Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) walks through Statuary Hall on her way to the House Chamber ahead of a historic vote on health care reform at the U.S. Capitol tonight in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed tonight by a 219 to 212 vote the biggest overhaul of the nation’s health care system in more than four decades, sweeping changes expected to make coverage easier and cheaper to obtain.
The largely party-line vote — 219 Democrats voted “yea” while 178 Republicans and 34 Democrats voted no — meant President Obama’s biggest domestic initiative inched closer to the end of its year-long political and legislative odyssey.
The vote at 10:45 p.m. sent a bill passed on Dec. 24 by the Senate to Obama for his signature. The House, however, was to still consider another bill that would make major changes, called reconciliation.
Upon passage — and approval seems virtually assured — it will go to the Senate. Should the Senate concur — probably later this week — all the health care changes would need is Obama’s signature.
The $940 billion legislation would create the biggest health care system since Medicare was created 45 years ago. Under the new plan, most consumers would be required to have coverage by 2014, and most employers would have to offer it.
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The reconciliation bill makes several key changes to the Senate measure. A Medicare payroll tax would increase by 0.9 percentage points, to 2.35 percent, for earnings of more than $200,000 a year for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers. In addition, such earners would pay 3.8 percent on dividend, interest and other unearned income, starting in 2013.
The bill also provides more help with insurance premiums for lower- and middle-income consumers and expands Medicaid funding to states.
“I know that this bill is complicated,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) “It’s also very simple. Illness and infirmity are universal, and we are stronger against them together than alone. Our bodies may fail us. Our neighbors don’t have to.”
Republicans warned the plan’s impact would reverberate beyond health care policy.
“Make no mistake about it, we’re not just here to pass a health care bill. We’re being asked to make a choice about the future path of this country,” said Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the top Republican on the House Budget Committee. “The philosophy advanced on this floor by this majority today is so paternalistic and so arrogant, it’s condescending.”
The outcome was in some doubt early today as about a dozen anti-abortion Democrats threatened to withhold their support unless they got guarantees the legislation wouldn’t expand the government’s role in abortion. However, the White House said this afternoon Obama would issue an executive order to ensure the administration will enforce long-standing restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who led the anti-abortion group, was pleased, and flatly predicted it would have the 216 needed for passage.
“We wanted to see health care reform, but there was a principle we wanted to see — the sanctity of life.” Stupak said. Another group member, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) said he now planned to cast “the most pro-life vote” in his 34-year congressional career.
The lengthy executive order, negotiated over several days, resolves several thorny problems — it removes from the legislation any changes to abortion policy, which would have required the difficult prospect of getting Senate approval. It also assures the support of the last big bloc of holdout Democrats.
Democrats picked up other key votes today. Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.), who had voted no on the House bill in November, said he would now vote yes. “This legislation before us in not perfect, but it does make substantial improvements on what exists today,” he said.
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio,) one of the anti-abortion Democrats on the fence, sadi said she got assurances from administration officials that current federal law on abortion would be preserved.
Democrats, though, were still having trouble convincing a lot of “Blue Dogs,” or fiscal conservatives. Rep. John Tanner (D-Tenn.) decided to vote “no” because “I am unconvinced the long-term trend of rising health care costs is adequately addressed.”
The debate today began as the Capitol buzzed with an electric atmosphere. Outside in warm early spring weather, crowds protesting the health care bill and others supporting it rallied.
“Things are colliding today,” said Maria Robalino, 35, of Washington, carrying a purple “Catholics for Healthcare Reform” sign.
Inside the Capitol, the mood could be tense. Particularly after a protester jumped up during the debate and shouted “kill the bill.” Police quickly pounced and escorted him out of the chamber.
The debate on the House floor was a rerun of sorts, as Republicans and Democrats took turns offering well-rehearsed points.
“We know a nation is truly healthy when all of its citizens can have health care,” said Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.)
“These bills are not the answer. They compound current problems and make health care even more expensive for small businesses,” argued Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
• U.S. Rep. John Adler opposes health-care bill, despite pleas from Obama
• N.J. poll shows President Obama's approval rating bounces back from low
• Obama offers $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan
• U.S. Senate approves massive health-care bill
Congressman Scott Garrett (R-5) looks out the door of House Republican Leader John Boehner into the Rayburn room this evening prior to the vote on the bill.
• N.J. lawmakers played key role in passing U.S. health care bill |
A. A Rutgers-Eagleton poll released March 11 found conflicting evidence: 81 percent of the state residents said the health care system needed to change, but only 22 percent said the current proposal before U.S. Congress should pass. Nearly 70 percent in the poll, which surveyed 973 New Jersey residents from Feb. 19-22, wanted lawmakers to start over.
Q. How much does health insurance cost in New Jersey?
A. Between 2000 and 2008, the average family insurance policy in New Jersey rose 44 percent to $12,789, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report. Policies for individuals cost $4,798 on average. In most cases, employers pay a big chunk of these premiums, but employee contributions in the state also are on the rise. The average employee paid $3,286 for family coverage in 2008, up from $1,749 in 2000. In that same time period, the median household income rose only 0.7 percent.
Q. How many uninsured people are there in New Jersey?
A. Nearly 1.1 million of the state’s approximately 8.6 million people did not have insurance in 2008, compared with 881,000 eight years before. The state’s population was 8.4 million in 2000.
• N.J. lawmakers played key role in passing U.S. health care bill
• U.S. Rep. John Adler opposes health-care bill, despite pleas from Obama
• N.J. poll shows President Obama's approval rating bounces back from low
• Obama offers $1 trillion, 10-year health care plan
• U.S. Senate approves massive health-care bill
SEASIDE HEIGHTS -- The mayor of Seaside Park was arrested, along with his adult children, outside a nightclub in neighboring Seaside Heights, authorities said.
