
Seeded on Tue Jan 26, 2010 9:35 PM EST (observer.com)
In late October, Newsday, the Long Island daily that the Dolans bought for $650 million, put its web site, newsday.com, behind a pay wall. The paper was one of the first non-business newspapers to take the plunge by putting up a pay wall, so in media circles it has been followed with interest. Could its fate be a sign of what others, including The New York Times, might expect?
So, three months later, how many people have signed up to pay $5 a week, or $260 a year, to get unfettered access to newsday.com?
The answer: 35 people. As in fewer than three dozen. As in a decent-sized elementary-school class.
Oh, you Dolans. $5 a week? Get out.
- 5votes


Seeded on Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:08 AM EST (CNN)
Jeremy Cowart is a professional artist in Nashville, Tennessee, who has photographed rock stars such as Sting and Britney Spears. But on Saturday, he turned his lens on people unlikely to be recognized by anyone but family.
Cowart staged a one-day, worldwide photo shoot called Help Portrait.
"We just want to show people that they are beautiful, that they are valued," Cowart told CNN.
Cowart used the Internet months ago to spread his idea: shoot everyday people, especially the disadvantaged, the homeless, people down on their luck and struggling families. He wanted to make them feel special.
charity,
internet,
holiday,
event,
giving,
volunteers,
photography,
us-news,
viral,
photographers,
jeremy-cowart,
helpportrait - 1vote


Seeded on Fri Oct 9, 2009 11:02 AM EDT (northjersey.com)
A massive project to restore a wildlife habitat in the Meadowlands has raised fears of increased bird strikes at nearby Teterboro Airport, which already has the highest rate of hits in the region.
The Federal Aviation Administration said more migratory birds would be drawn to the 250-acre plot of wetlands in the Richard P. Kane Natural Area, creating a "threat to public safety."
Teterboro averaged five bird strikes per 10,000 landings and departures last year, more than double the rate at Newark Liberty International and La Guardia airports, according to an analysis by The Record. Teterboro's 651 recorded bird strikes since 2000 is more than any airport in the region except John F. Kennedy — despite having hundreds of thousands fewer departures and arrivals.
airport,
meadowlands,
birds,
new-jersey,
wetlands,
environment,
nj,
us-news,
faa,
accidents,
us-army-corps-of-engineers,
teterboro-airport,
teb,
bird-strikes,
richard-p-kane-natural-area - 1vote


Seeded on Wed Oct 7, 2009 12:18 PM EDT (WNYC New York Public Radio)
New Jersey has more governmental entities than just about any place of the planet. And we must like it because in the 30 years I have been on this we have only zeroed out ONE TOWN. What follows below is a primer on how we got here and a deeper look at some of the unintended consequences of homerule.
taxes,
meadowlands,
development,
new-jersey,
government,
nj,
us-news,
property-tax,
primer,
xanadu,
home-rule,
bob-hennelly - 1vote


Seeded on Wed Oct 7, 2009 11:52 AM EDT (maplewood.patch.com)
After hearing passionate testimony from differing views on the annual county-run deer hunt in South Mountain Reservation, Maplewood's Township Committee voted to go forward with the deer hunt. Reflecting concerns about the hunt, Maplewood Mayor Vic De Luca voted cast the sole dissenting vote.
Officials painted the hunt as regrettable but necessary. The deer, they emphasized, are overpopulated and consequently tearing apart the forest's flora and fauna. Officials and supporters presented evidence demonstrating how plant life has dramatically improved as a result of controlling the deer population and other efforts by government workers and volunteers.
hunting,
deer,
parks,
new-jersey,
environment,
nj,
us-news,
deer-hunt,
overpopulation,
south-mountain-reservation,
preservation,
maplewood,
essex-county - 3votes


Seeded on Thu Oct 1, 2009 6:05 PM EDT (NJ.com)
State Police aviation units rescued an 82-year-old hiker who apparently suffered a heart attack today in a wooded section of Passaic County, authorities said.
Members of the State Police's Aviation Unit air lifted the victim, who has not been identified, from a wooded area behind Snake Den Road in Ringwood earlier today, according to Capt. Gerald Lewis Jr.
- 1vote


Seeded on Tue Sep 29, 2009 6:08 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Essex County sheriff's officers have stepped up patrols in the South Mountain Reservation after the discovery of animal carcasses possibly used in a religious rite, the second such find in a week.
The latest discovery came Monday shortly after 11 a.m. when sheriff's officers on routine patrol discovered badly decomposed animal remains -- possibly those of a dog -- dumped at the end of a trail at Crest Drive, said Kevin Lynch, a spokesman for Sheriff Armando Fontoura.
- 1vote


