Merry Christmas!

To all who care about Morris politics — and even those who do not — hope Santa is good to you.

The terror of snow!

I drove to the blessed headquarters of the Daily Record, the Gannett outpost in Morris County, today in light traffic. Seems like most everybody stayed home, because of the coming snow. Schools are closed as well.

When did we, as a society, begin treating snow in the winter as if it were a nuclear attack? It probably came with the onslaught of 24-hour news and the constant bombardment of news about an approaching storm. In short, the overkill scares some people to death. I was listening to news this a.m. on WCBS 880 and I actually heard the announcer say that flurries — yes, flurries — had started in Central New Jersey. Good God, head for the hills.

Seriously, it’s winter and it snows in winter. This is NOT going to be a blizzard of epic proportions. You drive slow, you get through it.  There is no reason to overdo it.

An earmark in action

Sort of …

Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, helped break ground the other day on an expansion of the  Armament Technology Facility at Picatinny Arsenal.

The congressman said that the, modernized Armament Technology Facility will allow Picatinny to perform concurrent design, development, experimentation, evaluation, and integration of weapon systems under one roof.  The facility will provide a one of a kind capability that does not exist in the Department of Defense (DoD) or private industry.

Frelinghuysen got a $9.9 million earmark to facilitate construction.

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Power line powwow

Public Service Electric & Gas officials are conducting another one of their public meetings on a proposed power line that would originate in Pennsylvania and cut through a swath of Morris County.

This one runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Hanover Marriott.  Turnout was meager, but that could have been because of the weather. In fact, there were more PSE&G officials than there were residents.

There was no public presentation, but information was available on various aspects of the project.

There’s a long way to go, however. The next major step will be meetings before the Board of Public Utilities.

No Crowley

This from Rick Merkt:
Assemblyman Richard Merkt today expressed disappointment that Princeton businessman John Crowley has decided not to seek the Republican nomination for Governor of New Jersey in 2009. Crowley announced yesterday through a spokesman that he would not be a candidate.

“John Crowley is a promising and attractive figure in New Jersey politics,” said Merkt, who himself is a candidate for Governor.  “His participation in next year’s race for Governor would have been a real plus for both the Republican Party and state.  It is unfortunate that other considerations precluded his joining the race.”

Of course, having Crowley in the race would have helped Merkt. The more people who run the fewer votes you have to get yourself.

Frugality in Chatham

Up to a point at least — The school district has announced that 22 administrators will forge a portion of their scheduled pay raises for the 2009-10 school year. Rather than taking upwards of 5 percent, the administrators will take raises of 2 percent, the district said.

Corzine and Christie almost

Chris Christie, a presumed Republican candidate for governor, is scheduled to attend a reception at the Grand Cafe in Morristown tonight for the state sheriff’s association. Gov. Jon Corzine was originally scheduled to attend as well, setting up the spector of an impromptu debate.

But Corzine won’t be able to make it because of a “last minute conflict,” according to his office.

What a pity.

A good deed ….

Today, Saturday, is the annual Toys for Tots breakfast at the Zeris Inn hosted by the Morris County Republican Committee. Despite the sponsorship, this is a very nice bipartisan event.

It costs nothing to attend — as long as you bring a toy to donate.

Gov. Jon Corzine ….

hosted a Christmas party for the press and and assorted others at Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion in Princeton, on Friday night.

The food was good and the governor seemed relaxed, moving around the room mingling with most everyone.

He joked that seeing reporters in such a relaxed venue made them seem almost human.

A Jet in trouble

Jet defensive end Sean Ellis was charged with pot possession after a traffic stop last weekend by Hanover Township police.

This incident will get much press, but let’s be fair and remember that the Jets and many of their players have been doing charitable work and making public appearances all over the area since the team relocacted its training facility to Florham Park.