By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 05, 2016 at 5:35 PM
TRENTON — The seven-year effort to crack down on surprise out-of-network medical bills was delayed again Monday, the same day a group of doctors urged lawmakers to consider an alternative proposal they say won’t force them out of business.
Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), who sponsored the leading legislation that would cap the amount out-of-network doctors and hospitals are paid for emergency treatment, announced Monday he had pulled his bill from a the committee’s agenda for the day. Vitale said is working with the New Jersey Hospital Association to make changes to the bill (A1952) and wants that work to continue.
“I remain confident that efforts of working to build consensus will result in the strongest consumer protection out-of-network bill in the country,” Vitale said in a statement.
It was one of the biggest selling points for the state’s new infrastructure plan, often cited as a reason to support the state’s first gas-tax increase in decades: The new legislation more than doubles the amount of transportation aid provided to counties and municipalities, helping to finance badly-needed road projects across the state.
A day before Gov. Chris Christie signed the legislation in October, local and county officials stood with lawmakers in Trenton to give the Republican governor a final nudge across the finish line — and to celebrate.
Ridgewood Nj, we have said this from the beginning , the whole “Bridge-gate “, scandal is nothing more than an insult to all commuters who get stuck with massive delays most of the time that could be easily avoided .
Reader says , “Unbelievable that the corrupt Record and its Dem cronies are still pushing this issue with their false righteous indignation, while they totally ignore the systemic blocking of traffic in NYC via a series of road closures, addition of bike lanes and pedestrian plazas and other efforts all designed with the EXPLICIT goal of making commuting in NYC more difficult in order to cause pain and harm to drivers so they will eventually become so disgusted that they will abandon their cars for public transportation. This has been going on for YEARS since the Bloomberg administration and is continued by DeBlasio.
This directly impacts NJ residents.
This is roundly ignored by The Record – nice to see their is no bias in that publication…
But then again the Dems ignore the fact that NY has a VERY aggressive and friendly PRO-BUSINESS policy of generous tax incentives which are effectively bringing prosperity and jobs to NY, but would be roundly vilified if Governor Christie proposed them in NJ.”
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Bergen County Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol announced on Friday that no special prosecutor would be appointed to investigate the official misconduct complaint lodged by a private citizen against New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in relation to Bridgegate.
Bill Brennan, the citizen who requested the special prosecutor, said that one was needed due to the recusal of both Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal and US Attorney Chris Porrino on the case. Both men were appointed by Christie. Now, the first assistant prosecutor in Bergen County and the first assistant attorney general will investigate the complaint.
The state’s massive overhaul of the criminal justice system calls for new technologies and more personnel. The counties want to know where the money will come from.
As New Jersey prepares to implement a major overhaul of its criminal justice system in January, county governments will attempt to block the effort, claiming they will be forced to pay millions of dollars for new prosecutors, sheriff’s officers, and capital improvements with no help from the state.
The New Jersey Association of Counties estimates the reforms will cost each county $1 million to $2 million, an unfunded mandate they view as particularly challenging, given the caps passed in 2011 prohibiting governing bodies from raising their tax levies by more than 2 percent. The association, a nonprofit organization that represents all 21 counties in the state, plans to file a complaint on Friday with the New Jersey Council on Local Mandates, which was established in 1996 to consider laws, rules, and regulations that impose unfunded mandates on counties, municipalities, and school districts.
The most vexing difficulty with water system may be where to find the money to fix wasteful problems
Here’s why it will cost billions of dollars to overhaul the state’s aging drinking-water infrastructure:
At least 20 percent of the system is more than 100 years old. Between 20 percent and 30 percent of treated water leaks from the system before it ever gets to the faucet. At least 137 public schools in New Jersey tested positive for lead in at least one drinking-water outlet this year.
No wonder a legislative task force yesterday began delving into what improvements are needed in the system delivering drinking water to customers. The lawmakers heard plenty about the problems, but few answers on where to get the money to solve them.
“The hardest part is where will the money come from,’’ conceded Sen. Linda Greenstein (D-Mercer), co-chair of the Joint Legislative Task Force on Drinking Water Infrastructure.
Do not pin your hopes on the federal government, warned the other co-chair, Assemblyman John McKeon (D-Essex). The federal government has shaved funding for drinking water projects by 75 percent in recent years, he said.
By Susan K. Livio | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 30, 2016 at 1:18 PM, updated December 01, 2016 at 2:16 AM
TRENTON — A drug possession conviction is no longer a barrier to receiving welfare benefits in New Jersey under a compromise bill Gov. Chris Christie signed into law Wednesday.
Childless adults who undergo outpatient drug treatment may qualify for public assistance, despite a conviction for drug possession in their backgrounds. Previously, inpatient treatment was the requirement.
The bill’s sponsors say the old restrictions inhibited a person’s ability to become self-sufficient. The legislation is among others aimed at reducing poverty in the state, which has remained stubbornly high in the post-recession era.
“It can be tremendously hard to turn one’s life around after a drug conviction because of all the doors that close in their face due to legal constraints, especially for those who don’t have family or friends to rely on for assistance,” said state Assemblywoman Liz Muoio (D-Mercer), one of the bill’s prime sponsors. “Financial assistance, job training, and education — all of these things provide hope and a chance at a new start.”
By Anthony G. Attrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 01, 2016 at 8:00 AM, updated December 01, 2016 at 10:35 AM
OLD TAPPAN – A former board of education member who wrote on Facebook that some parents who oppose random drug testing “smoke pot with their kids” is suing a married couple for allegedly smearing her name, according to a lawsuit.
Kathy Fable claims in a lawsuit parents slandered her at board of education meetings and on Facebook. (Photo courtesy of Kathy Fable)
Kathleen Quinn Fable, who served for three years on the Northern Valley Regional Board of Education in Old Tappan claims in court papers that Dennis Doros and Amy Heller of Harrington Park made statements that injured her reputation and adversely affected her advertising business.