Seeded on Sun Jul 26, 2009 9:15 AM EDT (NJ.com)
A 127-year-old barn in the Watchung Reservation that was part of a once-thriving resort village but has fallen into disrepair will receive a $1.49 million renovation, with Union County paying nearly three-quarters of the cost.
The 3,200 square-foot Masker's barn, one of the 10 buildings that make up the Deserted Village of Feltville/Glenside Park in Berkeley Heights, will be completely restored, county manager George Devanney said.
- 1vote


Seeded on Sun Jul 19, 2009 9:12 AM EDT (NJ.com)
Girdling the waist of New Jersey like a shimmering sash is a historical and natural wonder whose fame is long overdue.
It is the Delaware & Raritan Canal. It was the busiest and most important canal that most people never heard of and is now the busiest state park and longest bike trail that many people don't know.
Sometimes called the "mystery canal" because few documents survive of its building and century of service, the D&R Canal is finally getting some respect. This summer, a series of anniversary programs will promote the canal credited with bringing the Industrial Revolution to New Jersey and the unique park it has become.
anniversary,
park,
new-jersey,
nj,
us-news,
events,
canal,
state-park,
bike-path,
industrial-revolution,
d-r-canal,
delaware-raritan-canal - 3votes


Seeded on Tue May 12, 2009 9:32 AM EDT (NJ.com)
A resident shot a man last night when the would-be intruder tried to enter a home in the Deserted Village of Feltville, authorities said.
The shooting in the secluded section of Watchung Reservation occurred around 9 p.m. on Cataract Hollow Road, Union County Police Chief Dan Vaniska said. He said the victim, whose name and address were not available, was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital and was listed in stable condition.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:44 AM EDT (The New York Times)
It was a typical Saturday morning in South Orange's Cameron Field Park. There was sunshine, friends, bagels — and rubber gloves and heavy-duty rain boots.
About 50 residents including Seton Hall University students, members of the Pure Progress campaign, and local business owners met for the Main Street South Orange annual Rahway River Clean-up. The volunteers grabbed a quick bite, threw on rubber gloves and went to work to help beautify South Orange's section of the Rahway River.
cleanup,
new-jersey,
environment,
nj,
us-news,
rivers,
seton-hall,
ecology,
earth-day,
essex-county,
south-orange,
rahway-river,
earth-week - 2votes


Seeded on Sun Apr 5, 2009 10:14 AM EDT (NJ.com)
The relicensing last week of the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station, the nation's oldest nuclear power plant, guarantees that nuclear energy is here to stay in New Jersey, for at least a few more decades, even as state officials continue to push alternative sources of energy.
The Garden State draws about 53 percent of its electricity from four nuclear plants -- a reliance on nuclear energy far above the national average of about 20 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Along with Oyster Creek in Lacey Township, which was cleared by federal regulators for a new license on Thursday to operate another 20 years, the state's electricity flows from the Hope Creek and the twin Salem Creek reactors in Salem County.
- 1vote


Seeded on Sun Apr 5, 2009 10:09 AM EDT (NJ.com)
Plant regeneration is not a hot water-cooler topic. Not likely to spark a heated dinner table discussion. But don't tell Philip Notestine it's not exciting.
The chairman of the Mountain Lakes' Woodlands Management Committee is ecstatic there are signs that plant life is improving in the forest of his suburban Morris County town. He credits the start of restoration of natural areas to his town's decision to hunt the local white-tail deer herd.
"We saw woodlands not re-generating, song birds and forest understory disappearing," said Notestine. "The deer were destroying the forest. Something had to be done."
- 2votes


Seeded on Thu Apr 2, 2009 3:22 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Once touted as a key economic engine for North Jersey, the Meadowlands Xanadu project is on the rocks with retail tenants balking, a delayed opening, and a key lender defaulting. As a result, Meadowlands Xanadu officials had to announce that much of the construction had to be suspended.
Now, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex) has jokingly made a proposal: scrap the whole thing - indoor ski slope and all - and turn it into a piece of modern art.
economy,
mall,
development,
new-jersey,
video,
nj,
us-news,
skiing,
economic-development,
xanadu,
richard-codey,
meadownloads,
indoor-ski-slope - 1vote


Seeded on Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:12 PM EDT (NJ.com)
President Obama signed legislation today designating the Great Falls in Paterson as a national park, which provides additional federal protections for the 77-foot waterfall.
The lush area in Passaic just 15 miles from Manhattan is home to the second highest waterfall on the East Coast. The National Park Service had initially declined to add Great Falls to the national park list two years ago, but local advocates including Paterson-native U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-8th Dist.), pressed the case.
- 1vote


Seeded on Fri Mar 20, 2009 1:51 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Rewards are being offered for information about a spate of brush fires that have broken out recently in Harding Township, Morris County.
No one has been injured in any of the blazes, which have all occurred within the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge off Pleasant Plains Road in Harding Township. Four fires have been reported since last month, including three within the past week.
new-jersey,
crime,
nj,
us-news,
arson,
fires,
national-wildlife-refuge,
reward,
morris-county,
great-swamp,
great-swamp-wildlife-refuge - 1vote


