JANUARY 2003

School, development projects in the works

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Savor quiet time at Buena Vista Country Club

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Old faces, original ideas in Buena

The faces that will grace Buena Borough Council and Buena Vista Township Committee for the next three years may not be new -- but they are certainly fresh.

Three incumbents sworn in Monday spoke of fresh ideas, promising to lead their communities into the future with renewed vigor and zeal.

·  BUENA VISTA

"I'm excited in the upcoming years to continue the roads projects, expand the public works facility and extend our senior awareness to incorporate family awareness," said Sue Barber, who will serve a second three-year term as township committeewoman.

In one of the night's highlights, Barber was sworn in by her brother James Schroeder, the council president of Port Republic, also in Atlantic County.

Schroeder and Barber bear the unique distinction of being the only brother-sister team bserving simultaneously as elected public officials in the county.

Committee members unanimously approved the reappointment of Chuck Chiarello as mayor and Teresa Kelly as deputy mayor.

Appointments to the newly merged planning and zoning boards were also made, and to the township's economic development committee, recreation, special events and public safety/ emergency management committees, among others.

In his annual state of the township speech, Chiarello reflected on the the plethora of successful township endeavors over the last year, including a variety of road improvements, capital improvement purchases and a Michael Debbie Park bikepath.

In the upcoming year, he promised township committee would continue to redevelop roads, build more recreational fields in the township parks, and push for a new middle school.

·  BUENA

In the borough, Gary Martinelli and Joseph Santagata were sworn in to council. Santagata was again named council president in a unanimous vote.

Barber inaugurated the township's senior awareness health fair, which brings together elderly residents and members of the health care community. She'd like to see the informational health fair extended in the future to include families in the township, she said.

"It's important to give every member of the family the information necessary to stay healthy and informed," she said.

Borough council member Gary Martinelli, still beaming from the swearing-in ceremony, said he would continue to work for new grants that would lead to the "betterment of the community."

But, he cautioned, the year ahead would be a challenging one as the borough prepares for another state aid freeze.

Still, he said, there is always a silver lining.

"I like to be optimistic," he said. "Our employees have done a good job with the budget and I'm sure that'll continue to be so if we don't buy anyting needlessly."

The following are borough appointments for 2003, nominated by the mayor with consent of council.

·  Solicitor: Robert DeSanto

·  Auditor: Ed Kennedy

·  Engineer: Edward Walberg

·  Prosecutor: Carl Cavagnaro

·  Public Defender: Jose Laboy

·  Public Safety Director: Ed Cugini

·  Deputy Director of Public Safety: Leroy Peterson

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Proposal would improve cable customer service

TRENTON -- Gov. James E. McGreevey announced a series of modest regulatory amendments Monday intended to make cable television companies more customer friendly.

Perhaps the most substantial change is one that would automatically credit a customer's bill if the service is out three or more hours due to a cable company's plant failure.

Currently, customers are only eligible for the credit if the outage lasts six hours, and subscribers must request the credit to get it.

Another rule would require appointments to have a four-hour window, which companies say they've done voluntarily since 1995.

A third would require all telephone calls from customers to be answered within 30 seconds and transferred within 30 seconds, already a federal rule.

"The proposed reforms are a dream come true for cable TV customers who have suffered through the nightmare of cable service in New Jersey," said Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-1, who co-sponsored the legislation.

The changes are long overdue, according to Vineland residents surveyed Monday at the Wawa on Brewster Road and Chestnut Avenue.

Although most people did not complain of outages, they said they would welcome better customer service.

"When I first got digital cable, my premium channels weren't working," said Remarno Chambers, 19. "It took them a week and a half to get it fixed."

"They give you a window from 8 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon (for service calls)," said Nadine Ammirato, 35. "I think those changes are a good idea."

States have limited powers to regulate cable companies because the federal government deregulated the industry almost 10 years ago, said Dena Mottola, acting director of the N.J. Public Interest Research Group. The state can regulate customer service and basic rates but can't control other programming or premium channels.

"The big nut that needs to be cracked is the rates, and we can't do that at the state level," Mottola said. "We need federal legislation to do that at the state level."

Vinelanders like Adam Callahan, 27, agree.

"I wish there were some competition," Callahan said. "My friends have satellite television and it basically costs the same as cable."

