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N.J. SHUTDOWN?
SATURDAY 07.01.17

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PHOTOS BY KEVIN R. WEXLER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Assembly (above) and Senate returned to Trenton on Friday is an effort to hammer out a budget deal for fiscal 2018.
beachedition
YOUR WEEKEND GUIDE DOWN THE SHORE

Horizon fight highlighted

as legislators race the clock
DUSTIN RACIOPPI @DRACIOPPI
AND NICHOLAS PUGLIESE @NICKPUGZ

With hours to go before a deadline that forces a government

shutdown, Gov. Chris Christie met with legislative leaders but did
not broker a deal, leaving all sides to continue negotiations.
New Jersey state government, absent something happening in
the next eight hours, is going to shut down, Christie said during a
news conference around 4:15 p.m. I am not happy about this. This
is completely avoidable.
The Legislature returned to Trenton on Friday after having
failed the day before to agree on a deal for fiscal 2018 that begins
today. Christie and the Senate have agreed on a trade-off, but As-
sembly Speaker Vincent Prieto refuses to sign off on one compo-
Celebrate the holiday
nent of the deal, a plan that could allow the state to access the re- Gov. Chris Christie speaks at a news
The Patriotic Bicycle Parade will be held at the Philadelphia
serves of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. Some conference in Trenton on Thursday about
Avenue Beach in Lavallette from 9 to 10 a.m. today.
Democratic members of the Assembly also favor the agreement, the budget crisis.
including the legislative changes to Horizon.
Prieto, D-Secaucus, said Friday morning that he wont be ex-
torted to agree to a bad budget deal and, according to Christie,
refused to talk about the Horizon measure with the governor Fri-
day afternoon.
Tumult doesnt
Christie also has taken a hard line, saying that he already has
compromised with Democrats by agreeing to support their $34.7 bother campers
billion budget proposal, which adds about $350 million more in
spending than what he had proposed in February. But in exchange, ANDREW J. GOUDSWARD
Christie wants the Horizon legislation and a bill that would shift the @AGOUDSWARD
state lottery to the public employee pension system.
Christie again Friday tried to pin the blame for any government HOWELL - Any alarm in Trenton
shutdown on Prieto and the Legislature, saying he would take ac- over the possibility of a state govern-
tion on any budget that arrives on his desk Friday night with or ment shutdown over the extended July
without a Horizon bill. But if the Legislature sends him a budget 4th Weekend had not yet spread to the
without the Horizon and lottery bills, Christie said he would use his campground at Allaire State Park.
power to veto Democratic priorities out of the budget. The campground Friday afternoon
This is a fit of complete hypocrisy and arrogance by the speak- was dotted with tents and camping ve-
er, he said. Im giving them two options for no government shut- hicles. Patrons milled about collecting
down. Theyre giving me none. branches and pitching tents, either un-
Youre looking at Mr. Reasonable, he added. aware or uncaring that state lawmak-
The meeting in Christies office Friday afternoon also included ers and Gov. Chris Christie were
Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loret-
See CAMPERS, Page 5A
See BUDGET, Page 5A GO INDEPENDENT
MORE ONLINE
MORE ONLINE Find out where to enjoy firewokrs this
The Black Maria Film Festival, showcasing bold,
independent works, will be held at the Long Beach Island
Stay with APP.com for continuing updates on the state budget situation holiday weekend by searching fireworks Foundation of the Arts & Sciences at 120 Long Beach Blvd.
and potential government shutdown. at APP.com. from 8 to 10 p.m. today. Tickets are $10.

I am not happy about this. This is completely avoidable.

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE
ON THE NEW JERSEY BUDGET IMPASSE
SUPPORT
ARTISANS
Craft Day by the Bay
will be held in Sunset
Troubled pasts inspire need to help today Park on West Salem
Avenue in Harvey Cedars
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Freehold students raise money today with more than 80
for charities through grant seminar crafters. Free admission and
parking.
STEPH SOLIS
SSOLIS@GANNETT.COM

An honor roll student wearing a blue polo shirt and

dark-rimmed glasses sat in his chair and shared the sto-
ry of his second family. All this and more inside! 2A
Juventino Lopez, now 13, found them years ago at
Family Promise, a national nonprofit that serves the
homeless in Monmouth County. He forgot the volun-
teers names but fondly recalls their small acts of kind-
ness, like the time a volunteer gave him money for the
school book fair because his mother couldnt afford it.
They helped me and my mom when we were having
a hard time, said Lopez, an eighth-grader at Freehold COURTESY OF RONNIE DOHERTY/FREEHOLD INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL
Intermediate School. I chose this [organization] be- Members of the Freehold Intermediate Schools grant-writing
cause ... I just wanted to make my mom proud. seminar gathered in May to discuss their proposals.
Now he is doing just that, by taking part in a grant-
writing seminar, created by local philanthropist Barry
Tobias and the Freehold Education Foundation, de-
signed to teach students how to help nonprofits get
MORE ONLINE
Watch Juventino Lopez tell his story by searching Freehold
See STUDENTS, Page 4A students at APP.com.

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VOLUME 138

NUMBER 156

SINCE 1879
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