Our Digital Archive from 2000 – 2016
In 1973 my son, Andy, who has a great ear for music, was strolling on a street in Washington, D.C., when he heard singing while passing a bar. It sounded so good to him that he went inside and joined a very small audience enjoying the on-stage band. At the break the musicians went to …
2015 was much ado about nothing The title of the classic comedy by William Shakespeare pretty much sums up politics in Hudson County in 2015. Despite promises of great change, we largely got more of the same. Tom DeGise was re-elected as county executive. Mayor Dawn Zimmer not only maintained control of her City Council …
Local Democratic politicians won’t have a hard choice to make on who to support for president in the upcoming year. Hudson County is Hillary Clinton country. But the reasons for their support will vary strongly. With Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop gearing up to run for governor in 2017, strong support for Clinton could help …
The recent spike in water bills for Bayonne residents may be the start of something big politically. Several years ago, Bayonne officials sold off municipal assets in order to get out from under a huge debt. Their agreement originally established a one-time hefty increase in water rates, after which residents would see a more modest …
Supporters of GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump released a video last week in an attempt to prove that some Muslims celebrated the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001. Trump claimed that he saw “thousands and thousands” of Muslims cheering in New Jersey in the aftermath of the terrorist attack. The somewhat poor quality …
With the fight over moving the Jersey City municipal election from May to November still unsettled, many people are beginning to ask who will replace Mayor Steven Fulop if he manages to win the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017. Is there an heir apparent? Or will there will a free-for-all even among some City …
Don’t ask me why but Judge Judy Sheindlin reminds me of my mom. Her father was a dentist. My mom’s father was not a dentist but my mom was. My maternal grandfather was a Renaissance man interested in the world around him and, in some ways, he took me along with him. He did it …
Voters in Jersey City may get a second chance to derail plans to move the municipal elections from May to November. Earlier this month, a non-binding referendum was narrowly approved by voters as a supposed test of public sentiment. The City Council still has to decide whether to move the election. The supposed justification for …
This year’s League of Municipalities week in Atlantic City could well forecast how local officials are lining up for the 2017 Democratic primary for governor. Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is expected to throw his hat in the ring. But he will need a lot of support from Hudson County political figures, as well as …
Although four of six candidates supported by Mayor Dawn Zimmer came out winners in the Nov. 3 election, some political observers believe that the real winner is Councilman-Elect Ruben Ramos. In some ways, the 2015 municipal elections could be seen as a house-cleaning among the anti-Zimmer forces, with Ramos allegedly getting rid of the last …