Merry Christmas

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Marlboro to post cops at schools

The Township of Marlboro is apparently the first community in the nation to assign armed police officers at their schools in reaction to the massacre in Newtown, CT.

According to reports in Marlboro-Colts Neck Patch, NJ.com and The New York Post, each of Marlboro’s 9 schools will have a cop on guard when they reopen on January 2.  Additionally, digital video cameras will be installed in all school facilities to be monitored by the police department.

“We’ve seen a new evil and we need to deal with it,” Mayor Jon Hornik said in a phone interview with MMM, “This is like 9-11.  We’ve seen airport security change. Now we have to change school security and do it quickly.”

Board of Education Vice President Victoria Dean said that the board authorized the funding of police officers in the schools for 90 days while they evaluate long term options.

“This is not the long term solution,” said Dean, “we want to prevent the possibility of a Sandy Hook copy cat and to ease the fears of our residents.”

Both Hornik and Dean said that Marlboro had made this decision prior to NRA President Wayne LaPierre’s call for cops in all schools nationally at his news conference on Friday.  Marlboro’s new school safety policy was posted on the board’s website on Thursday.   Hornik said he is not an NRA supporter and believes that assault weapons and ammunition should be banned, “but we have to protect our kids.”

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2012: The Year in Review, January and February

Freeholder Serena DiMaso was elected to replace Rob Clifton. Photo credit: Rhoda Chodosh

January

Assembly Minority Leader Alex DeCroce died on January 9 shortly after the final voting session of the 214th legislature.

Mitt Romney was declare the winner of the Iowa Caucuses by 8 votes.  Weeks later after all the votes were counted, Rick Santorum was declared the winner.

Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina GOP Presidential Primary.

Holmdel Deputy Mayor Serena DiMaso was elected a Monmouth County Freeholder by the Monmouth County Republican Committee.

State Senator Joe Kyrillos announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez blocked Federal Magistrate Patty Shwartz’s nomination to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.  Menendez denied he was blocking the appointment because Shwartz’s boyfriend was the Assistant U.S. Attorney who investigated him in 2006.  Menendez reversed himself after the news of his opposition to Shwartz become pulbic.  Shwartz’s nomination has yet to be confirmed.

Governor Christie nominated Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre to be the Director of the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control.

Governor Christie nominated First Assistant Attorney General Philip Kwon and Chatham Mayor Bruce Harris to be State Supreme Court Associate Justices.  Kwon was the first Asian-American ever nominated.  Harris was the first openingly homosexual nominee.

New Jersey’s newspaper industry fought back efforts to allow “Legal Notices” to be posted online instead of in newspapers.

Mitt Romney won the Florida GOP presidential primary.

Middletown Mayor Tony Fiore asked for Library Board President Randall Gabrielan’s resignation.  Gabrielan had been selling books to the library as a vendor and signing the purchase orders as president of the library.

February

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There’s no such thing as a free beach

Sweeney wants to pay for beach safety and maintenance by getting rid of cops and dpw workers

Photo credit: www.SignsByTheSea.com

MMM has called Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) three times since he jumped on board with the Senator Mike Doherty (R-Warren) in sponsoring legislation that would ban shoreline municipalites from selling beach badges or imposing other user fees to pay for lifeguards, beach cleanup and policing, if those towns accept federal and state money to rebuild from the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.  He hasn’t called back.  Steve Sweeney is a kitten.  Kitten, kitten, kitten!

Given that he won’t talk to us, we’ll have to judge Sweeney’s crusade for free sand in his ass by what others report he says.  The Senate President invited himself to a meeting with the Asbury Park Press Editorial Board earlier this week to make his case for free beaches.

“You don’t charge me to breathe air, why are you charging me to sit on a beach?”

We should be grateful that the top elected Democrat in New Jersey hasn’t figured out how to tax breathing (yet).  But really now, our Senate President thinks breathing air (as opposed to grapefruit juice?) is analogous to sitting on a beach?  That is something we should be concerned about, especially since this guy is considering a run for governor.

Sweeney told the APP that Belmar and the other shore communities that impose beach user fees should cover those costs by consolidating police forces and departments of public works.  He said he would “beat up mayors down the shore” to make it happen “because its not acceptable, you know, to charge beach fees.”

Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty took Sweeney’s first beating:

“I asked (Doherty), how many people live year-round in his town,” Sweeney said. “He’s got a one-square mile town, he’s got 5,800 people. Now, could we run a shared police department? I met his public works director today, could we run a shared public works office?”

“You guys know how I feel about shared services,” Sweeney told the APP.  We don’t know if the APP knows how he feels, but MMM thinks Sweeney is thwarting shared services and other methods that municipalities could use to reduce the size and cost of local government.   If Sweeney was serious about property tax reduction and more efficient local government he would have passed Governor Christie’s property tax tool kit.

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Doomsday Planning

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Christie’s Town Hall Meeting in Belmar

The Spirit Of This State Is In Our Families

Congress Can Return To Their Bickering After They Step Up And Help New Jersey

What would he do differently during the storm?

Christie’s remark on school security, guns, mental health and video games in the wake of Sandy Hook Elemenatary School shootings

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Does Pallone have the fortitude to run for U.S. Senate?

Now that Newark Mayor Cory Booker has taken himself out the the gubernatorial race, everyone expects him to run for Frank Lautenberg’s U. S. Senate seat in 2014.    A recent poll indicated that Booker would easily beat Lautenberg in a Democratic primary should the 88 year old senator make another run.