Mayor Thomas E. Connors was arrested around 7:15 p.m. Saturday, along with Anthony Connors, 23, and Lindsay Connors, 22, outside of Hemingway’s Cafe, according to Seaside Heights police.
Authorities said Anthony Connors was being taken from the bar by staff members when he tried to hit his escorts. Officers stopped the younger Connors and placed him under arrest, police said.
They also said Lindsay Connors began to interfere during her brother’s arrest, striking a police officer on the arm and chest area. She then was arrested, police said.
As the bar’s staff escorted their father outdoors, the mayor, who had a minor injury on his face, saw his children being taken into custody. Police said he then began to intervene on their behalf and also was arrested.
Connors was charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with an arrest. Anthony Connors was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Lindsay Connors was charged with resisting arrest, interfering with an arrest and simple assault.
Details on why the family was being escorted from the restaurant were not available.
Seaside Park Mayor Thomas E. Connors was arrested Saturday night, with his two adult children, outside a Seaside Heights bar.
A photo showing Joan Conway, left, and her sister Jane Durrua at the approximate ages of 10 and 9. Paul Seitz had linked serial killer Robert Zarinsky to Durrua's killing.Joan Conway remembers the day prosecutor’s investigator Paul Seitz showed up at her front door two years ago.
He looked the same as he had in the five years she had known him, strapping, cheeks flushed pink, eyes blazing blue.
Who could imagine he was in a fight for his life, she wondered as she looked at him.
Seitz grinned when she asked how he was and pulled a photograph of Conway’s sister, slaying victim Jane Durrua, from his pocket.
"I said I would keep this in my wallet until her murder was solved," he said. "I’ve come to return it to you."
Forty years after the 13-year-old tomboy from East Keansburg was killed on her way home from school, Seitz had succeeded in doing what no one before him had been able to do. He had linked serial killer Robert Zarinsky to the Durrua killing. Zarinsky died in November 2008, before he could be tried in the Durrua case.
"My sisters and I are profoundly thankful to Paul for solving my sister Jane’s murder," Conway said today. "He went about it as if he were a member of our family, as if that man, my sister’s killer, had hurt someone in his family."
Seitz, whose tenacity and fortitude earned him a reputation as a cop who could crack cases that seemed unsolvable, and who demonstrated that same grit in his long battle with cancer, died Friday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He was 51.
"He cared about Jane Durrua and her family, and he worked obsessively" on the case, said Pete Warshaw, first assistant prosecutor for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, where Seitz worked as a major crimes detective. "He was a detective of exceptional skill and a kind and caring person. Zarinsky was charged because of Paul Seitz’s efforts."
Born and raised in Middletown, Seitz lived in Neptune and, before that, in Red Bank. He began his law enforcement career in 1980 with the Long Branch police. In 1990, he moved his young family to Maine to take a job as an agent for the state’s drug enforcement agency. In 1991, he was named the New England narcotics officer of the year. That same year, he was awarded the Enrique Camarena Memorial Award for the largest cocaine bust in the history of Maine.
Seitz returned to New Jersey in 1993 and worked for the Monmouth Beach police before joining the prosecutor’s office in 1996.
One of his proudest accomplishments was his role in the 1968 Durrua case. It had gone unsolved for decades when Seitz began looking into it. His investigation ultimately led him to Zarinsky, who was charged with the slaying in 2008. Although Seitz had retired from the prosecutor’s office in 2006 and was by then ill, he attended the court hearing when Zarinsky was charged.
Drew Winans, Monmouth Beach’s police chief, said he lost a former partner and a great friend. Thirty years ago, the men were rookies together on the Long Branch force.
"I remember the first day he told me he had cancer," Winans said. "He said they gave him six months to six years. He fought that like he fought crime. And he got more than six years."
As devoted as Seitz was to his job, he lived for his family. He couldn’t wait for weekends and motorcycle rides with his fiancée, Andrea Tozzi.
"Our first date was a motorcycle ride," Tozzi said through tears. "I loved my life with him."
All who knew Seitz knew he was devoted to his children, Glenn, 22, and Jenna, 18. Along with Tozzi, Glenn Seitz was at his father’s side that last day.
"A lot of people will remember my father for a lot of different things, but I will always remember him for being a bear of a man," he said. "He has always seemed larger than life. He was capable of moving the immovable, and he embodied that until his final days. In his long, uphill battle with cancer I know that he never gave up."
In addition to Glenn, a senior at Lehigh University, and Jenna, a freshman at the University of Hawaii, both of Eatontown, and Tozzi of Neptune, Seitz is survived by Heidi P. Seitz, the mother of their children, of Eatontown; his mother, Louise R. Seitz of Atlantic Highlands; and two brothers, Robert Seitz of Burlington and Mark Seitz of Middletown. His father, Harold G. Seitz, and a brother, Glenn Seitz, predeceased him. Arrangements are by the John F. Pfleger Funeral Home, Middletown. Friends may visit today from 4 to 9 p.m. A private funeral will be held tomorrow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Memorial Sloan- Kettering Cancer Center at www.mskcc.org in memory of Paul Seitz.
• Zarinsky's estate ordered to pay $13 million to slain girl's family
• Dec. 20, 2008: Tug of war is possible over Robert Zarinsky's estate
• Dec. 3, 2008: Days after his death, convicted killer Zarinsky hampers justice system
• Nov. 30, 2008: Death ends notorious killer's quest to go free
View from the gallery of the Assembly Chamber at the Statehouse in this March 2010 file photo.
TRENTON -- For the second time in less than a year, the Assembly will consider legislation aimed at combating harassing consumer debt collection practices in New Jersey.
