Wake-Up Call: Tuesday, July 8, 2008

With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

New Jersey Dems block offshore drilling

Just about every summer for more than a decade, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. headed out to a beach community in New Jersey to lambaste attempts by the federal government to resurrect plans for oil drilling off the Atlantic coast, including New Jersey.(Maryann Spoto, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/121549178785860.xml&coll=1

Obama team picks up another former Clinton fundraiser

A former leading fund-raiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has joined Barack Obama’s (D-Il) National Finance Committee and committed to playing what he describes as a "significant fund-raising role for (Obama’s) campaign both here in New Jersey and across the country." (PolitickerNJ)

http://politickernj.com/max/21322/kempner-joines-team-obama

Allen takes a seat

A familiar face was missing in the state budget negotiations over the past few weeks. (Adrienne Lu, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080708_Illness_sidelines_Diane_Allen_in_Jersey_senate.html

Corzine to sign health care bill today

HOBOKEN - Gov. Jon Corzine is expected to sign a bill today that will move the state one step closer to universal health care. (Amy Sara Clark, The Jersey Journal

http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1215498924289060.xml&coll=3

Prescription co-pays to rise

Most senior citizens and disabled people enrolled in a popular low-cost prescription drug program will see their co-payments rise Aug. 1, according to a public education campaign the state health department launched yesterday. (Susan K. Livio, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/121549174885860.xml&coll=1

Delran mayor took a big boost

While pushing for an ordinance that would ban township contractors from contributing more than $300 to municipal candidates, the newly elected mayor in Delran appointed a firm whose employees had given his campaign far more. (Maya Rao, The Philadelphia Inquirer)

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080708_Delran_mayor_took_big_contribution.html

Small towns challenge state police provision

With encouragement from the New Jersey State League of Municipalities, three towns have asked a powerful state agency to strike down a provision of the new state budget requiring them to pay for State Police patrols. (Robert Schwaneberg, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/121549182385860.xml&coll=1

Bribery gets you nowhere

PRINCETON BOROUGH -- Princeton University is considering legal action against building contractors who allegedly used bribes to squeeze money from the university's Peter B. Lewis Science Library construction project, a Princeton spokeswoman said. (Robert Stern, The Trenton Times)

http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.ssf?/base/news-4/121549009820230.xml&coll=5

A healthy debate

MOUNT LAUREL — Health care and the economy dominated much of the discussion Monday night at a town hall-style meeting attended by state Sen. John H. Adler, the Democratic candidate for New Jersey's 3rd Congressional District. (Bridget Smith, The Courier-Post)

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/NEWS01/807080356

Carla Katz heads to the sidelines

TRENTON - The Communications Workers of America's national executive board has removed the head of the union's largest local - a New Jersey state worker leader who also used to be Gov. Corzine's girlfriend. (Associated Press)

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/nj/20080708_Ex-Corzine_girlfriend_loses_CWA_post.html

Just where did the money come from?

Former state Sen. Joseph Coniglio collected $40,000 in consulting fees from the developers of Fort Lee's floundering Centuria project - a deal that is now part of U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie's influence-peddling probe of the plumber-politician. (Jeff Pillets, The Bergen Record)

http://www.northjersey.com/politics/Ex-senator_gives_feds_his_papers_on_Centuria_consulting_fees.html

Battle over terrorism list comes to a close

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday announced the settlement of a four-year legal dispute with the state Attorney General's Office over a list of organizations identified by New Jersey counties as potential terrorist threats. (Rick Herp, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-11/121549189785860.xml&coll=1

Housing deal squashed

TRENTON -- An appeals court on Monday voided an affordable housing swap that would have resulted in Galloway Township sending Bridgeton $2.135 million for about 60 home rehabilitation projects. (Sean C. McCullen, The Bridgeton News)

http://www.nj.com/news/bridgeton/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1215498339286400.xml&coll=10

Mountain Lakes mayor makes leave

MOUNTAIN LAKES -- Deputy Mayor Louise Davis, a fixture on the borough council for nearly a decade, is resigning effective July 15, leaving five open council seats on the ballot in November. (Tehani Schneider, The Daily Record)

http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/COMMUNITIES36/807080324/1203

Predicting pay-to-play

With another busy (and bizarre) political year at its midpoint, here is a review of several North Jersey political highlights, and predictions or calculated guesses on how they might play out later this year. (Charles Stile, The Bergen Record)

http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergenpolitics/24055334.html

More mentally ill being diverted from jails

Additional staff and more mental health screenings at the Essex County Correctional Facility have allowed inmates with mental illnesses to be identified more quickly and diverted from state prisons, corrections officials said yesterday. (Elizabeth Moore, The Star-Ledger)

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/essex/index.ssf?/base/news-5/121549175685860.xml&coll=1

With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.

With the PolitickerNJ.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of New Jersey's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.