News Round-up and Open Thread for Thursday, May 24, 2007

by: Sharon GR

Thu May 24, 2007 at 08:54:16 AM EDT

• A NJ Policy Perspective report shows that the state has lost money by limiting enrollment in the FamilyCare insurance plan, designed for low-income families. According to the study, increasing enrollment and fully funding the program would reduce charity care & emergency room visits and increase federal funds available, which would all lower costs while providing better care.
• Think no one would want to lease- sorry, monetize- Our Fair State's toll roads? Would higher tolls sweeten the deal?
• Speaking of toll roads, the Turnpike Authority is claiming copyright violations in the Internet distribution of a fatal crash video and is suing YouTube and others to stop showing the clip. GS Parkway officials are limiting access to the video surveillance system, which Kris Kolluri insisted is solely for"operational, law-enforcement reasons, not for entertainment value.?
• The State Supreme Court has been under increased protection since some whackjob radio host made their home addresses public last fall. The ranter, who has said "violence solves everything," has yet to be charged.
• NJ has subpoenaed MySpace's records for information on convicted sex offenders. Info on unconvicted sex offenders, unregistered offenders or those using the site anonymously will not be obtained.
• The Oyster Creek nuclear plant will continue to operate despite several low-level safety violations, and has been warned of increased scrutiny this year by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A decision on renewing the plant's operations licence for another 20 years is expected around January 2008.
  
• Joe Cryan and Tom Wilson are having a shouting match over financial issues and private email between the Gov and Carla Katz, with Wilson threatening to sue to release the correspondence and Cryan criticizing Wilson's tirade: "Mr Wilson is doing nothing better than engaging in political voyeurism." Sorry- maybe I should have put this in the same category with American Idol that I dismissed earlier; let's call it "Gossipy non-news."
• One more casualty of global warming: our State Flower, the blue meadow violet, may disappear by the end of the century. Many wild flowers will be endangered; 17 other state flowers are threatened, according to a report by the National Wildlife Federation.