Why does the federal government continue to seek contracts with Hudson County, which is mired in systemic human rights abuses and have continually rejected and resisted reform?

By Angie Junck and Chia-Chia Wang

Two months ago, Jose Molina was relaxing at his home in Harris County, Texas after work, playing music and drinking beer with a friend.

He stepped out to move his truck into his apartment complex so it wouldn't be towed overnight, and was pulled over by Pasadena Police, a department that has had a reputation of engaging in racial profiling.

Arrested for driving under the influence, the widowed father of three was immediately sucked into the dragnet of 287(g), a federal program designed to have local police act as deportation agents, after being booked at the Harris County jail.

Because of this collaboration, Molina, a resident of the U.S. for nearly three decades, was turned over to immigration authorities and now currently sits in a detention center in Conroe, Texas on the brink of deportation. 

He is unable to care for his three U.S. citizen children, one of whom is disabled and suffers from severe autism and seizures. His son Alexis, who is just 21 years old, has been forced to quit his job and step in as caretaker for his siblings, including his old brother with autism.

If deported, it is likely that Jose Molina will never see his children again.  Jose Molina is one of thousands of casualties of the deportation dragnet resulting from local law enforcement collaboration with immigration authorities.

Here in New Jersey, Hudson and Monmouth counties are both currently under 287(g) agreements, and ICE is courting seven new jurisdictions to join the  program, including Salem County. On July 14, Hudson County, renewed its 287(g) agreement with the federal government for another three years. 

Hudson uses three deputized officers to run the program. Including their salaries, any other additional personnel time involved and other relevant administrative costs, it's fair to say the county dedicates at least tens -- if not hundreds -- of thousands of dollars to the program.

Why does the federal government continue to seek contracts with localities like Hudson County and Harris County, which are mired in their own systemic human rights abuses and have continually rejected and resisted reform?

Hudson County boasts a population that is nearly 42 percent foreign-born and a county government that has been vocally supportive of pro-immigrant policies.

Yet, the Hudson County jail -- a participant in the 287(g) program -- has been named one of the three worst immigration detention sites amongst 53 monitored across the nation. In May, advocates filed a civil rights complaint surrounding substandard medical care in 61 cases at the hands of a for-profit healthcare provider contracted by the jail.

The jail's woes don't end there. In clear violation of due process rights, the jail has detained one elderly woman for over two years.

At a meeting with advocates, the County's Director of Corrections openly admitted to the County Executive that the jail did indeed send immigrants who had yet to be convicted to ICE for detention. Though county officials recently expressed their desire to end the 287(g) agreement, citing community opposition and concerns about the jail's operations, they've decided in favor of continuing to tear families apart, renewing the agreement anyway.   

Across the country in Harris County, Texas, one in four Houstonians are foreign-born, and the city is known as one of the most ethnically diverse in the nation. The largest participant in the 287(g) program, the Harris County jail was investigated by the Department of Justice in 2009 for inadequate medical care, excessive use of force and overcrowding.

Five inmates have died under the tenure of the current sheriff after suffering from assaults or unexplained head trauma while in jail custody.  Just last week, due to the use of faulty field testing kits in Harris County, a ProPublica investigation revealed "Blacks made up 59 percent of those wrongfully convicted in a city where they are 24 percent of the population."

In the meantime, Harris and Hudson counties continue to fill their jails and voluntarily carry out work of the federal government rather than fix these many abuses.  

It's time for the Obama administration to scrap the 287(g) program for good. The costs of deportation are immeasurable and its effects reverberate across generations -- once someone has been ripped from their family, young children are left in foster care, elderly parents without caretakers, and spouses are forced into single parenthood. 

In line with our values of richly diverse communities, just and fair policies, and human rights and dignity, we must end the mass deportation and criminalization of immigrants.

As we've witnessed the full and heartbreaking display of the biased policing across the country recently, we must also work to end the mass incarceration and predatory targeting of communities of color, many of which are heavily formed of immigrants. This intersection of racial profiling and immigration enforcement is particularly evident within the black, Middle Eastern, Latino and Afro-Latino immigrant communities, who remain to this day targeted for deportation at disproportionately higher rates.

All immigrants are worthy of equal protection under the law. It is imperative that state and local police stay out of the deportation business altogether.

Chia-Chia Wang is the organizing and advocacy director for the Immigrant Rights Program at the Newark-based American Friends Service Committee.

Angie Junck, J.D. is the supervising attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, where she focuses on the intersection between the immigration, criminal and juvenile justice systems. 

Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. 

here

The Garden State segment of the East Coast Greenway is 98 miles long, passing through Trenton, Newark, Jersey City and New Brunswick

Love to cycle, but worried about sharing the road? One group hopes to have a traffic-free trek from Maine to Florida finished for biking buffs in the next 20 years.