Proponents say the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act would help eliminate harassing, intimidating and abusive debt collection practices while providing consumers a way to dispute and validate debt information to ensure its accuracy.
The legislation, scheduled for a vote today, would supplement existing federal protections and limit collectors’ ability to contact a debtor at work — except under certain circumstances — or at "any time and place" known to be inconvenient.
"We’re doing nothing here to relieve a consumer of a rightful debt, but this is a fairness bill that’s needed more than ever to ensure consumers aren’t harassed by unscrupulous debt collectors," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D-Gloucester). He sponsored the measure along with Assemblymen Matthew W. Milam (D-Cumberland), Wayne P. DeAngelo (D-Mercer) and Paul Moriarty (D-Gloucester).
State consumer affairs officials receive numerous complaints about debt collection tactics each year, and that number has been on the upswing over the past year as more people struggle with their finances. A recent survey by the National Association of Attorneys General showed debt collection, auto sales and home repairs leading a national list of consumer complaints for the second straight year.
"Just because someone is in debt does not mean they forfeit their rights to be treated fairly," Moriarty said. "Debt collectors may have a responsibility to get consumers to make good on what they owe, but they also have an obligation to treat consumers with respect."
The bill would prohibit, with limited exceptions, a debt collector from communicating with a debtor:
• Earlier than 8 a.m. and later than 9 p.m.
• At the debtor’s place of employment, although the collector may send a single letter or make one phone call per month to a debtor’s place of employment if the debt collector hasn’t been able to contact the debtor at home.
• If the debt collector knows the debtor is represented by an attorney and can readily ascertain that attorney’s name and address.
Violators would face a fine of up to $10,000 for a first offense and up to $20,000 for any subsequent offense. A violation may result in cease and desist orders from the state Attorney General’s Office and the awarding of triple damages, attorneys’ fees and legal costs to the injured party.
Assembly members overwhelmingly approved the measure in July, but it died when the state Senate failed to act on it before that legislative session ended in January. If it’s passed again, the bill would go to the Senate for its consideration.
• July 5, 2009: Abusive' debt collection bill advances in state legislature
• May 7, 2009: N.J. bill aimed to stop 'abusive' debt collection delayed
• May 7, 2009: N.J. bill aims to prevent debt collectors from 'abusive' practices
A botched attempted theft of a teen's shoes led to the arrest of three men -- L-R, Edgardo Mendez, Harry Hernandez and Chris Roman -- and the seizure of $20,000 worth of marijuana and cocaine in Newark.NEWARK -- A botched attempt to steal a teenager's shoes sparked an investigation that led to the arrest of three alleged gang members and the recovery of more than $20,000 worth of cocaine and marijuana, authorities said.
The saga began Thursday, when two city men -- Edgardo Mendez and Chris Roman, aged 19 and 18 respectively -- allegedly tried to steal a 17-year-old's shoes at Highland and Verona Avenues just before 3 p.m., said city Detective Todd McClendon.
The teenager escaped, shoes intact, McClendon said. After witnesses described the alleged would-be thieves, detectives were led to a house on Degraw Avenue, where they spotted Roman, McClendon said. The suspect tried to run back into the residence when he allegedly dropped a 8mm-caliber firearm.
Police followed Roman into a third-floor apartment where they saw Mendez and another man, Harry Hernandez, 20, of Newark, allegedly try ting to pack drugs on a kitchen table, McClendon said.
The three men, said to belong to the Latin Kings gang, have been charged with 16 drug-related offenses, McClendon said. Mendez and Roman were also charged with robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, aggravated assault and conspiracy.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for several counties in New Jersey. Forecasters say flooding may occur since streams and rivers are at elevated levels, and the ground moisture is still high after recent storms.
After several days of sunny and clear skies, forecasters said expected showers on Monday may renew flooding problems in the state.
Chilly, heavy rain is expected late Monday afternoon through Tuesday, the weather service said today. Rain fall amounts are expected to be in the range of one to two inches, according to a flood watch advisory.
Forecasters in the Upton, N.Y. and Mount Holly, N.J. offices said there is potential for flooding in Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Warren, Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Morris, Hudson and Union counties.
"Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action," the advisory says.
Forecasters say they are expecting flooding since streams and rivers are elevated, and ground moisture continues to be high, after recent storms in New Jersey.
The heaviest rains are expected late Monday afternoon and Monday night.
Some northern areas are still dealing with flooding spurred by a massive nor’easter that hit the area from March 12-14.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
• Jersey Shore assesses storm damage from beach erosion, flooding
• Storm cleanup efforts escalate across N.J., but towns brace for ongoing Passaic River flooding
• Climatologists are prepared to call this winter season N.J.'s harshest on record
• Unfinished N.J. flood control project could not protect flood-prone Somerset County
• N.J. slowly recovers from nor'easter, but continued rain may bring more flooding
| Major storm brings rain, hail, flooding, and lightening strikes |
| Heavy rains cause flooding along the South Branch of the Raritan River in Hunterdon County |
Jamon CrosbyNEWARK -- The police recovered a stolen handgun and a small batch of ecstasy pills when they arrested a city man Thursday, authorities said.
Jamon Crosby, 21, was spotted arguing with an unidentified man in a car on Elizabeth Avenue just before 10 p.m., said city Detective Todd McClendon. When officers tried to intervene, Crosby ran into nearby Weequahic Park, where he was later caught.
The police allegedly found a stolen .45-caliber handgun, as well as some ecstasy pills, on Crosby, McClendon said. He has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest and other drug-related offenses.
Thieves in search of gold are targeting Indian and South Asian homes and businesses in a rash of burglaries over the past few years. Anita and Ketan Kakkad pose in their store, Jaipur Jewelers with some of their jewelry.
