Sentencing of former Secaucus Mayor Elwell postponed to April
The sentencing of former Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell, convicted on corruption charges in July, has been moved from March 6 to April 12 at 10 a.m. according to news reports.
On July 6, a federal jury acquitted Elwell of conspiracy to commit extortion and attempted extortion, but convicted him on bribery, in connection with a government sting. Federal prosecutors claimed that Solomon Dwek, an FBI informant posing as a real estate developer, gave Elwell $10,000 cash through Ronald Manzo in order to get favoritism on development projects. Elwell has said he saw the money as a campaign contribution rather than a bribe. Charges against Ronald Manzo’s brother, the former Assemblyman and Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo, were recently dismissed (see interesting comments from Manzo about the Elwell case in a story by Al Sullivan inside this edition.) Ronald Manzo’s sentencing is scheduled for March 26.
U.S. District Court Judge Jose L. Linares denied an attempt by the former Secaucus mayor to have his bribery conviction overturned last year.
Performing Arts Center fundraiser Mar. 3
The Secaucus Public School District Board of Education on Mar. 3 at 7 p.m. plans to hold a fundraiser for the PAC improvements starring Gypsy, a musical tribute to Fleetwood Mac, with a special performance by Secaucus Students.
Gypsy will be live at the Arthur F Couch Performing Arts Center. For more information, call Linda Wilhelm at (201) 974-2053.
Secaucus to receive an increase in school aid
Secaucus is due to receive a 39.5 percent increase in school aid, the highest increase for Hudson County, according to state aid numbers released by Gov. Chris Christie. Christie unveiled a $32.1 billion budget set to begin July 1 that increased overall funding for schools by $212 million. Secaucus received $664,666 last year and is due to get an additional $262,620 for a total of $927,286.
Gov. Christie and acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf visited the school district last year to announce major education reforms. Secaucus is one of 10 school districts that are part of a statewide educator evaluation pilot program. The program is part of the proposed School Children First Act, which would evaluate teachers 50 percent on input and observation of teachers at work in the classroom and 50 percent on student output – 35 percent of which can be on assessments and how well students perform on standardized testing.
In other Hudson County municipalities, Jersey City is due to get $1 increase, North Bergen is due to get a 6 percent increase of $1,711,379, Weehawken will receive of 4.8 percent increase of $121,512, and Union City actually will get a .1 percent reduction of $213,717.
Meadowlands Hospital appoints new acting president and CEO
Meadowlands Hospital announced in a statement Monday that Lynn McVey has been promoted to acting president and CEO. McVey succeeds Tom Gregorio who left his position to pursue an opportunity in the healthcare-technology sector according to the press release.
“The MHMC Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Lynn McVey has been appointed Acting President and CEO of our facility,” said MHMC spokesman Bill Maer. “The entire hospital community looks forward to working with Lynn McVey as she takes on her new leadership role, with the goal of making Meadowlands one of the top hospitals in this region.”
McVey most recently served as vice president of operations for MHMC. Maer said her subject matter expertise of evidence-based management is timely in today’s turbulent healthcare climate. Prior to her work at MHMC, she gained three decades of health care experience, working at several area hospitals, including Palisades Medical Center, St. Mary’s Hospital and St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center.
“I look forward to working with the many dedicated members of the Meadowlands Hospital staff as we continue to transform the facility into a leading healthcare provider in Northern New Jersey,” McVey said. “My priority is to work with the Board of Directors to move their vision forward as I take on this new responsibility as the acting president of Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center.”
McVey has lectured extensively and has been widely published on various healthcare related issues. McVey received her Bachelor of Science degree from William Paterson University and will receive her master’s degree in health management from the College of St. Elizabeth in 2012.
“The MHMC Board wants to thank Tom Gregorio for his work over the last two years in helping to make the hospital a quality healthcare facility,” said Maer, who noted that Gregorio will serve as a member of the MHMC Community Advisory Board. “In one year, the new MHMC has not only improved the quality of patient care and been an active member of the Hudson and Bergen County community; it also has successfully increased the number of patients using the hospital.”
Gov calls for income tax reduction
Gov. Chris Christie recently unveiled a $32.1 billion budget last month set to begin July 1 that increased funding for schools ($212 million), public colleges ($107 million), and transportation projects ($89 million). He also proposed a 10 percent income tax cut that would be phased in over three years and said that it will “make us more competitive with other states and attract more jobs to New Jersey.” Christie’s budget reflects an 8 percent increase – an additional $2.1 billion in spending. While he anticipates a significant increase in revenue by about 7.5 percent, Democrats were against the income tax reduction and said in a news conference following his budget address that the real issue in New Jersey is property taxes.
“We are approximately $325 million underperforming [in tax revenues],” said Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) last month. He said the state is behind in revenue by 3 percent and he was concerned about how the state would make up for lost money, given Christie’s 10 percent income tax cut. Christie also proposed a $1.07 billion pension payment, which falls short of analysts’ predictions of how much is needed to cover the pension payment. “What is the back-up plan? How are we going to compensate if we are missing money?” said Prieto.
While Christie repeated throughout his budget address that the New Jersey comeback has begun, Prieto said that higher unemployment rates than the national average signifies that “Our comeback has taken longer. We haven’t gotten out of the hole like other states.”
New library database makes resumé writing easy
The Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center has acquired Cypress Resume, an online tool that helps you effortlessly create a professional resume in just a few minutes. Cypress can be found on the library’s website: Secaucus.bccls.org, under the heading of “databases” found on the left hand side of the page. It is listed under “C” for Cypress Resume.
Cypress Resume’s database covers virtually all professions, grouping job types by core tasks. With Cypress Resume, there’s no need to compose anything. A user enters basic information and Cypress handles the task of writing concise, descriptive statements detailing abilities to the resume builder. For more information, call (201) 330-2083.
Red Hats at the Beach event
The Dolittle Dames of Secaucus and others from the “Red Hat” community are coordinating a Wildwood excursion for their Third Annual Red Hats two-night bus trip from May 29 to May 31. The bus trip includes transportation, hotel accommodations, and a variety of tour choices, meals, contests, live entertainment and more. Anyone interested must indulge in the red hat regalia.
The Red Hat Society has become the international society dedicated to reshaping the way women are viewed in today’s culture. Tickets are first come, first serve. A deposit is required. For more info, call Mary Ann Mastro (201) 865-9107.
Medieval Times revamps production
After four years, Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament’s NJ Castle is launching a new live production, which includes an upgraded menu and new story, lighting, choreography, battle scenes, costumes, horse dressage elements, and a new soundtrack recorded in Kiev, Ukraine. Almost two years in the making, the new live production presents even more audience favorites such as live jousting, swordplay, horsemanship, and falconry. Guests are taken back in time and encouraged to cheer for one of six “Knights of the Realm” named after historic regions of medieval Spain. The castle is located in Lyndhurst. For more info, visit: www.medievaltimes.com.