The East Coast Greenway Alliance, based in Durham, N.C., has partnered with local, state and national agencies since 1991 to connect the Sunshine State with the Pine Tree State, by linking local trails and paths into one continuous cycling route.

East Coast Greenway  

So far, about one-third of the path is complete or offers traffic-free trails. New Jersey is home to the second longest finished trail segment, a 35.7 mile ride along the Delaware & Raritan Canal Towpath.

The national 3,000-mile route has been mapped out to allow bikers to stop at hundreds of towns and cities along the way. If you rode 50 miles per day, it would take about two month to complete the East Coast ride, according to the non-profit. 

The Garden State segment of the East Coast Greenway is 98 miles long, passing through Trenton, Newark, Jersey City and New Brunswick. More than half the route is traffic-free, the second highest percentage of completed trails for a state.

To cross from New York to New Jersey, riders can either take the George Washington Bridge or a ferry across the Hudson River, according to the non-profit's website. The route to Pennsylvania brings riders across the Calhoun Street Bridge between Trenton and Morrisville.

In North Jersey, the group is working with to local communities, state agencies and the New Jersey Bike Walk Coalition to create the Meadowland Connector Greenway. For more on the current route in the area check out the group's interactive map. 

"We want to build a safe, linear park that is available to all 16 million people who live along the corridor," said Dennis Markatos-Sariano, the executive director of the East Coast Greenway Alliance.

By 2020, the alliance plans to to finish an additional 200 miles of trails and install signs all along the path, which spans 15 states and links 450 municipalities. It hopes to have the route from Canada to Key West completely traffic-free sometime in the 2030s. 

Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Find NJ.com on Facebook.     

Debra Gonzalez also gave bad checks to taverns and a farmstand in Wayne, along with auto repair shops in Fairfield, according to police

Debra Gonzalez (Wayne police) 

WAYNE -- A 43-year-old Wayne woman was charged on Friday with giving $52,000 worth of bad checks as rental payments to her landlord on Parish Drive, according to Wayne police.

Debra Gonzalez, now of Clifford Drive, was arrested at 8 a.m. Friday after she was found driving a motor vehicle with a suspended license on Wayne Valley High School property, according to Wayne Police Capt. Laurence Martin.

Police then discovered that Gonzalez was also under investigation and warrants were issued for 12 counts of issuing bad checks to her landlord and to businesses in the town, Martin said.

Tavern owners and a farm-to-table produce stand had also notified police of similar incidents, Martin said. He did not provide specific amounts for the businesses.

In addition, Fairfield police notified Wayne police that they were investigating Gonzalez for issuing fraudulent checks to auto repair shops in that neighboring town, Martin said.

The investigation revealed that several business in Wayne had already sought their own remedies by issuing complaints through the municipal court violations bureau, Martin said.

Gonzalez was charged with forgery, issuing bad checks and theft by deception, according to Martin.

She posted $20,000 cash bail with help from family members, Martin added. 

Detective Scott Rappaport has headed the investigation of Gonzalez and continues to investigate, Martin said.

Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Viewers can access it through www.facebook.com/panynj.

With the suspension of weekend service on PATH's 33rd Street line less than two weeks away, the Port Authority is preparing riders for the upcoming changes. 

On Wednesday, PATH will use Facebook to livestream interviews with key officials as part of an ongoing effort to update the public on the PATH capital plan, as well as the Aug. 6 suspension of weekend service on the 33rd Street line.

The live feed is scheduled to begin at noon and will run about 45 minutes. Viewers can access it through www.facebook.com/panynj.

The session is the latest in the PATH Education Series and will feature insights from PATH Director/General Manager Mike Marino and Assistant Superintendent Kevin Lejda. They will provide background on the weekend service suspension plan, outline alternative travel options for affected passengers, and discuss the installation of federally mandated communications equipment to upgrade service and safety. There also will be a Q&A period for viewers to ask questions.

Weekend service suspensions on the 33rd Street line -- which runs between Journal Square and 33rd Street in Manhattan, stopping in Hoboken -- are expected to run through mid-December. PATH has held four public meetings in New Jersey on the upcoming closures and a fifth is scheduled for Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hotel Pennsylvania, 401 Seventh Avenue  in New York.

Weekend service on the heavily-trafficked line is being suspended for the installation of Positive Train Control (PTC), an updated safety-enhanced system the federal government has mandated be completed by the end of 2018. 

Service on the 33rd Street line will be suspended from approximately 12:01 a.m. on Saturdays until 5 a.m. on Mondays. The suspension will continue most weekends into December, with the exception of major holidays.

Regular weekend service will continue on the Newark-World Trade Center (WTC) line and between Journal Square and Hoboken. However, PATH can take some solace in the introduction of service between Hoboken and WTC on the weekend -- which is not normally available. 

