It would be great if The Star Ledger…

….put Cory Booker under a microscope like they have Governor Chris Christie and Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann.

By Art Gallagher, artvg@aol.com

photo via facebook

Star Ledger sports columnist Steve Politi has a column this morning that is part of his ongoing campaign to take down Rutgers Athletic Director Julie Hermann; Julie Hermann: It would be ‘great’ if The Star Ledger went out of business.

Politi has been trying to get Hermann fired since Rutgers hired her to turn around their Athletic Department last spring.  Something about alleged bullying and sex discrimination at a previous job and lying about whether or not she talked to the parent of a Rutgers student who alleged he had been bullied.

Turns out that Hermann doesn’t like The Star Ledger. Several weeks ago she told a journalism class that, “That’d be great [if the Star Ledger died]. I’m going to do all I can to not to give them a headline to keep them alive because I think I got them through the summer,” according to a Rutgers student alternative news site, Muckgers. (Note that Hermann didn’t actually say the words ‘if the Star Ledger died.’ She was responding to a student’s question that was not quoted.)  The Muckgers reporter broke the “news” of Hermann’s several weeks old remarks to a journalism class last Thursday, the same day The Star Ledger told 167 employees they would be out or work in September with severance pay.

As part of his pity party for his 167 colleagues, Politi wrote a column with a headline that implies Hermann threw a celebratory party to celebrate the coming hardship on those reporters, advertising execs, copy editors and clerks who don’t find work before their severance and unemployment benefits run out.

Forget, for a minute, what you think about the newspaper. It doesn’t matter if you think its Rutgers’ coverage stinks, or its news coverage is biased, or if its columnists are too smug for their own good.

What matters is this: The Star-Ledger employs a lot of people. And if the Rutgers athletic director thinks it would be great if it closed down, then she relishes the idea of seeing those people lose their livelihood, their benefits and maybe more.

I don’t know Hermann. Never talked to her.  But I’d bet that she doesn’t “relish the idea of seeing those people lose their livelihood, their benefits and maybe more.”  She probably just feels that way about Politi, who has been trying to see her lose her livelihood, benefits and more.

I don’t begrudge Politi taking his shots at Hermann.  I have no idea if his coverage of her career is accurate or not. I respect the fact that his bias against her is obvious.

But I think that The Star Ledger spending so much on an Athletic Director while giving a U.S. Senator a pass is disgraceful.

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Backyard composting clinics

You will know the how-to’s of reducing your yard and household waste and improving your soil after an informative 45-minute presentation

Saturday, April 12 at 10 a.m. – Middletown, Deep Cut Gardens, 352 Red Hill Rd.
Thursday, April 24 at 7 p.m, – Manasquan Recreation Annex at 67 Atlantic Ave.
Saturday, May 17 at 9:30 a.m. – Marlboro Recreation Complex, Wyncrest Road

The workshops are free, but advance registration is required.
To reserve one of the limited seats, call 732-683-8686, x 6721 or
download the registration form from the recycling section of the County Reclamation Center’s webpage atwww.visitmonmouth.com.

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Body found in burned Wall Township home

Update: Body found in burned Wall Township home (via NJ.com)

WALL TOWNSHIP – A body was found inside an Allaire Road home that burned for several hours on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. Wall Police Chief Robert Brice said an autopsy would be performed on Monday to determine the identification. While firefighters…

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Monmouth Medical Center and SCAN Present ‘Take Control of Your Health’

Is your chronic condition getting the best of you?
Ongoing health conditions affect how you live your life, how you
experience your relations and how you deal with your emotions.
Join Monmouth Medical Center and SCAN (Social Community Activities Network) for a free, six-week workshop to learn strategies for
managing daily life when living with chronic conditions such as
arthritis, heart and lung conditions, anxiety, diabetes and
high blood pressure.
Created by Stanford University, the evidence-based workshop
will teach individuals how to:
Manage stress.
Improve communication.
Cope with depression and fatigue.
Increase energy levels.
Eat healthy and maintain weight.
Get more out of life.

