Saturday, May 19, 2012
A nearly year-long process was delayed a few more days, but should be resolved early next week.
If years of service in the New Jersey State Police taught West Deptford Mayor Ray Chintall anything, it’s that justice doesn’t happen overnight. So as Chintall watched from the back of the courtroom Thursday morning, he wasn’t surprised Superior Court Judge Eugene Marshall Jr. opted to extend what has been a nearly year-long process, dating back to the property’s condemnation last summer, as to what should happen with the now-partially demolished home at 113 Cromwell Court. “That’s our judicial system,” Chintall said. “Sometimes things don’t happen as fast as you wish.” While he wouldn’t comment too deeply into the legal tornado that has swirled around the home this year, from the hearing in front of township committee to the current …
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113 Cromwell Ct, West Deptford, NJ
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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Superior Court Judge Eugene McCaffrey Jr. will hear arguments Tuesday before issuing a final decision.
A court decision on whether to finish demolishing 113 Cromwell Ct. is likely to come next week, after a Superior Court judge granted a four-day extension Thursday to an injunction in place since demolition began in February. Whether he orders it razed or allows Michael Crowley, who now owns the property via a quitclaim deed, to rebuild what’s left of the partially demolished home, Judge Eugene McCaffrey Jr. said his primary concern is over the health and safety of residents, and aimed to resolve the demolition quickly. “I fully expect to render a decision on Tuesday,” he said. “I want to do what’s right here.” That hearing will involve testimony from professionals on both sides, and McCaffrey said he’d personally go out to Cromwell Court …
The state Department of Transportation is holding an information session about plans to restructure the portion of Route 45 that runs through the city's downtown.
After years of planning, a major change to the traffic flow in Woodbury's downtown is on its way. The project on Route 45 (Broad Street), between Carpenter Street and Red Bank Avenue, will begin May 22 and continue until roughly November, according to the state Department of Transportation. The agency will hold a public-information session about the project on Thursday, May 17 from 4 to 7 p.m. in council chambers at Woodbury City Hall, 33 Delaware St. The public can review copies of the plans and speak with a Department of Transportation representative. The project will improve pedestrian safety and reduce traffic congestion, Department of Transportation officials said. The existing four-lane roadway will be reduced to three lane–one …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
NJ’s governor and Cory Booker channel Seinfeld in video parody for correspondents show.
Just because they're the state's two most prominent politicians doesn't mean they don't have a sense of humor. The office of Gov. Chris Christie yesterday released a lighthearted video co-starring Newark Mayor Cory Booker as a peripatetic go-to guy, riffing off his now national-scale image as a man of action following his rescue of a neighbor from a burning building several weeks ago. As the Democratic mayor of the state's largest city is depicted doing everything from coming up with a spare guitar for Bruce Springsteen to catching a falling baby, a faux-frustrated Christie hisses "Booker!" The video was produced for the New Jersey Press Association's Legislative Correspondents Club show.
Measure aimed at staving off 'relentless' toll increases, assemblyman says
A group of Ocean County state legislators have proposed a bill that would allow commuters to claim a tax credit if they spend $1,000 or more on highway tolls per year. Sen. Jim Holzapfel and Assemblymen Dave Wolfe and Greg McGuckin (all R-10) proposed the bill in their respective chambers Tuesday. If it becomes law, commuters would be able to receive a $1,000 state income tax credit if their E-ZPass toll accounts register $1,000 or more in toll payments in a given year. Holzapfel said the law is aimed at providing relief for commuters who have seen "relentless" toll increases in recent years. "By providing commuters with a means to offset a portion of their commuting costs, our bill recognizes that these taxpayers are paying more than …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A phone survey of parents didn't show enough people in favor of the idea, school board members announced Monday.
A move to a standardized dress code for West Deptford schools has been pulled off the table, after there wasn’t enough community support for the idea, school board members announced to applause Monday night. A phone survey of 1,717 parents earlier this month showed 45.89 percent of them were either strongly against or somewhat against the idea, while only 41.53 percent were either strongly in favor or somewhat in favor of the proposal, with a sizable chunk—12.58 percent—either neutral or ambivalent, board policy chair Peter Guzzetti said. Those against the idea tended to be strongly against it, with 643 voicing strong opposition, the most of any one response to the poll. “Based on the feedback from the survey, we’ve made the decision to …
Monday, May 14, 2012
Four West Deptford boards meet this week.
West Deptford's school board, emergency services council, committee on the disabled and recreation advisory committee all meet over the next several days, in a crowded week for local government. The school board, which meets Monday night at 7 p.m. at the middle school, is set to vote on reappointing William Thompson as the district's assistant superintendent and business administrator, as well as approving a bevy of other administrators for the 2012-2013 school year. The board will also vote on expanding the summer extended school year program for special education students. The emergency services council also meets Monday night, at 7:30 p.m. at the municipal building. The committee on the disabled meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the municipal …
Republican legislators propose naming a highway in northwestern New Jersey for the nation's 40th president.
"The Great Communicator" may soon have a stretch of New Jersey highway named after him. Under a bill introduced earlier this year by Republican legislators in the Democrat-controlled Assembly, the late President Ronald Reagan would have a state highway in northwestern New Jersey named in his honor, according to a Star-Ledger article. Only one former president—Warren Harding—has received such as an accolade in New Jersey, with a 4-mile section of Route 48 in Salem County named in his honor, according to the article. If approved by the state Assembly and Senate, and then signed by Gov. Christopher J. Christie, the proposed legislation would designate Route 15, a 19.5-mile state highway in northwestern New Jersey, as the "Ronald Reagan …
Downgrading crimes to ordinance violations means a faster court system and more money in fines, but subverts justice, according to John Paff.
What do the game show Let's Make a Deal and West Deptford's municipal court have in common? Entirely too much, according to one Libertarian watchdog. West Deptford’s municipal court is raking in money by giving defendants the opportunity to bargain their crimes down to ordinance violations in exchange for steep fines, in violation of a 1998 directive from then-Attorney General Peter Verniero that effectively banned the process, according to John Paff, chair of the New Jersey Libertarian Party’s Open Government Task Force. “They can't play with justice like this,” Paff said. “Money shouldn't be the grease in the wheels of justice.” And to make matters worse, Paff said, West Deptford Prosecutor Kelly Conroy's municipal ordinance of choice …
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The New Jersey Legislature bill concerns sex offenders and those who harbor them.
"Jessica's Law"—a bill that would require electronic monitoring for certain sex offenders—could advance in the New Jersey Senate when it comes up for a committee vote on June 4, an activist said. The bill (S-380) concerns the sentencing of sex offenders and those who harbor them. It seeks to create child protection zones. After a long battle for a vote, the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee is due to consider the measure next month, said Galloway resident Anna Jezycki, who has fought for the measure to become law. “I spoke with Sen. (Donald) Norcross last week and he told me it would come before a vote June 4,” Jezycki said. “There’s a couple of (bills) out there, but the one we’re standing behind is coming up for a vote.” A …
Doesitmatter
8:55 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Why don't they just add a left arrow to BOTH sides North and south of the street turning onto Cooper/Delaware, and what ever the other one is Barber. Who thought putting a left arrow on one side of the road would work? Or even make any sense. You are making a 4 lane road into a two lane road with one turning lane? What about when people try and parallel park? Now that one lane will be stopped … more ›