This is the week of celebrities saving the community, one citizen at a time. First, with Ryan Gosling pulling away journalist Laurie Penny from oncoming traffic and, now, Mayor Cory Booker of Newark. The up-and-coming star politician, who, some argue, has "President" written all over him, saved his next-door neighbor from a ferocious fire after having "a proverbial come-to-Jesus moment."

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Mayor Mike Bloomberg was on the defense this morning against criticisms thrown at him this week that the New York Police Department's surveillance of Muslims in New Jersey is arrogant and paranoid.

Since the Associated Press came out with reports that the NYPD spied on Muslim student groups at campuses throughout the Northeast, the mayor has continued to defend his position. He told reporters last month that the surveillance is necessary to fight terrorism and protect freedoms (like free press, guys!). Last week, after reports came out that the NYPD has also been conducting surveillance on mosques and Muslim-owned restaurants in Long Island and Newark, Bloomberg said that the city is consistently following leads and not targeting individuals based on religion or race.

In addition to pressure from universities and advocacy groups, the mayor has faced significant backlash from Newark Mayor Cory Booker and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

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Suck it, New Jersey!

More Americans like New York, your neighbor to the north, according to a new study.

Public Policy Polling has determined that 40 percent of Americans think of New York favorably -- compared to a mere 25 percent who viewed NJ favorably (via Politicker's Colin Campbell).

If 40 percent doesn't sound too impressive, consider: It's still among the top 15 states!

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On Thursday, we told you about the passage of a bill in New Jersey's Assembly that would make same sex marriage legal in the state. N.J. Governor Chris Christie promised that he would veto the bill when it landed on his desk, and he held true to his word. The New York Daily News says that Christie wants "voters to decide whether New Jersey changes the definition of marriage." Unfortunately, as the Voice's Steven Thrasher said on Thursday, "the votes in Jersey's legislature are shy of overriding his promised veto." The bill's suporters have until January of 2014 to get the few key votes necessary to override the governor.

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Chris Christie (in NJ) and undecided legislators (in MD) this week

Who knew this was possible? As New Jersey's Assembly just passed a marriage equality bill 41-33, this week is turning out even gayer for marriage than last week was.

A couple days ago, in the happier half of A Tale Of Two Governor Chrises, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed marriage equality into law for the good people of Washington State. There will, almost assuredly, be enough signatures gathered by people like NOM to put the issue to a vote in November. Fortunately, Washington State is in the Ninth District, so such a voter referendum could fall directly under the precedent created by last week's federal decision ruling Prop 8 unconstitutional.

And now New Jersey's Assembly has passed a marriage equality bill, after it already passed in the New Jersey Assembly. The trouble is, Governor Chris Christie has vowed not to sign it, and the votes in Jersey's legislature are shy of overriding his promised veto (and plan to put it on the ballot).

Still, there's hope. Gov. Chris Gregoire has written to Gov. Chris Christie to ask him to consider her journey to signing. Christie, who recently appointed the first openly gay judge to New Jersey's Supreme Court, might be "evolving" like the president. And, the marriage equality folks have until 2014 to get the few votes they need to override the veto.

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President Obama is expected to announce today that he will allow ten states to be exempted from the strict test-based measures of the No Child Left Behind Act. The states are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee -- and our beloved neighbor New Jersey. New Jersey schools have been struggling to address the achievement gap between their poorer students and minority groups and more well-off students.

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A preliminary audit commissioned by the board of the Port Authority has found that the institution is "a challenged and dysfunctional organization suffering from a lack of consistent leadership, a siloed underlying bureaucracy, poorly coordinated capital planning process, insufficient cost controls and a lack of transparent and effective oversight of the World Trade Center."

As costs for construction at the World Trade Center continue to rise, the Port Authority finds itself under increasing scrutiny. The audit also found that the PA suffers from inadequate cost-controlling methods, and often awards its employees excessive or unnecessary benefits.

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If you watch Boardwalk Empire you are aware that the Atlantic City of yore was filled with some pretty bizarre attractions (exhibits displaying babies in incubators, Paz de la Huerta). Well, now one attraction that originated in the 1920s is set for a return, and is making animal activists angry. If the Steel Pier's owners get their way, the "diving horse" act -- which is exactly what it sounds like -- will be on view by the time people flock back to the beach.

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Ah, New Jersey. The land where fake orange tans and affable, clueless Republicans come together to make magic. New Yorkers should consider themselves lucky to live so close to New Jersey, particularly right now.

New Jersey governor Chris Christie, one-time potential Republican presidential candidate, continues to think it prudent to make public comments on a variety of topics, despite consistently sticking his foot in his mouth at every turn. Suffice it to say, there's hardly anyone in the state of New Jersey who isn't mad at Christie right now.

Civil rights groups and are mad at him for making an asinine, historically inaccurate comment about the civil rights movement on the eve of Black History Month. Christie said that civil rights activists "would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets of the South."

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Frequently bombastic New Jersey governor Chris Christie said on Fox News today that it would be "presumptuous" of him to say no to running on Mitt Romney's ticket for vice president if the opportunity was offered to him. Christie endorsed Romney last month. Early in the interview, Politico reports, Christie said that the idea of his running alongside Romney hadn't been brought up. But if it did:

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