Secret chapter of 9/11 inquiry released after 13-year wait

WASHINGTON — Under wraps for 13 years, the U.S. on Friday released once-top secret pages from a congressional report into 9/11 that questioned whether Saudis who were in contact with the hijackers after they arrived in the U.S. knew what they were planning. The newly declassified document , with light redactions, names people the hijackers associated… Read the rest of this entry »

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Former NJ DOT Commissioner Jamie Fox Charged in Samson’s United Airlines Bribery Scheme

Former New Jersey Department of Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox was charged by federal officials for his role in the bribery scheme that former Port Authority Chairman David Samson pleaded guilty to today, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.

Additionally, United Airlines has agreed to a pay a $2.5 million penalty and to make compliance reforms for its role in the scheme in which it established a non-stop route between Newark-Liberty Airport and Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina for Samson to fly to his vacation home in Aiken, SC.  In exchange Samson allowed the Port Authority Commission to approve a lease of three acres at the airport for United to build a maintenance hanger.

Fox, in his role as a $7,500 per month consultant to United, is accused of shaking down United employees, on Samson’s behalf, to get the route to South Carolina established.

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Old Bridge N.J. gymnast Laurie Hernandez named to Olympic team

Laurie Hernandez, the 16-year-old whose vivid expressions have earned her the nickname the “Human Emoji,” will be taking her big smile and flashy moves to Rio next month. The 16-year-old Hernandez was named to the U.S. gymnastics team on Sunday night after a dazzling performance in the team trials in San Jose, Calif., becoming the first… Read the rest of this entry »

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Gretchen Carlson files sex harassment suit against FOX CEO

HACKENSACK – Longtime Fox News host Gretchen Carlson has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Roger Ailes, the network’s CEO and chairman. In the suit, which was filed Wednesday morning in Bergen County Superior Court, Carlson claims Ailes, a Cresskill resident, made “sexual and/or sexist comments” and made “sexual advances by various means.” Carlson claims Ailes… Read the rest of this entry »

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Report: Samson to plead guilty to federal charges related to “Chairman’s flight”

David Samson

Former Port Authority of NY/NJ and former New Jersey Attorney General David Samson will plead guilty to a federal felony related to the United Airlines route from Newark Airport to Columbia Metropolitan Airport in South Carolina, which is about 50 miles from Mr. Samson’s vacation home, according to a report by Ken Kurson for The Observer.

The route, which is alleged to have often been empty and money losing, was established while Samson was Chairman of the Port Authority and discontinued within days of Samson’s resignation in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal.  The September 2013 George Washington Bridge closure at the center of the Bridgegate matter occurred while Samson was Chairman.  As Chairman of the Port Authority, Samson oversaw United’s relationship with the authority’s airports.

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Christie defends his school funding “Fairness Formula”

By Chris Christie For 61/2 years, I have been able to effectively ignore the liberal, fact-twisting rantings of The Star-Ledger editorial board. But the stakes of this debate on property taxes and urban education are too great to ignore the newspaper’s latest emotional screed against my Fairness Formula. On property taxes, our residents pay the highest… Read the rest of this entry »

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N.J. gas taxes not likely to soar this holiday weekend as Senate stalls Christie deal

TRENTON — New Jersey motorists may not have to worry about their gas taxes skyrocketing this weekend. The state Senate will not vote Thursday on Gov. Chris Christie’s offer to raise the gas tax in exchange for a 1-cent reduction in the sales tax, Sen. Raymond Lesniak said Thursday. The governor, in a news conference Wednesday,… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie on the defense as his gas and sales tax plan faces failure

TRENTON — Facing the possibility that a proposed gas-tax-increase-for-sales-tax-decrease proposal he brokered with the Assembly could go up in flames, Gov. Chris Christie made his case for the deal Wednesday. The governor called a surprise Statehouse news conference hours after Senate Democrats said they opposed the plan, which would raise gas tax by 23 cents to… Read the rest of this entry »

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In early morning vote, N.J. lawmakers OK sales tax cut, gas tax hike to fix roads

TRENTON — The state Assembly hastily approved a plan after midnight Tuesday to cut the sales tax by a penny in exchange for raising the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon to rescue the near-broke… Read the rest of this entry »

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Christie’s off to Wall with education fairness plan

photo via Governor’s office

By Art Gallagher

Governor Chris Christie is back on the Town Hall circuit…now he is calling them forums…as he meets New Jersey voters on Tuesday in Wall Township to promote the school funding formula that he announced last week.

The “Fairness Formula Forum” will take place in the Wall branch of the Monmouth County Library, 2700 Allaire Rd., Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.  The doors open at 2:15 p.m and seating his first come first served.  RSVPs are encouraged for planning purposes to  FairnessForum.Wall@NJ.Gov.

Christie is saying that he wants a referendum in 2017 to amend the State Constitution so that State education funding is distributed equally to all school age children throughout the New Jersey.  He says that the State would contribute $6,500 per student.  Currently roughly 75% of State funding goes to 31 school districts, formerly referred to Abbott districts for the landmark Abbott vs Burke NJ Supreme Court decision that mandated that the State subsidize poor and urban districts.

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