Seeded on Sun Mar 8, 2009 10:56 AM EDT (NJ.com)
The 161-year-old Willow Hall in Morristown, once the home of industrialist George Vail, had been on Morris County's top 10 list of endangered historic sites. But it is no longer endangered.
The house and 6-acre tract was bought by Filippone's Passaic River Coalition last year to be the new headquarters of the environmental organization.
Now, they are moving ahead with a series of lofty goals: to renovate the house and restore the property, get the site national and international historic recognition, make it a local and county public asset, while making the house the centerpiece of an environmental educational program.
housing,
development,
new-jersey,
nj,
us-news,
slideshow,
morristown,
morris-county,
george-vail,
passaic-river-coalition,
historic-building,
willow-hall - 1vote


Seeded on Sun Mar 1, 2009 10:27 AM EST (NJ.com)
They are cunning and ferocious, but the mysterious feral pigs of New Jersey were no match for the state's top predators: hunters.
State wildlife officials report that 56 of the bristly-coated swine -- more than half the estimated population -- were killed in December and January in the first New Jersey feral pig hunt in the wilds of Gloucester County.
hunting,
new-jersey,
nj,
us-news,
pets,
feral-pigs,
pigs,
wild-boar,
hunting-season,
wildife,
glouchester-county - 1vote


Seeded on Mon Jan 26, 2009 9:58 AM EST (Editor & Publisher)
As 2008 drew to a close, so did an era of newspaper reporting in New Jersey, as Editor and Publisher chronicled so poignantly in its cover story in the December issue and online. The impact of The Star-Ledger's decline is being felt throughout the state. Here at the ACLU of New Jersey, we've already suffered the consequences of the paper's "shrinking" pains.
The reality of the paper's situation hit me in October when the Star-Ledger failed to cover a story concerning three young men who were roughed up by the Newark Police. In the past, the paper consistently covered stories about our police-practices lawsuits and assigned reporters to both thesState and Newark police beats. Those days are gone.
The loss of more than 150 news staff that left The Star-Ledger under the buyout leaves a chasm in state and local democracy that won't easily be filled.
- 1vote


Seeded on Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:20 PM EST (NJ.com)
The NJ Star Ledger highlights the best in NJ photojournalism for the year 2008
- 1vote


Seeded on Sun Dec 14, 2008 10:19 AM EST (NJ.com)
In 1779, George Washington's Continental Army spent a cold winter at Jockey Hollow, a spot that seemed to offer safety from British attack. Today, it remains an impregnable redoubt -- not for soldiers but for white-tail deer.
The hollow, part of the Morristown National Historical Park, is the federal hole in the doughnut of a regional effort to deal with an overpopulation of deer, standing alone among its southern Morris County and northern Somerset County neighbors in prohibiting hunting.
But the New Jersey Audubon Society and the Morris County Park Commission, concerned about the ravaging of the forests by the exploding deer population, are teaming up to pressure the federal government to change its policy at Jockey Hollow. They will formally ask federal officials to deal with the deer situation and hope to enlist neighboring towns to join the effort.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Oct 20, 2008 10:24 AM EDT (NJ.com)
A Union County man who went missing Sunday evening in cold of the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was found early this morning, police said.
With overnight temperatures dipping into the lower 30s with patchy frost, firefighter found the man about 2 a.m. His condition was not immediately known.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Oct 20, 2008 3:51 AM EDT (NJ.com)
A Union County man remains missing tonight after he wandered off a trail in the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge earlier in the evening, officials said.
With overnight temperatures dipping into the lower 30s with patchy frost, Chatham Township Mayor Kevin Tubbs said rescuers are concerned for the man's health and safety, noting the hiker was unlikely to have brought much equipment.
missing,
new-jersey,
nj,
us-news,
gps,
national-wildlife-refuge,
hiking,
chatham,
great-swamp,
great-swamp-national-wildlife-refuge,
missing-hiker,
cellphone-morris-county - 2votes


Seeded on Mon Jun 2, 2008 12:45 PM EDT (KOB.com - New Mexico News)
An Eyewitness News 4 photographer was cuffed and cited Thursday morning for disobeying a police officer. It was a situation where the photographer was trying to do his job. And now the Albuquerque Police Department is reviewing the tape to see if the officer crossed the line.
police,
journalism,
new-mexico,
nbc,
nbc-news,
photography,
us-news,
scuffle,
press,
albuquerque,
police-brutality,
photo-journalism,
photographers-rights - 1vote