Federal officials left the library with computers and documents, witnesses said.

ORANGE -- The public library in Orange was raided by federal agents Thursday morning, several sources confirmed to NJ Advance Media.

The federal officers apparently went into the library with subpoenas, and emerged with documents and at least one computer, the sources said. It is unclear what prompted the raid.

"The City of Orange Township is cooperating with authorities in response to allegations in connection with the Orange Public Library," City Attorney Dan Smith said in a statement Monday.

"The public will receive periodic updates as this investigation runs its course. In the meantime, rest assured that the library is now open and city government will continue to operate and serve the citizens of Orange Township."

According to Orange spokesman Keith Royster, the library was temporarily closed Thursday due to what he called a "brief interruption of service." 

It reopened Friday, he said. Royster also said that there was no raid at city hall. He declined to comment further.

An FBI spokesman confirmed that agents from its Newark offices conducted "official business in the vicinity of Orange" on Thursday. A spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said that the agency was not involved in an investigation in the city.

Reporter Tim Darragh contributed to this report.

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

In the TLC doc "My Legs Won't Stop Growing," the East Orange resident talks about a serious disorder that has caused her legs to be four feet wide

Both of Katia Page's legs measure four feet in circumference.

But the East Orange resident is beginning to see signs of improvement after undergoing the first sessions in a series of grueling liposuction treatments to help reduce the symptoms of her lipedema -- a chronic disorder that causes fatty tissue to accumulate around her lower body.

Page hopes to prevent her legs from growing further before her upcoming wedding, tentatively scheduled for sometime next year.

"The wedding was originally scheduled for February, but then I needed emergency surgery... so I want to get my health under control first," Page said in an interview with NJ Advance Media.

The 36-year-old is the subject of a new documentary called "My Legs Won't Stop Growing," premiering on Monday night at 10 p.m. on TLC. 

Page said her disease became visible when she was about seven years old and got worse when she reached her early twenties. She met with personal trainers and dietitians throughout her adolescence, but none of them were able to help.

"I was suffering for years, but the doctors kept saying I was only obese," she said. "The problem wasn't that."

Page said the pain and infections grew to be so severe that she was taking "180 pills within 10 days."

She was diagnosed with lymphedema in 2007, a condition of localized fluid retention and tissue swelling caused by a compromised lymphatic system, but was not diagnosed with lipedema until 2014.

Page sits between her doctor, David Gruener, and her therapist, Lizabeth Gottsegen. (Photo courtesy of Katia Page)When she walked into Dr. David Greuner's office that year, Page said he was shocked that she was able to walk on her own accord, without crutches or a wheelchair. One look at Page and Greuner was sure it was lipedema.

But by then, her diagnosis had progressed to stage four and her legs had grown to measure four feet in circumference.

"It took a very long time to find caring doctors who knew what was wrong," she said. Greuner plans to perform 10 to 12 surgeries on Page over the next four or so years.

Page is speaking out about her condition now to honor her mother, who passed away from complications with lipedema in September of last year.

"My mother's condition wasn't even as bad as mine, so it just goes to show that lipedema can take your life at any stage," Page said. "Dr. Gruener and his staff has really saved my life because my health was getting worse."

Last year, Karen Herbst, one of the top leading specialists for lipedema in the U.S., posted on Facebook that TLC was looking for subjects for the documentary "My Legs Won't Stop Growing."

"I told her I'd do it," Page said. "She sent my info and pictures over, they reached out and the rest is history."

A few days after her mother's death, Page heard back from TLC network that she was accepted to be part of the television special.

"I just really want to bring awareness to this disorder, because it can go undiagnosed for so long," Page said.

"My Legs Won't Stop Growing" premieres tonight at 10 p.m on TLC.

Sydney Shaw may be reached at sshaw@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @ShawshankSyd. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Two men, both 19, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging them with the fatal 2015 shooting of a 15-year-old youth. Watch video

NEWARK -- Lanky 19-year-old Jaqeuce Spinks stood in Superior Court Monday with his hands cuffed behind his back as he appeared for arraignment on charges of killing a 15-year-old on Mother's Day 2015.

Spinks was in court on an indictment charging him with murder in the killing of Al-Shakeem Woodson, who was shot in a cross-fire between two rival groups of teenagers, authorities have said.

Spinks' attorney, Michael Shulman, filed not guilty pleas to the murder and weapons charges.

Authorities say Woodson was shot about 7:45 p.m. on May 10, 2015 in the area of 19th Avenue and South 16th Street in the city's South Ward. He was among the people in a large crowd attending a "Blessing of the Bikes" event hosted by the Newark Knights Motorcycle Club each Mother's Day.

Three other men were also shot during the melee, they said.

A co-defendant, who was 16-years-old at the time of the shooting, is also charged with murder, authorities said.

