Reading Cory Storch’s blog today, I was hoping for the next 5 weeks we could stay away from finger-pointing or even New Democrats versus Regular Democrats. But like I said in the past, I refuse to stand by and allow him to mislead the public.
Number one, the majority of the members of the Council are New Democrats.
For the record, I am not supporting the current ShotSpotter program until we have more information about it. I am already in contact with two other companies involved with this service, and they are already giving me different views on the short-range and long-range figures.
I find it very odd that when Cory gets a chance to mention the Regular Democrats, he would like to make it sound like the Regular Democrats are involved with the day-to-day operations of the City, but that is not true. Maybe under the past administration those lines were crossed, but that is not the case today.
Another example, this issue with Al Sharpton with the New Democrats making such a big issue out of it. They failed to inform the public that they spent thousands and thousands of dollars to sponsor a train ride to Washington D.C., where liquor and wine were so free that by the time they arrived in D.C., just about everyone on board was drunk.
So rather than sitting down and trying to work out the differences between the Administration and Council, they would prefer to make it sound like someone has done something illegal.
With the $20,000 spent on the broadcast, the New Democrats try to make it sound like the Mayor has bankrupted the City, but what about the $800 million that the children of NJ lost in this year’s budget? The wasteful spending of some of the BOE’s colleagues, trips and other goodies?
When the Council decided to rent a train to D.C., I wonder how Cory voted on that issue; did he go out and check to see whether that was the right thing to do?
Just this week a vendor came in to complain about the past administration, which Cory was a part of, having the City still owing them $50,000 for services rendered. So the Mayor should stop sitting back trying to clean up their mess, and inform the public of the mess she took over due to the past administration.
We are STILL paying bills of the past administration, and now it is obvious that the current administration is going to have to cut back on spending on current issues in order to clean up the past mess.
If I read the charter correctly, in the last 8 years, the New Democrats have been in charge of the budget. Once the Mayor submits the budget to the Council, it is then the Council’s budget. So it is time that the public realized that they have mismanaged the City for over 8 years.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Democratic Legislators Vow To Continue Fight For Women's Healthcare Despite Lack Of Republican Support
(TRENTON) – After Senate Republicans joined Governor Christie in turning their backs on the women of New Jersey, Democratic legislators vowed to continue the fight to protect access to women’s healthcare.
At a news conference following the veto override vote in the Senate – which failed due to a lack of Republican support – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney joined Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, and other women’s health advocates in the Legislature to announce new legislation intended to restore a portion of the funding cut from women’s health and family planning programs in New Jersey and require the state to apply for federal matching dollars for Medicaid-eligible health care consumers.
“The sponsors of this bill have worked tirelessly to make sure that women have access to basic health services, including breast exams, cancer screenings, pre- and post-natal care and gynecological exams,” said Senate President Sweeney (D-Gloucester). “They’ve identified budget-neutral funding and they’ve found federal matching grants so that our investment brings back $9 for every $1 we put into the system. We’re disappointed with the outcome of today’s veto override, but we’re hopeful that the Governor and Republican Legislators can put aside partisan blinders and help Democrats quickly enact women’s health care funding, version 2.0, into law.”
“It’s clear that Republican lawmakers who had previously stood up for good health care policy over conservative political ideology were pressured by the Governor to vote against our override attempt,” said Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “I’m certainly disappointed that more of my fellow lawmakers couldn’t show the political courage to defy their governor and restore access to women’s health care and family planning services in New Jersey. However, we don’t plan to go away quietly, and will continue fighting for access to services for women and men who have nowhere else to turn.”
“It’s been clear from the start that the Governor has opposed this measure on ideological grounds,” said Stender (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union). “This is an issue of paramount importance, one that we cannot allow to fall victim to a shortage of solutions. If Republicans want to treat this issue with casual indifference and side with the Governor in his attempts to make a name for himself on the national conservative stage, then they should all be prepared to accept responsibility for denying women access to crucial medical care and prevention screenings, and ultimately contributing to increasing the abortion rate in our state.”