Seeded on Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:32 AM EDT (NJ.com)
A fenced-off, long-contaminated chunk of Liberty State Park is about to get a face-lift to become what federal and state officials are calling an urban wildlife refuge.
The $32 million project is not a cleanup. It's a green makeover, with 234 acres of wasteland in the middle of the 1,100-acre park getting remodeled into a mixture of freshwater wetlands, grasslands, hardwood forests and a salt-water marsh.
"The project could start as early as the next three to four months," said Col. Aniello Tortora of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers yesterday, as he joined a host of state and federal officials atop the Liberty Science Center's glass tower in Jersey City. The venue offered an unobstructed view of the property, which has been reclaimed by a mix of native and invasive trees and grasses since it was fenced off to the public decades ago.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Apr 21, 2008 12:01 PM EDT (NJ.com)
The state Supreme Court ruled today that under the New Jersey Constitution an Internet user has the right to privacy in the subscriber information maintained by the individual's Internet service provider.
Ruling in the case of Shirley Reid, a Cape May County woman who was charged with hacking into her employer's computer system after police obtained her identity from Comcast by using a municipal court subpoena, the high court unanimously held law enforcement had the right to investigate her but should have, instead, used a grand jury subpoena.
privacy,
internet,
rights,
new-jersey,
nj,
comcast,
us-news,
isp,
new-jersey-supreme-court,
new-jersey-constitution,
shirley-reid - 1vote


Seeded on Wed Apr 2, 2008 11:30 AM EDT (wusa9.com)
Like a number of people without a ticket to the Nationals' game Sunday, Mark Butler stood outside the left field gate and watched some of the historic event from a distance. The Minnesota man carried a digital camera to capture the memories. For a member of the Uniformed Division of United States Secret Service, Butler captured too much.
9NEWS NOW photographer Greg Guise was rolling when an officer approached Mark Butler. Butler said the officer demanded he delete any pictures that showed the security checkpoints set up to screen fans for the visit by President George Bush.
"It's kind of like not being in America," Butler said. Butler said he was not interested in the security but in the part of the stadium you could see beyond the gate.
mlb,
washington,
baseball,
rights,
president-bush,
secret-service,
washington-nationals,
photography,
freedom,
us-news,
aclu,
photographers-rights - 2votes


Seeded on Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:03 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Two men were released from police custody this morning after they took photos of Picatinny Arsenal Sunday afternoon, an incident that led to Route 15 in Morris County being shut for three hours last night.
Route 15 was closed in case there was "something hazardous in the vehicle," Phillips said.
The men told authorities a friend who grew up in the area asked them to take pictures to see how the area had changed, Phillips said.
"They looked at the laptop to see if there is anything suspicious," Phillips said. "Everything they told police checked out."
fbi,
terrorism,
new-jersey,
nj,
photography,
us-news,
paranoia,
morris-county,
rockaway-township,
joint-terrorism-task-force,
picatinny-arsenal,
rt-15 - 3votes


Seeded on Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:41 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Despite a letter with the Dover mayor's signature on it accepting an offer to translate parts of the town's website into Spanish, Mayor James Dodd now says he is still opposed to the idea.
In a statement, Dodd said Tuesday night that he is "refusing to create a bilingual town website," and that the letter sent to the Rev. Daniel Martinez, who had offered translation service for free, does not express his true sentiments.
english,
immigrants,
spanish,
internet,
new-jersey,
nj,
language,
translation,
bilingual,
us-news,
web-site,
accessibility,
dover - 3votes


Seeded on Mon Mar 10, 2008 12:24 PM EDT (The Seattle Times)
Christine Francisco has gone on searches, prayed and even asked for help on national television, but after 3 ½ weeks she has lost hope that her husband will come home.
Jobless, two months pregnant and raising two small children, Francisco said she has had to put her emotions behind her and focus on supporting her young family. She believes Nicholas, her husband of seven years, was murdered, but she also understands why authorities say he may have disappeared voluntarily.
- 1vote


