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Trenton named 15th best 'place' to    live,    in    Mercer    County

by C.I. Pucker and Staff Writers

TRENTON – City officials were thrilled to learn that Trenton was chosen as one of the best places to live in a recent poll. The newest ranking comes on the heels of the city appearing on “bad” lists in back-to-back months.
Last month Maxim, an international men's magazine, ranked Trenton 6th on a list of “America's 10 Darkest Alleys.” Maxim's ranking followed the Morgan Quinto report that names Trenton as the 4th most dangerous small city in America.
"This is the start of an upswing for Trenton," said Mayor Douglas Palmer. “What makes this so special is that our neighbors supported us; without them, we would have never placed so high on the list."

Best Places To Live in Mercer County
  1. Hopewell Twp.
  2. Princeton Twp.
  3. Pennington Boro
  4. West Windsor
  5. Hamilton
  6. Hopewell Boro
  7. Princeton Boro
  8. Lawrence
  9. East Windsor
  10. Washington
  11. Ewing
  12. Hightstown
  13. Mercer County Workhouse
  14. Mercer County Youth House
  15. Trenton

The rankings list, released last week, was compiled through poll data gathered by the New Jersey Demographics and Quality of Living Movement. “Over 8% of Mercer County residents responded to this poll,” said project director Raja Tamuranni. “With such a high number of respondents the accuracy of the rankings are difficult to dispute.”
Tamuranni did admit that Mercer County is the site of a statistical anomaly. “The other counties in New Jersey only have cities and towns ranked. However, this is not the case in Mercer County. For this reason we see Trenton being ranked 15th in a county with only 13 municipalities,” explained Tamuranni.
For the second year in a row, Hopewell topped the list and no other “place” in the county moved more than one position on the list. The exception was Trenton, which moved two positions higher on the list. In 2003 Trenton placed 17th, finishing behind Trenton State Prison and Yardville Correctional Facility, which is actually in Burlington County.
Mayor Palmer downplayed the significance of still being ranked below two correctional facilities. “Why is it that every time a good thing happens for the city, only the negative aspects are reported?” asked Palmer. “Trenton climbed two places on the list. Report the positive stuff!”
When asked about Trenton’s 4th place ranking on the “Most Dangerous Small Cities” list (for the second consecutive year) and being ranked 6th amongst “America’s 10 Darkest Alleys,” Palmer stated, “None of that is true. If it were true, the Trentonian would have reported it.”
Editor's Note: According to the Morgan Quitno web site, Trenton is ranked 4th on the “2004 Most Dangerous Small Cities" (75-99k population) list for the second consecutive year. According to the Maxim magazine’s December 2004 issue, Trenton is listed as having one of “America’s 10 Darkest Alleys.”

Judge Rules for City, Throws Out Lawsuit.   Swayed by belief in   Santa.

TRENTON - Superior Court Judge Linda R. Feinberg issued a ruling against a group of Trenton residents seeking an investigation of Police Director Santiago. The group of residents sought to force the city to hire an independent investigator to determine if Police Director Santiago was adhering to the city’s residency rule.
“Before the start of today’s proceedings I was prepared to rule against the city,” Judge Feinberg told the court. “However, in light of today’s testimony I am compelled to find for the city.”
In a surprise move the city’s attorney, Dewey Cheatum, requested that Feinberg hear testimony from an expert witness. “We are certain the court will agree that this witness is beyond reproach,” said Cheatum.
 Feinberg allowed the city to call their witness and appeared shocked when Cheatum announced, “Your Honor, we call Santa Claus to the stand.” Feinberg allowed Mr. Claus to take the witness stand over the objections of the plaintiff’s attorney, Jackie Childs.
During direct testimony, Claus told the court that in addition to maintaining a naughty and nice list, he also keeps an up-to-date address list of people around the world. When asked if he knew where Director Santiago was living, Claus said he did, and gave a Grand Street address for the Director.
The tone of the proceedings changed when the Childs began cross-examination of Claus. Claus was caught off guard and became flustered when asked if he ever used aliases. Claus admitted to using the names Chris Kringle, Saint Nick and Right Jolly Old Elf.
When asked if Santiago was on the naughty or nice list, Claus replied, “Well, nice of course."
Judge Feinberg became angry when Claus was asked if he was ever arrested in Newark and called an abrupt halt to the testimony. Before dismissing Claus and the lawsuit, Feinberg said, “I will not allow Mr. Claus’ character to be impugned in my court.”
Outside the courtroom Childs told reporters he was disappointed, but not surprised by Feinberg’s decision. “This isn’t the first time she made a screwball decision in favor of the city,” said Childs. “This time it was Santa, next time we expect the tooth fairy.
Childs indicated the residents plan to appeal Feinberg’s ruling. “We have evidence that today’s witness is not who purports to be. We will present evidence that their Mr. Claus is in fact an imposter who was arrested in Newark during the 1990’s for assault and narcotics offenses.”
Childs provided the K9News with a photograph (right) but declined to say where he obtained the photo. "This man isn't Santa. We believe the judge was determined to believe whatever the city said."