Marquise Cephus, 19, also of Newark, and two other juveniles are also charged with weapons offenses related to the shooting.

Authorities said the gunfire was sparked by a long-running feud, with Spinks and one juvenile on one side, and Cephus and other juveniles on the other side. The gunfire had nothing to do with the Mother's Day event and Woodson was not involved in the dispute, authorities said in the day after the shooting.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A man indicted for the killing of two former girlfriends and another man pleaded not guilty in court Monday.

NEWARK -- As Jeffrey Holland entered the courtroom Monday, his wrists were handcuffed behind his back, clearly baring his upper left arm that bore a tatoo with a single word: "Dishonor."

Holland appeared before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler for arraignment on an indictment charging him with killing three people - including two former girlfriends - in one weekend in Newark last January.

On Monday, Holland appeared in court in green jail-issued shirt and pants, standing silently as his attorney, Sterling Kinsale of the Public Defender's Office, filed not guilty pleas to the charges of felony murder, burglary, desecration of human remains, endangering the welfare of a child, hindering apprehension or prosecution, theft by unlawful taking, and weapons possession offenses.

The 27-year-old East Orange man is accused of the strangulation murder of Tiniquah Rouse, 21, in her Newark home on Jan. 29. Authorities say Holland also put Rouse's 5-month-old child in a closet and left the infant there unattended.

The next day, Jan. 30, authorities allege, Holland broke into the home of Ashley Jones, 23, and Jarrell Marshall, 28, a Newark couple that was gunned down just steps away from three children, ages 1, 3 and 4, Murray said.

Authorities said Holland is the biological father of the 1-year-old and 4-year-old, and both were Jones' children. The 3-year-old is the daughter of Marshall and another woman, prosecutors have said. They said the children were not physically harmed.

Authorities said Jones had an active restraining order against Holland at the time she was killed.

Wigler set Oct. 7 for Holland's next court hearing.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The dogs were forced to keep moving in order to avoid paw-burns, officials said

NEWARK -- Two dogs were hospitalized after they were found on a Newark rooftop Friday, when the high temperatures forced the canines to keep in constant motion to avoid burns to their paws, the city's chapter of the Associated Humane Societies said.

AHS officers were called when someone noticed the pit bull and the Yorkshire terrier on the black tar roof, which was bubbling in the 96-degree heat around 5 p.m. The terrier was seen constantly scrambling to the edge of the roof and photos showed blotches of tar matted in its hair. The pit bull, meanwhile, was exhausted and covered in tar, the agency said. 

The agency did not release the address.

Feces and food scraps found on the roof led investigators to believe the animals were kept there, although the animals did not have water. No one was at the home when investigators arrived, AHS said.

The dogs were taken to an emergency hospital, where they were treated for burns and problems Their condition was "guarded," the agency said.

Charges may be filed following an investigation, WABC 7 reported.

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

Pulled pork, short ribs and sandwiches are among the choices at SMOKED in Ridgewood -- and bones for canine pals.

You have to love the clear-cut culinary philosophy of SMOKED, a new take-out business on Godwin Avenue in Ridgewood. "Meats are smoked here without sauces or 'goop,' allowing their fundamental flavors to stand on their own with a strong, remarkable signature," according to its website. Options from the recently opened shop include pulled pork, short ribs and smoked salmon. Smoked also features sandwiches (pulled pork Cubano and smoked chicken), sides (fingerling potatoes, black rice, Moroccan carrots) and desserts (banana bread and chocolate mousse). Plus, bones for your dog. Visit smoked2go.com.

* * * *

 

* * * *

 

MORE FROM INSIDE JERSEY MAGAZINE
Follow Inside Jersey on Twitter. Find Inside Jersey on Facebook and Google+

Two suspects in the December 2015 murder of an Orange man in West Orange filed not guilty pleas in court.

NEWARK -- Two of three suspects arrested in a fatal shooting in West Orange last December appeared in Superior Court on Monday and each pleaded not guilty.

Rasuan Foster, of East Orange, and Jarret Mceachin, of Orange, both 29, are charged with the Dec. 17, 2015 murder of Naji Everett, 26.

A third suspect, Zaki Jones, 33, of Newark, is also charged in the killing.

Jarret Mceachin appeared in Superior on Monday and pleaded not guilty to killing a man in Wet Orange last December. (Essex County Prosecutor's Office)  

Foster and Mceachin each had separate appearances before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler on Monday. Lawyers from the Public Defender's Office filed not guilty pleas for each of the defendants.

Authorities said Everett was shot outside a residence in the 100 block of Joyce Street in West Orange. He was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Foster, Mceachin and Jones have each been charged with charged with murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses.

Jones is scheduled to be arraigned next week.

