By Bob Holt - NJ NEWSROOM - August 9, 2010

The Camden libraries saga took another turn Monday. Officials in New Jersey have apparently found a way to save Camden's public library system in whole or at least part. Mayor Dana Redd said Monday that city officials will look to join the county library system.

Mayor Redd has announced her plan to save the city's libraries from closing for good Monday at a news conference in Camden.

"In the coming days my administration, working along with city council and the county, will take the appropriate steps needed to begin this process," said Redd.

The city's library board says it must close all three of its libraries by the end of the year because funding has been slashed so drastically that it can't afford to keep operating.

By BRUCE SHIPKOWSKI • Associated Press • August 9, 2010

TRENTON — Drivers involved in accidents that result in death or serious injury would have to submit to sobriety testing under a bill advancing in the Legislature.

The legislation stems from a fatal one-car crash in Southampton in July 2007 that killed a 17-year-old from Evesham.

Anthony J. Farrace, a passenger in the car, was killed when it hit a tree.

His body was tested for the presence of alcohol or drugs, as permitted by law, but the 17-year-old driver was not required to submit to testing. She eventually was cited for careless driving, for which she paid a $200 fine and had her license suspended for six months.

The accident spurred Farrace's father to push for legislation.

Currently, drivers can only be tested for drugs or alcohol when there is evidence or a clear-cut suspicion that a driver is under the influence.

By DEBORAH HIRSCH • Courier-Post Staff • August 7, 2010

GLOUCESTER TWP. — Mayor Dave Mayer plans to introduce a $25.3 million spending plan Monday night that will cover the six-month transition period until the township reverts to a calendar year budget Jan. 1.

Mayer said the move aligns the township with labor contracts, allows for better long-term financial planning and could even help leverage state aid. And at least for this short budget cycle, taxpayers won't face any increases.

"It makes sense," Mayer said. "We had to get control of our finances. Residents in our town have seen very large tax increases . . . over the last several years and we just can't continue down that road anymore."

The township ran on a calendar year until 1991, when the state required all municipalities with populations of 35,000 or more to switch to its July 1 to June 30 fiscal year schedule.

BY MAX PIZZARO- POLITICKERNJ- AUGUST 5, 2010

In the face of Christie administration assessments that his budget forecast is "wildly" inflated, David Rosen, chief budget officer of the state Office of Legislative Services, defended his projections as sober and clear-eyed in testimony to the Assembly Budget Committee this morning.

Rosen's office estimates that the state faces a $10.5 billion structural deficit next year, $3.1 billion bigger than the deficit number offered by OLS in 2009 at the prodding of Republicans. Noting Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean's (R-Westfield) demands on OLS at the end of the Jon Corzine era last year, Greenwald leaped on the projected 2012 figure as evidence that Christie essentially has not delivered significant change or solved the state's budget crisis.