Karen Alexander, the president of the New Jersey Cable Telecommunications Association, said cable outfits in the state have spent more than $3 billion in the last five years improving their services.

But many advocacy groups were on hand Monday to endorse McGreevey's proposals.

"We believe that if these recommendations are enacted that New Jersey's cable companies will no longer be able to waste consumers' time and money waiting for service folks to show up and take care of basic consumer needs," said Staci Berger of N.J. Citizen Action.

"It sounds great to me," added Luanne Allen, 40, of Vineland. "I've never had a problem with cable but if it helps other people, then I'm all for it."

Staff Writer Joe McLaughlin contributed to this report.

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Troubled rescue squad mulling partner

BUENA VISTA -- Township officials convened a special meeting Tuesday to weigh the possibility of a partnership between the cash-strapped Collings Lakes Ambulance Squad and the Hammonton Rescue Squad.

Any deal between the squads would be temporary, until Township Committee decides the future of the Collings Lakes squad.

"We have some uncertainties right now and we're looking at our options," Mayor Chuck Chiarello told Charles Kaczmarski, the chief of operations and executive director of the Hammonton squad.

The Hammonton squad is included among those options because it currently provides mutual aid to parts of Collings Lakes, Chiarello said.

Any partnership with the township would depend on a number of factors, including:

·  The number of additional calls to which the Hammonton squad must respond if it overtakes the Collings Lakes coverage area.

·  The rate at which those calls occur.

·  Financial assistance from the township

Also at the meeting, some questions were raised about the local ambulance squad's effectiveness.

While the Collings Lakes squad maintains that its financial situation has not affected its response rate, Chiarello said he received complaints from residents regarding emergency calls to which the squad did not respond.

Last year, during the two-month period from Oct. 1 to Dec. 1, Collings Lakes received about 65 emergency calls, Chiarello said.

It missed about seven of those, he said.

There were no representatives from the rescue squad at Tuesday night's meeting to answer his charge.

Should Collings Lake join Hammonton, Kaczmarski hinted his squad might be willing to hire an additional crew.

As it exists now, the Hammonton Rescue Squad provides first response emergency medical service to the borough of Folsom and Hammonton and mutual aid to parts of Collings Lakes and the townships of Winslow, Mullica and Hamilton.

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State grant will help beautify Richland street

BUENA VISTA -- In its current state, Richland may barely warrant a second glance from passing travelers.

"You can just drive right through it," said Thomas Gill, owner of the Richland General Store. "It's just in, out and you're gone."

A $200,000 grant from the N.J. Department of Transportation could help draw more attention to the township's historic niche along Route 40, the closest thing it has to a downtown area.

The grant will fund sidewalks, curbing and decorative landscaping on Route 40 between Cedar and Main avenues. The work could begin by summer, said Business Administrator Ron Trebing.

It may just be the beginning.

Future phases -- which could be funded with additional state money -- could extend the sidewalks and curbing along Cedar and Main avenues.

The township also will look into buying an empty lot at the corner of Route 40 and Main Avenue, which could potentially house a bus station.

The township had tried and failed to secure this initial grant at least three times. The most recent attempt, initiated early last year, proved successful.

"I'm ecstatic," said township engineer Dave Scheidegg, who likely will lay out design plans in early spring.

The wait is well worth the resulting visual enhancements, Mayor Chuck Chiarello said.

The work could even boost the area economy, he added.

"It would give it a sort of identity so people will want to stop and look around, eat in one of the restaurants or shop in the stores," Chiarello said.

The area slated for improvement is home to a handful of homes and a number of businesses, including the Richland General Store.

Gill -- who bought the store last year -- has added seasonal plants and other handcrafted decorations outside his store since then.

He hopes the new landscaping -- which could include trees, shrubbery, brick pavement, benches and lighting -- will tie in with his store's décor.

Others, like longtime Richland resident Danielle Richardson, see the road improvements as a safety benefit.

Because there are only small and sporadic swaths of sidewalks along Route 40, pedestrians often are forced to walk in the street.

Richardson, 18, has seen her share of near-misses as cars swerve to avoid pedestrians who make their way by foot to various bus stops lining Route 40.

The situation proves more harrowing in the summer, when the township's major artery fills with shore traffic.

"There's a lot of people who walk around here," Richardson said. "But there's really nowhere to walk. It's dangerous."

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Arts organizations in Atlantic County win state funding grants 

Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson has announced local arts development funding awards for county arts organizations from the State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

All the projects funded are designed to provide opportunities for local residents involved in the arts.

Administered through the Atlantic County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, more than $80,000 has been earmarked for this program. All grants are matched by the local organizations.

Grants will be awarded to:

·  The Teachers Theater, NJ Theater Educators Coalition Inc., based in Brigantine, to bring play development opportunities to southern N.J.

·  Atlantic Contemporary Ballet Theater in Galloway Township, for presentation of a multicultural ballet.

·  Atlantic City Dance Theater Center for Cultural Learning in Atlantic City for a series of free summer performances by professional dancers.

·  Buena Vista Township for a series of free summer outdoor concerts and art exhibitions.

·  South Jersey Area Wind Ensemble to provide the services of a guest conductor and composer.

·  City of Absecon to pay artists fees for free summer outdoor concerts in Heritage Park.

·  Buena Borough for a series of free summer outdoor concerts.

·  Dance Arts League of Atlantic County, based in Linwood, for educational outreach programs to the Special Services School District.

·  South Jersey Stage Company in Atlantic City for "First Tuesday" programs to showcase arts programming in the newly renovated Dante Hall Center for the Performing Arts.

·  Chicken Bone Beach Historical Foundation in Atlantic City for a series of free summer concerts featuring nationally known jazz musicians with regional musicians as opening acts.

·  Atlantic City Art Center for multicultural visual art exhibits and increased marketing of events.

·  Cygnus Creative Art Center in Egg Harbor Township for production of a full-length ballet.

·  Margate Business Association for a festival to showcase working visual artists, displays and performances._

·  Northfield Cultural Committee for a series of free outdoor summer concerts at Birch Grove Park.

·  Hammonton Art Center to pay artist/teacher fees for a series of classes and workshops.

·  Somers Point Foundation for Education for artist fees for its annual Jazz Festival.

·  South Jersey Regional Theater in Somers Point for a series of community theater productions.

·  Stockton Experimental Theater Program in Pomona for two guest artists for theater presentations.

·  Stockton Art Gallery to pay honorariums for guest speakers for photography exhibit and outdoor sculpture exhibit.

·  Atlantic County Library Foun-dation in Mays Landing to pay honorariums for author/illustrator programs at library branches.

·  Ventnor Community Church to pay artists fees for a series of monthly classical concerts.

·  City of Egg Harbor to pay artists fees for a series of free outdoor summer concerts and/or theater performances in municipal park.

·  South Jersey Theater Ensemble in Pleasantville for a series of performances of works by African-American playwrights.

·  Ventnor City Cultural Art Center for the Young People's Summer Arts Workshops.

·  Atlantic Cape Community College in Mays Landing for a visual arts and poetry program for 11th grade students.

·  Stockton Dance Company for two guest choreographers to create two new works for dance company.

·  Girl Scouts of South Jersey Pines based in Egg Harbor Township for "Art Is All Around" series of workshops to introduce art to young people from urban and underserved areas.

·  Hispanic Alliance of Atlantic County for folkloric dance and music for Latino American Festival.

·  Township of Weymouth for summer arts festival to include music, dance and theater.

·  Bungalow Park Civic Association in Atlantic City for visual art classes for youth at risk after school and summer camp program, as well as senior citizen classes.

·  Atlantic County Council of Youth Programs based in Atlantic City for professional instructors to provide workshops in performing arts through the Atlantic City Theater Guild.

·  John Kuzman Memorial American Legion Post in Longport for local metal-design artist for work on public memorial.

For more information on the grants, call 646-8699, ext. 6314.

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Van Drew revels in 'squeaky wheel' role

TRENTON - Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew has no desire to be a "quietly effective" legislator.

Effective, yes. But quiet, absolutely not.

His credo: "I may be short and skinny, but I'm going to make a lot of noise."

Van Drew, a Democrat who emerged from Republican-ruled Cape May County, made plenty of noise his first year in Trenton. He introduced a bundle of bills - more than any other Statehouse newcomer - and generated enough press to fill a scrapbook.

With that attention comes scrutiny.

Republican critics dismiss Van Drew as an opportunistic publicity hound. They say he is the Legislature's answer to TV's "Law and Order," ripping off ideas from the headlines to make headlines of his own.