Authorities have not released details for the motive behind the shooting.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

About 800 passengers were evacuated from the train Monday night at the Newark airport station

NEWARK -- A man who forced the evacuation of a crowded NJ Transit train Monday evening after allegedly making a threat has been charged, officials said.

Mohammed H. Mahmoud, 29, of South Amboy, has been charged with causing a false public alarm and interference with transportation, NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith said Tuesday.

A South Amboy man who allegedly made a threat aboard a New Jersey Transit train during the Monday evening rush was arrested. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) 

Mahmoud was arrested and transported by ambulance to Newark Beth Israel Hospital for a psychological evaluation after being removed from the train shortly before 6 p.m., Smith said.

On Monday, Port Authority police said a passenger on train 3363 en route to Bay Head made a "terroristic-type verbal threats" and mentioned a bomb shortly before the train stopped at the Newark Liberty International Airport stop.

The threat came after a dispute broke out between a younger man and an older man, police said. The train was swept for a possible bomb, but nothing was found.

About 800 people were on board.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The fire struck a vacant building, officials said.

ORANGE -- Firefighters were responding Tuesday morning to a 3-alarm fire in the city, officials said.

The fire broke out early in a vacant building at 350 Washington Street, officials said. No one was inside at the time of the fire, officials said.

It was still burning as of 8:20 a.m., officials said.

Information on how the fire began or the extent of the damage to the structure was not immediately available.

LIVE on #Periscope: Orange NJ 2nd Alarm Commercial Structure Fire [?] [?] [?] [?] https://t.co/2lYR8j3EKG

-- TAMPA BAY & BEYOND (@RicCharles1) July 26, 2016

Jessica Mazzola may be reached at jmazzola@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @JessMazzola. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

A 9/11 attack survivor praised Hillary Clinton Tuesday at the DNC 2016.

PHILADELPHIA -- A former New Jersey woman who's a 9/11 survivor spoke in support of Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Tuesday night.

Lauren Manning, a former executive and partner at Cantor Fitzgerald who was wounded in the World Trade Center attack, spoke about how her life "changed forever" after the terrorist attack and lauded Clinton for having stood with her "through that fight" to recovery.

Manning is one of the few Cantor Fitzgerald to survive. The company lost 658 people in the attack.

She survived despite burns covering more than 80 percent of her body.

WATCH: N.J. Democrats cast delegates

Here are Manning's remarks to the DNC:

"When I arrived at the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11th, 2001, I was a partner at Cantor Fitzgerald.

A moment later, my life changed forever. I was burned over 82 percent of my body, my chances of survival next to zero.

I battled for months, to live, and for years, to recover.

I fought in tribute to the friends and colleagues I lost, and all 2,996 people who were killed that day. I fought to honor our troops, who were fighting on frontlines around the world.

I fought to return to my young son. I fought as hard as I could so the terrorists wouldn't get one more.

Hillary Clinton stood with me through that fight.

In the darkest of days and the hardest of times, the people who show up mean everything.

Hillary showed up.

She walked into my hospital room and took my bandaged hand in her own. Our connection wasn't between a senator and her constituent. Our connection was person to person.

She visited, called, and checked in for years, because she cared.

When I needed her, she was there. When our first responders needed her, she was there.

Now our country needs her.

I trusted her when my life was on the line, and she came through. Not for the cameras, not because anyone was watching, but because that's who she is. Kind. Caring. Loyal.

This is the Hillary Clinton I want you to know. She was there for me. That's why I'm with Her."

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or on Facebook. Follow NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Victim was shot late Tuesday night

ORANGE -- Little information was immediately available about a shooting that claimed a male victim late Tuesday night. 

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Thomas Fennelly of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office confirmed his office is investigating the shooting, which occurred shortly before 11 p.m at Main and North Day streets. It was not immediately known if there were other victims. 

Less than a week ago, on Wednesday, someone fired several shots on Central Avenue, wounding two and killing a city man, 39-year-old Ahmad Cauthen. That shooting remains under investigation. 

Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.  

Booker's problem is that his high polish distracts people from the impressive political work he gets done. Watch video

PHILADELPHIA --To his detractors, Sen. Cory Booker has always been a showboat who loves the stage, but loses interest when it comes to the hard work of governing.

They have it half right.

He loves that stage, as the nation saw Monday night when he offered a prime time speech that was half-sermon and half pep-talk.

He was hoarse and jagged at the start. But by the end, the crowd here was roaring, and Booker was, working them with the natural ease of a champion bullfighter waving his red cape.

"In America, love always trumps hate!" he shouted as many in the crowd jumped to their feet. "America, we will rise!"

So yes, he's a showboat. And if you think all the talk about love in his speech was too much, you might gag at his response after Donald Trump fired off one of his obnoxious attack tweets.

