Five things that happened in New Jersey this week

Roger Clemens, an 11 time All Star pitcher, may be on the mound in Camden next week when his minor league team plays the Camden Riversharks. Also this week Governor Christie signed a bill that will restructure New Jersey’s system of higher education. These are just two of the big stories you may have missed while you were down the shore. 

Rutgers and Rowan reorganized

Gov. Christie signed legislation this week that will restructure higher education in the state. The plan will merge most of the assets of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey into Rutgers, but will leave Rutgers Camden intact. In lieu of an outright merger between the Camden campus and Rowan University, Rowan will become a research university and collaborate with Rutgers on medical sciences.

Moody’s dampens revelry

Moody’s Investor Service has downgraded the credit rating of Atlantic City’s newest casino. Revel opened in April, but a weak performance has kept the $2.4 million casino in 8th place in gambling revenue among the city’s 12 casinos. The move follows Standard & Poor’s credit rating cut last week.

Mayor fined for misused money

A former Newark mayor violated New Jersey campaign finance laws when he used $94,000 from a campaign account to pay for criminal defense costs. This week, a judge ordered former Mayor Sharpe James to reimburse the campaign fund and fined him $30,000.

Mold will shorten the school day

In Toms River, students will have to adjust to a new schedule next month as crews work to remove mold from Manchester Township Middle School. Until the clean-up is complete, middle schoolers will split time with older students at the district’s high school. According to superintendent David Trethaway, the mold was likely caused by a power outage that disabled the building’s air conditioning for a few days.

Clemmens could throw in Camden

As a pitcher for the minor league Sugar Land Skeeters, Roger Clemmens will be visiting Campbell’s Field next weekend to play the Camden Riversharks. While the pitching rotation hasn’t been set yet, one thing’s for sure: Friday night games at the ballpark always feature fireworks.