The Times of Trenton Editorials

Stories on crime, politics & more

• Hits and misses
MISS: The unbelievable actions of the thieves who broke into, robbed and trashed the YMCA in Trenton. These low- lifes didn't rob just the Y, they stole from the whole community, desecrating the building and the spirit of an organization that has served the children, the homeless and the needy of this community for 105 years.

• Needed school reforms
State Sen. Shirley Turner, D- Lawrence, has introduced two bills that address problems that pop up in school districts.

• Now hear this
The Robbinsville school board is considering a proposal to set up an "I hear you" box at the high school.

• Understand
candidates' differences

• Down and dirty
You know the sprint to the end of a long, long presidential campaign is going to be rough when both parties announce it's going to be rough. Rough -- as in personal.

• See the light
The plants take full advantage of it. So do some bacteria. And Germany has joined with Mother Nature, but for some reason the United States just doesn't seem to get it: Solar energy is one of the best, cleanest and most abundant sources of power on the planet.

• Pursue anthrax probe
To listen to the FBI, it solved the infamous case of the 2001 anthrax letters that left five people dead and sickened 17 oth ers and terrorized a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

• W
ith a passel of homespun gumption, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin last week sought to reassure the country that she is equipped to be a heartbeat away from the presidency of the most powerful nation in the world.

• Hits and hits
HIT: Recognition of everyday citizens who show heroism and courage. This week, two Mercer County men, Jarmaine E. Ravenell of Ewing and Javier Jimenez of Trenton, received the prestigious Carne gie Medal from the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission for saving the life of a woman who was being robbed and stabbed on a Trenton street corner in 2007.

• Tolls the knell
for Ewing church? When some see the old stone church on Scotch Road in Ewing Township, they are re minded of an earlier time in history. They also remember, perhaps, how it appears very like the sketch in their old high school literature books that il lustrated Thomas Gray's mas terpiece, "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard."

• Field-dressing a deficit
Between the cacophony of crashes on Wall Street to the north and the babel of bumbling in Washington, D.C., to the south, the sound moves made by Gov. Jon Corzine have been reassuring.

• Department justice
A report released this week by the Justice Department's inspector general and Office of Professional Responsibility paints a disturbing picture of the political shenanigans that took place while the department was headed by former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

• 'Free at last'
In its 25 years, Centurion Ministries has secured the freedom of those who have been convicted and imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

• Activist, heal thyself
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has made no secret of his disdain for what he calls "activist judges."

• Questionable grants
How much is a winning football team worth?

• Address residency law
Now that Trenton Police Director Joseph Santiago has moved on, it's time to look ahead. And we're not just talking about who eventually will be appointed the next police director in New Jersey's capital city.