Some Crazy Sh.. from NJ

This data came from one of my favorite source, Harper's, and it just goes to show that NJ is, well, NJ. I do miss it so. But I will be back soon. Say, March.

1. A New Jersey woman sent 80,000 cans of Silly String, which can locate trip wires, to U.S. troops in Iraq; a military spokesperson thanked her but admitted that soldiers don't use as much Silly String today as they did at the beginning of the war.

2. Forty-nine percent of New Jersey residents admitted they'd rather live somewhere else.

I have no idea how to interpret either of these tidbits of Jersey, but there they are. For you, the SG reader, to take as you will.

NJ Moves Forward to Abolish the Death Penalty

New Jersey recently took another step towards abolishing the death penalty...

The abolition bill passed the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee by an 8-2 vote on May 10th. "The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee voted to pass S-171, a bill to replace the death penalty with life without parole, to the full Senate floor. The vote came after several hours of public testimony featuring members of the New Jersey Death Penalty Study Commission, which was formed when New Jersey lawmakers enacted a moratorium on executions last year."

Celeste Fitzgerald, Director of New Jerseyans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, said the Committee looked at the facts and heard from the people of New Jersey "that it was time for the death penalty to go."

Today's editorial in the Trenton Times recounts a stunning letter from surviving family members of murder victims submitted to the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee as it considered the S-171 legislation. Speaking out for change, these family members declare that "the death penalty is a broken and costly system. New Jersey doesn't need it, and victims' families like ours don't want it."

The Garden State's Ethnic Diversity

In an article on May 17, 2007 by Elizabeth Llorente for North Jersey.com, she writes about the growing ethnic diversity in our state.

It reports that minorities make up 37 percent of New Jersey's population, outpacing the national minority percentage of 33 percent, according to estimates released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. New Jersey ranks 13th in the nation in minority percentage, said Census officials, continuing a years-long trend toward a diversity that has brought benefits and challenges to communities and public institutions. The demographic picture of New Jersey was part of a report that showed that the nation's minority population had topped 100.7 million. "To put this into perspective, there are more minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in 1910," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon.

To read about the struggles of diversity, check out "A Tale of Two Cultures", an article by Elizabeth Llorente, that explores the division of race in suburban/urban New Jersey at The Authentic Voice.

Let Us Now Praise... Paterson's Tashera Bolds

the herald news (northjersey.com) recently reported that paterson, nj's own tashera bolds is one of 1,000 students nationwide to be named a Gates Millennium Scholar for 2007.

tashera is an aspiring mathematician and this scholarship allows her to pursue her studies at syracuse university and beyond. but what we really need to celebrate is her symbolizing of inner city youth's grand achievements, the very youth who repeatedly get ignored, discouraged and devalued. she lives in one of paterson's public housing sites (as a grantwriter in paterson for the ymca i prepare many proposals for residents there who lose programming & services year after year because of federal funding cuts).

the media almost exclusively reports on the negative in paterson... the violence, guns, gangs, corruption, poverty, etc. it's time to spread the word about what i know happens in paterson, talented youth surviving and succeeding in a troubled, neglected community. if newark is in the throes of a renaissance, let's share the wealth and bring this wave of renewal to neighboring passaic county.

i'll leave you with tashera's words that say it best: "I can show that I am a living dream, and we can show our critics that through belief and teamwork, anything is possible."