Fulop opens HQ, says ‘another Jersey City’ is possible
JERSEY CITY – Before a packed room at his new campaign headquarters, Jersey City Councilman and 2013 mayoral candidate Steven Fulop told supporters Saturday, “There is no reason that Jersey City can’t be everything we imagine it can be – with the best schools, safe streets, clean streets. It is possible.”
Fulop used the opening of his headquarters at 2175 Kennedy Blvd. introduce his slate of candidates, many of whom are newcomers to the world of politics. Thus far the Fulop slate includes Frank Gajewski (Ward A), Khemraj Ramchal (Ward B), Sean Connors (Ward D), Candice Osborne (Ward E), and City Councilwoman Diane Coleman (Ward F). City Councilman Rolando Lavarro Jr., Joyce Waterman, and Daniel Rivera are running for the three at-large seats on the council.
Fulop, who is running against Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, has yet to announce who will run on his ticket in Ward C.
“This campaign is about going into neighborhoods and repairing, block by block, person by person,” Fulop added. “I know that if you give me the opportunity, and you give this team the opportunity, to show you that things can be different, we will achieve more than you think we will achieve. I promise you that.”
Campaign officials estimated that 200 to 250 people attended the campaign kickoff at the new headquarters.
“Over the next four months we’re going to have an election where there is a clear choice, a clear choice between two visions – and I use the term ‘vision’ loosely for one side,” Lavarro told the crowd of supporters and volunteers. Laying out some of the policy differences between Fulop and Healy on policing strategies, tax abatements, and municipal spending, Lavarro said, “People…have a very clear choice in this election. You can go forward, or you can stick with the status quo.”
Noting that she has often been asked to run for City Council by previous mayoral candidates, Coleman added, “I said no so many times because I didn’t like politicians. I didn’t like that they would stand in my face and tell me one thing, and then turn around and do something else.”
She said she only agreed to join the Fulop slate after determining that he and his campaign “stood for the same things I stand for, helping the little people in Jersey City.”
In a statement released over the weekend, Healy spokesman Joshua Henne said, “Mayor Healy welcomes Steve Fulop and his team to the race.”
A third mayoral candidate, Jerry Walker, is scheduled to officially launch his campaign tomorrow at noon in Journal Square. – E. Assata Wright
Report: NFL player, former Bayonne resident Britt drives friend to hospital following alleged stabbing incident
HUDSON COUNTY – According to a report on NJ.com, a man was stabbed at a home on Van Nostrand Avenue in Jersey City after attending a birthday party. The man, whose name has not been released, has been described as a friend of former Rutgers University football star Kenny Britt, who drove the victim to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was treated.
The victim’s injuries are considered to be non-life threatening, according to the report on NJ.com.
Police were originally called to the home after reports that a fight broke out, according to the web site. By the time police arrived on the scene, however, there was no evidence of any altercation.
About 90 minutes later, police were called back to the area after reports of gunshots were heard near the home where the birthday party took place.
Britt, who grew up in Bayonne, now plays in the NFL for the Tennessee Titans and has been in a number of run-ins with the law.
PF&G lawyers offer free seminar
The lawyers of Plata Ferrer & Gutierrez LLC are offering a free seminar series on estate planning beginning Thursday, Jan. 17, at Palisades Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. Seminars will focus on estate planning and asset protection planning. The series is structured to educate and bring awareness to the importance of having a proper estate plan in place. Estate plans allow people to name beneficiaries, appoint guardians for minors, plan for those with special needs and much more. The lawyers of PF&G will provide an overview of the federal and state tax systems as well as address planning for incapacity.
To RSVP, email mferrer@plataferrer.com or call (201) 875-1001 by Jan. 10.
High Tech National Honor Society donates books to Covenant House
High Tech High School’s National Honor Society sponsored a book drive recently to benefit the nonprofit youth outreach center Covenant House’s Crisis Care in formerly flood-stricken Atlantic City, announced Dr. Joseph Giammarella, director of High Tech.
“Hurricane Sandy left a great path of destruction in its wake,” said Joan Marie Bellotti, department liaison for High Tech’s Language Arts Department and co-facilitator of the NHS. “Covenant House lost vital educational materials as a result of Sandy.”
The NHS solicited donations of various standardized test review books, biology textbooks, lab manuals, writing aids, and novels from staff and students to replenish the bookshelves at Covenant House in Atlantic City. In all, those donations filled 12 cartons.
David Polito, veteran social studies instructor and co-facilitator of the NHS, kindly took the time to drive down to Atlantic City. He personally handed over the cartons of donated books to the Crisis Care division of Covenant House.
In 1989, the nonprofit Covenant House began its outreach programs in the Garden State, providing basic necessities to homeless youth on the streets of Newark and Atlantic City. Since then, Covenant House has added more services and improved upon the quality of those services with expanded outreach programs in Paterson and Cumberland County. Covenant House has also formed partnerships with schools, organizations, and other agencies to serve all youth in need in New Jersey.
High Tech is a countywide high school based in North Bergen.
Shire 2013 ADHD Scholarship
The Shire ADHD Scholarship includes a $2,000 monetary award and offers a prepaid year of ADHD coaching services. The ADHD coaching services are provided by the Edge Foundation and are intended to assist the scholarship recipient with the transition to higher education. Fifty one-time scholarships will awarded in June 2013. The deadline to apply is March 27.
For information on eligibility requirements, the scholarship application process, and more, visit www.shireadhdscholarship.com.