Previous Headlines

School lockdowns / Notify parents quickly

Published: 01/25/10

Columbine ... the shootings at the Amish schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pa., ... Virginia Tech ...

Gov. Chris Christie / An excellent start

Published: 01/24/10

Nothing has the potential to destroy New Jersey more than inaction in the face of a budget meltdown and an overwhelming tax burden.

Executive order on casinos / Encouraging priority

Published: 01/24/10

Gov. Chris Christie signed eight executive orders on his first day in office - including one aimed at fully protecting Atlantic City's casino industry and its tens of thousands of workers from a shutdown of state government.

One brave woman in Atlantic City / But one isn't enough

Published: 01/22/10

Carolyn Cook cut down a bush outside her North Maryland Avenue home in Atlantic City when she realized drug dealers were conducting business behind it.

Revel and state stimulus program / A perfect fit

Published: 01/21/10

The intent of New Jersey's Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 is clear: In order to boost New Jersey's economy, the state will allow qualifying developers to keep a portion of future sales-tax revenue from the project. That money can then be used by developers to help secure and pay off financing.

New Jersey's new governor / The party's over, and the hard part starts

Published: 01/20/10

An inauguration is a time of infinite promise and lofty ideals. It is the sweet, short time before reality arrives to crash the party.

Regulating ATVs / Better than nothing

Published: 01/19/10

After dawdling for years with the issue of all-terrain vehicles and dirt bikes causing destruction in the Pine Barrens and other natural areas, the Legislature finally approved a new, comprehensive bill during the lame-duck session.

Health benefits for part-timers / Trust us, it's over

Published: 01/18/10

Members of the Galloway Township Council, you hereby have our permission to skip this editorial. You don't need to read it. You get it.

Corzine had a tough term, tough crowd

Published: 01/17/10

It's transition time.

Atlantic City's history / Let's do it justice

Published: 01/15/10

Ah, the old days in Atlantic City ...

A.C. rail line / Reconsider this cut

Published: 01/14/10

NJ Transit's elimination of a key train getting southern New Jersey residents to jobs in Philadelphia certainly appears to be the ultimate in bureaucratic stupidity.

Newark airport security breach / Love hurts

Published: 01/13/10

So a lovelorn romantic took advantage of a guard's absence at Newark Liberty International Airport on Jan. 3, snuck into the secure area of the terminal to say goodbye to his girlfriend before she left and triggered a six-hour air terminal shutdown that stranded thousands of passengers and snarled air traffic worldwide.

Municipal services / Lower expectations

Published: 01/12/10

December's winter storm wiped out municipal snow budgets and brought a blizzard of complaints from residents about poor snow removal.

Easing casino-employment restrictions / Slow down here

Published: 01/11/10

So why would a northern New Jersey state senator, in the very last days of a lame-duck session of the Legislature, suddenly introduce a bill - virtually out of nowhere - that would ease the long-standing ban on certain state employees going to work for the casino industry immediately after leaving their government jobs?

Paying CRDA board members / End this practice now

Published: 01/10/10

The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority is the only major authority whose board members are paid. And those politically appointed, part-time CRDA members can, consequently, draw a state pension.

Public information online / No more excuses

Published: 01/08/10

Mike Assad gets it.

Lame-duck prevailing wage bills / Vote must be 'no'

Published: 01/07/10

Never, ever underestimate the power that unions wield in Trenton. Or their brass. The unions aren't shy. Campaign contributions from organized labor make the difference between winners and losers in New Jersey elections. The unions expect their winners to ante up.

State pensions for lobby groups / Change this law

Published: 01/06/10

Some lawmakers are moving to change a decades-old law that has given millions of dollars in state pension benefits to employees of three private lobbying groups. A bill being drawn up now would exclude future hires of those groups from the state pension system.

EHT police lawsuits / Quite a trend

Published: 01/05/10

Another Egg Harbor Township police officer has filed a lawsuit.

West Atlantic City redevelopment / A more realistic plan

Published: 01/04/10

To a newcomer to the Atlantic City area - or to a tourist driving into the city on the Black Horse Pike for the first time - the cheap motels lining the north side of the pike in West Atlantic City are an eye-grabber.

K-9 issue is taking too long to resolve

Published: 01/03/10

Four months have gone by since Atlantic City Mayor Lorenzo Langford pulled police K-9 patrols from the streets.

Noise from the racetrack / Force improvements

Published: 01/01/10

"Obviously, we'd love it if the track packed up and went somewhere else."

N.J. tax breaks / How much is lost?

Published: 12/31/09

New Jersey's fiscal crisis is real and potentially calamitous: Gov.-elect Chris Christie has warned the state might not even be able to make payroll in a few months.

Atlantic City salary increases / Culture must change

Published: 12/30/09

Some people have wondered over the years how Atlantic City could have so high a tax rate - let alone a budget deficit next year of as much as $35 million - when the city has so few residents and so many huge ratables. How can it spend so much?

State authorities and commissions / Ripe for scrutiny

Published: 12/29/09

The timing couldn't have been better.

Forced treatment of mentally ill / Money, as always, is the problem

Published: 12/28/09

When Linwood resident Anthony Milano stabbed elderly neighbor Catherine McGowan to death in October, and severely injured McGowan's daughter and a man who tried to stop the assault, it wasn't exactly a surprise.