Tue Mar 4, 2008 9:19 PM EST

Marksmen killed more than half of the estimated deer population at a northern New Jersey nature preserve during a culling last month that was sharply criticized by some residents and animal rights activists.
Volunteer marksmen shot 213 of an estimated 300 to 400 white-tail deer in South Mountain Reservation, a 2,000-acre preserve that borders hundreds of high-priced homes in a crowded section of the nation's most densely populated state.
"This was a huge success," said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., adding that the county plans to continue the hunt for years to come. "There are hundreds and hundreds of deer still up there ... You just can't do it in one year."
DiVincenzo said the goal is to reduce the deer population — previously estimated by county officials to be between 300 to 400 — down to about 60 deer through annual hunts.
The hunt started Jan. 29 and was held on most Tuesdays and Thursdays through Feb. 28. It was designed to cull white-tailed deer, which reproduce quickly and have become a problem for many New Jersey communities because they ravage vegetation, cause traffic accidents and carry ticks that spread Lyme disease.
Many animal rights activists and some residents criticized the hunt, saying it was dangerous to be shooting near populated areas and that the county should try other options to control the deer population, such as birth control.
"It seems a little barbaric to be shooting guns relatively close to a populated area. The fact that no one got hurt doesn't change my opinion," said South Orange resident Ann Leenay.
DiVincenzo said he would meet soon with the animal rights activists to discuss the hunt results with them.
Hunters fired 250 shots to kill the 213 deer, said Dan Bernier, a consultant who has managed a similar hunt in Union County's Watchung Reservation and was hired by Essex County to help manage this one.
Of the deer killed, 88 were pregnant females — some with twins or triplets — that would have eventually given birth to 147 young deer, Bernier said. "That's a lot of deer that would have been running around here," Bernier said.
Most of the meat was donated to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, where it would provide over 30,000 meals to the needy and homeless people, officials said.
Hunters who logged a certain number of hours were allowed to take 40 pounds of meat.
Continue reading this entry ...
- 1vote


Seeded on Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:19 PM EST (amw.com)
Police in Federal Way, Wash. recovered a red 1992 Toyota Paseo on Feb. 18, 2008 that belongs to a missing father from Seattle. Nicholas Francisco, 28, was reported missing by his wife on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Nicholas' car was spotted by a resident of Heritage Condos who recognized it from media reports and called the police.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:35 PM EST (gothamist.com)
One hundred years ago today, the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad opened for business with one mission – to get the passengers to and from the various railroad terminals on the Hudson County New Jersey side of the river to or from Manhattan who would otherwise have to take ferries. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the PATH, the Port Authority is giving free PATH rides today between 6AM and 11PM.
However, the real story of what became the PATH train starts back in the 1870s, so here's a look at the history behind the PATH.
path,
new-jersey,
nj,
new-york-city,
port-authority,
railroad,
us-news,
trains,
hudson-river,
commuting,
hudson-tunnel-railroad-company - 1vote


Seeded on Fri Feb 22, 2008 10:07 AM EST (FOXNews.com)
Seattle police believe a missing father was a victim of a random crime or took off after he didn't make it home to bake Valentine's Day cookies with his 4-year-old daughter.
"We really don't know what happened to him," Sgt. John Urquhart of the King County Sheriff's Department told FOX News.
Story contains link to video of wife's interview with Greta Van Susteren.
missing,
interview,
seattle,
video,
alert,
us-news,
missing-person,
valentines-day,
greta-van-susteren,
seatac,
nicholas-francisco - 2votes


Seeded on Mon Feb 18, 2008 5:17 PM EST (king5.com)
The car of a SeaTac man who has been missing since Wednesday has been found.
Nicholas Francisco, 28, was last seen around 6 p.m. on February 13 as he was leaving work in Seattle's Queen Anne neighborhood.
- 2votes


Seeded on Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:54 AM EST (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that helps find Nicholas Francisco, a 28-year-old husband, father and graphic designer at Publicis advertising agency on lower Queen Anne in Seattle.
- 2votes


Seeded on Sat Feb 16, 2008 9:32 PM EST (komotv.com)
The wife of a missing local father who hasn't been since Wednesday is begging for help from anyone who can help her find her husband.
"We just need him to come home," said Christine Francisco, wife of Nicholas Francisco, who disappeared after leaving his Queen Anne office Wednesday evening.
"I am begging everybody, begging everybody to please, please help me find my husband because I cannot live my life without him," she said.
Just before he vanished, Nicholas called his wife and promised his 4-year-old daughter, Zea, he'd make Valentine's Day cookies with her, but never showed.
- 4votes


Seeded on Sat Feb 16, 2008 11:26 AM EST (The Seattle Times)
The name of a young SeaTac man reported missing for two days has been entered in a nationwide missing-person database, the King County Sheriff's Office said.
Nicholas Francisco, 28, was last reported seen just after 6 p.m. Wednesday leaving the Queen Anne office of an ad agency where he worked, according to friends. He was wearing a light blue or off-white button-down shirt, a black jacket and bluejeans. He is about 6 feet tall.
- 2votes


Seeded on Fri Feb 15, 2008 12:54 PM EST (The New York Times)
The hunters gathered on Thursday at the glow of dawn on the icy slopes of South Mountain Reservation in Essex County. By sunrise, the thermometer had risen to 27 degrees and they were 30 feet up in tree stands, camouflaged and waiting.
Ranging in age from mid-30s to late 60s, the eight volunteer marksmen included a firefighter, two police officers, construction contractors and retirees. They would be rewarded, after eight half-day tours culling the overpopulated herd, with 40 pounds of venison apiece.
Thursday's hunt was the fifth of nine organized hunts over five weeks in a 2,047-acre park that was laid out by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, where county officials say that proliferating deer have endangered drivers and, as elsewhere in state parks, wounded the ecosystem. The unusual ring of gunfire in such a densely populated pocket of high-end suburbia is the first organized herd-culling in an Essex County park, and has spurred controversy among animal lovers and homeowners.
- 1vote