It took less than an hour to steal the jewelry Surekha Shah had spent a lifetime collecting.
Shah, 63, and her husband returned from a quick dinner out last month to find their West Windsor townhouse ransacked. Gone were the rings from India, the watches from Europe, the earrings from China, the bracelets and chains and heirlooms.
In all, the burglars had taken some $36,000 worth of jewelry, much of it fashioned from high-quality, 22-karat gold.
"All the drawers of the study desk were open," Shah said. "File cabinet drawers were open. My dressing table: All the drawers were open and on the floor. Everything was dumped."
Noting a cultural fondness among Indian-American families for gold, Shah said she believes the thieves targeted her home because of her ethnicity.
The police suspect she’s right.
At a time when the price of gold remains above $1,100 an ounce — just three months after reaching an all-time high of $1,226 — authorities say burglars appear to be targeting Indian and other Asian communities. Police in Mercer County have recorded more than a dozen such break-ins in the past six months, and more homes have been hit in neighboring Middlesex County. Most of the cases remain unsolved.
The trend extends well beyond New Jersey. Law enforcement agencies say Indian-Americans have been singled out for burglaries in suburban Boston, northern Virginia, Minneapolis, Houston and central Illinois.
"Asian Indians are obsessed with gold," said Kiran Desai, co-founder of the India Cultural Association of Central Jersey. "Somehow these bad guys found out about it."
In most of the New Jersey cases, the thieves forced their way through rear doors while the occupants were away. West Windsor Police Lt. Robert Garofalo described the burglars in his town as a discerning lot who bypassed well-crafted costume jewelry and snatched only quality items.
In many cases, there was plenty to find. Gold manifests itself in nearly every aspect of life among Indian-American families. It’s found in the golden-hued statuettes of Hindu deities, the jewelry given to new brides, and in delicate strands threaded into the finest saris.
Because collections of 22-karat gold jewelry are traditionally passed from generation to generation, it’s not uncommon for Indian-American families to possess more than $15,000 in gold, even those families who are not well-off, said Peter Khothari, president of the Indo-American Cultural Society in Edison.
In Lawrence Township, where 15 Indian-American homes have been hit in the past 18 months, losses in some cases ran into the tens of thousands of dollars, police Lt. Charles Edgar said.
FEAR AND FRICTION
It’s unclear whether the thieves are affiliated, but police departments in Mercer County say they are sharing information with their counterparts in Plainsboro and South Brunswick to drum up leads. Both Middlesex County communities reported a spate of burglaries in recent months.
Police have increased patrols in affected neighborhoods and held town hall meetings where they offered safety tips and urged residents to report suspicious activity.
Still, some Indian-Americans are living in fear, saying the thieves are probably noting their daily routines.
"Someone certainly watches, that’s for sure," said Yogesh Sharma, founder of the Radha Krishna Temple in Lawrenceville. Because the burglaries typically occurred between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., some residents are too scared to leave their homes for evening religious services, Sharma said.
Worry is pervasive even in communities where police say they have seen no evidence that Indian-Americans have been targeted.
In Edison, where burglaries have led to friction between Indian-American community leaders and the police department, officials organized a recent series of town hall meetings to address concerns.
"Those meetings were called because people were upset about what they perceived to be a homing in on one community, excluding other communities," Mayor Antonia Ricigliano said. "But crime is across the board. It’s not limited to one area."
Police Chief Thomas Brian said Edison’s large Indian-American community — estimated at 17.7 percent of the township’s population in the 2000 Census — creates the illusion of targeted crimes.
"There are just crimes of opportunity," Brian said. "It just appears to be a trend because you’ll have buildings with high concentrations of Indian-Americans, and three or four apartments are being hit at the same time."
Similarly, officials in Woodbridge, where Indian-Americans accounted for one out of every 10 residents in the last Census, say they have found no evidence of a targeted burglary campaign. John Hagerty, a municipal spokesman, said police have pored over crime statistics in search of such a pattern and have not found one.
Overall, burglary has declined markedly in the township, dropping by 38 percent between 2008 and 2009, Hagerty said.
INHERITANCE LOST
For Shah, the Feb. 3 break-in of her West Windsor home served as a wake-up call. She said she and her husband have installed a security system and plan to buy a safe. She said she’ll also be more inclined to store items in a safe deposit box.
A month after the burglary, Shah has come to terms with the monetary loss. More difficult to take is the loss of things once owned by her mother, who died last year in India.
"I was so upset and unhappy that I lost so much, especially the inherited jewelry," she said. "I’m glad my mother didn’t have to hear this. I didn’t want her to know that the rings she gave me were stolen."
Staff writer Mark Mueller contributed to this report.
From Ukraine, Mexico, Korea, Liberia — indeed, from virtually every nation on the map — the nearly 2 million immigrants living in New Jersey have made their presence known from the state’s urban north to its rural south.
Where they have settled and, more importantly, how they have been helped in acclimating to their new surroundings are the focus of an unusual effort at the Eagleton Institute of Politics in New Brunswick.
The Rutgers Immigration Infrastructure Map, a work in progress since last June, will identify and describe each of the 650-plus social-service agencies in New Jersey that support immigrants, and will map them on a website.
By publicizing the agencies’ work, project organizers hope to help immigrants adapt to their new life, and to determine where more services are needed. The map is expected to be made public in June or July.
Anastasia Mann is the program manager for an Eagleton Institute of Politics project to design an "immigrant map" of New Jersey. The map will try to identify every single community-based organization in New Jersey that caters to immigrants.
