Bridge in 2011.

Click here to read more about the outrageous public employee salaries that we the taxpayers are shelling out.

—Jason Mattera

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Gov. Christie: Zero Means Zero

 

On The Anniversary Of Governor Christie’s Conditional Veto Of The Democrats’ Flawed Sick Pay Reform, We Crunch The Numbers On One Year Of Legislative Inaction

 

Jon Corzine doesn't know what happened to MF Global customers' money | NJ.com

WASHINGTON — Jon Corzine, the former senator and governor of New Jersey, is slated to tell a Congressional committee today that he does not know what happened to the customer funds that went missing in the run-up to MF Global's bankruptcy.

In a 21-page statement that will serve as the basis for his testimony this morning before the House Agriculture Committee, Corzine said he was "was stunned when I was told on Sunday, October 30, 2011, that MF Global could not account for many hundreds of millions of dollars of client money. I remain deeply concerned about the impact that the unreconciled and frozen funds have had on MF Global’s customers and others."

He goes on to say, "I simply do not know where the money is, or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date. I do not know which accounts are unreconciled or whether the unreconciled accounts were or were not subject to the segregation rules.

read via www.nj.com

HO HO HO! SUSSEX SHERIFF PLAYS SANTA WITH YOUR DOUGH-NJ Watchdog

 

Posted On November 28, 2011
 

To his three undersheriffs, Sussex County Sheriff Michael Strada resembles Santa Claus.  After taking office in January, the newly-elected sheriff hired the retired officers into positions where they can double-dip, collectively pocketing $230,000 a year in pension pay plus near six-figure salaries.

NJTA: School Spending "Misleading the Taxpayer"

New Jersey Taxpayers Are Being Misled About Per-Pupil Costs

Every year, New Jerseyans get to vote directly on one and only one spending plan - their local school budget. Research developed by the Common Sense Institute of New Jersey details how voters are confused, overpromised and outright misled before they walk into the voting booth. Years of legislative and gubernatorial decisions as to how to best compare the spending of school districts have been overly generous in their attempts to be fair to the districts, and as a result have lessened the level on honesty with the taxpayers footing the bill.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING... "THIS ONE DOESN’T COME CLOSE TO PASSING THE SMELL TEST"

New Jersey Republican Party Press Release

In campaign tabs, U.S. Rep. Andrews forgets us

Gloucester County Times

November 22, 2011

 

Arrogance.

 

That word quickly comes to mind in light of a report from our sister paper, The Star-Ledger of Newark, that U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews tapped into his congressional campaign account to finance a $9,000 trip for himself and his family to Edinburgh, Scotland, and $10,000 for a celebration at his Haddon Heights home marking 20 years in Congress.

A Key Adviser to Gov. Christie has Received Three Golden Parachutes from Taxpayers-cnbnews.net

 

– Investigative Report by Mark Lagerkvist

Posted On November 14, 2011
 

One of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s key advisers has received three golden parachutes from taxpayers during the past nine years.

Cabinet Secretary Louis C. Goetting IV raked in $1.1 million from two severance payouts and an early retirement deal.  In addition, Goetting collects $219,000 a year from the state – a $130,000 salary plus $89,000 in pensionpayments.

Former State Senator Alene Ammond Outlines: How The Commerce Bank / George Norcross Cartel Hijacked New Jersey Government

At a press conference I held in 2001, I outlined the serious need for the establishment of a 'Federal Task Force on Corruption.' Such a Task Force would be modeled on the NYC 'Task Force on Corruption in the Construction Industry.'  

I met with the Wall Street Journal's Banking Editor and members of the press about the questionable influence that Vernon Hill (CEO of Commerce National Bank) and George Norcross (CEO of Commerce National Insurance) exerted over government.

WILL VOTERS LET ASSEMBLYMAN DAVE RIBLE ESCAPE $650K DISABILITY PENSION SCANDAL IN NOV. 8 ELECTION? – by Mark Lagerkvist

 

Assemblyman David P. Rible retired as a Wall Township police officer at age 31 with a bad back and a fat pension.  He’s collected  $650,000 in disability payments since a state board decided he was “totally and permanently disabled.”  

