Media
Bill would move Burlington Island election
The city has one election every year unlike any other election.
The Board of Island Managers, which oversees Burlington Island in the middle of the Delaware River, conducts a public election for staggered board terms every April, but turnout is typically sparse with only a couple hundred voters — if that — bothering to go to the polls. Even last-minute, write-in candidates have won with less than 100 votes.
The “Dirty” Water Dilemma is Upon Us
The next time you fill a glass of water from your faucet, it might not be surprising if you think of Flint, Michigan.
Given Flint’s recent media coverage and the unconscionable conduct of leaders responsible for that fiasco, is anyone unaware of how important, indeed, precarious our access is to clean, safe and plentiful water? And, water problems aren’t confined only to Flint, where residents unknowingly drank water contaminated with lead for months. Before Flint, there was the issue of lead-leached water in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Maryland and in 2008 when gallons of toxic coal ash containing lead flowed into the Tennessee River causing enormous hardships to the people of that area. Clean, safe water and the infrastructure that delivers and protects it are a major problem throughout the United States.
What we face today are a myriad of circumstances and a culture of modest indifference that have pooled together and gurgled upward to give New Jersey residents and the rest of the United States a clean water crisis.
Statewide Graduation Rates Increase to Nearly 90 Percent
The day after the sobering results of the new PARCC testing were released, the Christie administration had some better news for New Jersey’s schools yesterday: Graduation rates are up.
The administration announced the state’s graduation rate had risen to its highest level since a new method of counting started five years ago, with nearly 90 percent – 89.7 percent, to be precise – of students graduating in 2015.
Burlington County legislators land plum committee assignments
The New Jersey Legislature's new session is in full swing, and with it are some plum new committee assignments for Burlington County's lawmakers.
Slight Hike in Tax Revenue Adds Up to Projected Surplus for State Coffers
Gov. Chris Christie is scheduled to present his next state budget to lawmakers in less than two weeks. And it looks like he’ll be able to deliver that address feeling some confidence about how his spending plan for the current fiscal year is holding up.
A NJ Spotlight analysis of revenue figures released by the state Department of Treasury for the first six months of the current fiscal year indicates tax collections were running a modest $56.3 million ahead of the 3.4 percent growth rate that Christie has projected for the full fiscal year.
N.J. domestic violence offenders should be monitored
Two New Jersey lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle have vowed to reintroduce the legislation known as Lisa's Law – and many lives could be saved as a result of their resolve.
Closing a tax loophole will help business and grow N.J.'s economy
For years, all you needed to dodge corporate taxes in New Jersey was an empty room in Delaware and a really good accountant.
That's simplistic, but essentially true: Multistate corporations used a legal tax-avoidance strategy that cost our state at least $200 million annually – just by shipping profits to out-of-state subsidiaries - but now the Legislature trying to close that loophole.
On the WRONG Side of Lisa’s Law
If my writing this week carries with it a whiff of anger and frustration, you’ll shortly understand why.
I have throughout my blogs expressed how I develop the legislative initiatives I undertake as an elected official. I typically ask myself three simple questions: (1) Does it benefit my constituents and other New Jersey residents? (2) Will it work? and (3) Can we afford it? These are straight-forward, reasonable tenets that serve as a guidepost for me when proposing any legislation.
Which is why I’m dumbfounded, yes, even a bit angry, over Governor Christie’s recent veto of bipartisan legislation (A3806) I introduced with my friend and Republican colleague, Assemblyman Ron Dancer. This proposal, known more commonly as Lisa's Law, would establish a four-year pilot program in Ocean County which would electronically monitor domestic violence offenders and allow for notification of victims. We call this initiative “Lisa’s Law” to honor the memory of Letizia "Lisa" Zindell of Toms River, a domestic violence victim murdered by her former fiancée. The bill would set aside $2.5 million to fund this legislation.
Singleton Calls Pension Divestment Move a Win for Hardworking Families
Assemblyman Troy Singleton (D-Burlington) on Wednesday hailed the State Investment Council's decision to divest public employee pension funds from a company that has been fined millions of dollars by the feds for its dubious debt collection practices as a just win for hardworking families.
Christie vetoed bill to track domestic violence offenders, but fight’s not over
Much to the surprise of its sponsor, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a bill that would have created a four-year pilot program in Ocean County to electronically track convicted domestic violence offenders using GPS devices that would alert victims on their cell phones if their attackers were nearby.