WW-PS diver Colin Hall wins,B1
Notre Dame’s Sabrina Lucchesi also victorious, B1
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In Jersey, a choice between food and shelter
Emergency aid cases on the rise
by Carmen Cusido
STAFF WRITER
EWING — In the past four years,
the number of people in need of
emergency food assistance from
New Jersey food banks has climbed
45 percent, with many having to
choose between paying for food
and paying for housing, or between
food and medical care, according
to a report issued yesterday.
Mercer County advocates for
the hungry confirmed that similar
trends are occurring locally.
“It was sobering but it wasn’t surprising to us,” Phyllis Stoolmacher,
director of Mercer Street Friends,
said about the increase.
“We knew this from our agencies.
They report numbers to us, and we
could see a 41 percent jump in the
number of people” between October 2008 and October 2009 who
needed emergency food services
at such agencies as Trenton-based
HomeFront and Crisis Ministry
and at St. Raphael’s-Holy Angels
Parish in Hamilton, she said.
On the national level, there are
37 million Americans receiving
food assistance from food banks
and other outlets for emergency
supplies, up 46 percent from four
years ago, according to the national portion of the “Hunger in
America 2010” report, which was
produced by the consortium Feeding America.
The New Jersey portion was released at Mercer Street Friends’
offices in Ewing yesterday by the
New Jersey Federation of Food
Banks.
The report said people in New
Jersey getting emergency food
through the federation now number 830,200. Many have children
under 18, have to decide between
buying food and paying bills or
obtaining medical care, and are
recently unemployed, the report
said.
“Every one of these numbers
represents a person with a name
and a face,” Kathleen DiChiara,
executive director of the Community FoodBank of New Jersey, said
about the hunger statistics reeled
off yesterday.
Forty-two percent of the population surveyed for the report have
children under 18, and those youths
are the most vulnerable, DiChiara
said. Meanwhile, the “working
poor in need of food” are growing
in number, she added.
The study was based on interviews with nearly 1,150 food recipients at pantries, shelters and soup
kitchens as well as on completed
questionnaires from 1,059 agencies.
In 2009, Mercer Street Friends
distributed 2.5 million pounds of
food, 500,000 more pounds than
in 2008, Stoolmacher said. The
program has a $13 million budget
this year and relies heavily on state
funding, volunteer help and financial donations. It served 20,000
people last year at multiple locations.
The state’s Food Purchase Program provided $315,420 for the
12 months ended June 2009, and
See Hunger, PAge A11
affluent
residents
abandoning
New Jersey
A taste of things to come
Study shows dramatic exodus
by Leslie Kwoh
nEWhOuSE nEWS SERvICE
michael mancuso/the times
A Princeton University employee clears a path of snow behind Prospect House yesterday morning using a leaf blower.
Although the light snowfall was largely gone by the middle of the day, there could be more snow coming this weekend. Forecasts call for a possible accumulation of several inches over Friday and Saturday.
Christie wants expanded veto power
by beth deFalco
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie said
yesterday he plans to ask the Legislature
for expanded veto powers over additional
New Jersey authorities, one day after rejecting the 2010 budget of the Delaware
River and Bay Authority.
Christie vetoed the DRBA’s 2010 budget,
citing its 3 percent increase in spending
over 2009. The authority’s budget for ’09
was $76.2 million, a 1.8 percent increase
over 2008. Christie also rejected payments
to 98 vendors in unspecified amounts of
$25,000 and up to be used throughout the
year.
Christie said yesterday he was most
troubled by the lack of explanation for the
DRBA’s blanket spending.
“In a time when we have these kind of
budgetary challenges, I am not going to sit
by and approve budget increases that are
above the rate of inflation,” Christie said.
If the DRBA comes up with a rational
explanation for the spending, Christie said
he would consider the veto.
“We look forward to working with the
governor’s office to review the matters in
question in greater detail,” DRPA spokesman Jim Salmon said. In the meantime,
the agency will continue operating under
the 2009 budget.