Yet Rible competes in five-mile and five-kilometer runs along the Jersey Shore.  He exercises at a gym, dancesas a celebrity and hauls trash to the curb at his Monmouth County home, according to a New Jersey Watchdog investigation first published in June 2010.  

Five Bergen County Cops Grab Half-Million A Year in Pensions Plus Six Figure Salaries-newjersey.watchdog.org

 

reprinted with permission of NewjerseyWatchdog.org

Posted On October 17, 2011

Bergen County is the capital of New Jersey for double-dipping by top county cops.  The sheriff and four of his undersheriffs rake in more than a half-million dollars a year in pensions in addition to their six-figure salaries.

South Jersey Reporter Fired for Being Active in the Republican Party-cnbnews.

CNBNEWS.NET POINT OF VIEW: 

 

BY BILL CLEARY

 

Recently a North Jersey news service blog was looking for free lance reporters to write three articles on the upcoming state election. The blog was planning coverage of each legislative district race and the information gathered was going to be put in a voter guide. The topics included: a scene-setter describing briefly who’s running, the big issues, where the district is located, how redistricting has changed it, etc.; a story on the Senate candidates; and a story on the Assembly candidates. The goal was simple: straight reporting on just the facts.

NJ Taxpayers Association: HARD TO BELIEVE-cnbnews.net

This is an interesting piece from a group of taxpayers in Old Bridge, NJ.   It is hard to believe that elected township officials would be so out of touch with the fiscal crisis in NJ that they are improving/increasing public employee benefits  at this time.  Now everyone around the state can keep an eye on how this unfolds:        Urgent need for volunteers in Old Bridge, NJ!

NJ Spotlight | Spotlight Interview: George Norcross

George Norcross -- part Democratic power broker, part South Jersey businessman and cheerleader -- has recently added a third attribute: self-proclaimed school reformer. He has publicly backed a controversial tax-credit voucher bill called the Opportunity Scholarship Act (OSA). He has talked about opening a network of charter schools in Camden. And he has grown ever more outspoken in criticizing the public sector unions that have lately made him Public Enemy No. 2 behind Gov. Chris Christie -- especially the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA). On Friday, Norcross sat down with NJ Spotlight to talk about where these education issues have come from and where they’re headed.

Fresh in his mind is the ongoing battles with the public unions, the latest chapter coming in their endorsements -- or lack thereof -- in the upcoming legislative elections. But he also discussed charter schools and his own plans for Camden, as well as how and why he suddenly came to endorse the OSA. The following are excerpts from that conversation, held in the tenth floor conference room of Cooper Health Care, where he is board chairman.

via www.njspotlight.com

by John Mooney, August 8

N.J. Democrats losing support of unions | NewJerseyNewsroom.com

Image by EjishG via Flickr

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The politically powerful state AFL-CIO, a coalition of 40 unions, has voted not to endorse the 8 Democratic state senators and 14 Assembly members, and a lower house Republican, who sided with the GOP in June to hike the cost of health and pension benefits for 550,000 state and local public employees. The Democrats who have fallen from favor include Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Sen. Donald Norcross (D-Camden), both union activists.

The vote not to endorse the so-called Christecrats came at the urging of leaders of the Communications Workers of America and AFSCME who vowed to cause trouble for the 22 Democrats’ re-election efforts after they sided with the Gov. Chris Christie and legislative Republicans to boost the benefits’ costs. Losing endorsement means those legislators are not likely receive campaign funds direct from the state AFL-CIO’s political fund and any campaign help from coordinated labor volunteers. Sweeney and Norcross built their political careers as labor activists. They stood together a Trenton hotel meeting room as the endorsement votes were cast on Thursday. But ...

continue via www.newjerseynewsroom.com

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CNBNEWS.NET TIPS AND SNIPPETS

BY BILL CLEARY

 PUBLIC EMPLOYEES CONTINUE TO ATTACK GOV.: From a Wall Street Journal article: Public unions in NJ are banding together to attack Gov. Christie by filing a joint lawsuit against the taxpayers... State of New Jersey. The union leaders have already spent millions to disparage Christie in advertisements. For those unfamiliar with New Jersey, this is the state where the property taxes are the highest in the nation. A state that faces a $10+ billion budget gap. The real debt may be as high as $176 billion

Public workers, rather than Democrats, have been the Republican governor’s greatest foil. He gained national attention after calling on teachers to accept salary freezes and blaming the state’s financial woes on workers’ compensation packages, which he mocked in town-hall-style forums across the state.

