On May 2, 2012, the Hoboken City Council passed an Ordinance amending Chapter 68 "Alcoholic Beverages" to change and update the hours of operation of licensed liquor establishments.

Viewing the City Council meeting video, one would tend to believe the City's reason for making the changes “the City Council wishes to more closely align the City's hours of operation for licensed establishments with the modern holidays recognized and celebrated by the City of Hoboken."

There were no public speakers and no substantive discussion among Council members.  Short, sweet, and the ordinance passed on the second reading.  

Upon closer examination of the “well intentioned changes,” Hoboken now has THREE late night bar closings!  Either by accident or design, Thursday night joins Friday and Saturday nights with lucrative 3:00a.m. closings.

A 700-pound Livermore, CA man’s plea for help to lose weight has become a viral sensation on YouTube in less than 24 hours.

Robert Gibbs, who turned 23 on Friday, said he is a prisoner in his own body.
“I spend most of my days right here, watching TV.” Gibbs said from his couch.

Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer advised the "Jersey Shore” production company that their request for a Hoboken filming permit has been denied.  Zimmer wrote;

“After careful deliberation, the members of the Film Commission, including representatives from Health & Human Services, Environmental Services, and the Administration, with input from our public safety officials, have determined that in the interest of public safety and quality of life, the permit application for 495 Productions/MTV's production of the Jersey Shore spin-off has been denied.”

A ST. PATRICK'S Day parade has been a tradition in Hoboken for a quarter of a century. The tradition ends this year, and it is a loss to all in North Jersey.

New Jersey is often overshadowed by New York. The St. Patrick's Day parade in Manhattan is bigger. Unfortunately, the people pouring out of bars and parties in Hoboken on the day of its parade are drunker or at least less controlled. The Hoboken St. Patrick's Parade Committee's decision last week to cancel the parade traditionally held on the first Saturday in March is an admission that Hoboken cannot guarantee the safety of the spectators who come from far and wide to celebrate.

Sadly, the Hoboken St. Patrick's Parade Committee announced that the much anticipated annual parade would be cancelled due to the "City of Hoboken's inability to protect our spectators, bands and participants."

The event is a Hoboken tradition held on the first Saturday of March and attracted hundreds of thousands of celebrants over the past 25 years.   

This year’s event, tentatively scheduled for Saturday, March 3, 2012, would have marked the parade’s 26th anniversary! 

Vincent Grande was 25 years old, living in Florida and studying to becoming a stock broker when he was killed one night last November after driving into the back of a truck.

Devastated by the loss of their only child, Ralph and Joan Grande of Barnegat were stunned to find a notice in the mail explaining that they were on the hook for more than $81,000 in student loans from NJ Class, the state's college loan program.

"They said, "We sympathize with you, but you co-signed for it. Our bondholders want their money,' " Ralph Grande said.

The Grandes' plight shows the perils of student loans, a complicated maze of government and private programs that can put students on the path to financial success, but also leave them — or their parents — deep in debt.

Here is everything your need to know about the 2010 Hoboken St. Patrick's Day Parade.  The following information was provided by the City of Hoboken.

Enjoy the Parade!

The City of Hoboken is excited to welcome visitors to this year’s 24th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade on Saturday, March 6th, 2010. Kick-off is at 1 p.m. from the corner of 14th and Washington Streets and proceeds south on Washington Street until the viewing stand at City Hall.

The parade draws tens of thousands of people to our City every year. We are working with the business community and law enforcement to ensure that our residents and visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience.

An application has been filed to the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Maritime Administration to build a man-made island nearly the size of six Giants Stadiums, located 13 miles off the coast of New York and 19 miles off the coast of New Jersey, to serve as a deepwater port for liquefied natural gas (LNG). This same area is home to endangered species and is prime fishing grounds. This proposed project is a threat to the improved ocean ecosystem that all have worked so hard to achieve in this region.

Yet, currently the state of New Jersey and its citizens are not officially part of the review process because New Jersey is not considered “an adjacent coastal state” in the application.

