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Mondays, PLAINFIELD TODAY is a digest of Plainfield-only news from the past week: That Was The Week That Was -- or TW3 -- with links to the online stories.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS
$41,000 MISSING FROM TAX OFFICE -- Dan's scoop of the week was the revelation on Friday that $41,000 or so had gone missing from the Tax Collector's office. The Courier picked the story up with a front-page piece on Saturday. Seems it happened months ago and has never been publicly discussed. Councilman Burney told the Courier that the Council had been briefed. My inquiries got the response that the administration had asked the Council to consider it a confidential presentation, that the matter was being investigated and that the administration would "get back to them" on it. When? How hard is it to track down what happened? Is Prosecutor Romankow involved? This one is sure to get legs.
GUNS / GUNPLAY -- Guns and gunplay are much on Plainfielder's minds -- with four murders so far this year, and many shooting incidents [reported and unreported]. The daytime shooting on the steps of the Public Library, in which a man was wounded and a bullet lodged in a school bus, has unsettled many residents. Sunday evening, a drive-by shooting at Hillside and Chetwynd had neighbors concerned. What is going on? And what is the administration DOING about it? Mayor Bloomberg has launched a coalition of mayors to fight the incursion of guns into local communities. Recently, two New Jersey communities have joined up. What about Plainfield?
GREEN / MORIARTY / SWEENEY PROPOSAL -- Assemblyman Jerry Green and South Jersey pols Moriarty and Sweeney made a big splash week before last with their proposal that state workers make concessions to help balance the state budget. Predictably, the proposal generated a firestorm reaction from the labor unions. On Monday, the Courier editorialized in support of the proposal -- as, it turns out, did all the other GannettNJ papers. On Wednesday, the Ledger columnist Tom Moran analyzed the reaction in a piece titled "Pro-labor Democrat feels union wrath". On Thursday, Gov. Corzine chimed in acknowledging that the topic was now on the table -- though not for this budget round, in his view. Friday, the Ledger and the New York Times reported on the press conference the trio held in Trenton on Thursday, where union members created a ruckus in the hallway. Meanwhile, Dan warned city and county employees that the trio's language implied they would face the issue in their next contract round. On Friday, Dan posted links to the trio's website -- Stop Spending My Money -- and the presentation [PDF file] the trio gave to the media. What has everyone's curiosity piqued locally is that it is so uncharacteristic of Assemblyman Green to put himself at the head of such a contentious public discussion. What's up with that? We'll certainly be hearing more on this as the budget process heats up over the next three weeks.
PLAINFIELD HEALTH CENTER -- Congressman Pallone will be accepting a 'Superhero Award' at the Health Center, but the really big news is the questions in the air about what effect, if any, Bush's stricter Medicaid requirements are going to have on the cash flow situation at the Plainfield Health Center after July 1, when the tougher citizenship identification requirements go into effect. I have heard for years that a significant portion of the clients are undocumented immigrants. The new rules will affect those applying for the first time as well as those being recertified, which is done every few months. Fewer Medicaid-certified clients = fewer billable services = reduced cash flow? Equally of interest are rumors that PHC is taking over a community health center in Phillipsburg and plans to open another in Warren or Sussex County... All that and development on their 'back 40' too?... Whole lotta shakin' goin' on...
PRIMARY ELECTION -- With overall state turnout at 7%, the Primary Election on Tuesday was something of a snoozer. Menendez and Kean beat their opponents handily. Did anyone even know Congressman Pallone was in need of re-election? Locally, neither Dems nor the GOP candidates for the Ward 1 and Wards 2/3 at-large seats had contests. Benice pointed out that the GOP city committee is elected and reorganizes this year (Dems next year), and also covered Mel Cody's filing to run as an independent in the November freeholder race. Dan commented on the grassroots rebellion against county Dem machines in Essex and Union counties, with candidates rallying citizens against the rapacious "Salad Spinner effect" local communities suffer at the hands of entrenched pols. Otherwise, Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Last Friday's H.I.T.S.: "HITS: June 9, 2006"
$41,000 missing at City Hall (exclusive)... More on Green et al proposal... Mayor goes a-raiding?...
Last Monday's TW3: "TW3: May 30 - June 4"
Mondays, PLAINFIELD TODAY is a digest of Plainfield-only news from the past week: That Was The Week That Was -- or TW3 -- with links to the online stories.
