Media

New Jersey has new child safety seat rules

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Parents have new rules to follow when driving with their children in New Jersey.

Child safety seat rules that take effect on Tuesday adhere to American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations.

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N.J. owes $32M for improperly billing Medicaid for home health care, report says

TRENTON — The state improperly billed $32.2 million for home health services it could not document over a 3-1/2-year-period and should return the money to the federal government, according to a U.S. Office of Inspector General report released Monday.

A random audit of 100 claims submitted from 2008 to 2011 found 17 to be in error because they did not contain proper documentation, according to the report. The deficiencies included nurses not making required visits, companies using untrained home health aides, and failing to maintain patient files.

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Why EVERYONE has a right to vote

TT76a.jpgIt seems like the most innocuous act.

You walk up to a table, sometimes present an I.D., possibly wait in line for a minute or two, proceed to a booth, pull the curtain closed, view the choices, then cast your ballot. You voted. One of the truly great privileges of a democratic society, and one that far too many still refrain from engaging in.

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Burlington County's "ARC Tunnel"

Wherever a river bisects populated areas, adequate transportation between both banks is critical. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Christie administration's failure to alleviate the congestion across the Hudson River into Manhattan. But Burlington County has its own, albeit smaller, crisis where the Rancocas Creek cuts across the county.

The Centerton Bridge, which was built in 1903, carried 14,000 vehicles per day across the river between Willingboro and Mount Laurel. Earlier this year, the bridge was abruptly closed when it was determined to be unsafe for vehicular traffic. Even before the closure, the bridge was inadequate, with one narrow lane in each direction making navigating through opposing traffic a test of driving skills.

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Federal appeals court rules against latest N.J. sports betting effort

Judges at the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled in a 2-to-1 vote Tuesday against the legalization of sports betting in New Jersey, squashing the state's latest of several attempts at doing so and sending proponents back to the drawing board.

In oral arguments heard back in March, New Jersey made the case that, under a 2014 state law repealing all state prohibitions against sports betting, allowing wagering to begin on games would be in compliance with the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, a 23-year-old federal law that limits sports betting to just four states, because it would not be regulating sports wagering, but rather just repealing the laws preventing casinos and racetracks from taking bets.

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State, environmentalists clash over $225M Exxon settlement

TRENTON — After originally seeking $8.9 billion, New Jersey’s $225 million settlement with ExxonMobil over dozens of polluted sites is a reasonable compromise considering the substantial legal risks the state faced, a Superior Court judge in Burlington County ruled Tuesday in approving a deal that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration called historic and opponents called a sell-out.

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Insurer, N.J. medical associations seek solution to surprise out-of-network medical bills

The state’s largest health insurance company and organizations representing doctors and hospitals have held private discussions over the summer about legislation to protect consumers from surprise medical bills. They haven’t hammered out a compromise yet over the toughest issue — how to determine how much to pay a provider who isn’t part of an insurance network — but one participant expressed optimism

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Residents call on state to rebuild a scenic span

In April, following an inspection, Burlington County abruptly and indefinitely barred all traffic from the bridge. About 14,000 vehicles a day are being detoured onto 295.

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Residents call on state to rebuild a scenic span

The omnipresent thunder of nearby I-295 aside, the spot where the picturesque Centerton Bridge crosses the Rancocas Creek feels old-fashioned, even timeless.

But South Jersey's suburbs continue growing on both sides of the Rancocas, and time is taking a toll on the 112-year-old span connecting Mount Laurel and Willingboro.

In April, following an inspection, Burlington County abruptly and indefinitely barred all traffic from the bridge. About 14,000 vehicles a day are being detoured onto 295.

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Jobs, Infrastructure and New Jersey’s Future

How do weTT75.jpg create jobs while implementing an overhaul of our infrastructure? If it weren’t such a serious topic, one might expect that this was a test question in a college economics class.

But in New Jersey and throughout the rest of the land, these are real-life problems that are beginning to gnaw at us with growing urgency. Employment rates are still too high against a backdrop of a statewide infrastructure that is tottering.

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