"We want people to be able to find advocacy organizations and to hook up with people doing community organizing or day care," said Anastasia Mann, program manager with the Program on Immigration and Democracy at Eagleton, adding that the "purpose of this endeavor is to look at the immigrant infrastructure in the state to see where it needs shoring up, and to see where it’s strongest."
The idea came from a panel convened by former Gov. Jon Corzine to explore how immigrants could be better integrated into the social and civic fabrics of New Jersey. Corzine’s successor, Chris Christie, and other political conservatives oppose several of the recommendations made by the panel in its 2009 report, but the idea for the map won $110,000 in grants from Rutgers and the Carnegie Corp. last spring.
Cultural organizations representing every ethnicity in the United States have been helping newcomers from the motherland for more than a century. But finding these organizations is not always easy, said Janice Fine, who devised the project idea while on Corzine’s panel.
"We need to map the infrastructure," said Fine, a professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers who teaches courses on immigration. "It’s not like there’s a single organization in a community that has a shingle outside that says, ‘We are the place to go!’ My sense is, there are all these interested organizations playing a role — a mix of organizations doing it informally and organizations doing it formally."
Amy Gottlieb is program director of one of the organizations on the map, the American Friends Service Committee’s Immigrant Rights Program in Newark. She said the project is especially important at a time when government budget cuts are hurting social-service agencies.
"It’s really important that people know where they can go for help," she said. "To have a resource that pulls it together and delineates what’s being done where, by who, for whom, and how people can plug into that, is very important."
About 20 percent of New Jersey residents were born outside the United States. Hudson County has the highest percentage of immigrants of any New Jersey county — approximately 40 percent, with the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Ecuador among the most common nations of origin. About 30 percent of Union County’s population is foreign-born, as are 28 percent of the populations of Bergen and Middlesex counties, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates there are 1.75 million immigrants in the state, 360,000 of them illegally.
In an office at the Eagleton Institute, on Rutgers’ New Brunswick campus, Mann is directing a team of three graduate students compiling the information. They have sent out questionnaires to every organization they can find in New Jersey that helps immigrants: cultural organizations, advocacy groups, charities, even libraries. They ask about the organization’s size, the home countries of people it helps, languages spoken by its workers, and other information.
The team has sought help from foreign consulates; Mann said the Ukrainian consulate in Manhattan provided a list of 28 Ukrainian organizations in New Jersey that help immigrants.
The map may turn out to exist only online. The problem with printing it, Mann said, is that many of the social-service agencies are struggling to survive.
"We’re not sure if we want to produce a paper guide at this point," she said. "These organizations are dropping like flies in this economy. And it seems almost worse to have something committed to paper that isn’t valid."
BARNEGAT -- Firefighters are close to containing a brush fire that started on Saturday and has already consumed nearly 500 acres of forest.
The blaze, which started around 12:10 p.m., will be fully contained by early afternoon, said Bert Plante, New Jersey Forest Fire Service division fire warden. The fire, which runs between Route 72 and West Bay Avenue, is expected to burn about 550 acres total, he said.
New Jersey Fire Service Firefighter Willie Cirone putting out a hot spot along the perimeter of a forest fire that burned a large area near Route 72 in Barnegat.
Investigators "will be crawling around on their hands and knees" today to find out what caused the blaze, Plante said. It was first spotted from the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower.
Authorities notified 50 homeowners about voluntary evacuations Saturday, as the flames moved north toward Brookville Road and approached two housing developments, Plante said. Residents from about three homes left, but returned later that evening.
One firefighter received second-degree burns, Plante said. The man was treated and released. There were no other reported injuries.
About 60 firefighters, 17 engines and one helicopter remain on the scene today. Bulldozers have been pulling firefighting equipment from muddy areas.
"It’s tough going out here. We’ve had so much rain and so much snow," he said. "Equipment will get stuck really easily."
The fire poses little danger to the forest, where fires are a regular part of the ecosystem, Plante said. The flames will likely destroy poplar trees that otherwise would compete with the pines.
"The pines will shrug it off," he said. "This time of year, it doesn't bother them much."
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in this February photo. Christie detailed where he would cut $275 million from state aid. Leaders of New Jersey municipalities are reeling from the massive reductions.NEWARK -- Newark officials were left reeling late last week after Gov. Chris Christie put the hammer to city budgets and made cuts in a slate of programs that officials estimate will cost Newark $60 million in a best-case scenario.
"We’re trying to wrap our arms fully around what the impact is," said business administrator Michelle Thomas. "We never could have foreseen a $60 million impact."
While Newark is slated for a $15 million cut in state aid for 2010, Christie’s cuts in Urban Enterprise Zone funding, school aid, state grants, and tax credits add to the bleak picture for the city budget in the coming year. The state numbers arrived Thursday night, and City Hall officials spent much of today adding up total losses. But the arduous work of determining where the cuts would come from in an already austere anticipated budget is just beginning.
Gov. Chris Christie was lauded by pundits last week for his tough talk on spending but the fiscal reality in Newark reveals some of the consequences of the governor’s plan.
"No longer will we reward cities and towns who irresponsibly spend," Christie said in his budget address. "Get your act together and get it together now."
But Newark has already made strides in reducing its structural deficit by shaving off built-in pay increases, negotiating a cheaper health care plan for city workers, cutting millions in overtime and eliminating over 100 positions from city payrolls through attrition and layoffs, according to Thomas. The city was also forced to furlough thousands of workers in 2009 and raise taxes by 8 cents for every $100 of property value.
Newark has been paying down its deficit since 2006, reducing it by 58 percent, according to Thomas. When the city in 2009 faced a $73 million budget gap, it filled the hole with special municipal aid from the state, a payment from a Port Authority settlement and a pension payment deferral, she said, adding similar help will not be available after 2010.
