East Hartford mayor to take over DMV

Christie Looking To Build On Success In Second Year
No politician from below the federal level captured the attention of the nation quite like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did in 2010. Christie established himself as arguably the most consequential Republican Governor in the country, leading to rampant speculation about his future plans, including at least one draft-Christie website. But while pundits such as Ann Coulter have called on the first-term Governor to run for President in 2012, Christie himself dismisses the speculation at every opp...

N.J. mayors pile blame for snow snags on state
They said steep Budget cuts delayed response to the storm. Not so, Christie's spokesman said. Trenton - Deep Budget cuts are partly to blame for the slow cleanup following the blizzard that blanketed the Garden State this week, some municipal leaders said Thursday. In Brick Township, Public Works employees facing layoffs didn't come in. Pequannock officials cut back on rock salt. And in Asbury Park, the State Department of Transportation failed to show up until late Tuesday to start clearing ma...

Lifers gain parole at faster rate
The rate at which the state Parole board doled out “get out of jail free” passes to lifers skyrocketed by 50 percent last year — a shocking spike that enraged State Legislators who proposed tough new laws after the tragic shooting death of a Woburn cop. Gov. Deval Patrick’s seven-member Parole board sprang 35 out of 88 convicts serving life sentences in 2009, or 40 percent, a Herald review found. By comparison, the board paroled just 29 out of 108 lifers, or 27 percent, ...

Hawkins Advice For Cuomo: Tax The Rich
Green Party Candidate for Governor Howie Hawkins is urging Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo not to make steep Budget cuts, and instead increase taxes on the rich or eliminate the stock transfer tax rebate which provides Wall Street firms with billions of dollars each year. Hawkins has sent a letter to the Governor-elect making his case for many of the positions he ran on in the election. Cuomo campaigned with a pledge not to raise taxes, detailed in a series of policy books. But, Public Opinion poll...

DEFICITS, LAWSUITS, DIMINISHED PUBLIC SAFETY: YOUR STATE CANT AFFORD SB 1070
Federal inaction on Immigration Reform has triggered a national crisis and dramatically increased the likelihood of state-based Immigration laws similar to Arizona’s approach. According to a new report prepared by the National Immigration Forum (Download SB1070Report[1]) , at least seven states are likely to attempt an Arizona-style law to address the broken Immigration system as a direct result of the federal inaction. States may attempt these laws despite overwhelming evidence that laws li...

US, Venezuela evict ambassadors in diplomatic spat
WASHINGTON — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez dared the U.S. to expel his ambassador in retaliation for his move to reject the U.S. Envoy to the South American country. On Wednesday, that's just what the Obama Administration did. Chavez issued his dare a day earlier, saying he would not allow the U.S. Diplomat, Larry Palmer, to be ambassador because the U.S. official made what Chavez described as blatantly disrespectful remarks about Venezuela. "If the government is going to expel our am...

State agency questions National Grid blizzard response
State officials are turning up the heat on National Grid. The Department of Public Utilities yesterday launched an investigation to determine whether the utility’s preparation for the post-Christmas nor’Easter followed state rules. Halifax Fire Chief William Carrico said it took National Grid 20 hours to respond to calls about downed wires in his town. Firefighters had to babysit all those wires until linemen got there. “When the weather forecast is for a blizzard, how can you...

Dear Andrew: Tax The Rich
Green Party Gubernatorial Candidate Howie Hawkins, whose debate performance and campaign gave him the needed 52,000 votes in order for the party to appear on the ballot next time, is offering Democratic winner Andrew Cuomo some advice. Namely, Hawkins says Cuomo should enact a progressive agenda of taxing the super rich by reintroducing a stock-transfer tax and reforming the Income Tax. In his “Open Letter” to the Governor-elect, Hawkins, a Syracuse resident, said Health Care costs...

Healthcare reform ups Medicare payments
"Starting Jan. 1, Insurance Companies will have to spend a larger share of premiums on the care of patients and consumers -- not on Chief Executive Officer salaries," Pelosi said in a statement. "Taxpayers will save, as government cracks down on overpayments to insurers. Seniors will gain free access to annual check-ups and screenings, and those in the 'donut hole' will get a 50 percent discount on brand-name Prescription Drugs. "In 2010, we kept our promises by helping small businesses cover th...

Rick Perry, Texas Continue To Wage Battle Against EPA As Fight Over Regulations Grows Fierce
HOUSTON — A longstanding tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate Pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more Toxic Waste into the air, streams and lakes than what is federally acceptable. Both sides and conservation groups agree the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the environment at risk. But the back-and-forth over everything from who sho...

Texas fiercely resists EPA air, water standards
HOUSTON | A long-standing tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate Pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more Toxic Waste into the air, streams and lakes than what is federally acceptable. Both sides and conservation groups agree the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the environment at risk. But the back-and-forth over everything from who should is...

Firas Al-Atraqchi: Middle East in 2011: Social Media to Take on Governments
It has been a roller-coaster decade for the media in the Middle East and North Africa - many who have turned to the Internet to write about Human Rights and Corruption find themselves facing increasingly restrictive measures by the authorities. The meteoric rise of Twitter and Facebook as global communications phenomena created a sub-genre of communication theory and viewer/user interactivity which reshaped the way news organizations planned coverage. But while millions of people helped shape ...

N.J. battle to clean up Pa. coal-fired plant may pay off
A coal-fired Power Plant just across the Delaware River in Pennsylvania has been spewing tons of pollutants into New Jersey's air for years while the state's own coal plants have been forced to clean up their emissions. Now, New Jersey's long battle to compel the plant to install cleaner technology may yield some results. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will schedule a hearing early next year to discuss whether the plant should be forced to reduce its emissions. North Jersey continual...

