Teenagers are allowed to perform construction work as volunteers for non-profit organizations assisting New Jersey residents in rebuilding from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy thanks to an Executive Order signed by Governor Chris Christies yesterday.
Many of the young people assisting homeowners clean up and rebuild over the last 9 months have been doing so in violation of New Jersey’s Labor Law which prohibits anyone under the age of 18 from coming within 30 feet of construction work. As the law became more common knowledge, charities were turning young volunteers away.
Assemblywomen Mary Pat Angelini (R-Monmouth) and Marlene Caride (D-Bergen and Passaic) proposed legislation last month that would permit youthful good works, but the bill could take a year or more to pass and become effective.
Christie’s order, which can be viewed here, permits minors between 14 and 17 years of age to volunteer for non-profits engaged in housing construction through the end of this year.
When the NJ Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling upholding the award of $375,000 to a Harvey Cedars couple for the loss of their view to a beach replenishment project, homeowner Phyllis Karan was captured on video by NJ.com likening the taking of her land to “Nazi Germany.”
Meanwhile, Lauren Wanko of NJTV has video capturing the happy reactions of Harvey Cedar’s mayor and Karan’s neighbors who credit the dunes, built in 2010, with saving the town from damage by Superstorm Sandy. Tony Auth pokes fun at the Karans with a cartoon showing cash raining down on a beachfront house and copy reading, “Had the court sided with the couple, the entire project to protect the Jersey Shore would have been in jeopardy.” Auth’s headline: “Harvey Cedars decision shows Jersey Shore is stronger than greed.”
The good news for Congressman Frank Pallone is that he is no longer running last in the independent polls for the Democratic nomination to replace the late Senator Frank Lautenberg in Washington. The bad news; he’s losing to Newark Mayor Cory Booker by 42 points in the Quinnipiac Poll released this morning.
Quinnipiac surveyed 1068 registered New Jersey voters from July 2-7. The did not survey likely voters.
Booker leads the Democratic field with 52%. Pallone has 10%, Congressman Rush Holt 8%, and Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver has 3%.
In the Republican primary, former Bogota Mayor Steve Lonegan leads Dr. Alieta Eck 62%-5% is 28% undecided.
Dr. Eck is virtually unknown, with 91% saying they haven’t heard enough about her to form an opinion.
In the October 16 special election, Booker is leading Lonegan 53%-30%.
State Senator Barbara Buono and Linda Baum, Democratic candidate for Middletown Township Committee, 8/25/12 facebook photo
Middletown Library Director Susan O’Neal submitted incomplete and haphazardly organized emails between herself and Linda Baum, a past and present Democratic candidate for Middletown Township Committee, in response to Judge Lawrence M. Lawson’s ruling last week that the emails are government documents subject to the New Jersey Open Public Records Act.
MMM received the 298 pages of emails which include numerous duplicates, many truncated pages that cannot be fully read and omit relevant attachments, late this morning from Middletown Township via OPRA request. The emails can be viewed via Scribd at the end of this post.
The emails reveal a ongoing endeavor between O’Neal and Baum to undermine the oversight of the library by its Board of Trustees and the Township Committee. Additionally, Baum and O’Neal planned to use the library to forward the political objectives, including political fundraising, of Baum and the Middletown Democrats. Middletown Democratic Chairman Don Watson was copied on several of the emails.
In his ruling dated July 1 denying Baum’s motion to thwart the release of the emails requested by Middletown Clerk Heidi Brunt on behalf of Township Committeeman and Library Trustee Tony Fiore, Lawson wrote that Baum argued the emails have “absolutely nothing to do with the official business of the library” and do not relate to public operations.
Lawson wrote that “Baum argues that she has no relationship with the Library, nor is she an agent of the library in any respect.”
Frank Pallone, like Frank Lautenberg, has always looked out for working families in New Jersey and made them his top priority – in fighting for economic justice, healthcare reform, environmental protection, education and so many other issues. Frank Pallone, like our Frank, will put in the hours and hard work necessary to fight for New Jersey in the Senate. And Frank Pallone knows that gimmicks and celebrity status won’t get you very far in the real battles that Democrats face in the future.
