Here’s N.J. lawmaker’s plan to legalize recreational marijuana after Christie leaves

TRENTON — A state lawmaker introduced legislation on Monday that would legalize marijuana in New Jersey, saying he was laying the groundwork to pass a new law almost as soon as Gov. Chris Christie leaves office. Sen. Nicholas Scutari’s bill would make New Jersey one of a small but growing number of states where marijuana is… Read the rest of this entry »

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Bill to legalize recreational marijuana in N.J. set to be unveiled

TRENTON — A state lawmaker on Monday is scheduled to unveil legislation that would legalize, regulate, and tax recreational marijuana in New Jersey. State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) will formally announce the Democratic-sponsored measure noon at Monday at a news conference at the Statehouse in Trenton. Medical marijuana is already legal in the state. But if… Read the rest of this entry »

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Kim Strikes Back

Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli has been hammering Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno for months with negative mailings and videos.  Now, four weeks before the June 6 gubernatorial primary, the Guadagno team is punching back to make sure the race doesn’t tighten as Republican voters start paying closer attention.

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Watch the Second Democratic Gubernatorial Debate

The second debate among the candidates for the Democrat nomination for NJ Governor will be broadcast tonight on NJTV at 8PM.

According to the latest Quinnipiac poll, former Goldman Sachs executive Phil Murphy has a commanding lead over former U.S. Treasury Official Jim Johnson, Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Wisniewski, but over half of Democrat voters are still undecided.

The Democrat and Republican primaries will be held on June 6.

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In the Money: What the Gubernatorial Hopefuls Have Spent Thus Far

Friendly rivals? Lt Gov Kim Guadagno and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli

Democratic front runner Phil Murphy has a commanding financial lead in the gubernatorial race, having already spent 10 times more than his nearest rival, new campaign finance data shows. The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission released the 11 primary candidates’ 29-day pre-election finance reports on Wednesday and the numbers show Murphy clearly in the lead. The… Read the rest of this entry »

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Middletown’s Crime Rate Declines For 7th Consecutive Year

Crime in Middletown is down for the seventh year in a row, as measured by the FBI’s index crime rate, according to an announcement my Mayor Gerry Scharfenberger, PhD and Police Chief Craig Webber.

Index crimes are the eight crimes the FBI combines to produce its annual crime index. These offenses include willful homicide, forcible rape, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, larceny over $50, motor vehicle theft, and arson.

Index crimes in Middletown are down 13 percent over last year and 48 percent compared to 2010.

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How Lakewood became a worldwide destination for Orthodox Jews | Di Ionno

It is Friday in Lakewood. A few thousand young men in black suits and wide-brimmed black hats are rushing toward Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG), the world’s largest yeshiva outside of Israel. Parking in the vicinity of the school is as impossible as finding a spot in Hoboken or Jersey City. Students circle in their Toyotas, Nissans… Read the rest of this entry »

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Did State Senate Candidate Lie On His Resume?

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By Art Gallagher

Art Haney, the State Senate candidate in the 12th legislative district aligned with Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli’s gubernatorial campaign, indicates that he is a Middlesex County Freeholder in his campaign literature.

Haney was a Freeholder in the 1990’s.

Campaign workers distributed Haney’s cards, along with Ciattarelli propaganda, to Republican voters’ homes in Matawan on Saturday.

The 12th district includes Allentown, Englishtown, Manalapan, Matawan, Millstone, Roosevelt and Upper Freehold in Monmouth County; Old Bridge in Middlesex County; Jackson and Plumsted in Ocean County and the Burlington County towns of Chesterfield, New Hanover, North Hanover, and Wrightstown.

Reached on the phone and asked to explain his bio on the campaign literature, Haney refused to say if he proofed or approved the card before it was printed.  He did say, “Yes. I was a Middlesex County Freeholder. You know that. What is the issue?”

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N.J. teachers layoffs must be based on seniority, not performance, judge rules

TRENTON — A group of Newark parents has lost a legal battle to overhaul the way public school teachers in the state are laid-off — dealing another blow to education reform groups that have tried to dismantle similar protections across the country. In New Jersey, school districts must lay off teachers based on seniority, regardless of… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie expands public worker fertility insurance coverage to include lesbians

TRENTON — Lesbians and other people who want to use non-conventional means to conceive a child are entitled to insurance coverage for fertility treatments if they work for state government or the public schools, under a measure Gov. Chris Christie signed into law Monday. The law mandating coverage for infertility was defined narrowly, sponsors say, taking… Read the rest of this entry »

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