+

$1.00 | Monday, FEbruary 17, 2014

Final Edition

NJ.COM

aT LaST, a MEDaL FOR bODE

Newark Archdioceses Hunterdon County property getting $500K extension

mORE COVERAGE in spORts

ArChBishoPs PriCey retirement home

Kerry: Climate change a weapon

Secretary of state ridicules skeptics
WASHINGTON POST

By Simon Denyer

By Mark Mueller / STAR-LEDGER STAFF

he 4,500-square-foot home sits on 8.2 wooded acres in the hills of Hunterdon County. With five bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a three-car garage and a big outdoor pool, its valued at nearly $800,000, records show.
The renovations to Archbishop John J. Myers summer and weekend residence in Franklin Township come as the pope has criticized church spending.

But its not quite roomy enough for Newark Archbishop John J. Myers. Myers, who has used the Franklin Township house as a weekend residence since the archdiocese purchased it in 2002, is building a threestory, 3,000-square-foot addition in anticipation of his retirement in two years, The Star-Ledger found. He will then move in full time, a spokesman for the archbishop said.

The new wing, now just a wood frame, will include an indoor exercise pool, a hot tub, three fireplaces, a library and an elevator, according to blueprints and permits filed with the Franklin Township building department. The price tag, the records show, will be a minimum of a half-million dollars, a figure that does not include architectural costs, furnishings and landscaping. Construction is progressing as Myers asks the archdioceses more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics to open their wallets for the archbishops annual appeal, a fundraising effort that supports an array of initiatives, including religious education, the training of future priests and feeding the poor. More significantly, it comes at a time when Pope
SEE Myers, PAGE 8

JAKARTA, Indonesia Secretary of State John Kerry, calling climate change perhaps the worlds most fearsome weapon of mass destruction, urged developing nations yesterday to do more to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as he derided climate-change skeptics at home and blamed big companies for hijacking the debate. Kerry painted a picture of looming drought and famine, massive floods and deadly storms as a result of global warming, and he urged ordinary citizens in developing nations to speak out on the issue and demand more from their political leaders. He labeled those who denied the

We dont have time for a meeting ... of the Flat Earth Society.
Secretary of State John Kerry

Mark Mueller/The STar-ledger

evidence of climate change as shoddy scientists and extreme ideologues. He was addressing a group of students and government officials at an American cultural center in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, in a country and region that he said were on the front lines of climate change and some of the most vulnerable to the effects of global warming. Its not an exaggeration to say that the entire way of life here is at risk, he said. Global efforts to counter climate change have long foundered on a sharp divide between developed and developing nations. Although developing nations now account for more than half of greenhousegas emissions, they have been reluctant to commit to meaningful cuts as they seek a path to Western industrialization and prosperity. They argue the West caused the problem and should fix it. But Kerry, who has spent much of his long political career calling for more action
SEE Kerry, PAGE 6

Port Authority to probe role of cop linked to Christie during GWB closures
STAR-LEDGER STAFF

By Steve Strunsky

Port Authority Executive Director Patrick Foye has ordered the agencys police chief to investigate the role an officer with reported ties to Gov. Chris Christie may have played in Septembers George Washington Bridge lane closures in Fort Lee, a source close to the police department said yesterday. The probe will focus on reports that Port Authority Police Lt. Thomas Chip Michaels, a 15-year department veteran and member of the GWB unit,
TOday

chauffeured David Wildstein through clogged Fort Lee streets on Sept. 9, the first of four days of closures, said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. Wildstein is the former Christiebacked Port Authority official who ordered the closure of two of three local-access lanes from Fort Lee to the bridge. The executive director has ordered the chief to review Michaels actions, the source said. Foye gave the order to Chief
TOnighT MORE

Louis Koumoutsos in response to an MSNBC report that Michaels drove Wildstein around the borough. MSNBC also reported that Michaels is from Livingston, where Wildstein and Christie also grew up, and that Michaels coached Christies son in a youth hockey league. Michaels could not be reached for comment yesterday. The lieutenant is also the brother of Jeffrey Michaels, a Republican lobbyist in Trenton and a former GOP legislative aide.
22 11 41 24 ADVICE BUSINESS CLASSIFIED COMICS 22 13 22 22

The source said Foye also ordered Koumoutsos to look into assertions by drivers that officers told them that if they were unhappy about traffic, they should complain to the Fort Lee mayor. The source said Foye also was reacting to a story in The Record yesterday, which quoted complaints and said the joint legislative committee would examine that as well. It is alleged that the closures were in retaliation for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolichs failure to endorse Christies re-election bid.
22 14 22 22 HOROSCOPES OBITUARIES PUZZLES ROACH 31 30 21 2

The co-chairman of the committee, Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex), said yesterday that Michaels role in the closure and his links to the governor must be looked at. Its intriguing that this was the guy who was driving Wildstein around when the lanes were closed, Wisniewski said. Michaels name first appeared in connection with the lane closures in subpoenaed documents released
SEE Officer, PAGE 8

Partly sunny with a high near 31

Snow likely with a low around 27

Enter your ZIP code at nj.com/weather for hour-by-hour local forecasts.

CROSSWORD EDITORIALS GAMES HELOISE

SPORTS TELEVISION TODAY WEATHER

=0+8+1+b+e

event!
Presidents dAy
GOING ON NOW

Sofa & Matching Loveseat

CHOOSE FROM MANY OTHER STYLES IN OUR SHOWROOM!

99 $ STARTING AT 599

JENNIFER
C O N V E R T I B L E S

1-800-JenniFer | www.jenniferconvertibles.com

Bonded Leather 17% Leather. Merchandise pickup may not be convenient or available in your area. Delivery charge additional. Savings may not be based on actual sales. Not all products available in all showrooms.

SOFA & LOVESEAT $799.99 REG. $1499.99

BONDED LEATHER

SOFA & LOVESEAT $599.99 4 PIECE SOFA & LOVESEAT $999.99