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LIGHT OF DAY

WINTERS BRIGHT SPOT

PRESS INVESTIGATION RESULTS

Legislators
urge lead
poisoning
fund dollars

Who is in power
determines
what politically
connected firm
gets the work

More than $50 million

for programs diverted

LAWS OF
POLITICS

TODD B. BATES @TODDBBATESAPP

New Jerseys virtually depleted lead poisoning

control fund would see an infusion of state dollars
if some state lawmakers get their way.
The health of our children is something thats
very important, so I think we should make every
effort that its funded to the intent of the original
legislation, at least to make an attempt to do that,
said state Assemblywoman Mary Pat Angelini, RMonmouth. Any time we get away from the original intent of legislation, we get ourselves in trouble.
State Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, plans to
hold a hearing on legislation (S-1279) that would
pump $10 million into the Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund.
An Asbury Park Press investigation published
last week showed that the fund rarely received its
funding within the last decade.
Van Drew said the lead problem in New Jersey
is an important and a challenging issue. While we
have heard from the (state Department of Community Affairs that) there has been a continued reduction in lead-poisoning cases, more than 5,000 children in the state with above-average levels is concerning.
Van Drews comments came in response to the
Press inquiry, which found that more than $50 million that was supposed to be earmarked for the lead
poisoning fund had been diverted to pay routine
state bills and salaries.
I will be looking into this issue further and, in
the near-term, expect to post legislation (for a hearing) that would provide $10 million in supplemental
funding to the Lead Hazard Control Assistance
Fund, said Van Drew, a dentist who chairs the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, in a
statement.

SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

Local towns and counties spend more than $14 million in tax dollars on private legal services each year,
with much of the work going to politically connected
law firms that have contributed tens of thousands of
dollars to the dominate party, an Asbury Park Press investigation found.
And with legal fees costing taxpayers an approximate $100 million in the last decade, the governments
spending at the Jersey Shore brings to mind the musings of Shakespeare: First pay the lawyers.
No one knows that better than the two powerful law
firms in Ocean County that control about 40 percent
of the legal work, lucrative deals that result in
hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees for the
politically well-connected firms.
The 86 municipalities and two counties of the Shore
spent more than $14.5 million on legal costs in 2013 and
an estimated $15.3 million last year, according to the
review of more than 90 budget documents.
Those data, coupled with campaign-finance reports,
See LEGAL, Page A3

INSIDE

See LEAD, Page A4

For a chart of legal fees by town, see PAGE A3

WISH COME TRUE

Local girl blessed by pope

GINA COLUMBUS @GINACOLUMBUSAPP

A special 11-year-old had the opportunity to wish

Pope Francis a happy birthday.
But it was the child, Gracie West of Freehold Township, whose wish came true in that face-to-face moment
Dec. 17.
Gracie, who was diagnosed with stage 4 neuroblastoma in November of 2013, met the pope thanks to the
Make-A-Wish Foundation, a nonprofit organization that
grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses.

So at a recent Papal Wednesday Audience at the Vatican, Gracie, who recently completed her 10th round of
chemotherapy, was in attendance.
I have very, very strong faith and it has helped me
through tons of (my journey with cancer), Gracie said.
We would pray all the time, and it would be a huge deal
to meet the pope and I thought, I should do that, following my strong faith. Hes like the closest person to
God.
Thousands of people attended the audience, Gracie

COURTESY OF THE WEST FAMILY

Gracie West, who has cancer, met Pope Francis in Vatican City
in December, thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

See GRACIE, Page A5

PARIS TERROR ATTACKS SPARK FEARS FOR FRENCH MUSLIMS PAGE 1B

WHERE IS ALEX
BLACKWELL?
The Toms River native put Monmouth
basketball on the map, but few have
heard from him recently. SPORTS, C1
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 9
SINCE 1879

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