Supporters see Van Drew as a rising star in New Jersey's Democratic Party - a nonstop worker who transcends political ideology by advocating issues that matter to his constituents.

"You can call somebody a media hound if all they do is churn out press releases and hold press conferences," said Micah Rasmussen, who ran all of Van Drew's campaigns before taking a job as the governor's press secretary. "But it's not just the press Jeff reaches out to in a feverish way. It's also the public."

In his first year, Van Drew made headlines by taking on gas companies, telemarketers, cable providers and the pharmaceutical industry. But he also took on lots of smaller issues - and sent out the press releases to prove it.

Among the legislation touted by Van Drew in his first year: a bill to reinforce already existing laws limiting motorcycle noise, a resolution urging the U.S. Congress to ban human cloning and a bill to permit school-bus operators to display a bumper sticker that warns drivers to "stop when red lights are flashing."

Van Drew defends each of those efforts. The Dennis Township police chief requested revisiting the motorcycle law, he said, as a way to bring needed attention to the issue. And while he admits the bumper-sticker idea "might seem silly," Van Drew says a Cumberland County task force requested that legislation because too many motorists were passing school buses.

Van Drew also makes no apologies for promoting those issues. He notes - properly - that he never complains about press coverage.

"Am I supposed to be hiding what I'm doing?" he asked.

Assembly Republican spokesman Bill Guhl says Van Drew's efforts have been more bluster than beef.

"I think in his first year he's shown he is very adept at getting press coverage for himself," Guhl said. "But I think if you were to look at the issues he's chosen to take on, they're issues in which there is little he'd be able to do to effect change."

Guhl pointed to Van Drew's cable-reform campaign as an example. Van Drew's plan essentially saves customers a few bucks on late fees, shortens the time window for service calls by an hour and requires automatic credits for service outages that are the fault of the company.

"Frankly, I don't think those things are on the top of his constituents' list of concerns," Guhl said.

Eileen Fahy, a resident of the Marina Bay Towers in North Wildwood, disagrees. When Fahy read that Van Drew's cable-reform bill had been approved by an Assembly Committee, she called the Press of Atlantic City and asked to pass on her thanks. Fahy remembers when cable service went down in her area last November - for about 12 hours - and Comcast couldn't say how many customers were affected. She said Van Drew also got a law passed that helped put shower bars in the bathroom at her housing complex.

"He seems like a very sincere person," Fahy said of Van Drew. "He took care of the things he promised."

Rasmussen says Van Drew survived as a Democrat in Cape May County by knocking on doors and spending a lot of time at supermarkets and Wawa stores.

"He's talked to thousands upon thousands of people," Rasmussen said. "That's just his approach to government. It grounds him to know what people are thinking."

By his own admission, Van Drew "never tells anyone no." When Cape May County residents started complaining about gasoline price-gouging, Van Drew pushed for a state investigation and got one. The Division of Consumer Affairs confirmed that Cape May gas prices were a nickel or dime per gallon higher than average, but the reasons it cited appeared to be basic economics: fewer customers, inconsistent sales volume and not enough competition.

"At least we got the investigation and we got people talking about the issue," Van Drew said. "People know there's somebody out there willing to recognize the problem and fight for them."

Van Drew and his Republican counterpart in the second district, Nicholas Asselta, have avoided public feuding so far. That could change as the election draws closer. Last week, Asselta - who also has a reputation as one of the harder-working legislators in the statehouse - asked to sit in on the Assembly committee that heard Van Drew's cable-reform legislation. Asselta voted for the bill, but only after some tough questions.

Asselta also knocked Van Drew for his recent trumpet of alarm after hearing rumors that a section of the Southern State Correctional Facility in Cumberland County might be closed.

"If I put out a press release on every rumor, it would be countless," Asselta said. "That's definitely on the edge."

Van Drew originally said he heard rumors from corrections officers. He now says word came from reliable sources higher up in the Department of Corrections.

"I guess I just want the powers that be to know that if they're going to do something to hurt my district, I'm going to make a lot of noise," Van Drew said.

Van Drew's clout within his party is considerable for a freshman legislator. He is the first Democrat to win a seat in his district in four decades. Party leaders want to make sure Van Drew keeps the seat.

As a result, Van Drew got a green light in his first year to vote conservatively without fear of reprisal. He voted against the governor's budget and the governor's plan to raise vehicle registration fees to improve security and customer service at the Division of Motor Vehicles.

