Is there a racial bias in America that has been undetected by the polls? As the 2008 presidential election draws nearer, Hall Institute Executive Director and presidential scholar Michael P. Riccards reflects on this and other issues in Race and the Presidential Race.

The Budget — New Jersey’s new state budget will be the key issue of debate during the 2009 Gubernatorial and Assembly races, according to Salvatore Pizzuro. Pizzuro explains why as he recaps this week’s budget activities in The Senate and Assembly Budget Committee Proposals: An Advanced Look at the 2009 Elections.

Gas Prices — As gas prices continue to rise, Hank Butehorn outlines the benefits of bio-fuels and the need for more mass transit. Read more in Fighting Addiction with Addiction.

The Debate Over Emails — Emails between Governor Corzine and union leader Carla Katz shoud be made public. That is what attorney Michael M. Shapiro argues in an opinion piece titled Corzine’s E-mail Fiasco: A Profound Lack of Judgment?

Visit the Hall Institute online at WWW.HALLNJ.ORG to read these articles and other topical material:

• Riccards on New Jersey 2008 — A blog on our state's expanded role in the 2008 presidential race.
• Rich Lee on Media — Musings on those who make the news and those who report it.
• Hall Institute Forum — Our public affairs television program.
• Hall Institute Radio Podcast Forum — Audio discussion of timely and topical public policy issues.
• A School Funding Scrapbook — Commentary on education issues and policy.
• White Papers
• Research Essays
• Op-Ed Articles
• Press Releases

The Hall Institute is a non-partisan, not-for-profit foundation established to explore social, economic, educational and cultural issues. Our weekly email newsletter is sent to organizations and individuals with an interest in the material posted on our website at www.hallnj.org.

Since its inception two years ago, the institute has emerged as a leading voice for public policy in New Jersey. More than 400 papers, on topics ranging from health care to education to property taxes, have been posted on our website.

In 2006, the institute presented an online Virtual Debate among the candidates in New Jersey's U.S. Senate race. A 2008 Virtual Debate for this year's Senate race is underway. We also are sponsoring NJ2008, a special section on New Jersey's role in the 2008 presidential campaign.

The Hall Institute also produces a 30-minute public affairs television program and recently acquired the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, a non-partisan think tank based in Berkeley, California.

In addition to our other activities, the institute also has published two books -- The State of the Garden State and Reaction and Reform in New Jersey. Both are compilations of the major papers posted on its website.

Located in Trenton directly across from the New Jersey Statehouse, the institute was established by George E. Hall, a successful business executive and a leading philanthropist who lives in Middletown, N.J.