Has Trenton turned Christie upside down?

Jim McGreevey is Governor Christie’s Ethical Compass?

Govenor Chris Christie at his Belmar Town Hall on July 31. Photo by Art Gallagher

In the summer of 2004, U.S. Attorney Chris Christie had Governor Jim McGreevey on the ropes.  McGreevey was “State Official #1,” an unindicted co-conspirator in a pay for play scheme that nabbed Democratic fund-raiser David D’Amiano.  A few weeks later McGreevey was resigning, purportedly because he was a “Gay American” who gave his boyfriend an important homeland security job that he wasn’t qualified to perform.

Yesterday, a decade later, Governor Christie is hanging his hat, and his orange sweater, on a McGreevey Executive Order that exempts the Governor from New Jersey’s ethics laws against accepting gifts.

Chris Christie marched into Trenton promising to turn the place upside down. Five years later McGreevey is Christie’s ethical compass.   Not the man McGreevey has become over the last 10 years.  Christie’s ethical compass is the man he investigated and probably could have indicted and convicted.  To paraphrase Christie on the stump for Mitt Romney two years ago, something got turned upside down in Trenton, but it wasn’t the culture of government that Christie promised he would impact and overturn.

About the best thing we can say about Christie accepting gifts of travel on private jets and seats in owner’s boxes at NFL games is at least it was family friendly entertainment with the cameras running, unlike the alleged entertainment U.S. Senator Bob Menendez flew off to on a friend’s private jet.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Why N.J. has seen historic lows in voter turnout recently

TRENTON — Last month’s elections continued what has become a striking trend in New Jersey recently: People are voting at historically low rates. Though U.S. Sen. Cory Booker — a nationally known politician — won his first full term in Washington and all 12 of the state’s seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

The most important N.J. Revolutionary War event you never heard of to be recreated in overnight march

General George Washington’s famous crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night is a well-known iconic moment of American history, but the actions of a little-known militia in N.J. just over a week later, which would help turn the tide of the Revolutionary War, receive far less fanfare. That’s about the change, however, as Rutgers-Camden graduate… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Sandy victims home for holidays thanks to volunteer group | Di Ionno

Katharine Koehler’s big idea began with a simple act of kindness. She brought coffee into Sandy-battered towns on the Raritan Bay for stunned homeowners and the volunteers helping them clean up and, in many cases, clean out. “I remember seeing heaps of people’s belongings – dressers, tables, chairs, all this furniture and household furnishings piled up… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Union Beach Joins Middletown in Supporting Law Enforcement With Blue Light

The Borough of Union Beach is joining Middletown Township in showing their support of all law enforcement personnel by light their town blue between now and January 1st.

MMM has received an advanced copy of the following statement that the Borough will release on Tuesday:

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Chris Christie criticizes Obama on Sony controversy, Cuba, Chesimard

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said tonight Sony was wrong to pull a movie from release because of threats from North Korea, but also placed blame on President Barack Obama over the controversy. The governor, speaking live on NJTV for an hour-long interview that was streamed live on nj.com, agreed with Obama when the president suggested… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

West Front Street Bridge Will Close On January 5th

photo via visitmonmouth.com

The West Front Street Bridge (S-17) that connects Red Bank and Middletown will close to vehicular  traffic on or about  Monday, January 5, 2015 and remained closed through Sunday May 17, according to a statement from the Monmouth County Department of Public Information and Tourism.

Also known as Hubbard’s Bridge, the structure which was built in 1921 is being replaced with a modern bridge that will compliment the look an function of the nearby Coopers Bridge which connects Red Bank and Middletown on Route 35.  The project started in August of 2013 while keeping the bridge open to cars and trucks.  The closure announced today signals that the 16 month project is entering its final phase.

Pedestrians will continue to be allowed to use the bridge during this period and bicyclists will be allowed to walk their bikes over the structure.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Staples’ Middletown Location Was Hacked

The Staples store at 1515 Route 35 in Middletown is one of 115 of the company’s stores that were hacked during the summer, according to a statement released by the company yesterday, December 19, 2014.

The company said that the point-of-sale software at 115 of its 1400 stores was infected by malware which exposed customers’ payment card information including card holder names, account numbers, expiration dates and card verification codes.  Staples believes that 1.16 million customers’ cards were affected.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Sign the petition: Extradite Chesimard

Trooper Werner Foerster

With the United States exchanging prisoners with Cuba and moving quickly to normalizing relations with Castro regime, there is a growing movement in New Jersey to prevail upon the Obama Administration to extradite convicted cop killer Joanne Chesimard, aka Assata Shakur back to New Jersey to serve her sentence for the murder of State Trooper Werner Foerster.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Red Light Camera Requiem

New Jersey’s State Government and 23 of its municipal governments will recover a morsel of integrity at midnight tonight when state sanctioned theft in the form of red light cameras cease to operate at 73 intersections.  New Jersey’s Red Light Camera Program, authorized as a five year pilot during the lame duck session of the 2006-2008 legislature and signed into law by Governor Jon Corzine, expires tonight.

The fact that the Red Light Camera Program has not been renewed is due in large measure to the efforts of Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon and his staff.  Their efforts have been heroic.

O’Scanlon and Co. have been relentless in monitoring the Red Light Camera Program and telling the truth about it. They have hired independent experts to investigate complaints and document fraud within the program.  They have sorted through data that has regularly been obfuscated by the red light camera companies (and bureaucrats friendly to them) to reflect improved safety conditions at RCL intersections where in fact conditions had often worsened.   They have worked hard in getting the word out about the program’s failure and corruption. They have countered expensive advertising campaigns by the red light camera companies and countered expensive lobbyists working the halls of the Statehouse, without the benefit of the profits the red light camera companies stole from the motoring public to fund their efforts.

In thwarting the Red Light Camera Program’s renewal, O’Scanlon has proved himself to be “the real deal”….a leader who fights for the right thing because it is the right thing. He is an example of what a “public servant” should be.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet