There are news stories and then there are New Jersey news stories.
From gigantic malls to mobster plots to indicted, profane and just plain embarrassing politicians, here are the news stories from 2020 that we can t forget because of their pure Jerseyness.
1. Bathroom break on Zoom
New Jersey has some competition for Most Public Corruption looking at you, Louisiana but there’s no state (in our humble opinion) with more public officials whose conduct makes you go, hmmm.
It’s hard to think of a more head-scratching action taken by an elected official this year than Hackensack school board member Frances Cogelja taking her laptop into the bathroom during a virtual board meeting … then not turning the camera off.
Sen. Vin Gopal is prime sponsor of legislation that would set up task force to study cost savings
Credit: NJ Transit (Sandman Design via Flickr); GSP sign (Jimmy Emerson, DMV from Flickr); NJ Turnpike sign (Dr. Pa Del from Flickr)
File photo
Nearly two decades after a merger of two New Jersey highway authorities saved millions of dollars, lawmakers want to see if the state can save more by consolidating transportation agencies.
Legislation that cleared a key Senate committee earlier this week calls for a new task force to study cost-saving opportunities from consolidating services at agencies like the Department of Transportation, New Jersey Turnpike Authority and NJ Transit, among others.
A federal appeals court upheld the conviction of former Ocean County Republican Party Chairman George R. Gilmore, 71, on charges of failing to pay over payroll taxes to the IRS and making false statements in a loan application.
Disgraced former Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore appears in this 2009 photo with the late Freeholder John Bartlett, his son Jay Bartlett, Freeholder Gerry Little, and his son Matt Little
A federal grand jury on January 10, 2019, indicted Gilmore, of Toms River, for evasion of taxes totaling more than $1 million; filing false income tax returns; failing to pay over payroll taxes to the IRS; and making false statements on a bank loan application.