New Jersey Voter Registration Deadline Approaching

Those who haven't yet can do so by Oct. 16. Here are some resources.

The general election may not be until Nov. 6, but those who want to make their voices heard and haven't registered yet have even less time to make sure they can hit the polls. Registration must be received in New Jersey by at least 21 days before the election. That means that the deadline is Oct. 16. Those who haven't registered yet can head to register online before the deadline at rockthevote.com.    Those in the military and overseas can visit the website of the Federal Voting Assistance program to get started. 

•  256 Comments
• Photos (1)

NJ Schools Prepare to Implement New Teacher Evaluations

With teacher’s tenure now tied to the evaluations, state sets deadlines for districts to decide on the process and performance models

New Jersey’s plans for having a statewide teacher evaluation system in place by 2013-2014 goes full throttle this year, with every school district in the state being required to start putting the key pieces in place. Much of the attention has been on the more than two dozen districts that have signed on to be pilots of the new program, 11 last year and another 10 this year. An additional 14 districts are also piloting a new principal evaluation system. But the balance of the state’s nearly 600 districts are hardly off the hook, as the state has begun rolling out timelines and regulations that they will need to follow in preparation for having the statewide system ready by next year. It will start with every district and school putting …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

William Mays

6:25 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Good, now lets make sure that Superintendents don't abuse this.   more ›

Local Museums Free for Bank of America Cardholders

Bank of America/Merrill Lynch cardholders receive free admission to more than 150 museums on the first full weekend of each month

As part of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch's Museums On Us promotion, now in its 15th season, BoA cardholders can visit cultural venues across the country for free on the first full weekend of each month, including this weekend, Sept. 1 and 2. There are more than 150 museums participating in 91 cities nationwide. Just present photo ID and a valid Bank of America/Merrill Lynch credit or debit card. The offer excludes fundraising events, special exhibitions and ticketed shows. You can take advantage of the promotion this weekend at the following local New Jersey museums: And the following New York City museums: Other upcoming weekends when this promotion will be offered include Oct. 6-7 and Nov 3-4.

• Photos (1)

Fort Lee High School Still Among State’s Top 100, Drops in Rankings

Fort Lee High School went from number 72 in 2010 to 97 in New Jersey Monthly’s biennial report, which is based on a formula compiled from state Department of Education data for the 2010-2011 school year.

Fort Lee High School once again ranked among the state’s top 100 high schools, according to New Jersey Monthly’s biennial report, but the local school dropped from 72 in 2010 to 97, according to a formula based on state Department of Education (DOE) data for the 2010-2011 school year. The data upon which New Jersey Monthly’s rankings are based comes from the DOE’s most recent New Jersey School Report Card and includes only public high schools for the top 100 schools, according to the publication, with charter schools left out of the mix. According to New Jersey Monthly, the following categories were used “as indicators” in compiling the rankings: New Providence High School in Union County, which ranked fifth in 2010, was the number one …

•  35 Comments
• Photos (1)

Luca D.

2:50 pm on Wednesday, September 26, 2012

I never graduated high school, but I got my G.E.D. through the mail.   more ›

Christie Officially Out of VP Contention

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan selected as GOP nominee, while NJ governor may serve as convention keynote speaker.

After months of rumors that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be tapped as the GOP vice president nomineee, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney instead chose Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan on Saturday for the spot. Christie may now have the opportunity to serve as the GOP convention's keynote speaker later this month in Tampa, Fla. Being named the keynote speaker could open the door for Christie to run in 2016 and still allow him to serve a second term as governor. “With Paul Ryan on the ticket, this is a team that understands the economic stagnation our country has been facing the last four years and the urgency with which we need to change course," Christed said in a prepared statement Saturday afternoon. "The Romney-Ryan team is uniquely …

•  80 Comments
• Photos (1)

OMGs from Jersey PDs

Alleged Robber Picks a Bad Time to Phone Home

Also this week in wacky New Jersey police news, holy stupidity, Batman! A "superhero" causes a stir at a Home Depot.

Each week, Patch combs through the more shocking, surprising and often absurd alleged criminal acts and police-related incidents that unfold throughout New Jersey. Here’s what went on this week for “OMGs from NJ PDs.” Can You Arrest Me Now? Good: In Part 1 of Criminals Making It Easy for Cops, we take you to Hackettstown. Before Matthew Davis, 20, allegedly tried to rob a gas station there, he had a very pressing phone call to make. To his own home. Using the gas station’s phone. You can guess where this is going. Police used reverse dialing to find Davis’ home and arrested him there. Champagne Wishes and Jail Cell Dreams: Part 2 Criminals Making It Easy for Cops takes us to Lakehurst, where a convenience store employee showed some …

• Photos (1)

Searchable Databases

New Jersey 2012 Presidential Campaign Contributions

Search our interactive database to see how much your neighbors gave to Obama and Romney.

Patch has created an interactive database so you can see how much your neighbors are donating to the presidential campaign—and to which candidate they’re writing their checks. We’ve included communities across New Jersey, so if you want to see what the campaign contributions in nearby towns are like, go right ahead. The information in the database was downloaded from the Federal Election Commission’s website. The data is based on quarterly reports, and is current through July. The data will be updated in mid-October.

• Photos (1)

Marijuana Proponents Hold Their Breath on Medical Pot and Legalization

After years of bureaucratic delays, the first medical marijuana dispensary could open its doors in the Garden State within a month

By Tara Nurin, NJSpotlight.com As New Jerseyans wait to learn whether the state Senate will follow its peers in the Assembly to pass a bill to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, the first medical marijuana dispensary in New Jersey may be little more than a month away from opening. More than two years after former Gov. Jon Corzine signed the bill legalizing medical pot, the Greenleaf Compassion Center is preparing to open in Montclair in early September and is already growing the maximum three strains of grass in preparation for opening day. “Being a funeral director for 15 years, I would hear from families whose loved one had been dying over time and used marijuana for relief. But they all felt like criminals,” said …

• Photos (1)

Anti-Bullying Law Runs Out of Cash

Ambitious and strict, the state's new anti-bullying law is also out of funds.

The deal was announced in the governor’s office in early March, a bipartisan agreement to save New Jersey’s anti-bullying law with an infusion of cash and a promise to take a harder look at ways the state can support school districts. Four months later, the cash for last year has been spent, none is appropriated for the next, and the task force created to examine the law and its impact is still to meet. Such has been the checkered history of the new law, considered one of the toughest in the country for its strict rules to investigate and closely track accusations of bullying. But from the start, some schools have bristled at several of the requirements, with a few bringing a legal challenge against the state claiming that it was creating …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)
• Documents (1)

Keith Jensen

11:56 am on Saturday, July 7, 2012

Assemblywoman Huttle lied, just to get elected. Now, once again our taxes will have to be raised to pay for this, unless she explains a better way to fund it. I have my ideas how to do it without raising taxes. One means which everyone is familiar with, although she will not recognize, is by addressing the school funding formula: http://fortlee.patch.com/articles/fort-lee-republican-state-…   more ›