Baroni Is Edged Out Of Port Authority

Governor Chris Christie has announced that former State Senator Bill Barnoni has resigned as Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of NY/NJ.

Deborah Gramiccioni has been tapped to replace Baroni.  Gramiccioni is a long time Christie staffer, going back to his tenure as U.S. Attorney.  She is the wife of Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Christie said he had been planning to the change ” a while back.” He said that Baroni offered his resignation and he accepted given the “distraction” over ‘Bridgegate.”

Christie said that Baroni had acknowledged that ” a mistake was made” regarding the George Washington Bridge closure last September, and that Baroni has taken responsibility for it.

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Governor Christie Press Conference At 11 AM

There will be ‘Bridgegate’ questions

Governor Chris Christie has called a press conference for 11am this morning to announce personnel changes in his administration.

‘Bridgegate’, the controversy over lane closures on the George Washington Bridge last September, will likely be the hot topic the press corps wants to talk about, unless Christie declares the press conference ‘on topic’ or restricted to questions about his new appointments or nominations.  Christie has done this on occasion and then lambasted reporters who asked off topic questions.  Any reporter who lets him get away with that today, if he tries it, will deserve to be called an idiot.

Democrats are alleging that the lane closures were political retribution against Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich, a Democrat, for failing to endorse Christie’s reelection.

At his press conference on December 2 announcing Kevin O’Dowd’s nomination to be State Attorney General, Christie blew off questions about the GWB lane closures by joking that he was incognito, moving the cones to close the lanes.  But his joke did not satisfy Assemblyman John Wisniewski who is acting as if he finally has an issue with which to take down Christie, politically.

Christie’s men at the Port Authority, the bi-state agency that manages the GWB, said the lane closures were part of a traffic study. David Wildstein ordered the closure/study and has resigned.  Bill Baroni gave testimony to Wisniewski’s Assembly Transportation Committee justifying the study.  Wisniewski called Baroni’s testimony “less than truthful.”   New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s guy at the Port Authority, Executive Director Patrick Foye, threw Wildstein and Barnoni under a bus in his testimony before Wisniewski’s committee.  Wisniewski has called for Baroni’s resignation and has subpoenaed emails and memos from Port Authority.

The issue is beginning to get legs in the national political press as a possible threat to Christie’s 2016 presidential prospects.  A pro-Hillary Clinton Super PAC is producing ads on the issue.

Tune in at 11 to see if Christie can put this issue behind him before it becomes a distraction to his second term, his chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association and to his 2016 presidential prospects.

UPDATE: BARONI RESIGNED.

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House of Representatives Unanimously Approves Smith’s International Child Abduction Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – “Left-behind” parents came from across the country to watch as Members of the House of Representatives voted to unanimously pass a bill to help

Bindu Phillips of Plainsboro, N.J. addresses media at a Capitol Hill press conference. From left in rear are other “left-behind” parents Barton Hermer of Texas, Paul Toland of Maryland, Rep. Chris Smith, David Goldman of N.J., Dennis Burns of Colorado, and Arvind Chawdra of N.J.

bring home American children abducted to overseas destinations, said Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), the author of the legislation and chairman of the House congressional panel which oversees human rights.

“The bill gives us continued hope that our elected officials grasp the enormity and the severity of this ongoing injustice and pail inflicted upon these victim families torn apart because their American children have been ripped from their loving arms,” said David Goldman, of Monmouth County, N.J., who waged a five-year battle to get his son back from Brazil. He is one of the lucky parents. H.R. 3212, the “Sean and David Goldman International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act of 2013,” passed 398-0 late Thursday.

Smith has held several hearings on the heartbreaking cases of  left-behind parents of American children abducted to India, Japan, Egypt, India, Brazil, Russia, England and other countries where far too few of the thousands of U.S. kids held wrongfully overseas are returned. Not all countries have signed The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, the standing international treaty to try to address parental abductions via a civil framework that provides for the quick return of abducted children, and access rights to both parents. Sadly, even Hague signatories, like Brazil, often don’t enforce its provisions.

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The 5 worst political campaigns of 2013

The 5 worst political campaigns of 2013 (via NJ.com)

Wednesday we gave you the top five best campaigns of the year, so today we’re bringing you the worst. With dozens of races to choose from we crunched the numbers and chose five (and two runners up) that were notably bad.  Some are on for their execution…

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Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton neck-and neck in mock 2016 race, new polls show

Chris Christie, Hillary Clinton neck-andneck in mock 2016 race, new polls show (via NJ.com)

TRENTON — A pair of new nationwide polls show Gov. Chris Christie and Hillary Clinton neck-and-neck in a hypothetical 2016 presidential matchup. Fresh off a landslide re-election victory, the Republican governor leads the former Secretary of State…

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Highlands Mayor Nolan Calls For Sharing Municipal Accounting Services, Criticizes Proposal To Give CFO Candidate A 6th Government Job

If one person can do six government jobs for $300,000, why can’t those governmental entities get together and hire one person to do that work for half the amount or less?

Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan, photo by Tim Larsen, Governor’s Office

In his column on facebook and Atlantic Highlands Herald, Highlands Mayor Frank Nolan said there is currently a contract being negotiated for a new Chief Financial Officer in the borough.  The candidate, who Nolan did not name, currently has five government jobs, including another job in Highlands, and earns $244,606. If hired as Highlands’ new CFO, the candidate would have to work 160 hours per week, theoretically, to justify the combined full time and part time salaries which would exceed $300,000.

As of this writing, there is a contract being written for someone to fill that position that already has 5 municipal jobs across the state. If this individual was to be given this 6th municipal job at our council meeting on December 18th they would be one of the top paid public employees in the state and would hold 2 jobs in the Borough of Highlands. His current salary listed on the state website is $244,606 for his 5 current positions. If we add another $65,000 to the total and highlands would be putting him over the $300,000 per year mark.

By definition most part time jobs are about 20 hours per week. The average fulltime job is 40 hours. If you have 4 part time jobs, that means you are working, in theory, 80 hours per week on those jobs. Plus you have 2 full time jobs. That’s another 80 hours. The person who is potentially being given a 6th municipal job at the Wed, December 18th council meeting that will be held at Highlands Elementary School at 8:00pm for the public. This person will be working 160 hours per week. There are 168 total hours in a 7 day week. How can someone work 6 jobs and be effective? The answer is: they can’t.

MMM believes the accountant is Highlands Tax Collector Patrick DeBlasio, who, according to APP’s Data Universe, has two jobs in Carteret, and one job each in Keansburg, North Plainfield, in addition to his tenured position in Highlands, all of which will pay a pension.

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Suspect Sought In Aberdeen Bank Robbery

Click photo for larger view

A light skinned male robbed the PNC Bank branch on Rt. 34 in Aberdeen on Monday, December 9. Authorities are seeking identity and whereabouts of the man, according to a statement from Acting Monmouth County Prosecutors Christoper J. Gramiccioni.

The suspect stands between 5 ‘3″ and 5 ‘5″ tall and was last seen wearing a black knit winter cap with brim, a black winter coat, dark pants and dark shoes.

Anyone with information about this suspect is asked to call Detective Andrea Tozzi, of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-431-7012 ext. 4809; Detective Louis Nanna of the Aberdeen Police Department at 732-566-2054 or Detective Erik Nolte at the Red Bank office of the FBI at 732-741-0006

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Opinion: Can the Democrats Cash in on George Washington ‘Bridgegate’?

Opinion: Can the Democrats Cash in on George Washington ‘Bridgegate’? (via NJSpotlight)

By any measure, the last four years of Democratic control of the Legislature yielded the party little political benefit. But the Democrats may be able to recover some lost ground, courtesy of what started as a hellacious tie-up on the George Washington…

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Greg’s List: Things to do in Monmouth County this weekend, December 13-15, 2013

SPONSORED BY SEASTREAK

By Greg Kelly

Saturday, December 14

• InfoAge Holiday Spectacular & Train Display (Wall Twp) – MORE INFO

• The Street Heat Sole & Style Expo (Manalapan) – MORE INFO

• Scrooge The Musical at Premier Theatre (Asbury Park) – MORE INFO

• A Christmas Carol (Shrewsbury) – MORE INFO

• Jungle Bell 5k Run/Walk (Lake Como) – MORE INFO

• The Nutcracker at Algonquin Arts Theatre (Manasquan) – MORE INFO

• Santa Train (Freehold) – MORE INFO

• Festive Flutes (Neptune) – MORE INFO

• Candlelight House Tour (Keyport) – MORE INFO

• CODA’s The Nutcracker at Count Basie Theatre (Red Bank) – MORE INFO

• Christmas Lantern Tours at Allaire Village – MORE INFO

• McDermott’s Handy: A Celtic Christmas (Wall Twp) – MORE INFO

• Scrooge at Spring Lake Community Theatre – MORE INFO

• A Shop Around The Corner at First Ave. Playhouse (Atlantic Highlands) – MORE INFO

• Open Shoot Archery (Lincroft) – MORE INFO

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The five best political campaigns of 2013

The five best political campaigns of 2013 (via NJ.com)

If you’re a political junkie or even someone with just a passing affinity for the sport, this year was a goldmine.  It featured several terrific campaigns at every level of government and included some truly virtuoso performances.  Whittling to our…

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