The first piece of legislation - sponsored by Senators Loretta Weinberg and Sandra Cunningham and Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt, Linda Greenstein, Linda Stender, Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Celeste Riley and co-sponsored by Senators Nia Gill and Bob Gordon and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell - mirrors the vetoed legislation (S-2139/A-3019), but scales back the appropriation from $7.5 million to $5 million and identifies a new funding source. Under the bill, family planning centers would be supported by $5 million in unexpended funds from FY 2010 that are part of an account set aside to pay counties for housing certain prisoners.
“This new legislation reaffirms our commitment to being fiscally prudent, while maintaining our commitment to provide access to health care for women and families across New Jersey,” said Lampitt (D-Camden). "We have heard the Governor's concerns, and we call on him to work together with us on this crucial, nonpartisan issue. The new funding we have identified is budget-neutral and would otherwise sit idle while women and families suffer and go without critically-needed health care."
“We’ve asked the Governor and his administration to work with us in finding a funding solution, and were shut out time and time again,” added Weinberg. “However, through this bill, we were able to find additional surplus funds contained within the Governor’s budget to restore at least a portion of the resources for women’s health programs. At a time when New Jersey is trying to do more with less, we need to use these additional resources to make sure we’re not leaving any federal matching dollars on the table for women’s health or family planning services.”
“It is unfortunate that our Republican colleagues do not share our belief that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, deserves access to vital healthcare,” said Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “Hopefully, the new funding source we have identified will alleviate their concerns over the fiscal impact of this bill.”
The second bill - sponsored by Senators Teresa Ruiz and Nia Gill and Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Linda Greenstein, Celeste Riley, Pamela Lampitt and Linda Stender and co-sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell- directs the state to immediately apply for additional Medicaid coverage for family planning services available under the recently enacted federal health care reform law.
“The federal government is actively encouraging states to apply for this supplemental funding, knowing how important it is to cash-strapped states and the women and families who depend on it,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “If this is truly an economic issue as the Governor maintains, then we should be taking advantage of every available federal resource.”
Under the current state plan, the Medicaid program only covers family planning services for individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the new provision in the federal health care reform law created a state option to provide Medicaid coverage for family planning services to individuals with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. State’s exercising this option will receive $9 in federal reimbursement for every $1 they spend for family planning services.
“We simply can’t leave this money sitting on the table when family planning centers throughout the state will soon be forced to close or turn patients away,” said Riley (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “This is one of the fundamental duties we were elected to perform – maximize the resources available to provide basic essential services to the residents of this state.”
At stake, the lawmakers noted, are the more than 136,000 patients who were served by family planning centers in New Jersey last year. Not only did these centers help prevent 40,000 pregnancies, 19,000 abortions and save the state more than $150 million, but they also provide extensive services that include: birth control; routine gynecological exams; prenatal care; screenings for high blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and breast and cervical cancer; as well as critical education and outreach.
The lawmakers also stressed that the new legislation reiterates the provision in the vetoed legislation that bars public dollars from being used to fund abortions. Both bills will be introduced in the Senate and the Assembly today.
At a news conference following the veto override vote in the Senate – which failed due to a lack of Republican support – Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney joined Senator Loretta Weinberg, Assemblywoman Linda Stender, and other women’s health advocates in the Legislature to announce new legislation intended to restore a portion of the funding cut from women’s health and family planning programs in New Jersey and require the state to apply for federal matching dollars for Medicaid-eligible health care consumers.
“The sponsors of this bill have worked tirelessly to make sure that women have access to basic health services, including breast exams, cancer screenings, pre- and post-natal care and gynecological exams,” said Senate President Sweeney (D-Gloucester). “They’ve identified budget-neutral funding and they’ve found federal matching grants so that our investment brings back $9 for every $1 we put into the system. We’re disappointed with the outcome of today’s veto override, but we’re hopeful that the Governor and Republican Legislators can put aside partisan blinders and help Democrats quickly enact women’s health care funding, version 2.0, into law.”
