GOP candidates differ on abortion
Sen. Joseph Pennacchio (R- Morris) would ban abortion nationwide through a constitutional amendment.

Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin wants to overturn the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protected abortion and allow each state to set its own rules.

Former congressman Dick Zimmer supports access to legal abortion, subject to "reasonable restrictions."

On the most contentious social issue of the past 35 years, the three candidates for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate have taken three very different positions.

Zimmer said his support for abortion flows from his belief in "limited government." (Robert Schwaneberg, Star-Ledger)

The un-Lautenberg
CHERRY HILL — Calling himself "the un-Lautenberg," Republican candidate Dick Zimmer said Thursday he'll work to reduce federal taxes if elected to the U.S. Senate.

"I'm not promising I'll win the pork barrel game," Zimmer said. "What I want to do is make it possible for taxpayers to keep their money in the first place."

A former congressman who earned a reputation in Washington as a fiscal conservative, Zimmer noted that New Jersey has long ranked near the bottom of states in terms of tax dollars returned and accused incumbent Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a liberal Democrat, of being part of that problem.

"Frank has worked hard to bring back the pork," Zimmer said, "but he has failed." (Richard Pearsall, Courier-Post)

Sabrin not the Fonz
IN TELEVISION, it's called "jumping the shark." A plot device designed to bolster declining ratings, the phrase refers to an episode of the sitcom "Happy Days." The sitcom's popularity was waning, so the character Fonzie jumps over killer fish in his motorcycle.

Republican Murray Sabrin is running for U.S. Senate. His self-determined moniker is "Maverick Murray." If that's a stretch, calling Sabrin "The Fonz" is practically Gumby-esque. But Sabrin, sans "hog" and leather jacket, is jumping the shark.

No doubt any publicity is better than none, even when you are the self-proclaimed "Republican front-runner." Yet, if Sabrin has something serious to say, it is getting lost in the deluge of trivia he is producing. (Alfred P. Doblin, The Record)

Two’s not enough for Andrews
In a conference call today with reporters, U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1) again accused U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) of hiding, and bewailed the incumbent’s decision to accept just two debates, despite Andrews’s repeated requests to debate seven times.

"Pathetic," said the congressman. "This is a job application. We’re talking about issues of life and death and he is unwilling to engage the issues. He’s hiding from them."

Andrews said his own request for a minimum of seven primary debates is reasonable, but that Lautenberg has been "AWOL throughout the campaign." (Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com)

Anything but a toll hike
New Jersey legislators looking to avoid Governor Corzine's unpopular budget cuts or his plan to raise highway tolls are considering new ways to raise money — including a tax on water.

Legislation before the state Senate Environment Committee on Thursday would ask voters to consider a new tax on water consumption to raise an estimated $150 million for land-preservation programs.

Bill sponsor Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, estimates that the measure would add about $32 annually to the water bill paid by the average household in New Jersey.

The tax would enable legislators to continue funding the farmland and open-space preservation programs without bonding or seeking money from a budget proposal that calls for cutting the state Department of Agriculture and closing or scaling back operations at several state parks. (John Reitmeyer, The Record)

Ethics bills clear Senate panel
Two bills designed to increase accountability and transparency in local and state government were unanimously approved yesterday by the Senate State Government Committee.

One bill (S103) would require local government officials to turn in financial disclosure forms within 30 days of taking office. Under current law, local officials have until April 30, three or nine months after taking office in January or July, to submit disclosure forms. Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen), the sponsor of the two bills, said the present disclosure period is too long.

The second bill (S115) would require lobbyists to disclose to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission the details of all government contracts they hold, including the expected profit. Pubic entities such as Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, for example, retain lobbyists to push legislation important to them. ELEC would make the information accessible to the public by posting it on its website. (Tom Hester, Star-Ledger)

Last-minute deal
Working late into the night, going word by painstaking word, the McGreeveys and their attorneys reached an agreement yesterday on custody of the couple's 6-year-old daughter, effectively ending the first section of their three-part divorce trial.