That hasn’t stopped Congressman Frank Pallone from calling Democratic County Chairs to remind them that he is still interested in the Senate seat he has long coveted but never had the guts to fight for.

Pallone best shot at becoming a Senator came and went in 2002 when he declined Governor Jim McGreevey’s offer to replace the disgraced Senator Robert Torricelli on the ballot against Doug Forrester.   McGreevey brought Frank Lautenberg out of retirement and got the State Supreme Court to rewrite New Jersey’s election law so the switch could be made after the statutory deadline.  The polls showing Forrester beating Toricelli scared Pallone off from giving up a easy victory in CD-6 in favor of his dream job in the Senate.

Lautenberg went on to clobber Forrester in 2002 and was elected again in 2008. 

Pallone was passed over for the Senate in 2006 when Governor Jon Corzine chose Bob Menendez to replace him in the Senate.  Menendez won his own term that November and was reelected last month.  He is on the verge of becoming the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Pallone clearly wants to be a Senator, but his history indicates that he doesn’t have the fortitude to risk his cushy lifestyle as a congressman in order to fight for his dream.  I hope he grows a pair and goes for it, because the race to replace him in the 6th Congressional District would be great for blog traffic.

WHO WOULD RUN FOR PALLONE’S CD-6 SEAT IF IT WAS VACANT? 

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It’s official: Booker is not running for Governor

Newark Mayor Cory Booker is calling Democratic Party County Chairs to inform them of his decision not to run for the party’s nomination for governor in 2013.

Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal told MMM that Booker did not say if he would be running for U. S. Senate in 2014.

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State of the Art Medical Facility Opens in Hazlet

IMMEDIATE CARE Medical Walk-In creates 25 new jobs, provides quality convenient health care in the bayshore

“Our mission is to take the hassle out of going to the doctor.”

“It’s like a hospital in the mall,” exclaimed Sal Cannizzaro of the 4500 square foot medical facility he built in Hazlet’s Airport Plaza.  With 10 examination rooms, an digital X-Ray room a phelobotomy lab, the entrepeneur is obviously proud of his new baby.  “We’re even paperless with EMR (electronic medical records), the only paper you see in this office is the sign in sheet and your appointment card.  We invested $1.5 million in this facility and we’re employing 25 people.

With the real estate market in the tank Cannizzaro, a builder and developer, teamed up with his physican, Dr. Lisa Golding-Granado, MD, who also happened to be his tenant, to create IMMEDIATE CARE Medical Walk-In of Hazlet with the mission of taking the hassle out of going to the doctor.

“Dr. Golding-Granado’s office had a two week wait to get an appointment,” said Cannizzaro, “when you’re suffering and need a doctor, you can’t wait that long and the emergency room costs a forture for the patient and the insurance company.”

“We provide 98% of the top medical services that people regularly need,” said Golding-Granado, the new facility’s medical director, “be it urgent care like an infection, migraines, minor injuries and lacerations, or primary care like checking diabetes, blood pressure and providing physicals.”

“For anyone that leaves within a three to five mile radius, we provide high quality care from board certified physicians, without that hassle,” Cannizzaro explained, “you don’t need an appointment, you’re waiting only 15 minutes and we send you home in 45 minutes. We take all insurances and medicare.”

“Urgent care is for non-emergent, non-traumatic problems that need to be addressed quickly. Major traumas, heart attacks, stokes and the like are for the emergency rooms.  Urinary track infections, bronchitis, migranes and the like we can treat here quickly and more affordably,” said Golding-Granado, “we can also check your diabetes and blood pressure, perform X-Rays and Labs and provide vaccines.

The facility is open 84 hours a week, Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-9 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. till 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m.

In addition to Golding-Granado, IMMEDIATE CARE is staffed with a board certified orthopedic surgeon, an osteopath certified in Sport and Family Medicine, three nurse practitioners who can prescribed meds and three RN’s.  Cannizzaro and Golding-Granado plan to add a Pediatric specialist to their staff soon.

A large crowd of business, government and community leaders were on hand last week to welcome IMMEDIATE CARE at their ceremonial grand opening.

Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce President Cliff Moore is excited to see a new business opening in Hazlet. “It is a beautiful state of the art facility that is using what was a vacant store front on Route 36,” said Moore, “they’re employing more than 25 local residents.  That’s a great combination and a welcome additon to the community.”

The grand opening may be the first of many.  IMMEDIATE CARE plans to open a physical therapy center and two more health care facilities in Monmouth County in the next 18 months on their way to building 10-12 centers in in Central New Jersey over the next few years.

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Christie’s Belmar Town Hall Meeting Will Include Cabinet Members

Governor Christie is bringing much of his cabinet to Belmar tomorrow for his 99th Town Hall meeting.

Joining Christie to discuss the State’s efforts to recover and rebuild from Hurricane Sandy will be the Governor’s Office of Recovery and Rebuilding Executive Director Marc Ferzan; Board of Public Utilities President Robert Hanna; Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin; Health Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd; State Police Superintendent Colonel Rick Fuentes; Transportation Commissioner James Simpson; Human Services Commissioner Jennifer Velez; and Community Affairs Commissioner Richard E. Constable, III.

Christie will also take questions from the audience regarding matters other than Hurricane Sandy recovery and rebuilding.

The Town Hall meeting is schedule to start at 3 p.m. in the borough’s gymnasium, 601 Main Street, Belmar.  Doors open at 2:15 p.m.

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