Freeholder Louis Magazzu Resigns Because of Nude Photos-cnbnews.net

 

Cumberland County Freeholder Louis Magazzu announced his resignation today because of the scandal involving the nude photos he sent to a woman he met online.

RESIGNATION STATEMENT OF LOUIS N. MAGAZZU
August 2, 2011

The greatest professional privilege of my life has been to serve as a Cumberland County Freeholder since my election in 1997.

Senator Sweeney Visits Baptist Church, Asking Forgiveness-cnbnews.net

New Jersey Senate President Steven Sweeney made a visit to Alloway Baptist Church, in Alloway NJ, Sunday Morning.  After asking forgiveness for his loss of temper last week, he asked for prayer to be guided in helping get the State back to work.

 

He said that we need to drop the party labels and work together for the good of the people we serve!

 

photo and caption by Rick and Lynne Vincent

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New Jersey Politics - Ally Today, 'Punk' Tomorrow - NYTimes.com

By Michael Powell Published July 11, 2011

The Democrat offers an almost sheepish smile. “As vindictive as he was? As mean as he was? I acknowledge my response was over the top, but no apologies.”

I try another tack: You described the governor to the Star-Ledger columnist Tom Moran as a “bully and a punk.” (He also called the governor a male organ, though he used a more evocative term.)

Any regrets?

“Christie zeroed out Camden in the budget — he’s forcing ’em into bankruptcy,” Mr. Sweeney says. “He’s taken hostages and he’s shooting them. You wonder what he’s doing.”

photo: Christie and Sweeney

My wonderment extends beyond just the governor. The fascination of New Jersey politics is that nothing can be taken at face value, not the least the crafty politician who sits in front of me.

New Jersey is a high-income state, with a well-educated populace. But its politics are purely medieval. The mind wanders by way of analogy to early King John, minus the poisoning and defenestration of rivals.

County bosses rule fiefs with an unforgiving eye. Many politicians sit on multiple public, union and politically connected private payrolls — Assembly Speaker Sheila Y. Oliver, a Democrat, works on the staff of the Essex County executive, Joseph N. DiVincenzo Jr.

Alliances are Borgia-like: Slap a back one day, slip a shiv into the ribs the next.

Just two weeks ago, Mr. Sweeney and the governor cooed like well-fed lovebirds. Mr. Sweeney had gutted and cleaned the public unions, reducing health and pension benefits, and... continue to read via www.nytimes.com

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With enemies like these, Chris Christie doesn't need to make friends | Capital New York

by Steve Kornacki

10:11 am Jul. 5, 2011 |

Only in New Jersey could it even possibly be a sign of a healthy, functioning political partnership when the president of the State Senate calls the governor "a rotten prick."

That's how Stephen Sweeney, a South Jersey Democrat who has led Trenton's upper chamber since 2009, characterized Chris Christie after the Republican governor used his line item veto powers late last week to cancel out funding for an array of health and social service programs that Sweeney and his fellow Democrats had inserted into the budget.

Star Ledger Video: Christie, Norcross and Sweeney -cnbnews.net

The Star Ledger explains the connection

Mercatus: New Jersey Ranked #49 in Freedom in the States Poll | cnbnews.net

'New Jersey is a highly regulated state all around, near the bottom in both personal and economic freedom, and it deteriorated further in 2007–2008. Taxes are high, and spending is about average'...so say Mercatus Center

 

NEW STUDY RANKS FREEDOM IN THE STATES:  New York is the least free state overall, and Maryland is least free in terms of personal freedom, according to a new study by the Mercatus Center at GeorgeMason University. The study, Freedom in the 50 States, rated the states according their fiscal policies, regulatory policies, and laws relating to economic and personal freedom. Where each state stands on 30-plus gun laws accounted for 6.67 percent of its total freedom score and accounted for the second highest percentage among 12 categories related to "paternalism," which included economic and personal freedom. 

Analysis

New Jersey is a highly regulated state all around, near the bottom in both personal and economic freedom, and it deteriorated further in 2007–2008.