The exact substance of the settlement was sealed, as is customary in court issues involving children, and neither former Gov. James E. McGreevey and his estranged wife, Dina Matos McGreevey, nor their attorneys would comment on the specifics of the accord. (Judith Lucas and Brad Parks, Star-Ledger)

Take care, Sam
PASSAIC -- Mayor Samuel Rivera is expected to be in Trenton today, pleading guilty to federal corruption charges. But on Thursday, he was in City Hall as streams of well-wishers said their goodbyes.

Men and women stood in line outside his office, crying. Even the mayor's hefty bodyguard, Passaic police Detective Lucho Candelaria, was a little misty.

"He's leaving, and we're never going to see him again," said the mayor's secretary, Angely Ramirez, who wiped her eyes with tissues.

"It's just sad for the people who knew him well," Ramirez said between sniffles. "He helped a lot of people." (Meredith Mandell, Herald News)

No rubber stamps here
VINELAND -- The members of incumbent Mayor Perry Barse's City Council slate say they plan to be much more than just his rubber stamp if they win in Tuesday's municipal election.

"That's the way you behave ethically in government, you look at what's best for the city," said incumbent Councilwoman Barbara Sheftall in a recent interview.

Sheftall is running with fellow incumbents James Forcinito and Anthony Gioielli, as well as candidates Arnaldo Escobar and Jacqueline Gavigan. (Tim Zatzariny Jr., Daily Journal)

Tom Solo
VINELAND -- City Council candidate Tom Urgo sees running alone in Tuesday's municipal election alone as an advantage, not a handicap.

"I'm going to work along with the rest of City Council," Urgo said in a recent interview. "I'm not going to try to be the top honcho. I'm not trying to be anybody special. I just want to be there for the people."

Urgo, a semi-retired landscaper, ran unsuccessfully for a council seat in 1988 and 1992. (Zatzariny, Daily Journal)

Teaneck tension
TEANECK — The eight-candidate Township Council campaign has grown increasingly rancorous, leaving some observers fearful that lasting divisions are being forged between groups in this diverse town.

Accusations of intimidation tactics, dirty politics and race- and religion-baiting echo those of the final days of the 2006 campaign, which created tensions that remain to this day.

In the last week, residents in the town's Northeast section – where the largest black population lives – received a campaign piece from the Team Teaneck slate attacking Councilwoman Monica Honis' voting record and asking them to support Robert Robinson. (Joseph Ax, The Record)

Demotion doesn’t pass the smell test
BRIDGETON -- Freeholder Director Lou Magazzu said Thursday he will not sign paperwork putting into effect the demotion of Tina Kell, trial chief with the county prosecutor's office.

Kell, who has been recommended by State Senators Steve Sweeney and Jeff Van Drew to be the next prosecutor now that Prosecutor Ron Casella's term as prosecutor has expired, was demoted by Casella last month -- a move Magazzu said "(gives) the impression of being retaliatory even if it is not." (Matt Dunn, Bridgeton News)

EnCap files Chapter 11
EnCap Golf Holdings filed for federal bankruptcy protection Thursday - one day after its Meadowlands golf and housing project was declared dead by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.

The Chapter 11 filing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark lists its 20 biggest unsecured creditors, including several that are owed more than $1 million apiece: remediation company Mactec ($15.8 million); engineers Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor ($4.6 million), and the township of Lyndhurst ($4 million). The borough of Rutherford is owed $639,000, the petition says.

The filing estimates both EnCap's assets and debts at $100 million to $500 million. (John Brennan, The Record)

Top two tussle in Orange
ORANGE - On the last full week of the mayor's race here, At Large Councilman Donald Page and West Orange Patrolman Eldridge Hawkins lead the pack in overall financial contributions and have opened up on each other in a mail war.

According to the state Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC), Hawkins has raised $67,395, including $25,273 in the last period, leaving him with $19,146 in the bank.

Page has raised $41,148, including $11,210 in this period. He has a closing balance of $5,416, according to ELEC. (Max Pizarro, PolitickerNJ.com)

Stack machine keeps moving
When Jersey City Detective Sean Connors took on the task of running against North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco for the state Senate seat in the 32nd District last year, he really had his eye on a different position: 4th District Freeholder.

