Friday, January 21, 2011

You From Jersey?

"Police seek public’s aid in N.J. shooting" by Associated Press  |  September 27, 2010

EAST ORANGE, N.J. — Authorities yesterday pleaded for the public’s help in finding a man who opened fire at an off-campus house party near Seton Hall University, killing a student and wounding four other people.

The university, with its collection of brick buildings tucked behind a wrought-iron fence, stands in stark contrast to the gritty neighborhood where the party was held a mile away. Just a block from the shooting site, the remains of a memorial for another recent shooting victim could be seen.

The Friday night party, which lasted into early Saturday, was primarily for students at Seton Hall, a well-regarded Roman Catholic university with a gated campus in South Orange, about 15 miles from New York City. But the party was in a neighborhood of East Orange where violence has been a problem, said Rabu Anderson, who owns a clothing store around the corner from the shooting site.

“Some of it is gang violence, some of it is just plain ignorance,’’ Anderson said....

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"A New Jersey man whose apocalyptic visions supposedly led him to rape his five daughters and terrorize his family for years was found guilty yesterday of sexually assaulting a daughter who testified that she bore him a child....

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"A man shot his three sons, fatally wounding two and critically injuring the third, and set their tidy southern New Jersey home afire before police killed him, authorities said yesterday....

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Related: Suspect identified in N.J. police officer’s shooting death

"A frenzied search for the suspected killer of a police officer ended early yesterday morning in the bedroom of a Camden apartment, where a SWAT team arrested a 19-year-old suspect....

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"Ex-NJ lawmaker gets 5-year term for child porn" by Angela Delli Santi Associated Press Writer / April 12, 2010

TRENTON, N.J.—A former New Jersey lawmaker who championed legislation fighting child pornography pleaded guilty Monday to distributing nude images of underage girls.

Neil Cohen, 59, acknowledged viewing and printing images meant for sexual gratification from a computer in his former legislative office. He left at least one image at a receptionist's desk, leading to the investigation and charges.

Your tax dollars at work, New Jersey.

Cohen pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child by distributing child pornography and could be sent to state prison for five years when he is sentenced on July 12.

Under terms of a plea agreement, Cohen will have to register as a sex offender under Megan's law and be subject to lifetime supervision by the Parole Board when he is released from prison....

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Related: N.J. governor halts work on rail line to N.Y.

N.J. governor to rethink tunnel cancellation

N.J. governor scraps plan for NYC tunnel

NJ told to repay $271m for scrapped tunnel

"New Jersey owes the federal government more than $271 million after canceling a rail tunnel connecting the state with New York City, according to a debt notice obtained yesterday by the Associated Press....

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Also see: N.J. governor defends Florida vacation

"N.J. governor criticized for remarks" by Bloomberg News / January 15, 2011

NEW YORK — Governor Chris Christie’s comments that rising health care costs might “bankrupt’’ New Jersey, made the same day of a planned bond sale, drew criticism for poor timing and may have driven up borrowing costs....

“He is scaring some people when he says the state is going bankrupt,’’ said Gary Pollack, head of bond trading at Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management in New York....  

Christie, a first-term Republican, said health-care spending “will bankrupt’’ the state unless it requires workers to pay more for coverage. New Jersey will spend $4.3 billion on employee and retiree health insurance this year, and that cost will rise 40 percent within four years, he said. He wants all public employees in New Jersey to pay more than the current 1.5 percent of salary toward medical benefits.

“Mr. Christie made a rookie mistake,’’ said Mike Pietronico, chief executive officer of Miller Tabak Asset Management in New York. “The market is very sensitive to the word bankrupt.’’

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"N.J. city lays off one-sixth of its workers" by Associated Press / January 19, 2011

CAMDEN, N.J. — In a solemn display, laid-off firefighters and police officers lined up yesterday to turn in their helmets and badges, following deep budget cuts expected to further erode the quality of life in one of the nation’s most impoverished and crime-ridden cities.

Nearly half the Camden police force, including civilians, and about one-third of its firefighters lost their jobs as city leaders sought to balance the budget amid falling tax revenue and diminishing aid from the state.  

How can that be when the country has allegedly been in recovery for six quarters?

In all, the city laid off 335 workers, about one-sixth of its employees.

On the sidewalk outside City Hall, 82 police officers lined up their work boots to show how many officers would be taken off the Camden streets, though many neighborhoods have rampant drug dealing and violence.

As officers staged the display, a woman riding by in a car yelled that she was worried about the safety of her granddaughter, who catches a school bus before dawn, and her grandson, who doesn’t get out of basketball practice until after dark.

Mayor Dana Redd said many of the layoffs could have been averted if unions had acknowledged the dire economic situation and agreed to concessions....

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Also see: I'm From Jersey

Related: Fla. pastor to accept car for sparing Koran

Pastor who said he’d burn Koran gets free car, gives it to charity

Conductor fired for burning Koran sues 

Maybe he is trying to get a free car. 

N.J. antibully legislation is advanced


N.J. man is charged with insider trading