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Reports on outcomes of a study by the Office of the Child Advocate showing that New Jersey is doing a poor job of investigating cases of child abuse, leaving children in unnecessary danger. Actions of state investigators when abuse as reported in any setting other than the child's home; Backlog of cases waiting to be investigated; Department of Human Services commissioner James M. Davy's reaction to the report.

Examines the packet of supplies called Life Packages that Wall Street currency trader Andrew J. Krieger came up with to help the tsunami victims in Asia. Contents of the package; Charitable trust established by Krieger; Krieger's career history.

Reports on acting Governor Richard J. Codey's unveiling of a pilot school safety program at a school in West Paterson which includes a computerized security cameras that can alert authorities to suspicious activities.

Reports that a group of artists has decided to move out of a historic factory building in Jersey City, New Jersey after settling dispute with owner New Gold Equities. Plans of New Gold Equities to demolish the building because of structural problems; City's commitment to preserve the site.

Reports on the discovery of a toxic waste dump in New Jersey's Ringwood State Park. Closure of a portion of the park's hiking trail after a state-certified lab found that lead levels in paint sludge dumped in the area exceeded acceptable level; Dangerous levels of arsenic and other toxic chemicals; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's call on Ford Motor Co., former owner of the property, to clean the site again.

Shares teh author's thought about giving birth. Author's recollection of her experience of giving birth in front of traffic; Author's description of the joys of childbirth.

The article describes the story of Kisha Theodore from New Jersey, who received help from a nonprofit organization for homeless families Family Promise of Union County and also discusses workshop organized by a nonprofit Imagine, on grief counseling.

The author reports on young children's fear of automatic flush toilets. According to Philip Kendall, the director of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Temple University, children are afraid of flush toilets because they are unpredictable. Resources which are available for parents whose children are afraid of automatic toilets are discussed, including a website that lists the locations of the manual toilets found at Disneyland.

The article discusses the history of the Market Diner located on the corner of 43rd Street and 11th Avenue in New York City. The diner closed in 2006. Possible uses for the building are mentioned. The personal experiences of people who used to eat at the diner are discussed, including Stephen May and Milton Molina.

This article reports on the murder of three college friends in Newark, New Jersey. Police are investigating leads and are questioning the only survivor of the shootings, Natasha Aeriel. Newark residents and the families of the deceased and Ms. Aeriel don't understand why the victims were attacked because they were all ambitious, hard-working college students with no criminal backgrounds. Garry F. McCarthy of the police department said that Ms. Aeriel did not know the attackers.

The article reports on an agreement reached between the Fairfield United Soccer Association of Connecticut and the Internal Revenue Service over withholding taxes from the soccer group's coaches. Youth sports leagues across the United States have been waiting for this case to resolved so that the employment status of such coaches would be clarified.

This article reports on how some families in New Jersey are holding children's birthday parties with no gifts. In lieu of gifts, invitations suggest a donation of money or specified items to a charity of the child's choice. The article cites examples of donations that various people have made to charities instead of gifts. Fundraiser Davida Isaacson says there is a growing trend to involve young children in no-gift parties to teach them the value of philanthropy.

This article discusses environmental education. The article profiles children from a Newark, New Jersey junior high school who attended an environmental education program at the Frost Valley Y.M.C.A. Camp in the Catskill Mountains. The inner-city schoolchildren have participated in nature studies and various adventure activities in their program.

The article offers information about the services offered by the support group Mothers of Only Children of Northern New Jersey for parents of one child in New Jersey. The monthly meetings of the group alternate between child-centered play dates and nights out for parents of only child. The parents in the group exchange tips on vacation destinations that attract children, how to be a main playmate for toddlers and how to face strangers in supermarkets.

This article discusses DNA evidence in murder cases. In may of 2007, New Jersey man Byron Halsey was freed after serving 19 years in prison after DNA evidence led to the overturning of his 1988 murder conviction. The evidence now points to Halsey's neighbor Cliff Hall, who testified against Halsey during the original trial.

The author discusses hiking with a family on the Upper Awosting carriage path to Castle Point in Minnewaska State Park Preserve near New Paltz, New York. Castle Point offers expansive views of the Hudson River Valley. The author's two children are aged two and six and the adults found that carrying the two year old was hard work while hiking.

This article discusses flooding in New Jersey during April of 2007. The article notes that, as of April 17, 2007, more than 900 residents of Bound Brook, New Jersey were living in shelters due to flooding, and 3,000 people in New Jersey were without power. The article profiles several New Jersey residents who have endured flooding troubles.

This article discusses the legal status of civil unions for same-sex couples in New Jersey. The author notes that the civil unions law in New Jersey does not provide equality for same-sex couples as compared to their heterosexual counterparts, especially in regards to insurance benefits and taxable income.

This article reports on a public library in Maplewood, New Jersey. In December 2006, students at Maplewood Middle School have been caught fighting in the library, urinating on the bathroom floor, scrawling graffiti on the walls, talking back to librarians, and refusing to leave when asked. The police have been called multiple times a day in order to deal with the students disruptive behavior. As a result, in January 2007, the library will close in the afternoons until further notice.

