Akbar Malik Salaam (Atlantic County Dept. of Public Safety)

The Press of Atlantic City reports that Akbar Malik Salaam of Egg Harbor Township, a public works supervisor, faces up to 15 years after an Atlantic County jury found him guilty of official misconduct and drug distribution charges.

Prosecutors say the 57-year-old Salaam was selling heroin from the All Wars Memorial building Salaam’s criminal history dates to at least 1984, when he sold nearly a half-gram of heroin to an undercover officer.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Flikr user epSos.de

My wife loves horses.

Every now and then, we’ll travel down route 527A past a few horse farms. I’ll stop by the side of the road so that she can get her “horsey” fix.

She’s like Robert Redford in “The Horse Whisperer”.

She’ll hold up a patch of grass…call out to the horses, and they come running over.

It’s as though she becomes one with the beast.

She’d probably throw me to the curb if I ever suggested that they’re suitable for eating.

And they are.

But according to this report:

A bill in the state legislature looks to prohibit the slaughter of horses and sale of horse flesh for human consumption.

Sponsored by Assemblyman Ronald Dancer (R, 12) and Assemblyman Gilbert Wilson (D, 5), the bill would make it illegal to slaughter a horse and sell it for human consumption.

Violators would be fined.

Congress created a federal ban on horse meat consumption in 2006; however, that ban was lifted in the fall of 2011.

Currently, there is a federal bill called the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act in the works to once again ban horse meat. Until then, Dancer hopes that New Jersey can pass a state law against it and serve as an example to other states.

“We don’t need to be taking horses from the stable to the table,” Dancer said.

There is already a law regarding dog meat for human consumption in the state. The current plan is to also insert horses into the law.

“I think it’s very important right now for states to be proactive,” Dancer said.

New Jersey, which named the horse as its state animal, has a great affinity and history with the animal, says Dancer.

“I understand over in Europe that’s a different culture but I’m trying to do everything I can to not take horses from the pasture to the plate here in New Jersey,” he said.

Violators of the proposed law can receive civil fines between $500-$1,000 for each horse slaughtered or carcass sold for human consumption.

Yes, they do eat them in other cultures.

I’ve often heard it told that the Baresi people of southern Italy have an affinity for horse meat.

In fact, whenever I’d deliver bread with my Uncle Frankie on Saturday mornings, we’d pass through Sheepshead Bay, a neighborhood populated by mainly Baresi…and he would say, “Ray, notice how there aren’t many wagons with horses around here?”

Personally, while I don’t have the desire to munch down on a “Mr. Ed” bracciole, I don’t see why the ban on the sale of horsemeat, especially given the fact, according to the report:

According to Robert Mickel, a Hunterdon County agriculture and livestock agent with Rutgers University, many people have been ditching horses in recent years because they’ve been unable to afford to keep a horse. Without having the option of auctioning off the horse, they’ve turned the animals loose on open plains and ruining fields of wheat and small grains.

While there are options for older horses, owners sometimes choose to release them in the wild instead of spending the money to take care of them. An option to harvest horses for consumption, Mickel said, would help this problem.

Posse Poll time:

Newark Mayor Cory Booker (Bennett Raglin, Getty Images)

School officials say if they can reach a breakthrough contract with the city’s teacher’s union, they would consider using some of the $100 million donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg for
teacher buyouts.

Superintendent Cami Anderson says it’s among several options being weighed as Newark looks to deal with an oversupply of teachers.

Newark estimates it has about 300 more teachers than it needs due to shrinking enrollment — down over 3,000 in five years.

Teachers union treasurer Joseph Amabile says specifics of a work force reduction haven’t been addressed but negotiations are progressing.

Booker told a conference Friday that removing the lowest-performing 300 to 400 teachers would greatly benefit the district.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Patients are transported from the University Medical Center of Princeton to the new University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro (Facebook)

The University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, a $522 million facility, welcomed its first patients on Tuesday morning, culminating a decade of planning and construction. It replaces the
outdated University Medical Center of Princeton.

