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ROYAL RIDE

05.03.15

American Pharoah wins first leg of Triple Crown. For full coverage, see Sports, 1C

Over half
of RREM
applicants
disappear
RUSS ZIMMER @RUSSZIMMER

More than 15,000 homeowners, whose

properties sustained damage during superstorm Sandy, applied for acceptance into the
states largest rebuilding initiative. Yet almost two years later, just a bit over half remain engaged in the program.
Observers are wondering why so many
were removed from the Rehabilitation, Reconstruction, Elevation and Mitigation
(RREM) program and what that says about a
system plagued with delays and rife with
frustration.
Wheres everyone going? asked Amanda Devecka-Rinear, executive director of the
New Jersey Organizing Project, which materialized in response to problems with
RREM. Just 8,300 of the 15,000 remain in the
program.
See RREM, Page 6A

GANNETT PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/ JOANNE WALSH

ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTOS

Gov. Chris Christie's primary

defense regarding the
origin of the George
Washington Bridge traffic
jams: I didn't know.

Whats next for

Christie?
No charges filed, but his political
aspirations may have taken a hit
MICHAEL SYMONS @MICHAELSYMONS

RUSS DESANTIS/CORRESPONDENT

The Tober family of Monmouth Beach decided to

turn down RREM grant money to fix their home.

David Wildstein, a former

Port Authority appointee of
Christie, pleaded guilty.

Millennials
weigh in on
state of Jersey

lthough Gov. Chris Christie wasnt charged Friday in the

George Washington Bridge scandal, his political problems
from the illegal, intentional lane closures may have gotten

worse. The good news for Christie was that U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said he expects no one else, beyond the three people implicated by
his office, to face criminal charges in connection with the lane closures.
The bad news is, it is now law enforcement, not merely the media or political partisans, decrying what Fishman described as a political vendetta

MICHAEL L. DIAMOND
AND KALA KACHMAR

Former Deputy Chief of

Staff Bridget Anne Kelly
was indicted.

@MDIAMONDAPP AND @NEWSQUIP

His goals arent all that complicated.

Don Leadbeaters dream of the future
didnt mention a yacht or a billion dollars or a
mansion. It didnt include starring in his own
reality television show or creating a killer
app.
The American dream is to be happy and
successful, Leadbeater, 20, of Toms River,
said before going to class at Ocean County
College on Friday. Just being able not to
struggle in life, working paycheck to paycheck.
Can New Jersey provide that for him? The
Asbury Park Press toured the Shores colleges last week as part of a campaign it called
See COLLEGE, Page 7A

Bill Baroni, former deputy

executive director of Port
Authority, was indicted.

one carried out on behalf of Christies re-election by people he entrusted

with high-ranking positions of power.
Christies primary defense since the sinister origins
of the September 2013 traffic jams first came to light: I
didnt know.
Such an excuse is not very presidential, in the opinion of Claira Monier, a resident of Goffstown, New
Hampshire. Her view should matter to Christie, who
has been courting voters in her states first-in-the-nation presidential primary.
If youre a president, you have to trust the people
close to you. If you cannot appoint people that are trustworthy and ethical, that raises some issues about you
being an excellent administrator, Monier said. And I
think the president of the United States has to be a topSee CHRISTIE, Page 6A

INSIDE
Time line of the GWB lane
closure scandal, 6A
Who are the key players
to watch? 6A
Is this the beginning of the
end for Christie?
EDITORIAL, 4AA

ON THE WEB
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