This article discusses how a student in a high school history class at Kearny High School in New Jersey tape recorded his teacher's comments about religion. Matthew LaClair said David Paszkiewicz's comments made him uncomfortable so he reported them to the principal. LaClair's parents are considering suing the school system for constitutional violations of the separation of the church and state doctrine. The parents believe the teacher was proselytizing, but his supporters believe he was exercising his freedom of speech rights.

This article profiles the town of Brick Township, New Jersey, during 2006. The article discusses the lack of crime in Brick Township, noting that there were no murders or rapes reported in the town during 2005, a stark contrast to many neighboring towns on the New Jersey shore. The author calls Brick Township an "oasis" in a state struggling with gang violence issues.

The article states that the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples can have the same legal rights as married couples and discusses economic aspects of the decision. The New Jersey State Legislature will decide whether to call the partnerships civil unions or marriages. Legal aspects involved with this decision include health care benefits for partners, estate or inheritance taxes, and a right to family leave time.

The article focuses on the results of a study by Harvard University researchers which found that Asian women in Bergen County, New Jersey live longer than any other ethnic subgroup of people in the United States, according to federal statistics. Elderly women in the county from Korea, China, and Hong Kong who were interviewed attribute their longevity to a healthy diet, belief in God, and their close-knit communities.

This article describes an experiment by the Cardiac Post-Anesthesia Care Unit of the Morristown Memorial Hospital in Morristown, New Jersey with live harp music during patient recoveries. Harpist Alix Weisz walks around the recovery room playing music on a small harp that researchers believe helps regulate patients' heart rates, blood pressure, and breathing. Weisz tries not to play any music that would be recognizable and would trigger negative responses.

This article reports on a day care center in New Jersey that was closed after the discovery of unacceptably high mercury levels. A third of the 60 children tested have shown abnormally high levels of mercury in their systems and will require long-term monitoring. Officials are questioning how a building that was once a mercury thermometer factory could have been allowed to be used as a day care center. Mercury vapor levels in the building were 27 times the regulatory limit.

This article presents information about the shooting and death of Orange, New Jersey police officer Kieran T. Shields and the arrest of suspect Raynard Brown. Shields had responded to reports of a shooting and arrived to find Brown with a sawed-off shotgun. Brown ran and Shields chased him and was consequently killed by the shotgun. Shields was described as an excellent police officer and family man and Brown was described as a gang member with a troubled past.

This article discusses the nomination of homosexual bishops in the U.S. Episcopal Church. The Episcopal church, an extension of the Anglican Church, already has named one homosexual bishop in the Reverend Canon V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, and has nominated another openly homosexual priest, Michael Barlowe, to become bishop of Newark, New Jersey. The Anglican church has denounced homosexual priests, and may force a split from the Episcopal Church.

The article focuses on the U.S. Internal Revenue Service's audit of the Fairfield United Soccer Association of Fairfield, Connecticut. The author reviews how the youth soccer league seen its budget boom in the recent future and raised nearly $400,000 in dues. According to the author, many youth sports clubs across the county are beginning to question whether or not they are growing too fast for their parent managers to keep up.

The article presents information about Jay Skelton, the president of the Fairfield United Soccer Association of Fairfield, Connecticut.

The article focuses on the New Jersey's child welfare system. According to the author, few changes have been made to the system since an effort to reform its inadequacies began more than 18 months ago. It is the author's view that the difficulty New Jersey officials have had in providing promised medical exams to children offers a glimpse into some of the obstacles that the state has faced in trying to repair the system. It is suggested that the system is still suffering from staff shortages, poor financing and poor communication. United States.

The article reports that two northeasters that hit the Jersey Shore in October have caused the beach to erode so far that homes may be in danger. An estimated nine million cubic feet of sand was lost in the storms. The beaches usually protect the shore in the harsh winter months and expand when the weather mellows in the summer.

This article discusses a recent report from the panel charged with monitoring the overhaul of the New Jersey child welfare program. The overall conclusion of the report states that even though the state has poured millions into the program, it still fails to provide the most basic services. Attorney Susan Lambiase of Children's Rights Inc. says that the federal court may intervene and initiate a takeover if the panel and the state can't come to an agreement on fixing the system.

Focuses on infant toilet training in the U.S. How a growing number of parents view infant potty training as more sanitary, ecologically correct and likely to strengthen bonds between parent and child; Ways that the practice is being encouraged; Why the philosophy behind it challenges conventional wisdom; Observation that parents in at least 75 countries embrace the practice; Views of Ingrid Bauer, author of "Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene," and child-rearing expert Dr. T. Berry Brazelton; Advantages for families who practice the technique; Role of support groups.

Reports on the fire accident killing three people and injuring others at the Irvington Motor Lodge in Irvington, New Jersey.

Focuses on a residential motel in New Jersey, the Irvington Motor Lodge, where three people died in a fire. Citations given the business for illegally chaining its exit doors shut; Investigation into the cause of the fire; Comment of motel owner, Randy Maisuria, about complaints of drug use and prostitution; Problems at the motel that caused the American Red Cross of Metropolitan New Jersey to stop housing displaced people there.