Seeded on Fri Feb 8, 2008 7:27 AM EST (NJ.com)
Sharpshooters killed 20 deer during the fourth day of the Essex County-sponsored deer hunt in South Mountain Reservation today, bringing the deer-culling total to 139, officials said.
- 1vote


Seeded on Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:33 AM EST (The L.A. Times)
The trouble in the land of foam stickers and glossy glitter glue all started in February, after Contes won a contest sponsored by one of the industry's most popular magazines, Creating Keepsakes. Her winning pages featured photos of her feet and her hairless terrier, Chloe. Her name went into the magazine's Hall of Fame and her work was published in a book of the top 2007 entries.
But Contes -- inadvertently -- had cheated.
- 3votes


Seeded on Sat Dec 22, 2007 1:19 AM EST (USA Today)
A little-noticed provision of the energy bill, which is expected to become law, phases out the 125-year-old bulb in the next four to 12 years in favor of a new generation of energy-efficient lights that will cost consumers more but return their investment in a few months.
...
Under the measure, all light bulbs must use 25% to 30% less energy than today's products by 2012 to 2014. The phase-in will start with 100-watt bulbs in January 2012 and end with 40-watt bulbs in January 2014. By 2020, bulbs must be 70% more efficient.
energy,
congress,
senate,
power,
environment,
light-bulbs,
us-news,
utilities,
efficiency,
jeff-bingaman,
incandescent-bulbs,
energy-bill,
compact-fluorescent - 1vote


Seeded on Thu Dec 6, 2007 9:17 PM EST (Newsday.com)
he New York Civil Liberties Union sued the police department Thursday in an attempt to stop its officers from detaining and questioning photographers and filmmakers who take pictures of city landmarks.
The suit was filed on behalf of Arun Wiita, a 26-year-old graduate student at Columbia University who the NYCLU said was handcuffed in July after an officer spotted him photographing a Manhattan subway station.
- 2votes


Seeded on Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:52 PM EDT (NJ.com)
A former Mrs. New Jersey was arrested in Essex Fells for writing bogus checks to purchase more than $70,000 of antique furniture, authorities said today.
Heather "Hedy" L. Di Carlo, 36, was arrested Wednesday at her home on Fells Road by local police and investigators from the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. The 2005 pageant winner posted her $25,000 bail several hours after detectives raided her house
- 1vote


Seeded on Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:47 PM EDT (NJ.com)
Atlantic City Mayor Robert Levy resigned yesterday, two weeks after dropping out of sight amid reports that he was under investigation for embellishing his military service record and possibly receiving disability benefits he did not deserve.
Levy, 60, a Democrat and Vietnam vet who took office in January 2006, concluded that "public confidence is so eroded" that he decided to resign, his lawyer said yesterday. The lawyer, Edwin Jacobs, also confirmed that he was in discussions with the U.S. attorney over Levy's claims that he had received two awards, "neither of which appear to be supported," Jacobs said.
- 1vote


Seeded on Fri Oct 5, 2007 11:09 PM EDT (NJ.com)
A mother tried to strangle her young daughter then ended her own life in the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge today, said Bill Koch, manager of the refuge based on police information.
The unidentified mother apparently thought she had successfully strangled her 10-year-old daughter in the Long Hill Township section of the refuge. She then killed herself. The method of death is unknown, Koch said.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Sep 10, 2007 5:44 PM EDT (NJ.com)
6 years later, fewer remembrances for horror we can't forget
In Westfield, weeds have taken over the brick walkways around the 9/11 memorial and heavy traffic exhaust has left its mark on the obelisk.
In Morris County -- where fundraising to expand the 9/11 county memorial is stalled for lack of interest -- visitors can no longer throw coins into the pool around the existing monument, custodians said, because the homeless went wading for change and "we were afraid somebody would drown."
memorial,
new-jersey,
nj,
us-news,
9-11,
september-11,
jersey-city,
9-11-memorial,
essex-county,
eagle-rock-reservation,
september-11-memorial - 2votes


Seeded on Mon Aug 6, 2007 11:35 PM EDT (WCBSTV.com)
A woman accused of allowing her 18-year-old son to drink at her birthday party is the first person to be arrested by the county police under a new law.
Karen Dittmer was arrested under the Social Host Law, which was enacted July 17, Nassau County police said Monday.
Dittmer, 45, is accused of allowing her teenage son and several other underage guests to drink beer Sunday evening at a party for her birthday held in the backyard of her West Hempstead home.
- 2votes