"Obviously, he is a legislator the Democratic Party is committed to protecting and giving all available resources too," Asselta said.

Democrats may see Van Drew as a golden child, but Rasmussen says the bottom line is Van Drew got there by listening to problems and hustling to get them fixed.

"He does his homework and he's a man of substance," Rasmussen said. "If everybody worked as hard as him, there wouldn't be anything to complain about."

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Buena Vista names director

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Collings Lake squad to undergo audit

BUENA VISTA -- The township will audit the Collings Lake Rescue Squad's financial records despite not receiving all needed documents.

At Monday's committee meeting, Mayor Chuck Chiarello told the squad to turn over its financial records by Friday.

Although emergency squad members turned in some information Wednesday, other financial data remains missing.

The auditing firm of Ford, Scott, Seidenburg and Kennedy will perform the audit and present it to the committee at its Monday, Jan. 27, meeting.

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Collings Lakes' finances questioned

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - Three months ago, members of the Collings Lakes Ambulance Association went to a Township Committee meeting seeking financial help for the squad.

The committee asked for the squad's financial records, to help it assess how much additional support the squad needed.

The township already contributes about $20,000 annually to the squad - $12,500 in a direct donation and the balance in insurance coverage, Mayor Chuck Chiarello said.

That was Oct. 7.

Despite five letters from township officials between November and January - and an ultimatum Monday to provide the records Friday or face repercussions - the township still doesn't have all the records it requested, Chiarello said Friday.

"We had to set an ultimatum to get something in our hands that we could look at," he said. "We're basically looking for the last year to 18 months of records. We're not looking for the last 40 years of records."

The squad has provided some financial records, including this week, Chiarello said. But "the more we looked at it, the more complicated it got."

"The first thing that raised our eyebrows was when we learned the squad's newest ambulance was for sale on a used-ambulance dealer's lot in Summit (in northern New Jersey)," Chiarello said. "And that ambulance was fully paid for."

The squad has an older ambulance, circa 1994, on which it is believed to owe between $11,000 and $12,000 in remaining loan payments, township Administrator Ronald Trebing said.

The squad brought back the new ambulance from the used-ambulance lot about three weeks ago, and it's now at the squad's building, Trebing said.

But in addition to the loan payments for the older ambulance, the squad also appears to owe money to Nextel, a telecommunications company, and possibly other vendors, township officials said.

They said none of the Nextel bills have been provided, but other documents show the squad spent $14,000 of its annual $30,000 budget on cell phones and walkie-talkies from Nextel.

Squad members use the phones and walkie-talkies to communicate with each other during emergencies, Chiarello said. But the township learned that the then-president of the squad, Dave Fernandez, had contracted with Nextel to provide service for not only squad members, but also their family members and friends.

The contracts were taken out in the squad's name and people were supposed to reimburse the squad, Chiarello said.

"We found out one person ran up a $1,000 bill and was paying (the squad) back on time," Chiarello said. "All of these things struck us as very poor management decisions."

As a result, Chiarello said, the Township Committee "has lost confidence in the direction the squad's going."

Repeated efforts to reach Fernandez on Friday were unsuccessful.

Trebing said the township's auditors - Ford, Scott, Seidenberg & Kennedy - will review the squad financial records the township has on hand Wednesday, try to come up with an accounting, and submit a report to the Township Committee.

The committee will review the report at its regular meeting Jan. 27, Chiarello said.

Meantime, the township's 2003 contribution of taxpayer funds to the squad is on hold.

The squad's service has generally been fine, Chiarello said. "But if you get to the point where there's no ambulance to run, or no gas to put in there, you're going to run into problems."

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Buena Vista man named to farmland panel

Buena Vista man named to farmland panel

Gov. James E. McGreevey on Tuesday nominated three people, including a local produce-auction manager, to the State Agricultural Development Committee, which administers the state farmland-preservation program.

"I am confident that the individuals I am nominating to serve on the State Agriculture Development Committee will help us meet our goal of preserving 20,000 acres of farmland a year, a goal that is vital in our efforts to curb sprawl, maintain the quality of life in our communities and keep New Jersey's agriculture industry strong," McGreevey said.

Nominated were:

·  Peter C. Bylone Sr. of Buena Vista Township. He is the manager of Vineland Produce Auction, where he has worked since 1992. Bylone is a farmer and a former deputy mayor, and has held leadership positions on the Atlantic County Board of Agriculture.