With the city’s unemployment rate reaching 15.9 percent in January, according to preliminary numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and property values continuing to stagnate, city leaders are left to find other, more creative sources of revenue, Thomas said.
"We’re turning over every stone to identify any new revenue options, " she said Friday.
The Urban Enterprise Zone designation, which allows for sales and property tax exemptions in specific areas to attract residential and commercial development, helped provided much needed budget relief over the years, Thomas said.
"We have tens of millions of dollars of active projects right now," she said. "As of July 1st, the indications are now that we won’t have money to pay for the staff to operate the program."
The city could also see a drop in grant funding because the state said new rules will be applied to the awarding of grants, said Thomas, whose office won $56.3 million from the state last year for items ranging from health and human services to homeland security.
More money will be lost when the film production tax credit is eliminated, she said. The tax credit helped bring crews to Newark from television shows such as "Mercy", "The Sopranos" and "Cadillac Records", and helped local businesses that benefited from their presence.
Finally, the city learned Thursday its state aid was to be reduced by 15 percent from nearly $107 million to $91 million, but it could go lower, Thomas said. The Christie administration plans to introduce criteria designed to encourage "best practices" in city management. If those criteria are not met, Newark will lose an additional five percent of their aid package, she said.
"The standards have yet to be identified and they have to be met by November. It’s March," Thomas said.
Despite the harsh news from Trenton, Newark still anticipates additional revenue from a deal with the New Jersey Devils hockey team and new monies generated from the arrival of the Nets basketball franchise. Newark has also stepped up its collections for delinquent water and tax bills.
Optimism, however, was in short supply Friday afternoon as the city will have to face dire choices to fill the crater left by Christie’s spending plan.
"What this is forcing us to do is really assess which government services are absolutely essential and which are not," Thomas said.
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Treena Arinzeh, associate professor for biometric engineering, prepares to grow cells inside a lab at NJIT in Newark. John O'Boyle/The Star-Ledger
It happened in 1969, but for the bitter anger Karen Spindel still feels, it could have been yesterday.
She was a senior engineering student at George Washington University, on a field tour at Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania, held hostage on the bus by an armed steel company security guard.
Her crime: her gender.
"First they said it was my skirt, which women in college were required to wear back then," said Spindel, now a 62-year-old quality control manager in Clifton. "Then they just refused to let me out of the bus and stuck a guard with a gun on the seat next to me.
"Am I still bitter? You betcha," she said. "I spent most of my career as an outsider, with bosses who based raises on who they drank and golfed with. I was isolated, overlooked from promotions, and I’m not sure things have gotten that much better."
Celebrating women’s historic achievements is gratifying. But 30 years after President Carter signed the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act — mandating that women have equal opportunity in education, training and employment in scientific and technical fields — the party among women scientists has been a bit subdued.
Karen Spindel, 62, of Clifton, looks into a computer as she works at her home in Clifton. About 40 years after federal law mandated equal rights for women scientists and engineers, they still have a long way to go. Engineer Karen Spindel was there in the beginning, when she wasn't even allowed in factories. (Mitsu Yasukawa/ The Star-Ledger)
Relatively, things have gotten better. Last year alone, five women were awarded the Nobel Prize, three in scientific fields, and a record number of women received the National Medal of Science. In 2007, more high school girls than boys won top honors in the prestigious Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, for the first time in its history.
There are now programs in almost every school district and university designed to encourage girls and young women to embrace science and technology. There are foundation grants offering child care to women traveling scholars and post-doctoral fellows.
Women are now in every branch of science, and received 62 percent of all the biology undergraduate degrees, 52 percent of all the chemistry degrees and nearly half of all the mathematics and ocean science degrees awarded in 2006, according to industry statistics.
The younger scientists are more assertive and understand the system. They are women like Treena Arinzeh, 39, a New Jersey Institute of Technology biomedical assistant professor who says networking and ease with male colleagues is "just part of what I grew up with."
Computer engineer Ziqian "Cecilia" Dong, 32, said, "I grew up not only encouraged, but expected by my family to use my talents in math, engineering and physics. Things may be harder for women, but it is our job to stand up for ourselves."
"We are used to seeing girls and women in all jobs and we know we can do it," added Arinzeh, whose research is to create synthetic spinal scaffolding to help stem cells rebuild a damaged spinal cord. "But I tell my female students, go to the conferences, make the connections."
INEQUALITY REMAINS
Arinzeh said she "sees more balance" among men and women in her field, yet statistics show there is still inequity overall.
Women comprise only 27 percent of the actual science and technology work force, and women engineering graduates actually declined over the past decade. Repeated studies show that women scientists and engineers are likely to make less, publish less, get less research grant money, fewer opportunities for promotion, and fewer patents.
New Jersey ranks 16th for patents and is in the bottom 10 nationwide for science and engineering doctorates conferred, according to the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology.
The state’s universities all have active female recruitment and retention programs, but some researchers believe there is a backlash from women already in the industry sending back discouraging news to the younger generation.
"Women in science and engineering can easily spend their entire careers on the periphery, far away from the flow of information that powers careers," said Nancy Steffen-Fluhr, director of the Murray Center for Women in Technology at NJIT.
"It’s not necessarily the bald discrimination that women faced years ago," added Steffen-Fluhr, who has spent more than a decade studying the subtle ways career women are sidelined. "It is the small things, the little biases that accumulate into enormous disparities over a career."
Take salary, for example.
Women in computer and math professions make an average salary of $62,000, the U.S. Census reports. That is nearly twice the median for all working women, but about 20 percent less than men make in those fields.
Many women say salary is the least of their issues.