Currently, the application lists the state of New York as an adjacent coastal state. New York Governor Elliott Spitzer has been alerted that NY has the right to review and approve the application. In addition, public hearings will be scheduled for NY citizens to voice their concerns. Right now, New Jersey’s voice is not recognized.

Hoboken residents: We're not ready

Monday, July 30, 2007 - Jersey Journal

HOBOKEN - Residents of the Mile Square City say they are ill-prepared for a major storm, and don't know where to go if a hurricane threatened their homes.

Experts predict the storm surge from the Hudson River by a Category 1 hurricane could leave much of Hoboken under water.

Standing at the intersection of Fourth and Jackson streets, whichf loods in most heavy rains, a resident contemplated what would happen if a major storm were to strike Hoboken.

"This area always floods when it rains," said Miguelina, a Harrison Street resident who declined to give her last name. "Imagine if a hurricane hits."

"It's terrible down here when it rains. I've never seen a place flood like this," said Hilton Marrero, a Jackson Street resident. "They have to do something about it."

Other Hobokenites said they feared being trapped if the order was given to evacuate Hoboken.

"You are trapped here," said Ryan Herr, a sales representative who lives on Willow Avenue near Ninth Street. "If something were to happen, there would be no way to get out. It's the worst place to be."

HOBOKEN - When police suspected a St. Patrick's Day parade reveler of carrying a plastic cup containing beer, they slapped him with a $250 fine for drinking in public as part of a citywide crackdown to prevent rowdy and lewd behavior from ruining the day.

Because the officer had not checked a box on his ticket requiring a court appearance, Hoboken resident Stephen DeSimone, 27, simply mailed his fine a short time later.

But to his surprise, he received his check back along with a notification of a mandatory court appearance. And then the judge threw the book at him, doling out the maximum $1,000.

DeSimone said the judge told him he could take his case to trial - but then he could face a 90-day jail term if found guilty.

"We weren't intoxicated," DeSimone said, describing himself and a friend who were issued tickets. "We weren't doing anything out of line."

City officials confirm that DeSimone was one of nearly 500 people who received fixed-penalty tickets at this year's parade only to find themselves appearing in court and slapped with the maximum fine.

A man who acknowledged a sexual fetish for female-shaped mannequins was sentenced Thursday to more than a year in prison after repeatedly breaking into storefront windows.

Ronald Dotson, 39, of Detroit, was sentenced to 18 months to 30 years on charges of breaking and entering and being a habitual criminal.

He was arrested in October after police in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak spotted him near a smashed storefront window containing a mannequin wearing a French maid outfit.

As president of the Hoboken Police Department's PBA, I am compelled, to inform Hoboken's community of a serious increase of violent crime plaguing our City.

Throughout the year, I have spoken at council meetings and sent dozens of letters to our elected officials, all of which have gone unanswered, warning that increased violence in our neighboring cities will eventually spill over and like a virus infect our community. Even after the February murder of Ismar Mineros, an 18 year old resident, gunned down in our City, again I called for the hiring of more police officers. My pleas were dismissed and unanswered.

HOBOKEN - In the past week and a half, Juan Sepulveda has left his Washington Street apartment only once - when a back injury forced him to go to the hospital.

With the building's elevator out of service, Sepulveda felt he no choice but to ask his daughter and son-in-law to carry him down the four flights of stairs.

"We wanted to call an ambulance, but he is too proud," said Lily Sepulveda, Juan's daughter.

Juan Sepulveda and his wife Carmen are among dozens of seniors living in one of two adjoining subsidized apartment buildings on Washington Street near Observer Highway.

Two weeks ago, the Applied Companies - the owner of the buildings - sent a letter advising the tenants that the only elevator serving roughly 77 units would be down for 10 weeks while a new one is installed.

May 14, 2006

N.J. to let twentysomethings tap parents' health plans

On your 18th birthday, you can buy a pack of smokes. Make it to 21 and you can belly up to the bar. Retirement at 65 was standard until the age was raised for future retirees.

Life is full of milestones marked by age. Now, New Jersey is giving residents an extra decade to reach another significant one: when to acquire your own health insurance.

A new law effective in early May will require health insurers to allow twentysomethings to piggyback on their parents' plans, extending current coverage by more than 10 years.