"I love you, Donald, I pray for you," Booker said on CNN. "I just don't want you to be my president."

It was a counter punch with a velvet glove. And it worked better than anything I've heard from Crooked Hillary, Lying Ted, or Pocahontas.

Booker's problem is that his high polish distracts people from the impressive political work he gets done.

How can a guy with 2 million Twitter followers be anything but a celebrity, they think? How can a guy who rescued a woman from a burning building bear to sit through dry hearings on bank regulations? His critics call him Sen. Kardashian.

But really, if you scrape off the glitz, there is a good and tough politician inside.

When Booker was mayor of Newark, an inherited fiscal crisis forced him to cut the city workforce by 25 percent and raise taxes sharply. He faced reality, and loads of people hated him for it.

That's not what a showboat does.

In the Senate, Booker drafted an amendment that freed up billions of dollars for Amtrak projects, including a new Hudson River tunnel.

New Jersey has no higher funding priority than that tunnel, so this is no small win. Nervous structural engineers say at least one of the two existing century-old tunnels could be forced to close any time. If that happens before the new tunnel is built, New Jersey's economy will take a crushing blow.

"It was stalled and he played a huge role in getting it moving," says Anthony Coscia, the chairman of Amtrak's board. "Now we're making real progress."

Coscia was impressed. That $30 billion federal fund had been sitting mostly idle for years, with sclerotic rules that blocked access. Booker and his staff dug into the details, and recruited a key Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, to co-sponsor an amendment that fixed it.

Booker: N.J.'s infrastructure mustn't crumble | Opinion

"I don't think Amtrak could have gotten him to return a phone call, let alone co-sponsor an amendment like this," Coscia says of Wicker. "But Booker wanted a Republican co-sponsor."

He also helped bring a reluctant Gov. Chris Christie into the loop on that effort.

"Christie and I have been texting during this convention," Booker says. "If you keep those lines open, you can build tunnels."

Acting on the advice of one of his mentors, former Sen. Bill Bradley, Booker has made a point of getting to know other senators personally, sharing meals, and even prayers.

He attends a regular Bible study session with Sen. James Inhofe, the nutty Oklahoma Republican who considers climate change a "hoax."

"I've never trashed him publically," Booker says, "And I'm working on a friendship."

It paid off in a small way: Booker drafted an amendment forcing states to keep track of the disastrous dropout rates among children in foster care and homeless shelters. The hope was to shame laggard states into making changes, but the amendment stalled.

He went to Inhofe, his Bible buddy, who agreed to co-sponsor the amendment. It passed.

Ross Baker, a distinguished professor of political science at Rutgers University and an expert on the Senate, gave Booker positive reviews on his first three years. He's keeping his head down, Baker said, working hard, building relationships.

Booker's most ambitious goal is to reform the criminal justice system by reducing long prison terms for non-violent criminals and easing their return to society after their release. He's scored a few small wins, but nothing dramatic yet.

Booker says unequivocally that he doesn't want to be governor of New Jersey, a job that he could probably have next year if he wanted it. He said Hillary Clinton was serious about him as a vice-presidential pick, that the four-month vet was thorough and continued until a few weeks ago.

But picking Booker would have handed Republicans a Senate seat. And he's not ready to succeed as president now; he doesn't pretend to be.

Someday, though, it could happen. He's 47 years old. He doesn't drink, or smoke, or eat meat, and he's lost a ton of weight. He'll likely be with us for many years to come.

And as we've learned this year, when it come to American politics, anything can happen.

Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com or call (973) 836-4909. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook.

The Newark Community Street Team disrupts conflicts before they become violent by building strong relationships with young people.

Shadee Dukes didn't quite know what to say during a press conference last week about an initiative to reduce violence in Newark.

He doesn't do prepared remarks, but he also didn't know how deep he should get about himself and why he's a part of the Newark Community Street Team (NCST), an on-the-ground contingent of men and women assembled last year by Mayor Ras Baraka to head off incidents that could turn deadly. 

"I'm just ready to get out here and do work,'' Dukes said, as a way of explaining why he joined the group.

 MORE: Recent Barry Carter columns    

The street team, which now has 17 members, claims among its ranks former gang members, men returning home from jail and neighborhood community leaders. With funding from philanthropic foundations, NCST members have been trained to diffuse conflicts and offer alternatives, such as social services that steer young people toward employment, education, life skills and peaceful conflict resolution. They concentrate this work in the West and South wards, areas that the city has identified as its most troubled neighborhoods.

"We're trying to transform people's lives,'' Baraka said. "We're not pretending that we don't have problems. We have to take responsibility for what's happening in our community.''

Dukes, 30, wasn't a gang member when he met the street team last year. He wasn't raising hell in the neighborhood, either. But he was taking responsibility for his South Ward community when NCST took him under its wing.

That's the part he left out at the podium, where Baraka asked a few street team members to say a few words during the press conference to announce that the team was starting up again. It ran out of funding for a six month period, but many of the members stayed in contact with young people.

At the time Dukes befriended the street team, he was  was unemployed, having been laid off from a job as a warehouse worker. Until something better came along, he was organizing events to give school supplies to kids through Clean Money Family, a neighborhood group he started in 2014 with his buddy, Moses Beasley, who would be fatally shot in 2015.

This is how Dukes wisely spent his days - a far cry from earlier times when he was hanging on the streets and getting high, destructive behavior that NCST tries to discourage when approaching young people in the neighborhood.

Had the NCST been around in 2008, Dukes said he probably would not have bought a gun to protect himself after he was shot in the leg when someone tried to rob him and Beasley.

The street team looks to help kids still in school and young adults, some who maybe ex-offenders, make better decisions; its members serving as mentors to provide options and to temper frustrations that could lead to violence and bad choices. They talk to these young Newark residents constantly, and when the academic year resumes, they'll be walking kids to and from school and checking in with young men and women who may need their counsel.

"We act as interrupters, we act as mentors, we act as mediators -  in our capacity - to help people to resolve conflicts among themselves,'' said Aqeela Sherrills, the project director, who brokered a truce between the Bloods and Crips gangs in Los Angeles in 1992, while living in Watts. "We can't arrest our way out of this problem.''

Dukes, unfortunately, was arrested an hour after he bought that gun on the street in 2008. He spent a year in jail, a decision that cost him his license to drive school buses when he was locked up in 2010. After his release in 2011, Dukes said he bounced around in warehouse packing jobs for a few years and had been out of work several months when he began taking part in NCST activities. He liked what they were offering, how they were trying to make a difference with a consistent street presence, conversation and help.

"We're not going to go to one corner of an area once,'' said Nate Burkhard, a NCST program coordinator. "We're going to continue to do this and get them comfortable with the services we provide.''

NCST placed Dukes on the organization caseload to help him find employment. In a twist of fortune, NCST found Dukes the right gig -  it hired him to be a mentor last year.

"It's not a job for me,'' Dukes said. "It's a lifestyle.''

It's a mindset he passes on to young people - one that  emphasizes they have to take responsibility for their lives. 

 MORE CARTER: Irvington and Jersey City police embrace Running Man Challenge

"What I try to offer them is more tools to put inside of their tool box, and more options to handle situations - besides violence and irrational thinking,'' Dukes said.

Douglas Freeman, chairman of the South Ward Republican Committee, has seen Dukes' impact in the short time that he's been with the NCST and Clean Money Family.

When Dukes organized a meeting for the backpack give-away, Freeman said, 40 young men, his age and younger, showed up.

"They wanted to give back to their neighborhood,'' Freeman said. "You could see the glow in their eyes.''

Leading by example has caught fire with Dukes.

Last June, he sought to augment his neighborhood resume that has him entrenched with NCST and Clean Money Family. He ran for South Ward district leader, thinking he didn't have much of a chance.

Residents thought otherwise.

He won.

And so did NCST when it brought Dukes into the fold last year.

Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL

An Irvington mother will be sentenced for the death of her 8-year-old daughter, who was starved and beaten. Watch video

NEWARK -- In her family's Irvington apartment, Krisla Rezirekyson Kris starved and beat her three children, including her 8-year-old daughter, Christiana Glenn. In May 2011, the girl was found dead in the home.

On Wednesday, Rezirekyson Kris could receive a prison term of up to 30 years when she is sentenced by Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin for the killing of the girl. The mother could also face additional prison terms for other charges in the case.

Last March, a jury found the mother guilty of aggravated manslaughter in her daughter's death. The woman was acquitted of the more serious charge of murder.

The jury also convicted the woman of 16 charges of endangering the welfare of a child and two aggravated assault charges relating to the daughter and her two younger siblings, Solomon and Christina Glenn.

Rezirekyson Kris, and the woman with who she lived, Myriam Janvier, were charged with murder. Janvier, who will be tried at a later date, is being held in the Essex County Correctional Facility.

Authorities said the children were not feed for days at a time, and that they were tied by their ankles with rope that was then tied to a radiator.

On May 22, 2011, Rezirekyson Kris called 911 after she discovered Christiana Glenn was not breathing.

A medical examiner said the girl died from severe malnutrition and an untreated broken femur.

Copy of a 2006 photo of Christiana Glenn, looking at her reflection in a mirror before attending a family wedding as a flower girl. Eight-years-old Christiana Glenn, (now called Kristiana Rezireksyon Kris.) was found dead from malnutrition and a broken leg. Her mother, Venette Ovilde (Krisla Rezireksyon Kris), has been charged with the death of her daughter. Saddle Brook, NJ 6/3/11 McCoy Family Photo 

Rezireksyon Kris's attorneys argued that based on a clinical neuropsychologist's examination, she suffered from "diminished capacity," meaning she had a mental defect that prevented her from forming a knowing mental state.

