It's Tuesday, Dec. 1st, 2009, and here's an overview of what's going on in and around the state politics scene:
- Post-election campaign finance reports from this year's candidates for governor are released by the Election Law Enforcement Commission, possibly updating how much money Gov. Jon Corzine spent in his loss. Through Oct. 27th, he'd spent $25.3 million of his own money on the general election and $28.55 million including money for the primary.
- UPDATED: Gov.-elect Chris Christie meets with newly elected Assembly Republicans at the Statehouse, then meets with reporters.
- The NJ for Health Care Coalition holds a Statehouse news conference to release a report about how much New Jersey families can afford to spend on health care, based off family budget worksheets and interviews with 648 residents analyzed by faculty at Ramapo College.
- Laid-off workers who have received federal subsidies since March to pay for continued health insurance from their past employer through COBRA begin losing that aid, which lasts for nine months. The aid was part of the federal stimulus/recovery legislation.
- Richard Gephardt, the former Democratic majority leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, is at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City for a forum on medical innovation with New Jerseyans such as Wise Young, the Rutgers stem-cell neuroscientist, and John Crowley, president and CEO of the biotech firm Amicus Therapeutics -- whose life story of trying to find a cure for his kids' rare genetic disorder has been made into a movie, Extraordinary Measures, starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell and hitting theaters Jan. 22nd. Fraser and Russell play John Crowley and his wife, Aileen.
- U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg hosts a 'small business clinic' at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. Keynote speaker is Julie Cunningham, president and chief executive officer of Minority Transportation Officials. More than 40 federal, state and private exhibitors will provide info on procurement and business growth.
- Agriculture Secretary Doug Fisher kicks off Christmas tree season at Hidden Pond Tree Farm in Mendham, which had a Norway Spruce win this year's annual contest by the the New Jersey Christmas Tree Growers’ Association for the best Christmas tree in the state.
- New Jersey Network holds a public forum at the Center for Latino Arts & Culture at Rutgers University in New Brunswick to talk about changes in how content is created, delivered and received and what programming the public wants from NJN.
- The state judiciary's Hudson vicinage holds its fourth Drug Court graduation celebration in Jersey City. Sixteen participants will celebrate successful completion of the program. Each has attained a minimum of one year of continuous sobriety, is employed full time, has earned a GED or high school diploma, has made regular payments on all court fines and has established a sober community network where they reside.
- The finance committee of the Health Care Facilities Financing Authority meets.