Connors, 39, expected that he'd have the backing of powerful Union City Mayor/state Sen. Brian Stack in exchange for undertaking that kamikaze mission on Stack's rivals at the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO). But now, with a tenuous semi-peace holding between Stack and the HCDO, Connors is alone in his freeholder fight against incumbent Eliu Rivera. Even without that support, Connors has surprised local political insiders by running a truly competitive campaign. (Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com)

Car talk
All I wanted to do was talk about cars with Mayor Cory Booker. Since he was scheduled to do an afternoon ribbon cutting yesterday for a company opening its headquarters downtown, I thought I'd drop by -- early.

I was hoping to spot him get ting out of his spanking-new 2008 Chevy Tahoe 4x4 LTZ. His is one of eight in the city's fleet. The average cost: $43,396. Six assigned to the police department were bought with money confiscated from criminals. To those in the mayor's office, that means the money is not taxpayers' money.

Yes, it is. To whom do they think it was forfeited?

All this buying happened while the city is in the midst of a budget problem and while the price of gas has gone crazy. Feeding a Tahoe costs about $90 a tank. Instead of filling up Tahoes, why didn't the city use that $347,000-plus to fill some other municipal needs and make do with the 2 1/2-year-old SUVs inherited from the previous administration? (Joan Whitlow, Star-Ledger)

Nine want Nutley seats
Nine candidates are vying for five seats on the board of commissioners in Nutley, where the issues of development and taxes have been in the forefront of the campaign.

The four incumbents and five challengers running in the nonpartisan election Tuesday have different ideas for how to spur responsible growth in the town, while keeping voters' expenses to a minimum.

Mayor Joanne Cocchiola, who is running for her third term, oversees the Department of Public Affairs.

During the past four years Cocchiola has helped spruce up businesses along Franklin Avenue with the help of federal grants which allowed them to complete facade improvements, and she has sponsored community outreach programs on health, fitness and wellness which have focused on parents, children and senior citizens.

In the future, the commissioners need to focus on improving the downtown with positive development, and figure out more ways to keep the municipal budget as lean as possible, Cocchiola said. (Kasi Addison, Star-Ledger)

Expensive rubber chicken
LAKEWOOD — John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, spoke at a campaign fundraiser here Thursday, quickly entering the catering hall through a rear service door heavily guarded by police, then exiting there an hour later.

The senator, who has dubbed his campaign "The Straight Talk Express," did not make a public statement, and the lunch at Lake Terrace wasn't promoted in advance and was closed to the media.

Inside, his supporters enjoyed a $1,000-per-plate lunch while they listened to the Arizona senator's remarks about the upcoming election. (Matthew McGrath, Asbury Park Press)

Maintaining separation
When Gov. Christie Whitman was in office, she and then-state Supreme Court Chief Justice Deborah Poritz would sit down to lunch every few months at the governor's mansion, talking about administrative issues, the appointment of judges, who might make a good candidate.

But they were careful not to venture into matters pending be fore the court.

"We never talked about cases," Poritz said yesterday at a panel discussion in New Brunswick. "That was a relationship that I felt strongly about."

The formal and informal ties between New Jersey's governors and its highest court -- and the lines the two sides can't cross -- were fleshed out through such recollections yesterday as politicians, judges and academics convened to explore the relationship.

The panelists -- former governors Brendan Byrne and Jim Florio, former Chief Justices Poritz and James Zazzali, and several former associate justices -- reflected several decades of state leadership. But memories and anecdotes were punctuated by debates on current issues like judicial salaries, senatorial courtesy and perceived coziness between the executive and judicial branches. (Claire Heininger, Star-Ledger)

Palmer to be honored by alma mater
TRENTON -- Mayor Douglas H. Palmer will receive an award from his alma mater this weekend.

Hampton University of Hampton, Va., is giving Palmer its annual "outstanding alumnus-at-large" award Saturday during the school's graduation ceremony. Last year's honoree was retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Claude Vann III. (Trenton Times)