Focuses on the difficulties that American farmers are having this season because of lost crops due to lack of rain and because of high fuel costs. Indication that the New Jersey Emergency Board of the federal Department of Agriculture want Acting Governor Richard J. Codey to ask for a federal disaster declaration; The amount of loss at Gaventa Farms in New Jersey; How the dry conditions and other problems have affected New York and Connecticut.

Looks at how Hellfest, a three-day punk music festival scheduled to being on August 19, 2005 in Trenton, New Jersey, has been cancelled at the last minute, leaving fans stranded in the area. Comments from stranded fans regarding the cancellation; Review of how the event would have been the ninth consecutive year for Hellfest; Reports on how promoters hoped all the ticketholders would receive refunds.

Reports on the project of officials in New Jersey to establish the nation's first state-supported stem research institute.

Reports a federal indictment in New Jersey accuses eight women and two men of participating in a smuggling ring that brought females from Honduras to the United States. Charges against the ten for conspiracy to commit forced labor offenses, alien smuggling, and harboring illegal aliens; How Honduran women were recruited for slave labor and abused; Comment from the federal prosecutor, Christopher J. Christie; The names listed in the indictment, including the ringleader Luisa Medrano, a naturalized citizen who is from El Salvador.

Offers a look at ecotourism in the marshes of the Hackensack Meadowlands in New Jersey. Statement that the Hackensack River offers biodiversity and lessons in environmental preservation; Report that the Hackensack Riverkeeper and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission offer boat trips on the river; Report that the tours on the Hackensack River visit Mill Creek Marsh and the Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area; Discussion of fights between real estate developers and preservationists.

Looks at the efforts of wildlife researchers to track and preserve wood turtles in New Jersey. Details of the work of the New Jersey Audubon Society, which studies wood turtles and protects a wildlife preserve area; Report that researchers use radio transmitters to track wood turtles; Vulnerability of wood turtles to predators and adverse effects of real estate development; Claim that wood turtles are on New Jersey's list of species at risk for extinction.

Discusses the merger of Catholic churches in the Newark, New Jersey archdiocese. Description of the last mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Maplewood, New Jersey and its merger with another church; Comments by the church's pastor, Rev. Frank J. Rocchi; How the archdiocese's New Energies project will ask other parishes to consider merging; Other churches which have agreed to merge; How St. Andrew Kim, a Korean Roman Catholic church may move into the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

Reports on the efforts of New Jersey to help migrating birds known as red knots. Information on the birds, which migrate 20,000 miles every year between South America and Canada; How the horseshoe crabs, vital to the birds' survival, have fallen in numbers along the shores of Delaware Bay; Attempt by volunteers and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to help the red knots, listed as a threatened species in New Jersey; Beach closings along the coasts of Cape May, so that the red knots can feed on the crabs.

Focuses on a New Jersey megachurch and its fight to build on a new site. The robust growth of Christ Church, a nondenominational church in Montclair; How its quest for a new home has led the church into federal court; Objections of residents to the building plans; How local land use laws can make it difficult for religious congregations to build new homes; Intent of Christ Church's leaders to build offices, Bible study rooms, an elementary school, gym and outdoor sports facilities; Comments of the Reverend David Ireland; Diversity of the church; Details of the church's complaint.

Reports on the New York State Heart Gallery's exhibition of photographs of children available for adoption. Report that some of the children have had many foster homes; Report that three photographers involved in Heart Galleries across the United States have adopted children; Ability of the photographers to give the children dignity.

Focuses on the use falcons, or other birds of prey, to control the presence of birds flying over airplane runways at McGuire Air Force Base in Wrightstown, N.J. When the base began using a peregrine falcon to scare away starlings; Number of reported collisions between birds and aircraft at the base in the last 20 years, noting the deaths and monetary damage resulting from the accidents; Comments from Stuart Rossell of Falcon Environmental Services, the company that runs the base's wildlife management program, regarding the targets of the falcons.

Reports that a body found floating in the East River is believed to be that of a 44-year-old woman who vanished in March 2003 while walking on the Upper East Side. Description of body resembling Svetlana Aronov; Where the body was found; Clues and evidence the police were investigating including an eyewitness account that Aronov and a cocker spaniel dog got inside a taxi-cab; Results of lie detector tests taken by Aronov's husband suggesting he was not involved in foul play.

A petition in New Jersey signed by more than 2,300 Democratic officials, advocates and residents has helped sway members of the State Senate Judiciary Committee to call for a vote on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. But the bill has a long way to go, and recent votes against same-sex marriage in a Maine referendum and in the New York State Senate led opponents of the New Jersey measure to say that the political tide had turned against it. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

At around 5:45 a.m., armed with a Mossberg 835 12-gauge shotgun painted in camouflage colors and his ''sippy cup,'' a travel mug full of coffee, John T. Rauh pulled his big red Ford F-250 out of the driveway, his Navy dog tags swinging from the rearview mirror. He had permission on Saturday to scout out a large patch of private land where he normally hunts for deer. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]