Trenton

Suzanne Davis, 46, of Ortley Beach, whose lagoon-front home was ripped to shreds by Hurricane Sandy, has a simple formula for New Jersey lawmakers weighing legislation on recovery aid. "I have two words for them: Send money," said Davis, who has been living with her daughter in Toms River while spending $150,000 of her savings to fix her ravaged home. A Senate-Assembly joint committee began hearing testimony on nine bills Monday. "I can't wait for them to figure it all out, because I have a home and a business I need to get up and running before summer," she said.

TRENTON - Staffers at the public library in the state capital are rationing bathroom supplies after a growing wave of vandalism and theft. Signs outside the first-floor bathrooms direct patrons to the front desk, where they can get individual-size portions of toilet paper and other personal-hygiene items prepared by library staff. The policy was implemented after a series of incidents in recent months, said library director Kimberly Matthews. - AP

A commuter train struck a pedestrian in the Holmesburg section of the city causing delays on the Trenton and Chestnut Hill lines during the evening rush. A 64-year-old woman reportedly stepped near the tracks that carries trains bound for Center City from Trenton shortly after 5 p.m. The impact with the train severed the woman's toes and sent her down an embankment, according to a bulletin sent out by the BNN news service. The train remained stopped in Holmesburg about 5:55 and service on the Trenton line suspended.

Gloucester Catholic came roaring out of the break to beat St. Joseph, 35-32, in the Prime Events Girls Shootout at Holy Spirit on Sunday. The Rams, who trailed by five at the half, hit two three-pointers to quickly take a lead en route to outscoring St. Joseph, 14-2, in the third quarter. Becky Puns scored 18, and Mary Gedeka added 12 points and seven rebounds. Also in the tournament: Amanda Smith scored 19 and Lexi Bruno had 17 to lift Millville over Buena, 62-52. Deaja Reynolds scored 12 points to help a balanced Atlantic City beat Trenton, 53-39.

THE CITY OF Trenton just received a $14.9 million grant from the Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response (SAFER) program. This is a FEMA-run program. With these monies, Trenton can afford the proper number of firefighters to protect their citizens. Philadelphia is lagging in this area. There is no money received to help staff our Fire Department. I believe that there is a process for applying for this money. My question is, why hasn't Mayor Nutter filled out these forms? Has he issued orders to the fire commissioner not to look at this program?

"This is a no-brainer," lawyer Gerry Norton said, standing in the quick-moving security lane at Trenton-Mercer Airport, headed to Orlando, Fla., with his family. When he first heard that Frontier Airlines would be flying out of Trenton, Norton, who lives in central New Jersey and works in Fox Rothschild L.L.P.'s Princeton office, said, "This is great!" "It's convenient. Parking is free. The planes are a good size, 138 seats. It took me 20 minutes to drive here. " "It gets rid of the whole hassle of traveling by air," said Norton, whose wife, Jennifer; son, Connor, 10, and daughter, Riley, 5, also were among the seemingly happy travelers who boarded Frontier's Airbus A-319 Friday morning.

Low-fare Frontier Airlines will make Trenton-Mercer Airport its commercial base on the East Coast and last week ended its one route - with about one daily flight - out of Philadelphia International Airport to Denver. "Why Trenton? It's a densely populated area - 21/2 million people live closer in drive time to Trenton than any other airport with commercial airline service," said Daniel Shurz, a senior vice president of Frontier. Since November, the Denver-based carrier has announced 10 nonstop destinations from the small Mercer County airport, beginning with two Orlando, Fla., departures and arrivals a week.

TRENTON - New Jersey law enforcement authorities are sponsoring a $100,000 gun buyback in Trenton on the heels of a record-setting cash-for-guns program in Camden in December that netted more than 1,100 firearms. State Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa said the buyback in the state's capital city - financed from criminal-forfeiture funds - will be Jan. 25 and 26 and open to all Mercer County residents. "We'd love to replicate or improve on the success of our Camden buyback," he said in a statement.

The Rev. Canon James Elliott Purdy, 99, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New Jersey for 74 years, died Sunday, Jan. 6, at the Evergreens, a continuing care community in Moorestown. Canon Purdy formally retired in 1984 after serving as rector of Grace Church in Merchantville for 18 years. But he never left the ministry that defined his life. Until recently, he assisted in weekly worship at the Evergreens chapel, and provided a 24/7 listening post for fellow residents in need of his counsel - not to mention the healing power of his jokes.