Seeded on Mon Jul 30, 2007 7:51 PM EDT (adn.com: Alaska)
Federal law enforcement agents are currently searching the Girdwood home of Alaska U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens.
"All I can say is that agents from the FBI and IRS are currently conducting a search at that residence," said Dave Heller, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI's Anchorage office. The search began earlier this afternoon, he said. It's the only such search warrant currently being served, he said.
fbi,
congress,
senate,
corruption,
raid,
bridge-to-nowhere,
scandal,
ted-stevens,
irs,
us-news,
anchorage,
girdwood,
intenet-tubes - 4votes


Seeded on Fri Jul 20, 2007 1:00 PM EDT (WCBSTV.com)
A Jersey City woman made a shocking discovery on her lawn this morning when she noticed a military rocket launcher lying in the grass.
Niranjana Besai was leaving her house, located at 88 Nelson Street, to go to work just after 8 this morning when she spotted the launcher on her front lawn. She immediately called police.
Sources tell CBS 2 HD that the missile launcher appears similar to the kind that is capable of taking down an aircraft and that Besai's house is located along flight path for Newark Liberty International Airport.
- 2votes


Seeded on Fri Jun 1, 2007 9:15 PM EDT (The New York Times)
It was just six inches.
That was what made the difference at 4:40 a.m. yesterday as Gilberto Cantu, a truck driver from Texas, approached the New Jersey entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel in his big rig, loaded with bathtubs, toilets and plumbing fixtures. The truck was 13 feet 6 inches high. The tunnel has a height limit of 13 feet. Six inches can make a big difference.
Mr. Cantu drove the entire 1.5 miles of the tunnel from Weehawken, N.J., to Manhattan, tearing his way under the Hudson River in the tunnel's center tube and peeling back the roof of his tractor-trailer as if it were a tin can. No one was injured, but an undetermined number of decorative tunnel ceiling tiles were ripped off.
Check the photo!
- 1vote


Seeded on Thu May 31, 2007 8:31 AM EDT (The Boston Globe)
In a scene reminiscent of the Cartoon Network bomb scare that paralyzed the Boston area in January, police shut down a strip mall yesterday in this small western suburb after employees at a Bank of America branch mistook a botched fax for a bomb threat.
Frustrated shop owners said the branch overreacted to the strange fax, which turned out to be an in-house marketing document sent by the bank's corporate office.
terrorism,
bank-of-america,
boston,
false-alarm,
us-news,
post-911,
cartoon-network,
hysteria,
bomb-threat,
mooninites,
fax-machine - 2votes


Seeded on Wed Mar 28, 2007 11:13 PM EDT (Newsday.com)
Severed human legs were found washed up in two locations on the North Shore over the past two days, including on a private beach belonging to Cablevision Systems chief James Dolan, and police believe they may match a headless torso found almost a month ago across Long Island Sound.
- 2votes


Seeded on Tue Mar 27, 2007 10:56 PM EDT (ABC News Blogs)
ABC News' Jennifer Parker Reports: In what is perhaps a new weapon in campaign digital media warfare, the MySpace page of presidential candidate Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., was hacked Tuesday.
"All I can say right now is that we're investigating," said Matt David, a spokesperson for McCain's 2008 White House bid.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Mar 26, 2007 1:53 PM EDT (ESPN.com)
Retired New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter has decided not to run for Congress against Republican U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, a Democratic party leader said today.
Richter, a 40-year-old Democrat who lives in Guilford, said last month he was considering a run for the Fairfield County seat in 2008.
- 2votes


Seeded on Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:15 PM EST (wcbstv.com)
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. A bear wandered into a backyard in this North Jersey suburb Sunday morning and eluded state and local authorities for several hours by shimmying up a high tree.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Dec 25, 2006 10:44 AM EST (theporgietirebiter.blogspot.com)
What's wrong with the story that there is no story in the National News when a flat bed truck carrying a container of Fuel Grade Uranium Dioxide tips over coming down the exit ramp at the intersection of I-95 and I-40 in Johnson County, North Carolina? The story briefly broke on Anderson Cooper's 360 last night with a singular photo of the truck laying over on it's side, and Anderson Cooper telling us that a truck hauling uranium fuel had tipped over, more details to follow. Problem is, those details never came forward, the story is almost NON-Existent in the news loops. Speaking with an unidentified staffer in Congressman Hinchey's office, they said they could find nothing on the accident, and only had what I had sent them.
energy,
accident,
uranium,
homeland-security,
science,
north-carolina,
us-news,
nrc,
nuclear-accident,
nuclear-emergency,
i40,
i95 - 1vote


Seeded on Tue Dec 19, 2006 11:08 AM EST (The New York Times)
Today, the graying Mr. Garcia, his pit bull, Crazy, and his trailer blend into the landscape of tired rides, greasy fast food joints and vagrant Boardwalk regulars. But a snazzy reincarnation is planned for the crumbling seaside neighborhood, and the parking lot Mr. Garcia, 44, calls home is not part of that future.
- 1vote


