A Blogger Who Became a Journalist in Court

Tina Renna fought the law and won - and so did the citizens of New Jersey.

LETTER: Connection between Perth Amboy & Woodbridge is Troubling

Robert Sottilaro says Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz "can't get enough of the Woodbridge crew."

To the Editor: Who is the Perth Amboy mayor? When the Democrats met to select an assembly member to the state legislature a few years ago, Wilda Diaz was pushing for M. E. Rodriguez, an excellent candidate. The vote went for Craig Coughlin from Woodbridge. Diaz said she would never back the Democrats to the assembled Perth Amboy committee members and Democratic supporters, that evening at the Forge. She felt betrayed by Woodbridge and started the division in the Democratic Party in Perth Amboy. Now she can’t get enough of the Woodbridge crew. Three positions are open on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the so-called mayor did not have a candidate to present from Perth Amboy at the official Democratic Party Convention, …

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LETTER: Free Help is Available to Cancer Patients

Cancer Support Community Central New Jersey gives free help to those suffering from the disease.

To the Editor: In Central NJ, nearly 260 people a week are newly diagnosed with cancer; nearly 89 of those individuals have colon cancer, just like Julie Patskin of Bedminster. At Cancer Support Community Central NJ, we want to recognize that March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.   Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among both men and women in the United States. For every person affected, there are many people in their lives that are also impacted. CSCCNJ serves all people affected by cancer.  Julie, a colon cancer survivor, has utilized many of the free activities offered at CSCCNJ.  CSCCNJ offers a menu of options for individuals including support groups led by professional staff, education, nutrition…

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Top 10 Reasons Why Lincoln the Tunnel is Better Than Lincoln the Movie

Lincoln v. Lincoln. Guess who wins

#10: Lincoln the Movie depicts adversaries North and South painfully divided. Lincoln the Tunnel brings adversaries New York and New Jersey closer together. #9: Banked, curved entrance to Lincoln the Tunnel is called "the helix." “Helix” is a cool word. No cool words in Lincoln the Movie. #8: No suspense in Lincoln the Movie; you know how it’s gonna end. Plenty of suspense in Lincoln the Tunnel; sometimes you don’t know if you’ll ever get out! #7: Cheaper to make Lincoln the Tunnel than Lincoln the Movie. #6: Lincoln the Tunnel much more of an acting challenge than Lincoln the Movie, even for Daniel Day-Lewis. #5: Toll-takers at Lincoln the Tunnel warmer and friendlier than ticket-takers at Lincoln the Movie. #4: E-Z Pass machines at …

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What's the Fiscal Cliff to My Paycheck?

The financial deadline looms in Washington, with no deal yet made. Check this primer, and share your questions and thoughts.

With Christmas 2012 over, one reality check is that the looming "fiscal cliff" deadline is just a few days away. On December 31, tax cuts dating to the George W. Bush presidential term are scheduled to expire, and President Obama and congressional leaders have not reached a compromise. Of course, that means tax bills would increase for many middle- and upper-class taxpayers. And that means paycheck withholding for many workers would change, leaving them with less take-home pay in the new year. Apparently, though, there will be no immediate change in withholding tables, while the situation is unresolved. According to John Tuzynski, the IRS’ chief of employment tax policy, employers should continue to use 2012 withholding tables and …

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In Another Country

The NRA Has it Right: Secure Our Schools Now With Armed Personnel

Don't reject the NRA's plan to keep our children safe.

The mass school shooting that took place in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14 has transformed this once tranquil community into the epicenter of a nationwide gun control debate. One week later, Wayne LaPierre -- the National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President -- announced live on TV that his organization wants to "call on Congress to act immediately, to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school — and to do it now, to make sure that blanket of safety is in place when our children return to school in January." LaPierre's full speech can be found here: http://home.nra.org/# When read in its entirety, LaPierre's speech makes perfect sense to me. The NRA is made up of approximately 4 million …

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A Tea Partier's Day at the Fair

The Tea Party of Middlesex County was at Woodbridge's St. James Fair. They, and folks who reached out to them, had a lot to say.

As I stood in front of our Middlesex County Tea Party booth at Saturday’s St. James Street Fair handing out balloons, Constitutions, postcards about the candidates and fact sheets about the issues facing our nation, I was approached by a small, middle-aged man with a slight accent who asked me a simple question, “What is the Tea Party?” We chatted about the origins of the term Tea Party, about Sam Adams and the Boston colonists who protested tyrannical rule, “Taxation Without Representation” and how the T.E.A. initials came to mean “Taxed Enough Already.” He was surprised to see us there. He had read that the Tea Party was filled with hate-filled racists - domestic terrorists who wanted to bring down the government. “No,” I said, “we’re …

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LETTER: New Homes Need Fire Sprinklers

The writer contends that the flammability of materials used in new construction make fire sprinklers a necessity.

To the Editor, The United States is on the brink of a fire crisis. New lightweight construction methods and materials are making it harder and more dangerous for firefighters to safely extinguish blazes and for occupants to escape safely. It’s estimated that most homes built within the past 20 years contain these dangerous lightweight materials, which are designed to carry a greater load with less material by using prefabricated components. While these lightweight construction materials are touted as being more cost-effective and environmentally friendly, they also allow fires to spread much more rapidly, significantly reducing the time occupants have to escape a fire, and the time firefighters have to safely extinguish the blaze. In …

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Greg

1:22 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Patch SPAM.   more ›

LETTER: Pancreatic Cancer Claims Sally Ride

Yet another great American dies from the dreaded disease. When will a cure be found?

To the Editor: I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, who lost her 17-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She had an inspiring, accomplished career and is an icon in our nation’s history. Tragically, for those who have been touched by pancreatic cancer, 17-months is an exception, as 74 percent of patients die within the first year of diagnosis. Perhaps what is worse is that pancreatic cancer is one of the few cancers for which the relative five year survival rate, of just six percent, has not improved substantially in over 40 years since the passage of the National Cancer Act.  I lost my father to pancreatic cancer 10 years ago. As someone who regularly went for physicals, my …

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Affordable Housing Fight Goes Back to the Courts

Housing advocates and municipalities try to prevent the state from taking their funds.

  The battle between the Christie administration and the Fair Share Housing Center continues. This time, the two sides are going to court Friday over as much as $200 million in local affordable housing trust funds. So far, the Appellate Division of Superior Court has been kind to the Cherry Hill-based housing advocates, but this case could be a different story. To help balance the budget, Gov. Chris Christie recommended the state use the trust fund money. The administration appears to be within its legal right to do so, as the law creating the funds—and the developer fees that municipalities levy to subsidize them—specified municipalities had to “commit to spend” the money within four years. The clock strikes midnight on July 17. But as …

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