Reporter holiday ad deadlines, office closings
The offices of the Hudson Reporter will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, 2014, in observance of New Year’s Day. The office will reopen Thursday, Jan. 2.
Thus, the advertising and editorial deadlines for the Hudson Reporter newspapers will change.
For the Wednesday, Jan. 1 Bayonne Community News, the deadline for editorial content is Friday, Dec. 27 at 9 a.m. and the deadlines for classified and display advertising are noon that day.
Instead of the regular North Bergen Reporter, Secaucus Reporter, Weehawken Reporter, Union City Reporter, West New York Reporter, Hoboken Reporter, and Jersey City Reporter for Jan. 5, the Hudson Reporter will be publishing our annual county-wide “Year in Review” that Sunday. That special edition will not contain letters to the editor. The deadline is Friday, Dec. 27 at 9 a.m., for editorial content, and the deadlines for classified and display advertising are Monday, Dec. 30 at noon.
Jersey City student wins PATH poster contest
Ana Tejada of P.S. 27 won this year’s PATH holiday poster contest and will see her work adorn stations and rail cars throughout the holiday season.
“Every year, the selection of the winning PATH holiday poster helps spread cheer throughout our rail system,’’ said Stephen Kingsberry, PATH’s director and general manager. “During the sometimes stressful holiday hustle-and-bustle, Ana’s cheerful poster of a smiling Lady Liberty will brighten the commutes of our passengers.”
PATH officials and representatives of Jersey City public schools honored Ana and two runners-up. Placing second was Yokeiris Cedano, a fifth-grade student at P.S. 8, while third place went to Thomas Nguyen, an eighth-grade student at P.S. 11.
The winners each receive four tickets to the “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” and complimentary 10-trip PATH SmartLink cards, provided by the Port Authority to get the winners and their families to and from the show. The Port Authority also gave the winners American Express Gift cards – $50 to the first-place winner and $25 each to the second and third place winners. The winners received art supplies from the Jersey City Visual and Performing Arts Department and Jersey City Board of Education.
PATH’s annual holiday poster event for Jersey City elementary and middle school students began 24 years ago through a partnership between PATH and the Jersey City Board of Education’s Visual and Performing Arts Program. Students, under the guidance of their art teachers, submitted approximately 500 holiday posters to PATH for judging.
Fulop’s proposal draws wrath of NRA
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has reacted badly to Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop’s proposal that the purchase of weapons for law enforcement purposes be tied to the willingness of weapons manufacturers to go along with background checks and other public safety concerns in regards to crimes committed with the use of fire arms.
The NRA opposes things such as a national registry of gun owners and federal background checks, concepts that mayors such as Fulop, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Sen. Cory Booker have asked for.
Fulop, like former Mayor Jerramiah Healy, is a member of the New Jersey Mayors Against Illegal Guns
“As fellow New Jersey mayors, we want to share our support for Mayor Steven Fulop of Jersey City for taking steps to keep our communities safe,” the group said in a statement released on Dec. 18. “After proposing an initiative to survey gun manufacturers bidding to supply firearms to local law enforcement, Mayor Fulop was the target of baseless and offensive criticism from a member of the National Rifle Association board of directors. Mayor Fulop is asking straightforward questions and encouraging common-sense measures like comprehensive background checks for one reason: to save lives. We stand by him and we pledge to continue our shared mission to make the Garden State safer by keeping guns out of dangerous hands.”
Since its creation in April 2006, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has grown from 15 members to more than 1,000 mayors from across the country. The coalition has more than 1.5 million grassroots supporters, making it the largest gun violence prevention advocacy organization in the country.
Co-chaired by Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, Mayors Against Illegal Guns has united the nation’s mayors around these common goals: protecting communities by holding gun offenders accountable; demanding access to crime gun trace data that is critical to law enforcement efforts to combat gun trafficking; and working with legislators to fix weaknesses and loopholes in the law that make it far too easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns. Learn more at www.MayorsAgainstIllegalGuns.org.
NY/NJ Super Bowl host committee releases updated ‘Join the Huddle’ calendar
The NY/NJ Super Bowl Host Committee has announced an updated calendar for the “Join the Huddle” tour presented by P.C. Richard & Son, the first-ever mobile tour associated with a Super Bowl.
The tour is traveling throughout New Jersey and New York over the next two months, carrying a unique game-day experience for residents and fans.
Hudson County stops will be Jan. 8 in Secaucus, at the Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction Station, and Jan. 15 in Jersey City, at the P.C. Richard & Son Superstore.
The tour will visit Hudson, Bergen, Essex, and seven other counties in the Garden State.
Comcast Foundation awards grants to two Hudson County non-profits
The Comcast Foundation announced on Dec. 18 that it had awarded $34,000 in grants to two nonprofit organizations in Hudson County.
The local recipients are the Boys & Girls Club of Hudson County, which received a $25,000 grant to support its Club Tech, and the Union League of Hudson County, which received $9,000 for its Technology Training for Youth program.
“The Comcast Foundation is proud to award these grants to our partner organizations to improve the lives of our local neighbors,” said Charisse R. Lillie, vice president of community investment for Comcast Corporation and president of the Comcast Foundation. “Through this support, we remain committed to closing the digital divide, empowering young people to become leaders, and engaging our employees and local citizens in volunteerism.”
Assembly approved Fulop-requested changes to pension system
In a move requested by Mayor Steve Fulop, the state Assembly passed a bill this week that would increase the retirement age for new municipal employees from 60 to 65, and would expand the number of years of service from 20 to 25 to qualify for the pension.
Fulop estimates the annual savings to the city can be as much as $20 million.
The bill was sponsored by state Assemblyman Vincent Prieto. A companion bill in the state Senate is sponsored by state Sen. Sandra Cunningham and Sen. Brian Stack.