Economy, Environment Highlight Freeholders’ 2009 Agenda

ELIZABETH—Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella announced a series of initiatives entitled “Keeping Union County Strong” that are designed to: position the county for economic growth, assist homeowners facing foreclosure and make the county a leader in environmental practices at Sunday’s annual reorganization meeting held in the Union County Courthouse.

Mirabella, a resident of Fanwood, was selected as chairman for the third time his career at the 152nd annual reorganization meeting. Mirabella is in the final year of his fourth term and will be up for re-election in November. He was previously chairman in 2001 and 2006.

Chairman Mirabella’s primary initiative is “Union County Works,” a set of six programs to assist the unemployed, retain jobs, and spark job development.

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Green Stimulus

By Kathleen Rogers

A massive stimulus package of nearly $600 billion holds promise for the economy, and could mean more federal spending on infrastructure and energy efficiency projects. An estimated $400 billion in that bill will repair lots of bridges and roads, but what will they all lead to? Nothing—unless we first start building bridges and roads between our economic, climate, and education concerns, and start appreciating the way they’re all connected.

New policy and stimulus needs to take into account that we’re not just trying to save our economy with roads, bridges, and buildings: We’re trying to save ourselves.

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Elmora Youth League Opens Baseball & Softball Registration

ELIZABETH—Elmora Youth League is holding registration for their 2009 Little League baseball and ASA Softball leagues this week.

“January is registration month for the league,” said Ralph Abbate, league information officer. “The next few weeks are very busy for our volunteers, but we need to complete registrations in January to set up the league.”

In-person registration will be conducted on Jan. 8, 10, 11 and 13 at the Elmora Racquet Club, located at 23 Fernwood Terrence.  The times of the registrations are 7 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 8; 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 10; noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11 and 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 13.  In 2009, Elmora Youth League will offer baseball for children aged 5 to 12 and softball for girls aged 6 to 15.

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Audit Finds State Agency Hands Out $10 Million In Grants Annually Without Proper Review

TRENTON—A state agency charged with coordinating drug and alcohol addiction services has distributed more than $10 million a year in grant funds without a proper review, according to an audit released last month by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). The result, the audit shows, is that dollars intended for drug and alcohol prevention and education have been used to fund petting zoos, community fairs and, in one instance, a “rent expense.”

The audit also found the agency, the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (GCADA), is overstaffed and fails to meet basic responsibilities, such as performing site reviews at the county agencies it funds. Over the last three years, the audit found, GCADA consistently distributed state funds to New Jersey’s 21 counties without requiring sufficient documentation and also failed to follow up with a review of how the money was spent.

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