·  Andrew Borisuk Jr. of Vernon, a farmer who currently grows 125 acres of corn for grain.

·  Gary B. Mount of Lawrence Township, the owner and operator of Terhune Orchards, a 120-acre fruit and vegetable farm in Mercer County.

The nominations must be confirmed by the Senate.

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Buena Vista Township delays public hearing on rescue squad finances

BUENA VISTA TOWNSHIP - A late audit report delayed a public hearing on additional funding for the Collings Lakes rescue squad at a committee meeting Monday night.

The committee discussed some aspects of the issue during the closed-door executive session, Mayor Chuck Chiarello said, because of its ongoing nature and the legal and personnel components that would be brought up.

The squad asked for financial assistance three months ago, but the committee has since sought its financial records to determine whether to increase the annual $20,000 donation that they already provide.

Despite five letters and an ultimatum to provide the records, they remain incomplete, Chiarello said last week.

Questions regarding the squad's alleged attempt to sell a new ambulance, and excessive spending on cell phones and walkie-talkies concerned the committee.

As a result, Chiarello said, the Township Committee "has lost confidence in the direction the squad's going."

The committee expected the town's auditors - Ford, Scott, Seidenberg & Kennedy - to be finished the review by Monday, but a delay in the paperwork pushed the public discussion to the workshop session next Monday, Chiarello said.

"We're just trying to do what's best for the people of the township," Chiarello said, explaining that the committee wanted to wait until they had all of the necessary paperwork before opening the funding issue to the public.

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NJ seniors prescription drug plan faces cuts

TRENTON - Senior citizens earning low incomes could be bounced from their prescription-drug program under the latest series of budget cuts proposed Wednesday by Gov. James E. McGreevey.

McGreevey told pharmaceutical companies and senior-citizen advocates he is considering asset tests that could move participants in the state's Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled, or PAAD, program to the Senior Gold program, which provides more expensive prescription- drug benefits.

The governor also proposed placing a hold on increases to the Homestead Rebate and Senior Property Tax Freeze programs as a way to cut costs and balance a projected $5 billion budget deficit.

The announcement comes a day after McGreevey announced $100 million in cuts to higher education. The governor is also proposing $30 million in cuts to the state's business-relocation programs as he prepares to deliver his budget message Tuesday.

While there is doubt all the cuts will be carried out, administration officials insist the daily briefings are not a political attempt to paint an inaccurately bleak picture.

"We're not holding out here," McGreevey spokesman Micah Rasmussen said. "More cuts are coming. Every department will be affected."

McGreevey is also considering a freeze on the amount of pension funds exempted from state income taxes. Changes to state income tax law allow an additional $2,500 in pension payments to be tax-exempt in 2004.

"These are all worthwhile programs that the governor would like to expand, but we simply can't afford any more than this," Rasmussen said.

The PAAD program allows seniors who make less than $20,000 a year - and couples who make less than $24,542 a year - to purchase prescription drugs with a $5 co-payment. McGreevey's plan moves PAAD recipients with more than $75,00 in assets - and couples with more than $100,000 in assets - into the Senior Gold program. Homes would not count as assets.

Senior Gold, which began in 2001, extends prescription drug benefits to singles who earn less than $30,000 and couples who earn less than $35,542. Senior Gold cardholders pay $15 plus 50 percent of the cost of their prescription. Once annual prescription expenses reach $2,000 for singles and $3,000 for couples, only a $15 co-pay is required.

To further save costs, McGreevey also wants to make generic prescriptions mandatory where possible and set up a preferred drug list so that the least expensive brand name drugs are used.

McGreevey estimates the changes could save more than $40 million. There are no estimates on how many seniors might qualify out of the PAAD program.

Assemblyman Nicholas Asselta, R-Cumberland, Cape May, Atlantic, said McGreevey's plan "goes in the wrong direction."

"We should be creating a better prescription drug plan," Asselta said. "It's not going to take long for seniors to eat up an entire lifetime of savings spending money on prescription drugs."

McGreevey blames the proposed budget cuts on the federal government's failure to grant New Jersey an exemption to regulations that limit federal subsidies for Medicaid nursing-home reimbursements. The 2003 budget anticipated $330 million in such subsidies from the federal government. The budget also relied on $147 million in federal funding for a pharmaceutical waiver program that allows states to apply for matching funds for senior prescription programs.

