Gov. Chris Christie's "Jersey Comeback" hit another bump in the road last week, when state officials announced the unemployment rate rose to a two-year high of 9.6 percent.

The Auditor broke out a calculator to see where that left New Jersey compared with the rest of the country, and found the state has been inching closer the bottom. The jobless rate jumped 0.4 percentage point in June, tying with Alabama for the largest increase in the country, according to data from the U.S. Labor Department.



New Jersey now has the fourth-highest unemployment rate — only California, Nevada and Rhode Island have weaker labor markets. New Jersey had been fifth in May and 11th at the beginning of the year, an indication that other struggling states are picking up the pace and leaving New Jersey behind.

Thousands of jobs have been gained during most of that same period — 39,600 for the first six months of the year. What it means is that, while the job supply is growing, the demand for them is growing even faster.

“If the job count keeps rising at this pace, unemployment will inevitably come down,” said Charles Steindel, the Treasury Department’s chief economist.

So while New Jersey waits, Christie appears to be hedging his bets. Last week, he swapped the “Jersey Comeback” banner that serves as a backdrop for his town hall meetings for a new one, promising an “Endless Summer of Tax Relief.”

Say it ain't so, Joe

In January, Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo said he would amend campaign finance reports to disclose what his funds have gone toward. That was six months ago this week. So far, he hasn’t.

From late 2002 to January of this year, DiVincenzo reimbursed his personal credit card about $250,000 from his campaign, but until October, he did not disclose the nature of the expenses though required to by state law.

“The question of our reporting obligations and the need for any relevant amendments is before the (Election Law Enforcement) commission,” DiVincenzo said, “and as we have said, we will address that question through ELEC.”

After Marilynn English, a critic of the county executive, filed a complaint and The Star-Ledger and other news organizations started asking questions, DiVincenzo’s attorney, Angelo Genova, said he would amend previous reports “in the interests of further transparency.”

Since the complaint was filed, DiVincenzo has detailed his credit card expenses, which showed he paid for more than 100 meals over three months, more than two dozen golf games, a gym membership, a tuxedo vest, bicycle repairs and a trip to Puerto Rico for a political retreat, The Star-Ledger reported.

The Auditor was reminded of DiVincenzo’s unfulfilled promise after last week’s news that U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews (D-1st Dist.) was facing an inquiry from the House Committee on Ethics over similar campaign spending.

"I did; No, I did; No I ..."

President Harry S. Truman, under whose watch World War II came to an end and Europe was rebuilt, once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”

Maybe someone should tell that to all those scurrying to take credit for raising the Bayonne Bridge to accommodate super-sized cargo ships.

So far, except for prep work such as removing the lead paint, the job hasn’t even begun.

Yet last Wednesday, there was a mad dash among politicians to claim credit for speeding the project.

On Tuesday, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey sent out an advisory that it had good news to announce the next afternoon, prompting speculation it would involve a White House decision to fast-track the environmental review.

As it turned out, agency officials instead announced they had shaved six months off the job, which is to be completed by the fall of 2015, whether fast-tracked or not.

Then, on Wednesday night — in an effort to get to the microphone first — New Jersey’s two Democratic U.S. senators, Frank Lautenberg and Robert Menendez, announced President Obama had decided to fast-track the project. Minutes later, the White House issued its own announcement, naming the Bayonne project among seven nationwide that would be fast-tracked.

Ah, the spirit of cooperation.

Premature congratulations

At least one former colleague of Lee Solomon didn’t wait until the news was official to congratulate him on his expected appointment to the state Supreme Court.

At a Board of Public Utilities meeting last Wednesday, Jeanne Fox, a former BPU president, congratulated the man who succeeded her at the job in 2010, before Christie re-appointed him to a Superior Court judgeship.

She said she was honored the governor would pick a former head of the board for the high court.

"I'm very glad Lee Solomon is being nominated to the state Supreme Court," Fox said.



"It's going to be very helpful to this agency, but also he's also very smart, very helpful, a very quick study."

But the current head of the board, Bob Hanna, was more cautious.

“I may wait for something more official than The Star-Ledger,” Hanna said.

The governor on Thursday disputed the newspaper’s account that he had chosen Solomon, calling it “premature.”