As N.J. prepares to hike minimum wage, experts still disagree on advantages (via NJ.com)
TRENTON — In two days, more than 250,000 workers making minimum wage in New Jersey will get a raise — but what that means for the state’s future depends on whom you ask. On Wednesday, nearly two months after voters approved it, the state’s minimum…
Losers:
Congressman Frank J. Pallone, Jr. Since losing the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate to Cory Booker in a special primary, New Jersey’s longest serving Democratic Member of Congress has gone off the rails with bizarre rants is defense of ObamaCare. As the healthcare plan proves to be increasingly unworkable and unpopular, Pallone’s credibility will tank.
Pallone’s once formidable campaign war chest of roughly $4 million is down to $1.2 million after the special primary, as of the September 30th FEC reports. That $1.2 million is not as high as it might seem, as the congressman historically burns through about $1 million per year in “campaign” expenses during years when he doesn’t have to face the voters. Given that his seat is considered “safe,” he’ll have a tough time competing for campaign dollars with candidates who are in districts considered “competitive.”
There is a talk of an Asian-American from Middlesex County who is willing to spend $1 million of his own money to unseat Pallone. It will take a guy like that to exploit Pallone’s obvious vulnerability.
Tom Kean Jr. Kean overplayed the best hand dealt to New Jersey Republicans since Jim Florio’s toilet paper tax, Chris Christie’s overwhelming popularity, and lost. He picked a fight with Senate President Steve Sweeney and thought he knew better than Christie’s strategists how the Republican legislative campaign should be waged. His only winning option was to defeat Sweeney’s reelection bid and pick up at least another two state Senate seats. He failed on all counts, not winning even one Senate seat.
Posted: December 29th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: 2013 Election, Frank Pallone, Tom Kean JR | Tags: Bayshore Tea Party Group, Cory Booker, Frank Pallone, Governor Tom Kean, Tom Kean JR, Vin Gopal | 10 Comments »
Remains Discovered on Sandy Hook Not Human (via Middletown Patch)
The remains were found near Gateway National Recreation Area on Saturday. The remains discovered in Sandy Hook bay on Saturday were not of human origin, New Jersey State Police Sgt. Brian Polite said Sunday. The remains were found near the Gateway National…
Today in History for December 29th (via AP Video)
Noblemen in Russia murder Gregory Rasputin; Wounded Knee massacre takes place; Texas joins the United States as the 28th state; Dissident playwright Vaclav Havel is elected president of Czechoslovakia; First YMCA opens in Boston. (Dec. 29)
Tom Kean Jr. in a fight he just can’t win: Moran (via NJ.com)
It was Christmas season, a light snow covered the ground, and all across New Jersey children were mailing letters to Santa Claus swearing they had been good. But in the state Senate, a political brawl was breaking out, one that guarantees the New Year…
Winners
January 2013 seems like a long time ago.
The years are supposed to go by faster as we get older. 2013 missed the memo, at least for me. President Obama’s second Inauguration and Freeholder John Curley’s second swearing in seem like a long time ago.
Selikia Joshia Gore started us off in 2013 with a timeless call to renew our humanity; the ongoing struggle of saints and sinners to love one another regardless of standing, status or creed. It is a winning message that works only by embracing our failures without resigning to them.
The Governor. Governor Chris Christie started the year lambasting House Speaker John Boehner and the Congressional Republicans for playing politics with Superstorm Sandy aid and ended the year as the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. In between he built a bi-partisan and multi-cultural coalition that reelected him with over 60% of the vote in Blue Jersey. Christie had the best year of any politician in America. Only Pope Francis and Vladimir Putin had better years globally.
U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. Menendez started the year on the losers list. Embroiled in a sandal of allegations of his cavorting with teenaged girls in the Dominican Republic and using the powers of his office to benefit the businesses of the donor who arranged the party, speculation was that he would resign as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if not his Senate seat. Menendez seems to have survived an FBI investigation into his relationship with Dr. Saloman Melgan unscathed.