Roughly 120 people were transferred Tuesday from the old hospital to the new facility which, at 630,000 square feet, is 50 percent bigger than the building it’s replacing. All of its 231 patient rooms are single-occupancy, and the campus has its own natural gas power plant that recycles the heat of the exhaust to
generate even more power.

Hospital officials say roughly 1,200 studies were consulted to maximize the therapeutic effects of nearly everything in the building, including lighting and patient room designs.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Flickr user Infusionsoft

Judi Franco is speaking up to corporate via carefully worded memo  to address some concerns she has with the way NJ 101.5 has been operating.  Keep reading to find out what she has taken issue with.

Judi noticed that Townsquare Media’s corporate website labels its employees by number. This is an issue only a Judi Franco memo can fix.

Below is Judi Franco’s letter to management:

Dear Townsquare Media PTB (Powers that Be),

Recently, I checked the website Exponent HR and found, to my horror, that I have been assigned the employee number 118332. I have several issues with this number in particular and the mode of assignment in general and I feel compelled to address these issues here.

 A)

I resent being identified by a number as I find it extremely objectifying. After all, Townsquare Media Corporate BigWigs, would you like it if I referred to YOU or your children as “32678”? Or , for that matter. “2817”? I think not. Makes you feel kind of cheap, doesn’t it? It does NOTHING for our collective morale to be referred to as suchUnless you are the bearer of an illustrious number such as “23” (a la Michael Jordan), 99 (Wayne Gretsky) or 34 (Charles Barkley/Walter Payton/Herschel Walker/Bo Jackson) your number is forgettable!! Aside from my loud mouth, and these annoying and mildly entertaining memos, How will I possibly be remembered here long after I am gone from these hallowed halls? Will anyone say, “Oh, remember 118332? What a lovely gal she was!!”…? Not likely. I’d prefer a number that will live in infamy!!

B)

If I am forced to accept this outdated policy of numbering..I’d like to apply for a change in number as I am not in favor of even numbers. I find that employees who have been assigned odd numbers routinely receive preferential treatment over their even-numbered counterparts. If you doubt this, I would refer you to my friends 232667 in the sales dept, 118393 in traffic, and 382985 in promotions. THEY have have received vacations, bonuses and gift baskets galore, as well as numerous accolades for their merely mediocre work! This is patently unfair and discriminatory. I feel that 28762 suits me better. Wouldn’t you agree? .

C)

Until this policy is amended, as a show of rebellion, your midday show here will from here on be called “The 46834 and 118332 Show.” 

Many of you may recall it was the tragic hero Jean Valjean in Les Miserables who stole a loaf of bread and was forever after only referred to by his prisoner number, 24601. Also an ODD number! Coincidence? I think not.

I humbly suggest you re-think your policy of the numbering of employees. And I appreciate your consideration in this matter.

Thank You,

Judi Franco

Employee # 118332

NJ 101.5 FM Radio

WABC TV

I mentioned this last night. The most “insignificant” or ridiculous reason you were let go from a job.

The following meets that definition.

According to a recent television report:

a woman who worked at a business in midtown Manhattan is suing her bosses. She claims she was fired for being “too hot” at work.

“I felt ridiculous and extremely embarrassed, others in the office were laughing and asking why I was wearing it and I told them what I was told,” Odes said.

Odes took off the robe and went to buy yet another outfit that she thought would be appropriate, but instead got a phone call saying she was fired, she feels because of the size of her breast and shape of her body.

“I do not feel an employer has the right to impose their religious beliefs on me when I’m working in a business that’s not a synagogue, but sells things with hearts on the female genitals and boy shorts for women that say hot in the buttocks area,” she said.

The fact that she hired Gloria Allred makes me think there’s more in it for Gloria than there is for Lauren.

But she is right in saying they’re being duplicitous in selling sexually suggestive apparel while breaking her chops over her “suggestive” look.

A US Airways jet traveling from Paris to North Carolina was diverted to Maine on Tuesday after a French
passenger handed a note to a flight attendant mentioning that she had a surgically implanted device, raising security concerns, officials said.

