MEMORIAL SCHEDULED FOR ROBERT FRANKS
A memorial service for the late Congressman and public servant Robert Franks will be held on Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 11:00 a.m at the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart in Newark. Mr. Franks died Friday, April 9 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York after a brief illness.

At the time of his death, Mr. Franks was President of the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey. Alliance for Action President Philip K. Beachem noted that Bob Franks was a member of the Alliance for Action Board of Directors and also had served in Congress, and the Legislature. “Bob Franks’ record of public service crossed traditional party lines and he consistently sought to do the right thing for New Jersey whether in Washington, Trenton or as a business leader. He will be deeply missed.”

MARK YOUR CALENDARS - MEET THE PLAYERS TO FEATURE KEY MEMBERS OF GOVERNOR'S CABINET
The following meetings have been scheduled with members of Governor Chris Christie's Cabinet.

Thursday, May 13 - Richard Bagger, Governor Christie's Chief of Staff.  The meeting will begin with Registration at 7:30 a.m. and the program will follow at 8:00 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 50 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison, NJ. To register, Go Here

Thursday, May 6 - New Jersey's new State Commissioner of Transportation James S. Simpson. The meeting is being held at the Hilton Garden Inn, 50 Raritan Center Parkway, Edison.  Registration will be at 8:30 a.m. and the program at 9:00 a.m.  (Take note of the new meeting location necessitated by the overwhelming registration response.)  The program originally had been scheduled for April 22.  To register, Go Here.

Thursday, May 20 - NJ Transit Executive Director James Weinstein.  The meeting will begin with registration at 9:30 a.m. and the program will follow at 10:00 a.m. at the Alliance for Action office, Raritan Plaza II, Raritan Center in Edison. Registration is required, but attendance by Alliance members is complimentary.  To register, Go Here. .

TWO CONTRACTS AWARDED FOR TURNPIKE WIDENING
Two more contracts totaling almost $150 million were awarded by the New Jersey Turnpike for segments of the massive Turnpike widening project. 

The Chief Engineer Richard Raczynski reported that a $111.06 million contract was awarded to George Harms Construction Company of Howell, which was the lowest of nine bidders.  The work includes construction on one mile of mainline highway in Mansfield, Burlington County and ramps connecting the Turnpike mainline with the Pearl Harbor Memorial Turnpike extension.  A second contract in the widening program for $38.88 million was awarded to Rencor, Inc., including construction mainline of one mile of outer roadways.

NEW DOWNTOWN HOTEL COMING TO NEWARK
The City of Newark is expecting its first new hotel in nearly 40 years, a Courtyard Marriott at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Lafayette Street.  Slated to open in 2012, the hotel will have 150 rooms, 15,000 square feet of ground floor retail space and available parking. 

It will complement the Prudential Center home of the New Jersey Devils hockey team and the rental facility of the New Jersey Nets professional basketball team.

The project is by Chicago-based Tucker Development Corporation in partnership with Marriott International, the Devils and Robert Finvarb Companies.

ALLIANCE MEMBERS HONORED BY NJBIZ
Two Alliance members were recognized as NJ BIZ's "New Jersey Best Fifty Women in Business."  Congratulations to Erica Ferry, President of Erica Ferry & Associates LLC and Jennifer N. Nevins, President of DW Smith Associates. 

PICATINNY RESEARCH CAMPUS ON MORRIS ALLIANCE AGENDA
A report on the Picatinny applied research campus will highlight a meeting of the Morris County Alliance for Action on Friday, April 23.  Other presentations will cover a spotlight on Randolph and the Fiscal 2011 budget of the State Department of Transportation.

The meeting at the Birchwood Manor, Whippany will open with registration at 8:15 a.m., followed by the program at 9:00 a.m. 

Speakers will include:

• Brian Banaszynski, Vice President of Leasing, Advance Group, on Picatinny research campus.
• Township Manager John C. Lovell and Council members on the Township of Randolph.
• Brian Strizki, P.E., Director-Office of Design Services, State Department of Transportation.
• Morris Alliance Co-Chairs are Morris County Freeholder John J. Murphy and Michael Obremski, Area Manager, Jersey Central Power & Light. 

CONSTRUCTION STARTED ON PHASE III OF "THE WALK" IN ATLANTIC CITY
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) announced that the Cordish Company has started construction on "The Walk" Phase III site. The $15 million project is an extension of the highly successful "The Walk" - a dynamic urban retail and entertainment project, featuring nationally recognized factory outlet retailers, interactive entertainment and restaurants.  Phase III will be comprised of 45,078 square feet of factory outlet retail space. "Success breeds success. Moving forward on this important project is proof that Atlantic City is investor-friendly and that it can still create jobs," said James B. Kehoe, Chairman of the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. 

PEOPLE ON THE  MOVE

• Christina Genovese has joined the Office of Governor Chris Christie as Director of Business Affairs.
• William "Pat" Schuber, former three-term Bergen County Executive, was nominated by Governor Chris Christie to the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  He is a former ten-year member of the New Jersey State Assembly, and former Mayor of Bogota.  Schuber will serve a six-year term on the Port Authority while continuing as Of Counsel with DeCotiis, FitzPatrick & Cole.
• Dona DeLeon, a New Jersey native, was named by Governor Chris Christie as director of the Governor's Washington office.  During the administration of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, she was associate director.  Since 2009, she has been president of DeLeon and Associates, a government and public relations firms.  An Alexandria, VA resident, she is from Mercer County and graduated from Montclair State University.  

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