“It’s clear that Republican lawmakers who had previously stood up for good health care policy over conservative political ideology were pressured by the Governor to vote against our override attempt,” said Senator Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) Chair of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. “I’m certainly disappointed that more of my fellow lawmakers couldn’t show the political courage to defy their governor and restore access to women’s health care and family planning services in New Jersey. However, we don’t plan to go away quietly, and will continue fighting for access to services for women and men who have nowhere else to turn.”
“It’s been clear from the start that the Governor has opposed this measure on ideological grounds,” said Stender (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union). “This is an issue of paramount importance, one that we cannot allow to fall victim to a shortage of solutions. If Republicans want to treat this issue with casual indifference and side with the Governor in his attempts to make a name for himself on the national conservative stage, then they should all be prepared to accept responsibility for denying women access to crucial medical care and prevention screenings, and ultimately contributing to increasing the abortion rate in our state.”
The first piece of legislation - sponsored by Senators Loretta Weinberg and Sandra Cunningham and Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt, Linda Greenstein, Linda Stender, Valerie Vainieri Huttle and Celeste Riley and co-sponsored by Senators Nia Gill and Bob Gordon and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell - mirrors the vetoed legislation (S-2139/A-3019), but scales back the appropriation from $7.5 million to $5 million and identifies a new funding source. Under the bill, family planning centers would be supported by $5 million in unexpended funds from FY 2010 that are part of an account set aside to pay counties for housing certain prisoners.
“This new legislation reaffirms our commitment to being fiscally prudent, while maintaining our commitment to provide access to health care for women and families across New Jersey,” said Lampitt (D-Camden). "We have heard the Governor's concerns, and we call on him to work together with us on this crucial, nonpartisan issue. The new funding we have identified is budget-neutral and would otherwise sit idle while women and families suffer and go without critically-needed health care."
“We’ve asked the Governor and his administration to work with us in finding a funding solution, and were shut out time and time again,” added Weinberg. “However, through this bill, we were able to find additional surplus funds contained within the Governor’s budget to restore at least a portion of the resources for women’s health programs. At a time when New Jersey is trying to do more with less, we need to use these additional resources to make sure we’re not leaving any federal matching dollars on the table for women’s health or family planning services.”
“It is unfortunate that our Republican colleagues do not share our belief that everyone, regardless of socio-economic status, deserves access to vital healthcare,” said Greenstein (D-Mercer/Middlesex). “Hopefully, the new funding source we have identified will alleviate their concerns over the fiscal impact of this bill.”
The second bill - sponsored by Senators Teresa Ruiz and Nia Gill and Assemblywomen Valerie Vainieri Huttle, Linda Greenstein, Celeste Riley, Pamela Lampitt and Linda Stender and co-sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Assemblyman Jason O’Donnell- directs the state to immediately apply for additional Medicaid coverage for family planning services available under the recently enacted federal health care reform law.
“The federal government is actively encouraging states to apply for this supplemental funding, knowing how important it is to cash-strapped states and the women and families who depend on it,” said Vainieri Huttle (D-Bergen). “If this is truly an economic issue as the Governor maintains, then we should be taking advantage of every available federal resource.”
Under the current state plan, the Medicaid program only covers family planning services for individuals with incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level. However, the new provision in the federal health care reform law created a state option to provide Medicaid coverage for family planning services to individuals with incomes up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. State’s exercising this option will receive $9 in federal reimbursement for every $1 they spend for family planning services.
“We simply can’t leave this money sitting on the table when family planning centers throughout the state will soon be forced to close or turn patients away,” said Riley (D-Salem/Cumberland/Gloucester). “This is one of the fundamental duties we were elected to perform – maximize the resources available to provide basic essential services to the residents of this state.”