USAirways jet on the runway on Bangor, Maine (WLBZ TV)

An examination by doctors aboard the plane found that the passenger, a French citizen born in Cameroon, had no scars, U.S. Rep. Peter King said. The woman was traveling alone without any checked baggage and intended to stay in the U.S. for 10 days, he said.

The FBI and Homeland Security Department warned airlines last summer that terrorists are considering surgically hiding bombs inside humans to evade airport security.

ESCORTED BY F-15 FIGHTERS

Two F-15 fighters scrambled to escort Flight 787 with 179 passengers and nine crew members to Bangor International Airport, where it landed shortly after noon Tuesday. With the passenger in custody of law enforcement, the Boeing 767 was cleared for takeoff to its final destination in Charlotte, N.C.
Passengers on the ground in Bangor were very calm as they were fed by the airline and waited to re-board the plane,  according to the Bangor Daily News.

The Transportation Security Administration issued a statement saying it was aware of “a passenger who exhibited suspicious behavior” during the flight. “Out of an abundance of caution, the flight was diverted to
(Bangor) where it was met by law enforcement. The passenger in question is being interviewed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers,” said TSA spokesman Sterling Payne.

US Airways flight taxis on the runway for takeoff (WLBZ TV)

The plane was met by state, local and federal law enforcement officers when it landed in Bangor, FBI spokesman Greg Comcowich said.

The Bangor airport is accustomed to dealing with diverted flights. It’s the first large U.S. airport for incoming European flights and the last U.S. airport for outgoing flights, with uncluttered skies and one of the longest runways on the East Coast. Aircraft use the airport when there are mechanical problems, medical emergencies or unruly passengers.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Youtube KRDO

Perhaps it’s naivete on the part of parents, dressing up their son in costume to pay tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by applying black makeup to his face to complete the look.

After all, there was a time when the image of the blackfaced minstrel was thought of as a pejorative. I’m sure many African Americans still view it as such.

However, according to this story,

A second-grader booted from the classroom for dressing in blackface as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. costume is calling for the school to apologize.

The district has not issued a public comment about Sean’s request (to be moved to another school), but told KRDO that it is considering implementing special classes to teach students and parents about racial stereotypes.

My take: the kid, nor the parents from what I can gather, meant no malice. The school should apologize to the kid, and leave well-enough alone.

After all, they did assign a historical figure to depict on “wax museum day”, and how better to depict the wax figure of MLK than in black face.

You might disagree.

Hence the Posse Poll:

Flickr User Ian Britton

Fair Lawn police say the vehicle was in neutral with no keys inside when it rolled from a parking space outside a pharmacy Monday.

Witness Elliot Hecht tells The Record newspaper (http://bit.ly/KIE0zT ) the van almost hit another car driving through the lot. Hecht says the woman driving the passing car honked before getting out and looking into the van to find no one was driving.

Police say the mother, 35-year-old Natalie Akselrod, came out of the pharmacy and found her babies with police.

Akselrod was charged with child endangerment. She’s due in Municipal Court on Wednesday.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

Senator Frank Lautenberg says the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011 he’s sponsoring gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the tools it needs to require health and safety testing of toxic chemicals, and places the burden on industry to prove that chemicals are safe.  Under current law, the EPA can only call for safety testing after evidence surfaces demonstrating a chemical is dangerous.

The legislation will give the EPA more power to regulate the use of dangerous chemicals,  and require manufacturers to submit information proving the safety of every chemical in production and any new chemical seeking to enter the market.

“It’s shocking that toxic chemicals end up in everyday consumer products, and in our bodies, without anyone proving that they are safe,” says Lautenberg. “We’re not going to stand by and let our kids continue to be exposed to chemicals that make them sick.”

Lautenberg joined hundreds of concerned mothers from across the country today in Washington - in a “Stroller Brigade” – to deliver 125,000 petition signatures to their Senators in support of the Safe Chemicals Act.

The legislation is co-sponsored by several U.S. Senators, including NJ Sen. Bob Menendez.