Hurricane Sandy

Gov. Christie and President Obama Express Disappointment Over Delay in Sandy Aid

Vote on a $60.4 billion aid package delayed in Congress.

Gov. Chris Christie and President Barack Obama each released statements Wednesday expressing disappointment over the failure of the House of Representatives to vote on the $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy Aid Package and urged Congress to make the bill a priority when it reconvenes Thursday.  Though the U.S. Senate approved the bill Friday, Congress failed to act on the bill, at different times criticizing the allocation of some of its funding, considering splitting the aid package into separate bills, and putting it off until a deal was reached on the impending "fiscal cliff."  Eventually, the decision was made to table it until the New Year. Christie issued a joint statement with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Wednesday morning chastising …

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Christie on Newtown Massacre: There's a Stigma Attached to Mental Illness

At a Thursday town hall, Gov. Chris Christie talked about the recent shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

For the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, for the 20 children who died at the hands of the kind of man they never knew existed, and for their grief-stricken parents who will forever ask why, Gov. Chris Christie said we owe it to them to find the answer. It won’t be easy, Christie told a packed crowd during a recent town hall meeting in Belmar, and there’s no one area we can point to and say "that’s it." What unfolded last Friday morning in Newtown, Conn. was a confluence of a series of events and manifested emotions unleashed on a group of innocent people. But, while there’s no simple explanation for why Adam Lanza shot his sleeping mother and then set off for a seemingly random elementary school to target children, and…

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Hurricane Sandy

Christie In Belmar: Governor Promises Bipartisan Approach to Sandy Restoration

At Chris Christie's first town hall meeting since Hurricane Sandy, the New Jersey governor promises to put politics aside.

Beyond New Jersey’s borders, Gov. Chris Christie’s post-Hurricane Sandy motives have been a topic of debate. His embrace of President Barack Obama following his arrival in New Jersey after the storm drew jeers from hardline Republicans concerned with the image it would present so close to the election. Some on the left have even intimated that the handshake, delivered soon after New Jersey was hit by the most devastating storm in its history, and as millions of residents remained without power, was a calculated move on Christie’s part that could lead to him throwing his hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 Presidential election. None of it matters, Christie said to a standing room only audience at Belmar’s municipal …

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Deadline to Apply for Sandy Aid Extended

Gov. Christie's office announced an extension for New Jersey residents affected by Hurricane Sandy to register for disaster assistance.

The deadline for New Jersey residents impacted by Hurricane Sandy to apply for disaster assistance has been extended, Gov. Chris Christie's office announced Tuesday.  Residents now have until Jan. 30, 2013, to register for disaster aid through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA. The deadline to apply for aid was originally set to expire on Dec. 27, 60 days after FEMA launched its recovery effort, though considering the totality of the damage and the number of households affected by Sandy, the State appealed for more time to accommodate all of its residents. "The single most important step people can take in this recovery period is to register with FEMA, if they haven’t already," Christie said in a release. “The process of a …

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NJ Facing Major Fiscal Crisis in Years Ahead, Blue-Ribbon Panel Reports

Budget expert: More revenue needed to meet pension, Medicaid, and infrastructure expenses.

New Jersey faces staggering long-term fiscal problems, with pension and health benefit liabilities, infrastructure, and other budget needs adding up to more than $200 billion in future program costs, according to a blue-ribbon budget study released Thursday. The State Budget Crisis Task Force, cochaired by former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Paul Volcker and former New York City Deputy Mayor Richard Ravitch, was careful to emphasize that New Jersey’s pending fiscal cliff represented years of bipartisan failure to address the state’s long-term fiscal needs. The panel credited Gov. Chris Christie and Democratic legislative leaders with reducing the size of the state’s pension liability and did its best to avoid “political questions” about …

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NJ Launches Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship

The Fellowship recruits top science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) college graduates and career changers and prepares them to teach in high-need schools.

  New Jersey will become the first East Coast state to launch the Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellowship, with nearly $9 million in support from a consortium of foundations and private funders, Gov. Chris Christie announced on Friday. Created by the Princeton-based Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the Fellowship recruits top science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) college graduates and career changers and prepares them to teach in high-need schools. The program seeks to transform the way teacher candidates are prepared. “Excellence in education begins in the classroom,” Christie said. “Today, we are taking another important step to ensure our teachers are prepared before they are placed in high-need schools.  It only …

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Holmdel's David Bauman Nominated for Seat on NJ Supreme Court

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David Bauman is Gov. Chris Christie's pick for the high court. Also nominated was BPU Chief Robert Hanna.

A Holmdel resident has been nominated by Governor Chris Christie to take a seat on the New Jersey Supreme Court as an Associate Justice.  Judge David Bauman, 56, currently sits as the Presiding Judge, Civil Division, in Monmouth County. If confirmed by the Senate, the governor says Bauman will contribute a wealth of experience earned during a career of law. Additionally, he would be the first Asian-American to serve on New Jersey’s highest Court. Also nominated was Robert Hanna of Madison, 54, who is the president of the Board of Public Utilities. In recent years he served as Director of the Division of Law and Assistant Attorney General within the NJ Dept. of Law and Public Safety.  "Not only would Bob and David make outstanding justices…

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$10 Million in 'Quick Release' Funds Will Aid Road Repair

The Governor's office announced

An additional $10 million in quick release emergency relief aid being sent New Jersey's way will help the state make emergent repairs to roads, bridges, and tunnels, the governor's office announced Thursday morning. Quick release emergency funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration and are used to repair critical infrastructure. The additional $10 million New Jersey's received from the DOT thus far brings its quick release relief fund total to $20 million following Hurricane Sandy. In a release, Gov. Chris Christie said the funds will provide key additional resources to repair infrastructure and prepare the shore for next year's tourism season. With New Jersey tourism estimated at $37 …

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Governor Appoints Sandy Recovery Manager

Former Executive Assistant Attorney General Marc Ferzan will Manage Hurricane Sandy storm recovery.

In an effort to codify New Jersey’s Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts, Gov. Chris Christie’s announced Wednesday the appointment of Marc Ferzan to oversee and coordinate long-term recovery plans and to cooperate with federal, state, local, and non-governmental partner. Ferzen, a former executive assistant attorney general, has been tasked with creating a team to guide recovery efforts and focus on recovery items that require long-term strategic planning, the governor’s office said in a release. He will also work with Christie’s Cabinet as well as various government agencies and organizations to collect information on resources established since Hurricane Sandy’s arrival on the New Jersey shore at the end of October. “The magnitude of the …

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Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy Cost: $29.4 Billion

Christie administration promises to rebuild, seek federal aid

The most severe and destructive storm to ever hit the Jersey Shore also left a record-high price tag: $29.4 billion in damages. The Christie administration has completed a preliminary analysis that puts the price of Sandy's destruction at the costly figure. The estimate will be further refined in the days ahead, officials say. The preliminary number is based on empirical data, field observations and geographical mapping, and supported by "expert advice" from the administration's cabinet members and an outside consulting company, said Governor Christie. “In a short period of time, we put together a comprehensive and responsible estimate, which may increase in the weeks ahead, and I stand ready to work with our Congressional delegation and …

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