Thursday, January 14, 2010

Trenton News Break:

"Democrats offer to trade undisclosed amount of cash, Senators Turner, Girgenti, and Van Drew for Bill Baroni and 'Legislation to be named later'.

Deal falls apart when Webber and Repubs offer to throw in Cardinale to sweeten the pot."

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Where were you when we tried to reach 62?

62*: Some important facts about 62, and what the number means.

62 is a composite number with the divisors 2 and 31 being the eighteenth discreet semiprime, product of two prime numbers. The Great Rhombicosidodecahedron is an Archimedean Solid with 62 Faces. 62! = 3.14699733 × 1085.

62 is the code for international direct dial calls to Indonesia, the address of the home of Wallace and Gromit is located on West Wallaby Street, the number of counties in New York state and the number of moons orbiting Jupiter. And Pliny the Younger was born in 62 A.D.

At age 62, Ed Sullivan, introduced the Beatles to America, Franklin Roosevelt won a fourth term as President, and John Wayne won an Oscar for Best Actor for True Grit .

In 1962, The Beatles first record, "My Bonnie" with Tony Sheridan, is released by Polydor and Ringo Starr replaces Pete Best as their drummer.

In 1962, the first black student, James Meredith registers at the University of Mississippi, Johnny Carson takes over as permanent host of NBC's Tonight Show, and President John F. Kennedy makes a commitment that America will send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. And 2062 is the year when the cartoon show The Jetsons takes place.

All very important references to the number 62.

However, for the next week, 62 is the important number in New Jersey for another reason: It's the only Marriage Equality will pass.

21 members of the Senate. 41 members of the Assembly equal 62. That's the magic number.

So, the question remains: Where were you, when we tried to reach 62?

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Antonia Ricigliano cuts her own salary in first act as Edison mayor

Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano officially began her tenure as Edison's first female mayor yesterday with a vow. “As the first woman chief executive, there are opportunities and challenges ahead, but I am up to the task,” the Democrat told the crowd after being sworn in by her son, Joseph Ricigliano Jr., an Edison-based attorney.

“Woman in the United States traditionally get paid less, so I am going to take less money in my role as Mayor,” declared Mayor Antonia "Toni" Ricigliano of Edison. “It is the right thing to do in tough economic times.”

The 71-year-old former town councilwoman announced she's cutting the mayor's salary by $26,000.

She cited a study done by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research done on “The Gender Wage Gap: 2008”. “The ratio of women’s and men’s median annual earnings in 2008 was 77.1 for full-time, year-round workers, down from 77.8 in 2007. This means the gender wage gap is now 22.9 percent,” declared Mayor Ricigliano. “It’s the only fair thing to do.”

Also in the crowd was Ricigliano’s predecessor, Jun Choi. Ricigliano shocked the town in June when she ousted Choi -- the youngest and first Asian-American mayor in Edison history -- in the Democratic primary.

Choi said that there was nothing to the rumor that he lost because of his refusal to add a “nickname in quotes or in (parentheses)” to his official title as mayor. An unnamed Democratic consultant who asked to remain anonymous said that a “ ‘nickname in quotes or in parentheses’ makes the political figure seem more accessible to the average ‘Jersey Joe ‘or ‘Jersey Jane’ in the state. Look at the success of former Assembly Speaker Garabed ‘Chuck’ Haytaian.”

It was suggested that former Mayor Jun Choi add “Skippy” or “Education-Boy” to make the former senior official with the New Jersey Department of Education seem more user-friendly to Edison residents.

Now, Mayor Ricigliano plans to visit a place she’s never even seen before: the mayor's office. "I'll see it Monday morning," she said with a smile.