Articles by Tom Hester, Jr.

N.J. Gov. Corzine’s Crash Costs: $400,000 Out of Own Pocket

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine is pleased by his recovery three months after nearly being killed in a high-speed crash and will soon personally begin paying thousands upon thousands of dollars for his medical treatment, his office said this …

N.J. Could Join States Penalizing Drivers Using Cell Phones

New Jersey could become the fourth state to allow police to ticket drivers whenever they’re seen using a hand-held cell phone while driving. An Assembly committee on Thursday was slated to consider a Senate-approved plan to strengthen the state’s 2004 …

N.J. Begins Seat Belt Crackdown with Gov’s Crash on Minds

Milton Garcia angrily waved the $46 ticket he’d received for failing to wear a seat belt. “There are people dealing drugs and killing each other,” the Trenton, N.J. resident said Monday morning from his white pickup truck. “That’s what they …

Candidate Obama Promises Universal Health Care by End of First Term

Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, seeking support from labor union members in New Jersey, vowed this week to make health insurance available to all Americans by the end of his first term in the White House. “We can have universal …

N.J. Gov. Corzine, Injured in Crash, Pays Seat Belt Fine

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine has voluntarily paid a $46 fine for violating state law by not wearing a seat belt during the trip in which a car accident almost killed him, his spokesman said. Corzine met with State …

N.J. Governor to Pay Own Medical Bills Following Auto Crash

New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine will forgo his state health insurance and spend hundreds of thousands of his own money to pay for his medical care from a serious car accident, a spokesman said last Friday. The spokesman for …

As Injured Gov. Corzine Recovers, N.J. Asks, ‘Why No Seat Belt?’

Last year, New Jersey law officers ticketed 271,182 people for not wearing seat belts in violation of state law. This year, one violator will stand out: Gov. Jon S. Corzine, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt when he was critically …

N.J. Implements Expanded Safety Rules for Chemical Plants

Chemical facilities in New Jersey using extremely hazardous substances must weigh using safer options and plant workers can now join state inspections under new state policies to improve safety and security at the facilities. Gov. Jon S. Corzine announced the …

N.J. Senate Panel Kills Bill to Ban Use of Education, Job in Rates

A bid to make it illegal for New Jersey auto insurers to use a driver’s job and education to decide rates failed Monday. The Senate Commerce Committee voted against releasing a proposal to ban car insurers from weighing such factors. …

N.J. to Publicize Firms with High Number of Uninsured Employees

New Jerseyans will get to know which businesses in their state have many employees receiving publicly funded health care. Following a report that found major companies such as Wal-Mart have hundreds of state workers getting taxpayer-funded medical treatment, Gov. Jon …