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Along Jersey Shore, towns build ‘sandcastle dunes’ as they wait for federal beach projects

Along Jersey Shore, towns build ‘sandcastle dunes’ as they wait for federal beach projects (via NJ.com)

The hills of sand are supposed to act as fortresses that protect Jersey Shore communities from the ravages of the sea. In the 18 months since Hurricane Sandy, coastline towns awaiting federal beach replenishment projects have dumped hundreds of thousands…

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Belmar scraps redevelopment plans, intends to start over

Belmar scraps redevelopment plans, intends to start over (via NJ.com)

BELMAR – It’s back to the drawing board for the borough’s redevelopment plans. Following up on a campaign promise made by Mayor Matt Doherty, Belmar is scrapping its old redevelopment plan and is convening a committee to draft a new one. “The…

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Raid of Howell marijuana ‘processing station’ leads to one arrest

Raid of Howell marijuana ‘processing station’ leads to one arrest (via NJ.com)

HOWELL –Police arrested a 31-year-old township man as they raided a marijuana “processing” center on Friday morning. Liberato Empirio, 31, of Howell Township, was arrested and charged with drug-related offenses after police executed a search warrant…

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Depressing scene at Brookdale Job Fair

By Art Gallagher
artvg@aol.com

Hundreds of middle-aged people looking for work at Brookdale this morning. April 4, 2014

When I was readying to leave the house this morning,  my wife asked if I was working on a story.  “No, I’m looking for a job,” I replied.  Her head snapped up in surprise. In all the years she’s known me I’ve never said those words.  I’ve always been the owner, or early in our relationship, an unmanageable top producing salesman.

The truth is I wasn’t sure what I was doing when I headed into the job fair at Brookdale Community College this morning.  I met a NJ.com reporter who got the ax yesterday, effective in September, in the overflowing parking lot outside of Collins Arena.  “Working a story or looking for a job?” I asked him.  “A little of both,” he replied before getting called away to cover a fatal car accident in Howell.

I was doing a little of both too. I’m having more fun building this business, MMM, than I had in building any of the others I’ve built or help build, but the revenue is not coming fast enough.  If the big media companies are contracting, there’s no harm in taking a look at what is out there, especially if I can make a story out of it and meet potential advertisers.

“Ha, you’re here looking for advertisers,” a recruiter from Town Square Media said to me when I introduced myself and asked her what an Integrated Sales Person was. She got me, but if Town Square wants to buy MMM, give me a radio show, blog and a fat check, I’ll listen.  An Integrated Sales Person sells ad for websites, radio shows and other mediums, I found out.  I’m now looking for one of those.  The recruiter either wasn’t aggressive or quickly sized me up as not a good fit. Probably both.

The Asbury Park Press’s recruiter was telling visitors to their booth that they weren’t hiring until they finish their across the street move in Neptune. Why were they there? Gannett would have to write a really big check and give me more authority than any corporate nudnik would consider in order to get me to fix that mess.

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Dispatches from Somewhere Else

By Murray Sabrin, PhD

So here I am, running for the United States Senate, to be a member of the body that approves Justices to the Supreme Court and treaties with foreign powers, only to find that the vetting process resembles those ad hoc committees formed to screen prospective tenants in a down market high rise.

Vetting process, what vetting process, my academic friends ask?  They remind me that 100 years ago, the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of Senators by popular vote.

Not so fast, this is New Jersey, and New Jersey isn’t like the rest of America.

You see, New Jersey has never quite warmed up to the idea of holding an unimpeded popular vote on anything.  First, there is the filter of the party primary, but as this is New Jersey, the party bosses go one step further, they have something they call “the line”.

The party bosses get to assemble the actual government ballot in a way that benefits the candidates they select.  Then they go another step further, by actually labeling their candidate as the “approved” Republican candidate.  Try doing this to an official ballot in the rest of America and you will end up in jail.  But New Jersey really isn’t America, it is somewhere else.

The “line” is a thumb on the scale that gives an advantage to one candidate over others and what is worse is that it uses a government ballot and a government polling place to deliver that advantage on behalf of a political boss.  And all this electoral corruption is paid for by the taxpayers!

This year I entered the so-called “selection” process with open eyes.  My supporters include some very experienced people who told me up front that Governor Christie’s people would never allow someone who supported Ron Paul to be the nominee.  They told me that the Governor still wants to run for President and that he fears a challenge from Senator Rand Paul.

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Happy Earth Month from EPA!

Tuesday, April 22 is Earth Day, but we’re celebrating all month, sharing a new tip each day to help you act on climate change.

Below, we’ve listed many ways you can take action yourself and
spread the word to your friends and family.
Try one or many, but either way, let’s all #ActOnClimate!

Help us get the message out. Please help us share a message at
12PM on Earth Day, along with the link to a page full of things
everyone can do to act on climate. We’re using a new system called Thunderclap to coordinate, so a message will go out from everyone
at 12PM on Earth Day. Here’s the catch: we need 500 people to sign up or the message won’t go.

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