Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is inching closer to a White House bid, with some of his allies clamming up about his plans and his recent public remarks seeming to lay the intellectual groundwork for a run. And even his mother, former first lady Barbara Bush, who’s repeatedly said she didn’t want another Bush to run… Read the rest of this entry »

If there was any doubt that Asbury Park has the strongest local music scene in New Jersey, just look at the nominees in the 40 – that’s right, 40 – categories for the 2014 Asbury Music Awards. There are at least eight nominees in all categories, and more… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — The key state Senate committee today approved a bill requiring Gov. Chris Christie’s administration to restore information about property taxes that it had removed from a state website earlier this year. The bill ( S2056), which cleared the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, would require that the administration post the town-by-town average residential property… Read the rest of this entry »

Telephone records show that Gov. Chris Christie and his current chief of staff, Regina Egea, exchanged a dozen text messages while a legislative committee was holding a Dec. 3, 2013, hearing on the George Washington Bridge lane closures and traffic jams that soon came to be referred to as “Bridgegate.” A timeline constructed by WNYC/NJPR based…

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NEWARK — New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman today deflected questions about whether his investigation into last year’s traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge would lead to federal indictments next month. During a press conference at his office to announce guilty pleas in a long-running medical device probe, Fishman was asked about an NBC 4… Read the rest of this entry »

Months of pressure from storm survivors and lawmakers in New Jersey and New York culminated Friday with the Federal Emergency Management Agency committing to reform key parts of the National Flood Insurance Program. The program covers more than five-and-a-half million policyholders across the country, and it’s been an important part of the Sandy recovery, paying out… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — The Democratic leaders of the joint legislative committee investigating the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge “ran up exorbitant public costs” and “proved to be some of the most partisan elected officials in modern times,” according to a report released today by the Republican members of the panel. The 119-page “Minority Statement,” issued… Read the rest of this entry »

Expectations were modest going into the first day of New Jersey’s bear-hunting season due to a combination of factors including a dramatic cold snap and an overall decline in New Jersey’s population of bruins. There was an uptick, however, in the number of bears killed in the first day. A total of 124 bruins were shot,… Read the rest of this entry »

TRENTON — A state Senate panel today acted on five bills aimed at helping financially ailing Atlantic City, which has seen four of its 12 casinos close in recent months. The bills, approved by the Senate budget committee, would attempt to stabilize the city’s plummeting property tax base, ensure its casino workers have health care coverage,… Read the rest of this entry »

WASHINGTON — Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would defeat Gov. Chris Christie and other possible Republican opponents in the 2016 presidential election, according to a poll released today. The Bloomberg Politics survey showed Clinton, also a former U.S. senator from New York, leading Christie, 42 percent to 36 percent. Clinton, who would be the frontrunner… Read the rest of this entry »