The O'Toole Chronicles Archives

The O’Toole Chronicles: Senator Loretta Weinberg – Your Impact Will Never be Forgotten

January 16, 2021 12:01 amJanuary 16, 2021 3:42 am

In recent months, we have all followed the whispers and rumors about the Senate Majority Leader retiring from elective politics. Well, sometimes a Trenton rumor actually comes true. I have always maintained, and written on multiple occasions, that in politics you...

The O’Toole Chronicles: Sacrificial Lambs

January 14, 2021 12:10 pmJanuary 15, 2021 11:41 pm

January is here and another election cycle is upon us in New Jersey. Obviously, the gubernatorial race will dominate the headlines, but also on the ballot are all 120 members of the legislature, plus county and local offices. Pretty soon...

The O’Toole Chronicles: Operation Warp Speed

January 8, 2021 6:00 pmJanuary 9, 2021 12:09 pm

We have closed the books on the awful year of 2020, and we have some good indicators that 2021 should give reason for hope and new beginnings. We have begun to hear noise, a clamoring, for vaccinations, which is an...

The O’Toole Chronicles: A Tribute to Joe Clark

January 5, 2021 12:01 amJanuary 5, 2021 9:56 am

We recently witnessed the sad passing of Joe Clark. Some may remember Joe as the bull horn using, bat carrying, principal from Eastside High School in Paterson. In the 1980s movie, Lean on Me, Joe was famously portrayed by Morgan...

The O’Toole Chronicles: Picking a Successor

December 29, 2020 12:01 amDecember 28, 2020 1:38 pm

One of the more difficult political tightropes to walk is picking a successor. No one likes to let go of power and no one believes that they are truly dispensable – these hurdles make planning for succession extremely hard. NEWS...

The O’Toole Chronicles: John Belushi – What Belongs to the Public and What is Private?

December 22, 2020 12:01 amDecember 22, 2020 6:06 am

I was watching the documentary, Belushi, which chronicled the life and tragic demise of one of my favorite actors – John Belushi. I was struck by a few things – one of them is some crazy non-linear line between John...

The O’Toole Chronicles: The Lessons of Larry David

December 15, 2020 12:01 amDecember 11, 2020 8:41 am

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend I took the opportunity to watch some television (Amazon, Hulu and Netflix all come under the rubric of TV) with my kids. My daughter, Ryan Marie, insisted on watching virtually every single episode of Curb...