CORZINE TRANSPORTATION FUND PLAN ADVANCES IN SENATE
Governor Jon Corzine’s plan to refinance the State Transportation Trust Fund has taken its first step in the Legislature with approval by the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee.

By a 14-1 vote, the Committee sent the bill for consideration by the full Senate. An identical bill is scheduled for a hearing Thursday (March 9) before the Assembly Transportation Committee.

The Governor’s plan creates a $1.6 billion capital program for each of the next five years.

GOVERNOR CORZINE TO GIVE TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Governor Jon Corzine will be the keynote speaker at the 4th Annual Governor’s Transportation Conference on Wednesday, May 10, sponsored by the New Jersey Alliance for Action.

The Conference, which attracts a large participation of transportation advocates from both the public and private sectors, will be held at the War Memorial Auditorium in Trenton.

Other participants will be Kris Kolluri, the new State Transportation Commissioner, and George Warrington, Executive Director of NJ Transit. Additional details on the program will be announced soon.

For reservations, please contact the Alliance for Action at 732-225-1180.

NEW BRUNSWICK GATEWAY PROJECT MOVES AHEAD
The proposed $125 million Gateway project in New Brunswick cleared a major hurdle when the City Council unanimously adopted an amended plan for a high-density, mixed-use development.

The centerpiece of the project would be a 30-story building at Easton Avenue and Somerset Street. It would house a new Rutgers University bookstore, a university visitors’ center, offices, a parking garage and some 200 condominium units on the upper floors. The Council vote cleared the way for the New Brunswick Housing Authority to name a redeveloper for the site.

NEW JERSEY EMPLOYMENT SHIFTS REPORTED
Shifts in New Jersey’s economy from private to public sector employment highlighted the most recent Sitar-Rutgers Regional Report in February. Editors James W. Hughes and Joseph J. Seneca reported that while there were 45,400 more jobs in December 2005 compared to five years earlier, there were still 3,200 fewer private sector jobs. By contrast, there were 48,600 more government jobs.

The Report stated that by the end of 2005, government with 642,600 jobs had passed professional and business services as New Jersey’s second largest employment sector. In first place were trade, transportation and utilities. Approximately one out of every six New Jersey jobs, or 15.8 percent, is now in government. Meanwhile, manufacturing employment continued to decline, dropping by nearly one quarter from 2000-2005.

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES WATER TRUST FUND BILL
The State Senate Environmental Committee has approved a bill that would raise $15 million a year for measures to ensure drinking water quality. The legislation, if approved by the Senate and Assembly, would establish the “New Jersey Clean Water, Drought, Mitigation and Water Resource Trust Fund.”

The fund would be financed from a fee of 4 cents per thousand gallons of water delivered to consumers or diverted for consumption. The average household would see a rise in its annual water bill of about $3.20.

NJTPA APPROVES FUNDING FOR LOCAL PROJECTS
The North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority Board of Trustees has approved $2 million in local road and bridge projects. The money comes from the NJTPA Local Scoping Program, an annual competition for counties and cities to apply directly for federal funds. The approved funding includes nearly $1.1 million for three new projects. They are:
- In Morris County, $415,000 for preliminary engineering and other work for replacement of the Union School House Road Bridge over the North Branch of the Raritan River in Mendham Township.
- In Ocean County, $315,000 for scoping work to realign County Route 571 at Francis Mills in Jackson Township.
- In Somerset County, $365,000 for preliminary engineering and other work for replacement of the Stirling Road Bridge over the West Branch of the Stony Brook in Watchung Borough.

ALLIANCE IN ACTION
BURLINGTON ALLIANCE TO HEAR AGRICULTURE SECRETARY KUPERUS
The Burlington County Alliance for Action will meet on Friday, March 24, with Charles M. Kuperus, Secretary of the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, as the main speaker.

Some 100 county business, labor and government representatives are expected to attend the meeting at the Double Tree Guest Suites Hotel in Mt. Laurel. The program will begin at 9 am, following registration at 8:15 am.

Kuperus will speak on “Green Energy and Agriculture.” Other speakers will be Burlington County Freeholder Vincent R. Farias and Dr. Mark Stout, Director of the New Jersey Department of Transportation Division of Capital Investment, Planning and Development.

To register online, please Go Here

ALLIANCE TO SPONSOR CONFERENCE ON PHARMACEUTICALS CAPITAL PLANS
The New Jersey Alliance for Action on March 27 will sponsor a conference of major pharmaceutical company executives at the Lafayette Yard Marriott in Trenton.

The executives will report on the capital construction and expansion plans of their firms. At the recent Alliance for Action Construction Forecast Seminar, pharmaceuticals projected some $4.7 billion will be spent over the next two years on capital projects.

The conference will begin at 9 a.m. For information and reservations, please call the Alliance at (732) 225-1180 or Go Here

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