"It’s about getting the grants and the patents and getting to the top of the ladder," said Gert Clarke, 78, a retired nuclear physicist, science teacher and chair of the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame. "Things are getting better now, but we are nowhere close to parity."
There are exceptions. Yvonne Claeys Brill, the 2009 New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame inductee, is one of them.
Yvonne Brill (R) and Gert Clarke, physicist and chairwomen of the NJ Inventors Hall of Fame (L) at last year's induction ceremony.
photo credit: Jim Cummins
In the 1940s, when Brill applied to study engineering at the University of Manitoba, she said she was denied because "there were no accommodations for women at the required outdoor engineering camp."
She studied math and chemistry instead. Graduate work took her to California, where she got a job at Douglas Aircraft. It was, she recalls, "an exciting time. It was the birth of aerospace."
"Nobody had the right degrees back then, so it didn’t matter. I didn’t have engineering, but the engineers didn’t have the chemistry and math. We all learned together."
After breaks for three children, Brill ended up at RCA in Princeton where she pioneered rocket propellant studies. In 1972, she patented the hydrazine resistojet propulsion system. The first communications satellite using that system was launched in 1983. It is still being used.
Brill was named to the state’s inventors hall of fame last year. She is the first women so honored.
DISCOURAGEMENTS
Asked why so few women receive the kudos they deserve, Brill, who still consults and mentors young scientists, shrugged: "In order to get an honor, you have to be nominated. It rarely occurs to men to nominate women."
Brill said she is discouraged not only by the lack of women scientists, but the state of science in general: "We need all the good minds we can get. The ratio of lawyers to scientists in this country is ridiculous."
Women scientists said that today, unlike 40 years ago, there are role models, such as women astronauts, inventors and physicists. But there are still not enough mentors.
Biologist Carol W. Greider, who received the 2009 Nobel Prize for her work in telomeres, was asked by the Nobel organization why so many women scientists are working in telomeres, but not in other fields.
"It’s the founder effect," she replied. "Women researchers were fostered early on by (pioneering Yale researcher Joseph) Gall, and they got jobs around the country and they trained other women."
That is in contrast to Jill Tienjin, past president of the Society of Women Engineers and former dean of engineering at the University of Colorado. "Most of my career, I was the only woman."
"Breakthroughs and inventions are often collaborative efforts. Men collaborate with each other, but who are the women collaborating with?"
One answer may be each other, but only if the pool is enlarged. That is the goal at women-only Smith College, which has the only exclusively female engineering program in the country.
"I call it the 80/20 factor. When men outnumber women, women’s voices get drowned out. That is why we want to teach them the skills they need to compete in the marketplace," program director Linda Ellen Jones said of women. "They need the technical skills, but we also teach negotiation, assertiveness and the reality of the workplace culture."
Growing up in Beijing, Dong said she was strongly urged to follow her talents in science and technology, an attitude driven in part by China’s acute need for growth in those fields
RECEIVING SUPPORT
"I was a little surprised when I came to NJIT how few other women there were in my engineering classes," said Dong, now pursuing post-doctoral studies in computer engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology while teaching at NJIT and Monmouth University.
"There were some not-so-pleasant experiences, but it is my job to fight for myself against discrimination, and at NJIT I got a lot of support from women on campus and the Society of Women Engineers," added Dong, who was honored by the New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame last year for her work in computer switches.
"I am happy to see more women in the computer and engineering classes I teach," she added. "We know we can do the work. We just have to push harder."
The key — and the hope for future scientists — is networking, according to Steffen-Fluhr.
"Networks are the social capital that powers career success. It is how you discover hot research topics, receive grant invitations and get published, but networking is a weakness among women scientists of our generation," she said. "The good news is the next generation is better at it."
Another key factor is sheer determination, Spindel said.
"I might not have been allowed on that tour of Bethlehem Steel, but I got a job there when I graduated. I eventually changed careers, but not until I made senior engineer at AT&T," she said. "Parity is possible, but women have got to get together and insist on it."
Judy Peet may be reached at jpeet@starledger.com or (973) 392-5983.
The New Jersey couple were already divorced but still fighting.
This time it was over custody of their 16-year-old daughter. He was too permissive, the mother argued. She was smothering the girl, the father said.
In the midst of the case, the teenager posted a picture on Facebook in which she was partying happily with friends. Her mother saw the photo, and it immediately became part of her courtroom argument. The kids were drinking, she contended, hard evidence that the father was not setting proper boundaries for the girl.
The couple eventually settled and agreed to shared custody, said the father’s attorney, Steven P. Monaghan of Red Bank, who specializes in family and divorce law.
More and more, online social-networking sites such as Facebook are playing a role in the breakup of marriages — whether it’s people griping about spouses or contacting old flames, or matrimonial attorneys looking for evidence to be used in divorce proceedings.
The sites are also being used by divorcing couples for revenge.
More than 80 percent of the nation’s top divorce attorneys have seen an increase in cases involving social-networking evidence over the past five years, according to a recent survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers.
Facebook was the unrivaled leader, with 66 percent of the survey’s respondents calling it a source for online divorce evidence.
"Going through a divorce always results in heightened levels of personal scrutiny," said Marlene Eskind Moses, president of the academy. "If you publicly post any contradictions to previously made statements and promises, an estranged spouse will certainly be one of the first people to notice and make use of that evidence."
Katie F. Perkins, an associate at the Charleston, S.C., law firm of Melissa F. Brown LLC, said online postings have become a basic tool in divorce work.
"We have used Twitter to locate an opposing party who was avoiding being served," she said. "We have used photographs an opposing party posted of themselves on Facebook in an highly intoxicated state, drinking multiple drinks at the same time. This helped us prove our case for the divorce ground of habitual drunkenness."