The lawyers contended that this condition made their client more susceptible to the pastor's influence as a member of his Christian ministry.

Authorities said after finding her daughter in distress, Rezireksyon Kris prayed over the child's body for 90 minutes before she called 911.

Tom Haydon may be reached at thaydon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @Tom_HaydonSL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

The 37 New Jersey players taken in the June MLB Draft have been sent all over the country to start their professional careers while others chose to play college baseball.

Professor Stuart Green is dialing back the clock and requiring students to take handwritten notes.

NEWARK -- If you are taking Professor Stuart Green's criminal law lecture class at Rutgers School of Law next semester, don't even think about whipping out your laptop, phone or tablet.

Green is dialing back the clock and requiring students to take handwritten notes - with old-fashioned pen and paper -- in his classes on the Newark campus. Laptops and other devices are banned.

The veteran Rutgers professor says he is fed up with students using their laptops to multitask in class. Green says he has sat in the back of the classrooms of other professors' classes and watched some students diligently using their laptops to type notes.

Does anyone still want to be a teacher in N.J.?

But many students are also using their devices to email, text, shop online, watch YouTube, read news sites, play games, post to social media and more. One student even spent an entire class streaming an NHL game, he said.

Green, 54, declared he is forbidding the use of electronic devices in his law school classes in an opinion column published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. The piece, titled "I'm Banning Laptops From My Classroom," has been shared thousands of times on social media and generated hundreds of emails and comments.

The Rutgers professor, who has been teaching for two decades, spoke to NJ Advance Media about the national debate he has helped generate over digital distractions in the classroom. Here's an edited transcript.

Rutgers University law professor Stuart Green (Rutgers University photo) 

Why did you decide to impose this ban on laptops now?

It's something I've been thinking about for a few years, but delayed because of concerns about paternalism and a belief that students should be able to make up their own minds about using laptops in class.

But at some point I reached the conclusion that the problem wasn't going to go away on its own. It was in my students' best interest to at least try this ban out for a year and see how it works.

What were students doing in class that concerned you?

I saw a significant number of students multitasking during class -- not just at Rutgers, but at other schools where I've taught or visited. From the front of the classroom, I sensed that students were not as engaged as they were before laptops came into widespread use. I would call on students who would ask to have the question repeated or seemed to be surprised at being called on.

Will you also ban students from checking their email or texting on their phones in the classroom?

My ban will be broad enough to apply to laptops, tablets, phones and all electronic devices. So, I will basically just ask students to put them away.

What if students refuse to comply with the ban?

I don't foresee an outright mutiny. I'm not the first professor at Rutgers to try this. A few of my colleagues have already been doing this and I understand it's gone reasonably well.

There will initially be some resistance. But the sense I have is that students tend to come round and many of them will realize this is kind of liberating.

Do you worry students will not have the handwriting skills to keep up with taking notes in a fast-moving lecture?

My own handwriting skills have deteriorated. I type as much as anyone. So, we'll see. Part of the rationale for the rule is that, with laptops, they were taking dictation rather than synthesizing ideas. So slowing down should be a good thing.

What's the reaction been to your Wall Street Journal piece?

I received maybe 90 or 100 emails within a few days from people around the country. Many were from other teachers who said they've encountered a similar problem and had tried this ban and it had worked well.

Even a couple of former students wrote and said they thought it was a good idea. They never liked sitting behind someone who was multi-tasking on a laptop. I haven't heard from a lot of current students. I imagine I will when the new semester starts.

Are you imposing your generation's values on the millennial generation. Many students grew up using digital devices and can multitask with ease. Is this the equivalent of a professor a hundred years ago telling students to throw out their typewriters and go back to using fountain pens?

Certainly, that was a concern. After all, our students are adults. Most of them are in their mid-20s or older. They're smart and they work hard. There's a good argument that they should have the right to decide how to pursue their own education. In the end, though, I decided that the students who were not multi-tasking had a right not to be distracted by others who were. And, perhaps it's okay for me to be paternalistic -- I'm a teacher, after all.

Good lawyers have to be able to focus on a specific text or an argument that is being made in court. I don't think that the human mind has changed in any basic way just because we now multitask. I think that my students who pay attention to detail and sustain their attention to one task at a time will actually be better lawyers in the end.

How will you decide if this experiment is a success or a failure?

If I find that the discussion in class is more fluid, that students seen more engaged, that there are fewer occasions where I call on someone and the student seems startled to be called on -- I would consider it a success.

I intend to be open-minded about it. We'll see how it goes this year.