Guest editorial / Merry Christmas 2009 / Yes, Virginia

Published: 12/25/09

The following editorial appeared in the New York Sun on Sept. 21, 1897. It was written by Francis Pharcellus Church.

Vineland mom's quandary / Get this resolved

Published: 12/24/09

The case of Vineland resident Nilsa Acosta makes one wonder again whether common sense parts company at the door of the state bureaucracy.

Christmas eve / Last-minute gift idea

Published: 12/24/09

Today's cartoon says it all: The best Christmas gift this year, one that would be truest to the meaning of the season, is a donation to charity.

The Tropicana mess / An ugly conservatorship

Published: 12/23/09

In December 2007, when the Casino Control Commission refused to relicense the Tropicana Casino and Resort, seized the property under the Casino Control Act and appointed a conservator until the property could be sold to new owners, no one expected the process to take this long.

Pleasantville's JROTC / Job well done

Published: 12/22/09

No doubt, there are students - our guess would be many students - at Pleasantville High School who consider the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps about as uncool as you can get.

Dery Bennett / A coastal advocate

Published: 12/22/09

It's easy to be an environmentalist these days. Everybody is one. (Or at least says they are.)

Double role for lieutenant governor / Smart move, but ...

Published: 12/21/09

Gov.-elect Chris Christie's decision to have his lieutenant governor serve double duty as secretary of state is an almost perfect fit. Considering the state's staggering budget deficits, it would be obscene to create a new, high-salaried position and a new government office with additional administrative staff - all of whom did little but attend ribbon-cuttings and wait for the governor to leave town.

Commercial fishing regulations / Put safety first

Published: 12/20/09

Press staff writer Rich Degener's six-part series on the commercial fishing industry was exhaustive. If you haven't read it, and you have any interest at all in this fascinating, controversial, dangerous $1-billion-a-year industry in New Jersey, you can catch up at PressofAtlanticCity.com.

Local pension deferrals ... again / Bad idea, bad timing

Published: 12/18/09

The state Legislature is considering whether to allow local governments to defer pension contributions for a second straight year - a bad move made even worse by the fact that it is surfacing in a lame-duck session.

A flurry of appointments in Trenton / Business as usual

Published: 12/17/09

On his way out the door, Gov. Jon S. Corzine is naming dozens of staffers, aides, Democratic campaign contributors, labor-union allies and other friends and cronies to positions on state boards, authorities and agencies.

Shared sacrifice in New Jersey / The new reality

Published: 12/16/09

New Jersey is in a bad, bad way financially. The current budget has developed a deficit of at least

A tax deduction for pets? / Not the answer

Published: 12/15/09

A pet is often more than "just an animal" - it can be a companion, a friend, a beloved family member.

New bridge for Port of Cape May / This is stimulus

Published: 12/14/09

Remember "the bridge to nowhere," the proposed Alaskan project that became a symbol of pork-barrel spending by Congress? Well, this is a bridge to somewhere - somewhere very good for the economy of Cape May County.

Public-employee contracts / Taxpayers, get involved

Published: 12/13/09

Local governments should consider the latest freeze in state municipal aid as a portent of things to come. And rather than sue the state - as some threatened to do following the $21-million aid freeze earlier this month - municipalities, school boards and counties should be scrambling to find ways to cut costs permanently.

Government pensions in N.J. / Fairness - to taxpayers

Published: 12/11/09

Teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers in New Jersey get miffed - understandably - when the issue of pension reform comes up. They read articles like Press special projects writer John Froonjian's Dec. 6 Watchdog Report on the rising costs of government pensions and feel the media and the public are out to get them.

Paid family leave / So far, so good

Published: 12/10/09

A year ago, we suggested that New Jersey consider delaying the start of the paid family-leave program. In the midst of a recession, we reasoned, it seemed unwise to put an additional burden on businesses and an additional tax on workers.

Paying schools to change mascots / No tax money

Published: 12/09/09

An axiom for the 21st century: The answer to every problem is not to throw taxpayer money at it.

Regulating the use of fertilizers / It may save Barnegat Bay

Published: 12/08/09

Regulate fertilizer?

CRDA funds and Atlantic City / Keep money here

Published: 12/07/09

You would have to be awfully naive to believe that the $16.5 million grant the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority provided for a Pennsauken ice-hockey arena in 2006 didn't have something to do with politics.

Filling a Senate vacancy / What changed? The governor's party

Published: 12/06/09

File this among the reasons why people are cynical about politics:

Out-of-control bouncers / No excuse

Published: 12/04/09

Atlantic City is ... well, Atlantic City. There are bars, lots of them. There are people in town to have a good time. There are people who get rowdy and obnoxious when they imbibe too much of a good time. And there are bouncers to - presumably - keep it all in check.

Regulating gift cards / Buyer still beware

Published: 12/03/09

Call it a sign of our stressed-out times.

Public-employee benefits, perks / Shocking excesses

Published: 12/02/09

Here's another kick in the wallet to New Jersey residents, who pay the highest property taxes in the nation: Tens of millions of dollars are still being wasted by many municipalities and counties on lavish perks, generous contracts and staggering amounts of terminal-leave payouts for public employees.

Atlantic City's Thanksgiving weekend / Nothing but net

Published: 12/01/09

A sleepy, slow-moving Thanksgiving weekend? Not if you dropped in on Atlantic City on either Friday or Saturday evening.