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Lawyers made their final arguments today in the murder trial of Rodolfo Godinez. He is one of six defendants accused in a brutal 2007 killing of three college students in a Newark schoolyard. These were young adults with promising futures, and the crime was shocking, even by the violent standards ...

Governor Chris Christie wants to limit property taxes, and he wants to put it to voters directly. He kicked off his referendum campaign with a stop in Hoboken yesterday.

Governor Christie's number is 2.5. That's the biggest percent increase a town could raise its property taxes, if Christie gets his referendum, ...

Cory Booker has won a second term as mayor of Newark, handily defeating three challengers with 59 percent of the vote. Former Essex County Prosecutor Cliff Minor ran a distant second.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, the city's Web site has Booker with more than 21,000 votes compared to about ...

Voters in dozens of New Jersey cities and towns are set to head to the polls in local elections tomorrow. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: 86 of the state's 566 municipalities hold what are billed "non-partisan" contests that determine who gets to be mayor and serve on the town or ...

Cory Booker is seeking a second term as mayor of Newark in municipal elections tomorrow. Four years ago, Booker replaced Sharpe James, who had run the city for two decades, and ended up serving time on federal corruption charges soon after leaving office. Booker promised to bring good governance and ...

After just four months in office, New Jersey Governor Christie is in a standoff with Senate President Steven Sweeney. As WNYC's Bob Hennelly tells us, it's over the governor's nominee to the state's highest court.

REPORTER: Judges serve seven years and then have always been re-appointed until their retirement. This year ...

For the first time in 34 years, New Jersey voters have rejected a majority of school budgets. According to unofficial results, voters turned down 260 of 479 budgets in 19 counties in yesterday's elections, which were particularly contentious this year.

Under Gov. Chris Christie's proposed state budget, schools would get less ...

New Jersey voters are going to the polls today to pick school boards and to decide the fate of local school district budgets. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Billions of dollars are at stake yet fewer than one in five voters usually turns out. This year could be different with ...

Local school board elections take place in New Jersey tomorrow and this year the governor is paying very close attention. WNYC's Bob Hennelly reports.

REPORTER: In the first test of his bully pulpit, Governor Christie is calling on New Jerseyans to vote against any local school budget where the district's teachers ...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's offer to provide additional state aid to school districts, where teachers agree to a salary freeze, has yet to gain traction with the state's 600 school districts. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: So far teachers in 11 districts have agreed to the freeze. By contrast, ...

The 12 New Jersey counties hardest hit by last month's flooding will be getting federal aid. President Obama's declaration makes funding available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That aid can include grants for temporary housing repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals ...

The old First BankAmericano headquarters on North Broad Street in Elizabeth is vacant, but for an American flag on a pole that someone forgot to remove. If you look closely, you can see where decals with the bank’s logo have been scraped off the windows.

Former CEO Holly Bakke recalls last ...

New Jersey school boards are backing a call from Governor Christie that teachers forgo pay raises. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Local districts say they're in a tough spot. They could see more than $800 million in cuts in state aid while their health care costs are rising. The New ...

I think we should have stayed home. But during the rain storm last Saturday my husband and I got into our car and started to drive to a restaurant near our home in Hoboken, NJ.

A mere six blocks ...

New Jersey public school districts are predicting significant teacher layoffs and program cutbacks if the state legislature goes along with Gov. Chris Christie's call for a budget cut of more than $800 million.

Christie says the state's shortfall of more than $11 billion left him with few options. ...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie will lay out his plan on Tuesday for pulling the state out of its deep fiscal crisis. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: The governor's budget will call for a nearly 10 percent roll back in state spending, including reductions in local municipal and school aid. ...

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been in office for less than two months, but his approach to balance the state's books is already prompting protest. WNYC's Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: Public school teachers with the New Jersey Education Association plan to take their grievances to Governor Christie's Morris County ...

Hundreds of flights were canceled, the Port Authority remains open, but Greyhound, Megabus, Bolt Bus, and Peter Pan Lines buses have been canceled today and students were off from school -- only the ninth time since 1982, but the second time this year.

As of mid-day, the snow accumulation measures ...

The national Tea Party movement is making local waves in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District. WNYC's political reporter Bob Hennelly has more.

REPORTER: This June, Republican Congressman Leonard Lance will have to fend off two Tea Party challengers: David Larsen and Bruce Baker. Farleigh Dickinson University's Public Mind poll director Peter ...

New Jersey Transit bus and rail riders could face a 30 percent fare hike as early as this May, according to union leaders.

The executive director of NJ Transit, James Weinstein, won't give a specific number, but says the hike will be significant.

"I'm not going to tell you that there's not ...