The issue stems from an Aug. 5, 2013 Facebook post Fable made about parents who oppose suspicion-based, random drug testing in Bergen County schools.
“Should we be acting on the demands of the parents who smoke pot with their kids?” Fable wrote in the post, which appeared in a closed Facebook group for Old Tappan moms.
Now that New Jersey has had a medical marijuana program in place for nearly seven years, shouldn’t the state change the decades-old classification of marijuana as one of the most dangerous and reviled drugs, one without any medicinal benefit?
That question was posed to a state appeals panel Tuesday on behalf of two plaintiffs – an inmate serving a life sentence for drug trafficking and a Maple Shade teenager who uses medical marijuana to control epileptic seizures.
After listening to the arguments, the three-judge panel in Trenton said it would release an opinion later.
Newark lawyers Joseph Linares and Marc Haefner of the Walsh Firm contend it is inconsistent for the state to have a medical marijuana program and a classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug, a category that includes heroin. Cocaine and other addictive drugs fall into Schedule II and III and are considered less harmful than marijuana, the lawyers argued.
State Deputy Attorney General Jodi Krugman opposed changing the classification, noting that the federal government classified marijuana as a Schedule I drug in 1970 and has repeatedly turned down petitions to assign it a new designation, most recently last summer. “Other states with medical marijuana programs have not rescheduled marijuana,” she said.
Linares, however, said state law requires the director of consumer affairs to review the classifications of controlled drugs and make changes “when appropriate” and without deference to the federal classification.
Fair Lawn NJ, Fair Lawn PD, EMS and a paramedic unit from The Valley Hospital all rushed to aid an adult male pedestrian who was struck by a school bus while crossing Fair Lawn Avenue near Saddle River Road late Wednesday afternoon, 11/30. The school bus driver remained on the scene and was cooperating with police officers. The condition of the victim and the hospital to which he was transported were not made available at the accident scene.
By Paul Milo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on December 01, 2016 at 7:50 AM, updated December 01, 2016 at 7:56 AM
PARAMUS — A New Jersey mall has come up with a 21st century answer to a problem that has plagued generations of holiday shoppers: finding a parking space.
Westfield Garden State Plaza partnered with MyPark, a Miami company that allows shoppers to reserve a parking space by using a downloadable app. The specially modified parking spaces are equipped with a gate that remains upright until the person who reserved the space uses the app to bring the gate down.
The mall announced the rollout Wednesday. A total of 33 spaces, located near the entrance to Nieman Marcus, will be available at a cost of $10 for four hours each, NorthJersey.com reported.
The mall has nearly 11,000 parking spaces for shoppers at its more than 300 stores. The Garden State Plaza sees about 18 million visits a year, according to figures provided by Westfield.
The MyPark service is already available at a few other locations, including six properties in Florida, but the company plans to introduce it at several more locations in 2017.
Erin M Roll , NorthJersey5:27 p.m. EST November 29, 2016
A Bloomfield resident’s search for township security camera footage has encountered a roadblock at the state Supreme Court.
The court overturned a prior Appellate Division ruling that said that Patricia Gilleran had the right, under the state’s Open Public Records Act, to view footage taken by the security cameras on the exterior of the Municipal Building.
The court’s Nov. 22 decision ruled that the security footage was not open to general public access under the state’s public records laws.
Water-supply advocates argue that plan — last updated in 1996 — can’t deal with current shortages, possible pollution from sewage treatment plants
Drought has deeply depleted the water level at New Jersey’s Spruce Run Reservoir.
As New Jersey’s drought worsens, state advisers on water supply are renewing their call on the Christie administration to release a blueprint for water planning that has not been publicly updated since 1996 despite a legal requirement to do so every five years.
The Water Supply Advisory Council, a group of water company executives, nonprofits, and water users, is expected to urge Gov. Chris Christie and Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin to publish a new version of the Statewide Water Supply Plan that was submitted to the governor’s office in 2012 and has not been seen in public since.
By Sara Jerde | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on November 29, 2016 at 4:53 PM, updated November 29, 2016 at 4:59 PM
PATERSON — A non-profit prison re-entry program housed in a Paterson building at the center of an FBI investigation is moving mid-December to another facility nearby to accommodate more people.
The FBI raided Paterson city offices earlier this month searching for documents related to the renovation of a Montgomery Street property where the non-profit New Jersey Re-Entry Corporation is located.
Gov. James McGreevey, who helps administer the program, acknowledged Tuesday that the investigation “expedited” the non-profit’s relocation, but that the organization had planned on moving to another space to help more people.
“It expedited our plans as we had the intention of developing or providing increased space to accommodate a greater number of clients,” McGreevey said. “It seemed an appropriate time to secure a different site.”
NJ Assembly Judiciary chair: Study municipal courts
Kala Kachmar , @NewsQuip11:24 a.m. EST November 29, 2016
The chairman of the Assembly’s Judiciary Committee said Monday he wants state lawmakers to study municipal court reform after an Asbury Park Press investigation called the fairness of the system into question and showed how municipalities increasingly rely on court fines for revenue.
“(The story) gives cause to take a step back and think this is an area that we should study and look at to determine if there should be legislative fixes,” said state Assemblyman John McKeon, D-Madison, chairman of the Judiciary Committee. “Justice should be just that at all levels.”
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, R-Little Silver, said the Press report raised issues that should be a concern of every elected official.
“We have to stop looking at motorists as ATM machines,” he said. “You want to remove any profit motivation from police enforcement of any kind. When tickets are written that don’t improve safety, it doesn’t help anybody. It’s not a reasonable way to raise revenue.”