At the end of the year, Menendez’s position seems secure. He is the leading, and most powerful, critic of President Obama’s foreign policy. His approval ratings are net positive 22 points in the last Monmouth University Poll. He got engaged to be married earlier this month.
Given where he started, Menendez may have had the best 2013 of any New Jersey public figure, other than Christie.
The Gramiccionis. The Wall Township power couple had a very good year. In March, Christopher, the Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor and U.S. Naval Reserve Officer, received orders to report for a 9 month tour of active duty in Afghanistan effective in August. Those orders were canceled in July, keeping Chris on the job fighting crime in Monmouth County and home for the holidays. Deborah was appointed by Governor Christie to be the Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The job pays $289,657.
Monmouth County Republicans. Sheriff Shaun Golden, Freeholder Director Tom Arnone and Deputy Director Serena DiMaso were always expected to be reelected on the strength of their records and due to the fact that Monmouth County Independent voters usually vote Republican. They make the winners list by virtue of fact that they ran as if they were behind, not taking any votes for granted. More importantly, they ran a positive campaign based on reducing spending, holding the line on taxes, and improving services, in the face of yet another negative campaign on the part of the Monmouth County Democrats.
Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation. Each member of Monmouth County’s Legislative Delegation deserves more recognition than space will allow.
Posted: December 28th, 2013 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County, New Jersey | Tags: "LaHornicca", 2013, Amy Handlin, Bayshore Tea Party Group, Caroline Casagrande, Christoper Gramicconi, Cindy Burnham, Deborah Gramiccioni, Declan O'Scanlon, Eatontown, Frank LaRocca, Governor Chris Christie, Jennifer Beck, Joe Kyrillos, Jon Hornik, Kevin Gonzalez, Marlboro, Mary Pat Angelini, Mike Halfacre, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Patrick Deblasio, Red Light Camera Program, Richard "Duke" Robinson, Sean DiSoma, Selika Josiah Gore, Senator Bob Menendez, Serena DiMaso, Shaun Golden, Tom Arnone, Vin Gopal | 8 Comments »By Greg Kelly
Courtesy of Teddy Bears by the Shore
Friday, December 27
• Hunger Games Meets the Olympics (Lincroft) – MORE INFO
• A Wind in The Willows Christmas at TRT (Red Bank) – MORE INFO
• Open Skating (Middletown) – MORE INFO
• The Nutcracker Extra Performance (Atlantic Highlands) – MORE INFO
• Growing History for the Holidays (Freehold) – MORE INFO
• “A Day OFF from School is a Day ON at the MAC” (Middletown) – MORE INFO
• Monmouth County Parks Weekend Things to Do – MORE INFO
• Library Lego Party (Long Branch) – MORE INFO
• After-Holiday Sales at Jersey Shore Premium Outlets (Tinton Falls) – MORE INFO
• Open Swim (Middletown) – MORE INFO
Posted: December 25th, 2013 | Author: admin | Filed under: Greg Kelly, Greg's List, Monmouth County, Seastreak Ferry, Things to do in Monmouth County | Tags: Greg Kelly, Greg's List, Seastreak, Seastreak Ferry, Things to do in Monmouth County, Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend | Comments Off on Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend, December 27-29, 2013
Home for Christmas: Brick soldier surprises mother with early return from Afghanistan (via NJ.com)
BRICK — When Leslie Ann Ruggiero unsealed a red envelope this morning she thought contained a card from the Santa Claus sitting on a bench behind her, she put her hand over her mouth and started to cry. “It’s my baby,” she said, holding a postcard…
Today in History for December 25th (via AP Video)
George Washington crosses the Delaware River; Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev resigns; Ousted Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife are executed; James Brown dies. (Dec. 25)
Raw: Pope Celebrates First Christmas Eve Mass (via AP Video)
Pope Francis has begun celebrating his first Christmas Eve Mass as pontiff by placing a baby Jesus statue in a replica of a manger in St. Peter’s Basilica. (Dec. 24)
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