See Veto, PAge A11
Trenton Council candidate and
black power activist Divine Allah
argues he represents a new generation of black civic leaders and
defends himself against charges
that he favors a separatist ideology. Page A3.
Man killed by train
A man is struck and killed by
a southbound train just south
of the Princeton Junction train
station, snarling rail traffic on the
Northeast Corridor. Page A3.
search powers widened
School officials can search
students’ cars on school property
if they suspect the students of
illegal activity, the state Supreme
Court unanimously rules in a
decision that broadens investigatory rights. Page A8.
inside
at home
business
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B9
deaths in Pakistan
The deaths of three American
special operations soldiers in a
roadside bombing in northwest
Pakistan draws unwanted attention to a U.S. program of training
local forces to fight the Taliban
and al Qaeda. Page A9.
by alex Zdan
STAFF WRITER
Toyota problems
Transportation Secretary Ray
LaHood tells Toyota owners they
should stop driving their vehicles,
then quickly takes back his
words. Page A9.
Lovely thoughts
There may be cheaper ways to
declare your love on Valentine’s
Day than by saying it with flowers, but that doesn’t mean having
to forgo a bouquet. Just put more
thought into the presentation.
Page B8.
classified
comics
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community a2
deaths
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associated press
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, left, and Gov. Chris
Christie, right, listen to Jon F. Hanson yesterday in
Trenton after Christie announced that Hanson will head a
seven-member commission to review the way gaming,
sports and entertainment are overseen in New Jersey.
Story, Page A5.
lottery
movies
John Havens, study director
series of changes in the state’s
tax structure — including increases in the income, sales,
property and “millionaire”
taxes.
“This study makes it crystal
clear that New Jersey’s tax
policies are resulting in a significant decline in the state’s
wealth,” said Dennis Bone,
chairman of the state Chamber of Commerce and president of Verizon New Jersey.
The Boston College study is
the first on interstate wealth
migration in the country.
Wealth includes assets such
as real estate, stocks, bonds,
401(k)s, mutual funds and vehicles.
While the report was commissioned to study the effects of wealth migration on
charitable giving, economists
say there are other implications for the state’s financial
health.
See WealtH, PAge A11
City defends decision
to end police academy
also inside
Candidate speaks out
More than $70 billion in
wealth left New Jersey between 2004 and 2008 as affluent residents moved elsewhere, according to a report
released yesterday, marking
a swift reversal of fortune for
a state long considered the
nation’s wealthiest.
Conducted by the Center
on Wealth and Philanthropy
at Boston College, the report
found wealthy households in
New Jersey were leaving for
other states — mainly Florida, Pennsylvania and New
York — at a faster rate than
they were being replaced.
“It’s above and beyond the
general trend that is affecting
the rest of the Northeast,” said
John Havens, who directed
the study.
This was not always the
case. The study — commissioned by the New Jersey
Chamber of Commerce and
the Community Foundation
of New Jersey — found the
Garden State actually saw
an influx of $98 billion in the
five years preceding 2004.
The exodus of wealth, then,
local experts and economists
concluded, was a reaction to a
“It’s above and
beyond the general
trend that is affecting
the rest of the
Northeast.”
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nation
opinion
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puzzles
sports
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B1
TRENTON — The city will
have to pay $500 per recruit
to send trainees to the Mercer County Police Academy in
West Windsor after the city’s
training facility shuts down at
the end of the month, county
officials said yesterday.
The additional costs of medical and psychological exams,
uniforms, insurance, and
equipment such as bulletproof
vests and ammunition would
also be footed by the city.
Mayor Douglas H. Palmer,
whose administration withdrew the Trenton academy’s
weather
recertification appeal before
the Police Training Commission last month, says eliminating the academy will free up
the academy staff and funds to
fight crime in the city.
“If the police officers redeploy, you will see significant
savings,” he said.
But to former cop and South
Ward councilman George
Muschal, paying to send recruits to the county academy
instead of training them inhouse is not cost-effective.
“It’s not saving any money at
all,” he said.
Muschal says he has received
TODaY: mostly sunny.
high: 36°. low: 19°. details, page a2.
See Police, PAge A11