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14 YEARS AFTER SEPT. 11 HORRORS, REBUILDING, REVIVAL CONTINUE PAGE 1B, 3B

FRIDAY 09.11.15

Trump likes*

41.6M
Christie likes

700K

Bush likes

Carson likes

1.5M

3.3M

Trump runaway leader in online conversation; Christie far behind

BOB JORDAN @BOBJORDANAPP

f Facebook activity is a reliable measuring stick in the Republican race for presi-

dent, its time for Chris Christie to come home, because real estate tycoon Donald
Trump is the runaway leader by a wide margin on the social media site. A

new USA Today and Facebook project mapping conversation about the presidential
candidates shows people are posting, liking, sharing and commenting on everything
Trump, who leads in opinion polls for the 2016 GOP nomination.
See FACEBOOK, Page 7A

Trump is obviously the most buzzworthy candidate in the presidential

race ... But just because hes generating buzz doesnt necessarily mean
those talking about him actually support him, or are even voters at all.
KYLE KONDIK, THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS

*LIKES, COMMENTS, SHARES, AND POSTS

SOURCE: FACEBOOK

Sales lag
for special
papal visit
rail passes
Only 1,400 of 27,000
tickets have been sold
MIKE DAVIS @BYMIKEDAVIS

PHILADELPHIA Visitors hoping to see Pope Francis celebrate Mass at the Philadelphia Museum of Art
will need more than a prayer to get there.
Transportation officials are banking on many of the
2 million people using mass transit to flock into the City
of Brotherly Love for the World Meeting of Families
and to catch a glimpse of its most revered attendee. But
with only two weeks until the big weekend, that doesnt
seem to be the case.
NJ Transit has sold about 1,400 River Line and Atlantic City Rail Line papal visit tickets, only about 5 percent of the allotted 27,000 tickets, executive director
Veronique Hakim said on Wednesday.
Were telling people right now to start looking into
their travel plans and to buy their tickets upfront, Hakim said. Its important for our customers to look at all
their travel options with all our travel partners and
make sure theyre planning ahead.
NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said the system is prepared to run at its maximum capacity
throughout the weekend. Its likely that visitors will finalize their travel plans over the coming weeks and purchase tickets.
Were expecting and preparing to safely move a
large number of customers and visitors, but we cant
speculate on how many people will actually attend the
papal events, Snyder said. Its better to be overprepared than underprepared.
The NJ Transit tickets are special passes valid only
during the papal visit. All other service on those two
lines will be suspended.
Steve Schapiro, a spokesman for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, said worst-case scenario
See TICKETS, Page 6A

Asbury Park fathers join forces to walk kids to school

NICQUEL TERRY @NTERRYAPP

To see a video and more

ASBURY PARK Johnny Smith is known as the super dad at Barack Obama Elementary School.
He regularly shows up to speak with teachers and
administrators about his 10-year-old son, helps with
homework and walks him to school each day to make
sure hes safe.
It may sound like basic parenting, but school officials here are calling on more fathers and male figures
to be like Smith.
On Thursday, the Asbury Park School District celebrated the first day of school inviting dads, grandfathers, uncles and male mentors to walk children to
school. The initiative mirrored similar efforts in school
districts across the country that rally for men to take
active roles in their childrens education.
The Million Father March spearheaded by the
Chicago-based Black Star Project has grown to 550
cities. As part of the observance, fathers walk their

photos on the walk to

school, visit

APP.com

children to school on the first day and make a yearlong

commitment to the childs educational success. The
thinking, of course, is that such attention will last well
beyond the year.
We are challenging men to stand up and be the educational leaders of the community, Asbury Park Superintendent Lamont Repollet said.
About 20 dads attended the first day of school opening ceremony in the Barack Obama parking lot. Most
had sons or daughters standing at their side in blue and
khaki uniforms, colorful backpacks in tow.
See DADS, Page 7A

ENTERTAINMENT

Re-introducing
Darlene Love
Hall of Fame singer celebrates new album with Asbury Park
show on Saturday. IN JERSEY ALIVE!

ADVICE
COMICS
LOCAL
MOVIES
OBITUARIES

JERSEY ALIVE
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3A
JERSEY ALIVE
13A

OPINION
SPORTS
WEATHER
WHEELS
YOUR MONEY

10A
1C
3C
1D
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VOLUME 136
NUMBER 218
SINCE 1879

NICQUEL TERRY/STAFF PHOTO

Asbury Park fathers gather at Barack Obama Elementary

School on Thursday.