By Bill Cleary

Can you believe \”The Woo\” , once the terror of Gloucester City, spending his afternoon with other seniors playing charades.

The American Legion – February 3, 2010

Earlier this week, President Obama signed into law the Veterans’ Emergency Fairness Act of 2009. This important legislation amends existing statutes to allow the VA to reimburse eligible veterans for portions of emergency treatment that are not covered by their private insurance. Before this change in law, VA could only pay outside hospitals directly, or reimburse veterans in cases where they did not have private health insurance.

\”Many veterans enrolled in VA health care have limited private health insurance, and this new legislation helps to correct previous inequities in the law, and helps to ensure that a trip to the emergency room doesn’t cause financial ruin for those who honorably and selflessly served this nation,\” said American Legion National Commander Clarence Hill.

\”The American Legion appreciates Congress recognizing the need for this legislation and the president for acting quickly to sign it into law,\” said Hill.

This legislation, introduced by Senator Daniel Akaka, D- Hawaii, also allows VA to reimburse veterans retroactively for emergency care received before the bill’s passage.

The NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife is informing recreational and commercial saltwater fishermen that there will be two public hearings in New Jersey during February. The hearings are to receive public input on management actions under consideration.

The first hearing, on Thursday, February 18 in Cape May, will be held by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council on Amendment 11 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan.

The second hearing, on Thursday, February 25 in Lakewood, will be held by the New England Fishery Management Council\’s Monkfish Committee on Amendment 5 to the Monkfish Fishery Management Plan.

FOXNews.com – Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. John Murtha, the first veteran of the Vietnam war to enter Congress and one of the House\’s most powerful lawmakers, died Monday afternoon at Virginia Hospital Center after complications from gallbladder surgery. Murtha was 77.

\”Congressman John P. Murtha (PA-12) passed away peacefully this afternoon at 1:18 p.m. at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. At his bedside was his family,\” read a statement from his office.

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reining-in high school playoff tickets prices has taken effect just in time for high school wrestling tournaments.

\”The clock has finally and thankfully run out on the days of charging exorbitant prices for high school playoff games and tournaments,\” said Burzichelli (D-Gloucester/Cumberland/Salem). \”Thanks to our new law, great community events like high school playoffs and tournaments will be affordable in these difficult economic times.\”

The law was approved on Jan. 29, 2007 and became effective a week ago.

Burzichelli first drafted the law in late 2004, following complaints from high school football fans outraged that tickets for New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association playoff contests in South Jersey cost more than double what some schools charged for regular season admission.

The new law was designed to control excessive spending and ticket-pricing practices by the management of the NJSIAA, a voluntary organization made up of 425 accredited public, private and parochial high schools in the state.

The law prohibits New Jersey\’s school districts from joining sport associations that charge exorbitant ticket prices for playoff competitions, increase licensing fees for broadcasts of playoff games or require schools to pay excessive membership fees.

\”Quite simply, when fans go to wrestling tournaments, they will pay no more than what they paid during the regular season to get into their high school gym,\” Burzichelli said. \”They won’t pay higher prices. That’s something I’ve long looked forward to seeing.\”

Under the law, the NJSIAA is allowed to increase ticket prices during playoff matches only if the games are played in a venue outside a high school stadium with the authority of the Commissioner of Education.

\”High school sports are supposed to be part of the high school experience,\” Burzichelli said. \”We should never allow a situation to exist in which parents, families and supporters have to think twice about attending a sports competition because the cost of tickets has been set too high.\”