Seeded on Wed Nov 1, 2006 9:55 AM EST (NJ.com)
More than 100 men have been charged with lewdness or sexual activity in South Mountain Reservation as part of a 15-month crackdown on gay trysts in the park, authorities said yesterday.
Certain areas in the Essex County park's 2,047 acres have long been known as gay meeting places, advertised on Web sites that even indicate which areas are less likely to be patrolled by police.
- 1vote


Seeded on Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:02 PM EDT (The Orange County Register)
He was probably not trying to abduct the girl he asked for help, police say.
A man in a white pickup truck who stopped and asked a child if she had seen his orange cat was probably not trying to abduct the girl, police said Thursday
- 1vote


Seeded on Tue Aug 15, 2006 7:19 PM EDT (sploid.com)
Just like YouTube, Lebanon, Joe Lieberman, newspaper circulation and airline travel, Sploid is being demolished.
A witty and 'history' filled obituary for the Gawker Media news outlet.
- 1vote


Seeded on Sat May 20, 2006 9:32 AM EDT (Reuters)
The battle, on a supply delivery run, ended without casualties, and it did little to steel Gamboa for what awaited her back home in Brooklyn. When the single mother was discharged in April, after her second tour in Iraq, she was 24 and had little money and no place to live. She slept in her son's day-care center.
- 1vote


Seeded on Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:56 AM EST (New York Post)
U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission had probed sunscreens in the late 1990s and found them to be lacking and involved in misleading marketing. New proposed rules created to solve the problems were blocked by lobbyists headed by John Robert's firm.
- 0votes


Seeded on Tue Mar 21, 2006 9:10 AM EST (BBC News)
The recent killing of an unarmed Virginia doctor has raised concerns about what some say is an explosion in the use of military-style police Swat teams in the United States.
- 3votes


Seeded on Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:36 AM EST (The Agitator)
On June 2, 2004, police in the the Washington, D.C. exurb of Manassas Park, Virginia brought in a multi-jurisdictional narcotics tax force and officers from several surrounding cities and counties to conduct a massive, 70-90 officer SWAT raid on the Rack n' Roll Billiards Club. This is the first time the Ruttenberg's have made the surveillance video available to the public.
- 0votes


Seeded on Mon Feb 6, 2006 12:45 PM EST (The Washington Post)
During the past 15 years, The Post and other media outlets have reported on the unsettling "militarization" of police departments across the country. Armed with free surplus military gear from the Pentagon, SWAT teams have multiplied at a furious pace. Tactics once reserved for rare, volatile situations such as hostage takings, bank robberies and terrorist incidents increasingly are being used for routine police work.
- 1vote


Seeded on Fri Jan 13, 2006 11:15 AM EST (The Washington Post)
A 23-year-old maintenance man from Southeast Washington was arrested last night and charged in the robbery and slaying of New York Times journalist David E. Rosenbaum, police said. They also were seeking one other person
- 0votes


Seeded on Wed Jan 11, 2006 11:13 AM EST (TCS Daily)
Here's a headline you aren't likely to see: "Sago mine tragedy defies improved mine safety trend under the Bush administration." Yet, the facts support it.
- 0votes


Seeded on Mon Jan 9, 2006 4:02 PM EST (NJ.com)
Maplewood crime scene yields no clues about victim's identity
Three additional bags filled with body parts were found dumped in South Mountain Reservation yesterday after a sheriff's officer discovered part of a human leg stuffed in a black garbage bag along South Orange Avenue in Maplewood.
- 1vote


Seeded on Mon Jan 9, 2006 11:49 AM EST (The Washington Post)
David E. Rosenbaum, a longtime editor and reporter in the Washington bureau of the New York Times, died yesterday after being beaten and robbed Friday night near his home in upper Northwest Washington.
- 2votes


Seeded on Sun Jan 8, 2006 9:39 PM EST (The Hartford Courant)
When state Trooper Jeffrey Covello crashed his cruiser last July in Plymouth, he knew supervisors would investigate the accident.
What he did not know was that deep inside his Ford Crown Victoria was a small "black box," similar to those in airplanes, that recorded data in the seconds before impact - information that could be used against him by his superiors if he were found to be at fault.
- 2votes


Seeded on Sun Jan 8, 2006 10:46 AM EST (msnbc.com)
NEW ORLEANS - A judge blocked the eviction Saturday of about 100 people from a New Orleans hotel, which had ordered tenants displaced by Hurricane Katrina to move out to make room for new guests.
- 4votes


Seeded on Fri Jan 6, 2006 4:16 PM EST (TIME)
Sources tell TIME that Duke Cunningham wore a wire after agreeing to cooperate with a graft probe
- 1vote