At stake, the lawmakers noted, are the more than 136,000 patients who were served by family planning centers in New Jersey last year. Not only did these centers help prevent 40,000 pregnancies, 19,000 abortions and save the state more than $150 million, but they also provide extensive services that include: birth control; routine gynecological exams; prenatal care; screenings for high blood pressure, anemia, diabetes, sexually transmitted infections, and breast and cervical cancer; as well as critical education and outreach.
The lawmakers also stressed that the new legislation reiterates the provision in the vetoed legislation that bars public dollars from being used to fund abortions. Both bills will be introduced in the Senate and the Assembly today.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
A Blueprint of Clark Township's Educational Success
I would like to thank Mr. Kenneth Knops, Clark Superintendent of Schools, for inviting me this morning to be a keynote speaker in their Welcome Back Staff Meeting, for the Clark Public School District. I was very pleased in listening to his presentation, which laid out his goal and objectives for this upcoming school year.
With all of the problems we are having in Trenton, it seems like under his leadership, staff, and Clark in general, are well prepared for their students to receive a good education. We all realize that each municipality is dealing with budget problems, but listening to Mr. Knops comments today, their Mayor, Council, BOE and parents have come together to make sure that the children in Clark will continuously receive a good education.
During the presentation, Mr. Knops cited the Township of Clark being designated #10 in the list of Business Week’s “Best Affordable Suburbs in America” and #24 in New Jersey Monthly Magazine’s “Best Places to Live in New Jersey.”
To hear those remarks about Clark, it was very refreshing. I am looking forward to the commitment that I have made to the Township of Clark, that until we work out the crisis we are having in Trenton, I will continue to have a good relationship with the Township, in terms of sharing information and listening to their concerns referencing education in Clark.
I was very pleased by the fact of how well the superintendent and his staff have organized this year’s scheduling of how they are going to be able to move Clark in the right direction when it comes to educational issues. It is clear that they have a plan in place, which is very important.
So again, I want to thank all the members of the Clark educational system for the way I was treated, and for the respect, they gave me this morning. It is encouraging when people realize your commitment to serving them as their representative in Trenton on all issues, and you are able to come back home and have the community give you the support you need; being a good listener with a sincere commitment to their concerns allows this to happen. Just as I said in today’s meeting, I want to continue to have a healthy, informational relationship with Clark as I continue to represent them and their needs in Trenton.
With all of the problems we are having in Trenton, it seems like under his leadership, staff, and Clark in general, are well prepared for their students to receive a good education. We all realize that each municipality is dealing with budget problems, but listening to Mr. Knops comments today, their Mayor, Council, BOE and parents have come together to make sure that the children in Clark will continuously receive a good education.
During the presentation, Mr. Knops cited the Township of Clark being designated #10 in the list of Business Week’s “Best Affordable Suburbs in America” and #24 in New Jersey Monthly Magazine’s “Best Places to Live in New Jersey.”
To hear those remarks about Clark, it was very refreshing. I am looking forward to the commitment that I have made to the Township of Clark, that until we work out the crisis we are having in Trenton, I will continue to have a good relationship with the Township, in terms of sharing information and listening to their concerns referencing education in Clark.
I was very pleased by the fact of how well the superintendent and his staff have organized this year’s scheduling of how they are going to be able to move Clark in the right direction when it comes to educational issues. It is clear that they have a plan in place, which is very important.
So again, I want to thank all the members of the Clark educational system for the way I was treated, and for the respect, they gave me this morning. It is encouraging when people realize your commitment to serving them as their representative in Trenton on all issues, and you are able to come back home and have the community give you the support you need; being a good listener with a sincere commitment to their concerns allows this to happen. Just as I said in today’s meeting, I want to continue to have a healthy, informational relationship with Clark as I continue to represent them and their needs in Trenton.
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