The firm has proved adultery by offering a MySpace profile page that listed the opposing party as "single."
"We once had an opposing party who refused to pay child support, claiming they had no money. Interestingly enough, that same opposing party proudly posted photos on their Facebook page of their brand new boat," Perkins recalled.
Someone’s paramour even posted an ultrasound photo on a Facebook page, which was used to prove adultery.
Jennifer Gibbs, an assistant professor of communications at the Rutgers University School of Communications and Information, studies relationships and social networking. She believes people say things on Facebook and other social networking sites that they wouldn’t say in person, because "you’re not face to face."
She said communicating on the social-networking sites reduces a person’s ability to read social cues that might tell the person what he or she is saying is not acceptable. "That leads to increased self-disclosure and very little self-correction," Gibbs said.
While people believe they are writing only to "friends," millions of people can read their postings. "These sites provide a false sense of intimacy and privacy," Gibbs said.
There is no shortage of online examples of cheating spouses tripping themselves up.
Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich, a Hackensack attorney, recalled a case of a couple going through a custody battle for their two children.
"The wife discovered her husband was on the dating sites, claiming he made $250,000 a year and was a successful entrepreneur," Marzano-Lesnevich said. "He also listed himself as single without children. We took that information to the judge and told the judge, ‘He’s lying to you, and he said it on a public forum.’"
Ken Savage, a Massachusetts resident, said he discovered his wife of 12 years had reconnected with her former boyfriend on Facebook and was cheating on him. That was 13 months ago.
"I left her that day," he said.
Months later, Savage said, he started a website (facebookcheating.com) to vent his anger and see if there were others like him. He said he gets "at least seven to 10 e-mails every day" from people in similar situations.
Charles Vuotto, who chairs the family practice division of the New Jersey Bar Association, said that when couples spew their feelings about each other on Facebook, it also affects their children.
"When children see these postings, they get very upset," Vuotto said. "I’ve been involved in cases where the children saw postings by their mothers that may not have been mean, but they hurt the children anyway. Children can, and do, read these postings by their parents."
Attorney Janet L. Pennisi of Millburn, who specializes in family law, said courts are becoming less impressed by what is being drawn from Facebook and other social-networking sites because it is becoming so commonplace, and because judges understand the postings can be manipulative.
Still, Pennisi said she was able to demonstrate a husband’s callous disregard for his wife’s illness by citing the husband’s blog.
Pennisi said spouses are catching each other under screen names and learning litigation strategy — even communicating with the other spouse without that spouse knowing it.
"I had a client who knew that a certain screen name was her husband, and engaged him into admitting that certain legal positions were just to make her miserable — which translated into us having a really good case for bad faith," Pennisi said.
Monaghan said it is not uncommon for people to seek divorce after discovering their spouse had reconnected with someone from high school through Facebook. But that discovery, he said, is usually irrelevant to the divorce case itself, under New Jersey’s law allowing for no-fault divorce based on either spouse claiming irreconcilable differences.
"They come here and the sense of betrayal is enormous," he said. "When it’s a custody battle, it’s important. But catching them in the hotel room doesn’t matter any longer."
Staff writer Sue Epstein may be reached at (732) 249-5670 or sepstein@starledger.com.
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (Gloucester County) -- A 16-year-old boy who police said made an announcement at Walmart ordering all black people in the store to leave was charged with harassment and bias intimidation, authorities said Saturday.
The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, grabbed one of the courtesy phones at Walmart's Washington Township store on the evening of March 14 and calmly announced: "Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now," police said.
The teen was arrested Friday and released to the custody of his parents; police did not know whether he had a lawyer.
"This was an extremely disturbing event on many levels," Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said at a news conference. "Any statements like these that can cause harm or grave concern must be addressed as quickly we possibly can."
Dalton said the case would be handled in juvenile court in Atlantic County, where the boy lives. He would not say whether the boy has a criminal record, citing the teen's age, and would not disclose the teen's race, saying that did not factor into the investigation.
The 16-year-old has been charged with harassment and bias intimidation.
Authorities would not say whether the announcement was planned or made impulsively. Police said they were also investigating a teenage boy who accompanied the suspect to the store, but the other boy has not been charged.
Officials for Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart Stores Inc. said the announcement was "unacceptable," and Dalton praised the company for its strong cooperation in the investigation.
"We're pleased this matter is resolved," Walmart spokesman David Tovar said in a statement issued after the news conference. "We have updated our intercom system at this store to prevent this from happening again. We again apologize to all of our customers and associates who had to listen to something so offensive."
Although a manager quickly went on the intercom system and apologized for the remark, many customers expressed their anger to store management. Some community members said Saturday that they've heard reports of similar incidents happening at the store in recent months that were not reported to police.
"We are concerned about that, and we're looking into these incidents. We want to work with the community to make sure these types of incidents don't happen," said Loretta Winters, president of the Gloucester County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Winters said she hopes the boy will get counseling and be educated about sensitivity so he can understand the consequences of his actions.
"I'm assuming this person didn't realize how hurtful his comments were," she said.
The incident was the latest in a series of problems the retailer has had in its dealings with minorities and women.
There have been several past instances of black customers claiming they were treated unfairly at Walmart stores, and the company faced lawsuits alleging that women were passed over in favor of men for pay raises and promotions.
In February 2009, the retailer paid $17.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in its hiring of truck drivers.
And the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the company in May 2009, claiming some Hispanic employees at a Sam's Club subsidiary in California were subjected to a hostile work environment. That suit alleges managers failed to stop repeated verbal harassment, including the use of derogatory words, against employees of Mexican descent.
However, the NAACP has said the company has worked hard in recent years to show it cares about diversity.
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Racially offensive comment is made via Wal-Mart speakers in Gloucester County