News Round-up and Open Thread for Tuesday, November 14th

by: Sharon GR

Tue Nov 14, 2006 at 09:58:13 AM EST

• Several congressmen from Our Fair State are protesting a proposed plan to lease oil rights in federal waters off of Virginia, citing our clean beaches and ocean environment as a draw for tourists and expressing concerns about oil spills.
• The Joint Legislative Committee on Ethical Standards yesterday did vote unanimously to investigate Wayne Bryant, who is already being investigated by the U.S. Attorney's office. Bryant's lawyer has requested the legislative probe wait until the current probe is completed. The smell is overwhelming, isn't it?
• The Joint Legislative Committee on Public Employee Benefits Reform will recommend raising the retirement age for new state workers to 62 (currently 55), switching to a 401K type of retirement plan instead of pensions, and requiring all state employees to contribute more to their health plans. Union leaders insist that pension and health benefits should be changed only in the contracts, not by legislative measures.
• The Committee on Government Consolidation and Shared Services is shying away from creating county school districts and instead looking at creating county superintendents to oversee local school officials and spending. Also, the idea of consolidating fire elections with other municipal elections is getting slammed by firefighters, who are lobbying heavily to keep their separate voting day. So, we should add yet another layer of bureaucracy and maintain the status quo with an extra election- exactly how will this lower my property taxes?
• Recently released census data shows Mexicans are the poorest among Our Fair State's immigrant groups and are worse off here than in any other state. Other Spanish-speaking immigrant groups are comparatively more affluent, but there is still a large economic gap between white & Asian groups and black & Latino groups.
• The State Senate Judiciary Committee approved yesterday a bill to add "irreconcilable differences" as a reason for divorce, therefore not requiring an 18-month separation in order to divorce with no fault. The identical bill was approved by the Assembly's committee last month.

What's on your mind today, Blue Jersey?