COMMUNITY
Abbott Schools: "NAACP head assails Corzine plan to audit poor school districts"
Boys and Girls Club [last item]: "Summer program focuses on the arts"
Church Fire: "Blaze destroys Temple Church of God in Christ"
Church Fire: "Probe continues in fire that closed city church"
Fire: "Fire ravages Cameron Avenue home of Plainfield family"
Letter - CN: Herb Kaufman: "FBI search shows Congress' bias"
Speaking Out: Rick Taylor: "Veterans shamed by government bumbling"
Water Bills: "Utility unions protest water rate increase that may reach 20%"
YMCA: "With housing, education, YMCA has an eye on region's needs"
CRIME
Lecaros Homicide - CN: "Career thugs get 68 years in Piscataway teen's death"
Lecaros Homicide - SL: "Plainfield pair get long jail terms in killing"
Sexual Assalt: "Brothers arrested in assault of 4 girls in Plainfield home"
Weapons charge [next to last item]: "Teenager faces weapons charge in PHS incident"
..... - Note reference to access to PHS through an 'unlocked door'
CONNECTIONS? FOOD FOR THOUGHT
3rd Party Coming? - LAT: "Building a New Political Party Online, Byte by Byte"
Abbott Schools - Editorial, SL: "Scrutinize Abbott budgets"
Accessibility: "Holmdel center's doors to open for disabled vets"
Amtrak Emergency Measures: "Amtrak rethinks tunnel rescues"
Arts District: "Bringing Life to a Factory Graveyard in Orange"
Budgets: "Latest concession for Vas: 50% municipal tax hike"
The headline is too cute for its own good, but the gist of it is that Perth Amboyans will see a 50% hike in their municipal taxes--for a budget year that is running out in three weeks. This is not to mention the new budget year, which begins July 1. And you thought we had interesting times?!
Civic Values - Newark: "Letter: Newark Values"
Concert: "Rhythm & Blues By The Brook - Saturday, Noon - 7 PM"
Deer: "Keeping hungry deer away from your yard"
Dems: Central Jersey Dem PAC - SL: "Political figure accused of theft"
Dems: Central Jersey Dem PAC - CN: "Politico denies embezzling Democratic party funds"
Development: "YM-YWHA high-rise proposal stirring Highland Park debate"
Development: "Jersey City Medical Center reborn as 'The Beacon' with 1,100 condos"
Development Woes: "Relocation payment delays add to Newark development headaches"
Drugs: "Mexico drug lab linked to heroin deaths in Jersey"
Elections: Primary Turnout: "Just how low can turnout go? Try 7 percent"
Elections: Vote Recounts: "Elizabeth councilman victorious, for now"
Eminent Domain - CN: "Bill aims to impose added protection against eminent domain"
Eminent Domain - SL: "Eminent domain reform bill stirs Assembly debate"
Eminent Domain - NYT: "New London Takes First Step to Evict in Eminent Domain Case"
Faith-based Homeownership Programs: "Today, Homeownership Is Next to Godliness"
Fireworks: "NJ blasts Pennsylvania fireworks law allowing sales to out-of-state residents"
Freeholder Race: "Cody For Freeholder"
Gangs in Levittown: "After Gang Threat, It's Cap, Gown and Lockdown"
Guns/Gunplay: "Gun violence in Hartford sparks plea for cease-fire"
Guns/Gunplay: "Paterson church leaders aim to take back streets"
Guns Deter Crime?: "'Freakonomics' shot holes in his data; pro-gun writer turns to lawsuit"
High School Sports: "High-school steroid tests on verge of final passage"
High School Sports - SL: "Drug tests approved for teen athletes"
High School Sports - NYT: "Steroid Tests for High School Athletes"
High School Sports Injuries: "Schools get funds to help injured athletes" -- why not PHS?
Immigration: "Polls show softening of stance on immigrants"
Immigration: "FAIR Sets Up Front Group 'You Don't Speak for Me'"
'Jersey Widows': "Coulter Draws Fire for Bashing 9/11 Widows"
Larry Leverett: "No Phone, No Computer - But News of Larry Leverett..."
Lobbyists - Editorial, SL: "New limits on lobbyists"
Longhorn Beetle: "Beetle plague gains; Quarantine zone expands into Clark"
Military recruiting: "New Jersey Guard turns to educators to help with recruitment"
Mortgages: "Black, Hispanic Homebuyers Pay Higher Interest, Study Finds"
Pay-to-Play: "Pay-to-play ban working ... some say too well, as contributions drop"
Pensions: "City's Pension Cut Proposal May Set Negotiating Pattern"
Police: "Cop indicted in crash caused by car he pursued"
Preservation: "Owner of historic carriage house decides to sell; Battle goes on"
Prisons - WP: "U.S. Prison Study Faults System and the Public"
Public Education: Bob Braun: "Is public education a people's civic duty?"
Public Property Sales: "Council halts 13 land deals in Newark"
SCC: "Trying to make amends, better work pledged on polluted Trenton schoolyard"
School locker searches: "'Suspicionless search' fights drugs, weapons"
'Shaken Baby Syndrome': "Elizabeth parents get help on infant hazard"
Solar Energy: "Solar Power Where You Might Not Expect It"
... - A solar-powered NJ funeral home that earns its owner $10K/year from energy
Station Parking Spaces: "A Bid to Get Parking Passes on a Fast Track"
Veterans: "Audit finds agency errs in benefits for disabled veterans"
'Youth Academy': "Middlesex Co. putting wayward teens back on course"
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