The decision confirmed an appellate division ruling against the company and upheld the constitutionality of a state law, designed to discourage politicians from awarding contracts in exchange for political contributions.

Farmingdale-based Earle Asphalt Co. is in the road construction business, and earns some revenue from state highway construction projects.

In court documents, company president Walter Earle II said his company made a $1,500 contribution to the state Republican party in June 2007 at the request of John Bennett, a former state Senate co-president. But Earle’s firm later learned one section of the state’s pay-to-play laws prohibits any state agency from awarding certain contracts to businesses that gave more than $300 during the preceding 18 months to state or county political party committees, and to certain other people.

That was bad news, since in 2007, Earle’s company won a state Department of Transportation contract to perform roadwork on a section of I-195.

The firm asked the Republicans for a refund of the donation and got it 40 days later, but the DOT still yanked the contract after Earle disclosed the original contribution as part of the normal vetting process.

Earle’s attorneys appealed the decision, arguing in a lower court that the pay-to-play legislation unconstitutionally infringed on the company’s right to free speech. Even if the section of the law was constitutional, they added, the company’s request for return of the contribution “entitled it to an exemption from the disqualification from bidding on State contracts.”

But a panel of appellate judges that was later backed by the New Jersey Supreme Court said the law was constitutional.

They also noted that the law does provide for an exemption if a political contribution is refunded within 30 days of being made, but they said Earle Asphalt was ineligible for the exemption because more than 30 days elapsed before it got the money back.

The decision is not likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, said Steven E. Brawer, a Roseland-based member of the Lowenstein Sandler PC law firm that represented Earle Asphalt in the matter.

“Their first response was to make sure that those who were on that plane were looked after immediately,” Corzine said. “Then, obviously, the work of the first responders — the New Jersey State Police, the New York Police Department and the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey — they all came together in a remarkable way to make sure that a life was not lost.”

Jeff Welz, director of public safety for the township, said emergency medical service workers, firefighters and police boarded NY Waterway boats in Weehawken immediately after the emergency landing, according to a report by The Star-Ledger of Newark. At least one ferry carrying passengers across the river changed course and went straight to the plane, Welz said.

Ferries were pulling passengers out of the water, according to news reports.

Corzine visited injured passengers Thursday night at Jersey City Medical Center and Palisades Medical Center.

“That is one heck of a good spirited group of people that survived,” the governor said. “This is one of those times where everyone in the community came together.”

Forty-six percent of survey respondents said their personal financial well-being will improve in the next 12 months, compared to 25 percent who think they will be worse off by year’s end, the survey said. In last year’s survey, 37 percent of those surveyed said they’d be better off by 2009, while 33 percent said their finances would be worse.

But these findings contrast sharply with the fact that the majority of respondents said they are now worse off than a year ago; only 13 percent said they are better off now than a year ago, according to the survey. Moreover, 88 percent of those surveyed said business conditions in New Jersey are worse now than a year ago.

Moreover, the survey pointed to other growing economic troubles for New Jersey residents. According to the report, 54 percent of respondents said they either were laid off or had a relative or close friend who lost a job in 2008, compared to only 38 percent a year ago. Also, 34 percent are “somewhat worried” or “very worried” that they might lose their job in 2009, the survey said.

The apparent rise in consumer confidence among survey respondents is “at stark odds with national consumers’ sentiment polls,” which show consumer confidence to be at record lows, said Patrick O’Keefe, director of economic research at J.H. Cohn, a Roseland-based accounting firm.

But some poll findings can contradict other correlated data or an overall trend. “It could very well be a statistical or polling anomaly,” O’Keefe said.

Also, consumer optimism during dismal times is not surprising, he added. Given the economic turmoil of 2008, “I think people looking forward are inclined to believe that such periods are transitional, and that the economy will pick up,” he said.

The consensus among economists is that by the end of 2009, “the bottom will have reached,” O’Keefe said. “The economy may be bouncing along at low levels, but the worst of the news will be behind us.”

“We believe smaller, more efficient government is best,” said Jim Leonard, legislative lobbyist for the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce. “We wholeheartedly support his actions in that regard.”

In his State of the State address on Tuesday, Corzine called on the state’s Local Unit Alignment, Reorganization and Consolidation Commission to advance recommendations by March 31. The commission was developed to study county and local governments, and determine how consolidation could lead to property tax reduction.

Rising property taxes is an important issue for business owners because they pay nearly a third of the state’s property tax, according to the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce.

However, a day after the speech, Corzine warned mayors that state aid for municipalities, schools and hospitals could be slashed when he introduces a state budget on March 10.

In a speech to mayors on Wednesday, the governor said he expects state revenue to shrink to $29.5 billion this year — $3.4 billion, or 10.3 percent, less than anticipated. He said every state tax, besides the state lottery, is currently generating at least 7 percent less revenue than expected — a result of the national recession.

“Frankly, I’m worried that we may have far greater shrinking revenues than what are anticipated right now,” Corzine told the mayors.

Circuit City, in Richmond, Va., filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last November and shuttered 155 stores, but its restructuring efforts fell through. The 60 year-old company failed to find a buyer or secure new financing, forcing the move to liquidate, closing 567 stores nationwide and laying off more than 30,000 employees.

“We were unable to reach an agreement with our creditors and lenders to structure a going-concern transaction in the limited timeframe available,” said James A. Marcum, acting president and chief executive, in a statement.

Circuit City’s liquidation offers a mixed blessing for the local real estate market, according Richard J. Brunelli, president of brokerage R.J. Brunelli & Co. Inc. in East Brunswick’s Old Bridge section. While the demise of the retailer means a loss of a major tenant for landlords, Circuit City chose sites in high demand, Brunelli said.

“They did a pretty good job of selecting locations across the country,” he said, expecting the vacated space to be absorbed more quickly than other, less-desirable locations. “This company did not go under because of their real estate.”

Video rental company Blockbuster Inc. made a bid to buy Circuit City in April, but withdrew the offer just months later as the economy unraveled. In its last available earnings statement, Circuit City reported a net loss of $239.2 million on revenue of $2.4 billion for the three months ended Aug. 31. The fate of the 765 Circuit City stores in Canada, the company’s e-tailing operations and other assets remained undetermined at press time.

The association also named the following officers: Joseph P. Coyle, of Southern Ocean County Hospital, as secretary; Audrey Meyers, of Ridgewood, as treasurer; Thomas Biga, of Clara Maass Medical Center, as vice chairman; and Alexander J. Hatala, of Lourdes Health System, as chairman-elect. NJHA announced the appointments today at its 90th annual meeting.

NJHA also appointed eight other health care professionals as new board members, including Joseph F. Scott, of LibertyHealth, and William F. Owen, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

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