Good news from my birth state.  Yeah, I'm from NY/NJ; does it show? or waat?

New Jersey lawmakers on Monday passed legislation to strengthen New Jersey's hate crimes and anti-school bullying laws.  The bill was approved in the Assembly by a 65 - 10 vote. Last Thursday, the New Jersey Senate approved the bill 35 to 0. It now goes to Gov. Jon S. Corzine for his signature.

The legislation has two key sections. The first adds "gender identity or expression" to the existing hate crime law with already covers sexuality, race and religion. It also mandates two hours of training on hate crimes for all new police officers, and offers sentencing options to judges, such as anti-hate sensitivity training for convicted defendants.

The second part cracks down on bullying in schools, making it mandatory for schools to post on the web, and widely distribute, their anti-school bullying policies. It also creates a Commission on Bullying in Schools.

In committee hearings the bill was supported by testimony from the state's largest LGBT civil rights group Garden State Equality, and by the New Jersey Anti-Defamation League, New Jersey Educational Association, the Gender Rights Advocacy Association, and the Attorney General's office on behalf of the Corzine Administration.

"It is a momentous day for all New Jersey when the state takes a big step to protect another group particularly vulnerable to hate crimes, and when it takes meaningful action towards eradicating bullying in our schools," said attorney Leslie Farber, chair of the GLBT Rights Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association and a board member of Garden State Equality.

"From an important legal standpoint, the bill brings the scope of the state's hate crimes law in line with that of the state's Law Against Discrimination."

Last year's FBI report on hate crimes ranks New Jersey #2 in hate crimes nationally, behind only California.

Federal hate crime legislation has become bogged down in Congress

Thanks,

Dana

Microsoft's co-founder Gates, who fueled the Microsoft vision for the past 32 years and was previously CEO, is retiring from active work at the company, expected by summer, 2008. He's making the move in order to spend more time working on his family charity, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (What's the fun of earning all those billions if you can't have a little fun giving them away in ways meant to benefit the world, such as funding malaria vaccination campaigns in emerging nations?)

As Microsoft's largest stockholder, Gates will retain his job as chairman of the board of directors. However, he already relinquished his role as chief software architect (CSA) to former competitor, Ray Ozzie, in 2006. Gates will step away from the company full-time, with the exception of "special projects," as of July 2008.

I can't help but recall my initial thoughts when I first learned Ray was named one of three CTO's, "Our little Ray; who'da thunk."

Best Wishes in 2008 Ray!

read the full article entitled "A Kinder, Smoother 2008 For Microsoft" at internetnews.com

By Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org Staff Writer
States are in rebellion over Washington's actions — and inaction — on
some of the nation's most pressing problems.
>snip<
Gay rights, abortion measures pass
While proposals to ban same-sex marriage generated wide media
attention in recent years, a handful of states in 2007 quietly
expanded rights for gays, including protections in the workplace.
New Hampshire approved a historic civil union bill offering same-sex
couples the same state-level rights and responsibilities provided by
traditional marriage. In doing so, it joined Vermont, Connecticut and
New Jersey in offering civil unions, a legal relationship that didn't
exist before 2000.
Washington state and Oregon enacted domestic-partnership laws giving
same-sex couples the same inheritance, hospital visitation and other
legal rights afforded married couples. California, Maine and Hawaii
have similar laws. Maine extended its Family Medical Leave Act to
include domestic partners, and Colorado made iteasier for a gay
partner to adopt his or her partner's biological or adopted child.
Colorado, Iowa, Oregon and Vermont all banned workplace discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity, bringing to 12 the
number of states with such anti-discrimination laws on the books.
Nathan Newman, policy director of the Progressive States Network, said
it was surprising how quietly some of these measures were enacted.
"Nearly half of the country's population is living in states that ban
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," he
said.
In Massachusetts, the only state to issue marriage licenses to
same-sex couples, lawmakers refused to put on the 2008 ballot an
initiative reversing the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's
landmark 2003 ruling allowing gay marriage.
>snip<
Statehouses had their share of sex scandals even as the national media
were fixated on the plight of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), who
pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge relating to allegations
he solicited sex in a Minneapolis airport bathroom.
In Florida, state Rep. Bob Allen (R) resigned after being convicted of
agreeing to pay $20 to perform oral sex on an undercover police
officer in the men's room of a Titusville park. And Washington state
Rep. Richard Curtis (R) stepped down amid reports that he had sex with
a man he met at a pornographic video store.
Staff writers John Gramlich, Eric Kelderman, Christine Vestal, Daniel
C. Vock and Pauline Vu contributed to this report.
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=267843