Frank Pallone worked with Frank Lautenberg for many years. He understands what it takes to take on and defeat Republicans and the special interests that attack the well being of working families. While it may not always attract glamorous headlines, Frank knows that to be effective you must put New Jersey and your principles first, not your own glory.
In a veiled swipe at Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the front runner in the August 13 primary according to independent polls, the family also said:
When New Jersey Democrats examine the Senate candidates closely, they may be surprised to find out that not all of them share core Democratic values or loyalty to the party. And one candidate stands out as the best hope of continuing the progressive legacy of Senator Frank Lautenberg – Congressman Frank Pallone.”
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Colts Neck Police Department are investigating the stabbing of a 41-year old woman in her Bray Street. home.
The incident occurred around 12:30 am on Sunday morning.
The suspect is reportedly a skinny white male with dirty blond hair in his early twenties who was wearing a yellow shirt and backpack. He is reported to have been hitchhiking on Route 34 between Clover Hill Road and Bray Street when he followed the woman to her home and stabbed her multiple times. He fled with her car.
The woman’s car was later found in the Strathmore Shopping Center in Aberdeen.
The victim, who has not been identified, survived the attack and is being treated in a local hospital.
Anyone with information is asked to call Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 800-533-7443 or the Colts Neck Police Department at 732-780-7323.
The Borough of Sea Bright is one of twenty towns throughout the United States and Canada named as winners of Benjamin Moore’s Main Street Matters contest.
Sea Bright and 19 other town’s business districts will be revitalized over the next year by the paint manufacturer working with their local retailers and painting contractors. The winners were selected by voters on the company’s website.
Woohoo! We won!! THANK YOU everybody!!! Email received minutes ago:
We’re thrilled to let you know that Sea Bright is a 2013 Benjamin Moore Main Street Matters community. It’s a testament to the passion your community members have shown us over the course of the voting period. All of the 20 towns on the final list got here because of the outpouring of support we heard at a local level, so you should be very proud both of your Main Street area and all of your supporters.
We will be delivering a package to your town later today with more information. But we wanted reach out to congratulate you first thing today.
The New York Times is reporting that former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is reentering the political arena with a run for the office of New York City Comptroller. Spitzer resigned the governorship five years ago amid a prostitution scandal involving Ashley Dupree of Monmouth County.
Former Congressman Anthony Weiner, who was forced to resign after tweeting nude and nearly nude pictures of himself to young women, and lying about it, is also making a political comeback. Weiner is running in the New York City Democratic Primary for Mayor.
Spitzer and Weiner are hoping that New York voters are as forgiving as South Carolina voters when it comes to personal indiscretions. Former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford’s political career appeared to be over in 2011 after he left his state to be with his Argentinian mistress. Sanford was elected to Congress in May.
Linda Baum trying to convince voters to support her last summer. facebook photo
Linda Baum, a past and present Democratic candidate for Middletown Township Committee, presents herself as an advocate of open government and transparency. She even wrote an article on her campaign website about how citizens can made Open Public Records Act (OPRA) requests.
Yet, when it comes to her own email correspondence with Middletown Library Director Susan O’Neal, Baum is far from open and transparent. She sued the Library Board of Trustees and Township Clerk Heidi Brunt to prevent her emails from being released under an OPRA request made by Brunt on behalf of Township Committeeman Tony Fiore. Fiore is the Township Committee’s representative on the Library Board.
Judge Lawrence M. Lawson ruled on Monday that Baum’s emails with O’Neal are government records and must be released per the OPRA request. Lawson’s decision can be viewed here.
Baum argued that the emails were private, had nothing to do with Library operations, and could be used against her politically.
Fiore asked Brunt to file OPRA requests for the emails that O’Neal exchanged with Baum and Melanie Elmiger from January 2012 and May 15, 2013 when it became apparent that Baum and Elmiger had information about Library business that had only been discussed in executive sessions and was not yet public.
“I look forward to seeing the emails that Linda Baum attempted to illegally block from the public,” Fiore said, “It is a shame that her frivolous lawsuit will cost the taxpayers of Middletown and the Middletown Public Library thousands of dollars that could have been used for other purposes.”
