NJ LAWMAKERS TO CONSIDER $3.5 BILLION FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION
New Jersey lawmakers are moving forward with plans to borrow $3.5 billion for statewide school construction projects.

On Thursday, the Senate Budget Committee is scheduled to consider authorizing the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to borrow the money. The plan being considered proposes a total of $3.5 billion --- $2.5 billion for city schools, $750 million for other schools and $250 million for county vocational schools.

NJ TRANSIT TO MOVE AHEAD ON EDISON TRAIN STATION PARKING PROJECT
NJ Transit is moving ahead on plans to build 400 to 600 parking spaces at the Edison train station. The project had been delayed while Edison and Mayor Jun Choi considered a transit village proposal by a private developer that has been rejected.

Construction bids will be accepted by NJ Transit this fall, with construction expected to begin as early as the spring of 2009.

VERIZON WIRELESS TO BUY ALLTEL FOR $28.1 BILLION
Verizon Wireless announced it will buy Alltel Corporation by year-end for $5.9 billion in cash and assumption of $22.2 billion in Alltel debt.

Based in Basking Ridge, Verizon Wireless has 67.2 million customers. The addition of 13 million customers serviced by Alltel, a telecommunications company in Little Rock, AR, would make Verizon the largest wireless company in the United States, with a total of 80.2 million customers.

ATLANTIC CITY AIRPORT PARKING GARAGE OPENS
The new six-story $26.3 million Atlantic City Airport parking garage was opened by the South Jersey Transportation Authority, which designed and built it in 21 months.

The garage provides 1,370 spaces as well as rest rooms, two large elevators, four stairwell and airline check-in kiosks. It provides pedestrian access to the airport terminal lobby via a 400-foot-long covered walkway. It also offers convenient access to rental car agencies in the lobby area.

To save energy, the garage features 770 lighting fixtures that harvest light as well as an emergency generator that runs on natural gas. Some one million passengers visit the airport annually.

NEWARK AIRPORT HOTEL HAS $25 MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT
The Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel broke ground for the second phase of its $25 million renovation project. Improvements will include upgrading the on-site restaurant, replacing eight roof-top heating and cooling units from electric to natural gas and recreating the hotel’s façade.

Affiliated with Marriott International, Inc., the hotel has 396 guest rooms, more than 16,000 square-feet of meeting space and a fitness center. The project will be completed in the fall of 2008.

EDUCATION ORGANIZATION FOR CHILDREN BUILDING NEW HEADQUARTERS
Ground was broken in Newark on a $23.5 million new headquarters for The Leaguers, one of the largest non-profit education organizations for children in New Jersey. It is one of the major developments in downtown Newark to begin construction this year.

The two-story, 44,000 square-foot building on University Avenue will have a new headquarters office for The Leaguers, a 22,000 square-foot Head Start and community services facility, a multi-purpose room and an underground parking garage. It is expected to be completed in 2009.

SOMERSET EMPLOYERS RECOGNIZED FOR COMMUTER BENEFITS PROGRAMS
For instituting commuter benefits programs for their workers, a dozen Somerset County employers have earned recognition as “New Jersey Smart Workplaces.” The announcement was made by RideWise, a Somerville-based non-profit which is an affiliate of the Somerset County Business Partnership.

The companies are Alpharma, Citigroup, Sanofi-Aventis, Biovall Pharmaceutical, Johnson & Johnson ITS, National Starch, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Philips Lighting, Qualcomm, Somerset Medical Center, The Spaulding Group and Verizon Communications.

SOUTH JERSEY BUILDING TRADES A SPONSOR OF RACE FOR THE CURE
The third annual Race for the Cure to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society will be held on Wednesday, July 23, at the Bridgeport Speedway. It is sponsored by the South Jersey Building Trades and the Speedway.

A member of the committee for the event is Frank DiAntonio, President and Business Manager of Construction and General Laborers Local Union. 172. He is a member of the Alliance for Action Board of Directors and can be reached for advance ticket sales at (609) 209-3542.

REMINDER: CAMDEN COUNTY ALLIANCE TO MEET JUNE 27
Reports on Camden City’s revitalization and transportation and environmental issues will feature a meeting of the Camden County Alliance for Action on Friday, June 27. Registration for the meeting at the Clarion Hotel & Conference Center, Cherry Hill, will begin at 8:15 a.m. and the program at 9 a.m.

Speakers will include Stephen Dragos, President of the Greater Camden Partnership; Dennis Hart, Executive Director of the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust, and Richard Crum, Director of Project Management for the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Co-Chairs of the Camden Alliance are Deputy Freeholder Director Edward T. McDonnell and Nancy Myers, President, QWIC, Inc.,/Myers Construction Group.
To register for the event, Go Here.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
-Frank Spencer, Eastern Vice President of the Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America, was nominated by Governor Corzine to the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority. The nomination must be confirmed by the State Senate.
-Sean Darcy will be Governor Corzine’s new press secretary.
-Roy E. Denmark, US Corps of Engineers, has been named Deputy District Engineer for Programs and Project Management for the Philadelphia District.

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