Advocacy group with ties to Christie IDs its donors
TRENTON - A New Jersey-based Advocacy Group that is linked to Gov. Christie and pushes his viewpoints has raised nearly $624,000 since it launched in June, mostly from establishment Republicans and developers. The nonprofit group Reform New Jersey Now, which is not subject to fund-raising or spending limits, voluntarily disclosed its Donor list on Wednesday. Several Christie advisers are affiliated with the organization, and the Republican Governor headlined a $25,000-a-plate event it held in ...

Take A Good Look At Post-Blizzard New York City. This Is What Our 'New Austerity' Will Look Like.
This bus was stranded in Brooklyn long enough to become the target of graffiti artists. It's bad enough that NYC has Laid Off 500 sanitation workers in the last two years (you know, instead of taxing Wall Street) or that there were plows sitting idle because they didn't have enough people to drive them, or that people died because the EMTs couldn't get down their streets. But that the mayor didn't even bother to call a snow emergency? That's plain crazy. Make fun of Philly all you want, but by c...

EPA Takes Over Permitting Process in Texas As Dispute Over Pollution Regulations Escalates
Thursday, December 30, 2010 By Ramit Plushnick-Masti, Associated Press Houston (AP) - A longstanding tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate Pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more Toxic Waste into the air, streams and lakes than what is federally acceptable. Both sides and conservation groups agree the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the...

Conn. Gov.-Elect Preps For $3.5 Billion Deficit
STAMFORD, Conn. (WCBS 880) - As Connecticut’s Gov.-Elect Dan Malloy prepares to swear into oath on Jan. 5, the thing on everyone’s mind is his biggest challenge, the Budget. Malloy said he is crafting a two-year budget to deal with a $3.5 billion Deficit. That budget, he said, will be transparent and gimmick free. “I was honest in the campaign. I’m going to be honest in preparing people and I’m going to present an honest and Balanced Budget that complies with ...

Kilmartin creating staff, keeps most in AG's office
PROVIDENCE — Incoming Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin will keep the vast majority of his predecessor’s staff, but will part with five prosecutors, a policy chief and a handful of administrative employees. While Kilmartin retained the top three lawyers from Patrick C. Lynch’s administration, 17 others on the 231-person staff received notice the weekend before Christmas they would be let go. Those staying include Deputy Attorney General Gerald J. Coyne; James Lee, as head of ...

Norfolk sheriff: Governor's plan a public safety risk
Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe came out strongly against a Budget proposal by Gov. Bob McDonnell, saying it would hurt Public Safety and force some deputies to look for work elsewhere. McCabe and the Virginia Sheriffs' Association both voiced opposition this week to McDonnell's plan to have government employees contribute 5 percent of their pre-tax salaries to their Pension plans. They also said the Budget plan would reduce sheriffs' budgets by about $13.4 million statewide. That would mean about $4...

Former PHA worker sues, says he was unfairly fired
A former assistant General Manager of the Philadelphia Housing Authority has claimed in a federal Lawsuit that he was unfairly fired in 2009 after he spoke out against waste, Fraud, and theft at the authority. John Tatum, who supervised more than 400 workers, says his termination came after he informed his superiors and their outside lawyers that he suspected some PHA employees were using the agency's Home Depot Credit Cards to steal building materials. Tatum says he was first demoted and reassi...

Texas, EPA fight grows fierce
HOUSTON — A long-standing tit-for-tat between Texas and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over how to regulate Pollution has grown fierce in recent months, leaving industry frustrated and allowing some plants and refineries to spew more Toxic Waste into the air, streams and lakes than is federally acceptable. Both sides and conservation groups agree that the battle has put the health of Texas residents and the environment at risk. But the back-and-forth over everything from who shou...

Cuomo continues to fill out his administration
Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo announced several more administration appointments today, adding two Staffers to the government Payroll who were active in his campaign and lifting yet another of his senior aides from the Office of Attorney General. Both Jim Malatras and Josh Vlasto will serve in the administration, as “deputy secretary for policy management” and “deputy Communications Director,” respectively. Vlasto was hired away from Sen. Chuck Schumer’s press shop earl...

Go north, young man
Other states may be grappling with massive Budget Deficits, but North Dakota is sitting pretty, thanks to the Bakken-Three Forks shale oil deposit. “Imagine a Tupperware container tightly packed with sand, then soaked with water representing oil deposits, sealed and then tucked away for an extended period of time,” explained the Bismarck Tribune in its “Bakken Breakout 2010” special edition. “For the first time in our state’s history, The Associated Press cite...

N.C. and S.C. NAACP leaders to speak on civil rights
COLUMBIA -- The flying of the Confederate Flag on the State House grounds and events marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's start will be among the issues addressed by the South Carolina NAACP at its annual King Day rally at the State House. Speakers at events Jan. 16-17 in Columbia will include Wade Henderson, president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, as well as the heads of the Civil Rights organization's North and South Carolina chapters. Other issues to be a...

Obama's to face new defense battles
Heading into a new year and the start of his Reelection campaign, President Barack Obama faces two major battles with Congress and the Military on the defense front: one over Afghan war policy, the other over the size of the Pentagon’s Budget. The administration has pledged to begin drawing down of forces in Afghanistan this summer, but the question will be how many will actually leave – and how hard the Military and congressional Republicans will resist any substantial withdraw. ...