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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016

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Comfort zone
Fresh cuisine, creative plates at Rob
Ubhaus Redux in Madison. Table, 1B

Girls Lacrosse: High expectations for Kinnelon. 4B

CHRISTIE AT UPS
GROUNDBREAKING

MORRIS TWP.

Cop sues
over a
60-hour
pay loss
Attorney seeks fresh review of the
disciplinary hearing and evidence
PEGGY WRIGHT @PEGGYWRIGHTDR

BOB KARP/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Dignitaries line up for the groundbreaking for the new UPS Technology complex, a 200,000-square-foot building sitting on
more than 20 acres of land off Cherry Hill Road in Parsippany.

Deal to bring it to Parsippany touted

WILLIAM WESTHOVEN @WWESTHOVEN

PARSIPPANY - Touting an incentive-laden deal to

keep UPS in New Jersey and bring it to Parsippany
as a clear sign of where New Jersey is headed,
Gov. Chris Christie attended the groundbreaking of
the companys new 200,000-square-foot technology
center.
We have recovered from the long recession,
Christie said. We have put more of our people back to
work than anytime before. And thats not government
doing it. Thats private-sector companies like UPS.
Technically, UPS broke ground on its new construction on Feb. 15, and excavators were at work on the 20-

acre site off Cherry Hill Road while the invitation-only

event unfolded. The four-story building, expected to
open next year, will be outfitted with enhanced communications systems to connect UPS technologists
and business units around the world.
The new building will house about 900 of 15,000 UPS
employees in New Jersey, most of them coming from a
facility in Paramus that will be vacated.
UPS could have picked another state for this facility, but they didnt, Christie said.
The Christie administration helped pave the way to
keep UPS in the Garden State with a New Jersey Eco-

See OFFICER, Page 2A

See UPS, Page 2A

New Jerseys going to get much more back from this at the end of the day
than theyre giving.
PAUL BOUDREAU, PRESIDENT, MORRIS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

CALIFORNIA AND ARIZONA

Saudi Arabian land purchases fuel

debates over water rights in U.S.
Farms produce hay for export
ELLIOT SPAGAT AND AYA BATRAWY
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN DIEGO - Saudi Arabias largest dairy company

will soon be unable to farm alfalfa in its own parched
country to feed its 170,000 cows. So its turning to an
unlikely place to grow the water-chugging crop the
drought-stricken American Southwest.
Almarai Co. bought land in January that roughly
doubled its holdings in Californias Palo Verde Valley,
an area that enjoys first dibs on water from the Colorado River. The company also acquired a large tract near
Vicksburg, Arizona, becoming a powerful economic
force in a region that has fewer well-pumping restrictions than other parts of the state.
The purchases totaling about 14,000 acres enable
the Saudis to take advantage of farm-friendly U.S. water laws. The acquisitions have also rekindled debate
over whether a patchwork of regulations and court rulings in the West favors farmers too heavily, especially
those who grow thirsty, low-profit crops such as alfalfa
at a time when cities are urging people to take shorter
showers, skip car washes and tear out grass lawns.
It flies in the face of economic reason, said John
Szczepanski, director of the U.S. Forage Export Council. Youve taken on all of the risk a farmer has. The
only way you can justify that is that theyre really not
trying to make a profit. Theyre trying to secure the
food supply.
For decades, Saudi Arabia attempted to grow its

MORRIS TWP. - Township police Sgt. Sean OHare

has appealed to state Superior Court a 60-hour pay
loss that was imposed after the Township Committee
accepted a hearing officers finding that OHare disseminated a vulgar email that disparaged the business administrator.
OHares attorney, Ashley V. Whitney, filed a complaint that was made public Tuesday in Superior
Court, Morristown, and seeks a fresh review of the
disciplinary hearing and evidence that resulted in the
Township Committees 4-0 vote in February to suspend OHare for five days, or the equivalent of 60
hours of pay totaling about $3,500.
In memorializing the disciplinary action in March,
the committee gave Police Chief John K. McGuinness
the option which he chose of taking away 60
hours of compensatory and personal time that OHare
had accrued, rather than taking away direct pay.
OHares complaint says the discipline was unfair
and asks a judge to declare the action null and void,
remove the suspension from his employment record
and award him all pay that was withheld.
Without the courts intervention, plaintiffs employment record will be tarnished by the flawed discipline which will adversely affect his chances for
promotion and permanently harm his career. The disciplinary action has caused and will continue to cause
plaintiff to suffer financial, emotional and harm to his
reputation for which he must be made whole, the lawsuit said.
The committee last year hired attorney Noel E.
Schablik to act as a hearing officer on the disciplinary
case involving OHare. Attorney John Iaciofano, special counsel to the committee on police matters, prosecuted the administrative charge at a hearing that was

DAMIAN DOVARGANES/AP

A worker removes a spa in Garden Grove, Calif., last year

because the spas owner considered it a waste of water.

own water-intensive crops for food rather than rely on

farms abroad. But it reversed that policy about eight
years ago to protect scarce supplies.
Despite the widespread drought conditions, the U.S.
is attractive to water-seeking companies because it
has strong legal protections for agriculture, even
though the price of land is higher than in other places.
Southern California and Arizona have good water
See WATER, Page 5A

Probe underway
into accident in
Morristown
Town police vehicle allegedly
struck a pedestrian on Monday
PEGGY WRIGHT @PEGGYWRIGHTDR

MORRISTOWN - The Morris County Prosecutors

Office confirmed Tuesday that it is investigating a
crash early Monday in which a town police vehicle allegedly struck a pedestrian in the vicinity of Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street.
The crash occurred shortly after midnight on Monday, and the Prosecutors Office responded along with
emergency personnel.
In response to an inquiry, Prosecutors Office Executive Capt. Richard Rose said Tuesday that an incident occurred on Monday involving a Morristown
police vehicle and that a person was struck. The injured person remains at Morristown Medical Center,
Rose said.
Rose said the matter is an active and ongoing investigation. Additional details, including the officer
involved, the circumstances of the incident and the
identity of the injured person, are not being released
while the investigation is ongoing.
Morristown Police Chief Peter Demnitz on Tuesday referred requests for comment to the Prosecutors Office.
Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@
gannettnj.com

ADVICE ........................................10A
CLASSIFIED ................................... 8B
COMICS .......................................13A
OBITUARIES ................................. 4A
OPINION ....................................... 9A
SPORTS .......................................... 4B
TV ................................................11A