New Jersey started its own program in 1975 - and McGreevey says the state is being punished for being ahead of the curve. He said the federal government told the state to temporarily cancel its PAAD program, apply for the federal funding and then reinstate the program.

"This is absurd," McGreevey said. "We refuse to engage in this type of bureaucratic shenanigans."

McGreevey said he anticipated the $477 million in federal funds for the 2003 budget after five states received the Medicaid reimbursement exemption and five others received the pharmaceutical waiver. Florida - where the president's brother, Jeb Bush, serves as governor - received funding through both programs.

"We misinterpreted the level of political influence that would be brought to bear to the decisions," McGreevey said. "As a result, I am forced to seek a supplemental appropriation to cover these costs."

Republican Senate Co-President John Bennett, Monmouth, said McGreevey's allegations of partisan politics are unfounded and an attempt to avoid responsibility for his overspending.

"It is time to work together on behalf of the citizens of our state to accept responsibility for the difficulty of the budget task before us and dispense with the facile casting of blame on others," Bennett said.

AARP State Director Jim Dieterle said he supports McGreevey's move to mandatory generic drugs, but he predicts the idea of calculating the assets of PAAD recipients will be abandoned when the budget process is completed.

"The budget should not be balanced on the state's vulnerable, elderly and disabled," Dieterle said. "Frankly, I don't think the governor is going to that. We're a long way away from July 1."

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Van Drew pushes for cable, prescription reform

VINELAND -- Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew, D-1, met with senior citizens Thursday to promote cable TV reform and pharmaceutical quality legislation.

"These are two issues that affect everyone but seriously affect seniors," Van Drew said.

Van Drew, speaking at the Vineland Nutrition Site behind Tarkiln Park Apartments on Chestnut Avenue, introduced the cable reform bill after constituents in his district -- mostly seniors -- complained about rising costs and poor customer service.

"(Seniors) spend more time watching TV," Van Drew said. "They live on a fixed income so, when the costs go up, they feel it."

Van Drew's cable reform bill would:

·  Limit how much cable companies could charge in late fees.

·  Create a three-hour response window for service calls.

·  Force companies to credit customers for time lost to outages.

The bill cleared the state Assembly Telecommunications Committee and is headed to the state Assembly floor.

Assemblyman Nicholas Asselta, R-1, voted for the bill. But its automatic credit provision may drive up long-term rates, he said.

"It could take millions of dollars to develop the technology for the cable companies to get down to the individual homeowner when there is an outage," Asselta said. "The cost to implement that would be passed on to (customers)."

Van Drew's other bill -- The Pharmacy Quality Assurance and Error Prevention Act -- would require pharmacists to tell the state Board of Pharmacy in 10 days if a medication error could seriously harm a patient.

Failure to report the information could result in the suspension or revocation of a pharmacist's certificate of registration and fines of as much as $1,000.

The measure also would require more than one pharmacist to double-check prescription accuracy and would study the feasibility of electronic or typewritten -- rather than handwritten -- prescriptions.

Asselta may not embrace the bill if its restrictions limit the number of prescriptions pharmacists can fill.

"I'd think that was government intrusion," he said. "Wouldn't you?"

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SPCA head says officer harassed her in message

BUENA VISTA -- An animal-rights advocate is charging the township's animal-control officer with harassment.

Nancy Beall filed the complaint against John Hill in Egg Harbor Township Court about two weeks ago.

Beall said Hill threatened to "come after her" in three answering-machine messages.

The messages were left with the Atlantic County branch of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, where Beall is president, she said.

In another instance Hill wrote a letter in which he used a derogatory term to refer to SPCA agents, according to Beall.

"I feel very threatened right now," she said.

Hill, 59, owns Tri-County Animal Services in Tuckahoe and is an animal-control officer in 13 municipalities in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Hill also is the animal-cruelty officer in several of the municipalities, including Buena Borough and Buena Vista in Atlantic County.

Hill said he is being targeted by Beall because he assumed animal-cruelty duties in the Buenas once controlled by the SPCA.

"It's a trumped up thing, I can tell you that," Hill said. "That's due to our townships appointing us animal-cruelty investigators, so she's feeling threatened."

The court hearing set for today was postponed because Hill's lawyers have yet to receive some information from prosecutors.

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