New Jersey

New York, N.Y., 06/23/2008 -- A momentous agreement between EPA, Occidental Chemical and Tierra Solutions calls for the most significant removal of contaminated material from the Passaic in history. The settlement, announced today at a park overlooking the river, involves the removal of nearly half of the dioxin that has contaminated sediment in the Passaic. It requires Occidental and Tierra Solutions to remove 200,000 cubic yards of dioxin-laden material from the portion of the river directly in front of the Diamond Alkali Superfund site in downtown Newark.    » read more »

N.J. Sens Act After Bush Administration Admits It Will Miss Deadline To Screen 100 Percent Of Nation's Cargo

June 23, 2008 -- NEWARK, NJ – Today, Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) joined executives from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey as they announced their introduction of a new bill to increase security at the nation’s 361 ports.

Their bill comes after the Bush Administration admitted to Senator Lautenberg that it will miss a deadline to screen 100 percent of the nation’s cargo for radiological and nuclear weapons. Their bill would, for the first time, create minimum security standards for all containers entering the United States.    » read more »

Defendants Allegedly Violated Consumer Protection, Civil Racketeering Acts

June 17, 2008 -- TRENTON -- New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram filed mortgage fraud lawsuits against 36 defendants charging consumer fraud and civil racketeering by various mortgage brokers, real estate entities and others throughout New Jersey.    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine, who has occasionally appeared as a guest on “Meet the Press,” today issued the following statement regarding the death of Tim Russert:

“Like many in New Jersey -- certainly those interested in American politics -- I was deeply saddened to learn of the untimely death of Tim Russert. He was absolutely the best in his field, unquestionably at the height of his profession, and exemplified a level of fairness and integrity that sets a standard for all journalists.

“I am sure all New Jerseyans join with me in sending our condolences. Our prayers are with his family and loved ones.”

Source: New Jersey Governor

Community groups react to news that DuPont’s Teflon chemicals likely contaminate area residential wells. Eight of nine DuPont monitoring wells exceeded New Jersey’s “alert level.”

June 9, 2008 -- Deepwater, NJ—A coalition of environmental and labor groups are calling for the testing of private drinking water wells in four towns near DuPont’s Chambers Works facility in Deepwater, N.J. They are concerned about the possible presence of the dangerous Teflon chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluorinated compounds (PFCs).    » read more »

May 28, 2008 -- Newark – New Jersey Governor Corzine said today that he has asked State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy to review superintendent contracts for all of the state’s 31 Abbott districts to ensure they comply with state law and reflect an efficient expenditure of funds.

“We have asked each of the Abbott district superintendents to provide their contracts to be reviewed,” said Governor Corzine. “We will have to work our way through this in the context of how many people we have and the priorities we make. We will try to look to the Executive County Superintendents for every contract.”    » read more »

New Jersey Joins Multi-State Challenge to EPA Ozone Standards; Federal Lawsuit Alleges Violation of the Clean Air Act

May 28, 2008 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced today that New Jersey has joined with 13 other states in challenging revised, ground-level ozone standards set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as weak and inadequate to protect the public health and welfare.

Industrial wasteland, New Jersey: Photo by Ari Moore (CC)    » read more »

Five Men Indicted on Gun Charges as a Result of New Jersey’s Historic Partnership With ATF to Trace Illegal Firearms

May 29, 2008 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram and Criminal Justice Director Gregory A. Paw announced that five men were charged today in separate indictments with illegally selling guns in Trenton.

Handheld weapons: Photo by Brian Bennett (CC)

The charges stem from the state’s historic partnership with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace guns seized in criminal investigations.    » read more »

May 22, 2008 -- New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today authorized Department of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy to seek an injunction in Superior Court to prevent the Keansburg School District Board of Education from making severance payments under a contract with outgoing Superintendent of Schools Barbara A. Treszkowski that would pay her a total of $740,924 in severance and unused sick time.    » read more »

Second time this week that offshore drilling proponents have attempted to lift moratorium on the East and West Coasts

May 16, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Last night, New Jersey’s Senators helped defeat the second attempt in the U.S. Senate this week – and the fourth attempt in the past year – to potentially open up drilling near the Jersey Shore. U.S Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) helped lead the opposition to the attempt to lift the moratorium on the Outer Continental Shelf, which could lead to drilling less than 100 miles from New Jersey.    » read more »

Grant Will Help Rutgers Conduct research to Improve Maritime Safety, Ecological Decision-Making in the Region

May 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) today announced that the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will award $1.7 million in federal funds to Rutgers University for Mid-Atlantic coastal ocean observation.

Senator Frank Lautenberg    » read more »

May 12, 2008 -- Trenton - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today praised New Jersey's congressional delegation for its leadership for a stronger SCHIP program on behalf of the state's uninsured children. New Jersey's successful Family Care program currently covers 121,815 children.

I'm proud to say our Democratic congressional delegation has been out in front on this issue, and Congressman Pallone has led the charge in the House by giving a voice to the disadvantaged children of New Jersey," said Governor Corzine. "Providing adequate healthcare programs really are preventative medicine because they provide a less burdensome impact on hospital emergency rooms as well as on overall state budgets."    » read more »

May 9, 2008 -- NEWARK – Con artists attempting to steal personal information are contacting New Jersey residents and falsely stating that bank account and/or social security numbers must be provided to them in order for economic stimulus checks to be sent to consumers.

Acting Consumer Affairs Director Larry DeMarzo warned residents to be aware of this scam and to not provide any personal information to callers who claim to be U.S. Treasury or I.R.S. officials or to respond to such emails.    » read more »

Menendez has led efforts in the Senate to defeat plans that would open up drilling less than 100 miles from New Jersey

May 9, 2008 -- WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator John McCain will be in New Jersey for a press conference on the topic of the environment. While he is in the state, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is challenging him to denounce a plan that would open up drilling for oil and natural gas less than 100 miles from the Jersey Shore.    » read more »

May 6, 2008 -- TRENTON - Racing Commission Executive Director Frank Zanzuccki announced today that a Racing Commission investigation has resulted in the first positive test results obtained under the state’s recently-expanded testing protocols aimed at detecting the use of performance-enhancing substances in race horses.

Harness racing: Photo by Jill (CC)    » read more »